And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children to Leah, and to Rachel, and to the two handmaids.
verse value 5169
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 76 letters. The shortest word is "came" (בָּ֔א, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·children" (אֶת־הַיְלָדִ֗ים, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·with·him" (וְעִמּ֕וֹ), "the·children" (אֶת־הַיְלָדִ֗ים), "among·Leah" (עַל־לֵאָה֙). 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "came" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "the·children" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "Jacob" (root יעקב, 180x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'man', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Onkelos
Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and with him four hundred men. He divided the children among Leah, and among Rachel, and among the two handmaids.
Sforno
ועמו ארבע מרות איש. To tell us that he had not been appeased even by the substantial gift Yaakov had sent him.
Targum Yonatan
And Jakob lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men of war. And he divided the children unto Leah, and to Rahel, and to the two concubines,.
And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
verse value 4962
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "and·put" (וַיָּ֧שֶׂם, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·their·children" (וְאֶת־יַלְדֵיהֶ֖ן, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 309: next, last. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·maids" (אֶת־הַשְּׁפָח֛וֹת), "and·their·children" (וְאֶת־יַלְדֵיהֶ֖ן), "and·Leah" (וְאֶת־לֵאָ֤ה). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·their·children" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "and·Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "next" (root אחר, 105x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'first', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. 6 of the verse's 10 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וַיָּ֧שֶׂם [and·put] (356) + אֶת־הַשְּׁפָח֛וֹת [the·maids] (1200) + וְאֶת־יַלְדֵיהֶ֖ן [and·their·children] (516) + רִֽאשֹׁנָ֑ה [first] (556) + וְאֶת־לֵאָ֤ה [and·Leah] (443) + וִֽילָדֶ֙יהָ֙ [and·her·children] (65) + אַחֲרֹנִ֔ים [next] (309) + וְאֶת־רָחֵ֥ל [and·Rachel] (645) + וְאֶת־יוֹסֵ֖ף [and·Joseph] (563) + אַחֲרֹנִֽים [last] (309) = 4962.
Onkelos
He placed the handmaids and their children first, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph last.
Rashi
ואת לאה וילדיה אחרנים AND LEAH AND HER CHILDREN AFTER — The more behind — the more beloved (Genesis Rabbah 78:8).
Ibn Ezra
"And he placed Rachel and Joseph last" — perhaps they would escape, on account of his love for them.
Targum Yonatan
and placed the concubines and their sons foremost; for he said, If Esau come to destroy the children and abuse the women, he will do it with them, and meantime we will arise and encounter him in fight; and Leah and her children after, and Rahel and Joseph after them.
And he himself passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
verse value 3025 — וְה֖וּא = 18 (chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 43 letters. Notable word values: "and·he" (וְה֖וּא) = 18, chai, 'life'. Verse gematria: 3025 = 55². The shortest word is "passed" (עָבַ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "before·them" (לִפְנֵיהֶ֑ם, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "until·he·was·near" (עַד־גִּשְׁתּ֖וֹ), "up·to·his·brother" (עַד־אָחִֽיו). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·ground" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "up·to·his·brother" (root אח, 164x in Genesis); "and·he" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'before·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְה֖וּא [and·he] (18) + עָבַ֣ר [passed] (272) + לִפְנֵיהֶ֑ם [before·them] (215) + וַיִּשְׁתַּ֤חוּ [and·bowed·down] (730) + אַ֙רְצָה֙ [to·the·ground] (296) + שֶׁ֣בַע [seven] (372) + פְּעָמִ֔ים [times] (240) + עַד־גִּשְׁתּ֖וֹ [until·he·was·near] (783) + עַד־אָחִֽיו [up·to·his·brother] (99) = 3025.
Onkelos
He himself passed on ahead of them and bowed to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
Rashi
עבר לפניהם [AND HE HIMSELF] PASSED BEFORE THEM — He thought: if that wicked man comes to fight let him fight me first (Genesis Rabbah 78:8).
Rabbeinu Bahya
וישתחו ארצה שבע פעמים “he bowed earthwards seven times.” The Torah could have written “three times,” as we find in connection with David and Yonathan (Samuel I 20,41) where we are told: ויפול לאפיו ארצה וישתחו שלש פעמים, that David bowed his face to the ground and prostrated himself three times before Yonathan (the crown prince). The reason the Torah here mentions the number seven is to remind us that when a righteous person falls down even seven times, he will rise again and regain his composure (compare Proverbs 24,16).
Targum Yonatan
And he himself went over before them, praying and asking mercy before the Lord; and he bowed upon the earth seven times, until he met with his brother.
And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept.
verse value 2556
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 42 letters. Verse gematria: 2556 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "Esau" (עֵשָׂ֤ו, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·embraced" (וַֽיְחַבְּקֵ֔הוּ, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·embraced" (וַֽיְחַבְּקֵ֔הוּ), "and·kissed·him" (וַׄיִּׄשָּׁׄקֵ֑ׄהׄוּׄ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·meet·him" (root קרא, 123x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·kissed·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 1 words. 5 of the verse's 8 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וַיָּ֨רׇץ [and·ran] (306) + עֵשָׂ֤ו [Esau] (376) + לִקְרָאתוֹ֙ [to·meet·him] (737) + וַֽיְחַבְּקֵ֔הוּ [and·embraced] (137) + וַיִּפֹּ֥ל [and·fell] (126) + עַל־צַוָּארָ֖ו [on·his·neck] (403) + וַׄיִּׄשָּׁׄקֵ֑ׄהׄוּׄ [and·kissed·him] (427) + וַיִּבְכּֽוּ [and·wept] (44) = 2556.
Onkelos
Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
Rashi
ויחבקהו AND EMBRACED HIM — His pity was aroused when he saw him prostrating himself so many times (Genesis Rabbah 78:8). וישקהו AND HE KISSED HIM — Dots are placed above the letters of this word, and a difference of opinion is expressed in the Baraitha of Sifré (בהעלותך) as to what these dots are intended to suggest: some explain the dotting as meaning that he did not kiss him with his whole heart, whereas R Simeon the son of Johai said: Is it not well-known that Esau hated Jacob? But at that moment his pity was really aroused and he kissed him with his whole heart. (Sifrei Bamidbar 69.2)
Ibn Ezra
The midrashic interpretation of the dots over "and he kissed him" is good for those devoted to ancient rabbinic tradition; but according to the plain sense — Esau had no intention of doing harm to his brother. The proof is: "and they wept," just as Joseph did with his brothers.
Sforno
וירץ עשו, his attitude changed suddenly when he realised to what extent Yaakov had humbled himself before him. It is of great concern to us seeing that we live among the descendants of Esau, people who are arrogant, consider themselves invincible. Yaakov’s conduct vis a vis Esau teaches that the only way to escape the sword of Esau is through self degradation and gifts. This corresponds to what our sages taught us (Taanit 20) that the curses of the prophet Achiyah Hashiloni were more beneficial to the Jewish people than the blessing showered upon them by Bileam. Achiyah had cursed the Jewish people describing them as a reed which bends in all directions, a reference to someone demeaning himself rather than facing up to adversaries. (Kings I 14,15) If the Jewish people during the period of the second Temple had taken his advice to heart, the Temple would not have been destroyed. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai testified to this when he said “if not for the militant extremists the Romans would not have destroyed the Temple.”
Chizkuni
ויפול על צוארו, “he (Esau) embraced his neck”; the letter י in the word צואריו, is missing here. וישקהו, “he kissed him;” this word has dots above the letters.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וישקהו, “and he kissed him.” The word is written with dots on top of the letters. We know that whenever the sages of the massorah have seen fit to place these dots on top of a word or a letter they did so in order to attract our attention. Here the reason they placed these dots was to let us know that this kiss was not whole-hearted. It was a kiss which originated in anger. We find a similarly motivated kiss in Proverbs 27,6 ונעתרות נשיקות שונא, “the kisses of an enemy are profuse.” Amos 1,11 explains the matter when he writes: ויטרוף לעד אפו ועברתו שמרה נצח, “because his anger raged unavailing, and his fury stormed forever. “
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said: "Who are these with you?" And he said: "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."
verse value 4334 — מִי־אֵ֣לֶּה = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 71 letters. Notable word values: "who·are·these" (מִי־אֵ֣לֶּה) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "to·you" (לָּ֑ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·the·children" (וְאֶת־הַיְלָדִ֔ים, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 257: and·said, and·said. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·the·children" (וְאֶת־הַיְלָדִ֔ים), "graciously·gave" (אֲשֶׁר־חָנַ֥ן). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "who·are·these" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "and·the·children" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis). First appearance of the root חנן ("graciously·gave") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּשָּׂ֣א [and·lifted] (317) + אֶת־עֵינָ֗יו [his·eyes] (547) + וַיַּ֤רְא [and·saw] (217) + אֶת־הַנָּשִׁים֙ [the·women] (806) + וְאֶת־הַיְלָדִ֔ים [and·the·children] (506) + וַיֹּ֖אמֶר [and·said] (257) + מִי־אֵ֣לֶּה [who·are·these] (86) + לָּ֑ךְ [to·you] (50) + וַיֹּאמַ֕ר [and·said] (257) + הַיְלָדִ֕ים [the·children] (99) + אֲשֶׁר־חָנַ֥ן [graciously·gave] (609) + אֱלֹהִ֖ים [God] (86) + אֶת־עַבְדֶּֽךָ [your·servant] (497) = 4334.
Onkelos
He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, "Who are these to you?" And he said, "The children with whom Hashem has been gracious to your servant."
Rashi
מי אלה לך WHO ARE THESE WITH THEE? (literally, to thee)? — Who are these that they should be yours (are they your children or your servants)?
Ramban
WHO ARE THESE WITH THEE? Esau inquired about the women and children, and Jacob modestly answered, The children whom G-d hath graciously given thy servant, as he did not want to say that they were his wives. Esau thereby understood that they were the mothers of the children.
Ibn Ezra
"Who are these to you" — who are these with you? Or: who are these that belong to you? "Has graced" (חנן) is like "given" (נתן), as in: "grant them graciously" (Judges 21:22). Likewise, "חנם" is like "them" (הם).
Sforno
Who are these to you. Are they your children or your servants?
Chizkuni
?מי אלה לך, “how are these related to you?” Esau wanted to know if these people were Yaakov’s children or members of his household not biologically related to him, or if they were his slaves.
