Commentary for Isaiah 31:14

Woe Concerning Hoshea and the ten tribes who went down to Egypt for aid, who sent emissaries to So, king of Egypt (II Kings 17).

אוי ═ הוי Woe!¹See c. i., Note 13.—Woe unto those that go down to Egypt, that do not see the deliverance that is coming, and go thither in order to be saved, but will in fact perish there.

on horses that come from there, for they are swift runners.

ולא שעו And they look not. Lit. They do not resign themselves to the mercy of God.²שעה means literally to turn away (See I. E. on 17:7, and note 11); it is, therefore, usually followed by מן from; but by way of ellipsis, sometimes by אל, so that שעה מן ⋯ אל ═ שעה אל. Comp. שעו מני turn away from me (22:4); to consider שענו ═ שעו is incorrect.³שעו is derived from שעה to turn; שענו from שען to lean.

rely (יִשָּׁעֵנוּ) and they did not rely on the Holy One of Israel as Hezekiah did, concerning whom it is written: (II Kings 18:5,7): “He trusted in the Lord God of Israel...and he rebelled against the king of Assyria.”

and His words He did not retract What He said, “And the Lord shall take you back to Egypt in ships” (Deut. 28:68). This is payment in kind, for I said to you, “You shall no longer see it (ibid.),” and you went there of your own free will. Eventually, you shall go there in exile against your will.

Yet he also is wise, etc. God also knew their plans, and has brought evil upon them.

and He rose on the ten tribes, who are a house of evildoers, and on the Egyptians who came to their aid.

לא הסיר He hath not called back.⁴A.V., He will not call back.

shall turn His hand For the Holy One, blessed be He, supports everything with His hand, and when He turns it, they will fall, like one who holds something in his hand, and when he inclines his hand, it falls. So is the Midrash Aggadah (Mechilta, Exodus 15:12). Jonathan, however, renders: shall raise the blow of His might.

And not a spirit, that is, not an angel. Comp. ורוחו and His spirit═and His angel (48:16).⁵אֵל and רוּחַ are contrasted with אדם and בשר, the help from above with that of man, the deliverance to be caused by God with that expected from the support of Egypt; in the report of the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian army, the angel is mentioned as the agent; therefore רוח is explained here by angel.

His hand. The striking with His hand.

And they all together, Egypt and those that fled thither. The King of Assyria attacked Egypt at the same time that Jerusalem was threatened by him.⁶The expedition of Sennacherib against Egypt was not successful; he besieged Pelusium, but was compelled to retire by Tirhaka, King of Æthiopia. See Geschichte Assure und Babels von Niebuhr, p. 174.

יכליון They shall fail. It is the full form, without dropping the third radical, like יחסיון they trust⁷Comp. 21:12. (Ps. 36:8)

As...growls (יֶהְגֶּה) a roaring sound. Comp. (infra 59:11) “And like doves we will moan (הָגֹה נֶהְגֶּה) .”

יהגה He roareth. It is the same in meaning as ישאג.

although a band of shepherds gather against him (יִקָּרֵא, lit., will be called.) They will gather upon him with a stirring shout.

יקרא עליו מלא רעים אשר When all⁸A. V., A multitude of. shepherds are called, one by the other, to join in the fight against the lion.

band of shepherds (מְלֹא) a gathering of shepherds. Comp. (Jer. 12:6) “They called after you a band (מָלֵא).” Comp. also (Job 16:10) “Together they gather (יִתְמַלָּאוּן) against me.” All of these are expressions of gathering.

מלא The full number, all of them, that not one shepherd shall fail to come.

he is not subdued (יַעֲנֶה) he will not humble himself, he will not make himself as a poor man. Comp. (Exodus 10:3) “To humble yourself (לֵעָנוֹת) from before Me.” Comp. also (Hosea 5:5) “And the pride of Israel shall be humbled (וְעָנָה).”

לא יענה He will not abase himself. Root ענה to be poor. Comp. עני poor (Deut. 24:12); לענות to be humble (Ex. 10:3); יענה shall be brought low (25:5).

so shall...descend (This intimates that God will descend) and will not be afraid of the stirring (or the multitude) of the nations.

So shall the Lord of hosts come down, etc. The angel coming down to smite the Assyrian army is meant.

passing over (פָּסוֹחַ) passing over. Alternatively, it may be interpreted as an expression of sparing.

כצפרים As birds. This noun is feminine, although it has the plural termination ־ִים (comp. פילגשים concubines, signifying exclusively a female being, and still with the masculine termination); it is therefore followed by the feminine form עפות flying.

and rescuing He will extricate Israel from the strait. This is an expression of rescue (esmoucer in O. F.).

עפות is a participle. Comp. רצות ושבוּת running and returning (Ez. 1:14).⁹The Hebrew text has רצות נשבות; this seems to be a corruption of רצות ושבות, (the reading of the Br. Mus. MS.); but this phrase is not found in the Bible; we must, therefore, either suggest another reading, perhaps נשמות ארצות, countries that are desolate, (Ez. 30:7), and explain the quotation as a proof of the correctness of the use of the participle as an adjective, or suppose that I. E. read רצות ושבות (Ez. 1:14), instead of רצוא ושוב of our editions.

יגן He will cover.¹⁰A.V., Will defend.—Root גנן to cover, to protect. Comp. מגן shield (Gen. 15:1). As the birds cover with their wings their young ones, in order to protect them, so will the Lord, etc.

וְהִצִּיל And to deliver.¹¹A.V., He will deliver. Although there is a Hirek under the ה, it is nevertheless infinitive.¹²The regular form is וְהַצֵּל. The same remark is to be applied to וְהִמְלִיט instead of וְהַמְלִיט

פסוח To pass over. Comp. ופסח and he will pass over (Ex. 12:23)

Return To the One about Whom you have thought deeply how to turn away from Him, now return to Him.

Turn ye unto him, etc. The prophet, addressing Israel, says: Return, ye Israelites, to God, from whom you have deeply revolted. סרה is derived from סרר to revolt. Comp. סורר rebellious (Deut. 21:18)

Your hands. Your workmen.

חטא For a sin; for a sin κατ ἐξοχήν, a sin that surpasses all others.

With a sword, not of a mighty man, but with the drawn sword of an angel. The sword is a figurative expression.

And his young men that will have escaped shall be discomfited, shall be overtaken on the ways in which they try to flee.

And his rock shall pass from fear And his strength shall be weakened from great fear.

And he shall pass by his stronghold, etc.¹³A. V., And he shall pass over to his stronghold. He will go beyond his stronghold at the border of his kingdom, for his great fear; he will flee, and not rely on his strongholds. And his princes, etc. His princes that will have escaped, or will remain in the land, will be afraid of every ensign which they will see.

shall be dismayed at the miracle Because of the great miracles that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs for Israel.

Fire, furnace. By these names the altar in Jerusalem is meant; or they are used figuratively,¹⁴Signifying the approaching divine punishment. like And the flame of consuming fire (29:6).¹⁵Comp. I. E., ad locum.

whose fire is in Zion There the fire will be prepared to burn them.