meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Rashbam/Torah/Rashbam on Genesis/English/Sefaria Community Translation.txt"}
text: Rashbam on Genesis
  רשב"ם על בראשית
  Sefaria Community Translation
  
  
  Rashbam on Genesis
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  (1) The sophisticated persons will understand that all the words of our Rabbis and their interpretations are solid and true. And this is what is said in Mas. Shabbat (63a), "I was 18 years old, and I did not know that Scripture never departs from its straightforward meaning. Essentially, the laws and interpretations derive from superfluities in Scripture or from variations in language, where the plain sense of Scripture is written in language from which one can derive the essence of the interpretation. For example [Gen. 2:4], "Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created [b'hibar'am]," and the Sages expounded "b'Avraham" from the lengthening of the expression, since there was no need to write "b'hibar'am." And now I will explain the interpretations of the early scholars on this verse, to make clear to people why I did not see fit to interpret as they did.
     Some interpret, "In the beginning [barishonah] God created the heavens and the earth." One cannot say this, because the water came first, as it is written (v.2), "a wind from God sweeping over the water." Furthermore, it is not written "barishonah" but rather "b'reishit," in the construct state, as in (Gen. 10:10), "The beginning of [reishit] his kingdom was Babel."
     And the one who interprets it like (Hosea 1:2), "When Adonai began to speak to Hoshea," in other words, "At the beginning of God's creating of the heavens," in other words, when God had not yet created heavens and earth, "the earth was unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water," the conclusion is that the water was created first. This is also nonsense, as it should not have written "the earth was unformed and void," because, since it had not yet been created, it should not have called it "earth" before the formation of the waters, since the waters came first. 
     But this is the essential straightforward meaning, according to the way of Scripture: that it is standard to anticipate and explain a matter which is unnecessary, for the sake of a matter tiat is mentioned below in another place. As it is written (Gen. 9:18), "Shem, Ham, and Yafet," and it is written (ibid.), "And Ham was the father of K'na'an." But this is because it is written below, "Cursed be K'na'an," and, had it not been explained initially who K'na'an is, we would not know why Noah cursed him. [Similarly,] "He [R'uven] lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel heard about it." And nothing is written here to the effect that Ya'akov said anything about R'uven. But since, at the time of his death, he said [about R'uven] (Gen. 49:4), "Unstable as water, you shall excel no longer; For when you mounted your father’s bed, You brought disgrace—my couch he mounted," it says in advance, "Israel heard about it," so that you will not be surprised when you see that he rebukes him for this at the end of his days. And similarly in many places.
   Also, this whole passage is about the work of the six days of Creation; Moshe our Master puts it in advance to explain to you what the Holy One, blessed be He, said at the time of the Giving of the Torah (Exod. 20:7-10), "Remember the Shabbat and sanctify it, ... for in six days, Adonai made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day." And this is why it is written (Gen. 1:31), "... and there was morning, the sixth day" -- that sixth that was the end of the six days that the Holy One, blessed be He, mentioned at the time of the Giving of the Torah. That is why Moshe said this to Israel, to inform them that the word of the Holy One, blessed be He, is true.
     And lest you imagine that this world had always been constructed as you see it now, full of all good things? It was not thus; rather, "When God began to create, etc.," in other words, in the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth, in other words, at the time when the upper heavens and the earth had already been created, whether for a long time or for a short time, then (v.2) "the earth was etc."
  
  Verse 2
  
  "Then the earth was" – that [earth which] was built already 
  "was void and empty" – there was nothing in it, as it is written in Jeremiah, “I saw the earth and, behold, it was void and empty, and [I looked] to the heavens, and there was no light; I saw and there was no man, nor bird of the heavens, nor beast wandering, going forth” – this is <i>tohu vavohu</i>, destruction, without dwellers.
   “and darkness upon the waters” – this is (Jeremiah) “and toward the heavens and there was no light”
  “and wind/spirit…blowing upon the waters” – the wind was necessary for what is written further on, “and G-d said, ‘let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one spot”, for it was by the wind that the waters were gathered” - just as the Red Sea was split so that the dry land was visible, by means of “and G-d led the sea with a powerful East wind all that day, turning the sea into dry land, and the waters were split”.
  
  Verse 3
  
  “And G-d said, ‘Let there be light’” – to fix that which was mentioned above – “and darkness upon the face of the deep”.
  
  Verse 4
  
  “And G-d saw the light” – He looked at its appearance [and saw] that it was beautiful. And similarly, “And she saw him, that he was good” – she looked at Moshe born at six months, like Samuel – at the turn of the year – and she saw that he was good and beautiful – his indications (<i> simanav</i>, fingernails and hair were grown – so she hid him three months, that is, until the end of nine months, for behold, she saw him and knew that he was good and beautiful regarding his indications, he was not miscarried.
  “And G-d separated between the light and the dark” – such that 12 hours did the day last, and then 12 hours night. Light first, and afterwards, darkness. For, behold, the beginning of the creation of the worlds was with the statement, “Let there be light”. And any darkness that preceded that, as it is written, “and darkness on the face of the deep” – this was not night.
  
  Verse 5
  
  “And G-d called the light day” – ask yourself: according to the straightforward meaning, why did G-d need to call the light "day" at the moment of its creation? Rather, this is what Moshe, our master, wrote: every place in the words of the Omnipresent where we see “day” and "night", such as “day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22)– that is [referring to] the light and darkness created on the first day – Hashem calls them in all places “day” and “night”.  And likewise for every “And G-d called” written in this passage. And likewise, “And Moshe called Hoshea bin Nun: Yehoshua” (Numbers 13:15) [referring to] what was stated earlier “for the tribe of Ephraim – Hoshea bin Nun” (Numbers 13:8) – he’s the same one whom Moshe called “Yehoshua bin Nun”, whom he appointed previously as servant in his house. For, it is the manner of kings when appointing people over their house to give them new names, as it is stated, “And Par’oh called Yosef’s name <i>Tzafnat Pa’aneach</i>” (Genesis 45:45), [or] “and he called Daniel <i>Belshatzar</i> (Daniel 1:7).
  "And the darkness He called night" - Light is always first, and afterwards, darkness.
  “And it was evening, and it was morning” – It is not written here, “And it was night, and it was day”, but rather, “and it was evening, and it was morning” – the first day became evening and the sun set, and it became morning, the morning following the night, for the dawn broke” – behold, one day was completed from the six that Hashem spoke of in the Ten Commandments, and afterwards began the second day: “G-d said, ‘let there be a firmament’”. The text does not come to state that the evening and the morning are part of a single day, for it only needs to explain how there were six days – that the morning broke and the night was finished: behold, one days was completed and another day began.
  
  Verse 6
  
  “And G-d said, ‘Let there be a firmament’” – after the first days was completed, the next morning, G-d said…
  “Firmament” (<i>rakia</i>) – in the passive voice, like <i>ashir</i> (“rich”), meaning “made rich”, or <i>chasid</i> (“pious”), meaning “made pious”. For, from the earth up until the supernal heavens there was water, as it is written, “(the spirit of G-d) hovering upon the face of the waters”, and now the Holy One (praised be He!) divided them at the middle and made a hammered-out plate extending from east to west and from north to south to make a distinction between the supernal waters. Now since he didn’t complete the work of the waters until the third day, when dry land appeared, it does not state “it was good” on the second day, but on the third day it is stated twice, “it was good” – once for the work of the waters and once for the emergence of the trees and grasses.
  “between water and water” – so that half would be above and half would be below.
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  “And G-d called the firmament ‘heaven’” – as I explained above, that is, it is called <i>shamayim</i> everywhere in the Torah, and the supernal waters were included in the heavens of the heavens and all their host, [as in] “indeed, to Hashem are the heavens, the heavens of the heavens, etc.”
  “And it was evening, and it was morning, a second day” – the day inclined toward evening, after which was the morning after the second day, behold, the second of the six days spoken of by the Holy One (praised be He!) in the Ten Commandments, and now the third day began that morning.
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  “And G-d said, ‘Let gather’” – as I explained above, by means of the wind, for that is why it is said, “A wind/spirit of G-d hovering..”, as with the splitting of the Red Sea. For just as He divided the supernal waters, separating them from the lower waters by means of the firmament, likewise did He gather the lower waters by means of the wind.
  “’and the dry land shall be seen’” – that is to say, the land created together with the supernal waters before light was created, as I explained above, whether a longer time before or a brief time.
  
  Verse 10
  
  “(and He called) the dry land <i>eretz</i> (“earth”) – as I explained above – the dry land is what is called “earth” throughout the Torah.
  
