Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 12:15/אבן עזרא על בראשית י״ב:ט״ו
אויהללו. קל הלמ"ד הראשון להקל על הלשון והוא ראוי להדגש וכמוה ואתפללה (דניאל ט ד)
1[AND PRAISED]. The dagesh which should have been placed in the first lamed of va-yehalelu36 (they praised) is a pi’el. According to the rules of Hebrew grammar a dagesh is placed in the middle letter of the root in a verb conjugated in the pi’el. (and praised) is omitted in order to simplify the word’s pronunciation.37 is, as noted above, a pi’el and should thus have a dagesh in its middle root letter. However, a dagesh would double the lamed. Thus the word would read as if there were three lameds in it, viz., va-yehallelu, and complicate its pronunciation. Va-etpalelah (and I prayed) (Dan. 9:4) is identical.38 is in the hitpa’el. Here, too, a dagesh is placed in the middle root letter. However, it is omitted in our word for the reasons indicated in note 37.
בוַתַּקח האשה, מהבנין הכבד הנוסף, ואם לא נמצא, והשלם וַתִּשְלְכִי (יחז' טז ה):
2AND THE WOMAN WAS TAKEN. Va-tukkach (and she was taken) is a hofal. This is so even though it is not found in the hifil.39 is the passive form of hifil. If a word is found in the passive voice we would expect it to be found in the active voice as well. However, this is not the case with the root lamed, kof, chet, which is found in the hofal and not in the hifil. Va-tushlekhi (but thou wast cast out) (Ezek. 16:5) is an example of a hofal wherein the entire root is present.40 (take) the lamed drops out in the imperfect. In shin, lamed, caf (cast) no letter drops out. It belongs to those verbs classified as shelemim, whole roots.