והיינו דכתיב (בראשית כט, לא) וירא ה' כי שנואה לאה מאי שנואה אילימא שנואה ממש אפשר בגנות בהמה טמאה לא דבר הכתוב בגנות צדיקים דבר הכתוב אלא ראה הקב"ה ששנואין מעשה עשו בפניה ויפתח את רחמה
He said unto him: But had not Reuben sinned, [Jacob] would not have bestowed upon Joseph any benefit at all?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Surely, his recognition of Joseph's services should not have depended on the remote chance of a birthright becoming available for disposal.
');"><sup>30</sup></span> But R. Jonathan your master did not say so.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Jacob gave to Joseph, in recognition of his benefaction, other gifts and blessings, while the change of the birthright was due to other causes.
');"><sup>31</sup></span>
Ramban on Genesis
AND HIS SONS’ DAUGHTERS. These were Serah, the daughter of Asher, and Jochebed, the daughter of Levi. This is the language of Rashi. But what will Rashi include in the term, his daughters, [which is also plural, although Jacob only had one daughter, Dinah]? Rather, it is the way of Scripture, when mentioning the genealogy of many people, to refer to an individual in the plural form, as for example, And the sons of Dan: Hushim; And the sons of Palu: Eliab. The same is true here: “daughters” refer to Dinah. “His sons’ daughters” refers to Serah the daughter of Asher, but Jochebed [Moses’ mother] is not mentioned by Scripture [as being among the persons who went down to Egypt], as it is said, All the souls were threescore and six. She is, however, hinted at, according to the opinion of our Rabbis.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy