Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Exodus 1:14/אבן עזרא על שמות א׳:י״ד
אוימררו. ידוע הוא כי התי"ו סימן לנקבות על הרוב, והמ"ם סימן לזכרים, כמו מועדות (דה"ב ח יג) ומועדים (ברא' א יד), ודרך חכמי ספרד כי בניני הפעלים שמורים ולא תחסר אות מן השרש, ואינם כן, רק שמות דברים יאמרו כאשר נמצאו, כי יחיד מן מועדות מועד לא מועדה, כאשר יאמר החכם בעיניו כי מן מקום יאמר מקומים וממקומות מקומה אולי יפקח עיניו ויראה, כי מן בכור יאמר בכורים, למכה מצרים בבכוריהם (תה' קלו י), והנה ובכורות בקרך (דבר' יד כג), א"כ יהיה היחיד בכורה, וככה לבנים, לא יאמר לבן כ"א לבנה:
1AND THEY MADE THEIR LIVES BITTER. It is known that the tav, in a majority of instances, is the sign of the feminine plural and the mem of the masculine plural. Compare, mo’adot (seasons) (II Chron. 8:13) and mo’adim (seasons) (Gen. 1:14).124 is feminine. Mo’adim is masculine. According to the Spanish scholars verbal forms are kept and do not drop any of their root letters.125 However, this is not the case with nouns. Nouns are only employed as found in Scripture,126 for the singular of mo’adot (seasons) is mo’ed, not mo’adah as the person who thinks he is so brilliant believes.127 is a feminine plural form. Mo’ed is a masculine singular form. These two forms are inconsistent. The unnamed sage thus postulated that a female form mo’adah existed, the plural of which is mo’adot. However, no such form is found in Scripture. The latter would maintain that the plural of makom (place)128 is masculine. is mekomim129 is mekomot. Mekomot has a feminine ending. and the singular of mekomot (places) is mekomah.130 is a feminine form. We thus see that the plural and singular forms of nouns are not consistent. Perhaps he will open his eyes and see that the plural of bekhor (first-born) is bekhorim, as in To Him that smote Egypt in their first-born (bekhorehem) (Ps. 136:10).131 (their first-born) is the word bekhorim with the pronominal suffix. However, we also encounter the form bekhorot (firstlings) in and the firstlings of thy herd (Deut. 14:23). Now, shall the singular of bekhorot be bekhorah?132. Thus we see once again that the singular (bekhor) and the plural (bekhorot) are based on different forms of the noun. The same is the case with levenim (bricks).133 is feminine even though it has a masculine ending. Its singular is levenah,134 is feminine. not leven.135
בוטעם בחומר ובלבנים, לבנות בתים וגדרות, גם לחרוש ולקצור, ולזמור ולבצור, וזה את כל עבודה בשדה ואח"כ כלל את כל עבודתם לצרכיהם:
2[IN MORTAR AND IN BRICK.] To build houses and fences.136 They also had to plow, harvest, prune, and pick olives. This is the meaning of and in all manner of service in the field. Scripture then alludes to all the other types of work which Israel did to fulfill the needs of the Egyptians by the general term in all their service.
גאשר עבדו בהם. ישרתו בעבור שנים, עבדו בהם בפרך, וגזרת עבד בלא בי"ת אחריה היא עבודת העבד וככה "עבדתיך" (ברא' ל כו), ואם אחריה בי"ת הוא על ב' דברים, האחד בעבור, כמו "ויעבד ישראל באשה" (הושע יב יג) והשני לא תעבוד בו בפרך כדרך "אשר לא עובד בה" (דברי' כא ג), וככה אשר לא יעבד בו (שם שם ד), כי כתוב והארץ הנשמה תעבד (יחז' לו לד) ועל הדרך הזה "כנושה כאשר נושה בו" (ישעי' כד ב):
3WHEREIN THEY MADE THEM SERVE. The word avedu (they made them serve) is to be read as if written twice. Our verse is to be read as if it were written: wherein they made them serve, they made them serve with rigor. When a verb from the root ayin, bet, dalet is not followed by a bet it refers to work performed by a slave. This is the meaning of avadatikha (I have served thee) (Gen. 30:26).137 However, when the verb is followed by a bet it has one of the following two meanings. It means for the sake of, as in va-ya’avod yisrael be-ishah (and Israel served for a wife) (Hos. 12:13).138 following va-ya’avod has the meaning of: for the sake of. Thus be-ishah means: for the sake of a woman. Its other meaning is illustrated by thou shalt not make him to serve (lo ta’avod bo) with rigor,139. The words with rigor come from Lev. 25:43. I.E.’s point is that in this case the bet (bo) has the meaning of with him. which is like which hath not been wrought with (lo ubbad bah) (Deut. 21:3).140 is the indirect object, for the meaning of lo ubbad bah is: which hath not been wrought with (Weiser). Which may neither be plowed (lo ye’aved bo) (Deut. 21:4)141 is the indirect object, for the verse literally reads: which may neither be plowed in, i.e., land that no one worked with. is similar, for we find, And the land that was desolate shall be tilled (Ezek. 36:34).142, the indirect object. Hence when the bet is there it represents the indirect object (Filwarg). In a like manner Scripture reads, As with the lender, so with the borrower (nosheh vo) (Is. 24:2).143 (bo) is the bet of the indirect object and means with him (Weiser).