Tur HaArokh
מי אלה לך?, “what relations are these of yours? His question concerned all the women and children. הילדים אשר חנן אלוקים את עבדך, “the children whom G’d has granted your servant.” Yaakov was conveying a lesson in good manners, not referring to his wives directly, letting Esau surmise that the women concerned were the mothers of these children.
Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they bowed down.
verse value 2913
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "they" (הֵ֥נָּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·bowed·down" (וַתִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶֽיןָ, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·approached" (וַתִּגַּ֧שְׁןָ), "and·their·children" (וְיַלְדֵיהֶ֖ן). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·their·children" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "they" (root הן, 90x in Genesis); "the·maids" (root שפחה, 30x in Genesis). Full calculation: וַתִּגַּ֧שְׁןָ [and·approached] (759) + הַשְּׁפָח֛וֹת [the·maids] (799) + הֵ֥נָּה [they] (60) + וְיַלְדֵיהֶ֖ן [and·their·children] (115) + וַתִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶֽיןָ [and·bowed·down] (1180) = 2913.
Onkelos
Then the handmaids approached, they and their children, and they bowed down.
Chizkuni
השפחות, הנה וילדיהן ותשתחוין, “the servant maids, they and their children, and they prostrated themselves; but their children did not prostrate themselves, seeing that they were only children of servants, Esau would not insist on their making an obeisance to him. An alternate exegesis: the children only approached Esau as a sign of courtesy together with their respective mothers. They were not willing to prostrate themselves together with their mothers. Their reasoning was that their mothers being servants themselves naturally had to make an obeisance; however they, who were sons of Yaakov, were not prepared to make any obeisance to anyone. When the sons of Leah and Rachel saw that their mothers made an obeisance they decided to do the same. This is why the Torah in verse 7 writes twice: וישתחוו, “they prostrated themselves,” in the masculine mode.
Tur HaArokh
ותגשן השפחות הנה וילדיהן ותשתחוין, “the maid-servants with their children approached and prostrated themselves.” In this instance no mention is made of the children prostrating themselves, as opposed to the verse describing both Rachel and Joseph as prostrating themselves. Other commentators say that originally, the sons of the maidservants did not prostrate themselves, saying that their mothers whose social status was inferior, prostrated themselves caused them to prostrate themselves, whereas they, being sons of Yaakov, would not do so. When they observed that the sons of both Leah and Rachel did prostrate themselves, the sons of the maid-servants felt that they could do no less.
Daat Zkenim
ותגשן השפחות... ותשתחון, “the servant maids drew near and prostrated themselves (before Esau);” the emphasis in this verse is on the servant maids, to tell us that their children did not prostrate themselves. They considered their respective mothers as socially inferior to themselves. On the other hand, when the children of Leah observed that their mother prostrated herself they followed their mother’s example and did likewise.
And Leah also and her children came near, and bowed down; and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed down.
verse value 3293
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "came·near" (נִגַּ֥שׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·bowed·down" (וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֑וּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 736: and·bowed·down, and·bowed·down. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·came·forward" (וַתִּגַּ֧שׁ), "also·Leah" (גַּם־לֵאָ֛ה), "came·near" (נִגַּ֥שׁ). The root נגש appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·her·children" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "after" (root אחר, 105x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·bowed·down', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. 6 of the verse's 9 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וַתִּגַּ֧שׁ [and·came·forward] (709) + גַּם־לֵאָ֛ה [also·Leah] (79) + וִילָדֶ֖יהָ [and·her·children] (65) + וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֑וּ [and·bowed·down] (736) + וְאַחַ֗ר [after] (215) + נִגַּ֥שׁ [came·near] (353) + יוֹסֵ֛ף [Joseph] (156) + וְרָחֵ֖ל [and·Rachel] (244) + וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֽוּ [and·bowed·down] (736) = 3293.
Onkelos
Leah also approached with her children, and they bowed down; and after that Joseph and Rachel approached, and they bowed down.
Rashi
נגש יוסף ורחל JOSEPH AND RACHEL STEPPED NEAR — In the case of all the others the mothers approached before the children, but in the case of Rachel, Joseph came in front of her. He said: “My mother is a beautiful woman: for fear that this wicked man will set his fancy on her I will stand in front of her and prevent him from gazing at her ” As a reward for this Joseph merited the blessing associated with the words עלי עין "with the eye” (Genesis Rabbah 78:10).
Chizkuni
נגש יוסף ורחל, Joseph and Rachel approached; it is customary for the Torah when referring to a man and a woman in the same story to mention the name of the man first. Earlier, in verse 2, the Torah had mentioned the women first, even Rachel before Joseph. If you were to ask why Yaakov had not hidden Rachel just as he is supposed to have hidden Dinah? We would have to answer that all of Avraham’s descendants up to that time had strictly refrained from violating a married woman sexually. There was therefore no reason to suspect Esau of doing such a thing. Dinah, was single however, so that Yaakov reasoned that he might violate her. Joseph was not so sure and therefore insisted on walking ahead of his mother. [Seeing that he was at most seven years old at the time, it is difficult to see how he could have protected his mother in such a case. Ed.]
Rashbam
נגש יוסף ורחל, normally, the males are mentioned before the females. The reason why Yaakov changed that routine was so that the mothers could precede their children with the exception of Joseph and Rachel. The only reason why in verse 2 Rachel is mentioned ahead of Joseph, is because Leah was mentioned ahead of her children as were the other mothers of Yaakov’s children.
And he said: "What do you mean by all this camp which I met?" And he said: "To find favor in the sight of my lord."
verse value 2509
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 47 letters. Verse gematria: 2509 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "who" (מִ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·the·camp" (כׇּל־הַמַּחֲנֶ֥ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 257: and·said, and·said. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "all·the·camp" (כׇּל־הַמַּחֲנֶ֥ה), "I·have·met" (פָּגָ֑שְׁתִּי). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "in·the·eyes·of" (root עין, 79x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·have·met', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֕אמֶר [and·said] (257) + מִ֥י [who] (50) + לְךָ֛ [to·you] (50) + כׇּל־הַמַּחֲנֶ֥ה [all·the·camp] (158) + הַזֶּ֖ה [this] (17) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [which] (501) + פָּגָ֑שְׁתִּי [I·have·met] (793) + וַיֹּ֕אמֶר [and·said] (257) + לִמְצֹא־חֵ֖ן [to·gain·favor] (219) + בְּעֵינֵ֥י [in·the·eyes·of] (142) + אֲדֹנִֽי [my·lord] (65) = 2509.
Onkelos
He said, "What is this whole camp of yours that I encountered?" And he said, "To find favor in the eyes of my lord."
Rashi
מי לך כל המחנה WHAT MEANEST THOU BY ALL THIS CAMP? — What is all this camp that I have met which belongs to you — as much as to say: what do you intend by it? Scripture really uses the word המחנה in reference to those who were bringing the present. A Midrashic explanation is: He had met companies of angels who thrust him and his men aside, asking them, “Who are you?” These replied, “We belong to Esau”. Whereupon the angels exclaimed, “Smite, smite!” They (Esau’s men) then said, “Let him alone; he is a son of Isaac”. They took no notice of this. “He is a grandson of Abraham”. Again they took no notice of this. “He is Jacob’s brother". Whereupon they said: if this be so, you are one with us” (Genesis Rabbah 78:11).
Ramban
WHAT MEANEST THOU BY ALL THIS CAMP WHICH I MET? Now Jacob’s servants did everything he had commanded them, but Esau refused to accept the explanation from them. Perhaps due to his haughtiness and his arrogance he did not speak to them and did not ask them, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and they were afraid to approach him. And so he now said, What meanest thou by all this camp? for he thought that they belonged to Jacob on the basis of the words of the first messengers [whom Jacob had originally sent to inform Esau of his coming]. It may be that these messengers had so related in Esau’s camp, and it was then conveyed to Esau. Perhaps because there was no other individual on that road that had these things, [he assumed that they belonged to Jacob]. The intent of What meanest thou by all this camp? is: “Who is this person to you that you send him all these?” That is to say, “Who is this superior of yours that you send him all these?” And he answered him, “To find favour in the sight of my lord, for in my eyes, you are the superior and lord.”
Ibn Ezra
"Who is this to you" — the word מי always refers to a person. The meaning is: who is this person to whom you sent all this gift? Or: whom did you have in mind?
Sforno
Who are these to you. Are they your children or your servants?
Tur HaArokh
מי לך כל המחנה הזה אשר פגשתי, “to whom belongs all this camp which I have encountered? Esau referred to the servants of Yaakov who had preceded him with the herds which have been described in detail as gifts which Esau had been reluctant to accept. Due to his arrogance, he had not deigned to speak to them, and therefore he had not known who they were. Now that he met Yaakov personally, he assumed that these herds had been sent by him, in view of his having previously met the angels that Yaakov had sent out. The thrust of his question was: “who is related to you who is so important that you have bothered to welcome him with such pomp and ceremony?” Yaakov replied simply that this was all in honour of his brother Esau.
And Esau said: "I have enough; my brother, let that which you have be yours."
verse value 1830
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "much" (רָ֑ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּ֥אמֶר, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "I·have" (יֶשׁ־לִ֣י). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "let·there·be" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "what·is·yours" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'much', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֥אמֶר [and·said] (257) + עֵשָׂ֖ו [Esau] (376) + יֶשׁ־לִ֣י [I·have] (350) + רָ֑ב [much] (202) + אָחִ֕י [my·brother] (19) + יְהִ֥י [let·there·be] (25) + לְךָ֖ [to·you] (50) + אֲשֶׁר־לָֽךְ [what·is·yours] (551) = 1830.
Onkelos
Esau said, "I have much, my brother; let it remain yours."
Rashi
יהי לך אשר לך BE THINE THAT WHICH IS THINE — In these words he admitted his right to the blessings (Genesis Rabbah 78:11).
Sforno
יש לי רב, I most certainly do not need this gift. אחי, יהי לך אשר לך. Seeing that you are my brother you certainly do not have to put yourself out so much in order for me to make you welcome.
