Commentaire sur Isaïe 65:30

I allowed Myself to be sought by those who did not ask The Holy One, blessed be He, replies to him, It is impossible not to avenge Myself on them, for I allowed Myself to be sought by them by reproving them through My prophets, but they did not ask.

I was¹A. V., I am sought. sought, etc. This is the reply of God to the prayer of the Israelites; He says: Your fathers have provoked me, but ‘ I was sought,’ that is, I offered myself to be found whenever they were in trouble, to them that asked me not, that I should be accessible to them.

I said, “Here I am; here I am!” Return to Me, and I am ready to accept you.

I said, ‘ Behold me, behold me,’ repeatedly through the prophets.²I. E. adds through the prophets, because the Lord revealed Himself directly to the whole nation only once, namely, on Mount Sinai.

to a nation not called by My name That did not wish to be called by My name.

That was not called by my name in those days, but by the name of Baal.

I spread out My hands in order to accept them with repentance.

I have spread out my hands, etc. According to R. Moses Hakkohen, the preceding verse refers to all nations, as if God said, Even to nations that are not called by my name, I was accessible, but as regards my people I have spread my hands to receive them.

contrary Heb. סוֹרֵר, turning away from the road.

הדרך לא טוב In a way that is not good. Supply דרך way before לא טוב not good;³לא טוב is the genitive governed by דרך, which must be supplied; because הדרך cannot govern the genitive on account of the definite article. Comp. I. E. on 30:20. comp. טוב ורע עץ הדעת דעת═עץ הדעת טוב ורע the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9)

those who sacrifice in gardens They erect idols in their gardens, and there they burn incense on the bricks.

To my face. Like a servant that provokes his master while in his presence.

In gardens of idolatry.

They sit among the graves so that a spirit of defilement of demons should rest upon them.

That sit among the graves, to inquire of the dead, and to listen to the spirits.

and with corpses Heb. וּבַנְּצוּרִים. They are the bodies of the dead, who are as placed in a siege (מָצוֹר), unable to get out.

ובנצורים And in ruins.⁴A. V., In the monuments. Besieged.. Comp. נצורה waste (1:8).

and broth of abominations Heb. מְרַק, despicable broth. Comp. (Jud. 6:20) “And the broth (הַמָּרָק) pour out.”

Which eat, etc. All this is done in order to provoke me.

וטרק And broth. Its meaning is well known; comp. Judg. 6:20. The Ketib⁵See ix. Note 2. is ופרק; the two words, however, are the same in meaning.

Those who say to the righteous, קְרַב אֵלֶיךָ, “Keep to yourself and do not come near me.”

Which say. They, the unclean, say to the others, that have never eaten swine’s meat, etc.

for I am holier than you Heb. כִּי קְדַשְׁתִּיךָ. For I am holier and purer than you. In this manner Jonathan renders.

גשה אליך═קרב אליך Stand by thyself. Lit. Go nearer to thyself.

these abominations that they committed are as smoke, wrath in My nostrils.

קדשתיך I am holier than thou. It is an intransitive verb; as to the suffix,⁶The suffix of the verb is generally the same as the corresponding pronoun in the accusative, and should therefore be joined only to transitive verbs; but exceptionally it is a substitute for a pronoun and a preposition, and can in that case be joined to a neuter verb, as e.g., קרשתיך I am holier than thou. comp. יצאוני have gone out of me (Jer. x 20); similarly קדשתיך has the same meaning as קדשתי ממך I am holy, more than thou.

אלה עשן באפי These put⁷A. V., These are. smoke in my nose.

Behold it is inscribed Their sin is inscribed before Me, and their sentence has already been decreed and sealed.

Behold it is written before me. This evil which they have done, is, as it were, written before me; I have not forgotten it.

Your iniquities Yours and your forefathers’ together I will recompense you.

Your iniquities, etc. You have added sins to the sins of your forefathers. I measured their former work into their bosom. Your fathers went into exile for their idolatry.

As when wine is found in the cluster Jonathan renders: As Noah was found innocent in the generation of the Flood.

Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine, etc. Although they have sinned, it will, nevertheless, be in those days as when the new wine is found in the cluster and one saith to the other do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it. I shall do the same for the sake of my servants, the righteous men of Israel, during their exile; namely, I shall not utterly destroy them.

the wine This is Noah, who was sweet.

in the cluster Heb. בָּאֶשְׁכּוֹל. In the bereft (הַמְשֻׁכָּל) generation. This may also be interpreted according to its apparent meaning.

for the sake of My servants For the sake of every righteous man found among them.

