Commento su Isaia 48:31

Hearken to this The two tribes destined to go in exile to Babylon.

Out of the waters of Judah. That is, out of the seed of Judah. Comp. The fountains of Jacob (Deut. 33:28).

O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel That is the tribe of Benjamin, who are not called by the tribe of Judah, but by the general name of the tribes of Israel.

Not in truth. They utter with their lips that they are God’s people, but do not think so in their hearts nor show it in their deeds.

and who emanated from the waters of Judah And the tribe of Judah who emanated and ran from the waters of Judah’s pail, as Scripture states (Num. 24: 7): “Water shall run out of his pails.”

neither in truth As Jeremiah said, (5:2) “And if they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ surely they swear falsely,” i.e., you were unworthy of being redeemed, but since they were called [as being] from the Holy City, and that caused them not to be exiled with the ten tribes in the time of Sennacherib, to Halah and Habor, for they have no redemption.

and they leaned on the God of Israel in the days of Hezekiah, about whom it is written (2 Kings 18:5): “He trusted in the Lord God of Israel.” That caused them not to be exiled except in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, who exiled them to Babylon, and they had a redemption through Cyrus.

For they call themselves of the holy city, namely children of Zion.

And stay themselves upon the God of Israel with their lips.

The first things that passed, [viz.] the redemption from Egypt and Hezekiah’s salvation from the hand of Sennacherib.

I have declared, etc. God will say to the unbelievers, Have I not often foretold you coming events before they happened (ראשנות)?¹Comp. I. E. on 46:9 and note 6, and on 41:27 and note 35. The past tense is therefore used : and they came to pass.

I told from then When they had not yet come about, and suddenly I did it.

and they came to pass as I told before through My prophets.

Because of My knowledge that you are obstinate. Heb. מִדַּעְתִּי. Because I knew you, that you are obstinate, and if the miracle would come and I had not told of it before, you would say, “My idol performed them, and they were not from the Holy One, blessed be He.” Therefore, I told you from then; when it had not yet come to pass etc. מִדַּעְתִּי [although usually translated ‘from My knowledge,’ in this case,] ; the ‘mem’ denotes the giving of a reason, like ‘Because I knew.’ A similar form [is found in Deut. 7:8:], “For, because of the Lord’s love (מֵאַהֲבַת) for you, and because of His observing (וּמִשָּׁמְרוֹ) the oath.”

מדעתי I know.²A. V,, Because I knew. The literal translation according to I. E. is: It is by my knowledge. As I knew the former things, so I know also that thou art hardened in thy heart. The second person refers to those Israelites who do not believe in God. And thy neck is of iron. Thou dost not depart from thy way, as if thy neck were of iron. And thy brow brass. And thou dost not blush, as if thy forehead were brass.

I have even from the beginning, etc. This is the explanation;³Of the connection between the divine predictions (ver. 3) and Israel’s obstinacy (ver. 4). I foretold thee coming events, in order that thou shouldst not say when they happened, that thy idols worshipped by thee in thy land had prepared them, that by their decree the events took place,

Hath commanded them. It is the same expression as used of the Almighty (45:12)

You have heard, see all of it You have heard the first ones that I told; see that all of them have come about.

Thou hast heard, see all this. What thou hast heard, all has come.

and you, will you not tell and testify for Me that nothing failed?

And will not ye declare that this is the case? Behold, I have shewed thee new things from this time,

I let you hear new things from now Now I come back and let you hear new things that are new to you, but to Me they are revealed from time immemorial.

even hidden things, that are kept (בצורות═נצורות⁴The word כמו comp. seems to have been omitted in the Hebrew text. ) with the Omniscient alone.

and hidden things and things guarded in My treasure houses, and you did not know them.

Now they have been created and not from then are they.

נבראו They are decreed.⁵A. V., They are created. Comp. I. E. on 40:28, note 61.

and before the day that they take place I let you hear of them.

And before the day, on which I told you. ולא שמעתם Thou heardest them not.⁶I. E. here explains the words Yea, thou hast not heard, etc., as a repetition of Thou heardest them not of the preceding verse for the sake of The ו introduces the principal sentence, as فَ in Arabic; comp. אברהם ביום השלישי וישא when the third day came, Abraham lifted up (Gen. 22:4)

and you did not hear them until this day. The words, “and before the day,” refer back to “I let you hear,” as stated above.