Or HaChaim
ויאמר עשו יש לי רב אחי, Esau said: "I have plenty my brother." Why did Esau have to add the word "my brother" at this point? After all, who else was Esau speaking to? Besides, he should have used the word as an address at the beginning of the sentence, not as an afterthought. Actually, Esau meant to tell Jacob that if his intention in sending him the gift was to simply let him enjoy the animals, he had plenty himself and was in no need of them. If, on the other hand, Jacob gave him the gift in order to benefit thereby personally as he had already indicated when he said: "in order to find favour in my master's eyes," אחי יהי לך, "keep it my brother." He indicated that if he was favourably disposed towards Jacob it was because he was his brother not because of the gift. His own brotherliness could only be proved if he insisted that Jacob take back the gift. Otherwise his brotherliness would be interpreted by others as self-interest. אל נא, אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך. "No please; if I have found favour in your eyes, etc." Why did Jacob repeat the word נא, please, in this verse? The verse should be understood thus. Jacob agreed with Esau that his brotherliness would indeed be recognised better if he did not accept the gift. Such an argument was valid only if it had been made before Esau had already received the gift. Now that Esau had received the gift, it would be most inappropriate to return it; The first אל נא refers to Esau returning the gift. Jacob pleaded with Esau that if he indeed wanted to demonstrate his brotherliness he should do so by keeping the gift. He underlined his argument by saying: ולקחת, "and you have already accepted it." Jacob went on to say כי על כן וג׳, "the nature of this gift is not in order that you should demonstrate brotherliness but rather you should accept what is befitting when one visits high ranking individuals. One does not appear before such individuals empty-handed." Therefore, Jacob said, you can only demonstrate your goodwill towards me by keeping the gift; should you fail to do so you would shame me. Should you be concerned that the size of the gift is such that it would impoverish me, rest assured I have all that I need; G'd has endowed me very generously. Jacob may even have hinted that he had not noticed any diminution in the size of his flocks even after he had sent the gift to Esau. When Jacob used the expression יש לי כל "l have all that I need" in describing his economic status, he may have referred to sanctity which is also described by the word כל. There are several blessings in which Israel is compared to the sand of the sea. The meaning of the hyperbole is that just as the sand closes above any hole you make in it when you remove some of it, so Israel will be blessed by not feeling the removal of something from it as a loss, seeing that no visible void be will be left. Jacob described his economic wealth in similar terms when he explained to Esau that he had "everything." The deeper meaning of this concept is evident in Kings I 17,14 when Elijah the prophet assures the woman in the name of G'd that כד הקמח לא כלתה„ "that the jar of flour will not give out until the day that G'd will again let rain fall in the land of Israel." Examine how I explained 33,18: ויבא יעקב שלם עיר שכם. This blessing is one that all the patriarchs enjoyed in varying degrees; this is why we find the Torah using the expressions בכל, מכל or כל respectively in connection with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (compare Baba Batra 47).
Rabbeinu Bahya
יש לי רב, “I have a great deal.” Esau spoke very haughtily. If you take a close look at the verses you will note that Yaakov is rather long-winded whereas Esau is brief and succinct. This is proof of his arrogance. Moreover, you will note that Yaakov introduces the name of G’d into every aspect of his speech, such as when he says: “the children with whom G’d has graciously endowed me.” He refers to Esau’s accepting his gift being comparable to his being allowed to see the “face of G’d;” (verse 10) or to G’d as having granted him this wealth (verse 11). Esau, on the other hand, did not refer to G’d a single time. אחי יהי לך אשר לך, “keep what is yours my brother.” Bereshit Rabbah 78,11 comments on these words of Esau that up until that moment Yaakov still entertained doubts whether the blessings were securely his. Now that he heard Esau acknowledge “keep what is yours,” he was visibly relieved concerning the validity of these blessings. He based this on the precise wording of Esau’s comment which contained ten letters. These ten words corresponded to the ten blessings which formed the blessing commencing with the words ויתן לך (Genesis 27,28-29).
Kli Yakar
“And Esau said: I have much [rav].” This implies much but not “everything.” While Jacob said for God has been gracious to me and I have everything [kol]. This is because the wicked, even if they have all the silver and gold in the world, nevertheless it appears to them that they are still lacking, and they have much but not all their needs. Therefore Esau said I have much but not “everything” because they are still lacking — one who has one hundred desires two hundred. The righteous are the opposite of this, for even if they have little in their possession, they are content with it and happy with their portion, and it appears as if they have everything. As it is written, Also when God gave a person wealth and possessions and enabled them to enjoy them (Ecclesiastes 5:18) — this is God’s gift. And afterward it states, When God will give any man wealth and possessions, and will enable him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work — this is a gift of God. And it is difficult to understand why it first mentions that God gave in the past tense, and afterward says that God will give which implies the future. Rather, it is because the first verse speaks of a righteous person, who does not discriminate between much and little, for even with the small amount in his possession, it appears to him as if God has already given him everything. Such a person has control over his wealth to do with it as he wishes, and God has given him authority, etc. However, the second verse speaks of an evil person, for whom the entire world is never enough to satisfy him, as he is always seeking that God should give him more wealth and possessions in the future. He also seeks illusory honor that comes through abundant wealth. This is unlike the good person before God who escapes and flees from honor — therefore honor is not mentioned in the first case, but is mentioned later regarding those who chase after abundant wealth. Even though in truth he lacks nothing that his soul desires and has enough for his needs, he nevertheless constantly craves that God should give him more. This person certainly will not be given authority by God to eat from it, because his money controls him in whatever direction it wishes to pull him. He has no control over his wealth and is stingy with what is his, and he has a minister appointed over it who will not allow him to touch his money to take from it and spend it on charity or his needs. Therefore it says regarding Esau I have much, while regarding Jacob I have everything. And he [Jacob] used the language of has granted me graciously because the righteous never attribute [their success] to their good deeds, and consider everything given to them as God’s constant kindness, giving to them as an act of grace. But the wicked, for the most part, consider themselves righteous and think that everything is given to them as an obligation. And in Midrash Tanchuma (Leviticus 10:7), Rabbi Yitzchak said: The wicked have no goodness in this world, as it is said, And there will be no good for the wicked (Ecclesiastes 8:13). They challenged this: But it is written when the king’s heart was good [ketov] with wine! He replied to them: It does not say “good” [tov] but rather like good [ketov] — appearing good but not truly good. However, regarding Israel it is written (1 Kings 8:66), And they went to their tents joyful and good of heart for all the goodness. This aligns with our point that the wicked, despite all the great goodness they receive, it appears to them as good but is not truly good, as if they are still lacking. But regarding the righteous it is written for all the goodness, because they always feel that they have everything. Therefore Jacob said because God has been gracious to me and because I have everything. Some say that here Esau acknowledged Jacob’s blessings saying I have plenty [rav] — meaning “I acknowledge that you are my master [rav] and I am the servant, and if so, what can you give me? For whatever a servant acquires belongs to his master.”
And Jacob said: "Nay, I pray you, if now I have found favor in your sight, then receive my present at my hand; forasmuch as I have seen your face, as one sees the face of God, and you were pleased with me.
verse value 5074 — אֱלֹהִ֖ים = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 77 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֖ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 5074 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "favor" (חֵן֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·your·eyes" (בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 621: I·have·seen, as·seeing. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "my·gift" (מִנְחָתִ֖י), "and·received·me·favorably" (וַתִּרְצֵֽנִי). The root ראה appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "no·please" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·my·hand', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 8 words.
Onkelos
Jacob said, "Please — if now I have found favor in your eyes, accept my gift from my hand, for I have therefore seen your face as one sees the face of great ones, and you have been pleased with me."
Rashi
אל נא NAY, I PRAY THEE — Do not, I pray thee, speak to me thus. אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך ולקחת מנחתי מידי כי על כן ראיתי פניך וגו' IF NOW I HAVE FOUND FAVOUR IN THY EYES THEN TAKE MY PRESENT AT MY HAND: FOR THEREFORE I HAVE SEEN THY FACE etc. — Accept my present because (כי) it is fitting and proper for you to accept my present, for that (על כן) I have seen your face which is as dear to me as the sight of the angel — for I have seen your guardian angel. And a further reason why you should accept my present is ותרצני — because you have agreed to pardon my offence. Why, however, did he mention to him that he had seen the angel? In order that he (Esau) should be afraid of him saying, “He has seen angels and nevertheless escaped safely! Now, certainly, I shall be unable to overcome him” (Sotah 41b) ותרצני AND THOU WAST PLEASED WITH ME — You are reconciled with me. Wherever the term רצה (the verb, or the noun רצון) occurs in Scripture it means “propitiating”; old French appaisement; English appeasing. An example is, (Leviticus 22:20) “It shall not be (לרצון) acceptable as a propitiatory sacrifice to you”, for the purpose of the sacrifices is to conciliate and to propitiate. Similarly (Proverbs 10:31) "The lips of the righteous know רצון — they understand to conciliate and propitiate.
Ramban
FORASMUCH AS I HAVE SEEN THY FACE. Jacob said to him: “Take my present from me because I have seen your face, which to me is as one seeth the sight of an angel, ‘vatirtzeini’ (and thou wast pleased with me), as you indicated by accepting the present,” just as G-d ‘rotzeh’ (taketh pleasure) in them that fear Him, by accepting their offerings and sacrifices. This is similar to the verses: ‘Venirtzah’ (And it shall be favourably accepted) for him; Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be ‘leratzon’ (acceptable) upon Mine altar, this being associated with the expressions: Let him be ‘retzui’ (the favoured) of his brethren, And the light of Thy countenance, for ‘ratzitham’ (Thou wast favourable to them), For Thy servants ‘ratzu’ (take pleasure) in her stones. All these forms of ratzah connote desire and pleasure in a matter. But Rashi wrote, “Because you have agreed to pardon my offense. Vatirtzeini, you are reconciled with me.” But I have already said that it was not advisable for Jacob to bring iniquity to remembrance.
Ibn Ezra
"Please no" — let my lord not say such a thing. I have already explained to you the grammatical analysis of the Nagid. "Like seeing the face of God" — a reference to the angel. Most commentators say that the angel came to Jacob to strengthen his heart so that he would not fear his brother, for if the angel could not prevail over him, how much less could a mortal. And the word "strove" (שרית) in "you have striven with God" (Genesis 32:29) is not like "ruled" (ישר) in "Abimelech ruled over Israel" (Judges 9:22), because "with" (עם) is not the same as "over" (על); rather the meaning is: you shall be reckoned a prince among the angels and among noble men. And they ask: what is the reason for "and the sun shone for him" — does not the sun rise for the entire world at the same moment? Their question is void, for the moment of sunrise differs from place to place. Indeed, between Jerusalem and the province where I wrote this commentary — called Lucca — there is a difference of one hour and a third of an hour, corresponding to twelve degrees; and this is beyond doubt. And the meaning of "and he was limping" is that he walked on one side. And the reason for "therefore" is a remembrance of the matter.
