{"versions": [{"status": "locked", "priority": 4.0, "license": "CC-BY-NC", "versionNotes": "", "formatAsPoetry": "", "digitizedBySefaria": true, "method": "", "heversionSource": "", "versionUrl": "", "versionTitleInHebrew": "", "versionNotesInHebrew": "", "shortVersionTitle": "H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004", "shortVersionTitleInHebrew": "", "extendedNotes": "", "extendedNotesHebrew": "", "purchaseInformationImage": "", "purchaseInformationURL": "", "hasManuallyWrappedRefs": "", "language": "en", "versionSource": "https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/NNL_ALEPH001102376/NLI", "versionTitle": "Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004", "actualLanguage": "en", "languageFamilyName": "english", "isSource": false, "isPrimary": false, "direction": "ltr", "text": ["AND GOD SPOKE. There are some very difficult questions to be raised in this chapter. Many say that God only uttered the first two statements.1The Biblical term for what is known in the western world as the Ten Commandments is aseret ha-devarim (Deut. 4:13; 10:4), the ten words or the ten statements. This is term that will be employed in this work. As proof they offer the fact that the first statement reads, I am the Lord thy God (v. 2), and the second, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God (v. 5).2In other words, the first two statements are in the first person while the next three are in the third person. Hence they assume that only the first two were uttered by God. These commentaries also assume that statements 6-10 were spoken by Moses, as it is illogical to assume that God would utter two statements first, that Moses would then utter three statements, and that the Lord would then resume speaking. Thus the first question to be raised i n this chapter is, did God utter all ten statements or only the first two? If he uttered all the statements, why is there a change in person after the first two? However, the third statement reads, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain (v. 7) and does not say “My” name; the fourth reads, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it (v. 11); the fifth reads, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (v. 12). One may ask, how can I am the Lord be counted among the Ten Statements,3As Jewish tradition does. as God is the one who commands?4In other words, I am the Lord is an introductory statement to that which follows. That is, verse 3 is to be understood as follows: I am the Lord thy God…who commands you the following. Clearly, I am the Lord is neither a positive nor a negative commandment. The following questions are even more difficult than the above-noted ones. When we read this chapter, namely, the Torah portion Va-Yishma Yitro (And Jethro heard)5Ex. 18-20. first, and then read the Torah portion Va-Etchannan (And I besought) (Deut. 3:23; 7:11), we notice that from I am the Lord (v. 2) through the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain (v. 7) there is no difference in the two portions.6The account of God’s revelation is described twice in the Torah, in Yitro and in Va-Etchannan. However, starting from Remember (v. 8) to the conclusion of the Ten Statements, there are differences in every place. Yitro7Literally, the first chapter. reads, Remember (v. 5), while Va-Etchannan8Literally, the second chapter. has, Observe (Deut. 5:12). The latter also ends with the addition, as the Lord thy God commanded thee. Yitro states, nor thy cattle (v. 10); Va-Etchannan adds, nor thine ox, nor thine ass (Deut. 5:14). More difficult than all of these is that the reason given for the Sabbath in Yitro is, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth (v. 12). The verse then goes on to say, wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it (v. 12). Now these verses are not quoted in Va-Etchannan, which offers a totally different reason for the Sabbath. It states, And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt (Deut. 5:15). The latter concludes with, therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. Scripture tells us in Yitro and in Va-Etchannan that the reward for honoring one’s father and mother is that thy days may be long.9Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16. However, Va-Etchannan adds, and that it may go well with thee (Deut. 5:16). It also adds, as the Lord thy God commanded thee (Ibid.) to the commandment dealing with honoring one’s father and mother. Yitro reads, Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness (v. 13). Va-Etchannan reads: Thou shalt not murder. Neither shalt thou commit adultery. Neither shalt thou steal. Neither shalt thou bear false witness (Deut. 5:17). Yitro reads, ed sheker (false witness) (v. 13). Va-Etchannan reads, ed shav (false witness) (Deut. 5:17). Yitro reads, Thou shalt not covet (lo tachmod) thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife (v. 14). Va-Etchannan has, Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor’s wife: neither shalt thou desire (ve-lo titaweh) thy neighbor’s house (Deut. 5:18). It also has, his field. “His field” is missing in Yitro. In Yitro, his man-servant, nor his maid-servant precede his ox, nor his ass (v. 14). However, in Va-Etchannan (Deut. 5:18) his ox, or his ass precede his man-servant, or his maid-servant. 