  Verse 11
  
  “<i>deshe</i>” – all types of grasses together are called “<i>deshe</i>”, and each kind by itself is called “<i>’eisev</i>”
  “making fruit for its kind” – according to the straightforward sense, “<i>l’mino</i>” was said regarding the grasses. For “<i>l’mino</i>” stated regarding trees making fruit is referring also to the <i>eisev</i> seeding its seed.
  “making fruit by its kind” – an apple tree makes apples and not dates.
  “whose seed is in it” – inside the apple there are seeds from which can be planted a tree for all kinds of fruit.”
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  “let there be luminaries” – it is the way of Scripture to use a singular [verb form] in place of plural, like “And there were (singular form) men who were impure”. Its meaning is: There was an event – and what was it? Luminaries.
  “in the firmament of the heaven” – which was beaten out and spread under the supernal heavens.
  “in the firmament” – since it is attached to the word following it, that is to say, the firmament of< the heavens, therefore it is vocalized with a <i>chataf</i>. Similarly with [the word] <i>katzir</i> (“harvest”) – when it is attached, it will say, “until the end of the barley harvest (<i>k’tzir</i> and the wheat harvest (<i>k’tzir</i>. We have already said above: “To differentiate between day and night” – we have already said above “and G-d divided between the light and the darkness”, but still, the actual end of night and beginning of day is not known except by sunrise, and similarly, the end of day and the beginning of night is not known except by sunset and [when] the starts come out – to distinguish between the beginning of the day and the beginning of the night.
  “And they will be for signs and for appointed times” – as it is written regarding Hezekiah, “this will be for you a sign from Hashem, etc….the shadow will go ten steps etc…” – behold, the sun was for him a sign… “I’ve set wonders in the heavens and upon the land, blood and fire, etc…” and it is written, “do not fear the signs of heaven”.
  “And for appointed times” – from the path of the moon, which is renewed every 29 ½ days, the appointed days of the year and the dates for legal documents are known, as it is written, “He made the moon for appointed times”
  “and for days” – for behold, from one appearance of starts until the next is one day.
  “and years” – four seasons of the year constituted a complete year.
  
  Verse 15
  
  “and they shall be for luminaries” – they will serve to illuminate the world.
  
  Verse 16
  
  “the small” – of the two great luminaries
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  “And to distinguish between light and dark” – between the beginning of light and the beginning of dark. Sunrise is the beginning of light; the appearance of stars is the beginning of dark.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  “will fly upon the earth” – even though the creation of fowls was from the water, their growth and life will be upon the earth.
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  “The great crocodiles” – even though the Holy One said, “let them swarm”, referring to the fishes which are not so large, nevertheless, He also created the crocodiles, mentioned elsewhere, with them – “Leviathan – the straight serpent, and Leviathan, the crooked serpent”, spoken of in the prophets, as well as in Job: “Shall you drawn Leviathan on your hook?”
  
  Verse 22
  
  “G-d  blessed them “ – you find that He blessed all forms of life – fishes and birds, man and beasts domestic and wild.
  “Fill the waters” – [<i>mil’u</i> is] a command form of the simple (non-intensive) pattern, similar to “Say <i>imru</i> to G-d”, “Chase <i>ridfu</i> quickly”, but <i>mal’u</i> is the command form for the intensified pattern, such as “Speak <i>dabb’ru</i> to the entire assembly of the children of Israel”, “Strengthen <i>chazz’ku</i> weak hands.
  “Will multiply” – [&lt;<i>yirev</i> is]similar to <i>yirbeh</i>, and like [<i>yifen</i> is] similar to <i>yifneh</i>. Similarly all simple verbs ending with <i>hey</i>, such as <i>panah, kanah, banah, machah</i>, it will say <i>vayifen, vayiken, vayiven, vayimach</i> 
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  “And the creatures of the earth” – [<i>chayto</i> similar to “a fountain (<i>ma’yano</i>) of water”, “the son of  (<i>b’no</i>) Be’or”, with an extra <i>vav</i>
  “And it was so” – that is to say: thus it was forever
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  “and He said” – to His angels
  “Let us make man” – like we find with Michayahu ben Yimla in Kings, and in Yeshayahu, “Who shall I send, who will go for <u>us</u>”, and also in Job.
  “after our likeness” – regarding our minds. Behold, when a person sins [lit. – “is ruined”], it is written, “he is compared, he is likened to a beast”
  “and they shall rule” – <i>urdu</i>, from <i>radah</i> like <i>vaya’asu</i> (“they shall do”) is from <i>asah</i>; <i>bakhah</i> - <i>vayivkhu</i>,; <i>shavah</i>, - <i>vayishbu</i>
  
  Verse 27
  
  “in his image” – the image of man – that was made in the image of <i>elohim</i> - angels. Now don’t be surprised that the creation of angels was not made explicit, for Moshe wrote here neither angels, nor Gehenna, nor the Work of the Chariot, but rather those things we see in the world and are mentioned in the Ten Commandments, for that’s the reason for [recounting] all of the Work of the six days, as I explained above.
  “male and female He created them” – as it makes explicit later on: “and He took one of his sides” – general, followed by specific (<i>klal ufrat</i>). And thus did I find in the 32 Rules of Interpretation [for narrative passages] of Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosi the Galilean, who learned the rule of <i>klal ufrat</i> from this verse.
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  “and subdue it” – non-intensified, like “and the land was subdued before them”. Now since it is a command form in a non-intensified pattern, therefore [the word is] non-intensified, but <i>kibshuha</i> [the same word with an intensifying mark in the middle letter] is a past-tense form, like “collect (<i>kibb’tzu</i>) [in a] bowl”.
  
  Verse 29
  
  “behold, I have given to you” – I am giving to you now, <i>doinas</i> [in Old French]. And similarly, “I have raised my hand” – I am raising; “I have given the money for the field” - I am giving.
  
  Verse 30
  
  “for all the beasts of the earth, etc.” – but flesh was not permitted to the first man, until Noach came and [G-d] said to him, “like the vegetables and grasses, I have given to you everything”.
  
  Verse 31
  
  “And it was evening, and it was morning” – then was the sixth day completed, as well as the [entire] beginning.
  “and G-d saw everything that He had made and behold, it was very good” – He looked carefully at all of His work and all of His actions which He had done [to see] if there was anything in them which needed perfecting, and behold, all were beautiful and perfected. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  (8) And they heard- there are many medrashic agadot, and they have already been organized in Bereishit Raba and in other Medrashot. I have only come to (arrive at or help explain) pshuto shel mikra, the plain meaning of the text, and to (bring at times) the agadic works that settle the words of the Torah, each word in its place.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Verse 1
  
  (1) ADONAI APPEARED TO HIM. How? In that three men came to him who were angels. For in many places where an angel appears, it refers to him in language of Sh'china [divinity], as it is written (Ex. 23:20-21) "[I am sending an angel] ... since My Name is in him" -- His messenger is like Him. Similarly (Ex. 3:2)), "An angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush" and it is written there (v.4), "When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look ...." 
  (2) IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY. What was the need to write "the day"? To inform you, because with respect to Lot, it is written (Gen. 19:1), "The two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening," and for that reason Lot said to them (v.2), "turn aside to your servant’s house to spend the night," but Avraham, because they came to him in the heat of the day, in the morning, when it is not normal for wayfarers to spend the night, but rather to eat and to move on, thus he did not speak to them or spending the night, but (18:5), "that you may refresh yourselves; then go on."
  
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  SEEING THAT [KI AL KEN] YOU HAVE COME YOUR SERVANT’S WAY. Likewise (Gen. 19:8), "since they have come under the shelter of my roof" -- because that [asher] they have come. It is the practice of Scripture to omit "asher" in most cases.
  
  Verse 6
  
  CHOICE FLOUR.  Wheat flour, for wherever it says "solet," it is from wheat, as is expounded from the consecration offering, where it is written (Ex. 29:2), "make these of choice wheat flour" [solet hitim].
  
  Verse 7
  
  THEN ABRAHAM RAN TO THE HERD.  Since he told them (v.5) "a morsel of bread," a small quantity, since their journey required them to go, he had to run and hurry, since he said to them a little and he did much.  All this was written to recount Abraham's importance [magnanimity].
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  WHERE IS YOUR WIFE SARAH?  They asked even though they knew, just as we find with the Sh'china [God Himself], Who said to Adam (Gen. 3:9), "Where are you?"  Likewise with Bil'am (Num. 22:9): "Who are these people with you?"  And similarly Isaiah, who knew, asked Hizkiyahu about the messengers of Evil-Merodach [actually, Merodach-baladan -- see Isa. 39:1-4].  And all of this is by way of opening conversation.
  
