Comentário sobre Isaías 8:24

scroll Heb. גִּלְיוֹן, like מְגִלָה. ([Mss. add:] Or a tablet.)

גליון. According to some related to מגלה scroll; the י of גליון compensates for the omission of the Dagesh in ל; comp. דליו They are poor (Prov. 26:7).¹Our editions have ל ,גִּלָּיוֹן with a Dagesh, like ﬠִוָּרוֹן ,זִכָּרוֹן etc., of the root גלה, the ה being changed into י as in the participle passive Kal גָּלוּי; according to I. E. it is derived from גלל, like רליו from רלל.

in common script In script which any man who reads it can skim through quickly, even a very common man, even if he is not intelligent. In this manner Jonathan renders: in a distinct script.

בחרט In the form of.²A. V. With a man’s pen.²A. V. With a man’s pen. Comp. Exod. 32:4. בחרט אנוש. In the form of a man. That is, in a form cast in the same way as the figure of a man is cast.^2*According to this explanation we have to imagine the גליוז as a cylindric pillar, on the top of which the words Maher Shalal, etc., were cast in metal. Others³This seems to be the opinion adopted by Ibn Ezra, chap. 3:23. take גליון as the singular to גליונים (3:23) a cloth to which the writing was affixed by embroidery. Maher-shalal-hash-baz.^3*The meaning of these four words is: Quick is the spoil, swift the prey, viz. of Samaria, to pass into the conqueror’s hand. The prophet is told to indicate by these words the fall of Samaria.

to hasten loot, speed the spoils For Sennacherib to come and to loot all the possessions of the ten tribes and to speed Nebuchadnezzar to pillage Zedekiah and his generation.

And I will call to testify for Myself also in those days, in the days of Jehoiakim, concerning that calamity, destined to befall them, two trustworthy witnesses, one to foretell for them the evil that was destined to come upon them, viz. Uriah the priest, whom Jehoiakim dispatched, as it is said (Jer. 26: 20): “And also a man was prophesying in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim, and he prophesied concerning this city and concerning this land, according to all the words of Jeremiah.”

.⁴ואעידה is future Hiphil of והעידה ;עוד is imperative Hiphil, both with ה parag. and conjunctive ו.ואעידה According to some the א is here instead of ה. And take unto me faithful witnesses. According to others the future is used for the past: And I took unto me faithful witnesses. It may, however, be taken literally,⁵As future. that I should take as witnesses for me. The prophet did what God commanded, although it is not related in the text.

and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah who prophesied in the second year of Darius (Zech. 8:4): “Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem.” Uriah is a sign for Zechariah. If you see that Uriah’s prophecy is fulfilled, you can expect that Zechariah’s will likewise be fulfilled, just as I have called to testify concerning Sennacherib, Amos and Isaiah; Amos for the calamity of the ten tribes (Amos 7:11): “And Israel shall surely be exiled,” and Isaiah for his promise to Hezekiah (Isaiah 32,33) [when he would reign].

Uriah THE priest; Uriah was then high priest. Zachariah was likewise a great man; what our Sages say about the prophecies of Zachariah and Uriah is well known.⁶R. Gamaliel, R. Eleazar, the son of Asaria, R. Josua, and R. Akiba, were once going up to Jerusalem; when they came to Zophim (a place near Jerusalem), they rent their garments; they approached the Temple-Mount and saw a fox coming forth from the place where the Holy of Holies had stood before. The sages burst into tears, but R. Akiba exhibited joy. When they enquired how he could express feelings of gladness at such a sight, he asked them why they wept. What! said they; have we not cause to weep, when we find that the very spot of which the law has said, ‘The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death’ (Num. 18:7), has now become the abode of foxes? (Lam. 5:18.) And for the same reason, returned R. Akiba, do I rejoice. It is written: ‘And I should take for myself faithful witnesses, the priest Uriah, and Zachariah, the son of Berchjah.’ Now, what connection is there between Uriah and Zachariah? The one lived in the time of the first Temple (under Ahaz), the other in the time of the second. No other connection but to show that the prophecy of the one is conditioned by the words of the other. Uriah declared: ‘ For your sake shall Zion be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,’ etc. (Mic. 3:12). Zachariah foretold: ‘There shall yet old men and women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem,’ etc. (Zac. 8:4). As long as Uriah’s words were not fulfilled, one might have doubted the truth of the prophecy of Zachariah; but when I perceive how literally the predictions of the one have been verified, I can entertain no reasonable doubt that the promises of Zachariah will be fulfilled likewise. Thereupon his companions exclaimed, Akiba, thou hast given us true comfort. (Talm. Babli Makkoth, 24).

