창세기 27:39의 주석

משמני הארץ וגו THE FATNESS OF THE EARTH etc. — This refers to the Greek portions of Italy (Graeca Magna) (Genesis Rabbah 67:6).

BEHOLD (‘HINEI’), OF THE FAT PLACES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE THY DWELLING. The intent of the word hinei (behold) is: “Now I could give you of the fat places of the earth and of the dew of heaven, for of these there is sufficient [abundance] for both of you to have of the fat places of the earth and of the dew of heaven, but in the matter of lordship, that will be his, and you shall serve him.” Isaac also did not give him plenty of corn and wine as he gave to his brother since he wanted to honor the one who had been blessed first above him. Later he said to Jacob, And G-d Almighty give thee the blessing of Abraham… that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings,²³⁷Further, 28:4. meaning that he should have the plentifulness of the corn and wine in the land of Canaan, which was Abraham’s gift, while Esau would have the dew and the fat places of the earth in another land.

הנה משמני הארץ יהיה מושבך, I am able to bless you, assuring you that you and your descendants will reside in fruitful areas of the earth, even if they will be marginally subservient to your brother.

ויען יצחק אביו. Isaac his father replied. The words "his father" explain why Isaac decided to give Esau a blessing after all. In the final analysis his fatherly feelings were stirred by Esau's outburst.

ויען...הנה משמני הארץ, the earth which you will inherit and on which you will dwell will belong to the most productive areas of the earth, i.e. the Mountain of Seir.

הנה משמני הארץ יהיה מושבך, “here you are assured that the region in which you will dwell will belong to the most productive ones on earth.” According to Nachmanides, the expression הנה here introduces the limitation of any blessing Yitzchok can bestow now. He says, that although I can assure you of a materially brilliant future, riches based on what the earth you dwell on will produce, but the political power, ממשלה, will belong to your brother. Yitzchok did not bless Esau with the parallel blessing of רוב דגן ותירוש, “an overabundance of grain and wine, either, as he had done when he blessed Yaakov thinking that he was Esau. (verse 28) Both of them, Esau and Ishmael, are sufficiently blessed with the wish that they will dwell on the fertile parts of the earth. Yitzchok was concerned that the one whom he had blessed first would enjoy a clear advantage even in the wording of the blessing he had obtained. This is also why, before sending Yaakov to look for a wife, he added specifically; ויתן לך את ברכת אברהם וגו', “and may G’d grant you the blessing conferred upon Avraham, etc.” The fulfillment of the blessing of “overabundance of grain and wine,” was thus deferred to the period after the land of the Canaanites had been conquered by Yaakov’s descendants. (28,4) The dew of the heaven and the fatness of the land promised to Esau applied to some country other than the land of Israel. There was a distinct difference in the qualities of the blessings extended before Yaakov was dispatched to look for a wife, and the blessings resulting from Yitzchok’s eating the venison. In the first and last blessing the name of G’d as the source of the blessing does appear, whereas in the blessing to Esau, the “consolation prize,” Yitzchok does not even mention the name of G’d. The reason was that Esau had not mentioned the name of G’d either. It is of significance that when blessing Esau as Esau, Yitzchok mentions the fatness of the earth before mentioning the dew of the heavens, whereas when speaking of the same phenomena to Yaakov, Yitzchok reversed the order by mentioning the heavenly part, the dew before mentioning the earth’s contribution to man’s success as a farmer. The reason is that when blessing Yaakov, Yitzchok had already blessed him specifically by invoking the name of G’d.

הנה משמני הארץ, “here from the fat part of the earth, etc.” You do not find mention of the name of G’d in the blessing Esau received, whereas the name of G’d has been mentioned in the blessings given to Yaakov when Yitzchak had said: “and may the Lord give you from the dew of the heaven, etc.” This teaches that Yitzchak did not invoke a direct bounty from G’d when he promised Esau that he would enjoy the bounty of nature, i.e.משמני הארץ יהיה מושבך , “you will reside in a part of the earth which is of the best, the most fertile.” Yitzchak left Esau’s fortunes to the vagaries of the stars, to astrological influences only. This is what he meant by מטל השמים מעל, “from the dew originating in the sky above.” The words ומשמני הארץ יהיה מושבך, are a thinly veiled hint that Yitzchak was concerned only with Esau’s life on earth; he did not foresee an afterlife for him. We have a parallel expression in Numbers 24,21 when Bileam prophesied about the future of the various nations surrounding the people of Moav and Israel and said of the Kenite איתן מושבך, “your dwelling is strong.” There too the implication is that all this will come to an end with the physical death of the person who receives the blessing. The mention of the word הנה is equivalent to an invitation, i.e. Yitzchak inviting these blessings of nature to be available to his son Esau. We find G’d Himself using the same expression when He answered Avraham’s prayer concerning the well-being of his son Ishmael in Genesis 17,2 when he said הנה ברכתי אותו, “I have prepared a blessing for a him.” Blessings introduced with the word הנה are applicable only in this terrestrial world, and in the case of Esau only at times when the Jewish people fail to carry out G’d’s will. These blessings were all subject to certain conditions. When a blessing commenced with the letter ו, i.e. ו-יתן לך האלוקים, “and the Lord may give you, etc.,” this implied “if you have met the prerequisites for this blessing to become effective.” It is clear from verse 40 in our chapter that when the prerequisites of Yitzchak’s blessing have not been met the blessing was not to materialise. This is the meaning of the words והיה כאשר תריד ופרקת עולו מעל צוארך, “and whenever you are aggrieved you will cast off his yoke from your neck.” In other words, the blessings for Esau even in this world are applicable only when Israel is not deserving of its own blessings.

