Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 21:11/אבן עזרא על ויקרא כ״א:י״א
אועל כל נפשות מת לא יבא. גוף מת והגוף חסר כי מת שם התאר וכן ועשיר יענה עזות ומאכלו בריאה תחסר שה:
1NEITHER SHALL HE GO IN TO ANY DEAD BODY. Nafshot met is to be read as if written nafshot guf met (dead body). The word guf (body)48 is masculine. is missing, for met (dead) is an adjective.49 is masculine. It cannot modify nafshot, which is feminine. Hence I.E.’s comment. Similarly, But the rich answers impudent50 (Prov. 18:23)51 and and their food plenteous52 (Hab. 1:16),53 should be read as if written: and his food a fat lamb. where the word lamb is missing.
בוטעם לא יבא. באהל או בבית ששם המת:
2The meaning of he shall [not] go in is, he shall not go into a tent or a house where the dead body is located.
גוטעם לאביו ולאמו. שהיא מצוה עליו לכבדם בחייהם ובמותם ואף כי לאחיו ולבנו:
3The meaning of for his father, or his mother is, for his father and mother, whom he is obligated to respect while they live and after their death. The kohen gadol may certainly not defile himself over his brother or his son.54’s father and mother. However, if he cannot defile himself over the latter he certainly cannot defile himself for his brother or son.