and she bore a son He is the very son whom the prophetess called Immanuel, since the Holy One, blessed be He, would be at the aid of Hezekiah when he would reign. [It is impossible to say that it was another son, for we learned [in Seder Olam ch. 22] that in the fourth year of Ahaz, this prophecy was said, and in the fourth year of Ahaz, Pekah was assassinated, and it is impossible for two children to be born in one year, one after the other.] And Isaiah his father called him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, because of the calamity destined to befall Rezin and the son of Remaliah, who were coming to wrest the kingdom from the House of David and to curtail the kingdom of Hezekiah.

ואקרב. And I went unto. Euphemism; comp. Exod. 19:15.

The prophetess. The wife of the prophet; she is called prophetess on account of her husband being a prophet, or perhaps because she was herself a prophetess.

the wealth of Damascus...shall be carried off And [the] king of Assyria went up to Damascus and seized it (II Kings 16:9).

For before the child, etc. This child was born two years⁷Two years are supposed by I.E. to pass, before the child is able to call, My father, My mother. before the conquest of Samaria.⁸In the sixth year of the reign of King Hezekiah.

and the plunder of Samaria After Pekah was assassinated, and Hoshea reigned, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, went up against him, and Hoshea became his vassal, and gave him tribute and a bribe (ibid. 17:3). That is the plunder of Samaria. All this took place in the fourth year of Ahaz.

ישא. The subject is the indeterminate pronoun one; one will carry away:⁹A. V. shall be taken away. comp. ויאמד ליוסף And one said to Joseph (Gen. 48:1).¹⁰Comp. 2:4.

And the Lord spake again. The word again is used because the following prophecy refers likewise to the invasion of the king of Assyria.

the waters of the Shiloah that flow gently [i.e., they rejected] the kingdom of the House of David, which leads them gently, like the waters of the Shiloah that flow gently [Jonathan]. Shiloah is a spring, known as Gihon and Shiloah. Here he prophesied concerning Shebna and his company who wanted to rebel against Hezekiah, for they rejected him since they saw that he did not choose a regal table, but would eat a litre of vegetables and engage in the Torah. Concerning him, it is stated (Prov. 13:25): “A righteous man eats to satiate his body.” They saw Pekah son of Remaliah eat forty seahs of pigeons for dessert. They would ridicule Hezekiah and say, Is this one fit to be a king? There is no king but Rezin and the son of Remaliah. They were fit to rule in their lifetimes. And this is the meaning of: “And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, Do you desire eaters? I will bring many eaters upon you. “Behold the Lord brings upon them the mighty...waters of the river” instead of the weak and gentle waters of the Shiloah.

The water of the Shiloah.¹¹Shiloah is a rivulet that takes its rise in the north-west of Zion, flowing between Zion and the Upper City, and falling into the Kedron, which runs into the Dead Sea. According to some Jerusalem is referred to by these words, but it is more correct to explain them as indicating the house of David, because the majority of the kings of this house were righteous, but the kings of Israel were all bad and wicked. מי השילח, literally: the canal, the water which is conducted by man, or which causes plants (שלחים) to sprout forth; comp. שלחיך Thy plants (Song 4:13).¹²Shiloah, though a proper noun, may still, like all names, be explained like a common noun. According to Ibn Ezra it is derived either from שלח to send; שילח the water which is sent or conducted by the industry of man through the bordering fields and gardens; or from שלח to make fruitful; שילח the river which waters the valley through which it flows.

and it will overflow [i.e.,] the river [will overflow].

Upon them. Upon the men of Judah, that conspired against Ahaz.

and all its distributaries Its waters will surge to rise over all the distributaries of the outflow of its waters.

