Midrash su Isaia 49:12

Another interpretation: Lest the nations of the world say: He behaves like a brute with you. That is to say: When the generation of the flood came, he destroyed them with water, as stated (in Gen. 7:6): WHEN THE FLOODWATERS CAME UPON THE EARTH. And similarly, when the generation of the dispersion came, he destroyed them. And similarly, when the Egyptians came, he drowned them in water. And also in the case of these whom he has called (in Exod. 4:22) ISRAEL, MY FIRST-BORN SON, here he is destroying (mekhalleh) them! <He is> like that Lilith (keLilit). When she does not find anything else, she turns on children. So (in Numb. 14:16): BECAUSE THE LORD WAS NOT ABLE TO BRING THIS PEOPLE INTO THE LAND WHICH HE HAS SWORN <TO GIVE> THEM, HE HAS SLAUGHTERED THEM IN THE DESERT. Moses said: Sovereign of the World, (according to vs. 14) THAT YOU, O LORD, ARE SEEN FACE TO FACE (literally: EYE TO EYE). What is the meaning of THAT <YOU> … ARE SEEN EYE TO EYE ('YN B'YN)?¹⁴Similarly Deut. R. 5:13. R. Simeon ben Laqish said: See, the scales are balanced (rt.: 'YN). You say (in Numb. 14:12): I WILL SMITE THEM WITH PESTILENCE AND DISPLACE THEM; but I am saying (in vs. 19): PLEASE PARDON. We shall see whose <utterance> will stand. The Holy One said to him: By your life, Moses, yours shall stand, while mine is null <and void>. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 14:20): THEN THE LORD SAID: I HAVE PARDONED THEM AS YOU ASKED. But nevertheless, the decree of the Holy One which he had uttered to Moses (in Numb. 14:12): THEN I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A NATION THAT IS GREATER AND MORE NUMEROUS THAN THEY, <that decree> was not repealed. He raised up from him sixty myriads, and in the world to come the Holy One shall gather them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 49:12): LOOK! THESE ARE COMING FROM AFAR. AND LOOK! THESE ARE FROM THE NORTH AND FROM THE SEA (i.e., FROM THE WEST), AND THESE FROM THE LAND OF SINIM. Moreover, the exiles shall come with them, also the tribes who are located beyond <the River> Sambatyon¹⁵Gk.: Sabbatikos (“Sabbatical”). See Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Exod. 34:10; ySanh. 10:6 or 5 (29c); Gen. R. 73:6; Lam. R. 2:5 (9); PR 31:10; above, Gen. 10:17, it was beyond, or on an island in, this legendary river that at least some of the ten tribes were exiled. See also Tanh., Exod. 9:33; Gen. R. 11:5, PR 23:8; according to which the river carried stones in its current during the whole week but rested on the Sabbath. See also Pliny, HN 31:18 (24); Sanh. 65b. Cf. Josephus, BJ 7:5:1 (96–99), according to whom the Sabbath was the only day on which the river flowed. and beyond the darkness.¹⁶Cf. Ezek. 34:12. They shall be gathered and come to Jerusalem. It is concerning them that Isaiah has said (in Is. 49:9): SAYING TO THE PRISONERS: GO FORTH, <i.e.,> to those who are located beyond the Sambatyon. (Ibid., cont.:) TO THOSE WHO ARE IN DARKNESS: SHOW YOURSELVES.¹⁷Higgalu. The verb can also mean “be exiled. These are those who are located beyond the cloud of darkness. (Ibid., cont.:) THEY SHALL PASTURE ALONG THE ROADS, AND {UPON} [IN ALL] THE HEIGHTS SHALL BE THEIR PASTURE. These are those who are located in Daphne near Antioch.¹⁸According to ySanh. 10:6 or 5 (29c) the exiles were divided into three parts: one beyond the Sambatyon River, one to Daphne at Antioch, and one into a cloud cover. At that time they shall be redeemed and come to Zion with gladness. Isaiah has said (in Is. 51:11): SO LET THOSE RANSOMED BY THE LORD RETURN AND COME TO ZION WITH EXALTATION, WITH JOY EVERLASTING UPON THEIR HEADS. LET THEM ATTAIN JOY AND GLADNESS; MAY SORROW AND SIGHING FLEE.

