BEHOLD NOW. The word na means now.¹

footnotes: ¹ See I.E.’s comments on Gen. 12:11.

THY WEAPONS. Khelekha (thy weapons) is possibly a general term, the particulars being thy quiver and thy bow.² Telyekha (thy quiver) is a sheath hanging³ means to hang. from its bearer wherein arrows are placed. On the other hand, khelekha may refer to a sword.⁴. 38 text. The printed texts have telyekha referring to a sword. If this reading is accepted, why does I.E. say a vav should have been placed before telyekha? The first particular following a general term does not require a vav, as I.E. himself implies in his comment on Gen. 26:5. Furthermore, why should a vav be placed before telyekha if it means a sword and not if it means a quiver? For an attempt to explain the printed texts see Krinsky and Cherez. However, for the impossibility of the printed versions see Filwarg. The reading of Vat. Ebr. 38 seems correct. However, in this case a conjunctive vav should have been placed in front of telyekha.⁵ should be placed before quiver as it is before bow. The verse should read: take thy sword and thy quiver (ve-telyekha) and thy bow. Nevertheless, it does not refute the latter interpretation, for we find a similar instance in Adam, Seth, Enosh (I Chron. 1:1).⁶ before the final two. The text should have read: Adam and Seth and Enosh. We thus see that Scripture at times leaves out the conjunctive vav.

footnotes: ² The verse should be understood as follows: take, I pray thee, thy weapons, namely thy quiver and thy bow. ³ The root tav, lamed, heh ⁴ The translation follows the Vat. Ebr ⁵ Since Scripture is listing three separate items, sword, quiver and bow, a conjunctive vav ⁶ Here, too, we find three separate individuals listed without a vav

AND REBEKAH HEARD. Shoma’at (heard) should be translated, “was listening.”⁷ is a participle. It literally means listening. Hence, the word “was” has to be added and the verse should be understood: Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son.

footnotes: ⁷ Shoma’at

BEFORE MY DEATH. Before I die.⁸ (before) means in the presence of. It might conceivably be rendered immediately before (in the presence of) my death, hence I.E.’s comment. For the same reason Filwarg explains I.E.’s comment as meaning: while I yet live.

footnotes: ⁸ The word li-fene

HAIRY. The word sa’ir means hairy. The opposite of sa’ir is chalak (smooth) (v. 11). Someone without hair on his body is possibly so called (chalak) because all parts of his body (chalakav) are the same.⁹ means a part, chalak one whose entire body appears to be one part. The idea is that a hairy person has some non-hairy parts on his body; hence his body is not all the same. The smooth man’s skin is the same all over his body (Filwarg).

footnotes: ⁹ Chelek

WILL FEEL ME. Yemusheni (will feel me) is similar to yesubeni (compasseth me about)¹⁰, too, has a root (samech, bet, bet) whose second and third letters are the same (Weiser). Yemusheni follows the paradigm of yesubeni (Cherez). (Ps. 49:6). It belongs to those roots whose second and third letters are the same.¹¹ root is mem, shin, shin.

footnotes: ¹⁰ Yesubeni ¹¹ The root of yemusheni

AS A MOCKER. The root of ki-metate’a (as a mocker) is doubled.¹². The heh drops out and the tav ayin are doubled making for a quadriliteral (Weiser, Cherez). It comes from the same root as to’eh (err). The meaning of ki-metate’a is: as one who misleads his fellow man.

footnotes: ¹² Its root is tav, ayin, heh

UPON ME BE THY CURSE. Don’t be afraid that your father might curse you. If he does, the curse will be upon me, not on you. This is the way women talk.¹³ However, Saadiah Gaon explained Upon me be thy curse to mean: it is upon me to remove the curse.¹⁴

footnotes: ¹³ A mother is willing to have any trouble that is destined to fall upon her son fall upon her. ¹⁴ I will intercede with your father to annul any imprecation that he may curse you with (Weiser).

