Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 22:20/רמב"ן על בראשית כ״ב:כ׳

אמִלְכָּה גַם הִיא בַּעֲבוּר הֱיוֹתָהּ בַּת הָרָן אָחִיו הָיְתָה בְּשׂוֹרָה לְאַבְרָהָם שֶׁנִּפְקַד אָחִיו הַגָּדוֹל בְּבָנִים רַבִּים מִבַּת אָחִיו הַמֵּת. וּמִלְּשׁוֹן הַכָּתוּב נִרְאֶה שֶׁלֹּא יָדַע בְּאֶחָד מֵהֶם בִּלְתִּי הַיּוֹם, וְאִם הָיְתָה פְּקֻדָּתָם בִּימֵי בְּחוּרוֹתָם אִי אֶפְשָׁר שֶׁלֹּא שָׁמְעוּ עַד הַיּוֹם, כִּי אֵין הַמֶּרְחָק רַב בֵּין אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם וּבֵין אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן. וְהִנֵּה אַבְרָהָם בְּצֵאתוֹ מֵחָרָן בֶּן ע"ה שָׁנָה, וְגַם נָחוֹר זָקֵן וְאִשְׁתּוֹ אֵינֶנָּה בַּחוּרָה, אֲבָל עָשָׂה ה' לָהֶם נֵס שֶׁנִּפְקְדוּ בִּימֵי הַזִּקְנָה. וְזֶה טַעַם "מִלְכָּה גַם הִיא", וּבְדִבְרֵי רַבּוֹתֵינוּ (ילק"ש רמז תשסו) יֹאמַר שֶׁנִּפְקְדָה כַּאֲחוֹתָהּ:

1BEHOLD, MILCAH, SHE ALSO HATH BORN CHILDREN. Since Milcah was the daughter of his brother Haran,³⁹⁰ this was a tiding to Abraham that his older brother Nahor³⁹¹, Verse 28. had been visited with many children from the daughter of his dead brother Haran.³⁹², Verse 27). Since Nahor was older than Haran, Ramban refers to him as “the older” brother.Now from the text of Scripture it would appear that Abraham had no knowledge of any of them except on that day. If they were visited with children in their younger days, it would be impossible for them not to have been heard until this time for the distance between Mesopotamia and the land of Canaan is not great. Now when Abraham left Haran he was seventy-five years old,³⁹³, 12:4. and Nahor was also elderly and his wife too was not young.³⁹⁴ Indeed, we must say, G-d performed a miracle for them in that they were visited with children in their old age. This is the sense of the verse, Milcah, she also. In the words of our Rabbis, it is said³⁹⁵ that Milcah was visited with children as was her sister Sarah.³⁹⁶)