אֱלָהִ֞י שְׁלַ֣ח מַלְאֲכֵ֗הּ וּֽסֲגַ֛ר פֻּ֥ם אַרְיָוָתָ֖א וְלָ֣א חַבְּל֑וּנִי כָּל־קֳבֵ֗ל דִּ֤י קָֽדָמ֙וֹהִי֙ זָכוּ֙ הִשְׁתְּכַ֣חַת לִ֔י וְאַ֤ף קדמיך [קָֽדָמָךְ֙] מַלְכָּ֔א חֲבוּלָ֖ה לָ֥א עַבְדֵֽת׃
Isinugo ng aking Diyos ang Kanyang anghel at itinikom ang bibig ng mga leon, at hindi nila ako pininsala, sapagkat natagpuan sa akin ang kawalang-sala sa harap Niya; at gayundin sa harap mo, O hari, wala akong ginawang anumang pinsala.”
Rashi
we have dealt corruptly Heb. חָבַלְנוּ, an expression of corruption, as in Daniel (6:23): “I have done no harm.”
Rashi
Noah, Daniel, and Job Because each of these three saw three worlds: Noah saw the world built up, destroyed, and rebuilt; and Danielthe Temple. Or himself: first a prince over all the princes, eventually cast into a lions’ den, and [ultimately] restored to his greatness. Likewise, Job saw himself well-established, destroyed, and [again] well-established. Therefore, they were brought as a parallel to the generation of Jeconiah, which saw the Temple while it was built and while it was destroyed, and the [Temple’s] second building. And the Holy One, blessed be He, said the following to them: “I am showing you great affectionyou, Jeconiah and [those of] his exile. Should one of the lands of the nations sin against Me and had I decreed upon it one of these four punishmentseither “famine” (verse 13), “wild beast” (verse 15), “the sword” (verse 17), “or pestilence” (verse 19) as they appear in this chapter, consecutively, and these three righteous men were in its midst, they would save neither son nor daughter. Yet I will bring [all] four of them on [your brethren in] Jerusalem, and [still] leave over for you some of your sons who are there although you are not in its midst. And not because they are worthy of being saved, but to console you when they are exiled [to an area] near you and you will see their evil deeds and be consoled about the evil that I brought upon them. For you will see that it could no longer be tolerated. [The annotator of our ms. remarks:] (This is the theme of this entire chapter. This [following] explanation cannot be made fit, and it appears that it is not the wording of the rabbi [viz. Rashi]. It appears further that this edition [of Rashi in which this comment was found] is missing one of the four punishments, from אוֹ, or, until כִּי or.) Another explanation: If a land sins against Me, etc. and had these three men been in its midst [namely] Noah, Daniel, and Job because the Holy One, blessed be He, saved these three men from these three [four] judgments, Scripture mentioned these. Noah was saved from the three of them. How do we know [that he was saved] from wild beasts? When he entered the ark, all the beasts attempted to enter, but the Holy One, blessed be He, did not allow them, as it is written (Gen. 7:16): “and the Lord shut around him.” Now the word “shut” refers only to protection from beasts, as Scripture states (Dan. 6:23): “and he shut the lions’ mouths, and they did not hurt me.”A lion came to enter [the ark] and its teeth were set on edge; a bear came to enter, and its feet would totter, etc. (see Gen. Rabbah 31:12). How do we know [that he was saved] from famine?For it is said (Gen. 5:29): “from the soil, which the Lord has cursed.” Go out and learn Genesis Rabbah (25:3) where it enumerates the ten famines that descended upon the world, and you will find that one of them was in the time of Noah, and it brings proof from “from the soil, which... [He] cursed.” From the swordthis is the Flood, and moreover, the people of his generation sought to attack him, saying, “We will not allow him to enter,” but the Holy One, blessed be He, saved him: said the Holy One, blessed be He, “I will not allow him to enter except at midday [in broad daylight], and whomever it hurtslet him protest.” That is what is written (Gen. 7:13): “In this very (עֶצֶם) day Noah came [into the ark]” at the strong point (עֱצוּמוֹ) of the day. Danielwhen Nebuchadnezzar entered the Temple in the days of Jehoiakim, he slew Jehoiakim and spared Daniel. He expelled Daniel [into] a peaceful exile because he found him to be full of a spirit of wisdom. From faminefor until Jerusalem was conquered in the days of Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar besieged it for three years [during which it suffered a famine], as is said (II Kings 25:3): “the famine became severe in the city,” and also (in Jer. 52:6): “and the famine became severe.” How do we know [that he was saved] from beasts?”and shut the lions’ mouths (Dan. ibid.), and they did not hurt me.” Likewise, you find that Job was saved from the three of them. How do we know [that he was saved] from famine?According to the one who says (Baba Bathra 15b) that Job lived in the time of Jacob, we find that there was a famine in his days. How do we know [that he was protected] from beasts?For it is written (Job 1:10): “and his cattle has broken out into the land.” It has breached the [natural] limitations of the world. [Usually wolves kill goats, but Job’s goats killed wolves; B. B. 15b.] How do we know [that he survived] the sword?(ibid. 16:13) “He splits my kidneys and does not have compassion.”
