Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Sforno · Torah

Sforno on Deuteronomy 29:10/ספורנו על דברים כ״ט:י׳

אטַפְּכֶם נְשֵׁיכֶם. שֶׁרָאוּי שֶׁיִּהְיוּ מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם בְּהַסְכָּמוֹת הָאָבוֹת וְהַבְּעָלִים.
1טפכם נשיכם, people who normally require the consent of their husbands or fathers to do what they do.
במֵחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ עַד שֹׁאֵב מֵימֶיךָ. מִן הָרִאשׁוֹן שֶׁבַּחוֹטְבִים עַד הָאַחֲרוֹן שֶׁבַּשּׁוֹאֲבִים, כְּמוֹ ״מֵעוֹלֵל וְעַד יוֹנֵק״ (שמואל א טו:ג), ״מִשּׁוֹר וְעַד שֶׂה״, ״מִגָּמָל וְעַד חֲמוֹר״ (שמואל א טו:ג).
2מחוטב עציך עד שואב מימיך, from the leader of the wood choppers to the most lowly of the water carriers. The construction here parallels comparisons as מעולל ועד יונק, “infants as well as sucklings,” (Samuel I 15,3) i.e. the highest ranking within its category to the lowliest ranking. Similar expressions are used when the Torah speaks of משור ועד שה, oxen as well as lambs, meaning the most expensive animals of your livestock to the least expensive. Similarly,מגמל ועד חמור, “from the camels down to the donkeys.”