“Toledot”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Tol'dot, Toldos, or Tol'doth ({{Hebrew|תּוֹלְדֹת}} — Hebrew for "generations" or "descendants," the second word and the first distinctive word in the parashah) is the sixth weekly Torah portion ({{Hebrew|פָּרָשָׁה}}, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. The parashah tells of the conflict between Jacob and Esau, Isaac's passing off his wife Rebekah as his sister, and Isaac's blessing of his sons.

It constitutes {{Bibleverse-lb||Genesis|25:19–28:9.|HE}} The parashah is made up of 5,426 Hebrew letters, 1,432 Hebrew words, 106 verses, and 173 lines in a Torah Scroll ({{Hebrew|סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה}}, Sefer Torah).^[1] Jews read it the sixth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in November, or rarely in early December.^[2]

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or {{Hebrew|עליות}}, aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashat^[3] Toledot has two "open portion" ({{Hebrew|פתוחה}}, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter {{Hebrew|פ}} (peh)). Parashat Toledot has three "closed portion" ({{Hebrew|סתומה}}, setumah) divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter {{Hebrew|ס}} (samekh)), that further divide the second open portion ({{Hebrew|פתוחה}}, petuchah). The first open portion ({{Hebrew|פתוחה}}, petuchah) divides the first reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah). The second open portion ({{Hebrew|פתוחה}}, petuchah) spans the balance of the parashah. Two closed portion ({{Hebrew|סתומה}}, setumah) divisions further divide the fifth reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah), setting apart the discussion of Esau's marriage to the two Hittite women.^[4]

First reading — Genesis 25:19–26:5

In the first reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah), Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, and when she proved barren, Isaac pleaded with God on her behalf, and God allowed Rebekah to conceive.^[5] As twins struggled in her womb, she inquired of God, who answered her that two separate nations were in her womb, one mightier than the other, and the older would serve the younger.^[6] When Rebekah gave birth, the first twin emerged red and hairy, so they named him Esau, and his brother emerged holding Esau's heel, so they named him Jacob.^[7] Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.^[8] Esau became a skillful hunter and outdoorsman, but Jacob remained a mild man and camp-bound.^[9] Isaac favored Esau for his game, but Rebekah favored Jacob.^[10] Once when Jacob was cooking, Esau returned to the camp famished and demanded some of Jacob's red stew.^[11] Jacob demanded that Esau first sell him his birthright, and Esau did so with an oath, spurning his birthright.^[12] The first open portion ({{Hebrew|פתוחה}}, petuchah) ends here with the end of chapter {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|25.|HE}}^[13]

As the reading continues in chapter {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|26,|HE}} another famine struck the land, and Isaac went to the house of the Philistine King Abimelech in Gerar.^[14] God told Isaac not to go down to Egypt, but to stay in the land that God would show him, for God would remain with him, bless him, and assign the land to him and his numerous heirs, as God had sworn to Abraham, who had obeyed God and kept God's commandments.^[15] The first reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah) ends here.^[16]

Second reading — Genesis 26:6–12

In the second reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah), Isaac settled in Gerar, and when the men of Gerar asked Isaac about his beautiful wife, he said that she was his sister out of fear that the men might kill him on account of her.^[17] But looking out of the window, Abimelech saw Isaac fondling Rebekah, and Abimelech summoned Isaac to complain that Isaac had called her his sister.^[18] Isaac explained that he had done so to save his life.^[19] Abimelech complained that one of the people might have lain with her, and Isaac would have brought guilt upon the Philistines, and Abimelech charged the people not to molest Isaac or Rebekah, on pain of death.^[20] God blessed Isaac, who reaped bountiful harvests.^[21] The second reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah) ends here.^[22]

Third reading — Genesis 26:13–22

In the third reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah), Isaac grew very wealthy, to the envy of the Philistines.^[23] The Philistines stopped up all the wells that Abraham's servants had dug, and Abimelech sent Isaac away, for his household had become too big.^[24] So Isaac left to settle in the wadi of Gerar, where he dug anew the wells that Abraham's servants had dug and called them by the same names that his father had.^[25] But when Isaac's servants dug two new wells, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and claimed them for their own, so Isaac named those wells Esek and Sitnah.^[26] Isaac moved on and dug a third well, and they did not quarrel over it, so he named it Rehoboth.^[27] The third reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah) ends here.^[28]

Fourth reading — Genesis 26:23–29

In the fourth reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah), Isaac went to Beersheba, and that night God appeared to Isaac, telling Isaac not to fear, for God was with him, and would bless him and increase his offspring for Abraham's sake.^[29] So Isaac built an altar and invoked the Lord by name.^[30] And Isaac pitched his tent there and his servants began digging a well.^[30] Then Abimelech, Ahuzzath his councilor, and Phicol his general came to Isaac, and Isaac asked them why they had come, since they had driven Isaac away.^[31] They answered that they now recognized that God had been with Isaac, and sought a treaty that neither would harm the other.^[32] The fourth reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah) ends here.^[33]

Fifth reading — Genesis 26:30–27:27

In the fifth reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah), Isaac threw a feast for the Philistines, and the next morning, they exchanged oaths and the Philistines departed from him in peace.^[34] Later in the day, Isaac's servants told him that they had found water, and Isaac named the well Shibah, so that place became known as Beersheba.^[35] A closed portion ({{Hebrew|סתומה}}, setumah) ends here.^[36]

In the continuation of the reading, when Esau was 40 years old, he married two Hittite women, Judith and Basemath, causing bitterness for Isaac and Rebekah.^[37] Another closed portion ({{Hebrew|סתומה}}, setumah) ends here with the end of chapter {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|26.|HE}}^[36]

when Isaac was old and his sight had dimmed, he called Esau and asked him to hunt some game and prepare a dish, so that Isaac might give him his innermost blessing before he died.^[38] Rebekah had been listening, and when Esau departed, she instructed Jacob to fetch her two choice kids so that she might prepare a dish that Jacob could take to Isaac and receive his blessing.^[39] Jacob complained to Rebekah that since Esau was hairy, Isaac might touch him, discover him to be a trickster, and curse him.^[40] But Rebekah called the curse upon herself, insisting that Jacob do as she directed.^[41] So Jacob got the kids, and Rebekah prepared a dish, had Jacob put on Esau's best clothes, and covered Jacob's hands and neck with the kid's skins.^[42] When Jacob went to Isaac, he asked which of his sons had arrived, and Jacob said that he was Esau and asked for Isaac's blessing.^[43] Isaac asked him how he had succeeded so quickly, and he said that God had granted him good fortune.^[44] Isaac asked Jacob to come closer that Isaac might feel him to determine whether he was really Esau.^[45] Isaac felt him and wondered that the voice was Jacob's, but the hands were Esau's.^[46] Isaac questioned if it was really Esau, and when Jacob assured him, Isaac asked for the game and Jacob served him the kids and wine.^[47] Isaac bade his son to come close and kiss him, and Isaac smelled his clothes, remarking that he smelled like the fields.^[48] The fifth reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah) ends here.^[49]

Sixth reading — Genesis 27:28–28:4

In the sixth reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah), Isaac blessed Jacob, asking God to give him abundance, make peoples serve him, make him master over his brothers, curse those who cursed him, and bless those who blessed him.^[50] Just as Jacob left, Esau returned from the hunt, prepared a dish for Isaac, and asked Isaac for his blessing.^[51] Isaac asked who he was, and Esau said that it was he.^[52] Isaac trembled and asked who it was then who had served him, received his blessing, and now must remain blessed.^[53] Esau burst into sobbing, and asked Isaac to bless him too, but Isaac answered that Jacob had taken Esau's blessing with guile.^[54] Esau asked whether Jacob had been so named that he might supplant Esau twice, first taking his birthright and now his blessing.^[55] Esau asked Isaac whether he had not reserved a blessing for Esau, but Isaac answered that he had made Jacob master over him and sustained him with grain and wine, and asked what, then, he could still do for Esau.^[56] Esau wept and pressed Isaac to bless him, too, so Isaac blessed him to enjoy the fat of the earth and the dew of heaven, to live by his sword and to serve his brother, but also to break his yoke.^[57] Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob, and told himself that he would kill Jacob upon Isaac's death.^[58] When Esau's words reached Rebekah, she told Jacob to flee to Haran and her brother Laban and remain there until Esau's fury subsided and Rebekah fetched him from there, so that Rebekah would not lose both sons in one day.^[59] Rebekah told Isaac her disgust with the idea that Jacob might marry a Hittite woman, so Isaac sent for Jacob, blessed him, and instructed him not to take a Canaanite wife, but to go to Padan-aram and the house of Bethuel to take a wife from among Laban's daughters.^[60] And Isaac blessed Jacob with fertility and the blessing of Abraham, that he might possess the land that God had assigned to Abraham.^[61] The sixth reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah) ends here.^[62]

