Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Numbers 5:19/אבן עזרא על במדבר ה׳:י״ט

אוטעם והשביע. שתענה האשה אמן אמן:

1[SHALL CAUSE HER TO SWEAR.] Its meaning is that the woman shall answer, Amen, Amen.

באם לא שכב איש אתך. הטעם איש אחר בחזקה:

2IF NO MAN HAVE LAIN WITH THEE. Its meaning is, if another man has not forced himself upon you.⁵³ cannot be taken literally because we are dealing with a married women. Hence I.E.’s comment.

גואם לא שטית. ברצונך ודקדוק שטית טומאה כמו לא תבנה אתהן גזית:

3AND IF THOU HAST NOT GONE ASIDE. Willingly. Satit means you have gone aside and committed an unclean act.⁵⁴ is short for satit tume’ah. It is similar to thou shalt not build it of hewn stones (Ex. 20:25).⁵⁵. I.E. believes that this is short for: you shall not build a hewn structure out of them. See I.E. on Ex. 20:25 and the notes thereto (Vol. 2, p. 443-4).

דהנקי. תהיה נקייה כמו ומות בהר ויתכן להיות והשביע הראשון בשם והשני באלה כאשר הוא מפורש:

4BE THOU FREE. The meaning of hinnaki is, be thou free.⁵⁶ is an imperative. It literally means free yourself. However, it cannot mean that here, for it is not in the power of the woman to free herself. Hence hinnaki must be taken as an imperfect rather than as an imperative, even though it has the form of the latter. It is similar to and die in the mount (Deut. 32:50).⁵⁷ (and die), an imperative, must be interpreted as if written ve-tamut (and you will die), for the time of one’s natural death is not in one’s hands. See I.E. on Gen. 1:22 and the notes thereto (Vol. 1, p. 42). It is possible that the first time Scripture says, and the priest shall cause her to swear⁵⁸ means, and the priest shall cause her to swear by invoking God’s name. The second time this phrase is used⁵⁹ it means, as Scripture notes,⁶⁰ via the curses.