Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Genesis 19:15/אבן עזרא על בראשית י״ט:ט״ו

אוכמו. ויאמר ר' יונה הספרדי המדקדק כי לא יתכן לומר וכמו עלה השחר ושכח "ורבו כמו רבו" (זכרי' יו"ד ח):

1AND WHEN THE MORNING AROSE. Rabbi Jonah, the Spanish grammarian,²² said that it is ungrammatical to say u-khemo alah ha-shachar (and when arose the morning).²³ (and when the morning arose). The usual Biblical syntax for a clause such as ours is verb, noun, alah ha-shachar, rather than ha-shachar alah (Krinsky). Hence Ibn Janah’s comments that kemo cannot come before a verb in the perfect. However, Rabbi Jonah seems to have forgotten the verse ve-ravu kemo ravu (and they shall increase as they have increased) (Zech. 10:8).²⁴ is connected to ravu, a verb in the perfect.

בויאיצו. ויציקו כמו אצים לאמר (שמות ה יג):

2THEN THE ANGELS HASTENED. Va-ya’itzu (hastened) means they pressured. Compare, And the taskmasters were urgent (atzim), saying (Ex. 5:13).