Seventh reading — Genesis 28:5–9

In the seventh reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah), when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and charged him not to take a Canaanite wife, Esau realized that the Canaanite women displeased Isaac, and Esau married Ishmael's daughter Mahalath.^[63] The seventh reading ({{Hebrew|עליה}}, aliyah), a closed portion ({{Hebrew|סתומה}}, setumah), the closing maftir ({{Hebrew|מפטיר}}) reading of {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:7–9,|HE}} and the parashah all end here.^[64]

Readings according to the triennial cycle

Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:^[65]

In inner-biblical interpretation

Genesis chapter 25

Genesis chapter 26

In {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:4,|HE}} God reminded Isaac that God had promised Abraham that God would make his heirs as numerous as the stars. In {{Bibleverse||Genesis|15:5,|HE}} God promised that Abraham's descendants would as numerous as the stars of heaven. Similarly, in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|22:17,|HE}} God promised that Abraham's descendants would as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore. In {{Bibleverse||Genesis|32:13,|HE}} Jacob reminded God that God had promised that Jacob's descendants would be as numerous as the sands. In {{Bibleverse||Exodus|32:13,|HE}} Moses reminded God that God had promised to make the Patriarch's descendants as numerous as the stars. In {{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|1:10,|HE}} Moses reported that God had multiplied the Israelites until they were then as numerous as the stars. In {{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|10:22,|HE}} Moses reported that God had made the Israelites as numerous as the stars. And {{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|28:62|HE}} foretold that the Israelites would be reduced in number after having been as numerous as the stars.

God's reference to Abraham as "my servant" ({{Hebrew|עַבְדִּי}}, avdi) in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:24|HE}} is echoed in God's application of the same term to Moses,^[68] Caleb,^[69] David,^[70] Isaiah,^[71] Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,^[72] Israel,^[73] Nebuchadnezzar,^[74] Zerubbabel,^[75] the Branch,^[76] and Job.^[77]

Genesis chapter 27–28

In {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27–28,|HE}} Jacob receives three blessings: (1) by Isaac when Jacob is disguised as Esau in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:28–29,|HE}} (2) by Isaac when Jacob is departing for Haran in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:3–4,|HE}} and (3) by God in Jacob's dream at Bethel in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:13–15.|HE}} Whereas the first blessing is one of material wellbeing and dominance, only the second and third blessings convey fertility and the Land of Israel. The first and the third blessings explicitly designate Jacob as the conveyor of blessing, although arguably the second blessing does that as well by giving Jacob "the blessing of Abraham." (See {{Bibleverse||Genesis|12:2–3.|HE}}) Only the third blessing vouchsafes God's Presence with Jacob.

In classical rabbinic interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these rabbinic sources from the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud:^[78]

Genesis chapter 25

Noting that the three-letter root {{Hebrew|עתר}} used in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:21|HE}} can mean either "entreat" or "pitchfork," Rabbi Eleazar (or others say Rabbi Isaac or Resh Lakish) taught that the prayers of the righteous are like a pitchfork. Just as the pitchfork turns the grain from place to place in the barn, so the prayers of the righteous turn the mind of God from the attribute of harshness to that of mercy.^[81]

Rabbi Johanan interpreted the words "And Isaac entreated ({{Hebrew|וַיֶּעְתַּר}}, vaye'tar) the Lord" in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:21|HE}} to mean that Isaac poured out petitions in abundance (as in Aramaic, {{Hebrew|עתר}}, 'tar, means "wealth"). The Midrash taught that the words "for ({{Hebrew|לְנֹכַח}}, lenokhach) his wife" taught that Isaac prostrated himself in one spot and Rebekah in another (opposite him), and he prayed to God that all the children whom God would grant him would come from this righteous woman, and Rebekah prayed likewise. Reading the words, "Because she was barren," in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:21,|HE}} Rabbi Judan said in the name of Resh Lakish that Rebekah lacked an ovary, whereupon God fashioned one for her. And reading the words, "And the Lord let Himself be entreated ({{Hebrew|וַיֵּעָתֶר}}, vayei'ater) of him," in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:21,|HE}} Rabbi Levi compared this to the son of a king who was digging through to his father to receive a pound of gold from him, and thus the king dug from inside while his son dug from outside.^[82]

The Pesikta de-Rav Kahana taught that Rebekah was one of seven barren women about whom {{Bibleverse||Psalm|113:9|HE}} says (speaking of God), "He . . . makes the barren woman to dwell in her house as a joyful mother of children." The Pesikta de-Rav Kahana also listed Sarah, Rachel, Leah, Manoah's wife, Hannah, and Zion. The Pesikta de-Rav Kahana taught that the words of {{Bibleverse||Psalm|113:9,|HE}} "He . . . makes the barren woman to dwell in her house," apply to Rebekah, for {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:21|HE}} reports that "Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren." And the words of {{Bibleverse||Psalm|113:9,|HE}} "a joyful mother of children," apply to Rebekah, as well, for {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:21|HE}} also reports that "the Lord let Himself be entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived."^[83]

It was taught in Rabbi Nehemiah's name that Rebekah merited that the twelve tribes should spring directly from her.^[85]

Reading the words of {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:22,|HE}} "and the children struggled together with in her," a Midrash taught that they sought to run within her. When she stood near synagogues or schools, Jacob struggled to come out, while when she passed idolatrous temples, Esau struggled to come out.^[85]

Reading the words, "and she went to inquire of the Lord," in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:22,|HE}} a Midrash wondered how Rebekah asked God about her pregnancy, and whether there were synagogues and houses of study in those days. The Midrash concluded that Rebekah went to the school of Shem and Eber to inquire. The Midrash deduced that this teaches that to visit a Sage is like visiting the Divine Presence.^[86]

Reading {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:23,|HE}} "the Lord said to her," Rabbi Iddi taught that God spoke to her through the medium of an angel.^[87] Rabbi Haggai said in Rabbi Isaac's name that Rebekah was a prophet, as were all of the matriarchs.^[88]

The Rabbis of the Talmud read Edom to stand for Rome. Thus, Rav Nahman bar Isaac interpreted the words, "and the one people shall be stronger than the other people," in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:23|HE}} to teach that at any one time, one of Israel and Rome will be ascendant, and the other will be subjugated.^[89]

Reading the words, "And Esau was a cunning hunter," in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:27,|HE}} a Midrash taught that Esau ensnared people by their words. Reading the words, "and Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents," the Midrash taught that Jacob dwelt in two tents, the academy of Shem and the academy of Eber. And reading the words, "And Rebekah loved Jacob," in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:28,|HE}} the Midrash taught that the more Rebekah heard Jacob's voice (engaged in study), the stronger her love grew for him.^[90]

Rabbi Haninah taught that Esau paid great attention to his parent (horo), his father, whom he supplied with meals, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:28|HE}} reports, "Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his venison." Rabbi Samuel the son of Rabbi Gedaliah concluded that God decided to reward Esau for this. When Jacob offered Esau gifts, Esau answered Jacob in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|33:9,|HE}} "I have enough ({{Hebrew|רָב}}, rav); do not trouble yourself." So God declared that with the same expression that Esau thus paid respect to Jacob, God would command Jacob's descendants not to trouble Esau's descendants, and thus God told the Israelites in {{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|2:3,|HE}} "You have circled this mountain ({{Hebrew|הָר}}, har) long enough ({{Hebrew|רַב}}, rav)."^[91]

