Isaiah 54:1 Commentary: Rashi & Ibn Ezra

רָנִּ֥י עֲקָרָ֖ה לֹ֣א יָלָ֑דָה פִּצְחִ֨י רִנָּ֤ה וְצַהֲלִי֙ לֹא־חָ֔לָה כִּֽי־רַבִּ֧ים בְּֽנֵי־שׁוֹמֵמָ֛ה מִבְּנֵ֥י בְעוּלָ֖ה אָמַ֥ר יְהוָֽה׃

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear, Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail; For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

Rashi on Isaiah

Sing, you barren woman Jerusalem, who was as though she had not borne.
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Ibn Ezra on Isaiah

O barren, thou that didst not bear. The congregation of Israel is called barren and a woman that did not bear—the latter attribute being the explanation of the former—because of its small number.
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Rashi on Isaiah

you who have not experienced birth pangs Heb. חָלָה, an expression of childbirth, for the woman in confinement gives birth with pains and writhing.
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