Parashat Vayishlach.

And Jacob sent messengers. (Heb. מלאכים angels), actually angels (Genesis Rabbah 75:4).

. means TO THE LAND OF SEIR, A word that requires a ל as prefix has a ה placed as a suffix (Yevamot 13b).

I have sojourned. I have become neither a prince nor other person of importance but merely a sojourner. It is not worth your while to hate me on account of the blessing of your father who blessed me (27:29) “Be master over thy brethren”, for it has not been fulfilled in me (Tanchuma Yashan 1:8:5). Another explanation: the word גרתי has the numerical value of 613 , תרי״ג , it is as much as to say, “Though I have sojourned with Laban, the wicked, I have observed the תרי״ג מצות, the 613 Divine Commandments, and I have learned naught of his evil ways.

And i have oxen and asses. Our father promised me, (27:28) “[G-d will give thee] of the dew of heaven and of the fat places of the earth”, these are neither of the heaven nor of the earth

. (literally, an ox and an ass), It is the customary thing to speak of many oxen as an ox (Genesis Rabbah 75:6), a man says to his fellow, “During the night the cock crowed”; he does not say “the cocks crowed”

And i have sent to tell my Lord. to announce that I am coming to you.

That i may find favour in thy eyes. for I am at peace with you and seek your friendship.

We came to thy brother, to esau. to him of whom you said he is my brother, but he behaves towards you as Esau, the wicked, he is still harbouring hatred (Genesis Rabbah 75:7).

He feared greatly and was distressed. He was afraid lest he be killed, and he was distressed that he might have to kill someone (Genesis Rabbah 76:2).

To the one camp and smite it. The word מחנה is treated grammatically as masculine or feminine: in (Psalms 27:3) “Though a camp should encamp (תחנה) against me” it is feminine; in (Genesis 33:8) “this (הזה) camp” it is masculine. Similarly there are other words treated grammatically as both masculine and feminine. For example, the word שמש in (Genesis 19:23) “The sun was risen (יצא) upon the earth” and in (Psalms 19:7) “His (the sun’s) going forth (מוצאו) is from the end of the heaven”; here it is masculine, but in (2 Kings 3:22) “and the sun shone (זרחה) upon the water” it is feminine. Similarly with רוח: in (Job 1:19) “and behold there came (באה) a great wind” it is feminine, and in the same verse “and smote (ויגע) the four corners of the house” it is masculine; in (1 Kings 19:11) “and a great (גדולה) and strong (וחזק) wind rent (מפרק) the mountains” it is both masculine and feminine. So also in the case of אש: in (Numbers 16:35) “and fire came forth (יצאה) from the Lord” it is feminine, and in (Psalms 104:4) “The flaming (להט) fire” it is masculine.

Then the remaining camp may escape. in spite of him, for I will fight against him He prepared himself for three things: to give him a present, as it states (Genesis 32:22) “So, the present passed before him”; for prayer, as it states (Genesis 32:10), “And he said, ‘O G-d of my father Abraham”; for war, as it states in this verse, “then the remaining camp may escape”, for I will fight against him (Tanchuma Yashan 1:8:6).

And G-d of my father Isaac. But in another place (Genesis 31:42) he said, “And the Dread of Isaac”! Then also why did he again mention the Proper Name of G-d (first invoking him as G-d of Abraham, G-d of Isaac, and then continuing “O Lord, who saidst unto me”)? It should have been written “O G-d of Abraham and G-d of Isaac (omitting ‘O Lord’) who saidst unto me, “Return unto thy country” etc. But the explanation is as follows: Jacob said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “You made me two promises. One was when I left my father’s house at Beersheba when You said to me (Genesis 28:3) “I am the Lord, the G-d of Abraham thy father and the G-d of Isaac”, and on that occasion you promised me (Genesis 28:15) “and I will keep thee whithersoever thou goest”. Then again in Laban’s house You said to me (Genesis 31:3) “Return unto the land of thy fathers and to thy kindred and I will be with thee”. There You revealed Yourself to me by Your Proper Name alone, as it is said (Genesis 31:3) “And the Lord said unto Jacob “Return unto the land of thy fathers etc.” Relying upon these two promises I now come before You invoking you as “the G-d of Abraham and the G-d of Isaac” and also simply as “the Lord” under which names You made me these two promises respectively.

I am too unworthy of all the mercies. (This may be rendered “I am small, unworthy, because of all the kindnesses), My merits are diminished in consequence of all the kindness and truth which You have already shown me. For this reason I am afraid: perhaps, since You made these promises to me, I have become depraved (נתקלקלתי) by sin (another version of Rashi has נתלכלכתי, I have become defiled by sin) and this may cause me to be delivered unto Esau’s power (Shabbat 32a).

