Комментарий к Йешайау 17:15

I shall be removed from being a city [The Hebrew denotes] an expression of removing.

מוסר Taken away. Comp. ¹Hiphil of סור to depart; מוסר is participle Hophal: caused to depart, or taken away.הסיר He took away (18:5).

removed from a city from being a city.

דמשק מוסר מעיר Damascus is taken away from being a city. Join מוסר with the feminine noun דמשק, although it has a masculine form. More correctly, however, דמשק may be taken as equal to עם דמשק the people of Damascus,²דמשק מוסר מעיר The people of Damascus will be taken away from the city. especially since in the phrase which follows,³That phrase undoubtedly refers to the city of Damascus. the feminine והיתה and she will be, is used.

a depth Heb. מְעִי, an expression of lowness and depth, like the depth of the seas (כִּמְעוֹת).

מעי Heap. Comp. לעיים to heaps (Ps. 79:1); the מ is not radical.

The cities of Aroer are abandoned Jonathan renders this as an expression of destruction. Comp. (Jer. 51:58) “shall be destroyed (עַרְעֵר תִּתְעַרְעַר), and he explained it in reference to the cities of Aram, i. e., Jonathan renders it: Their cities are abandoned, they are destroyed. The Midrash Aggadah (introduction to Lam. Rabbah 10 [with variations], Yalkut Machin) asks in amazement, since Aroer was [part] of Eretz Israel, as it is said (Num. 32:34): “and Aroer.” He is dealing with Damascus and he announces matters concerning Aroer? But, since in Damascus there were streets as numerous as the days of the solar year, and in each one was a pagan deity, which they would worship one day in the year, and the Israelites made them all into one group and worshipped all of them every day, he, therefore, mentioned the downfall of Aroer juxtaposed to Damascus. I explain it, however, according to the simple meaning of the verse, as follows: Since Rezin and Pekah son of Remaliah joined together, and the prophet prophesying about the downfall of Damascus, and saying, “Behold, Damascus shall be removed from [being] a city,” and the cities of Aroer which belonged to Pekah were already abandoned, for the Reubenites and the Gadites had already been exiled, and they were always given to the flocks of sheep, and the sheep of Moab would lie there undisturbed, he continues to say that the kingdom of Pekah shall continue to be gradually terminated, and that Samaria, too, shall be captured in the days of Hoshea, and then (v. 3) And a fortress shall cease from Ephraim and a kingdom from Damascusfor Rezin shall be killed.

The cities, etc. This was caused by the king of Assyria.

like the glory of the ten tribes, shall these also be [var. Aram, too, shall be]. These shall be exiled to Halah and Habor, and these shall be exiled to Kir, as it is stated (II Kings 16:9): “And exiled its inhabitants to Kir, and he slew Rezin.”

The fortress also shall cease, etc. When Sennacherib came, Damascus had been already conquered and also Samaria with its fortresses.⁴According to the Hebrew text: When Sennacherib came, he took (תפש) Damascus and also Samaria with its fortresses. This is incorrect, for Tiglath Pileser took Damascus in the time of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:7—10), and Shalmaneser conquered Samaria (ibid. 17:9, 10) in the sixth year of King Hezekiah; Sennacherib entered Judah in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah. This incorrectness is probably not the fault of I. E., but that of the copyist; for if we read instead of תפש, the Niphal נתפשה, and translate for when Sennacherib came, Damascus was already conquered, Samaria with its fortresses likewise, we have a better construction of the sentence, and no contradiction of the account given in the Book of Kings. I. E. refers the prophecy of this chapter to the period of the Assyrian invasion under Sennacherib.

And the remnant of Syria, Damascus was the capital of Syria. They shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, of which it is said, The glory of Jacob shall be made thin (ver. 4). Others explain, And the remnant of Syria will be reduced to so disgraceful a condition, that the condition of the Israelites will be considered glorious, in comparison with the fate of Damascus.⁵ככבוד בני ישראל is, according to this explanation, to be translated by as if it were a glory for the children of Israel, or nearly a glory, etc. For both significations of the prefix כ a sufficient number of instances can be adduced.