A Tanna taught in a Baraita that the day recounted in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:29–34|HE}} on which Esau spurned his birthright was also the day on which Abraham died, and Jacob was cooking lentils to comfort Isaac. In the Land of Israel they taught in the name of Rabbah bar Mari that it was appropriate to cook lentils because just as the lentil has no mouth (no groove like other legumes), so the mourner has no mouth to talk but sits silently. Others explained that just as the lentil is round, so mourning comes round to all people.^[93]

Genesis chapter 26

A Midrash cited {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:1|HE}} to show that there is double rejoicing in the case of a righteous one who is the child of a righteous one.^[94] The Mishnah and Tosefta deduced from {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:5|HE}} that Abraham kept the entire Torah even before it was revealed.^[95]

The Tosefta deduced from the contrast between the plenty indicated in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|24:1|HE}} and the famine indicated in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:1|HE}} that God gave the people food and drink and a glimpse of the world to come while the righteous Abraham was alive, so that the people might understand what they had lost when he was gone.^[96] The Tosefta reported that when Abraham was alive, the wells gushed forth water, but the Philistines filled the wells with earth (as reported in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:15|HE}}), for after Abraham died the wells no longer gushed forth water, and the Philistines filled them so that they would not pose a hazard to travelers. But when Isaac came along, the wells gushed water again (as indicated in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:18–19|HE}}) and there was plenty again (as indicated in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:12|HE}})^[97]

Interpreting God's command to Isaac in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:2|HE}} not to go to Egypt, Rabbi Hoshaya taught that God told Isaac that he was (by virtue of his near sacrifice in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|22|HE}}) a burnt-offering without blemish, and as a burnt offering became unfit if it was taken outside of the Temple grounds, so would Isaac become unfit if he went outside of the Promised Land.^[98]

Rabbi Dosetai ben Yannai said in the name of Rabbi Meir that when God told Isaac that God would bless him for Abraham's sake (in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:24|HE}}), Isaac interpreted that one earns a blessing only through one's actions, and he arose and sowed, as reported in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:12.|HE}}^[100]

A Midrash reread {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:26,|HE}} "Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar ({{Hebrew|מִגְּרָר}}, mi-gerar)," to say that Abimelech came "wounded" ({{Hebrew|מגורר}}, megorar), teaching that ruffians entered Abimelech's house and assailed him all night. Alternatively, the Midrash taught that he came "scraped" ({{Hebrew|מְגוּרָד}}, megurad), teaching that eruptions broke out on Abimelech and he kept scraping himself.^[101]

The Sifre cited Isaac's reproof of Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phicol in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:27|HE}} as an example of a tradition of admonition near death. The Sifre read {{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|1:3–4|HE}} to indicate that Moses spoke to the Israelites in rebuke. The Sifre taught that Moses rebuked them only when he approached death, and the Sifre taught that Moses learned this lesson from Jacob, who admonished his sons in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|49|HE}} only when he neared death. The Sifre cited four reasons why people do not admonish others until the admonisher nears death: (1) so that the admonisher does not have to repeat the admonition, (2) so that the one rebuked would not suffer undue shame from being seen again, (3) so that the one rebuked would not bear ill will to the admonisher, and (4) so that the one may depart from the other in peace, for admonition brings peace. The Sifre cited as further examples of admonition near death: (1) when Abraham reproved Abimelech in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|21:25,|HE}} (2) when Isaac reproved Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phicol in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:27,|HE}} (3) when Joshua admonished the Israelites in {{Bibleverse||Joshua|24:15,|HE}} (4) when Samuel admonished the Israelites in {{Bibleverse|1|Samuel|12:34–35,|HE}} and (5) when David admonished Solomon in {{Bibleverse|1|Kings|2:1.|HE}} In Isaac's case, the Sifre read the report of {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:31|HE}} to teach that Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phicol made peace with Isaac because Isaac had justly reproved them.^[102]

Reading the verb "to see" repeated ({{Hebrew|רָאוֹ רָאִינוּ}}, ra'o ra'iynu) in the passage "We saw plainly" in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:28,|HE}} a Midrash taught that Abimelech and his party had seen two things — Isaac's deeds and the deeds of his parents.^[103]

A Midrash taught that Abimelech first sent Phicol, the captain of his host, but he was unable to pacify Isaac. Then Abimelech sent his friend Ahuzzath, but Isaac still remained unpacified. When Abimelech then went himself, Isaac allowed himself to be appeased. Hence, the Sages taught that one need not ask another's forgiveness more than three times. If the other does not forgive the third time, then the other becomes the wrongdoer.^[104]

The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told how Isaac made a covenant with the Philistines, when he sojourned there. Isaac noticed that the Philistines turned their faces away from him. So Isaac left them in peace, and Abimelech and his magnates came after him. Paraphrasing {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:27,|HE}} the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that Isaac asked them why they came to him, after having turned aside their faces from him. Paraphrasing {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:28,|HE}} the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that the Philistines replied that they knew that God would give the Land of Israel to Isaac's descendants, and thus they asked him to make a covenant with them that his descendants would not take possession of the land of the Philistines. And so Isaac made a covenant with them. He cut off one cubit of the bridle of the donkey upon which he was riding, and he gave it to them so that they might thereby have a sign of the covenant.^[105]

Reading the report of Esau's marriage to two Hittite women in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:34,|HE}} a Midrash found signs of the duplicity of Esau and his spiritual descendants, the Romans. Rabbi Phinehas (and other say Rabbi Helkiah) taught in Rabbi Simon's name that Moses and Asaph (author of {{Bibleverse||Psalm|80|HE}}) exposed the Romans' deception. Asaph said in {{Bibleverse||Psalm|80:14:|HE}} "The boar of the wood ravages it." While Moses said in {{Bibleverse||Deuteronomy|14:7–8:|HE}} "you shall not eat of . . . the swine, because he parts the hoof but does not chew the cud." The Midrash explained that Scripture compares the Roman Empire to a swine, because when the swine lies down, it puts out its parted hoofs, as if to advertise that it is clean. And so the Midrash taught that the wicked Roman Empire robbed and oppressed, yet pretended to execute justice. So the Midrash taught that for 40 years, Esau would ensnare married women and violate them, yet when he reached the age of 40, he compared himself to his righteous father Isaac, telling himself that as his father Isaac was 40 years old when he married (as reported in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:19|HE}}), so he too would marry at the age of 40.^[106]

Genesis chapter 27

Rabbi Hama bar Hanina taught that our ancestors were never without a scholars' council. Abraham was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|24:1|HE}} says, "And Abraham was an elder ({{Hebrew|זָקֵן}}, zaken) well stricken in age." Eliezer, Abraham's servant, was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|24:2|HE}} says, "And Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all he had," which Rabbi Eleazar explained to mean that he ruled over — and thus knew and had control of — the Torah of his master. Isaac was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:1|HE}} says: "And it came to pass when Isaac was an elder ({{Hebrew|זָקֵן}}, zaken)." Jacob was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|48:10|HE}} says, "Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age ({{Hebrew|זֹּקֶן}}, zoken)." In Egypt they had the scholars' council, as {{Bibleverse||Exodus|3:16|HE}} says, "Go and gather the elders of Israel together." And in the Wilderness, they had the scholars' council, as in {{Bibleverse||Numbers|11:16,|HE}} God directed Moses to "Gather . . . 70 men of the elders of Israel."^[107]

Rabbi Eleazar taught that Isaac's blindness, reported in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:1,|HE}} was caused by his looking at the wicked Esau. But Rabbi Isaac taught that Abimelech's curse of Sarah caused her son Isaac's blindness. Rabbi Isaac read the words, "it is for you a covering (kesut) of the eyes," in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|20:16|HE}} not as kesut, "covering," but as kesiyat, "blinding." Rabbi Isaac concluded that one should not consider a small matter the curse of even an ordinary person.^[108] Alternatively, a Midrash interpreted the words "his eyes were dim from seeing" in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:1|HE}} to teach that Isaac's eyesight dimmed as a result of his near sacrifice in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|22,|HE}} for when Abraham bound Isaac, the ministering angels wept, as {{Bibleverse||Isaiah|33:7|HE}} says, "Behold, their valiant ones cry without, the angels of peace weep bitterly," and tears dropped from the angels' eyes into Isaac's, leaving their mark and causing Isaac's eyes to dim when he became old.^[109]

