Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 2:12/אבן עזרא על בראשית ב׳:י״ב
אוזהב , אמר הגאון כי הבדולח הם האבנים הקטנים עגולים היוצאים מהמים שהם דקים ודמה המן אליהם, והכתוב אמר על עין המן לבדו יאמר כי השהם אבן יקרה לבנה והיא צחה ואנחנו לא נדע,
1AND THE GOLD. Saadiah Gaon renders bedolach (bedellium) as pearls. He compares manna to them. However, Scripture merely says that manna had the color of bedolach48 resembles manna. As manna is round, so are bedolach round. This strengthens his interpretation that bedolach means pearls, for the Bible says that the appearance of the manna was like bedolach (Cherez). (Num. 11:7). The Gaon also says that shoham (onyx) is a precious clear white stone. The fact of the matter is that we do not know the precise meaning of either of these two items.