## Ibn Ezra on Genesis Chapter 34

###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:1:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:1:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:1:1)

**ותצא דינה.** מעצמה:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
AND DINAH WENT OUT. Of her own accord.¹

footnotes:
¹ She did not ask her parents’ permission (Krinsky). Filwarg asks, “How does I.E. know this?”


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:2:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:2:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:2:1)

**ויענה.** כדרכה בעבור היותה בתולה:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
AND HUMBLED HER. He had normal intercourse with her.² Scripture uses the term *va-ye’anneha* ( and humbled her)³ means to afflict. Thus *va-ye’anneha* (and he humbled her) means he afflicted her. Hence I.E.’s interpretation. because she was a virgin.⁴

footnotes:
² Contra Rashi who interprets humbled as sodomized.
³ The root ayin, nun, heh
⁴ Intercourse was thus painful, hence the term afflicted her.


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:3:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:3:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:3:1)

**וידבר על לב.** שדבר לה דברי רכים ונחומים:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
AND SPOKE COMFORTINGLY UNTO THE DAMSEL. He spoke tenderly and comfortingly to her.


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:5:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:5:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:5:1)

**כי טמא.** שכם:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
THAT HE HAD DEFILED. That Shechem had defiled.


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:14:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:14:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:14:1)

**חרפה.** לדורות וזה טעם כי נבלה עשה בישראל,

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
A REPROACH. It will be a reproach for generations.⁵ This is the meaning of *because he had wrought a vile deed in Israel* (v. 7).⁶

footnotes:
⁵ Cherez interprets I.E. to mean that future generations will look down upon us. They will ask, how could they give their sister to an uncircumcised man?
⁶ According to I.E. the vile deed refers to having intercourse with an uncircumcised male (Weiser). Israel in verse 7 refers to a later time when there was a people of Israel. It was then shameful to recall that Dinah had slept with an uncircumcised man (Joseph ben Eliezer Ha-Sephardi).


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:14:2
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:14:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:14:2)

וטעם וידברו אשר טמא, וידברו את שכם אשר טמא אחותם, כי מצאנו "דברו לשלום" (בראשית לז ד) כמו דבר לו, או טעם "אשר" כי ענו במרמה בעבור אשר טמא:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
[13. AND SPOKE BECAUSE HE HAD DEFILED.] And spoke to Shechem who had (*asher*) defiled their sister.⁷ which literally means: and they spoke who had defiled Dinah their sister. This makes no sense. Hence I.E. points out that Shechem, who is mentioned in the first part of the verse (*et shechem*), is also the object here. We should thus read it as if it were written: *va-yedabberu et shechem asher timme et dinah achotam*, viz., and spoke to Shechem who had defiled their sister. It should be noted that according to this interpretation, *asher* means who. We may interpret our verse in this manner because we find Scripture stating, *dabbero le-shalom* (Gen. 37:4), which is to be rendered: speak peaceably unto him (Gen. 37:4).⁸ is grammatically similar to *dabbero*. For an explanation of their linguistic similarity see Filwarg. See also notes to Gen. 37:4. For alternate interpretations see Weiser, Cherez and Krinsky. On the other hand *asher* may mean because. In this case the Bible is telling us that they answered with guile because (*asher*) he had defiled Dinah their sister.⁹

footnotes:
⁷ The Hebrew reads: va-yedabberu, asher timme et dinah achotam
⁸ I.E. claims that dabber et Shechem
⁹ Cherez.


