WERE FINISHED. Va-yekhullu is a pu’al. It follows the paradigm of va-yekhussu (were covered) in and all the high mountains…were covered (Gen. 7:19). Its meaning is: were finished. The earth includes the oceans since they form one entity.¹, rather than, And the heaven, the earth and the oceans were finished.

footnotes: ¹ Hence Scripture states, And the heaven and the earth were finished

AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY GOD FINISHED. Some say² implies that God created something on the seventh day. The question is what? that the days are created entities, and with the creation of the seventh day God’s work was finished. However, this interpretation is unpalatable. Others say that the bet may indicate before, as in Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out (be-disho) the corn (Deut. 25:4), and in howbeit the first day (ba-yom ha-rishon) ye shall put away leaven out of your houses (Ex. 12:15).³ is to be translated as And by the seventh day God had finished His work which He had made. They similarly translate Deut. 25:4, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox before he treadeth out the corn, and render Ex. 12:15 as howbeit before the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses. However, why go through all this trouble⁴ a novel meaning (before) when in fact “finished” does not imply that any work was done on the Sabbath. when finishing work does not constitute an act. Saying God finished is equivalent to saying God did no work. This is the meaning of God finished and of and He rested.⁵

footnotes: ² And on the seventh day God finished ³ And on the seventh day God finished ⁴ Why give the bet ⁵ Both mean God did no work.

His work which He had made refers to the work that he had done on Friday prior to the onset of the Sabbath.

And He rested on the seventh day from all His work pertains to all creations that God brought into being.⁶ and part B, all His work. Thus part B complements part A and is not redundant (Krinsky).

footnotes: ⁶ In other words part A of verse 2 refers to Friday, part B to the six days of creation. This also explains the reason why part A of the verse reads, His work

AND GOD BLESSED. A blessing means an increase in well being. On the Sabbath the body is blessed with a renewal of its reproductive strength and the soul with an increase in its intellectual and reasoning capabilities.

AND HALLOWED IT. No work was done on the Sabbath, in contrast to the other six days.

[WHICH GOD IN CREATING HAD MADE.] Its meaning is: God placed in the root of all the species the power to reproduce themselves.⁷ (which God in creating had made) as follows: God created (bara) his creation in such a way that they would do (la’asot), i.e., reproduce themselves in the future. That is why bara is a perfect and la’asot is an infinitive (Cherez). I disagree with the person who explains la’asot (had made) as having the same meaning as made⁸ to mean, which God created and made. They maintain that la’asot, an infinitive, is to be interpreted as asah, a perfect (Filwarg). They also do not differentiate between bara and asah, and interpret “made” in verse 2 as created (Filwarg, Krinsky). For I.E.’s interpretation of bara see Gen. 1:1; for asah see verse 4. and who, furthermore, insists that created and made are synonymous. Saadiah Gaon explains that the blessing and the holiness spoken of in this verse refer to those who observe the Sabbath.⁹ before sanctified. They will be blessed and sanctified.

footnotes: ⁷ I.E. explains asher bara Elohim la’asot ⁸ They interpret asher bara Elohim la’asot ⁹ According to Saadiah the blessing refers not to the Sabbath but rather to those who observe the Sabbath. We have translated according to Nachmanides’ rendering of I.E., which had a vav

THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS. These are what they gave birth to.¹⁰ as “accounts of.” Cf. Gen. 6:9; 37:1. Here toledot refers to what heaven and earth produced: trees, living creatures, man.

footnotes: ¹⁰ I.E. usually renders toledot

WHEN THEY WERE CREATED. When the firmament came into being and the earth became visible.