Another interpretation (of Ps. 68:18 [17]): THE CHARIOTS OF GOD ARE TWO MYRIADS, <THOUSANDS FOR A DOUBLING (alfe shin'an) >. R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: What is the meaning of alfe shin'an ('LPY ShN'N)? The most handsome (HN'YM, rt.: N'H)⁴⁴The midrash reads ShN’N as shenna’in (rt.: N’H), which means, “who are handsome.” and the most excellent⁴⁵Here the midrash may be understanding the alfe of the verse in the sense of alfa, i.e, that which is first or preeminent. So Wm. G. Braude and I.J. Kapstein, Pesikta de-Rab Kahana (Philadelphia: JPSA, 1975), p. 244, note 64. of them (i.e., of the angels). Nevertheless, the Lord stood out among them, <so that> the congregation of Israel said (in Cant. 5:10): MY BELOVED IS BRIGHT AND RUDDY, <THE MOST PROMINENT OF TEN THOUSAND >. <When> a king of flesh and blood goes forth into the field,⁴⁶Lat.: campus; Gk.: kampos. how many are as handsome as he? How many are as valiant as he? With the Holy One, however, the situation is different. When he came to Sinai, he took along with him the most handsome and the most excellent of the ministering angels. R. Judah b. R. Simon said: what is written (in Deut. 33:2)? HE (the Lord) APPEARED FROM MOUNT PARAN, AND ARRIVED ('ata) FROM HOLY MYRIADS. Thus he was A BEACON ('ot) in the midst of HOLY MYRIADS.⁴⁷This reinterpretation is possible because in the Hebrew text neither “arrived” nor “beacon” (i.e., “sign” or “emblem”) have any consonants except alef plus taw. There is no one like him. Who is comparable to him! R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: Wherever there are great throngs,⁴⁸Gk.: ochloi. there is a pressing together. On Sinai, however, when the Holy One came, there came down with him thousands of thousands and a myriad of myriads (rt.: RBH), (according to Ps. 68:18 [17]) THOUSANDS FOR A DOUBLING; yet there was space for them. R. Eleazar ben Azariah and R. Eleazar of Modim made the following statements: One said: But would the mountain have contained them? The Holy One said to it: Widen (rt.: RHB) and lengthen yourself to receive the children of your Lord. But the other said: When the Holy One returns to Jerusalem, he will bring the diaspora back into it. It is so stated (in Is. 49:12): LOOK! THESE ARE COMING {TO YOU} FROM AFAR…. But will <that city> be able to contain them? The Holy One has told it (in Is. 54:2): ENLARGE (RHB) THE SITE OF YOUR TABERNACLE. (Ps. 68:18 [17], cont.): THE LORD IS AMONG THEM, <AS IN SINAI, SO IN THE HOLY PLACE. > Resh Laqish said: There is a tablet⁴⁹Lat.: tabula. over the heart of each and every angel where the name of the Holy One is joined with the name of each and every angel: <e.g.,> Michael (which means, "Who is like God?") and Raphael (which means, "God has healed.") (Ps. 68:18 [17], cont.): THE LORD IS IN THEM.⁵⁰The Hebrew here would normally be translated, “among them,” but the midrash understands the text more literally to mean, IN THEM. Note that the discussion of Ps. 68:18 [17] ends here without connecting the verse to Exod. 20:2. Yalqut Shim‘oni, Exod. 286, adds that by proclaiming the Lordship of the Holy One among the angels, Ps. 68 does not limit his lordship to them since the first commandment also proclaims his lordship. So also Yalqut Shim‘oni, Pss., 797; PRK 12:22. Cf. Exod. R. 29:2, which adds that, even though Israel has seen many faces in heaven there is only one deity, as Exod. 20:2 clearly stresses. See also below, 6:12.