Sforno
כראות פני אלוקים, as is the custom when one is granted an audience by the people in high office. The Torah already commanded that when appearing in Jerusalem three times a year, the Israelite fulfilling this commandment must not appear before G’d empty-handed. (Exodus 23,15) ותרצני, in order that you will receive me with goodwill. We have a similar construction in Maleachi 1,8 הירצך או הישא פניך?, This consideration also warrants my sending you a lavish gift.
Chizkuni
כי על כן ראיתי פניך, “for I have made a special effort to meet you face to face in order to present you with this gift. The word: ראיתי, in the past tense, although at the time described Yaakov had not yet met Esau face to face, may be understood in the same way as when Avraham said to Efron, concerning the money for the field and cave of Machpelah, “נתתי כסף השדה, “I have given the money for the field;” (he had not yet given it though he kept it at hand) (Compare 23,13) Compare also the expression: הרימותי ידי,“I have raised my hand in an oath,”(14,23) where Avraham is prepared to swear that he will not accept any loot from the King of Sodom. He was about to swear this oath, but had not yet done so. כראות פני אלוהים, “as if being received by G’d.” (After a pilgrimage) The Torah demanded from each pilgrim to Jerusalem during the three festivals not to appear empty-handed. (Deuteronomy 16,16,(Bereshit Rabbah 78,12.)
Rabbeinu Bahya
כי על כן ראיתי פניך, “inasmuch as I have seen your face.” I believe the correct interpretation of this verse is: “accept this gift from me in order to demonstrate your goodwill towards me, just as someone who offers a gift to his ruler feels reassured when the ruler condescends to accept his gift.” Our sages (Sotah 41-42) understand the words כראות פני אלוהים as follows: Rabbi Yochanan said: “it is permissible to flatter the wicked people of this world as we know from the above verse where Yaakov flattered Esau.” He disagrees with Rabbi Pedot in this regard as the latter said that even if the motivation of such flattery is based on fear, it is not permissible. He bases his opinion on Psalms 101,7: “he who speaks untruths shall not stand before My eyes.” We also have a verse in Job 13,16: “for no flatterer can come into His presence.” As to how one can reconcile the message of these verses with Yaakov’s behaviour in our verses, or rather, with Rabbi Yochanan’s view that what Yaakov did was in order, Rabbi Yochanan will reply that the type of flattery attributed here to Yaakov is permissible as it was of a general nature and his wording allowed of more than one interpretation. His words were capable of a favourable interpretation or an unfavourable interpretation. The word ראיתי, “I have seen,” could be interpreted as Yaakov being critical of Esau just as we find such a meaning in Psalms 22,18: “while they look on (יביטו יראו בי) and gloat.” A similar negative meaning can be attributed to Yaakov using the word אלוהים in describing Esau’s face. The word is meant as a description of an idol. If the wicked person to whom Yaakov’s words were addressed chose to interpret them as flattering him, then this is Esau’s problem, not Yaakov’s. Our sages in Chulin 94 are on record as saying: “if he wants to deceive himself, he cannot claim that I have deceived him.” We similarly find that the sages (Nedarim 62) permitted the Torah scholar to say: “I am a servant of fire,” in order to secure exemption from head-tax.” The reason such apparently flagrantly idolatrous statements are admissible is that G’d Himself has been described in the Torah as אש אוכלה הוא, “a consuming fire’ (Deut. 4,24). The Torah scholar may have referred to that verse when describing himself as the “servant of fire.” Seeing that such double-entendres were motivated by fear they were permissible.
Kli Yakar
“Like seeing the face of God” — Just as one who sees the face of God three times a year, as it is written and they shall not appear before Me empty-handed (Exodus 23:15), as one must bring sight offerings, similarly I do not wish to see your face empty-handed, therefore I request that you accept my gift. For I acknowledge that the blessings are not truly mine, as you are master over your brothers, and every ruler and official is called “elohim” [god/judge], as it is written See, I have made you as a god to Pharaoh (Exodus 7:1). Therefore, he compared seeing his face to seeing the face of God. And therefore, please take my blessing that was brought to you — he wasn’t referring to the gift when he said this, but rather to the blessings that his father had blessed him with. [He was saying] “Please take it for yourself because it is yours, and it was brought to you, for when my father blessed me, his intention was actually about you.” And if you would ask, “If the blessings aren’t mine, then from where did I get all this wealth?” To this he answered, For God has been gracious to me — meaning that He gave it to me as an act of grace, like one who shows favor to the poor, not as an obligation stemming from the blessings. And behold, the Eternal One of Israel does not lie — even though openly he said I have seen your face as one sees the face of God nevertheless in his heart the intention was: “Just as I was terrified at night when I saw the face of God [your angel], so too am I terrified seeing your face.”
Tur HaArokh
כראות פני אלוקים ותרצני, “having seen you is like seeing an angel of G’d, and for becoming reconciled with me.” According to Rashi, Yaakov acknowledged Esau’s generosity in voluntarily reconciling himself with him. According to Nachmanides this was not the occasion when Yaakov mentioned any guilt at all. He simply told Esau that he would consider his accepting his gift as a source of great satisfaction, something comparable to being granted the vision of an angel. Looking at his brother’s face when it was well disposed towards him, was worth a great deal to him.
Take, I pray you, my blessing that is brought to you; because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." And he urged him, and he took it.
verse value 3339 — אֱלֹהִ֖ים = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 51 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֖ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "to·you" (לָ֔ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "my·blessing" (אֶת־בִּרְכָתִי֙, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "my·blessing" (אֶת־בִּרְכָתִי֙), "for·has·favored·me" (כִּֽי־חַנַּ֥נִי), "I·have·all" (יֶשׁ־לִי־כֹ֑ל). The root לקח appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "was·brought" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·have·all', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 2 words. Full calculation: קַח־נָ֤א [take·please] (159) + אֶת־בִּרְכָתִי֙ [my·blessing] (1033) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [which] (501) + הֻבָ֣את [was·brought] (408) + לָ֔ךְ [to·you] (50) + כִּֽי־חַנַּ֥נִי [for·has·favored·me] (148) + אֱלֹהִ֖ים [God] (86) + וְכִ֣י [and·that] (36) + יֶשׁ־לִי־כֹ֑ל [I·have·all] (400) + וַיִּפְצַר־בּ֖וֹ [and·urged·him] (394) + וַיִּקָּֽח [and·took] (124) = 3339.
Onkelos
Accept now my gift that has been brought to you, for it has been gracious upon me from before Hashem, and I have everything. And he urged him, and he accepted.
Rashi
ברכתי means MY PRESENT — a present such as this that is brought, when one has an audience with a person after an interval of time is intended only as a greeting. Now wherever the term "blessing” (ברכה) is used in connection with an audience — as for example, (47:7) “Jacob blessed (ויברך) Pharaoh”, and (2 Kings 18:31) "make your peace (ברכה) with me” mentioned in connection with Sennacherib, and also (2 Samuel 8:10) to salute him and to bless him (לברכו)” mentioned in connection with Toi, King of Hamath — they all signify greeting, O.I. saluer. So that here, too: ברכתי really means “mon salut” — my greetings and the term is then transferred to the greeting-present. אשר הבאת לך THAT IS BROUGHT TO THEE without any exertion on your part. I have myself taken the trouble to bring it all this way until it has reached your hand (Genesis Rabbah 78:12). חַנַּנִי GOD HATH FAVOURED ME — The first נ has a Dagesh, because it serves the purpose of two נ’s since it should have said חַנְנַנִי as we always find the forms of חנן with two נ’s. The third נ here (Rashi means the third that is pronounced) serves as part of the accusative pronominal suffix (meaning “me”), as (Isaiah 29:16) עשני "He made me”, and as (30:20) זבדני “he endowed me”. יש לי כל I HAVE EVERYTHING — all that will supply my needs. But Esau spoke proudly (v. 8): I have (רב) abundance — far more than my needs.
Ramban
TAKE, I PRAY THEE, MY BLESSING. I.e., the gift. Likewise, Make your blessing with me means “bring me a gift” or “make your peace with me.” So also, Take a blessing of thy servant means “take a present from thy servant.” They called a gift which a man sends of his own free will “a blessing” because he sends it from that with which G-d had blessed him, just as the verse states, Wherewith the Eternal thy G-d hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him, and just as Scripture said above, And he took of that which he had with him. However, a specific gift of that which has been agreed upon as due the king is called mas (tribute).
Sforno
ויפצר בו, in order for him to accept the gift. Yaakov was aware that bribes sway people’s minds; in this case he used the bribe to blind Esau’s judgment. We encounter the very opposite with the prophet Elisha in Kings II 5,16 where he is urged to accept a well deserved gift and refuses, so that Naaman will know that a true servant of the Lord does not accept a reward for someone else’s accomplishment, i.e. G’d having cured Naaman from his leprosy.
Tur HaArokh
קח נא את ברכתי, “please accept my gift.” When man sends a totally free-willed gift, מנחה, such a gift is described as a ברכה, a blessing. The reason is that he voluntarily gives away something which G’d had blessed him with. A gift which one tenders to a king, on the other hand, is called מס, “tax.” ויפצר בו ויקח, “insisted, and Esau accepted.” There is a Midrash which explains why Yaakov made a point of having Esau accept his gift. Formerly, Esau and Yaakov had sort of divided the world into two domains, the here and now, and the hereafter. Yaakov had chosen for himself the hereafter, whereas Esau had chosen the here and now. When Esau now found out that Yaakov had acquired a substantial amount of wealth in the here and now, he was liable to demand in exchange part of the hereafter for himself. Yaakov now offered him everything in order to forestall any such claim by Esau. Esau agreed in principle, but stipulated that in the event that any of his people would want to convert to Judaism that Yaakov would accept such converts. This is the meaning of Esau’s proposal in verse 13 and 15.
And he said: "Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before you."
verse value 722
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 24 letters. The shortest word is "let·us·journey" (נִסְעָ֣ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּ֖אמֶר, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "let·us·journey" (נִסְעָ֣ה), "at·your·pace" (לְנֶגְדֶּֽךָ). The root ילך appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "at·your·pace" (root נגד, 44x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·let·us·go', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֖אמֶר [and·said] (257) + נִסְעָ֣ה [let·us·journey] (185) + וְנֵלֵ֑כָה [and·let·us·go] (111) + וְאֵלְכָ֖ה [and·I·will·go] (62) + לְנֶגְדֶּֽךָ [at·your·pace] (107) = 722.
Onkelos
He said, "Let us travel and go, and I will journey alongside you."