[IN THE DAY THAT THE LORD GOD MADE.] Be-yom asot means in the day that God fixed.¹¹ (make) means “to fix in its final form.” When the firmament and the earth received their final form, God commanded them to produce offspring (toledot). Proof of this can be seen in and He hastened to dress it (la-asot oto) (Gen. 18:7), and in Whom I have created which is then followed by I have formed him, and finally by yea, I have made him (asitiv) (Is. 43:7).¹²) and last, of fixing in final form (asitiv).

footnotes: ¹¹ I.E. explains that asah ¹² The prophet first speaks of creation (berativ

SHRUB. Si’ach (shrub) means a tree: so, too, in Among the bushes (sichim) they bray (Job 30:7). In my opinion si’ach refers to a fruit-bearing tree, because Scripture compares man to a tree.¹³. Behold, Scripture employs such terms as tree (si’ach),¹⁴. Speech is the fruit of the mouth. Hence the tree to which it is compared, si’ach, must be a fruit-bearing tree (Filwarg). fruit,¹⁵ bough,¹⁶ limb,¹⁷ top of a tree¹⁸ and branch¹⁹ when speaking of man.

footnotes: ¹³ Scripture compares man to a fruit bearing tree. Cf. Ps. 1:1-3, Happy is the man…And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, That bringeth forth its fruit in its season ¹⁴ The Hebrew word for speech is si’ach ¹⁵ Malachi 1:12. ¹⁶ Ps. 119:113. ¹⁷ Job 18:13. ¹⁸ Deut. 26:18. See I.E. on the latter verse. ¹⁹ Ps. 94:19.

A MIST. Ed (mist) means smoke.²⁰ (smoke). That is, a smoke-like substance went up from the earth. Weiser suggests reading anan (cloud) because smoke is out of place here since I.E. speaks of clouds. The day of their calamity (yom edom) is similar (Deut. 32:35). An evil day is called a cloudy day and a day of thick darkness.²¹ means a cloudy day, i.e., a dark day or day of calamity. The meaning of our verse is that via the power of the lights a mist arose from the earth and watered it and caused it to bring forth vegetation. Saadiah Gaon explains as follows: “And no mist yet went up from the earth.”²² found in verse 5 also applies to this verse.

footnotes: ²⁰ I.E. reads ashan ²¹ Hence yom ed ²² According to Saadiah the word lo

THEN THE LORD GOD FORMED. Via the power of the lights.²³. 38. It has been suggested that a scribe mistakenly copied it from the previous note (Weiser).

footnotes: ²³ This sentence is omitted in Vat. Ebr

[FORMED.] Va-yitzer (formed) is a kal. It belongs to those verbs whose first root letter is a yod.²⁴. It is like va-yiketz in And Noah awoke (va-yiketz no’ach) (Gen. 9:24).

footnotes: ²⁴ The root of this verb is therefore yod, tzadi, resh

The meaning of and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life is that man lives through the nostrils. They remove the air heated by the heart and replace it with fresh air. Scripture says man became nefesh chayyah (a living soul)²⁵ because like the animals he was immediately able to walk, and thus differed from babies subsequently born.

footnotes: ²⁵ This very term is also used in describing the creation of animals. Cf. Gen. 1:24.

AND THE LORD GOD PLANTED. God had previously planted a garden in the eastern section of the world in a place called Eden. He now placed the man there.²⁶ (planted) is a pluperfect. The bet of be-eden (in Eden) in in Eden the garden of God (Ezek. 28:13) governs not only Eden but also garden.²⁷). However, in Ezek. 28:13 the Bible states, in Eden the garden of God. The former implies that the garden is located in Eden, the latter that Eden is located in the garden, hence I.E.’s comment (Filwarg). Its meaning thus is, in Eden, in the garden of God. Even by the God (me’el) of thy father, who shall help thee and by (ve-et) the Almighty, who shall bless thee²⁸ of me’el is also to be placed before ve’et and it is to be read as if written u-me’et. Thus this verse is to be rendered: Even by the God (me’el) of thy father who shall help thee, and even by (u-me’et) the Almighty who shall bless thee. (Gen. 49:25) is similar. There are many other such instances in Scripture.²⁹ (or moshekh) atzmo ve-acher immo. Friedlander explains this phrase as follows: “one word which stands for two” (literally, the word draws itself and another with it).

