פירוש על ישעיהו 9:21

The people who walked in darkness The inhabitants of Jerusalem, who were darkened by their concern [of falling into the hands] of Sennacherib. Comp. with what Hezekiah said (infra 7:3), “This day is a day of distress, debate, and blasphemy.”

The people that walk in darkness. The people of Jerusalem, who in their affliction walk in her streets as if they were blind of both their eyes.

have seen a great light with Sennacherib’s downfall.

You have aggrandized this nation They have become aggrandized to all who hear of them, when the nations heard the miracles that were performed for them.

Thou hast multiplied the nation, that is, the tribe of Judah, that assembled again in Jerusalem. לו הגדלת השמחה Unto him thou hast increased the rejoicing;¹A. V., And not increased the joy. this is according to the Keri; but according to the Ketib,²Keri (קרי the Chaldæan participle passive of קרא to read) is the reading of the text of the Bible according to the direction of the Massorah (tradition)—that is, according to the vowels, accents, and other signs with which the text is supplemented. Ketib (כתיב the Chaldaean participle passive of כתב to write), the text as it is written, without omitting, supplying, or altering any letter; the vowels to the letters must be supplied by the reader; for those in the text belong to the Keri. To whom thou hast never before given so great rejoicing; comp. לא היה פחד There was no such dread before (Ps. 53:6).³Comp. also 23:13, זה העם לא היה. According to Ibn Ezra, לא היה כמוהו זה העם There was not such a people before.

You have magnified the joy for them Heb. לוֹ, [lit. for him.] And not for his enemies. It is written לֹא, [spelled ‘lammed aleph,’ meaning ‘not,’] since Hezekiah’s joy was incomplete, because, at that time it was said to him (infra 39:6), everything in your palace...will be carried off to Babylonia.”

like the joy of harvest Jonathan renders: like the joy of the victors of a battle, which is similar to the harvest; those who slay men cut throats. Scripture deviated from being explicit [lit. changed its language] to expound that the miracle took place on the night of the harvest of the omer.

as they rejoice when they divide spoils of Egypt in Moses’ time, for here, too, they divided the spoils of Cush and Egypt and the coveted treasures of all the nations, for, when he returned from Tirhakah, king of Cush, he came to Jerusalem with all the treasures of Cush and Egypt, as it is stated (infra 45:14): “The toil of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and the Sebaites...” And all this Hezekiah and his people plundered.

For the yoke of his burden The yoke which was a burden to Hezekiah, and that he bent his shoulder for this heavy burden to pay harsh tribute, and the rod with which he had oppressed Hezekiah.

סבלו His burden. The form of the noun varies.⁴Our attention is very often called to this rule, as if the author protested thereby against the minute distinctions drawn by some synonymists in cases of nouns of the same root but of various grammatical structure; as, e.g., סׂבֶל and סֵבֶל burden.

have You broken You broke them together in one night.

The staff of his shoulder. The staff that smote his shoulder.

like the day of Midian in Gideon’s time, for they, too, fell together in one night, and on the night of the harvest of the Omer, as it is said (Judges 7:13): “And behold, a roasted cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian.”

החתות Thou hast broken. The ה has Pathah on account of the succeeding guttural (ח); comp. הַחלות Thou hast begun (Deuter. 3:24); it is a regular form.⁵Hiphil past of התת to break. The second person refers to God, as in הרבית Thou hast multiplied.

As in the days of Midian. In the time of Gideon.⁶Comp. Judges vii. and viii.

For, every victory shout sounds with clamor Heb. כִּי כָל-סְאוֹן סֹאֵן בְרַעַשׁ. Some (Machbereth Menachem, p. 125, who claims that the root is סא interpret this as an expression of a ‘seah’ and a measure, as our Rabbis expounded it (Sotah 8b, Tosefta 3:1, Mid. Psalms 91:2, [where the Rabbis interpret this passage to mean that a person is rewarded with the same measure he metes out to others]), but, according to the simple interpretation of the language of the Scriptures, it is impossible to explain it as an expression [of a ‘seah,’] since the ‘vav’ and the ‘nun’ are not radicals but like שָׁאוֹן from שׁוֹאֶה, and הָמוֹן from הוֹמֶה, and חָרוֹן from חָרָה, this root will not assume a verb form with a ‘nun’ to say סוֹאֵן, but סוֹאֶה, just as from הָמוֹן, we say הוֹמֶה, and from שָׁאוֹן, שׁוֹאֶה, but one does not say: שׁוֹאֵן, הוֹמֵן, חוֹרֵן. I [therefore,] say that its interpretation is according to the context, and that it is hapax legomenon in Scripture. Its interpretation is an expression of a shout of victory in battle. [We, therefore, explain the words: כִּי כָל-סְאוֹן סֹאֵן בְרַעַשׁ as follows:] The sound of [var. every] victory of any victor in war, is with clamor; it is the galloping of horses and the striking of shields against each other. And the garments of those killed in battle wallowing in blood. But in this victory there is no clamor, and there is no blood.

