פירוש על ישעיהו 29:28

Woe, Ariel Jonathan renders: Altar of the Lord. Ezekiel, too, called it that, as it is said (43: 16): “And the altar (וְהָאֲרִיאֵל) twelve [cubits] in length,” [because of the heavenly fire that lay like a lion atop the altar, as we learned in Tractate Yoma (21b)]. Our Sages, however, explained it in reference to the heichal (the Temple proper), which was narrow from the rear and wide in the front.

Ariel. Jerusalem. According to some, Ariel is the name of Jerusalem, on account of the altar therein, which is called הראל and also אריאל Harel and Ariel (Ez. 43:15, 16); for the letters אׄ הׄ וׄ יׄ interchange¹Strictly speaking, there is, besides the interchange of א and ה, the omission of י in הראל.; according to others, on account of her planet being the lion; but this is absurd.

the city wherein David encamped The altar that was built in the city wherein David encamped [from Jonathan].

קרית The city; it is in the construct state; supply אמת of truth, or some similar word: the city of truth,

add year to year And always your sins are continuously increasing until your sacrifices are cut off (יִנְקֹפוּ), an expression similar to (supra 17:6): “like the cutting (כְּנֹקֶּף) of an olive tree.”

where David hath dwelt; or the city, where David dwelt, since the whole sentence, with the past tense of a verb, can in this case be considered as a noun in the genitive governed by a preceding substantive; comp. בראשית ברא in the beginning, when God created, etc. (Gen. 1:1); תחלת דבר וגו׳ the beginning of the Lord’s speaking to Hosea (Hos. 1:1).

ספו Add. Comp. לספת to add (Num. 32:14).

חגים Sacrifices.

ינקפו Will cease. It is a neuter verb. It can also be rendered: they shall kill, ינקפו being explained to be a transitive verb with the omission of the subject (הנקפים the men that kill); comp. ויאמר ליוסף and one said to Joseph²See note on 2:4. (Gen. 48:1)

and it shall be to Me like Ariel It shall be surrounded by those slain by the sword, like the altar, which is surrounded by animal sacrifices.

To Ariel. To Jerusalem.

תאניה ואניה Heaviness and sorrow. Comp. ואנו and they shall mourn (19:8). According to others, A waste place, the two words being derived from אנה where; the meaning of the phrase is, that only her place will be left.³Concerning the use of two different forms of the same word consecutively, see I. E. on 3:1, and note 1.

והיתה לי כאריאל And it shall be unto me as Ariel, as the altar which is desolate of sacrifices,⁴Jerusalem will be similarly desolate of its inhabitants. or like an altar, because the inhabitants will be slaughtered.

in a circle like a row of surrounding troops. ([Other editions read:] In a row of surrounding troops.) ([Some manuscripts read:] An expression of the encampment of surrounding troops.)

כדור Suddenly.⁵A. V., Round about. Comp. 22:18.⁶It is not clear what I. E. means by comparing this passage with 22:18. כדור in that verse means a ball, a round thing. It would be rather far-fetched to suppose that it meant here as quickly and as suddenly as a ball flying through the air meets us. See c. xxii., note 26.

a camp of siege (מֻצַּב, lit. stationed,) an expression of a camp of siege stationed against the towns.

מגדל מצב ═ מצב A tower set up.⁷A. V., With a mount.

siege works (מְצֻרוֹת) an expression of מָצוֹר, a siege.

from the earth shall you speak It shall appear as though the speech that comes out of your mouth comes from below the ground.

And thou shalt be brought down. This applies to the words of Hezekiah’s messengers to Rabshakeh.⁸Comp. 36:11.

shall your speech chirp to supplicate to Me, and because of your supplication, My mercies shall be aroused.

Thou shalt speak out of the ground. Thou shalt speak so, as if the voice came from the depth of the earth.

צִפְצוּף is an expression of a whispering (var. weak) voice like the voice of small birds.

כאב As a potter.⁹A. V., As of one that hath a familiar spirit. Comp. כאבת as bottles.—The potter, because of his vocation,¹⁰The potter was mostly occupied with his work below the surface of the earth. speaks from below.

And the multitude of your foreigners shall be like fine dust The army of Sennacherib, which will be consumed by fire and will become dust.

כאבק דק Like small dust. Some word must be supplied, because of אבק being in the construct state.¹¹Our editions have כְאָבָק, in the absolute state; I. E. read כַאֲבַק as the dust of, and requires the supplement of a genitive. The translation of the sentence according to I. E. would be, and the multitude of thy strangers shall be small as the dust of.

and it shall be this thing.