אפיקיו Its rapid parts.¹³Where the river is the most violent, and its overflowing causes great damage. Comp. I.E. on Job 40:18, and Joel 1:20. A. V. his channels. — comp. Ps. 42:2, Song 5:12 — or banks, according to the context.

and go over the swelling river [will go] over all its banks its high banks. Those are its upright banks in the place where the river flows between its upright banks, and it is like within a gutter.

גדותיו its banks; some supply ;¹⁴גדרותיו═גדותיו.ר comp. שרשות ═ שרשרות (Exod. 28:14, 22), but this is a mistaken inference, for in שרשרות it is the ר of reduplication which is dropped in שרשת; the root is שרש, but we have no instance where a radical ר is dropped, since it does not belong to the silent letters.¹⁵It is more probable that שרשדות contains a reduplication of the two radical letters ש ר; in שרשות the first radical ש alone is repeated; in שרות 3:19, neither is repeated.

into Judah into the land of Judah.

Immanuel. He is mentioned here because he is to serve as a sign that Jerusalem will be delivered out of the hand of Pekah, Rezin and Sennacherib, even after the conquest of Damascus and Samaria.¹⁶The Assyrian armies could then march directly against Jerusalem, and their success was considered certain.

overflowing with might.

up to the neck up to the main part of the strength of their neck. And Jonathan renders: Up to Jerusalem he will reach. the neck their strength.

the tips of his wings A small joint at the end of the wing is called מֻטּוֹת, and I saw in Tanhuma (Tazria 8, Buber 10): How big are the wing tips of the rooster? [One sixtieth of his wings, symbolizing] one sixtieth of Sennacherib’s forces.

will fill the breadth of the land of Judah.

Immanuel This is the tribe of Judah, whom the Holy One, blessed be He, promised to be with in the days of Hezekiah, as the words of the prophetess, who named her son Immanuel.

Join together Heb. (רֹעוּ), an expression similar to (Prov. 27:10): “Your friend and your father’s friend (רֵעֲךָ וְרֵעַ אָבִיךָ), as Jonathan renders: Join together. Join together, armies of Sennacherib.

רעו Break.¹⁷A.V., Associate yourselves.—According to I.E. the meaning of the verse is: Prepare yourselves to destroy nations; the next verse continues: It will all be in vain. Comp. תרועם thou shalt break them (Ps. 2:9.) רׂעוּ as well as חׂתּוּ are imperatives; like סׂבּוּ surround (Ps. 48:13).

and be broken Heb. וָחֹתּוּ i.e., you shall be broken.

Gird yourselves. These words are repeated twice, to indicate that they should be perpetually armed.

Gird yourselves and be broken You may gird yourselves with all sorts of might, but, eventually, you shall be broken.

Take counsel [This is] the imperative form.

Take counsel, etc. Whatever you will counsel against Jerusalem will not be realised. עצו. Take counsel. A biliteral verb (ע״ו). According to R. Moses Hakkohen, י is dropped, and it should be יעוצו like זכורו (Neh. 4:8).¹⁸If this is the exact form of the word meant by Ibn Ezra, he must have read זְכוּרוּ like יְעוּצוּ. Our editions have זְכׂרוּ.

כי עמנואל. For God is with us. Here we have the reason for עמנואל Immanuel being the name of the prophet’s son.

with the overwhelming power of prophecy [Lit., with strength of the hand.] When the prophecy became more intensive over me, when He continued to speak concerning this matter, as it is written above (v. 5): “And the Lord continued to speak to me.” And in this language, Ezekiel said, (3: 14): “And the hand of the Lord became strong over me.” This is an expression of prophecy.

For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, that is: When the prophecy came with force upon me; comp. The hand of the Lord was upon me (Ez. 37:1).

and admonished me from going... He warned me not to participate in the counsel of Shebna the scribe and his company, who conspired to rebel against Hezekiah, as is related in Sanhedrin (26a), to which there is an allusion in this Book (below 22:15): “Go, come to this voluptuary, to Shebna who is appointed over the Temple.”