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:14:3
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:14:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:14:3)

**אשר לו עולה.** ערלת בשר וטעמו דבר שיכבד וכן "ערל שפתים" (שמות ו יב), "ערלה אזנם" (ירמיה ו י) בעבור הנוסף, והאומרים שהשם אמר לאברהם "והיה תמים" (בראשית יז א) ובהמולו הנה הוא חסר, הדבר הפוך, והנה הבהמות יוכיחו, ואם אמרו למה נחתך דבר בראו השם גם הטבור יוכיח:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
TO ONE THAT IS UNCIRCUMCISED. One whose sexual member is uncircumcised.¹⁰, hence I.E.’s interpretation. The meaning of the term *orlah* (uncircumcised) is something which is heavy. *Aral* (uncircumcised), in *uncircumcised* (aral) *lips* (Ex. 6:12), and *arelah* (dull), in *their ear is dull* (arelah) (Jer. 6:10), are similar. An *orlah* is something which lays heavy because it is an unnecessary appendage.¹¹ Those who say that Abraham blemished himself by undergoing circumcision, and thereby violated God’s charge to him, *and be thou whole* (Gen. 17:1), err. The opposite is true.¹² Proof of this can be offered from the animal kingdom. ¹³ As to their query, why remove that which God created, we respond that God also created the umbilical cord.¹⁴

footnotes:
¹⁰ The Hebrew literally reads: to one who has an orlah
¹¹ Krinsky. In the case of the foreskin the heaviness is physical. In the case of lips and ears, metaphoric. I.E. renders “uncircumcised lips” as heavy lips. There is, as it were, a burden on the lips which makes speaking difficult. The same applies to the ears.
¹² By circumcision Abraham became “whole.” His impediment was removed. So Cherez and Filwarg. For an alternate interpretation see Weiser.
¹³ Animals have no foreskin. We thus see that it is an unnecessary appendage.
¹⁴ We thus see that God created appendages that require removal (Weiser).


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:17:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:17:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:17:1)

**את בתנו.** בעבור היותה קטנה, והם הי' מדברים בעבור אביהם:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
OUR DAUGHTER. They spoke thus because she was a minor.¹⁵. They referred to Dinah as our daughter because they spoke on behalf of Jacob.

footnotes:
¹⁵ Since Dinah was a minor they could threaten, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:19:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:19:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:19:1)

**ולא אחר.** איננו בדקדוק, כמו "ואחר עד עתה" (בראשית לב ה), רק מן הבנין הכבד הדגוש, והוא פעל עבר על משקל "בֵּרַך נבות אלהים ומלך" (מ"א כא יג):

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
DEFERRED NOT. *Echar* (deferred) is not of the same grammatical form as *va-echar* (and stayed) in *and stayed* (va-echar) *until now* (Gen. 32:5).¹⁶ Our word is a third person *pi’el* perfect following the paradigm of *berakh* (did curse) in *Naboth did curse* (berakh) *God and the King* (I Kings 21:13).¹⁷ in Gen. 32:5 is a first person *kal* imperfect (Weiser). Here the *alef* is a root letter. In Gen. 32:5 the root *alef* is missing, for the *alef* therein is a first person *kal* prefix (Filwarg).

footnotes:
¹⁶ Both words look alike and are identically vocalized.
¹⁷ However, echar


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:21:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:21:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:21:1)

**שלמים.** הם בשלום:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
PEACEABLE. They are at peace.¹⁸ (peaceable) is an adjective (Weiser, Krinsky).

footnotes:
¹⁸ In other words, shelemim


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:21:2
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:21:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:21:2)

**רחבת ידים.** מקומות כמו "ויד תהיה לך" (דברים כג יג):

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
LARGE ENOUGH. *Yadayim* (enough)¹⁹ (large enough) as large places, i.e., the land is large enough for both of us. is to be rendered places, as in *Thou shalt have a place* (yad) (Deut. 23:13).

footnotes:
¹⁹ I.E. renders rachavat yadayim


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:22:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:22:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:22:1)

**יאותו.** מגזרת "כי לך יאתה" (ירמי' יו"ד ז) והנוח הנעלם אחר האות המשרת תחת פ"א הפעל:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
WILL THE MEN CONSENT. *Ye’otu* (consent) comes from the same root as *ya’atah* (befitteth) in *For it befitteth* (ya’atah) *Thee* (Jer. 10:7).²⁰ (Krinsky). The *yod* prefix is vocalized with a *tzere*²¹ (Cherez). to compensate for the missing first root letter.²².

footnotes:
²⁰ According to I.E. its root is yod, alef, tav
²¹ Rather than a chirik
²² The yod