The multitude of thy strangers. The army of the Assyrians. Yet it shall be at an instant, suddenly. All this, mentioned before, shall take place suddenly.

a sudden happening (לְפֶתַע פִּתְאֹם) a sudden happening.

From the Lord of Hosts shall he be visited And after you become humble and your speech chirps, Ariel shall be visited by Me to save them, with thunder and with earthquake, etc.

By the Lord, etc. From the Lord will this visitation come against the besiegers.

With thunder from above.

With earthquake below.

With great noise, with storm and tempest, and flame of fire. All this refers to the angel that was sent to destroy the Assyrian army.

And shall be like a dream that one imagines that he saw, yet he did not see, so will this multitude of all the nations contemplate to conquer, but they will not succeed.

Shall be as a dream, etc. It will be like a dream; it causes man to see things by night, which, when he awakes, are no more. This was to be the case with the Assyrian camp.

those stationed around her who set up against her a garrison and raiders called cenbel in O.F., as it is stated regarding Saul (I Sam. 14: 15): “The garrison and the raiders trembled.”

צובאיה ═ צוביה Her hosts.¹²A. V., Those that fight against her. ואנשי מצודתה ═ ומצודתה And the men engaged in her siege,¹³A. V., And her munition. or And all the towers of the besiegers.

yearns (שׁוֹקֵקָה) desires. Comp. (Gen. 3:16) “And to your husband shall be your yearning (תְּשׁוּקָתֵךְ) .”

והנה And behold. The word חלום dream, is usually followed by והנה and behold, or as if; the subject to the following אׄכֵל is רָעֵב the hungry.

So shall be, etc. They shall not achieve their desire which they planned to do.

שוקקה Desirous to drink.¹⁴A. V., Hath appetite.

stop Be patient to reflect [to think] about your deeds.

Stay yourselves. The prophet addresses the men of Zion who will be curious to know how this will happen, and what the meaning of this prophecy is.—The prophet speaks in the same manner as people use to speak one to another; and why do they still not understand him? because they are drunken, but not with wine.

and wonder And wonder about your corruption.

they became blind (הִשְׁתַּעַשְׁעוּ) an expression related to (supra 6:10) “And his eyes are becoming sealed (הָשַׁע),” they were blind, not being able to see [lit., from seeing].

They were intoxicated yourselves (sic) but not from wine. Why? ([Parshandatha claims that this reading is erroneous. The correct reading, according to all manuscripts is:] their wise men, but not from wine.)

For the Lord has poured upon you, etc. (נָסַךְ) an expression of mixing wine. Comp. (Prov. 9: 2) “She mixed (מָסְכָה) her wine.” It may also be an expression of princedom (נְסִיכוּת). He caused a spirit of deep sleep to overcome you, (lit., to rule over you). Concerning the transgressors of Israel he was prophesying, for they were stargazers and were experts in adjuring the heavenly princes, each one with the proper name for adjuring him. Therefore, they say, “Who will encamp upon us (Jer. 21:13)? If the enemy comes upon us, we can make for it a wall of fire around, ([Most manuscripts read:] If the enemy comes upon the city, we can make for it a wall of fire around,) or surround it with the Great Sea.” Said the Holy One, blessed be He, “I will change the heavenly princes; the one appointed over fire, is appointed over water. When he adjures the prince of fire to bring him fire, he will reply, “This is not mine,” And, likewise, the prince of water. And even the name by which you adjure him, he does not recognize. This is the closing of the eyes and the covering of the heads of the stargazers.

נסך He has covered.¹⁵A. V., Hath poured out. Comp. והמסכה and the covering (28:20). Upon you. Upon the inhabitants of Zion.

ויעצם And he closed. Derived from עצם bone; he put, as it were, a bone on your eyes.

כסה He covered. This proves that נסך has also the meaning, he covered.¹⁶In truth, the word כסה does not at all prove the correctness of I. E.’s explanation concerning נסך; the parallelism of the verse is the same, whether we explain נסך to mean to pour out, or to cover.

the vision of everything All that you used to see in the constellations shall be concealed from you like the words of a letter sealed with wax, which, if they give to read one able to read a letter, he will say, “I cannot, for I see not what is inside, for it is sealed.”

The vision of all. Every prophecy.

