And it shall come to pass, if you shall heed diligently the voice of Hashem your God, to observe to do all His commandments which I command you this day, that Hashem your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth.
verse value 5960 — וְהָיָ֗ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 92 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·come·to·pass" (וְהָיָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "upon" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·his·commandments" (אֶת־כׇּל־מִצְוֺתָ֔יו, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 66: your·God, your·God. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "all·nations·of" (כׇּל־גּוֹיֵ֥י). The root שמע appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'today', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 7 words.
Onkelos
And it shall come to pass, if you truly hearken to the Word of Hashem your God, to observe and to do all His commandments that I am commanding you this day, then Hashem your God will set you highest above all the nations of the earth.
Ibn Ezra
"High above all the nations of the earth" — this blessing is a general principle that there shall be no nation in the world comparable to you.
Or HaChaim
והיה אם שמוע, "It shall be if you surely hearken, etc." We must try and understand exactly what this verse promises. If it is that Gd will make the Jewish people superior to all other nations, the Torah should have written יתנך ה׳ עליון, "G'd will give you to be supreme, etc." instead of writing words such as ונתנך which sound as if they are a continuation of the conditional "if you surely hearken, etc." Perhaps the message of the verse is: "hearken to the voice of the Lord." The meter of the verse would be "if you begin to hearken,-אם שמוע, -then you will indeed listen to the voice of the Lord," תשמע בקול השם. The verse then continues by assuring us that as a further result of listening to the voice of G'd we will not transgress the negative commandments and will carry out the positive commandments, i.e. לשמר לעשות. The reason we will be able to do this is because the Torah saves us from sin, as alluded to in the word שמר. Moreover, the power of Torah study is so great that it will even bring the performance of the positive commandments in its wake, i.e. לעשות. Not only this, but the power of Torah study for the right reason is so great that G'd will make our nation the one that is supreme on earth. In addition to the meter of the verse we have just explained, the Torah also wishes to let us know that the level of our Torah study must correspond to the realisation that it emanates in a sacred domain. The word תשמע implies that our listening must take into account who it is we are listening to, i.e. ה׳ אלוקיך. When one listens to what G'd says one does not listen in the same off-handed manner as when one listens to one's peers, but one tries to absorb every nuance of the words G'd says to us in the Torah. Moreover, the words לשמר ולעשות, are a promise parallel to what we have been taught in Avot 4,5 that if the reason that one studies Torah is in order to be able to observe its precepts one is rewarded by the opportunity to study, to teach, to avoid transgressing negative commandments, and to fulfil positive commandments. Our whole verse speaks of this kind of Torah study. ונתנך ה׳ עליון "then G'd will make you supreme, etc." G'd apportioned the amounts of the goodness He bestows on earth to be commensurate with the מצוה-performance of the community or individual in question. There are 3 levels of such performance our verse speaks about. The words שמוע תשמע refer to Torah study. 2) The word לשמר refers to the avoidance of violating negative commandments. 3) לעשות refers to the performance of positive commandments. Correspondingly, the Torah describes three levels of blessings. 1) Torah study as an independent discipline will be rewarded by the promise contained in this verse i.e. "G'd will make you supreme," you will be on a higher level than all the nations who do not possess Torah. ובאו עליך כל הברכות, "and all these blessings will come upon you." This is an additional promise to that announced in verse one. The Torah adds further: והשיגוך "...
Tur HaArokh
עליון על כל גויי הארץ, “supreme over all the nations of the earth.” This blessing includes that there will be no other nation that even matches you, equally.
And all these blessings shall come upon you, and overtake you, if you shall heed the voice of Hashem your God.
verse value 2283 — יְהֹוָ֥ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 45 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·the·blessings" (כׇּל־הַבְּרָכ֥וֹת, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "all·the·blessings" (כׇּל־הַבְּרָכ֥וֹת), "and·they·shall·overtake·you" (וְהִשִּׂיגֻ֑ךָ). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "for" (root כי, 164x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·they·shall·overtake·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וּבָ֧אוּ [and·they·shall·come] (15) + עָלֶ֛יךָ [upon·you] (130) + כׇּל־הַבְּרָכ֥וֹת [all·the·blessings] (683) + הָאֵ֖לֶּה [these] (41) + וְהִשִּׂיגֻ֑ךָ [and·they·shall·overtake·you] (344) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + תִשְׁמַ֔ע [hear] (810) + בְּק֖וֹל [voice] (138) + יְהֹוָ֥ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ [your·God] (66) = 2283.
Onkelos
And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you hearkened to the Word of Hashem your God.
Ibn Ezra
The sense of "and they shall come" is that they will come of their own accord. "And they shall overtake you" — even if you do not seek them out; the meaning is that you will not need to labor for them.
Sforno
ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגוך. They will catch up with you although you did not even make an effort to “catch up” with them. כי תשמע בקול ה' אלוקיך, all of this will occur when you make the pursuit of Torah your principal endeavour, relegating secular activities to something subordinate. In recognition of this approved lifestyle of yours, the blessings G’d bestows on you can obviously not be described as something that you were actively pursuing. The blessings mentioned by Moses here were the ones that were in evidence during the period of the first Temple during the part of that period when the Jewish people did observe the commandments of the Torah, until verse 9 יקימך ה' לו לעם קדוש, a condition which was fulfilled at the beginning of the period of the Second Temple as described by Shimon Hatzaddik in Yuma 21 who reported on the manifestation of miracles in the Second Temple as proof of the fulfillment of that prophecy by Moses.
Chizkuni
ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה, “and all these blessings will come upon you;” you will not have to strive to secure them.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגוך, “and all these blessings will come upon you and will overtake you.” The meaning is that instead of having to chase after these blessings the blessings will “chase” after the Jewish people.
Kli Yakar
“And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you.” Regarding being supreme over all the nations of the earth, it says and the Lord will set you, attributing this matter to the Holy One, blessed be He. But regarding the acquisition of other blessings, it says they will come on their own. This implies [a question]: who will pursue them, that it says and overtake you? The explanation is that whoever pursues authority, it flees from him; but whoever flees from authority, authority pursues him (Tanchuma Vayikra 3). And authority is the source of all blessings, for what a servant acquires, his master acquires. Therefore it says, and the Lord will set you supreme, etc. because this is the authority which is not fitting for you to seek or strive after, and nevertheless the Lord will give it to you. From then on, authority will pursue you and overtake you. And along with authority will come, of their own accord, all these blessings, for they follow in the footsteps of the authority that pursues you. Thus all blessings will pursue you without you turning after them, and they will overtake you because of the authority. For through it, you will acquire all the blessings of all the nations of the earth, because what a servant acquires, his master acquires.
Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
verse value 1867
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "you" (אַתָּ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·blessed" (וּבָר֥וּךְ, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 406: you, you. The root ברך appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "you" (root אתה, 65x in Deuteronomy); "in·the·city" (root עיר, 57x in Deuteronomy); "blessed" (root ברך, 39x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·city', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: בָּר֥וּךְ [blessed] (228) + אַתָּ֖ה [you] (406) + בָּעִ֑יר [in·the·city] (282) + וּבָר֥וּךְ [and·blessed] (234) + אַתָּ֖ה [you] (406) + בַּשָּׂדֶֽה [in·the·field] (311) = 1867.
Onkelos
Blessed are you in the city, and blessed are you in the field.
Ibn Ezra
"In the city" — a blessing consisting of the increase of all kinds of commerce. "In the field" — in sowing and planting.
Chizkuni
ברוך אתה בעיר, “you will be blessed in the city;” all kinds of merchandise will be available there. An alternate interpretation of this phrase: you will be able to bring your harvests from the field safely into your barns in the city. בשדה, “in the field;” both at the time of seeding and of planting.
Daat Zkenim
ברך אתה בעיר, “You will be blessed in the town;” you will be blessed for performing the commandments that are performed in an urban area, such as building a sukkah, attaching a mezzuzah to the doorposts of your houses, or a fence around the roof of your house. וברוך אתה בשדה, “and you will be blessed in the field;” this applies to the farmers who observe the manifold laws pertaining to growing crops and leaving some of the harvest for the poor or the priests and Levites. An alternate interpretation of these statements: “the city” referred to is Jerusalem, the holy city, and the expression: “blessed are you in the field,” refers to Zion, of which the prophet Jeremiah 26,18, said: ציון שדה תחרש , Zion will be plowed as a field.” [I fail to understand this interpretation, seeing that the line quoted from Jeremiah is not only not a blessing, but a curse, followed by the prediction of the fall of Jerusalem. Ed.]
Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.
verse value 4310
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "offspring" (שְׁגַ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "fruit·of·your·belly" (פְּרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֛, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 296: fruit, fruit. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "ewes" (וְעַשְׁתְּר֥וֹת). The root פרי appears 3 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "blessed" (root ברך, 39x in Deuteronomy); "your·ground" (root אדמה, 38x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·livestock', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: בָּר֧וּךְ [blessed] (228) + פְּרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֛ [fruit·of·your·belly] (371) + וּפְרִ֥י [fruit] (296) + אַדְמָתְךָ֖ [your·ground] (465) + וּפְרִ֣י [fruit] (296) + בְהֶמְתֶּ֑ךָ [your·livestock] (467) + שְׁגַ֥ר [offspring] (503) + אֲלָפֶ֖יךָ [your·cattle] (141) + וְעַשְׁתְּר֥וֹת [ewes] (1382) + צֹאנֶֽךָ [your·flock] (161) = 4310.
Onkelos
Blessed is the offspring of your womb, and the fruit of your land, and the offspring of your livestock — the calves of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep.
Rashi
שגר אלפיך means the young of thy cattle which the animal casts out (שגר) of its womb. ועשתרות צאנך — Understand this as the Targum does: the flocks of thy herd. Our Rabbis asked, “Why are they (the flocks of sheep) called עשתרות? Because, replied they, they enrich (מעשירות) their owners (through the sale of their wool, etc.) and make them strong as עשתרות — which are strong rocks (Chullin 84b; cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 7:13).
Ibn Ezra
"The fruit of your womb" — refers to children; the womb is used as a metaphor. "Sheger and ashtarot" — I have already explained these.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ברוך פרי בטנך, “blessed will be the fruit of your womb.” In this instance, the blessings accruing to the body are listed before such blessings as having abundance of food and drink, blessings which commence only with verse 5. When the curses are listed, the Torah begins with describing deprivations involving the people’s food supply (verse 17) before describing afflictions of the body (verse 20). This teaches the concern of G’d for us in that before harming us physically, He warns us by depriving us of something affecting our pocketbook, something not involving pain to our bodies.
Kli Yakar
Blessed is the fruit of your womb, etc. And afterward, He said Blessed is your basket and your kneading bowl, but in the curses He changed the order, mentioning your basket and your kneading bowl before the fruit of your womb. This is because logic dictates that the Holy One, blessed be He, would always perform a hidden miracle rather than a revealed miracle. The blessing of the fruit of the womb and the fruit of the land are all hidden miracles, for even if they increase beyond what is usual, this is not outside the realm of nature. However, [the blessing of] your basket and your kneading bowl, which contain detached fruits that have already been placed in vessels — if these increase, it is a revealed miracle. Whether one places two and finds three, as it says The jar of flour shall not be depleted, etc. (1 Kings 17:14), or whether one eats a little and it is blessed in their intestines — all of these are revealed miracles. Therefore, in the blessings He is saying: Not only will He perform a hidden miracle for you, but He will even perform a revealed miracle for you. And in the curses, it is the opposite — [expressing] “not only this, but even that [worse thing].” And what is said immediately after “Blessed are you in your going out” [is] “The Lord will deliver your enemies, defeated, before you.” And in the curses, it does not mention immediately that they will be defeated, but only after several verses, because logic dictates that as soon as the enemies see that all the inhabitants of that land are successful and blessed in their coming and going, then the nations will become jealous of Israel and will leave their homes to fight with Israel to drive them from that good land. And about this it is said By one road they will come out against you, etc. meaning that the nations will come against Israel. But in the curses it says By one road you will go out against him, meaning on the contrary, that Israel will leave their land to fight with the nations. And this is because in the curses, the nations who saw the plagues of the land and its diseases will presumably not desire the land of Israel because they will not see any success in it. Therefore, it is not said after Cursed are you in your going out [that] The Lord will deliver you, defeated, before your enemies referring to enemies who will come against you, because they certainly will not come. Rather, you will go out from your land to them because you will see that their land is better than yours, but not immediately, only after all the bad promises that He mentioned are fulfilled, from The Lord will send upon you the curse until The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust, etc., And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you iron. Why does it specify over your head and under you? Don’t we already know that the heavens are over your head and the earth is under you? Rather, it means specifically that part that is over your head and under you will be corrupted, but the heavens and earth that are above and below the lands of other nations will not be corrupted. And specifically the rain of your land [will be] powder and dust, not the rain of the lands of other nations. Therefore, your heart will persuade you to leave your home to the lands of other nations that are better than your land, perhaps you will be able to drive them out to settle in their place. Therefore, it says The Lord will deliver you, defeated, before your enemies; by one road you will go out against him, and by seven roads you will flee before him, and this is a precious reason.
Tur HaArokh
ברוך פרי בטנך, “The fruit of your womb will be blessed.” Moses listed the fruit of your womb before any other blessings, such as “your fruit-basket, and your kneading bowl,” because the fruit of one’s womb, i.e. having healthy well turned out children, is the supreme blessing parents can enjoy. When listing the various curses Moses enumerates this curse last, as G’d first inflicts punishments to our belongings before, if we do no respond to those warnings, He smites what is nearest and dearest to us. Similarly, when speaking about how our enemies will be smitten as part of our blessings, this is listed before mentioning our economic success, i.e. our storehouses filled with produce, seeing that as long as we are exposed to invasions by enemies we could not securely enjoy our good harvests. Dwelling securely amongst the nations is the ultimate blessing in our international relations, and enjoying internal peace is the ultimate blessing in our relations with other members of our people. (Compare Leviticus 26,5-6)
Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough.
verse value 1275
Insights
Verse structure: 3 words, 15 letters. The shortest word is "blessed" (בָּר֥וּךְ, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·your·kneading·trough" (וּמִשְׁאַרְתֶּֽךָ, 7 letters). 3 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "blessed" (root ברך, 39x in Deuteronomy). Full calculation: בָּר֥וּךְ [blessed] (228) + טַנְאֲךָ֖ [basket] (80) + וּמִשְׁאַרְתֶּֽךָ [and·your·kneading·trough] (967) = 1275.
Onkelos
Blessed is your basket and your kneading bowl.
Rashi
ברוך טנאך BLESSED SHALL BE THY BASKET — i.e. thy fruits (which are kept in baskets). — Another explanation of טנאך is that it means liquids which you filter through baskets (wicker work). ומשארתך accordingly means dry produce that remains (נשאר) in the vessel and does not flow out.
Ibn Ezra
"Your basket" — the place for bread; it is placed first, and "your kneading-trough" follows after it. Or it is the place where flour is put.
Rashbam
טנאך, which will be filled with fruit. ומשארתך, the bowls the dough is placed in while waiting to rise.
Daat Zkenim
ברוך טנאך, “blessed be your basket.” This refers to the basket in which the farmer presents his firstling fruit to the priest; we have the expression טנא in that context in Deut. 24,4. ומשארתך, this is a reference to challah, the housewife setting aside the first part of the dough for the priest.
Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
verse value 1812
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 24 letters. The shortest word is "you" (אַתָּ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·blessed" (וּבָר֥וּךְ, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 406: you, you. The root ברך appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·your·coming·in" (root בוא, 106x in Deuteronomy); "in·your·going·out" (root יצא, 67x in Deuteronomy); "you" (root אתה, 65x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·your·coming·in', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: בָּר֥וּךְ [blessed] (228) + אַתָּ֖ה [you] (406) + בְּבֹאֶ֑ךָ [in·your·coming·in] (25) + וּבָר֥וּךְ [and·blessed] (234) + אַתָּ֖ה [you] (406) + בְּצֵאתֶֽךָ [in·your·going·out] (513) = 1812.
Onkelos
Blessed are you when you come in, and blessed are you when you go out.
Rashi
ברוך אתה בבאך וברוך אתה בצאתך BLESSED SHALT THOU BE WHEN THOU COMEST IN, AND BLESSED SHALT THOU BE WHEN THOU GOEST OUT — This means: may thy departure from this world be as sinless as was thy coming into the world (Bava Metzia 107a).
Ibn Ezra
"In your going out" — to make pilgrimage, to trade, or to take spoil; or it refers to every coming and going from day to day. The meaning is: in all that you do you shall prosper. The opposite is written elsewhere.
Chizkuni
ברוך אתה בבואך...ובצאתך, ”you will be blessed when you are coming in ...and when you are going out.” This refers to coming home from war and going out to do battle. The expressions בא and צאת, are used in this sense in Numbers 27,17: אשר יצא לפניהם ואשר יבא לפניהם , “who will go out in front of you when going to war and before you when returning from battle.”
Targum Yonatan
Blessed shall you be in your coming in to your houses of instruction, and blessed shall you be when you go out to your affairs.
Hashem will cause your enemies that rise up against you to be smitten before you; they shall come out against you one way, and shall flee before you seven ways.
verse value 3016 — יְהֹוָ֤ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 69 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֤ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 3016 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "shall·give" (יִתֵּ֨ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "your·enemies" (אֶת־אֹיְבֶ֙יךָ֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 190: before·you, before·you. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "who·rise·against·you" (הַקָּמִ֣ים), "struck·down" (נִגָּפִ֖ים), "they·shall·flee" (יָנ֥וּסוּ). The root פנים appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "shall·give" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy); "before·you" (root פנים, 127x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'before·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 8 words.
Onkelos
Hashem will deliver your enemies who rise up against you, broken before you; by one road they shall march out against you, and by seven roads they shall flee before you.
Rashi
ובשבעה דרכים ינוסו לפניך AND THEY SHALL RUN AWAY BEFORE THEE SEVEN WAYS — Such is the manner of all who flee out of fear: they scatter in every direction.
Ibn Ezra
After Scripture said that you shall be high above all the nations, it then says that if your enemies conspire — therefore it says "those who rise up against you." "And in seven" — a plural form, because the days of the week repeat in a cycle, for it depends on the heavenly bodies.
Tur HaArokh
הקמים עליך, “the ones that rise up against you.” Seeing that Moses had already blessed them by describing them as supreme among the nations, he now has to assure them that even if other nations should rear their heads trying to attack them, G’d will see to it that they are defeated in short order.
Targum Yonatan
The Word of the Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to hurt you, to be broken before you. By one way they will come out to fight against you, but seven ways they shall be dispersed, I fleeing before you.
Hashem will command the blessing with you in your barns, and in all that you put your hand to; and He will bless you in the land which Hashem your God gives you.
verse value 3473 — יְהֹוָ֤ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 60 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֤ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for·you" (לָֽךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·blessing" (אֶת־הַבְּרָכָ֔ה, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "shall·command" (יְצַ֨ו), "your·storehouses" (בַּאֲסָמֶ֕יךָ). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "the·land" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'hand', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words. Full calculation: יְצַ֨ו [shall·command] (106) + יְהֹוָ֤ה [Hashem] (26) + אִתְּךָ֙ [together·with] (421) + אֶת־הַבְּרָכָ֔ה [the·blessing] (633) + בַּאֲסָמֶ֕יךָ [your·storehouses] (133) + וּבְכֹ֖ל [all] (58) + מִשְׁלַ֣ח [undertaking] (378) + יָדֶ֑ךָ [hand] (34) + וּבֵ֣רַכְךָ֔ [and·he·shall·bless·you] (248) + בָּאָ֕רֶץ [the·land] (293) + אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה [that·Hashem] (527) + אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ [your·God] (66) + נֹתֵ֥ן [giving] (500) + לָֽךְ [for·you] (50) = 3473.
Onkelos
Hashem will command the blessing to be with you in your storehouses and in every undertaking of your hand, and He will bless you in the land that Hashem your God is giving you.
Ibn Ezra
"In your storehouses" — in your treasuries; the word denotes place.
Kli Yakar
The Lord will command the blessing [to be] with you in your storehouses. Since it is said You will decree a thing, and it will be established for you (Job 22:28). When a righteous person decrees something, the Holy One, blessed be He, agrees with him, as in Sun, stand still at Gibeon (Joshua 10:12), and like Elijah who said, The jar of flour shall not be used up (1 Kings 17:14), and in the Tractate Taanit (25a) regarding Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, “Let your beams reach,” and many similar cases. Therefore it says, The Lord will command the blessing to be with you, meaning when you command blessing, then God will command along with you and will concur with your blessing and your command. And from the fact that it says “in your storehouses,” “in all the undertakings of your hand,” and “He shall bless you in the land,” it can be inferred that separate matters are being taught here, and each is a blessing in its own right. Perhaps they correspond to what is said When you walk, it will guide you (Proverbs 6:22) — in this world; when you lie down, it will watch over you — in the grave; and when you awake, it will speak with you — in the World to Come (Avot 6:9). When it speaks of blessing in your storehouses [asameicha], it alludes to the World to Come, which is hidden [samui] from the eye, for blessing is only found in things that are not measured or counted, but rather hidden from sight (Bava Metzia 42a). This hints that the prosperity of this world is not a complete blessing, because all worldly things are measured and counted, having limit, boundary, and end, and are not eternal. The exception is the reward of the World to Come, which “no eye has seen,” which is eternal and is the essence, as it says Like the dew of Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion (Psalms 133:3). This is the dew with which the Holy One, Blessed be He, will revive the dead, and it descends upon the mountains of Zion, for there is the gate of heaven and the place for souls to ascend to the Garden of Eden. And it says, For there the Lord commanded the blessing, life everlasting. Because those lives are eternal and everlasting, there is the essence of the blessing, but not in things that are measured and counted, which have an end and limit. Regarding this blessing it says, The Lord will command the blessing to be with you in your storehouses, referring to the World to Come which is hidden from the eye. Therefore it says with you, because this acquisition is with you and attached to you, as the immortality of the soul is not separate from the person but is always with him. This is not the case with the reward of this world, which is sent away from him, as Maimonides wrote [in Shemonah Perakim] that monetary acquisition is external to a person and not attached to him, but rather passes from hand to hand, for it is a wheel that turns in the world. And about this it says, and in all the undertakings of your hand, which is the reward for when you walk in this world. And afterward he mentioned the middle boundary, which is between these two boundaries, and it is when you lie down in the grave in the land, for the dead of the Land of Israel do not suffer the torment of the grave’s beating and the rolling of tunnels, and they are revived first. And on this he said, and bless you in the land, at the time when you lie in the midst of the land that the Lord your God gives you, for specifically the dead of the Land of Israel are privileged in this. And after mentioning the time of lying in the land, he mentioned the time of rising, and said, the Lord will establish you as a holy people, and this rising is as it is said Behold, you will lie down with your fathers and rise (Deuteronomy 31:16), meaning the rising that will happen in the future, and as is written Your dead shall live, my corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust, etc. (Isaiah 26:19). And if you wish to say, that it is appropriate to arrange these three times in the order of their occurrence, as they are mentioned in the verse When you walk, it shall guide you (Proverbs 6:22), then we can say that what it says The Lord will command the blessing [to be] with you in your storehouses and in all that you undertake (Deuteronomy 28:8) speaks of the reward in this world, according to its simple meaning. And He will bless you in the land refers to when you lie down in the grave. The Lord will establish you for Himself refers to the time of rising for the World to Come. Another explanation [of] “in your storehouses” refers to storehouses of grain, and because it is the way of storehouses to be preserved by placing in them some of the soil from that place, as Rashi explains on the verse the field of the city that was around it, he put inside it (Genesis 41:48). Therefore, it says here and He will bless you in/with the land. By placing some of the earth into the storehouse, it will be preserved. And regarding what was written “The Lord will open for you His good treasure,” this refers to that treasure that the Holy One, blessed be He, creates in heaven from your fear of God, for it is His treasure, as it is written, the fear of the Lord is His treasure (Isaiah 33:6). This means [it belongs] to the Holy One, blessed be He, as Rabbi Bachya explained (Exodus 19:5) that every king makes a treasure and a valued possession from something that is not readily available to him at all times, like precious stones. Similarly, “everything is in the hands of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven” (Berakhot 33b). Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, makes a treasure from the fear of God that is within you. And lest you mistakenly think that God has some need for this treasure, the verse therefore says, The Lord will open for you His good treasure. The Blessed One has no need for that treasure; rather, it is preserved for you, to give you from there all your needs and to sustain you from there. And the Holy One, blessed be He, does not entrust the key of this treasure to a messenger; rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself in His glory holds it in His hand, because this treasure is very precious to Him. This explains what our Sages said in the tractate of Taanit (2a) that “three keys were not handed over to a messenger: [the key] of childbirth, of rain, and of the resurrection of the dead.” Understandably for childbirth and resurrection, this makes sense, because He, blessed be He, is the source of life for all who are born and for the time of resurrection. However, regarding rain, how is it different from other things? Rather, it is because its source is from that treasure of the fear of God, as it is written, He will open for you His good treasure, the heavens, to give rain to your land, because the rain is placed in that chamber where God’s treasure is.
Rashbam
באסמיך, in your storage chambers which will be bursting full with different kinds of grain, grapes, and olives. This is described graphically in Proverbs 3,10 וימלאו אסמיך שבע,”and your barns will be filled with food, your vats will burst with new wine.”
Hashem will establish you for a holy people to Himself, as He has sworn to you; if you shall keep the commandments of Hashem your God, and walk in His ways.
verse value 4487 — יְהֹוָ֥ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 60 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·him" (לוֹ֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "swore·to·you" (נִֽשְׁבַּֽע־לָ֑ךְ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 26: Hashem, Hashem. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "shall·establish·you" (יְקִֽימְךָ֨), "swore·to·you" (נִֽשְׁבַּֽע־לָ֑ךְ). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "as·that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'swore·to·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words. Full calculation: יְקִֽימְךָ֨ [shall·establish·you] (180) + יְהֹוָ֥ה [Hashem] (26) + לוֹ֙ [to·him] (36) + לְעַ֣ם [people] (140) + קָד֔וֹשׁ [sacred] (410) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר [as·that] (521) + נִֽשְׁבַּֽע־לָ֑ךְ [swore·to·you] (472) + כִּ֣י [if] (30) + תִשְׁמֹ֗ר [you·shall·keep] (940) + אֶת־מִצְוֺת֙ [commandments] (937) + יְהֹוָ֣ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ [your·God] (66) + וְהָלַכְתָּ֖ [and·you·shall·go] (461) + בִּדְרָכָֽיו [his·ways] (242) = 4487.
Onkelos
Hashem will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Hashem your God and walk in the ways that are upright before Him.
Ramban
THE ETERNAL WILL ESTABLISH THEE FOR A HOLY PEOPLE UNTO HIMSELF AS HE HATH SWORN UNTO THEE. He applies the term “oath” to the covenant which He made with them at Mount Sinai concerning all these things, for there it was said, And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Or it may be that the covenant He made with Abraham to be a G-d unto thee and to thy seed after thee includes this one. Similarly he said, that He may establish thee this day unto Himself for a people, and that He may be unto thee a G-d, as He spoke unto thee, and as He swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, for the covenant was made for all of them.
Ibn Ezra
"A holy people" — and the holiness is in order to observe the commandments. The sense of "He shall establish you" is: He shall make you stand firm. "You shall keep" — in the heart. "And you shall walk" — in deed.
Or HaChaim
יקימך ה׳ לו לעם קדוש, "G'd will establish you for Him as a holy nation, etc." Starting with this verse up to and including verse 11 the Torah describes the rewards accruing to the Jewish people for not violating the negative comandments which are all subsumed above under the heading of שמר. This is why our verse repeats: "if you observe, i.e. not violate, the commandments of the Lord your G'd." A person acquires the attribute "holy" if he has refrained from violating negative commandments. We know this from Leviticus 19,2 where the imperative to be holy follows immediately after the legislation forbidding all kinds of sexual unions. This in turn is followed by another string of negative commandments. It is appropriate therefore for the Torah to write that as a result of your observing these negative commandments G'd will establish you as a holy nation for Him. Our sages in Vayikra Rabbah 24,6 also agree that the term "holy" is applied to people who refrain from violating the laws governing our sexual mores. These laws are all of the kind to which the observance called תשמר applies, i.e. one must merely refrain from violating them. It is appropriate therefore for the Torah to speak of G'd establishing us as a holy nation for Him in return for our observing these laws. The word לו, "for Him," is a hint that the Israelites will replace the angels when they qualify for the description "holy nation." G'd had selected the angels who are described as holy to stand in front of him as we know from Daniel 8,13. Once the Israelites will qualify for this description the angels will be merely adjuncts to them. We find an allusion to that time in Numbers 23,23: כעת יאמר ליעקב ולישראל מה פעל השם, "at a time when it will be said (revealed) to Jacob and to Israel what G'd has wrought" (compare Bamidbar Rabbah 20,20 on this verse). וראו כל עמי הארץ, "Then all the people of the earth will see, etc." The promise in this verse also refers to the result of our observing the negative commandments. As long as a Jew observes these commandments his face never loses the צלם אלוקים, the image of G'd in which he has been created. As a result of his reflecting this צלם אלוקים, all other creatures, man and beast alike, will relate to him with awe. This is not true of Jews who indulge in the kind of activities which G'd has declared as being abominations in His eyes. והותרך ה׳ לטובה בפרי בטנך, "And G'd will give you bountiful goodness, in the fruit of your womb, etc." Although the Torah had already mentioned earlier "the fruit of your womb will be blessed," there is a difference. At that time (verse 4) the promise was in return for studying Torah. Here the promise is a reward for observing the commandments. This is why the Torah had to detail it as one reward cannot be deduced from another reward. The Torah emphasises והותרך השם לטובה, "He will grant you additional goodness," and did not say פרי בטנך, "the fruit of your womb," because this promise is specifically designed ...
And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of Hashem is called upon you; and they shall be afraid of you.
verse value 1879 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 37 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֛י, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·peoples" (כׇּל־עַמֵּ֣י, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "all·peoples" (כׇּל־עַמֵּ֣י), "is·called" (נִקְרָ֣א). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "earth" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root כי, 164x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 2 words. Full calculation: וְרָאוּ֙ [and·they·shall·see] (213) + כׇּל־עַמֵּ֣י [all·peoples] (170) + הָאָ֔רֶץ [earth] (296) + כִּ֛י [that] (30) + שֵׁ֥ם [name] (340) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + נִקְרָ֣א [is·called] (351) + עָלֶ֑יךָ [upon] (130) + וְיָֽרְא֖וּ [and·they·shall·fear] (223) + מִמֶּֽךָּ [from] (100) = 1879.
Onkelos
And all the nations of the earth shall see that the name of Hashem is proclaimed over you, and they shall be in awe of you.
Sforno
וראו כל עמי הארץ, as our sages told us on folio 69 in Yuma about Alexander the Great prostrating himself in front of that High Priest.
Chizkuni
וראו כל עמי הארץ, “and all the peoples of the earth will see, etc.” concerning Israel it had been said in Yoel 3,5: כל אשר יקרא בשם ה׳ ימלט; “but everyone who will invoke the name of the Lord will be saved.” כי שם ה׳ נקרא עליך, “that the name of the Lord is proclaimed over you.” When G-d has blessed you visibly to all the nations, you are perceived as being the favorite of the G-d of Israel. וראו, “they will understand” (i.e. see with their mind’seye) Compare Ecclesiastes 1,16: ולבי ראה הרבה חכמה ודעת, “and my mind has absorbed much wisdom and learning.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה' נקרא עליך ויראו ממך, “and all the nations of the earth will realize that the Lord’s name is proclaimed over you and they will be afraid of you.” If someone is a servant of the king’s minister his stature does not compare to someone who is a servant of the king himself. Even the ministers of the king are in awe of the king’s “private secretaries,” etc. This is because the title of the private secretary contains the appellation “Royal such and such,” i.e. reminds people of the proximity of this individual to the king. This is the subject discussed by our verse. Whereas the nations of the world are subjects (servants) of the King’s ministers, i.e. the sun and the moon, etc., all of whom are servants of the Lord, Israel knows of no intermediaries in its relationship with the Lord. As a result of appreciating this when aware of the bounty with which G’d provides the Jewish people, these nations will develop a sense of awe of the Israelites. Seeing they will develop awe of the Israelites, they will most certainly develop awe of the master of the Israelites, i.e. the Lord. Our sages in Menachot 35 explain the words כי שם ה' נקרא עליך as a reference to the phylacteries on the head (עליך), according to Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrkanus. This would account for the fact that that phylactery has two letters ש (a three stemmed one and a four-stemmed one) as part of its housing, a halachah dating back to the times of Moses. It is as if our verse would tell us that when the nations of the world observe these two letters ש on our phylactery on our heads they will be seized by a sense of awe and develop fear of us. Furthermore, another mystical aspect of this verse is that when you read the alphabet in a reverse order i.e. exchanging letters such as א=ת, ש=ב, ר=ג, you will find that the letters of the great and Holy Name of the Lord, the tetragram, i.e. normally י-ה-ו-ה, are instead מ-צ-פ-צ whose combined numerical value is 300, or the same as ש. This is the letter ש written in larger than normal script at the beginning of שיר השירים, the beginning of Song of Songs. The year comprises 300 days on which the phylacteries are worn (after the Sabbath days and festival days have been deducted from the 365 days of the solar year). If you will look still more deeply into the significance of this letter ש, you will find that it is an allusion to the שכינה, a manifestation of the presence of the Lord. The letter ש of the four “heads” is an allusion to the Shechinah which orbits (surrounds) the entire globe as well as outer space and which exerts its influence on the 4 “chayot” of the Divine entourage (מרכבה) described both in the visions of Ezekiel and Isaiah. The strap to which the phylactery of the head is tied, and which has a knot in the shape of the letter ד, is an allusion to the four kinds of wind which operate (low) on earth from four directions guided by the Shechinah. These winds sometimes blow upwards and sometimes downwards. The straps (the part under the knot which looks like the letter ד and which continue in a downward direction), indicate that the Divine input into this earth’s domain occurs from above in a downward direction, i.e. emanates from the higher emanations חכמה and בינה. Consider the fact that already in the manner in which man’s body has been constructed the nose may be considered as analogous to the letter שין, the two nostrils leading in the direction of the brain, the site of חכמה and בינה. The significance of this organ (brain/nose) which is “stamped” by the letter ש is that it is viewed as teaching the lesson that the Shechinah itself collects Divine input (from a still higher source, [the ein sof, Ed.?]. Similarly, we may view man’s נשמה as both suffusing and surrounding his entire body, its power (influence) extending in all four ventricles of the brain. The first two ventricles are the seat of the ability to record by means of an illustration (כח הציור), the center orifice is the seat of מחשבה, entertaining abstract concepts, thinking without the aid of illustrations; the last orifice is the seat (source) of memory, retaining impressions gained over a period of time. All of the foregoing teaches us that the letter שין is an allusion to the Shechinah and he four chayot by means of which the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah have tried to illustrate these concepts for us inasmuch as they reflect celestial images as well as how these concepts are reflected in the microcosm, i.e. the human being which itself reflects powers in the celestial regions.
Rashbam
נקרא עליך, He will demonstrate by fulfilling your desires that you are His people.
Cross-references: Deuteronomy 1:31; II Samuel 12:28; Isaiah 4:1; Jeremiah 14:9; Song of Songs 7:6
And Hashem will make you over-abundant for good, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, in the land which Hashem swore to your fathers to give you.
verse value 5063 — יְהֹוָה֙ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 72 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "upon" (עַ֚ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "shall·make·you·abound" (וְהוֹתִרְךָ֤, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 298: fruit, fruit. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "shall·make·you·abound" (וְהוֹתִרְךָ֤), "for·good" (לְטוֹבָ֔ה). The root פרי appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "to·give" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ground', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 8 words.
Onkelos
And Hashem will grant you abundance for good — in the offspring of your womb, in the offspring of your livestock, and in the fruit of your land — upon the land that Hashem swore to your forefathers to give you.
Ibn Ezra
The sense of "He shall grant you abundance" is: even if there should be evil in the land, and famine, and a curse, you shall remain and fare well.
Sforno
והותירך ה' לטובה, meaning that your success will be demonstrably greater and more noticeable than that of other nations.
Tur HaArokh
והותירך, “He will grant you an excess, etc.” even if there should be famine on the earth, you will not be severely affected by it, always having sufficient and even more than that.
Hashem will open to you His good treasure the heaven to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
verse value 6774 — יְהֹוָ֣ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 82 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for·you" (לְ֠ךָ֠, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·deed" (אֵ֖ת כׇּל־מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "shall·open" (יִפְתַּ֣ח), "his·treasury" (אֶת־אוֹצָר֨וֹ), "rain·of·your·land" (מְטַֽר־אַרְצְךָ֙). The root לוה appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "to·give" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root לוה ("and·you·shall·lend") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'hand', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 6 words.
Onkelos
Hashem will open for you His good treasury, the heavens, to give rain upon your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
Ibn Ezra
"His treasury" — for it is within His power to release it, and likewise "the treasuries of snow." Therefore, following "He shall grant you abundance," Scripture speaks of rain, for one who withholds rain is the cause of famine. "And you shall lend to many nations" — for they will be hungry, and a time shall never come when you yourself must borrow. The overall principle is that you shall always be at the head.
Or HaChaim
יפתח ה׳ לך את אוצרו הטוב, "G'd will open for you His store of goodness, etc." From this point on until the end of verse 13 the Torah describes the reward for fulfilling the positive commandments. This is why verse 13 concludes with the words "if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your G'd." The channels which G'd employs to direct the outpourings of His goodness to earth are activated through performance of commandments rather than through the passive refraining from violating negative commandments. יפתח ה׳ לך; "G'd will open for you." The pronoun "for you" is important as it indicates G'd's special providence for the Jew who observes these commandments. The new element in this promise is that although there may be many people whose conduct would preclude G'd from opening these channels of His bounty, G'd will not let this interfere with His special providence for the subject in our verse. The word הטוב in our verse is the mystical dimension of the "river" or "channel" of G'd's goodness we have referred to. It is what Solomon referred to in Proverbs 10,25 וצדיק יסוד עולם, "that the righteous is the foundation of the world." את השמים, "the heavens," this is a reference to the source of this input, a concept familiar to Kabbalists. והלוית גוים רבים ואתה לו תלוה, "and you will lend to many nations but you will not have to borrow." It is a well known phenomenon in our literature that as long as the Jewish people observe G'd's laws the good the Gentiles experience in this world reaches them only via the Jewish people. Should the Jewish people, G'd forbid, not live in accordance with Torah precepts their פרנסה, livelihood, would consist only of scraps the Gentiles have left over. Moses illustrates this concept here by presenting both the positive side of the picture, i.e. "you will lend, etc.," and by implication, the negative side of the picture "and you will not have to borrow. If Moses had not presented the alternative we would not have recognised that the first half of the verse is a blessing as it is an accepted norm that the wealthy borrow from one another at different times, not because they are in need of sustenance. ונתנך השם לראש, "and G'd will place you as a head, etc." Moses means that the fortunes of the people of Israel will be guided directly by the "head" i.e. G'd Himself, not an intermediary; ולא לזנב, "and not as a tail." This is a reference to the various "ministers" in the celestial regions which G'd has appointed to be in charge of the different nations of the world. The Israelites will always be on a "higher" level than these nations being cared for by G'd Himself. והיית רק למעלה ולא תהיה למטה; "you shall only be above and you will not be below." We may understand this best by referring to Yalkut Shimoni Jeremiah item 312, who explains Jeremiah 30,10: "and you My servant Jacob do not fear, etc." When Jacob had the dream with the ladder he observed angels ascending and descending. He assumed the angels to be the "ministe...
Chizkuni
והלוית גוים רבים, “and you will lend to many nations;” to nations who were plagued with crop failures or storage problems in their barns.
And Hashem will make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if you shall heed the commandments of Hashem your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them;
verse value 6336 — יְהֹוָ֤ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 89 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֤ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 6336 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "only" (רַ֣ק, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·you·hear" (כִּֽי־תִשְׁמַ֞ע, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 37: not, not. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "upward" (לְמַ֔עְלָה), "downward" (לְמָ֑טָּה). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root מטה ("downward") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'downward', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 10 words.
Onkelos
And Hashem will make you the strong and not the weak, and you shall be only on top and not at the bottom, if you heed the commandments of Hashem your God that I am commanding you this day, to observe and to do them.
Ramban
AND THE ETERNAL WILL MAKE THEE THE HEAD, AND NOT THE TAIL. The meaning thereof is that He will make you the head of all peoples and not the tail of any one of the nations, for it is possible that you will be the head of many peoples and yet be the tail of one nation more distinguished than you. The correct interpretation is that He will henceforth make you the head and at no time will you ever be the tail. Similarly, thou shalt be above only always, and thou shalt not be beneath forever.
Ibn Ezra
"If you hearken" — in the heart, to keep and to do. The overall principle is that you shall not turn away from Hashem to worship the stars, for it is the root of all transgressions — to deny the fundamental principle. The opposite of this is the unity of Hashem, to keep and to do; for the essential act of observance is the deed.
Tur HaArokh
לראש ולא לזנב, “as a head and not as a tail.” As a head of all the nations, and not as a tail of a nation more distinguished than you. It was possible, theoretically to rank as number one overall among the nations, and at the same time to trail some nation in a specific matter. Alternately, Moses might have meant that in a best case scenario, when you deserve it, you will be the number one among all the nations, but in a worst case scenario, even when you have endured chastisements by G’d, you will never be the tail, i.e. the lowest ranking of all the other nations. רק למעלה, “only above;” a permanent state of affairs. ולא תהיה למטה, “and not below;” “not,” in the sense of “never.”
and shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
verse value 3982 — אֱלֹהִ֥ים = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 68 letters. Notable word values: "gods" (אֱלֹהִ֥ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "not" (וְלֹ֣א, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·the·words" (מִכׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים֙, 9 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "all·the·words" (מִכׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים֙), "to·serve·them" (לְעׇבְדָֽם). The root אחר appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "gods" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·left', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Onkelos
And you shall not turn aside from all the words that I am commanding you this day, to the right or to the left, to go after the idols of the nations to worship them.
Ramban
AND THOU SHALT NOT TURN ASIDE FROM ANY OF THE WORDS WHICH I COMMAND YOU THIS DAY. This is connected with the expression [in the preceding Verse 13] if thou shalt hearken, meaning that all these blessings will come upon you when you will hearken to His commandments, and when you will not turn aside to the right, or to the left from any of the words which I command you concerning idolatry. For, if you will go after other gods to serve them you will already have turned aside from all His commandments and He shall have no desire whatever for any of the commandments you may observe. The sense of the verse is thus unlike the words of the “Hilchoth Gedoloth” who counted this verse as a negative commandment.
Sforno
Moses concludes the blessings applicable to the period of the Second Temple by warning ולא תסור מכל הדברים אשר אנכי מצוה אתכם היום ימין או שמאל, meaning that the people are not to introduce changes in the commandments of the Torah, and especially not to make any changes in the social legislation, משפטים. Neither are they to introduce variations in the observance of certain commandments which were part of the culture of nations that lived in the land of Canaan, and which had been well entrenched in the entire region. Especially, is this forbidden if by adopting those habits, which, though unrelated to idolatry and of no religious significance, you adopt them in order thereby to display some respect for the culture of the members of those tribes still residing in your midst. In the Torah’s view this would constitute ללכת אחרי אלוהים אחרים לעבדם, that you are on the path to adopt idolatrous practices, eventually even worshipping those idols. However, the admonitions up unto verse 36 i.e. יולך ה' אותך ואת מלכך, refer to periods during the Second Temple, the period of the Seleucids until the Hasmoneans started their uprising to rid the land of the Neo Greeks. Eventually, Aristobulus, a King of the Hasmonean Dynasty, was exiled by the Romans to Rome at the command of Pompey. Starting with this incident up until verse 63 ונסחתם, Moses refers to the period of the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. What follows are admonitions dealing with our present exile.
Tur HaArokh
ולא תסור מכל הדברים, “if only you do not turn away from any of the words, etc.” According to Nachmanides these words are a continuation of what is written in verse 13 that these blessings are premised on your hearkening to G’d’s commandments. If you were to look right or left, i.e. consider indulging in any form of idolatry, you would already be considered as having turned away from the path G’d prescribed for you. [A warning that not only idolatrous actions bring disaster, but even contemplating such actions is culpable. Ed.] Nachmanides does not agree with the author of halachot gedolot, who considers this verse as one of the negative commandments.
But it shall come to pass, if you will not heed the voice of Hashem your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command you this day; that all these curses shall come upon you, and overtake you.
verse value 6003 — וְהָיָ֗ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 92 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֛ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·his·commandments" (אֶת־כׇּל־מִצְוֺתָ֣יו, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 26: and·it·shall·be, Hashem. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'today', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 5 words.
Onkelos
But it shall come to pass, if you do not hearken to the Word of Hashem your God, to observe and to do all His commandments and His statutes that I am commanding you this day, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.
Sforno
אם לא תשמע בקול ה' אלוקיך לשמור לעשות את כל מצותיו וחקותיו אשר אנכי מצוך היום, with these words Moses introduces his admonitions, the ones which parallel chapter 26 in Leviticus, but are sounding far more devastating. Israel is described as “backsliding,” having, with the help of Torah legislation, been the frontrunner in civilised countries. Whenever the Torah speaks about the Jewish people abandoning the laws of the Torah, the intention is not to make us think that they slid into anarchy, but worse, they slid into adopting the laws of the prevalent cultures and civilisations. Clearly, this is an even greater affront to G’d the Lawgiver, than merely being passive and not carrying out Torah legislation. Social legislation involving tithes was largely ignored, leading to such great scholars as Hillel, and the High Priest Yochanan decreeing legalistic means of circumventing the legislation so that the people would not be guilty of violating such basic social laws as forgiving overdue debts at the end of the Sh’mittah year. The Rabbis, in a number of instances, were forced to preserve the spirit of the law, sometimes at the expense of what may be termed “the letter of the law.” The discontinuance of the examination by the priest of a woman suspected of marital infidelity, Sotah, is one such example, the Rabbis feeling that when infidelity had become the norm rather than the exception, it would not do to demand a miracle from G’d every time such a situation arose. Moreover, the chances were that the husband’s sexual life was not so free from blemish that he could point a finger at his wife. (Compare Shviit,1,3, Maasser Sheyni 5,15, Sotah 46,48,49) Other practices, such as referring disputes to pagan judges of the nation (Greeks or Romans) occupying Israel at the time, made it almost impossible for the Jewish judiciary, even when meaning to preside over Torah law, to be an effective legal instrument. All of these conditions became a self-fulfilling prophecy in the decline of the Jewish people as a holy nation and led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of Jewish independence on a land of their own.
Or HaChaim
והיה אם לא תשמע, "It will be if you do not hearken, etc." The Torah made it plain here that unless we fulfil all three aspects of Judasim i.e. Torah study, scrupulous observance of the negative commandments, and the carrying out of positive commandments, some or all of the consequences described forthwith will occur. Learning Torah and not observing the negative commandments does not protect us. Observing both negative and positive commandments but neglecting the study of Torah will still result in the curses of the following verses being fulfilled. Non-observance of each of these three groups of Torah laws will attract its own kind of curses. The Torah commences by describing the punishments in store for the Jewish people if they fail to study Torah. .ארור אתה בעיר, "you will be cursed in the city;" this verse until the words ואבדך מהר, "and you will quickly perish" and the end of verse 20 are a row of escalating curses which are retribution for abandoning Torah, i.e. abandoning Torah study. When one abandons study of the Torah it is viewed as if one had abandoned G'd Himself. This is why this paragraph concludes with the words אשר עזבתני, "for you have abandoned Me."
Rabbeinu Bahya
והשיגוך, “and they will overtake you.” In this verse, introducing the curses (afflictions), the word is spelled plene, i.e. with the letter ו, whereas in the previous appearance of this word in verse 2 describing the blessings the word was written defective, without this letter ו. The reason may be to reflect the verse in Psalms 91,15: “I will be with him (Israel) in distress.” This message is, however, alluded to in those words, i.e. עמו אנכי בצרה in the last letters of each of these words, the letters of the tetragrammaton ו-י-ה, which whenever they appear in reverse order allude to the attribute of Justice. The veiled message is that in spite of the awesome list of afflictions in this chapter they will not result in the extinction of the Jewish people. G’d will continue to watch over the Jewish people though they may not be aware of this.
Kli Yakar
“And it shall be if you do not listen, etc.” All these curses are stated in the singular, while those in the portion of Bechukotai are all stated in the plural, And if you [plural] do not listen, etc. For even among these [curses in Deuteronomy] there are many afflictions directed at the community as a whole, such as “And your heavens that are over your head shall be copper.” And likewise, “The Lord will lead you and your king, etc.” And many others besides these. And what is the reason that those in Torat Kohanim [Leviticus] numbered forty-nine, while these are doubled in number to ninety-eight? Is this not a significant matter? The reason for this is that those [curses] in Torat Kohanim [Leviticus] were stated before the mutual responsibility that Israel accepted upon themselves with the oath at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Therefore, they came in the number 49, corresponding to the 49 gates of understanding that were created in the world, all of which were given to Moses except for one (Nedarim 38). From this you learn that it is possible for humankind to enter the chamber of the palace of wisdom and understanding through the 49 gates that are open before them. These are the gates of righteousness before God, through which the righteous enter to gain understanding and knowledge of God. But the sinner, who is possessed by a spirit of folly and whose heart is too thick to understand, sees 49 gates of understanding open before him yet does not enter any of them. Therefore, he is struck with 49 [punishments]. Before [the acceptance of] mutual responsibility, it states if you do not listen in the plural form, meaning specifically that only if everyone together becomes corrupt are they deserving of those collective punishments, while the righteous among them would save themselves. However here, after [the acceptance of] mutual responsibility, each person bears both their own sin and the sin of their fellow. Therefore, the punishments come in the number 98, doubled to correspond to one’s own sin and the sin of their fellow. And it states and it will be if you do not listen in the singular form with collective punishments, telling you that even an individual sinner brings curse upon the collective, as it is written Lest there be among you a man or woman… (Deuteronomy 29:17-21) and it is written and they will see the plagues of that land. This teaches that many will bear the sin of the individual, as was the case in the incident of Achan (Joshua 7). Therefore it states if you do not listen — that even an individual who does not listen causes punishments for many, these being the collective punishments mentioned in the passage. Another explanation: It is because it says “And God has not given you a heart to know, etc. until this day.” And it is written (Proverbs 2:3–4), If you call to understanding, give your voice to discernment; if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures. And they expounded on this: why is the number 49 mentioned twice? That is, 49 aspects of purity and 49 aspects of impurity [equivalent to the numerical value of “and his banner” (vediglo) — Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin, chapter 4, halakha 2]. And a person cannot come to this investigation except through the understanding of the discerning heart that comprehends the 49 gates of understanding, for it first states if you call to understanding. For understanding is twice as much as wisdom, as the discerning person understands one thing from another. And the verse says that they did not have a heart to know, meaning understanding, until this day. Therefore, specifically on this day they were warned about the 98 curses for not interpreting the Torah in the two times 49 ways. But those curses in Leviticus [Torah of the Priests] were spoken before they became people of understanding, able to understand one thing from another, meaning 49 from 49. Therefore, those curses came only in the number 49, because they should have understood at least the primary concepts that come in the number 49 at the very least.
Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.
verse value 2225
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "you" (אַתָּ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·cursed" (וְאָר֥וּר, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 406: you, you. The root ארר appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "you" (root אתה, 65x in Deuteronomy); "in·the·city" (root עיר, 57x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·city', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: אָר֥וּר [cursed] (407) + אַתָּ֖ה [you] (406) + בָּעִ֑יר [in·the·city] (282) + וְאָר֥וּר [and·cursed] (413) + אַתָּ֖ה [you] (406) + בַּשָּׂדֶֽה [in·the·field] (311) = 2225.
Onkelos
Cursed are you in the city, and cursed are you in the field.
Chizkuni
ארור, just as the meaning of ברוך commonly translated as “blessed,” means enjoying the abundance of success and good things, so the word ארור, its opposite, means loss of valuable things and dearth of many essential things.
Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.
verse value 3720
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "offspring" (שְׁגַ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "fruit·belly" (פְּרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֖, 7 letters). The root פרי appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "ground" (root אדמה, 38x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ground', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: אָר֥וּר [cursed] (407) + פְּרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֖ [fruit·belly] (371) + וּפְרִ֣י [fruit] (296) + אַדְמָתֶ֑ךָ [ground] (465) + שְׁגַ֥ר [offspring] (503) + אֲלָפֶ֖יךָ [cattle] (141) + וְעַשְׁתְּרֹ֥ת [offspring·of·flock] (1376) + צֹאנֶֽךָ [small·cattle] (161) = 3720.
Onkelos
Cursed is the offspring of your womb, and the fruit of your land, the calves of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep.
Ramban
In the blessings he mentioned first the fruit of thy body and afterwards thy basket and thy kneading-trough for the fruit of the body is the best and most beloved, but in the curses he delayed it [mentioning first thy basket and thy kneading-trough in Verse 17, and the fruit of thy body in Verse 18] because the punishment extends first to a man’s possessions, and, if he does not repent, it reaches the fruit of his body. Similarly, in the blessings he mentioned first the smiting of the enemies before the blessing in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto, for triumph over the enemy is the honor and necessity for them in the conquest of the lands, and their dwelling safely among the peoples. And in the curses he mentioned first the diminishing in all that thou puttest thy hand unto to do and delayed their being smitten before the enemies, for this is the punishment that would reach them afterwards — and in the end they would be exiled.
Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
verse value 2170
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 24 letters. The shortest word is "you" (אַתָּ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·cursed" (וְאָר֥וּר, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 406: you, you. The root ארר appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·your·coming" (root בוא, 106x in Deuteronomy); "in·your·going·out" (root יצא, 67x in Deuteronomy); "you" (root אתה, 65x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·your·coming', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: אָר֥וּר [cursed] (407) + אַתָּ֖ה [you] (406) + בְּבֹאֶ֑ךָ [in·your·coming] (25) + וְאָר֥וּר [and·cursed] (413) + אַתָּ֖ה [you] (406) + בְּצֵאתֶֽךָ [in·your·going·out] (513) = 2170.
Onkelos
Cursed are you when you come in, and cursed are you when you go out.
Targum Yonatan
Accursed shall you be in your going into the houses of your theatres, and the places of your public shows, to make void the words of the law; and accursed shall you be in your coming out to your worldly affairs.
Hashem will send upon you cursing, discomfiture, and rebuke, in all that you put your hand to do, until you be destroyed, and until you perish quickly; because of the evil of your doings, whereby you have forsaken Me.
verse value 6900 — יְהֹוָ֣ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 89 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 6900 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "in" (בְּ֠ךָ֠, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·the·rebuke" (וְאֶת־הַמִּגְעֶ֔רֶת, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "the·curse" (אֶת־הַמְּאֵרָ֤ה), "the·discomfiture" (אֶת־הַמְּהוּמָה֙), "and·the·rebuke" (וְאֶת־הַמִּגְעֶ֔רֶת). The root שלח appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "you·shall·do" (root עשה, 163x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·do', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 9 words.
Onkelos
Hashem will stir up against you the curse, the confusion, and the frustration in every undertaking of your hand that you do, until you are destroyed and until you perish swiftly, on account of the evil of your deeds in that you have forsaken My fear.
Rashi
המארה means PAUCITY, similar to (Leviticus 13:51) “a fretting leprosy (ממארה)” (a leprosy that frets the flesh, thus attenuating it). המהומה — Onkelos renders this by שגוש which means: A TERRIFYING SOUND.
Ibn Ezra
"The curse" — that which diminishes. "The confusion" — that he will be unable to complete his work. "The rebuke" — that he shall find no joy in his deeds but only worry about them after all his toil.
Chizkuni
ואת המגערת, “curse;” the root of the word is גער to be angry;” G-d will express His anger by letting your crops fail. Proof that this is the correct interpretation of the word מגערת, can be found in Malachi 2,3: הנני גוער לכם את הזרע, “I will put your seed under a curse;”
Rashbam
המהומה, by means of the sound of thunder and hail, as in Samuel I 7,10 וירעם בקול גדול על פלשתים ויהמם, “the Lord thundered mightily against the Philistines that day and threw them into confusion.” המגערת, a kind of rebuke. Compare Maleachi 2,2-3 הנני גוער לכם את הזרע וארותי את ברכותיכם, “Here I will put your seed under a ban and turn your blessings into curses.”
Targum Yonatan
The Word of the Lord will send forth curses among you to curse your wealth, and confusion to confound your prosperity, and vexation with all that you put your hands to do, until He hath undone you, and you perish soon on account of the wickedness of your doings when you have forsaken My worship.
Hashem will make the pestilence cleave to you, until He have consumed you from off the land, where you go in to possess it.
verse value 4112 — יְהֹוָ֛ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 49 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֛ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "in" (בְּךָ֖, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·pest" (אֶת־הַדָּ֑בֶר, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "shall·make·cleave" (יַדְבֵּ֧ק), "his·consuming" (כַּלֹּת֣וֹ). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that·you" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "the·pest" (root דבר, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·pest', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 8 words. Full calculation: יַדְבֵּ֧ק [shall·make·cleave] (116) + יְהֹוָ֛ה [Hashem] (26) + בְּךָ֖ [in] (22) + אֶת־הַדָּ֑בֶר [the·pest] (612) + עַ֚ד [until] (74) + כַּלֹּת֣וֹ [his·consuming] (456) + אֹֽתְךָ֔ [you] (421) + מֵעַל֙ [from·upon] (140) + הָאֲדָמָ֔ה [ground] (55) + אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה [that·you] (907) + בָא־שָׁ֖מָּה [coming·there] (348) + לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ [to·possess·it] (935) = 4112.