Rashi
נסעה is an imperative like שִׁמְעָה and שִׁלָחָה which are equivalent to שְׁמַע "hearken!” and שְׁלֵח “send!” Similarly here, נִסְעָה is equivalent to נְסַע “travel on!”, where the נ is a root-letter of the word and not the prefix of the future in which case the word would mean “let us travel on”, similar to the following word ונלכה “and let us go”. The Targum also takes it in this sense, rendering it: “Travel on and let us go". Thus Esau said to Jacob, “Travel thou on from here and let us go etc. ואלכה לננדך means AND I WILL GO SIDE BY SIDE WITH THEE — I will do you this favour: that I will take a longer time on my journey by going slowly as is necessary for you. This is the meaning of לנגדך — alongside of you.
Ibn Ezra
"Let us journey" (נסעה) — some say it is a form of command, like "send the lad" (Genesis 43:8), and likewise "fall upon us" (Hosea 10:8). And "let us go" (ונלכה) — all of us, meaning: I will go alongside you, I will not move from you. It may also be understood like "and we journeyed from the river Ahava" (Ezra 8:31) — let us all journey, and I will go alongside you.
Sforno
נסעה ונלכה, to Seir, Esau’s home. This was in line with what Yaakov’s messengers had told Esau as being their destination.
Rabbeinu Bahya
נסעה ונלכה ואלכה, “travel on and let us go!” Seeing that Esau uses both the singular and the plural when he said “let us go,” and “I will proceed, etc.,” it is possible to understand that Esau made two requests of Yaakov. He said: “if you want to we can travel together. Alternately, I will keep my distance and proceed on a course parallel to yours”. The word נגדך would then have a similar meaning to Genesis 21,16 ותשב לה מנגד הרחק, “she sat down some distance away.” Yaakov replied that he could not travel together with Esau. This is why he said: “my lord knows that the children are tender, etc.” However, Esau did travel a parallel route some distance away. This is what the Torah means that he went to Seir, whereas Yaakov went to Sukkot. According to the Midrash: There is a deeper meaning behind the mention of these names. When Esau said נסעה ונלכה, “let us travel on,” Esau had said to Yaakov: “let us divide the world” i.e. both the present life as well as the hereafter between us. Yaakov replied: “the children are tender;” he meant that they are still not trained to perform the commandments. If I choose to give them part of the attractions in the present life before they are able to handle such temptations, ומתו כל הצאן, “the whole flock may die,” (figure of speech for forfeiting one’s afterlife) and they will not be ready to cope with judgment in Gehinom. Therefore, יעבר נא אדוני, “go ahead my lord (and take possession of the good life in this world) and I will take my time in exile, etc. i.e. אתנהלה לאטי “according to my own slow pace”. The word אט occurs as an expression signifying שפלות, humiliation, in Kings I 21,27 “Achav walked in humiliation.” Yaakov implied that while in exile in this world he would not rebel against his humiliating conditions by provoking war against the host countries. This is implied by the words לרגל המלאכה. As to how long such a condition of the Jewish people in exile would continue, he said עד אשר אבא אל אדוני שעירה “until I come to my lord to Se-ir,” meaning until the time of the redemption arrives when ועלו מושיעים בהר שעיר, when they will conquer Mount Se-ir.
And he said to him: "My lord knows that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds giving suck are a care to me; and if they overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die.
verse value 2886 — אֶחָ֔ד = 13 (echad/ahavah)
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 67 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֔ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). Verse gematria: 2886 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "knows" (יֹדֵ֙עַ֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "that·the·children" (כִּֽי־הַיְלָדִ֣ים, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "that·the·children" (כִּֽי־הַיְלָדִ֣ים), "tender" (רַכִּ֔ים), "and·the·herds" (וְהַבָּקָ֖ר). The root צאן appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "to·him" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "that·the·children" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Onkelos
He said to him, "My lord knows that the young children are tender, and the flocks and cattle that are nursing are upon my care; if they drive them hard for even one day, all the flock will die."
Rashi
עלות עלי WITH YOUNG ARE WITH ME — The sheep and the oxen which are giving suck constitute a charge upon me (עלי) to drive them slowly. עלות means bringing up their young. Words of the same root are found in (Lamentations 2:11) “young children (עולל) and the sucklings”: (Isaiah LXV.20) “an infant (עול) of days”: (1 Samuel 6:7) “and two milch kine (עלות)”. old French enfantées. ודפקום יום אחד AND IF MEN SHOULD OVERDRIVE THEM, wearying them on the journey by making them run, מתו כל הצאן ALL THE FLOCKS WILL DIE. ודפקום has the same meaning as in (Song. 5:2) “Hark, my beloved knocketh (דופק)” — knocks at the door — so that it means to beat the animals in order that they may travel quickly.
Ramban
AND ALL THE FLOCKS WILL DIE. Jacob said this in a compassionate manner for he should have said, “And they will all die,” but he would not express himself this way about the children. Neither did he wish to say, “and they will die,” with reference to the herds and the flocks, because he had compassion on the children lest they be included by implication. He also did not want to be verbose and say, “and all the flocks and herds will die.” It may be that the explanation of the verse is that “the children are tender — even the youths shall faint and be weary — and they will not want to go, and that the flocks and herds giving suck are a care to me, and if they will be overdriven the flocks will die, as they are small cattle, but the herds [signifying larger cattle] will not die although they will be harmed.”
Ibn Ezra
"For the children are tender" — for the oldest among them was twelve years old and a number of days. "The pregnant ones" (עלות) — as in "he will gently lead the nursing ones" (Isaiah 40:11); these are the pregnant females upon whom the he-goats have mounted, and for that reason they are called עלות. The meaning of "upon me" is: it is upon me to guard them lest they come to harm. "And if they drive them" — if the drivers push them hard, all the flock will die.
Sforno
כי הילדים רכים, for it is my task to take care both of the children of tender age and of the sheep and other animals which are sensitive to overexertion. ודפקום, in your honour, not to delay you.
Chizkuni
כי הילדים רכים, “for the children are frail;” when speaking of the flocks, Yaakov had expressed the fear that they die if rushed;” we find reference to something like this in Job 21,11: וילדיהן ירקדון, “and their children skip about.” Yaakov’s wives and children were riding slowly on camels. (Compare 31,17.)
Tur HaArokh
ומתו כל הצאן, “and all the flocks would die.” Yaakov did not say “and they will all die,” seeing the word “flocks” is the obvious subject, as he did not want to mention the word death in a way that could be understood as applying to the children. Alternately, he mentioned the צאן once more, seeing that they are the smaller animals, the goats and sheep, whereas he refrained from including the cattle in any such context. Esau knew that cattle are more hardy and that Yaakov’s excuse not to keep company with him could not be based on such a phony consideration.
Let my lord, I pray you, pass over before his servant; and I will journey on gently, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord to Seir."
verse value 3921
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 79 letters. The shortest word is "unto" (עַ֛ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·are·before·me" (אֲשֶׁר־לְפָנַי֙, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "let·pass·please" (יַעֲבׇר־נָ֥א), "lead·gently" (אֶֽתְנָהֲלָ֣ה), "at·my·slow·pace" (לְאִטִּ֗י). The root אדון appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·come" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "the·children" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "before" (root פנים, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·servant', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 12 words.
Onkelos
"Let my lord now pass on ahead of his servant, and I will travel at a gentle pace, according to the pace of the work that is before me and according to the pace of the young children, until I come to my lord at Seir."
Rashi
יעבר נא אדני LET MY LORD, I PRAY THEE, PASS — do not prolong the time of your journey: pass on at your usual speed even though you thereby get far away from me. אתנהלה is the same as אתנהל I WILL LEAD ON. The ה at the end of the word is redundant as in (8:21) ארדה “I will go down”, and in (Psalms 85:9) אשמעה “I will hear”. לאטי SLOWLY — the word means “my slowness", לאט having the meaning of ease, gentleness. Examples are: (Isaiah 8:6) “that go (לאט) softly”; (2 Samuel 18:6) “Deal (לאט) gently for my sake with the young man.” In לאטי the ל is a root-letter and not a prefix, so that the meaning is, “I will lead on at my slow rate”. לרגל המלאכה ACCORDING TO THE PACE OF THE DROVE — according to the requirements made by the pace of the feet of the cattle which is incumbent on me to drive. ולרגל הילדים AND ACCORDING TO THE PACE OF THE CHILDREN — according to the speed (רגל) which they are able to keep up. עד אשר אבא אל אדני שעירה UNTIL I COME UNTO MY LORD UNTO SEIR — He mentioned a much longer journey, for he really intended to go only as far as Succoth (Avodah Zarah 25b). He said, “If he means to do me harm let him wait to do so until I reach his abode at Seir.” Therefore he did not go to Seir. But when will he go? In the days of the Messiah, as it is said (Obadiah 1:21) “And saviours shall go up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau”. There are many Midrashic explanations of this section.
Ramban
UNTIL I COME UNTO MY LORD UNTO SE’IR. In returning to his land Jacob could have gone by way of the land of Se’ir. Now Esau told him, And I will go before thee, here. meaning that he will not be separated from him until Jacob returns to his father in order to honor him when he comes into his land. But Jacob said, “I will proceed slowly and let my lord return to the city of his rule, and if I will return by way of his city, he will honor me and go with me as he desires.” This was not a vow on the part of Jacob that he will come to him, for Esau did not need him. Our Rabbis have further said that Jacob had no intention of returning by way of Se’ir, and his desire was to remove himself from him as much as possible, but he mentioned until I come … unto Se’ir in order to extend the length of his journey [so that if Esau meant to do him harm he would wait until Jacob reached his abode at Se’ir]. This also was wise counsel. The Rabbis have yet another Midrash, which states that Jacob will fulfill his word in the days of the Messiah, as it is said, And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau. Scripture is saying that the saviors [i.e., the judges of Israel] who are on Mount Zion shall come up to judge the mount of Esau.
Ibn Ezra
"I will travel at my ease" (אתנהלה) — like "I will travel gently with them." "Slowly" (לאטי) — the yod is added; or it may be a first-person singular form. "At the pace of the work" (לרגל המלאכה) — on account of the livestock, which is my task (מלאכה). What seems most likely to me is that מלאכה denotes what a person is able to do with his own strength and within his authority; and likewise wealth is called by this term, as in "if he did not lay his hand on the property (מלאכת) of his neighbor" (Exodus 22:7). From this same root comes the word "angel" (מלאך), because he acts under the authority of the one who sends him. And "at the pace of" (לרגל) is like "Hashem has blessed me on account of (לרגלי)" (Genesis 30:30). It may also mean "at the pace of" literally — that he led them on foot.
