Woe to Assyria, the rod of God's anger that vaunts itself as though the axe were greater than the hewer; a remnant of Jacob shall return, and the lofty forest is felled.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, And to the writers that write iniquity;
verse value 1645
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "ah!" (ה֥וֹי, 3 letters) and the longest is "decrees·of·iniquity" (חִקְקֵי־אָ֑וֶן, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "that·cut·out" (הַחֹֽקְקִ֖ים), "decrees·of·iniquity" (חִקְקֵי־אָ֑וֶן), "and·writers" (וּֽמְכַתְּבִ֥ים). The root חקק appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "ah!" (root הוי, 22x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root חקק ("that·cut·out") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root עמל ("toil") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'decrees·of·iniquity', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: ה֥וֹי [ah!] (21) + הַחֹֽקְקִ֖ים [that·cut·out] (263) + חִקְקֵי־אָ֑וֶן [decrees·of·iniquity] (275) + וּֽמְכַתְּבִ֥ים [and·writers] (518) + עָמָ֖ל [toil] (140) + כִּתֵּֽבוּ [they·wrote] (428) = 1645.
Rashi
Decrees of iniquity. Documents of iniquity, forged documents:
"u-michtavim" – this is an Arabic term, corresponding to "michtavin" (where the mem has a chirik, the kaf has a shva, and the tav has a qamats) in Hebrew.
Ibn Ezra
“Woe to the engravers.” “Woe” is a call to the judges and their magistrates and their scribes.
"And the writers." It is a verb that yields two meanings, from the heavy, dagesh-containing binyan, and it shall be that the labor is bound up with its writing.
Radak
“Behold the decrees.” Now, he speaks concerning the judges and their scribes. The judges would bend the judgment and say to their scribes to write down the ruling they had decided, so that it would have legal validity. And “the decrees” refers to the scribes, while “and the writings” refers to the judges, for they are the ones who write. And “writings” implies that the document is sent to a third party; they instruct the scribes to write, and the scribes write and inscribe decrees of wickedness, and the judges write to them that labor and that wickedness.
Metzudat David
Woe. One should complain about the scribes, namely the scribes of the judges, because they inscribe iniquity—that is to say, they write—something that is not proper and valid.
And from documents. The judges themselves, who command their scribes to write, they shall command to write the words of iniquity.
Metzudat Zion
The scribes. The matter of writing:
Malbim
"Alas!" is the name of the reading (these two verses are attached to verse 3: "Alas, you who decree unjust decrees..." to pervert justice for the poor, etc. "I will ask you, and what will you do on the day of visitation?").
The inscribers, the judges who established customs of iniquity, and the multitude of scribes who wrote with toil:
To turn aside the needy from judgment, And to take away the right of the poor of My people, That widows may be their spoil, And that they may make the fatherless their prey!
verse value 3719
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 57 letters. The shortest word is "my·people" (עַמִּ֑י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·fatherless" (וְאֶת־יְתוֹמִ֖ים, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "to·turn·aside" (לְהַטּ֤וֹת), "and·to·tear·away" (וְלִגְזֹ֕ל), "widows" (אַלְמָנוֹת֙). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "my·people" (root עם, 107x in Isaiah); "judgment" (root משפט, 42x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root דל ("low") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root בזז ("they·will·spoil") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·people', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: לְהַטּ֤וֹת [to·turn·aside] (450) + מִדִּין֙ [from·cause] (104) + דַּלִּ֔ים [low] (84) + וְלִגְזֹ֕ל [and·to·tear·away] (76) + מִשְׁפַּ֖ט [judgment] (429) + עֲנִיֵּ֣י [poor] (140) + עַמִּ֑י [my·people] (120) + לִֽהְי֤וֹת [to·be] (451) + אַלְמָנוֹת֙ [widows] (527) + שְׁלָלָ֔ם [their·spoil] (400) + וְאֶת־יְתוֹמִ֖ים [and·the·fatherless] (913) + יָבֹֽזּוּ [they·will·spoil] (25) = 3719.
Rashi
"To turn aside." By means of false documents [they turn aside] the needy from the rightful judgment due to them.
Ibn Ezra
"To pervert." They commanded the scribes to write false documents concerning orphans, widows, and the poor, who have no strength, and not even the ability to speak.
Radak
"To pervert." When the rich and the powerful come before them for judgment, along with the poor, or the widow and the orphan, who are weak—if the law is with the weak, which is usually the case because of their weakness and the strength of their opponents, and the judges pervert the judgment and give it to the rich, and favor his face in the judgment—then the judges are as if they are plundering and robbing the poor, the orphans, and the widows.
Metzudat David
To incline. Their writing will be a cause to incline the poor away from the judgment due to them:
And to plunder: To deprive the poor of their just legal rights.
to be. Through this, the widows will become their spoil; that is to say, it is as if they are plundering and stripping the widows and orphans.
Malbim
"To turn aside" (the statements restrict the statutes, the statutes of iniquity, and to turn aside the judgment of the poor, and the letters of mischief wrote that they should be widows of their spoil), meaning that these customs of iniquity were established so that they could thereby turn aside the poor from their judgment. And the letters of mischief that they wrote are forged documents that they made for them, so that by means of these they would be widows of their spoil. They made for them debt documents against the husband and the father of the widow and the orphan, so that by means of these they take all that belongs to them, and they take the orphans as slaves.
And what will you do in the day of visitation, And in the ruin which shall come from far? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory?
verse value 3870
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 59 letters. Notable word values: "to·day·of" (לְי֣וֹם) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 3870 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "to·day·of" (לְי֣וֹם, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·what·will·you·do" (וּמַֽה־תַּעֲשׂוּ֙, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·what·will·you·do" (וּמַֽה־תַּעֲשׂוּ֙), "oversight" (פְּקֻדָּ֔ה), "and·to·destruction" (וּלְשׁוֹאָ֖ה). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·whom" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "to·day·of" (root יום, 124x in Isaiah); "will·go·in" (root בוא, 120x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root פקדה ("oversight") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root נוס ("you·will·flee") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'will·go·in', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּמַֽה־תַּעֲשׂוּ֙ [and·what·will·you·do] (827) + לְי֣וֹם [to·day·of] (86) + פְּקֻדָּ֔ה [oversight] (189) + וּלְשׁוֹאָ֖ה [and·to·destruction] (348) + מִמֶּרְחָ֣ק [from·afar] (388) + תָּב֑וֹא [will·go·in] (409) + עַל־מִי֙ [to·whom] (150) + תָּנ֣וּסוּ [you·will·flee] (522) + לְעֶזְרָ֔ה [to·help] (312) + וְאָ֥נָה [and·where?] (62) + תַעַזְב֖וּ [you·will·leave] (485) + כְּבוֹדְכֶֽם [your·glory] (92) = 3870.
Rashi
“For a day of reckoning.” That the Holy One, blessed be He, shall reckon against you your sins.
Sho'ah. A term denoting destruction:
“Upon whom will you run for help? The Holy One, blessed be He, is not in your aid.”
"And where shall you leave behind all the honor that you gather from robbery, when you go into exile."
Ibn Ezra
"And what..." The meaning of all this is: "This is their time." And behold, what will you do on the day when the Lord will visit your sins?
"Your honor." It is the multitude:
Radak
“And what will you do on the day of visitation?”—On the day when the Almighty will reckon your sins.
“From afar.” This refers to the King of Assyria, who came from a distant land to the Land of Israel to destroy them.
"Al mi" – like "el," as in "You have lifted it up against his house" and similar cases.
"And where will you abandon your honor? For you will be exiled from your honor."
Metzudat David
"And what will you do?"—This is akin to saying: "If the widows and orphans have no power [to act], but what answer will you give to the Omnipresent, blessed be He when He calls you to account for this sin?"
And as for "to the devastation": At the time when the darkness will come upon you from afar, and this is the king of Assyria.
For help. To help you:
“And where will you leave them?” When you go into exile, where will you leave the wealth that you amassed through robbery? Surely, neither son nor daughter will remain.
Metzudat Zion
Pekudah. The matter is one of remembrance, as it is said, "And You will remember against me the sin of the woman" (2 Samuel 3).
And to "sho'ah" (darkness). The meaning of "choshech" (darkness) is like [the verse] "yesterday was sho'ah" (Job 30):
"Upon whom" – this is equivalent to "To whom."
And where? Where is it?
Your honor. Thus is wealth called “honor,” and thus it says, “and he made all this honor” (Genesis 31:1):
Malbim
And what? You who are so wicked, what will you do on the day of visitation? It is the day appointed by the Lord to exact retribution for your sins. And not only that, but the calamity will come from afar, for this day contains two aspects of distress: first, that there will be a sudden calamity, a crisis that you will not know in advance in order to seek deliverance from it; second, that it will come from a distant place, so that you will not even perceive the nature and essence of the crisis, and to whom will you flee?
They can do nought except crouch under the captives, And fall under the slain. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
verse value 4081
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 53 letters. Notable word values: "and·still" (וְע֖וֹד) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "bent" (כָרַע֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "slain" (הֲרוּגִ֖ים, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "slain" (הֲרוּגִ֖ים). The root תחת appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·hand" (root יד, 79x in Isaiah); "not·turned" (root שוב, 51x in Isaiah); "and·still" (root עוד, 44x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root בלתי ("except") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root כרע ("bent") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·fall', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: בִּלְתִּ֤י [except] (442) + כָרַע֙ [bent] (290) + תַּ֣חַת [under] (808) + אַסִּ֔יר [prisoners] (271) + וְתַ֥חַת [and·under] (814) + הֲרוּגִ֖ים [slain] (264) + יִפֹּ֑לוּ [they·fall] (126) + בְּכׇל־זֹאת֙ [in·all·this] (460) + לֹא־שָׁ֣ב [not·turned] (333) + אַפּ֔וֹ [his·anger] (87) + וְע֖וֹד [and·still] (86) + יָד֥וֹ [his·hand] (20) + נְטוּיָֽה [outstretched] (80) = 4081.
Rashi
“Not to bow down beneath a prisoner.” In a place where one does not bow, and let none of you understand that there was no prostration of the one lying prone in that very place; rather, you shall be bound. That is to say, outside of your land you shall be bound. And so Jonathan rendered: “outside your land you shall be bound as captives.”
Tachath. A place, as it is said, "Let no man go out of his place" (Exodus 16:29):
"And the slain shall fall beneath them. And in that place the slain shall fall:"
Ibn Ezra
"Nevertheless, etc." The meaning is: All this you have done; none will escape except he who will bow down beneath the captive and cast himself among the slain, as if he were a slain person like them.
Radak
“Belti kare’a.” The yod is a pronominal suffix, like “ve-moshi’a ein belti.” He said that because this people are “belti” [without/other than]—they are not My people and do not listen to Me—therefore, “kare’a” [they shall bow down] under captivity, meaning they shall bow down among the prisoners, to be with them; and among the slain as well shall they fall, namely, they shall be slain. That is to say, some of them shall become captives and some of them slain; not one of them shall remain in his land, for all of them shall be exiles or slain. And the commentators explained “belti” such that the yod is not a pronominal suffix. Some commentators explain it thus: None shall escape except one who bows down and hides himself among the prisoners or among the slain, so that they will not consider him to be alive. And my master and father, of blessed memory, explained it: Because they did not bow down to God, they shall become prisoners and slain. And My brother, Rabbi Moshe, of blessed memory, explained it: Other than the subjugation that they have in their land, whereby the nations humble them, other than this, something greater than this shall come upon them, namely, the exile, whereby some of them shall be prisoners or some of them slain.
Metzudat David
“Except for bowing down.” In a place where one did not bow down with the bowing of one who lies prostrate, there, in that very place, he shall be imprisoned. This implies: “Outside your land you shall be imprisoned.”
And beneath. And in that place the slain will fall:
And furthermore, "His hand is stretched out" – to strike them while they are in the land of their enemies.
Metzudat Zion
"Belati." Its meaning is like "lo" (not).
Tachat. In the sense of "in place of," as it is written: "a man in his place" (Exodus 18).
Malbim
“Not by kneeling down” — the verses limit [the options]: upon whom will you flee for help? “Not by kneeling down” beneath captives, and where will you abandon your honor? “Not by kneeling down” beneath the slain, they will fall. This means that on a day of great slaughter, there is one who seeks the salvation of his life, and he surrenders himself into the hands of the enemy so that they may leave him alive; and there is one who seeks the salvation of his honor, and he does not wish to fall into the hands of the enemy like one of the worthless, but rather chooses death over life. So too, you: if you seek help and the salvation of your lives, to whom will you flee for help? You have no helper except to kneel down beneath captives and fall into the hands of the enemy. And if you seek the salvation of your honor, where will you abandon your honor? Regarding this, there is no counsel, except to kneel down beneath the slain who will fall, for by this you will abandon your honor to be an eternal memorial on the battlefield, like a mighty man who despised his life unto death and left his honor as a memorial among the living. (From now on, he begins to prophesy against Assyria, which shakes kingdoms, for the cup will also pass over him, and he will fall by a sword not of man, through the merit of Hezekiah.)
O Asshur, the rod of Mine anger, In whose hand as a staff is Mine indignation!
verse value 1185
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "ah!" (ה֥וֹי, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·staff·it" (וּמַטֶּה־ה֥וּא, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·staff·it" (וּמַטֶּה־ה֥וּא), "in·their·hand" (בְיָדָ֖ם), "my·indignation" (זַעְמִֽי). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·their·hand" (root יד, 79x in Isaiah); "Asshur" (root אשור, 43x in Isaiah); "my·anger" (root אף, 39x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root אנתה ("and·staff·it") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root זעם ("my·indignation") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·anger', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: ה֥וֹי [ah!] (21) + אַשּׁ֖וּר [Asshur] (507) + שֵׁ֣בֶט [rod] (311) + אַפִּ֑י [my·anger] (91) + וּמַטֶּה־ה֥וּא [and·staff·it] (72) + בְיָדָ֖ם [in·their·hand] (56) + זַעְמִֽי [my·indignation] (127) = 1185.