סאון. According to some, this word is related to סאה measure, and the meaning of the whole phrase is, God gave to Assyria the full measure according to her deeds. Some say, that by metathesis סאון is said for אסון mishap;⁷The meaning of the phrase would then be: For every kind of calamity will burst upon them tempestuously. comp. כשב ═ כבש lamb; more correctly it may be said that this word is a hapax legomenon, and from the succeeding סואן, which is a verb (participle Kal), we see that נ is radical; the meaning of סאן is to cry loudly. ⁸I. E. does not tell us whence he derived his meaning for this hapax legomenon; very probably, however, from its being connected with ברעש, with confused noise. According to this explanation the meaning of the phrase in question is : For all kinds of noise raged furiously.

but this shall be burnt He shall be burnt, consumed by fire.

ושמלה מגוללה בדמים And garments rolled in blood. Every one lies slain in his blood. Or the garment which rolled in the blood of murdered people, etc. לשרפה והיתה It was burned.^8aA. V., But this shall be with burning. This refers to the destruction of the host of Sennacherib, which was burnt by the angel (37:36)

For a child has been born to us Although Ahaz is wicked, his son who was born to him many years ago [nine years prior to his assuming the throne] to be our king in his stead, shall be a righteous man, and the authority of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His yoke shall be on his shoulder, for he shall engage in the Torah and observe the commandments, and he shall bend his shoulder to bear the burden of the Holy One, blessed be He.

For unto us, etc. All this has come to pass through the merit of the child that is born unto us. We know that at the time of the invasion of Sennacherib, Hezekiah was thirty-nine years old;⁹Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he commenced to reign; he was king for twenty-nine years (2 Kings 18:2); fifteen years before his death he fell ill (20:6), and this seems to have happened immediately after the destruction of the Assyrian army. According to I. E. on 8:5, Hezekiah was at the time of this prophecy twenty-nine years old. As to the application of the word ילד to adults comp. Gen. 33:5, 37:30, 44:20. at the time of this prophecy he is, therefore, called child (ילד). פלא יועץ אל גבור אבי עד. According to some, these expressions are names of God, and the following שר שלום, the name of the child. I think that all these words are names of the child; he is called פלא wonder, ¹⁰A. V., Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father.¹⁰A. V., Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father.¹⁰A. V., Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father.¹⁰A. V., Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father. because God did wonders in his days; יועץ counselling; this is distinctly said of Hezekiah (comp. 2 Chr. 30:2); אל גבור Mighty chief; for Hezekiah was powerful; אבי עד The father of perpetuity, because the reign of the house of David was prolonged through his merits: עַד has here the same meaning as in 58:15. שר שלום Prince of peace because peace was established in his days; comp. 2 Chron. 32:22

and...called his name The Holy One, blessed be He, Who gives wondrous counsel, is a mighty God and an everlasting Father, called Hezekiah’s name, “the prince of peace,” since peace and truth will be in his days.

To him who increased the authority To whom will He call this name? To the king who increases the authority of the Holy One, blessed be He, upon himself, to fear Him.

לסרבה Some remark, after the manner of the Midrash,¹¹פשט and מדרש (simplicity and research), are the two modes of commentary met with in Hebrew Literature; while the former reads and expounds the Scriptural text before us, the latter does not confine itself to this task, but, introducing extraneous historical, philosophical and moral matter, employs the wording of the text as a framework, or simply as a support to the memory. Notice is, therefore, taken even of the shape of the letters if they deviate in any extraordinary way from their customary form; as, e.g., when a final Mem is found in the middle of a word; as such instances are too striking to be easily forgotten, any lesson which may be attached to them will probably retain a firm hold upon the memory. that the use of the final Mem in this word hints at the miracle of the sun’s shadow going backward (38:8).¹²In the Yalkut no mention is made of this explanation. Kimchi gives a Midrash explanation to this final Mem, but different from that cited by Ibn Ezra. Neither of them gives any account of the word, which is certainly one of the many instances of Keri and Ketib; according to the Keri it is read למרבה, according to the Ketib להם רבה ═ לם רבה. מרבה is either a noun, increase, like מְַעַשֶׂה work, or a regular participle Hiphil, causing to increase.

authority an expression of government. [This is to refute those who disagree with us [the Christians]. But it is possible to say that “Prince of Peace,” too, is one of the names of the Holy One, blessed be He, and this calling of a name is not actually a name but an expression of (var. for the purpose of) greatness and authority. Comp. (Ruth 4:11) “And be famous (וּקְרָא שֵׁם) in Bethlehem. Also (II Sam. 7:9, I Chron. 17:8): “And I shall make for you a name.” Here too, Scripture means, “And He gave him a name and authority.”]