Chizkuni
עד אשר אבוא אל אדוני שעירה, “until I shall join up with my lord in Seir. Yaakov meant that once he had settled his wives and children and had made suitable arrangements for his flocks and herds, he would visit his brother in his homeland, Seir. At that time there would be an opportunity to celebrate their reunion with joy.
Rabbeinu Bahya
.עד אשר אבא אל אדוני שעירה, until I come to my lord at Se-ir.” Actually Yaakov had no intention of traveling to Se-ir; on the contrary, he wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and Esau. This is why he told Esau that he had a distant target although we find he stopped already at Sukkot, way short of that distance (compare Rashi). Basing themselves on what Yaakov said here, our sages in Avodah Zarah 25 advised “if a pagan asks you where you are headed, tell him a destination which is twice as far removed as your true destination just as did Yaakov at the time he met Esau.” A Midrashic approach based on Bereshit Rabbah 78,14. We cannot find a single reference in Scripture that Yaakov ever arrived in Se-ir. Was the truthful Yaakov then a liar? He was no liar. He referred to the time in the future of which Ovadiah 21 prophesied that the Jews, i.e. Yaakov’s descendants, would capture Mount Seir as part of the process of redemption of the Jewish people. This is why you find an allusion to this when you put together the last letters in the words אבא אל אדוני שעירה where you found that they combine to make the name אליה the harbinger of the redemption, the period when Israel will defeat Edom, Se-ir. This is a reference to Maleachi 3,23 “Here I am going to send you Eliyahu the prophet, etc.”
And Esau said: "Let me now leave with you some of the folk that are with me." And he said: "What needs it? let me find favor in the sight of my lord."
verse value 2781
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 54 letters. The shortest word is "this" (זֶּ֔ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "let·me·assign·please" (אַצִּֽיגָה־נָּ֣א, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 257: and·said, and·said. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "let·me·assign·please" (אַצִּֽיגָה־נָּ֣א), "from·the·people" (מִן־הָעָ֖ם). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "with·you" (root עם, 87x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·said] (257) + עֵשָׂ֔ו [Esau] (376) + אַצִּֽיגָה־נָּ֣א [let·me·assign·please] (160) + עִמְּךָ֔ [with·you] (130) + מִן־הָעָ֖ם [from·the·people] (205) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [which] (501) + אִתִּ֑י [with·me] (411) + וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ [and·said] (257) + לָ֣מָּה [why] (75) + זֶּ֔ה [this] (12) + אֶמְצָא־חֵ֖ן [may·I·find·favor] (190) + בְּעֵינֵ֥י [in·the·eyes·of] (142) + אֲדֹנִֽי [my·lord] (65) = 2781.
Onkelos
Esau said, "Let me now leave with you some of the people who are with me." But he said, "Why should I need this? May I find favor in the eyes of my lord."
Rashi
ויאמר למה זה means AND HE SAID, WHY IS IT— that thou shouldst do me a favour which I do not need?” אמצא חן בעיני אדני LET ME FIND FAVOUR IN THE EYES OF MY LORD and do not give me any recompense at present for the gifts I have made you.
Ramban
WHY THIS? LET ME FIND FAVOUR IN THE EYES OF MY LORD. Why this, that you should do me a favor which I do not need? Let me find favour in your eyes, and do not give me any recompense at present [for the gift which I have presented to you]. This is the language of Rashi. Now Jacob’s meaning was that he did not want them and their company at all, the more so since he intended to go another way. Our Rabbis have further seen an advisory aspect in this entire chapter. Thus they have said: “Before embarking on a journey to the Roman ruler, Rabbi Yanai would peruse this section of the Torah, and he never took Romans with him as an escort on the return journey. One time he did not peruse this section and he took Romans with him, and he had not yet reached Acco when he was compelled to sell his travelling cloak for bribery money.” [The significance attached to this chapter] was because of the Rabbinical tradition that this was the section of the exile. Therefore when Rabbi Yanai entered Rome, in the court of the kings of Edom, [on a mission] concerning public matters, he would peruse this section of the Torah in order to follow the advice of the wise patriarch, for it is he that the generations are to see and emulate. Thus he would not accept the company of the Romans as an escort for they draw no man near to them except for their own interest and take liberties with people’s belongings.
Ibn Ezra
And the meaning of "why this" — I have no need of it.
Or HaChaim
למה זה, אמצא חן בעיניך, "Why do this? Let me find favour in my master's eyes." Jacob preferred an ongoing good relationship with Esau rather than to become the beneficiary of a one-time exaggerated display of Esau's loving concern for him and his family. Jacob hinted at the future when he said אמצא חן, "let me find favour in the future."
Rabbeinu Bahya
למה זה אמצא חן בעיני אדני, “why all this? Let me find favour in your eyes.” The words למה זה do not form part of the four words למה זה אמצא חן, but they are two separate statements. The first two words refer to Esau’s offer (or threat) to provide Yaakov with an escort. The second part of the verse means: “you have already done enough for me by letting me find favour in your eyes.” Yaakov implied that this was more important to him than an escort of numerous people.
Tur HaArokh
למה זה, אמצא חן בעיניך, “why do that? Let me find favour in the eyes of my lord.” Yaakov absolutely did not want the company of Esau. This too, is an aspect of מעשה אבות סימן לבנים, that the patriarchs’ mode of conduct should serve as a model for their descendants when they find themselves in similar circumstances. We are to refrain from becoming chummy with the secular authorities of the country which hosts us when we are in exile, seeing that friendliness by such rulers reflects only what they can get out of us and not what we can get out of them.
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "Esau" (עֵשָׂ֛ו, 3 letters) and the longest is "on·his·way" (לְדַרְכּ֖וֹ, 5 letters). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis); "on·the·day" (root יום, 126x in Genesis); "and·returned" (root שוב, 67x in Genesis). Full calculation: וַיָּ֩שׇׁב֩ [and·returned] (318) + בַּיּ֨וֹם [on·the·day] (58) + הַה֥וּא [that] (17) + עֵשָׂ֛ו [Esau] (376) + לְדַרְכּ֖וֹ [on·his·way] (260) + שֵׂעִֽירָה [Seir] (585) = 1614.
Onkelos
So Esau turned back on that day on his way to Seir.
Rashi
וישב ביום ההוא עשו לדרכו SO ESAU RETURNED THAT DAY ON HIS WAY — Esau alone returned, but the four hundred men who had accompanied him slipped away from him one by one. When did the Holy One, blessed be He, reward them for this? In the days of David, as it is said (1 Samuel 30:17) (in reference to an attack which he made upon the Amalekites, descendants of Esau) “[and there escaped not a man of them] save four hundred young men who rode upon camels” (Genesis Rabbah 78:15).
Chizkuni
וישב ביום ההוא עשו, “on that day Esau returned;” according to Rashi, from this verse we derive that the four hundred men who had formed Esau’s entourage had simply melted away, seeing Esau is described as returning alone. They had clearly still been with him in verse 15.
And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him a house, and made booths for his cattle. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
verse value 3949 — ל֖וֹ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 52 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֖וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֖וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·for·his·cattle" (וּלְמִקְנֵ֙הוּ֙, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "journeyed" (נָסַ֣ע), "Succoth" (סֻכֹּ֔תָה), "and·for·his·cattle" (וּלְמִקְנֵ֙הוּ֙). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Jacob" (root יעקב, 180x in Genesis); "made" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis); "called" (root קרא, 123x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'house', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְיַעֲקֹב֙ [and·Jacob] (188) + נָסַ֣ע [journeyed] (180) + סֻכֹּ֔תָה [Succoth] (485) + וַיִּ֥בֶן [and·built] (68) + ל֖וֹ [to·him] (36) + בָּ֑יִת [house] (412) + וּלְמִקְנֵ֙הוּ֙ [and·for·his·cattle] (237) + עָשָׂ֣ה [made] (375) + סֻכֹּ֔ת [booths] (480) + עַל־כֵּ֛ן [therefore] (170) + קָרָ֥א [called] (301) + שֵׁם־הַמָּק֖וֹם [name·of·the·place] (531) + סֻכּֽוֹת [Succoth] (486) = 3949.
Onkelos
Jacob traveled to Sukkot and built himself a house, and for his livestock he made shelters; therefore the name of the place was called Sukkot.
Rashi
ויבן לו בית AND HE BUILT FOR HIMSELF A HOUSE — He stayed there eighteen months — summer, winter and summer again (Megillah 17a); for the first mention of Succoth (booths which are erected for the cattle) points to the summer (when booths are necessary for the cattle), the mention of building a house to the winter, and the second mention of booths to the next summer.
Ramban
AND HE BUILT FOR HIMSELF A HOUSE. It is possible that the place was a location which had no city, and he therefore found it necessary to build for himself a house and make booths for his cattle. Or it may be that the expression, and he built for himself a house, means that he built for himself a large house with a strong tower to fortify himself against Esau.
Or HaChaim
נסע סכותה, He journeyed towards Sukkot. The reason this place was called סוכות was because there Jacob built pens and shelters for his herds and cattle. The Torah purposely does not say לסוכות, "to Sukkot" because this would have led us to believe that this place had already been known by the name סוכות. You may well ask why the Torah bothered to mention the fact that Jacob called the name of the place where he built shelters for his animals סוכות. Perhaps the reason is that Jacob was the first human being who expended so much time, energy, and money in order to assure his animals a degree of comfort both in summer and in winter.
Tur HaArokh
ויבן לו בית, “he built himself a house.” It is possible that this was not an urban area and he had to build himself a house; alternately, the Torah reports that Yaakov built himself a very strong and solid house, one that could serve as a fortification against an attack by Esau.
And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram; and encamped before the city.
verse value 3521
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 52 letters. The shortest word is "safe" (שָׁלֵ֜ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "facing" (אֶת־פְּנֵ֥י, 5 letters). The root בוא appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "and·arrived" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Aram', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיָּבֹא֩ [and·arrived] (19) + יַעֲקֹ֨ב [Jacob] (182) + שָׁלֵ֜ם [safe] (370) + עִ֣יר [town] (280) + שְׁכֶ֗ם [Shechem] (360) + אֲשֶׁר֙ [which] (501) + בְּאֶ֣רֶץ [in·the·land] (293) + כְּנַ֔עַן [Canaan] (190) + בְּבֹא֖וֹ [when·he·came] (11) + מִפַּדַּ֣ן [from·Paddan] (174) + אֲרָ֑ם [Aram] (241) + וַיִּ֖חַן [and·encamped] (74) + אֶת־פְּנֵ֥י [facing] (541) + הָעִֽיר [the·city] (285) = 3521.