Rabbi Eleazar taught that deceptive speech is like idolatry. Rabbi Eleazar deduced the similarity from the common use of the word "deceiver" to describe Jacob's deception his father in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:12,|HE}} where Jacob says, "I shall seem to him as a deceiver," and to describe idols in {{Bibleverse||Jeremiah|10:15,|HE}} where idols are described as "the work of deceivers."^[110]

But the Gemara cited Jacob as the exemplar of one who, in the words of {{Bibleverse||Psalm|15:3,|HE}} "has no slander on his tongue," as Jacob's protest to Rebekah in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:12,|HE}} "I shall seem to him as a deceiver," demonstrated that Jacob did not take readily to deception.^[111]

Rabbi Johanan taught that when Jacob explained his rapid success in obtaining the meat by saying in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:20|HE}} that it was "because the Lord your God sent me good speed," he was like a raven bringing fire to his nest, courting disaster. For when Jacob said "the Lord your God sent me good speed," Isaac thought to himself that he knew that Esau did not customarily mention the name of God, and if the person before him did so, he must not have been Esau but Jacob. Consequently, Isaac told him in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:21,|HE}} "Come near, I pray, that I may feel you, my son."^[112]

Reading Isaac's observation in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:27,|HE}} "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed," Rav Judah the son of Rav Samuel bar Shilat said in the name of Rav that Jacob smelled like an apple orchard.^[113]

Rabbi Judah ben Pazi interpreted Isaac's blessing of Jacob with dew in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:28|HE}} merely to pass along to his son what God had deeded to his father Abraham for all time.^[114] And Rabbi Ishmael deduced from Isaac's curse of those who cursed Jacob and blessing of those who blessed Jacob in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:29|HE}} that Jews need not respond to those who curse or bless them, for the Torah has already decreed the response.^[115]

Rabbi Judan said that Jacob declared that Isaac blessed him with five blessings, and God correspondingly appeared five times to Jacob and blessed him ({{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:13–15,|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|31:3,|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|31:11–13,|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|35:1,|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|35:9–12|HE}}). And thus, in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|46:1,|HE}} Jacob "offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac," and not to the God of Abraham and Isaac. Rabbi Judan also said that Jacob wanted to thank God for permitting Jacob to see the fulfillment of those blessings. And the blessing that was fulfilled was that of {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:29,|HE}} "Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you," which was fulfilled with regard to Joseph. (And thus Jacob mentioned Isaac then on going down to witness Joseph's greatness.)^[116]

The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer saw in Isaac's two blessings of Jacob in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:28–29|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|28:1–4|HE}} an application of the teaching of {{Bibleverse-lb||Ecclesiastes|7:8,|HE}} "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning." The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer noted that the first blessings with which Isaac blessed Jacob in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:28–29|HE}} concerned dew and grain — material blessings. The final blessings in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:1–4|HE}} concerned the foundation of the world, and were without interruption either in this world or in the world to come, for {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:3|HE}} says, "And God Almighty bless you." And Isaac further added the blessing of Abraham, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:4|HE}} says, "And may He give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed with you." Therefore, the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer concluded that the end of the thing — Isaac's final blessing of Jacob — was better than the beginning thereof.^[117]

Interpreting why in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:33|HE}} "Isaac trembled very exceedingly," Rabbi Johanan observed that it was surely unusual for a man who has two sons to tremble when one goes out and the other comes in. Rabbi Johanan taught that Isaac trembled because when Esau came in, Gehenna came in with him. Rabbi Aha said that the walls of the house began to seethe from the heat of Gehenna. Hence {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:33|HE}} asks, "who then ({{Hebrew|אֵפוֹא}}, eifo)?" for Isaac asked who would be roast (leafot) in Gehenna, him or Jacob?^[118]

Rabbi Hama bar Hanina interpreted the question "who then?" in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:33|HE}} to ask who then intervened between Isaac and God that Jacob should receive the blessings. Rabbi Hama bar Hanina taught that Isaac thereby hinted at Rebekah's intervention.^[119]

The Midrash Tehillim told the circumstances in which Esau sought to carry out his desire that {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:41|HE}} reports, "Let the days of mourning for my father be at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob." The Midrash Tehillim interpreted {{Bibleverse||Psalm|18:41,|HE}} "You have given me the necks of my enemies," to allude to Judah, because Rabbi Joshua ben Levi reported an oral tradition that Judah slew Esau after the death of Isaac. Esau, Jacob, and all Jacob's children went to bury Isaac, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|35:29|HE}} reports, "Esau, Jacob, and his sons buried him," and they were all in the Cave of Machpelah sitting and weeping. At last Jacob's children stood up, paid their respects to Jacob, and left the cave so that Jacob would not be humbled by weeping exceedingly in their presence. But Esau reentered the cave, thinking that he would kill Jacob, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:41|HE}} reports, "And Esau said in his heart: ‘Let the days of mourning for my father be at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.’" But Judah saw Esau go back and perceived at once that Esau meant to kill Jacob in the cave. Quickly Judah slipped after him and found Esau about to slay Jacob. So Judah killed Esau from behind. The neck of the enemy was given into Judah’s hands alone, as Jacob blessed Judah in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|49:8|HE}} saying, "Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies." And thus David declared in {{Bibleverse||Psalm|18:41,|HE}} "You have given me the necks of my enemies," as if to say that this was David's patrimony, since {{Bibleverse||Genesis|49:8|HE}} said it of his ancestor Judah.^[121]

Reading {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:41,|HE}} Rabbi Eleazar contrasted Esau's jealousy with Reuben's magnanimity. As {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:33|HE}} reports, Esau voluntarily sold his birthright, but as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:41|HE}} says, "Esau hated Jacob," and as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:36|HE}} says, "And he said, ‘Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he has supplanted me these two times.'" In Reuben's case, Joseph took Reuben's birthright from him against his will, as {{Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|5:1|HE}} reports, "for as much as he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph." Nonetheless, Reuben was not jealous of Joseph, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|37:21|HE}} reports, "And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand."^[122]

Genesis chapter 28

A Tanna taught in a Baraita that the exalted position of a groom atones for his sins. The Gemara cited {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:9|HE}} as a proof text. The Gemara noted that {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:9|HE}} reports that "Esau went to Ishmael, and took Machalat the daughter of Ishmael, as a wife," but {{Bibleverse||Genesis|36:3|HE}} identifies Esau's wife as "Basemat, Ishmael's daughter." The Gemara explained that the name Machalat is cognate with the Hebrew word for forgiveness, mechilah, and thus deduced that {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:9|HE}} teaches that Esau's sins were forgiven upon his marriage.^[123]

The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer expanded on the circumstances under which Esau went to be with Ishmael, as reported in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:9.|HE}} Expanding on {{Bibleverse||Genesis|35:27,|HE}} the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that Jacob took his sons, grandsons, and wives, and went to Kiryat Arba to be near Isaac. Jacob found Esau and his sons and wives there dwelling in Isaac's tents, so Jacob spread his tent apart from Esau's. Isaac rejoiced at seeing Jacob. Rabbi Levi said that in the hour when Isaac was dying, he left his cattle, possessions, and all that he had to his two sons, and therefore they both loved him, and thus {{Bibleverse||Genesis|35:29|HE}} reports, "And Esau and Jacob his sons buried him." The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that after that, Esau told Jacob to divide Isaac's holdings into two portions, and Esau would choose first between the two portions as a right of being the older. Perceiving that Esau had his eye set on riches, Jacob divided the land of Israel and the Cave of Machpelah in one part and all the rest of Isaac's holdings in the other part. Esau went to consult with Ishmael, as reported in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:9.|HE}} Ishmael told Esau that the Amorite and the Canaanite were in the land, so Esau should take the balance of Isaac's holdings, and Jacob would have nothing. So Esau took Isaac's wealth and gave Jacob the land of Israel and the Cave of Machpelah, and they wrote a perpetual deed between them. Jacob then told Esau to leave the land, and Esau took his wives, children, and all that he had, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|36:6|HE}} reports, "And Esau took his wives . . . and all his possessions which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land away from his brother Jacob." As a reward, God gave Esau a hundred provinces from Seir to Magdiel, as {{Bibleverse||Genesis|36:43|HE}} reports, and Magdiel is Rome. Then Jacob dwelt safely and in peace in the land of Israel.^[124]

