Commentaire de citation sur Les Nombres 26:47

ברוך מבנים אשר, “Asher is blessed more than the other sons.” The reason for this is that all the other tribes also bless the tribe of Asher, as we know from the words יהי רצוי אחיו, “let him be favoured by his brethren.” (our verse) Moses goes on to explain the reason for this when he says: וטובל בשמן רגלו, “and let him dip his foot in oil.” His territory is so full of oil (from his olive groves) that it provides a surfeit for all the other tribes. Rabbi Eliyahu the priest, quoting his uncle, Rabbi Moshe, points out that tin the latest census the numbers for the tribe of Asher were 30% higher than in the previous census. Seeing that the total number of army aged males had practically not changed over 39 years, this is most remarkable, and the reason why Moses describes that tribe as more blessed than any of the others. (Compare Numbers 1,41 and Numbers 26,47)

AND THE NAME OF THE DAUGHTER OF ASHER WAS SERACH. “Because she was still alive [at the end of Israel’s period of bondage in Egypt, and after forty years in the desert, and was one of the seventy people mentioned in Genesis 46 who went down to Egypt with Jacob], Scripture mentions her here.” This is Rashi’s language. And Onkelos translated [the verse as follows]: “and the name of the daughter of Asher’s wife, was Serach.” By this he intended to say that she was a daughter that possesseth an inheritance⁸³Further, 36:8. [in the Land in her own right], and therefore Scripture mentions her here just as it mentions the daughters of Zelophehad,⁸⁴Further, 27:7. for she [Serach] is included amongst [those referred to in the verse], Unto these the Land shall be divided.⁸⁵Verse 53. Now had she been the daughter of Asher himself, she would not have inherited [a portion in the Land], since he had male children [as stated in Verse 44]. But she [Serach] was the daughter of his [Asher’s] wife from another man [namely Asher’s wife’s first husband], who did not have a son; therefore his inheritance [in the Land] passed to his daughter. In that case, the reason [why Scripture uses the phrase] and Serach their sister⁸⁶Genesis 46:17. The verse reads: And the sons of Asher: Imnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah and Serach their sister. Ramban here is pointing out that the verse avoids calling her Asher’s daughter, and describes her especially as the sister of his sons, because she was in actual fact not his daughter at all, but only their half-sister. is because she was a [half-]sister to Asher’s sons, but was not his daughter. And therefore it says [here], And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serach, and it does not say “and Asher’s daughter [was Serach],” because [the intention of the verse] is to say that her name was [i.e., she was known as] “Asher’s daughter,” and she was [actually] called Serach.⁸⁷The meaning of the verse is thus: “And the name of the person known as ‘the daughter of Asher’ was Serach.” Now if she were still alive [at the end of the period of Israel’s sojourn in the desert], as Rashi explained, then she was like the daughters of Zelophehad as regards [receiving] an inheritance [in the Land in her own right], but if she had died [by then, Scripture mentions her here to indicate that] her family received [a portion in the Land] because of her [since she was amongst those who went down to Egypt].
According to the simple meaning of Scripture, Serach had a large family which was called by her name, and she is included in the phrase, These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were numbered.⁸⁸Verse 47. Scripture, however, did not want to trace their ancestry to a woman, by saying: “Of Serach, the family of the Serachites,” but instead alluded to this matter [briefly].