Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau Part 2 (Gen 32)
12 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau [i.e., from him who does not treat me as a brother should, but as the wicked Esau], for I am afraid of him, that he will come and attack me, and strike the mothers with children.
Chizkuni
From (the hand of) my brother, from (the hand of) Esau—If Jacob had only referred to Esau as “my brother,” it could have referred to any blood relative. If he had referred to Esau only by his name, it could have been understood as referring to anyone named Esau. [Jacob had used the same caution when spelling out for whom he would serve Laban for his future wife, i.e. “your younger daughter Rachel” (29:18) Ed.]
Rashi’s Commentary
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.
Mat 6:13
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
[For yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.]
13 And you said, ‘I will surely do good [in your merit], I will surely do good [in your father’s merits] with you, and I will make your descendants as numerous as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted for multitude’ ” [see 28:15 and 22:17].
Rashi’s Commentary
I will surely do good—The double expression denotes: הֵיטֵב, I will do good in your own merits, אֵיטִיב, I will do good in your father’s merits (Genesis Rabbah 76:7).
And I will make your descendants as numerous as the sand of the sea—Where, indeed, did God promise him this? Did he not promise him only (Gen 28:14) “Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth”? But the explanation is that He had at the same time promised him (Gen 28:15) “for I will not leave you until I have done for you what I have spoken concerning you,” and to Abraham he had promised (Gen 22:17) “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your descendants as the stars of the sky and as the sand which is on the seashore.”
Mat 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
2Ti 2:13
if we are faithless,
yet he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
Tit 1:2
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,
Heb 6:17
In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, confirmed it with an oath.
14 So he spent the night there, and took what he had with him a gift for his brother Esau:
Chizkuni
As a gift for his brother Esau—He meant to be conciliatory regardless of Esau’s intentions concerning him.
Rashi’s Commentary
What he had with him (literally, in his hand)—In his possession, similar to (Num 21:26) “and he took all his land from his possession (מִיָדוֹ).” According to a Midrashic explanation, “what he had with him” means precious stones and jewels which a person ties up in a package and carries in his hand. Another explanation is: What he had with him—Of that which no longer has a sacred character—for he had set aside the tithe, just as you read (28:22) “I will surely tithe to you.” 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.
15 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats [the requisite number of mates], two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
Rashi’s Commentary
Two hundred female goats and twenty male goats—Two hundred female goats have need of twenty male 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 Law. 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.
16 thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
Rashi’s Commentary
Thirty milk camels means with their colts with them—A Midrashic explanation of וּבְנֵיהֶם is that it is the same as בַּנָאֵיהֶם 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.
וַעְיָרִם means male donkeys.
17 He put them into the care of his servants, each herd [of each kind] by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass by before me [about a day’s journey or less], and keep some space [as far as the eye can see] between herds” [to impress Esau with the bounty].
Rashi’s Commentary
Each herd by itself—Each species forming a herd by itself.
Pass by before me, a day’s journey or less and I shall follow you.
And keep some space—One herd 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).
Mat 10:16
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.
18 He instructed the one in in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’
Rashi’s Commentary
To whom do you belong—Heb. לְמִי. To whom do you belong? Who is sending you? The Targum should be דְמַאן אַתְּ “of whom are you?”
And to whom do these animals in front of you belong—To whom is this present being sent? The “lammed” is used as a prefix in place of “shel,” “belonging to,” like (31:43) “All that you see is mine” i.e. belongs to me; (Psa 24:1) “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof” i.e. belongs to the Lord.
19 then you shall say [answering first things first, and last, last], ‘[We belong] to your servant Jacob, [and these before us are] a gift sent to my lord Esau, and, behold, he [Jacob], too, is behind us.’ ”
Chizkuni
“Who do you belong to?” You will say, “To your servant, etc.”—Jacob ordered his servants, the ones who accompanied the herds of gifts, to answer each question in the order in which it had been asked. To the question of: “Who do these herds belong to?” the answer was to be: “They belong to your servant Jacob and are a gift for my lord Esau.” In response to the question: “And to whom do these animals in front of you belong?” They were all to answer: “and he (Jacob) is also following a short distance behind us.”