  Verse 10
  
  (1) KA'ET HAYAH. At the time for giving birth [i.e., after nine months], as it is written (Micah 5:2), "at the time of giving birth she has given birth." And likewise in halacha, it is called yoledet. And somewhat similarly is (Ex. 1:19), "ki hayot heina" [JPS: "they are vigorous"'; alt.: "they are giving birth"] similar to a midwife.
  
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  Verse 14
  
  IS TOO WONDROUS FOR ADONAI Who sent us to you ANYTHING. And likewise: (Gen. 19:23-24) "Adonai rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire from Adonai out of heaven" -- the first [mention of God] in the verse is Gavriel, and the second in the verse is the Holy One, blessed be He. And it is so stated explicitly in the Agada book [Gen. R. 51:2].
  
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  SHALL THE JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH -- Who sent you here -- NOT DO JUSTICE?
  
  Verse 26
  
  ADONAI SAID. The angel [said]. [Similarly,] (v.22) "standing before Adonai" -- before the angel, to make a request of him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  HAS SENT US.  The strong structure [binyan pi'el].  And even though every "sending" of emissaries and their returning is written "vayishlah" in the weak structure [binyan kal], in the case of these, it is written in the strong structure, because this is a "shiluah" (letting go) of destruction, as it is written (Deut. 32:24), "fanged beasts will I let loose (ashalah -- binyan pi'el) against them"; (Ps. 78:45) "He inflicted (y'shalah -- binyan pi'el) upon them swarms of insects."
  
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  DO NOT LOOK BEHIND.  Because of the distress of your sons-in-law who are in the city.  And further, because one who looks back is delayed on the journey.  And also that one should not watch angels and their activities unnecessarily, as it is written (Jud. 13:22),  "We shall surely die, because we have seen God."  And likewise Ya'akov (Gen. 32:31), "For I have seen God face to face, and my life has been spared."
  
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  UNTIL THIS DAY.  At the time of Moshe.  Similarly, each instance of "until this day" means until the days of the writer who wrote the material.
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) WHEN [HE] MADE ME WANDER.  He caused me to be exiled from my place, as it says (Gen. 12:1), "Go forth from your native land."  And this is the meaning of what is written (Deut. 26:5), "My father was a wandering Aramean," because he was exiled from there.  For "He made me wander" and "My father was a wandering" are parallel expressions, as it is written (Ps. 119:176), "I have strayed like a lost sheep," (Jer. 50:6) "My people were lost sheep: their shepherds led them astray."  
  (2) SAY TO ME [LI].  Say about me [alai].
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) AFTER [AHAR] THESE MATTERS. Wherever it says "Ahar these matters," it is tied to the section immediately above. "Ahar these matters" -- when Avram killed the kings -- the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Do not be afraid, Avram" (Gen. 15:1) of the nations. "And it was ahar [actually, "aharei"] these matters" -- the birth of Yitz'hak -- "that Avraham was told, etc. , and B'tu'el fathered Rivka" (Gen. 22:20-23). Likewise (Esth. 3:1): "Ahar these matters" -- that Mordechai informed about Bigtan and Teresh -- "King Ahashveirosh elevated Haman" who wanted to kill Mordechai, but the fact that he [Mordechai] had saved the king availed Mordechai and Haman was impaled. So here: "Ahar the matters" -- that Avraham had made a covenant with Avimelech, him and Avraham's grandson and great-grandson (Gen. 21:23) [actually, with him and his (Avimelech's) grandson and great-grandson], and he [Avraham] gave him seven ewes, and the Holy One, blessed be He, had become angry because of this, because the Philistines' land had been given to Avraham, and also, in connection with Yehoshua, lots were cast for the five districts of the Philistines (Josh. 13:3, 14:2) as part of the lots of Israel, and the Holy One, blessed be He, had commanded regarding them (Deut. 20:16), "do not let a soul remain alive," and therefore, 
  (2) GOD TRIED AVRAHAM. He rebuked him and vexed him, as it is written (Job 4:2), "If one ventures a word with you, will it be too much?"; (Exod. 17:7) "because they tried Adonai," "Massah and Meribah"; (Ps. 26:2) "Probe me, Adonai, and try me." In other words, you took excessive pride in the son whom I gave you, to make a covenant between all of you and their [the Philistines'] descendants. so now go and offer him up and see what this making of a covenant has gained for you. And afterward, I found the same idea in Midrash Sh'mu'el: : "The Ark of the LORD remained in the territory of the Philistines seven months." (I Sam. 6:1). It is written (Gen. 21:30), "You are to accept these seven ewes from me." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "You gave him seven ewes! By your life, his descendants will wage seven wars against your descendants and will defeat them." Another matter: "By your life, his descendants will kill these seven righteous ones among your descendants: Shimshon, Hofni, Pinhas, Shaul, and his three sons." Another matter: "By your life, his descendants will destroy these seven dwellings: the tent of meeting, Gilgal, Nov, Shiloh, Giv'on, and the Temple, twice. Another matter: the Ark wandered in the Philistine territory for seven months....
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) GER V'TOSHAV ANOCHI. I have come from a foreign land to dwell here, and I have settled with you. Thus, I have no ancestral burial plots here. 
  (2) GIVE ME A BURIAL SITE. Allow me to acquire land here and agree, all you city residents, to permit me to bury my dead from my family. For a burial site can exist only with the agreement of all city residents, and the text here shows this, when Avraham gave the money to Efron, [the field] (vv. 17-18) "passed to Avraham as his possession." And after that (vv. 19-20), "Avraham buried [Sarah]" and the field passed "to Avraham as a burial site from" all "the Hittites." ...
  (3) MIL'FANAI [FROM BEFORE ME].  I will take it out from before me to bury it.
  
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  (2) IN THE CHOICEST OF OUR BURIAL PLACES. In the place where we bury the chiefs of the land, and here is a grave already prepared.
  
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  (2) AND THE CAVE THAT IS IN IT. You are asking only for the cave that is at the end of the field, and by sale; I am giving you as a gift the whole field and the cave.
  
  
  
  
  
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  1 He was advanced in years.  This is to say, the time had come to marry off his son during his lifetime.
  2. And God blessed Abraham [with everything] - this is to inform/explain to us about what is said in [the text in] front of us, that Abraham did not send his servant to take a wife [for Isaac] on account of lack of women in the Land of Canaan or because no one wanted to mate with him, because Abraham had been blessed with everything and the entire world desired to mate with Isaac, but because he only wanted a spouse for Isaac from his family.  This is why Abraham's servant said: "And Adonai blessed my master very much and he has become wealthy."  And it is for this reason that the text needed to explain first that God had blessed Abraham "with everything," as in a similar instance: "And Ham was the father of Canaan" (Genesis 9:18).  
  
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  PUT YOUR HAND UNDER MY THIGH.  And similarly with Yosef when he swore to Ya'akov.  The making of a covenant or an oath of a son, or of a slave to his master was in this fashion, for they shared the aspect of subjugation, and it is thus written (Mal. 1:6), "A son should honor his father, and a slave his master."  However, handshaking or cutting an object in two for a covenant and passing between the pieces is found with other persons.
  
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  BUT TO MY LAND.  And not to those who are not my relatives, but rather to MY KINFOLK who are in my land you should go.
  
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  SHALL I THEN TAKE YOUR SON BACK.  To the land of your ancestors; even though Avraham's descendant had not been there, [the text] calls it "returning" because Avraham had been there.
  
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  ADONAI  THE GOD OF HEAVEN.  Who brought me here and gave my descendants this land, I know that He does not want to separate my descentants from here, for if He did, why would the Holy One, blessed be He, want to bring me here?  ...
  Therefore, I know that He will send His angel to make Your way prosper, to fulfill His promise to me.  
  
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  THE ONE WHOM YOU HAVE DECREED. In other words, the one whom you have chosen for Yitzhak, _she_ shall say this to me, and not another woman whom you have not chosen.
  
  
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  PLACE FOR US TO SPEND THE NIGHT.  A place for us in your house.  And why do we need it?  
  for lodging, for a place to spend the night.  It is a noun, like (Deut. 25:1), "When there is a dispute [riv] between people," from (Gen. 31:36) "he took up his grievance with [vayarev] Laban."  [Another example of such a noun is] (Deut. 17:8) "Between civil law claim and defense [bein din l'din]."  It [lalin] is a noun from (Gen. 32:14) "he spent the night [vayalen] there."  But when she said (v.25), "also room to spend the night [lalun]," its meaning is "a place for your bodies to spend the night," as in (Gen. 31:35) "to rise" [lakum] or (Ex. 4:31), "to return to Egypt" [lashuv].  If she had said  "also a place for you" as they did, "a place for us," she shoud have said "lalin" as they did, as the meaning would have been "also a place for you" for what? "as a place of lodging."  But "lalun" would not need any explanation, for the meaning would be "a place for people to spend the night [lalun]."  This is the essential meaning, for one who is precise in Hebrew grammar.
  
