וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לְלַמֵּ֥ד בְּנֵֽי־יְהוּדָ֖ה קָ֑שֶׁת הִנֵּ֥ה כְתוּבָ֖ה עַל־סֵ֥פֶר הַיָּשָֽׁר׃
dan ia berkata agar bani Yehuda diajari memanah; sesungguhnya hal itu tertulis dalam Kitab Orang Jujur:
Haamek Davar
This Book commonly known as The Book of Bereishis, is referred to by the Prophets as Sefer HaYashar, the Book of the Upright, as stated in Tractate Avodah Zarah 25a pertaining to the two [following] verses:
1. “And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Sefer HaYashar?”1Josh. 10:13.This verse refers to the miracle, where Yehoshua ordered the sun and the moon to stand still so that the Israelites could destroy their enemies in battle before nightfall. See Avodah Zarah ad loc.: “Where [in Genesis is the miracle of the staying of the sun and moon] alluded to? [In the verse where Yaakov blesses Ephraim, Yehoshua’s ancestor:] The awe of his offspring will fill the nations (Gen. 48:19)
2. “And he said to teach the Sons of Yehuda the bow. Behold it is written in the Sefer HaYashar.”2II Sam. 1:18. In his eulogy for King Saul and his fallen sons, David states that it is written in the Sefer HaYashar that the children of Yehuda are the ones most suited for archery. Tractate Avodah Zarah ad loc continues: Where [in Genesis is Yehuda mastery of archery] alluded to? [In the verse where Yaakov blesses Judah:] Judah – you, your brothers shall acknowledge, your hand will be at the nape of your enemies (Gen. 49:8). Which form of warfare requires the hand to be raised opposite the nape? You must say that it is the method used with the archer’s bow.”
R’ Yochanan [ad loc.] explains that [Sefer HaYashar] is the book, [Bereishis, depicting the lives] of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, who were called “upright” [by Bilaam ]3This was recited by Bilaam the Wicked, who was hired by Balak, King of Moab to curse the Nation of Israel. The meaning of this phrase will be explained below., as stated, “Let me die the death of the upright.” 4Num. 23:10. ….
1. “And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Sefer HaYashar?”1Josh. 10:13.This verse refers to the miracle, where Yehoshua ordered the sun and the moon to stand still so that the Israelites could destroy their enemies in battle before nightfall. See Avodah Zarah ad loc.: “Where [in Genesis is the miracle of the staying of the sun and moon] alluded to? [In the verse where Yaakov blesses Ephraim, Yehoshua’s ancestor:] The awe of his offspring will fill the nations (Gen. 48:19)
2. “And he said to teach the Sons of Yehuda the bow. Behold it is written in the Sefer HaYashar.”2II Sam. 1:18. In his eulogy for King Saul and his fallen sons, David states that it is written in the Sefer HaYashar that the children of Yehuda are the ones most suited for archery. Tractate Avodah Zarah ad loc continues: Where [in Genesis is Yehuda mastery of archery] alluded to? [In the verse where Yaakov blesses Judah:] Judah – you, your brothers shall acknowledge, your hand will be at the nape of your enemies (Gen. 49:8). Which form of warfare requires the hand to be raised opposite the nape? You must say that it is the method used with the archer’s bow.”
R’ Yochanan [ad loc.] explains that [Sefer HaYashar] is the book, [Bereishis, depicting the lives] of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, who were called “upright” [by Bilaam ]3This was recited by Bilaam the Wicked, who was hired by Balak, King of Moab to curse the Nation of Israel. The meaning of this phrase will be explained below., as stated, “Let me die the death of the upright.” 4Num. 23:10. ….
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויבא אברהם לספוד לשרה ולב-כ-ותה, “Avraham came to eulogise Sarah and to weep for her.” If it had been the intention of the Torah to inform us that Avraham came from elsewhere, i.e. from another town, the Torah would have written: “he came from such and such a place.” The meaning of the word ויבא is simply that Avraham roused himself (from his shock) in order to eulogise Sarah. When a person rouses himself to undertake a certain activity, this is described as בא אליה, “coming to it, i.e. coming to grips with the planned activity.” The Talmud in Tamid 4,3 when discussing the skinning and cutting up of of animals which had been slaughtered in preparation for being offered on the altar, uses the expression בא לו לגרה והניח שתי צלעות, בא לו לעוקץ וגו', “when the officiating priest got ready to deposit two ribs near the neck, etc.” The expression בא לו cannot mean “that he came to a certain location,” as a single animal is discussed. All parts were in the same place. It must refer to something different. In Bechorot 20 we encounter Rabbi Akiva saying: לא באתי למדה זו, and it certainly cannot mean “I have not come to this measure,” or something similar. It is clear that the meaning of the word is: “I have not (yet) begun to work on this subject,” or something similar. In our verse too, the Torah describes that now Avraham would attend to the task of eulogising his wife. Had the meaning been that Avraham came from afar, the Torah would have written ויבא אברהם ויספוד את שרה, “Avraham came and eulogised Sarah.”
