Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 24:20/אבן עזרא על דברים כ״ד:כ׳
אכי תחבוט. כמו חובט חטים והוא פעל יחבט קצח בנין נפעל וכן כל אותיות אחעה״ר כאשר יבנה מהם בנין נפעל ואלה הם לא יאצר ולא יחסן. ולא יהרג. יעבד בו. יראה כל זכורך כי כן המשפט:
1WHEN THOU BEATEST. Tachbot (thou beatist) is similar to chovet (beating) in beating out wheat (Jud. 6:11). It is in the pa’al.56. The word yechavet (is beaten) in But the black cummin is beaten (Is. 28:27) is a nifal. All letters whose first root letter is an alef, chet, heh, ayin, or resh are vocalized like yechavet when conjugated in the nifal. The following are examples of each one of the aforementioned: ye’atzer57. (treasured) and yechasen58. (laid up) in it shall not be treasured nor laid up (Is. 23:18); yehareg59. (killed) as in ve-lo yehareg (and will not be killed); ye’aved60. (plowed) in neither be plowed (Deut. 21:4); yera’eh61, alef, heh. (appear) in and they shall not appear (Deut,. 16:16), for this is the rule.62, chet, heh, ayin, or resh is vocalized with a tzere rather than with a chirik, which is the usual vocalization.
בלא תפאר. לא תחפש הפארות והם הסעיפים וכן ותעש בדים ותשלח פארות. גם הוא כתוב באל״ף. ואם נקרא בוי״ו וכן נאדות היין:
2THOU SHALT NOT GO OVER THE BOUGHS AGAIN. Lo tefa’er (Thou shalt not go over the boughs) means you shall not seek after its “glory,” that is, after its branches. Compare, pore’ot (sprigs) in And shot forth sprigs (Ezek. 17:6). It too63. is spelled with an alef even though it is read as if written with a vav.64 is pronounced like a cholam. Compare, nodot65 in nodot is pronounced like a cholam. (wineskins) in and wineskins, worn (Josh. 9:4).