Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 30/אבן עזרא על בראשית ל׳
אהבה לי בנים. שתתפלל לשם כאשר עשה אביך:
1GIVE ME CHILDREN. Pray to God as your father did.1
אהתחת אלהים אנכי. כאילו אני במקום השם ויתכן שהתפלל ולא הגיע עת שמוע תפלתו:
1AM I IN GOD’S STEAD. Am I in God’s place. It is possible that Jacob prayed on behalf of Rachel but the time for the acceptance of his prayer on her behalf had not yet arrived.
אואבנה. מפורש בדברי שרה:
1AND I ALSO MAY BE BUILDED UP. I have explained the word ve-ibbaneh (and I also may be builded up) in my comments on Sarah’s use of the same term.2
אדנני. דגושה הנו"ן לחסרון הנו"ן הנוסף:
1JUDGED ME. The second nun of dananni (judged me) has a dagesh to compensate for a missing suffixal nun.3). To make up for this missing nun a dagesh is placed in the suffix ni (Filwarg).
אנפתולי. שם מבנין נפעל, וטעמו כאדם שיאבק עם אחר ויפתל לנצח אותו כדי להפילו, וכן "תתפל" (ש"ב כב כז), וטעם זכר אלהים כי לכבוד השם נתתי שפחתי, או השם עזרני בהאבקי:
1WRESTLINGS. Naftule (wrestlings) is a noun in the nifal.4 following a nifal paradigm. From this root we get the verb niftalti (I wrestled). The same is the case with the proper name Naphtali (Weiser). Krinsky and Cherez maintain that what I.E. means is that naphtali is an infinitive. Its meaning is I strove, as a man who, when wrestling5 thus means twistings of (Weiser). I.E. uses twistings in a specific sense, twisting while fighting. with another, twists (yiftol) in his effort to overpower his opponent in order to throw him to the ground.6 is twistings (wrestlings). The word tittappal (Thou dost deal tortuously) (II Sam. 22:27) is similar.7 (ikkesh) Thou dost deal tortuously (tittappal). In the latter verse tittappal (tortuously) is parallel to ikkesh (twisted). Hence tittappal implies crookedness or twisting. Tittappal is a variation of titpattal (Kimchi), and Ps. 18:27 which has the identical theme reads titpattal. Thus it seems that the root peh, tav, lamed and its variation tav, peh, lamed mean to twist (Weiser). The reason Rachel mentioned God, (naftule Elohim),8, wrestlings of God. is either that out of respect for the Lord she had given her handmaiden to her husband,9 (with mighty wrestlings) is to be rendered: Godly wrestlings. or that God helped her in her struggle.10 means wrestlings with God’s help.
אבגד. שתי מלות והאל"ף חסר, וכן בכל, וכן במה (יחז' כ כט), כאשר מפורש ביחזקאל,
1FORTUNE IS COME. Bagad (fortune is come) is really two words11 (spelled bet, alef) and gad (Weiser). Thus, bagad is spelled bet, gimel, doled. Hence the alef of ba has been dropped. with the alef missing. Similarly, bavel.12. 38 and many of the printed editions. Some editions read ba-kol. The latter is incorrect (Filwarg, Weiser). See I.E.’s comments on Gen. 11:9. Also, bamah as is clearly explained in Ezekiel (20:29).
בוטעם גד גדוד כי יש לה גדוד בנים, וי"א שפי' גד מזל טוב כאשר הוא בלשון ישמעאל, וכמוהו "העורכים לגד שולחן" (ישעי' מה יא) והוא ככב גדק, והנכון להיותו כמו גדודי השמים:
2The meaning of Gad is a troop. Leah said this because she now had a “troop” of sons.13 thus means: a troop has come. Others say that gad means good fortune as in the Arabic; and that prepare a table for Fortune (gad) (Is. 65:11), with the latter meaning Jupiter,14, Fortune has come. is similar. Actually, however, gad in the latter verse refers to the troops of heaven.15 means a troop has come.
אבאשרי. בעבור אשרי:
1HAPPY AM I. Be-oshri means, on account of my happiness.16 of be-oshri is the bet ha-sibbah (Weiser). Filwarg renders it: so that I may be called happy, the thought expressed by our verse being, this one was born so that the women may praise me by calling me happy (for the daughters will call me happy).
