Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 1:22/אבן עזרא על בראשית א׳:כ״ב
אויברך, טעם פרו ורבו תפרו ותרבו וכן ומות בהר (דבר' לב נ) כי אין זה בכחו ובידו:
1AND GOD BLESSED. The meaning of Be fruitful, and multiply is, “You shall be fruitful and you shall multiply.” And die in the mount (Deut. 32:50) is similar because it is not in one’s power to determine the time of one’s death.132 is to be rendered: and you shall die in the mount. For we cannot determine the time of our death. Similarly one can have intercourse but one cannot guarantee conception. Hence Be fruitful, and multiply, like and die, is not an imperative.