Commentaire sur La Genèse 27:37
וַיַּ֨עַן יִצְחָ֜ק וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְעֵשָׂ֗ו הֵ֣ן גְּבִ֞יר שַׂמְתִּ֥יו לָךְ֙ וְאֶת־כָּל־אֶחָ֗יו נָתַ֤תִּי לוֹ֙ לַעֲבָדִ֔ים וְדָגָ֥ן וְתִירֹ֖שׁ סְמַכְתִּ֑יו וּלְכָ֣ה אֵפ֔וֹא מָ֥ה אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֖ה בְּנִֽי׃
Isaac répondit en ces termes à Ésaü: "Certes! je l’ai institué ton supérieur, j’ai fait de tous ses frères ses serviteurs, je lai gratifié de la moisson et de la vendange: pour toi, dès lors, que puis je faire, mon fils?"
Rashi on Genesis
הן גביר AND BEHOLD I HAVE MADE HIM THY MASTER — This blessing is the seventh in the series of blessings which Isaac gave to Jacob (cf. w. 28. 29) and yet he (Isaac) singles it out as though it were the chief blessing? But the explanation is, he said to him (Esau): “What benefit will a blessing be to you? If you acquire property, it will belong to him, for “Behold, I have made him thy master״, and whatever a servant acquires becomes the property of his master (Genesis Rabbah 67:5).
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Ramban on Genesis
AND ALL HIS BRETHREN HAVE I GIVEN HIM AS SERVANTS. This is not the blessing, Be lord over thy brethren,232Verse 29 here. for Isaac had already said, Behold, I have made him thy lord.233In the beginning of the present verse. However, it is possible that Jacob be the lord and they not be his servants, just as the verse says, For Judah ‘gavar’ above his brethren.234I Chronicles 5:2. There the word gavar does not indicate a master and servant relationship. Similarly, the word gvir (lord) does not indicate such a relationship. But the source for his saying, I have given to him as servants, comes from his expression, And let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee,232Verse 29 here. for this refers to the bowing of the servant to his masters, just as he says, Let people serve thee,232Verse 29 here. and then repeats, And nations bow down to thee.232Verse 29 here.
The meaning of the expression, And all his brothers,235Jacob had only one brother. Why then does Isaac use the plural form, “his brothers?” is the same as that of thy brothers and thy mother’s sons.232Verse 29 here. These he mentions in the plural in order to allude to all of Esau’s offspring. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra says that it refers to the children of Abraham’s concubines.236See above, 25:6.
The meaning of the expression, And all his brothers,235Jacob had only one brother. Why then does Isaac use the plural form, “his brothers?” is the same as that of thy brothers and thy mother’s sons.232Verse 29 here. These he mentions in the plural in order to allude to all of Esau’s offspring. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra says that it refers to the children of Abraham’s concubines.236See above, 25:6.
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Rashbam on Genesis
נתתי לו לעבדים, whatever a slave purchases automatically becomes the property of his master.
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Sforno on Genesis
ואת כל אחיו נתתי לו לעבדים, a reference to the sons of Ishmael, and the sons of Keturah, as well as the kings of other nations. As he had said in verse 29. יעבדוך עמים, “nations will serve you.”
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Or HaChaim on Genesis
ויען יצחק, Isaac replied. Actually Isaac still had the chance to bless Esau. Having realised in the meantime that Esau deserved a curse rather than a blessing, that he was in fact an enemy of his brother Jacob, Isaac was afraid to bless Esau because he would thereby neutralise the blessing to Jacob that those who curse him would themselves be cursed. The Torah therefore mentions the expression ויען יצחק twice to tell us that he did not tell Esau the true reason why he could not bless him outright.
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Radak on Genesis
ויען, concerning the exclamation that Yitzchok had not even reserved a small blessing for Esau, he answered: הן גביר שמתיו לך, ואת כל אחיו נתתי לו, seeing that I have appointed him as senior to you and to all his brothers, (compare verse 29) i.e. to Esau’s brothers (kin)
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Tur HaArokh
ואת כל אחיו נתתי לו לעבדים, “and I have designated that all his bothers be his servants.” These words are not a reference to the line הוי גביר לאחיך in verse 29. It is possible that someone is senior to his brothers without the brothers therefore considering themselves as subservient to that brother. The best example in Scripture is that of Yehudah, who was the leader of his brothers without his brothers ever considering themselves as servants of Yehudah.
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Rabbeinu Bahya
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Rav Hirsch on Torah
Was Jizchak, als er Esau vor sich zu haben glaubte, nur als Aufforderung auszusprechen wagte: הוה גביר לאחיך, das ist ihm jetzt von Jakob eine Gewissheit. Dass er die geistige Führerschaft haben werde, versteht sich von selbst, und — nachdem ihm die Binde von den Augen gefallen — hatte er mit dem גם ברוך יהיה ihm auch mit vollem Bewusstsein die materielle Grundlage zuerkannt. Es war ihm ja nun klar geworden, wie im abrahamitischen Kreise alles, auch Soldat und Kaufmann etc. vom abrahamitischen Geiste erfüllt sein müsse. Im Abrahamshause sah er daher keine Stellung mehr für Esau.
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Daat Zkenim on Genesis
ולכה איפוא, what then can I do for you? the word ולכה here is spelled with the letter ה at the end, (numerical value of 5) something most unusual; Yitzchok hinted to Esau that after 5000 years of human history will have passed his descendants will achieve superiority on earth, but that seeing that he, Esau, will wind up in Gehinom, he, his father, cannot do anything in the meantime to interfere with G–d’s decree.
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Chizkuni
ואת כל אחיו, “and all his brothers, etc.;” Yitzchok refers to Yishmael and his extended family and the children of Keturah.
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Rashi on Genesis
ולכה אפוא מה אעשה בני AND WHAT SHALL I DO NOW UNTO THEE [MY SON?] — Where here (איפה) shall I look for something that I can do for you?
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Sforno on Genesis
ולך איפוא מה אעשה?, in view of this what can I do now for you? What kind of blessing is left which will be of use to you?
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Radak on Genesis
סמכתיו, I have appointed him as central, i.e. have decreed that all his family be close to him for all times (compare the word תסמכני in Psalms 51,14 ורוח נדיבה תסמכני, “let a vigorous spirit sustain me.” This can only be effective if all the relatives are close by. It is also possible that the meaning of the word סמכתיו is סעד, משען support of a financial and psychological type. If so, the prefix ב in the word סמכתיו would be missing, as if Yitzchok had said: ובדגן ותירוש, “and with corn and wine,” instead of ודגן ותירוש.
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Tur HaArokh
ואת כל אחיו, “and all his brothers, etc.” Even though he had only one brother, Yitzchok speaks of him in the plural, as he meant to include all of Esau’s future descendants in his remarks. Other commentators feel that the plural extends to Ishmael, as well as Ishmael’s descendants as well as the sons of Keturah.
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Chizkuni
ולכה, “and as far as you personally are concerned;” the unusual spelling with the letters כה at the end is not a scribe’s error, but is deliberate.
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Radak on Genesis
ולכה איפוא, as for you, now מה אעשה, what can I do? What kind of a blessing remains for you after all this? The formulation is similar to Isaiah 22,16 מה לך איפוא, “what have you here?”
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Chizkuni
איפה מה אעשה בני, “what can I do then my son?” Yitzchok explains that seeing that his descendants had been promised by G-d only the land of Canaan, and he had already “given” the whole of it to Yaakov’s descendants, there was no other inheritance he could pass on.
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