אדודאים. אמר המתרגם יברוחין וכן יקראו בלשון ישמעאל ויש להם ריח טוב, וכן כתוב "הדודאים נתנו ריח" (ש"ה ז יד), והם על צורת בן אדם, כי יש להם דמות ראש וידים, ואנכי לא ידעתי למה יועילו להריון בעבור שתולדתם קרה:
1MANDRAKES. Onkelos renders dudaim yavruchin (Aramaic for mandrakes). They are similarly called in Arabic. Mandrakes give off a pleasant scent. Thus it is written, The mandrakes give forth fragrance (Cant. 7:14). The mandrakes are shaped like humans. They have the shape of a head and hands.17 I do not know how they can help a woman conceive since their nature is cold.18, Part I, Chap. 34.
אתחת דודאי בנך. חלף ושכר:
1FOR THY SON’S MANDRAKES. Tachet (for) is to be rendered: in place of and as a reward for.19 (for) is beneath. However, this translation does not fit here, hence I.E.’s comments: that tachet is here to be rendered in place of and as a reward for (thy son’s mandrakes).
אזבדני אלהים. כטעם נתן לי חלק ואין לו אח במקרא:
1GOD HATH ENDOWED ME. The meaning of zevadani (hath endowed me) is: has given me a portion. The word zevadani is not found elsewhere in Scripture.20
ביזבלני. יזבול עמי יהיה זבולו עמי תמיד, כמו "בנה בניתי בית זבול לך" (מ"א ח יג), "וכמוהו בני יצאוני" (ירמי' יו"ד כ) יצאו ממני, "ויבואני" (תהלים קיט מא) כלם הם פעלים עומדים:
2WILL DWELL WITH ME. Yizbeleni means will dwell with me;21 suffix at the end of a verse stands for oti. Hence yizbeleni should be translated: will dwell me, an impossible construction. Therefore I.E. points out that ni here does not have the meaning of oti (me) but immi (with me). Since the suffix ni means oti (me), it is usually combined only with a transitive verb, compare, zevadani (endowed me); hikkani (smite me), yahargeni (will kill me) and others (Weiser). i.e., his dwelling (zevulo) will always be with me. Compare, I have surely built Thee a house of habitation (bet zevul) (I Kings 8:13). Yetza’uni (are gone forth from me), in banai yetza’uni (my children are gone from me) (Jer. 10:20), and vi-yevo’uni (also come unto me) (Ps. 119:41) are similar. All of these are intransitive verbs with the pronominal suffix ni.
אואחר ילדה בת. י"א כי עם זבולון היתה בבטן אחת:
1AND AFTERWARDS SHE BORE A DAUGHTER. Some say that Dinah was Zebulun’s twin.22
אאסף אלהים את חרפתי. כטעם כרת, וכן "ונאסף שמחה וגיל" (ישעי' טז י) ואחרים אמרו כי השם ראה החרפות שהי' הנשים מחרפות אותי בעבור היותי עקרה וכאילו נאספו ונתחברו אצל השם, והנה נולדו ליעקב י"ב בנים בז' שנים וכאשר ספרום הקדמונים מצאום בני ששה חדשים וימים במספר, ויתכן שנתנה לאה שפחתה ליעקב קודם שנולד נפתלי, גם הרתה רחל קודם שנולד זבלון, וגם דינה לא ידענו מתי נולדה:
1GOD HATH TAKEN AWAY MY REPROACH. Asaf (taken away) is to be rendered cut off. Compare, And gladness and joy are taken away (ve-ne’esaf) (Is. 16:10). Others interpret what Rachel said as, God saw the insults which the women hurled at me because I was barren and by giving me a son He, as it were, gathered (asaf) and collected the insults.23 means gathered rather than cut off. It is clear from Scripture that Jacob’s twelve children were born in seven years.24 2, “Jacob spent 20 years in Laban’s house. Seven before marrying the matriarchs, and seven after marrying them and six years after the birth of the eleven tribes and Dinah. We thus find that the tribes with the exception of Benjamin were born in seven years, each one every seven months.” That is, six months and some days (Weiser). The point is that Jacob had acquired eleven sons and Dinah by the time he had finished serving his 14 years for his wives (v. 25). The first seven years he had no wife (v. 20). Hence all his children, with the exception of Benjamin who was born after he had left Laban, were born during seven years. When the ancients numbered them they could only explain how this was possible by saying that each was born six months and some days after conception.25, Chap. 36). The Seder Olam quoted above employs a round number (Cherez). However, this was not necessarily so. It is posssible that Leah gave her handmaiden to Jacob before Naphtali was born, that Rachel conceived before the birth of Zebulun,26 and that we do not know when Dinah was born.