Notwithstanding Esau's conflicts with Jacob in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25–33,|HE}} a Baraita taught that the descendants of Esau's descendant Haman^[125] studied Torah in Benai Berak.^[126]

In medieval Jewish interpretation

Genesis chapter 25

Genesis chapter 27

In the Zohar, Rabbi Simeon saw a reference to Isaac's blessing of Jacob in {{Bibleverse||Isaiah|58:14,|HE}} "Then shall you delight in the Lord, and I will make you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father." Rabbi Simeon interpreted the words of {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:28,|HE}} "And God give you of the dew of heaven," to mean "the heritage of Jacob" in {{Bibleverse||Isaiah|58:14.|HE}} Rabbi Simeon taught that with these words, Isaac indicated that Jacob's children would rise again from the dead at the time to come, by means of heavenly dew that shall issue forth from God. Rabbi Abba responded to Rabbi Simeon that there was more significance to Isaac's blessing than he had thought.^[129]

Notwithstanding Esau's conflicts with Jacob in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25–33,|HE}} the 14th-century Castilian commentator the Baal HaTurim, reading the Priestly Blessing of {{Bibleverse||Numbers|6:24–26,|HE}} noted that the numerical value (gematria) of the Hebrew word for "peace" ({{Hebrew|שָׁלוֹם}}, shalom) equals the numerical value of the word "Esau" ({{Hebrew|עֵשָׂו}}, Eisav). The Baal HaTurim concluded that this hints at the Mishnaic dictum (in Avot 4:15^[131]) that one should always reach out to be the first to greet any person, even an adversary.^[132]

In modern interpretation

Genesis chapters 25–33

the legend cycle of Jacob-Esau-Laban divided clearly into the legends (1) of Jacob and Esau ({{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:19–34;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|27:1–45;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|27:46–28:9;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|32:3–21;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|33:1–17|HE}}), (2) of Jacob and Laban ({{Bibleverse||Genesis|29:1–30;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|30:25–31:55|HE}}), (3) of the origin of the twelve tribes ({{Bibleverse||Genesis|29:31–30:24|HE}}), and (4) of the origin of ritual observances ({{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:10–22;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|32:1–2,|HE}} 22–32).^[133]

Professor Walter Brueggemann, formerly of Columbia Theological Seminary, suggested a chiastic structure to the Jacob narrative (shown in the chart below), moving from conflict with Esau to reconciliation with Esau. Within that is conflict with Laban moving to covenant with Laban. And within that, at the center, is the narrative of births, in which the birth of Joseph (at {{Bibleverse||Genesis|30:24|HE}}) marks the turning point in the entire narrative, after which Jacob looks toward the Land of Israel and his brother Esau. In the midst of the conflicts are the two major encounters with God, which occur at crucial times in the sequence of conflicts.^[134]

Acknowledging that some interpreters view Jacob's two encounters with God in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:10–22|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|32–33:17|HE}} as parallel, Professor Terence Fretheim of the Luther Seminary argued that one may see more significant levels of correspondence between the two Bethel stories in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:10–22|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|35:1–15,|HE}} and one may view the oracle to Rebekah in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|29:23|HE}} regarding "struggling" as parallel to Jacob's struggle at the Jabbok in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|32–33:17.|HE}} Fretheim concluded that these four instances of Divine speaking link to each other in complex ways.^[135]

Genesis chapter 25

Professor James Kugel of Bar-Ilan University wrote that Gunkel's concept of the etiological tale led 20th century scholars to understand the stories of the rivalry of Jacob and Esau in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:19–26,|HE}} {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:29–34,|HE}} and {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27|HE}} to explain something about the national character (or national stereotype) of Israel and Edom at the time of the stories’ composition, a kind of projection of later reality back to the "time of the founders." In this etiological reading, that Esau and Jacob were twins explained the close connection between Edom and Israel, their similar dialects, and cultural and kinship ties, while the competition between Esau and Jacob explained the off-and-on enmity between Edom and Israel in the Biblical period. Kugel reported that some biblical scholars saw an analogue in Israelite history: Esau's descendants, the Edomites, had been a sovereign nation while the future Israel was still in formation (see {{Bibleverse||Genesis|36:31|HE}}), making Edom the "older brother" of Israel. But then, in the 10th century BCE, David unified Israel and conquered Edom (see {{Bibleverse|2|Samuel|8:13–14;|HE}} {{Bibleverse|1|Kings|11:15–16;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|18:12–13|HE}}), and that is why the oracle {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:23|HE}} gave Rebekah during her pregnancy said that "the older will end up serving the younger." Kugel reported that scholars thus view the stories of the young Jacob and Esau as created to reflect a political reality that came about in the time of David, indicating that these narratives were first composed in the early 10th century BCE, before the Edomites succeeded in throwing off their Israelite overlords, at that time when Israel might feel "like a little kid who had ended up with a prize that was not legitimately his." When Edom regained its independence, the stolen blessing story underwent a change (or perhaps was created out of whole cloth to reflect Edom's resurgence). For while Israel still dominated Edom, the story ought to have ended with Isaac's blessing of Jacob in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:28.|HE}} But Isaac's blessing of Esau in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:40,|HE}} "By your sword you will live, and you will indeed serve your brother; but then it will happen that you will break loose and throw his yoke from off your neck," reflects a reformulation (or perhaps new creation) of the story in the light of the new reality that developed half a century later.^[136]

Reading the words of {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:22,|HE}} "why do I live," Professor Robert Alter of the University of California, Berkeley, wrote that Rebekah's "cry of perplexity and anguish" over her difficult pregnancy was "terse to the point of being elliptical." Alter suggested that Rebekah's words might even be construed as a broken-off sentence — "Then why am I . . . ?"^[137]

Fretheim observed an ambiguity in the language of {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:23:|HE}} The brother who would be stronger was not necessarily the brother who would be served. Fretheim wrote that {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:23|HE}} predicted either that the older (Esau) would be the weaker of the two and would serve the younger (Jacob), or, more likely, that the older would be the stronger and would serve the younger.^[138]

And Professor Richard Elliott Friedman of the University of Georgia noted that readers usually take {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:23|HE}} to convey that God told Rebekah that her younger son, Jacob, would dominate her older son, Esau. Thus some have argued that Rebekah did not manipulate the succession when she sent Jacob to pose as Esau, but simply fulfilled God's will. But Friedman called this reading of {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:23|HE}} a misunderstanding of the "subtle, exquisitely ambiguous" wording of the verse. Friedman wrote that in Biblical Hebrew, the subject may either precede or follow the verb, and the object may either precede or follow the verb. Thus, Friedman argued that it is sometimes impossible to tell which word is the subject and which is the object, especially in poetry. Friedman argued that this is the case in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:23,|HE}} which he argued can mean either, "the elder will serve the younger," or, "the elder, the younger will serve." Friedman concluded that "like the Delphic oracles in Greece, this prediction contains two opposite meanings, and thus the person who receives it — Rebekah — can hear whatever she wants (consciously or subconsciously) to hear."^[139]

Professor Ephraim Speiser, formerly of the University of Pennsylvania, wrote that originally the name Jacob, rather than as explained in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:26,|HE}} was likely from Y‘qb-'l, and meant something like "may God protect."^[140]

