Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Numbers 22:6/אבן עזרא על במדבר כ״ב:ו׳
אארה לי. לשון צווי מפעלי הכפל בחסרון אות הכפל וכן קבה לי והנה קוב על משקל שמור וקבה לי בחסרון הה"א על דרך משקל שכב רכב צלח:
1CURSE ME. The word arah (curse) is an imperative. It comes from a double root with one of the double letters missing. The same is true of with the word kavah (curse) in curse me (v. 18). The word kov (curse) is vocalized according to the paradigm of shemor (keep).14. Kavah15 is an elongated form of kav. in kavah li (curse me) minus the heh16. follows the paradigm of shechav (lie), rekhav (ride), and tzelach (rested on).17.
בנכה בו. שם הפועל ואין טענה בעבור היותו בה"א כי הנה כמוהו לכלה הפשע:
2THAT WE MAY SMITE THEM. Nakkeh (that we may smite them)18. is an infinitive. The fact that it ends in a heh is no argument against the latter,19 changes to a tav in the infinitive in words ending in a heh. Thus our word should have read le-nakkot. Hence I.E.’s comment. for the word le-khalle20. (to finish), in to finish the transgression (Dan. 9:24) is similar.21 rather than the more usual form le-khallot.
גיואר. הוי"ו הנח הנעלם תחת הדגש שהוא תחת אות הכפל כמו על כמון יושב ולא היה כמוהו מאותו בנין בעבור אות הגרון כמשפט:
3IS CURSED. The silent vav of yu’ar (is cursed) is in place of a dagesh, which is in place of the missing double letter.22 is alef, resh, resh. Yu’ar is spelled with only one resh. Compare, yusav23 and yu’ar are both pu’als. (turned about)24 comes from the root samekh, bet, bet. In I.E.’s version of Scripture, unlike our versions, it does not have a dagesh. in turned about upon the cummin (Is. 28:27). There is no other word like it in this form, because of the rules concerning gutturals.25. A guttural according to the rules of grammar does not receive a dagesh.