Onkelos
Jacob arrived safely at the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and he encamped facing the city.
Rashi
שלם SAFELY (literally, whole, perfect, unimpaired) — unimpaired in body (health) because he was cured of his lameness; whole as regards his possessions for he was not short of anything even though he had given that gift (for his remaining cattle soon bore other young; cf. Rashi on Genesis 30:43); and perfect in his knowledge of the Torah for whilst he was in Laban’s house he had not forgotten what he had before learned (Shabbat 33b). עיר שכם — the word עיר is equivalent to לעיר to the city of. Similarly we have (Ruth 1:19) “until they came בית לחם” — “to Bethlehem". בבאו מפדן ארם WHEN HE CAME FROM PADAN-ARAM — This is stated here in the same way as a person says to his neighbour, “that man there has come from between the teeth of the lion and has returned unhurt”. Similarly here: he came whole from Padan-aram — from Laban and from Esau who had come to attack him on his journey.
Ramban
AND JACOB CAME IN PEACE … FROM PADDAN-ARAM. [This is stated here in the same manner] as a person says to his friend, “That man there has come from between the teeth of the lions and has arrived unhurt.” Similarly here, And Jacob came in peace, i.e., from Laban and from Esau. This is the language of Rashi. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the sense of the verse is that Jacob arrived in peace from his lengthy journey and nothing happened to him, as Scripture now begins to narrate the event of Dinah. In my opinion Scripture speaks thus since for the length of his sojourn in Succoth here. he was fearful of Esau. Succoth — if it be the one mentioned in the book of Joshua — was east of the Jordan, in the kingdom of Sihon, and if it be another city by that name, it was nearer to Se’ir. Thus until he entered the land of Canaan Jacob did not feel safe, for only then did he know that Esau would not touch him for his father was nearby, or because the people of the land would help him as his father was a prince of G-d in their midst, or because the merit of having entered the land would save him. And therefore, Scripture now said that he came in peace into the land of his father’s sojourning since G-d delivered him in his travels out of the hand of all his enemies. And the Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah 8:20. that during all these months that our father Jacob stayed in Succoth he honored Esau with that present enumerated above 2:14-15. by Scripture for he was afraid of him there, and monthly or annually he would send him a comparable present. AND HE ENCAMPED BEFORE THE CITY. He did not wish to be a transient lodger in the city, but rather he wished that his inaugural entrance into the land should be into his own property. Therefore he encamped in the field and bought a place for the purpose of taking possession of the land. This action constituted a hint that this place will be conquered by him first before the dwellers of the land would be driven from before his seed, just as I have explained in the case of Abraham. And our Rabbis have said: “He arrived on Friday close to sundown [and was therefore compelled to encamp before the city as there was no time left to enter the city], and he set Sabbath limits [while it was yet day.” The verse thus teaches us that Jacob observed the Sabbath before it was declared on Sinai]. Now according to this opinion of the Rabbis the act of Jacob encamping there first was unintentional. However, in any case, the event hinted to the future as we have said. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra however said that Scripture mentions this in order to inform us that there is great excellence to the Land of Israel, and he who owns a part thereof has it considered as a portion in the World to Come.
Ibn Ezra
"And Jacob came safely" (שלם) — it is an adjective; the meaning is that he arrived in peace, with no mishap having befallen him, for now the text begins to recount the incident of Dinah.
Sforno
ויבא יעקב שלם עיר שכם, he reached the land of Israel unharmed. This was the fulfillment of the condition he had set in his vow in 28,21 ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי, “and I will return in peace to the house of my father.” He did not wait until he had physically returned to the house of his father. בבאו מפדן ארם, while he was still on the way to his father’s house. He began to fulfill the terms of his vow by building an altar This was in accordance with his promises והיה ה' לי לאלוקים. (the last words of his vow).
Or HaChaim
ויבא יעקב שלם, Jacob arrived intact. We need to examine the meaning of the word שלם in this context. The Talmud Shabbat 33 provides several homiletical explanations. We also have to know why the Torah has to mention the place where Jacob came from, i.e. Padan Aram. We all know that Jacob had been in Padan Aram. Rashi comments: כאדם האומר לחבירו יצא פלוני מבין שיני אריות ובא שלם, "it is just like a person who reports that someone had escaped from between the teeth of lions without suffering any harm." The problem with this commentary is that the Torah told us something we knew from previous accounts. We feel that שלם means what we said earlier that Jacob's possessions were the same as when he set out from Padan Aram. G'd replenished the gift he had given to Esau so that he did not experience any loss. This then was the meaning of the blessing כל which Jacob had in mind when he described himself as having "כל."
Chizkuni
ויבא יעשב שלם, “Yaakov arrived intact at Shalem; he arrived at a town named Shalem, a suburb of Sh’chem, named after the ruler of that region. We find similar examples of capitals being identified with the names of their respective rulers, such as in Numbers 21,26, Sichon and Cheshbon. A different interpretation: The place called Shalem was actually the city Sh’chem. As long as Yaakov had not suffered the indignity of Dinah’s rape, his return to the land of Canaan, had been shalem, perfect, without incident. The “Shalem” mentioned here is not the same as the one we have heard about in Genesis 14, i.e. Jerusalem, over which Malki Tzedek was king, because we never found that Sh’chem ruled over Jerusalem. ויחן את פני העיר, “he encamped next to the city.” One reason was that he had too many possessions to be absorbed inside the city, and he did not feel comfortable about mingling with the inhabitants of that city.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויבא יעקב שלם, “Yaakov arrived whole.” According to the plain meaning of the text the Torah tells us that Yaakov arrived at the border of the land of Canaan, a place called Salem. According to Onkelos and Rashi the word שלם is not the name of a town but describes a condition in which Yaakov arrived at Shechem. They say that Yaakov was whole both in spirit and in body and with all his possessions intact when he arrived in the land of Canaan. This view is based on Shabbat 33. Dinah left her father’s house while they resided at (near) Shechem. This is where she was raped. When the Torah writes in verse 19 that Yaakov acquired a plot of land from the people of Chamor (the inhabitants of Shechem) upon which he pitched his tent, this showed that he was unwilling to be a mere tourist in the neighbourhood, but wanted to establish rights of citizenship in that area. Although Yaakov had not planned it, it so happened that in the future when the Jewish people conquered the land under the leadership of Joshua, this was the first part of the country they took possession of even before they dispossessed the local inhabitants. Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra comments that the words: “he acquired a plot of land,” teach us that the land of Israel is so beloved that anyone who owns a piece of it is assured of his place in the hereafter.
Kli Yakar
“And Jacob arrived safely [shalem].” Our Rabbis taught (Bereishit Rabbah 79:5) that he was complete [shalem] in his body, in his wealth, and in his Torah knowledge. There is a hint to this matter in the word shalem, which is an acronym for She’er [flesh], Limud [learning], Mazon [sustenance/wealth]. For “she’er” refers to his body, because when Jacob remained alone for his jug, he departed from a state of completeness, as if he was lacking in his wealth — for one who is overly concerned with money always appears to have an insufficient amount. But afterward, when he said I have everything, he rectified this matter and acknowledged that he was complete and not lacking, having everything — this refers to being complete in his wealth. And [he was] complete in his Torah knowledge, because when it says Jacob’s hip socket was dislocated, it hinted that he had no “hand and name” [authority/mastery] in the secrets of the Torah, as explained above. Through his rectification when saying I have everything, he became complete also in his Torah knowledge, for these matters are interdependent, as explained above in the verse Jacob remained alone. And [he was] complete in his body, [recovered] from the injury to his hip, for when he arrived at the city of Shechem, he was healed.
Tur HaArokh
ויבא יעקב שלם, “Yaakov arrived completely intact, etc.;” according to some commentators the word “Shalem” is the name of a place from which Yaakov proceeded to the city of Shechem, as we are told later that the men there were שלמים אתנו, the reference being to Yaakov and his sons as residing in “Shalem which is near us.” Ibn Ezra writes that the word שלם is an adjective, and describes Yaakov arriving there without mishap. The Torah mentions this as a prelude to the first major upset since he left Lavan, the rape of Dinah. Nachmanides writes that it would be too uncharacteristic for the Torah to report that Yaakov arrived somewhere without mishap, and that Shalem is another name for the city of Shechem. As long as he had remained in Sukkot, he was constantly afraid of Esau and his heart was not at peace. Once he had arrived in the land of Canaan he knew that he would shortly be reunited with his father and that he could enlist the help of his father or that the local people would help him out of respect for his father, and that the very merit of being back in the land of Israel, the Holy Land, would work in his favour. The G’d Who had protected him against all the dangers he had faced during his long journey home, would certainly continue to help while he was on the soil of Eretz Yisrael. ויחן את פני העיר. “He encamped facing the city.” He had stayed there a while and acquired property, fields, vineyards, etc. He did not want to remain a guest anywhere again. His actions served to remind his descendants in the future that they should first conquer this city before moving on to dispossess the Canaanites of their land. Ibn Ezra explains that the whole verse was written to compliment the land of Israel, and to tell us that anyone owning property in the Land of Israel is as if he had already acquired a share in the world to come.
And he bought the parcel of ground, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of money.
verse value 3581 — אֲבִ֣י = 13 (echad/ahavah)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 51 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁ֤ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Hamor" (בְּנֵֽי־חֲמ֖וֹר, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·parcel·of" (אֶת־חֶלְקַ֣ת), "pitched·there" (נָֽטָה־שָׁם֙), "sons·of·Hamor" (בְּנֵֽי־חֲמ֖וֹר). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "father·of" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "from·the·hand·of" (root יד, 88x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Shechem', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיִּ֜קֶן [and·bought] (166) + אֶת־חֶלְקַ֣ת [the·parcel·of] (939) + הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה [the·field] (314) + אֲשֶׁ֤ר [which] (501) + נָֽטָה־שָׁם֙ [pitched·there] (404) + אׇהֳל֔וֹ [tent] (42) + מִיַּ֥ד [from·the·hand·of] (54) + בְּנֵֽי־חֲמ֖וֹר [sons·of·Hamor] (316) + אֲבִ֣י [father·of] (13) + שְׁכֶ֑ם [Shechem] (360) + בְּמֵאָ֖ה [for·a·hundred] (48) + קְשִׂיטָֽה [kesitahs] (424) = 3581.
Onkelos
He bought the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred kesitahs.