[I AM.] Some say, Heaven forbid that a prophet should lie. We must therefore interpret Jacob’s words to his father as follows: I am who I am and Esau is thy first born.¹⁵ Others say that Jacob quietly said, I am, and then loudly said, Esau is thy first-born.¹⁶ Now these interpretations are nonsence. Prophets are divided into two groups. One group consists of God’s messengers concerning commandments;¹⁷ (Heb.) Vol. 8, p. 678. An example of God’s messengers with regard to commandments are Moses and Aaron. the other, those who foretell the future. If the latter have to say something that is not quite so,¹⁸). According to Filwarg, what I.E. says is that prophets do not lie when they act as God’s messengers. At other times they may tell an untruth. there is no harm done.¹⁹ prophet. However, a prophet whose task is to reveal commandments never lies. We thus find that King David, whom Scripture calls the man of God (II Chron. 8:14) and who said, The spirit of the Lord spoke by me (II Sam. 23:2), perverted the truth out of need of the hour when he spoke to Abimelech and said, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, when I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy (I Sam. 21:6).²⁰ Also, the prophet Elisha did not speak the truth when he said to Hazael, Go, say unto him, thou shalt surely recover (II Kings 8:10), even though what he meant was, go say unto him that thou shalt recover from this illness; however, God has shown me that he will be killed.²¹ spelled with an alef. Thus the verse may be read: thou shalt not recover. However, the kere spells the lo with a vav meaning: say unto him thou shalt recover. I.E. points out that the kere is the correct meaning of the verse. Thus Elisha misled the king of Aram. He told him that he would live although he knew that he would be killed (Netter). For a description of the incident see II Kings 8:7-15. Similarly the prophet Micaiah uttered a vain prayer out of deference to King Ahab when he told him, Go up and prosper; and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king (I Kings 22:15).²² Similarly Daniel said to King Nebuchadnezzar, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee (Dan. 4:16).²³ Those who explain that My lord refers to God are indulging in Midrash.²⁴ 35b. Similarly Abraham said unto Abimelech, And moreover she is indeed my sister (Gen. 20:12);²⁵ and unto his young men, and I and the lad will go yonder and we will worship and come back to you (Gen. 22:5).²⁶.

footnotes: ¹⁵ Cf. Rashi. “I am he who brings to you and Esau is your first born.” ¹⁶ Hence he said two things; I am; Esau is thy first born. ¹⁷ According to Weiser and Biblical Encyclopedia ¹⁸ A messenger who reveals God’s laws never stretches the truth. Prophets who foretell the future occasionally do (Weiser and Biblical Encyclopedia ¹⁹ It is no blight on the prophet’s reputation qua ²⁰ When David asked for the holy bread, he had no young men with him. Cf. I Sam. 21 and Weiser. ²¹ II Kings 8:10 reads lo ²² King Ahab inquired of the prophet if he would succeed in his attempt to regain Ramoth-Gilead from Aram. Cf. I Kings 22. ²³ Nebuchadnezzar’s dream signified that he would live as a beast for seven years. Since Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple the prophet could not really have meant that the events in the dream should fall on Nebuchadnezzar’s enemies. ²⁴ According to the Talmud what Daniel really meant was: O Lord, may this dream fall upon your enemies, that is, Nebuchadnezzar. Cf. Shavuot ²⁵ See I. E. on this verse. ²⁶ Since Abraham intended to offer Isaac as a burnt offering, he really was not telling the truth when he said, And I and the lad will…come back to you

AND EAT OF MY VENISON. Okhlah (eat)²⁷ (eat) is an elongated imperative. The usual form is ekhol. Thus okhlah is similar to zokhrah which is also an elongated imperative. is similar to zokhrah (remember)²⁸. in Remember (zokhrah) unto me, O my God, for good, all that I have done for this people (Neh. 5:19). The alef of okhlah is a root letter.²⁹ prefix of the first person imperfect. I.E. makes this point because in verse 25 the alef of okhelah is the alef prefix of the first person imperfect. See I.E.’s comment on verse 25 and the note to it.

footnotes: ²⁷ Okhlah ²⁸ The normal imperative for remember is zekhor ²⁹ It is not the alef