For it is sealed. They cannot understand it; the same meaning is contained in the words, seal the law (8:16),¹⁷God told the prophet to leave the prophecy for the present unexplained. as I explained.

And if the book is given And when they take it from him and open its seal and give it to one who does not understand the language of the letter, and they say to him, “now read this,” he will say, “I cannot read.” Similarly, when you adjure the prince of fire, he will say, “I cannot, for the matter is sealed from me,” and when you adjure his colleague, he will say, “I do not recognize this name, by which you adjure me, for this is not my name.” This is what Jeremiah said (Jer. 21:4): “Behold I will turn around my implements of war that are in your hands.” This refers to the Explicit Name. In Midrash Tehillim (36:8).

And the book is delivered, etc. Neither the wise men nor those that have no intellect will understand this prophecy.¹⁸Neither the wise will understand it by their own reasoning, because it is not open to them, nor the rest of the people, because it will not be explained to them by the prophet.

Because this people has come near Jonathan renders: Because this people has aggrandized itself. I.e., they have come near to raise themselves up to the heavens. They show themselves as though honoring Me with mouth and lip, but their heart they have drawn far away from Me.

נגש He vexeth himself.¹⁹A. V., Draw near. Our editions have נִגַּשׂ; I. E. read נִגַּשׂ, which seems to be right according to the Masora. See Kimchi ad locum. Comp. והנגשים the taskmasters (Exod. 5:13). It is Niph.—They will afflict themselves in vain with fasting.

and their fear of Me has become not wholehearted, but by the command of the people who teach them, they show themselves as humbled before Him in order to entice Him with your mouth.

בפיו With his mouth. With the mouth of each of them.²⁰See I. E. on 3:12.

מלמדה Accustomed.²¹A. V., Taught. Comp. לא למד unaccustomed, (Jer. 31:18)

Therefore, I will continue I am He Who will continue to perform additional obscurity upon obscurity, concealment upon concealment, sealing upon sealing. And what is this obscurity upon obscurity? And the wisdom of their wise men shall be lost. The taking away of the sages of Israel is twice as hard as the destruction of the Temple and all the curses in Deuteronomy, for all of them are only one obscurity, as it is said (Deut. 28:59): “And the Lord shall make your plagues obscure (וְהִפְלָא),” whereas here are two obscurities.

הנני יוסיף Behold I will proceed, comp. ונשאר אני and I am left (Ez. 9:8); אמלל אני I am withering (Ps. 6:3); אמלל is the third person past, because of the Pathah under ל. Some explain יוסיף to be a participle like תומיך supporting²²יוסיף is either the third person future of the Hiphil, and strangely joined with the pronoun of the first person, as in the other instances quoted by I.E., or participle Kal of יסף, formed like תּוׄמִי with Hirek instead of Zere in the second syllable. (Ps. 16:5).

להפליא את העם הזח הפלא ופלא To be very embarrassing to this people,²³A. V., To do a marvellous work among this people. that they shall not understand, that the wisdom of the wise shall be lost, etc. Others explain this phrase thus: To do a marvellous work among this people; comp. עשה פלא who performs wonders (Ex. 15:11). I explain it in the following way: To do to this people a wonderful thing like this.²⁴That the wisdom of the wise shall be lost, etc.

to hide counsel (לַסְתִּיר) equivalent to לְהַסְתִּיר.

המעמיקים That seek deep in the depth of their hearts.

להסתיר═לסתיר To hide. Comp. להשמיד═לשמיד to destroy (23:11)

Shall your perversion be regarded like the potter’s clay (Heb. הָפְכְּכֶם) Your perversions. Do you know this, that it is like the potter’s clay? Just as the clay cannot say of its maker, “He did not make me,” so you cannot say that I do not understand your deeds.

הפככם You are going from the truth.²⁵A. V., Your turning of things upside down.

Shall...like the potter’s clay, etc. This is an expression of a question, but there are questions to be answered in the affirmative.

אם כחמר היוצר יחשב Shall man be esteemed as the potter’s clay.²⁶A. V., Shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay.

of him who made it (לְעֹשֵׂהוּ, lit. to him who made it.) Like עַל עֹשֵׂהוּ. Comp. (Ex. 14:3) “And Pharaoh shall say of the children of Israel (וְלִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל).” (Jud. 9:54) “Lest they say of me (לִי), ‘A woman killed him.’”