אאשר עבדתי אותך כהן. שב אל נשי לא אל ילדי, כמו "וישם דמי מלחמה בשלום" (מ"א ב ה):
1FOR WHOM I HAVE SERVED THEE. This refers to my wives, not my children.27 can conceivably apply to my children, hence I.E.’s comment. It is similar to and shed the blood of war in peace (I Kings 2:5).28
אנחשתי. כמו נסיתי כי הולך היה לקראת נחשים ויש לו תרפים:
1I HAVE OBSERVED THE SIGNS. Nichashti (I have observed the signs) means I have divined,29 for Laban was an enchanter and had teraphim.30
אנקבה לשון צווי במשקל "זכרה לי אלהי לטובה" (נחמי' יג יד) ופי' פרש, וכן "אשר פי ד' יקבנו" (ישעי' בב ב), ודגשות הקו"ף להתבלע הנו"ן בו כמו "אשר ידבנו לבו" (שמות כה ב):
1APPOINT. Nokvah (appoint) is an imperative.31 is an elongated form. It follows the paradigm of zokhrah (remember) in Remember (zokhrah) me, O my God, for good (Neh. 13:31). The meaning of nokvah (appoint) is, clearly state, as we see from Which the mouth of the Lord shall mark out32 (yikkovennu) (Is. 62:2). The dagesh of yikkovennu (shall mark out) compensates for the missing nun.33 and yikkovennu have the same root, nun, kof, bet and mean the same, viz., clearly state. We find the same with the word yiddevennu (make them willing) in whose heart maketh him willing (yiddevennu) (Ex. 25:2).34 has a dagesh in the dalet to make up for the missing nun. Thus yikkovennu and yiddevenu are similar. Both have a nun as a first root letter and the nun drops out in the imperfect and is replaced by a dagesh.
אלרגלי. בעבור רגלי, כי דרך בני אדם לומר רגל טובה יש לפלוני, והטעם כי התברכת משעה שבאתי לביתך, ה"א מאומה נוסף, ונמצא חסר:
1WITHERSOEVER I TURNED. Le-ragli (withersoever I turned) is to be rendered: because of my foot.35 literally means my foot. The lamed prefixed to it is a causal lamed, in Hebrew, lamed ha-sibbah (Weiser). It is the custom of people to say so and so has a good foot.36 What Jacob was saying was: you have been blessed ever since I came to your house. The heh of me’umah (aught in v. 31) is superfluous.37 The word is also found spelled without the heh.38 in Job 31:7.
אעקדים. ברגל והטעם שומה שעקדה הרגל:
1STREAKED.39 are found in Gen. 31:10. I.E. inserted it here because he wanted to clarify the type of marks that the Bible refers to before proceeding to comment on the account of Jacob’s hire. The streak was on the animal’s foot. Akuddim (streaked) refers to a cord-like mark that bound the foot40 means to bind. Akuddim is a mark resembling a cord going around the foot of the animal at the place where it is normally bound. This is what I.E. means by “a mark that bound the foot.”
בונקדים. שיש בו נקדות נקדות:
2SPECKLED. Nekuddim means speckled.
