וַֽיהוָ֗ה נָתַ֤ן קוֹלוֹ֙ לִפְנֵ֣י חֵיל֔וֹ כִּ֣י רַ֤ב מְאֹד֙ מַחֲנֵ֔הוּ כִּ֥י עָצ֖וּם עֹשֵׂ֣ה דְבָר֑וֹ כִּֽי־גָד֧וֹל יוֹם־יְהוָ֛ה וְנוֹרָ֥א מְאֹ֖ד וּמִ֥י יְכִילֶֽנּוּ׃
און גאָט לאָזט אַרױס זײַן קָול פֿאַרױס פֿאַר זײַן חיל; װאָרום זײער גרױס איז זײַן מחנה, װאָרום מאַכטיק איז דער װאָס טוט זײַן באַפֿעל; װאָרום גרױס איז דער טאָג פֿון גאָט און מוֹראדיק זײער, און װער קען אים אױסהאַלטן?
Rashi
And he caused it to touch my mouth... “...and your iniquity shall be removed” This is to cause pain, to atone for your iniquity that you degraded Israel. And his strength was great, for the angel was afraid to take it without tongs, yet he caused it to touch the prophet’s lip, and he [the prophet] was not injured. [This is found] in Tanhuma (ibid.) This is [the meaning] of what Scripture states (Joel 2: 11): “For His camp is very great,” these are the angels; “and stronger” than they “are those who fulfill His word”these are the prophets (Tanhuma ibid.). Jonathan renders: “And in his hand was a glowing coal,” to mean, “And in his mouth was speech.” The expression רִצְפָּה: [means a thing refined in the mouth and with the tongue] (רָצוּף בְּפֶּה). “From upon the altar,” he received the speech from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be he, from His throne in Heaven, which was directed opposite the altar that was in the Temple.
Rav Hirsch
V. 10. חלף .לא יחליפנו bezeichnet seiner Grundbedeutung nach einen völligen entgegengesetzten Ortswechsel, aktiv: וחלפה רקתו (Richter 5, 27) durchbohren, intransitiv: וחלף ביהודה (Jes.8, 8), וחלפת משם (Sam. I. 10, 3) in eine andere Gegend über gehen. Dann überhaupt: verschwinden und entschwinden machen, חלף הלך לו (Joel 2, 11) und אם יחלף (Job 11, 10). כליל יחלף (Jes. 2, 18). Immer ist es jedoch: in einen anderen Ort oder in einen anderen Zustand übergehen oder übergehen lassen. Davon heißen denn Schlachtmesser, die vom Leben zum Tode überführen: מחלפים (Esra 1, 9). Simson nennt das Haar, an welches seine Stärke geknüpft war: שבע מחלפות (Richter 16, 34 u. 19), und läßt sich zweifeln, ob speziell seinem Haar diese Bezeichnung kommt, weil es eigentlich zum Abscheren reif war, oder ob überhaupt Flechten מחלפות heißen, weil eine Flechte durch stetes gegensätzliches örtliches Wechseln von Strängen entsteht. Verwandt damit ist עלף: das Verschwinden von Kräften und עלף: durch eine andere Oberfläche, Hülle, dem Auge entziehen, unkenntlich machen. חלף עבדתם ,חלף (Bamidbar 18, 21) an die Stelle mit andern tretend. אלף: etwas von dem andern annehmen, lernen, und אלף: lehren. Davon אלוף der Führer. Im Piel und Hifil הלף und החליף heißt es: etwas fortgehen lassen, um ein anderes an dessen Stelle zu setzen und zwar hat es ebensowohl das zu ersetzende Gegenwärtige, wie ויחלף שמלתיו (Bereschit 41, 14), והחליפו שמלתיכם (daselbst 35,2), als auch das an die Stelle tretende andere zum Objekt, wie וארזים נחליף (Jes. 9, 10), ועוד יחליף (Job 14, 7). Durchweg ist aber bei חלף und החליף das zu Ersetzende das Schlechtere, das durch besseres ersetzt wird. So: alte, ungeeignete Kleider, geschwächte Kraft, gefällter Baumwuchs. Auch in והחלף את משכרתי war in den Augen Labans das durch ein anderes (Bereschit 31, 7) zu ersetzende Lohnverhältnis das ihm unvorteilhaftere, nicht zusagende.
Rabbeinu Bahya
הן לה' אלו-היך השמים ושמי השמים הארץ וכל אשר בה, “Behold! the heaven and the heaven of the heavens belong to the Lord your G’d, the earth and all that is thereon.” I believe that if all the verse was supposed to tell us was the superiority of the people of Israel over all the other nations, it would have been enough to simply write: “the earth and all that is thereon belongs to the Lord your G’d; however He took special liking to your forefathers, etc.“ There would have been no need to mention “the heaven and the heaven of the heavens.”