Rashi
קשיטה is a Meah (a certain coin) — Rabbi Akiba said, “When I visited the coast-towns I found that they called a Meah a Kesittah (Rosh Hashanah 26a). In the Targum it is rendered by חורפן good ones, current everywhere: the same idea as (23:16) “current with the merchant.
Ibn Ezra
"A portion of the field" — a share in a field. The text mentions this to make known the great merit of the Land of Israel, and that one who holds a share in it is considered as one who holds a share in the World to Come.
Sforno
ויקן את חלקת השדה, ויצב שם מזבח. A reminder of Psalms 137,4 “how can we sing the Lord’s songs on alien soil?”
Kli Yakar
And he bought the parcel of land. Since he wanted to build an altar there, he did not want to offer sacrifices to God for free, similar to what David did at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24:24). The verse tells us that he bought it for 100 kesitah, corresponding to the altar in the eternal Temple which was 100 cubits high, in order to atone for all sin that stems from the sin of Adam, who was created [spanning] from one end of the heavens to the other, but was diminished in his sin and reduced to 100 cubits. Therefore, the Temple was 100 cubits high, for it was from there that man was formed, from the place about which it is said An altar of earth you shall make for Me (Exodus 20:21). This is because the earth was also a cause of the sin, as explained above in Parshat Bereishit regarding the verse And the earth brought forth… fruit tree (Genesis 1:12). Therefore, the verse tells us that he bought this place for an altar for 100 kesitah. Regarding what is written “And he called it El Elohe Israel” — Our Rabbis said (Megillah 18) that the Holy One, Blessed be He, called Jacob “El” [God]. The reason for this is because Jacob said and all that You give me, I will surely tithe to You. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed be He, also gave him a tithe from the 310 worlds that are stored away for each righteous person in the World to Come. He gave him their tithe in this world, which amounts to 31, therefore He called him “El” [which has the numerical value of 31]. Furthermore, daughters take a tenth of the assets, and in this world we are compared to females because it is all suffering, but in the World to Come they will be like males who do not give birth, and then they will inherit all 310 worlds. For this reason, this world is written with the letter “hei” corresponding to the “hei” in the word “ishah” [woman], and the World to Come is written with a “yud” corresponding to the “yud” in the word “ish” [man], and this is easy to understand.
And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.
verse value 1476
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 28 letters. Verse gematria: 1476 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "El" (אֵ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "called·it" (וַיִּ֨קְרָא־ל֔וֹ, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·set·up·there" (וַיַּצֶּב־שָׁ֖ם). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "El" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "called·it" (root קרא, 123x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'altar', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיַּצֶּב־שָׁ֖ם [and·set·up·there] (448) + מִזְבֵּ֑חַ [altar] (57) + וַיִּ֨קְרָא־ל֔וֹ [called·it] (353) + אֵ֖ל [El] (31) + אֱלֹהֵ֥י [God] (46) + יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (541) = 1476.
Onkelos
He erected an altar there and worshipped upon it before El, the God of Israel.
Rashi
ויקרא לו אל אלהי ישראל AND HE CALLED IT EL-ELOHE ISRAEL — It does not mean that the altar was named “The God of Israel” thus bearing a Divine Name, but because the Holy One blessed be He, had been with him and delivered him he called the name of the altar by a term that had an allusion to the miracle, so that the praise of God might be mentioned when people called it by its name. Thus it would mean: He who is El, God — viz, the Holy One, blessed be He — is the God of me whose name is Israel. We find something similar in the case of Moses (Exodus 17:15): “And he called its (the altar’s) name Adonai-Nissi. Not that the altar was called by the Divine Name Adonai, but he named the altar thus, to mention the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He: “The Lord — He is my banner!" Our Rabbis, of blessed memory, expounded it thus: that the Holy One, blessed be He, called Jacob by the name El. The verse therefore should be translated “and the God of Israel called him (Jacob) El” (Megillah 18a). And in reference to all these different explanations it may be said that the words of the Torah — just as a hammer splits the rock into many different pieces (Shabbat 88b) — may be given many different explanations. I however make it my aim to give the plain sense of Scripture.
Ramban
AND HE CALLED ‘LO’ (IT) E-IL-ELOKEI-ISRAEL. It does not mean that the altar was called “The G-d of Israel,” but because the Holy One, blessed be He, had been with him to deliver him, he named the altar in honor of the miracle so that the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, would be recalled when people referred to the altar. Thus it would mean, “He Who is E-il is the G-d of me whose name is Israel.” Similarly we find in the case of Moses: And he called its [the altar’s] name Adonai-nissi. It is not that the altar was called by the Divine Name Adonai but rather that he named the altar in honor of the miracle so that the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, might be mentioned: “G-d — He is my banner.” Our Rabbis expounded that the Holy One, blessed be He, called Jacob eil (a great and mighty man). [According to this, the verse should be interpreted as follows: “And the G-d of Israel called Jacob eil].” The words of the Torah are thus as a hammer splitting the rock into many different pieces, admitting many different explanations. I, however, make it my aim to render the plain sense of Scripture. All of this is the language of Rashi. Now the words of the Rabbi [Rashi] are correct as regards the plain sense of Scripture. And the meaning of the word lo will then be [not “it,” which would refer to the altar, but “him,” which refers to Jacob], just as is the meaning of the same word in the verses: And his father called ‘lo’ (him) Benjamin; ‘Vekarei lecha’ (and thou shalt be called) The repairer of the breach. Know that it was the custom in Israel that names be called which are indicative of the praises of G-d, such as Zuriel (G-d is my rock), Zurishaddai (The Almighty is my rock), for the one who calls that name declares that G-d is his rock and the Almighty is his rock. Likewise, Immanuel (G-d is with us). And so also the name of the Messiah, who will be called, The Eternal is our righteousness, and the name of Jerusalem will be, The Eternal is there. And so did they do with the names of the angels: Gabriel (G-d is my strength), Michael (Who is like unto G-d?), for because of their great power they proclaim with their very name that the strength belongs to G-d and who is like unto Him! Onkelos however said: “And he worshipped on it before G-d, the G-d of Israel.” In that case the meaning of the word lo will be as bo (“in it” or “on it”), in the same manner as: That thou hast chosen ‘l’ben’ (the son) of Jesse; And he took hold ‘lo’ (of him); ‘L’mei’ (In the waters) of Meribah. It may be that Scripture is saying, “And he called Him G-d, the G-d of Israel,” and the meaning of the word lo is similar to the usage in these verses: I will get me unto the great men; Get thee out of thy country. And by way of the Truth, [that is, the mystic lore of the Cabala, the verse is to be understood] as being in accord with the Midrash which the Rabbis have expounded in Tractate Megillah:a. “Whence do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, called Jacob eil? It is said, And He — the G-d of Israel — called him ‘eil.’ “ There is in this matter a great secret, which the Sages have additionally mentioned in Bereshith Rabbah 9:10. in another way: “Jacob said to G-d, ‘Thou art the G-d of those on high, and I am the master of those down below.’” The Sages thereby alluded to that which they constantly say: the likeness of Jacob is engraved in the Heavenly Throne. The intent [of Jacob’s statement quoted in the Midrash — “I am the master of those down below”] — is that the Divine Glory rests in the Land of Israel. The student learned in the mystic lore of the Cabala will understand.
Ibn Ezra
The Gaon [Saadia] says that "and he called it El, the God of Israel" means: that he called to God (El) — to Hashem. But the correct interpretation is that this is the name of the altar, just as Moses' altar was called "Hashem is my banner" (Exodus 17:15), on account of the miracle Hashem performed at that place. And so too, when the Divine Presence returns to Jerusalem, it will be called "Hashem is there" (Ezekiel 48:35). Likewise, because Hashem aided Jacob, he named the altar at which he had worshipped Hashem "El, the God of Israel" — the meaning being that He is strong and mighty. "The God of Israel," who saved him along the way, and he arrived safely in the land of Canaan — for both Shechem and Sukkoth are there. In my opinion, it is likely that Jacob tarried in the city of Shechem for many years, for Dinah was not yet seven years old, and Simeon and Levi were still young.
Sforno
ויקרא לו א-ל אלו-הי ישראל. When he prayed he referred to G’d as the G’d Who is the אלו-הי ישראל, corresponding to his vow that והיה ה' לי לאלו-הים, “G’d the merciful will be accepted by me as the G’d of Justice.” This standard of being judged by the attribute of Justice commenced only at the time when Yaakov had qualified for this level of righteousness having been given the additional name of Yisrael.
Chizkuni
ויקרא לו, He called it אל, the construction is similar to Genesis 20 13: אמרי לי אחי הוא, “say, concerning me, that he is my brother.” The word לו here may be understood as if it had been עלי, “on it,” in other words: he proclaimed the altar as dedicated the G-d Who is the G-d of Israel. This is also how Onkelos translates it. Rashi emphasises that it was not the altar that was called: “the G-d of Israel,” by the nations of the world, but that Yaakov called it by a name that symbolised the special relationship between G-d and Israel on account of all the miracles He had performed for him. It is not so different from when he called the site where he had the dream with the ladder 34 years earlier, Beyt El (Genesis 5,7), after he erected an altar there. We find a similar construction in Judges 6,24 where Gideon built an altar in honour of G-d, and named it: ה' שלום. This is also how we understand the name Moses gave the altar he built after having fought off the Amalekites in Exodus 17,17 which became known as ה' נסי, “the Lord is my Banner.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויצב שם מזבח ויקרא לו אל אלוהי ישראל, “he set up an altar there and he called it G’d, G’d the Lord of Israel.” The plain meaning of these words is that Yaakov named the altar after the G’d who had performed a miracle for him at that site. Moses did something similar as the Torah reports in Exodus 17,16 after Israel had warded off the attack by Amalek “Moses built an altar and called it: ‘G’d is My banner.’” A kabbalistic approach: the G’d of Israel called Yaakov “EL.” This is also what our sages have said in Bereshit Rabbah 79,8. The wording there is that G’d said to Israel: “I am G’d in heaven whereas you are “EL” on earth.” This would reflect what we have quoted repeatedly that Yaakov’s likeness is engraved on the throne of G’d. The meaning of these strange words in the Midrash is that the שכינה resides in the land of Israel. This would account for Bileam having said in Numbers 23,8 “how can I curse when “EL” has not cursed?” He referred to Yaakov when he said “EL.” [The wording in my edition is quite different, i.e. Israel speaking in those terms to G‘d. The Midrash adds that Yaakov spoke out of turn and that G’d criticised him and the rape of Dinah was a result of his overbearing statement. Ed.]
Onkelos
Sforno
Targum Yonatan