גוברודים. מגזרת ברד שיש לו שומות לבנות,
3GRIZZLED. Beruddim (grizzled) comes from the same root as barad (hail). It means having white spots.41
דומלת טלוא שם כלל והוא מגזרת "בלות ומטולאית" (יהושע ט ה), והטעם כמו שומית וטעם כל שה נקוד וטליא תיש, וכן כתוב "שה כשבים ושה עזים" (דברים יד ד) ואחר ששם טלוא כלל, הנה פי' כל תיש נקוד ועקוד וברוד:
4[SPOTTED.] Talu is a general term for all type of spots.42 It comes from the same root as u-metulla’ot (and clouted) in and worn shoes and clouted (u-metulla’ot) upon their feet (Josh. 9:5).43. The meaning of u-metulla’ot is marked.44 is a general term for spotted. The term seh (v. 32), refers to he-goats.45 refers to he-goats because the sheep were not speckled and spotted but were chum (dark) and the she-goats are mentioned in the final part of the verse. Hence seh must refer to he-goats (Cherez). It is similarly written the sheep (seh kevasim) and the goat (seh izim) (Deut. 14:4).46 can thus apply to both goats and sheep. In the first part of our verse it applies to he-goats. Now since talu (spotted) is a general term for all type of spots, the meaning of every speckled and spotted (talu) one is: every he-goat speckled, streaked and grizzled.47 means speckled and talu includes the other types of spots, i.e., a mark around the ankle, akuddim (streaked), and hail like spots, beruddim.
הוכל שה חום. הוא השחרות, ויתכן שנקרא השחרות כן מפני החום כי השחרות יותר חום מן הלבן:
5AND EVERY DARK ONE AMONG THE SHEEP. Chum means black. It is possible that chum means black because it is affected by heat (chom), for a black object gets hotter than a white object.48
ווטלוא ונקוד בעזים. עקוד וברוד ונקוד:
6AND THE SPOTTED AND SPECKLED AMONG THE GOATS. Streaked, grizzled and speckled.
אאשר איננו נקוד וטלוא. נקוד וברוד ועקוד:
1EVERY ONE THAT IS NOT SPECKLED AND SPOTTED AMONG THE GOATS. Speckled, grizzled and streaked.
בבעזים. זכרים ונקבות:
2AMONG THE GOATS. He and she-goats.49
אויסר ביום ההוא את התישים העקודים והטלואים. שפירש הנקודים והברודים:
1AND HE REMOVED THAT DAY THE HE-GOATS THAT WERE STREAKED AND SPOTTED. Spotted (telu’im) means speckled and grizzled.
בהנקודות והטלואות. פי' העקודות והברודות וזה טעם כל אשר לבן בו,
2[AND ALL THE SHE-GOATS THAT WERE SPECKLED AND SPOTTED.] The interpretation of telu’ot (spotted) is streaked and grizzled.50 (spotted) refers to the other types of marks. This is what Scripture means by everyone that had white in it.51
גוכל שה חום, כבש שחור, והוא שם תואר, כמו פעול, ומשקלו "סוג לב" (משלי יד יד), ומלת הסר משם על דעת מדקדק גדול שם הפועל להסיר משם ואלה שכרי, ופי' ויתן ביד בניו של יעקב, רק וישם דרך שלשת ימים על לבן הוא, וזה הפי' איננו נכון, כי אין ליעקב בן גדול מראובן, ועוד אין לו ז' שנים, וכן פי' הפרשה, הסר משם כמשמעו לשון צווי, וטעם והיה שכרי כאלה אחר שתסירם:
3AND ALL THE DARK ONES AMONG THE SHEEP. The black sheep. Chum (dark, black) is an adjective similar to a pa’ul. It follows the paradigm of sug (dissembler) in The dissembler (sug) in heart (Prov. 14:14).52 because only transitive verbs come in the pa’ul. Chum is intransitive. Nevertheless, it is similar to pa’ul in that it is an adjective. The same is true of sug (Cherez). Weiser translates: It is an adjective in the pu’al, following the paradigm of sug; that is, it is an ayin, vav in the pu’al. A great grammarian explained the word haser (removing)53 can be either an infinitive or an imperative. The grammarian explained it as an infinitive because of the difficulty of coordinating I will pass with the imperative remove. in removing (haser) from thence (v. 32) as an infinitive, meaning to remove. The meaning of the aforementioned verse according to this scholar is: I will pass through all thy flock today to remove from thence every…and that which I remove will be my hire.54 He further explained And gave them into the hands of his sons (v. 35) as referring to Jacob’s sons.55; and his sons refers to Jacob’s sons. However, he said that he set three days journey betwixt himself and Jacob (v. 36) pertains to Laban.56 This comment is wrong in view of the fact that Jacob had no son older than Reuben, and he was not yet seven years old.57 This is the way our passage is to be explained: haser (v. 32) is, as its form indicates, an imperative meaning “remove” and the meaning of and of such shall be my hire (v. 32) is: such as these which you now remove will in the future be my hire.58