ויסרני And instructed me. The ס has a dagesh to compensate for the absence of the י, which is the first radical;¹⁹Ibn Ezra had the reading וִיִסְּרֵנִי; if he had וְיִסְּרֵנִי he would certainly not have explained it as future Kal, with ו conversive, and supposed the omission of a radical י; since this word is perfectly regular, being the Piël past with ו conjunctive of יסר. comp. אֶצָּרְךָ I formed thee (Jer. 1:5).²⁰Future Kal of יצר. He instructed me, etc. A proof of the correctness of my view concerning Unclean lips (6:5).²¹If this instruction was necessary, the prophet must personally have been inclined to go the way of the people.

and He admonished me like “and to admonish me.”

‘You shall not call a band You of Hezekiah’s company, even though they (sic) are fewer than Shebna’s company, you shall not say: We decide according to the majority (Exodus 23:2. See Rashi ad loc.).

Say ye not. The prophet warns the right-minded not to conspire against Ahaz in order to join the King of Assyria; and this is to be understood by And their fear, etc., which refers to the King of Assyria²²The King of Assyria was the object of their fear, and therefore many joined him. mentioned before (ver. 7)

to all that this people that is with Shebna, says, for this is a band of the wicked and is not counted, and so it is as regards the ten tribes, who formed an alliance with the kings of Egypt.

and you shall not fear what it fears [i.e.,] what this people fears, for they say to you to fear Sennacherib and to make peace with him.

you shall not fear...nor attribute strength You shall not say that he is strong. So did Jonathan translate: You shall not say strong.

He gives you strength Heb. (מַעֲרִיצְכֶם).

אתו Him is added, although את is before the noun, as in many instances; or it means Him alone.²³The repetition is explained as a sign of emphasis. Comp. Gen. 47:21; 1 Sam. 25:29; 2 Kings 9:27; Neh. 9:29. You shall sanctify. That which is holy is usually revered by men; comp. for he is a man of God, he is holy (2 Kings 4:9).

מעריצכם is either an adjective, Your dreadful one, or participle, who in truth makes you fear.²⁴It is God who causes the terror, not the King of Assyria.

And it shall be for a portent That plan that Shebna plotted and that Pekah plotted to overthrow the kingdom of the House of David, shall be an omen [a preparationmss.] of the disaster destined to befall them.

והיה And he—namely, the King of Assyria—shall be.

for a portent Heb. לְמִקְדָשׁ, comp. (Num. 12:18) “Prepare yourself (הִתְקַדְּשׁוּ) for the morrow.”

למקדש For a sanctuary. For a place whither man is used to go to receive blessing and strength. It is to be connected with לאבן ²⁵The construction of the phrase, according to I. E., is: נגף ולאבן נגף והיה למקדש; but this explanation does not agree at all with the accents; לְמִקְדָּ֑ש is separated by a pause from the following words..נֶגֶף For a stone. For a rock, upon which man is used to go to find shelter.

and for a stone upon which to dash oneself upon which the feet are dashed. This is an expression of stumbling, as (in Jeremiah 13:16): “[Before] your feet are dashed (יִתְנַגְּפוּ),” (Psalms 91: 12), “Lest you dash (תִּגֹּף) your foot on a stone.”

For the two houses of Israel. The kingdom of Israel and that of Judah.

and for a rock upon which to stumble This is synonymous with “a stone upon which to dash oneself,” for a rock is a stone.

For a gin, to Ephraim. And for a stumbling, to Judah.²⁶Israel will be entirely conquered by Assyria, while Judah will only be partially taken for a short time, and will then be altogether delivered from the Assyrian invasion.—Here I. E. again neglects the accents, which join לפח ולמוקש, and separate ולמוקש from ליושב ירושלים.

for the two houses of Israel who came to be for a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Now who are the two houses? Pekah son of Remaliah and his company and Shebna and his company.

And many shall stumble upon them Upon those stones, these two and their companies shall fall into the hands of their enemies; Pekah was assassinated, for Hoshea assassinated him, and the ten tribes fell into the hands of Sennacherib; and Shebna went out of Jerusalem when Sennacherib abandoned it to march on Tirhakah, king of Cush. He took along Shebna and his company and went away.

