Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Numbers 16:13/אבן עזרא על במדבר ט״ז:י״ג

אהמעט. הדבר קל כי העליתנו מארץ זבת חלב ודבש כי מצרים בנגב ארץ ישראל והבא ממצרים לארץ כנען באמת הוא עולה:

1IS IT A SMALL THING. Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey?Scripture reads, brought us up, because Egypt is south of the Land of Israel, and one who comes from Egypt to the land of Canaan is in truth going up.⁴⁰ is to be taken literally.

בכי תשתרר עלינו. העליתנו ממצרים כדי שתשתרר עלינו:

2BUT THOU MUST NEEDS MAKE THYSELF ALSO A PRINCE OVER US. You brought us out of Egypt in order to make yourself a prince over us.

גגם השתרר. גם שררות רבות אתה ואחיך:

3MUST NEEDS MAKE THYSELF A PRINCE OVER US. You and your brother also seek additional positions of power over us.⁴¹ (but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us). The latter literally reads: That you want to rule over us, also to rule. I.E. interprets this as follows: that you want to rule over us, and you also want additional rulership.