Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 12:8/אבן עזרא על בראשית י״ב:ח׳
אויעתק. מהבנין הכבד הנוסף והוא פועל יוצא: כי "ויעתק צור ממקומו" (איוב יח ד) עומד והפעול אהלה וגם הוא פעול וַיֵט וטעם ויעתק ויסע, והנוח נעלם אחר יו"ד ויט תחת נו"ן שהוא פ"א הפעל וכן ויֵז נצחם (ישעי' סג ג) ושניהם פעלים יוצאים
1AND HE REMOVED. Va-yatek (and he removed) is a transitive verb, in the hifil. However, ve-yetak (removed) in Or shall the rock be removed (ve-yetak) out of its place (Job 18:4) is intransitive. The object of And he removed is his tent.17 (and he removed) is transitive, it does not mean he removed himself but he removed his tent. His tent is also the object of he pitched. The meaning (of va-yatek) is: he caused to move. Va-yet (he pitched) is vocalized with a tzere to make up for the missing nun which is the first root letter of va-yet (he pitched).18 (pitched) is nun, tet, ayin. We would have expected the word to be vocalized with a chirik. Compare, va-yitteh, hence I.E.’s comment. Ve-yez (is dashed) in And their lifeblood is dashed (ve-yez) (Is. 63:3) is similar.19 (is dashed) is nun, zayin, heh. Both are transitive verbs.20 and va-yet (Krinsky) or va-yet and ve-yez (Cherez).
בוטעם מים ממערב, כי למערב א"י הוא הים הגדול הספרדי ואיננו ים אוקיינוס, כי רחוקה היא הארץ הנזכרת ממנו, והנה נסע ממזרח בית אל מערבה עד שב העי מזרח למחנהו
2[ON THE WEST.] The word mi-yam means on the west. Yam (sea) means west because the great Spanish Sea (yam, i.e., the Mediterranean) is the western border of the land of Israel. The latter sea is not the Atlantic, the Atlantic being far from the aforementioned country. Abraham journeyed from east of Beth-el westward until Ai was east of his camp.21
גוטעם ויקרא בשם ד' תפלה או קריאת בני אדם לעבוד השם:
3[AND CALLED UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD.] This means he prayed there. It may also mean that he called upon men to worship the Lord.