THAT I MAY FEEL THEE. There is no dagesh in the shin of va-amushekha (that I may feel thee) in order to simplify the enunciation of this word.³⁰ is mem, shin, shin. One of these shins is missing is va-amushekha. When a root letter is missing a dagesh is placed in one of the remaining root letters; thus we would expect a dagesh in the shin of va-amushekha. I.E. points out that since a dagesh doubles the letter in which it is placed, the verse would have to be pronounced va-amushshekha. The dagesh was left out to avoid this.

footnotes: ³⁰ The root of va-amushekha

AND I WILL EAT OF MY SON’S VENISON. The alef of ve-okhelah (and I will eat) is a first person imperfect prefix. It is vocalized with a cholam to compensate for the missing alef of the root.³¹ (eat) is alef, caf, lamed. The alef prefixed to a verb in the first person imperfect is usually vocalized with a segol. I.E. points out that in okhelah the alef is a first person imperfect prefix and is vocalized with a cholam rather than a segol to make up for the missing root letter. We find the same in the word omerah in I will say (omerah) unto God my Rock (Ps. 42:10).³² (say) is alef, mem, resh. In omerah the alef is the alef of the first person imperfect prefix and it, too, is vocalized with a cholam to make up for the missing alef root letter.

footnotes: ³¹ The root of akhal ³² The root of amar

The nun of tevarakhanni (may bless me) (v. 19) receives a dagesh to make up for the missing nun³³ is added to the end of the root. Since ni is the sign of the first person pronominal suffix, tevarakhanni should have been spelled with two nuns (we have spelled it with two nuns because of the dagesh. In the Hebrew it has one nun). It should be noted that I.E.’s comment is misplaced as it pertains to verse 19. which should have been in our word, as we find in yesovevenhu (He compassed him about) (Deut. 32:10) and similarly in yeshacharuneni (they will seek Me) (Hos. 5:15).³⁴ we see that a nun is added to the root when a verb is combined with a pronominal suffix. In yeshacharuneni we see that when a verb is combined with a first person pronominal suffix, two nuns are added to the root.

footnotes: ³³ According to I.E. when a verb is combined with a pronominal suffix, a nun ³⁴ In yesovevenhu

[AND KISSED HIM.] When the word kiss is followed by a lamed it means to kiss upon the hand, shoulder or neck; when it is not followed by a lamed it indicates a mouth to mouth kiss.³⁵

footnotes: ³⁵ I.E. offers no proof for this statement (Weiser).

AND HE SMELLED. The resh of va-yarach (and he smelled) is vocalized with a pattach because it precedes a gutteral.³⁶ is an ayin vav in the hifil. Ayin vavs in the hifil are usually vocalized with a segol. Compare, va-yashev, va-yarem (Cherez). Va-yana (was moved) and va-yanach (and rested), in And his heart was moved (va-yana) (Is. 7:2) and and rested (va-yanach) in all the borders of Egypt (Ex. 10:14),³⁷ and va-yanach are vocalized with pattachs because they end in gutturals, va-yana with an ayin, va-yanach with a chet. are similar. All of the above come from roots whose middle letter is a vav.³⁸ comes from the root resh, vav, chet, va-yana from nun, vav, ayin and va-yanach from nun, vav, chet.

footnotes: ³⁶ Va-yarach ³⁷ Va-yana ³⁸ They are ayin vavs. Va-yarach

SEE. Isaac said this to himself.³⁹ The garments gave off a pleasant odor when Isaac thought in his heart that it was Esau before him and that Esau had just come in from the field.⁴⁰ The garments gave off the scent of trees in blossom since it is possible that this episode took place in the first month.⁴¹

footnotes: ³⁹ So Weiser. Krinsky suggests that “see” is to be understood as perceive, since it is impossible to see smell. ⁴⁰ Part of Isaac’s pleasant sensation was psychological. ⁴¹ The month of Nisan. Hence the trees were in bloom and the garments absorbed their scent and gave off the smell of the field.

