Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 32:27/אבן עזרא על דברים ל״ב:כ״ז

אאגור. אפחד מגזרת ויגר מואב והמתרגם אמר מגזרת אגרה בקציר והנכון שהוא מלשון תגרה והכתוב דבר כדרך בני אדם להבין השומעים:

1I DREADED. Agur means I dreaded. It is related to the word va-yagar (was sore afraid) in And Moab was sore afraid (Num. 22:3). The Aramaic translation connects it to the word agerah (gathereth) in And gatherest…in the harvest (Prov. 6:8).²⁸⁰ Actually it is related to the word tigrah (fight).²⁸¹ (were it not that I dreaded the enemy’s provocation) as were it not that I had to fight against the enemy’s anger. Scripture speaks as people do so that those who hear will understand.²⁸²

בינכרו. הפך יכירו כמו ויתנכר אליהם:

2SHOULD MISDEEM. Yenakkeru (misdeem)²⁸³. is the reverse of yakkiru²⁸⁴. (they shall recognize).²⁸⁵. When the word comes in the pi’el it means to estrange; when it comes in the hifil it means to recognize. Yenakkeru is similar²⁸⁶ to va-yitnakker²⁸⁷. (but made himself strange) in but made himself strange unto them (Gen. 42:7).

גפעל כל זאת. על השבטים:

3HATH WROUGHT ALL THIS. Upon the tribes.²⁸⁸