דוענתה בי צדקתי. לפניך היא תעיד כאשר תבא ותראה שכרי, והוא העדר שאפריד לנפשי, אם לא מצאת התישים והעזים עקודים נקודים וברודים, והכבשים שחורים גנוב הוא אתי, והנה אתה הסירות מן הצאן כל עקוד ונקוד וברוד בעזים וכל חום בכשבים:
4SO SHALL MY RIGHTEOUSNESS WITNESS AGAINST ME. My righteousness shall testify for me before thee,59 with so shall my righteousness witness against me, rather than with my hire, which precedes it (Krinsky, Cherez). when you come and look over my hire, viz., the flock that I have separated for myself. If you find among the latter a he and she-goat that is not streaked, speckled and grizzled or a sheep that is not black, then it shall be counted stolen. Behold you have already removed from the flock all goats streaked, speckled and grizzled and all black sheep.60
הויאמר לבן הן. כמו הנה כי הה"א נוסף כמו האלה האל:
5AND LABAN SAID: BEHOLD. Hen (behold) is identical in meaning to hinneh, the heh being superfluous.61. It is similar in this regard to ha-eleh (these) and ha-el (these).62 and ha-eleh mean the same, the heh being superfluous.
וויסר ביום ההוא. לבן הסיר:
6AND HE REMOVED. Laban removed.63 refers to Jacob.
אוישם. גם הוא לבן:
1AND HE SET. Here, too, Scripture speaks of Laban.64 refers to Jacob and And he set refers to Laban. Hence I.E. points out that both refer to Laban.
אמקל. בפתח הקו"ף בעבור שהוא סמוך:
1RODS OF. Makkal (rods of) is vocalized with a pattach because it is in the construct.
בלבנה לוז וערמון. עצים הם, רק לח שם התואר, והגאון אמר כי לוז שקדים בעבור שנקרא כן בלשון ישמעאל, כי הב' לשונות והארמית ממשפחה אחת היו:
2POPLAR…ALMOND…AND PLANE TREE. Livneh (poplar), luz (almond) and armon (plane tree) are names of trees. However, lach (fresh) is an adjective.65. Conceivably lach could be taken to be the name of a tree. Hence I.E. points out that lach is an adjective modifying livneh, i.e., fresh Saadiah Gaon says that luz means almond since that is its meaning in Arabic, and Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic belong to the same family.
גמחשף הלבן. שחשף הקלף, כמו "חשף ד'" (ישעי' נב י):
3MAKING THE WHITE APPEAR. He peeled the bark. Compare, The Lord hath made bare (chasaf) His holy arm (Is. 52:10).66 means to lay bare. Hence machsof ha-lavan means he laid bare the white (Weiser). He did this by peeling the bark. I.E. makes this point because the root chet, sin, peh can also mean to strip. Hence machsof ha-laven might be translated, stripping off the white.
אפצל. הטעם כרת כריתות קטנות:
1PEELED. The word pitzel (peeled) means he made small cuts.67 is found in Scripture only in verses 37 and 38. According to I.E. it does not exactly mean to peel. See S.D. Luzzato’s commentary on this verse.
בברהטים. מקום חבור המים שישתו הצאן שם:
2IN THE GUTTERS. Pools containing water for the sheep to drink from.68 (gutters) as being synonymous with shikatot ha-mayim (watering troughs) (Weiser).
גויחמנה. נתחברו פה לשון זכרים ונקבות כמו "וישרנה הפרות" (ש"א ו יב):
3AND THEY CONCEIVED. Va-yechamnah (and they conceived) is a combination of masculine and feminine forms.69. The yod is a masculine prefix. Hence va-yechamnah combines the masculine (the yod) with the feminine. We find the same in the word va-yisharnah (and took…the straight way) in And the kine took the straightway (va-yisharnah) (I Sam. 6:12).70. See note 69. The feminine should have been used since kine is feminine.
