Komentarz do Rodzaju 32:7

באנו אל אחיך אל עשו WE CAME TO THY BROTHER, TO ESAU — to him of whom you said he is my brother, but he behaves towards you as Esau, the wicked — he is still harbouring hatred (Genesis Rabbah 75:7).

AND THE MESSENGERS RETURNED TO JACOB, SAYING. These messengers had fulfilled their mission, but Scripture did not relate this for it would serve no purpose. The meaning of the expression, And moreover he cometh to meet thee, is that “even as you go to meet him, so he goes to meet you, and you will quickly encounter one another.”

באנו אל אחיך אל עשו, and you have found favour in his eyes, just as you said you would;

וגם הולך לקראתך, not only have we seen him, but he did not react with satisfaction when we told him about your wealth. But, אגם הולך לקראתך עם ארבע מאות איש, he also marches toward you with 400 men in order to attack you. The expression לקראת meaning to approach with hostile intent is repeated in Numbers 20,20 when again Edom (Esau) is threatening the Israelites.

וישבו המלאכים, The messengers returned, etc. The meaning is that they brought back a reply and said "we have come to your brother, to Esau, etc." i.e. he presented himself as your brother, whereas in actual fact he has remained Esau. "He is also coming to meet you," i.e. as a brother, but since he has taken four hundred armed men with him this is proof of his evil intentions against you.

וישובו...אל אחיך אל עשו, they mentioned the name Esau after having referred to him as אחיך, “your brother.” They meant that “Esau still holds the old grudge against you.”

וגם הולך לקראתך, “he is also on his way to meet you.” Just as you are walking towards him, so he is coming towards you, and you will soon meet up with one another. The reason the messengers phrased Esau’s approach not as בא לקראתך, the usual syntax, but said הולך לקראתך , was to alert Yaakov that while on the way, Esau was mobilizing his soldiers, before meeting up with his brother.

וגם הולך לקראתך, “and he is also coming towards you, etc.” It is possible to explain the word וגם as including the celestial representative of Esau. who was also on the way to engage Yaakov in battle as we know from verse 25 ויאבק איש עמו, “a man wrestled with him.” This would reinforce what I have written earlier that if the מלאכים which the Torah describes Yaakov as having sent ahead as spies or messengers had been mere mortal human beings, how would these have known anything about the celestial representative of Esau being on the way to engage Yaakov in mortal combat? The reason the Torah uses two expressions to describe Yaakov’s fear, i.e. ויירא ויצר לו, is that Yaakov worried both about the approaching physical ecounter with Esau and at the same time he worried about the spiritual confrontation which was apparently about to take place between his and Esau’s spirit.

But he acts towards you as the wicked Eisov... Otherwise, why does it say, “Eisov”? Yaakov had only one brother! Perforce, “Eisov” connotes he who is famous for extreme wickedness. (Re’m) A further explanation: Rashi is answering the question: It should say באנו אל עשו אחיך, like it is written אל עשו אחיו at the beginning of the parshah. Why does it say אל אחיך אל עשו? Maharshal explains [that Rashi is answering the question:] Why does it say אל twice? We need not object: [Accordingly,] why did Yaakov say לאדוני לעשו (v. 4)? For the answer is: There, Yaakov was commanding them to speak with honor. But here, where they are reporting the reply to Yaakov, why did they speak in this fashion? Thus Rashi explains as he does.

וגם הולך לקראתך, “he is also coming toward you happy to welcome you.”

out of the joy at the impending reunion he approaches to meet with four hundred men, all in your honour. This, basically, is the plain meaning of the verse. This is also the plain meaning of Exodus 4,14 where the Torah describes Aaron coming to meet his brother Moses whom he had not seen for many years, and the Torah adds that he is overjoyed at the prospect.

וגם הולך לקראתך, he also reveals his hatred of you by marching with 400 men against you now that he knows you are in the vicinity.

וארבע מאות איש עמו., “and four hundred (armed) men with him.” These men were all ready for combat. The reason the Torah did not describe these men as coming with Esau by the word אתו rather than עמו, is that the expression אתו is reserved for the righteous. We find it in connection with the righteous Joseph such as in Genesis 39,23 באשר ה' את, seeing that G’d was with him.” The reverse is true of the wicked when we read in Chronicles 2,32,8 עמו זרוע בשר, ועמנו ה' אלוקינו לעזרנו, “with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our G’d.”

The words "we have come to your brother" may also mean that although he has met us with a happy face i.e. displaying brotherliness, we displayed anger ourselves seeing that he has remained Esau true to form. This is what the Midrash we have quoted meant when it described the messengers as appearing garbed in fiery garments riding on fiery horses. The reason the messengers did not bring back a definitive evaluation was because outwardly Esau displayed brotherliness whereas in his heart he was still the same old Esau, hating Jacob.

וארבע מאות איש עמו, “he took them along in order to honour you.”

וארבע מאות איש עמו, he does not walk toward you with peaceful intentions but he is on his way in order to fight you.