Reading the characterization of Jacob as "a simple man" ({{Hebrew|אִישׁ תָּם}}, ish tam) in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:27,|HE}} Alter suggested that the Hebrew adjective "simple" ({{Hebrew|תָּם}}, tam) suggests integrity or even innocence. Alter pointed out that in Biblical idiom, as in {{Bibleverse||Jeremiah|17:9,|HE}} the heart can be "crooked" ({{Hebrew|עָקֹב}}, ‘akov), the same root as Jacob's name, and the idiomatic antonym is "pureness" or "innocence" — {{Hebrew|תָּם}}, tam — of heart, as in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|20:5.|HE}} Alter concluded that there may well be a complicating irony in the use of this epithet for Jacob in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:27,|HE}} as Jacob's behavior is far from simple or innocent as Jacob bargains for Esau's birthright in the very next scene.^[141]

Reading {{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:29,|HE}} "Jacob cooked food," the 18th-century commentator Ohr ha-Chaim suggested that Jacob did so because he saw how effective Esau's providing Isaac with delicious meals had been in cementing Isaac's love for Esau, and thus Jacob tried to emulate Esau's success.^[142]

Genesis chapter 26

The 17th-century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza read the report of {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:5|HE}} that Abraham observed the worship, precepts, statutes, and laws of God to mean that Abraham observed the worship, statutes, precepts, and laws of king Melchizedek. Spinoza read {{Bibleverse||Genesis|14:18–20|HE}} to relate that Melchizedek was king of Jerusalem and priest of the Most High God, that in the exercise of his priestly functions (like those {{Bibleverse||Numbers|6:23|HE}} describes) he blessed Abraham, and that Abraham gave to this priest of God a tithe of all his spoils. Spinoza deduced from this that before God founded the Israelite nation, God constituted kings and priests in Jerusalem, and ordained for them rites and laws. Spinoza deduced that while Abraham sojourned in the city, he lived scrupulously according to these laws, for Abraham had received no special rites from God.^[144]

Reading the three instances of the wife-sister motif in (a) {{Bibleverse||Genesis|12:10–20;|HE}} (b) {{Bibleverse||Genesis|20:1–18;|HE}} and (c) {{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:6–11,|HE}} Speiser argued that in a work by a single author, these three cases would present serious contradictions: Abraham would have learned nothing from his narrow escape in Egypt, and so tried the same ruse in Gerar; and Abimelech would have been so little sobered by his perilous experience with Abraham and Sarah that he fell into the identical trap with Isaac and Rebekah. Speiser concluded (on independent grounds) that the Jahwist was responsible for incidents (a) and (c), while the Elohist was responsible for incident (b). If the Elohist had been merely an annotator of the Jahwist, however, the Elohist would still have seen the contradictions for Abimelech, a man of whom the Elohist clearly approved. Speiser concluded that the Jahwist and the Elohist therefore must have worked independently.^[145]

Genesis chapter 27

Speiser read the details of Jacob's behavior in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:1–40|HE}} to show that, although the outcome favored Jacob, the Jahwist's personal sympathies lay with Isaac and Esau, the victims of the ruse.^[146] Speiser read the unintended blessing of Jacob by Isaac in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|27|HE}} to teach that no one may grasp God's complete design, which remains reasonable and just no matter who the chosen agent may be at any given point.^[147]

The 20th-century Reform rabbi and author Gunther Plaut argued that Isaac was not really deceived. Reading the story with close attention to the personality of Isaac, Plaut concluded that throughout the episode, Isaac was subconsciously aware of Jacob's identity, but, as he was unable to admit this knowledge, he pretended to be deceived. Plaut thus saw a plot within a plot, as Rebekah and Jacob laid elaborate plans for deceiving Isaac, while unknown to them Isaac looked for a way to deceive himself, in order to carry out God's design to bless his less-loved son. Plaut argued that Isaac was old but not senile. In his heart, Isaac had long known that Esau could not carry on the burden of Abraham and that, instead, he had to choose his quiet and complicated younger son Jacob. In Plaut's reading, weak and indecisive man and father that Isaac was, he did not have the courage to face Esau with the truth. His own blindness and Rebekah's ruse came literally as a godsend. Plaut noted that Isaac did not reprimand Jacob. Plaut concluded that no one, not even Esau, was deceived, for even Esau knew that Jacob was the chosen one.^[148]

Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are no commandments in the parashah.^[149]

In the liturgy

In the Blessing after Meals (Birkat Hamazon), at the close of the fourth blessing (of thanks for God's goodness), Jews allude to God's blessing of the Patriarchs described in {{Bibleverse||Genesis|24:1|HE}}, {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|27:33|HE}}, and {{Bibleverse-nb||Genesis|33:11|HE}}.^[150]

The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parashah. For Parashat Toledot, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Mahour, the maqam that portrays emotional instability and anger. This maqam is similar to Maqam Rast in tone. It is appropriate, because in this parashah, Esau portrays these character traits as he loses out on the major blessings.^[151]

Haftarah

Connection to the parshah

Malachi 1 opens with God noting "I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau," before promising retribution on Esau's descendants, the people of Edom.

