Commento su Isaia 30:38

rebellious (סוֹרְרִים) who turn away from the way of God.

הוי Woe to.¹See c. i. Note 13.

and to appoint a ruler (וְלִנְסֹךְ מַסֵּכָה) to appoint a ruler to rule over them, with neither My spirit nor My will in the matter, and what is this appointing? This is Pharaoh.

ממני ═ מני Of me. (Comp. 22:4).

ולנסוך מסכה And that cover with a covering. Comp. והמסכה and the covering (28:20). It is figuratively used for counsel.²There is no doubt that מסכה is parallel to עצה and has a similar meaning; but it appears to be a far-fetched explanation, to consider covering as a figure for counsel, simply because counsel is usually given secretly.

“Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD…” (Shemot 15:1) There are ten songs. The first was said in Egypt, as it says “For you, there shall be singing As on a night when a festival is hallowed…” (Isaiah 30:29) The second was ‘Then Moses sang…’ Third was on the well “Then Israel sang this song…” (Bamidbar 21:17) The fourth was the song ‘Listen now…’ (Devarim 32:1) The fifth was “Joshua addressed the LORD…” (Yehoshua 10:12) The sixth “On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang…” (Shoftim 5:1) The seventh “David addressed the words of this song to the LORD…” (Shmuel II 22:1) The eight was “A song for the dedication of the House.” (Psalms 30:1) The ninth was Yehoshefat, as it is written “he stationed singers to the LORD extolling the One majestic in holiness as they went forth ahead of the vanguard, saying, “Praise the LORD, for His steadfast love is eternal.”” (Chronicles II 20:21) The tenth is in the time to come, as it says “Sing to the LORD a new song…” (Isaiah 42:10) This song is different, as it is named in the masculine form (shir chadash and not shirah chadasha). All the other songs are named in the feminine form because just as a female gives birth so all of these salvations had after them another subjugation; but in the time to come will be a salvation which is not followed by any subjugation, as it says “But Israel has won through the LORD Triumph everlasting…” (Isaiah 45:17) Thus it is written ‘a new song’ in the masculine (shir chadash), just as a male does not give birth. So it says “Ask and see: Surely males do not bear young!” (Jeremiah 30:6)

ולא מרוחי ═ ולא רוחי But not of my spirit, that is, of my prophecy.

Those who go to descend to Egypt This alludes to Hoshea, son of Elah, who sent emissaries to So, king of Egypt (II Kings 17:4).

That walk to go down, etc. This verse explains the preceding.

to descend to Egypt The land of Israel is higher than all the other lands. Alternatively, this is a degradation for them.

במעוז In the strength of. מ retains its vowel, although the word is in the construct state, because of the second and third letter of the root being the same.³Root עזז,—Nouns with a preformative מ, derived from verbs עיע and עיו are alike, e.g., מָעוֹז strength, root מָקוֹם :עזז place, root קום; in the construct state, however, they differ; the former retains the Kamez under מ, the latter changes it into Sheva.

and to take shelter (lit.) to cover themselves, abrier in O. F. (This is the equivalent of sabriter in Modern French, to take shelter.)

והחסות And the trust. A noun; it is the contracted form of ⁴The י in חסיות is substituted for the third radical ה, of נלות ;חסה captivity (Obad. 20) is formed of נלה in a similar manner, with the entire omission of the third radical.חסיות; comp. עבדות slavery (Ezr. 9:8)

For his princes were in Zoan The princes of the king of Israel in their errand to the king of Egypt.

שריו His princes. The princes of the people;⁵The substantive עם people, to which the pronominal suffix ־ָיו refers, is not mentioned before, but is implied in בנים סוררים (ver 1.) they sent even their princes to Egypt, that the Egyptians might deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrians.

Hanes That is Tahpanhes.

They all disgraced themselves They all disgraced themselves to acquire a master for nothing, and the people of the land will not avail them.

כל הוביש═כל הבאיש. The א is superfluous; הבאיש is transitive, Every one blamed⁶A. V., They were all ashamed. those that had gone to Egypt; for they went to a people that would not profit them.

because of a people (Lit., on a people.) Because of a people that will not avail them.

for disgrace For insult, distraber in O.F., to insult.