With justice. Comp. 2 Chr. 32:22

and for peace which is given to him, there will be no end, for he had peace on all his sides, and this “end” is not an expression of an end to eternity, but there will be no boundaries. On the throne of the kingdom of David shall this peace be justice and righteousness that Hezekiah performed.

and for peace Heb. וּלְשָׁלוֹם. This ‘vav’ is to rectify the word, thus: He [Hezekiah] increased the authority upon his shoulder, and what reward will He [God] pay him? Behold, his peace shall have no end or any limit.

from now and to eternity The eternity of Hezekiah, viz. all his days. And so we find that Hannah said concerning Samuel (I Sam. 1:22): “and abide there forever.” And, in order to refute those who disagree [i.e., the Christians, who claim that this (Prince of Peace) is their deity], we can refute them [by asking], What is the meaning of: “from now”? Is it not so that the “deity” did not come until after five hundred years and more?

the zeal of the Lord of Hosts Who was zealous for Zion concerning what Aram and Pekah planned about it.

shall accomplish this but Ahaz does not deserve it, moreover, the merit of the Patriarchs has terminated. Addendum: And our Rabbis said: The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to make Hezekiah the Messiah and Sennacherib, Gog and Magog. Said the ministering angels before the Holy One, blessed be He, Should the one who stripped the doors of the Temple and sent them to the king of Assyria, be made Messiah? Immediately, Scripture closed it up.

The Lord has sent a word against Jacob [i.e.,] the prophecy that he prophesied concerning the punishment of Pekah son of Remaliah.

A word. A prophecy or Divine decree.¹³גזרה is, according to I. E., the divine decree, as it commences already to operate; the first natural causes of the events to which the decree refers.

and it has fallen in Israel From now, it will be fulfilled concerning them.

And it hath lighted, etc. Repetition of the same idea as usual.

with haughtiness and arrogance, saying What they were saying with haughtiness and arrogance.

Ephraim. The ten tribes.

Bricks have fallen, and hewn stones we will build The kings we had before Pekah reigned, e.g., Jehoahaz son of Jehu, in whose days we were diminished, like the matter stated (II Kings 13:7): “For the king of Aram had destroyed them,” were inferior, and they went away like a weak brick building that falls, but this one who is [king] now, is like a building of hewn stones, and similarly, cedars are superior to sycamores for construction.

The bricks are fallen down, etc. A figurative expression for Assyria has done evil to us, but we shall again be as happy as before, and even happier.

שקמים A kind of inferior fig-trees, sycamores.

And the Lord strengthened the adversaries of Rezin over him They trust in their dependence on Rezin, king of Aram, and the Holy One, blessed be He, shall strengthen the king of Assyria over him and stir him up to incite him to come upon him. So I heard from my teachers, but I say that “His enemies” is said in reference to the Shechinah. The Holy One, blessed be He, shall incite His enemies [to war] with one another, one nation with another nation, Aram and the Philistines with Israel, and Israel among themselves, as it is stated below in this matter: “Manasseh with Ephraim...”

The adversaries of Rezin. The Assyrians.

His enemies. The enemies of God : Aram, or Israel.

Aram from the east Aram harmed them from the east in the days of Jehoahaz and Joash, and the Philistines harmed them from the west, for the Philistines are west of them.

The Syrians, etc. The Syrians in the east of Israel will join Assyria to do evil to Israel.

despite all this...and His hand is still outstretched until He brings Sennacherib upon them. Alternatively: Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west were wreaking destruction in Judah in the days of Ahaz, as is explained in Chronicles (II 28:18), and over Israel and Judah as well, Isaiah was lamenting because of these misfortunes.

And the Philistines, etc. They are in the west of Palestine.

to the One Who smites it To the Holy One, blessed be He, Who brings these afflictions upon them.

And the people. Namely, Israel.

Unto him that smiteth them. Unto God, because in truth it is He that smote; the word המכהו has two determinations, like האהלי (Jos. 21:7), my tent.¹⁴The two determinations are: the definite article and the possessive pronoun. Nouns with pronominal suffixes have usually no article, because they are sufficiently determined by the pronoun contained in the suffix.

a large arch and a small arch An expression denoting kings and sultans.

The people did not return to the Lord, because there was none to show them the right way.

כִּפָּה, arcum voltum, arvolt in O.F. [an arch] i.e., those who hover over them like an arch.