Neither did you hearken Jonathan renders: Neither did you hearken to the words of the prophets, neither did you accept the teaching of the Torah, nor did you bend your ear to the words of the blessings and the curses of My covenant that I established with you at Horeb.

Yea, thou knowest not, etc., I knew, etc. That is, I know it for certain, that thou hast not heard of it,⁶I. E. here explains the words Yea, thou hast not heard, etc., as a repetition of Thou heardest them not of the preceding verse for the sake of or I knew it,⁷According to this explanation the words I knew it are understood; and the past tenses ידעת שמעת, are here used instead of the future. that thou wouldst not listen, that thou wouldst be treacherous against me, and not believe in my words.

for I knew that you would deal treacherously When I came down to save you from the hands of the Egyptians, it was revealed to Me that you would eventually deal treacherously. Nevertheless, I kept the oath of the Patriarchs. This is what is stated (Ex. 3:7): “I saw the affliction of My people.” [The Hebrew expression for “I saw,” is רָאֹה רָאִיתִי, a double verb form, which denotes] two seeings. I see that they will eventually deal treacherously, but, nevertheless, I saw the affliction of My people. Rabbi Tanhuma expounded it in this manner.

From the womb. I knew thee^7aThe accents are against this explanation; they join מבטן with ופשע; ‘And one that transgresseth from the womb, that is a sinner from his earliest youth; while according to I. E. מבטן is joined with קרא לך : Thou art called from thy birth a sinner. since thou camest to existence. In the opposite sense⁸That is, in a good sense. this expression is used in Jer. 1:5: Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. And thou wast called a transgressor from the womb. This refers to the decrees of the Almighty.⁹Which fix the destinies of man before he is born. I shall fully explain this subject in my commentary on the book of Jeremiah.¹⁰I. E. alludes here to the contradiction that seems to be implied in the fact, that on the one side the destinies of man are settled before his birth, and on the other side, free-will is conceded to him ; as here the one has been appointed to be a prophet, the other a sinner. I. E. promises to explain it fully in his commentary on Jeremiah, which seems either to have never been written, or if written, not to be known.

and...transgressor from the womb Since you were in Egypt, as it is related in Ezekiel (20:5): “And I made Myself known in the land of Egypt, etc. (v. 7) and I said to them, [Cast away, each man the abominations of his eyes, and do not contaminate yourselves with the idols of Egypt].”

פתחה Hath opened¹¹A. V., Thine ear was not opened. itself; it is an elliptical expression.

I defer My anger Heb. (אַאֲרִיךְ אַפִּי). Despite the future form, it is an expression of the present.

For My name’s sake, Israel is called the people of the Lord.

and My praise is that I restrain My wrath Heb. אֶחֱטָם. And this is My praise, that I restrain My wrath for you. אֶחֱטָם is an expression of חֹטֶם, a nose. I will close My nose not to allow the smoke of My nostrils to go out and not to be angry with you, for, when one is angry, smoke comes out of his nostrils, as Scripture states (Ps. 18:9): “Smoke rose in His nose.” Likewise, every expression of ‘kindling of anger’ (חֲרוֹן אַף) is an expression of the heating of the nose, (Job. 42:7) “My anger was kindled (חָרָה אַפִּי).” Comp. also (ibid. 30:30) “And my bones were burnt (חָרָה) from heat.” My nose was heated (נִחַר) from much heat.”

אחטם Wrath,¹²A. V., Will I defer mine anger. It is hap. leg.; comp. אף═חטם nose in Rabbinical Literature. Supply אאריך before אחטם : I will defer my wrath; also למען for the sake of is to be repeated before תהלתי : and for the sake of my praise.

but not as silver [lit. but not with silver.] Not with the fire of Gehinnom, as silver is refined through fire.

I have refined thee, by the exile.

I have chosen for you Heb. בְּחַרְתִּיךָ. I have chosen for you the crucible of poverty as opposed to the crucible of fire. A crucible (כּוּר) is a vessel in which they melt silver and gold.

במצרף כסף═בכסף In the silver refinery,¹³A.V., With silver. I have refined thee, by taking away the dross, that is, the wicked.

בחרתיך I have chosen for thee,¹⁴A. V., I have chosen thee. According to I. E. we have to supply the infinitive to be tried. Some say that בחנתיך═בחרתיך I have tried thee; in that sense the word is hap. leg.¹⁵As to בחן ═ בחר to try, comp. תתבחרון in the Targum corresponding with the Hebrew, תבחנו, ye shall be proved (Gen. 42:15, 16). I take it in its usual meaning, I have chosen for thee to refine thee in the furnace of affliction, not in the silver refinery.

