פירוש על ישעיהו 56:10

His lookouts are all blind Since he said, “Seek the Lord,” and the entire section, and they do not heed, he returns and says, Behold the prophets cry out to them ([Mss.:] to you) and announce concerning repentance, so that it will be good for them. Yet their leaders are all like blind men, and they do not see the results, like a lookout appointed to see the approaching army, to warn the people, but he is blind, unable to see whether the army is coming, and dumb, unable to warn the people, like a dog that was appointed to guard the house, but he is dumb, unable to bark. Similarly, the leaders of Israel do not warn them to repent to do good.

His watchmen are blind, etc. The false prophets in Israel are meant, who were like blind watchmen during the day, and like dumb dogs during the night, that cannot guard the house and are of no use whatever.

they lie slumbering Heb. הֹזִים. Dunash (Teshuvoth Dunash p. 24) explained: lying sound asleep, and Jonathan rendered: lying slumbering, and there is no comparable word in Scripture.

לנבח To bark. The word has in Arabic the same meaning.

הזים Dogs.⁹A. V., Sleeping. It is hap. leg.; the ה is radical as in הורו והנו conceiving and uttering (59:13).¹⁰The Hebrew text has הורים והוגים; but since those words do not occur in the Bible, the words הרו והגו have been substituted for them. I. E. read perhaps הרים והגים instead of הרו והגו. The participle Hiphil has always מ at the beginning.—R. Jonah says that the Targum renders הזים by ניימין slumbering, because dogs are more addicted to slumber than all other animals.¹¹Dogs are employed as the guardians of the house, because their sleep is not very deep, but rather like slumbering which is interrupted by the least noise; they are, therefore, according to R. Jonah, called the slumberers. Loving the slumber. Repetition of the same idea.