footnotes: ²⁶ I.e., va-yitta ²⁷ I.E. is trying to solve the following problem. In Genesis, Scripture refers to a “garden” in Eden (gan be-eden ²⁸ The mem ²⁹ The technical term used by I.E. for this is mesharet

[THE MAN.] There is a secret meaning as to why the definite article has been placed in front of Adam.³⁰ The definite article is also found prefixed to Menasheh in the half tribe of Manasseh (shevet ha-menasheh)³¹ (Deut. 3:13) and before the word Araunah in of Araunah the Jebusite (II Sam. 24:16).³² is a collective noun. It is also possible that the definite article is placed before Adam because the word adam is derived from the word used for ground (adamah). Hence the name Adam may be a proper name or an adjective.³³

footnotes: ³⁰ Adam is a proper noun and a proper noun does not have a definite article placed in front of it. As to the secret alluded to by I.E., Filwarg comments, “I do not understand what secret he is hinting at.” However, it appears that I.E. is hinting that “Adam” is a collective noun meaning mankind, the secret being that God placed mankind in the Garden of Eden. I.E. will later elaborate on this theme when he speaks of the secret meaning of the garden (Kaputa). Abravanel writes, “Ibn Ezra stirred the world by saying that the definite article which precedes the word “Adam” contains a secret. By this he means… (that) Adam should be understood as a noun designating the genus of mankind rather than an individual.” ³¹ According to Krinsky, I.E. is noting that a proper name which later becomes the name of a group may have a definite article placed in front of it. Thus Adam, although originally a proper noun, became a collective noun. ³² According to I.E. araunah ³³ See Kimchi, II Sam. 24:16. In our case it is an adjective meaning the one taken from the ground, and thus has a definite article prefixed to it.

AND OUT OF THE GROUND MADE THE LORD TO GROW. When God made the trees grow from the ground throughout the world he did the same in the Garden of Eden, but there he placed two trees not found anywhere else in the world.

AND THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE. In my opinion the phrase and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to be understood as if written, “And the tree of the knowledge, knowledge of good and evil,” because the word knowledge has a definite article prefixed to it and thus cannot be in the construct.³⁴ The ark of the covenant³⁵ (Josh. 3:14) and even the prophecy of Oded the prophet (II Chronicles 15:8)³⁶ are similar. There are many other similar instances in Scripture.

footnotes: ³⁴ A word in the construct cannot have a definite article placed before it. ³⁵ Ark has a definite article placed in front of it. Hence the phrase is to be read as if written, the ark, ark of the covenant. ³⁶ Prophecy has a definite article prefixed to it. Hence the phrase is to be read as if written, even the prophecy, prophecy of Oded the prophet.

AND A RIVER. Before man was created the river watered the garden on all sides.

[HEADS.] The alef in the word roshim (heads) is a root letter.³⁷ is not a root letter, e.g., the tillage of the poor (rashim) (Prov. 13:23). The alef of rashim (the poor) is not part of the word’s stem (Filwarg). In marashotekhem (headtires)³⁸ (Jer. 13:18) the alef is enunciated. The meaning of marashotekhem is your headtires.

footnotes: ³⁷ However, it is silent. There are times when the alef ³⁸ According to Weiser. For other readings and the problems inherent in them see Filwarg.