The burden of the beasts of the southland The burdens on their beasts on the way to the southland (Jonathan), for Egypt is in the south of Eretz Israel, and this is the insult and the derision that they would insult them: See these people, whose burdens of money are laden on their beasts to transport bribes to Egypt for nothing, and they imperil themselves in the deserts, in a land of trouble and anguish, etc.

The burden of the beasts of the south. This refers to those that went down to Egypt. South. Egypt, which is in the south of Palestine. The prophet says that, on their way, those messengers would meet wild beasts, as bears, tigers, etc.; this is expressed in the words a lion, a leopard, amongst them an asp, etc.

viper It is a species of deadly snakes, and there are only two of them in the world, a male and a female, which reproduce after seventy years, (i.e. its gestation period is seventy years) (Bechoroth 8a). The flying serpent, too, is a species of snake, not that it has wings with which to fly, but it jumps and springs long distances and throws a flame from its mouth.

בארץ צרה In a narrow land,⁷A. V., Into the land of trouble and anguish.—I. E. takes צרה in a more literal sense, narrow; they will be pressed in, in such a way, that they will not be able to get out again. whence they will not be able to escape. They will carry, etc. Those messengers will carry their property on the back of the mules, in order to bring it to Egypt into safety. חיליהם Their property. Comp. החיל the property (Deut. 8:17).

their wealth (חֵילֵיהֶם) their money.

דבשת Bunches. Hap. leg.—The beasts of the south will do them much damage.

the humps (דַּבֶּשֶׁת) hidroba in O.F. A camel has this in the place the burden is laden, and since it always becomes sore, and they smear honey there to heal it, it is called דַּבֶּשֶׁת, (from דְּבַשׁ, honey,) as we say in Baba Mezia 38b: Honey that lost its sweetness is fit for the sores of the camels.

this to Egypt.

לזאת To this.⁸A. V., Concerning this, that is, concerning Egypt. To Jerusalem. רהב הם שבת Their strength is to sit still. He who remains in Jerusalem, and will not go down to Egypt, will be strong and safe.

They are haughty (רַהַב) of proud spirit.

idlers (שָׁבֶת) A people who are idle and are proud for no reason. Alternatively, שָׁבֶת means that their pride and haughtiness is fit to be curtailed.

engrave it (חֻקָּהּ) engrave it, this prophecy.

Now go. Now go with them; the prophet has hesitated to be together with them.

חקה Note it. חקה is without Dagesh in ה; some copies have the Dagesh; it is the imperative instead of חוקקה or חוקקהּ or חוקקנה.⁹It is either the imperative with a paragogic ה, the contracted form of חוׄקקָה or with the pronominal suffix חוׄקְקֶנָּה ═ חוׄקְקָהּ ═ ־ָהּ.

a rebellious people are they Israel.

כחשים Lying. Adjective of the same form as אִבָּרִים husbandmen; the כ has Segol, on account of the guttural letter which follows.

שמוע Infinitive. To hear.

smooth talk Flattery.

See not. You shall not prophesy.

prophesy (חֲזוּ, lit., envision) prophesy.

לראים To the seers. To those that see a divine vision.

נכחות Upright things. Comp. טובים ונכוחים דבריך thy words are good and upright (2 Sam. 15:3). It is an adjective.¹⁰See c. iii. Note 5. I. E. does not explain why חלקות is a substantive (שם), and נבחות an adjective (שם התואר); perhaps because the verb דברו implies the masculine substantive, דברים words, with which the feminine חלקות, if taken as an adjective, would not agree.

דברי חלקות ═ חלקות words of flattery; חלקות is a substantive; so also דברי מהתלות ═ מהתלות, words of mockery.

turn away (Turn) us (away).

Get you out of the way, etc. These words are addressed by the people to the prophets.

from the path We want the false prophecy.

Cause the Holy One, etc. Cause the mention or the name of the Holy One of Israel to cease, etc.¹¹The Holy One himself cannot be caused to cease; Omnipresence is one of His essential attributes.

this matter the true prophecy.

Ye despise this word, the prophecy.

and a perverse one a disgraceful one and a mocker.

בעושק In oppression. In the money wrongly taken from the nation.¹²The ו before בממון in the Hebrew text seems to be superfluous; בממון is not the explanation of נלוז, since this is explained by הפך הישר, the opposite of upright, but that of בעשק, and refers to the money taken from the people for the King of Assyria.