. [my merits are diminished in consequence] OF ALL THE TRUTH, of the true fulfillment (אמיתת) of Your promises, because You have already kept all the promises You made me

For with my staff. I had with me neither silver nor gold nor cattle, only this staff of mine. The Midrashic explanation is, that he had placed his staff in the Jordan and Jordan had divided for him to pass over.

From the hand of my brother, from the hand of esau. from the hand of my brother who does not treat me as a brother should, but as Esau, the wicked.

I will surely do [thee] good. The use of two words denoting “doing good” is intended to signify: היטב doing good to thee on account of your own merits, איטיב I will also do good to thee on account of your father’s merits (Genesis Rabbah 76:7).

And i will make thy seed as the sand of the sea. Where, indeed, did G-d promise him this? Did he not promise him only (Genesis 28:14) “And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth"? But the explanation is that He had at the same time promised him (Genesis 28:15) “for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken about thee”, and to Abraham he had promised (Genesis 22:17) “and I will greatly multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is upon the seashore”.

And took of that which came to his hand. (literally, in his hand), in his possession, similar to (Numbers 21:26) “and he had taken all his land out of his possession (מידו).” A Midrashic explanation is: מן הבא בידו, precious stones and jewels which a person ties up in a package and carries in his hand. Another explanation is: מן הבא בידו THAT WHICH A MAN MAY TAKE INTO HIS OWN POSSESSION, of that which no longer has a sacred character, for he had set aside the tithe, just as you read (28:22) “[And Jacob vowed] … I will surely give the tenth unto Thee”. Only afterwards did he take the present of what was left after the tithe had been set aside, and this was that which he might rightly take into his own possession.

Two hundred she goats and twenty he goats. Two hundred she goats have need of twenty he goats, and so too in the case of all the various species the males were in number according to the need of the females. In Genesis Rabbah an inference is made from here as regards the minimum period imperative for the marital duty imposed by the Torah. I am unable however to show exactly how this inference is arrived at. But it appears to me that we may learn from here at least that this period is not the same for every person, but that it depends upon the amount of labour imposed upon him by his occupation.

Milch camels. שלשים THIRTY, ובניהם means AND THEIR COLTS with them, A Midrashic explanation of ובניהם is that it is the same as וּבַנָּאֵיהֶם their builders (those that build them up) i.e., one male for each female. Because, however, it (the camel) is chaste in its ways Scripture does not state this plainly (Genesis Rabbah 76:7) but employs a term from which it may be inferred.

. means MALE ASSES.

Every drove by itself. each species forming a drove by itself.

Pass on before me. a day’s journey or less and I shall follow you).

And put a space. one drove before the other at a distance as far as the eye can see, in order to satisfy the eye (the cupidity) of that wicked man and to amaze him by the size of the gift (Genesis Rabbah 76:8).

. means TO WHOM DO YOU BELONG, implying who has sent thee? The Targum should be דמאן את “of whom are you” and not למאן את as some editions have.

. means and these which are before you whose are they; i.e. to whom is this present being sent? The letter ל is used as a prefix in place of של “belonging to”; e.g., (31:43) “and all that thou seest is mine (לי)” i.e. belongs to me; (Psalms 24:1) “The earth is the Lord’s (לה') and the fullness thereof” i.e. belongs to the Lord.

Then shalt thou say they are thy servant Jacob’s. You shall answer the first question first and the last question last, saying :”In reply to what you have asked”, “Whose art thou?”, “I belong to thy servant Jacob”, and it should be rendered in the Targum דעבדך דיעקב belonging to your servant, belonging to Jacob”, and in reply to what you have asked, “And whose are these before thee?” “It is a present sent etc.”

And, behold, also he is behind us. The word “he” refers to Jacob.

I will appease him. I will remove his anger. Similarly, (Isaiah 28:18) "and your covenant with death shall be annulled (וכפר)”; (Isaiah 47:11) “Thou shalt not be able to put it away (וכפרה”. I am of the opinion that wherever the verb כפר is used in association with iniquity and sin and in association with anger (פנים), it always signifies wiping away, removing. It is an Aramaic expression occurring frequently in the Talmud: “He wiped his hand off (כפר ידיה)”, and (Gittin 56a) “he wants to wipe (לכפורי) his hands off on this man” (i.e. he desires to put the responsibility upon me). In Biblical Hebrew, also, the bowls of the Sanctuary are called, (Ezra 1:10) "כפורי of gold”, and they are so called because the priest wiped his hands on them, on the rim of the bowl (Zevachim 93b).

. The Midrash connects the word פניו in על פניו with פנים anger, he (Jacob) was also in an angry mood that it should be necessary for him to do all this (Genesis Rabbah 76:8).

