Commento su Isaia 29:1

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)