ויצר And the thing framed. It is derived from יצר to form. ליצרו Of him that framed it. Comp. לי of me (Gen. 20:13)

and the impulse say concerning the One Who formed it, “He does not understand”? Did he say concerning the One Who formed it, “He does not understand what is in my impulse”? Did He not build the hidden recesses, the inner chambers, and the thoughts?

Indeed, in a short time In a few days, it is easy in My eyes, if you return to Me

מעט A little. A little while, a few days.

the Lebanon shall be turned The Lebanon, which is a forest of trees, shall be turned into a ‘karmel,’ a settlement of fields and vineyards.

And Lebanon shall be turned, etc. And the Lebanon, that yields more fruit than Karmel, will become like Karmel, and the latter like a forest; that is to say, they will have scanty food.

and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest Jonathan renders: It shall be populated by large cities. And the Aggadah in Gen. Rabbah (24:1) explains it as forests of people, a settlement of cities and people, crowded and full, like this forest, which is full of trees.

And on that day...shall hear, etc. And the curse stated above (v. 10 14): “For the Lord has poured upon you, etc....And the vision of everything has been to you, etc....And the wisdom of his wise men shall be lost,” shall be repealed.

And in that day shall the deaf hear, etc. Then they will understand the words of the prophecy, and those blind men will not see, until they have already been in darkness.

And those who suffered The suffering ones, who bore the yoke of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His decrees.

The meek also shall increase, etc. The righteous will escape, when the fortified towns of Judah will be taken, and the judges of Ahaz will be no more, as I explained above (1:26).²⁷See c. i. Note 48.

those eager to commit violence Those who hurry and give thought how they will commit violence.

אפס Is brought to naught. Comp. Gen. 47:15.

שקדי That watch. Comp. לשקד to watch (Prov. 8:34)

Those who cause man to sin by a word They are the false prophets.

מחטיאי אדם בדבר That make a man an offender for a word, that watch the words of man, and accuse him, in order to see him punished; or that cause others to sin by their words.

and him who reproves in the gate they trap (יְקשׁוּן. Jonathan renders:) And for the one who reproves them, they seek for him a stumblingblock. (יְקשׁוּן is) an expression related to מוֹקֵשׁ, a trap.

יקושון They lay a snare. Comp. מוקש snare (Deut. 7:16). R. Moses Hakkohen explains יקושון they rebuke, comparing it with התקששו וקשו be rebuked and rebuke (Zeph. 2:1), and says that the ש ought to have a Dagesh.²⁸In the commentary of I. E. on Zeph., R. Moses Hakkohen is quoted to explain התקששו וקשו by התקבצו come together; while the other explanation התווכחו והוכיחו be rebuked and rebuke is given anonymously, as if it were the opinion of I. E. himself.

and they mislead the righteous through fraud And they pervert with fraud the cause of the just [from Jonathan].

Who redeemed Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees.

Who redeemed Abraham, by taking him away from amongst the wicked.

Now Jacob shall not be ashamed of his father.

יחורו Shall wax pale. The root חור to be white is frequent in Chaldee.

and now his face shall not pale because of his father’s father, for no imperfection has been found in his bed, and his bed is perfect.

For, when he sees his children who will be the work of My hands, i.e., righteous men, in his midst, for when he sees in his midst that his children, the work of My hands, shall hallow My name, e. g., Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (see Dan. 3), therefore, his face shall not pale.

For when he seeth his children, etc. For when he sees his children, and the good which I shall do to the pious, they—he and his children—shall sanctify my name.

יעריצו They will cause others to fear the God of Israel, or they shall be afraid, intransitive.²⁹פועל עומר is here used in the Hebrew text only to express that the verb is not causative, that it does not mean ייראו אחרים, they will cause others to fear. The expression פועל עומד comprehends more than the term intransitive, and signifies sometimes a transitive verb if contrasted with a causative transitive verb. Having mentioned Jacob, the prophet says metaphorically, they will sanctify, etc. that is to say, if Jacob were alive and saw his pious children, and the wonders which God performed for their sake, he would join his children in sanctifying His name; for He was the holy one of Jacob.

and grumblers shall learn instruction (וְרוֹגְנִים) an expression similar to (Deut. 1:27) “And you grumbled (וַתְּרָגְנוּ) in your tents.” Those who were complaining and grumbling about the words of the prophets shall learn instruction.

ורגנים And they that murmured, comp. יתרגנו and you were murmuring (Deut. 1:27). They are the opposite of those that learn doctrine.