FROM MY FATHER's HOUSE, 'UMEI'ERETZ MOLAD'TI' (AND FROM THE LAND OF MY NATIVITY). Rashi comments: "From my father's house — from Haran. And from the land of my nativity — from Ur of the Chaldees." If this is so, the expression, Unto my country and to 'molad'ti' thou shalt go,1 must also refer to Ur of the Chaldees. But Heaven forbid that the sacred seed should mix with the sons of Ham,2 the sinful one!3 Even if one would say that Abraham had some family there from the seed of Shem, the fact is however that the servant went to Haran as his master said! Now perhaps the Rabbi [Rashi] thinks that eretz molad'to4(the land of his birth) was Ur of the Chaldees, but molad'ti5 means "my family," and my country6 means the land wherein he lived. But all these are futile words since here, in the verse before us, he said, And thou shalt take a wife for my son from there, [and according to Rashi, who explained ume'eretz molad'ti, mentioned in this verse, as meaning Ur of the Chaldees, it would follow that Abraham commanded Eliezer to go there to get a wife from the children of Ham]! Moreover, Abraham stayed in the land of Canaan for a longer period than he did in Haran, and so why should Haran be called his country simply because he lived there for some time? Instead, the meaning of the expression, unto my country and to 'molad'ti',7 is "unto my country in which I was born," [namely, Haran in Mesopotamia], for there he stayed and from there his ancestors came, as was already explained.8 In Bereshith Rabbah we find:9 "From my father's house — this is the house of his father. And from the land of my birth — this is the environs [of his father's house]."
It is possible that unto my country and unto 'molad'ti' means "Unto my country and unto my family," for he did not want a wife to be taken for Isaac even from the people of his country but only from his family. Similarly in the verse, And thou shalt take a wife for my son from there, [the word misham (from there)] alludes to the expression, from my father's house, mentioned at the beginning of the verse. And so did the servant say when quoting Abraham, And thou shalt take a wife for my son of my family, and of my father's house,10 and again he said, quoting his master. Then shalt thou be clear from my oath when thou comest to my family.11 These words were said by the servant to honor them so that they would listen to him.
AND WHO SPOKE 'LI' (UNTO ME). Rashi comments: "The word li means 'in my interest,' just as in the verse, which He spoke 'alai' (concerning me).12 In the same way, in every case where li and lo and lahem follow the word dibur (speaking), they are to be explained in the sense of al (concerning). For proper usage of the verb dibur [in the sense of speaking to a person, the pronouns li and lo and lahem are not appropriate, and] only eilai and eilav and aleihem are appropriate, and their renderings in the Targum are imi and imei and imhon. In the case of the word amirah, however, the expressions li and lo and lahem are appropriate."
In the section of Vayeitzei Yaakov, Rashi brought [proof of his above mentioned principle which states that li or lecha, etc., following the word dibur, must be explained in the sense of al (concerning)] from that which is written there, that which 'dibarti' (I have spoken) 'lach,'13 [which must be interpreted to mean "in thy interest and concerning thee"] since He had never spoken to Jacob before this occasion.
But this difference is not valid for we find: And now go, lead the people unto the place of which 'dibarti' (I have spoken) 'lach';14 And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic;15 And thou shalt drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as the Eternal hath spoken unto thee.16 Similarly the verb amirah is used with both li and eilai: And they shall say 'li' (to me), What is His name? What shall I say 'aleihem' (to them)?17 And as for [the verse which Rashi mentioned as his proof], that which 'dibarti' (I have spoken) 'lach,'18 [which must mean, as Rashi said, "concerning thee," since He had never spoken to Jacob before this occasion], its interpretation is as follows: "that which I have said to you now that I will give the land to you and to your seed, and I will bless you." [Thus the word lach (to you) follows the understood verb "give" and is not related to dibarti.]
1. (4) here.
2. The Chaldees and the entire land of Shinar belonged to the sons of Ham. See Ramban, above, 11:28.
3. Above, 9:22-24.
4. (4) here.
5. (4) here.
6. (4) here.
7. (4) here.
8. See Ramban above, 11:28 and 12:1.
9. 59:13.
10. Further, (40).
11. Ibid., (41).
12. I Kings 2:4.
13. Further, 28:15.
14. Exodus 32:34. Here the word dibur is found in connection with lach, and yet it means "to you," and not "concerning you," as Rashi claimed.
15. Daniel 2:4. This too is a case similar to the above.
16. Deuteronomy 9:3. This too is similar to the above.
17. Exodus 3:13.
18. Further, 28:15.