Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 27:37/רמב"ן על בראשית כ״ז:ל״ז

אוְאֶת כָּל אֶחָיו נָתַתִּי לוֹ לַעֲבָדִים אֵינֶנּוּ בִּרְכַּת "הֱוֵה גְבִיר לְאַחֶיךָ", שֶׁכְּבָר אָמַר "הֵן גְּבִיר שַׂמְתִּיו לָךְ", אֲבָל יִתָּכֵן שֶׁיִּהְיֶה הוּא הַגְּבִיר וְלֹא יִהְיוּ הֵם עֲבָדִים, כְּעִנְיָן "כִּי יְהוּדָה גָּבַר בְּאֶחָיו" (דהי"א ה ב), אֲבָל אָמַר "נָתַתִּי לוֹ לַעֲבָדִים" מִמַּאֲמָרוֹ "וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְךָ בְּנֵי אִמֶּךָ", כִּי הוּא הִשְׁתַּחֲוָאַת הָעֶבֶד לַאֲדוֹנָיו, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר "יַעַבְדוּךָ עַמִּים" וְיִכְפֹּל "וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְךָ לְאֻמִּים". וְטַעַם "וְאֶת כָּל אֶחָיו" כְּטַעַם "אַחֶיךָ" וּ"בְנֵי אִמֶּךָ", יַזְכִּירֵם בִּלְשׁוֹן רַבִּים לִרְמֹז עַל כָּל זַרְעוֹ שֶׁל עֵשָׂו. וְרַבִּי אַבְרָהָם אָמַר, בְּנֵי הַפִּילַגְשִׁים:

1AND ALL HIS BRETHREN HAVE I GIVEN HIM AS SERVANTS. This is not the blessing, Be lord over thy brethren,²³² for Isaac had already said, Behold, I have made him thy lord.²³³ However, it is possible that Jacob be the lord and they not be his servants, just as the verse says, For Judah ‘gavar’ above his brethren.²³⁴ does not indicate a master and servant relationship. Similarly, the word gvir (lord) does not indicate such a relationship. But the source for his saying, I have given to him as servants, comes from his expression, And let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee,²³² for this refers to the bowing of the servant to his masters, just as he says, Let people serve thee,²³² and then repeats, And nations bow down to thee.²³²The meaning of the expression, And all his brothers,²³⁵ is the same as that of thy brothers and thy mother’s sons.²³² These he mentions in the plural in order to allude to all of Esau’s offspring. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra says that it refers to the children of Abraham’s concubines.²³⁶