Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 9:14/אבן עזרא על בראשית ט׳:י״ד
אבענני ענן. קל הנון הראשון והיה ראוי להדגש בעבור שהוא מהבנין הכבד כמו בדברי אתך,
1WHEN I BRING CLOUDS OVER THE EARTH. The nun of be-aneni (when I bring clouds) does not have a dagesh even though it is a pi’el and therefore should have a dagesh in the middle radical of the root, as in when I speak (be-dabberi) with thee (Ex. 19:9).21 of dabberi has a dagesh. I.E. reads, be-dabberi ittakh. However, Ex. 19:9 reads, be-dabberi immakh. According to Vat. Ebr. 38 the reference is to Ezek. 3:27. However, here, too, the quote is not exact. If not a scribal error, it shows that I.E. quoted verses from memory.
בונראתה הקשת אלו היינו מאמינים בדברי חכמי יון שמלהט השמש תולד הקשת יש לומר כי השם חזק אור השמש אחד המבול והיא דרך נכונה למבין,
2AND THE BOW IS SEEN IN THE CLOUDS. If we would believe what the Greek scholars tell us, that the rainbow is produced by the sun’s flames, then we must assume that after the flood God strengthened the sun’s light.22 This is the way that a person who understands the sciences will interpret this verse.