Rashi
Behold. For I have made Assyria the rod of My anger, to oppress with it My people.
And it is a staff. My wrath is in the hands of the Assyrians:
Ibn Ezra
Woe, Assyria! This is a form of address (vocative):
"The rod of My wrath." For through it I have reproved many.
[And the staff, etc.]: And the staff that is in the hand of the men of Ashur is My wrath.
Radak
“Behold, Assyria.” This is the language of calling; He calls him to come upon the Land of Israel to plunder spoils. And He calls him the rod of His anger and the staff of His wrath, with which He chastises Israel. And the meaning of “in their hand” is “in their place,” i.e., in the Land of Israel I will send this tribe. And there are those who explain “in their hand” as referring to the hand of the camp of Assyria, meaning: the rod of My wrath, which I placed in their hands. And afterwards he further explained and said:
Metzudat David
“Woe to Assyria, etc.” One ought to complain about that Assyria will be the rod to execute My anger upon them, even to strike and oppress them.
"And a staff." The anger: that which I am angry at Israel, it is in the hand of Assyria as a staff, for by this means He will strike them as He desires.
Malbim
“Behold, Assyria” — this statement runs on to verse seven [“and he does not so intend”]. “Hoy” is a vocative exclamation; he calls out, saying: Is not Assyria merely the rod of My anger? It has no sovereignty of its own; rather, My anger placed in its hand the rod of dominion. Because My anger burned against the nations, I placed in its hand a rod to destroy them, and a staff. He adds further to say that even the rod and dominion it possesses are not unlimited; rather, the staff that is in its hand is My wrath and My curse. It cannot strike except through My curse, and over any nation that I have not been angry with and cursed, it has no authority. Now he explains his words: (in response to “Behold, Assyria is the rod of My anger,” he says)
I do send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath do I give him a charge, To take the spoil, and to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
verse value 4307
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 66 letters. The shortest word is "spoil" (בַּ֔ז, 2 letters) and the longest is "I·send·him" (אֲשַׁלְּחֶ֔נּוּ, 6 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "against·a·nation" (בְּג֤וֹי), "I·send·him" (אֲשַׁלְּחֶ֔נּוּ), "my·wrath" (עֶבְרָתִ֖י). The root שלל appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "against·a·nation" (root גוי, 65x in Isaiah); "my·wrath" (root עבר, 41x in Isaiah); "and·to·make·them" (root שום, 40x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·will·command·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 9 words.
Rashi
In a treacherous nation. Israel:
Ibn Ezra
"Among the nations." And regarding "the people of My wrath," [the meaning is that] I have a grievance against him [the text should read: against him]:
Radak
In a treacherous nation. The verse repeats the idea in different words, and its meaning is to trample, for all will tread and crush upon them.
Metzudat David
"In a treacherous nation" – this refers to Israel, who flatter their evil inclination by fulfilling its demands and succumbing to its enticements.
"I have passed over." What is this? It means that My wrath and anger have passed over him.
And to make him a trampled thing: To trample him with the foot, like clay that is cast into the streets.
Malbim
“Concerning a treacherous nation I sent him” — what I placed in his hand, the rod of rule, is so that I might send him against a treacherous nation. These are Israel. (And “against them is the rod in their hand, My anger I say.”) “And against the people of My wrath I will command him” — meaning, he has no authority to strike all the nations, whether righteous or wicked, for I commanded him and appointed him only against the people of My wrath. This is the tribe that I cursed and against which I was angry, namely the tribe of Ephraim, not the tribe of Judah, who were righteous. Moreover, even regarding the tribe that sinned, he has no permission to destroy them, but only to plunder their property. However, concerning their bodies, I did not grant him permission [to kill them], but only to tread them down like clay of the streets. Just as one treads down clay suitable for building in order to refine it, to make bricks or earthenware vessels from it, so too shall they tread them down in order to refine them and bring them back in repentance, not to annihilate or destroy them.
However he means not so, Neither does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And to cut off nations not a few.
verse value 1986
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "and·he" (וְהוּא֙) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "but" (כִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·to·cut·off" (וּלְהַכְרִ֥ית, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 101: not·so, not·so. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "he·intends" (יְדַמֶּ֔ה), "to·destroy" (לְהַשְׁמִ֣יד), "in·his·heart" (בִּלְבָב֔וֹ). The root לא appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not·so" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "but" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah); "and·he" (root הוא, 98x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root שמד ("to·destroy") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'he·accounts', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְהוּא֙ [and·he] (18) + לֹא־כֵ֣ן [not·so] (101) + יְדַמֶּ֔ה [he·intends] (59) + וּלְבָב֖וֹ [and·his·heart] (46) + לֹא־כֵ֣ן [not·so] (101) + יַחְשֹׁ֑ב [he·accounts] (320) + כִּ֚י [but] (30) + לְהַשְׁמִ֣יד [to·destroy] (389) + בִּלְבָב֔וֹ [in·his·heart] (42) + וּלְהַכְרִ֥ית [and·to·cut·off] (671) + גּוֹיִ֖ם [nations] (59) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + מְעָֽט [little] (119) = 1986.
Rashi
And he is Sennacherib.
It is not so, as one might imagine. The decree is from Me, and I am sending it forth; "quiddir" in the vernacular.
"But his heart does not think so." For I sent him for matters of spoil — to plunder and take booty; but in his heart [he intends] to destroy everything in his arrogance.
Ibn Ezra
“And he — [so] he thinks,” as in “as I thought to do” (Numbers 33:56); it is from the root of “supposing.” And the meaning: he does not consider that I sent him [only] to chastise; rather, he has no thought but to uproot everything.
Radak
And he does not perceive it thus. The matter is repeated in different words: He said that the king of Assyria will not consider that he is My envoy and the rod of My anger, but rather he assumes that by the strength of his own hand he accomplishes what he does—the destruction of truth. Yet he does not know that he is My envoy, and that when I desire, I will restrain him from destroying. And he intends to destroy everything, even Jerusalem.
Not a small remnant. After he had corrupted all the kingdoms, and also the majority of the Kingdom of Israel, he said that this small remnant, namely Jerusalem, should not remain unconquered by him.
Metzudat David
"And he." But Sennacherib, king of Assyria, did not resemble this, as it was decreed before Me.
"And to his heart, etc." The matter is repeated in what is written:
"For he intended to destroy in his heart." For he was contemplating in his heart to destroy everything, and even Jerusalem, as if the victory had been achieved by the strength of his own arm.
And to eradicate. He intends to eradicate everything, so as not to leave even a small amount.
Metzudat Zion
"Yidmah." The word is derived from the root meaning "similitude" and "thought."
