Commentary for Isaiah 1:21

a harlot Astray from her God.

The prophet has thus reproved the people but they do not listen.

city which was faithful and full of justice, and righteousness would lodge therein, but now murderers.

How is the faithful city become an harlot. Jerusalem is like a woman that has become faithless to her husband, after having been a faithful wife.

full of justice Heb. מְלֵאֲתִי מִשְׁפָּט [equivalent to מְלֵאַתמִשְׁפָּט, the ‘yud’ being superfluous,] as in (Lamentations 1:1) רַבָּתִי עָם, “great in population” [equivalent to רַבַּתעָם].

מלאתי Full of. The י is paragogic as in גנבתי the theft of (Gen. 31:39.)⁴²The construct state of גנבה ,מלאה is regularly גנבַת מלאַת.

in which righteousness would lodge The daily dawn sacrifice would atone for the sins [committed] at night, and the daily afternoon [sacrifice] would atone for those of the day. Another explanation is that they would allow capital cases to rest overnight when they could find no merit for him, [i.e., for the defendant;] they would not conclude his verdict until the morrow, perhaps they would find a merit for him, and now they have become murderers. [We find in] Pesikta [d’Rav Kahana p. 121a]: Rabbi Menahem bar Oshia [according to Parshandatha,] Rabbi Phinehas in the name of Rabbi Oshia said: Four hundred eighty-one synagogues were in Jerusalem, corresponding to the numerical value of מְלֵאֲתִי.

ילין Was lodging. The future is here used for the imperfect,⁴³זמן עומד literally, the standing time, duration. As a form of the verb it indicates that the action has commenced already, but is not yet finished. This is always the case with the present tense, which is therefore called by I. E זמן עומד. But the imperfect was lodging, expressing continuation, repetition or duration is likewise included in this term. which has no special form in Hebrew.

and now murderers They killed Uriah; they killed Zechariah.

מרצחים Murderers. Literally, they that cause to murder. It is participle Piel, and has a causative meaning, referring to the judges.^{43 *}Bad judges cause to murder, by ordering the execution of innocent persons.