Commentaire de citation sur La Genèse 36:6

וישב יעקב, whereas Esau had moved to another country on account of his brother Yaakov, Yaakov settled near his father in the land in which both he, his father, and his grandfather had only sojourned up until now. He claimed this right as the result of having purchased the birthright from his older brother.

Another interpretation: It was already said to Abraham your offspring will be strangers (Genesis 15:13), and Jacob also had a portion in paying this debt, yet he sought a peaceful dwelling in his father’s place of residence. For from the time Isaac was born, the period of being strangers began, and Abraham and Isaac considered themselves as strangers and were wandering and moving from journey to journey, and they did not purchase inheritances of field and vineyard. They did all this in order to quickly pay the debt of your offspring will be strangers. Understandably, Esau who went to another land — it makes sense when he said “I have no portion in the gift of this land, nor in paying the debt,” as Rashi explained at the end of Parshat Vayishlach on the verse and he went to a land (Genesis 36:6). But Jacob was in the land of Canaan, and wanted to receive a portion in the gift of the land, yet did not want to pay the debt of your offspring will be strangers. Therefore, the distress of Joseph jumped upon him. This is why it says in the land of Canaan, and if Jacob’s peaceful dwelling had not been nullified, these days would not have counted toward the 400 years, and the appointed end [of the exile] would have necessarily been delayed.

According to our approach the Torah informs us of the reason why the names appear once more, i.e. that they had all willingly accepted their destiny to endure exile as distinct from Esau who had decided to leave the land of Canaan by moving to Mount Seir (Genesis 36,8). Bereshit Rabbah 82,13, attributes Esau's move to the decree of G'd mentioned to Abraham in Genesis 15,13 that Abraham's descendants would become strangers in a foreign land. Esau wanted to escape that obligation and that is why he moved away voluntarily at that time. הבאים מצרימה, who arrived in Egypt; they came in order to endure exile; את יעקב, together with Jacob; "with Jacob," i.e. in the same spirit as Jacob, to discharge their duty to become exiles. The Torah wants to prove that the Israelites did not move to Egypt for other reasons and that is why it writes that they came איש וביתו, everyone with his respective family, i.e. they prepared for a lengthy stay; otherwise they would have left their families in the land of Canaan.

אתה ידעת את כל התלאה THOU KNOWEST ALL THE TRAVAIL — It was on this account that your father separated himself from our father, as it is said, (Genesis 36:6), "And he (Esau) went to another land on account of Jacob, his brother” — on account of the bond which devolved upon both of them, and he cast the whole of it upon Jacob (Genesis Rabbah 82:13; cf. Rashi on Genesis 36.7.2).