Malbim
And here, "he" is the subject of the discourse; that is to say, "but he" refers to Assyria, "not so shall he imagine." This means that he is merely a rod of My anger, and the verses delimit his role. This is in contrast to what is written: "Assyria is the rod of My anger," and "I send him against a deceitful nation." It says, "not so shall he imagine," meaning he does not imagine his likeness as a rod in the hand of those who raise it up. Rather, he imagines his strength as coming from himself, not from the Lord. And in contrast to what is written: "And the staff is in their hand, My wrath," and "Against the people of My wrath I will command him, to seize spoil and plunder," it says, "and so shall not his heart think." He shall not think thus in his thought, that the ultimate purpose of his going is to correct the people and bring them back in repentance, rather than to destroy them, for destruction is in his heart. This is in contrast to what the Lord delimited in his mission with three conditions: 1. That he shall not go with the intention to destroy, but only with the intention to correct and bring the sinners back in repentance, as it is written, "and to tread it down like the mire of the streets." 2. That he shall rule only over their property, not over their lives, as it is written, "to seize spoil and plunder." 3. That he shall harm only the sinners, not the righteous, as it is written, "Against the people of My wrath I will command him." But he shall not think thus; for: 1. Destruction is in his heart; not to correct them in repentance, but to destroy them from their religion and their God. 2. To uproot nations; not merely to seize their assets, but to uproot the nations themselves. 3. Nations, not few; he shall not think that he was sent only against "the people of My wrath," for in his heart is the intent to uproot many and great nations, not to uproot few, for in his eyes a righteous person is equal to a wicked one.
For he says: ‘Are not my princes all of them kings?
verse value 995
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 21 letters. Notable word values: "not" (הֲלֹ֥א) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֖י, 2 letters) and the longest is "kings" (מְלָכִֽים, 5 letters). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "will·say" (root אמר, 244x in Isaiah); "for" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'will·say', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּ֖י [for] (30) + יֹאמַ֑ר [will·say] (251) + הֲלֹ֥א [not] (36) + שָׂרַ֛י [my·princes] (510) + יַחְדָּ֖ו [together] (28) + מְלָכִֽים [kings] (140) = 995.
Rashi
"When he says, etc.": For this reason his heart became haughty.
Ibn Ezra
"When he shall say." In his heart: "Behold, my princes — who were at first [mere] princes — have become even kings over nations."
Radak
"When he says": In his heart or to his people, "How can a city or kingdom withstand him? Is not each of his commanders esteemed as a king, and does not each of them have a great people and a mighty army?" Or, the interpretation is that "commanders" refers to kings, namely the kings of the nations whom he has conquered.
Metzudat David
"Yachdu" – this is like that: each one is considered as important as a king, according to the majority of the people that each has.
Malbim
"When he says" (this restricts against "and it was not so in his estimation"), it elucidates the reason why he did not consider himself as merely a rod in the hand of the Lord, and that his dominion was not by his own power. For he would say: How is this possible? Is it not that my strength is so great that I have subdued kings together, each of whom had a great army and dominion like a king? And my strength is from myself, due to the multitude of my camps.
Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus?
verse value 2709
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 40 letters. Notable word values: "not" (הֲלֹ֥א) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "not" (הֲלֹ֥א, 3 letters) and the longest is "like·Carchemish" (כְּכַרְכְּמִ֖ישׁ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 72: if·not, if·not. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "like·Carchemish" (כְּכַרְכְּמִ֖ישׁ), "like·Arpad" (כְאַרְפַּד֙), "like·Damascus" (כְדַמֶּ֖שֶׂק). The root אם appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root ארפד ("like·Arpad") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root חמת ("Hamath") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Calno', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: הֲלֹ֥א [not] (36) + כְּכַרְכְּמִ֖ישׁ [like·Carchemish] (610) + כַּלְנ֑וֹ [Calno] (106) + אִם־לֹ֤א [if·not] (72) + כְאַרְפַּד֙ [like·Arpad] (305) + חֲמָ֔ת [Hamath] (448) + אִם־לֹ֥א [if·not] (72) + כְדַמֶּ֖שֶׂק [like·Damascus] (464) + שֹׁמְרֽוֹן [Samaria] (596) = 2709.
Rashi
Is it not like Kerchemish? Just as the sons of Kerchemish are princes and rulers, so too are the sons of all our people. Therefore, if not like Arpad, which is from the rulership of Chamat, which I took from the hand of Aram, and if not like Damascus, which I took from the hand of Aram, so I did to Samaria. If not like Arpad, Chamat is attached to Arpad, which is of Chamat; therefore, it is pointed with a patach.
Ibn Ezra
Is it not like Karkemish, all of us? Just as it says, “Akkad, Calneh” (Genesis 10:10), and they are names of places that were called after the builders, like Egypt (Genesis 10:6):
Radak
Is it not like Karkemish? These are the towns along the Euphrates River, belonging to the kingdoms of Aram, which the king of Assyria conquered. Therefore, it says, “Is it not like Karkemish?” meaning that this one is like that one, for they were all equal before Him and delivered into His hand; so too is Samaria like them.
Calno. It is Calneh, which is mentioned in the Book of Amos:
Metzudat David
Is it not like Karkemish? Just as I conquered Karkemish, so too did I conquer Kalno.
"If not, etc." Does it not mean: just as I conquered Arpad, which is among the dominions of Hamath, and just as I conquered Damascus, so too will I conquer Samaria?
Malbim
Is it not so? (This limits the scope against the view that "and in his heart he did not think thus.") It elucidates the reason why he does not believe that the staff in his hand is merely the wrath of the Lord and His curse, and that he was granted authority only over the people who sinned and upon whom the wrath of the Lord fell. Rather, he proves the opposite with evidence. He says: Is it not so that just as I conquered the city of Karkemish, so too I conquered the city of Kalno; and likewise I conquered Arpad and Hamath, and likewise Damascus and Samaria? How is it possible that among them there was not found a single city that had not sinned before the Lord, and yet the Lord did not restrain Me from destroying them? And even if you were to say that they all sinned, is it not necessarily the case that they did not equal one another in the quality and quantity of their sins, and yet they all equalled one another in the quality and quantity of their destruction, as it is stated, "Is it not like Karkemish, etc."? From this we have proof that it was not the sin that caused the destruction of the nations, but rather My free choice and My will.
As my hand has reached the kingdoms of the idols, Whose graven images did exceed them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
verse value 2826
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 44 letters. Verse gematria: 2826 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "my·hand" (יָדִ֔י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·their·images" (וּפְסִ֣ילֵיהֶ֔ם, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "found" (מָצְאָ֣ה), "to·kingdoms·of" (לְמַמְלְכֹ֖ת), "of nought" (הָאֱלִ֑יל). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as" (root אשר, 176x in Isaiah); "my·hand" (root יד, 79x in Isaiah); "from·Jerusalem" (root ירושלם, 42x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root מצא ("found") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root פסיל ("and·their·images") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'of nought', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙ [as] (521) + מָצְאָ֣ה [found] (136) + יָדִ֔י [my·hand] (24) + לְמַמְלְכֹ֖ת [to·kingdoms·of] (560) + הָאֱלִ֑יל [of nought] (76) + וּפְסִ֣ילֵיהֶ֔ם [and·their·images] (241) + מִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם [from·Jerusalem] (626) + וּמִשֹּׁמְרֽוֹן [and·than·Samaria] (642) = 2826.