25 Moses said to Him (in vss. 14, 15), “Now they have heard that You, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. If then You slay this people like one man.” So the nations of the world would not say, “The gods of Canaan are stronger than the gods of Egypt; the gods of Egypt are false, but those of Canaan are of land watered by rain (i.e., of Ba'al).” (Numb. 14:14, 16) “They will say unto the inhabitants of this land […] Because he was not able (yekholet),” i.e., because He did not have the means to supply enough food, He brought them out to have them die in the desert. Now the word, yekholet can only refer to food, since it is stated (in I Kings 5:25 [11]), “and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat as food (makkolet) for his household.” Another interpretation: Lest the nations of the world think of You as cruel. That is to say: When the generation of the flood came, He destroyed them. And similarly, when the generation of the dispersion came, and when the Sodomites came, and when the Egyptians came, He destroyed them And also in the case of these whom He has called (in Exod. 4:22), “My first-born son,” He is destroying (mekhalleh) them! He is like that Lilith (keLilit). When she does not find anything else, she turns on children. So (in Numb. 14:16), “Because the Lord was not able.” Moses said, “Sovereign of the world, (according to vs. 14) ‘[that…] You […], o Lord, are seen face to face (literally: eye to eye).’” What is the meaning of “[that...] are seen eye to eye ('YN B'YN)?”⁴⁵Similarly Deut. R. 5:13. R. [Simeon ben] Laqish said, “See, the scales are balanced (rt.: 'YN).” “You say (in Numb. 14:12), “’I will smite them with pestilence’; but I am saying (in vs. 19), ‘Please pardon.’ We shall see whose utterance will stand.” It is so stated (in Numb. 14:20), “Then the Lord said, ‘I have pardoned them as you asked.’” But nevertheless, the decree of the Holy One which he had uttered to Moses (in Numb. 14:12), “then I will make you into a nation that is greater,” that decree was not repealed. He raised up from him sixty myriads, as stated (in I Chron. 23:17), “but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.” And in the world to come the Holy One shall gather them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 49:12), “Look! These are coming from afar. And look! These are from the north and from the sea (i.e., from the west), and these from the land of Sinim.” Moreover, the exiles shall come with them, also the tribes who are located beyond the River Sambatyon⁴⁶Gk.: Sabbatikos (“Sabbatical”). See Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Exod. 34:10; ySanh. 10:6 or 5 (29c); Gen. R. 73:6; Lam. R. 2:5 (9); PR 31:10; above, Gen. 10:17, it was beyond, or on an island in, this legendary river that at least some of the ten tribes were exiled. See also Tanh., Exod. 9:33; Gen. R. 11:5, PR 23:8; according to which the river carried stones in its current during the whole week but rested on the Sabbath. See also Pliny, HN 31:18 (24); Sanh. 65b. Cf. Josephus, BJ 7:5:1 (96–99), according to whom the Sabbath was the only day on which the river flowed. and beyond the hills of darkness.⁴⁷Cf. Ezek. 34:12. They shall be gathered and come to Jerusalem. Isaiah said (in Is. 49:9), “Saying to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’” i.e., to those who are located beyond the Sambatyon. (Ibid., cont.,) “To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves,’”⁴⁸higgalu. the verb can also mean “be exiled. these are those who are located beyond the cloud of darkness. (Ibid., cont.,) “They shall pasture along the roads, and in all the heights shall be their pasture,” these are those who are located in Daphne of Antioch.⁴⁹According to ySanh. 10:6 or 5 (29c) the exiles were divided into three parts: one beyond the Sambatyon River, one to Daphne at Antioch, and one into a cloud cover. At that time they shall be redeemed and come to Zion with gladness, as stated (in Is. 51:11), “So let those ransomed by the Lord return [and come to Zion with exaltation, with joy everlasting upon their heads. Let them attain joy and gladness; may sorrow and sighing flee].”