Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 26:5/אבן עזרא על בראשית כ״ו:ה׳
אוישמור משמרתי. שם כלל כל מה שהוא חייב לשמור ממצות וחוקים ותורות, ויתכן המצוה "לך לך" (בראשית יב א) גם "קח נא את בנך" (בראשית כב כב):
1AND KEPT MY CHARGE. Mishmarti (my charge) is a general term for all that Abraham was obligated to observe from the commandments (mitzvot), statutes (chukkim) and laws (torot). It is possible that the commandments spoken of in our verse refer to Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred etc. (Gen. 12:1), and Take now thy son…even Isaac…and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains etc. (Gen. 22:2).1 refers to Gen. 12:1 and Gen. 22:2, as these were commandments. Statutes pertain to Abraham’s emulating God’s ways and laws. It should be noted that I.E. explains chok to mean a logical law. This is in contradistinction to Rashi, who explains chukkim as irrational laws. I.E seems to imply that Abraham did not observe all the laws, statutes and commandments contained in the Torah. This is contrary to the Rabbinic sage Rav, who held that Abraham observed the entire Torah, as seen from the verse because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge etc. (Yoma 28b).
בוהחוקים. הם חוקות השם שילך האדם אחרי מעשיו כאשר אפרש בפסוק שעטנז (ויקרא יט יט), ואלה החוקות נטועות בלב, והתורה שמל עצמו, ובניו ועבדיו, ובפסוק "והתורה והמצוה" (שמות כד יב) אבארם היטיב:
2The statutes spoken of in our text pertain to the works of God that a man should uphold. These statutes are based on logic.2 I will elaborate on this term (chukkim) in my comments on the verse dealing with the prohibition of wearing a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together (Lev. 19:19). The torot (laws) mentioned in our verse relate to Abraham’s circumcision of himself, his children and his servants. I will fully explain the meaning of the terms torah and mitzvah in my comments on the verse and the law and the commandment (Ex. 24:12).