Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Genesis 47:29/רמב"ן על בראשית מ״ז:כ״ט
אוַיִּקְרְבוּ יְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָמוּת פִּתְרוֹנוֹ, כַּאֲשֶׁר קָרְבוּ יְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָמוּת קָרָא לִבְנוֹ לְיוֹסֵף, וְהוּא בַּשָּׁנָה הָאַחֲרוֹנָה לְיָמָיו. וְעִנְיָנוֹ, כִּי הִרְגִּישׁ בְּעַצְמוֹ אֲפִיסַת הַכֹּחוֹת וְיִתְרוֹן הַחֻלְשָׁה וְאֵינֶנּוּ חוֹלֶה, אֲבָל יָדַע כִּי לֹא יַאֲרִיךְ יָמִים, וְלָכֵן קָרָא לִבְנוֹ לְיוֹסֵף, וְאַחֲרֵי שׁוּב יוֹסֵף לְמִצְרַיִם חָלָה, וְהֻגַּד לְיוֹסֵף וּבָא לְפָנָיו עִם שְׁנֵי בָּנָיו כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּבָרְכֵם. וְכֵן "וַיִּקְרְבוּ יְמֵי דָוִד לָמוּת" (מלכים א ב א), וְשָׁם (שם פסוק ב) נֶאֱמַר "אָנֹכִי הֹלֵךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ כָּל הָאָרֶץ", כִּי יָדַע בְּנַפְשׁוֹ כֵּן:
1AND WHEN THE DAYS OF ISRAEL DREW NEAR TO DIE. This means when the time for Israel’s death approached, which was during the last year of his life,9 he called his son Joseph. The purport of it is that he felt exhaustion and undue weakness in himself, but he was not sick. Rather, he knew that he would not live much longer, and therefore he called his son Joseph. Now after Joseph returned to Egypt [from visiting with his father who lived in Goshen, Jacob] became ill, whereupon Joseph was informed, and he came before him with his two sons so that he [Jacob] would bless them.In a similar sense is the verse, Now the days of David drew near that he should die,10 and there it says, I go the way of all the earth,11, Verse 2. [which clearly indicates that the meaning of the first verse is] that David knew in his heart that his end was approaching.