And his eleven children. But where was Dinah? He placed her in a chest and locked her in so that Esau should not set his fancy upon her (desire to marry her). On this account Jacob was punished, because he had kept her away from his brother for she might have led him back to the right path; she therefore fell into the power of Shechem (Genesis Rabbah 76:9).

Jabbok. the name of the river.

[he made pass] that which was his. the cattle and movables. He acted as a ferry-man taking them from one side and setting them down on the other.

And Jacob was left alone. He had forgotten some small jars and he returned for them (Chullin 91a).

And a man wrestled. Menachem (ben Seruk) explains: “a man covered himself with dust”, taking the verb as connected in sense with אבק “dust”. It would mean that they were raising the dust with their feet through their movements. I, however, am of opinion that it means “he fastened himself on”, and that it is an Aramaic word, as (Sanhedrin 63b) “after they have joined (אביקו) it", and (Menachot 42a) “and he twined (the “Fringes”) with loops”. It denotes “intertwining”, for such is the manner of two people who make strong efforts to throw each other, one clasps the other and twines himself round him with his arms. Our Rabbis of blessed memory explained that he was Esau’s guardian angel (Genesis Rabbah 77:3).

He touched the hollow of his thigh. The upper thigh-bone that is sunk in the hip is called כף because the flesh on it (on this bone) has the form of the hollow part of a pot-ladle (כף).

And was strained. It was violently torn from its joint. Similar in meaning is (Jeremiah 6:8) “Lest My soul be alienated (תקע) from thee”, i.e. removed from thee; and in the Mishna, לקעקע בצתם, which means to remove violently (לשרש) their roots.

For the day breaketh. and I have to sing G-d’s praise at day (Chullin 91b; Genesis Rabbah 78:1).

[except] thou bless me. admit my right to the blessings which my father gave me and to which Esau lays claim.

. [THY NAME SHALL] NO MORE BE CALLED JACOB [BUT ISRAEL] (literally, “not Jacob, supplanting, shall any more be said to thee”), It shall no longer be said that the blessings came to you through supplanting and subtlety but through noble conduct (שררה) and in an open manner. Because later on the Holy One, blessed be He, will reveal Himself to you at Bethel and will change your name. There He will bless you, and I shall be there and admit your right to them (the blessings). It is to this that the passage refers (Hosea 12:5), “And he strove with an angel and prevailed; he wept and made supplication unto him”, it means the angel wept and made supplication unto him (Jacob). What was the subject of his supplication? This is stated in the next verse: “At Bethel He will meet us and there He will speak with us, implying the request. “Wait until he will speak with us there, and then I will admit your right to the blessings.” Jacob, however, would not agree to this, and against his own wish he had to admit his right to the blessings. That is what is meant when it states (v. 30) “And he declared him blessed there”, that he begged him to wait and he did not agree to do so (cp. Genesis Rabbah 78:2).

And with men. Esau and Laban.

And hast prevailed. over them.

Wherefore is it that thou dost ask [after my name]?. We have no fixed names; our names change, all depending upon the service we are commanded to carry out as the errand with which we are charged (Genesis Rabbah 78:4).

And the sun shone upon him. This is the expression that people use: “When we reached such-and-such a place the dawn broke upon us”. This is its literal sense. But the Midrash says that לו means, “for his needs”, to heal his lameness. Thus, too, you read in Scripture a similar metaphor (Malachi 3:20) “the sun of righteousness with healing in its wings”. The hours that it had set before its time for his sake when he left Beer-Sheba (cp. Genesis 18:11) it now rose before its time for his sake (Sanhedrin 75b).

And he limped. He was limping when the sun rose.

The sinew of the thigh-vein. Why is its name called גיד הנשה? Because it sprang נשה) and rose from its proper position. The word has the meaning of “springing”. Other examples are: (Jeremiah 51:30) “Their strength sprang away (נשתה)” and (41:51) “for G-d hath made all my trouble spring away from me נַשַּׁנִי)".

[עַל כַּף הַיָּרֵךְ. פולפ"א בְּלַעַ"ז. כָּל בָּשָׂר גָּבוֹהַּ וְתָלוּל וְעָגוֹל קָרוּי "כַּף", כְּמוֹ (נידה מ"ז ע"ב): "עַד שֶׁתִּתְמָרֵךְ הַכַּף" בְּסִימָנֵי בַּגְרוּת.]

And Leah and her children after. The more behind, the more beloved (Genesis Rabbah 78:8).

[and he himself] passed before them. He thought: if that wicked man comes to fight let him fight me first (Genesis Rabbah 78:8).

And embraced him. His pity was aroused when he saw him prostrating himself so many times (Genesis Rabbah 78:8).

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)

Who are these with thee?. (literally, to thee)?, Who are these that they should be yours (are they your children or your servants)?

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).

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).

