Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Genesis 47:16/אבן עזרא על בראשית מ״ז:ט״ז

אהבו. היה הה"א ראוי להיותו נע בפתח וחטף:

1GIVE. According to the rules of Hebrew grammar the heh of havu should have been vocalized with a chataf pattach.¹⁰ is yod, heh, bet. Such a word drops its first root letter in the plural masculine imperative and its second root letter is vocalized with a sheva. Compare, yada and yatza which in the imperative plural masculine become de’u and tze’u. Thus havu should have a chataf pattach beneath the heh. However, it does not. The heh is vocalized with a kamatz. It is therefore irregular.

באפס כסף. פועל עבר כמו "כי ירא לשבת בצוער" (בראשית יט)

2IF MONEY FAIL. Afes (fail) is a perfect.¹¹. However, some words are conjugated according to the paradigm of pa’el. These words are vocalized kamatz, tzere both in the third person masculine perfect and in the present tense. Thus afes can either be a perfect or a participle, hence I.E.’s comment. It is similar to the word yare¹² is a third person masculine perfect. in for he feared (yare) to dwell in Zoar (Gen. 19:30).