Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Exodus 1:9/אבן עזרא על שמות א׳:ט׳

אויאמר אל עמו. המצריים:

1AND HE SAID UNTO HIS PEOPLE. The Egyptians.⁷² does not refers to his advisers or nobles. It refers to the common people (Krinsky).

בהנה עם. מלת עם איננה סמוכה, רק בני ישראל פירוש ותוספות ביאור, כמו "אהיה אשר אהיה" (למטה ג יד) "אשר התהלכו אבותי לפניו אברהם ויצחק" (ברא' מח טו):

2BEHOLD THE PEOPLE. The word am (people) is not in the construct with bene yisrael (the children of Israel). The term bene yisrael explains am and provides additional information concerning its meaning.⁷³ (the people of the children of Israel). Prima facie, am is in the construct with bene yisrael, and the meaning of our text is the people of the children of Israel. I.E. disagrees. He holds that our text is to be interpreted as follows: the people, i.e., the children of Israel. It is like the words That I Am in the phrase I Am That I Am (Ex. 3:14)⁷⁴ elaborates upon I Am. The phrase is to be understood as I Am, that is, That I Am. and the words Abraham and Isaac in the verse The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk (Gen. 48:15).⁷⁵ elaborate my fathers.

גממנו. כל ממנו בספרי אנשי מזרח סימן לרבים הנו"ן רפה כמשפט להפריש בינו, ובין, ממנו פנה (זכרי' י, ד) שהוא סימן לשון יחיד שאיננו נמצא בפני המדבר, שהוא דגוש כמשפט וכל ספרי מערב שניהן דגושין, בין שהוא סימן לשון יחיד, ובין שהוא סימן לשון רבים, והיה כן, כי ממנו לשון יחיד דגוש הפך המנהג כי מלת אני רפה, וכן מלת נחני ד' (ברא', כד כז), והנה מלת מן כפולה, נדגש הנו"ן מִמֶּנִּי לחסרון הנו"ן האחר, כאילו היה מִמֶּנְנִי, כי הנו"ן הראשון תבוא עם אות המ"ם, כאלו היא מן, נו"ן ני, לסימן המדבר, א"כ יהיה איש ממנו (שם כג ו) שהוא לשון רבים כאילו הוא מִמֶּננו, וטעם נו"ן מִמֶּנּו דגוש להתבלע הה"א בחסרון, כי יאמר מן ישמור, יִשְׁמרוּ, אשר יִקְרְאוֹ (ירמי' כג ו) איוב יִרְדְפוֹ (הושע ח ג), והוא המעט, כי הרב ישֶׁמֶרהו (תה' מא ג) רק ישמרו דרך קצרה, כמו וְהִנֵהו עושה מלאכה (ירמי' יה ג) שהוא כמו והנה הוא, וְהִנֵה נצב (במד' כג ו), ופעמים יוסיפו הנו"ן, "ישחרונני ולא ימצאונני" (משלי א כח) תכרכני נפשך (ברא' כז יט) כמו תברכנני, זובח תודה יכבדנני (תה' נ כג), יסובבנהו, יבוננהו יצרנהו (דבר' לב. י) ופעמים יבלעו הה"א בנו"ן, ולא ישמרנו בעליו (למטה כא כט):

3FOR US. When the word mi-mennu (for us) is in the plural⁷⁶ may mean from him or from us (of us). the books of the Babylonians⁷⁷ adhere to the grammatical rule⁷⁸, meaning us, is added to a verb in the plural no dagesh is placed in the nun. Compare, shamarnu (we kept), and katavnu (we wrote) (Filwarg). and always omit the dagesh in the nun in order to differentiate between mi-mennu in the plural and mi-mennu in Out of him⁷⁹. (mi-mennu) shall come forth the cornerstone (Zech. 10:4). In the latter, nu is a third person singular suffix and has a dagesh placed in the nun in accordance with the grammatical rule.⁸⁰ signifying the third person singular always receives a dagesh. Compare, yishmerenno (Filwarg). However, all the books coming out of the Land of Israel⁸¹ have a dagesh in the nun of mi-mennu both in the singular and in the plural because the nun of mi-menni (from me)⁸². This appears to be a scribal error. It is clear from the context that we should read mi-menni (Filwarg, Krinsky). I.E.’s point is that mi-mennu in the plural receives a dagesh despite the rule because mi-menni in the singular also should not have received a dagesh. in the singular has a dagesh despite the rule.⁸³ generally does not receive a dagesh. For the nuns of ani (I) and necheni (hath led me) in the Lord hath led me (Gen. 24:27)⁸⁴ of the first person suffix (ni) does not receive a dagesh. do not receive a dagesh.Now the word min (from) is doubled,⁸⁵ (from me) is a contraction of min min ni (from from me). the nun of mi-menni receives a dagesh to make up for the missing nun of the second min, and the word is read as if written mi-menni. The nun of the first min is represented by the dagesh in the second mem of mi-menni⁸⁶ in the second mem of mi-menni and the word is therefore pronounced mi-mmenni. The mem is doubled to make up for the missing nun of the first min. See previous note. and the nun of the suffix ni serves as if it were in the place of the one speaking.⁸⁷ Similarly, the nun of mi-munnu in the plural, spelled mem mem nun nun vav (Gen. 23:6), receives a dagesh and is read as if written mi-mennu.⁸⁸ in mi-mennu in the plural is the same as that of mi-menni. The first dagesh (in the second mem) compensates for the missing nun of the first min, and the second one (in the nun) compensates for the missing nun of the second min. For mi-mennu is a compound of min min nu (nu being short for anachnu) in the same way that mi-menni is short for min min ni. The reason that the nun of mi-mennu (of him) in the singular receives a dagesh is to compensate for the swallowed heh,⁸⁹ (heh, vav) is the usual third person suffix. This suffix is missing in mi-mennu (of him). The dagesh in the nun compensates for the missing heh. for it is only in a few instances when the verb yishmor (he will keep) is combined with a third person suffix that we say yishmero (he will keep him). The same is true of the word yikre’o (he shall be called) in whereby he shall be called (Jer. 23:6) and the word yirdefo (shall pursue him) in The enemy shall purse him (Hosea 8:3). The usual form of the third person suffix is yishmerehu (preserve him) (Ps. 41:8). Thus yishmero (he will keep him) is a shortened form. It is similar to hinnehu in and, behold, he (ve-hinnehu) was at his work (Jer. 18:3), in which hinnehu is a compound of hinneh (behold) and hu (he); and to ve-hinneh nitzav (and, lo he stood) (Num. 23:6).⁹⁰ is the long form. Ve-hinneh is the short form, for ve-hinneh nitzav is short for ve-hinnehu nitzav. At other times an additional nun is added,⁹¹ rather than one nun are suffixed to a verb ending in a first person pronoun. as in yeshacharuneni (they will seek me earnestly) and yimtza’uneni (they will find me) in They will seek me earnestly, but they shall not find me (Proverbs 1:28). Similarly, the word tevarakhani (may bless me) in that thy soul may bless me (Gen. 27:19) is pronounced tevarekhanni because of the dagesh in the nun.⁹² doubles the nun. We also find an extra nun in the word yekhabbdaneni (honoreth Me) in whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving honoreth Me (Ps. 50:23) and in the words yesovavenhu (He compassed him about), yevonanehu (He cared for him), and yitzrenhu (He kept him) (Deut. 32:10).⁹³ At other times the third person heh suffix is swallowed by the nun, as in yishmerennu⁹⁴ is doubled to compensate for the missing heh. (kept it in) in and its owner hath not kept it in (Ex. 21:29).