וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת, נָאִין הַשֵּׁמוֹת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל. אַתְּ מוֹצֵא, שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא קָרָא לָהֶן שֵׁמוֹת. נָתַן בֵּן לְאַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ: וְקָרָאתָ אֶת שְׁמוֹ יִצְחָק (בראשית יז, יט). י' עֲשָׂרָה, צ' תִּשְׁעִים. ח' שְׁמוֹנָה. ק' מֵאָה, הֲרֵי מָאתַיִם וּשְׁמוֹנָה. וּמָאתַיִם וְעֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים עָשׂוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמִצְרַיִם. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאָמַר לְאַבְרָהָם וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה (בראשית טו, יג). Now these are the names (Exod. 1:1). The names of the Israelites were most appropriate for them. You find, in fact, that the Holy One, blessed be He, assigned their names to them. He gave Abraham a son, and He said to him: And thou shalt call his name Isaac (Gen. 17:19). The yod in his name equals ten, the tzaddi, ninety, the het, eight, and the kuf, one hundred, totaling two hundred and eight in all. But the Israelites were forced to remain in Egypt only two hundred and ten years8Two years were added because he had asked the baker to intervene in his behalf, thus indicating a lack of faith that God would deliver him. It took two years for the baker to do so. even though the Holy One, blessed be He, had told Abraham: And shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years (ibid. 15:13).
אָמַר לוֹ: כִּי גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ, מִשֶּׁיִּהְיֶה לְךָ זֶרַע. הִתְחִיל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מוֹנֶה מִשֶּׁנּוֹלַד יִצְחָק. וּשְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי הַמִּילָה שֶׁהוּא הִתְחִיל בַּמִּילָה תְּחִלָּה לִשְׁמוֹנָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיָּמָל אַבְרָהָם אֶת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ בֶּן שְׁמֹנַת יָמִים (בראשית כא, ד). לְפִיכָךְ קָרָא לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֵׁם. He said to him: “Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger to thee” (ibid.)—from (the time) you will have seed. The Holy One, blessed be He, began to count from the day of his birth.9The counting of the 400 years began with the birth of Isaac. And as to the eight days (before) circumcision, since he was the first to be circumcized, it is said: And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old (ibid. 21:5)—hence the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him his name.
וְאַף יַעֲקֹב, הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא קָרָא לוֹ שֵׁם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ יַעֲקֹב (בראשית כה, כו). יַעֲקֹב אַרְבַּע אוֹתִיּוֹת יֵשׁ בּוֹ כְּנֶגֶד אַרְבַּע עֲטָרוֹת שֶׁבָּנָיו מְעַטְּרִין לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. י' כְּנֶגֶד עֶשֶׂר דִּבְּרוֹת, ע' כְּנֶגֶד שִׁבְעִים זְקֵנִים. ק' כְּנֶגֶד הַהֵיכָל שֶׁבָּנוּ בָּנָיו לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁגָּבְהוֹ מֵאָה אַמָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְהַהֵיכָל מֵאָה אַמָּה (יחזקאל, מא). ב' כְּנֶגֶד שְׁתֵּי הַלּוּחוֹת. וּבִזְכוּת יַעֲקֹב נִגְאֲלוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיַּעֲמִידֶהָ לְיַעֲקֹב לְחֹק (תהלים קה, י). וְאִלּוּלֵי יַעֲקֹב, לֹא נִפְדָּה אַבְרָהָם מִן הַכִּבְשָׁן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֶל בֵּית יַעֲקֹב אֲשֶׁר פָּדָה אֶת אַבְרָהָם (ישעיה כט, כב). אֲבָל עֵשָׂו, אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ קָרְאוּ לוֹ שֵׁם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיִּקְרְאוּ שְׁמוֹ עֵשָׂו. עָלָיו נֶאֱמַר: זִכְרוֹ אָבַד מִנִּי אָרֶץ וְלֹא שֵׁם לוֹ עַל פְּנֵי חוּץ (איוב יח, יז). As to Jacob, the Holy One, named him also, as it is said: And his name was called Jacob (ibid. 25:26). The four letters in Jacob’s name in Hebrew correspond to the four crowns through which his descendants adored the Holy One, blessed be He. The yod corresponds to the Ten Commandments, the ayin (seventy) corresponds to the seventy elders, the kuf (one hundred) to the Temple, which was one hundred cubits high, that his descendants erected for the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said: And he measured the house, a hundred cubits (Ezek. 41:13), and the bet (two) corresponds to the two tablets on which were inscribed the Ten Commandants. They were redeemed from Egypt by Jacob’s merit, as it is said: And He established it unto Jacob for a statute (Ps. 105:10). Were it not for Jacob, Abraham would not have been redeemed from the furnace, as it is said: Therefore, thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob (Isa. 29:22). However, as for Esau, his father and mother named him, as it is said: And they called his name Esau (Gen. 25:25). About him, Scripture states: His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name abroad (Job 18:7).