ונלוז And a perverse thing.¹³A. V., Perverseness. נלוז is an adjective; supply דבר thing. Comp. תועבת ח׳ נלוז the perverse (man or thing)¹⁴A. V., The froward. is an abomination to the Lord. נלוז is the opposite of ישר upright.

as a breach of a fallen wall.

Therefore,¹⁵לכן, in the Hebrew original, is not part of the explanation, but the first word of the next verse, which is to be explained. because you trust in the money, which you send to the King of Assyria, that he shall not come.¹⁶Comp. 2 Kings 18:15, 16. This iniquity shall be to you, etc., that is, it will destroy you.

revealed in a fortified wall Revealed to enter thereby the walls of your fortification. נִבְעֶה is an expression of revealing, as in Obadiah (1:6): “His hidden things were revealed (נִבְעוּ).” Dunash, however, interprets נִבְעֶה as a protrusion, since the wall develops blisters (אֲבַעְבּוּעוֹת) because of the rains and the deterioration of the weak mortar.

כפרץ מגדל נופל ═ נופל כפרץ As a breach of a falling tower.¹⁷A. V., As a breach ready to fall, swelling out.¹⁷A. V., As a breach ready to fall, swelling out. דבר נבעה ═ נבעה A swelling thing. Of the same root is אבעבועות blains (Exod. 9:9). נבעה can also be joined with פרץ: a swelling breach.

לפתע פתאם Suddenly at an instant. The two words have nearly the same meaning; comp. אדמת עפר the dust of the earth (Dan. 12:12).¹⁸This construction, the combination of two similar nouns, the one in the genitive governed by the other, is met with more frequently than I. E. seems to suppose. It expresses a kind of superlative, e. g., קדש הקדשים the most holy; so also לפתע פתאם most suddenly.

a potter’s jug An earthenware jug.

נבל Vessel.

shall not be found in the crushing of its fragments a shard large enough to scoop fire from a hearth, to pick up fire from a hearth. All scooping up of fire is referred to with an expression of חֲתִיָּה.

He shall not spare, to break it.

or to scoop water Or to draw. Comp. (Haggai 2:16): “To draw off (לַחְשׂף) fifty measures.” Also (below 47:2): “Draw off (חֶשְׂפִּי) the path.” Draw water from your path, Epuyse in O.F.

לחתות אש To take fire. Comp. יחתה אש he takes fire (Prov. 6:27). גחלים אתה חותה thou shalt heap coals of fire (ib. 25:22). במכתתו In the bursting of it. Derived from כתת, a verb ע׳ע.¹⁹The Hebrew text has והוא מפעלי הכפל it is a verb ע״ע; but it is impossible to suppose, that I. E. meant to say, that לחתות is derived from התת, since he quotes as a parallel חותה, which can only be the participle Kal of חתה. Before והוא either כתות or במכתתו with some explanation is wanting. The commentary on the whole verse is rather deranged; the remark on לחשוף is interrupted by the explanation of גבא.

from a cistern (מִגֶּבֶא) A pit full of water.

ולחשוף מים And to take water. Lit., to reveal the water, which is hidden. Comp. מחשוף to make appear (Gen. 30:37); חשף he made bare, (52:10).

גבא Pit. Comp. וגבאיו and its pits. (Ez. 42:11), and גבא, the Chaldæan translation of בור (14:15). This prophecy refers to those that went down to Egypt for assistance.

For so said the Holy One, blessed be He, to you long ago, “You need not seek for yourselves the strength of Egypt and waste your money, for with tranquility and restfulness you shall have salvation, without any toil, if you listen to Me.”

בשובה In rest.²⁰A. V., In returning, Return.—In his commentary on the Pentateuch I. E. mentions this explanation as the opinion of the grammarian R. Judah, who says, that שוב with an accusative, means to give rest, and that the neuter verb שוב to return is never used with an accusative.²⁰A. V., In returning, Return.—In his commentary on the Pentateuch I. E. mentions this explanation as the opinion of the grammarian R. Judah, who says, that שוב with an accusative, means to give rest, and that the neuter verb שוב to return is never used with an accusative. Comp. שובה give rest (Num. 10:36). You will find salvation at home, and you need not go down to Egypt.

with tranquility (בְּשׁוּבָה) an expression of restfulness and tranquility, Comp. (Num. 10:36): “Rest (שׁוּבָה), O Lord, with the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel.”

with quietude that comes to you from Me, and with trust, shall be your might.

on horses will we flee (נָנוּס) We will ally ourselves with the king of Egypt, and we will bring from there swift steeds in order to flee.