And the fatness of his flesh shall become emaciated Jonathan [renders]: And the wealth of his glory shall be exiled.

The glory of Israel shall be made thin. The numbers of Israel shall be greatly reduced by slaughter and captivity.

And it shall be like gathering the harvest of the standing grain Just as at the time of the harvest, the reaper gathers the bundle of the standing grain in his one hand and with his other arm he reaps the ears, so will Sennacherib uproot and exile everyone, and even the gleanings that fall at the time of harvest he will gather and carry it off. That is to say that even those who flee will not escape his hand, and they will gather them [var. and he will gather them] [like one who gathers ears].

And it shall be, the first time.⁶I. E. does not here explain the repetition of והיה as a poetical figure; because two different periods are here clearly indicated; the gathering of the standing corn at the beginning of the harvest, and the gathering of the ears from the field at the end of the harvest. The two invasions referred to by I. E. are probably the two principal ones of Tiglath Pileser and Shalmaneser. There were, in fact, other invasions, e.g., that of King Phul.

in the valley of Rephaim That is the valley that is before Jerusalem. In the Book of Joshua (15:8, 18:16) you will find that the valley of Rephaim adjoins Jerusalem.

כאסף קציר As when the harvestman gathereth the corn. הקוצר the harvestman, must be supplied before קציר.

And it shall be, the second time. The king of Assyria came twice against the land of Israel.

In the valley of Rephaim. A place where the harvest was bad, thin and meagre.⁷The valley Rephaim is here declared to be a barren valley; it is not certain whether I. E. derives this explanation from the meaning of the word רפה═רפא to be weak, or from some other source.

And...shall be left in it Hezekiah and his company, who are inside Jerusalem. They are few people like the gleanings of a vineyard and like the cutter of an olive tree, who leaves over two or three berries.

כנוקף As the shaking of. Comp. ונקף and he will cut down (10:34); ינקופו let them kill (29:1).

like the cutter of an olive tree Heb. כְּנֹקֶף, like the one who cuts olives to pick them from the tree. Comp. (infra 10:34) “And the thickets of the forest shall be cut off (וְנִקַּף).” Our Rabbis expounded: “And...shall be left in it,” as referring to Sennacherib’s army; i.e., there shall be left in the multitude of Sennacherib a few people like the cutter of an olive tree, as it is stated in the Aggadah of ‘Chelek’ (95b).

אמיר The top of the olive-tree.⁸A. V., The uppermost bough. Comp. האמירך He hath exalted thee (Deut. 26:18); the word אמיר has the same meaning in Arabic.⁹أَمِير chief. Comp. Sephath Yether 47.

at the end of the uppermost bough at the end of the bough.

Four or five. Supply berries.

on its branches Heb. בִּסְעִפֶיהָ. Comp. infra (27:10) “And he shall finish its branches (סְעִיפֶיהָ).” Also (supra 10:33), “Lops off the branches (מְסָעֵף).”

בסעיפיה פוריה In the branches of the fruitful olive-tree.¹⁰פוריה is not an attribute to סעיפיה, because it is feminine, while סעיף branch is masculine, but to the noun referred to by the pronoun הָ her, that is, the olive tree. בסעיפיה פוריה means accordingly, In the branches of her that is fruitful. A. V., In the outmost fruitful branches thereof.

shall turn Heb. יִשְׁעֶה, shall turn to his Maker. Comp. (Gen. 4:4) “And the Lord turned (וַיִּשַׁע) to Abel.”

ישעה האדם על עשהו Shall a man look to his maker. Man will renounce his own powers, because of the Lord, and this is the true confidence in God (comp. 2 Sam. 22:42).¹¹It is remarkable that I. E. makes a similar remark on all passages where the verb שעה occurs, (comp. 22:4, 31:1, Ex. 5:9), as if he wished to show that they have all the same fundamental meaning, while according to R. Jehudah Hayug this root comprises four meanings. See Two Treatises, etc., ed. John W. Nutt, pp. 97, 113.

man the righteous men remaining among them.

