Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 18:21/אבן עזרא על בראשית י״ח:כ״א
אוי"א הכצעקתה הבאה אלי. אם כן עשו אעשה בהם כלה:
1[I WILL GO DOWN NOW, AND SEE WHETHER THEY HAVE DONE ALTOGETHER ACCORDING TO THE CRY OF IT.] Some say this verse is to be interpreted as follows: If they have done so then I will destroy them (kalah).41 (altogether) means destruction. If they have done so is I.E.’s paraphrase of whether they have done according to the cry of it, which is come unto me.
בואם לא אדעה. ארחם אותם וכן יפרשו וידע אלהים (שמות ב כה) ועל דעתי פירושו אראה אם עשו כלם כרעה הזאת, כי האמת שהכל ידע כל חלק על דרך כל, ולא על דרך חלק, והעד כי זה הפירוש הוא האמת. ואם הוא סוד גדול שאמר אברהם האף תספה, ונפתח ה"א האף ואם הוא לתימא בעבור האל"ף שהוא מהגרון, שמשפט לשון הקדש להרחיב אשר לפניו:
2AND IF NOT, I WILL KNOW. Eda’ah means I will have pity upon them. They similarly interpret va-yeda Elohim (and God took cognizance of them)42 means God pitied them. (Ex. 2:25). However, I believe that this verse is to be explained as follows: I will go down and see if all of them (kalah) have done this evil.43 (altogether) is to be rendered as all, as in Ex. 11:1 (Krinsky). Have done this evil is a paraphrase of according to the cry of it, which is come unto me. For in truth,44 God who is All knows the individual in a general rather than in a detailed manner.45. Nachmanides criticized Ibn Ezra on this point for introducing alien philosophical concepts into Judaism. Cf. Nachmanides’ commentary on the Pentateuch, on this verse. Other commentaries could not accept the literal implication of Ibn Ezra’s words and harmonized his comments to conform to traditional thinking. See Krinsky. Some argue that this comment did not come from I.E.’s hand but was inserted in the text by a misguided student. Proof that this interpretation is correct, although it is a great mystery, is Abraham’s plea, Wilt thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked (v. 23).46 The heh of ha’af (wilt) is vocalized with a pattach 47 is vocalized with a chataf pattach. even though it is an interrogative heh, because it is followed by an alef, which is a guttural, and it is the rule in Hebrew to elongate the vowel before gutturals.48 preceding the gutturals alef, heh, chet, ayin is vocalized with a pattach, rather than with a chataf pattach. When the preceding letters are vocalized with a long kamatz, the interrogative is vocalized with a segol.