According to the Netziv, Yaakov was not going to Egypt, and thus he must have had some other reason for leaving Chevron and journeying to Be’er Sheva. The Netziv explains that Yaakov’s relocation in Be’er Sheva was his strategy for surviving the food shortage in Canaan.
We read in Parashat Vayigash the story of how Yosef revealed his identity to his brothers, and promptly sent them to Canaan and instructed them to bring their families and Yaakov to live in Egypt, where they will be supported during the drought. When the brothers came to Yaakov and informed him that Yosef was alive and ruled over Egypt, Yaakov announced, “Eilekha ve-er’enu be-terem amut” – “I shall go see him before I die” (45:28). The next verse then tells that Yaakov went to Be’er Sheva, where he offered sacrifices and received a prophecy from God, who assured him not to be afraid of relocating in Egypt, and that he (or his descendants) will return to his homeland, Canaan.
The simple understanding of the events is that Yaakov stopped off in Be’er Sheva en route to Egypt, and while he was there he offered sacrifices. The Netziv, however, in his Ha’amek Davar, offers a surprising reading of these verses. In his view, Yaakov did not plan to relocate in Egypt. Although Yosef had invited Yaakov and his sons to come live with him in Egypt, Yaakov wanted to remain in his homeland. His announcement, “I shall go see him before I die” meant that at some point during his lifetime, Yaakov wanted to pay a brief visit to Yosef. But he refused to leave Eretz Yisrael and find refuge from the drought in Egypt, and he was not planning on visiting Egypt at that time.
This understanding of Yaakov’s thought process yields a novel reading of the next verse, which tells of Yaakov’s visit to Be’er Sheva. According to the Netziv, Yaakov was not going to Egypt, and thus he must have had some other reason for leaving Chevron and journeying to Be’er Sheva. The Netziv thus explains that Yaakov’s relocation in Be’er Sheva was his strategy for surviving the food shortage in Canaan. Noting that his father, Yitzchak, found financial security in Be’er Sheva during a time of drought, as we read in Parashat Toledot, Yaakov figured that he, too, will seek refuge in Be’er Sheva, and he preferred this option over joining Yosef in Egypt. (The Netziv adds that Yaakov brought a shelamim sacrifice which is uniquely suited for bringing material blessing.) Yaakov’s plans changed, the Netziv comments, when he received a prophetic vision in Be’er Sheva in which God said to him, “Do not be afraid of moving to Egypt.” At that point, upon hearing God instruct him to settle in Egypt, Yaakov went to live with Yosef.
The obvious difficulty with the Netziv’s novel approach is the timing of Yaakov’s journey to Be’er Sheva. The drought had been raging already for two years, and throughout this period Yaakov had chosen to address the food shortage by purchasing grain from Egypt. Why did he suddenly now decide to instead follow his father’s example of relocating in Be’er Sheva? And would it not be an odd coincidence that he decides to leave Chevron and move to Be’er Sheva just after Yosef invited him to live in Egypt?
In truth, the crux of the Netziv’s theory appears already in an earlier source – the commentary of the Ralbag. Like the Netziv, the Ralbag asserts that Yaakov was not planning on permanently settling in Egypt. However, whereas the Netziv claims that Yaakov had planned to visit Yosef in Egypt at some later point, the Ralbag explains that Yaakov intended to go to Egypt to visit Yosef immediately, spend some time there, and then return home to Canaan. He stopped in Be’er Sheva en route, the Ralbag claims, because Be’er Sheva was an auspicious site for prophecy, and Yaakov wished to receive prophetic guidance as to whether or not he should settle in Egypt permanently. After God appeared to him and told him not to be afraid of relocating in Egypt, Yaakov changed his plans and decided to accept Yosef’s invitation and live in Egypt. The Ralbag thus avoids the question we posed concerning the Netziv’s approach by explaining that upon receiving word from Yosef, Yaakov decided to immediately visit Egypt.
Interestingly, the Ralbag later comments that Yaakov’s conduct in this regard provides an instructive example of patience and prudence when making important decisions:
It is not proper for a person to conduct his affairs hastily with regard to important matters such as these. It is rather proper to contemplate them until he determines the appropriate course of action. We thus find that Yaakov did not want to agree to this move which Yosef requested, without first determining the best possible course of action in this regard. He therefore undertook measures to receive prophecy, so that he would be told through prophecy if it was wise to go to Egypt.
According to the Ralbag, Yaakov’s hesitation before moving to Egypt, and his efforts to obtain prophetic guidance, teach us the importance of careful thinking and consideration before undertaking drastic measures. Yaakov did not make an immediate, instinctive decision to leave his homeland and settle in Egypt. This decision was made after much thinking and deliberation – and prophecy – serving as a model of careful and thorough consideration and consultation before reaching decisions on important matters.