Commentaire sur La Genèse 49:16

Yaakov wanted to tell when Moshiach was going to come, and the Shechina departed from him. What that means that is that Yaakov requested the coming of Moshiach, to reveal the Guela. Through this, the Shechina departed from him. What that means is that he elevated himself [spiritually] and he went so much higher than himself through prayer. He went away from himself to the Shechina.

דן ידין עמו means DAN WILL TAKE VENGEANCE FOR HIS PEOPLE from the Philistines, the phrase having the same meaning as in (Deuteronomy 32:30) “For the Lord will avenge (ידין) his people”.

DAN SHALL JUDGE ‘YADIN’ HIS PEOPLE. This has the same meaning as in the verse, For the Eternal ‘yadin’ His people,¹⁷⁷Deuteronomy 32:36. which Onkelos translates as, “For the Eternal will judge the judgment of His people,”¹⁷⁸Here also, the sense of the verse is: “Dan will judge the judgment of his people.” just as in the expressions: Be thou my judge, O G-d, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;¹⁷⁹Psalms 43:1. The cause of the widow.¹⁸⁰Isaiah 1:23. The reference should rather be to Verse 17 there: rivu almanah (plead for the widow), which means rivu riv almanah (plead the plea of the widow). Here, likewise, the sense of the verse is: “Dan will judge the judgment of his people.” (T’chelet Mordechai. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 270, Note 39.) The verse is thus stating that Dan will avenge the cause of his people, all the tribes of Israel, as one.¹⁸¹As explained further in the text, it is clear that Ramban is transposing the words of the verse and interpreting it in the following way: “Dan will judge his people,” that is, Samson, a descendant of the tribe of Dan, will avenge the cause of his people from the hands of the Philistines. And who are “his people?” All “the tribes of Israel.” And how will that help affect them? “As one,” that is, as one whole nation, for when, at the time of Samson’s death, the Philistines’ temple collapsed, all the lords of the Philistines (Judges 16:27) died, and thus all “the tribes of Israel as one” were delivered from their hands. And the purport of it is as follows: The Philistines wronged all Israel many times. In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath¹⁸²Judges 3:31. they began their oppression of Israel, and in the days of Jephthah it is written, And He gave them over into the hand of the Philistines,¹⁸³Ibid., 10:7. and after the days of Abdon the son of Hillel,¹⁸⁴Ibid., 12:13. it is also written, And the Eternal delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.¹⁸⁵Ibid., 13:1. There was none among the Judges who subdued them or had any victory at all over them. Now although it is written concerning Shamgar, And he smote the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad,¹⁸²Judges 3:31. this was not “vengeance,” relatively speaking, as it was not a great slaughter.¹⁸⁶II Chronicles 13:17. This is why it is written concerning Samson, And he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines,¹⁸⁷Judges 13:5. and he avenged the cause of Israel from them for he slew many people and killed all the lords of the Philistines.¹⁸⁸See ibid., 16:27 and 30. Scripture mentions yadin (he will judge), since this avenger was a judge, not a king. It is possible that this interpretation coincides with the opinion of Onkelos, who translated: “In his days his people will be delivered.”¹⁸⁹Thus it is clear that Onkelos also explained the word yadin as meaning “will avenge.” See also my Hebrew commentary, p. 270.
It is possible that the expression, as one of the tribes of Israel, means “as the outstanding one of the tribes,” namely, Judah, concerning whom it is said, Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies,¹⁹⁰Above, Verse 8. thus implying that this one also¹⁹¹The judge from the tribe of Dan, namely, Samson. will be victorious over his enemies and subdue them.