[OF THE DEW.] The mem of mi-tal (of the dew) is also to be prefixed to mishmane (of the fat places).⁴². The particle mem, which means from, is thus missing. The word should have read mi-mishmane, hence I.E.’s comment (Cherez). Shall I give my first-born for my transgression? (Micah 6:7) is similar.⁴³ of be-alfe (with thousands) and be-rivevot (with ten thousands) are to be read as if prefixed to pishi (my transgression) and chattat (the sin of). Micah 6:7 reads, Will the Lord be pleased with thousands (be-alfe) of rams, With ten thousands (be-rivevot) of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first born for my transgression (pishi), The fruit of my body for the sin (chattat) of my soul. However, its literal reading is: Shall I give my first born my transgression, the fruit of my body, sin of my soul? This makes no sense. Hence I.E. points out that the bet of be-alfe is to be applied to pishi (my transgression) and that of be-rivevot to chattat (sin of). Thus pishi is to be translated, for my transgression (be-fishi) and chattat, for the sin of (be-chattat) (Weiser). Our verses are thus similar in that letters prefixed to one word also apply to other words.

footnotes: ⁴² According to I.E. the word for fat is mishman ⁴³ There, too, the bets

THY BRETHREN. The children of the concubines.⁴⁴

footnotes: ⁴⁴ Abraham’s concubines (Gen. 25:6). I.E. interprets brethren in the sense of relatives (Weiser). Or I.E. assumed that Isaac had concubines.

THY MOTHER’S SONS. Esau and his children.

CURSED BE EVERYONE THAT CURSETH THEE. Each one of those that will curse you.⁴⁵) is a plural, is cursed (arur) is a singular. Hence, I.E.’s explanation that a plural followed by a singular means each one of the plural (Weiser). But the righteous are secure as a young lion (Prov. 28:1)⁴⁶ is in the plural; will be secure is in the singular. The verse literally reads: And righteous people he will be secure as a young lion. I.E. interprets this: each one of the righteous will be as secure as a young lion. is similar. There are many other analogous expressions in Scripture. And blessed be everyone that blesseth thee is also similar.⁴⁷, a plural) is blessed (barukh, a singular). It means each one of those who blesses you will be blessed.

footnotes: ⁴⁵ The verse literally reads: Those who curse you is cursed. Those who curse you (orerekha ⁴⁶ The righteous ⁴⁷ Literally, and those who bless you (u-mevarakhekha

WHO THEN IS HE. Mi efoh hu (who then is he?) should be interpreted as follows: who is he and where is he?⁴⁸ (who is he) and efo hu (where is he). The hu following efoh also applies to mi (Krinsky, Cherez). Mi efo hu literally means who where is he. Hence I.E.’s comment. The word efoh (then) is made up of two words.⁴⁹ is made up of ayeh (where) and poh (here) (Weiser).

footnotes: ⁴⁸ The phrase should be read as follows: mi hu ⁴⁹ Efoh

The vav of va-varakhehu (and have blessed him) is vocalized with a kamatz because va-avarakhehu is a perfect. Had the vav been vocalized with a pattach, then va-avarachehu would be an imperfect.⁵⁰ means I will bless him. The vav vocalized with a kamatz is a vav conversive and changes I will bless him to I blessed him. If the vav were vocalized with a pattach it would be a connective vav, and va-avarakhehu would mean, and I will bless him.

footnotes: ⁵⁰ Avarakhehu

WITH GUILE. He did not speak the truth.

IS NOT HE RIGHTLY. Ha-khi is to be rendered as truly. Ha-khi in Thou art truly (ha-chi) my brother (Gen. 29:15) is similar.

