Komentarz do Izajasza 35:13

shall rejoice over them (יְשֻׂשׂוּם) This is usually the sign of the direct object, inappropriate here in the case of an intransitive verb. (like יָשׂוּשׂוּ מֵהֶם, shall rejoice from them). Comp. (Jer. 10:20) “My sons have gone away from me (יְצָאֻנִי).” Also, (I Kings 19:21) “He cooked the meat for them (בִּשְּׁלָם),” equivalent to בִּשֵּׁל לָהֶם, “He cooked the meat for them.”

יששום. Some think that the preposition ב is omitted, and that יששו בם ═ יששום they shall be glad for them: this is not right; for what would be the meaning of ¹The cause of the objection is the absence of any noun to which the pronoun them could refer.בם? I think that מ is here substituted for the paragogic נ, which is frequently found in verbs. Comp. ²As to the interchange between מ and נ.פדיון ═ פִּדְיוֹם redemption (Num. 3:19).—The land of Edom alone shall be waste; but Palestine shall be the reverse. According to R. Moses Hakkohen this prophecy refers to the deliverance of Jerusalem.³The difference between the two opinions is, that according to the first, this chapter describes the state of Israel in the time of Messiah; according to the second, the peace and happiness of Judah after the evacuation of Palestine by the Assyrian army, which appears to have taken place after the miraculous defeat of Sennacherib before Jerusalem.

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).)

and the plain shall rejoice the plain of Jerusalem.

and to sing (lit., and sing,) like: and to sing.

It shall blossom. Palestine or Jerusalem shall blossom.

the Lebanon The Temple.

גילת לב ═ גילת Joy of the heart. The ת indicates the construct state of the noun. Unto it. Unto the Lebanon, according to some commentators.⁴The other opinion is, that לָהּ refers to Palestine or Jerusalem, לבנון being used as a masculine noun; Comp. 29:17.

the beauty of His glory will be given to Zion.

They shall see. The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall see.

Strengthen weak hands (חַזְּקוּ) All the prophets who brought tidings of salvation consoled Israel and strengthened their weak hands. (The word) is in the intensive conjugation, and its meaning is (the causative, i.e.,) strengthen others. If he intended to say, “Be strong, you whose hands are weak,” it would be vowelized like (2 Chron. 32:7) “Be strong (חִזְקוּ) and be firm (וְאִמְצוּ).” Now that he says to them to strengthen others and to make others firm, it is vowelized, חַזְּקוּ, אַמְּצוּ. “Be strong (חִזְקוּ), do not fear” is vowelized חִזְקוּ, a form of the ‘kal’ conjugation, meaning ‘you be strong by yourselves,’ as one says to singular (Jos. 1:6), “Be strong and be firm (חֲזַק ֶמָץ),” and he does not say, חַזֵּק.

Strengthen ye, etc. According to all the commentators except R. Moses Hakkohen, this prophecy refers to the Messianic period; he refers it to the return of the fugitives in the time of Hezekiah, after the death of the king of Assyria.

Confirm the feeble knees, that they be able to walk.

to the hasty of heart Who hurry the redemption and are troubled by its delay.

To them that are of a fearful heart. To those that do not believe that such a miracle could happen. With vengeance against Edom or Assyria.⁵Edom or Assyria, as we refer this prophecy to the Messianic period or to the time of Hezekiah.

[with] vengeance He shall come (lit., vengeance He shall come,) with vengeance He shall come.

the recompense of God Upon the wicked ([mss.] upon your enemies) He shall come and save you.

the eyes of the blind shall be opened Those who were blind, not to recognize (lit., from recognizing) their fear (sic) ([Warsaw:] this fear;) ([mss.] My fear) upon them.

Then, when they see this miracle or hear of it.

and the ears of the deaf Who did not hearken to the voice of the prophets until now, will be opened and unstopped, for I will give them a proper spirit to fear Me. He says this concerning Israel, whom he called blind and deaf, as the matter is stated (infra 42:18) “You deaf ones, hearken, etc.”