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:22:2
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:22:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:22:2)

**בהמול.** מפורש, והנה הם חשבו רעה על יעקב ובניו שאמרו מקניהם וקנינם:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
BE CIRCUMCISED. The word *be-himmol* (be circumcised) has already been explained.²³ Shechem and Hamor had evil designs on Jacob and his sons for they said, *Shall not their cattle and their substance and all their beasts be ours* (v. 22)?²⁴

footnotes:
²³ Cf. I.E.’s comments on Gen. 17:10.
²⁴ They had intentions of later robbing them of their possessions. Thus both sides plotted against each other (Weiser).


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:25:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:25:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:25:1)

**ביום השלישי.** שלישי לעולם קשה שהוא חצי המרובע, וזה המעשה אשר עשו שמעון ולוי לדעת אחיהם עשו, דכתיב במרמה, ובני יעקב הם כולם, וחרה אף יעקב על שמעון ולוי, בעבור שהם הרגו אנשי שכם:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
ON THE THIRD DAY. The third day is always a difficult day because it is half of a monthly quarter.²⁵ Simeon and Levi acted with the full consent of their brothers. This is clear from *And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with guile* (v. 13). The “sons of Jacob”²⁶. refers to all of the brothers. Jacob spilled his anger on Simeon and Levi because they killed the men of Shechem²⁷

footnotes:
²⁵ It is half a week which is a quarter of the month (Weiser). The astrologers count the days from the afternoon. Hence the fourth day begins after the noon of the third day has passed. The time between noon and sunset of the third day is called half the monthly quarter (Krinsky).
²⁶ The reference is to verse 13 (Krinsky, Cherez). Weiser suggests that the reference is to verse 27 wherein it is stated, The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and spoiled the city
²⁷ While the others merely looted the city, Simeon and Levi killed its male inhabitants (Weiser). Cherez explains that the others merely wanted to save Dinah. They did not intend to kill the men of Shechem.


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:29:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:29:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:29:1)

**ואת כל אשר בבית.** פי' בבית המור, או בבית שכם:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
EVEN ALL THAT WAS IN THE HOUSE. This refers either to the house of Shechem or Hamor.²⁸

footnotes:
²⁸ “House” is in the singular, hence I.E.’s comment (Krinsky).


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:30:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:30:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:30:1)

**מתי מספר.** מתי כמו אנשים, ודבר שיסופר הוא מעט, על כן טעה ר' אהרן הכהן ראש הישיבה שפי' "ויהי מתיו מספר" (דבר' לג ו) כמשמעו:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
FEW IN NUMBER. *Mete* (few) means men. Anything that can be numbered is deemed a few.²⁹ (few in number) as men of number, i.e., few men. Hence Rabbi Aaron Ha-Kohen, dean of the Yeshiva,³⁰ errs in rendering literally *vi-yehi metav mispar* (in that his men became few) (Deut. 33:6).³¹

footnotes:
²⁹ I.E. renders mete mispar
³⁰ Head of the academy in Pumpeditha. Hai Gaon was among his students (Weiser).
³¹ Rabbi Aaron renders Deut. 33:6, and let his men be numbered. I.E. renders this verse: and let his men not be men who can be numbered.


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:30:2
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:30:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:30:2)

**להבאישני.** שישנאו אותי כאשר ישנא איש דבר שיבאש:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
TO MAKE ME ODIOUS.³² They will hate me as one loathes something which gives off a horrible odor.

footnotes:
³² Literally, to make me stink, hence I.E.’s comment.


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:31:1
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:31:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:31:1)

**ויאמרו.** שמעון ולוי:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
AND THEY SAID. Simeon and Levi.


###### Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:31:2
[Ibn Ezra on Genesis 34:31:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Genesis/r/34:31:2)

**הכזונה יעשה.** שכם את אחותינו:

**Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004:**
SHOULD ONE DEAL WITH OUR SISTER AS WITH A HARLOT. Should Shechem deal with our sister as with a harlot.³³

footnotes:
³³ The subject is missing in the sentence, hence I.E.’s comment.