NAMED. Someone named him Jacob.⁵¹ (named) is omitted. Hence kara should be rendered, someone named him. According to I.E. ha-khi kara shemo ya’akov (is he not rightly named Jacob) means, someone truly named him Jacob. Cf. Kimchi.

footnotes: ⁵¹ The subject of kara

FOR HE HATH SUPPLANTED ME. Va-yakeveni (for he hath supplanted me) is to be rendered: for he hath deceived me. Ve-okbah (in subtlety) in But Jehu did it in subtlety (ve-okbah) (II Kings 10:19) is similar.⁵² It is possible that it comes from the same root as akov (deceitful) in The heart is deceitful (akov) (Jer. 17:9). Akov is the opposite of mishor (straight).⁵³ (and the rugged shall be made level). We thus see that akov is the opposite of mishor.

footnotes: ⁵² According to I.E. it should be translated: But Jehu acted with deceit. ⁵³ Cf. Is. 40:4, ve-hayah he-akov le-mishor

RESERVED A BLESSING FOR ME. Kept with yourself (etzlekha) a blessing for me. Atzalta (reserved) comes from the same root as ve-atzalti (and I will take) in And I will take (ve-atzalti) of the spirit which is upon thee (Num. 11:17).⁵⁴ means near. Ve-atzalti literally means: I will take from that which is near thee. Atzalta (reserved) means kept near you. Cf. I.E. on Num. 11:17.

footnotes: ⁵⁴ Etzel

BEHOLD, I HAVE MADE HIM THY LORD. Via my blessing. Similarly have I given to him (v. 33) also means I have verbally given. Some say that efo (then) spelled with an alef at the end is one word meaning now.⁵⁵

footnotes: ⁵⁵ This comment is in contradiction to I.E.’s note on verse 33.

AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS WHEN THOU SHALT BREAK LOOSE. Tarid (thou shalt break loose) has the same meaning as tirdeh (thou shalt rule) (Lev. 25:43). However, tarid and tirdeh have different roots.⁵⁶ is resh, vav, dalet. The root of tirdeh is resh, dalet, heh. According to this interpretation tarid means thou shalt rule, and the meaning of And it shall come to pass when thou shalt rule is, when the time that thou shalt rule shall come (Weiser). Others say that tarid is similar to arid (I cry out) in I cry out (arid) in my complaint (Ps. 55:3). According to this interpretation the meaning of our clause is: and it shall come to pass when thou shalt cry out, then God will pity you.⁵⁷ means thou shalt cry out.

