Commentary for Isaiah 34:19

ומלאה And its fulness;¹A. V., And all that is therein. that is, those beings of which it is full.

תבל The inhabited part of the earth.²A. V., The world. According to I. E., ארץ is the whole earth; תבל the inhabited part of it.

צאצאיה The things that come out of it. It is derived from יצא to go out.

For the indignation, etc. All commentators refer this prophecy to the Messianic period, except R. Moses Hakkohen, who says, that Edom was destroyed in the time of the invasion by the Assyrians, and that all these chapters (xxiv—xxxiv) are connected with each other.³Although it is not distinctly mentioned, it may be fairly supposed that Edom was conquered by the Assyrians at the same time when Syria and all the neighbouring countries were occupied by the armies of Assyria.—Edom was conquered and united with Judæa by John Hyrcanus, 129 B.C.

צבאם Their armies.

באשם Their stink. It is a noun derived from באש after the form of קׂדֶשׁ holiness.

ונמסו And shall be melted. Niphal of מסס to melt.

And all the host of heaven shall melt They shall be frightened when I cast down the princes of the heathens.([Mss. yield:] the princes of the nations.) ([Warsaw edition:] of Assyria and Babylon.)

And all the host of heaven, etc. When the fatal day approaches to man, the sun darkens to him, as it is said in the description of the approaching death (Koh. 12:2). I think, that by these words the support is to be understood which each nation receives from its representative above; comp. Dan. 10:20.⁴This is a part of the Kabbalistic theory, which is, in some respects, the development of the Neo-Platonic philosophy; it gives to the material world below its image, its abstract form, above, and attributes to these heavenly images real life and the power to govern the world below. Those images, or ideas, are called angels, or the princes above, or by similar names.

shall be rolled (וְנָגֹלּוּ) an expression of rolling. And the heavens shall be rolled like a scroll. Jonathan renders: And they shall be erased from beneath the heavens, as it is stated about them in the Book. But I explain it according to the context, for now, the kingdoms of the Ishmaelites (the nations [ms.]) (the wicked [Warsaw ed.]) have fortune and light. When they are erased and destroyed, it will be as though the world has darkened for them, as though the sun and the light are rolled up like the rolling of a scroll.

ונמקו And shall be dissolved. Niphal of מקק to dissolve. ונגלו And shall be rolled together. Niphal of גלל to roll; comp. מגלה roll (Jer. 36:28)

withers (יִבּוֹל) withers.

and as a withered [fig] from a fig tree The withered fruit of a tree is called נוֹבְלוֹת. This is what our Rabbis (Ber. 40b) explained: What are ‘noveloth’? Fruit ripened in the heater, that become ripe in the heater. After they are picked, he gathers them and they become heated and ripen.

For My sword has become sated in the heaven To slay the heavenly princes, and afterward it shall descend on the nation Ishmael ([mss. and Kli Paz:] Edom) ([Warsaw ed.:] Babylonians) below, for no nation suffers until its prince suffers in heaven.

For my sword, etc. This verse confirms my remark concerning the heavenly decrees.⁵That the divine decrees (גזרות) are identical with the first steps taken towards the realisation of the will of the Almighty. It is first carried out above upon the heavenly ideals of the earthly objects, and then below on earth. Comp. I. E. on 9:7, 16:13, and Dan. 10:24.

the nation with whom I contend (עַם חֶרמִי), the nation with whom I battle. This is a Mishnaic expression: (Keth. 17b) They taught this in connection with time of strife (חֵרוּם). Comp. (I Kings 20:42) “The man with whom I contend (אִישׁ חֶרְמִי),” referring to Ahab.

עם חרמי The people of my doom.⁶Upon the people of my curse. The people which I desire to see doomed to punishment.

lambs and goats princes and governors.

The sword of the Lord. The divine decree.

in Bozrah It is from the land of Moab, but since it supplied a king for Edom, as it is stated (Gen. 36:33): “And Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead,” it will, therefore, suffer with them. This is found in Pesikta.

הודשנה Is made fat. Many think it is a form composed of the Hophal and Hithpael,⁷The Hophal of רשן is הֻדְשְׁנָה, the Niphal is נִדְשְׁנָה; a compound of both could hardly produce the form הֻדַּשְׁנָה, as we might infer from the Hebrew text: מורכבת מבנין שלא נקרא שם פועלו ומבנין נפעל a compound of Hophal and Niphal. Instead of נפעל we must read התפעל; for the Hithp. of דשן is הִדַּשְּׁנָה ═ הִתְדַּשְּׁנָה, the Hophal הָדְשְׁנָה and the form הֻדַּשְׁנָה may well be considered as a compound of these two, the Dagesh in ד and the Pathah under it being the traces left of the Hithp., the remainder being the characteristics of the Hophal. but wrongly;⁸I. E. in Zahoth, On the compound forms, seems to include in this term only such words as can easily be divided into two parts, the one containing properties of the one. form, the other of the second; הֻדַּשְׁנָה which begins and ends with the regular form of the Hophal, is, on account of the irregularity of the middle syllable, called by I. E. an irregular form of the Hophal. it is an irregular form; it is derived from דשן to be fat; comp. דשן fat (30:23).

