וַיָּ֣קָם ׀ בַּלַּ֣יְלָה ה֗וּא וַיִּקַּ֞ח אֶת־שְׁתֵּ֤י נָשָׁיו֙ וְאֶת־שְׁתֵּ֣י שִׁפְחֹתָ֔יו וְאֶת־אַחַ֥ד עָשָׂ֖ר יְלָדָ֑יו וַֽיַּעֲבֹ֔ר אֵ֖ת מַעֲבַ֥ר יַבֹּֽק׃
Il se leva, quant à lui, pendant la nuit; il prit ses deux femmes, ses deux servantes et ses onze enfants et passa le gué de Jaboc.
Ramban
AND THE ANGELS OF G-D MET HIM. Rashi comments: “The angels who minister in the Land of Israel came to meet him. And he called the name of that place Mahanaim: the plural form implies two camps, one consisting of the angels ministering outside of the Land of Israel who had accompanied him thus far, the other consisting of those ministering in the Land of Israel who had come forth to meet him.”
But I wonder at this, for Jacob had not yet reached the Land of Israel and was still distant from there for he sent messengers to Esau from afar. And then it says there, And he passed over the ford of the Jabbok,256Further, 32:23. which is the river Jabbok which is the border of the children of Ammon.257Deuteronomy 3:16. This is to the southeast of the Land of Israel, and he still had to pass the boundary of the children of Ammon and Moab, and then the land of Edom, and his first entry into the Land was at Shechem, as it is said, And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan.258Further 33:18. This poses a difficulty to Rashi’s interpretation of “Mahanaim.” Instead, we must say this vision came to Jacob as he arrived in enemy territory in order to inform him that “they that are with him are more than they that are with them.”259See II Kings 6:16. And the name of the place was called “Mahanaim” in the plural, for such is the way of Scripture with names.260For a single event or person, a plural name is given, as for example, “Mitzraim”. It may be that “Mahanaim” refers to His camp and the camp of the higher beings,261In that case the plural in the word Mahanaim is naturally justified. that is to say that His camp on earth is as the camp of the angels, all of them being camps of G-d, blessing Him and confessing His Unity, may His name be blessed forever.
But I wonder at this, for Jacob had not yet reached the Land of Israel and was still distant from there for he sent messengers to Esau from afar. And then it says there, And he passed over the ford of the Jabbok,256Further, 32:23. which is the river Jabbok which is the border of the children of Ammon.257Deuteronomy 3:16. This is to the southeast of the Land of Israel, and he still had to pass the boundary of the children of Ammon and Moab, and then the land of Edom, and his first entry into the Land was at Shechem, as it is said, And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan.258Further 33:18. This poses a difficulty to Rashi’s interpretation of “Mahanaim.” Instead, we must say this vision came to Jacob as he arrived in enemy territory in order to inform him that “they that are with him are more than they that are with them.”259See II Kings 6:16. And the name of the place was called “Mahanaim” in the plural, for such is the way of Scripture with names.260For a single event or person, a plural name is given, as for example, “Mitzraim”. It may be that “Mahanaim” refers to His camp and the camp of the higher beings,261In that case the plural in the word Mahanaim is naturally justified. that is to say that His camp on earth is as the camp of the angels, all of them being camps of G-d, blessing Him and confessing His Unity, may His name be blessed forever.
Chizkuni
וישכב עמה בלילה הוא, “he slept with her on that night.” [In order to be grammatically correct, the Torah should have written: בלילה ההוא. Our author points out that this is not a scribe’s error, but that we have a similar formulation in Genesis 32,23: ויקם לילה הוא, “he got up during that night,” where we also would have expected to find: בלילה ההוא. [Perhaps the missing letter is to indicate that in both instances Yaakov made the decision hastily. Ed.]
Da'at Zekenim
ועיניכם אל תחוס על כליכם, “and do not concern yourselves with your chattels;” Joseph knew that his father had been reluctant to abandon any chattels, from the time he crossed the river Yabok at night to retrieve anything he had left behind. (Genesis 32,23-25) Attributed to Rabbi Yaakov.