이사야 64:9의 인용 해설

Desert and wasteland Jerusalem, called ‘wasteland,’ and Zion, called ‘desert,’ they shall rejoice over the downfall of the mighty of the heathens and Persia ([Manuscripts yield:] of Edom and Bozrah). ([The Warsaw edition reads:] the mighty of Seir (and Bozrah).)

A Midrashic view cited in Shemot Rabbah 24,4: “This was a place where the Israelites were anxious to place flags in rows upon rows. Another explanation: the desert of Shur is a euphemism for the Jewish people prior to their receiving the Torah. As long as the Torah had not been given the entire world was comparable to a wilderness. Once the Torah was given it was transformed into “Shur” i.e. a (protective) wall. Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Seymon quoted G’d as saying that in the future He would do the same for Zion. Whereas in Isaiah 64,9 Zion was described as a wilderness, it would become a protective wall as prophesied in Zecharyah 2,9 “I shall become a wall of fire (for Zion) surrounding it and I will glory inside it.”

ונתתי את עריכם חרבה, "and I will turn your cities into ruins." The Torah means that not only will our cities no longer be a model for other nations but that they will be inferior to the civilisation of the Gentile nations. This is a source of great distress. Isaiah had this in mind when he described the cities of Yehudah and Zion as being turned into a desert (Isaiah 64,9) unless the Jewish people would mend their ways.