Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 11:29/אבן עזרא על בראשית י״א:כ״ט
אוהזכיר שם אשת נחור להודיע יחוס רבקה ורחל ולאה, וקדמונינו ז"ל אמרו שיסכה היא שרה ואם קבלה נקבל והאומרים כי אברהם היה עקר ולא שרה אמרו היפך הכתוב והעד ישמעאל בנו, ובני קטורה, והאומרים כי שרה היתה אחות אברהם איננו ישר בעיני זה הטעם, ואלו היה כן היה הכתוב אומר, ויקח תרה את אברם בנו ושרי בתו אשת אברם בנו, גם כן אלו היתה אחות לוט היה הכתוב אומר ואת שרי בת בנו כאשר כתב על לוט ויתכן שנחור בנו הלך בתחלה אל הרן או בא אחר אביו, והנכון בעיני שפרשת לך לך (בראשית יב א) שאמר השם לאברם קודם זה הפסוק שהוא "ויקח תרח" וכמוהו בתורה באחד לחודש השני בשנה השנית (במדבר א א) ואחר כן בחדש הראשון בשנה השנית (שמות מ יז), והעד שאמר דכתוב ללכת ארצה כנען (בראשית יא לא) וכאשר בא תרח אל חרן ישר המקום בעיניו וישב שם ומת ואין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה:
1[AND THE NAME OF NAHOR’S WIFE, MILCAH.] The Bible gives the name of Nahor’s wife in order to let us know the pedigree of Rebekah, Rachel and Leah.60 Our sages, of blessed memory, identified Iscah with Sarah.61 69b. If this is a tradition we will accept it.62 Those who say that Abraham rather than Sarah was sterile are saying the opposite of what Scripture says.63. Additional proof that they are wrong is the fact that Abraham sired Ishmael and had children with Keturah.I do not find the explanation of those who say that Sarah was Abraham’s sister to be acceptable.64 (Gen. 20:12). I.E. in his comment on Gen. 20:12 argues that Abraham invented a fact in order to excuse his actions. If Sarah was really Abraham’s sister, Scripture would have stated,65 And Terah took Abram his son, and Sarai his daughter, the wife of Abram his son. Similarly if Sarah was the sister of Lot66 the Bible would have stated, “and Sarai the daughter of his son,” as it does in the case of Lot.67 (v. 31). It does not say the same with regard to Sarai. It merely says, and Sarai his daughter-in-law. It is possible that Terah’s son Nahor left for Haran before his father. On the other hand he may have left for Haran after his father went there.68 It appears to me that the portion containing the command, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee (Gen. 12:1), was conveyed to Abraham before what is recorded in the verse reading, And Terah took Abram…Lot…Sarai…to go into the land of Canaan.69 Similarly elsewhere the Pentateuch states, And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt (Num. 1:1); and then, And it came to pass in the first month in the second year (Ex. 40:17).70 this is a difficult comment. Num. 1:1 follows Ex. 40:17; hence the verses are in chronological sequence. I.E. probably intended to cite Num. 9:1, rather than Ex. 40:17. The former literally reads: In the second year…in the first month. He apparently cited from memory and misquoted. Perhaps he wanted to note that Num. 7 records the setting up of the Tabernacle and the sacrifices then offered by the princes of the tribes. However, Ex. 40:17 tells us that the tabernacle was erected on the first day of the first month in the second year following the Exodus. We thus see that what is described in Num. 1 occurred after what is described in Num. 7 (Krinsky). Proof of the above71, etc., was told to Abraham before And Terah took, etc. If God had not yet told Abraham to go to Canaan, why did Terah take his family there? I.E. apparently believes that the impetus behind Terah’s journey to Canaan was God’s command to Abraham, recorded in Gen. 12:1 (Weiser). is found in And they went forth…to go into the land of Canaan (v. 31). When Terah came to Haran, the place found favor in his eyes. He settled there and eventually died there. The general rule thus is that the Bible does not always list events in chronological order.