For My sake For the sake of My holy name.

יחל Should be polluted. It is the Niphal of a verb (חלל) ע״ע; as to the use of the first person in למעני and third person in יחל, comp. ונשאר אני and I was left (Ez. 9:8); הנני יוסיף behold, I will add (38:5).¹⁶I. E. supplies the personal pronoun אני before יחל, from the pronominal suffix of the first person in למעני and compares then the construction with נשאר אני I am left (Ez. 9:8) and הנני יוסיף (38:5). In all these cases the personal pronoun of the first person is connected as the subject with a verb in the third person singular. Comp. 38:5 and I. E. on 29:14, Note 22.

for how shall it be profaned How shall My name be profaned when I utterly destroy you?

And My honor I will not give to another That your enemies shall say that their God is powerful.

Hearken to Me, O Jacob The name that your father called you.

מקראי Called by me.¹⁷A. V., My called. They are called the children of God. You ought to believe that God is the first and last; this would be a true belief, for my hand, etc.

and Israel, who was called by Me You were called Israel by Me (Gen. 32:29). Jonathan renders: Israel, My summoned one.

ידי Mine hand. My left hand.¹⁸From the word ימיני My right hand, which follows in the second sentence of the verse, I. E. probably inferred that the general term ידי is here used for שמאלי My left hand.

It is a figurative expression; the right hand is used in connection with the heavens, because they are higher in rank than the earth.

אף has in this verse the same meaning as כי for.—It is true that I am the first and last, because I created every thing.

טפחה Hath put round,¹⁹A. V., Hath spanned. According to I. E. טפח means to put round; but although he appears to reject here the derivation from טֶפַח hand breadth, in his commentary on Lamentations 2:20, he seems to adopt it.¹⁹A. V., Hath spanned. According to I. E. טפח means to put round; but although he appears to reject here the derivation from טֶפַח hand breadth, in his commentary on Lamentations 2:20, he seems to adopt it. Comp. טפחתי I have swaddled (Lam. 2:22). Others explain it: Hath measured with the handbreadth יעמדו יחדיו —.(טֶפַח) They stand up together. From this phrase some of the commentators derive their opinion, that heaven and earth were created simultaneously, not consecutively.²⁰When a dispute arose between the school of Hillel and that of Shammai about the order of the creation of heaven and earth, R. Shimeon ben Jochai settled the dispute, proving from this verse, I call unto them, that is, unto heaven and earth, they stood up together, that both were created at the same time. (Bereshith Rabba c. i.). Comp. Kimchi ad locum. The literal meaning, however, is: I have made them, and when I call them to do My will and desire they stand both before Me like servants; comp. למשפטיך עמדו they stand up²¹A. V., They continue. This quotation is to show that the verb עמד has also the meaning to stand as a servant, to attend. Comp. לפניו אשר עמדתי before whom I stand (1 Kings 17:1), that is, whose servant I am. according to Thy ordinances (Ps. 119:91). For else²²That is, if the words I call unto them had not the meaning, I give commands to them, as to my servants, but were the description of their creation, identical with I commanded them to come into existence. how should God call them, when not yet existing.

The Lord loves him He who will perform the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, upon Babylon.

These. The coming events.

and [show] His arm He will show in the land of the Chaldees, and concerning Cyrus he states this.

Hath loved him, namely Cyrus.

His pleasure. The pleasure of God. Cyrus will perform the will of God concerning Babylon, and show His arm against the Chaldæans. It is, however, also possible, that the possessive pronoun his (ו) in his pleasure and his arm refers to Cyrus.

I redeemed Israel from Egypt, and I will redeem all Israel from the last exile and from the four corners of the earth.

I, even I. The word I is repeated to express the idea: I who am always the same.

I even called him [i.e., I called] Cyrus. Others say: The Lord loves Israel. I even called him, [i.e.,] Abraham. This calling is an expression of exaltation, to be My called one. Comp. (Num. 1:16), “These are the called ones of the congregation.”

I have called him, namely Cyrus.

from the time it was, there was I [Jonathan paraphrases:] From the time the nations ceased fearing Me, there I brought Abraham your father near to My service.

