Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Genesis 11:9/אבן עזרא על בראשית י״א:ט׳

אבבל. שתי מלות ואל"ף חסר וכן בגד (בראשית ל, יא) ובמה:

1BABEL. Bavel (Babel) is made up of the words ba (came) and bel (confusion),⁴³ is a noun from the root bet, lamed, lamed (Weiser). Bavel thus means a confusion came. with the alef missing. Bagad⁴⁴ of ba in bagad is missing. Bagad is a compound of ba and gad. (Fortune is come) (Gen. 30:11) and Bamah (high place) (Ezek. 20:29)⁴⁵ (a high place) as coming from the word ba (visit) and mah (what). Thus the alef is missing. are similar.