Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Exodus 22:25/אבן עזרא על שמות כ״ב:כ״ה

אאם חבל תחבל. אחר שאמר שלמת רעך שהוא לשון נקבה, וככה אחר כי היא כסותה לבדה אמר תשיבנו, והטעם על החבול שהוא לשון זכר, אמר הגאון מה טעם לקחת החבול ביום וישיבנו בלילה והוא השיב בעבור שירא שלא ילוה מאחר, ויתנהו לו חבול תחתיו:

1IF THOU AT ALL TAKE THY NEIGHBOR’S GARMENT TO PLEDGE. After saying salmat re’ekha (thy neighbor’s garment), which is the feminine,⁶⁴ is in the feminine. and similarly, after saying, ki hi kesuto levaddah (for that is his only covering) (v. 26).⁶⁵ (his covering) is in the feminine. Actually, ki hi kesuto levaddah follows teshivennu. Scripture says, teshivennu (thou shalt restore it).⁶⁶ is masculine. Scripture should have used teshevennah since both salmat and kesut are feminine nouns. Scripture reads teshivennu because it refers to the pledge.⁶⁷ (pledge) is masculine. Teshivennu (thou shalt restore it) does not mean thou shalt return the garment but rather thou shalt return the pledge (see previous note). It should be noted that the noun chavul is not explicitly stated in the verse but is implied in the verbs chavol tachbol (take to pledge). Saadiah Gaon asks, what reason is there to take the pledge during the day and to return it at night? He answers, because the lender fears that the borrower might secure an additional loan from someone else and give him the pledge as security for the loan.