Rashi
And their idols: They were from Jerusalem and from Samaria. From here [we learn] that the wicked among Israel were sufficient to provide the likenesses of their foreign gods to all the nations surrounding them. And since the worshippers of the idols of Samaria and Jerusalem fell into [the enemy's] hands, and their idols did not save them, so too Samaria and Jerusalem shall not be saved.
Ibn Ezra
"As I did [it should be: 'my hand found'] for the kingdom. Worshippers of idolatry:"
From Jerusalem. The surroundings of Jerusalem, which are the fortified cities of Judah that he captured.
Radak
Just as with the idolatrous kingdoms and their idols, namely, even though they had idols, they did not have the power to save their land from my hand.
“From Jerusalem and from Samaria.” The explanation is that they were stronger than Jerusalem and Samaria; and since my hand has reached them, all the more so will it reach Samaria and Jerusalem. And this statement was made before Samaria was captured, and after Samaria was captured, he said:
Metzudat David
As my hand has found. Just as my hand has succeeded in conquering these kingdoms, the worshippers of idols, and yet their idols are stronger than the idols of Jerusalem and the idols of Samaria; and it is as if to say: if so, all the more so shall I conquer Jerusalem and Samaria.
Malbim
As it is stated, he adds to say, “And now I reason by a fortiori argument that I can conquer Jerusalem,” for since my hand has prevailed over the kingdoms of the idols—meaning that these kingdoms which I conquered were so devoted to the worship of their idols that they consecrated their kingdoms to their idols, and were called by their names, “the kingdom of such-and-such an idol”—certainly it was fitting that the idol should plead their cause and assist them.
And their idols, those of these kingdoms, were greater than the idols of Jerusalem and Samaria; and therefore, if I conquered these kingdoms, which persisted and even increased in idol worship, all the more so will I conquer Jerusalem.
Shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, So do to Jerusalem and her idols?’
verse value 3370
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 46 letters. Notable word values: "not" (הֲלֹ֗א) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "so" (כֵּ֛ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·to·her·idols" (וְלֶאֱלִילֶ֑יהָ, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "to·Samaria" (לְשֹׁמְר֖וֹן), "and·to·her·idols" (וְלֶאֱלִילֶ֑יהָ), "and·to·her·idols" (וְלַעֲצַבֶּֽיהָ). The root עשה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "as" (root אשר, 176x in Isaiah); "I·did" (root עשה, 101x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root עצב ("and·to·her·idols") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·to·her·idols', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: הֲלֹ֗א [not] (36) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר [as] (521) + עָשִׂ֛יתִי [I·did] (790) + לְשֹׁמְר֖וֹן [to·Samaria] (626) + וְלֶאֱלִילֶ֑יהָ [and·to·her·idols] (122) + כֵּ֛ן [so] (70) + אֶעֱשֶׂ֥ה [I·will·do] (376) + לִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם [to·Jerusalem] (616) + וְלַעֲצַבֶּֽיהָ [and·to·her·idols] (213) = 3370.
Rashi
"As I did to Samaria, etc." – This is stated after the conquest of Samaria:
Ibn Ezra
“Is it not, etc.” This prophecy refers to Sennacherib when he comes to wage war against Jerusalem.
Radak
Is it not so that his idols and his images are a single matter expressed in different words:
Metzudat David
“Is it not so, etc.”: When he conquers Samaria upon his coming against Jerusalem, he will say, “Is it not so, etc.” And regarding “their idols”: For he also broke the idols and took them with him to Assyria.
Malbim
Is it not so? And if you were to say that the God of Israel has greater power than all the gods of those nations, and is able to save Jerusalem from the hand of the Assyrians, just as I did for Samaria and its idols—since they too were from the people of Israel, yet God did not save them—so too will I do to Jerusalem. Therefore:
Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord has performed His whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.
verse value 4944
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 76 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "in·mountain·of" (בְּהַ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·his·work" (אֶת־כׇּל־מַֽעֲשֵׂ֔הוּ, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "when·he·performs" (כִּֽי־יְבַצַּ֤ע), "all·his·work" (אֶת־כׇּל־מַֽעֲשֵׂ֔הוּ), "I·will·punish" (אֶפְקֹ֗ד). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "my·lord" (root אדון, 64x in Isaiah); "his·eyes" (root עין, 45x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root בצע ("when·he·performs") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root פקד ("I·will·punish") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·on·Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְהָיָ֗ה [and·it·shall·be] (26) + כִּֽי־יְבַצַּ֤ע [when·he·performs] (202) + אֲדֹנָי֙ [my·lord] (65) + אֶת־כׇּל־מַֽעֲשֵׂ֔הוּ [all·his·work] (872) + בְּהַ֥ר [in·mountain·of] (207) + צִיּ֖וֹן [Zion] (156) + וּבִירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם [and·on·Jerusalem] (594) + אֶפְקֹ֗ד [I·will·punish] (185) + עַל־פְּרִֽי־גֹ֙דֶל֙ [upon·fruit·of·greatness] (427) + לְבַ֣ב [heart·of] (34) + מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁ֔וּר [king·of·Assyria] (597) + וְעַל־תִּפְאֶ֖רֶת [and·against·glory·of] (1187) + ר֥וּם [loftiness·of] (246) + עֵינָֽיו [his·eyes] (146) = 4944.
Rashi
"And it shall come to pass when He has finished His work" etc. But it was not as he had imagined; rather, after the Holy One, blessed be He, completes all His deeds and takes vengeance upon Israel and upon the remnant of the cities of Judah, from that fear the children of Zion and Jerusalem will be subdued and return to Me. Then I will inform the king of Assyria that he did not prevail by his own strength.
"I will punish the fruit of the great heart of the king of Assyria." Because he made the greatness of the heart of the king of Assyria fruitful and abundant — to glory falsely in his own strength. "The fruit of the greatness" — "creissemenz de grandie" in Old French — of Sennacherib's heart.
“The glory of the height of His eyes.” Because he was glorified in his pride, “glory” and “hidden” in the language of the nations.
"His eyes are haughty." This refers to his arrogance, as it is stated: "Haughty eyes and a proud heart" (Psalms 101:5).
Ibn Ezra
"And it shall come to pass when He shall complete [it]." [This means] he will complete it; similarly, "their hands will finish" (Zechariah 4:10).
"All His work": To bring Sennacherib's army to Zion.
On "fruit." Just as it says, "the fruit of their thoughts" (Jeremiah 6:19) [should be read: "their thoughts"]:
Radak
“And it shall come to pass when He has finished.” “When He has completed,” as in “his hands shall accomplish” (Zechariah 4:9), “He shall accomplish His word” (Lamentations 2:17). He said that when the Lord shall complete all His work among the nations and among Israel through the king of Assyria on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I will punish him for his sins, because he thought that he had done what he did in Jerusalem by his own strength. For there his camp perished, and there his sin was visited upon him. And what is meant by “on the fruit of the pride of his heart, the king of Assyria” is that his evil thought bore fruit, for he boasted of it before people, saying, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am discerning.” And he succeeded in all his ways; therefore, he thought that his success depended on his wisdom. This is what is meant by “on the fruit.” And he repeated the matter, saying, “and on the glory of the haughtiness of his eyes,” for the pride of the heart is visible in the eyes. And similarly it is said, “haughty eyes and a proud heart” (Proverbs 21:4).