It is more likely that this verse wanted to drive home the point that although G’d owns all the three regions mentioned in our verse, He considers the earth as the most important region. We have clear evidence of this already in the story of creation in Genesis when the functions of the luminaries in the heaven are defined as providing light for the earth (Genesis 1,14). The verse means that although the planetary systems are very powerful creations, the reason they were created was only to enhance earth and life on earth. Even though the scientists of our day do not accept this opinion, we are bound by our Torah and tradition. Our sages are on record that “the righteous on earth are greater than the ministering angels” (Sanhedrin 93). We find similarly that David writes: הודו על ארץ ושמים וירם קרן לעמו, “His splendor covers earth and heaven; He has exalted the horn of His people for the glory of His faithful ones, Israel.” The psalmist means that G’d has elevated the people of Israel above all creatures in the universe both in heaven and on earth. We have another verse in Psalms 103, 20-22 in which the psalmist urges the following order: “bless the Lord, His angels, the mighty creatures, the ones who carry out His bidding; bless the Lord all of His hosts, His servants, the ones who perform His will. Bless the Lord, all of His (works) through the length and breadth of His realm.” David lists the worlds in descending order reserving the title “His works” for the terrestrial part of the universe. In other words: “terrestrial earth comprises all His works.” Tanchuma Vayikra 1, in commenting on Yoel 2,11 says that the words כי רב מאד מחנהו, “that His camp is indeed very great,” refer to the ministering angels, whereas the words וכי עצום עושי דברו, “and powerful are those who do His bidding,” are a reference to the people of Israel.
We have further proof from discussions of the philosophers who ask why a planet constantly describes the same repetitive orbit? If it has achieved its purpose, why does it keep repeating the same motion? Its motion, its orbit has then become a wasted effort. If it has still not achieved its mission after endless orbits, what good are its orbits? If it had really achieved something visible, how come we do not notice that our lives are constantly becoming more pleasant due to these efforts? The philosophers answer this seemingly unanswerable question by saying that these orbits of the planets are required in order to ensure the continued existence the “lower” world, i.e. man on this terrestrial earth. This proves that even the scientists admit that man is the focal and pivotal creature in the universe. Once you admit it, it is a small step to understanding that all the seven fixed stars have as their purpose to guide our globe in such a way that it does not come to harm, that the laws of nature operate satisfactorily.
It is more likely that this verse wanted to drive home the point that although G’d owns all the three regions mentioned in our verse, He considers the earth as the most important region. We have clear evidence of this already in the story of creation in Genesis when the functions of the luminaries in the heaven are defined as providing light for the earth (Genesis 1,14). The verse means that although the planetary systems are very powerful creations, the reason they were created was only to enhance earth and life on earth. Even though the scientists of our day do not accept this opinion, we are bound by our Torah and tradition. Our sages are on record that “the righteous on earth are greater than the ministering angels” (Sanhedrin 93). We find similarly that David writes: הודו על ארץ ושמים וירם קרן לעמו, “His splendor covers earth and heaven; He has exalted the horn of His people for the glory of His faithful ones, Israel.” The psalmist means that G’d has elevated the people of Israel above all creatures in the universe both in heaven and on earth. We have another verse in Psalms 103, 20-22 in which the psalmist urges the following order: “bless the Lord, His angels, the mighty creatures, the ones who carry out His bidding; bless the Lord all of His hosts, His servants, the ones who perform His will. Bless the Lord, all of His (works) through the length and breadth of His realm.” David lists the worlds in descending order reserving the title “His works” for the terrestrial part of the universe. In other words: “terrestrial earth comprises all His works.” Tanchuma Vayikra 1, in commenting on Yoel 2,11 says that the words כי רב מאד מחנהו, “that His camp is indeed very great,” refer to the ministering angels, whereas the words וכי עצום עושי דברו, “and powerful are those who do His bidding,” are a reference to the people of Israel.
We have further proof from discussions of the philosophers who ask why a planet constantly describes the same repetitive orbit? If it has achieved its purpose, why does it keep repeating the same motion? Its motion, its orbit has then become a wasted effort. If it has still not achieved its mission after endless orbits, what good are its orbits? If it had really achieved something visible, how come we do not notice that our lives are constantly becoming more pleasant due to these efforts? The philosophers answer this seemingly unanswerable question by saying that these orbits of the planets are required in order to ensure the continued existence the “lower” world, i.e. man on this terrestrial earth. This proves that even the scientists admit that man is the focal and pivotal creature in the universe. Once you admit it, it is a small step to understanding that all the seven fixed stars have as their purpose to guide our globe in such a way that it does not come to harm, that the laws of nature operate satisfactorily.