ואל"ף והתאויתם. תחת וי"ו והתוית תיו ואם הם ב' בנינים: AND YE SHALL MARK OUT. The alef in ve-hitavvitem (and ye shall mark out) is in place of a vav.8Vat. Ebr. 38 reads, in place of a tav. The root of ve-hitavvitem appears to be alef, vav, heh. This root means to desire. And you shall desire appears out of place here. Hence I.E.’s suggestion that ve-hitavvitem comes from the root tav, vav, heh, which means to mark out. And you shall mark out fits in well within the context of our verse. Compare, ve-hitvita9Which comes from the root tav, vav, heh. tav (and set a mark) (Ezek. 9:4). This is so, even though the forms differ.10Ve-hitavvitem is in the hitpa’el while ve-hitvita is a hif’il.
והתאויתם. כמו עד תאות גבעות עולם: AND YE SHALL MARK OUT. Ve-hitavvitem (and ye shall mark out) is similar to the word ta’avat (utmost bound) in Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills (Gen. 49:26).11I.E. makes the same point in Genesis. See Vol. 1, p. 447.