Be thine that which is thine. In these words he admitted his right to the blessings (Genesis Rabbah 78:11).

Nay, i pray thee. Do not, I pray thee, speak to me thus.

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)

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.

. 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.

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 G-d 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”.

I have everything. all that will supply my needs. But Esau spoke proudly (v. 8): I have (רב) abundance, far more than my needs.

. 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.

. 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.

With young are with me. The sheep and the oxen which are giving suck constitute a charge upon me (עלי) to drive them slowly.

. means bringing up their young. Words of the same root are found in (Lamentations 2:11) “young children (עולל) and the sucklings”: (IsaiahLXV.20) “an infant (עול) of days”: (1 Samuel 6:7) “and two milch kine (עלות)”. old French enfantées.

And if men should overdrive them. wearying them on the journey by making them run, מתו כל הצאן ALL THE FLOCKS WILL DIE.

. 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.

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.

. 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”.

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”.

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.

And according to the pace of the children. according to the speed (רגל) which they are able to keep up.

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.

. means AND HE SAID, WHY IS IT, that thou shouldst do me a favour which I do not need?”

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.

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).

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.

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).

. the word עיר is equivalent to לעיר to the city of. Similarly we have (Ruth 1:19) “until they came בית לחם”, “to Bethlehem".

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.

וַיִּחַן אֶת פְּנֵי הָעִיר. עֶרֶב שַׁבָּת הָיָה. בִּשְׁאִלְתּוֹת דְּרַב אֲחָאי (ב"ר עט,ו).

. 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.

And he called it el-elohe Israel. It does not mean that the altar was named “The G-d 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 G-d might be mentioned when people called it by its name. Thus it would mean: He who is El, G-d, viz, the Holy One, blessed be He, is the G-d 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 G-d 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.

The daughter of Leah. so Scripture calls her. Why not the daughter of Jacob? But just because she “went out” she is called Leah’s daughter, since she, too, was fond “of going out” (Genesis Rabbah 80:1), as it is said (30:16) “and Leah went out to meet him”. With an allusion to her they formulated the proverb: “Like mother, like daughter”.

וַיִּשְׁכַּב אוֹתָהּ. כְּדַרְכָּהּ.

וַיְעַנֶּהָ. שֶׁלֹּא כְּדַרְכָּהּ (ב"ר פ,ה).

. [AND SPAKE] LOVINGLY TO THE DAMSEL (literally, he spoke to the heart of the maiden) words that would appeal to her heart: See how much money your father has lavished for a small plot of field. I will marry you and you will then possess the city and all its fields (Genesis Rabbah 80:7).

And thus it ought not to be done. viz., to do violence to a maiden, for even the heathens have trained themselves (literally, have fenced themselves round) against unchastity as a consequence of the Flood which had come upon the world as a punishment for this sin (Genesis Rabbah 80:6).

. means desires.

Dowry. refers to the Ketuba (the sum settled by the husband on his wife as set forth in the Ketuba, the marriage contract (Genesis Rabbah 80:7).

With guile. cleverly

Because he had defiled. Scripture (the Sacred Historian) says that there was no deception (מרמה) in this because he had defiled Dinah their sister (Genesis Rabbah 80:8).

That were a disgrace. Amongst us it is somewhat of a blot on our pedigree, for if one wishes to revile another, he says to him: “You are an uncircumcised person”, or “the son of an uncircumcised person”. The word חרפה always means “reviling”.

. means WE WILL CONSENT UNTO YOU: it has the same meaning as (2 Kings 12:9) ויאותו “and they consented”.

. means TO BE CIRCUMCISED, It is not an active infinitive (Kal), but a passive infinitive (Niphal).

Then will we give. The second נ has a Dagesh because it serves the purpose of two -נs , וְנָתַנְנוּ (cf. Rashi on Genesis חנני 33:11).

And we will take your daughters to us. You will find that in the proposition which Hamor made to Jacob (Genesis 34:9) and in the reply of Jacob’s sons to Hamor (in this verse) they (both parties to the proposition) regarded the sons of Jacob as being the more important, that they should take of the daughters of Shechem whomsoever they would select for themselves and that they should give their daughters to them (the men of Shechem) as they (Jacob’s sons) would think fit, as it is written, “and we will give our daughters”, as we think fit, “and we will take your daughters unto us”, whomsoever we please. When, however, Hamor and his son spoke to the inhabitants of their city (v. 21) they reversed the matter, saying, “their daughters we will take to us for wives, and our daughters we will give unto them", instead of saying “they will give their daughters to us, and they will take our daughters to themselves", in order to induce them to consent to be circumcised.

. means peaceable and whole hearted.

For the land, behold, it is large enough. (literally, wide-handed), the metaphor is that of a man whose hand is large and generous, and the idea is: “You will lose nothing if they dwell and trade in the land, for much merchandise is brought here and there are no buyers for it”.