Notes

1. ^{{cite web|title=Bereshit Torah Stats|accessdate=July 6, 2013|url=http://www.akhlah.com/tanach/torah/bereshit/bereshit-torah-stats/|publisher=Akhlah Inc.}}
2. ^{{cite web|title=Parashat Toldot|accessdate=November 13, 2014|url=http://www.hebcal.com/sedrot/toldot|publisher=Hebcal}}
3. ^In Hebrew grammar, when the word parashah is followed by the name of a specific parashah, it is spelled (and pronounced) parashat.
4. ^See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, pages 135–56. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006. {{ISBN|1-4226-0202-8}}.
5. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:20–21.|HE}}
6. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:22–23.|HE}}
7. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:24–26.|HE}}
8. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:26.|HE}}
9. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:27.|HE}}
10. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:28.|HE}}
11. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:29–30.|HE}}
12. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|25:31–34.|HE}}
13. ^See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, page 139.
14. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:1.|HE}}
15. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:2–5.|HE}}
16. ^See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, page 140.
17. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:6–7.|HE}}
18. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:8–9.|HE}}
19. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:9.|HE}}
20. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:10–11.|HE}}
21. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:12.|HE}}
22. ^See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, page 141.
23. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:13–14.|HE}}
24. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:15–16.|HE}}
25. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:17–18.|HE}}
26. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:19–21.|HE}}
27. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:22.|HE}}
28. ^See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, page 143.
29. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:23–24.|HE}}
30. ^¹{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:25.|HE}}
31. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:26–27.|HE}}
32. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:28–29.|HE}}
33. ^See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, page 144.
34. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:30–31.|HE}}
35. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:32–33.|HE}}
36. ^¹See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, page 145.
37. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|26:34–35.|HE}}
38. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:1–4.|HE}}
39. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:5–10.|HE}}
40. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:11–12.|HE}}
41. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:13.|HE}}
42. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:14–17.|HE}}
43. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:18–19.|HE}}
44. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:20.|HE}}
45. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:21.|HE}}
46. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:22.|HE}}
47. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:24–25.|HE}}
48. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:26–27.|HE}}
49. ^See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, page 150.
50. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:27–29.|HE}}
51. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:30–31.|HE}}
52. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:32.|HE}}
53. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:33.|HE}}
54. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:34–35.|HE}}
55. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:36.|HE}}
56. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:37.|HE}}
57. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:38–40.|HE}}
58. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:41.|HE}}
59. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:42–45.|HE}}
60. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|27:46–28:2.|HE}}
61. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:3–4.|HE}}
62. ^See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, page 155.
63. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|28:5–9.|HE}}
64. ^See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, pages 155–56.
65. ^See, e.g., Richard Eisenberg [https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/19861990/eisenberg_triennial.pdf "A Complete Triennial Cycle for Reading the Torah."] Proceedings of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement: 1986–1990, pages 383–418. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2001. {{ISBN|0-91-6219-18-6}}.
66. ^For more on inner-Biblical interpretation, see, e.g., Benjamin D. Sommer. "Inner-biblical Interpretation." In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, pages 1835–41. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. {{ISBN|978-0-19-997846-5}}.
67. ^{{Bibleverse-lb||Hosea|12:3–5.|HE}}
68. ^{{Bibleverse-lb||Numbers|12:7|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Numbers|12:8;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-lb||Joshua|1:2|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Joshua|1:7;|HE}} 2 Kings {{Bibleverse-nb|2|Kings|21:8|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-lb||Malachi|3:22.|HE}}
69. ^{{Bibleverse||Numbers|14:24.|HE}}
70. ^2 Samuel {{Bibleverse-nb|2|Samuel|3:18;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb|2|Samuel|7:5;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb|2|Samuel|7:8;|HE}} {{Bibleverse|1|Kings|11:13;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb|1|Kings|11:32;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb|1|Kings|11:34;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb|1|Kings|11:36;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb|1|Kings|11:38;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb|1|Kings|14:8;|HE}} {{Bibleverse|2|Kings|19:34|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb|2|Kings|20:6;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-lb||Isaiah|37:35;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-lb||Jeremiah|33:21;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Jeremiah|33:22;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Jeremiah|33:26;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-lb||Ezekiel|34:23;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Ezekiel|34:24;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Ezekiel|37:24;|HE}} Psalm {{Bibleverse-nb||Psalm|89:3|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Psalm|89:20;|HE}} and 1 Chronicles {{Bibleverse-nb|1|Chronicles|17:4|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb|1|Chronicles|17:7.|HE}}
71. ^{{Bibleverse||Isaiah|20:3.|HE}}
72. ^{{Bibleverse||Isaiah|22:20.|HE}}
73. ^{{Bibleverse||Isaiah|41:8;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|41:9;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|42:1;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|42:19;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|43:10;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|44:1;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|44:2;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|44:21;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|49:3;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|49:6;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|52:13;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse||Jeremiah|30:10;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Jeremiah|46:27;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Jeremiah|46:27;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse||Ezekiel|28:25|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Ezekiel|37:25.|HE}}
74. ^{{Bibleverse||Jeremiah|25:9;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Jeremiah|27:6;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Jeremiah|43:10.|HE}}
75. ^{{Bibleverse-lb||Haggai|2:23.|HE}}
76. ^{{Bibleverse-lb||Zechariah|3:8.|HE}}
77. ^{{Bibleverse-lb||Job|1:8;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Job|2:3;|HE}} {{Bibleverse-nb||Job|42:7;|HE}} and {{Bibleverse-nb||Job|42:8.|HE}}
78. ^For more on classical rabbinic interpretation, see, e.g., Yaakov Elman. "Classical Rabbinic Interpretation." In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, pages 1859–78.
79. ^Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 32. Early 9th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, page 235. London, 1916. Reprinted New York: Hermon Press, 1970. {{ISBN|0-87203-183-7}}.
80. ^Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 64a. Babylonia, 6th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Koren Talmud Bavli: Yevamot · Part One. Commentary by Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz), volume 14, pages 427–28. Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, 2014. {{ISBN|978-965-301-575-3}}.
81. ^Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 14a (Rabbi Eleazar). Reprinted in, e.g., Koren Talmud Bavli: Sukka. Commentary by Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz), volume 10, page 67. Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, 2013. {{ISBN|978-965-301-571-5}}. Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 64a Reprinted in, e.g., Koren Talmud Bavli: Yevamot · Part One. Commentary by Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz), volume 14, page 428. (Rabbi Isaac). Genesis Rabbah 63:5. Land of Israel, 5th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, page 558. London: Soncino Press, 1939. {{ISBN|0-900689-38-2}}. (Resh Lakish).
82. ^Genesis Rabbah 63:5. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, pages 558-59.
83. ^Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, piska 20, paragraph 1. 6th–7th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Pesikta de-Rab Kahana: R. Kahana's Compilation of Discourses for Sabbaths and Festal Days. Translated by William G. Braude and Israel J. Kapstein, page 331. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1975. {{ISBN|0-8276-0051-8}}.
84. ^Genesis Rabbah 60:13. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, page 536.
85. ^¹Genesis Rabbah 63:6. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, pages 559–60.
86. ^Genesis Rabbah 63:6. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, pages 559–60. And reprinted in, e.g., The Midrash: Midrash Rabbah with an Annotated, Interpretive Elucidation and Additional Insights. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, volume 2, Toldos, pages 4²–5¹. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2010. {{ISBN|1-4226-1056-X}}.
87. ^Midrash Tadshe 21. Reprinted in Menahem M. Kasher. Torah Sheleimah, 25, 95–96. Jerusalem, 1927. Reprinted in Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation. Translated by Hyman Klein, volume 4, page 6. New York: American Biblical Encyclopedia Society, 1959.
88. ^Genesis Rabbah 67:9. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, page 613.
89. ^Babylonian Talmud Megillah 6a. Reprinted in, e.g., Koren Talmud Bavli: Taanit · Megillah. Commentary by Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz), volume 12, pages 224–25. Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, 2014. {{ISBN|978-965-301-573-9}}.
90. ^Genesis Rabbah 63:10. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, pages 565–66.
91. ^Deuteronomy Rabbah 1:17. Land of Israel, 9th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Deuteronomy. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 7, page 20. London: Soncino Press, 1939. {{ISBN|0-900689-38-2}}.
92. ^Genesis Rabbah 94:5. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, page 872.
93. ^¹Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 16b.
94. ^Genesis Rabbah 63:1. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, page 556.
95. ^Mishnah Kiddushin 4:14. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, page 499. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. {{ISBN|0-300-05022-4}}. Tosefta Kiddushin 5:21. Land of Israel, circa 300 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, pages 946–47. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002. {{ISBN|1-56563-642-2}}. Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 82a.
