Upon his return to Canaan from Haran, Jacob fearfully encountered his brother Esau. He was relieved to learn that Esau harbored no ill-will towards him and wished for them to stay together for some time. Jacob refused his brother’s offer and they parted ways, only to come together again to bury their father. Upon taking leave of his brother, Jacob built a house for himself in Sukkot, on the eastern side of the Jordan River. After crossing the Jordan and formally entering Canaan, Genesis 33:18 narrates: וַיָּבֹא יַעֲקֹב שָׁלֵם עִיר שְׁכֶם אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן בְּבֹאוֹ מִפַּדַּן אֲרָם וַיִּחַן אֶת פְּנֵי הָעִיר. “Jacob arrived shalem (שָׁלֵם) in the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan- having come thus from Padan-aram – and he encamped before the city.” 1 There is no clear consensus from the classical or modern commentators as to how to understand the word shalem in this verse. However, when the same root2 appears in 34:21: הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה שְׁלֵמִים הֵם אִתָּנוּ וְיֵשְׁבוּ בָאָרֶץ וְיִסְחֲרוּ אֹתָהּ וְהָאָרֶץ הִנֵּה רַחֲבַת יָדַיִם לִפְנֵיהֶם אֶת בְּנֹתָם נִקַּח לָנוּ לְנָשִׁים וְאֶת בְּנֹתֵינוּ נִתֵּן לָהֶם, “These people are sheleimim let them settle in the land and move about in it, for the land is large enough for them; we will take their daughters to ourselves as wives and give our daughters to them”3 as sheleimim, most of the commentators agree as to the meaning of the word, which I will discuss below. However, on 33:18, even though no consensus emerges, the commentators can be grouped based on their understanding of the word.
One common understanding is that shalem means whole or complete. Rashi quotes Talmud Bavli Masechet Shabbat 32B to say that Jacob was שלם בגופו...שלם בממונו...שלם בתורתו, he was “of full body,” in that he was healed from his fight in Genesis 32; he was “full in his money,” in that even though he gave a gift to Esau, his wealth was intact; and he was “full in his Torah knowledge,” in that he did not forget of the Torah he had learned, even though he lived in the house of Laban for many years. Similarly, the Rada”k’s first opinion is that Jacob was complete because he was not lacking any of his possessions after meeting Esau. The Hizquni also agrees with this definition of shalem, that he entered into the city as a whole man, even after the traumatic incident that had occurred in Shechem (see Genesis 34). he Aramaic translation of Onkelus and the Judeo-Arabic translation of Rav Saadiah Gaon both translate shalem into their respective languages as whole, Onkelus using the Aramaic שלים while Rav Saadiah Gaon uses סאלמא.
Ibn Ezra presents another understanding of shalem meaning peacefully, explaining that Jacob arrived in Shechem peacefully without any incidents, even after the Dinah incident of Genesis 34. The Seforno agrees and explains it as peacefully, בשלום. The second possibility suggested by the Rada”k is that shalem means peaceful, because until this point, Jacob was not harmed, in contrast to what happens to him when he enters the land of Canaan and interacts with the people of Shechem.
Lastly, the Rashbam, the first opinion of the Hizquni and the Jerusalem Bible’s English translation view shalem as the name of a town to which Jacob arrived. The Hizquni elaborates that it is a suburb of Shekhem, which is also found in the Jerusalem Bible as “...came to Shalem, a city of Shekhem, which is in the land of Kena’an...”
The majority of the commentators view shalem as referring to Jacob physically, in that he arrived there complete. Others view it as a physical state in that he arrived peacefully and nothing bad happened to him. Lastly, there are some who view shalem as a physical location. However, when the word sheleimim is used in Genesis 34:21, commentators view the word as a description of the state of the people, that they come to Jacob in peace, בשלום. Through these different understandings of the root שלם, we see the importance of examining words through different lenses and from multiple perspectives.
1 JPS translation
3 JPS translation
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