Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Sforno · Torah

Sforno on Genesis 46:19/ספורנו על בראשית מ״ו:י״ט

אבְּנֵי רָחֵל אֵשֶׁת יַעֲקֹב. שֶׁהָיְתָה עִקַּר כַּוָּנָתוֹ, וְכֵן מִמֶּנָּה נוֹלְדוּ יוֹסֵף וּבִנְיָמִן, שֶׁהָיוּ מְעֻלִּים בַּשְּׁבָטִים, כְּאָמְרָם זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (סוטה לו:) רָאוּי הָיָה יוֹסֵף שֶׁיֵּצְאוּ מִמֶּנּוּ שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שְׁבָטִים כְּיַעֲקֹב, וְכְאָמְרָם זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (שבת נה:) עַל בִּנְיָמִין שֶׁמֵּת בְּעֶטְיוֹ שֶׁל נָחָשׁ, וְכֵן הֵעִיד בְּאָמְרוֹ "לִפְנֵי אֶפְרַיִם וּבִנְיָמִין וּמְנַשֶּׁה עוֹרְרָה אֶת גְּבוּרָתֶךָ" (תהלים פ:ג).
1בני רחל אשת יעקב, who had been the wife whom he had wanted to marry. She had also become the mother of Joseph and Binyamin, the choicest of the tribes as mentioned by our sages in Sotah 36. The text there is: “Joseph by himself was worthy enough to have produced 12 tribes just as his father Yaakov.” The same sages, in Shabbat 55 are on record as saying that Binyamin died only because death had ben decreed for every member of the human race.” [not because he had committed any personal sin which would have accounted for his forfeiting eternal life. Ed.]