Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 15:2/אבן עזרא על בראשית ט״ו:ב׳
אויו"ד ערירי כיו"ד אכזרי וסר ממלת "ערירים יהיו" (ויקרא כ כא) והטעם כאשר אמר המתרגם:
1[CHILDLESS.] The yod of ariri (childless) is like the yod of achzari (cruel).1 The yod is dropped in the plural. Compare, they shall be childless (aririm)2, not aririyyim (Weiser). The point is, even though childless is always written ariri and never arir, the second yod never appears in the plural (Krinsky). (Lev. 20:21). Its meaning is as Onkelos explains it.3 as childless.
במשק ביתי, על משקל מכס, והוא מפעלי הכפל, מגזרת "שוקק בו" (ישעי' לג ד), כטעם דֶבֶק בסגול ובן מושך עצמו ואחר עמו, וכן הוא, ובן משק ביתי, הוא בן דמשק אליעזר:
2HE THAT SHALL BE POSSESSOR OF MY HOUSE. Meshek (possessor of) follows the paradigm of meches (levy) (Num. 31:28). It has a root whose second and third letters are identical. It comes from the same root as shokek4. (leap) in leap upon it (Is. 33:4). It means the same as the word devek (glue)5 is like devek; both indicate attachment and both are vocalized segol, segol. According to Cherez, I.E. similarly understands shokek in Is. 33:4. In Zephaniah 2:9, I.E. explains ben meshek as one who never leaves the house. and is also vocalized with a segol.6. 38 omits “with a segol.” It reads: it means the same as glue. The word ben is to be read as if written twice. The verse is to read as follows: and he that shall be possessor of my house (ben meshek beti) is Eliezer, a native of Damascus (ben damesek Eliezer).7. I.E. suggests that the word ben be placed before Damascus.