Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Exodus 12:21/אבן עזרא על שמות י״ב:כ״א
אויקרא משה לכל זקני ישראל. והם יאמרו לקהל:
1AND MOSES CALLED FOR ALL THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL. So that they would tell the people.
בוקחו לכם צאן. בעשור לחדש כאשר צוהו השם:
2AND TAKE YOU LAMBS. On the tenth day, as he was commanded by God.364
גאמר המדקדק כי ושחטו הפסח מהבנין הדגוש, ולא דבר נכונה, כי ושחטו אותו כל קהל עדת ישראל (פ' ו) הוא מהבנין הקל, והשי"ן קמוץ כמשפט בעבור הנח הנעלם, רק ושחטו הפסח לשון צווי מהבנין הקל, ולא מצינו מזאת הגזרה בכל המקרא מהבנין הדגוש, והיה ראוי השי"ן להיות חירק תחתיה כמו משכו, רק בעבור אות הגרון שהוא אחריו נפתח השי"ן כמשפטם לעשות כך כמו בַחֲרו לכם (יהושע כד טו) ורבים ככה, על כן יהיה השי"ן בפתח גדול בלשון צווי ושניהם מבנין אחד:
3[AND KILL THE PASSOVER LAMB.] The grammarian365.(Weiser). says that ve-shachatu (and kill) in and kill the passover lamb is a pi’el.366 imperative. Compare, dabberu, hallelu However, he spoke incorrectly. Ve-shachatu (shall kill it) in and the whole congregation of Israel shall kill it (v. 6) is a kal.367 It368 in verse 6. is properly vocalized with a kamatz beneath the shin because of the silent missing letter.369 (a silent missing letter) is always placed beneath the first letter in the kal perfect. I.E. refers to the kamatz as a silent missing letter because the kamatz vowel implies an alef. See I.E. on Ex. 2:4 and the notes thereto. However, ve-shachatu (and kill) in and kill the passover lamb is imperative in the kal. We do not find this root in the pi’el in any place in Scripture.370 in our verse cannot be a pi’el. The shin of ve-shachatu371 should have been vocalized with a chirik,372 as miskhu (draw)373 plural imperatives are vocalized with a chirik beneath their first letters. is. However, since the shin is followed by a guttural374. it was vocalized with a pattach, as is Hebrew practice. Compare, bacharu (choose) in choose you (Josh. 24:15).375, not bicharu because a guttural, a chet, follows the bet. There are many other similar instances.376. The shin377. is therefore vocalized with a long pattach in the imperative. Both words378 (vocalized with a kamatz beneath the shin) in verse 6 and ve-shachatu (vocalized with a pattach beneath the shin) in our verse. are from the same conjugation.379. However, shachatu in verse 6 is a perfect and shachatu in our verse is in the imperative.