footnotes: ⁵⁶ The root of tarid ⁵⁷ According to this interpretation tarid

THAT THOU SHALT SHAKE HIS YOKE. U-farakto (that thou shalt shake) comes from the same root as mefarek (rent) in rent (mefarek) the mountains⁵⁸. It means to break apart, to rend. Hence u-farakta (that thou shake) means that thou shalt break. (I Kings 19:11). The word mafrakto (his neck) (I Sam. 4:18) is derived from the same stem.⁵⁹ is derived from the verb meaning to break, i.e., for it is easily broken (Rabbi Solomon Ha-Kohen). These blessings present a number of great difficulties. If the blessings were prophecies how is it possible for Isaac not to know whom he was blessing? The wise men of our generation respond to this problem by explaining that when Jacob entered the room, God told him, “Bless this one.”⁶⁰ However, if this was the case Isaac would have told Esau, “God commanded me to bless Jacob.”⁶¹ (v. 35). Furthermore, if God told Isaac to bless Jacob, why did Isaac bless Esau because he cried?⁶² Others say that Isaac was no prophet and his blessings did not come to pass.⁶³ However, they are also mistaken. Scripture explicitly tells us, And the Lord appeared unto him (Isaac) (Gen. 26:2, 24).⁶⁴ Moreover, King David in referring to the patriarchs says, And do My prophets no harm (I Chron. 16:22). Others ask, what efficacy could there be in Isaac’s blessings since he thought that he was blessing Esau? The truth of the matter is that Isaac was in doubt as to who was really before him. Indeed, he said, The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau (v. 22). What Isaac did was bless the one in his presence without regard to whether it was Esau or Jacob, the reason being that both were his sons. Some ask, how could God say (Gen. 25:23) And the elder shall serve the younger? Similarly how could Isaac say, and thou shalt serve thy brother (v. 40)?⁶⁵ Saadiah Gaon superficially answers this question by pointing to Scripture’s statement, And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the souls of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts…and went unto a land away from his brother Jacob (Gen. 36:6).⁶⁶ However, the Gaon seems to have forgotten that the Bible relates, and (Jacob) bowed himself to the ground seven times until he came near to his brother (Esau) (Gen. 33:3).⁶⁷ It appears to me that the prophet’s⁶⁸ blessing was akin to a prayer, and God accepted his prayer,⁶⁹ for Isaac’s prayer was mainly concerned with the offspring of Jacob and Esau.⁷⁰ Those who have as yet not awakened from their foolish sleep think that we are in the exile of the Edomites (Esau).⁷¹ However, this is not so. Edom (Esau) was subject to Judah.⁷² Scripture thus states, In his (Jehoram’s) days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah (II Kings 8:20).⁷³ We are also told that Joab⁷⁴ cut off every male in Edom (I Kings 11:16). It is because of their subjugation to Judah that they rejoiced on the day of Judah’s calamity⁷⁵ and told the Babylonians, Raze it, raze it even to the foundations thereof (Ps. 137:7). The taunts of the Edomites on the day of Jerusalem’s fall was harder for the Judeans to bear than the afflictions visited upon them by the Babylonians. This is also the meaning of Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom (Lam. 4:21),⁷⁶. and Neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction (Obad. 1:12). Also, Hyrcanus the elder⁷⁷ made the Edomites (Esau’s descendants) guard Jerusalem and had them circumcised. Also, in the days of Agrippa⁷⁸ when Jerusalem was taken,⁷⁹ troops of Edomites⁸⁰ came to Judah’s aid.⁸¹ The Romans⁸². who exiled us are from the seed of Kittim. Onkelos similarly explains Kittim to mean Rome in But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim (Num. 24:24).⁸³ The Kittim are the very kingdom of the Greeks as I have explained in my commentary on the Book of Daniel.⁸⁴ [At first⁸⁵ there were only a few people who believed in the man that was made into a god. The Romans accepted the belief in this man in the days of Constantine who introduced this new religion to the Romans upon the advice of an Edomite priest and placed upon his flag an image of this man. At that time there was no one in the world aside from a small group of Edomites who followed the new religion.⁸⁶. 38. It was removed by the censor and does not appear in the Mikra’ot Gedolot edition. Some of the printed editions read; “At first there were only a few people who believed in the new religion. When the Romans accepted the new religion in the days of Constantine who adopted it as the state religion there was no one in the world who kept the new religion except for the Edomites.” ] Similarly the contemporary inhabitants of Egypt, Sheba⁸⁷ and the land of Elam⁸⁸ are called Ishmaelites even though only a tiny minority of the people living there are true decendants of the Ishmaelites.⁸⁹