10This is not so. In both versions his man-servant and his maid-servant precede his ox and his ass. I.E. obviously quoted from memory and committed a faux pas. Note: our verse and Deut. 5:18 are both translated literally. Yitro states: And God spoke all these words, saying (v. 1). However, Va-Etchannan reads: These words the Lord spoke unto all your assembly (Deut. 5:19). When we searched the words of our sages to see what they said concerning this, we found that they said, “Remember (v. 8) and Observe (Deut. 5:12) were uttered simultaneously.”11Mekhilta on this verse. Now this statement is, as I will explain, more difficult than all the other questions which we raised. Heaven forbid that I say the sages spoke incorrectly, for our minds are insignificant in comparison to theirs. The problem is that our contemporaries take the words of our sages at face value. However, this is not so, as I will explain after I finish noting all of the questions this chapter raises. I will then explain the proper way to remove all problems and questions pertaining to this chapter. Observe and Remember could have been uttered simultaneously only miraculously. Now even if we admit that a miracle did occur there is still room to ask why Scripture did not write Remember and Observe in Yitro and also in Va-Etchannan? Furthermore, what shall we do with the other verses that come in two versions? If we assume that they were simultaneously uttered, like Observe and Remember, why didn’t our sages of blessed memory mention it, as this is an even greater miracle? For even if we assume that two different words with one meaning can be uttered simultaneously, one can still ask, how is it possible for many verses with different meanings to be stated at the same time? Additionally, why would God say, as the Lord thy God commanded thee (Deut. 5:12)?12Why would God refer to himself in the third person (Krinsky)? Furthermore, when before the assembly around Mount Sinai did the Lord command one to honor his father and mother?13If we assume that God told Israel, Honor thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God commanded thee (Deut. 5:16). The question arises, when before this did God command Israel to honor their parents? The Bible never recorded such a command prior to the revelation at Sinai. Yitro does not have, that it may be well with thee (Deut. 5:16).14In the fifth statement, but Deuteronomy does. Hence God said this, or He did not say it.15Hence only one of the two versions was said by God. Furthermore, how could God say, Neither shalt thou commit adultery (Deut. 5:17)?16This verse has a vav as a prefix while verse 14 does not. Also, how could God say, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house (v. 14) and in Va-Etchannan say, Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor’s wife (Deut. 5:18)?17I.E. is concentrating again on the prefix vav in Deuteronomy. Additionally, how could God say, his man-servant, or his maid-servant18In Yitro (v. 14). and then his ox, or his ass, and at the same time say the opposite?19That is, place his ox and his ass before, his man-servant and his maid-servant, as I.E. believes Deut. 5:18. does. However, see above note 10. It is impossible to rationally accept such things. Even more difficult than all of the things that I have mentioned above is that all the wonders which Moses performed have some parallel [in the world of our experience].20The miracles performed by Moses are based on natural law and thus have some parallel in nature. This will be understood by the intelligent. Now, God’s saying Remember and Observe simultaneously is a wonder of wonders.21It has no parallel in the everyday world. Such a wonder should have been clearly recorded in the Torah more than all the signs and wonders that are noted therein. Even if we maintain that God’s speech is unlike human speech,22And God can say two things at the same time. how did Israel understand what God was saying? For if a person hears, Remember, and Observe simultaneously, he understands neither the one nor the other. Even in the case of one word, namely, the word zakhor (remember),23Spelled zayin, kaf, resh. if one does not hear the zayin enunciated before the kaf and the resh he will not understand what the speaker is saying. We clearly know that the eye perceives much better than the ear does, for we have indisputable proof that thunder sounds at the very moment that the lightning is seen. Now the eye perceives the lightning from a distance.24That is, the eye sees the thunder instantaneously. However, the sound is brought to the ear by the air. The sound travels slowly and does not reach the ear until a moment has passed. Now the forms of the letters that one enunciates are “written” in the air after the manner of the five organs which produce them.25There are five types of letters: gutturals, palatal, dentals, linguals, and labials. The throat “writes” the gutturals in the air, the lips “write” their linguals in the air, and so on. This type of writing has its own manner, and it differs from the writing which the hand produces on paper. They are not written in the manner of script, which is produced by the human hand.26I.E. is trying to explain why the eye can simultaneously see two words while the ear can only hear one word at a time. He thus explains that sound (words written in the ear) is different from script. Now the entire letter zayin enters the ear before the kaf, the vav, and the resh.27The word zakhor (remember) is enunciated as if spelled zayin, kaf, vav, resh. In order for the word zakhor to be heard, one must hear, the zayin, kaf, vav, resh in succession. If one hears them at the same time, one does not know what is being said. Even if we assume that Remember and Observe were miraculously uttered simultaneously, how was Israel able to understand what was being said? If we assume that the ear, which does not normally have the ability to hear two words at the time, was at that time miraculously able to hear two words at the same time, why didn’t the sages of blessed memory mention this? For this is a greater miracle than God’s uttering two words simultaneously.28The sages should have said that Observe and Remember were heard simultaneously rather than were said simultaneously. Aside from this, what shall we do with the remaining questions relating to variant verses which, unlike Observe and Remember, do not have the same meaning? What are we to do with statements that appear in Va-Etchannan29Literally, the second chapter. and do not appear in Yitro?30Literally, the first chapter. Also, how are we to harmonize Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house (v. 14) with Neither shalt thou covet they neighbor’s house (Deut. 5:18)?31See note 18. How are we to explain the reversals?32That is, placing his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, before his ox, nor his ass in yitro (v. 14), while placing his ox, or his ass before his man-servant, or his maid-servant., in Va-Etchannan (Deut. 5:18). However, see note 10. I cannot explain the above to you33That is, I cannot answer the above questions. until I first make clear to you the rules of the Hebrew tongue.34Literally, the holy tongue. Now God is my witness, He knows the deepest recesses of my mind. God knows that I would have remained silent if I did not have to explain the above difficulties.35I.E. is apologetic, for in explaining the discrepancies in the two version of the Ten Commandments he is, in effect, giving what to many was a radical interpretation of the formulation of the Torah. See below. However, before I begin, I will explain the words of our sages of blessed memory.36That is, explain what the sages meant when they said that Remember and Observe were uttered simultaneously. ", "Abraham the author declares: It is the style of those who speak Hebrew to express their thoughts very clearly at times. However, at other times it is their style to say what they must in as few words as is necessary for a person to understand their meaning. Note that words are like bodies and their meanings are like souls. The body is, as it were, a vessel for the soul. Hence all the wise men of all nations37Literally, tongues. In other words, all wise men who speak a different language. are in the habit of preserving the ideas conveyed by a word38I.E. literally reads: The wise men…preserve meanings. and are not concerned with changes in wording when the meaning remains one and the same. I will now offer you a number of examples.39Of instances in Scripture where the same idea is conveyed in different words. God told Cain: And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from the ground… When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth (Gen. 4:11,12). Cain replied: Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the land (Gen. 4:14). Now who is so simple as to think40Vat. Ebr. 38 reads: Now he who is simple thinks. that the latter verse does not convey what the former verse does because of the change in words. Look, Eliezer said, Give me to drink (hagmi’ini), I pray thee (Gen. 24:17). However, he quoted himself as saying, Let me drink (hashkini), I pray thee (Gen. 24:45). Moses said, the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon (Ex. 12:29). However, it is earlier written, the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill (Ex. 11:5). In Deuteronomy, Moses quoted the prayer which he offered on behalf of Israel because of the golden calf (Deut. 9:26-29). Now to the unintelligent, this prayer appears totally different from the one recorded in the Torah portion Ki Tissa (Ex. 32:11-14). The general rule is, one will find the same meaning in different words whenever anything is repeated in Scripture, such as the dreams of Pharaoh41See Gen. 41:1-7; 17-24. and Nebuchadnezzar,42See Dan. 4. and many other things. Now Scripture, as I noted, sometimes abridges and other times elaborates. It does the same with prefixes.43Literally, servile letters. At times it adds them. At other times it leaves them out. However, the meaning remains the same. Thus God said, and