Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 37:23/אבן עזרא על בראשית ל״ז:כ״ג
אויפשיטו. פועל יוצא לשני פועלים, שאמרו לו שיפשיט אותה בעצמה, והכתונת בלשון הקדש החלק הדבוק לעור, והנה הערימוהו והשליכוהו ערום אל הבור:
1THAT THEY STRIPPED. Va-yafshitu (that they stripped)29 is a hifil. Hifil is the causative form. Hence I.E. renders it: and they caused him to strip (Krinsky, Weiser and Cherez). For an alternate interpretation see Filwarg. is a causative. They told him to take the coat off by himself.30 Ketonet (coat) in Hebrew refers to a garment worn next to the skin. The brothers thus stripped Joseph of his garments and threw him naked into the pit.31), i.e., of the garment worn next to the skin, and also of the coat of many colors. Joseph was thus left standing naked (Cherez). Cf. Rashi. However, Cherez’s interpretation seems forced. It appears that I.E. identified the ketonet passim with the garment worn next to the skin.