ננוס. According to the grammarian R. Jonah: we shall lift ourselves up; he compares it with נֵס banner (that is lifted up), and gives thus to ננוס a meaning similar to that of נרכב we will ride, as required by the parallelism. Others taking ננוס in its usual sense, we shall flee, explain the passage thus: You fled without cause, you will therefore be compelled to flee by your pursuers.

קל The swift. An epithet of the horse, as is כר swift of the camel.²¹Comp. I. E. on 16:1. and on Gen. 31:34.

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.

Therefore Because you would not obey.

Will the Lord wait. An anthropomorphism.

the Lord shall wait to be gracious to you He (acc. to Parshandatha) does not skip for you over the evil decree, which was decreed upon you, in order to hasten and to bring the good, but He will wait until its end comes.

לחננכם That He may be gracious unto you. A verb ע״ע like לחמם to warm (47:14); it is the Kal like לשכב to lie (Gen. 34:7); all these forms, however, are irregular.²⁴The Pathah or long Kamez (a) instead of the Holem or short Kamez (o) under the second radical in the infinitive Kal is probably the irregularity referred to by I. E. And therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you, for the Lord is a God of judgment,

and therefore, He shall withdraw to have mercy upon you (יָרוּם) He shall draw Himself far away to have mercy upon you.

He will do judgment on Assyria for your sake.

for the Lord is a God of justice and He first metes out justice upon those who rebel against Him.

fortunate are all who wait for him for the consolations that He promised, for nothing shall fail.

For days will yet come that he who remains to be dwelling in Zion and in Jerusalem, will be righteous. ([Manuscripts read:] For days will yet come and a righteous nation will dwell in Zion and in Jerusalem.) ([Other manuscripts read:] For the nation that He shall leave to be dwelling in Zion and in Jerusalem, shall be righteous people.)

Thou shalt weep no more, says the prophet to his people, for he will be, etc. God will be gracious unto thee.

you shall not weep You shall not need to offer supplication to the Holy One, blessed be He, with weeping, for, at the sound of your cry, He shall respond to you.

לקול זעקך. The ל indicates the cause: At the voice of thy cry, that is, because thou hast cried unto Him.

עָנָ He hath answered thee. It is an irregular form; comp. פֵּאֲרָ He hath glorified thee (55:5).²⁵The form is irregular by having  instead of ,

scant bread and water of oppression You shall not run after pleasures as you do now, as it is said (Amos 6:6): “Who drink from basins of wine.” (Above 22:13) “And behold joy and happiness.”

לחם צר Scanty bread.²⁶A. V., The bread of adversity. They were afflicted with famine, as I said before (29:17). מים לחץ The water of affliction. מים is not in the construct state, but מֵי the waters of is to be supplied. מים מי לחץ ═ מים לחץ; comp. שרה האהלה אהל ═ האהלה שרה to the tent, namely to the tent of Sarah. (Gen. 24:67)

shall no longer be concealed (לֹא יִכָּנֵף) shall not be covered from you with the skirt of His garments, i.e., He shall not hide His countenance from you.

your Teacher The Holy One, blessed be He, who teaches you for your profit.

And your ears shall hear from behind you Not as you do now, that you despise My words and say, “You shall not prophesy for us true things” (verse 10), but your ears shall be bent also behind you to hear from Me, perhaps a prophet will come and instruct you the way to go, whether right or left.

And thine ears, etc. Thou wilt see thy teachers before thee, and hear the words of thy prophets and instructers, that call after thee from behind. Some explain the words thine eyes shall see and thine ears shall hear to express figuratively the seeing and understanding of the heart. תאמינו ═ חימינו; א is substituted for י as is frequently done.

When you turn to the right hand, etc.: When you are about to depart from the right way, either to the right or to the left, you will hear distinctly the words of them that show the right way.

the adornment the beauty.

צפוי The covering. A noun.

like a menstruant They shall be repugnant in your eyes like a menstruant.

אפודת The ornament of. The ornamental covering over the image.—

Thou shalt cast them away, for they can be of no use.²⁷Comp. Deut. 13:18.

