Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 23:1/רמב"ן על בראשית כ״ג:א׳

אמֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על בראשית כ"ג:א'), לְכָךְ נִכְתַּב שָׁנָה בְּכָל כְּלָל וּכְלָל, לוֹמַר לְךָ שֶׁכָּל אֶחָד נִדְרָשׁ לְעַצְמוֹ, בַּת מֵאָה כְּבַת עֶשְׂרִים לְחֵטְא וּבַת עֶשְׂרִים כְּבַת שְׁבַע לְיוֹפִי. וְכֵן כָּתַב בִּשְׁנֵי חַיֵּי אַבְרָהָם (רש"י על בראשית כ"ה:ז'). וְאֵין מִדְרָשׁוֹ זֶה נָכוֹן, שֶׁהֲרֵי בִּשְׁנֵי חַיֵּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל (שם פסוק יז) נֶאֱמַר כִּשְׁנֵי חַיֵּי אַבְרָהָם בְּשָׁוֶה, וְלֹא הָיוּ שָׁוִים בְּטוֹבָה, אֲבָל הָיָה מִתְּחִלָּה רָשָׁע וְעָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה בַּסּוֹף. וְעוֹד כִּי שָׁנָה שָׁנָה לְחַלֵּק מַשְׁמַע, וְאֵינֶנּוּ נִדְרָשׁ לְהַשְׁווֹתָן. אֲבָל "שָׁנָה שָׁנָה וְשָׁנִים" דֶּרֶךְ הַלָּשׁוֹן הוּא, וּמָה שֶׁאָמְרוּ בִּבְרֵאשִׁית רַבָּה (בראשית רבה נ"ח:א') בַּת מֵאָה כְּבַת עֶשְׂרִים לְחֵטְא, לֹא דָּרְשׁוּ כֵּן אֶלָּא מִיִּתּוּר הַלָּשׁוֹן שֶׁחָזַר וְאָמַר "שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָׂרָה", שֶׁכְּלָלָן וְהִשְׁוָה אוֹתָן. וְלֹא יִדְרְשׁוּ כֵן בְּאַבְרָהָם:

1A HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS Rashi comments: “The reason the word ‘years’ is written at every term is that it informs you that each term must be interpreted by itself. At the age of one hundred she was as a woman of twenty as regards sin [for at the age of twenty she had not sinned since she had not reached the age when she was subject to punishment],¹ and at the age of twenty she was as beautiful as when she was seven.” Rashi wrote similarly on the verse, the years of Abraham’s life.²However, this exegesis of his³ is not correct. In the case of the verse, the years of the life of Ishmael,⁴ it is stated exactly as in the verse, the years of Abraham’s life,² whereas these years of Ishmael were not all equally good since Ishmael was wicked in his early years, and only in the end did he repent of his evil ways.⁵ Furthermore, the repetition of the word “year” at every term would seem to indicate an intent to distinguish between them and, thus, should not be interpreted to imply equality. Rather, the use of the word shanah (year) and shanim (years) in this instance is the customary usage of the Hebrew language, while that which the Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah,⁶ “At the age of one hundred she was as a woman of twenty as regards sin,” is an interpretation which they derived only from the redundant expression, the years of the life of Sarah, which includes them all and equates them. The Rabbis would not make a similar interpretation of the verse concerning Abraham [since in his case Scripture does not conclude with a similar comprehensive expression].