And I will bring forth out of Jacob, of those that had gone into exile, of the righteous among them: who deserve to be called mine elect.

the Sharon The name of a region in the land of Israel.

עמק עכור The valley of Achor. This valley is near Jerusalem; comp. And the valley of Achor for a door of hope (Hos. 2:15). Others render it, Valley of trouble,⁸That is, the valley, in which the Israelites have brought trouble upon themselves through their bad actions. I. E., justly rejects this explanation, because the words עמק עכור are probably like השרון in the first part of the verse, a proper name, without any reference to trouble or sin. comparing it with עכר that troublest (1 Kings 18:17). The latter is a forced explanation.

and the Valley of Achor As its apparent meaning.

For my people that sought me. For He will remember those that seek another besides Him.

who forsake the Lord The wicked of Israel who adopted paganism and died in their wickedness.

הַשְׁכֵחִים That forget, (lit., that are forgetful). It is an adjective,⁹I. E. explains שְׁכֵהִים to be an adjective, although it governs an accusative, since the participle is שֹׁכְחִים; or he means by שם תאר the participle, and שְׁכֵחִים would in that case be another form of the participle, that could be compared with יראים, the only form of the participle Kal of ירא, to fear. similar in form to יְרֵאִים afraid (1 Sam. 23:3).

who set a table for Gad The name of a pagan deity on the name of the zodiac, and in the language of the mishnah, (Shabbath 67b) “May my fate be lucky (גָד גַּדִּי) and not fatigued.”

לגד For the host of the heavens.¹⁰A. V., That troop. R. Moses Hakkohen says, that גד means the planet Jupiter which forebodes only good things;¹¹According to the belief of Eastern people; In Arabic, Jupiter is called السعد الاكبر the greatest fortune. that in Arabic the word has the same meaning;¹²جَدٌ Felicitas. but that בגל (Gen. 30:11) is different from it.¹³I. E. renders בגד a troop comes, and refers it to the troop of five children, which Leah then had.

for a number Heb. לַמְנִי . According to the number of the computation of the priests, they would fill basins of mingled wine.

למני For Meni.¹⁴A. V., That number. According to some מני (lit., number) is the name of the Zodiac, because each of its constellations has a certain number of stars. R. Moses Hakkohen says that מני is the name of one star.¹⁵R. Moses Hakkohen mentions no name of that star. Gesenius is of opinion that מני is Venus; others compare it with μήvη the moon.

mingled wine Heb. מִמְסָךְ, wine mingled with water as was customary. Comp. (Prov. 23:30) “To search for mingled wine (מִמְסָךְ).” Also (ibid. 9:2), “She mingled (מָסְכָה) her wine.” Some interpret לַמְנִי, to the pagan deities that you appointed (מִנִּיתֶם) over yourselves, but וּמָנִיתִי אֶתְכֶם, which is not punctuated וּמִנִּיתִי with a ‘dagesh,’ indicates that it is an expression of counting.

ממסך Drink offering. Comp., מסכה she hath mingled (Prov. 9:2)

ומניתי And I will number. The repetition of the same root is considered as an elegance in Hebrew. Comp. גד גדוד עודנו Gad, a troop shall overcome him (Gen. 49:19); דן ידין Dan shall judge (ibid. 16). Thus the verb ומניתי is used because of מני at the end of the preceding verse; it means I shall number; comp. מונה that telleth (Jer. 33:13)

My servants The righteous [of Israel].

My servants, that return to Zion.

but you who rebel against Me.

But ye others, that do not serve the Lord, will remain in their miseries.

תְּיֵילִילוּ Ye shall howl. The regular form of the word would be ¹⁶Or תֵּילִילוּ after the form הֵילִילוּ (23:1); the root is ילל.תַּיְלִילוּ; comp., יַיְשִׁירוּ they look straight (Prov. 4:25). It is similar in form to יְיֵדָע he knoweth; (Ps. 138:6), and יְיֵטִיב he doth good (Job 24:21)

your name for an oath From your name shall be taken a curse and an oath for generations, “If it does not befall me as it befell So-and-so.”