Onkelos
Hashem will make the pestilence cling to you, until He has consumed you from upon the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
Or HaChaim
ידבק השם בך את הדבר, "G'd will make the pestilence adhere to you, etc." The penalties introduced with this verse through verse 44 ending with the words: "you will be the tail," refer to your failure to observe the negative commandments. This is the reason verse 45 concludes appropriately with: "because you have failed to hearken to the voice of your G'd to observe His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you." Any intelligent student will realise that all these terrible curses are the result of the commission of sins. The reason the Torah uses the simile "G'd will make the pestilence adhere to you," is because we know that if one commits only a single transgression the spiritually negative force one has created thereby attaches itself to the personality of the guilty person and eventually becomes part of his soul. This is the mystical dimension of mental illness. This evil part of man is called דבר, pestilence, as we have learned in Chabakuk 3,5: "pestilence walks ahead of Him." Satan, here called "pestilence," is described as preceding G'd. All the forces of evil are branches of Samael i.e. Satan, and are called by his name. All the various diseases and afflictions mentioned in our chapter are variations of the theme. When Rabbi Ami in Shabbat 55 claims that there is no death which is not due to sin and that there are no afflictions which are not the result of sin, he meant that sin "gives birth" to a variety of bodily afflictions. Jeremiah 2,12 speaks of the bodily afflictions being the result of Israel's wickedness. והיו שמיך אשר על ראשך נחשת, "And the sky above your head will turn to copper." We may understand this with the help of the Zohar volume one page 6 that the sources of G'd's goodness will be blocked through our sins. We have an allusion to this in Job 14,11 "that the river is destroyed and dries up." יתנך השם נגף, "G'd will cause you to be struck down by your enemies, etc." This too is the direct result of your sins as hinted at in Kohelet 8,9: "when a man rules over another to his detriment." Solomon means that the reason man experiences another force ruling him is that he has sinned and the forces he created now try to control him. Similar considerations govern all the various curses written in this chapter. All of them are outgrowths of sinful conduct. והיו בך לאות ולמופת, "They will be a sign and a wonder in you, etc." When a person commits even a single sin this is somehow engraved on his forehead. ובזרעך עד עולם, "and in your offspring, forever." The reason for this is that the soul of man becomes evil, corrupt, through all the spiritually negative forces his sins have created and which become progressively more and more part of his personality. We described these outgrowths previously as being like children one sires or gives birth to. We have also explained in connection with Genesis 49,3 that the mystical element of death which G'd decreed upon Adam and all his descendants is due to the fact that all his d...
Rabbeinu Bahya
ידבר ה' בך את הדבר עד כלותו אותך, “the Lord will make the pestilence adhere to you until it consumes you.” The word כלותו refers to the word הדבר, i.e. the pestilence, [the pestilence in its most violent form, Ed.] The word כלתו, usually understood to mean “it will totally consume,” is written defective, without the latter ו, to hint that the result will not be as terrible as we might think at first glance.
Hashem will smite you with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish.
verse value 3814 — יְ֠הֹוָ֠ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 62 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְ֠הֹוָ֠ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֥ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "blight" (וּבַשִּׁדָּפ֖וֹן, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "consumption" (בַּשַּׁחֶ֨פֶת), "fever" (וּבַקַּדַּ֜חַת), "inflammation" (וּבַדַּלֶּ֗קֶת). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "until" (root עד, 50x in Deuteronomy); "shall·strike·you" (root נכה, 26x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'mildew', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 3 words. Full calculation: יַכְּכָ֣ה [shall·strike·you] (55) + יְ֠הֹוָ֠ה [Hashem] (26) + בַּשַּׁחֶ֨פֶת [consumption] (790) + וּבַקַּדַּ֜חַת [fever] (520) + וּבַדַּלֶּ֗קֶת [inflammation] (542) + וּבַֽחַרְחֻר֙ [extreme·heat] (424) + וּבַחֶ֔רֶב [sword] (218) + וּבַשִּׁדָּפ֖וֹן [blight] (448) + וּבַיֵּרָק֑וֹן [mildew] (374) + וּרְדָפ֖וּךָ [and·they·shall·pursue·you] (316) + עַ֥ד [until] (74) + אׇבְדֶֽךָ [your·perishing] (27) = 3814.
Onkelos
Hashem will strike you with wasting disease, and with fever, and with burning inflammation, and with scorching heat, and with the sword, and with blight, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish.
Rashi
בשחפת — This is a disease whereby one’s flesh becomes worn away and swollen. ובקדחת AND WITH FEVER — The word is similar in meaning to the verb in (Deuteronomy 32:22) “For a fire burns (קדחה) in My nostrils”. It is the heat felt by sick people, mal du feu in old French, which is a very high temperature. ובדלקת — This is a fever even hotter than קדחת. — All these terms denote different kinds of diseases, but of a similar character. ובחרחר — a disease that makes one burning hot inside the body, so that one is continually thirsting for water; in old French astrandement. The word is of the same meaning as the verbs in (Job 30:30) “My bones are burnt (חרה) because of heat”, and in (Jeremiah 6:29) “The bellows are burnt (נחר) by the fire”. ובחרב AND WITH THE SWORD — i.e. He will bring hostile troops against you. ובשדפון ובירקון AND WITH BLASTING AND WITH MILDEW — these are diseases that afflict grain which is yet in the field (yet growing). שדפון is the hot east-wind, hale in old French ירקון is drought. The symptoms are that the surface of the grain becomes pale and ultimately turns yellow; chaume in old French עד אבדך — The Targum renders this by עד דתיבד, meaning “until you perish”, i.e. until you will perish on your own.
Ibn Ezra
"With consumption" — some say these are varieties of illness. "With fever" — every day; derived from "for a fire burns in My anger." Now "confusion," "rebuke," "consumption," "fever," and "inflammation" are adjectival forms. The sense of "with inflammation" is that it is a fever recurring every third or fourth day. "With scorching heat" — derived from the root of "copper glows hot." "With drought" — derived from the root of ḥorev. "With blasting" — swelling; likewise "blasted by the east wind." Some say the meaning is the reverse, i.e., withered thin. "With mildew" — according to its plain sense in Arabic. Some say these are diseases of the grain: "blasting" is like "blasted by the east wind," and the proof is "I smote you with blasting and with mildew" — and therefore what follows is "your heavens." Likewise in the portion "If you follow My statutes."
Chizkuni
ובחרב, “and with fiery heat;” here the word חרב is not used in the literal sense meaning “sword,” but as something derived from חורב and יובש, “dried out by excessive heart of the sun.” (Compare Ibn Ezra)
Rabbeinu Bahya
יככה ה' בשפחת, “the Lord will strike you with fever, etc.” Notice that in both these verses the instigator of the affliction is the attribute of Mercy, Hashem, not the attribute of Justice, i.e. אלוקים. However, there is no question that in this instance the term Hashem is used to describe the attribute of Justice as it has been used in Genesis 6,7 when the Torah wrote (using the attribute Hashem) “I will wipe out man whom I have created.” We also find the term Hashem used to describe the attribute of Justice in Exodus 17,14 when G’d describes His intention to wipe out Amalek. By the same token, there are instances when the term אלוקים refers to the attribute of Mercy, and not as usual, to the attribute of Justice. One such instance is Genesis 8,1 ויזכר אלוקים את נח, “G’d remembered Noach.” Another such example is found in Genesis 20,17 when the Torah describes G’d as curing Avimelech and his household, employing His attribute of אלוקים. All that these examples teach, -as we have pointed out repeatedly,- is that neither attribute ever operates in an undiluted form. Each of these respective attributes of G’d contains at least minor elements of the opposite attribute at the time when G’d employs the respective attribute which is mentioned. This principle is alluded to in our verse by the otherwise redundant addition of the latter ה at the end of the word יככה. This letter reminds us of the disciplinary function even within the attribute of Mercy, i.e. Hashem. We encounter this extraneous letter ה also in Leviticus 26,18 (during the list of the afflictions) when the Torah warns of further disciplinary afflictions using the word ליסרה instead of simply ליסר. in our chapter the extra letter ה appears with all the seven categories of afflictions.
Rashbam
בשחפת, with consumption; all the words in this verse refer to a variety of diseases. קדחת,ודלקת, וחרחור, different kinds of fever.
And your heaven that is over your head shall be brass, and the earth that is under you shall be iron.
verse value 4157
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "that·is·beneath·you" (אֲשֶׁר־תַּחְתֶּ֖יךָ, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "your·heavens" (שָׁמֶ֛יךָ), "upon·head" (עַל־רֹאשְׁךָ֖), "that·is·beneath·you" (אֲשֶׁר־תַּחְתֶּ֖יךָ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "land" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy); "and·they·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'copper', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְהָי֥וּ [and·they·shall·be] (27) + שָׁמֶ֛יךָ [your·heavens] (370) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + עַל־רֹאשְׁךָ֖ [upon·head] (621) + נְחֹ֑שֶׁת [copper] (758) + וְהָאָ֥רֶץ [land] (302) + אֲשֶׁר־תַּחְתֶּ֖יךָ [that·is·beneath·you] (1339) + בַּרְזֶֽל [iron] (239) = 4157.
Onkelos
And your skies above your head shall be sealed like bronze against bringing rain, and the earth beneath you shall be hard as iron, unable to yield produce.
Rashi
והיו שמיך אשר על ראשך נחשת AND THY HEAVEN WHICH IS OVER THY HEAD SHALL BE COPPER — These curses (i.e. all the curses contained in this chapter) Moses expressed them as though they came from his own mouth (Megillah 31b) whilst those he spoke on Mount Sinai (Leviticus 26), he expressed them as though from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, as indeed is implied by them (by the expressions used), for so it states there: “And if ye will not hearken unto Me”; “And if ye walk contrary to Me”, whilst here it says: “[And if thou wilt not obey] the voice of the Lord thy God”; “The Lord shall make cleave unto thee”; “The Lord shall smite thee”. Moses was milder in his curses, expressing them in the singular (“The Lord shall smite thee”, not “you”, the entire people), and similarly in this curse, too, he was milder, for in the former curses (those in Leviticus) it states, (Leviticus 26:19) “[I will make] your heaven as iron and your earth as copper”, i.e., that the heaven would not exude moisture, just as iron does not exude, and there would therefore be drought in the world, whilst the earth would exude moisture (be humid) just as copper sweats, and it would consequently rot the fruits. Here, however, it states, “Thy heaven shall be copper and thy earth shall be iron”, i.e. that the heavens would exude moisture: even though they might not pour with rain, at any rate there would be no ruinous drought in the world; whilst the earth would not exude moisture just as iron does not sweat, and consequently the fruits would not perish. Nevertheless this is a curse: for whether it (the earth) be as copper or whether it be as iron it will produce no fruit, and the heaven, too, will not pour with rain (give rain in abundance) (cf. Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 3 on Leviticus 26:19).
Ibn Ezra
"Copper" — meaning like copper; similarly with "iron."
Chizkuni
נחושת, “copper;” not literally turning the sky into copper, but delivering moisture only like copper when its “sweats.” The same euphemism is used also for the word ברזל, “iron,” describing the earth beneath. In the commentary by Torat Kohanim, these euphemisms are understood in the reverse sense, i.e. the earth being like copper and the sky like iron. This is the way it had been described in Leviticus 27,19, where the chastisement has been authored by G-d Himself.
Rashbam
והיו שמיך אשר על ראשך נחשת, so that no rain can fall upon the earth from the sky. יתן ה' את מטר ארצך אבק ועפר, instead, what used to be known as “the rain of your land,” will turn into dust and earth. The wind will act instead as harbinger of rain, as harbinger of clouds of dust, blowing down from the arid and parched earth of the mountains.
Hashem will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven shall it come down upon you, until you be destroyed.
verse value 3178 — יְהֹוָ֛ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 44 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֛ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֖ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·the·heavens" (מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "rain" (אֶת־מְטַ֥ר), "dust" (אָבָ֣ק), "dust" (וְעָפָ֑ר). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "land" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy); "shall·give" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'dust', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: יִתֵּ֧ן [shall·give] (460) + יְהֹוָ֛ה [Hashem] (26) + אֶת־מְטַ֥ר [rain] (650) + אַרְצְךָ֖ [land] (311) + אָבָ֣ק [dust] (103) + וְעָפָ֑ר [dust] (356) + מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ [from·the·heavens] (485) + יֵרֵ֣ד [shall·descend] (214) + עָלֶ֔יךָ [upon] (130) + עַ֖ד [until] (74) + הִשָּׁמְדָֽךְ [your·being·destroyed] (369) = 3178.
Onkelos
Hashem will make the rain of your land dust and powder; from the heavens it shall come down upon you until you are destroyed.
Rashi
מטר ארצך אבק ועפר [GOD SHALL MAKE] THE RAIN OF THY LAND POWDER AND DUST, through “a wind that comes after the rain” as the Talmud says (Taanit 3b); rain will fall but not as much as is needed, so that there will not be sufficient of it to lay the dust; the wind will come and blow the dust about and cover the leaves of the vegetation which are still wet from the water and it will adhere to them and so become mud which will afterwards become dry, and they will rot (Taanit 3b).
Ibn Ezra
"Dust and powder" — due to the great drought and the force of the winds. "Until it destroys you" — an unusual form, like "on the day you were created."
Chizkuni
אבק ועפר, “powder and dust;” the strong winds which normally bring rain from the sky, will instead be sandstorms originating in the tops of the mountains so strong that they turn the trees’ roots upside down. אבק ועפר, the letter א has the vowel kametz under it.
Rashbam
מטר ארצך, an expression describing anything descending from the sky, as in Genesis 19,24 when Sodom and Gomorrha were showered with sulfur and fire. Psalms 11,6 also uses the word מטר in that sense.
Targum Yonatan
After the rain which cometh down on the earth, the Lord will send a wind that shall drive dust and ashes upon the herbage of your fields; and calamity will fall upon you from the heavens, until you are consumed.
Hashem will cause you to be smitten before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them, and shall flee seven ways before them; and you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
verse value 4441 — יְהֹוָ֥ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 77 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "he·was·routed" (נִגָּף֮, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·by·seven" (וּבְשִׁבְעָ֥ה, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "he·shall·give·you" (יִתֶּנְךָ֨), "he·was·routed" (נִגָּף֮), "you·shall·go·out" (תֵּצֵ֣א). The root פנים appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "earth" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy); "he·shall·give·you" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'face', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 5 words.
Onkelos
Hashem will deliver you broken before your enemies; by one road you shall march out against him, and by seven roads you shall flee before him; and you shall become a source of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Rashi
לזעוה [AND THOU SHALT] BECOME A זעוה, i.e. a cause of fright and trembling: it means that all who will hear of thy afflictions will tremblingly move away from you and will say, “Woe upon us, would that there should not befall us as has befallen them!”
Ibn Ezra
"For a terror" — transposed, like the interchange of kesev and keves.
And your carcasses shall be food to all birds of the sky, and to the beasts of the earth, and there shall be none to frighten them away.
verse value 2788
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "the·land" (הָאָ֑רֶץ, 4 letters) and the longest is "all·flying·creatures" (לְכׇל־ע֥וֹף, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "carcass" (נִבְלָֽתְךָ֙), "food" (לְמַֽאֲכָ֔ל), "all·flying·creatures" (לְכׇל־ע֥וֹף). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·land" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "heavens" (root שמים, 44x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·land', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. Full calculation: וְהָיְתָ֤ה [and·it·shall·be] (426) + נִבְלָֽתְךָ֙ [carcass] (502) + לְמַֽאֲכָ֔ל [food] (121) + לְכׇל־ע֥וֹף [all·flying·creatures] (236) + הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם [heavens] (395) + וּלְבֶהֱמַ֣ת [beast] (483) + הָאָ֑רֶץ [the·land] (296) + וְאֵ֖ין [nothing] (67) + מַחֲרִֽיד [frightening·off] (262) = 2788.
Onkelos
And your carcass shall be cast out as food for all the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth, with none to drive them away.
Ibn Ezra
"And there is none to frighten them away" — for the bird and for the beast.
Chizkuni
ואין מחריד, “and there is no one to frighten them away.” No one will bother to bury these carcasses as the survivors have so many other problems to deal with. An alternate interpretation: no one will chase the vultures away.
Rashbam
ואין מחריד; no one will chase away the vultures from consuming the dead bodies as there is no one left to bury them.
Hashem will smite you with the boil of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed.
verse value 2899 — יְהֹוָ֜ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 49 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֜ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 2899 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "hemorrhoids" (וּבַטְּחֹרִ֔ים, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "hemorrhoids" (וּבַטְּחֹרִ֔ים), "itch" (וּבַגָּרָ֖ב), "scabies" (וּבֶחָ֑רֶס). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "Egypt" (root מצרים, 40x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'scabies', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: יַכְּכָ֨ה [he·will·strike] (55) + יְהֹוָ֜ה [Hashem] (26) + בִּשְׁחִ֤ין [boil] (370) + מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ [Egypt] (380) + וּבַטְּחֹרִ֔ים [hemorrhoids] (275) + וּבַגָּרָ֖ב [itch] (213) + וּבֶחָ֑רֶס [scabies] (276) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + לֹא־תוּכַ֖ל [not·you·shall·be·able] (487) + לְהֵרָפֵֽא [to·be·healed] (316) = 2899.
Onkelos
Hashem will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with hemorrhoids, and with scab, and with dry itch, of which you cannot be healed.
Rashi
בשחין מצרים [THE LORD WILL SMITH THEE] WITH THE BOILS OF EGYPT — This was very bad, being wet inside and dry on the surface, as is stated in Treatise Bechorot 41a. גרב is a wet boil, חרס is a boil dry as a potsherd (חרס identical with חרש, a potsherd cf. Rashi on Leviticus 21:20).
Ibn Ezra
"The remaining ones shall be smitten with the boils of Egypt." "With hemorrhoids" — these issue from the hidden place; therefore it is written elsewhere as "with tumors," derived from the root of "he came to the Ophel." "With scurvy" — so in Arabic. "With itch" — some say it requires a potsherd, as with Job; and if it is with a samekh, some say it refers to sunstroke. The correct view is that it is the name of a disease as those mentioned here, and it has no cognate.
Chizkuni
ובטחורים, and incurable hemorrhoids. Seeing that these ailments originate in hidden regions of the body they cannot be treated medically, and are described in the written text as עפולין, “from a dark place.” Since these ailments have been inflicted by G-d and are not phenomena known in nature, it is evident that physicians cannot deal with this.
Rabbeinu Bahya
בגרב ובחרס, “with wet boils and itch, etc.” The word גרב refers to an itch which the afflicted person scratches with a shard of earthenware. This is the approach taken by most commentators (Ibn Ezra quoting unnamed sources). It is, however, possible to understand the word ובחרס as related to שמש pronounced shamash (Pessikta Zutrata), that this affliction is due to G’d wanting to frighten the victim who faces such an affliction. The affliction is known by three names, שמש, חמה, חרס. The reason it is known as שמש is because man is supposed to be a servant serving his master, which the Jew afflicted with this disease has not been. Seeing that the servant (Israel) is of an especially high-ranking nature, this reflects on his Master and His High Rank. The name חמה reflects the fact that the skin affected becomes especially hot; it is also called חרס, reflecting the fact that the sun is supposed to spread light on earth (Job 9,7). [Both man and the sun have a similar task, the former to provide spiritual enlightenment, the latter to provide physical light. Ed.] Furthermore, if you examine the three words שמש, חרס, חמה, you will observe that the combined final letters of these three words spell שס'ה (365) an allusion to the number of days in the solar year. This is a reference to the orbit of the sun created on the fourth day of creation. It is the outermost orbit of the four respective orbits, i.e. daily rotation of earth on its axis, the cycle of the week, and the cycle of the month, i.e. lunar orbit. The veiled warning in all this is that if one does not obey the rules laid down by G’d the result will be a universe which will eventually self-destruct due to our not having observed the commandments of the Torah which are part of the laws of nature. [I have translated this somewhat freely. Ed.] The author cites various verses from Scripture such as Judges 14,18, in which the word חרס means “sun.” Seeing that in Psalms 121,6 David appears to view the sun as a negative force, i.e. “the sun will not strike (יככה) you by day nor the moon by night,” it appears that the thrust of David’s words is that disease and malfunctions in nature are all due to faulty eating habits (involuntary at times), or to exposure to an inclement climate. All of these things are caused in one way or an other by the motion of the sun.
Hashem will smite you with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart.
verse value 1395 — יְהֹוָ֔ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 31 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "heart" (לֵבָֽב, 3 letters) and the longest is "blindness" (וּבְעִוָּר֑וֹן, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "madness" (בְּשִׁגָּע֖וֹן), "blindness" (וּבְעִוָּר֑וֹן), "astonishment" (וּבְתִמְה֖וֹן). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "heart" (root לבב, 46x in Deuteronomy); "he·will·strike" (root נכה, 26x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'blindness', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: יַכְּכָ֣ה [he·will·strike] (55) + יְהֹוָ֔ה [Hashem] (26) + בְּשִׁגָּע֖וֹן [madness] (431) + וּבְעִוָּר֑וֹן [blindness] (340) + וּבְתִמְה֖וֹן [astonishment] (509) + לֵבָֽב [heart] (34) = 1395.
