Comentário sobre Gênesis 28:12

עלים וירדים ASCENDING AND DESCENDING — It states first ascending and afterwards descending! Those angels who accompanied him in the land of Israel were not permitted to leave the Land: they ascended to Heaven and angels which were to minister outside the Land descended to accompany him (Genesis Rabbah 68:12).

AND BEHOLD A LADDER SET UP ON THE EARTH AND THE TOP OF IT REACHED TO HEAVEN; AND BEHOLD THE ANGELS OF G-D ASCENDING AND DESCENDING ON IT. In a prophetic dream, He showed Jacob that whatever is done on earth is effected by means of the angels, and everything is by decree given to them by the Supreme One. The angels of G-d, whom the Eternal hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth,¹Zechariah 1:10. would not do anything minor or major until they return to present themselves before the Master of the whole earth, saying before Him, “We have traversed the earth,²See ibid., Verse 11. and behold it dwells in peace, or is steeped in war and blood,” and He commands them to return, to descend to the earth and fulfill His charge. And He further showed him [Jacob] that He, blessed be He, stands above the ladder, and promises Jacob with supreme assurance to inform him that he will not be under the power of the angels, but he will be G-d’s portion,³Deuteronomy 32:9. and that He will be with him always, as He said, And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee wherever thou goest⁴Verse 15 here. for his [Jacob’s] excellence is superior to that of the other righteous ones of whom it is said, For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.⁵Psalms 91:11.
And in the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer the Great⁶Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, 35. this vision was akin to the one seen by Abram at the time of the covenant “between the parts”⁷Above, 15:9-18. for He also showed Jacob the dominion of the Four Kingdoms,⁸See Ramban above, 14:1 and 15:12. The Four Kingdoms represent the great world powers seen in a vision by Daniel (Chapter 7), who in succession will subject Israel until such time when Israel’s final and complete deliverance will be effected by the Messiah. The power of the fourth kingdom, that of Rome, is still in sway. See Ramban further at the beginning of Seder Vayechi. Jacob, like Abraham, was thus shown the events that will happen to his descendants during all the generations of their exiles. their ascent and descent. This is the meaning of angels of G-d (mentioned here), just as it is said in the visions of Daniel: the prince of the kingdom of Greece,⁹Daniel 10:20. and the prince of the kingdom of Persia.¹⁰Ibid., Verse 13. Similarly, the angels mentioned in the verse before us are to be understood as the representatives of the various nations. And He promised him that He, exalted be He, will be with him wherever he will go among the nations, and He will guard him and rescue him from them. Thus the Rabbis have said:⁶Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, 35. “The Holy One, blessed be He, showed him the Four Kingdoms, their dominion and their destruction. He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Babylon ascending seventy rungs¹¹Symbolic of the seventy years of the Babylonian exile. and then descending the ladder. Then He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Media ascending one hundred and eighty rungs¹²See my Hebrew commentary, (p. 158, n.12), which asserts that the correct reading is: “He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Media going up fifty-two rungs and then descending. And He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Greece going up one hundred-eighty rungs and then descending.” The number of rungs represent the amount of years that these kingdoms held sway over Israel. and then descending. And then He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Edom ascending and not coming down. Jacob then said to the prince of Edom, Yet thou shalt be brought down to the nether-world.¹³Isaiah 14:15. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to [the prince of Edom], Though thou make thy nest as high as the eagle, etc.”¹⁴Obadiah 1:4. And though thou set it among the stars, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Eternal.

מוצב, which had been erected by others. When the Torah later speaks about ה' נצב in verse 13, the meaning is that He supported Himself, had not been placed there, [although the letter נ at the beginning of that word suggested a passive mode. Ed.] We encounter similar formulations with the words מוקטר offered as incense by others, or מוגש, presented by others in Maleachi 1,11 whereas the words נגש אל הערפל in Exodus 20,21 mean that Moses approached the cloud under his own initiative. Also the expression אשר אתה מראה בהר (with the vowel kametz under the letter א) is also referring to someone else showing Moses the image. (Exodus 25,40) On the other hand, the expression נראה in Genesis 12,7 refers to a vision generated by G’d Himself.