And ye shall leave your name for a curse. Comp.¹⁷The Hebrew text has the words ואלה כמו; and a curse, comp. ואלה is either the explanation of לשבועה and must be altered into לאלה, or it is the remnant of a quotation, and must in that case be preceded by כמו. The Lord make thee a curse and an oath (Num. 5:21); The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab (Jer. 29:22). The Lord God shall slay thee. Thus they will say to each other.¹⁸This explanation is given on account of the change of the number; the suffix in שמכם is plural, while that of והמיתך is singular. In Targum Jonathan it is rendered, וימיתכון and shall kill you.

and...shall slay you an eternal death.

Another name. That is, a better name.

but to His servants He shall call another name A good name and a mention for a blessing.

For whoever blesses himself on the earth For My fear shall be over all of them, and the earth shall be full of knowledge, and whoever praises himself or lauds himself on the earth, will bless himself by the true God, he will praise himself that he is a servant of the true God, the God of truth, Who realized and observed this, His promise.

המתברך He who blesseth himself. This word is not like ונברכו and shall be blessed (Gen. 18:18); there is a difference between the two words.¹⁹ונברכו is the passive (Niphal), they shall be blessed; that is, they shall receive the blessing from the Almighty; מתברך is reflective (Hithpael): he who blesses himself; that is, he who believes himself blessed or wishes himself to be blessed, as I. E. himself explains below.

for the first troubles have been forgotten Therefore, they shall call Me the true God.

באלהי אמן In the God whom all the world will acknowledge to be the true God, and that there is none besides Him.²⁰A. V., In the God of truth. אמן is an adjective ^20aI. E. seems to overlook that the adjective אמן demands the absolute state before it, not the construct. If, however, אמן is referred by him to the, people, to the faithful, and not to God, the construct state would be explained hereby, but the use of the singular אמן instead of the plural, would still require some explanation. of the same root as אמונה truth (25:1); יתברך ונו׳ Shall bless himself, etc. He shall thankfully acknowledge that this²¹That God is recognised by all people as the Lord of the universe. is true, or wish and pray that it may become true.

Because the former troubles, etc., are hid from mine eyes. The troubles which have befallen the righteous, the servants of the Lord, have been intensified by the circumstance that the wicked used to mock at the pious and their piety, when the latter were afflicted with calamities^21aI. E. perhaps explains here the expression from mine eyes to mean from the eyes of my pious people who perceive all the insults and mocking of the wicked.

new heavens The princes above shall be renewed, and the princes of Israel shall be the upper princes and the princes of the heathens (the nations [Parshandatha]) will be lower, and so on the earth. ([K’li Paz reads:] The princes above shall be renewed, to raise up the humble and to humble the high ones, and so on the earth.) And some say that there will actually be new heavens, and that is correct, for Scripture proves it (infra 66:22): “For as the new heavens, etc.”

בי הנני בורא שמים חדשים וגו׳ For behold, I create new heavens, etc. Some explain this verse thus: Behold, it will be as if I created, etc.²²The heavens are considered as not subject to a material change; it was therefore found necessary to explain the seeming contradiction of this opinion, contained in the prediction of the creation of new heavens. Some explain that there will not be a real, but only an apparent creation of new heavens. The grammarian, R. Jehudah, says, that by the new heavens the creatures in heaven and earth are meant.²³According to this opinion, the totality of the heavens is unchangeable, and that will not be renewed, but the individual creatures in them do not share the same privilege; the new creation refers to them. The right explanation, however, is, that by heavens the atmosphere over the earth is meant, and the meaning of the whole sentence is: God will create a new good atmosphere, that people will be healthy and enjoy a long life; He will likewise increase the productive power of the earth, that it will be as though it were new. Those that refer the passage to the future life of man, are wrong; for it cannot thus agree with the context of the chapter, since in the future life there is neither eating nor drinking, as our sages have taught us,^23aComp. Talmud Babli, Berachoth p. 17. and this idea concerning the future life is the only true one.

The former. The former troubles, as some quite correctly explain; others supply heaven and earth; but there is no sense in their explanation, as may be proved from the next verse.²⁴The opposite of the former things, which shall not be remembered, is described in the next verse by גילה, rejoicing, and משוש,joy. The former things are therefore the former troubles and sufferings.

