Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 12:3/אבן עזרא על ויקרא י״ב:ג׳

אוביום השמיני. אמרו חז״ל ביום ולא בלילה והנה הנולד חצי שעה קודם שקיעת החמה יהיה נמול לששה ימים וחצי יום כי יום התורה אינו מעת לעת:

1AND IN THE EIGHTH DAY. Our wise men, of blessed memory, said during the day, not at night.²⁰ Now a child born a half hour before sunset is circumcised after six and half days,²¹ for the day of the Torah is not measured by twenty-four hours.²²

בימול. מבנין נפעל כמו לא יכון ויהיה מגזרת מולים היו ויתכן להיותו חסר נו״ן מגזרת ונמלתם כמו איש כי ידור נדר ויחסר המל כמו אביו או בית דין:

2SHALL BE CIRCUMCISED. Yimmol (shall be circumcised) is a nifal.²³. Compare, yikkon²⁴. (be established) in shall not be established (Ps. 101:7). According to this opinion, yimmol is related to the word mullim²⁵. (circumcised) in were circumcised (Josh. 5:5). It is also possible that yimmol is missing a nun²⁶ comes from the root nun, mem. lamed. and is related to the word u-nemaltem²⁷. (and ye shall be circumcised) (Gen. 17:11). Yimmol is like the word yiddor (voweth)²⁸. in When a man voweth a vow unto the Lord (Num. 30:3). Scripture omits the one who performs the circumcision, such as the father or the Beth Din (court).²⁹ comes from the root nun, mem, lamed, then the meaning of yimmol (shall be circumcised) is, he shall circumcise. In this case the subject is missing, for Scripture omits who “he” is. Hence I.E. points out that “he” refers to the father of the child, the Beth Din, or any authorized person. For similar comments of I.E., see I.E. on Gen. 25:26; 48:1; 50:26 (Vol. 1, pp. 251, 412, 452).

גערלתו. ידועה כי הוא בערוה ואין כן ערלת לב ושפה ואזן כי כלם סמוכים:

3HIS FORESKIN. It is known that the foreskin is on the private part.³⁰ This is not the case regarding the foreskin of the heart,³¹ the lip,³² and the ear,³³ for all of them are connected to another word.³⁴ (foreskin) stands by itself, it refers to the foreskin of the penis. When Scripture uses the term orlah metaphorically, it connects it to another word, as in aral sefatayim (of uncircumcised lips) (Ex. 6:12).