Come ye near unto me, unto the prophet.

and now, the Lord God has sent me, and His spirit [Jonathan paraphrases:] Said the prophet, “And now, the Lord God has sent me, and His word.” This is an intermingling of words. The one who said this did not say that [i.e., the first part of the verse was said by God, and the second part by the prophet]. And the Aggadic Midrash of Rabbi Tanhuma (Yithro 21) explains: Hearken to this—This alludes to Moses’ Torah, referred to as “This is the Torah.” In the beginning, I did not speak in secretat Sinai. And the prophet says, “From the time that thing was that, He says, I was there.” And we learned from here that all the prophets stood at Sinai. And now He sent me to prophesy to them. Even in this version there is an intermingling of words. “In the beginning I did not speak in secret,” was said by the Shechinah. “From the time it was, there was I,” was said by the prophet. It is possible to interpret it so that there should not be intermingling of words [as follows:] Draw near to me, hearken to this what I prophesy to you regarding the downfall of Babylon and your redemption. In the beginning I did not speak that in secret. From the time it was, that the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed to bring it, there I was. This teaches that from the time of the decree, the Holy One, blessed be He, appoints the prophet who is destined to prophesy regarding the matter in the council of the heavenly household, although it has not yet been created.

I have not spoken in secret from the beginning of this plan and this divine decree.

From the time that it was, there was I. The Gaon finds here an indication that the soul exists before the body; but he is wrong, because it is said, They are decreed now, and not from the beginning²³According to the Gaon, the words From the time that it was, refer to a very remote time, indicated in the phrase from the beginning, which precedes, i.e., a time anterior to the birth of the prophet, and the pronoun I in the phrase, There am I, to the soul of the prophet. If this were the correct explanation, the prophet implied in these words his adherence to the theory of the pre-existence of the soul. But I. E. properly rejects this explanation, since ver. 7, quoted by him, proves that the words, from the beginning, do not refer to a very remote time, but to a period within the lifetime of the prophet. (ver. 7). The meaning of the sentence is the following: When this decree was made by God unto the angels,²⁴The Hebrew text has the words אלה המלאכים these angels, which cannot be properly connected with the words which precede, nor with those that follow. אלה is probably a corruption of אֶל unto. The angels receive from the Almighty the power to act, with regard to a certain event, and this authorisation is called by I. E. The decree of the Almighty. See his commentary on 9:7, and note 13. the representatives of the respective countries (comp. Dan. 10:20), I was also there.

ורוחו And His spirit, that is His angel.²⁵God had sent me to proclaim the future events; and He sent His angel to verify the words of the prophet. It is however possible, that I. E. connects ורוחו with שם אני ; There was I and His angel. The Gaon says, that ברוחו═ורוחו by His spirit; comp. דרשו יי ועזו seek the Lord in His strength ; but there is no necessity to assume that.

Thy redeemer, etc. The words which follow are to announce the reward of those that listen to the words of the Lord.

לוא Oh that. The א is paragogic; comp. ההלכוא that went (Jos. 10:24).

ויהי Then had been. The ו has here the same meaning as فَ in Arabic.²⁶Comp. I. E. on ver. 7, and on 28:18. Thy peace had been as a river, that does not cease to flow.

And thy righteousness, etc. And thy righteousness had been continuous as the waves of the sea.

like its innards of the sea, like the fish of the sea for multitude.

Thy seed. The number of thy children.

בטנך═מעיך Thy womb.²⁷A. V., Thy bowels.

כמעותיו As its bowels. The possessive pronoun refers to the sea, the waves and sand of which have just been mentioned²⁸The sand refers to the sea, mentioned at the end of the preceding verse. Comp. Gen. 32:13. (ver. 18 and 19); by the bowels of the sea the roe of the fish is meant.

His name. The name of thy seed.

Go ye forth, etc. Now the prophet addresses those in exile.

Utter it, etc. Make it known publicly; not alone that He will redeem His people, He will do wonders to them at their return to Zion. ולא צמאו That they will not thirst²⁹A. V., And they thirsted not. in the deserts, through which God will lead them.

Out of the rock. Where no water had been before.

ויזבו And gushed out. Comp. זב running (Lev. 15:2)

for the wicked For Nebuchadnezzar and his seed.

There is no peace unto the wicked, that is, unto the wicked of Israel, as some explain, or unto the Babylonians; for this blessing shall be for Israel alone, but there shall be no peace for the Babylonians.