96. ^Tosefta Sotah 10:5. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, page 876.
97. ^Tosefta Sotah 10:6. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, page 876.
98. ^Genesis Rabbah 64:3. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, page 574.
99. ^Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 48. Reprinted in, e.g., Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, pages 383–85.
100. ^Tosefta Berakhot 6:8. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, page 39.
101. ^Genesis Rabbah 64:9. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, page 579. And reprinted in, e.g., The Midrash: Midrash Rabbah with an Annotated, Interpretive Elucidation and Additional Insights. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, volume 2, Toldos, page 19¹.
102. ^Sifre to Deuteronomy 2:3. Land of Israel, circa 250–350 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifre to Deuteronomy: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, pages 26–27. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. {{ISBN|1-55540-145-7}}.
103. ^Genesis Rabbah 64:10. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, page 579.
104. ^Saadiah ben David Tha'azi of Yemen. Midrash Habiur. Second half of the 14th century. Reprinted in Menahem M. Kasher. Torah Sheleimah, 26, 110–11. Jerusalem, 1927. Reprinted in Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation. Translated by Harry Freedman, volume 4, page 34. New York: American Biblical Encyclopedia Society, 1965.
105. ^Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 36. Reprinted in, e.g., Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, pages 278–79.
106. ^Genesis Rabbah 65:1. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, page 581.
107. ^Babylonian Talmud Yoma 28b. Reprinted in, e.g., Koren Talmud Bavli: Yoma. Commentary by Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz), volume 9, page 139. Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, 2013. {{ISBN|978-965-301-570-8}}.
108. ^Babylonian Talmud Megillah 28a. Reprinted in, e.g., Koren Talmud Bavli: Taanit · Megillah. Commentary by Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz), volume 12, page 385. See also Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 93a.
109. ^Genesis Rabbah 65:10. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, pages 585–86.
110. ^Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 92a.
111. ^Babylonian Talmud Makkot 24a.
112. ^Genesis Rabbah 65:19. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, pages 594–95.
113. ^Babylonian Talmud Taanit 29b. Reprinted in, e.g., Koren Talmud Bavli: Taanit · Megillah. Commentary by Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz), volume 12, page 174.
114. ^Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 55b. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Elucidated by Menachem Goldberger, Mendy Wachsman, Dovid Arye Kaufman, Eliezer Lachman, Abba Zvi Naiman, Michoel Weiner, Zev Meisels; edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volume 2, page 55b¹. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006. {{ISBN|1-4226-0235-4}}.
115. ^Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 85b. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Elucidated by Menachem Goldberger, Mendy Wachsman, Dovid Arye Kaufman, Eliezer Lachman, Abba Zvi Naiman, Michoel Weiner, Zev Meisels; edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volume 2, page 85b³.
116. ^Genesis Rabbah 94:5. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 2, pages 872–73.
117. ^Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 35. Reprinted in, e.g., Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, page 261.
118. ^Genesis Rabbah 67:2. Reprinted in, e.g., The Midrash: Midrash Rabbah with an Annotated, Interpretive Elucidation and Additional Insights. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, volume 2, pages 41^1–2.
119. ^Genesis Rabbah 67:2. Reprinted in, e.g., The Midrash: Midrash Rabbah with an Annotated, Interpretive Elucidation and Additional Insights. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, volume 2, page 41¹.
120. ^Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 41. Reprinted in, e.g., Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, pages 318–20.
121. ^Midrash Tehillim 18:32. 10th century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Midrash on the Psalms. Translated by William G. Braude, volume 1, pages 265–66. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959. LCCN 58-6535.
122. ^Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 7b.
123. ^Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 23b. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Elucidated by Yehuda Jaffa, Chaim Ochs, Michoel Weiner, Mordechai Smilowitz, Abba Zvi Naiman, and Avrohom Neuberger; edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volume 12, page 23b³. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2007. {{ISBN|1-4226-0240-0}}.
124. ^Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 38. Reprinted in, e.g., Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, pages 289–91.
125. ^{{Bibleverse||Genesis|36:12|HE}} identifies Amalek as Esau’s grandson. {{Bibleverse||Numbers|24:7|HE}} identifies the Amalekites with the Agagites. {{Bibleverse-lb||Esther|3:1|HE}} identifies Haman as an Agagite.
126. ^Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 96b. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Elucidated by Asher Dicker, Joseph Elias, and Dovid Katz; edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz, volume 49, page 96b³. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. {{ISBN|1-57819-628-0}}.
127. ^For more on medieval Jewish interpretation, see, e.g., Barry D. Walfish. "Medieval Jewish Interpretation." In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, pages 1891–915.
128. ^Maimonides. The Guide for the Perplexed, part 2, chapter 41. Cairo, Egypt, 1190. Reprinted in, e.g., Moses Maimonides. The Guide for the Perplexed. Translated by Michael Friedländer, page 236. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. {{ISBN|0-486-20351-4}}.
129. ^Zohar, Shemot, section 2, page 83a. Spain, late 13th century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Zohar: Pritzker Edition. Translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, volume 4, pages 459–60. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-5712-6}}.
130. ^Nachmanides. Commentary on the Torah. Jerusalem, circa 1270. Reprinted in, e.g., Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, page 343. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1971. {{ISBN|0-88328-006X}}.
131. ^Avot 4:15. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, page 683.
132. ^Jacob ben Asher (The Baal Ha-Turim). Rimze Ba'al ha-Turim. Early 14th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Baal Haturim Chumash: Bamidbar/Numbers. Translated by Eliyahu Touger; edited and annotated by Avie Gold, volume 4, page 1419. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2003. {{ISBN|1-57819-131-9}}.
133. ^Hermann Gunkel. Genesis: Translated and Explained. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1901. Introduction reprinted as The Legends of Genesis: The Biblical Saga and History. Translated by William H. Carruth. 1901. Reprinted, e.g., with an introduction by William F. Albright, page 45. New York: Schocken Books 1964; Reissue edition, 1987. {{ISBN|080520086X}}. See also Walter Brueggemann. Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, page 205. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982. {{ISBN|0-8042-3101-X}}. (identifying verses of these legends).
134. ^Walter Brueggemann. Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, pages 211–13. See also Gary A. Rendsburg. The Great Courses: The Book of Genesis: Part 2, page 13. Chantilly, Virginia: The Teaching Company, 2006. {{ISBN|1598031902}}. (similar chiastic structure).
135. ^Terence E. Fretheim. "The Book of Genesis." In The New Interpreter's Bible. Edited by Leander E. Keck, volume 1, page 519. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994. {{ISBN|0-687-27814-7}}.
136. ^James L. Kugel. How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now, pages 143–46. New York: Free Press, 2007. {{ISBN|0-7432-3586-X}}.
137. ^Robert Alter. The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary, page 129. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004. {{ISBN|0-393-01955-1}}.
138. ^Terence E. Fretheim. "The Book of Genesis." In The New Interpreter's Bible. Edited by Leander E. Keck, volume 1, page 521.
139. ^Richard Elliott Friedman. Commentary on the Torah: With a New English Translation, page 88. New York: Harper San Francisco, 2001. {{ISBN|0-06-062561-9}}. See also Robert Alter. The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary, page 129.
140. ^Ephraim A. Speiser. Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, page 197. New York: Anchor Bible, 1964. {{ISBN|0-385-00854-6}}. See also W. Gunther Plaut. The Torah: A Modern Commentary, page 173. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981. {{ISBN|0-8074-0055-6}}. ("May El protect"). Victor P. Hamilton. The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18–50, page 178–79. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995. {{ISBN|0-8028-2309-2}}. ("May El protect (him)" or "El will protect (him)"). Robert Alter. The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary, page 130. ("God protects" or "God follows after").
141. ^Robert Alter. The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary, page 130.
142. ^Chaim ibn Attar. Ohr ha-Chaim. Venice, 1742. Reprinted in Chayim Ben Attar. Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, page 206. Brooklyn, New York: Lambda Publishers, 1999. {{ISBN|965-7108-12-8}}.
143. ^Carl Sagan. “Journeys in Space and Time.” A Personal Voyage, episode 8. Cosmos Studios, 1980.
144. ^Baruch Spinoza. Theologico-Political Treatise, chapter 3. Amsterdam, 1670. Reprinted in, e.g., Baruch Spinoza. Theological-Political Treatise. Translated by Samuel Shirley, page 39. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, second edition, 2001. {{ISBN|0-87220-608-4}}.
145. ^Ephraim A. Speiser. Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, volume 1, pages xxxi–xxxii.
146. ^Ephraim A. Speiser. Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, volume 1, page xxvii.
147. ^Ephraim A. Speiser. Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, volume 1, page xxviii.
148. ^W. Gunther Plaut. The Torah: A Modern Commentary, pages 190–91.
149. ^Maimonides. Mishneh Torah. Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1967. {{ISBN|0-900689-71-4}}. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, volume 1, page 87. 1991. {{ISBN|0-87306-179-9}}.
150. ^The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals with an Interlinear Translation. Edited by Menachem Davis, page 172. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. {{ISBN|1-57819-697-3}}. Reuven Hammer. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, page 342. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2003. {{ISBN|0-916219-20-8}}.
151. ^See Mark L. Kligman. "The Bible, Prayer, and Maqam: Extra-Musical Associations of Syrian Jews." Ethnomusicology, volume 45 (number 3) (Autumn 2001): pages 443–479. Mark L. Kligman. Maqam and Liturgy: Ritual, Music, and Aesthetics of Syrian Jews in Brooklyn. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2009. {{ISBN|0814332161}}.

Readings

First reading — Genesis 25:19–26:5

Second reading — Genesis 26:6–12

Third reading — Genesis 26:13–22

Fourth reading — Genesis 26:23–29

Fifth reading — Genesis 26:30–27:27

Sixth reading — Genesis 27:28–28:4

Seventh reading — Genesis 28:5–9

Readings according to the triennial cycle

In inner-biblical interpretation

Genesis chapter 25

Genesis chapter 26

Genesis chapter 27–28

In classical rabbinic interpretation

Genesis chapter 25

Genesis chapter 26

Genesis chapter 27

Genesis chapter 28

In medieval Jewish interpretation

Genesis chapter 25

Genesis chapter 27

In modern interpretation

Genesis chapters 25–33

Genesis chapter 25

Genesis chapter 26

Genesis chapter 27

Commandments

In the liturgy

The Weekly Maqam

Haftarah

Connection to the parshah

Notes

Further reading

Biblical

Early nonrabbinic

Classical rabbinic

Medieval

Modern

External links

Texts

Commentaries