Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Exodus 19:8/רמב"ן על שמות י״ט:ח׳

אוַיָּשֶׁב מֹשֶׁה אֶת דִּבְרֵי הָעָם אֶל ה' שֶׁשָּׁב לְפָנָיו אֶל הָהָר עִם מַעֲנֵה הָעָם. וְהִנֵּה הַכֹּל גָּלוּי לְפָנָיו וְלֹא שְׁאָלוֹ מַה עָנָה לְךָ הָעָם הַזֶּה, וּכְעִנְיָן שֶׁכָּתוּב "וַיִּשְׁמַע ה' אֶת קוֹל דִּבְרֵיכֶם בְּדַבֶּרְכֶם אֵלָי". וּבְבֹאוֹ לְפָנָיו אָמַר ה' יִתְבָּרַךְ הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי בָּא אֵלֶיךָ בְּעַב הֶעָנָן בַּעֲבוּר יִשְׁמַע הָעָם בְּדַבְּרִי עִמָּךְ וְגַם בְּךָ יַאֲמִינוּ לְעוֹלָם, וְאָז הִגִּיד לְפָנָיו וְאָמַר, רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם בָּנֶיךָ מַאֲמִינִים הֵם וּמְקַבְּלִין עֲלֵיהֶם כָּל אֲשֶׁר תְּדַבֵּר, וְכֵן "וַיָּשִׁיבוּ אֹתָם דָּבָר וַיַּרְאוּם אֶת פְּרִי הָאָרֶץ" (במדבר יג כו), שׁוּבָם אֲלֵיהֶם עִם הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁרָאוּ, כִּי אח"כ אָמַר "וַיְסַפְּרוּ לוֹ וַיֹּאמְרוּ". וְאֵין צֹרֶךְ לְדִבְרֵי ר"א בָּזֶה:

1VAYASHEV MOSHEH’ THE WORDS OF THE PEOPLE UNTO THE ETERNAL. This means that Moses returned¹⁷⁹ in the sense of “returning,” and not of “reporting”: “he returned to G-d with the words of the people.” “And there was no need to mention that ‘he went up to the mountain,’ since Scripture speaks here briefly” (Ibn Ezra). before Him to the mountain with the people’s answer. Now everything is revealed to Him, and He did not inquire of him, “What did this people answer you?” It is similar in meaning to the verse: And the Eternal heard the voice of your words, when ye spoke unto me.¹⁸⁰ And when Moses came before Him, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee forever.¹⁸¹ Then Moses said before Him,¹⁸², i.e., the words they had said, “Master of the universe, etc.” On the significance of this interpretation of Ramban, see further, Note 186. “Master of the universe, your children are people of faith, and they accept upon themselves whatever You will speak.”The above usage [of the word vayashev as meaning “returning” or “coming back”] is also found in the verse, ‘vayashivu’ unto them word… and they showed them the fruit of the Land,¹⁸³ which means: “They [i.e., the spies] came back to them with the things which they saw.” [It cannot mean that “they reported” to them], for afterwards Scripture says there, And they told him, and said.¹⁸⁴, Verse 27. [Hence, vayashivu in the preceding verse must mean that “they came back” with the things they had seen.]¹⁸⁵ here means that “Moses came back” with the words of the people to G-d. Actually, however, as Ramban continues to explain, he did not report them, as everything was revealed to Him. This differs with Ibn Ezra’s interpretation, as explained in the following note. There is thus no need for Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra’s interpretation on this point.¹⁸⁶, why does it say again at the end of Verse 9, and Moses told the words of the people unto the Eternal? To remove this difficulty, Ibn Ezra said that vayageid Mosheh (and Moses told) in Verse 9 means that “Moses had already told the words of the people to G-d.” It is thus clear that Ibn Ezra explained vayashev Mosheh in Verse 8 as meaning that Moses “reported” the words of the people to G-d. Hence, Ibn Ezra’s difficulty and his forced solution. Ramban, however, explains vayashev Mosheh as meaning that Moses returned to G-d to report these words. Actually, there was no need to report them, as explained above. Then G-d said to him, Lo, I come unto thee, etc. (Verse 9), and finally vayageid Mosheh: Moses told these words to G-d, i.e., that His children are men of faith and that they accept upon themselves whatever He will speak. “There is thus no need for Ibn Ezra’s interpretation on this point,” as Ramban succinctly puts it.