blue,44Hebrew, u-tekhelet. and purple (Ex. 25:4). However, Moses said, blue,45Hebrew, tekhelet. and purple (Ex. 28:6). God said, onyx stones46Hebrew, avne shoham. (Ex. 25:7). However, Moses said, and onyx stones47Hebrew, ve-avne shoham. (Ex. 35:9). There are many such instances. Either way is correct, as the verse which leaves out the vav is employing a concise style. There is no harm in it.48For it does not change the basic meaning of the verse. Similarly, the verse which has a vav in it does no harm because it adds clarity. Now one does not search for a reason that a vav, which is enunciated by the mouth,49Such as the vav of ve-avne, or u-tekhelet. is sometimes left out, sometimes written, and sometimes added.50That is, it is a superfluous vav. See Vol. 1, Introduction, p. XVII. For any of the aforementioned51Ways of writing. is correct. We do not look for the reason why an enunciated vav was written.52Or was left out. This being the case, why should we look for reasons regarding53The omission or non-omission of. the silent vav which is not enunciated? For example, we should not ask why the word le-olam (forever)54Olam can be spelled with or without a vav. is written with or without a vav.55The vav in olam is silent. Now people want reasons for full and also for deficient spellings. I would have kept silent if they wanted reasons for each one of them,56For every full or deficient spelling (Weiser). or if there was only one way to spell these words.57And they found it spelled otherwise. I will give you an example. Suppose someone tells me, “Write the following to my friend: I so and so love you forever;” and I spelled ploni (so and so) without a vav, and also ohevekha (I love you) without a vav and le-olam (forever) deficiently.58That is, without a vav. Then Reuben came to me and asked me why I wrote deficiently. Now my concern is to write what I was told to write. I am not concerned with full or deficient spellings.59A person uses the spellings that come to mind. There is no hint of anything special or any allusion in the type of spelling that one chooses to employ. Perhaps Levi will come along and teach me how to write.60That is, when to use full or deficient spellings. Levi obviously cannot, for there are no rules regarding the use of full or deficient spellings. I do not want to dwell on this. However, the intelligent will understand what I mean.61I.E. apparently believed that Moses had some discretion in choosing the spelling to be employed in writing the Torah. I will now explain the above-noted difficulties.62The questions raised by I.E. at the beginning of his comments on this verse. ", "Note that this chapter preserves the wording of the Ten Statements exactly as uttered by God, for Scripture states, And God spoke all these words, saying (v. 1). The statements open with I am the Lord thy God, and close with nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s (v. 14). Moses also noted, These words the Lord spoke unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire (Deut. 5:19) when he mentioned the Ten Statements a second time. The Ten Statements have no break in them.63God spoke all ten of them without pause. I.E. takes issue with those who held that only the first two statements were uttered by God. Furthermore, the Lord uttered all of them exactly as they were written by the finger of God. One can refute the evidence64To the contrary. from the third, fourth, and fifth statements, which are not in the first person,65And thus seem to indicate that God did not utter them. as follows: now that you have accepted the Lord as your God,66As the first and second statements tell you to do. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain (v. 7).67That is, the reason the third statement is in the second person is that its meaning is: Now that you have accepted the Lord as your God, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Similarly for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth (v. 11).68It is to be similarly interpreted. That is, its meaning is: for in six days the Lord, whom you accepted as your God, made heaven and earth. The fifth statement should be similarly interpreted. It should also be noted that it is the style of those who speak Hebrew to speak in this manner.69To start in the first person and then go on to use the third person. Thus Scripture states, neither shall the fat of My feast remain all night until the morning (Ex. 23:18). This is then followed by into the house of the Lord thy God (Ex. 23:19). There are many such examples. Those who say that the first statement70I am the Lord thy God, etc. is not part of the Ten Statements differ in the following. Some say that Thou shalt have no other gods before Me (v. 3) is the first statement, and Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image (v. 4) the second. However, this is incorrect, as both statements deal with one and the same thing.71Hence they cannot be counted as two separate statements. One (v. 3) deals with accepting another god in secret and the other (v. 4) openly.72Publicly and openly accepting another god. One (v. 3) deals with belief and the