Onkelos
Hashem will strike you with derangement of mind, and with blindness, and with bewilderment of heart.
Rashi
ובתמהון לבב means “clogging of the heart”; etourdison in old French
Ibn Ezra
"Madness and blindness and bewilderment" — all three are in the heart.
Targum Yonatan
The Word of the Lord will smite you with fearfulness which bewildereth the brain, and with blindness and stupor of heart.
And you shall grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not make your ways prosperous; and you shall be only oppressed and robbed always, and there shall be none to save you.
verse value 5886
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 79 letters. Verse gematria: 5886 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "but" (אַ֣ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "ways" (אֶת־דְּרָכֶ֑יךָ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 431: and·you·shall·be, and·you·shall·be. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "groping" (מְמַשֵּׁ֣שׁ), "noon" (בַּֽצׇּהֳרַ֗יִם), "gropes" (יְמַשֵּׁ֤שׁ). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as·that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "and·you·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ways', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 7 words.
Onkelos
And you shall grope at midday as a blind man gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways; and you shall be only oppressed and robbed all your days, with none to deliver you.
Rashi
עשוק [THOU SHALT BE] WRONGED — i.e. against every action of yours there will be dispute.
Ibn Ezra
"And you shall grope" — this explains the blindness. "You shall prosper" — this is a transitive verb. "Oppressed and robbed" — by the enemy, with no one to save; and Scripture now begins to elaborate how one shall be oppressed.
Chizkuni
כאשר ימשש העור באפלה, “as the blind gropes in the darkness.” He does so out of fear. If he felt that he was in an area that was lit up, there would be people who would assist him, or at least warn him of obstacles in his way. (Talmud Megillah, 24)
Rabbeinu Bahya
והיית אך עשוק וגזול כל הימים, “and you will only be cheated and robbed all the days.” The same message is repeated once more in verse 33 with a minor variation, the word רצוץ, “downtrodden,” being substituted for the word “robbed,” in our verse here. As usual, the word אך or רק, represents some exclusion to what preceded them. In this instance the word אך excludes other nations who will never be as downtrodden as the Jewish people when they are being disciplined by the Lord. On the other hand, the word רק, in connection with the elevation of the Jewish people in verse 13, also means that such an elevation as will be experienced by the Jewish people as part of the blessings is unparalleled amongst the Gentile nations.
Targum Yonatan
And you will seek good counsel for enlargement from your adversities, but there will be none among you to show the truth, so that you will grope in darkness like the blind who have none passing by the road to see how to direct them in the way; nor shall you prosper in your ways, but be oppressed and afflicted all the days, without any to deliver.
You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, and you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, and shall not make use of it.
verse value 5036
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "in" (בּ֑וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "he·shall·lie·with·her" (יִשְׁכָּבֶ֔נָּה, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·shall·betroth" (תְאָרֵ֗שׂ), "he·shall·lie·with·her" (יִשְׁכָּבֶ֔נָּה), "you·shall·not·dwell" (וְלֹא־תֵשֵׁ֣ב). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "man" (root איש, 85x in Deuteronomy); "another" (root אחר, 58x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: אִשָּׁ֣ה [woman] (306) + תְאָרֵ֗שׂ [you·shall·betroth] (901) + וְאִ֤ישׁ [man] (317) + אַחֵר֙ [another] (209) + יִשְׁכָּבֶ֔נָּה [he·shall·lie·with·her] (387) + בַּ֥יִת [house] (412) + תִּבְנֶ֖ה [you·shall·build] (457) + וְלֹא־תֵשֵׁ֣ב [you·shall·not·dwell] (739) + בּ֑וֹ [in] (8) + כֶּ֥רֶם [vineyard] (260) + תִּטַּ֖ע [you·shall·plant] (479) + וְלֹ֥א [not] (37) + תְחַלְּלֶֽנּוּ [you·shall·profane·it] (524) = 5036.
Onkelos
You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not make common use of it.
Rashi
ישגלנה is connected in meaning with the noun שגל, a concubine; Scripture, however, paraphrases it by using a more decent, expression, viz., ישכבנה (i.e. the קרי is ישכבנה). This is a variation such as writers make to avoid an indecent expression (Megillah 25b; cf. Rashi on Genesis 18:22 and Note p. 266). תחללנו THOU SHALT NOT MAKE IT חולין in the fourth year so as to be able to eat its fruits (cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 20:6).
Ibn Ezra
"Shall lie with her" — a euphemism for cohabitation; likewise "the consort prepared for the couch." "Shall profane it" — derived from the root of ḥalil (flute).
Chizkuni
אשה תארש; ”you shall betroth a woman to become your wife, seeing that normal people first build themselves a house wherein he and his wife can live, before he offers to marry a woman, something we know already from Deuteronomy 20,5: “who is the man that has built ahouse and has not consecrated it, .... and has planted avineyard,...or has become engaged to a woman?” here the Torah illustrates the foolishness of the person who did not do this in the accepted order, and how his plans therefore will not be realised. He only has his own foolishness to blame for this, not fate.
Your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before your face, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies; and you shall have none to save you.
verse value 3997
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "to·you" (לָ֑ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "before·your·eyes" (לְעֵינֶ֗יךָ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 50: to·you, to·you. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "slaughtered" (טָב֣וּחַ), "donkey" (חֲמֹֽרְךָ֙), "seized" (גָּז֣וּל). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "given" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy); "face" (root פנים, 127x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 6 words.
Onkelos
Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, and you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be seized before you and shall not be returned to you; your flock shall be given over to your enemies, and there shall be no one to deliver you.
Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day; and there shall be nought in the power of your hand.
verse value 3063 — אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 57 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "people" (לְעַ֤ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "daughters" (וּבְנֹתֶ֜יךָ, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "given" (נְתֻנִ֨ים), "eyes" (וְעֵינֶ֣יךָ), "seeing" (רֹא֔וֹת). The root אל appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "given" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy); "all·day" (root יום, 168x in Deuteronomy); "people" (root עם, 123x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all·day', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 3 words. Full calculation: בָּנֶ֨יךָ [your·sons] (82) + וּבְנֹתֶ֜יךָ [daughters] (488) + נְתֻנִ֨ים [given] (550) + לְעַ֤ם [people] (140) + אַחֵר֙ [another] (209) + וְעֵינֶ֣יךָ [eyes] (166) + רֹא֔וֹת [seeing] (607) + וְכָל֥וֹת [and·failing] (462) + אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם [to·them] (86) + כׇּל־הַיּ֑וֹם [all·day] (111) + וְאֵ֥ין [nothing] (67) + לְאֵ֖ל [power] (61) + יָדֶֽךָ [hand] (34) = 3063.
Onkelos
Your sons and your daughters shall be given over to another people, and your eyes shall see it and pine for them all day long, but there shall be no power in your hand.
Rashi
וכלות אליהם [AND THINE EYES SHALL SEE] AND LONG FOR THEM — i.e. they will look expectantly for them (the children) that they should return home, but they will not return. — Any desire that does not come to fulfillment is termed a “failing of the eyes” (cf. Deuteronomy 28:65).
Ibn Ezra
"And failing" — like "longing" and "pining," and likewise "David pined"; it does not mean lacking a soul as one who explained it as "lacking sense," for "pined" is a transitive verb and yet no object is mentioned — like "she who bore her."
Chizkuni
בניך ובנותיך נתנים לעם אחר, “your sons and your daughters will be given to another nation.” According to the Talmud, tractate Yevamot folio 63, here the Torah speaks of the second wife of a father who maltreats his children from his first wife. וכלות, an expression describing longing for something in vain. Compare Psalms 84,3, וגם כלתה נפשי, “and my soul almost perished from longing.” (Ibn Ezra)
Targum Yonatan
your sons and daughters will be given up to another people, and your eyes see it, and grow dim because of them from day to day; and in your hand will be no good work by which you may prevail in prayer before the Lord your Father who is in heaven, that He may save you.
so that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.
verse value 2397
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 26 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·you·shall·be" (וְהָיִ֖יתָ, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "driven·mad" (מְשֻׁגָּ֑ע), "sight" (מִמַּרְאֵ֥ה). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "and·you·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "you·shall·see" (root ראה, 69x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'driven·mad', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְהָיִ֖יתָ [and·you·shall·be] (431) + מְשֻׁגָּ֑ע [driven·mad] (413) + מִמַּרְאֵ֥ה [sight] (286) + עֵינֶ֖יךָ [eyes] (160) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + תִּרְאֶֽה [you·shall·see] (606) = 2397.
Onkelos
And you shall be driven to madness by the sight of your eyes that you shall see.
Ibn Ezra
The meaning of "with madness" is that he shall see his own body covered with boils.
Hashem will smite you in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, of which you can not be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.
verse value 3664 — יְהֹוָ֜ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 60 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֜ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "evil" (רָ֗ע, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·the·knees" (עַל־הַבִּרְכַּ֙יִם֙, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "upon·the·knees" (עַל־הַבִּרְכַּ֙יִם֙), "and·upon·the·legs" (וְעַל־הַשֹּׁקַ֔יִם), "sole" (מִכַּ֥ף). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "and·unto" (root עד, 50x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root קדקד ("head") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·be·healed', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: יַכְּכָ֨ה [he·will·strike] (55) + יְהֹוָ֜ה [Hashem] (26) + בִּשְׁחִ֣ין [boil] (370) + רָ֗ע [evil] (270) + עַל־הַבִּרְכַּ֙יִם֙ [upon·the·knees] (377) + וְעַל־הַשֹּׁקַ֔יִם [and·upon·the·legs] (561) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + לֹא־תוּכַ֖ל [not·you·shall·be·able] (487) + לְהֵרָפֵ֑א [to·be·healed] (316) + מִכַּ֥ף [sole] (140) + רַגְלְךָ֖ [foot] (253) + וְעַ֥ד [and·unto] (80) + קׇדְקֳדֶֽךָ [head] (228) = 3664.
Onkelos
Hashem will strike you with a severe boil on the knees and on the legs, of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the top of your skull.
Ibn Ezra
"On the knees and on the legs" — because when the boil is there it is hard to move. "Which cannot be healed" — because they are on the outside of the body.
Targum Yonatan
The Word of the Lord will smite you with a sore ulcer in the knees, because you bent (them) in the matter of the transgression; and in the legs, by which you ran into it; for if you be not converted to the law you cannot be saved, but will be beaten by it from the sole of your feet unto the crown of your head.
Hashem will bring you, and your king whom you shall set over you, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers; and there shall you serve other gods, wood and stone.
verse value 5508 — יְהֹוָ֜ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 75 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֜ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 5508 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "there" (שָּׁ֛ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·king" (וְאֶֽת־מַלְכְּךָ֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "he·will·lead" (יוֹלֵ֨ךְ), "and·king" (וְאֶֽת־מַלְכְּךָ֙), "to·a·nation" (אֶל־גּ֕וֹי). The root אשר appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "there" (root שם, 101x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·your·fathers', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 6 words.
Onkelos
Hashem will drive you into exile — you and the king whom you set over you — to a people you have not known, you nor your forefathers; and you shall be in servitude there to the nations who worship idols of wood and stone.
Ibn Ezra
"And you shall serve there" — and it shall avail you nothing; rather you shall become a desolation, so that all who see you shall be appalled.
Targum Yonatan
The Lord will make you and your king whom you may set over you to go away among a people that neither you nor your fathers have known; and you will carry tribute to peoples who worship idols of wood and stone.
And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where Hashem shall lead you away.
verse value 2834 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 43 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 2834 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "all" (בְּכֹל֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "that·he·shall·drive·you" (אֲשֶׁר־יְנַהֶגְךָ֥, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "horror" (לְשַׁמָּ֔ה), "proverb" (לְמָשָׁ֖ל), "and·byword" (וְלִשְׁנִינָ֑ה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "and·you·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "the·peoples" (root עם, 123x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·byword', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְהָיִ֣יתָ [and·you·shall·be] (431) + לְשַׁמָּ֔ה [horror] (375) + לְמָשָׁ֖ל [proverb] (400) + וְלִשְׁנִינָ֑ה [and·byword] (451) + בְּכֹל֙ [all] (52) + הָֽעַמִּ֔ים [the·peoples] (165) + אֲשֶׁר־יְנַהֶגְךָ֥ [that·he·shall·drive·you] (589) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + שָֽׁמָּה [there] (345) = 2834.
Onkelos
And you shall become a horror, a byword, and a taunt among all the nations to which Hashem shall lead you.
Rashi
לשמה [THOU SHALT] BECOME AN OBJECT OF ASTONISHMENT — This word means the same as תמהון, etourdison in old French, English astonishment. — Whoever will see you will be astonished about you. למשל [THOU SHALT] BECOME A PROVERB — i.e., when an extraordinary misfortune comes upon a man people will say: “This is like the misfortune that befell Mr. So-and-so!” ולשנינה AND A BYWORD — This is an expression of the same meaning as (Deuteronomy 6:7) ושננתם, “And thou shalt speak often”. — “And thou shalt become a ״שנינה therefore means: they (people) will talk about you (make you the topic of their conversation). Onkelos, too, renders it thus: ולשועי, which has the meaning of “relating about a matter”, just as ואשתעי is the Targum rendering of ויספר, “and he related”.
Ibn Ezra
"A byword" — to the ear. "And a taunt" — to the mouth; derived from the root of "and you shall teach them diligently." Before Hashem leads you away in your sin, a year of famine shall come upon you while you are still in your land.
Rashbam
ולשנינה, a kind of byword, as in Deut. 6,7 ושננתם, “you will make them a byword, not to be forgotten.”
Targum Yonatan
.And if the thought of your heart be to worship their idols, you shall be for astonishment, for proverbs and tales, among the sons of the Gentiles where the Lord will have scattered you.
You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it.
verse value 2373
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 35 letters. The shortest word is "much" (רַ֖ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "it·shall·consume" (יַחְסְלֶ֖נּוּ, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "seed" (זֶ֥רַע), "little" (וּמְעַ֣ט), "you·shall·gather" (תֶּאֱסֹ֔ף). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 164x in Deuteronomy); "you·shall·bring·out" (root יצא, 67x in Deuteronomy); "much" (root רב, 25x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'field', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: זֶ֥רַע [seed] (277) + רַ֖ב [much] (202) + תּוֹצִ֣יא [you·shall·bring·out] (507) + הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה [field] (314) + וּמְעַ֣ט [little] (125) + תֶּאֱסֹ֔ף [you·shall·gather] (541) + כִּ֥י [for] (30) + יַחְסְלֶ֖נּוּ [it·shall·consume] (164) + הָאַרְבֶּֽה [the·locust] (213) = 2373.
Onkelos
You shall carry much seed out to the field, but you shall gather little in, for the locust shall devour it.
Rashi
יחסלנו [THE LOCUST] WILL CROP IT OFF — The word means: it will make an end of it. It is for this reason that it (the locust) is also called חסיל (cf. e.g. Joel 1:4) because it consumes all the vegetation, etc. (חסל in Aramaic means “to end”; cf. Talmud Yerushalmi Taanit 3:6).
Ibn Ezra
"Shall devour it" — shall destroy it; it is derived from ḥasil, which is one of the varieties of locust.
You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them.
verse value 4566
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "not·you·shall·drink" (לֹֽא־תִשְׁתֶּה֙, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "not·you·shall·drink" (לֹֽא־תִשְׁתֶּה֙), "you·shall·gather" (תֶאֱגֹ֔ר), "worm" (הַתֹּלָֽעַת). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "for" (root כי, 164x in Deuteronomy); "it·shall·devour" (root אכל, 82x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·you·shall·work', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 7 words. Full calculation: כְּרָמִ֥ים [vineyards] (310) + תִּטַּ֖ע [you·shall·plant] (479) + וְעָבָ֑דְתָּ [and·you·shall·work] (482) + וְיַ֤יִן [wine] (76) + לֹֽא־תִשְׁתֶּה֙ [not·you·shall·drink] (1136) + וְלֹ֣א [not] (37) + תֶאֱגֹ֔ר [you·shall·gather] (604) + כִּ֥י [for] (30) + תֹאכְלֶ֖נּוּ [it·shall·devour] (507) + הַתֹּלָֽעַת [worm] (905) = 4566.
Onkelos
You shall plant vineyards and till them, but you shall not drink the wine nor gather the harvest, for the worm shall consume it.
Ibn Ezra
"You shall plant" — you shall labor in planting and tending. "And you shall not drink" — at the time of the vintage. "And you shall not store" — meaning, gather; it is a verb like "she gathered at harvest time."
You shall have olive-trees throughout all your borders, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.
verse value 2381
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "to·you" (לְךָ֖, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·border" (בְּכׇל־גְּבוּלֶ֑ךָ, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: they·shall·be, not. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "olive·trees" (זֵיתִ֛ים), "all·border" (בְּכׇל־גְּבוּלֶ֑ךָ), "you·shall·anoint" (תָס֔וּךְ). The root זית appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "they·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "for" (root כי, 164x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all·border', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: זֵיתִ֛ים [olive·trees] (467) + יִהְי֥וּ [they·shall·be] (31) + לְךָ֖ [to·you] (50) + בְּכׇל־גְּבוּלֶ֑ךָ [all·border] (113) + וְשֶׁ֙מֶן֙ [and·oil] (396) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + תָס֔וּךְ [you·shall·anoint] (486) + כִּ֥י [for] (30) + יִשַּׁ֖ל [it·shall·drop·off] (340) + זֵיתֶֽךָ [your·olive] (437) = 2381.
Onkelos
You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with oil, for your olives shall drop off.
Rashi
ישל means, it (the olivetree) shall drop its fruits. It is similar in meaning to the verb in (Deuteronomy 19:5), "And the iron falleth off (ונשל).
Ibn Ezra
"You shall not anoint" — as is the custom, as in "with oil I did not anoint myself." And this is the opposite of "and oil upon your head." "For it shall drop off" — from the nif'al conjugation.
Rashbam
ישל, from the root נשל as in Deut. 7,1 ונשל גויים, “He will dislodge,” the construction is parallel to that of ימל קצירו in Job 18,16 compared to Genesis 17,11 ונמלתם, you shall circumcise.” The root נשך also becomes ישך in the future tense.
All your trees and the fruit of your land shall the locust possess.
verse value 1756
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "fruit" (וּפְרִ֣י, 4 letters) and the longest is "all·your·tree" (כׇּל־עֵצְךָ֖, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "all·your·tree" (כׇּל־עֵצְךָ֖), "it·shall·take·over" (יְיָרֵ֖שׁ), "the·cricket" (הַצְּלָצַֽל). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "all·your·tree" (root כל, 121x in Deuteronomy); "it·shall·take·over" (root ירש, 71x in Deuteronomy); "ground" (root אדמה, 38x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ground', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: כׇּל־עֵצְךָ֖ [all·your·tree] (230) + וּפְרִ֣י [fruit] (296) + אַדְמָתֶ֑ךָ [ground] (465) + יְיָרֵ֖שׁ [it·shall·take·over] (520) + הַצְּלָצַֽל [the·cricket] (245) = 1756.
Onkelos
All your trees and the fruit of your land the locust shall take possession of.
Rashi
יירש הצלצל means, the locust will make it (the tree) bare (lit., will impoverish it) of its fruits. יירש means, it will impoverish. צלצל is a species of locust. — One cannot explain יְָירֵשׁ as meaning "inheriting" ("taking possesion of", as the Targum does), for if so it ought to have written יִירַשׁ (cf. Genesis 21:10). Nor can it have the meaning of “driving out” and “expelling”, for then it ought to have written יוריש.