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  UNLOADED.  As in (I Kings 20:11), "Let not him who girds on his sword boast like him who ungirds it" -- he loosened their bindings.
  
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  I SAID: O LORD, GOD OF MY MASTER ABRAHAM, ETC. The whole lengthy exposition was to convince them that (v.50) "The matter was decreed by the Holy One, blessed be He."
  
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  ON THE RIGHT WAY.  For the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, to perform lovingkindness for Avraham and his son have been confirmed.
  
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  WE CANNOT SPEAK TO YOU BAD OR GOOD.  Neither the undoing nor the doing depends on our will, for it is involuntary, whether we will it or not, for the Holy One, blessed be He, has acted, for the power is in His hand.
  
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  OBJECTS OF SILVER AND GOLD.  Women's ornaments of silver and gold, as it is written (Num. 31:50), "such as each of us came upon, articles of gold: armlets, etc."  And it is written (Ex. 3:22), "Each woman shall borrow from her neighbor and the lodger in her house objects of silver and gold, and clothing, and you shall put these on your sons and daughters."
  
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  NOW THAT THE LORD HAS MADE MY ERRAND SUCCESSFUL.  The Holy One, blessed be He, does not desire that there be any delay, since it is not really success if matters are delayed.
  
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  (1) It is common courtesy to say such.  Even though the Holy One, blessed be He, desires this union, they nevertheless said to her, "Will you go with this man, or with another person after a year or ten months, for, as we have learned, it was customary to give a virgin 12 months to equip herself.  ...
  (2) SHE SAID, "I WILL GO."  I am not concerned to delay in order to adorn myself.
  
  
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  MAY YOU GROW INTO THOUSANDS OF MYRIADS; MAY YOUR OFFSPRING SEIZE THE GATES OF THEIR FOES.  From you shall come all those children about whom it was said, at the time of the Akeidah (Gen. 22:17), "your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes"  This is from the commentary of R' Yosef bar Shim'on Kara.
  
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  YITZHAK HAD JUST COME BACK FROM THE VICINITY.  As in (Gen. 10:19) "as far as S'dom."  Yitzhak, on the same day when the slave arrived, had come from the well of Be'er L'hai Ro'i.  
  (2) For Yitzhak was living in the land of the Negev, which was where Be'er L'hai Ro'i was, as it is written (Gen. 16:7), "the spring on the road to Shur," and it is written (Gen. 20:1), "Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negeb and settled between Kadesh and Shur."  And because he came from there on that day, and he did not know what his workers were doing, and they were planting gardens and orchards,  
  
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  YITZHAK WENT OUT LASUAH IN THE FIELD.  As it is written (Gen. 2:5), "all the shrubs [siah] of the field," in other words, to plant trees and to see after matters of his workers.  And then, when he was in the field, he saw the camels coming, and he went to meet them, to see whether they were his fathers camels, which the slave was driving.
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) THIS IS THE STORY OF ISAAC ... ABRAHAM BEGOT ISAAC. According to the plain sense of the scripture, since it says above regarding Yishma'el (v.25), "Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian bore." But here, Yitz'hak was Avraham's principal son, as he begat Yitz'hak from his full wife, as it is written (Gen. 21:12), "for it is through Yitz'hak that your progeny will be accounted." And likewise in (I) Chronicles, after it wrote (1:28) that the sons of Avraham were Yitz'hak and Yishma'el, and (1:32) about the sons of Keturah, it goes back and writes flatly (1:34), "Avraham begat Yitz'hak." 
  
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  (1) ADONAI ANSWERED HER. through a prophet. 
  (2) TWO NATIONS [GOYIM]. Do not fear, because your pain of pregnancy is on account of twins in your belly, for the pain of pregnancy with two is greater than that of pregnancy with one. 
  (3) AND TWO L'UMIM. Kingdoms, as it is written (Ps. 148:11), "All kings of the earth and all l'umim" -- this is duplicative language. But "umim" is peoples. And since the prophet had begun to tell her, he finished and specified all of the future events. 
  (4) AND THE OLDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER. And that is why you love Ya'akov, because the Holy One, blessed be He, loves him, as it is written (Mal. 1:2), "I love Ya'akov."
  
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  (1) ADMONI. Roux in O.F.
  
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  Edom: The word Edom means red. Esau was ruddy and sold his birthright for the sake of red food. Thus, the name Edom is a term of contempt.
  
  
  
  
  
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  FOR TO YOU AND YOUR DESCENDANTS ETC. And it was because I gave him [Avraham] and his descendants this land that I commanded him to leave his native land, as it is written there (12:1), "to the land that I will show you."
  
  
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  (1) BECAUSE AVRAHAM HEARKENED TO MY VOICE.  Regarding the Akeidah, as it is written (22:18), "Because you hearkened to my voice."  
  (2) AND KEPT MY CHARGE.  For example, circumcision, about which it is written (17:9), "You shall keep my covenant."  
  (3) MY COMMANDMENTS.  For example, the commandment of the eight days [of circumcision], as it is written (21:4), "as God had commanded him."  
  (4) MY LAWS AND MY TEACHINGS.  According to the basic plain meaning, the deducible laws, such as theft, sexual sins, coveting, civil laws, and hospitality, all of which were practiced before the Giving of the Torah, but were renewed and explained to Israel, and they made a covenant to affirm them.
  
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  (1) WHEN SOME TIME HAD PASSED.  After this time, he did not take so much care to avoid conducting himself with his wife in a marital manner, since they had not evinced intent to steal her from him.  (2) FONDLING [M'TZAHEK].  Intercourse, as it is written (Gen. 39:17), "The Hebrew slave whom you brought into our house came to me to dally with me [l'tzahek bi]," and elsewhere (Gen. 39:14) it says, "[to dally with -- l'tzahek -- us] This one came to lie [lishkav] with me."
  
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  A HUNDREDFOLD [SH'ARIM].  A field that, if they estimated about it [she'shi'aruhu] that it would produce one kor, it would produce 100 korin.
  
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  THE PHILISTINES STOPPED THEM UP.  So that his children would not have them after his death.  It was necessary to write this because, after departing from there, Yitzhak returned and dug them (see vv. 17-18).  This [providing information in anticipation of something to be told later] is analogous to (Gen. 9:18), "Ham being the father of Canaan."
  
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  FROM THERE HE WENT UP TO BEER-SHEBA.  Because he was afraid of them, and this is proved by the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (v.24), "Fear not, for I am with you," the implication being that he had feared.
  
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  HIS SERVANTS STARTED DIGGING A WELL.  But Yitzhak did not name it, until, ultimately, Avimelech came to him from G'rar and each took an oath to the other, and then his servants came and told him about the well that they had dug, and then he called it Shiv'ah, for the oath [sh'vu'ah] that he and Avimelech swore.
  
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  אתה עתה, therefore conclude a pact with us and let us go home, just as we have allowed you to leave our country unmolested. 
  אתה, that you
  Blessed of the Lord: An example is "Come, blessed of the Lord," that is written with Laban (24:31). And so did Issac do; and they walked away from him in peace.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  HE WENT HARAN-WARDS. In the direction of Haran.
  
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  (2) FOR THE SUN WAS SETTING.  And he did not have time to enter the city in daylight.  As Rav Yehuda said (Pes. 2a), "A person should enter [the city] at [the time of] "It was good" [i.e., during daytime] and should leave at "it was good."  ...
  (3) AND HE TOOK one ...
  (4) OF THE STONES OF THE PLACE as it is written (v.18) "He took the stone that he had placed under his head."
  
  
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  V'NIV'R'CHU. An expression of engrafting. In other words, the families of the earth will be intermingled with your family. For this is the form without the dagesh, and I have already explained this in Parashat Lech L'cha.
  
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  Sure the Eternal is in this place - Not as I have thought when I lay down there, that this was a profane place, but yes, it is a holy place. And so too all [mentions of] "achen" that are in Scripture [mean] Ah yes! This is not what I thought. And likewise: Surely, the matter is known!
  
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  (1) AND I RETURN SAFE.  As He said to me (v. 15), "I will bring you back to this land."  
  (2) AND ADONAI IS WITH ME AS GOD.  That He aids me in all my endeavors.
  
  
  
  
  
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  HE ROLLED THE STONE.  By himself.  The text comes to inform you of his strength.
  
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  (3) THIS ONE TOO.  Immediately.  
  (4) FOR THE WORK THAT YOU WILL WORK WITH ME.  After the wedding with Rahel.  
  (5) ANOTHER SEVEN YEARS.  As it is written (Gen. 30:25), "After Rahel had borne Yosef, Ya'akov said to Lavan, 'Give me leave etc.,'" for it was at that point that he had completed the 14 years for his [Lavan's] two daughters.
  