כפה Root.¹⁵A. V., Branch. Comp. וכפתו And his root (Job 15:32).

a small arch Heb. (אַגְמוֹן). This too is a small arch, and since it is bent over like a rush, (אַגְמוֹן), Scripture calls it אַגְמוֹן. And in the Baraitha of Samuel we find that there are constellations in the heavens, appointed to [influence the world], and these are their names. Here the prophet states that all their savants who prophesy for them and gaze at the stars, the Lord will cut off from them.

ואגמון And rush. Comp. 58:5. It is a well-known tender plant.¹⁶נר in our editions must be replaced by רך. Comp. I. E. on Is. 58:5.

The ancient, etc. Now the prophet explains that both head and root signify the old;¹⁷The old has here the meaning of chief, which זקנים elders very often has in the Bible. the tail and the rush signify the false prophet.

the leaders Heb. מְאַשְׁרֵי, leaders. Comp. (Job 23:11) “On His steps (בַּאֲשֻׁרוֹ), my foot has held fast.”

מאשרי The leaders of. Here we have א instead of י. This process of substituting א for י is reversed in תתימרו You boast yourselves (61:6). In ומאשריו And they that are led, is the א again in the place of ¹⁸Comp. I. E. on 1:17..י

and those led by them (lit. him) those who learned the ways of the false leaders. [Others read:] Those led in the way of the misleaders who lead them in these ways, confusing and perplexing ways, from which there is no way to emerge. The expression of מְבֻלָּעִים, misled or corrupt, applies to “ways,” in the manner it is stated elsewhere (supra 3:12): “O my people! Your leaders lead you astray, and the way of your paths they have corrupted.”

and evildoers Wicked. Comp. (1:4) “Evildoing seed.”

The Lord will rejoice. Anthropomorphism; as human beings are accustomed to rejoice when their work is in a good condition.

חנף Hypocrite. A man who is virtuous in outward appearance, but vicious at heart.

For wickedness has burnt like fire Their wickedness shall burn them and consume them like fire.

For wickedness burneth, etc. The prophet compares the fate of the wicked with the fire which consumes the thing that has produced the fire.

worms and thorns [i.e.,] their [worms and thorns] shall consume their rebels and their transgressors.

Thorns and thistles. The wicked. ויתאבכו Hapax legomenon. And they mount up.

and it kindled in the thickets of the forest in the impoverished segment of the population. “Thicket” refers to the branches.

and they have become entangled by the thickening smoke. They shall become entangled and hemmed in by the strength of the conflagration. Every expression of entanglement has only בך as its radical. Comp. (Job 28:11) “From the recesses (מִבְּכִי) of the rivers”; (Psalms 94:7) “The valley of entanglement (הַבָּכָא).” And the ‘nun’ appears in it sometimes, and here an ‘aleph’ appears in place of the ‘nun,’ like the ‘aleph’ of אִבְחַת, “the howling of the sword” (Ezekiel 21:20), and the ‘aleph’ of וְאַחְוָתִי, “And my speech in your ears” (Job 13:17).

the smoke has reached Heb. נֶעְתַּם. Jonathan translates: The earth has become scorched. But I find it difficult to explain it in that manner, for it should state נֶעֶתְמָה [since אֶרֶץ is a feminine noun,] and since it is hapax legomenon in Scripture, appearing neither in the sense of the Targum nor any other sense, I explain it according to its context: By the wrath of the Holy One, blessed be He, this smoke reached the earth, and it is an expression that it was ‘decreed’ upon the earth or an expression of ‘reaching’ the earth.

נעתם Is darkened. In Arabic the word signifies dark.¹⁹عَتَمَتٌ is the third part of the night; عَتَمَ it was dark. This verse is closely connected with the preceding, where the smoke is described. R. Moses Hakkohen compares נעתם with יועם is become dim (Lam. 4:1), and explains the ת to be the characteristic of the Hithpael; but this is a blunder.²⁰The ת of the Hithpael is put after the first letter of the root only when the root begins with one of the letters ז ס ש ץ. According to R. Moses נעתם would rather be Nithpael; a form derived from the Hithpael, as the Niphal from the Kal.

And he snatched on the right They will pillage and plunder one another on the right or on the left and it will not suffice them.

And he shall snatch, etc. Figuratively said, referring to the civil wars which they shall wage against each other, though being brethren, and forming, as it were, one body.

each one...the flesh of his arm Jonathan renders: each one plunders the possessions of his relative.

Manasseh with Ephraim Manasseh will join Ephraim.

Manasseh, Ephraim, etc. This verse explains the preceding; Manasseh will fight against Ephraim, and both against Judah.

and Ephraim with Manasseh With Manasseh, and together they will unite against Judah.