Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Genesis 46:18/רמב"ן על בראשית מ״ו:י״ח
אאֵלֶּה בְּנֵי זִלְפָּה וְגוֹ' בְּנֵי רָחֵל אֵשֶׁת יַעֲקֹב וְגוֹ' דֶּרֶךְ הַכָּתוּב לִמְנוֹת בְּנֵי הַגְּבִירוֹת יַחַד בַּתְּחִלָּה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר בְּסֵדֶר וַיִּשְׁלַח יַעֲקֹב (לעיל לה כג-כו) וּבְסֵדֶר וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (שמות א ב-ד), אוֹ לִמְנוֹתָם כְּתוֹלְדֹתָם, הַבְּכֹר כִּבְכֹרָתוֹ וְהַצָּעִיר כִּצְעִרָתוֹ, כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה בְּבִרְכָתָם בְּסֵדֶר וַיְחִי יַעֲקֹב. אֲבָל בְּכָאן מִפְּנֵי שֶׁבָּא לִמְנוֹת מִסְפָּרָם כִּי בְּשִׁבְעִים נֶפֶשׁ יָרְדוּ מִצְרַיְמָה, הִקְדִּים הַמְרֻבֶּה בִּנְפָשׁוֹת. וּלְכָךְ הִזְכִּיר רָחֵל בְּתוֹךְ הַלְּחֵנוֹת, וְהֻצְרַךְ לְהַזְכִּירָהּ בְּכָבוֹד, וְאָמַר "אֵשֶׁת יַעֲקֹב", כַּאֲשֶׁר הִזְכַּרְתִּי לְמַעְלָה (לא לג מד כז):
1THESE ARE THE SONS OF ZILPAH, etc. 19. THE SONS OF RACHEL JACOB’s WIFE, etc. It is customary for Scripture to first enumerate the sons of the mistresses together, just as it said in the Seder Vayishlach Yaakov216 and in the Seder V’eileh Shmoth bnei Yisrael,217 or else to enumerate them according to the order of their birth, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth,218 as Scripture did when they were blessed by Jacob in the Seder Vayechi Yaakov.219 and in Shmoth, or according to their age, as it did in Vayechi. Ramban is attempting to explain why they are mentioned here after Zilpah’s children. Here, however, because Scripture’s purpose was to enumerate their numbers and to state that with seventy souls they went down to Egypt, it gave precedence to those who were more numerous. This was why Scripture mentioned Rachel among the concubines, and hence it was necessary to mention her with respect, saying, Jacob’s wife, as I have mentioned above.220