By them. By the gin and snare.

Bind this warning All this is part of the prophecy stated above (v. 11): “For so has the Lord said to me,” and He said further to me, “Bind this warning (תְּעוּדָה),” an expression similar to (Deut. 8: 19): “I warn (הַעִדֹּתִי) you today,” an expression of warning. Bind My warning and seal the Torah on the heart of My disciples. Your disciples who fear My Name are called “disciples of the Lord.” And if you say that the expression of binding does not apply to the study of the Torah, it does indeed apply, as it is said (Prov. 6:21): “Bind them upon your heart always.”

צור According to some נ of the root is dropped; נצור ═ צור keep; but more correctly it is explained, Bind up; comp. וצרת And bind up (Deuter. 14:25). צור has, then, the same meaning as in the parallel phrase, חתום seal.—Do not reveal these prophecies, the testimony and the law.

למורי My disciples. An adjective²⁷למדים Disciples, persons that are learning; originally adj. learning. See 100:3, Note 5. (comp. 1. 4); it is the same as תלמידי my pupils.

And I will wait for the Lord Said Isaiah: I wait for the Lord, Who hides His countenance from the ten tribes. I hope for Him to fulfill these my words, and to save the House of David.

And I will wait. These are the words of the prophet; he will delay revealing the divine message till the Almighty shall give him permission.

Behold, I and the children...for signs For two signs: the disaster in store for Pekah, as the child was called Maher-shalal-hash-baz, and the salvation of the House of David, as the child was called Immanuel. This is the solution of the matter according to its simple meaning. According to Midrash Aggadah in Genesis Rabbah (4:2), however, [it deals with Ahaz, who locked (lit. held, אָחַז in Heb.)] the synagogues and the study-halls, lest the children of the schools study Torah. He said, “If there are kids, there are no bucks. If there are no bucks, there are no flocks. If there are no flocks, there is no Shepherd. I will cause Him to remove His presence.” The prophet said to him: “No matter how much you bind the testimony and seal the Torah to close it up, so that it shall not be found in Israel, it shall not avail you.” [17]

Behold, I and the children, etc. They may understand a part of the prophecy entrusted to me from my actions and from the names of my sons.

And I will wait for the Lord, Who hides His countenance... There is no harsher prophecy than that time when Moses said (Deut. 31:18): “And I will surely hide My countenance on that day.” And even on that very day, He promised them, “And this song shall testify before him as a witness, for it shall not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed” (ibid.). [18]

From the Lord of hosts, etc. These names were given by the Lord of hosts,

Behold, I and the children etc. They are the disciples, who are as dear to me as children; they shall be for signs and wonders that the Torah will survive [in Israel through them].

Who dwelleth on the mount of Zion, and loves His people exceedingly.

And when they say to you Said Rabbi Simon: Beeri, the father of Hosea son of Beeri, prophesied these two verses, but, since they were not enough for a Book, they were attached to “Isaiah.” And he prophesied them concerning the exile of the ten tribes, when Sennacherib exiled the Reubenites and the Gadites, and he exiled him with them, as it is said (I Chron. 5:6): “Beerah his son, whom Tilgathpilneser exiled; he was the prince of the Reubenites.”

To you. He addresses his pupils.

And when they say to you [i.e., when] the nations [say to you].

המצפצפים That peep. צִפְצֵף has a meaning similar to רִּבֵּר; comp. אצפצף I shall peep (38:14).

Inquire of the necromancers...who chirp and who moan This is a derogatory expression, for they have not even any speech, but like these birds who chirp with their voice. The expression of chirping and moaning applies to birds, as below (48:14): “Like a swift or a crane I chirp, I moan like a dove.” Similarly, we find the expression of chirping in regards to a low voice, as it is said (infra 29:4): “And your voice shall be like a necromancer from the earth, and from the dust shall your speech chirp.”

והמהגים. Hiphil. And they that cause others to mutter.

Does not this people inquire of its God? This shall be your reply: Does not a people like us, who has a God like our God, inquire of its God? Would you tell us to be like you, to inquire of the needs of the living from the dead?

