Commentary for Isaiah 38:10

אֲנִ֣י אָמַ֗רְתִּי בִּדְמִ֥י יָמַ֛י אֵלֵ֖כָה בְּשַׁעֲרֵ֣י שְׁא֑וֹל פֻּקַּ֖דְתִּי יֶ֥תֶר שְׁנוֹתָֽי׃

I said: In the noontide of my days I shall go, even to the gates of the nether-world; I am deprived of the residue of my years.

Rashi on Isaiah

I said, In the desolation of my days (בִּדְמִי) When I saw my days בִּדְמִי, in desolation and in silence. Comp. (Zeph. 1:11) “For the entire people of Canaan has been silenced (נִדְמָה).” That is to say that when I became ill, I said, “I will go into the gates of the grave.” Now I will die, since, until that day, no sick person had recovered.

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Ibn Ezra on Isaiah

בדמי. Some derive it from דָּם blood, and explain it, In the vigour;²דם Blood or ═ לשׁד moisture, sap (Ps. 32:4); דמי freshness, vigour; בדמי ימי in the vigour of my days, that is, in the midst of my days. The י in דמי is not radical according to this explanation. The second opinion is, that י is a radical letter, replacing ה, and that דְּמִי is a noun formed of דמה to cut off, like פְּרִי fruit of פּרה.²דם Blood or ═ לשׁד moisture, sap (Ps. 32:4); דמי freshness, vigour; בדמי ימי in the vigour of my days, that is, in the midst of my days. The י in דמי is not radical according to this explanation. The second opinion is, that י is a radical letter, replacing ה, and that דְּמִי is a noun formed of דמה to cut off, like פְּרִי fruit of פּרה. but the correct explanation is: In the cutting off. Comp. נדמה נדמה shall utterly be cut off (Hos. 10:15).

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Rashi on Isaiah

I am deprived of the rest of my years (פֻּקַּדְתִּי) Comp. “(Num. 31:49) No man was missing (נִפְקַד) of us.” I am missing the rest of my years. Jonathan, however, renders: My remembrance has entered for good; years have been added to my years. I have been visited (נִפְקַדְתִּי) for good, and my years have been increased.

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