Metzudat David
"When He shall cut off." When the Lord completes His work of bringing Sennacherib's army against Zion and Jerusalem, I will take account. Then I will attend to what he corrupted and multiplied, namely his haughty heart.
And on the glory. On the boasting of his arrogance:
Metzudat Zion
יבצע. The matter of completion, as in "and his hands shall complete it" (Zechariah 4):
"I will visit." This refers to the concept of Divine providence, as in "Please consider and see" (1 Samuel 14).
Malbim
"And it shall come to pass when the Lord has finished all His work" — when the Lord completes all that He has in mind to do through the king of Assyria, to punish all those who rebel against Him. And when will He complete His work? When will He say to the affliction of the nations, "Enough!"?
“On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,” when Sennacherib comes to conquer Mount Zion, which will be the culmination of the wrath, then I will visit upon the fruit of the great heart of the king of Assyria; I will punish him for the deeds that sprouted and flourished due to his haughtiness, namely, what has been mentioned up to this point, that he destroyed mighty nations through his arrogance, whereas the Lord commanded him only to take plunder (and this is contrary to “but his heart was not so”), and besides this, I will bring reckoning also upon the pride of his lofty eyes, because he boasted in his haughty eyes and arrogance and refused to acknowledge that he was merely a rod in the hand of the Lord that lifted him up, and he boldly attributed the power to himself (and this is contrary to “nor did he imagine so”):
For he has said: By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; In that I have removed the bounds of the peoples, And have robbed their treasures, And have brought down as one mighty the inhabitants;
verse value 6757
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 85 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·ready·of" ((ועתידתיהם), 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: for, in·strength·of, for. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·in·my·wisdom" (וּבְחׇכְמָתִ֖י), "I·was·discerned" (נְבֻנ֑וֹתִי), "and·I·removed" (וְאָסִ֣יר). The root כי appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "said" (root אמר, 244x in Isaiah); "for" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah); "peoples" (root עם, 107x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root כח ("in·strength·of") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root שסה ("I·plundered") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·was·discerned', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 9 words.
Rashi
"For he said, 'By the strength of my hand I have done it.' All my might is not from the Holy One, blessed be He."
"My wisdom." My wisdom:
"and their future destinies" – their standing and their condition:
"And I will bring down." This refers to bringing them down from their greatness.
“Kabir yoshvim.” Many inhabitants; “kabir” is “plusors” (many) in Old French.
Ibn Ezra
"For I have performed mighty deeds:"
"My wisdom." From the two that appear to be in the Nifal conjugation:
"Va'asir." It refers to the future tense, but the sense is of an ongoing, customary time, similar to "ye'asu agel baChorav" (Psalms 106:19).
"And their future shall be joyful." From the root of "I have prepared for you in the field" (Proverbs 24:26), meaning the wealth that a person sets aside, He will provide it for him in the future from its very beginning.
“And I will bring down like a mighty warrior.” If it were spelled with an aleph, it would be an additional letter, and the meaning would be “I will bring down those dwelling in the mighty palace.” But Rabbi Moses said that the aleph is integral, as in “mighty warrior of the shepherds” (1 Samuel 21:8), and the meaning is “like a hero.”
Radak
"For He said: 'The boundaries of the peoples'—because He conquered all the lands, it is as if He removed all the boundaries. For every nation has a boundary to its land according to the extent of its kingdom's expansion, as you say, 'The kingdom of so-and-so's nation extends from here to there.' And since He conquered everything, everything falls under one kingdom, and it is as if the kingdoms of the nations are not divided, and behold, He is as if He removed the boundaries."
"Their future things, I have plundered." It is written with a yod [as future things], and read with a vav [as their storehouses], and it is one matter in meaning:
I have plundered. With two shins, the second is read as a sin and it is like a samekh, from “shosim et ha-grenot” (they plunder the threshing floors) and “shosati” (I have plundered) which resembles a square, and the meaning of “etudoteihem” is their treasuries, because the wealth of the treasuries is hidden in them for the future if he will need it, and Jonathan translated: “and their praise is called, I have plundered.”
“And I will bring down as a mighty one those who sit.” The letter aleph in “ka’aviyr” is added, or the word is added from “kavir” and “aviyr,” and both are one meaning, and the combination is for magnification, namely, those who sit in a place that is mighty and strong, I will bring them down to the earth. And in the verse, “And I will remove and bring down,” it is in the future tense, because the vav is with a shva, and “I have plundered” is in the past tense. And behold, past and future are in the verse, and the meaning is that He has subdued the nations and will bring honor to the lands.
Metzudat David
"I have done." All that I have done regarding the victory, I have done by the strength of my hand and by my wisdom, for I am discerning and mighty. In their saying, "Thus far is the boundary of this kingdom, and thus far," etc., and since he conquered everything, he removed the boundaries, for everything was considered as one kingdom.
And their treasures I have plundered. I plundered their treasures:
And I will bring down. I have brought down those who dwell in a place of strength, and it returns to the beginning of the verse which says, "All these He did with a strong arm and with awesome wisdom."
Metzudat Zion
"And their stores." Their treasuries, prepared for the time of need. This is from the word "they prepared themselves" in the phrase "they prepared themselves for the waves" (Job 16), which conveys the idea of preparation.
“Shoshiti.” Just as “shoseti” with a samekh, and it is a matter of plunder and spoil, like “shosim et ha-garanot” (1 Samuel 23).
Kabir. The meaning is strength, as in "Kabir ko'ach lev" (Job 36:5):
Malbim
For it is said, “Behold, warfare requires two things: 1. Strength and might; 2. Counsel and strategy in the arts of war,” as it is written, “Counsel and strength are for war.” And the King of Assyria boasted that he had found these two matters in greater abundance, to the extent that he did not need assistance from God. Against the strength, he said, “By my strength I have done it,” meaning that I did not need the strength of another or the help of God, only the strength of my hand. And against the wisdom, he said, “By my wisdom I have done it, for I am wise in myself,” meaning that I did not need the counsel of God. (Now he begins to explain these two matters; first he explains the modes of his wisdom and his strategies.)