Surely a people that seeketh unto their God, etc.²⁸A. V.: Should not a people seek unto their God? This is the reply.²⁹To those that advise to consult wizards and them that have familiar spirits. Surely such is a people that seeketh unto his God! sarcastically and ironically said.³⁰Comp. the words of Elijah, 1 Kings 18:27. How could one seek unto the lifeless idols for the benefit of the living.

For the Torah and the warning This is related to the above: Shall we inquire of the dead for the Torah and for the warning for the living, to instruct us what to do? All this is according to the Midrash. According to the simple meaning, however, we can interpret: And when they say to you...This is the end of his prophecy, for he said (v. 11), “and admonished me from going in the way of this people,” and the Holy One, blessed be He, admonished the prophet and Hezekiah’s company, that when Shebna and his company, who will see Hezekiah condemning idolatry, say to you, Inquire of the necromancers and those who divine by the Jidoa bone, and select idolatry as the early forefathers did, and switch the kingdom over to Sennacherib. Does not every people inquire of its god, they worship idols and inquire for the living of the dead? You too should do this.

לתורה ולתעודה Concerning³¹A. V., To.³¹A. V., To. the law and concerning the testimony. The preposition ל has the same meaning as in לי of me (Gen. 20:13). לתורה ולתעודה Concerning the law and the testimony³²The words כי עוד are a corruption of והתעודה. contained in the prophecy.—They will surely³³A. V., If they speak not. speak according to this word, etc. They will say : We shall not listen to it, for it is like a night that is not followed by a dawn; its secret will never come forth to light. According to some לתורה is an oath, by the law; but we find no analogy to this in Scripture.

for the Torah and for the warning This shall be your reply, that you shall observe the Torah, as it is said above, “Bind the warning, seal the Torah, and do not believe their words.”

if they will not say the likes of this that it has no light Heb. אֵין לוֹ שַׁחַר. Since you will reply to him [to themms.] this answer, you will see and hear whether the honest people among them will not concur with your statement, and say, The likes of this thing is true, that the god, the necromancer, and the diviner by the Jidoa bone, have no request”; i. e., it is not proper to request of him, [explaining שַׁחַר as “request.”] In this manner, Jonathan rendered it. The Midrash Aggadah (Lev. Rabbah 6:6) explains: For himself, he cannot make the dawn shine, for he has no eyes and cannot see. How can he make it shine upon others? Another explanation is: If they do not say to you the likes of this thing Now you will see whether they will not say the likes of this thing, namely, “Inquire of the necromancers and of those who divine by the Jidoa bone.” Even though there is no “light” and no substance in this thing, they will not be ashamed.

And the one who passes therein shall suffer hardships and hunger This refers to the above. What is mentioned at the beginning of the section? “And He admonished me from going in the way of this people.” And he explained what that way is, viz. “You shall not call a band...” the union of the ten tribes, who will unite with the kings of Egypt, and he delineated their punishment: “And it shall be for a portent, and they shall stumble on them,” and the entire section.

And they shall pass through it, etc. Some explain this verse in the following way: Days will come when he that is travelling in Judah, and being himself of the tribe of Judah, will be hardly bestead and hungry through the host of Sennacherib; and when he sees that neither his king nor his idol will help him, then he will turn upwards to pray to God in heaven. I think it refers to the host of Sennacherib when marching through the land of Judah; for when the army is large, it is frequently exposed to hunger.

and shall pass therein [i.e.,] the one who passes on that way in abandoning the Holy One, blessed be He and relying upon the kings of Egypt.

Their king; that is, the King of Assyria.

shall suffer hardships Difficult circumstances.

And look upward. Wherever they will turn, upward or downward, only darkness shall meet them.

He shall be wearied by hardships and hunger For the harshness of the siege and the oppression shall come upon them during the siege, the three years that Sennacherib besieged Samaria.

and it shall come to pass, when he is hungry and wroth, he shall curse the calves and the baalim that they worshipped.

and he will turn to Heaven to beseech the Holy One, blessed be He, and He will not listen, for the verdict will have been sealed. Jonathan, too, rendered it in this manner.