כרים Lambs. Comp. Deut. 32:14. — The nobles are figuratively called lambs; comp. אילי מואב the chiefs⁹Lit.: the rams. of Moab.

Bozrah. According to some it is the name of the town now called Constantinople; this is impossible, because since the foundation of that town, there have not yet elapsed a thousand years;¹⁰Constantinople was built in 330, on the site of Byzantium, which was founded about 660 B.C., long after the death of Isaiah. Bozrah is a province in Edom.¹¹Rashi quotes a passage from the Pesikta, in which it is stated, that Bozrah belonged to Moab, but shared the fate of Edom. Comp. Jer. 48:24. Very probably there were several places of the name Bozrah; since בצרה is originally an appellative, signifying stronghold or castle; there was one Bozrah in Edom, another in Moab.

wild oxen with them Kings with governors, wild oxen with the goats mentioned above.

With them, with the lambs and goats; by the unicorns and bullocks the kings of Edom are meant.

fat bulls (אַבִּירִים) fat and large bulls, as it is stated (Ps. 22:13): “Fat bulls (אַבִּירֵי) of Bashan surrounded me.”

retribution for the plea of Zion That He will mete out punishment (lit., pay a reward) for the plea of Zion, who cries before Him to judge her from those who harm her.

For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, etc. This verse shows that the prophecy refers to the Messianic period;¹²It is not clear, how the words of this verse prove its reference to the Messianic period; the inference is perhaps drawn from the circumstance, that no hostilities of the Edomites against the Israelites, which should call for vengeance and recompences, are reported in scripture in describing the reign of Hezekiah. some believe, that it was fulfilled already in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, after the conquest of Zion; comp. The cup will be passed also to thee (Lam. 4:21).¹³This passage contains only a hope or prayer, and permits no inference as to the time when that hope was realised. It is, however, very probable, that Edom was occupied by the Babylonians in their expeditions against Syria and Egypt, as it had been previously by the Assyrians.

The year of recompences. Comp. Thy reward shall return over thine own head (Obad. 15); these words refer likewise to Edom.

And its streams shall turn (I.e., the streams) of the heathens. ([Mss. yield:] of Edom.)

And the streams thereof, etc. This really happened or will happen¹⁴If this prophecy refers to the time of Hezekiah, as R. Moses Hakkohen asserts, or to the time of Nebuchadnezzar, as others believe, then it has been fulfilled already; if to the Messianic period, as I. E. seems to assume, it is yet to be fulfilled. in a miraculous way, as some believe; others are of opinion that this verse is to be taken figuratively: None will remain there to drink the water, as if it were changed to pitch.

בוערה Burning. This word shows that the ת of זפת is the feminine termination.¹⁵זפת is derived from זוף, which, however, is not found in any other form in the Bible.

from generation to generation From that generation until the last generation. Another explanation is that this is Moses’ curse (Ex. 17:16): “The Lord has a war against Amalek from generation to generation.” From Moses’ generation to Saul’s generation, and from there to Mordecai’s generation, and from there to the generation of the King Messiah.

It shall not be quenched. The fire thereof shall not be quenched.

לנצח נצחים For ever and ever. For periods without end.

owl (קִפֹּד) a bird that flies at night (chouette in French), an owl.

קפוד Hedgehog.¹⁶A. V., Bittern. Well known;¹⁷It seems as if I. E. used the word well-known when he was at a loss to substitute another word for it. He derives the word קפוד from קפד to fold or to roll together because of its peculiar habit of rolling itself into a ball. See I. E. on 14:23. the root of this word is met with in קפדתי I have rolled together (38:12).¹⁸In his remark on 38:12, I. E. explains קפדתי by כפלתי I folded together.

a line of waste A judgment of desolation.

And he shall stretch upon it, etc. Lime and stones are materials used by the builder.

and weights of destruction Weights of the judgment of destruction. (אַבְנֵי, lit., stones.) Comp. (Deut. 25:15) “a whole weight (אֶבֶן).”

תהו, בהו Emptiness, confusion. These words are similar in meaning to שממה desolation.

As for its nobles, there are none who proclaim the kingdom Its princes stand, and none of them calls upon himself the name of ruling and kingdom.

חוריה The nobles thereof. They are compared with the white colour; the people of the lower class are called the black (Prov. 22:29).

nothing Destruction.