The two words לספוד לשרה i.e. mentioning her name which was well known to all those present, need clarification. We would have expected simply לספדה ולבכותה, “to eulogise her and to weep for her.” The reason the Torah did not write this abbreviated version is that it is the custom of the professional eulogisers to again and again mention the name of the departed whom they eulogise. We find that when David eulogised King Shaul and his own intimate friend Yonathan, that he spoke of שאול ויהונתן הנאהבים והנעימים, “Shaul and Yonathan the beloved and the cherished ones.” Seeing that in the same chapter (Samuel II 1,18) David already had mentioned both Shaul and Yonathan by name, he could have now referred to them by the pronoun “they.” Nonetheless, during the course of that eulogy David mentions both Shaul and Yonathan by name no fewer than six times.
In our verse, all the Torah had to write was that Avraham set out to “weep for her, and to bury her.” After all, burial is the principal act of true kindness one performs for one’s dead and concludes the acts of eulogising and weeping. Burying a human being is one of the great acts of kindness which G’d Himself performs on occasion. Had the Torah written the sequence of the words we mentioned, the impression this would have created amongst the readers would be that all these activities occurred one immediately after the other. The truth is that whereas eulogising and weeping occurred consecutively, there was quite an interval before Sarah was finally laid to rest. Avraham first had to secure a plot of land in which to bury Sarah.
The two words לספוד לשרה i.e. mentioning her name which was well known to all those present, need clarification. We would have expected simply לספדה ולבכותה, “to eulogise her and to weep for her.” The reason the Torah did not write this abbreviated version is that it is the custom of the professional eulogisers to again and again mention the name of the departed whom they eulogise. We find that when David eulogised King Shaul and his own intimate friend Yonathan, that he spoke of שאול ויהונתן הנאהבים והנעימים, “Shaul and Yonathan the beloved and the cherished ones.” Seeing that in the same chapter (Samuel II 1,18) David already had mentioned both Shaul and Yonathan by name, he could have now referred to them by the pronoun “they.” Nonetheless, during the course of that eulogy David mentions both Shaul and Yonathan by name no fewer than six times.
In our verse, all the Torah had to write was that Avraham set out to “weep for her, and to bury her.” After all, burial is the principal act of true kindness one performs for one’s dead and concludes the acts of eulogising and weeping. Burying a human being is one of the great acts of kindness which G’d Himself performs on occasion. Had the Torah written the sequence of the words we mentioned, the impression this would have created amongst the readers would be that all these activities occurred one immediately after the other. The truth is that whereas eulogising and weeping occurred consecutively, there was quite an interval before Sarah was finally laid to rest. Avraham first had to secure a plot of land in which to bury Sarah.
Ramban
AND THIS FOR JUDAH. “And for Judah he said likewise that he live and not die, and further added for him, hear, Eternal, the voice of Judah.” This is the opinion of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. But this is not correct in accordance with our interpretation [above on the blessing of Reuben], for Judah was not involved in this [punishment of] extinction150For the affair with Joseph, since it was Judah who saved his life (Genesis 37:26). [making it necessary for] Moses to pray for him, just as he did not mention this in the blessing of the remaining tribes. But the verse is to be understood in its plain meaning: “and this is the blessing for Judah.” And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], he singled out the attribute of zoth (this) for Judah because his is the conduct of war and from him shall be royalty forever,151See Vol. I, pp. 586-590. this being the help against his adversaries. This is the secret of the verse stating, To teach the sons of Judah the bow. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar,152II Samuel 1:18. for this is the bow which is seen in the cloud concerning which it is said, ‘Zoth’ (this) is the token of the covenant.153Genesis 9:17.