. means by every male of us being circumcised (infinitive Niphal).

Let us consent unto them. in this matter, and because of this they will dwell with us.

Two of the sons of Jacob. They were his sons (the sons of Jacob, a wise and clever man), but they acted as any man named Simeon and Levi would do, as other people would do who were not his sons, for they did not take counsel with him (Genesis Rabbah 80:10).

Dinah’s brothers. because they risked their lives for her they are designated as her brothers (Genesis Rabbah 80:10)

In security. because they (the men of Shechom) were ill. The Midrashic explanation, taking בטח in the sense of confident, is: that they relied upon the strength (i.e. the merits) of the old man (Jacob) (Genesis Rabbah 80:10).

Upon the slain. to strip the slain.

. means THEIR WEALTH. Examples are: (Deuteronomy 8:17) “hath gotten me this (חיל) wealth”; (Numbers 19:18) “and Israel acquireth (חיל) wealth”; (Psalms 49:11) “and they leave (חילם) their wealth to others”.

. has the meaning of taking captive (i.e. it is the Kal. perfect, 3rd pl. of the root שבה and means “they took captive”), and therefore it is accented on the last syllable (whereas שָׁבוּ, accented on the first syllable, is the same form of the verb שוב and means “they returned”).

Ye have troubled me. This has the same meaning as (Berakhot 25b) “troubled (עכורים) waters” (i.e. waters that are disturbed, not clear). He meant “Now my mind will never be clear (without worry)”. There is an Agada, (Genesis Rabbah 80:12) “He said: the wine in the cask was clear but you have troubled it”. The Canaanites had a tradition that they would fall by the hands of the sons of Jacob, but they thought that this would happen only when the condition was fulfilled as expressed in the verse (Exodus 23:30) “when thou shalt in-crease, then shalt thou inherit the land”; consequently they had been silent until now (i.e. they had not attacked them).

. means A FEW MEN.

. implies as one unprotected.

. The Targum renders it as an accusative, ית אחתנא “our sister”) so that the meaning is: Should one (be permitted to) make our sister become as a woman who has no-one to protect her (Genesis Rabbah 80:12).

Arise: go up [to bethel]. Because you have delayed to fulfil your vow to sacrifice to me at Bethel you have been punished by this trouble of your daughter coming upon you (Genesis Rabbah 81:2).

[אֶת אֱלֹהֵי] הַנֵּכָר. שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיֶדְכֶם מִשָּׁלָל שֶׁל שְׁכֶם.

And purify yourselves. of idol-worship.

And change your garments. lest you have in your possession a vestment that has been employed in idolatrous worship (Genesis Rabbah 81:3).

The terebinth. a kind of tree that bears no fruit.

. means by Shechem.

. means terror.

El-beth-el. the Holy One, blessed be He, is in Beth-El; i.e. His Divine Presence has revealed itself in Bethel. Sometimes the prefix ב “in” is omitted from a word: e.g., (2 Samuel 9:4) “Behold, he is (בית) in the house of Muchir, the son of Ammiel”, which is the same as בבית in the house of Machir; (24:13) בית אביך is the same as בבית אביך ,‘in the house of thy father”.

G-d was revealed unto. Him, In many passages terms denoting Divine Power and Lordship are used in the plural e. g., (39:20) “Joseph’s master (אֲדֹנֵי)” (construct plural), and (Exodus 22:14) “If its owner (בעליו) be with it”, where it does not say בַּעֲלוֹ (the singular form). Similarly, forms of אלהים denoting Judge or Authority are expressed in the plural, but you will find none other of the Divine Names in the plural.

And deborah died. How came Deborah to be in Jacob’s house? But the explanation is: because Rebékah had promised Jacob (Gen. 27:45) “then I will send and fetch thee from thence”, she sent Deborah to him to Padan-aram to tell him to leave that place, and she died on the return journey I learnt this from a comment of R. Moses Ha-darshan.

Below bethel. The city was situated on a mountain and she was buried at the foot of the mountain.

Under the oak. The Targum renders it by “on the lower part of the plain” because there was some level ground above on the slope of the hill and her grave was beneath this. The plain of Bethel bore the name of Allon (cf. Rashi on Genesis 14:6). An Agada (Genesis Rabbah 81:5) states that he there received news of another mourning for he was informed that his mother had died., In Greek allon means “another”., Because the time of her death was kept secret in order that people might not curse the mother who gave birth to Esau, Scripture also does not make open mention of her death (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Teitzei 4).

Again. the second time at this spot: once when he set out on his journey, once when he returned.

And he blessed him. He gave him the blessing of consolation addressed to mourners (Genesis Rabbah 81:5; cp. Rashi on Genesis 25:11).

Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob. which means a man who comes as a lurker and trickster, but it shall be Israel (ישראל), which signifies Prince and Chief.

I am G-d, almighty. for I have the power to bless because the blessings are Mine.

Be fruitful and multiply. G-d said this in allusion to the fact that Benjamin was not yet born although she (Rachel) was soon to give birth to him (Genesis Rabbah 82:4).

A nation. referring to Benjamin. (Genesis Rabbah 82:4)

Nations. referring to Manasseh and Ephraim who would come from Joseph, and these actually were counted as tribes.

And kings. referring to Saul and Ishbosheth who were of the tribe of Benjamin and these were not yet born. This verse Abner explained in this sense when he made Ishbosheth king, and the tribes of Israel also explained it thus and therefore became friendly again with the tribe of Benjamin. For so it is written (Judges 21:1) “They said there shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife”. Afterwards they retracted this, saying, “If, indeed, he was not to be counted among the tribes), the Holy One, blessed be He would not have said to Jacob in reference to Benjamin and kings shall come out of thy loins” (and since there have not yet been kings of the tribe of Benjamin that tribe must not be exterminated). Genesis Rabbah 82:4

“a nation and an assemblage of nations”. this means that his sons are destined to become nations the same in number as the nations (of the ancient world) which was seventy. So, too, the whole Sanhedrin consisted of seventy. Another explanation is that it signifies that his children will sacrifice on high places at a time when this practice is forbidden, as other nations always did, this refers to the days of Elijah (Genesis Rabbah 82:5). From “This verse” is found in an old text of Rashi.)

בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אִתּוֹ. אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ מַה מְּלַמְּדֵנוּ.

A kibrath of land. Menachem ben Seruk explains the word כברת to have the meaning of כביר “much” and that the phrase means a great distance. A Midrashic explanation is: at the time when the ground was full of holes and was riddled like a sieve (כברה) (cf. Rashi on Genesis 48:7), when there was plenty of ploughed ground; the winter was passed, but the dry season had not yet come. This, however, cannot be the literal sense of the verse, for in the case of Naaman we find (2 Kings 5:19) “So he departed from him כברת ארץ” (which cannot possibly have this meaning). I think that it is a name for a measure of land, the distance of a Parsa or more, just as you say (Isaiah 5:10) “acres (צמדי) of vineyard” and (33:19) “the parcel (חלקת) of field”: In the same way in reference to a man’s journey Scripture mentions the name of a measure, viz., a כברת ארץ, a כברה of land.

For this also. also means additional to you, over and above Joseph. Our Rabbis explained that with each of Jacob’s sons a twin-sister was born, whilst with Benjamin an additional twin sister was born (Genesis Rabbah 82:8).

. means SON OF MY SORROW (Genesis Rabbah 82:9).

Benjamin. I am of opinion that he was so called because he alone was born in the land of Canaan which is in the South (ימין) as one comes from Aram-Naharaim, as it is said (Numbers 33:40) “in the South, in the Land of Canaan”, and (12:9) “going on still towards the South”. בנימין therefore means בן ימין where ימין has the same meaning as in (Psalms 89:13) “The North and the South (ימין) Thou hast created them”. For this reason the word is here written plene (with a י after the מ).

. Another explanation of בנימין is that it means “son of his old days (ימים)”, only that it is written with ן (instead of ם), like (Daniel 12:13) “at the end of days.

When Israel dwelt in that land. before he came to Isaac at Hebron, all these troubles happened to him.

And he lay. Because he had disturbed his couch Scripture accounts it to him as though he had actually sinned in this manner. But why did he disturb his couch? When Rachel died Jacob removed to Bilhah’s tent and Reuben came and protested against the slight thus inflicted on his mother (Leah). He said: “If my mother’s sister was her rival, is that any reason why the handmaid of my mother’s sister should become a rival to her!” On this account he disturbed the couch (Shabbat 55b).

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. Scripture begins again where it left off the previous narrative (i.e. the birth of Benjamin): when Benjamin was born the destined number of his sons was complete and it was proper that they should then be enumerated; and therefore it enumerates them. Our Rabbis explained that these words are intended to tell us that Jacob’s twelve sons were all equal, they were all equally righteous, for Reuben had committed no actual sin (Shabbat 55b).

Jacob’s firstborn. even when it speaks of his corrupt action Scripture calls him firstborn (Genesis Rabbah 82:11).

Jacob’s firstborn. firstborn with regard to heritage, firstborn with regard to Divine Service (for before the Levites were appointed to minister to G-d the duty devolved upon the oldest son in each family), firstborn in any enumeration of the twelve tribes; for the right of a firstborn son was given to Joseph only in respect of the tribes, in that he founded two tribes (just as a firstborn son received a double portion in his father’s property) (Genesis Rabbah 82:11).

