Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 15:10/אבן עזרא על בראשית ט״ו:י׳
אויבתר. חתכם והפרידם, וכמוהו על הרי בתר (ש"ה ב יז), בין בתריו (ירמי' לד יח):
1AND DIVIDED THEM IN THE MIDST. He cut them up and separated the pieces. Bater (split) in Upon the split mountains (hare bater)17 (Cant. 2:17) and betarav (parts of) in between the parts thereof (betarav) (Jer. 34:18) are analogous to va-yevater (and divided them).
בויתן איש בתרו. דע כי מלת איש כמו בעל, וכן "איש מלחמה" (שמות טו ג) "והאיש גבריאל" (דניאל ט כא), ופי' בעל כמו עצם הדבר, וכן איש בליעל (ש"ב, כ, א), סמוך גם כן בחיות וביריעות "אשה אל אחותה" (שמות כו ג) נתן בתר כל איש לקראת רעהו כי הבהמה והאדם שנים המה:
2AND LAID EACH HALF OVER AGAINST THE OTHER. Note that the word ish (each)18 usually means a man. However, our verse reads, ish bitro (each half) and deals with animals. Hence I.E. explains that ish does not necessarily mean man. Here it refers to animals. Its meaning is, the half of each animal. means the same as ba’al, which means the thing itself. Similarly, ish (man) in The Lord is a man (ish) of war;19 as a man of war, as God is not a man. It must mean: the Lord is a being who wages war (Cherez). (Ex. 15:3); and ish (man) in the man (ve-ha-ish) Gabriel20 (Dan. 9:21); and ish (fellow) in a base fellow (ish beliyya’al) (II Sam. 20:1). In the latter verse it is in the construct.21 is in the construct with beliyya’al. Cherez writes that he does not understand this comment at all. Filwarg emends ish beliyya’al to ish-ba’al (II Kings 1:8), the point being that we find ish and ba’al in apposition; i.e., ish and ba’al mean the same. Thus ish-ba’al is similar to admat-afar in Dan. 12:2, where admat means the same as afar. Ish is also used in reference to the living creatures seen by Ezekiel,22 (ishah) to another (Ezek. 1:9). and to the curtains of the Tabernacle, viz., Five curtains shall be coupled together one (ishah) to another (Ex. 26:3). The meaning of our clause is that he placed the piece of each one (ish) over against its counterpart. The term ish is to be so interpreted because man and beast are two different beings.23 must be interpreted as meaning a thing, the very thing. Otherwise it could not refer both to man and beast since they are totally different beings.
גהצפור לא בתר. התור והגוזל כי צפור שם כלל:
3BUT THE BIRDS DIVIDED HE NOT. The turtle dove and the young dove. Tzippor (birds) is a general term.24 refers both to the turtle dove and to the young dove.