Commentary for Isaiah 44:8
אַֽל־תִּפְחֲדוּ֙ וְאַל־תִּרְה֔וּ הֲלֹ֥א מֵאָ֛ז הִשְׁמַעְתִּ֥יךָ וְהִגַּ֖דְתִּי וְאַתֶּ֣ם עֵדָ֑י הֲיֵ֤שׁ אֱל֙וֹהַּ֙ מִבַּלְעָדַ֔י וְאֵ֥ין צ֖וּר בַּל־יָדָֽעְתִּי׃
Fear ye not, neither be afraid; Have I not announced unto thee of old, and declared it? And ye are My witnesses. Is there a God beside Me? Yea, there is no Rock; I know not any.
Rashi on Isaiah
and be not dismayed Heb. תִּרְהוּ. There is no similar word, and its interpretation according to its context is like תֵּחַתּוּ, be not dismayed from making My name known among the heathens (nations [K’li Paz and mss.]).
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Ibn Ezra on Isaiah
אל תרהו Be ye not afraid, תרהו is hap. leg; those that identify it with תראו are wrong, on account of the absence of the radical י 10This is no good reason at all; since י of ירא to fear can in writing be well omitted in the future Kal; it is read תּׅ־רְאוּ to distinguish it from. תּׅרְאוּ you will see.—According to I. E. א and ה belong to those letters which interchange.—
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Rashi on Isaiah
let you hear from Mount Sinai, and I told you there that there is no God besides Me.
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Ibn Ezra on Isaiah
Be not afraid, when those calamities befall Babylon.
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Rashi on Isaiah
and you are My witnesses that I opened for you seven heavens and showed you that there is no other, and you are My witnesses to this thing that there is no God besides Me.
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Ibn Ezra on Isaiah
Have I not told thee of it long ago? Ye are even my witnesses, and you will see whether there is a God beside me; There is no God בל ירעתי whom I know not11A. V., I know not any. to be vain and powerless. According to some, whom I chastised not; comp. ויודע and he chastised12A. V., He taught. (Jud. 8:16). I think that the prophet speaks here of the host of heaven.13In that case צור rock, protection, would signify the same as שׂר prince, used by Daniel 10:20. See I. E. on 24:21, Note 30.
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Rashi on Isaiah
and there is no rock I did not know Jonathan renders: And there is no strong one unless he is given strength by Me.
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Rashi on Isaiah
I did not know Heb. יָדַעְתִּי. An expression similar to (Exodus 33:17) “And I knew you by name (וָאֵדָעֲךָ)”; (Deut. 2:7) “He knew (יָדַע) your going”; (Hosea 13:5) “I knew you (יְדַעְתִּיךָ) in the desert.”
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