Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 29:2/אבן עזרא על בראשית כ״ט:ב׳
אוירא. מלה זרה בעבור שנפתח היו"ד והמלה מבנין הקל, ואין אחר היו"ד אחת מאותיות הגרון שהיא משפט להרחיב אשר לפניהם ואין ראוי לאדם לחסר הוי"ו או שיאמר כן עם חברי היו"ד שהם סימני המשרתים, ולפי דעתי כאשר רצו לאמר מן ראה, על משקל "וַיִשְבְ ממנו שבי" (במדבר כא א) והנה חסר ה"א ראה גם לא יתכן שיהיה האל"ף נראה בסוף המלה, והנה ישאר בחירק תחת היו"ד והנה יהיה משקלו "וייף בגדלו" (יחז' לא ז) ויתערב עם לשון ירה על כן פתחו היו"ד:
1AND HE LOOKED. Va-yar (and he looked)1, meaning to see. is an irregular form, for though a kal, its yod is vocalized with a pattach notwithstanding the fact that it is not followed by a guttural, in which case the preceding letter is normally vocalized with a pattach.2 (and he went up) from the root ayin, lamed, heh; va-ya’as (and he made) from the root ayin, sin, heh. Furthermore, this form (va-yar) cannot drop the conversive vav3. nor come with any conjugational prefix but the yod.4 (and I saw), va-tere (and you saw), va-nere (and we saw). One does not say, va-ar, va-tar, va-nar. Thus va-yar is not vocalized like the rest of the forms in its conjugational paradigm wherein the prefixes are vocalized with a tzere rather than a pattach. I believe that when one wants to conjugate the root resh, alef, heh in the third person according to the paradigm of va-yishb in and took some of them captive (va-yishb) (Num. 21:1),5 is shin, bet, heh. The third person masculine perfect of this form is yishbeh, with a vav conversive, va-yishbeh; in the shortened form, va-yishb. Similarly va-yar is short for va-yireh. the heh would be dropped6 and the alef unsounded.7 the second root letter receives a sheva, however, this cannot be done in va-yar as the alef cannot receive a sheva. Nevertheless, the chirik would remain beneath the yod.8. The word would thus be pronounced va-yir and it would follow the paradigm of va-yif9. (thus was it fair) in va-yif be-godlo (thus was it fair in its greatness) (Ez. 31:7) and would be thought to mean, and he threw, from the root yod, resh, heh (throw). To avoid this possibility our word (va-yar) is vocalized with a pattach beneath the yod.