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  [HE ALSO SLEPT WITH RAHEL,] AND HE LOVED RAHEL ALSO [MORE THAN LEAH].  And he also loved her more than Leah; in other words, he slept with her and he also loved her.  Most instances of "gam" [also] are thus inverted in the Torah.  Similarly (Exod. 12:32), "And bless me too" -- also bless me.  Similarly (Num. 22:33), "You also I would have killed" -- Look, I pressed your legs and made you limp and lame, and now I also would have killed you.  
  
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  BUT RAHEL WAS BARREN.  Because it is written below (Gen. 30:1) that she said to Ya'akov, “Give me children, or I shall die.”
  
  
  
  
  
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  I SHALL DIE.  The accent is below [ultimate] because this is in the future tense.  But in "Rahel died, to my sorrow" (Gen. 48:7), the accent is above [penultimate], because it is in the past tense.
  
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  WHAT LUCK.  Good fortune has come to us.  As in (Isa. 65:11), "Who set a table for Luck."  Likewise in Tractate Shabbat: (67b) "Luck has struck; don't be tired."  Also in Gen. R. (71:12, on this verse):  "The luck of our house has arrived."  And one who explains it as an expression of a battalion [g'dud] is mistaken, for even though the names are [only] in the nature of the statement -- as in Re'uven, "The Lord has seen," Shim'on, "The Lord has heard" -- we write it down only in the nature of the main idea of what is said, and "gad" cannot be an expression of "g'dud" without a doubling, of two dalets.  "They band together [Yagodu] to do away with the righteous" (Ps. 94:21) has a dagesh in place of the missing second dalet.  Likewise (Ps. 106: 43) "they were brought low [vayamoku] by their iniquity"; (Job 30:12) "they build [vayasolu] their roads for my ruin"; and (Job 16:13) "His bowmen surrounded [yasobu] me."  In all of them, a dagesh is in place of a missing letter.
  
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  (1) GIFT [ZEVED].  A generous portion or share, based on the context.  
  (2) WILL EXALT ME.  As in (I Kings 8:13), "I have now built for You a stately House," an expression of residence.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) HE COMMANDED THEM, SAYING [LEMOR]. He commanded them and said to them, "THUS  YOU SHALL SAY," and the messengers were not aware of Ya'akov's worry.  
   (2) I STAYED WITH LAVAN. As you know, at the instruction of my father and my mother.  This so that he [Esav] would not think, "He fled on account of me."
  
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  WE CAME TO YOUR BROTHER, ESAV.  and you have found favor in his eyes, as you said.  AND NOW he, out of his joy in your approach and his love for you IS COMING TO MEET YOU AND 400 MEN WITH HIM out of respect for you, and this is the plain sense.  Similarly (Ex. 4:14), "EVEN NOW HE IS SETTING OUT TO MEET YOU, AND HE WILL BE HAPPY TO SEE YOU."
  
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  (1) YA'AKOV FEARED.  Internally.  Even though he [Ya'akov?] gave the messengers the impression that he [Esav] intended this out of respect, he [Ya'akov] did not believe that Esav's thinking was favorable, but was rather for ill.  
  (2) HE WAS ANXIOUS [VAYETZER].  From the root of (Num. 25:17), "Assail the Midianites."  Similarly (Gen. 16:4), "her mistress was lowered [vateikal]," from k-l-l [to curse].  ...
  (3) HE DIVIDED.  From (Num. 31:42), "which Moshe divided."
  
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  (1) FOR HE REASONED, “IF I PROPITIATE HIM." This is what Ya'akov thought in his mind; it is not part of what the messengers said. 
  (2) RIGHT BEHIND US. Since Ya'akov wanted to flee that night in a different direction, had the angel not detained him, and thus, he intended to fool Esav so that he would not meet him.
  
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  THERE WRESTLED an angel WITH HIM.  So that he could not flee, and so that fulfillment of the word of the Holy One, blessed be He, would be seen, that Esav would not harm him.
  
  Verse 26
  
  (1) HE COULD NOT PREVAIL AGAINST HIM. The angel [could not prevail] and he [Ya'akov] sought to cross and flee despite him [the angel]. ...
  (2) IT WAS STRAINED. It became separated from the thigh, as in (Jer. 6:8) "Lest my sould be alienated from Thee" [Old JPS translation]. YERECH YA'AKOV. [In] "hayarech" (v. 33), the accent is ultimate, on the resh, for that is its name [i.e., that is the noun in its non-construct state.] Likewise (Num. 22;24) "gader mizeh" [a fence on this side], (Isa. 61:8) "gazel" [robbery]. And when "yarech" is in the construct state, there are changes so that [the vowel is] a patah katan [i.e., a segol] and the accent is on the first letter, "yerech Ya'akov," (Ex. 40:22) "yerech hamishkan" [the side of the Mishkan].
  
  
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  YOU HAVE STRIVEN.  This is from the same root as (Hos. 12:4), "Grown to manhood, he strove [sarah] with a divine being," like "kanah - kanita," "asah - asita."  But (Hos. 12:5) "He strove [vayasar] with an angel and prevailed" is of the form "shav," "kam," "ratz," from which one would say, "vayakom," "vayashar," "vayarotz."  And the fact that Ya'akov was struck and was lamed was because the Holy One, blessed be He, promised him yet he fled.  And we find the same thing with all those who go on the road contrary to the wishes of the Holy One, blessed be He, or who refuse to go, that they are punished.  Regarding Moshe, it is written (Ex. 4:13), "make someone else Your agent," and (v.14), "The LORD became angry with Moses."  And according to the Rabbinic exposition (Zev. 102a), even though the Sages said, "Everywhere [in the Torah] where 'blazing anger' is mentioned, it makes an impression," here, what impression is there?  "There is your brother Aaron the Levite" (Ex. 4:14) -- he was to be the Levi, and you the Kohen; now, he will be the Kohen and you the Levi.  However, according to the plain sense, [the impression is that] because he [Moshe] was making excuses to avoid going, it is written (Ex. 4:24), "At a night encampment on the way, Adonai encountered him and sought to kill him."  Likewise with Yonah, who was swallowed into the belly of the fish.  And likewise with Bil'am (Num. 22:22), "But God was incensed at his going" and he became lame, as it is written (v.25), "squeezed Balaam’s foot against the wall," and (Num. 23:3), "And he went off shefi" - lame, as in (Job 33:21), "his bones rubbed away [shafu]."
  
  
  
  
  
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  YOSEF AND RAHEL CAME FORWARD.  The straightforward meaning is that it is the common manner to mention the man first, but above (v.2), because it says "Leah and her children," it likewise says, "Rahel and Yosef."
  
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  UNTIL I COME TO MY LORD IN SEIR.  He exaggerated the length of his [intended] travel.
  
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  (1) YA'AKOV CAME SHALEM.  To the city called Shalem.  
  (2) THE CITY OF SH'CHEM.  Sh'chem's city, as in (Num. 21:26), "Now Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites," as it is written (Gen. 34:2), "Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw her."  And one who explains that "Sh'chem" is the name of the city is mistaken, for nowhere do we find "the city of Zion [or] Jerusalem" [ir tziyon y'rushalayim]," but rather "the city" [ha'ir] is mentioned after the name.  And even if this city was Sh'chem, perhaps it was in memory of the heroism of the sons of Ya'akov that they [afterward] named it Sh'chem, as is written about Luz (Gen. 28:19), that it was [re]named Beit El.  As it is written (Josh. 19:47), "they changed the name of Leshem to Dan, after their ancestor Dan," to commemorate their heroism when they killed the residents of the city.  And as it is written (Gen. 4:17), "he then founded a city, and named the city after his son Enoch."  And also one who explains "Shalem" as whole [shalem] in his Torah, whole in his wealth is mistaken according to the plain sense, for it is not the way of Scripture to speak this way, and also, what need would there be for this -- would the reduction [in wealth caused by] the gift to Esav necessitate writing this?  
  
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  EL-ELOHE-YISRAEL [God is the God of Israel].  In that He saved me from Lavan and from Esav, in other words, God is the God of Ya'akov in that He saved me from Lavan and from Esav.  And just as we name a person Eliezer [God is a help to me] or Imanu'el [God is with us], in the same way the altar is so named.  And the straightforward sense is as I have explained.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  YA'AKOV SETTLED.  Esav went "to another land because of his brother Ya'akov" (Gen. 36:6), but Ya'akov settled near his father in the land of his [Yitzhak's] sojournings, because the birthright is his.
  