THE NAME OF THE FIRST. Saadiah Gaon identifies Pishon with the Nile. But it is known that the Gihon³⁹ is close to the land of Israel, for Scripture states, And bring him (Solomon)…down to Gihon…and…anoint him there king over Israel (I Kings 1:33,34). It (the Gihon) flows from southeast of the land of Israel.⁴⁰ The same is true of the Euphrates (Perat), which marks the furthermost eastern boundary of the land of Israel. The commentaries also tell us that the Tigris (Chiddekel) is another river, in addition to the Euphrates, that flows through Baghdad. Thus these three rivers (the Gihon, the Euphrates and the Tigris) lie east of the land of Israel.⁴¹ Furthermore, the source of the Nile is in the mountain of Frankincense far south of the equator. Proof of this can be seen by the fact that its waters swell in the summer.⁴², Vol. I, p. 86, note 414. We know that the Garden of Eden is below the equator where day and night are always equal. Fools question this and ask, how is this possible?⁴³ However, there is positive proof that this is so. Thus according to Saadiah one must believe that the Pishon (the Nile) flows from the Garden of Eden, which is in the east, toward the mountain of Frankincense, which is in the southwest, and then flows north.⁴⁴ There is, in fact, no proof that the Pishon is the Nile. Indeed, Saadiah translates the land of Havilah which the Pishon compasses to fit in with his translation of the Pishon as being the Nile. The fact of the matter is that he had no tradition concerning these things. He did the same with families, states, animals, fowl and precious stones.⁴⁵ Perhaps these things were revealed to him in a dream. He definitely erred in a number of them as I will point out in their proper place.⁴⁶ So we will not rely on his dreams. Perhaps he did so out of respect for the honor of God, for he translated the Torah into Arabic language and script and he did not want the Arabs to think that there are parts of Scripture⁴⁷ (commandments) instead of millot (words). which we do not understand. Scripture mentions that there is gold in the land of Havilah in order to glorify the river coming out of the Garden of Eden.

footnotes: ³⁹ The second river flowing out of the garden. ⁴⁰ The Garden of Eden is located in the east (v. 8). Furthermore, according to I.E. the Garden of Eden lies south of the equator and the land of Israel is north of the equator. Thus the Gihon flows from the southeast of the land of Israel (Krinsky). Actually the Gihon is not a river but a spring located in the valley of Jehoshaphat. Here as in other places in his commentary I.E. errs with regard to geographical knowledge of the land of Israel. ⁴¹ Hence, in contradistinction to the Gaon, the Pishon, too, must lie east of the land of Israel (Krinsky). However, the Nile is west of the land of Israel. ⁴² “For when it is summer time in the northern hemisphere, it is the time of the rainy season in the southern hemisphere. Thus the Nile, the source of which is in the southern hemisphere, swells during the summer” Chevel, Ramban, Commentary on the Torah ⁴³ For day and night to be equal. ⁴⁴ The Nile flows from the south to the north. The Garden of Eden is south of the equator toward the east. Thus if the source of the Nile is in the garden it must make this circuit. ⁴⁵ Whenever Saadiah came across an unfamiliar term he translated it as he saw fit. He explained Havilah as referring to Egypt because he translated Pishon as the Nile. ⁴⁶ Cf. I.E., Ex. 28:9 and Lev. 11:13. ⁴⁷ Most texts of I.E. have the word mitzvot

AND THE GOLD. Saadiah Gaon renders bedolach (bedellium) as pearls. He compares manna to them. However, Scripture merely says that manna had the color of bedolach⁴⁸ resembles manna. As manna is round, so are bedolach round. This strengthens his interpretation that bedolach means pearls, for the Bible says that the appearance of the manna was like bedolach (Cherez). (Num. 11:7). The Gaon also says that shoham (onyx) is a precious clear white stone. The fact of the matter is that we do not know the precise meaning of either of these two items.