And his eyes shall see, etc. They shall no more see the worship of idols, for they will only visit places sanctified to the worship of the Lord.

he shall not regard [lit. he shall not see.] They shall not be important in his eyes.

והחמנים Nor the images of the sun.¹²A. V., Nor the images. The נ is not radical; comp. רחמניות merciful (Lam. 4:10). חמנים are images made like chariots in honour of the sun (חַמָּה) as stated in the history of King Manasseh (2 Kings 21:3)

the cities of his strength [The antecedent is] Israel.

His strong cities. The strong cities of Israel.

like the abandonment of the forest and the many branched trees Forsaken like this forest, desolate without people.

החרש The tree.¹³A. V., Bough. Comp. Ezek. 31:3.

forest Heb. הַחֹרֶשׁ. This is a forest, as [Onkelos] translates בְחוּרְשַָׁא בַיַעַר, in the forest (Deut. 19:8).

והאמיר And the uppermost branch. They abandoned everything, the root and the branches, in their flight, when the Israelites entered the land of Canaan.

and the many branched trees This, too, is a forest, a place of trees. Like the abandoned cities of the Amorites, which they left in desolation in the days of Joshua like the forest and the many branched trees and fled because of the children of Israel, and the land of Israel was desolate.

They left. By the pronoun they the Canaanites are meant.

And she shall be desolate. The prophet speaks here of Samaria, for she was the capital of the kingdom of Israel.¹⁴This remark is caused by the change of the number from the plural in ערי מעזו his strong cities, to the singular in והיתה And she shall be.

because I planted you Because, when I planted you in the beginning, I planted a pleasant planting, twelve sons of Jacob, and when your saplings raised branches, they gave forth improper seed, like strange branches which are not of the species of the vine but resemble the vine.

Because thou hast forgotten, etc. The prophet turns now to the people of Samaria, and rebukes them.

you sow it You give your seed into that sapling. [It is also possible to say that “and with the branch of a stranger you sow it,” means that you intermarry with the nations and they mingled with you.]

נעמנים The same as in Arabic; a plant that grows quickly.¹⁵نَعِمَ to flourish. A. V., pleasant. זר means likewise growing quickly. וזמורת שורק זר ═ וזמורת זר And a branch of a thriving vine-tree.¹⁶A. V., With strange slips.

On the day of your planting you mingled Heb. תְּשַׂגְשֵׂנִי, an expression of mingling. Your branches became mingled with sorts of grasses and mixtures that spoil the branches of the vine. That is to say that in the place where I planted you for Me as a vineyard, there you corrupted your deeds. That is what Ezekiel said to them (20:5): “On the day I chose Israel, and I lifted My hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and I became known to them in the land of Egypt.” And it says further (verse 8): “And they rebelled against Me and they refused to obey...” Here, too, תְּשַׂגְשֵׂנִי, you became mingled with the abominations of Egypt.

תשגשגי Thou shalt make to grow. Root שנא to be large; comp. שניא great. Thou shalt make it to grow quickly. And in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish. The same. As a general rule for the understanding of the prophetical books, I say, that from the one part of the verse we can infer what the words of the other part signify.¹⁷This is a very important rule, and if applied with propriety as it is by I. E., one which affords much assistance in finding the true sense of a verse.

and in the morning you cause your seed to blossom And on the morrow, when I took you out of there, and I brought you into the land, there, too, your evil seed you caused to blossom.

נד There will depart.¹⁸A. V., Shall be a heap. קציר The branch.¹⁹A. V., The harvest. Comp. בקצירי in my branch (Job 29:19)

a heap of harvest on a day of sickness a heap of bad harvest that lies by day and by night, that harvest is stricken ill, it has reached a day of distress. [Rashi in printed editions.] [Since it is difficult to make sense of this comment of Rashi, Parshandatha prefers the reading of most mss.:] a heap of harvest on a day of sickness a heap of bad harvest, as “on a day of sickness” proves, that harvest reached a day of distress.

