Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 16:2/אבן עזרא על בראשית ט״ז:ב׳
אאולי אבנה. מגזרת בן, ועוד יתכן שהבן הוא כדמות בניין, והאב כמו היסוד. ובן חסר ה"א וכן כל חי תאר, או פעל עבר:
1IT MAY BE THAT I SHALL BE BUILDED UP. Ibbaneh (I shall be builded up) comes from the same root as ben (son).1 (I shall be builded up) means I shall have a son. It is possible that the word for son (ben) comes from the root bet, nun, heh (to build), with the heh dropped because, metaphorically speaking, the father serves as the foundation and the son as the building.2 is obviously bet, nun, heh. Chai (life) in the third person perfect and in the adjectival form is similar.3.
בוישמע אברם. אמר לה כן:
2AND ABRAM HEARKENED. Abraham said yes to her.