Commentaire de citation sur Isaïe 14:15

A further comment in Mechilta (Shirah, 2): the words כי גאה גאה are a reminder that anyone who dares act arrogantly in the knowledge that there is a G’d who is superior to him will be punished. A number of examples are listed there. 1) The Egyptians expressed their arrogance by boasting of their unfailing water supply, the river Nile. Hence G’d punished them through water. The generation of the deluge boasted that they did not need rain (a symbol of blessing from heaven) as they depended on the mist rising from the earth (compare Genesis 2,6). As a result of this boast G’d punished them by water (40 days unceasing rain, plus the opening of subterranean sources of water gushing forth, Genesis 7,11). The people of Sodom, etc., boasted of their wealth and the gold and silver they had amassed. They were so arrogant that they legislated against anyone staying in their cities overnight so that they should not have to share their wealth with any traveler. As a result of this insufferable behavior G’d wiped out both them and their belongings. This is the meaning of Job 28,4: “they open up a shaft far from where men live, in places forgotten by wayfarers, destitute of men, far removed.” We also read in Job 12,5: ”in the thought of the complacent; there is contempt for calamity; it is ready for those whose foot slips.” Ezekiel 16,49 describes the sin of the people of Sodom in the following words: “only this was the sin of your sister Sodom: arrogance! She and her daughters had plenty of bread and untroubled tranquillity; yet she did not support the poor and the needy.” Pharaoh boasted of the might of his chariots as we read in 13,14: “he took 600 choice chariots.” As a result of his reliance and boast of the invincibility of these chariots, G’d punished him by means of these very chariots as we read in 15,4. Siserah also was proud of his iron chariots (horse-drawn tanks), as reported in Judges 4,13. G’d punished him by means of these chariots as we know from Judges 5,20. Samson who had boasted of getting what was “good in his eyes,” was punished by being deprived of his eyesight (Judges 14,3 and 16,1). He had committed a sin at Azzah by sleeping with a harlot (Judges 16,1). He was taken prisoner at Azzah and humbled (Judges 16,21). Avshalom used to boast of his hair only to be eventually caught by it which led to his violent death (Samuel II 18,9). Sancheriv, King of Assyria used to boast of his chariots (Isaiah 37,24). In the end G’d sent an angel to destroy his entire military encampment (Kings II 19,35). Nebuchadnezzar had also boasted saying that he would ascend to the clouds and match the Most High (Isaiah 14,14). G’d dealt with him by consigning him to the deepest part of gehinom (Isaiah 14,15). He said to him: “you elevated yourself above mankind, I will separate you from mankind by placing you far below” (Compare Daniel 4,22). The Torah wrote in our verse גאה גאה to teach us this lesson.

AND BEHOLD A LADDER SET UP ON THE EARTH AND THE TOP OF IT REACHED TO HEAVEN; AND BEHOLD THE ANGELS OF G-D ASCENDING AND DESCENDING ON IT. In a prophetic dream, He showed Jacob that whatever is done on earth is effected by means of the angels, and everything is by decree given to them by the Supreme One. The angels of G-d, whom the Eternal hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth,¹Zechariah 1:10. would not do anything minor or major until they return to present themselves before the Master of the whole earth, saying before Him, “We have traversed the earth,²See ibid., Verse 11. and behold it dwells in peace, or is steeped in war and blood,” and He commands them to return, to descend to the earth and fulfill His charge. And He further showed him [Jacob] that He, blessed be He, stands above the ladder, and promises Jacob with supreme assurance to inform him that he will not be under the power of the angels, but he will be G-d’s portion,³Deuteronomy 32:9. and that He will be with him always, as He said, And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee wherever thou goest⁴Verse 15 here. for his [Jacob’s] excellence is superior to that of the other righteous ones of whom it is said, For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.⁵Psalms 91:11.
And in the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer the Great⁶Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, 35. this vision was akin to the one seen by Abram at the time of the covenant “between the parts”⁷Above, 15:9-18. for He also showed Jacob the dominion of the Four Kingdoms,⁸See Ramban above, 14:1 and 15:12. The Four Kingdoms represent the great world powers seen in a vision by Daniel (Chapter 7), who in succession will subject Israel until such time when Israel’s final and complete deliverance will be effected by the Messiah. The power of the fourth kingdom, that of Rome, is still in sway. See Ramban further at the beginning of Seder Vayechi. Jacob, like Abraham, was thus shown the events that will happen to his descendants during all the generations of their exiles. their ascent and descent. This is the meaning of angels of G-d (mentioned here), just as it is said in the visions of Daniel: the prince of the kingdom of Greece,⁹Daniel 10:20. and the prince of the kingdom of Persia.¹⁰Ibid., Verse 13. Similarly, the angels mentioned in the verse before us are to be understood as the representatives of the various nations. And He promised him that He, exalted be He, will be with him wherever he will go among the nations, and He will guard him and rescue him from them. Thus the Rabbis have said:⁶Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, 35. “The Holy One, blessed be He, showed him the Four Kingdoms, their dominion and their destruction. He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Babylon ascending seventy rungs¹¹Symbolic of the seventy years of the Babylonian exile. and then descending the ladder. Then He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Media ascending one hundred and eighty rungs¹²See my Hebrew commentary, (p. 158, n.12), which asserts that the correct reading is: “He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Media going up fifty-two rungs and then descending. And He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Greece going up one hundred-eighty rungs and then descending.” The number of rungs represent the amount of years that these kingdoms held sway over Israel. and then descending. And then He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Edom ascending and not coming down. Jacob then said to the prince of Edom, Yet thou shalt be brought down to the nether-world.¹³Isaiah 14:15. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to [the prince of Edom], Though thou make thy nest as high as the eagle, etc.”¹⁴Obadiah 1:4. And though thou set it among the stars, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Eternal.

According to Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer chapter 35 G’d showed Yaakov in his dream the four empires who would host Israel in its various exiles, showing them to him in their ascendancy as well as in their eventual decline. He showed him how the celestial representative of the Kingdom of Babylon would ascend seventy rungs on the ladder only to descend all of them again. He showed him the Medes ascending 52 of the rungs of this ladder and then descending again. Then He showed him that the spiritual representative of the Greek Empire ascended 180 rungs of this ladder only in order to have to descend all of them again. Finally, he showed Yaakov how the spiritual representative of the Roman Empire climbed the whole ladder without descending. While doing so that representative boasted that he would conquer heaven whereas Yaakov quoted Isaiah 14,14 where the descent of the Roman Empire is predicted also by the words אך אל שאול תורד “but You will bring him down to She-ol.” G’d had told him “even if you rise like the eagle I will bring you down from there” (Ovadiah 4).