Ramban
HA’TZLATZAL.’ In the opinion of Rashi this is one of the species of the locust. But if so, it would have been proper for him [Moses] to connect it with the verses where he speaks of the locust and the worm! It appears more likely that the word tz’latzal is a term for “a hostile army.” He is thus stating, Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be thine to work for you and be a nourisher of thine old age, for they shall go into captivity before the enemy. And he states, All thy trees and the fruit of thy soil which will not bear fruits for you, as he mentioned — the enemy coming upon you will take possession, for in the year during which the enemy will come upon you, [the trees and fields] will yield them their produce and they will eat it. Now, an army is called tz’latzal [from the term tzeltzal — “cymbal”] because of the noise of war in the camp which they cause and the voice of the horn, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. [The word tz’latzal is thus] from the word ‘tziltzelei shama’ (loud-sounding cymbals) and ‘tziltzelei t’ruah’ (clanging cymbals); and with rattles ‘uv’tzeltzelim’ (and with cymbals). Similarly, the expression, Ah, land of ‘tziltzal’ of wings means a land [i.e., a people] that causes “the sound of its wings” be heard as it goes to far off places as the vulture swoopeth down. And in the Gemara we find: “[The Mishnah states: ‘If a man took illegal possession of a field] and masikin took it from him.’ The scholar that reads the word as masikin is not in error, for it is written yeyaresh ha’tzlatzal which we translate [in Onkelos’ rendition] ‘yachs’nine saka’ah’ (the ‘locust’ will take possession). And the scholar that reads the word as matzikin is also not in error, for it is written in the siege ‘uvmatzok’ (and in the straitness),” for the word [saka’ah which is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew tz’latzal] was to the Sages the term for those who bring people in the siege and in the straitness [and is thus also an expression for a hostile army, and not as Rashi says that it is a species of the locust].Know that the admonitions concerning scantiness, discomfiture, rebuke, pestilence, trees, and the fruit of the soil and all the other admonitions will all endure until He will cause you to vanish from the Land whither thou goest in to possess it. But after the exile [will have taken place] he does not imprecate them except by saying, and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. At times, however, he reverts to reprove them while still in the Land, as he said, The Eternal will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there thou shalt serve other gods, this being a reference to the exile in which we were expatriated to Rome because of the journey there of King Agrippa [the last king during the period of the Second Temple who made a covenant with Rome]. Afterwards he [Moses] reverts and says, Thou shalt carry much...
Ibn Ezra
"Shall take possession" — from the intensive conjugation with a doubled letter, with the sense equivalent to "to dispossess nations." "Locust" — a quadriliteral word with no cognate; its meaning is according to its context.
Rabbeinu Bahya
יירש הצלצל, “the chirping locust will impoverish.” The word יירש is from the same root as להוריש, to dispossess in Deut. 4,38. This is also the way Onkelos understands it, i.e. in Deut. 4,38 when he writes יתרך. Rashi, on the other hand, understands the word as derived from the word רש, poor. In that case, the Torah would describe the locust as making the fruit “look poorly.” The word צלצל describes a certain species of locust, based on the noise this species makes when it appears in swarms. The word is found in a similar meaning in Psalms 150,5 צלצלי תרועה, “the cymbals making loud noises.” The Targum renders this word here as סקאה, suggesting that it is a kind of locust or beetle equipped with a sack-like bag. The word appears in Baba Kama 116 as robbery with violence, the Talmud quoting our verse as proof for the meaning of ונטלוהו מסיקין. The meaning there is that one robs from the robber.
The stranger that is in the midst of you shall mount up above you higher and higher; and you shall come down lower and lower.
verse value 2692
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "the·sojourner" (הַגֵּר֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "midst" (בְּקִרְבְּךָ֔, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 145: upward, upward. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "the·sojourner" (הַגֵּר֙), "he·shall·go·up" (יַעֲלֶ֥ה), "you·shall·go·down" (תֵרֵ֖ד). The root מעלה appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "upon" (root על, 87x in Deuteronomy); "and·you" (root אתה, 65x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upward', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: הַגֵּר֙ [the·sojourner] (208) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + בְּקִרְבְּךָ֔ [midst] (324) + יַעֲלֶ֥ה [he·shall·go·up] (115) + עָלֶ֖יךָ [upon] (130) + מַ֣עְלָה [upward] (145) + מָּ֑עְלָה [upward] (145) + וְאַתָּ֥ה [and·you] (412) + תֵרֵ֖ד [you·shall·go·down] (604) + מַ֥טָּה [downward] (54) + מָּֽטָּה [downward] (54) = 2692.
Onkelos
The uncircumcised sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall descend lower and lower.
Ibn Ezra
"Higher and higher" — sometimes meaning there is nothing above him, or always; and likewise "lower and lower" — the meaning is: exceedingly so.
Targum Yonatan
The uncircumcised who dwelleth among you will rise above you with ascension upon ascension, but you will go downwards by descent after descent.
He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
verse value 2507
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "you·shall·lend·to·him" (תַלְוֶ֑נּוּ, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 412: and·you, and·you. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "he·shall·lend·to·you" (יַלְוְךָ֔), "you·shall·lend·to·him" (תַלְוֶ֑נּוּ). The root הוא appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "he·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "he" (root הוא, 113x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·lend·to·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: ה֣וּא [he] (12) + יַלְוְךָ֔ [he·shall·lend·to·you] (66) + וְאַתָּ֖ה [and·you] (412) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + תַלְוֶ֑נּוּ [you·shall·lend·to·him] (492) + ה֚וּא [he] (12) + יִהְיֶ֣ה [he·shall·be] (30) + לְרֹ֔אשׁ [head] (531) + וְאַתָּ֖ה [and·you] (412) + תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה [you·shall·be] (420) + לְזָנָֽב [tail] (89) = 2507.
Onkelos
He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the strong, and you shall be the weak.
Ibn Ezra
"He shall be the head" — in the sense of "and the borrower is servant to the lender."
Chizkuni
הוא יהיה לראש, “he shall become the head;” this is based on Proverbs 22,7, עבד לוה לאיש מלוה, “the borrower is a slave to the lender.”
And all these curses shall come upon you, and shall pursue you, and overtake you, till you be destroyed; because you did not heed the voice of Hashem your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.
verse value 5286 — יְהֹוָ֣ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 83 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֖ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "whole·the·curses" (כׇּל־הַקְּלָל֣וֹת, 8 letters). 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·being·destroyed', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 10 words.
Onkelos
And all these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not hearken to the Word of Hashem your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes that He commanded you.
And they shall be upon you for a sign and for a wonder, and upon your seed forever;
verse value 1573
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 28 letters. Verse gematria: 1573 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "in" (בְךָ֔, 2 letters) and the longest is "wonder" (וּלְמוֹפֵ֑ת, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "wonder" (וּלְמוֹפֵ֑ת). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "your·offspring" (root זרע, 20x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'wonder', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: וְהָי֣וּ [and·they·shall·be] (27) + בְךָ֔ [in] (22) + לְא֖וֹת [sign] (437) + וּלְמוֹפֵ֑ת [wonder] (562) + וּֽבְזַרְעֲךָ֖ [your·offspring] (305) + עַד־עוֹלָֽם [forever] (220) = 1573.
Onkelos
And they shall be upon you as a sign and a wonder, and upon your descendants forever.
Ibn Ezra
"For a sign" — from Hashem, so that you shall remember that you rebelled against Him. And not against you alone, but also against your descendants — in the sense of "our fathers sinned and are no more." I have already explained this.
Rashbam
לאות, that the one cursing his enemy wishes the cursed to be like himself. Furthermore, being accursed is also a sign that the victim did not serve His G’d.
because you did not serve Hashem your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;
verse value 3015
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "all" (כֹּֽל, 2 letters) and the longest is "not·you·served" (לֹא־עָבַ֙דְתָּ֙, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "not·you·served" (לֹא־עָבַ֙דְתָּ֙), "joy" (בְּשִׂמְחָ֖ה), "gladness" (וּבְט֣וּב). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'heart', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 2 words. Full calculation: תַּ֗חַת [because] (808) + אֲשֶׁ֤ר [that] (501) + לֹא־עָבַ֙דְתָּ֙ [not·you·served] (507) + אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה [Hashem] (427) + אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ [your·God] (66) + בְּשִׂמְחָ֖ה [joy] (355) + וּבְט֣וּב [gladness] (25) + לֵבָ֑ב [heart] (34) + מֵרֹ֖ב [abundance] (242) + כֹּֽל [all] (50) = 3015.
Onkelos
Because you did not serve before Hashem your God with joy and with gladness of heart, out of the abundance of everything.
Rashi
מרב כל means: while you possessed all good things.
Ibn Ezra
"Because of abundance of everything" — that which you desire, or every need.
Or HaChaim
תחת אשר לא עבדת…בשמחה, "Because you did not serve…out of joy, etc." This punishment and what follows until verse 58 אם לא תשמר לעשות is for non-performance of the positive commandments of the Torah. The Torah repeats the same words in verse 58 to make certain that we appreciate which set of curses is in response to which set of sins. The reason the Torah speaks of our failure to perform the commandments out of joy is to contrast joyful מצה-performance with the absolute opposite, i.e. exile experienced amid the most depressing conditions. The Torah paints a picture of the punishment fitting the crime. The Jewish people who shook off the yoke of G'd's commandments will instead have to bear the far heavier burden of their captors' yoke around their necks. אם לא תשמור לעשות, "if you will not be careful to carry out, etc." This verse reminds us that we will be punished for non-performance of positive commandments. The Torah includes all the positive commandments as designed to demonstrate our fear/reverence of the Lord. Fearing the Lord is itself one of the positive commandments as stated by Maimonides at the beginning of his Sefer Hamada, Hilchot Yesodey Ha-Torah chapter 2. We have already explained in connection with 27,26 why the Torah did not write the conditional "if you will not perform the commandments, etc." The reason is that many people will simply never be able to perform some of the positive commandments. It is also possible that this verse intends to parallel what the Torah wrote in a parallel paragraph in Leviticus 26,23 "and if in spite of all these penalties you still refuse to be disciplined." Similarly, our verse may be an introduction to a renewed set of curses in the event the experience of what G'd brought upon the Jewish people still did not have the effect of making penitents out of them. The words תשמור לעשות may then refer to the violation of negative commandments plus the non-performance of the positive commandments. G'd warns that after all the curses He has already brought upon the recalcitrant Jewish people He has still more curses at His disposal to make them realise their mistakes. מכות גדולות ונאמנות וחלים רעים ונאמנים. "great and lasting blows, malignant and chronic illnesses." The Torah uses the expression נאמנים, normally translated as "faithful," to tell us that though there are well-known medications which usually cure these diseases, in this instance the illnesses will remain "faithful," i.e. they will not respond to treatment. ונשארתם במתי מעט, "and you will remain few in numbers, etc." This is due to your "not listening to the voice of the Lord your G'd." The latter comment by the Torah refers to the Israelites failing to correct their neglect of Torah study. והיה כאשר שש ה׳ עליכם להיטיב אתכם, "And it will be just as the Lord enjoyed to grant you benefits, etc." The Torah reminds us that a person should not say that G'd's virtues include that He is so merciful and compassionate that it is imposssible to im...
Rabbeinu Bahya
תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלוקיך בשמחה, “because you did not serve the Lord your G’d joyfully.” The Torah accuses people who do serve G’d not to have done so joyfully. A person is obligated not merely to carry out G’d’s instructions but to do so gladly, in a happy frame of mind. Joy when performing any of G’d’s commandments is considered as fulfillment of a commandment by itself, meriting additional reward. This is why one may be punished for failing to perform the commandments with a joyful heart. This is why the Torah requires that its commandments be performed with full intent and joyfully. Our sages in Midrash Ruth Rabbah 5,6 comment concerning this that if Reuven had been aware that G’d would write in the Torah concerning his attempts to save Joseph’s life from the hands of his other brothers (Genesis 37,21) that he would receive a reward not only for his deed but for the good intentions accompanying same, he would have carried Joseph on his shoulders and brought him back to his (their) father. The Torah also makes a point of underlining the joy in Aaron’s heart when he saw his brother Moses again after so many years. Had he known that his feelings would be commented upon favorably (Exodus 4,14), he would have gone out to meet his brother accompanied by an orchestra of many different musical instruments. Had Boaz known that his offering Ruth food and drink in abundance would be recorded for eternity as a good deed of his, he would have fed her the choicest parts of a fatted calf, instead of merely bread and vinegar (Ruth 2,14).
therefore shall you serve your enemy whom Hashem shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things; and he shall put a yoke of iron upon your neck, until he have destroyed you.
verse value 5068 — יְהֹוָה֙ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 77 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "in" (בָּ֔ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "your·enemies" (אֶת־אֹיְבֶ֗יךָ, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "he·will·send" (יְשַׁלְּחֶ֤נּוּ), "hunger" (בְּרָעָ֧ב), "thirst" (וּבְצָמָ֛א). 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "and·he·will·put" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Onkelos
You shall therefore serve your enemies whom Hashem will send against you, in hunger and in thirst and in nakedness and in want of everything; and he shall place a yoke of iron upon your neck until he destroys you.
Rabbeinu Bahya
מרב כל, ועבדת את אויביך בחוסר כל, “You will serve your enemies...deprived of everything.” This is another example of how G’d makes the punishment fit the crime (Sanhedrin 90). Seeing that the people did not serve the Lord when they had “plenty of everything,” they would wind up serving their enemies when being “devoid of all.” We read in Chagigah 9 that the words of Isaiah 48,10: “I have refined you, but not as silver, I test you in the furnace of poverty,” mean that G’d reviewed all the various positive attributes He could treat the Israelites with and found that only the attribute of poverty would be appropriate. The scholar Shmuel commented on this statement that this is the meaning of the popular saying: “poverty is as appropriate for the Jewish people as a red harness for a white horse.”
Hashem will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down; a nation whose tongue you shall not understand;
verse value 4208 — יְהֹוָה֩ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֩) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "he·will·lift" (יִשָּׂ֣א, 3 letters) and the longest is "not·you·will·hear" (לֹא־תִשְׁמַ֖ע, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 19: nation, nation. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "from·afar" (מֵֽרָחֹק֙), "he·will·swoop" (יִדְאֶ֖ה), "not·you·will·hear" (לֹא־תִשְׁמַ֖ע). The root גוי appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "as·that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "earth" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'eagle', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 4 words. Full calculation: יִשָּׂ֣א [he·will·lift] (311) + יְהֹוָה֩ [Hashem] (26) + עָלֶ֨יךָ [upon] (130) + גּ֤וֹי [nation] (19) + מֵֽרָחֹק֙ [from·afar] (348) + מִקְצֵ֣ה [end] (235) + הָאָ֔רֶץ [earth] (296) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר [as·that] (521) + יִדְאֶ֖ה [he·will·swoop] (20) + הַנָּ֑שֶׁר [eagle] (555) + גּ֕וֹי [nation] (19) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + לֹא־תִשְׁמַ֖ע [not·you·will·hear] (841) + לְשֹׁנֽוֹ [tongue] (386) = 4208.
Onkelos
Hashem will bring against you a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, swooping like an eagle — a people whose language you will not understand.
Rashi
כאשר ידאה הנשר [THE LORD WILL BRING A NATION AGAINST YOU FROM AFAR], AS THE EAGLE SWOOPS DOWN — i.e. suddenly, and by a successful march, and its horses will be swift. לא תשמע לשנו means, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand. Similar is, (Genesis 41:15) “You understand (תשמע) a dream to interpret it”, and so, too, (Genesis 42:23) “that Joseph understood (שמע)”; entendre in old French
Ibn Ezra
"Shall swoop" — shall fly; likewise "and He swooped on the wings of the wind."
Chizkuni
כאשר יראה הנשר, “as the eagle sweeps down,” this is a reference to the Babylonian Empire concerning which it has been written in Daniel 7,4: “like a lion with eagles’ wings.” גוי אשר לא תשמע לשונו, “a people whose language you do not understand.” This is why you cannot even plead with them and come to terms with them. Apart from that, you can tell from their facial expressions that they are cruel and tough.
Rabbeinu Bahya
כאשר ידאה הנשר, “as the eagle will swoop.” This is a reference to the Roman Emperor Vespasianus and his general (and son) Titus (before the latter became Emperor). He had thought that it would take him 10 days to reach Jerusalem whereas he found that he reached the city after only five days of travel. He had overheard a young child quote our verse in which G’d describes a nation being carried against the Jewish people from the end of the earth much like an eagle which swoops down out of the sky. He applied this verse to himself when he experienced such an extraordinarily fast journey in his campaign against Jerusalem. Just as this particular verse applies to the destruction of the second Temple, so the entire chapter speaks of events happening at the end of the period of the second Temple.
a nation of fierce countenance, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young.
verse value 1911
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 34 letters. Verse gematria: 1911 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "strong" (עַ֣ז, 2 letters) and the longest is "not·lift" (לֹא־יִשָּׂ֤א, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 180: face, face. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "strong" (עַ֣ז), "the·old" (לְזָקֵ֔ן), "a·boy" (וְנַ֖עַר). The root פנים appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "face" (root פנים, 127x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'face', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 7 words. Full calculation: גּ֖וֹי [nation] (19) + עַ֣ז [strong] (77) + פָּנִ֑ים [face] (180) + אֲשֶׁ֨ר [that] (501) + לֹא־יִשָּׂ֤א [not·lift] (342) + פָנִים֙ [face] (180) + לְזָקֵ֔ן [the·old] (187) + וְנַ֖עַר [a·boy] (326) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + יָחֹֽן [he·will·spare] (68) = 1911.
Onkelos
A brazen-faced nation that shall show no regard for the aged and shall have no mercy on the young.
Chizkuni
גוי עז פנים, “a nation of fierce countenance;” this is a reference to the Roman Empire, as we know from Daniel 8,23: ובאחרית מלכותם הימים ככלות הפושעים יעמוד מלך עז פנים, “and at the end of their kingdom when the sinners have met their end, a brazenfaced king shall arise;”
And he shall eat the fruit of your cattle, and the fruit of your ground, until you be destroyed; that also shall not leave you corn, wine, or oil, the increase of your cattle, or the young of your flock, until he have caused you to perish.
verse value 7109
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 82 letters. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֣ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "fruit·ground" (וּפְרִֽי־אַדְמָתְךָ֮, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 74: until, until. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "not·leave" (לֹא־יַשְׁאִ֜יר), "wine" (תִּיר֣וֹשׁ), "fresh·oil" (וְיִצְהָ֔ר). The root עד appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "and·it·shall·devour" (root אכל, 82x in Deuteronomy); "to·you" (root לך, 75x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'small·cattle', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 3 words.
Onkelos
And it shall consume the offspring of your livestock and the fruit of your land until you are destroyed; it shall leave you no grain, no wine, nor oil, no calves of your cattle nor flocks of your sheep, until it has caused you to perish.
And he shall besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fortified walls come down, in which you did trust, throughout all your land; and he shall besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which Hashem your God has given you.
verse value 7138 — יְהֹוָ֥ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 93 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 7138 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "to·you" (לְךָ֜, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·all·your·gates" (בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶ֗יךָ, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 652: in·all·your·gates, all·your·gates. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "to·go·down" (רֶ֤דֶת), "your·walls" (חֹמֹתֶ֙יךָ֙), "the·high" (הַגְּבֹהֹ֣ת). The root לך appears 3 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root בטח ("trusting") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all·land', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 9 words.
Onkelos
And it shall besiege you in all your cities until it subdues your high and fortified walls — in which you trust to save yourself — throughout all your land; and it shall besiege you in all your cities throughout all the land that Hashem your God has given you.
Rashi
עד רדת חמתיך — The word רדת means subjugation (רדוי) and conquest (cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 20:20).
