Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Exodus 1:20/אבן עזרא על שמות א׳:כ׳
אוייטב. בעלי היו"ד בראשונה פעם יעמד היו"ד כמו זו ופעם יחליפוהו בוי"ו, כמו "ויושב שם רעבים" (תה' קז לו) שהוא מן ישב כמו וייטב מן יטב, וזה הטוב הוא הנזכר אחר כן "ויעש להם בתים" כמו "כי בית יעשה לך ד"' (ש"ב ז יא):
1AND GOD DEALT WELL. When a root begins with a yod, the yod does not always drop out when the verb is conjugated,186. The word va-yetev (dealt well) is an example. At other times a vav is substituted for the yod, as in va-yoshev (He maketh to dwell) in And there He maketh the hungry to dwell (Ps. 107:36). The root of va-yoshev is yod, shin, bet, as the root of va-yetev is yod, tet, bet.187 of a root beginning with a yod changes to a vav when the word is conjugated in the hifil. However, va-yetev, which comes from the root yod, tet, bet and is a hifil form retains its yod. Hence I.E.’s comment.And God dealt well is explained by what follows next, i.e., He (God) made them houses. The meaning of He made them houses is similar to that the Lord make thee a house (II Sam. 7:11).188