Ibn Ezra describes his commentary as “the book of the straight,” - a reference to following the way of peshat. Ibn Ezra explains the work as a commentary based on the fundamentals of grammar, language, and stylistic sensitivity and conforming to the requirements of logic and reason.
Ibn Ezra declares that he is not obligated to previous commentaries, referring both to Midrashic sources and the commentaries of his predecessors. However, in his commentaries to the halakhic part of the Torah, Ibn Ezra sees himself as bound to the Sages’ exegesis.
Similarly, Ibn Ezra distinguishes between two types of Midrashic sources: tradition and speculation. The Ibn Ezra feels compelled to accept a tradition but not an interpretation that they concocted of their own accord.
Ibn Ezra formulates a consistent set of linguistic and grammatical rules in his commentary:
- The formulation of rules which are adequate for all circumstances. For example he explains the word "Na" as always meaning "now".
- The meaninglessness of trivial changes; the verse uses synonyms frequently, and there need be no justification for interchanging them. Similarly, there is no reason necessary for variations in spelling. This is applied to differences between the Ten Commandments in Shemot vs. Devarim.
- The verse will often use a word to refer to multiple items, even though it appears in the text only once.
- The Torah is written generally according to chronological sequence. Despite this, sometimes there are some divergences from chronological sequence.
- The juxtaposition of the passages in the halakhic sections of the Torah is significant, not a capricious sequence of laws.