footnotes: ⁴⁸ Not that it was identical to it. Saadiah says that bedolach

[TOWARD THE EAST OF ASSHUR.] The tav of kidmat (toward the east of) is in place of a heh.⁴⁹ is kedemah in the construct. The difference between kedem and kedemah is that the heh suffixed to kedemah is in place of the preposition “to” (el), which is vocalized with a segol.⁵⁰ means to the east, kedem, east. Similarly in and Abram went down into Egypt (mitzraymah) (Gen. 12:10), mitzraymah means “to Egypt.” Kidmat asshur thus means toward the east of Asshur. Note that from the first verse of the Torah until the word made (Gen. 2:3), Scripture refers to the Deity as Elohim. Afterward, the honored and revered name (the Tetragrammaton) is coupled with it. How precious are the words of the ancients of blessed memory who said that the complete name of God is used over a complete world. Prior to the completion of creation there was no power to receive this name.⁵¹ If God grants me life I will explain the secret of the Tetragrammaton when I comment upon the first Torah portion of the book of Exodus. I will then explain its meaning in the absolute and in the construct. Note that the location of the ground from which Adam was created was close to the Garden of Eden.⁵² I note this because some say that Adam was created out of the ground of the land of Israel.⁵³, 2:14. They have overlooked And it came to pass, as they journeyed east (Gen. 11:2).⁵⁴. The garden was located in the east (v. 8). The tower of Babel was built after the survivors of the flood journeyed from the east (Gen. 11:2). We know that the ark rested on Mt. Ararat (Gen. 8:4); thus Mt. Ararat lies in the east (See I.E. on Gen. 11:2). Mt. Ararat (in the east) is far from the borders of Israel. Hence the Garden of Eden (in the east), too, must be far from the land of Israel.

footnotes: ⁴⁹ Thus kidmat ⁵⁰ In other words kedemah ⁵¹ Creation came to an end with the making of man. The use of the Tetragrammaton is proper only with reference to man. See I.E.’s comment on Gen. 4:1 and Gen. 1:26. ⁵² Hence man was not created in the garden. The commentaries assume that man walked to the Garden of Eden. According to Rabbinic tradition man came to the garden on the very day that he was created, hence I.E.’s comment that Adam was created close to the Garden of Eden (Krinsky). ⁵³ The Kuzari ⁵⁴ Literally, From the east

INTO THE GARDEN OF EDEN. Gan (garden) can be both masculine and feminine,⁵⁵ and to keep are in the feminine. hence the plurals gannim and gannot.⁵⁶ is masculine plural; gannot, feminine plural. We ask those who maintain that the words to till (dress) it⁵⁷ is to till it. Till fits in better with I.E.’s comment. and to keep it (le-ovdah u-le-shomrah) refer to the ground (adamah), how it is possible to till and keep a large area from a small one.⁵⁸ and of le-shomrah are in the feminine. Those who say that these words refer to the ground do so because they believe gan to be masculine while ground is feminine. However, I.E. maintains that gan can be either masculine or feminine. Thus le-ovdah u-le-shomrah can refer to gan. Furthermore, after Adam sinned God expelled him from the garden and commanded him to till the soil. But according to their interpretation he was already tilling the soil while he was living in the Garden of Eden.

footnotes: ⁵⁵ The pronominal suffixes of the verbs to toil ⁵⁶ For the feminine plural form of garden see Eccles. 2:5. For the masculine plural form see Cant. 4:15. Gannim ⁵⁷ J.P.S. translates “to dress it.” The literal meaning of le-ovedah ⁵⁸ If Adam’s task was to till and keep the soil outside the garden, then how was it possible for Adam to do this while he was in the garden? The land outside of the garden obviously extended for many miles. It would thus be impossible for Adam to live in the garden and tend the land outside of the garden. The pronominal suffixes (it) of le-ovdah

To till it (le-ovdah) therefore refers to the garden of whose fruit he ate. It was only after he sinned that he had to eat the grass of the ground, i.e., bread. To till it means to water it. To keep it means to guard the garden so that no animals enter therein and befoul it. Some say that le-ovdah means to serve God’s commandment.⁵⁹ on this verse. The root of the word till, ayin, bet, dalet, is also used in reference to worship (Deut. 6:13; 10:20). However, a commandment is not served.⁶⁰ is used in referring to worship, it is not used in Scripture as a technical term for the practice of a precept. The term used for the latter is lishmor (to keep) (Deut. 8:1; 10:13). One serves (oved) God and observes (shomer) the commandments. One cannot be said to serve the commandments, hence I.E.’s objection to this interpretation.

footnotes: ⁵⁹ See Targum Yerushalmi ⁶⁰ While the root ayin, bet, dalet

AND THE LORD GOD COMMANDED THE MAN. The verb tzivvah (command) with the preposition al (upon) implies a prohibition. We similarly read, I will also command (atzavveh) the clouds (al he-avim) That they rain no rain upon it (Is. 5:6).