דוה A menstruous woman,²⁸A. V., menstruous cloth. that is unclean, and whom no clean person may touch.²⁹The terms clean and unclean have the same meaning as defined in the Pentateuch by the laws concerning the clean and the unclean, especially Lev. 13:15.

And He shall give I.e., the Holy One, blessed be He, shall give the rain for your seed.

Then shall he give, etc., that thou shalt sow, after the death of the King of Assyria.

fat (וְשָׁמֵן) an expression of fat. Therefore, its accent is below (on the last syllable) and it is voweled with a kamatz (tzeireh).

ככר ═ כר (Gen. 13:10), Plain;³⁰A. V., Pastures. comp. בבת עין═בת עין the apple of the eye (Lam. 12:18). In that day shall thy cattle feed, etc. Such will be the abundance of corn and fruit.³¹The cattle will feed on the wide plains, which are generally not used for pasture but for corn.

a fattened lamb until the lambs will become fat and wide.

lamb (כַּר) a lamb. Alternatively, a wide plain. Comp. (Gen. 12:10) “the plain (כִּכַּר) of the Jordan,” (below 32:15) “Carmel,” meaning a wide plain, full of grain.

And the oxen. (אֲלָפִים) oxen.

The oxen and young asses that ear the ground, that are employed in ploughing the fields. אלפים Oxen. Comp. אלפיך thine oxen (Deut. 7:13).

enriched provender (בְּלִיל חָמִיץ) comp. (Job 6:5) “On his provender (בְּלִילוֹ).” Stubble and straw, strengthened and enriched with the grain within them, they shall eat.

בליל Provender. Comp. Job 6:5.

which was winnowed The grain is winnowed twice, once with a shovel and once with a fan, in order to clean the grain. Therefore, the straw will be mixed with grain that was winnowed with a fan near the stubble.

חמיץ═חמץ Leaven.³²A. V., Clean. According to I. E. provender which is leaven, that is, provender which is well prepared: there is a sufficient supply of it, and it can therefore be prepared in the best way. Comp. I. E., on חמוץ 1:17. Note 40.

shovel (רַחַת) paile (pelle) in O.F.

אשד זרה Which he winnows.³³A. V., Which hath been winnowed. Supply אתי it.³⁴I. E. supplies אתו, though not necessary, to indicate more clearly that זרה is participle active Kal, and not the past of Pual.

(fan, [מִזְרֶה] van in O.F.) And the Midrash Aggadah states that בְּלִיל is an expression of mixing, that the food will be mixed into the straw. (I.e., the grain will be so plentiful that it will be mixed into the straw eaten by the cattle and donkeys.)

ברחת With the shovel. Derived from רוח wind. It is an instrument used for the same purpose as ³⁵The Hebrew text has ובמזרח and with the fan, which is either superfluous since it is not followed by any explanation, or it is to be altered into כמזרח like the fan, as is done in the translation.מזרה the fan.

rivulets of water (יִבְלֵי מָיִם), rivers of water. Comp. (Jer. 17:8) “And upon the river (יוּבַל) he sends forth his roots.”

יבלי Rivers. Comp. יובל river (Jer. 17:8). And there shall be upon every high mountain, etc. The rain will come in such quantity, that the water will remain upon the mountains.³⁶The hills and mountains are deprived of the water which they receive from the rain in a very short time; the water partly evaporating, partly flowing down to the plains. They retain of course the more of the water, the greater its supply is.

on the day of the great slaying when there will be a great slaughter (in the land of Assyria), and Jonathan renders: On the day of the great slaying, when the great ones will fall.

In the day of great slaughter, etc. When people will die through the fall of³⁷The rain will come in such quantity that the houses and towers will fall and bury under their ruins many people. towers. It is a kind of consolation to learn, that when ten die, myriads are kept alive: for although the wall might fall upon the widow through the rain, the Lord will not keep it back from coming down and giving life to many; the rain has no knowledge that it should come down upon one place and not at the same time upon the neighbouring ones.

sevenfold (שִׁבְעָתַיִּם.) This means seven sevens as the light of the seven days, i.e., forty nine sevens, equaling three hundred forty-three.

