Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Numbers 26:46/רמב"ן על במדבר כ״ו:מ״ו
אוְשֵׁם בַּת אָשֵׁר שָׂרַח – לְפִי שֶׁהָיְתָה בַּחַיִּים מְנָאָה כָּאן, לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ״י (רש״י על במדבר כ״ו:מ״ו). וְאוּנְקְלוֹס (תרגום אונקלוס על במדבר כ״ו:מ״ו) תִּרְגֵּם: ״וְשׁוֹם בַּת אִתַּת אָשֵׁר סָרַח״. נִתְכַּוֵּן בָּזֶה לוֹמַר כִּי הָיְתָה בַּת יוֹרֶשֶׁת נַחֲלָה, וּלְכָךְ הִזְכִּירָהּ הַכָּתוּב בְּכָאן כַּאֲשֶׁר הִזְכִּיר בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד, וְתִכָּנֵס בִּכְלַל ״לָאֵלֶּה תֵּחָלֵק הָאָרֶץ״ (במדבר כ״ו:נ״ג). וְאִלּוּ הָיְתָה בַּת אָשֵׁר עַצְמוֹ לֹא הָיְתָה יוֹרֶשֶׁת, כִּי בָּנִים זְכָרִים הָיוּ לוֹ, אֲבָל הָיְתָה בַּת אִשְׁתּוֹ מֵאִישׁ אַחֵר, לֹא הָיָה לוֹ בֵּן וְהָיְתָה נַחֲלָתוֹ לְבִתּוֹ. וְיִהְיֶה טַעַם ״וְשֶׂרַח אֲחֹתָם״ (בראשית מו יז), כִּי הָיְתָה אֲחוֹת בָּנָיו לֹא בִתּוֹ. וּלְכָךְ אָמַר "וְשֵׁם בַּת אָשֵׁר שָׂרַח" וְלֹא אָמַר "וּבַת אָשֵׁר", לוֹמַר כִּי הָיָה שְׁמָהּ בַּת אָשֵׁר וְנִקְרֵאת שֶׂרַח. וְאִם הָיְתָה בַּחַיִּים כְּדִבְרֵי רַשִׁ״י, הִנֵּה הִיא כִּבְנוֹת צְלָפְחָד לְנַחֲלָה, וְאִם מֵתָה - מִשְׁפַּחְתָּהּ נָטְלוּ בַּעֲבוּרָהּ. וְעַל דֶּרֶךְ הַפְּשָׁט הָיָה לָהּ מִשְׁפָּחָה גְּדוֹלָה תִּקָּרֵא עַל שְׁמָהּ, וְתִכָּנֵס בִּכְלַל ״אֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחוֹת בְּנֵי אָשֵׁר לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם״ (במדבר כ״ו:מ״ז). אֲבָל לֹא רָצָה הַכָּתוּב לְיַחֲסָם אֶל הָאִשָּׁה שֶׁיֹּאמַר "לְשֶׂרַח מִשְׁפַּחַת שֶׂרַח" וְקִצֵּר הָעִנְיָן:
1AND THE NAME OF THE DAUGHTER OF ASHER WAS SERACH. “Because she was still alive [at the end of Israel’s period of bondage in Egypt, and after forty years in the desert, and was one of the seventy people mentioned in Genesis 46 who went down to Egypt with Jacob], Scripture mentions her here.” This is Rashi’s language. And Onkelos translated [the verse as follows]: “and the name of the daughter of Asher’s wife, was Serach.” By this he intended to say that she was a daughter that possesseth an inheritance83 [in the Land in her own right], and therefore Scripture mentions her here just as it mentions the daughters of Zelophehad,84 for she [Serach] is included amongst [those referred to in the verse], Unto these the Land shall be divided.85 Now had she been the daughter of Asher himself, she would not have inherited [a portion in the Land], since he had male children [as stated in Verse 44]. But she [Serach] was the daughter of his [Asher’s] wife from another man [namely Asher’s wife’s first husband], who did not have a son; therefore his inheritance [in the Land] passed to his daughter. In that case, the reason [why Scripture uses the phrase] and Serach their sister86. Ramban here is pointing out that the verse avoids calling her Asher’s daughter, and describes her especially as the sister of his sons, because she was in actual fact not his daughter at all, but only their half-sister. is because she was a [half-]sister to Asher’s sons, but was not his daughter. And therefore it says [here], And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serach, and it does not say “and Asher’s daughter [was Serach],” because [the intention of the verse] is to say that her name was [i.e., she was known as] “Asher’s daughter,” and she was [actually] called Serach.87 the person known as ‘the daughter of Asher’ was Serach.” Now if she were still alive [at the end of the period of Israel’s sojourn in the desert], as Rashi explained, then she was like the daughters of Zelophehad as regards [receiving] an inheritance [in the Land in her own right], but if she had died [by then, Scripture mentions her here to indicate that] her family received [a portion in the Land] because of her [since she was amongst those who went down to Egypt].According to the simple meaning of Scripture, Serach had a large family which was called by her name, and she is included in the phrase, These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were numbered.88 Scripture, however, did not want to trace their ancestry to a woman, by saying: “Of Serach, the family of the Serachites,” but instead alluded to this matter [briefly].