Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 25:51/אבן עזרא על ויקרא כ״ה:נ״א
אוי״ו ואם מעט נשאר בשנים. כפ״א רפה בל׳ ישמעאל והטעם בין היות השנים הנשארות רבות או מועטות:
1[IF THERE BE YET MANY YEARS.] The vav in If there be yet many years…and if (ve-im) there remain but few years (v. 52) is like an unaspirated fa in Arabic.172 in ve-im (v. 52) does not mean and. It means or, for verse 52 is not a continuation of verse 51. However, there are editions of I.E. which read: “If (ve-im) there be yet many years…and if (ve-im) there remain but few years.” The latter is also the reading in Vat. Ebr. 38. If the latter is correct then I.E.’s version of the Torah reads ve-im while our Torah in verse 51 reads im. It is possible that I.E. quoted from memory and erred. For the unaispirated fa, see I.E. on verse 34 and the notes thereto. It means173 whether the remaining years be many or few.
בלפיהן ישיב גאלתו. על כסף מקנתו כן יחשב לו:
2ACCORDING UNTO THEM, HE SHALL GIVE BACK THE PRICE OF HIS REDEMPTION. It174 shall be so considered with regard to the money that he was bought for.175