Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 4:4/אבן עזרא על בראשית ד׳:ד׳
אוישע. על משקל "ויחר לקין" וטעמו כמו קבל והקרוב אליו "שעו מני", כדרך סוד הקרבן. ויתכן שירד האש ודשנה מנחת הבל, ולא מנחת קין, ועל דעתי כי נקראת השנה תמימה ימים, וכן כתיב ימים תהיה גאולתו (ויקרא כה ל), בעבור שישובו הימים באורך או בקוצר כאשר היו בתחלה, וכן מימים ימימה ופי' "שנתים ימים" (בראשית מא א) ימים שלמים שנתים ואם נכתב שנתים יתכן שאינן שלימות מיום אל יום וכן "עד חודש ימים" (במדבר יא כ), שישוב החדש כאשר היה על כן אמרתי בפי' דניאל כי "ימים אלף מאתים ותשעים" (דניאל יב יא) שהם ימים ולא שנים בעבור שהם במספר:
1AND THE LORD HAD RESPECT. Va-yisha (and he had respect) follows the paradigm of va-yichar (and he was wroth) in And Cain was very wroth (va-yichar).7 of the root is dropped and the first root letter is vocalized with a pattach because it precedes a root letter (Filwarg). See notes to 3:22. Va-yisha means, and he accepted. She’u in Look away (she’u) from me (Is. 22:4) is close in meaning to it. They brought offerings in keeping with the secret meaning of the sacrificial ritual.8 It is possible that a fire came down from heaven and consumed Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s.I believe that yamim (time) (v. 3) means a full year. Scripture similarly states, for a full year (yamim) shall he have the right of redemption (Lev. 25:29). A year is called yamim (days) because it indicates that the full cycle of days, both long and short, has been completed. From year to year (mi-yamim yamimah) (Ex. 13:10) is similar. The meaning of shenatayim yamim (two full years) (Gen. 41:1) is two complete years from day to day. Had Scripture read shenatayim (two years), then it would possibly not have meant two full years from day to day.9 Similarly ad chodesh yamim (but a whole month) (Num. 11:20) refers to a complete cycle of the moon. I therefore maintain that when the prophet Daniel prophesied a thousand, two hundred and ninety days (yamim) (Dan. 12:11), he meant days and not years. I say this because the days (yamim) are enumerated.10 stands by itself, it means a complete year (all the days). When numbers are given it refers to days. Otherwise one could not know whether sheloshah yamim means three years or three days (Filwarg).