Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Genesis 15:15/רמב"ן על בראשית ט״ו:ט״ו
אוְאַתָּה תָּבֹא אֶל אֲבֹתֶיךָ בְּשָׁלוֹם וְלֹא תִרְאֶה כָּל אֵלֶּה, לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על בראשית ט"ו:ט"ו). וְאֵינוֹ נָכוֹן כְּפִי פֵּרוּשׁוֹ שֶׁאָמַר (בראשית ט"ו:י"ג) "כִּי גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ" מִשֶּׁיִּהְיֶה לְךָ זֶרַע, וּמִשֶּׁנּוֹלַד יִצְחָק נֶאֱמַר בּוֹ "וַיָּגָר אַבְרָהָם בְּאֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים" (בראשית כ"א:ל"ד), "וַיָּגָר יִצְחָק בִּגְרָר", אִם כֵּן גַּם הוּא בִּכְלַל הַגְּזֵרָה. אֲבָל טַעְמוֹ "וְאַתָּה תָּבֹא אֶל אֲבֹתֶיךָ בְּשָׁלוֹם", שֶׁלֹּא יַגִּיעֲךָ שׁוּם עֹנֶשׁ דָּבָר מֵאִתִּי אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֲנִי גּוֹזֵר עַל בָּנֶיךָ עֳנָשִׁים בְּעַבְדוּת וְעִנּוּי:
1AND THOU SHALT COME TO THY FATHERS IN PEACE. And thou shalt not behold at this. Thus the language of Rashi.This is not correct according to Rashi’s own interpretation, namely, that the decree, thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own,323 took effect as soon as Abraham had a child. Thus, soon after Isaac was born it states, And Abraham sojourned (‘vayagar’) in the land of the Philistines;324 has the same root letters as geir (stranger), thus suggesting that Abraham lived as a “stranger” in a land which was not his own. And Isaac sojourned in Gerar.325, 26:6. The verse however states, vayeshev (and he “dwelled”), and not vayagar. In Rashi a different verse is quoted: Sojourn (‘gur’) in this land. (Ibid., Verse 3.) Now gur has the same root as vayagar. (See preceding note.) Now if so, Abraham was also included in the decree! But the meaning of the verse, And thou shalt come to thy fathers in peace, is that “no punishment will come to you from Me even though I decree on your children punishments of servitude and affliction.”