And I removed the boundaries of the nations: I did not act like the kings before me, who conquered lands but did not displace the inhabitants from their borders; they merely subdued them to pay tribute and serve as laborers, and the boundaries between one nation and another remained as they had been previously. And when the time came, they found the opportunity to rebel and cast off the yoke. But I removed the boundaries, for I exiled the peoples from their land and settled there other nations. And not only that, but I also uprooted their claims, meaning that I took from them even the right they could have asserted over their land in the future, saying, “This land was ours.” For He devised a clever plan to replace the inhabitants of the lands in such a way that the boundaries became confused and mixed up, so that they would find no claim in the future. And not only did I exile peoples who had dwelt in their land only for a short time and had not held onto their land very firmly, but I also brought down those who had dwelt there for a long time; even those who had inhabited the land for a long time I brought down and exiled. And by this, He explained His wisdom and counsel, that the nations would remain under His dominion, paying tribute and serving as laborers. (Now He begins to explain His power and strength.)
And my hand has found as a nest the riches of the peoples; And as one gathers eggs that are forsaken, Have I gathered all the earth; And there was none that moved the wing, Or that opened mouth, or chirped.
verse value 3653
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 73 letters. Verse gematria: 3653 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "mouth" (פֶ֖ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·the·earth" (כׇּל־הָאָ֖רֶץ, 6 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·found" (וַתִּמְצָ֨א), "as·the·nest" (כַקֵּ֤ן), "army" (לְחֵ֣יל). The root אסף appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "was" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "all·the·earth" (root ארץ, 169x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root ביצה ("eggs") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root אני ("I") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·gathered', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Rashi
Like a nest. Like the nests of birds, which are ownerless:
And like one who gathers abandoned eggs. Just as when a person gathers eggs that have been abandoned by their mother, and there is no one to object to him covering them over:
“Wandering like a wing, opening its mouth, and chirping.” All this language applies to birds, for He likened the exiles to a nest of birds and to abandoned eggs. Therefore, He employed this language: “They did not chirp over them, the father and the mother.”
Ibn Ezra
And you will find: "Lachil" (to wealth) refers to wealth, as in the verse "this wealth" (Deuteronomy 8:17).
“Noded kenaf” – an active participle, yet here the wing is the object of the action, because He compares it to eggs, from which the chicks are born.
Radak
And you will find it like a nest in my hand. Just as a nest is abandoned and left open to all passersby, and similarly it is written, “Like a wandering bird, a scattered nest,” so too, the host of nations was found by my hand as one finds a nest and takes it, with no one to oppose him in his hand; so I did not find among all the nations anyone who would stand against me. And just as a person would gather abandoned eggs on which the mother is not present—for when the bird is upon them, it flutters its wings and strikes at the nest to prevent them from being taken, if it can—but when they are abandoned, he takes them without hindrance—so I did not find any hindrance to all that I took and gathered, not even in speech, all the more so in action. And since He compared the host of nations to a nest and to abandoned eggs, He compared the nations to a bird; therefore He said, “fluttering wings and opening its beak and chirping.” And for the reading “to the host” (le-chayil) like the “to the host” (le-chayil) in “they killed Abner,” and “nodad” (wandering) is a verb in the active voice (poel yotze), or it may be a verb in the stative form (poel omed) like its counterparts, and it is like “navle alayha” (it withers upon them); for since the leaves upon it wither, this tree is called “navle” (withering), meaning on account of its leaves that they wither; and so “nodad kanaf” (wandering wing), on account of its wings that it wanders.
Metzudat David
And my hand found it like a nest. That is to say, it has come within my reach to subdue the nations, just as any hand can reach the abandoned nest of a bird.
"And as it is said, etc.": I have gathered all the people of the land, like one who gathers eggs that their mother has abandoned and gone away.
And there was no wing that wandered. Because the blood of the exiles resembled a bird’s nest and abandoned eggs, He spoke in the language of birds that flutter with their wings, open their beaks, and chirp, thinking that by this they will be saved. That is to say, no one stood against him to protest.
Metzudat Zion
Like a nest. It is the dwelling place of birds, as it is said: “And the swallow a nest for herself” (Psalms 84:4).
Chayil. The matter of the army of the people:
And "ufotzah." The meaning of "ufotzah" is akin to "opening," as in "I opened my mouth" (Judges 11).
And chirping. So is called the sound made by birds:
Malbim
And you will find that a tyrannical king who conquers kingdoms does not strengthen himself to plunder their treasures until after many wars, and in the meantime the country is impoverished and the treasures are hidden away, until he finds a country that is poor and empty. But I, My hand has found and attained the military might and wealth of the nations as one finds a nest, on which the bird sits and the mother lies upon her chicks. So I conquered them suddenly at a time when they were calm and quiet, sitting upon their might and wealth like a bird on its nest. And yet, even though if a man were to come to the nest to take its young, would not the mother fight him with her wings and her beak and not let him take them? But I, like gathering abandoned eggs (might).
"All the land I have gathered together" – the gathering of might, all the land was in My possession as easily as one who gathers abandoned eggs of ownerless property, where the mother is not in the nest, and there is no one who will stand against Him. Likewise, there was no fluttering of wings, as is the way of a bird that fights with its wings first against one who comes to take its chicks; and neither was there any opening of the mouth to bite, as a bird whose wings have been torn will do; and neither was there any chirping to raise a voice at all. That is to say, even though I came upon the might of a nation and kingdom that were all mighty and strong and dwelling in strength, nevertheless, there was no one who protested against My hand, and I took their might with an empty hand and without war. And this indicates the greatness of His might.
Should the axe boast itself against him that hews therewith? Should the saw magnify itself against him that moves it? As if a rod should move them that lift it up, Or as if a staff should lift up him that is not wood.
verse value 4208
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 67 letters. The shortest word is "against" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·them·that·lift·it" (וְאֶת־מְרִימָ֔יו, 9 letters). 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "does·it·boast·itself" (הֲיִתְפָּאֵר֙), "axe" (הַגַּרְזֶ֔ן), "that·digs" (הַחֹצֵ֣ב). The root נוף appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not·tree" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "against" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "and·them·that·lift·it" (root רום, 28x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root נוף ("against·him·who·moves·it") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 9 words. Full calculation: הֲיִתְפָּאֵר֙ [does·it·boast·itself] (696) + הַגַּרְזֶ֔ן [axe] (265) + עַ֖ל [against] (100) + הַחֹצֵ֣ב [that·digs] (105) + בּ֑וֹ [with·it] (8) + אִם־יִתְגַּדֵּ֤ל [if·it·magnifies·itself] (488) + הַמַּשּׂוֹר֙ [saw] (551) + עַל־מְנִיפ֔וֹ [against·him·who·moves·it] (286) + כְּהָנִ֥יף [as·wielding] (165) + שֵׁ֙בֶט֙ [rod] (311) + וְאֶת־מְרִימָ֔יו [and·them·that·lift·it] (713) + כְּהָרִ֥ים [as·raising] (275) + מַטֶּ֖ה [staff] (54) + לֹא־עֵֽץ [not·tree] (191) = 4208.
Rashi
“Let the axe boast.” The Holy One, blessed be He, says: “You should not have boasted about this, for you are nothing but My axe, and I am the one who hews with you and takes vengeance through you upon My enemies. You are the axe, and I am the one who swings it. Is it the way of an axe to boast about its swinger?” “Axe” is rendered in the vernacular as “meiser.”
As if the rod were lifting its bearers. As if the rod were lifting itself and the hand of the one who lifted it. But surely a rod is not lifted except by a person.