[THOU SHALT NOT EAT OF IT.] Even though I (God) permitted you to eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, do not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge.⁶¹ One might ask, What need is there for the term of it after having stated but of the tree of the knowledge…thou shalt not eat?⁶². It would have sufficed to state, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. The answer is that the Bible elaborates. We find a similar case in And she opened it, and saw it, even the child (Ex. 2:6).⁶³. The elaboration is there for emphasis (Weiser). It is also possible that the term of it means even a part of it. You will find the exact grammatical explanation of the term mi-mennu (of it) in the Sefer ha-yisod.⁶⁴ Note that Adam was an intelligent being, for God would not direct commands to one who was unintelligent. He was deficient in the knowledge of good and evil of only one thing.⁶⁵ Don’t you see that Adam named every animal and fowl according to the nature of each of their respective species? Thus he was extremely intelligent. If Adam was unintelligent, God, knowing this, would not have brought His creatures to him to see what name he would give to each one of them. God also showed Adam the tree of knowledge, for his wife knew that it was in the midst of the garden.⁶⁶

footnotes: ⁶¹ The Hebrew term implies a commandment to eat of the other trees in the garden, hence I.E.’s comment (Krinsky). ⁶² The verse reads, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it ⁶³ Scripture should have stated, And she opened it and saw the child ⁶⁴ A Hebrew grammar composed by I.E. The book survives only in fragments. ⁶⁵ Sexual desire. See I.E.’s comment on 3:6. ⁶⁶ Scripture does not explicitly tell us that God told Adam exactly where the tree was. However, from Eve’s action we may surmise that He did. See I.E.’s comment on Gen. 3:6.

AND THE LORD GOD SAID. It is not good means it is not good for the man.⁶⁷, hence I.E.’s comment. Cherez suggests that I.E. is negating an interpretation which holds it is not good for creation that man be alone lest it be said that he is a god on earth. Cf. Rashi.

footnotes: ⁶⁷ The verse literally reads: And the Lord God said, it is not good, being the man alone

A HELP MEET. Help meet should be understood in the light of Two are better than one (Eccles. 4:9).

[WHATSOEVER THE MAN WOULD CALL.] The lamed (to) in the clause and whatsoever the man would call also applies⁶⁸) every living creature. to the phrase living creature. Our clause is to be read as follows: and whatsoever the man would call to it, to every living creature, that was to be the name thereof. The verse elaborates,⁶⁹ (Shadal). See note 62. as in And she opened it, and saw it, even the child (Ex. 2:6).⁷⁰ There are many other such instances.

footnotes: ⁶⁸ The verse literally reads: and, whatsoever the man would call it (lo ⁶⁹ That is, it repeats the object to it, to every living creature ⁷⁰ See note 63.

[TO ALL CATTLE.] Le-khol (to all) also governs two words,⁷¹ (to all), which is prefaced to cattle, also governs fowl. for the meaning of our verse is: And the man gave names to all cattle, and to all the fowl of the air.⁷². In that his men become few (Deut. 33:6)⁷³ in the first part of the verse also governs yehi (let). and And I have not learned wisdom (Prov. 30:3)⁷⁴. The not of the first part also applies to the second part. Thus the above should read: And I do not have knowledge of the Holy One. Thus not governs two words. are similar. There are many other such instances.

footnotes: ⁷¹ See above, note 29. According to I.E. le-khol ⁷² J.P.S. translates, And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air ⁷³ It should be read as if written, In that his men not become few. In other words, the word ve-al ⁷⁴ The verse literally concludes, And I have knowledge of the Holy One