Mamre. the name of the plain.

Kiriath-arba. the name of the city.

. therefore means “to the plain of Kiriath-arba”. If you say that it should have written ממרא הקרית ארבע (that Kirjath-arba being one name the definite article should be placed in front of it) then I reply that this is the rule in Biblical Hebrew: in every case of a name compounded of two words, such as this, and such as בית לחם and אבי עזר and בית אל, when it is necessary to prefix the definite article (in order to determine the name) it is prefixed to the second element of the name, thus (1 Samuel 16:1)בית הלחמי the Bethlehemite; (Judges 6:24) “in Ophrah (אבי העזרי) of the Abiezrites”; (1 Kings 16:34) “did Hiel the Bethelite (בית האלי) build”.

And Isaac expired. There is no such thing as “earlier” or “later” (chronological order) in the narratives of the Torah (Pesachim 6b), and the sale of Joseph preceded Isaac’s death by twelve years. Thus: at Jacob’s birth Isaac was sixty years old, as it is said (25:26) “And Isaac was sixty years old [when he bore them]” (Esau and Jacob). Isaac died when Jacob was 120, for if you deduct 60 from 180 (Isaac’s age when he died), you have left 120. Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold, and that year was the one hundred and eighth of Jacob’s life. How is this? Jacob was 63 when he received the blessing of his father; 14 years he hid himself in Eber’s School, making 77, and 14 years “he served for his wives” (Rashi borrows a phrase from Hosea 12:13 “And Israel served for a wife”; but he means for both wives), and at the expiration of these 14 years Joseph was born as it is said (30:25) “and it came to pass when Rachel had born Joseph” (that Jacob wished to return home and he would not have desired to do this if his fourteen years of service were not completed) making 91. Add to this the seventeen years of Joseph’s life before he was sold, and you have 108. This may also be derived more directly from Scripture thus: from the time when Joseph was sold until the time when Jacob came to Egypt was 22 years, for it is said (41:46) “And Joseph was 30 years old [when he stood before Pharaoh]” (and therefore he had been in Egypt 13 years, as he was 17 when he was sold) and the seven years of plenty and two of famine had elapsed before Jacob came to Egypt (cf. 45:6), making 22 years. And as it is written (47:9) that Jacob on his arrival in Egypt said to Pharaoh “The days of the years of my sojournings are a hundred and thirty years”, it follows that at the time when Joseph was sold Jacob was one hundred and eight years old.

Adah the daughter of elon. She is identical with Basemath daughter of Elon (cf. 26:34) and she was called Basemath because she offered spices (בשמים) as incense to idols.

Oholibamah. is identical with Judith. He (Esau) changed her name to Judith (Jewess), suggesting that she had abandoned idol-worship, so that he might deceive his father.

The daughter of anah the daughter of zibeon. If she was the daughter of Anah she could not have been the daughter of Zibeon, for Anah was the son of Zibeon as it is said (v. 24) “And these are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah”! Scripture thus tells us that Zibeon took his daughter-in-law, Anah’s wife, and of them twain Oholibamah was born (so that being a daughter of Anah’s wife she is called also his daughter). This text informs you that these were all of illegitimate birth (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayeshev 1).

Base-math ishmael’s daughter. But elsewhere (28:9) she is called Mahalath! We find in the Agadic Midrash on the Book of Samuel (Ch. 17) that there are three classes whose sins are pardoned: a proselyte, one who is exalted to a high position and a man on his marriage. It derives the proof for the latter case from here; viz., the reason why she was also calleth Mahalath (pardon) was because his (Esau’s) sins were pardoned on his marriage to her (Megillah 17a; cf. also Genesis Rabbah 63).

Sister of nebaioth. because he gave her in marriage after Ishmael’s death she is called after his name (Nebaioth’s sister).

And oholibamah bare. etc., This Korah was an illegitimate child for he was the son of Eliphaz (cf. vv. 15, 16, 18) who had taken his father’s wife, Oholibamah, the wife of Esau, for he is enumerated also amongst the chiefs of Eliphaz at the end of this section (Genesis Rabbah 82:12).

. i.e. no particular country, but into any country), to stay where-ever he could find room.

And the land of their sojournings could not. supply sufficient pasture for the cattle which they had. A Midrashic comment (Genesis Rabbah 82:13) on מפני יעקב אחיו [HE WENT TO A COUNTRY] ON ACCOUNT OF HIS BROTHER JACOB is: on account of the bond of indebtedness involved in the decree, (Genesis 14:13) “thy seed shall be a stranger etc… and they shall afflict them etc.” that was imposed upon Isaac’s descendants. He said, “I shall go hence, I desire no part either in the gift of this land which has been made to him (to my father) nor in the payment of this bond" . Another reason why he went away was on account of the shame he felt at having sold his birthright (cf. Genesis Rabbah 82:13).

