Vayechi 48:22 · unit 2

Parashas Vayechi · Passuk 48:22

The Complete Passuk

וַאֲנִ֞י נָתַ֧תִּי לְךָ֛ שְׁכֶ֥ם אַחַ֖ד עַל־אַחֶ֑יךָ אֲשֶׁ֤ר לָקַ֙חְתִּי֙ מִיַּ֣ד הָאֱמֹרִ֔י בְּחַרְבִּ֖י וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי׃

Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Bava Basra 123a.

TT lemma: בחרבי ובקשתי.

Sefaria — Bava Basra 123a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וְכִי בְּחַרְבּוֹ וּבְקַשְׁתּוֹ לָקַח? וַהֲלֹא כְּבָר נֶאֱמַר (תְּהִלִּים מ״ד) כִּי לֹא בְקַשְׁתִּי אֶבְטָח וְחַרְבִּי לֹא תוֹשִׁיעֵנִי — אֶלָּא חַרְבִּי זוֹ תְּפִלָּה, קַשְׁתִּי זוֹ בַּקָּשָׁה.

English: Did he really take it with his sword and his bow? Is it not already written (Tehillim 44) “For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me”? Rather, “my sword” means prayer, “my bow” means petition.

On the daf / in context: The Gemara rejects the literal reading because Scripture elsewhere denies reliance on weapons. The “sword and bow” with which Yaakov took Shechem are therefore interpreted as the weapons of prayer and supplication.

Type of Learning

Derash that relocates the plain meaning — the military terms are re-read as spiritual weapons in light of the verse in Tehillim.

What Is Learned

Yaakov acquired the extra portion for Yosef through the power of prayer and petition, not through physical warfare. “Sword” and “bow” in this verse refer to tefillah and bakashah.