פירוש על ישעיהו 30:17

One thousand [of you], because of the shout of one of the enemies, or all of you because of the shout of five, shall flee.

אלף Thousand. It is in the constr. st. אלף אחד The thousand men of one of you;²²The Hebrew text has סמוך אל אחר מהם, which is to be altered into סמוך ,אלף אחד מכם; because אל אחד would be quite superfluous, since there is no other noun that would be the genitive governed by אלף, and I. E., satisfying himself with סמוך or נסמך, leaves it generally to the reader to find the genitive referred to; מהם would refer to the enemies; but it is evident from the whole remark that the first אחד, which refers to the Israelites addressed by the prophet, is to be explained, not the second. אחד signifies the officer. The meaning of the whole phrase is: An officer over a thousand men will flee at the threatening of one man.

you remain (lit., if you remain,) like ‘that you remain.’

Shall ye flee, shall all of you flee.

like a mast (כַּתֹּרֶן) a lofty pole, inserted in the ground, like a sort of mast of a ship, that they call ‘mast’ in O.F.

Till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, etc., till a few out of many will be left. I think that the words as an ensign on a hill refer to those who remained in Jerusalem and did not go down to Egypt.²³It seems as if I. E. meant to say, that the first figure as a beacon on the top of a mountain refers to their small number, the second figure as an ensign on a hill to their glory and happiness, by which they will attract all nations.

and like a flagpole (וְכַנֵּס) That, too, is a lofty pole, which they place on a hilltop, and when the scout sees troops coming, he places a banner on it, and the wind moves it. This is the signal that they flee or assemble.