  Ibn Ezra’s use of the biblical commentary as a vehicle for the dissemination of his teachings was undoubtedly a major factor in his success. His commentary (actually two are preserved for several books) was a concise gloss, offering to his audiences a witty and critical selection of lexical and grammatical insights concerning the “plain” meaning of the text; this is the mode of interpretation that he expressly endorses. Ibn Ezra spiced his commentary with occasional references to a sod, meaning either (or both?) a secret, i.e. esoteric message ensconced in the bible—Ibn Ezra will teasingly pull at the veil, but never remove it—or a fundamental belief (sod thus being equivalent to yesod).  Ibn Ezra prefaced his commentary with a lengthy essay on the four improper, and the one proper, way to go about interpreting the Torah. Finally, he dispersed a number of fairly long digressions, self-standing essays in their own right, in which, in which he generally rehearsed the gamut of his trademark views on grammar, arithmology, and astrology.