Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 9:2/אבן עזרא על ויקרא ט׳:ב׳
אעגל בן בקר. בשבעת ימי המלואים היה פר חטאת גם איל לעולה ולא הזכיר עם עגל בן בקר אם הוא בן שנה והקרוב אלי שפר כמו עגל בלא זכר שנה:
1A BULL-CALF.8. During the seven days of consecration a bullock and also a ram were offered for a burnt offering.9 Scripture does not mention whether the bull-calf was “of the year.”10, which means less than a year old. Scripture reads, egel ben bakar. It does not read, egel ben shanah (a calf of the year). It appears to me that a bullock11. and a bull-calf12. are one and the same when the term “year”13 is unmentioned.14 and par refer to a bull over the age of one. Thus the bull offered during the seven days of consecration and the one offered on the eighth day were similar. They were both over a year old.
בתמימים. על העגל ועל האיל ופרי המלואים לחטא את המזבח וזה העגל לכפר על אהרן וכבר פירשתי זאת המלה:
2WITHOUT BLEMISH. This refers to the bull-calf and the ram.15 (without blemish). The bullocks of consecration16 were to purify the altar. This bull-calf was to atone (le-khapper) for Aaron.17, “Let this calf come and atone for the making of the calf.” However, I.E. explicitly rejects this interpretation in Ex. 31:18 (Vol. 2, p. 656). I have already explained this word.18. See I.E. on Lev. 1:4, “Le-khapper alav: To serve as a ransom for the punishment due to him.”