Commenting on Gen 1:1, Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089-1167) wrote the following, which will be of interest to Latter-day Saints as (1) he argues, as would Joseph Smith in the King Follett Discourse, that ב in בראשׁית is a later interpolation and (2) the verse teaches creation ex materia:
Our sages have said that the [letter] bet was added, like the bet in barishonah (“in the beginning”) Bereshit 13:4, for you find “at the beginning (rishonah) they travelled” Bamidbar 2:9. But were that the meaning, the bet would have been vocalized with a kamatz gadol. And there are those who say that [the word] bereshit always [appears in] attached [form], where the meaning is “at the beginning of the evening, or the night, or the darkness”. But behold, they forgot “he saw a beginning reishit for himself” Devarim 33:21. And there are those who say that the bet is a subject without meaning. Their reason is that it is unthinkable that there is no beginning to the heavens and the earth. Therefore, it said “bereshit. But according to my opinion, it is indeed an attached form, like “At the beginning (bereshit) of the rule of Yehoyakim” Yirmiyahu 26:1. Now don’t wonder how can it be attached to a past tense verb [instead of a noun], for behold, thus: “At the beginning (techilat) spoke Hashem with Hoshea, and Hashem said to Hoshea” Hoshea 1:2, “The city (kiryat) where David camped” Yishayahu 29:1. The meaning [of this usage] will be explained for you in the second verse.
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“Created” – Most commentators have said that creation means bringing forth something from nothing, and thus: “But if Hashem will created a creation” [referring to something never seen before] Bamidbar 16:30. But they have forgotten “And G-d created the crocodiles” Bereshit 1:21, as well as three times in the same verse: “G-d created man in His image…” Bereshit 1:27; “and Who creates darkness” Isaiah 45:7 – which is the opposite of light, which is something. Now here is the precise grammar of the word barat - it has two meanings. One is as stated. The other: “He did not revive them with bread” Samuel II 12:17. In this second one, aleph is in place of hey, for similar to it is “And the whole people came to revive David” – this is in the hif’il verb construction. If it were with an aleph, it would be like “To revive you from the beginning of every grain-gift of Yisrael” Samuel I 2:29. We also find [the same root] in the pi’el verb construction: “You will clear for yourselves there” Joshua 17:15. It’s not like “choose for yourselves a man” Samuel I 17:8, rather like “And He BARAed them” Ezekiel 23:47. And its meaning is to cut, to place a divided border – and the enlightened will understand.
On ב in בראשׁית, I ordered the following book today which seems to be rather interesting and perhaps readers of this blog will find interesting, too:
Michael J. Alter, Why the Torah Begins with the Letter Beit (1998)
