Grammatical Remarks in The Commentary of Abraham Ibn Ezra on Qohelet

Abstract

Abraham Ibn Ezra considers the study of the Hebrew grammar to be the most important tool for establishing the literal meaning of a word or a Biblical verse. We find his grammatical theories not only in his grammatical works, but in his Biblical commentaries as well. In his Commentary on Qohelet, Ibn Ezra makes numerous grammatical remarks dealing with the pronunciation and peculiarities of the Hebrew consonants, the morphology of nouns and verbs, some peculiar syntactical structures, and the like. In this article, these grammatical theories in connection with Ibn Ezra's other works and with the theories of earlier grammarians, including Judah Hayyuj and Jonah Ibn Janah, are examined.