This refers to the part of Italy belonging to Greece. It was previously stated (v. 28), “Of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the land,” referring to the fruit of the land. I.e., the grain and produce of your land should be rich and good. But here it refers to the place. I.e., that it should be located in the richness of the earth. Thus, here it says, “Your dwelling,” meaning the place he dwells in. Otherwise, [if it meant rich produce,] the question arises: Yitzchok had already given to Yaakov the blessing of the fatness of the land. [How then could Yitzchok now give it to Eisov?]

(39-40) Nicht ויתן לך האלקי, nicht unter besonderer Gottes-Waltung und Führung; soweit es in "Himmel und Erde" in der natürlichen Ordnung der Dinge liegt, wirst du irdische Fülle erreichen. Dein Schwert wird der Schöpfer deines Geschickes sein. Du wirst der Stärkere werden, wirst die Welt erobern, um — die eroberte Welt Jakob zu Füßen zu legen. "Rom" erobert die Welt, um sie schließlich nach allen Verirrungen dem siegreichen Genius Jakob-Jisraels zu Füßen zu legen. So lange du herrschen wirst, jede materielle Eroberung nur als Staffel zu immer weiteren Eroberungen betrachten und benutzen willst, so lange arbeitest du nur für den Bruder, so lange du רב bist, so lange רב יעבד צעיר; nur erst כאשר תריך wenn du freiwillig herabsteigst. freiwillig dich dem Brudergenius huldigend unterordnest, wirst du dich emanzipieren und ihm ebenbürtig als Bruder zur Seite treten. — ריד und רור verwandt mit ירד (vergl. היום רד מאוד Richter 19. 11): erniedrigt werden, sich erniedrigen. אריד בשיחי (Psalm 55, 3): ich fühle mich nicht erhoben, ich sinke in Wehmut hinab im Gebete. (Hoschea 12, 1).: Juda ist selbst in der Erniedrigung noch mit ויהודה עוד רד עם א׳ Gott, oder, da es Raw Hirsch on Genesis 27: 3 heißt וריב לדי עם יהודה: fühlt sich noch erniedrigt in seinem Wandel mit Gott. Zu אריד בשיהי bietet יורד בבכי (Jes. 15. 3) eine Parallele.

הנה משמני הארץ, “from the best parts of the land of Canaan will be your personal home;” a reign of the Holy Land is as the best parts and sweets of the Land [Yitzchok referred to the region known as har seir, which adjoins the ancestral region settled by the tribe of Yehudah, a very fruitful region and irrigated from the heavenly dews no less than the Holy Land itself. How did Yitzchok know that G-d approved of the blessing he just pronounced? The reader is referred to Joshua 24,4].

ומטל השמים מעל, ועל חאבך תחיה, you will be able to live on the blessings provided by the dew without needing rainfall or having to toil the earth; you will live by your sword in times of war. even though at the same time you may be in a state of subservience to your brother and even engage in war as a mercenary on behalf of your brother or someone else. From this it follows that if you were to complain about unreasonable harshness of your brother’s yoke, כאשר תריד, and would want to ופרקת עלו מעל צוארך, “shake off his yoke from around your neck.,” i.e. revert to a different lifestyle, such as engaging in agriculture, know that then you will never become free from subservience to your brother or to someone else.

ומטל השמים, your land will be rich and from above it will enjoy the dew from heaven so that this will be a blessing adequate to sustain you and will be also a blessing for him, seeing that his land will also be fruitful, productive.

ואתן לעשו את הר שעיר, “I gave to Esau the region of Mount Seir.” which is close to Eretz Yisrael near the territory of the tribe of Judah. This is a fertile land which is watered by dew just like Erez Yisrael. And how do we know that G-d permitted Yitzchok to give to Esau Mount seir? By the formulation of יהיה מושבך, “is going to be your legal residence,” This is supposed to mean that regardless of whether you or your descendants merit it, it is assured to you. If the matter were to depend on individual or collective merit, the promise would never be fulfilled. The problem with the promise to the Jewish people is that it was made by the Attribute of Justice, hence it is subject to the Israelites deserving it.