Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 38:26/אבן עזרא על בראשית ל״ח:כ״ו
אכי על כן לא נתתיה. כמו "כי על כן ראיתי פניך" (בראשית לג י) כטעם חז"ל הואיל ולא נתתיה, או טעמו עשתה כן כי לא נתתיה:
1FORASMUCH AS I GAVE HER NOT. The expression ki al ken (for as much) has the same meaning as the Rabbinic term ho’il (since), as in forasmuch (ki al ken) as I have seen thy face (Gen. 33:10). The meaning of our clause is: since I gave her not to Shelah my son. Or its meaning is, she did this because I gave her not to Shelah my son.38 are missing from the text. The verse should be read as if written ki al ken asetah zot ki, for therefore she did this thing because, etc. According to this interpretation, ki al ken has the meaning for therefore i.e., it is an idiom pleonastically emphasizing the ground for an action.
בלדעתה. לשכב עמה:
2AND HE KNEW HER AGAIN NO MORE. He did not sleep with her again.