Rashi’s Commentary
And, behold, he, too—The word “he” refers to Jacob.
20 Then he instructed also the second, the third and all those who followed the herds, saying, “After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you meet him.
21 And you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I will appease his anger with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will receive me.”
Chizkuni
You are to say, “Your servant Jacob is also not far behind us”—He made them repeat this answer twice. He told his servants that when they would see Esau they should not be afraid to address him in such a manner, i.e. by referring to their own master as Esau’s servant. In the event Esau would ask them why Jacob did not precede them in order to welcome him, as befits a younger brother when he meets his older brother, you will say: etc.: “he reasoned that he wanted Esau to be in a good frame of mind concerning him before actually setting eyes on him.” They were to reveal that Jacob had felt the need to appease his older brother by means of the gift he had sent ahead of himself. He hoped that in view of this substantial gift Esau would be good tempered when they came face to face after so many years. These latter words were not spoken by the servants of Jacob who walked with the animals, but are to be understood as editorial comment by the author of the Law. If it were not so, Jacob would have committed the psychological error of reminding Esau of how he had once deceived him.
Rashi’s Commentary
I will appease his anger—I will remove his anger. Similarly, (Isa 28:18) “Your covenant with death will be annulled (וְכֻפַּר)”; (Isa 47:11) “you shall not be able to rid yourself of it (כַּפְּרָה).” I am of the opinion that wherever the verb כַּפְּרָה is used in association with iniquity and sin and in association with anger, it always signifies wiping away, removing. It is an Aramaic expression occurring frequently in the Talmud: “He wiped (וְכָפַר) his hand off,” and (Gittin 56a) “he wants to wipe (לִכְפוּרֵי) 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, (Ezr 1:10) “כְּפוֹרֵי זָהָב”—and they are so called because the priest wiped his hands on them—on the rim of the bowl (Zevachim 93b).
22 So the present went on before him, but he himself spent that night in the camp.
Rashi’s Commentary
Before him—Heb. עַל-פָּנָיו, lit., on his face, like לְפָנָיו, before him, and similarly (Jer 6:7): “Violence and destruction are heard in her; before me (עַל-פָּנַי) continually,” and so (Isa 65:3): “who . . . provoke me to my face עַל-פָּנַי.” He (Jacob) was also in an angry mood that it should be necessary for him to do all this (Genesis Rabbah 76:8).
Gen 22:17
indeed I will surely bless you [one blessing for the father, one for the son], and I will surely multiply your descendants [one for the father, one for the son] as the stars of the sky and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your descendants will inherit the gate of their enemies,
Gen 28:22
and this stone which I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house [i.e., I shall worship the Lord upon it (as he did, viz. 35:1 and 14)], and of all that you give me I will surely tithe to you.
Gen 29:18
And Jacob loved Rachel, and he said, “I shall serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel” [Jacob making assurance doubly sure—and being deceived nonetheless].
Gen 31:43
And Laban answered and he said to Jacob, “These women are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock. All that you see is mine. But what can I do today to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne” [i.e., how can it enter my mind to harm them?]
Num 21:26
For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land from his possession land as far as the Arnon [so that Israel was not in violation of (Deu 2:9): “Do not harass the Moabites” in taking Heshbon from Sihon].
Ezr 1:10
30 gold bowls, silver bowls of a second kind 410, and other articles 1,000.
Psa 24:1
Of David. A psalm.
The earth [the land of Israel] is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof,
the [rest of the] world, and those who live in it;
Isa 28:18
Your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand.
When the overwhelming scourge passes through,
then you become its trampling place.
Isa 47:11
But disaster will come upon you
which you will not know how to charm away.
And calamity will fall upon you
you shall not know how to rid yourself of it;
and catastrophe about which you do not know
will come upon you suddenly.
Isa 65:3
a people who continually provoke me
to my face,
offering sacrifices in gardens
and burning incense on altars of brick;
Jer 6:7
As a well pours out its water,
so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence and destruction are heard in her;
before me continually are sickness and wounds.
This work, "Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau Part 2," is a derivative of "The Rashi Chumash" and "The Rashi Ketuvim" by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein used under CC BY 3.0