Rabbeinu Chananel
ולא נחם אלוקים דרך ארץ פלשתים, He led them through the desert for a different reason, apart from the fact that the route through the land of the Philistines was the most convenient one. Had He led them in that direction, and He would have convinced the Philistines to allow the Israelites free passage, based on the longstanding treaty between Yitzchak and Avimelech, G’d could not have performed even a fraction of the miracles He had in mind to perform in order to strengthen the people’s confidence in Him.
Therefore, by making the Israelites take a circuitous route, G’d would be able not only to provide the people with manna, meat in the form of the quail, water produced by striking a rock, etc., etc., but the further away the Israelites would be from inhabited areas the greater would be the miracle that G’d could provide for several million people all of their needs. The lesson would also be taught that even in such inhospitable regions of the earth, the human species could survive if G’d wanted it so.
When G’d saved Chanayah, Mishael, and Azaryah from the fiery furnace, G’d could have saved these people by performing a far lesser miracle. However, He wanted to demonstrate His power at that time. (compare Daniel 3,27) G’d did not simply extinguish the flames in the furnace, for instance, but let it roar at its fiercest in order to show that if He wanted man to survive unharmed inside such a furnace it could be done, if only G’d wanted it. Or, to take the example of Daniel in the lions’ den. All G’d had to do was to kill the lions and Daniel would have been saved. The reason why G’d went to the trouble of preventing these starved lions from making a meal out of Daniel was to demonstrate to the onlookers the extent of His control over nature. (compare Daniel 6,23).
Another example of the same kind is found in Judges 7,2. If G’d would have allowed Gideon with 10,000 men to defeat the many times larger army of the Midianites, this would have been miracle enough. Why did G’d shrink the number of soldiers at Gideon’s disposal to 300? For no other reason than to make the miracle so much greater.
G’d wanted to teach the lesson that numbers did not matter at all; what counted was that the soldiers be G’d fearing men who had never bowed their knee to an alien deity. Prowess with a sword was not what was required, but lapping up water by hand and bringing it to one’s mouth is what distinguishes man from the beasts who lower themselves to the water.
Therefore, by making the Israelites take a circuitous route, G’d would be able not only to provide the people with manna, meat in the form of the quail, water produced by striking a rock, etc., etc., but the further away the Israelites would be from inhabited areas the greater would be the miracle that G’d could provide for several million people all of their needs. The lesson would also be taught that even in such inhospitable regions of the earth, the human species could survive if G’d wanted it so.
When G’d saved Chanayah, Mishael, and Azaryah from the fiery furnace, G’d could have saved these people by performing a far lesser miracle. However, He wanted to demonstrate His power at that time. (compare Daniel 3,27) G’d did not simply extinguish the flames in the furnace, for instance, but let it roar at its fiercest in order to show that if He wanted man to survive unharmed inside such a furnace it could be done, if only G’d wanted it. Or, to take the example of Daniel in the lions’ den. All G’d had to do was to kill the lions and Daniel would have been saved. The reason why G’d went to the trouble of preventing these starved lions from making a meal out of Daniel was to demonstrate to the onlookers the extent of His control over nature. (compare Daniel 6,23).
Another example of the same kind is found in Judges 7,2. If G’d would have allowed Gideon with 10,000 men to defeat the many times larger army of the Midianites, this would have been miracle enough. Why did G’d shrink the number of soldiers at Gideon’s disposal to 300? For no other reason than to make the miracle so much greater.
G’d wanted to teach the lesson that numbers did not matter at all; what counted was that the soldiers be G’d fearing men who had never bowed their knee to an alien deity. Prowess with a sword was not what was required, but lapping up water by hand and bringing it to one’s mouth is what distinguishes man from the beasts who lower themselves to the water.