Rabbeinu Bahya
והצר לך בכל שעריך, “It will besiege you in all your cities.” The word שעריך is a simile for “in every location.” It is possible to explain the fact that the Torah uses the word שעריך four times in our context (verse 52 twice, plus verses 55 and 57) as meaning that the first time the word is mentioned it is in the nature of a heading, כולל. The second time the reference is to the gates guarding the country. The third time it refers to gates guarding entrances to houses of individuals, whereas the last time it is derived from the word שעור, “measure” in the sense of “planning.” It describes how the enemy would thwart whatever plans the Jews would make to counter him and fight him. Such planning of counter measures would only result in additional hurt and confusion among the Jewish people. The entire passage then would express the very reverse of what happens when one plans successful activities. Israel would be frustrated in every single move it makes. It would endure the reverse of what has been described as the fate of the wicked in Psalms 10,5: ”his ways prosper at all times.”
And you shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom Hashem your God has given you; in the siege and in the straitness, with which your enemies shall straiten you.
verse value 4419 — יְהֹוָ֣ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 66 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·you" (לְךָ֖, 2 letters) and the longest is "fruit·belly" (פְרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֗, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "that·he·will·oppress" (אֲשֶׁר־יָצִ֥יק). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root מצוק ("straitness") in Deuteronomy. First appearance of the root צוק ("that·he·will·oppress") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·God', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְאָכַלְתָּ֣ [and·you·shall·eat] (457) + פְרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֗ [fruit·belly] (371) + בְּשַׂ֤ר [flesh] (502) + בָּנֶ֙יךָ֙ [sons] (82) + וּבְנֹתֶ֔יךָ [daughters] (488) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + נָתַן־לְךָ֖ [gave·unto·you] (550) + יְהֹוָ֣ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ [your·God] (66) + בְּמָצוֹר֙ [siege] (338) + וּבְמָצ֔וֹק [straitness] (244) + אֲשֶׁר־יָצִ֥יק [that·he·will·oppress] (711) + לְךָ֖ [to·you] (50) + אֹיְבֶֽךָ [enemy] (33) = 4419.
Onkelos
And you shall eat the offspring of your womb — the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom Hashem your God has given you — in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall oppress you.
Rashi
ואכלת … בשר בניך … במצור AND THOU SHALT EAT … THE FLESH OF THY SONS … IN THE SIEGE, [AND IN THE DISTRESS] — Because they (the enemies) will besiege the city and there will consequently be distress— i.e. the stress of famine.
Ibn Ezra
"And you shall eat the fruit of your womb" — during the siege. "Shall distress you" — each of your enemies; or he refers to a single enemy because it comes at the end.
Targum Yonatan
And the children of your wombs shall be consumed; for you will eat them in the famine, even the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God did give you, by reason of the anguish and oppression wherewith your enemies shall oppress you.
The man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil against his brother, and against the wife of his bosom, and against the remnant of his children whom he has remaining;
verse value 4221
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "in" (בְּךָ֔, 2 letters) and the longest is "dainty" (וְהֶעָנֹ֖ג, 5 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "tender" (הָרַ֣ךְ), "dainty" (וְהֶעָנֹ֖ג), "wife·of" (וּבְאֵ֣שֶׁת). The root יתר appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "his·sons" (root בן, 119x in Deuteronomy); "man" (root איש, 85x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root ענג ("dainty") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'very', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 9 words. Full calculation: הָאִישׁ֙ [man] (316) + הָרַ֣ךְ [tender] (225) + בְּךָ֔ [in] (22) + וְהֶעָנֹ֖ג [dainty] (134) + מְאֹ֑ד [very] (45) + תֵּרַ֨ע [shall·be·evil] (670) + עֵינ֤וֹ [eye] (136) + בְאָחִיו֙ [brother] (27) + וּבְאֵ֣שֶׁת [wife·of] (709) + חֵיק֔וֹ [bosom] (124) + וּבְיֶ֥תֶר [remainder] (618) + בָּנָ֖יו [his·sons] (68) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + יוֹתִֽיר [he·will·spare] (626) = 4221.
Onkelos
The man who is tender and exceedingly pampered among you shall look with hostility upon his own brother and upon the wife of his covenant and upon the rest of his children whom he has remaining,
Rashi
הרך בך והענג THE MOST TENDER AMONG YOU AND THE DELICATE — רך and ענג are one and the same person; the words denote delicate living. The expressions in v. 56 ומהתענג ומרך prove regarding them that both of them (the two descriptive terms) refer to one person. The meaning of the verse is: Although he may be fastidious and his nature sickens at anything nauseous, yet the flesh of his sons and daughters will be so pleasant to him on account of his hunger, that תרע עינו HIS EYE WILL BE EVIL towards his remaining children, מתת לאחד מהם מבשר בניו THAT HE WILL NOT GIVE TO ANY OF THEM THE FLESH OF HIS CHILDREN — their brothers, אשר יאכל WHOM HE WILL EAT. — Another explanation of הרך בך is: the merciful and tender-hearted will become cruel because of the great hunger and will not give of the flesh of their children who have been killed to their remaining children.
Ibn Ezra
"That he shall leave over" — the enemy shall leave over, or he shall leave them hidden away; and all this is due to the siege.
Chizkuni
אשר יותיב, “whom he has remaining;” a reference to the enemy, or: the remnant in hiding. (Ibn Ezra)
Kli Yakar
“The man who is tender among you and very delicate, etc.” It should have said “The man who is tender and delicate among you.” Why did it say among you after tender and very after delicate? And regarding the woman, it says and delicate but does not say “very.” Furthermore, it doesn’t say “the woman who is tender among you” but simply says the tender among you. And concerning the man, it says his eye will be evil against his brother and the wife of his bosom, but regarding the woman, it says her eye will be evil against the man of her bosom and does not mention her brother. And regarding the woman, it says for she will eat them in secret, for lack of everything, but for the man, this is not mentioned. And furthermore, what is the connection between his eye will be evil or her eye will be evil to tenderness and delicacy, since it is established that every pampered person is generous [lit: has a good eye]. The explanation is that the tenderness mentioned is not the tenderness of pleasure, but rather tenderness of heart, for one who is naturally compassionate has a tender heart and does not harden it. Therefore, it says that the man who is tender among you, among all of Israel — even to those distant, he was generous and his heart was tender to show compassion even to you, among all of Israel. But now, his eye will be evil even toward his brother, etc. Similarly, the very delicate man who would eat only delicacies will now eat the flesh of his sons. However, the word among you [bekha] does not fit in this way after and the delicate. Since not every man is by nature a pleasure-seeker like a woman, the text needed to add the word very after and the delicate, to indicate specifically that a man who is very delicate, who exceeds the nature of other men — for him it is noteworthy that such a very delicate man would eat the flesh of his sons. But for an ordinary delicate man, it is not surprising that he would eat his sons’ flesh, because a man is naturally hard-hearted. For a woman, however, it is surprising even for an ordinarily delicate woman, without the qualifier “very,” that she would eat something so disgusting, because women are naturally tender with the tenderness of pleasure, as mentioned afterward, from being delicate and tender. That is, the tenderness of pleasure. But the phrase the tender woman among you refers to the tenderness of being generous, as mentioned above. Since ordinary women are stingy with guests, and this woman departs from the norm of ordinary women — she is compassionate and seems as if she’s not a woman but has the ways of men — therefore it doesn’t say “the tender woman” [without qualification]. And since a man has the power to give of his own to his brother but won’t give, therefore it says his eye will be evil toward his brother. But a woman is under others’ authority and is not permitted to give anything to her brother, therefore it doesn’t say “her eye will be evil toward her brother.”And if you ask, what does it mean when it says her eye will be evil toward the husband of her bosom? How could she not give to her husband when everything belongs to him, and how could she not give to him? To this, it says for she will eat them in secret — she will hide the eating from her husband. But regarding giving to her brother, she fears that the matter will be revealed, and perhaps her brother himself will later reveal it, for nothing remains secret when shared with another.
so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he has nothing left him; in the siege and in the straitness, with which your enemy shall straiten you in all your gates.
verse value 4852
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 70 letters. The shortest word is "all" (כֹּ֑ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·your·gates" (בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶֽיךָ, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "to·give" (מִתֵּ֣ת), "to·one" (לְאַחַ֣ד), "flesh" (מִבְּשַׂ֤ר). The root אשר appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "to·give" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy); "all" (root כל, 121x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 7 words.
Onkelos
so as not to give to any of them of the flesh of his children that he is eating, because nothing at all has been left to him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall oppress you in all your cities.
The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil against the husband of her bosom, and against her son, and against her daughter;
verse value 4825
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 71 letters. The shortest word is "in" (בְךָ֜, 2 letters) and the longest is "dainty" (וְהָעֲנֻגָּ֗ה, 6 letters). 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "tender" (הָרַכָּ֨ה), "dainty" (וְהָעֲנֻגָּ֗ה), "not·she·tried" (לֹֽא־נִסְּתָ֤ה). The root רך appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "upon·the·earth" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy); "son" (root בן, 119x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'tenderness', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 6 words.
Onkelos
The tender and pampered woman among you — who has never set the sole of her foot upon the ground, out of pampering and tenderness — shall look with hostility upon the husband of her covenant and upon her son and upon her daughter,
Rashi
תרע עינה באיש חיקה ובבנה ובבתה HER EYE SHALL BE EVIL TOWARDS THE HUSBAND OF HER BOSOM, AND TOWARDS HER SON, AND TOWARDS HER DAUGHTER — i.e. the adult sons and daughters...
Rashbam
תרע עינה באיש חיקה ובבנה ובבתה, the adults, not wanting to share any food with them, including even her afterbirth as well as her babies which she will give birth to secretly without offering to share, seeing there is such a famine. She will begrudge even her closest family the smallest share of this “food.”
and against her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet, and against her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly; in the siege and in the straitness, with which your enemy shall straiten you in your gates.
verse value 6105
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 80 letters. The shortest word is "to·you" (לְךָ֛, 2 letters) and the longest is "afterbirth" (וּֽבְשִׁלְיָתָ֞הּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "afterbirth" (וּֽבְשִׁלְיָתָ֞הּ), "that·goes·out" (הַיּוֹצֵ֣ת), "between" (מִבֵּ֣ין). The root אשר appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "her·sons" (root בן, 119x in Deuteronomy); "for·she·shall·eat·them" (root אכל, 82x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·secret', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 7 words.
Onkelos
and toward the young of her children that come forth from her, and toward her children that she bears; for she shall eat them in secret, for want of everything, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall oppress you in your cities.
Rashi
ובשליתה AND TOWARDS HER שליה — i.e. towards her little children; towards all these will her eye be evil when she eats one of them so that she will not give of the flesh to those that are still with her (to those that are still living).
Ibn Ezra
"And her afterbirth" — it is the place of the child while it dwells in its mother's womb. "From between her legs" — a euphemism, like "and he had not dressed his feet."
Rashbam
שליתה, according to the Talmud Niddah 24, literally her afterbirth. The Talmud, in this case quotes the peshat, plain meaning.
If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome Name, Hashem your God;
verse value 6201
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 78 letters. Verse gematria: 6201 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "this" (הַזֶּ֑ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·words" (אֶת־כׇּל־דִּבְרֵי֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 17: this, this. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "written" (הַכְּתֻבִ֖ים), "the·name" (אֶת־הַשֵּׁ֞ם), "honored" (הַנִּכְבָּ֤ד). The root זה appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "all·words" (root דבר, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 7 words.
Onkelos
If you do not observe to do all the words of this Torah that are written in this scroll, to fear this glorious and awesome Name — Hashem your God —
Rabbeinu Bahya
אם לא תשמור לעשות את כל דברי התורה הזאת הכתובים בספר הזה ליראה את השם הנכבד והנורא הזה, “if you will not observe to carry out all the words of this Torah which have been written in this Book, in order for you to revere His honored and awesome name.” The meaning of this verse is that there must be one overriding consideration running throughout all the commandments of the Torah, i.e. to infuse reverence in the people for the Lord. This is not the first time that Moses explains this as the overall purpose of Torah legislation. He had already made this point in Exodus 20,17 during the revelation at Mount Sinai, when he said: “G’d has come in order to test you and to ensure that the awe of Him shall be on your faces so that you shall not sin.” King Solomon also concluded his Book of Proverbs with the need for יראת ה', “reverence and awe of the Lord” (Proverbs 31,30). We also find that Isaiah 33,6 emphasizes the need for this important virtue. Our sages, in elaborating on this theme in Shabbat 31, imply that even if one has studied all the tractates of the oral Torah, the yardstick by which man is measured after death is whether he did relate to all of this with reverence for the Lord or not. The plain meaning of the verse in Isaiah 33,6 יראת ה' היא אוצרו is that it is a virtue stored up in G’d’s treasury, something very dear to Him, consisting of the cumulative virtues of awe of Him by G’d-fearing people which G’d treats like a most precious possession, “locking it away” in His most inaccessible treasure chamber. The reason that the prophet employs the term “treasure, something to be stored,” in connection with this virtue is that a king cannot establish a treasury unless he collected the funds for it from outsiders, from people. Anything the king locks away is called אוצר, “treasure.” What all this teaches is that of all the virtues we must acquire, a measure of awe and reverence of the Lord is the overriding virtue, “coloring,” i.e. lending value, to all the other virtues man practices. One of the reasons that this is so is that all the other commandments can be performed only at certain times, such as the wearing of a tallit or phylacteries. When one has put on these phylacteries one has effectively concluded performing this mitzvah. Not so with the commandment to relate to the Lord with יראה, with awe. It is a commandment which permeates all our waking hours. This is what David had in mind when he wrote (Psalms 19,10) “the reverence for the Lord is pure and endures forever.” Such a statement could not have been made concerning performance of any of the other commandments which require active performance, [as opposed to the mark of circumcision on our flesh. Ed.] It is a commandment which is both positive and negative, i.e. cultivating it is the positive aspect of the commandment, whereas failure to cultivate it and to maintain it at all times is a violation of it, i.e. equivalent to transgressing a negative commandment.
Kli Yakar
“If you do not observe to do all the words of this Torah, etc.” It is not pleasing to the Master to say it in such a way that if you do not perform all the words of the Torah, even if you are only missing one of them, then the Lord will make your plagues extraordinary — this would be a decree that the public cannot withstand. And what does it mean when it says to fear the glorious and awesome God? Why are these attributes mentioned here more than in other places? And furthermore, it is difficult based on the Talmud in Tractate Shabbat (138b), where they interpreted from the verse the Lord will make your plagues extraordinary that the Torah is destined to be forgotten from Israel, as it says the Lord will make extraordinary and it is written elsewhere Hence I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish (Isaiah 29:14). Is it really the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He, to lock the gates of wisdom from Israel so that they will rot in their sin? But certainly the prophet Isaiah speaks of a generation that fulfills the commandments, but not out of fear of God, rather due to some external purpose that compels them, or out of fear of some person who forces them to act against their will. This causes a desecration of God’s name because undoubtedly the Holy One, blessed be He, examines hearts and sees that their actions are not done for its own sake, and He punishes them for their evil thoughts. Those who see them engaged in Torah and commandments will complain against God. Therefore, our Sages said (Berakhot 63): “If you see a generation upon which the Torah is not beloved, withdraw, etc.” They did not say a generation that does not study Torah at all, but rather one that studies, but not for the sake of Heaven. Therefore, the Torah is not inherently and primarily beloved to them, but rather some imagined purpose is beloved to them. And one who is compelled in a matter certainly has no affection for it. In such a generation, restrain your pleasant words; do not let Torah teachings and moral instruction be heard from your mouth to such a perverse generation whose Torah and deeds are merely external and superficial. God will also arrange circumstances to cause the wisdom of the wise men of such a generation to be lost, for there is no satisfaction before Him, blessed be He, in such Torah study and commandment observance. And about this the prophet said (Isaiah 29:13–14) “Because this people draws near [nigash].” For they are compelled [negusim] and forced in all their deeds and they do not act out of fear of God but out of fear of people who force them to act, and this results in with their mouth and with their lips they honor Me, but their heart is far from Me because the one who compels can only compel regarding speech but not the intention of the heart, for who knows the secrets of their fellow? And their fear of Me is a commandment of men learned by rote. They call their fear of Me what is merely a commandment of men, for it is commanded by people who force them to act and is not a commandment of God. Hence, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish. The explanation is not, God forbid, that the wise men will be lost, for it does not say and the wise men shall perish. Nor is the explanation that wisdom will be lost from the wise men, for it does not say and wisdom shall perish from their wise men. Rather, the explanation is that their wisdom will be lost to the people of the generation, for God will put in their hearts that they should not make their voice heard outside and they will conceal their wisdom in a generation that does not cherish the Torah, so that they will not know and not understand, they will walk in darkness and pine away in their iniquity. Since it is revealed before Him, blessed be He, that even if they were to learn and do, they would not learn and do for its own sake, because anything done under compulsion lacks perfection, for when the compulsion is removed, they will return to their ways. Therefore, God commanded to publicize them and reveal their evil in the congregation about a generation that only acts out of compulsion for some imagined goal such as wealth and honor, to which one lifts up one’s soul, as is the custom in our generation. About this it says, If you do not observe… and it speaks of a generation that observes and learns and does, but not out of fear of God. This is what is meant by If you do not observe to do all the words of this Torah… to fear the glorious and awesome God. That is to say, indeed you observe all the words of the Torah, but not to fear the glorious and awesome God, but rather out of fear of people who compel you, and you substitute and exchange the fear of the glorious and awesome God for the fear of man who is like grass, who will be held in contempt and wrath. For you fear that your deeds will not please people, like the flatterers in our generation who act in order to find favor in their eyes so they will honor them and enrich them. Then the Lord will make your plagues extraordinary — this is the wonderment of Torah — and He will cause men of truth to gather in their Torah’s radiance in a place where it will not be seen or found, and let their portion not be with you, and then all nations will know that God’s judgments are true.
then Hashem will make your plagues wonderful, and the plagues of your seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
verse value 4266 — יְהֹוָה֙ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 57 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 4266 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·plagues" (וְאֵ֖ת מַכּ֣וֹת, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "and·he·will·make·wondrous" (וְהִפְלָ֤א), "blow" (אֶת־מַכֹּ֣תְךָ֔), "and·plagues" (וְאֵ֖ת מַכּ֣וֹת). The root מכה appears 3 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "great" (root גדול, 37x in Deuteronomy); "evil" (root רע, 37x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root מכה ("blow") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'seed', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְהִפְלָ֤א [and·he·will·make·wondrous] (122) + יְהֹוָה֙ [Hashem] (26) + אֶת־מַכֹּ֣תְךָ֔ [blow] (881) + וְאֵ֖ת מַכּ֣וֹת [and·plagues] (873) + זַרְעֶ֑ךָ [seed] (297) + מַכּ֤וֹת [plagues] (466) + גְּדֹלֹת֙ [great] (437) + וְנֶ֣אֱמָנ֔וֹת [lasting] (553) + וׇחֳלָיִ֖ם [sicknesses] (94) + רָעִ֥ים [evil] (320) + וְנֶאֱמָנִֽים [lasting] (197) = 4266.
Onkelos
then Hashem will make extraordinary your plagues and the plagues of your descendants — great and lasting plagues, and severe and lasting afflictions.
Rashi
והפלא ה' את מכתך THEN THE LORD WILL DISTINGUISH THY PLAGUES — He will afflict you with plagues exceptional and quite different from other plagues. ונאמנות (lit., trustworthy, reliable), i.e. certain to chastise you — certain to perform the task entrusted to them.
Ibn Ezra
"Your plague" — a singular form combined with a plural, compound; likewise "and My testimonies that I shall teach them." The sense of "extraordinary" is that it shall be a wondrous thing the like of which has never been seen or heard. "And lasting" — that they shall not cease.
Chizkuni
והפלא, “He will make wonderful, in the sense of the plague being extraordinary long lasting.” The last letter of the word is an א, (not a .(ה רעים ונאמנים, “painful and of long duration;” compare Samuel II 7,16: ונאמן ביתך וממלכתך עד עולם, “and your house and your dynasty will endure for a long time.” Compare also Isaiah 22,3 which both the Targum and Rash’bam understand in the same sense.
Targum Yonatan
the Word of the Lord will hide the Holy Spirit from you, when the plagues come upon you and your children, great and continuous plagues which will not leave you, and grievous and continual evils that will grow old upon your bodies;.
And He will bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt, which you were in dread of; and they shall cleave to you.
verse value 2710
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "in" (בְּךָ֗, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·sickness" (אֵ֚ת כׇּל־מַדְוֵ֣ה, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 22: in, in. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "and·he·shall·bring·back" (וְהֵשִׁ֣יב), "all·sickness" (אֵ֚ת כׇּל־מַדְוֵ֣ה), "you·dreaded" (יָגֹ֖רְתָּ). The root בך appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "face" (root פנים, 127x in Deuteronomy); "Egypt" (root מצרים, 40x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'face', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. Full calculation: וְהֵשִׁ֣יב [and·he·shall·bring·back] (323) + בְּךָ֗ [in] (22) + אֵ֚ת כׇּל־מַדְוֵ֣ה [all·sickness] (506) + מִצְרַ֔יִם [Egypt] (380) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + יָגֹ֖רְתָּ [you·dreaded] (613) + מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם [face] (225) + וְדָבְק֖וּ [and·they·shall·cling] (118) + בָּֽךְ [in] (22) = 2710.
Onkelos
And He will bring back upon you all the afflictions of Egypt of which you were in dread, and they shall cling to you.
Rashi
אשר יגרת מפניהם [HE WILL BRING UPON THEE ALL THE DISEASES OF EGYPT] OF WHICH THOU ART AFRAID — i.e. afraid of the plagues (not of Egypt). When the Israelites saw the strange plagues that came upon the Egyptians they were afraid of them — that they might not befall them also. You may know this, for so it states, (Exodus 15:26) “If thou wilt indeed hearken [to the voice of the Lord …], none of the diseases which I have put upon Egypt, will I put on you”, since one threatens a person only with things of which he is afraid.
Chizkuni
את כל מדוה מצרים, “all the diseases current in Egypt;”
Targum Yonatan
and will turn upon you all the woes which were sent upon the Mizraee before which thou wast afraid, and they shall cleave to you;.
Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will Hashem bring upon you, until you be destroyed.
verse value 3342 — יְהֹוָה֙ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "also" (גַּ֤ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·plague" (וְכׇל־מַכָּ֔ה, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "all·plague" (וְכׇל־מַכָּ֔ה), "written" (כָת֔וּב), "he·shall·bring·upon·them" (יַעְלֵ֤ם). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: גַּ֤ם [also] (43) + כׇּל־חֳלִי֙ [all·sickness] (98) + וְכׇל־מַכָּ֔ה [all·plague] (121) + אֲשֶׁר֙ [that] (501) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + כָת֔וּב [written] (428) + בְּסֵ֖פֶר [book] (342) + הַתּוֹרָ֣ה [the·Teaching] (616) + הַזֹּ֑את [this] (413) + יַעְלֵ֤ם [he·shall·bring·upon·them] (150) + יְהֹוָה֙ [Hashem] (26) + עָלֶ֔יךָ [upon] (130) + עַ֖ד [until] (74) + הִשָּׁמְדָֽךְ [your·being·destroyed] (369) = 3342.
Onkelos
Also every illness and every plague that is not written in the scroll of this Torah — Hashem will bring them upon you until you are destroyed.
Rashi
יעלם is a form from the root עלה (not from עלם).
Ibn Ezra
"Hashem shall bring up" — from the root of he'elah; though it is vowelled with a ḥataf, some say it is like the Aramaic expression meaning "He shall bring them."
Chizkuni
אשר לא כתוב, “which have not been recorded (in the Torah);” the Chaldeans used to tie good looking male Jews to their bedposts during the time they engaged in sexual relations with their wives, in order that their wives at the time by looking at these good looking males would become aroused and their babies would resemble what they had seen at that time. It happened once that one of them told his colleague that this is what has been written here, i.e. what is meant by “perversions which have not been recorded in the Torah.” (Talmud, tractate Gittin folio 58.)
And you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because you did not heed the voice of Hashem your God.
verse value 5148 — יְהֹוָ֥ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 60 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 5148 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "few" (מְעָ֔ט, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·you·shall·remain" (וְנִשְׁאַרְתֶּם֙, 7 letters). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'multitude', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְנִשְׁאַרְתֶּם֙ [and·you·shall·remain] (997) + בִּמְתֵ֣י [men·of] (452) + מְעָ֔ט [few] (119) + תַּ֚חַת [instead·of] (808) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + הֱיִיתֶ֔ם [you·were] (465) + כְּכוֹכְבֵ֥י [stars] (78) + הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם [the·heavens] (395) + לָרֹ֑ב [multitude] (232) + כִּֽי־לֹ֣א [that·not] (61) + שָׁמַ֔עְתָּ [you·heeded] (810) + בְּק֖וֹל [voice] (138) + יְהֹוָ֥ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ [your·God] (66) = 5148.
Onkelos
And you shall be left as a small people, whereas you had been as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not hearken to the Word of Hashem your God.
Rashi
ונשארתם במתי מעט תחת וגו׳ AND YOU SHALL REMAIN FEW IN NUMBER WHEREAS [YOU WERE ONCE AS NUMEROUS AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN] — i.e. a few instead of many.
And it shall come to pass, that as Hashem rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so Hashem will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and you shall be plucked from off the land where you go in to possess it.
verse value 8184 — וְ֠הָיָ֠ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 106 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְ֠הָיָ֠ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "thus" (כֵּ֣ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·multiply" (וּלְהַרְבּ֣וֹת, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 461: you, you, you, you. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "to·do·good·to" (לְהֵיטִ֣יב), "to·multiply" (וּלְהַרְבּ֣וֹת), "he·shall·rejoice" (יָשִׂ֤ישׂ). The root על appears 3 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that·you" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root שוש ("as·that·he·rejoiced") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 6 words.
Onkelos
And it shall come to pass that as Hashem rejoiced over you to do good to you and to multiply you, so Hashem will rejoice over you to cause you to perish and to destroy you; and you shall be uprooted from the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
Rashi
'כן ישיש ה SO WILL THE LORD MAKE your enemies REJOICE עליכם OVER YOU, להאביד וגו׳ TO DESTROY [YOU] (Megillah 10b). ונסחתם is an expression denoting “uprooting”. Similar is, (Proverbs 15:25) “The Lord will uproot (יסח) the house of the haughty”.
Ibn Ezra
The sense of "as Hashem rejoiced" — so that you should not think this harms Hashem or that He grieves, in the sense of "if you are righteous, what do you give Him?" "And you shall be torn away" — from the nif'al conjugation, lacking a nun; derived from the root of "Hashem shall cut him off."
Daat Zkenim
והיה כאשר שש ה' אלוקיך עליכם להיטיב אתכם 'ולהרבות אתכם, וגו, “it will be that just as the Lord once delighted in making you prosperous and many;” G–d had not delighted in the Israelites’ distress; others had. In our verse we see a hint of what will happen at the time close before the redemption, the time discussed by Daniel in Daniel 12,11: ומעת הוסר התמיד ולתת שקוץ שמם ימים אלף מאתים ותשעים, “and from the time the daily sacrifice was removed and the mute abomination was emplaced, one thousand two hundred and ninety years.” We must understand our verse as follows: “it will be from the time when the Lord rejoiced in delighting to do good things for you from the time you were in the desert when His presence was with you every step of the way, as well as in the land of Israel when His Presence was with you, after He had made you multiply first in Egypt as we read in Exodus 1,7, a total of 1290 years. Four hundred years of exile in Egypt, 480 years from the Exodus till the erection of Solomon’s Temple as we know from Kings I 6,1: “it was in the 480th year after the Exodus from Egypt, he built the house for the Lord. This Temple stood for 410 years corresponding to the numerical value of the letters in the word בזאת; (in Leviticus 16,2: בזאת יבא אהרן אל הקודש) a total of 1290 years. The exile would last an equal amount of time (according to Daniel) This is what Daniel meant when he wrote in Daniel 12,7: כי למועד מועדים וחצי....תכלינה כל אלה, “or in a time and a half and upon completion all these will be finished,” the first time the word מועד refers to a time period, as in Kings II 4,15: למועד הזה, “at this time;” in the words: מועדים וחצי,the word has to be understood as in Deut. 16,7: “at the season when you came out of Egypt.” There were actually three periods when the Israelites were in Egypt; this is why the Torah described them as follows in Exodus 12,20: ומושב בני ישראל אשר ישבו במצרים שלשים שנה וארבע מאות שנה, and the period that the Israelites resided in Egypt was thirty years and four hundred years. If you multiply 430 by three the result is 1290. According to Daniel, at that time exile will end. This is also why he says in chapter 7,25: ויתיהבון בידה עד-עדן ועדנים ופלג עדן, “and they will be given into his hand until a time; and times, and half a time.” This means that there were three distinct periods that the Israelites had been in Egypt.” [The author continues with different attempts to unravel the periods may not yet have been concluded without the redemption having taken place. There is therefore little reason to list all these interesting speculations, especially that if G–d did not want the time revealed, why should we waste time trying to do so. Too many commentators have tried and failed to do so. Ed.]
And Hashem shall scatter you among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone.
verse value 4803 — יְהֹוָה֙ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 77 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "there" (שָּׁ֜ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·the·peoples" (בְּכׇל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 296: earth, the·land. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "and·he·shall·scatter·you" (וֶהֱפִֽיצְךָ֤), "all·the·peoples" (בְּכׇל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים). The root קצה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "gods" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·land', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 10 words.
Onkelos
And Hashem will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and you shall serve there among the nations who worship idols that you and your forefathers have not known — idols of wood and stone.
Rashi
ועבדתם שם אלהים אחרים AND YE WILL SERVE THERE OTHER GODS — Understand this as the Targum does: (ye will serve the peoples that worship idols); not actually that they shall serve idols, but they will have to pay tribute and poll-taxes to the priests of the idols.
And among these nations shall you have no repose, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot; but Hashem shall give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and languishing of soul.
verse value 3350 — יְהֹוָ֨ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 71 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֨ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 3350 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·not·shall·be" (וְלֹא־יִהְיֶ֥ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 67: and·in·the·nations, and·not·shall·be. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "and·in·the·nations" (וּבַגּוֹיִ֤ם), "you·shall·find·rest" (תַרְגִּ֔יעַ), "resting·place" (מָנ֖וֹחַ). 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "and·he·shall·give" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·sole·of·your·foot', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 10 words.
Onkelos
And among those nations you shall find no rest, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot; and Hashem will give you there a trembling heart, and darkening of eyes, and anguish of soul.
Rashi
לא תרגיע means, THOU SHALT FIND NO REST, as (Isaiah 28:12) “This is the rest (המרגעה) לב רגז means, A TREMBLING HEART, as the Targum has it: דחל, fearing. It is similar in meaning to (Isaiah 14:9) “The nether-world from beneath trembleth (רגזה) for thee”; (Exodus 15:14) “The peoples have heard, they trembled”; (II Samuel 22:8) “The foundations of heaven trembled”. וכליון עינים AND A FAILING OF THE EYES — The phrase is used of one who expectantly looks for help and it does not come (cf. v. 32).
Rashbam
לב רגז, a fearful heart.
Targum Yonatan
And if your mind be divided to worship their idols, He will send (that) between you and those nations that you shall have no repose or rest for the sole of your feet, and will give you there a fearful heart which darkens the eyes and wears out the soul.
And your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall fear night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life.
verse value 1966
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 46 letters. The shortest word is "to·you" (לְךָ֖, 2 letters) and the longest is "hanging" (תְּלֻאִ֥ים, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 50: to·you, in·life. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "hanging" (תְּלֻאִ֥ים), "and·you·shall·dread" (וּפָֽחַדְתָּ֙), "and·by·day" (וְיוֹמָ֔ם). The root חי appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "and·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "life" (root חי, 20x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·counterpart', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְהָי֣וּ [and·shall·be] (27) + חַיֶּ֔יךָ [life] (48) + תְּלֻאִ֥ים [hanging] (481) + לְךָ֖ [to·you] (50) + מִנֶּ֑גֶד [from·counterpart] (97) + וּפָֽחַדְתָּ֙ [and·you·shall·dread] (498) + לַ֣יְלָה [night] (75) + וְיוֹמָ֔ם [and·by·day] (102) + וְלֹ֥א [and·not] (37) + תַאֲמִ֖ין [you·shall·trust] (501) + בְּחַיֶּֽיךָ [in·life] (50) = 1966.
Onkelos
And your life shall hang in suspense before you, and you shall dread night and day, and you shall have no trust in your life.
Rashi
חייך תלאים לך THY LIFE SHALL HANG BEFORE THEE — because of uncertainty. — Anything that is uncertain may be termed תלוי (“hanging”); You will always be saying: “Perhaps I shall die to-day through the sword that is coming upon us”. — Our Rabbis interpreted this to refer to one who is obliged to buy produce in the market (who does not possess any of his own), ולא תאמין בחייך AND THOU SHALT HAVE NONE ASSURANCE OF THY LIFE — this they refer to one who must rely on the baker (cf. Menachot 103b).
Ibn Ezra
"In suspense" — spelled with an alef in place of the ḥet of the root.
In the morning you shall say: "Would it were even!" and at even you shall say: "Would it were morning!" for the fear of your heart which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.
verse value 6198
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 66 letters. The shortest word is "evening" (עֶ֔רֶב, 3 letters) and the longest is "sight" (וּמִמַּרְאֵ֥ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 641: you·shall·say, you·shall·say. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "evening" (עֶ֔רֶב), "evening" (וּבָעֶ֥רֶב), "terror" (מִפַּ֤חַד). The root בקר appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "who?·will·give" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy); "you·shall·say" (root אמר, 144x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'morning', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 8 words.
Onkelos
In the morning you shall say, 'Who will grant that it were evening?' and in the evening you shall say, 'Who will grant that it were morning?' — because of the dread in your heart that you shall dread, and because of the sight of your eyes that you shall see.
Rashi
בבקר תאמר מי יתן ערב IN THE MORNING THOU SHALT SAY, WOULD IT WERE EVEN! — i.e. would that it were again yesterday evening, ובערב תאמר מי יתן בקר AND AT EVEN THOU SHALT SAY, WOULD IT WERE MORNING! — i.e. the morning of today, because the misery will constantly grow more severe, and the curse of each hour will be greater than that of the preceding (cf. Sotah 49a).
Rashbam
מי יתן ערב, according to the plain meaning this refers to the following evening; this is the way the sick people react to their condition, assuming that they will start to get better by then.
Targum Yonatan
In the morning you will say, O that it were evening! for afflictions will make the hours of the day longer before you; and at evening you will say, O that it were morning! for afflictions will make the hours of the night longer before you, because of the terror of your heart; for you will be in stupor by a vision of your eyes, which you will see for punishment, and be terrified.
And Hashem shall bring you back into Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you: "You shall see it no more again"; and there you shall sell yourselves to your enemies for bondmen and for bondwoman, and no man shall buy you.
verse value 6675 — יְהֹוָ֥ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 85 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·you" (לְךָ֔, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·you·shall·offer·yourselves·for·sale" (וְהִתְמַכַּרְתֶּ֨ם, 8 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "and·he·will·bring·you·back" (וֶהֱשִֽׁיבְךָ֨), "ships" (בׇּאֳנִיּוֹת֒), "you·shall·not·add" (לֹא־תֹסִ֥יף). 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "I·said" (root אמר, 144x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·see·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Onkelos
And Hashem will return you to Egypt in ships, by the road of which I said to you, 'You shall not see it again'; and there you shall be sold to your enemies as slaves and maidservants, but there shall be none to buy you.
Rashi
באניות [AND THE LORD WILL BRING THEE INTO EGYPT AGAIN] באניות — the latter word means, in ships, i.e. He will bring you again into captivity to Egypt. והתמכרתם שם לאיביך means, you will seek to be sold to them for slaves and handmaids (i.e. YOU WILL OFFER YOURSELVES FOR SALE), ואין קנה AND NO MAN WILL BUY YOU — because they will pass upon you the doom of death and extermination. והתמכרתם — “et pour vendrez yous” in old French It would not, however, be correct to explain והתמכרתם in the sense of ונמכרתם “and you will be sold” — i.e. by sellers other than yourselves, for it adds afterwards: “but no one will buy you”.
Ibn Ezra
"And you shall offer yourselves for sale" — this is not like "and you shall be sold"; rather its meaning is that you yourselves shall seek to sell yourselves, men and women alike, but there shall be no buyer. This, then, is the covenant in the commandments of Hashem in the plains of Moab.
Sforno
והתמכרתם, you will begin to manufacture or make by hand all kinds of goods the host country lacks in order to secure your economic well being, but ואין קונה, no one will buy these goods due to antisemitic reasons, as they do not want you to gain a foothold in their country.
Chizkuni
והשיבך ה' מצרים באניות, ”and the Lord will ship you back to Egypt in ships;” there is a river separating the Land of Canaan from Egypt as explained by Rashi on Numbers 34,3. באניות, “in ships;” this is a severe punishment, as all kinds of people of both sexes and ages, sick and healthy, were thrown together into the holds of these boats.
Rabbeinu Bahya
והתמכרתם שם, “and you will offer yourselves for sale there.” you will actively beg to be bought as slaves (an ultimate degradation of yourselves). ואין קונה, “but there will be no buyer.” This is a promise by G’d who spares you this ultimate degradation.
Daat Zkenim
באניות, “in ships.” These will transport women and children taken prisoner. If they would have let them walk on foot they would have only taken adults as prisoners who are able to walk. ואין קונה, “but there will not be any buyers for them.” According to Rabbi Yoseph Kara, the Egyptians will say: our fathers who enslaved Israelites were smitten by their G–d. When their owners now found them useless, they would take out their disappointment on the bodies of these prisoners.
These are the words of the covenant which Hashem commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.
verse value 6706 — אֵ֩לֶּה֩ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 71 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֩לֶּה֩) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "these" (אֵ֩לֶּה֩, 3 letters) and the longest is "that·he·commanded" (אֲֽשֶׁר־צִוָּ֧ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 617: covenant, covenant. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "besides" (מִלְּבַ֣ד). The root ברית appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy); "words·of" (root דבר, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Moab', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Onkelos
These are the words of the covenant that Hashem commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, apart from the covenant that He made with them at Horeb.
Rashi
לכרת את בני ישראל [THE COVENANT WHICH THE LORD COMMANDED …] TO MAKE WITH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — that they will take upon themselves the observance of the Torah under an imprecation and oath (cf. Deuteronomy 29:11). מלבד הברית BESIDES THE COVENANT — i.e. the curses in Torath Cohanim (Leviticus 26:14 ff.) which were spoken at Sinai (Horeb).
Chizkuni
אשר צוה ה' את משה, ”that G-d had commanded Moses. Theses chastisements were also told him as a form of revelation. מלבד הברית, Rashi explains the reference is to all the curses recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy which have been authored by Moses, but approved by G-d to be said to the people publicly. In some instances he even repeated commandments that had already been recorded in one of the other four Books of Moses. Rashi calls these curses as having been revealed to Moses already while he stood on Mount Sinai. אשר כרת אתם. “which He concluded as a covenant with them at Mount Chorev” (Sinai). This is a reference to chapter 26 in the Book of Leviticus which Moses wrote down at the end of that Book, before the people had left for their journey after staying around Mount Chorev for about a year, after having been given the Ten Commandments.
Rashbam
בחורב, the admonitions listed in Leviticus chapter 26,14-46. which were delivered shortly before the Israelites began to move away from that Mountain. (Sinai)
Onkelos
Ibn Ezra
Or HaChaim
Tur HaArokh