And he shall look to the land perhaps he will find aid. [This refers to the incident] that Hoshea son of Elah sent messengers to So the king of Egypt (II Kings 17:4).

מעוף Dimness. Comp. עיפתה darkness (Job 10:22).

and behold distress For they will not aid him, and also Shebna defected to Sennacherib, to his detriment.

מנדח Scattered.³⁴A. V.: And they shall be driven. Comp. והנדחים And they that are scattered (27:13); the construction of the sentence is perhaps אפלה מנדח ומעוף Dimness of darkness is scattered about; by this construction the masculine form of פנודח is explained.³⁵מנדח masc., agrees with מעוף, but not with the fem., אפלה.

weariness of oppression Heb. מְעוּף צוּקָה, weariness of oppression.

and to the darkness he is lost And through the darkness he is lost, for the expression of נִדּוּחַ [applies to darkness], as (Jer. 23:12): “Therefore, their way shall be to them like slippery land in the darkness; they shall be lost and fall upon it.” And to the darkness they shall be lost.

For there is no weariness for the one who oppresses her For the king of Assyria, who was given the mission to oppress and to besiege her and their land [(var.) your land], is neither weary nor slothful to come upon them as many as three times: one in the days of Pekah, when he took Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah,... and Kedesh,...and Galilee, the entire land of Naphtali (II Kings 15:29). And that exile took place in the fourth year of Ahaz, and in the twelfth year, “the Lord incited Pul, the king of Assyria... and exiled the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.” This verse is in Chronicles (I 5:26). This exile took place in the twelfth year of Ahaz, at the beginning of Hoshea’s revolt, as is stated (II Kings 17:4): “And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea,” after he had subordinated himself to him for eight years. Although the calculation is not explicit in the Bible, it is, nevertheless, possible to deduce it from the Baraitha of Seder Olam (Ch. 22). The third exile took place in the sixth year of Hezekiah, the ninth year of Hoshea’s revolt, when Samaria that is the capitalwas captured, and everyone was exiled. That is what is stated here, for there is no weariness for the adversary, who will oppress her, [i.e.,] the land of Israel mentioned in the passage, “And he shall look to the land.”

מי לא מועף וגו׳ For such dimness and darkness will not come over Jerusalem, though it is distressed by the enemy. According to others, The enemy will not be able to hurry³⁶מועף Lit. flying. It is derived from עוף to fly according to this explanation. to Jerusalem, which he had distressed.³⁷A. V., Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation.

like the first time, he dealt mildly, [exiling only] the land of Zebulun This middle exile will be like the one of the first time, when he dealt mildly to exile the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, for also in the second one, he exiled but the two and a half tribes who were on the other side of the Jordan, but the last one was the third removal.

At the first, etc. The first time that the king of Assyria came, he afflicted the land of Israel only slightly, by taking the districts of Zebulun and Naphtali;³⁸See 2 Kings 15:29. but the last time he afflicted it heavily, and took the whole of Galilæa.³⁹See 2 Kings xvii. Of the nations. Perhaps Israel is meant; comp.⁴⁰This reference is to prove that the plural nations is used for Israel. בעממיך Amongst thy people (Judg. 5:14)

he dealt harshly Heb. הכביד. He swept (מכבד) everything away, like one who sweeps (מְכַבֵּד) a house. This can also be interpreted as an expression of harshness according to the context of the verse, which commences first with an expression of “dealt mildly, [exiling only] the land of Zebulun,” he said, “He dealt harshly.” When Isaiah said this prophecy, the first ones had already been exiled.

the way of the sea [Those dwelling by the Sea of Tiberias] (Kinnereth): that is the land of Naphtali, concerning whom it was said (Deut. 33:23): “The sea and the southland you shall inherit.”

the other side of the Jordan That is the second exile, that of Reuben and Gad.

the attraction of the nations Heb. (גְּלִיל הַגּוֹיִם). That is the entire land of Israel, which would roll (גּוֹלֶלֶת) to it all the nations, for all longed for it and came to it for commerce, like the matter that is stated (Jer. 3:19): “A heritage desired by hosts of nations.” Jonathan, however, rendered this differently.