Kommentar zu Bereschit 44:27

YE KNOW THAT MY WIFE BORE ME TWO SONS. If we say [that Jacob’s intention was to point out] that Benjamin is the only one left to his mother, why is this a reason [for his saying that if some harm will befall him] it will bring down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave?²²Verse 29 here. After all, he has many sons and grandchildren, and Benjamin’s mother has already died, and she would no longer weep over him in Jacob’s presence. The meaning of the verse, however, is that Jacob took only Rachel as a wife on his own initiative. This is the sense of the words, my wife bore me: “for from a woman that was my wife of my own will there have been only two sons born to me, and I have bestowed my love upon them as if they were my only ones, the rest being to me as if they were children of concubines. And with his brother Joseph dead, this one alone is my only son whom I have loved.” It is for this reason that Scripture mentions Rachel before Leah: Like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel;²³Ruth 4:11. And he called Rachel and Leah to the field.²⁴Above, 31:4. Rachel took precedence in his mind. The commentators²⁵See Rashi further 46:19. have said that the reason why Scripture in this Seder says, The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife,²⁶Further, 46:19. is that she is called his wife in truth, without any deception. In my opinion, however, this is because Rachel is mentioned there among the handmaids, as I have already so mentioned.²⁷Above, 31:33 and 37:2. Ramban agrees with the principle as he himself explains it in connection with the verse above, 31:4. However, he points out that in the verse further, 46:19, the term, Jacob’s wife, is independently justified.

אתם ידעתם כי שנים ילדה לי אשתי, ”you know that my wife bore only two sons for me.” The reason that Yehudah quoted his father as saying: “my wife bore two sons for me,” was to justify his statement that the failure of Binyamin to return home unharmed would cause his premature death. [they had described themselves as 12 brothers, all the sons of the same father. The loss of one, or even two, would not appear to Joseph as such a catastrophe. When he would hear that the dead brother and Binyamin were the only ones from their mother, he would begin to better understand the trauma involved. Ed] The word אשתי was meant to make a clear distinction between פילגשי, “my concubine.”

ילדה לי אשתי, “my wife bore for me.” The Torah should really have written “Rachel bore for me.” However, the point Yehudah made was that he too was aware that Yaakov had considered only Rachel his true wife, seeing that he had served Lavan for Rachel and not for Leah. His marrying Leah had been a totally unwilling act on his part. Yaakov’s true wife had borne him only two children one of whom had disappeared. His love for these two was therefore exceptional. If you will search the Bible you will find that Rachel’s name always precedes that of Leah though Leah was the older of the two. Even in the Book of Ruth, where the townsfolk of Bethlehem congratulate Boaz on taking Ruth as a wife, they phrase their blessing in these words: “may she become like Rachel and Leah who built up the house of Israel.” There are numerous other verses in all of which Rachel is mentioned before her older sister.