Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 31:53/אבן עזרא על בראשית ל״א:נ״ג
אכל אחד אמר ישפט בינינו אלהי אבותינו ויעקב אמר על אלהי אברהם, ולבן אמר על אלהי נחור אבי אביו שהיה עובד ע"ג, וכן העיד יהושע:
1[THE GOD OF THEIR FATHER.] Each one said: the God of our Father judge betwixt us.91. One might thus think that both took the same oath and swore by the same Deity. I.E. points out that this is not so. Nahor served idols; hence his god was an idol. However, Jacob referred to the God of Abraham and Laban to the god of Nahor, his grandfather who worshiped idols as is attested by Joshua.92. I.E., in his comments on Gen. 20:17 points out that they served refers to Terah and Nahor. We thus see that Nahor served idols.
בוישבע יעקב בפחד אביו. במי שהיה אביו מפחד ממנו, ויש אומר זה הפחד רמז ליום העקידה ואיננו רחוק:
2AND JACOB SWORE BY THE FEAR OF HIS FATHER. Fear of his father means the One whom his father feared. Others say that this alludes to the day when Jacob’s father Isaac was bound on the altar. The latter interpretation is not far-fetched.