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  (1) THIS, THEN, IS THE LINE OF YA'AKOV. Intelligent people should discern and understand what our Rabbis taught us, that Scripture never forsakes its plain sense. Even though, essentially, Torah comes to teach us and inform us through hints from the plain sense, narratives, laws, and rules, and through elaborations of the text and the 32 principles of R' Eliezer the son of R' Yosi HaG'lili, and through the 13 principles of R' Yishma'el. And the early Sages, because of their piety, engaged in inclining after the drashot, which are primary, and because of this, they were not familiar with the deep plain sense of Scripture. As the Sages said, "Do not make your children engage much in Scripture" [see Ber. 28a and Rashi there]. And they also said (B.M. 33a), "One who occupies himself with Scripture [alone] is meritorious but not very much so, ... but one who engages in Talmud, there is no greater measure than this." And in this way, they were not so familiar with the plain sense of Scriptural passages. And as it says in Mas. Shabbat, "I was 18 years old and had read the entire Talmud, and I did not know that Scripture never forsakes its plain sense." And our Master Shlomo, my maternal grandfather, the enlightener of the Exile, who expounded on Torah, N'vi'im, and K'tuvim, set his mind also on explaining the plain sense of Scripture. However, I, Sh'mu'el the son of R' Meir, his son-in-law, may his sainted name be for a blessing, argued with him and before him, and he acknowledged to me that if he had had more time, he would need to produce other commentaries according to the plain meanings that renew each day. 
  And now the intelligent people will see what the early ones explained (2) "THIS IS THE LINE OF YA'AKOV" as "These are the events and the occurrences that happened to Ya'akov." And this is nonsense. For every "eleh tol'dot" in Torah and K'tuvim is either about the individual's children or, more often, his grandchildren, as I explained in [Parashat] "Eleh Tol'dot Noah" (Gen. 6:9). Above that, in Parashat B'reishit, it's written (Fen. 5:32), "Noah was 500 years old, and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Yafet." And after that, it explains that the world sinned, but (Gen. 6:8) "Noah found favor." And after that, it states (Gen. 6:9), "These are the generations of Noah," his children's children -- how he had three sons, and the Holy One, blessed be He, ordered him to bring them into the Ark for 12 months, and upon their exit, "sons were born to them after the Flood" (Gen. 10:1), until they increased to 70 descendants, who were the 70 nations, as it is written (Gen. 10:32), "from these branched out etc."And likewise with Esav. The first section (Gen. 36:1-5) specifies Esav's sons who were born to him in his father's location, and after that "he went to another land" (v.6) and settled on Mt. Seir (v.9) and all that section. And it is written (v.9), "This, then, is the line of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir." And all of this second section is about Esav's children [their descendants].    And as we found with Esav -- that it states that his sons were born in his father's neighborhood, before he "went to another land because of his brother Jacob" (Gen. 36:6), and his grandchildren were born at Mt. Seir -- so with Ya'akov: above, it says (Gen. 35:22), "Now the sons of Jacob were twelve in number. Etc." And it states at the end (vv. 26-27), "These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram. And [Jacob] came to his father Isaac, etc." Thus it has set out Ya'akov's sons and where they were born, as it id with Esav's sons. And now [in our chapter] it writes (Gen. 37:2), "This is the line of Ya'akov": his grandchildren, who were 70, how they were born. How? "Yosef was 17 years old"; his brothers envied him; and as a result, "Yehuda left his brothers" (Gen. 38:1) and had sons in K'ziv and in Adulam -- Shelah, Peretz, and Zerah; and it ensues that Yosef "was taken down to Egypt" (Gen. 39:1), and Menashe and Ephraim were born to him in Egypt, and Yosef sent for his father and his household, until they numbered 70. And Moshe our Master had to write all this, since he rebuked them in connection with this, "Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons in all" (Deut. 10:22; see 11:1).
  (3) בן שבע עשרה שנה, this was necessary so that we realise that the separation of Joseph from his father –during which time Yaakov had considered his as dead- lasted for 22 years. The Torah testified in 41,26 that Joseph was 30 years old when presented to Pharaoh, after which time 7 good years and 2 years of famine occurred before Yaakov and family descended to settle in Egypt, making a total of 22 years of separation.
  (4) TENDED THE FLOCKS WITH HIS BROTHERS. The sons of Leah. Following social norms, it calls [them] his brothers, and not the sons of the concubines.
  (5) והוא נער את בני בלהה ואת בני זלפה, he spent most of his time in the company of those four children who were far closer to him in age. The fact that Joseph preferred the company of the sons of the servant-maids may have been the beginning of the sons of Leah resenting him.
  (6) ET EHAV. With his brothers. He herded, but, out of youthful joy, he separated from them and was regularly with the concubines' sons rather than with them, like a youth, as it is written (Hos. 11:1), "Israel was still a child," and it is written (II Sam. 2:14), "Let the young men come forward and sport before us." 
   And it goes on and recounts all sorts of matters that caused them to hate him, also, (7) AND YOSEF BROUGHT BAD REPORTS OF THEM. Bad reports of his brothers. This is like the midrash (Ber. R. 84:7), according to my explanation: That he said to his father as follows: "They are disparaging the sons of the concubines, but I am treating them respectfully, and I am with them regularly." Other p'shat commentators have missed this point.
  
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  And Israel loved. . . All this caused the jealousy. 
  son of old age -- for he was the last of 11 sons, Binyamin not being born immediately afterward but following much time. Long before Binyamin had been born Yosef had been a son of old age and Ya'akov had begun to love him. ...
  passim -- robe.
  
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  FOR HIS TALK.  "Yosef brought bad reports of them" (v.2).
  
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  מה החלום הזה?, even if Joseph’s mother had still been alive, Yaakov would still have rebuked Joseph for having such a dream.
  
  
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  HIS FATHER KEPT THE MATTER IN MIND.  Why was it necessary to include this?  When the good news came [of Yosef's still being alive, Gen. 45:26-28], and he [Ya'akov] did not believe his sons that he [Yosef] was still alive, and Yisrael saw the wagons that Par'oh had sent -- they were sent only at the behest of the king, as it is written there (45:21), "wagons as Par'oh had commanded" -- then he believed, because of the dreams that demonstrated that he [Yosef] would wind up being a ruler, and these wagons came by means of royalty and authority, and on that basis, he said (45:28), "'Enough! ... My son Joseph is still alive!'"  For it is a major puzzle how he could believe after he saw the garment full of blood, as Yitzhak was trembling with regard to Ya'akov because he found hair on his neck.
  
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  In Dothan - according to a simple reading this is the name of a city and it is also mentioned in Judges.
  
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  COME NOW, LET US KILL HIM.  This is an expression of invitation to other persons.  Likewise (v.27), "Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites."  Likewise (Gen. 38:16), "Here, let me [sleep with you]" [and] (Exod. 1:10), "Let us deal shrewdly."  Likewise (Deut. 11:26), "See, this day I set before you."
  
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  HE SAVED HIM FROM THEM.  Such that he was not killed.
  
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  (1) CAST HIM INTO THAT PIT OUT IN THE WILDERNESS.  A place where people are not around, so that he will die as a natural result.  
  (2) INTENDING TO SAVE HIM.  The verse testifies about Re'uven that his intent was to save him, as the end of the narrative demonstrates [see vv. 29-30].
  
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  THE ORNAMENTED TUNIC.  Some say that this is mentioned here only because it was the original cause for the hatred.  This is not the case.  Instead, because it says below (v.32), "They had the ornamented tunic taken [to their father]," to mislead him, so that he would think, mentally, that (v.33) "A savage beast devoured him."  As it says (v.32), "He recognized it, and said, 'My son’s tunic!'"  For that reason, it mentions it here.
  
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  THERE WAS NO WATER IN IT.  For if there had been water in it, they would not have thrown him there, since [by doing that] they would have drowned him, and thus killed him actively.  However, they said (v.22) "do not touch him yourselves" and (v.27) "let us not put our hands on him" -- to cause his death.
  
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  MIDIANITES PASSED BY.  While they were sitting down to eat a meal, and were somewhat distant from the pit, so as not to "eat over the blood" (Lev. 19:26), and were awaiting the Ishmaelites whom they had seen.  And before the Ishmaelites arrived, other Midianites passed by in the same direction, saw him in the pit, and extracted him, and the Midianites sold him to the Ishmaelites.  And one can say that the brothers did not know, and even though it is written (Gen. 45:4) "whom you sold into Egypt," one can say that the indirect effect of their actions assisted his sale.  This is what seems to me from the deep straightforward meaning of the text, since "Midianites passed by" implies that it was by chance, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites.  And even if you say that "they sold Yosef to the Ishmaelites" that the brothers sold him, you must still say that they instructed the Midianite traders to extract him from the pit, and afterwards they sold him to the Ishmaelites.  
  