יקראו They shall be called.¹⁹Comp. Chapter ii. Note 5. Lit., They—the people—will call them. למלוכה ═ מלוכה to the kingdom.

אפס Nothing.

And its palaces shall grow thorns So is the nature of ruins to grow thorns and briers, and that is ‘kimosh’ and that is ‘choach’; they are all types of thorns, e.g., ortias, (nettles,) and the like.

ארמנותיה Over her palaces.²⁰A. V., In her palaces. The preposition על is to be supplied. ועלתה סירים And thorns shall come up. Lit., And each of the thorns shall come up.²¹Comp. Chapter ii. Note 18. סירים Thorns. Comp. Koh. 7:6. קמוש The same.

the habitat of jackals (תַּנִּים) That is a desert, which is usually frequented by ‘tannim,’ which is a species of wild animal.

תנים Dragons. Comp. Job 30:29.

חצר ═ חציר A court. Comp. יָשֵׂשׂ (2 Chr. 36:17) ═ יָשִׂישׂ (Job 15:10), old. It can also be taken in its usual meaning: grass.²²Comp. Ps. 104:14; Job. 8:12, etc.

And martens shall meet cats And martens shall meet with cats. In this matter Jonathan rendered it. תַּמְוָן is נִמִּיּוֹת (martrines in O.F.), martens.

ציים The wild beasts of the desert.

and a satyr A demon.

איים Kites.²³A. V., The wild beasts of the islands. It is the plural of אַיָה (Lev. 11:14), although it has the masculine termination .ים.

rests (הִרְגִּיעָה) an expression related to מַרְגּוֹעַ, rest.

שעירים An animal, similar to the wild goat.²⁴A. V., Satyr.

lilith The name of a female demon.

הרגיעה Shall rest.

לילית The screech owl. A bird that flies abroad by night.

has made its nest (קִנְּנָה) an expression related to ‘a bird’s nest’ (קַן) (Deut. 22:6).

קפוז The great owl. It is not the same as ²⁵I. E. frequently states, that he objects to the assumption of an interchange of letters others than א ה ו י. Rashi is of opinion that קפוז and קפד are the same.;קפוד it is some other bird.²⁶Other bird is not quite correct; for קפוד is explained by I. E. to signify the hedgehog; the word other is perhaps used with regard to the birds mentioned ver. 11, and in this same verse (15).

owl (קִפּוֹז) that is the owl (קִפֹּד).

ותמלט And lay. Comp. והמליטה זכר and she was delivered of a man-child (66:7).

and she has laid She laid eggs.

ובקעה And break.²⁷A. V., Shall hatch. It is the nature of this bird to break its eggs.

and hatched This is the emerging of the chicks from the egg. Comp. (below 59:5) The eggs of the viper have hatched.

ודגרה And gather. Comp. דגר he gathereth²⁸A. V., Sitteth on eggs. (Jer. 17:11).

and gathered This is the call that the bird calls with its throat to draw the chicks after it, gloussera in French. Comp. (Jer. 17:11) “A cuckoo gathers (דָגָר) what it did not lay.”

דיות Vultures. It is the plural of דַיָה (Deut. 14:13)

vultures (דַיּוֹת) voltojjrs in O.F.

each one to her friend (lit., each one her friend,) like to her friend.

Seek out of the Book of the Lord Read out of the Book of Genesis; when He brought the Flood, He decreed that all the creatures gather in the Ark, male and female, and none of them was missing. How much more will this be so when He decrees this upon them, to gather to drink blood and to eat flesh and fat!

Seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read: none of these shall fail, etc. None of the divine decrees, which are written down with the finger of God, shall fail; all of them will be fulfilled in Edom. Or: None of those, for which Edom is said (ver. 13, 14) to become the habitation, shall fail.

did not miss (פָקָדוּ) Comp. (Num. 31:49) “Not a man was missing (נִפְקַד) of us.”

My mouth. The decrees that come from the mouth of the Lord.

for My mouth it has commanded that they come.

ורוחו And its breath,²⁹A. V. And his spirit. that is, the breath of His mouth. It is a repetition of the same idea.

and the breath of My mouth it gathered them. The antecedent of ‘its breath’ is ‘My mouth.’ Comp. (Ps. 33:6) “And with the breath of His mouth all their host.” Here too, the breath of My mouth it gathered them.

And He cast...for them Now the prophet says concerning the Holy One, blessed be He, “And He cast lots for them,” for all those beasts and fowl, that these shall fall to their share.

חלקתה Hath divided it. Both subject and object are feminine.

בקו By line. With the line of truth.³⁰This remark of I. E. is probably based upon the occurrence of the definite article in בַּקָּו, lit., by the line.