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Ramban on Genesis 49:16/רמב"ן על בראשית מ״ט:ט״ז

אדָּן יָדִין עַמּוֹ כְּמוֹ "כִּי יָדִין ה' עַמּוֹ" (דברים לב לו), "אֲרֵי יְדִין ה' דִּינָא דְּעַמֵּהּ", כִּלְשׁוֹן "שָׁפְטֵנִי ה' וְרִיבָה רִיבִי מִגּוֹי לֹא חָסִיד" (תהלים מג א), "רִיב אַלְמָנָה" (ישעיהו א יז), יֹאמַר כִּי דָּן יִקּוֹם נִקְמַת עַמּוֹ כָּל שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּאֶחָד. וְהַטַּעַם כִּי פְּלִשְׁתִּים הֵרֵעוּ לְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּמָּה פְּעָמִים, כִּי בִּימֵי שַׁמְגַּר בֶּן עֲנָת הֵחֵלּוּ (שופטים ג לא), וּבִימֵי יִפְתָּח כָּתוּב (שם י ז) "וַיִּמְכְּרֵם בְּיַד פְּלִשְׁתִּים", וְגַם אַחֲרֵי עַבְדּוֹן בֶּן הִלֵּל (שם יב יג) "וַיִּתְּנֵם ה' בְּיַד פְּלִשְׁתִּים אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה" (שם יג א), וְלֹא הָיָה בַּשּׁוֹפְטִים מִי שֶׁהִכְנִיעָם אוֹ שֶׁנִּצְחָם כְּלָל. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּשַׁמְגַּר "וַיַּךְ אֶת פְּלִשְׁתִּים שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת אִישׁ בְּמַלְמַד הַבָּקָר" (שם ג לא), אֵינֶנָּה נְקָמָה, כִּי אֵינֶנָּה מַכָּה רַבָּה. עַל כֵּן כָּתוּב בְּשִׁמְשׁוֹן "וְהוּא יָחֵל לְהוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיַּד פְּלִשְׁתִּים" (שם יג ה). וְלָקַח נִקְמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵהֶם, כִּי הָרַג מֵהֶם עַם רָב וְכָל סַרְנֵי פְּלִשְׁתִּים הֵמִית. וְהִזְכִּיר "יָדִין", כִּי הָיָה הַנּוֹקֵם הַזֶּה שׁוֹפֵט, לֹא מֶלֶךְ. וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁזֶּה דַּעַת אוּנְקְלוֹס (תרגום אונקלוס על בראשית מ"ט:ט"ז) שֶׁאָמַר "בְּיוֹמוֹהִי יִתְפְּרֵק עַמֵּהּ". וְיִתָּכֵן שֶׁיִּהְיֶה "כְּאַחַד שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" – כַּמְּיֻחָד שֶׁבַּשְּׁבָטִים, הוּא יְהוּדָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בּוֹ "יָדְךָ בְּעֹרֶף אֹיְבֶיךָ" (בראשית מ"ט:ח'), כִּי גַּם זֶה יִגְבַּר עַל אוֹיְבָיו וִינַצְּחֵם:

1DAN SHALL JUDGE ‘YADIN’ HIS PEOPLE. This has the same meaning as in the verse, For the Eternal ‘yadin’ His people,¹⁷⁷ which Onkelos translates as, “For the Eternal will judge the judgment of His people,”¹⁷⁸ just as in the expressions: Be thou my judge, O G-d, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;¹⁷⁹ The cause of the widow.¹⁸⁰ (plead for the widow), which means rivu riv almanah (plead the plea of the widow). Here, likewise, the sense of the verse is: “Dan will judge the judgment of his people.” (T’chelet Mordechai. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 270, Note 39.) The verse is thus stating that Dan will avenge the cause of his people, all the tribes of Israel, as one.¹⁸¹ And the purport of it is as follows: The Philistines wronged all Israel many times. In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath¹⁸² they began their oppression of Israel, and in the days of Jephthah it is written, And He gave them over into the hand of the Philistines,¹⁸³, 10:7. and after the days of Abdon the son of Hillel,¹⁸⁴, 12:13. it is also written, And the Eternal delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.¹⁸⁵, 13:1. There was none among the Judges who subdued them or had any victory at all over them. Now although it is written concerning Shamgar, And he smote the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad,¹⁸² this was not “vengeance,” relatively speaking, as it was not a great slaughter.¹⁸⁶ This is why it is written concerning Samson, And he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines,¹⁸⁷ and he avenged the cause of Israel from them for he slew many people and killed all the lords of the Philistines.¹⁸⁸, 16:27 and 30. Scripture mentions yadin (he will judge), since this avenger was a judge, not a king. It is possible that this interpretation coincides with the opinion of Onkelos, who translated: “In his days his people will be delivered.”¹⁸⁹ as meaning “will avenge.” See also my Hebrew commentary, p. 270.It is possible that the expression, as one of the tribes of Israel, means “as the outstanding one of the tribes,” namely, Judah, concerning whom it is said, Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies,¹⁹⁰ thus implying that this one also¹⁹¹ will be victorious over his enemies and subdue them.