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  THE MEDANITES SOLD HIM TO THE EGYPTIANS [in the verse: TO EGYPT].  Medan and Midian and the Ishmaelites were brothers, and Medan and the Ishmaelites are one and the same, according to the plain meaning.  Thus it says that the Medanites sold him and that the Ishmaelites brought him down (Gen. 37:28, 39:1), because they are the same, according to the plain meaning.
  
  
  
  
  
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  AFTER TWO YEARS' TIME.  Two complete years, as it is written (Lev.  25:29-30), "the redemption period shall be a year, and if it is not redeemed before a full year has elapsed ...."  And likewise (Gen. 24:55), "a year or ten months."  And likewise (Ex. 13:10), "at its set time from year to year," referring to Pesah, and saying that it is from one year to the next full year.  But "miketz sh'natayim" without "yamim" would imply at the end of [as little as] one year and a day, as it is written (Lev. 12:6), "in its first year" (ben sh'nato) -- within that year, it calls it "ben sh'nato."
  
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  AND PAR'OH AWOKE.  AND HE FELL ASLEEP immediately AND HE DREAMED, ETC.   Between a short sleep and a second sleep, it is normal for a dream to change to a different subject, without the person becoming aware that it is a dream, until his sleep is over and he awakes fully.  And at that point, THEN PHARAOH AWOKE, finally, and IT WAS A DREAM!  But until then, he did not know.
  
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  IT WAS A DREAM!  As in (Gen. 29:25), "Here it was Leah."  But until now, he was under the impression that what he was seeing was reality and not a dream.
  
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  HIS SPIRIT WAS AGITATED.  He was mixed up, trespasser in O.F., and he thought to investigate [l'vaker] and to know the answer.  Likewise in Daniel (2:3), "I have had a dream and I am full of anxiety to know what I have dreamed.”  (2) NONE COULD INTERPRET THEM as things satisfactory TO PAR'OH.
  
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  Every instance of "Par'oh" means "king" in Egyptian, and so all kings of Egypt are called this.  And [all kings] of the Philistines are called Avimelech, even in the time of David, "when he feigned madness in the presence of Avimelech" (Ps. 34:1).  And [all kings] of Jerusalem are called Malchitzedek:  in Joshua (10:1), "King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem"; and in the time of David (Ps. 110:4), "by My decree" -- I promise that you will be -- "a rightful king [malchi-tzedek]" -- king of Jerusalem.  And [all kings] of Amalek are called Agag:  in the time of Moshe (Num. 24:7), "Their king shall rise above Agag," and in the time of Sha'ul (I Sam. 15:8), "King Agag of Amalek."  Likewise here, "Par'oh" is an expression of kingship, for one does not mention a king's name in front of him, saying "[David] (Par'oh) was angry with his servants"; rather, one would say, "My lord was angry with his servants."  Likewise here (v.44), "I am Par'oh" -- I will be king alone -- (v. 40) "only with respect to the throne shall I be superior to you."  This is why Yosef is called "Avrech" (v.43) -- "father of [avi] the king."  And in the book Lekah Tov, he interprets as I have.
  
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  TELLING EACH OF THE MEANING OF HIS DREAM. According to the implications of [each one's] dream he expounded, and also (v.13), as he interpreted for us, so it came to pass.
  
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  AND IT WAS AS HE INTERPRETED ETC.  Me he restored to my post.
  
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  (1) TZAFNAT PANEAH. As the Targum [Onkelos] has it, and this is from the Egyptian language. And it was their practice to call a person, when they appointed him over their household, by an appropriate name. Thus (Num. 13:16), "Moshe called Hoshea bin Nun Yehoshua" when he became his servant. Thus he [the king] called Daniel Beltshatzar, as it is written (Dan. 4:5), "whose name is Beltshatzar, after the name of my god." 
  (2) POTIFERA. This is not Potifar, according to the straightforward meaning. ...
  (3) KOHEN ON. A minister of that city [i.e., of On], as it is written (II Sam. 8:18), "And David's sons were kohanim" -- rulers. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  כי תועבה, something so abhorrent to the Egyptians that they would spit out when observing such a “barbaric” way of eating meat. We know from other sources also that the Egyptians were of a very haughty disposition as mentioned for instance by Isaiah 30,7 קראתי לזאת רהב הם שבת, “truly, I call this, ‘they are a threat that has ceased.’” [the prophet calls Egypt a ‘paper tiger’ in his time. Ed.] The Egyptians’ attitude to people whose vocation was to tend flocks was one of utter disdain, as we know from 46,34. They had contempt for sheep and goats, hence their contempt transferred itself to the people raising such animals. This attitude to sheep and goats is mirrored when Moses asks Pharaoh how he could expect the Israelites to slaughter such animals while in Egypt without running the risk of the local populace stoning them to death for doing this. (Exodus 8,22) Stoning someone to express one’s disgust with his conduct is nothing new; we encounter it in Samuel II 16,5-6 when Shimi ben Geyrah, not only cursed (king) David publicly, but also threw stones at him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) YOSEF COULD NOT CONTROL HIMSELF.  Any longer, for until now, he did all that he did by mental self-control, as it is written above (Gen. 43:31), "He controlled himself and gave the order, 'Serve the meal.'" 
  (2) TO ALL HIS ATTENDANTS.  In front of all his attendants, and he could no longer control himself.  ...
  (3) HE CRIED OUT.  To his servants.  
  (4) HAVE ALL WITHDRAW.  My attendants from the house.  This is the basic plain meaning.
  
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  LEST YOU SUFFER WANT.  You be expelled from the land through hunger, as in (Deut. 9:3), "that you may quickly dispossess and destroy them."  From the root y-r-sh [to inherit; to disposess] it says "tivaresh."  From y-k-sh, it says (Deut. 7:25), "tivakesh bo" (lest you be ensnared).
  
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  EVERYTHING ABOUT MY HIGH STATION.  So that he will not worry about coming, for I have the power and ability to treat him well.
  
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  (1) K'ZOT.  Similarly.  
  (2) TEN ASSES.  For his ten brothers.  And even though Binyamin returned with them, he did not want to burden him.  We say in the Talmud (Makk. 11a-b), "A curse by a sage, even if it is conditional, if the condition is fulfilled, the curse comes to pass.  Whence?  From Yehuda, for even though he returned Binyamin to his father, his bones rattled around in the coffin, etc." 
  
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  (1)  VAY'SHALAH HIS BROTHERS.  Every expression [from the root sh-l-h] of accompanying uses the hard conjugation [pi'el]; an expression [from the same root] of being sent and returning uses the soft conjugation [kal]. 
  (2) DO NOT TIR'G'ZU.  Do not fear anything on the way on account of brigands, for there will be peace on all sides.  And similarly (Ps. 4:5), "So tremble, and sin no more" -- fear the Holy One, blessed be He, and do not sin.  And similarly (Deut. 28:65), "Adonai will give you there an anguished heart" -- "d'hil" [fearing] in the Targum.  And similarly (Hab. 3:7), "Shaken are the pavilions" -- an expression of shaking, as when a person is afraid.  And similarly (Isa. 32:11), "Quake, O confident ones!" [and] (Job 9:6), "Who shakes the earth from its place."  But ragzah in the Targum [i.e., the Aramaic] of Daniel (3:13) and of Ezra (5:12) is an expression of anger.  Trembler is the vernacular for rogez in the 24 books [i.e., the Tanach -- here, the Hebrew portion of the Tanach].
  
  
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  (1) AND THAT HE WAS RULER.  So do not fear to come to him.  
  (2) HIS HEART WENT NUMB [VAYAPAG].  His heart stopped, as if to say, "this is not true," for he did not believe them.  As in (Lam. 2:18), "Give yourself no respite," and (Jer. 48:11), "and his bouquet is unspoiled," which is translated "his bouquet did not pag."
  
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  ENOUGH with my heart stopping because I did not believe, rather, certainly MY SON YOSEF IS STILL ALIVE.  Other straightforward interpretations they say with cleverness, but they are all empty.  [And I the young one have heard, "Enough, my son Yosef is still alive":  You say Yosef is still alive and that he is a ruler.  It would be enough for me if he is still alive even if he is not a ruler.   I must go and see him before I die.]
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) WILL ALSO BRING YOU BACK [Lit., "I will raise you, also raising"].  In other words, "I will go down with you" and also I will surely raise you, as in (Exod. 12:32), "may you bring a blessing upon me also." 
  (2) ALSO RAISING.  That he was buried in with his ancestors in the Cave of Machpelah.  
  (3) HIS HAND SHALL CLOSE YOUR EYES [Lit., "He will rest his hand on your eyes."]  On your matters ("inyaneicha," as opposed to "eineicha") and your needs; he will strive to take care of them, as it is written (Job 9:33), "who will lay his hand on both of us."
  
