פירוש על ישעיהו 52:14

As many wondered As many peoples wondered about them when they saw them in their humble state, and said to one another, How marred is his [Israel’s] appearance from that of a man! See how their features are darker than those of other people, so, as we see with our eyes.

שממו Were astonished. Comp. ושממו and shall be astonished (Lev. 26:32). Every one will be surprised at the sight of the servant of the Lord.

Many. The heathen nations.

כן משחת מאיש מראהו His visage is so marred more than any man. Supply לאמר saying before this sentence.²³That is, the words His visage is so marred more than any man are the expression of the surprise felt at the sight of the servant of God, not as suggested by some commentators, the cause of the surprise. A.V., His visage was, etc. משחת Marred. It is an adjective.

ותארו And his form. It is in form similar to רחבו his breadth (Exod. 25:10).²⁴The two words, as in the printed editions of the Bible, are not quite alike; the one has Kamez in the first syllable (רׇחְבּוֹ) the other Holem (תֹּאֲרוֹ); this leads to the conjecture that I. E. read תׇּאֳרוֹ.—It is a well-known fact that many people in the world imagine the Jew a being altogether different from his fellow creatures; they ask, Has the Jew a mouth, an eye, etc.? This is the case among Mahometans as well as among Christians.