נחלה Sore.²⁰A. V., Grief Supply מכה plague, to which the word is an attribute (מכה נחלה ═ נחלה), a sore plague; comp. בריאה ומאכלו and their meat plenteous (Hab. 1:16) ═ בריאה ומאכלו אכילה.²¹The assumption of the ellipsis of מכה plague, is based on the difference in respect to the genders of the noun יום (masc.), and the adjective נחלה (fem.); the same is the case in ומאכלו בריאה, which is explained by I. E. to be equal to ומאכלו אכילה בריאה. This explanation is supported by the words which follow: וכאב אנוש and of desperate sorrow; with אנוש con-connect ויאנש and it was very sick (2 Sam. 12:15). Thou hast a great many children, but when the day of affliction shall come they will all perish.

a heap Heb. נֵד. This is an expression of a tall heap. Comp. (Exodus 15:8) “Running water stood erect like a heap (נֵד).” Also (Ps. 33:3), “He gathers like a heap (כַּנֵּד).” [The words:] נֵד and נוֹד are not the same [i.e., נֵד is a heap or a stack, and נוֹד is a flask.]

and mortal pain that you were paid your reward.

mortal Heb. אָנוּשׁ, distressed by severe illness. Comp. (II Sam. 12: 15) “And he became mortally ill (וַיֵּאָנַשׁ),” also (Micah 1:9), “For her wounds are mortal (אֲנוּשָׁה) .” Alternatively and in the morning you cause your seed to blossom Before the heat comes, you have blossomed, and it is customary for the vineyard to blossom when the heat comes, and the one that blossoms in the morning does not thrive. This is in the Midrash of Rabbi Tanhuma (Sh’lach 12).

Woe to a multitude of many peoples This is a principle followed throughout all generations; the scourge by which Israel is punished, shall eventually suffer. Therefore, the prophets who prophesy Israel’s retribution through the nations, juxtapose after it the retribution of the nation by which Israel was punished.

Woe to the multitude of many people, that is, to the king of Assyria and his army, coming against Zion.

a multitude of many peoples The armies of Sennacherib.

ישאון That make a rushing. It is of the same root (שאה) as שאון noise. The נ in שאון is not radical;²²Root שאה to rush. the form of the noun is like that of זדון pride (Prov. 11:2)

they rush an expression of rushing and roaring.

and He shall rebuke them [lit.] him i.e., the Holy One, blessed be He, [shall rebuke] that rushing [or throng].

But He shall rebuke him. God will rebuke the king of Assyria.

like the chaff of the mountains He likens the wicked to the most inferior of all species and the most inferior of that species. The chaff of the mountains is drier than that of the valleys.

From far off. That is, far from his own land.

and like the thistle blossoms Heb. וּכְגַלְגַל. That is from the blossom of the thistles called kardouns in O.F. [chardons in modern French] similar to those with which they pull woolen garments, and they are not hard. When the end of the summer arrives, they burst open by themselves and the wind scatters them. Now that bursting is made like a round wheel (גַלְגַּל) [var. like a wagon wheel], like a sort of eye in the center with five spokes around it.

And shall be chased. The part of the army that will be left will be pursued.²³This is not quite in accordance with the words of the account given by Isaiah 37:36, unless the expression all of them (ibid.) be taken as a hyperbole.

and behold there is fright Demons come upon the enemy and frighten him.

At eveningtide, that is, when the inhabitants of Jerusalem are afraid of him.²⁴By this remark, I. E. meant perhaps to say that eventide is to be considered as a figurative expression, signifying distress, anxiety.

before morning he is no more The enemy is not in the world.

בלהה Trouble. Comp. בלהות terror (Ez. 26:21); בהלה ═ בלהה like כבש ═ כשב lamb.

this is the portion of our plunderers The portion of Sennacherib and the portion of Gog and Magog, when they come to plunder us.

And he is not. When the angel will have come forth and destroyed the greater part²³This is not quite in accordance with the words of the account given by Isaiah 37:36, unless the expression all of them (ibid.) be taken as a hyperbole. of the camp.

This is the portion of them that spoil us. These are the words of the prophet in his rejoicing.²⁵See c. xvi., note 27.