footnotes: ⁵⁸ Its root is peh, resh, kof ⁵⁹ Mafrakto ⁶⁰ The revelation did not include any name. ⁶¹ Rather than telling him, Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing ⁶² The Bible implies that Isaac blessed Esau because he pitied him for having his blessing stolen by his brother. ⁶³ Isaac prophesied that Esau would be subservient to Jacob. We do not find it to be so. ⁶⁴ The verse refers to the patriarchs. See I Chron. 16:13-22. ⁶⁵ When in fact we do not find that Esau was subservient to Jacob. ⁶⁶ This shows that Esau was subservient to Jacob. ⁶⁷ Which clearly shows that Esau was not subservient to Jacob. ⁶⁸ Isaac. ⁶⁹ A blessing does not take effect immediately. See Rashbam’s commentary on Deut 7:12 (Krinsky). Thus Isaac’s blessing was a blessing and not a prophecy. If it had been a prophecy he would have been directed by God whom to bless. ⁷⁰ And the latter were subject to the former. ⁷¹ This opinion identifies the Romans (hence Christianity) with the Edomites. If this is so, then how could Scripture say that Jacob would rule over Esau when in fact Esau destroyed the Temple, exiled the Jews and ruled over them? ⁷² From the time of King David until the reign of King Jehoram. ⁷³ Which indicates that till that time Edom (Esau) was subject to Judah. ⁷⁴ King David’s general. ⁷⁵ The day that Jerusalem was taken. ⁷⁶ A sarcastic statement Rejoice while you still are able to, for your happiness will not long endure. Indeed, the verse concludes, The cup shall pass over unto thee also; Thou shalt be drunken and shalt make thyself naked ⁷⁷ John Hyrcanus the Hasmonean. He ruled Judea from 135 to 104 B.C.E. He conquered the Edomites and forced them to embrace Judaism. ⁷⁸ Agrippa II, last king of the House of Herod. When the Jews revolted against Rome in 66 C.E. he went to Jerusalem and tried to restore calm. ⁷⁹ That is, during the Roman-Jewish War. ⁸⁰ During the Roman-Jewish War the Edomites came to the aid of the Jews. ⁸¹ Thus it is clear that the Romans are not to be identified with the Edomites. ⁸² Some printed editions read, the nation ⁸³ Onkelos renders Kittim as Rome. ⁸⁴ See I.E.’s comments on Dan. 2:38 and 37:14. ⁸⁵ I.E. goes on to explain why the Romans are referred to as Edomites. ⁸⁶ This is the reading of Vat. Ebr ⁸⁷ An allusion to the Moslems living in the vicinity of the Red Sea (Weiser). ⁸⁸ An allusion to the Moslems in Mesopotamia (Weiser). ⁸⁹ The people of these places are called Ishmaelites because they accepted the religion of the Ishmaelites (Islam).

AND ESAU HATED. Va-yistom (and he hated) is to be rendered: and he harbored hatred. Va-yistemuhu (and hated him) (Gen. 49:23) is similar.

AND ESAU SAID IN HIS HEART. It is possible that Esau confided this thought to one of his friends.⁹⁰ Others say that Rebekah knew this through prophecy.⁹¹ The first interpretation appears correct.

footnotes: ⁹⁰ Otherwise how could Rebekah know that Esau plotted to kill Jacob? ⁹¹ Hence she knew that Esau planned to kill Jacob after Isaac’s death.

DOTH COMFORT HIMSELF. Mitnachem (doth comfort himself) comes from the same root as nechamah (consolation).⁹² and thus means to comfort or console. The meaning of our clause is: Esau’s sole consolation is that he will be able to kill you. However, the Gaon says that mitnachem means to set a time and is similar in meaning to the Arabic wa’ad.⁹³

footnotes: ⁹² It comes from the root nun, chet, mem ⁹³ Which may mean to set a time. The phrase should thus be rendered: Esau doth set a time to kill you. This interpretation is problematic. For the problems inherent in it, see Weiser’s notes on I.E.’s comments on Gen. 6:6.

A FEW DAYS. Yamim achadim (a few days) is to be translated as a few years. Compare yamim in for a full year (yamim) shall he have the right of redemption (Lev. 25:29). Achadim (a few) means less than ten.⁹⁴ means one, achadim is its plural. Thus achadim can refer to any number up to ten.

footnotes: ⁹⁴ Echad

WHY SHOULD I BE BEREAVED. Rebekah was anxious lest they kill each other,⁹⁵. or that Esau would be killed for murdering Jacob. There is a Midrashic opinion that both Jacob and Esau died in one day.⁹⁶

footnotes: ⁹⁵ Hence Rebekah’s statement, why should I be bereaved of you both in one day ⁹⁶ Thus her words came true.

I AM WEARY OF MY LIFE. Katzti (I am weary) has the same meaning as tzakti (I am distressed).⁹⁷; that is, katzti is similar to tzakti, the kof and tzadi changing places. Thus the root kof, vav, tzadi has the same meaning as the root tzadi, vav, kof. Compare U-nekitzennah (and vex it) in Let us go up against Judah and vex it (u-nekitzennah) (Is. 7:6). Scripture similarly says, the land whose two kings thou hast cast a horror of (katz)⁹⁸ shall be foresaken (Is. 7:16).

footnotes: ⁹⁷ I.E. literally reads: katzti is similar to its opposite ⁹⁸ That is, the land which causes you distress (Weiser).