[BUT FOR ADAM.] The meaning of but for Adam he did not find a help meet is that Adam did not find a helpmeet for himself.⁷⁵. However, the literal reading of the verse is: but for Adam he did not find a help meet. The question is, to whom does “he” refer? I.E. suggests it refers to Adam, not God. I.E. points out that the Bible occasionally uses a proper noun in instances where a reflexive pronoun is expected. Cf. David Kimchi’s commentary on this verse. This is the way of the Hebrew language. Thus we find Samuel saying, And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel (I Sam. 12:11).⁷⁶. It appears farfetched to me that he did not find a help meet refers to God. Scripture says here that the fowl were created out of the ground.⁷⁷ However, it states above that they were created out of the water.⁷⁸ This is so because the fowl were created out of both earth and water.

footnotes: ⁷⁵ J.P.S. translates, but for Adam there was not found a help meet ⁷⁶ Rather than saying “and me,” Samuel says, “and Samuel.” Here, too, rather than saying “but for himself he did not find a help meet” the Bible says, but for Adam ⁷⁷ See verse 19. ⁷⁸ Gen. 1:20.

AND THE LORD GOD CAUSED A DEEP SLEEP TO FALL. Va-yappel (caused to fall) is a hifil, as is va-yashev (drove away) in and Abram drove them away (Gen. 15:11).⁷⁹ and va-yappel are hifils whose first root letter is a nun. The root of the former is nun, shin, bet and of the latter, nun, peh, lamed.

footnotes: ⁷⁹ Both va-yashev

A DEEP SLEEP. Tardemah is a deeper sleep than shenah, and shenah is a deeper sleep than tenumah.⁸⁰ and tenumah. The tav of tardemah (deep sleep) is not part of its root.⁸¹.

footnotes: ⁸⁰ There are a number of Hebrew terms for sleep, tardemah, shenah ⁸¹ The root being resh, dalet, mem

ONE OF HIS RIBS. Adam had two sides.⁸² as rib, I.E. as side. Tzela here is like tzela (side) in and for the second side (tzela) of the tabernacle (Ex. 26:20).⁸³ 18a) that man was originally created male and female. God then separated the one female side from the male side (Krinsky). Tzela is a feminine noun. It means a side.

footnotes: ⁸² J.P.S. translates tzela ⁸³ I.E.’s comment is in keeping with the Rabbinic view (Erubin

INSTEAD THEREOF. Tachtennah means in its place. Tachtennah (instead thereof) spelled with a superfluous nun is in the singular. Tachtehah is its plural form. Tachteni (under me) and tachtai (under me)⁸⁴ are similar.⁸⁵, the singular form, has the superfluous nun; tachtai, its plural form, does not (Weiser).

footnotes: ⁸⁴ Cf. II Sam. 22:40; Ps. 18:40. ⁸⁵ Tachteni

MADE HE. Va-yiven (made me) is a hifil conjugation.⁸⁶ is a kal conjugation. Krinsky and Weiser suggest deleting it. Indeed, some versions do. If it is retained then it must be explained as follows: Va-yiven (from the root bet, nun, heh) is short for va-yivneh. I.E. notes that this type of short form of a lamed heh root is found in the hifil and in the kal (Weiser). Vat. Ebr. 38 reads, va-yiven is a kal, as is va-yifen. This appears to be the correct reading. We find similar instances with the kal conjugation in va-yifen (and he turned) (Ex. 7:23) and va-yiken (and he bought) (Gen. 33:19).

footnotes: ⁸⁶ This comment is difficult. Va-yiven

AND BROUGHT HER. When Adam awoke from his sleep he thought that the woman was brought⁸⁷ before him as the animals were brought before him. Scripture speaks of Adam’s thoughts. Similarly, And the men pursued after them (Josh. 2:7).⁸⁸ It is also possible that the woman was created outside of the garden and then was brought to Adam. When he looked around he knew that she had been cut from him, for one of his sides with its flesh was missing and he felt that it had been closed with other flesh.

footnotes: ⁸⁷ The word brought is not to be taken literally. The woman was created next to Adam as he slept; thus she could not have been brought to Adam. ⁸⁸ The men thought that they were pursuing the Israelite spies. In reality they were not, for the spies were hidden by Rahab.