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  THE NUMBER OF PERSONS OF HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS of Ya'akov and Leah, the total WAS 33 including Ya'akov.  But our Sages interpreted this as being Yocheved, who was born between the walls.
  
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  (1) [ALL THE PERSONS WHO CAME WITH YA'AKOV TO EGYPT] HIS OWN ISSUE. Who are coming to Egypt. 
  (2) ALL THESE PERSONS NUMBERED 66.  For Ya'akov, who was among the count of 33 relating to Leah, is not among "his own issue," for "his own issue" were only 69.  And this is what Moshe said (Deut. 10:22), "Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, for Ya'akov and his descendants were 70.
  
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  A GOOD WHILE.  Much, as it is written (Job 34:23), "He will not require much of a person."  [JPS:  He has no set time for man.]
  
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  THE MEN ARE SHEPHERDS.  Yosef said all this to Par'oh.
  
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  For [all shepherds] are an abomination in Egypt -  All shepherds were disgraceful in their eyes, for sheep were loathsome to them - whether for eating or for sacrifice - as it is written, "If we sacrifice what is abominable to the Egyptians..." (Ex. 9:22) 
  
  
  
  
  
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  "And Israel bowed low": To Joseph, from the place where he was at [the top of] the bed. 
  
  
  
  
  
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  HE SAT ON THE BED.  His feet were down below, on the ground.  That is why it is written below (v.12), "Joseph then removed them [his sons] from his [Ya'akov's] knees."  And this is also to convey Ya'akov's strength, that he spoke all the words of his valedictory seated with his feet on the ground, until he finished all his words, and after that "he drew his feet into the bed " (Gen. 49:33) -- he inserted them into the bed, as in (Deut. 22:2), "you shall bring it [v'asafto] home" and (Judges 19:18) "and nobody has taken me (m'asef oti) indoors."
  
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  ISRAEL SAW.  Even though it is written below (v.10) that "he could not see," there are those who can see a person's image but not recognize the person's face.  Similarly (Ex. 33:20), "man may not see Me [and live],"  and it is written (I Kings 22:19), "I saw Adonai."
  
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  (1) RA'OH [To see].  Like "r'ot" [seeing].  Similarly (Gen. 50:20), "to bring about [asoh] the present result."  
  (2) LO PILALTI [I never expected].  I did not judge in my mind.  Every instance of pilul is an expression of judgment.  Similarly (Ps. 106:30), "Pinhas stood and judged" -- he took vengeance, as it is written (Num. 25:7), "he left the assembly and, taking a spear in his hand, etc." -- an expression of judicial retribution.  
  
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  BY YOU SHALL ISRAEL BLESS.  Each man his son.  
  THUS HE PUT EFRAIM BEFORE M'NASHEH.  Through his saying, "God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh."  Thus the expression of "simah" [placing] applies to words:  (Exod. 21:1) "These are the rules that you shall set [tasim] before them"; (Deut. 4:44) "This is the Teaching that Moses set [sam]"; (Deut. 31:19) "put it [simah] in their mouths."
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) YA'AKOV CALLED.  He sent for them.  
  (2) COME TOGETHER.  For the seventy persons had increased during these 17 years and had become a numerous people, and according to the words of our Sages, to (six) hundred thousand.  
  (3) WHAT IS TO BEFALL YOU.  With respect to their power and their inheritance.
  
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  (1) MY MIGHT AND FIRST FRUIT OF MY VIGOR, EXCEEDING IN RANK AND EXCEEDING IN HONOR.  This is all a single statement; it is the way of Scripture to double its expressions -- "my strength (kohi)" is my power, my wealth, and "my vigor" (oni) is also my wealth, as it is written (Hos. 12:9), "[Ah, I have become rich;] I have gotten power (on)," [and] (Job 20:10), "His own hands must give back his wealth (ono)."  In other words, "you are my first-born and as such my strength and the beginning of my wealth."  
  (2) EXCEEDING. Your brothers, you should have been, IN RANK AND EXCEEDING IN STRENGTH. You should have ruled over your brothers, but you had instability and confusion, like waste water, and therefore  YOU SHALL EXCEL NO LONGER.  Neither the birthright nor the monarchy.
  
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  (1) FOR WHEN YOU MOUNTED YOUR FATHER’S BED.  And it says in Chronicles (I  5:1-2), "when he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, so he is not reckoned as first-born in the genealogy.  Though Judah became more powerful than his brothers and a leader came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph."   
  (2) MY COUCH HE MOUNTED!  In other words, my couch he would mount.  There are many instances of past tense verbs that are understood as present tense, such as (Gen. 23:13), "I have paid the price of the land" -- I am paying.
  
  Verse 5
  
  (1) THEIR TOOLS.  Their fraternity; this is a duplication of "Shimon and Levi are a pair [lit., "brothers"]."  In other words, Shimon and Levi were "brothers" for ill.  
  (2) THEIR WEAPONS their fraternity was.  "Your origin (m'choroteicha) and birth" (Ezek. 16:3) is an expression of relations.  But "m'cheirotehim" is the dageish form [pi'el], like "m'siboteihem" (Job 37:12 -- "misibot"), and is an espression of relationship.  However, the reish, where there is a hiriq, it [the hiriq] becomes a tzeirei, like "beireich" (e.g. Gen. 24:1) instead of "bireich" [like] (Lam. 2:9) "ibeid v'shiber" [destroyed and broke].  Similarly (Ps. 74:18), "blasphemes [heireif] God" [and] (Num. 8:6) "they will assist [v'sheireit] their brothers."  They are all of the dageish form.  "M'cheiroteihem" is "lod [leur?] pareintes" in the vernacular.
  
  Verse 6
  
  (1) LET NOT MY PERSON BE INCLUDED IN THEIR COUNCIL.  May it be Your will that my person not be in their counsel.  For every "al" in the Torah looks to the future -- either a curse, a request, or a command.  There is no "al" about the past; thus, this should not be understood as "my person has not been included."  
  (2) KI IN THEIR ANGER.  Because in their anger. 
  (3) THEY MAIM OXEN.  As in (Josh. 11:6) "You shall hamstring their horses."
  
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  (1) CURSED BE THEIR ANGER.  They will not succeed in their anger to take vengeance and commit bad deeds, and therefore, I do not want to be in their company and together with them.  
  (2) I WILL DIVIDE THEM IN JACOB.  For Levi was scattered among the twelve tribes, as is written in Joshua (ch. 21), the result being that Shim'on was left alone without Levi.  
  
  Verse 8
  
  (1) YEHUDAH, YOU YOUR BROTHERS SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE.  One who explains this as "your brothers shall praise you" is mistaken.  Rather, since he had criticized the first ones and taken sovereignty from Re'uven and had scattered Shim'on and Levi, he said to Yehudah, "But you, your brothers shall accord the glory [hod] of sovereignty, as the end of the verse demonstrates: "Your father's sons shall bow low to you."  Likewise (Num. 27:20), "Invest him with some of your authority [hod'cha]" -- give him some of your responsibilities while you are still alive.   Likewise in Daniel (11:21), "on whom royal majesty [hod] was not conferred."  Likewise about Sh'lomo it is written "hod malchut" -- "endowed him with a regal majesty [hod]" in Chronicles (I, 29:25).  
  (2) SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE YOU [YODUCHA].  Shall crown you, like "y'hoducha," as it is written (Ps. 45:18), "so peoples will praise you."  Likewise (I Kings 6:27) "Let the LORD help you [yoshiacha]," like "y'hoshiacha."  Nevertheless, even though "yoducha" derives from "hod malchut," the heh is not part of the root, but rather, it is of the form where the first letter of the root drops out, that letter being yod, like yashav, yatza, from which one says "hotzi" [to expel], "hoshiv" [to seat].  Likewise from "yarah bayam" [he has cast into the sea] (Ex. 15:4), [we derive] "horah" -- "vayoru hamorim" [the archers shot] (II Sam. 11:24).  Likewise (Ezek. 18:16) "he has not wronged [honah] anyone" from the root (Lev. 19:33) "you shall not wrong [tonu] him."  Similarly, "hodu LAdonai" [Praise the LORD] (Isa. 12:4) [and] "Yodu LAdonai" [Let them praise the LORD] (Ps. 107:8), [and] "hogah v'rahem" [afflicts and pardons] (Lam. 3:32) -- they are all roots with the first letter being yod that occasionally drops out and a vav comes in its place. 
  (3) THEY WILL BOW LOW TO YOU.  For you will rule over tham.  
  (4) YOUR FATHER'S SONS.  Because they were from four mothers, it says "your father's sons," but when Yitz'hak blesses Ya'akov, it is written (Gen. 27:29) "your mother's sons."