other (v. 4) with action. Now in the statement Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy…thou, thy son…thy daughter, openly or secretly is all in the one commandment (v. 8).73The point is that the fourth statement has a number of sub-statements; however, it is all considered one statement. The same must apply to the prohibition against worshipping idols. Others say that Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house (v. 14) is the ninth statement, and thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife (Ibid.) is the tenth.74They count verse 3 and verse 4 as the first statement. They offer as proof the fact that God said, Thou shalt not covet twice, for there are two types of coveting. One is active, like an act of thievery, as in neither shall any man covet thy land (Ex. 34:24).75The import of this verse is, no one will steal your land. According to this interpretation the first half of verse 14 deals with theft and the second part with desire. Now if the latter dealt with coveting in one’s heart, then the Land of Israel would be a bad place.76For people only covet that which is desirable. Thus to tell Israel that no one will covet their land is to tell Israel that their land will be undesirable. The second type of coveting is with one’s heart. Hence Moses had to explain77In Deut. 5:18. that its meaning is,78The meaning of Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house. thou shalt not desire.79That is, that its meaning is also: thou shalt not desire (Krinsky). However, this too80Like the interpretation which lists verses 3 and 4 as two independent statements. is nonsense. Why would God mention thievery only with regard to a house and not mention other things along with it?81That is, the other things listed in verse 14. I will offer you proof from the very words of Moses that these commentators explained incorrectly. Look, God said, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house (v. 14). However, Moses said, Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor’s wife (Deut. 5:18). In their opinion, the second Thou shalt not covet written in our chapter refers to coveting with one’s heart, and the first one deals with the theft of a house. If this is the case, then Moses82In Deut. 5:18. inverted the matter, for he used, Neither shalt thou desire with thy neighbor’s house, and Thou shalt not covet, which means thou shalt not steal, with thy neighbor’s wife. Their definitions are thus destroyed. The truth of the matter is that I am the Lord thy God is, as I will explain in its place, the first statement. ", "I will now comment on Remember and Observe. Note that the meaning, not the wording, is preserved.83Whenever Scripture repeats an account or a dictum. Thus our father Isaac said to Esau, that my soul may bless thee before I die (Gen. 27:4). However, Rebekah told Jacob that she heard Isaac say, and bless thee before the Lord before my death (Gen. 27:7). Now lifne moti (before I die) (Ibid.) means the same as betrem amut (before I die).84The idea is the same although the words are different. This being the case,85That Scripture preserves meanings. why did Rebekah add, before the Lord?86When Isaac did not say this. The answer is that Rebekah knew that Isaac was a prophet of the Lord and that the blessing which he would pronounce would be prophetically uttered. Hence she said, before the Lord to Jacob.87When paraphrasing to Jacob what Isaac had told Esau. She was, as it were, explaining the meaning of the blessing.88She was telling Jacob that Isaac’s blessing would be prophetically uttered. Moses acted in a similar fashion. The Ten Statements recorded in this chapter are God’s very words without any additions or subtractions, and they alone were inscribed on the tablets of the covenant. It is not as Saadiah says that Remember was on one side and Observe was on the second side.89According to Saadiah Gaon each tablet contained a different version of the Ten Statements. One tablet corresponded to the version of Exodus and one tablet corresponded to the version in Deuteronomy. The Ten Statements recorded in the Torah portion Va-Etchannan are the words of Moses. The fact that the second version twice reads, as the Lord thy God commanded thee90Deut. 5:14,15. According to I.E. the meaning of the aforementioned is, as the Lord thy God commanded thee in the Ten Statements, the reference being to the first version. is positive proof that this is so.91That the second version is Mosaic. Note that memory is stored in the back of brain, which is in the head. The forms are there preserved. Now memory includes observance.92If one does not remember, he cannot observe. The meaning of Remember is that one should keep in mind every day of the week what day that happens to be.93Calendars were very rare in the ancient world. The reason for all of this is that one will observe the seventh day and do no work on it. The reason for remembering is for observance.94Remembering the Sabbath thus facilitates its observance. Thus when God said, Remember, all the people understood that its meaning was, Observe. Hence Remember and Observe were, as it were, said