Komentarz do Rodzaju 31:53

אלהי אברהם GOD OF ABRAHAM — Here the word אלהים is holy (i.e. it is the Divine Name). (Genesis Rabbah 74:17)

אלוהי אביהם, Lavan meant that Yaakov could not take offence at Lavan pairing Nachor’s god and Yaakov’s G’d in a single expression. He had chosen Nachor to underline that Nachor’s god was also the god of Terach, who was the father of both Avraham and Nachor.

אלוקי אברהם ואלהי נחור, the first word “elo-hey” is sacred, the second is profane and may therefore be erased, seeing that Nachor had been an idolater. Lavan himself also believed in the gods of his grandfather Nachor. Neither Yitzchok nor Betuel have been mentioned here, seeing they were well known, famous even.

אלוקי אברהם ואלוקי נחור ישפטו בינינו, “the God of Avraham and the gods of Nachor may judge who between us is righteous.” We have to understand this verse as each of the two parties saying what he said as applicable only to the deity that he worshipped. Yaakov certainly did not accord the gods of Nachor legitimacy by considering them as fit to judge anything. Each of the parties mentioned the deity worshipped by their respective grandfathers, something Yaakov also did when he swore in the name of Avraham, who was his grandfather. This was a courtesy, Yaakov actually only swearing by the G’d of his father, i.e. בפחד אביו יצחק.

אלוהי אביהם, “the gods of their father.” The meaning of this verse may be: “the respective gods of Terach the father of both Avraham and Nachor.”

ישפטו בינינו, “will judge between us;” who of us is at fault.he will be attacked.

אלהי נחור THE GOD OF NAHOR — Here the name is non-holy (i.e. it is a designation for an idol) (Genesis Rabbah 74:17).

וישבע יעקב בפחד אביו יצחק. He chose someone who was not the son of Terach to make certain it was understood that his oath was only to the G’d of Yitzchok. Only this G’d was entitled to judge him.

אלוהי אביהם, here too the word “elohey” is profane and may be erased from a Torah scroll if the occasion demands it. Whenever an expression denoting G’d includes idols, even if as something minor, the word is treated as profane. What was meant here are the respective gods of Yaakov’s father and Lavan’s father, each one in accordance with his religious convictions. Yaakov, when rendering his oath, swore by פחד יצחק, the G’d that Yitzchok had been in awe of when he was prepared to be slaughtered by his father. (as we explained on verse 42)

אלוקי אביהם, “the gods of their father.” The word for deity in this verse may be understood as sacred when referring to Yaakov’s deity, or secular when referring to Lavan’s deities. (based on B’reshit Rabbah 74,14.)

אלהי אביהם THE GOD OF THEIR FATHER — Here the name is non-holy (Genesis Rabbah 74:17).

וישבע יעקב בפחד אביו, “Yaakov swore by his father’s G-d; Yaakov was unwilling to refer to his G-d after Lavan had already mentioned his own deities as part of the same reciprocal oath, as he would have considered it as blasphemy; this is why he used a pseudonym, i.e. pachad, when referring to his father’s G-d. We find numerous examples of such kinnuyim, pseudonyms, being used in the Talmud when the sages wanted to avoid having to profane the holy name of G-d by using it unnecessarily. Onkelos also renders it literally, to avoid using the name of G-d when Yaakov had made a strenuous effort to avoid same. An alternate exegesis: he wished to remind Lavan of the fright that had overcome Yitzchok when he had become aware that but for the intervention of Rivkah and himself he had almost bestowed the power to bless on wicked Esau, and thus become guilty of risking losing his share in the world to come. (27,33)