עדי עד Long years.²⁵A. V., For ever. For at last man dies ^25aAnd therefore he cannot rejoice for ever, and עדי עד in this verse signifies only a long space of time. (comp. vers. 20). הנני בורא את ירושלים Behold, I make²⁶A. V., I create. Jerusalem. From this passage it can be proved that the word ברא does not mean to create (to produce from non-existence into existence) but to form, to renew.

The voice of weeping for one that is slain, or dies too early, as explained in the next verse.

a youth Heb. עוּל יָמִים, a youth. Comp. (Lam. 2:11) “young children (עוֹלֵל).” [Hence,] עוּל יָמִים means young in years.

There shall be no more, etc. This verse shows, that those who will return to Zion will enjoy a long life. The old man will complete his days, that is, the days which the natural constitution of man permits him to live; he will live as long as the former generations from Adam to Noah lived; the same is the case with עולל═עול ימים infant of days.²⁷The infant will likewise complete his days; the time of infancy will be prolonged in the same proportion. ימות וגו׳ כי הנער בן טאה שנה.²⁸The Hebrew text has the words והמת מת, which do not seem to harmonise with the context; from the words which follow, והוא בן מאה שנה, it may be inferred that the word נער, or the whole phrase כי הנער בן מאה שנה, is to be explained, and that the words והמת מת have to be replaced by הנער, or by the whole phrase נער .כי הנער בן מאה שנה is the period of life next to עול ימים. For the young man²⁹A. V., The child. shall die one hundred years old, etc. The sinner who dies a hundred years old, will be cursed; for if he lived less than that, his infancy will plead for him, his mental faculties not yet being fully developed; but being a hundred years old he is a young man, and being then a sinner, he is cursed.³⁰According to Jewish law the age of responsibility of man for his actions begins with the completion of the thirteenth year. Comp. בן שלש עשרה למצות (Aboth. 5:24). We learn from this verse that the world will at last be again as it was at the beginning.³¹That the life of man will equal in length that of the first generations from Adam to Noah, that is, the length of about a thousand years.

who is one hundred years old shall die He shall be subject to punishments to be liable to death for a capital sin. So it is explained in Gen. Rabbah (26:2).

shall be cursed for a sin requiring an anathema.

And they shall build houses, etc. That is, they will be in safety, for there will be no enemy, as explained in the next verse; or, they will build houses, and dwell therein for a long time, while those that die in war are not so happy.

like the days of the tree Jonathan renders: the tree of life.

As the days of the tree that lives for a long time, as the Carob³²Comp. Targ. Jonath.: כיומי אילן חייא, as the days of the tree of life; this refers, perhaps, likewise, to the carob tree, which is called the tree of life, on account of its longevity, its evergreen leaves, or its abundance of nutritious food. and similar trees.

And mine elect shall outlive the work of their hands. Many works of man retain still their new appearance, while man has already become old, as e.g. a building, a book. The pronoun their refers to mine elect, the subject of the sentence.

Nor bring forth for trouble, etc. Their children will not die, for God has blessed the parents, and has blessed the children to remain with them.

טרם I think that it means yet, and with the preposition ב before.³³Comp. I. E. on Ex. 9:30, where he refutes the opinion of Rashi, that לא ═ טרם not, and on Ex. 10:7, where he explains הטרם תדע, dost thou yet wish to know. The meaning of the passage is: I shall readily give them all that they shall ask of me.

shall eat straw and will not have to destroy animals.

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. This is a figurative expression for peace will be established. Many imagine this to be done in such a way, that God will deprive the wolf of its natural voracity, as indicated by the words, And the lion shall eat straw like the bullock.

and a serpent Indeed, dust is his food, which is always available for him. And the Midrash Aggadah explains: And a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw. Since we find that Esau will fall into the hands of the sons of Joseph, as it is said (Obadiah 18): “The house of Esau shall become stubble, and the house of Joseph a flame etc.” But [that they should fall] into the hands of the remaining tribes, who were compared to beasts, we do not find. It is, therefore, stated: “And a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw.” Those tribes that were compared to a lion, such as Judah and Dan, like Joseph, who was compared to an ox, shall devour Esau who was compared to straw.

And dust shall be the serpent’s meat, as is its nature; and it will eat nothing else. The meaning of this passage is: it will do no harm.

In all my holy mountain. All these prophecies refer only to Palestine, for it is distinctly said, in all my holy mountain.