Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 11:3/אבן עזרא על בראשית י״א:ג׳
אנלבנה. מגזרת לבנים ואף על פי שהחבור עם מ"ם לשון נקבות הן, כמו נשים ופלגשים, והנה שרפו הלבנים עד שעמדו וזהו הבנין התקיף שלא ימס במים ולא באש:
1LET US MAKE BRICK. Nilbenah (let us make brick) comes from the same root as levenim (bricks). Even though levenim ends in a mem, it is a feminine word.15. The singular of levenim is levenah, hence the feminine va-tehi in conjunction with ha-levenah. Such irregular feminine plural endings are also found in the words nashim (women) and pilagshim (concubines). They baked the bricks until they became hard. A building made from such material is very strong and will not dissolve in water or fall apart when burned.
בותהי להם הלבנה לאבן. תחת אבן:
2AND THEY HAD BRICK FOR STONE. In place of stone.
גוהחמר. תחת טיט ופי' כמשמעו בלשון ישמעאל ואלה בוני המגדל לא היו טפשים שיחשבו לעלות אל השמים גם לא פחדו מהמבול, כי נח ובניו שנשבע להם השם שם היו וכלם סרים אל משמעתם כי בניהם היו והנה הכתוב גלה חפצם וסוף דעתם לבנות עיר גדולה למושבם ולבנות מגדל גבוה להיות להם לאות ולשם ולתהלה, לדעת מקום העיר לההולכים חוצה כרועי המקנה גם יעמוד שמם אחריהם כל ימי המגדל, וזה שאמר הכתוב "ונעשה לנו שם"
3AND SLIME. In place of mortar. The meaning of chemar (slime) is the same as its Arabic cognate.16 in Arabic is a red earthen substance (Weiser). The builders of the tower were not fools to believe that they could actually ascend the heavens. Neither were they afraid that God would bring another flood, for Noah and his children, to whom the Almighty swore never to bring another deluge, were there and being descendents of Noah and his children they were subservient to them.17. 109a. Scripture reveals their intention and ultimate goal. They wanted to build a great city to dwell in, and a very tall tower to ensure their fame and glory and to serve as a sign indicating the place of the city to those outside it, such as shepherds. The tower, as long as it stood, would also perpetuate their names after their deaths. This is the meaning of and let us make us a name.