Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Exodus 2:9/אבן עזרא על שמות ב׳:ט׳
אהיליכי. כמו היניקי כי שנים שרשים הם, ילך, גם הלך, והטעם אחד, כי אין הה"א מאותיות המשך על כן ה"א אחרת כמוה ועוד כי האל"ף גם היו"ד הוי"ו ימצאו בתוך המלה, פעם נכתבים, ופעם נחים נמצאים במבטא לא במכתב, ופעם נעדרים והה"א לעולם באמצע היא נראית ומלת בלטיהם (למטה ז כב) איננה כמו בלהטיהם (שם שם יא) כאשר אפרש:
1TAKE. Helikhi (take) is like heniki (nurse)113 (and nurse it) is a combination of ve-heniki (and nurse) and oto (it). I.E. points out that both helikhi and heniki are one and the same form, that is, peh, yod, hifil imperatives. because the roots yod, lamed, kaf and heh, lamed, kaf are two roots with one meaning.114 (take) literally means go. I.E. maintains that there are two roots in Hebrew for the word go, heh, lamed, kaf, as in the word halakhti, and yod, lamed, kaf, as in the word va-yelekh. I.E. believes that the root of helikhi is yod, lamed, kaf, the heh being the heh of the hifil conjugation. See note 112. For the heh is not one of the implied vowel letters.115, and yod are implied in the vowels kamatz, cholam, and tzere; i.e., the words vocalized with these vowels are sounded as if followed by an alef, vav, or yod. Now when a letter is implied in a vowel it is occasionally omitted. If the heh was an implied letter then it is possible that the root of helikhi is heh, lamed, kaf with the heh implied. For the heh of helikhi is not a root letter. It is rather the heh of the hifil imperative. Therefore the other heh is also like it.116 of the root (the other heh) should have appeared in the word helikhi; i.e., if helikhi came from the root heh, lamed, kaf the word should have been spelled hehlikhi. Furthermore, the alef and likewise the yod and the vav are found in the middle of a word at times written and at times silent, that is, pronounced but unwritten,117 but the heh is always visible when in the middle of a word. The words be-latehem (with their secret arts) (Ex. 7:22) and be-lahatehem (with their secret arts) (Ex. 7:11) are not, as I will explain,118 one and the same word.119, the second one with a heh. Prima facie, they are the same word with the missing heh implied. I.E. says no. He believes them to be two distinctive words with roots of their own.
בותאמר. אמר הגאון כי היליכי הם שתי מלות ולא דבר נכונה, רק היא מלה אחת על משקל והיניקהו לי, כמו שאמרתי, והוא מהבנין הכבד הנוסף, גם אמר שהוא כמו "הא לך", והנה הא, כמו וגם אני הא (יחז' טז מג), ואנחנו לא מצאנו בכל המקרא לנקבה ליכי כ"א לך רק היא מלה אחת:
2AND PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER SAID. Saadiah Gaon says that helikhi (take) is a composite of two words.120 imperative from the root yod, lamed, kaf but rather a composite of the words he and lekhi. However, the Gaon spoke incorrectly. It is, as I have noted, one word following the paradigm of ve-henikehu (and nurse it) in and nurse it for me. The word is in the hifil. The Gaon also said that helikhi is a composite of the words he and lakh,121 means here is. Compare, he lakhem zera (lo, here is seed for you) (Gen. 47:2). Lakh (lekhi in the feminine) means to you. He lekhi thus means here is to you; i.e., take it. the meaning of he being the same as he (behold) in Behold (heh), I will also bring thy way upon thy head (Ezek. 16:43).122, etc. However, we do not find the form lekhi used in Scripture when a female is being addressed. The form employed by Scripture is lakh.123 is a composite then it must be made up of the words he (here is) and lekhi (to you). However, the word for “to you” in the feminine is lakh, not lekhi. Helikhi (take) is thus one word.
גותניקהו. מעלומי העי"ן מן הפעלים השניים הנראים, והנה בפ' אחד שנים שרשים והטעם אחד, וככה היטיבי נגן (ישעי' כג טז) צווי, כמו הליכי, אך הטיבו כל אשר דברו (דבר' ה כד) כמו "והם הביאו אליו" (שמות לו ג) מעלומי העי"ן:
3AND NURSED IT. Va-tenikehu comes from a root wherein the middle radical is dropped and the other two remain.124. Its root is nun, vav, kof. Observe, we have in our verse two roots with one meaning.125 (and nurse it) from the root yod, nun, kof, and va-tenikehu (and nursed it) from the root nun, vav, kof. It is the same case with the word hetivi (make good) in make good melody (Is. 23:16) which is an imperative following the paradigm of helikhi (take) and the word hetivu (they have well) in they have well said all that they have spoken (Deut. 15:25), which is like hevi’u (they brought) in And they brought yet unto him (Ex. 36:3), which is a word that drops its middle root letter.126 (make good) comes from the root yod, tet, bet. Hetivu (they have well) comes from the root tet, vav, bet.