Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Exodus 34:8/אבן עזרא על שמות ל״ד:ח׳
אוימהר. ריקי מוח אמרו כי מהר משה כאשר הזכיר רבעים שלא יאמר חמשים, וזאת טעות גדולה כי אין הדעת סובלת שיפסוק הוא דברי השם בעוד שהיה מדבר, כי היה בן מות לשעתו רק כאשר נפסק הקול מיד מהר משה להתפלל ועוד כי הנה כתוב כן בעשרת הדברות והנה כל ישראל שמעו זה, ואיך יעלה על לב משה שיאמר הקב"ה וחמשים, ובעבור שהזכיר ונקה לא ינקה לא הוצרך לומר לשונאיו:
1AND MOSES MADE HASTE. Those whose heads are empty say that when God said, and unto the fourth generation (v. 7) Moses hastened134. lest the Lord add, and unto the fifth generation. This is a great error. The mind rebels against the thought that Moses would interrupt the Lord while He was speaking, for if Moses acted in this manner he would have immediately incurred the death penalty. It was only after the voice ceased135 that Moses hastened to pray. Furthermore, the Decalogue reads the same.136 Now all of Israel heard this.137. How then could Moses even think that God would add, unto the fifth generation. There was no need to add “of them that hate Me”138, as the Decalogue does. See Ex. 20:5. because He mentions, and that will by no means clear the guilty.139 means that God will punish the children of the wicked if they follow in their father’s footsteps.
בומלת ויקד. מבעלי הכפל מגזרת קדקד ששם קדקדו בארץ על משקל ויתם הכסף (ברא' מז טו), וַיִקְדו (למעלה ד לא) כמו וַיִתמו (דבר' לד ח) ואל תשמע אל המוסיפין שרשים מלבם בעבור המשקל ועל זה הדרך ידמו כאבן (למעלה טו טז):
2[AND BOWED.] The word va-yikkod comes from a double root.140. It is related to the word kadkod (skull). Moses placed his skull on the ground. Va-yikkod follows the paradigm of va-yittom (spent)141 is tav, mem, mem. The last mem is dropped in va-yittom. The same is true of the final mem of the root of va-yikkod. Furthermore, va-yikkod has the same vocalization as va-yittom. in and when the money was all spent (Gen. 47:15). Similarly va-yikkedu (then they bowed their heads) (Ex. 4:31) is similar to va-yittemu (were ended) (Deut. 34:8).142 Pay no heed to those who add roots because of a word’s form.143 is vocalized like a word whose first letter is a nun. Compare, va-yippol from the root nun, peh, lamed. Some commentators therefore concluded that va-yikkod comes from a root beginning with a nun; i.e., va-yikkod comes from the root nun, kof, dalet and yiddemu from the root nun, dalet, mem. Hence I.E.’s comment. See I.E. on Ex. 4:31. The word yiddemu (they are still) in they are as still as a stone (Ex. 15:16) should be understood in this manner.144 comes from the root dalet, mem, mem. It does not come from the root nun, dalet, mem.