Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 4:23/אבן עזרא על בראשית ד׳:כ״ג
אודע כי ויאמר למך. מאוחר בפרשה, וכבר הזכרתי כמוהם שנים, וכמוהו "ויקח האיש נזם זהב" (בראשית כד כב) וכן "אמר אל בני ישראל אתם עם קשה ערף (שמות לג ה) וכן ואתחנן (דברים ג כג) והטעם כאשר אמרו חז"ל כי עדה וצלה נמנעו כי פחדו להוליד בנים בעבור שיהי' שביעיים לקין ויהרגו או ימותו, וע"כ אמר למך לנשיו אני הוא באמת השביעי ואם יפצעני אדם שהוא גדול או ילד יעשה לי חבורה אז הרגתיו ומלת הרגתי תמורת אהרוג וכמוהו "נתתי כסף השדה" (בראשית כג יג), "אשר לקחתי מיד האמורי" (בראשית מח כב), ורבים כמוהם,
1[AND LAMECH SAID…] Note, this 46 is thus a pluperfect (Krinsky). should have appeared earlier. I have already noted two similar examples of this in my earlier comments.47 Three additional examples are: that the man took a golden ring (Gen. 24:22);48 (Gen. 24:23). Now, would the servant give a golden ring to the girl before asking her who she was? Therefore Gen. 24:23 must be rendered: And he already said, Whose daughter art thou (Krinsky). And the Lord said unto Moses, say unto the children of Israel: Ye are a stiff-necked people (Ex. 33:5);49 (v. 4). However, the evil tidings are reported in verse 5. Thus verse 5 should precede verse 4. Hence the meaning of And when the people heard (v. 4) is: and when the people had heard; i.e., when they heard the following, namely what is reported in the next verse (Meijler). and And I besought the Lord at that time (Deut. 3:23).50, etc. Moses besought God before he commanded Joshua not to fear the kings of Canaan. Hence Deut. 3:23 is to be rendered as And I had besought the Lord. Ibid. I. E.’s commentary. As to our verse, it is to be interpreted as our sages did. The rabbis tell us that Adah and Zillah were afraid to bear children because they feared that their offspring, who were the seventh generation from Cain, would die or be killed as punishment for Cain’s sin. Therefore Lamech said to them, “I am in truth the seventh generation51 and if a man would wound me or a child bruise me, then I would kill them.” I have slain is used in place of I will slay.52 is a perfect. Similar examples are: I will give (natati)53 the price of the field (Gen. 23:13), and which I took out54) means I will take. of the hand of the Amorite (Gen. 48:22). There are many similar instances.55
בואם עד שבעתים יקם קין למך עד שבעים ושבעה בעבור שהוא הרג בזדון ואני לא הרגתי, והטעם, שאמר לנשיו כי כבר בטלה הגזירה על קין ובאמת כי בני למך וכל זרעו מתו במבול ולא נשאר לקין שם מחמס אחיו:
2Lamech said to his wives, If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold because Cain deliberately murdered and he, Lamech, did not.56 In other words, Lamech told his wives that the decree upon Cain was annulled. However, the fact of the matter is that Lamech’s children and all his seed perished in the deluge. Thus Cain’s name was wiped out because he murdered his brother.