And these. are the generations that his sons begat after he went to Seir.

And timna was concubine. This is stated to tell you in what importance Abraham was held, how eager people were to attach themselves to his descendants. This Timna was a descendant of chieftains, as it is said (v. 22) “And Lotan’s sister was Timna”, and Lotan was one of the chieftains inhabiting Seir, he was one of the Horites who had dwelt there from ancient times. She said to Eliphaz, “If I am unworthy to become your wife would that I might become your concubine!” In Chronicles (1 Chronicles 1:36) Scripture enumerates her amongst the children of Eliphaz, thus intimating that he took Seir’s wife and from the two of them Timna was born. When she grew up she became his concubine. This is why it is stated, “and Lotan’s sister was Timna”, and why Scripture does not enumerate her amongst Seir’s children, merely stating that she was sister to Lotan, Seir’s son, (see 5:20) because she was his sister from one mother and not from one father (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayeshev 1).

These were chieftains of the sons of esau. Heads of families.

The inhabitants of the land. i.e. who had been its inhabitants before Esau came there. Our Rabbis explained (Shabbat 85b) that they are called יושבי הארץ because they were experts in making the land habitable (by skillful cultivation) saying: this entire rood of ground is suitable for planting olives, that entire rood for vines, because they tasted the soil and so discovered what was suitable for planting in it.

. literally, AND AJAH AND ANAH, The ו in ואיה is redundant, so that the words are equivalent to איה וענה Ajah and Anah. There are many examples of this in Biblical Hebrew: (Daniel 8:13) “to give (וקדש וצבא) both the Sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot”; (Psalms 86:7) “they are cast into a deep sleep (ורכב וסוס) the riders also and the horses”.

This was that anah. mentioned above (Genesis 36:20) as the brother of Zibeon. Here is called his son, thus telling us that Zibeon and his own mother were the parents of Anah (Pesachim 54a).

. means THE MULES, He crossed an ass and a mare, the offspring being a mule. Being himself the offspring of an unnatural union he reared such in the animal world (Pesachim 54a). Why are they called ימים (which may signify “dreaded beings”)? Because the fear of them lies upon people; for R. Hanina said, “No-one has ever consulted me about an injury caused by a white mule and has recovered (וחיה literally, lived)”. “But do we not see that such a person has recovered (lived)? But you should not read וחיה “and he lived”, but וחיתה “and it (the wound) healed up”, for such a wound never heals up (Chullin 7b). From “But do we not see" is to be found in an old text of Rashi. It would have been unnecessary to write the genealogy of the Horites had it not been that it wishes to mention Timna, thereby showing in what importance Abraham was held, as I have explained above (Genesis 5:12).

. ’ואלה המלכים וגו AND THESE ARE THE KINGS etc., There were eight and Jacob raised an equal number in whose days the kingdom of Esau temporarily ceased to exist, viz., Saul, Ishbosheth, David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Asa, Abiah and Jehoshaphat. For of the days of Yoram his (Jehoshaphat’s) son it is written, (2 Kings 8:20) “In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves”, whereas in the days of Jehoshaphat it is written, (1 Kings 22:48) “And there was no king in Edom: a deputy was king”.

Jobab, the son of zerah of bozrah. Bozrah was one of the Moabite cities, as it is said (Jeremiah 48:24 which chapter is a prophecy against Moab), “[Judgment is come upon…] and upon Keriath and upon Bozrah etc.” Because it produced a king for Edom it is to be smitten together with them (the Edomites), as it is said (Isaiah 34:6) “For the Lord hath a slaughtering in Bozrah, [and a great slaughter in the Land of Edom]’ (Genesis Rabbah 83:3).

Who smote midian in the field of moab. for Midian came to war against Moab and the king of Edom went to assist Moab. From here we learn that although Midian and Moab were at strife one with the other yet in the time of Balaam they made peace in order to band themselves against Israel (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 3).

The daughter of me-zahab. meaning מהו זהב what value has gold? He was so rich that gold had no value in his eyes (Genesis Rabbah 83:4).

And these are the names of the chiefs of esau. [… AFTER THEIR PLACES ACCORDING TO THEIR NAMES] they were called by the names of their districts after Hadad died and the royal dignity had ceased so far as they were concerned. The former names mentioned above (v. 15ff.), are the names given them at their birth. This, too, (the first statement made here) is expressly set forth in Chronicles (2:51) “And Hadad (Hadar) died, and the chiefs of Edom were: the chief of Timna etc.” (We must therefore translate here: “the chieftain of Timna etc.”)

Magdiel. This is Rome (Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer 38).