Commentary for Isaiah 13:8
וְֽנִבְהָ֓לוּ ׀ צִירִ֤ים וַֽחֲבָלִים֙ יֹֽאחֵז֔וּן כַּיּוֹלֵדָ֖ה יְחִיל֑וּן אִ֤ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙ יִתְמָ֔הוּ פְּנֵ֥י לְהָבִ֖ים פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃
And they shall be affrighted; Pangs and throes shall take hold of them; They shall be in pain as a woman in travail; They shall look aghast one at another; Their faces shall be faces of flame.
Rashi on Isaiah
pangs and throes (צִירִים וַחֲבָלִים) These are expressions of pains of a woman who kneels to give birth, for the hinges (צִירִים) of her womb break apart to open.
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Ibn Ezra on Isaiah
פני להבים A face of flames. A face burnt by the intensity of the pains. According to others: The face of the Lehabim;9Comp. Genesis 10:13. Lehabim being the name of a nation similar to the Ethiopians.
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Rashi on Isaiah
they shall writhe Heb. יְחִילוּן. חִיל, חַלְחָלָה are expressions of shivering.
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Rashi on Isaiah
each man shall be amazed at his fellow The Babylonians will be amazed at those who advanced against them, for they are peculiar.
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Rashi on Isaiah
their faces are faces of flames A nation whose faces are red and very frightful, [or alternatively, because they are a pensive people, and he compares the Babylonians to them because of the amazement.]
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