Moreover the light of the moon, etc. All commentators refer this verse to the Messianic period, to the time of the war of Gog and Magog;³⁸See c. xxiv. Note 18. only R. Moses Hakkohen is of opinion, that all this part of the book³⁹c. xxiv.—xxxv. refers to one and the same event.⁴⁰To the invasion of Palestine by the Assyrians, and the ultimate destruction of the army of Sennacherib before Jerusalem. We read e. g. in the next chapter (ver 1.): Woe unto them that go down to Egypt; the same we read above (ver. 2).

The meaning of this verse is, that the Lord will increase the light of the moon and sun after the rain in a wonderful way.⁴¹The Hebrew text has וזה דבר פלא; lit.: and this is a wonderful thing; but since I. E. does not explain why it is a wonder that the sun shines brighter after the rain than before, it must be referred to the manner in which this prophecy will be fulfilled, especially to the intensity of the light, that it will be sevenfold, etc., and is to be translated, and this will be done in a wonderful way.

Sevenfold, the prophet himself explains it, as the light of seven days taken together.

In the day that the Lord bindeth up, etc. When the Lord heals the wounds of Israel; it refers either to the time of the war of Gog or to the time of the Assyrian dominion.

the Name of the Lord His might, which will be for Him as a name, viz., what He will do to Sennacherib.

The name of the Lord, the report of what He has done to the army of Assyria.

comes from long ago (מִמֶּרְחָק, lit. from afar.) To realize what He promised long ago.

From far. From heaven; the angel that smote the Assyrians came down from heaven.

the burden (מַשָּׂאָה) The ‘heh’ is superfluous, and it is only like מַשָּׂא. Therefore, the ‘heh’ is silent, not punctuated by a mappiq.

משאה Smoke.⁴²A. V., Heavy. Comp. המשאת the smoke⁴³A. V., The flame. (Judg. 20:40); there are many words for smoke.⁴⁴In the Hebrew text the word כמה many before שמות, or רבות many after it, is omitted.

is like a flooding stream which divides the one who crosses it, up to his neck, for he has no strength to stand against the current of the water.

And His breath. The breath that comes out of His mouth; a figurative expression for the work of the angel.⁴⁵This refers to the angel that destroyed the Assyrian army. Comp. 37:36.

to wave (לַהֲנָפָה) to wave, vaner in O.F.

להנפה. Most of the commentaries say that להנפה is the same as להניף, to wave;⁴⁶A. V., To sift with the sieve of vanity.⁴⁶A. V., To sift with the sieve of vanity. but R. Moses Hakkohen is of opinion, that it means to bridle, and that by the breath of God, the false spirit, described by Micaiah (1 Kgs. 22:19—23) is to be understood; and this is the right explanation. And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. The bridle is put in the mouth of the horse, to make it go the right way, but the spirit mentioned here, will be רסן מתעה a misleading bridle. The same idea is expressed by ,בנפת שוא and this proves that להנפה has the meaning to bridle.

with a vain waving Not to avail them, but they think it will avail.

and a bit (רֶסֶן) a bit, freynk in O.F., (a rein or curb).

This song shall be to you On the night of Passover shall this joy come to you.

To you, to Judah.

as the night of the sanctification of the festival Just as you recited a song over the Paschal sacrifices in Egypt [It appears from this verse as though he wishes to teach us about Sennacherib, but he teaches us about Pharaoh, that they recited Hallel on the night of the eating of the Paschal sacrifices. In Midrash Tehillim (1:20)].

As in the night when a holy solemnity is kept, In the night of the passover. Our sages said therefore, that the Assyrian army was destroyed on the Passover night.⁴⁷See Targum Jonathan, and Rashi, ad locum: This rejoicing will come to you on the eve of Passover.

like one who goes with a flute And you shall rejoice with the downfall of Sennacherib like the joy of those who bring the First Fruits, before whom the flute would play, to come upon the mountain of God, as we learned in Tractate Bikkurim (3:4).

לבוא To come. To be joined with כהולך as when one goeth.⁴⁸The infinitive לבוא could also be joined with the principal sentence in this way: Ye shall have a song, etc., when you come to the mountain, etc. Comp. Kimchi, ad locum.

and the laying down of His arm This is not an expression of resting but an expression of placing, posement in O.F. Comp. (Exod. 10:14) “And placed it (וַיָּנַח) throughout the entire boundary of Egypt.” The placing of His might He will show in a flame by which the armies of Sennacherib were burnt.

