Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 31:5/אבן עזרא על בראשית ל״א:ה׳
אאת פני אביכן. ראיתי בפניו שאיננו עמי כתמול שלשום, או ישוב איננו אל פני כמו "פני ד' חלקם" (איכה ד טז):
1YOUR FATHER’S COUNTENANCE. I can tell by looking at your father’s countenance that he is not (ennenu) toward me as beforetime.2 (countenance) is a plural. The word enennu can be translated: he is not or it is not. If enennu is connected to pene the Bible should have employed enam, which is a plural, rather than enennu which is a singular. Hence enennu cannot refer to pene. It is rather connected to avikhen (your father) (Filwarg, Cherez). The verse is thus to be rendered: I see by your father’s countenance that he is not toward me as beforetime. On the other hand, enennu (he is not) may refer to countenance (pene).3 Compare, The anger (pene) of the Lord hath divided them (chillekam) (Lam. 4:16).4, a plural, connected to a singular. In this verse the verb pertaining to pene, chillekam (hath divided them) is in the singular. We thus see that while pene is a plural, it can be treated as a singular (Filwarg, Cherez). Hence enennu can refer to face. Weiser explains that pene is not really treated as a singular. It is a plural but a singular follows it for emphasis.