AND THE MAN SAID. Then Adam said, “This time I have found a help meet like me for me, for this being came out of me.” The tradition concerning Lilith is a homily.⁸⁹, Vol. I., p. 65.

footnotes: ⁸⁹ There is a Rabbinic tradition that before the creation of Eve, Adam lived with the female demon Lilith. Hence he said, “This one, in contradistinction to Lilith, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” Cf. L. Ginsberg, Legends of the Jews

Le-zot (she) means because of this.⁹⁰ in front of a word usually means to. Zot means this. Thus le-zot should be rendered to this. However, I.E. points out that the lamed may also mean because. The meaning of our verse then is: because of this; i.e., because she is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh she shall be called woman, Say of me: (li)⁹¹. Here, too, li does not mean to me but about me or of me. He is my brother (Gen. 20:13) is similar.

footnotes: ⁹⁰ A lamed ⁹¹ Literally, say to me

[WOMAN.] The shin in the word ishah (woman) receives a dagesh in place of the inaudible yod which is found in the word ish (man).⁹² makes up for the yod which is missing in ishah (woman). However, it is possible that ishah (woman) receives a dagesh to distinguish it from ishah (her husband) for at times the dagesh in the suffixed pronominal heh in ishah (her husband)⁹³ is sounded there is no doubt that the speaker intends to say her husband. is not pronounced. The plural nashim (women) is derived from the words enosh (man) and anashim (men).⁹⁴ and a tav to the singular. However, the word for women (nashim) is not formed in this manner. It is not the word for woman (ishah) plus the plural ending, hence I.E.’s comment.

footnotes: ⁹² The dagesh ⁹³ When the pronominal heh ⁹⁴ The feminine plural is formed by adding a vav

[SHALL BE CALLED.] This refers to the name of the woman.⁹⁵. Yikkare (shall be called) is masculine and cannot refer to the woman. It refers to shem (name) which is masculine.

footnotes: ⁹⁵ The Hebrew reads, yikkare ishah

[SHE WAS TAKEN.] The dagesh is omitted in the kof of lukachah (she was taken) in order to simplify its enunciation. This word is a pu’al conjugation even though we do not find it conjugated in the pi’el.⁹⁶ is the passive of pi’el. Thus if we find a word in the pu’al we would expect to find it in the pi’el. However, the root lamed, kof, chet is not found in the pi’el, hence I.E.’s comment. According to Hebrew grammer a dagesh is placed in the second radical of a pu’al.

footnotes: ⁹⁶ Pu’al

[AND THEY SHALL BE ONE FLESH.] This means they shall live together as if they were one flesh, or let them once again be one flesh.⁹⁷ Some say they will be one flesh through the child they will produce. However, this interpretation is farfetched.⁹⁸

footnotes: ⁹⁷ Man and woman were originally one flesh. ⁹⁸ Animals also produce offspring, yet they are not said to be “one flesh.”

NAKED. Arummim (naked) is an adjective. And stripped the naked (arummim) of their clothing (Job 22:6) is similar. Some say that arum (prudent) in A prudent man (arum) seeth the evil and hideth himself (Prov. 22:3) has essentially the same meaning. What the verse means is that the mind of the wise is uncovered (arum) and open to everything like the eye.⁹⁹ because his mind is open (naked) to everything (Weiser).

footnotes: ⁹⁹ In other words, a wise man is called arum

AND WERE NOT ASHAMED. Yitboshashu (ashamed) is related to the word boshet (shame). It is an ayin, vav.¹⁰⁰. The last letter of the root is doubled.¹⁰¹ root is doubled when conjugated in the hitpa’el. It is like the verb yitbonen (he will consider) (Job 11:11).¹⁰². The nun is doubled. A kamatz is placed beneath the first shin because the word ends a verse.¹⁰³ is usually vocalized with a sheva, viz., yitbosheshu.

footnotes: ¹⁰⁰ The root of the word is bet, vav, shin ¹⁰¹ The last letter of an ayin, vav ¹⁰² From the root bet, yod, nun ¹⁰³ The first shin