אויחמו. נתעברו, ובאה זאת המלה משונה בנקוד בעבור אות הגרון, והיה ראוי להיות כמו "וישבו לאכל לחם" (בראשית לז כה), ואל תתמה בעבור שאמר על הצאן לשון וכרים כי משפט הלשון להפריש בין זכרים לנקבות בלשון יחיד, רק בלשון רבים לא יחושו:
1AND THE FLOCKS CONCEIVED. Va-yechemu means: and they conceived.71, meaning to be hot, that is, hot with sexual desire and by extension to conceive. This word is irregularly vocalized because of the chet which is a guttural. It should have been vocalized as va-yeshevu (and they sat down) in And they sat down (va-yeshevu) to eat bread (Gen. 37:25).72 is yod, chet, mem. Being a peh yod it should follow that paradigm. Thus the yod should be vocalized with a tzere as the yod of va-yeshev. However, since the chet is a guttural and is vocalized with a chataf segol, the yad is vocalized with a segol (Cherez). Don’t be surprised at Scripture’s use of the masculine73. Females conceive, hence Scripture should have stated va-techamna hatzon rather than va-yechemu hatzon. when referring to female sheep. Hebrew is strict in differentiating between the masculine and feminine forms only in the singular and not in the plural.
באל המקלות. מן המקלות ורבים יתמהו, ויאמרו כי זה פלא, ואמת שהוא מפלאות התולדות וכן המשפט אפילו האשה שנבראה בצלם המלאכים:
2AT THE SIGHT OF THE RODS. El ha-maklot should be rendered at the sight of the rod. Many are amazed at what is reported in our verse74 and say that it can only be described as an out of the ordinary phenomenon. Really, what Scripture describes is indeed one of the wonders of nature. However, it is a natural law. Even a woman who is created in the image of the angels affects her fetus by what she looks at while she is pregnant.75
גוטלואים. הם הברודים כי שם כלל הוא:
3AND SPOTTED. Grizzled. This is so because telu’im (spotted) is a general term for all types of spots.76 is a general term for speckled, streaked and grizzled, and speckled and streaked are specifically mentioned in our verse, telu’im can only refer to grizzled (Krinsky). The Bible sometimes uses a general term for the particular (Weiser).
אוהכשבים הפריד יעקב. ועוד עשה דבר אחר שהפריד הכבשים ובחר מהם כל עקוד וכל חום, ושם פני הצאן אליהם עד שתלדנה כן והנה הי' לו עדרים לבדו ולא שתם על צאן לבן, וי"א כי וישת לו עדרים מאוחר כי הכשבים הפרידם מעדרים שלו:
1AND JACOB SEPARATED THE LAMBS. Jacob also did one more thing.77 He separated the lambs and chose the streaked and the dark ones and set the faces of the flocks toward the streaked and dark ones so that they would produce similar offspring. This resulted in his having his own droves78 which he did not put unto Laban’s flock. Others say that Jacob separated the lambs from his own flock and that and put his own droves apart should have preceded and Jacob separated the lambs.79 (in the flock of Laban) is, he did this to all of Laban’s flock. See Filwarg and Cherez.
אהצאן המקושרות. בימי ניסן וכל אשר תלדנה הי' חזקים ובריאים:
1WHENSOEVER THE STRONGER OF THE FLOCK DID CONCEIVE. In the month of Nisan,80 so that all those born would be strong and healthy.81
אובהעטיף הצאן. הם בימי תשרי, ולזה עשה יעקב שלא ירגיש לבן בדבר המקלות:
1BUT WHEN THE FLOCK WERE FEEBLE. In the month of Tishri.82 Jacob did this so that Laban would not know that he was employing the sticks to produce spotted goats.83
בהעטופים. שאין כח בהם כמו "נפשם בהם תתעטף" (תהלים קז ה):
2FEEBLE. Atufim means feeble; compare, Their soul fainted (titattaf) in them (Ps. 107:5).