And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard. The people will be frightened, as they are when they hear the thunder.⁴⁹This remark of I. E. seems to have been intended for the next verse.

bursting (נֶפֶץ) an expression of more intense breaking, (shattering).

ונחת And the lighting down. Comp. ותנחת and it cometh down (Ps. 38:3).

And shall show to all people.

בזעף With the indignation. The preposition ב governs also the nouns נפץ ,להב, etc.

נפץ With scattering. Comp. תנפצם thou wilt scatter them (Ps. 2:9).

And hailstones. A figurative expression.⁵⁰This remark is made, probably because of the hailstones mentioned in Joshua 10:11., which in fact destroyed the army of the five kings marching against Gibeon, while in the destruction of the Assyrian army hailstones were not employed.

from the Lord’s voice Assyria shall be broken he opened up their ears, and they heard the song from the mouth of the Chayoth, and they died. In the Aggadah of Chapter Chelek.

בשבט יכה As if he were smitten with a rod or for the Lord will smite him with a rod.⁵¹A. V., Which smote with a rod.

with a rod he would smite Assyria, who was wont to smite you with his rod.

And it shall be, every place where the established staff shall pass All the crossings of the strength of the foundations of his armies; all the places they passed and destroyed, and on the day of their downfall the Lord shall grant peace upon them through the news of their downfall, and they shall be joyful with drums and harps. And this is the interpretation of the verse in inverted order: And it shall be with drums and harps, every passing of the established staff upon which the Lord shall grant peace, and with wars of vain waving, lifting and lowering, did the Holy One, blessed be He, fight against them. And, according to Midrash Aggadah, the waving of the harvest of the Omer stood up for Israel in that war, for it was the night of the sixteenth of Nissan.

מוסדה Grounded. Participle Hophal; מטה is sometimes used as a feminine noun; comp. Mic. 6:9.—The following is the meaning of the whole verse: And in every place where this rod shall pass, and upon which the Lord shall lay his staff, it will be done. בתפים ובכנרות with tabrets and harps; the Lord will not be weary, but there will be a continual smiting by the angel, who shall rejoice as if he were playing with tabrets and harps.

תנופה Playing.^51aA. V., Shaking. Lit., moving, sc. the hand to play with musical instruments.

For...is set up from yesterday The second day of the Creation of the world a day that has a yesterday but not a day before yesterday.

מאהמוֹל═מאתמוּל Of old.

Tophteh Gehinnom, for whoever is enticed (מִתְפַּתֶּה) by his temptation falls into there.

תפתה Tophet. The name of a squalid place near Jerusalem, where all refuse was cast, and whence a continual smoke was rising.⁵²Tophet is a place in the valley of Ben Hinnom near Jerusalem; Moloch had once been worshipped there, but when that idolatry was abolished it became the receptacle of all the refuse of the city, so that the use thus made of the place formed a striking contrast to the reverence with which it was previously regarded. The horror and disgust felt for this spot was so great that it was considered the greatest curse to be compelled to live in its neighbourhood, and thus it gave its name to the abode of the wicked after death (Gehinnom═hell). It was very probably the smoke rising from the ashes and refuse cast there, that suggested the idea of the eternal fire in hell. The meaning of the sentence is: Tophet is prepared by the Lord for the King of Assyria.

has been prepared for the king For the necessity of Sennacherib and his army.

גם הוא למלך הוכן. Yea, for the king it is prepared. For all his officers and princes have already perished. According to others the pronoun הוא refers to the King of Assyria.⁵³The translation of the passage accordingly is, Yea, he is appointed King, sc. of Tophet.

its pile (מְדֻרָתָהּ) an expression of a heated fire. An arrangement of wood on the fire is called מְדוּרָה.

מדרתה The pile thereof. Comp. מדורה fireplace (Ez. 24:9).

the breath of the Lord the blowing of His breath.

The breath of the Lord, the breath that cometh out quickly; it expresses figuratively the immediate fulfilment of the divine decrees.⁵⁴The breath of the Lord is according to I. E. the breath that cometh out of the mouth of the Lord; he therefore paraphrases it, in order to remove the anthropomorphism; but it can also be explained to signify the wind caused by the Lord.

burning (בֹּעֲרָה) equivalent to בּוֹעֶרֶת.