Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Numbers 13:2/אבן עזרא על במדבר י״ג:ב׳
אשלח לך. כתוב שהשם אמר לישראל עלה רש והם אמרו נשלחה אנשים אז אמר השם שלח לך אנשים:
1SEND THOU MEN. Scripture records that God told Israel: go up, take possession (Deut. 1:21)1 and Israel answered: Let us send men before us (Deut. 1:22).2 God then said, Send thou men.3
בוטעם אנשים. שהם ידועים גבורים וכן כלם אנשים וחזקת והיית לאיש כי איש היה:
2The meaning of men is, men known for their might. The same applies to all of them men4 (v. 3) and to be thou [Solomon] strong and show thyself a man5 is: and show thyself to be a man of valor. (I Kings 2:2), for he [Solomon] was a man.6 cannot be taken literally.
גויתורו. ויחפשו וכן ולא תתורו:
3THAT THEY MAY SPY OUT. The meaning of ve-yaturu (that they may spy out) is that they may search out. Compare, ve-lo taturu7 as: and you shall not search out after what your eyes see. (and that ye go not about) (Num. 15:39).
דכל נשיא בהם. כל אחד הוא נשיא בהם או תהיה מלת אחד מושכת עצמה ואחרת עמה וכן ושנים אנשים שרי גדודים היו בן שאול ורבים כן:
4EVERY ONE A PRINCE AMONG THEM. Kol nasi ba-hem8 is to be interpreted: each one was a prince among them.9 is short for kol ehad hu nasi be-hem. On the other hand, the word ehad mentioned earlier in our verse also applies here.10 is not missing in our text, and kol echad nasi ba-hem is not short for kol echad hu nasi ba-hem. There doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between the two interpretations offered by I.E. See Filwarg and Krinsky. Compare, And two men, captains of bands, were [captains of] the son of Saul11 (II Sam. 4:2).12 (sare) bands, were captains of the son of Saul, for captains of (sare) is to be read as if written twice. There are many such examples.13