Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Exodus 25:18/אבן עזרא על שמות כ״ה:י״ח
אועשית. אמרו קדמונינו, כי צורת כרובים כשני נערים, ופירשו כרוביא בלשון ארמי והכ"ף משרת, ונכון דברו שהיו כצורת ילדים אם היא קבלה, ושמו המלה לזכר, כמו מלת חנוכה, כי כ"ף כרוב שרש, והעד והיו הכרובים (פ' כ) כי הה"א ה"א הדעת ואינה לתימה כה"א, הכמכת מכהו הכהו (ישעי' כז ז) וכאשר חפשתי על מלת כרובים, הנה הוא צורות כמו אַתְּ כרוב ממשח הסוכך (יחז' כח יד), אמר יחזקאל כי ראה ה' פנים לחיה, ואחד מהם פני שור, ובמקום אחר על החיה בעצמה תחת שור פני הכרוב (שם י, יד), והטעם הצורה שהזכיר בפעם הראשונה ואמר באחרונה היא החיה אשר ראיתי תחת אלהי ישראל בנהר כבר ואדע כי כרובים המה (שם פ' כ) וקרא כל הד' כרובים והנה הכ"ף שרש:
1AND THOU SHALT MAKE TWO CHERUBIM. Our sages said that the cherubim looked like two youths. They said that the kaf in keruvim is a preposition and the word keruvim (cherubim) means the same as the Aramaic word ke-ravia (like youths).160 55b; Hagigah 13b. See I.E. on Gen. 3:22 and the notes thereto. Now if they had a tradition that the cherubim were youth-like images, then what they said was true. They interpreted the word in a manner that would recall the tradition.161 does not really mean like youths. However, the sages interpreted the word that way in order to recall their tradition. They did the same with the word chanukkah.162 is made up of the words chanu kaf heh [they rested on the 25th (of Kislev)]. This is obviously not the real meaning of the word chanukkah. The rabbis interpreted it that way so that people do not forget that Chanukkah falls on the 25th of Kislev. The kaf in the word keruv (cherub) is a root letter,163 as the word hakeruvim (the cherubim) in And the cherubim shall (v. 20) proves.164 of keruvim was a preposition then Scripture would not read ha-keruvim, for the definite article is not prefixed to a preposition. The heh of ha-keruvim indicates the definite article. It is not an interrogative heh165 is, the cherubim. like the heh in ha-kemakkat (or is he slain) in Or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that were slain by Him (Is. 27:7).166 before a prepositional kaf. Thus if the heh of ha-keruvim was an interrogative heh, there would be no proof that the kaf of keruvim is a root letter. Now when I searched for the meaning of the word keruvim (cherubim) I found that it refers to various forms. Compare, Thou wast the far-covering cherub (keruv) (Ezek. 28:14).167 Ezekiel said that each one of the beasts which he beheld168 had four faces (Ezek. 1:6). One of these faces was the face of an ox (Ezek. 1:10). However, elsewhere he describes this very creature as having the face of a cherub in place of the face of an ox (Ezek. 10:14). Its meaning169 is that the creature had the image that Ezekiel had mentioned earlier.170 (Ezek. 10:14), Ezekiel means it had the already mentioned image, namely, the image mentioned in Ezek. 1:6; i.e., it had the face of an ox. We thus see that the term cherub refers to an image. At the end Ezekiel says, This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim (Ezek. 10:20). Ezekiel thus called the four creatures cherubim. The kaf in the word keruvim thus is a root letter.
במקשה. כמו שוה וכמוהו ותחת מעשה מקשה (ישעי' ג כד), ופי' מעשה, כמו לא עשה את שפמו (ש"ב יט כה), וטעם מפני שהיה מרחק כל כרוב שוה מקצה הכפורת:
2OF BEATEN WORK. Mikshah (of beaten work) means equal. The word mikshah (the same size) in And instead of hair trimmed to the same size (ma’aseh mikshah) baldness171 (Is. 3:24)is similar. Ma’aseh (trimmed)172 has the same meaning as asah (trimmed) in nor trimmed his beard (II Sam. 19:25).173 usually means work of. Hence I.E.’s comment. Its meaning174 (of beaten work shalt thou make them). is that each cherub was equally distant from the edge of the ark cover.