Commentaire de citation sur La Genèse 27:42

ויקרא את עשו בנו הגדול, “he called in Esau his elder son.” Both his father and his mother referred to Esau as גדול, “senior.” Rivkah is on record as doing so in verse 15 when the Torah tells us where Esau kept his valuable clothes. G’d, on the other hand, referred to Esau as קטן, “junior.” We know this from Ovadiah 2 הנה קטן נתתיך בגוים, “here I have made you junior amongst the nations.” The meaning of the word גדול is justified according to the popular proverb לקבל תורא טבחא, “one hands over the fully grown ox for slaughter.” Compare Isaiah 34,6: “For the Lord holds a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.” The prophet speaks of retribution being meted out to the descendants of Esau. Ed.] On the other hand, the reason the description “junior” when applied to Yaakov may be appropriate on occasions is that in verse 30 where he is so described by his mother, G’d retaliated in due cause by referring to Israel as ומי גוי גדול בארץ, “who is a great nation on earth such as Israel” (Deut. 4,5).

G-d forbid that Hashem should repent! No, the Torah is merely speaking in a language that human beings can understand, just as it does when it says "He went up" (Genesis 17:22) and "He went down" (Genesis 11:5), and "God will be made happy by His creations" (Ps. 104:31). And also, "He was grieved in His heart" - and behold Samuel also said "The Glory of Israel does not deceive or change His mind" (I Samuel 15:29) And the text says "I repented". And there are those who explain this as an expression of communication, and this is unnecessary.

ESAU HER ELDER SON, JACOB HER YOUNGER SON. The reason why Scripture mentions this is to accentuate the unusual action of the righteous one,²¹⁰Rebekah. for parents customarily give recognition to the firstborn in blessing, honor, and gift,²¹¹See Ramban above, 25:34. but she, knowing of the righteousness of the younger and the wickedness of the elder, went to all this trouble to transfer the blessing and the honor from the elder to the younger. Similarly, it says further on, And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah, and she sent and called Jacob her younger son.²¹²Further, Verse 42.