פרשת ויגש תשי"ז - הנבואה ליעקב

And God spoke unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said: ‘Jacob, Jacob.’ And he said: ‘Here am I.’

And God spoke unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said: ‘Jacob, Jacob.’ And he said: ‘Here am I.’

יעקב יעקב JACOB, JACOB — The repetition of the name is a mark of affection (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Chapter 1 12).

!ויאמר: יעקב! יעקב; the reason this call to Yaakov is repeated is to illustrate that for how many years Yaakov had not been favoured with a communication from G’d. By repeating his name at this point, Yaakov was alerted to the fact that he would receive a prophetic insight.

Yaakov, Yaakov. Although he has been referred to as “Yisrael” several times in this portion, here Hashem calls him “Yaakov” to hint that he is about to go into exile, where his offspring will remain enslaved until they are redeemed.

And He said: ‘I am God, the God of thy father; fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation.

אל תירא מרדה מצרימה FEAR NOT TO GO DOWN TO EGYPT — God said this to him because he was grieved that he was compelled to leave the Land of Israel (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 39).

אל תירא מרדה מצרימה, “do not fear descending to Egypt;” no one in the Bible had ever been told by G-d not to be afraid, unless he had already been afraid. Yaakov’s reasoning for being fearful was his knowledge that being strangers in a foreign land and being slaves which had been decreed already in the lifetime of his grandfather Avraham would most likely commence now that he was moving to Egypt. G-d answered him that although He had warned his father and grandfather of this, He appeared to him in order to give him reassurance. He hinted that although he was correct in assuming that the warning would soon be fulfilled, but by the same token, the promise made to all the three patriarchs that they would develop into a great nation, came closer to its fulfillment.

I am … God of your father. I am the God who told your father not to go to Egypt (26:2), yet I am telling you to go. There I will make you into a great nation. Whereas if you remain here your offspring will intermarry with the Canaanites. This will not happen in Egypt because the populace will not even eat with the Hebrews; see 43:32

And He said: ‘I am God, the God of thy father; fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation.

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying: ‘Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, thy reward shall be exceeding great.’

Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father;

אל תירא אתו FEAR HIM NOT — God said this concerning Og but not about Sihon (cf v. 23), because Moses feared to wage battle, perhaps the merit of Abraham with whom Og had been associated would stand up (i.e., be an advocate) for him, as it is said, (Genesis 14:13) “And the one who escaped came [and told it to Abraham]” — this was Og who had escaped from the Rephaim whom Chedoladmar and his allies had smitten in Ashoreth Karnaim (Genesis 14:5), as it is said, (Deuteronomy 3:11). "For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim" (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 25, Niddah 61a).