simultaneously. Moses [similarly] had no need to mention for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth (v. 11) in the second version95Of the Ten Statements. because he had at first stated, as the Lord thy God commanded thee (Deut. 5:13). The latter clause is to be understood as if it read, as the Lord thy God commended thee in “your Torah,”96It appears that Ibn Ezra follows the opinion that the Torah was given piecemeal. Thus when Moses repeated the Torah, the Israelites had the first four books of the Torah in their hands. in the commandment opening with Remember (v. 8) and closing with and hallowed it (v. 11). Now God commanded that man- and maid-servants rest on the Sabbath.97Verse 10. The Lord, however, did not give a reason for this.98That is, no reason for this was given in the first version of the Decalogue. Moses therefore explained the reason. Moses said the reason God commanded that servants should rest on the Sabbath is that a person should remember that, like the servant, he too was a slave in Egypt, and God redeemed him from there. Note that eight of the statements are entirely negative commandments and that Honor thy father and thy mother99I.E. has already noted that I am the Lord thy God is a positive commandment; hence two of the Ten Statements are positive commandments and eight are negative commandments. is a positive commandment. The rational wisdom which God has implanted in man’s heart teaches us that we are obligated to repay with good the good that a person has done for us. Now a child comes into the world only because of his parents. They nurse him, they care for him, they raise him, they give him to drink, they feed him, and they dress him. One has to honor one’s parents because they are the cause of his living upon the face of the earth. Hence the reward for honoring one’s parents is that thy days may be long upon the land (v. 12). God commanded a person to honor his parents because God breathed a soul into him100See Gen. 2:7. through his parents who prepared the body, for he who honors them honors God. Now Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother (Deut. 5:16) and then added by way of explanation, as the Lord thy God commanded thee (Ibid.).101The verse continues, that thy days may be long. As I will explain in my comments on the verse that opens with the words Thou shalt not eat it (Deut. 12:25), reward is given for the observance of the positive commandments and punishment is meted out for the violation of negative commandments. Moses thus said that one is obligated to honor one’s parents that thy days may be long (Deut. 5:16). The obligation to honor one’s parents is dictated by reason. In addition, one who honor’s his parents will receive a good reward, namely, thy days will be long because one listened to the voice of God who commanded us to honor them. Thus what was noted in the explanation of Rebekah’s words102Namely, that when Rebekah quoted Isaac she interspersed explanatory comments. also applies to what Moses said. I have already noted that the terms onyx stones and and onyx stones mean the same thing. Thou shalt not commit adultery (v. 13) and Neither shalt thou commit adultery (Deut. 5:17), and ed sheker (false witness) (v. 13) and ed shav (false witness) (Deut. 5:17), are similarly “children of one father.”103That is, they have one meaning. Thou shalt not covet (v. 14) and neither shalt thou desire (Deut. 5:18) likewise come out of one womb.104They have one meaning. God said, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house (v. 14) because intelligent people first acquire a house and then a wife, next a man-servant and a maid-servant, and then an ox and an ass to plow their fields. Our chapter lists these items in this order. However, Moses105In Deut. 5:18. listed them in another order, for young men first desire a woman, then a house. Now since Moses spoke of the house and the field, he next took note of the ox and the ass106See note 10. because they are used in plowing one’s field. Moses next mentioned the man-servant and the maid-servant. At the very end Moses, like God, generalized and said, or any thing that is thy neighbor’s (Deut. 5:18). Scripture reads, These words the Lord spoke (Deut. 5:19), and not all these words (v. 1) as is first written, because God’s words are intermingled with Moses’ words."]}], "available_versions": [{"status": "locked", "priority": 4.0, "license": "CC-BY-NC", "versionNotes": "", "formatAsPoetry": "", "digitizedBySefaria": true, "method": "", "heversionSource": "", "versionUrl": "", "versionTitleInHebrew": "", "versionNotesInHebrew": "", "shortVersionTitle": "H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004", "shortVersionTitleInHebrew": "", "extendedNotes": "", "extendedNotesHebrew": "", "purchaseInformationImage": "", "purchaseInformationURL": "", "hasManuallyWrappedRefs": "", "language": "en", "title": "Ibn Ezra on Exodus", "versionSource": "https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/NNL_ALEPH001102376/NLI", "versionTitle": "Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. 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