Then the lame shall skip like a hart, etc. Israel, who are now lame and weak. We find that he calls the weak with an expression of ‘lame,’ as the matter is stated (above 33:23): “The lame take the prey.”

Then shall the lame man leap, in his return to Jerusalem.

shall sing in My salvation.

And the tongue of the dumb shall sing. A figurative expression for they will find water everywhere; it is the reverse of the tongue of the suckling cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst (Lam. 4:4)

the tongue of the mute The tongue of Israel, who are among the nations as mutes, for they hear their scorn and do not respond.

for water has broken out in the desert For My salvation shall cheer them up, and they shall blossom like a desert wasteland, which thirsts for water, and springs break out into it; i.e., for salvation shall sprout for the crushed ones.

And the dry place shall become a pool He who longs for salvation shall be saved. The prophet spoke figuratively.

השרב The parched ground. Comp. שרב heat (49:10) and שרבא the Chaldæan translation of חרב heat (Gen. 31:40).

in the habitat of jackals, a resting place, etc. A place that was a desert wasteland, which is the habitat, the resting place of jackals, shall become moist, a place of grass, made for reeds and rushes, and it is not customary for reeds and rushes to grow except in a watery place, as the matter is stated (Job 8:11): “Can the rush shoot upwards without mire?”

בנוה תנים רבצה That which had been covered with the dwelling of dragons.⁶A. V., In the habitation of dragons, where each lay. The desert.

a resting place (רִבְצָה) This is a noun like מַרְבֵּץ, since it has no ‘mappiq hey.’

חצר═חציר Court.⁷A. V., Grass.

With reeds and rushes, that grow on the banks of rivers.

And there shall be a highway for the travelers.

And an highway shall be there, etc. Although the rivers shall swell, still there will be a pathway, etc.⁸The abundance of water everywhere will be a blessing and comfort, not an obstacle stopping their way to their land and the holy city. מסלול An highway.

no unclean one shall traverse it No unclean one shall traverse that road; i.e., it will no longer belong to the heathens ([mss.:] nations).

The way of holiness. So called because of the return of the Israelites to Jerusalem.⁹That is, to the holy city, to the place which the Lord has chosen to put his name there.

and it shall be for them And that is the road of those blind, deaf, lame, and mute mentioned above. They shall travel on this road, and even if they are fools, they shall not go astray, for I will straighten it for them.

The unclean shall not pass, etc. No heathen, that is unclean, will pass over it, although it is his own, out of fear: the redeemed alone shall walk on the highway; and furthermore, the wayfaring men, and fools, that are not acquainted with the way, shall not err therein, because it will be a highway.¹⁰A straight, continuous road, without any interruption.

a profligate beast The boar out of the forest (80:14). There is none as profligate among the beasts as the boar, and also “the lions from his thicket” (Jer. 4:7), i.e., Nebuchadnezzar, shall not be found there.

No lion shall be there on that way.

nor shall...ascend thereon On that road (הַדֶּרֶךְ). The word דֶּרֶךְ is used both as masculine and feminine gender, as it is written (Ex. 18:20): “The way (הַדֶּרֶךְ) upon which (בָּהּ) they shall walk.” (Lit., on her.) Thus it is feminine. Comp. (Deut. 28:7) “In one road (בַּדֶּרֶךְ אֶחָד) they shall come out to you.” Thus it is masculine.

Nor any ravenous beast, that could do harm, and frighten those that wish to return. But the redeemed shall walk there. Those that will return will be unmolested by enemies and wild beasts.

it shall not be found any wild beast there.

with joy of days of yore (Heb. שִׂמְחַתעוֹלָם, joy that is from days of yore, which they already experienced on the way of their Exodus from Egypt, “and the Lord was going before them by day” (Ex. 13:21).

And the ransomed, etc. And those that return, will come to Zion with rejoicing and with everlasting joy upon their heads. The head is the principal seat of the soul.¹¹The divine promise of joy and happiness concerns the soul more than the body. According to others the joy will be like a cover over their heads; this explanation is also admissible.

shall flee The sadness and the sighing shall flee from them.

ששון ושמחה ישיגו Joy and gladness shall reach them. According to others: they shall obtain joy and gladness.