“As if a staff could raise, not a tree.” It is not the tree that lifts up, but rather the person who lifts it up.
Ibn Ezra
“Let the axe boast.” This refers to an iron tool with which one cuts, and it is derived from the root of “I was cut down” [should be: “I was hewn down”] (Psalms 31:22). And the meaning is that the term is a simile, for there is no such thing as “evil” in the context of cutting, but rather “he cut down in the cutting place” (1 Chronicles 20:3). It is of the geminate (doubled-root) verbs, on the pattern of “ma'oz” (Isaiah 25:4).
And another parable: “As the waving of the staff and its raisers,” meaning, as the waving of the staff and the lifting of its raisers, for the primary lifting is of the raisers, like lifting a staff; the lifting is of the raisers, not of the wood.
Radak
“Let him boast.” The prophet says: “These are the words of the king of Assyria.” And this is a marvel: How can the axe boast over the one who hews with it? The axe is the king of Assyria, and the one who hews with it is God, blessed be He. And the matter is repeated to strengthen it.
The word *mashor* means "the saw," and its root is *n-sh-r*. The nun is absorbed into the shin, which is therefore dagesh-ed. From this root comes the term *nesarim* (planks) mentioned in the Mishnah regarding that with which one may make a roof covering.
As he lifts up the scepter. Just as this one lifts up the scepter, and he is the king of Assyria, as it says, “the scepter of my wrath,” and with whom is he? Not with the staff like him, but with the One who raises it up to strike the nations, and He is God, blessed be He. And it says, “those who lift it up,” in the plural, just as it says, “He is a holy God,” and it repeats the matter in different words. And it says
"Like mountains, a staff." To strengthen the matter, and the explanation is: "This staff, which is wood, shall not come to be like other trees," meaning it will not grow beyond its current state; and from now on, in its pride, it will cease and perish.
Metzudat David
“Let it boast.” The prophet said: Is it fitting for the axe to boast about the one who hews with it, saying, “I am the one who hews, and not you”? That is to say: Assyria is nothing but an axe in the hand of God; it does not prevail by its own strength.
"If He will be magnified, etc." The duplication of the matter in what is stated:
As he waved the staff. Just as if the staff, together with those who lifted it, had waved the staff; meaning to say that even the combined strength of both contributed to the waving.
As if the staff raised itself. It is as if the staff raised mountains, etc. And the matter is repeated in what is stated:
"Not a tree." Behold, in truth, it is not the tree that lifts, but rather man is the one who lifts. And the meaning is: behold, so too, it is not Assyria that possesses the victory, but rather the Omnipresent, to whom they compared it.
Metzudat Zion
The axe. The name of the tool with which trees are felled, as it is said: "And his hand slipped with the axe" (Deuteronomy 19:5).
"The one who hews." The matter of chopping and breaking is similar to it, and also "he hewed a winepress in it" (above, 5).
The word "mesor" [saw]. It is the name of a tool full of notches, which is used to cut wood. And similarly, "vayashar" [and he smoothed] with a "megarah" (1 Chronicles 20).
"Manifo." The word is derived from the root meaning "to wave" and "to lift up."
“M’rimav.” With his supporters:
As mountains. The word denotes lifting and raising:
Malbim
He boasts, and He answers him, saying: “In what will you boast of your strength? Will the axe boast against the one who hews with it, saying that it hewed the tree by its own power? And likewise, is it not true that the Lord lifted you up and gave you strength?” He adds further: “If the saw were to magnify itself, at least the axe could boast in that it uprooted [the tree], for the hewing was accomplished by its own action when it was brought down upon the wood. And although the beginning of the action, which is the lifting, is attributed to the man, nevertheless the completion [of the action] is attributed to the axe itself. And so too you would say in the parable: although the Lord lifted you up and gave you dominion over the nations, nevertheless the completion of the action—that you conquered lands and drove out many peoples—this is attributed to your own strength. But will the saw magnify itself against its wielder? The saw that saws through cedars—even the completion of the action is accomplished by the power of the man who carries it and brings it by his strength and saws with it. And likewise, even the completion of the action and the conquest—all of it was only by the power of the Lord. (And this is contrary to what is stated: ‘And the rod is in their hand, [which is] My wrath.’) ‘As he lifts’—meaning, it is an a fortiori argument that it cannot be imagined that the axe and the saw would still boast, saying not only that they did everything by their own power, but also that they lifted the hand of their lifter. As if the staff would boast, saying that it lifted itself and the hand of its lifter. For thus you have acted foolishly in boasting: not only did you do everything by your own strength, but you also lift your lifter; you compel the power of the Lord and the supreme might according to your desire. Will you conquer Israel and prevail against the God of their stronghold — “as if the rod should lift” [its wielder]? And more than this, if the rod were to exalt itself, saying that it is not wood, but rather has a vital soul that moves of its own accord—so too you have added arrogance in exalting yourself, claiming that you are not a human being at all, saying, ‘I am a god, and not a man, and I will be like the Most High.’ (In this, he increased his folly in four matters: 1. He denied that all his strength and action are the action of the Lord. 2. He also denied this: that at least the dominion and the beginning of his power were given to him by the Lord. (And this is contrary to the two matters stated: ‘Assyria is the rod of My anger, and the rod is in their hand [which is] My wrath.’) 3. He thought that he would also prevail against the God of gods. 4. He became so foolish that he forgot he was a human being and said, ‘I will ascend to the Most High.’)”
Therefore will the Lord, Hashem of hosts, Send among his fat ones leanness; And under his glory there shall be kindled A burning like the burning of fire.
verse value 3265
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 53 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֧ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "fire" (אֵֽשׁ, 2 letters) and the longest is "among·his·fat·ones" (בְּמִשְׁמַנָּ֖יו, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 114: will·burn, burning. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "among·his·fat·ones" (בְּמִשְׁמַנָּ֖יו), "leanness" (רָז֑וֹן), "a burning" (כִּיק֥וֹד). The root יקד appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "hosts" (root צבא, 73x in Isaiah); "the·lord" (root אדון, 64x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root יקד ("will·burn") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'leanness', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: לָ֠כֵן [therefore] (100) + יְשַׁלַּ֨ח [will·send] (348) + הָאָד֜וֹן [the·lord] (66) + יְהֹוָ֧ה [Hashem] (26) + צְבָא֛וֹת [hosts] (499) + בְּמִשְׁמַנָּ֖יו [among·his·fat·ones] (448) + רָז֑וֹן [leanness] (263) + וְתַ֧חַת [and·under] (814) + כְּבֹד֛וֹ [his·glory] (32) + יֵקַ֥ד [will·burn] (114) + יְקֹ֖ד [burning] (114) + כִּיק֥וֹד [a burning] (140) + אֵֽשׁ [fire] (301) = 3265.
Rashi
"And under his glory." "Under" [means that] they shall be burned beneath their garments, for the garments are what bring honor to a person.
"Yiqad yiqod" – it shall burn with a burning, like the burning of fire. And in the aggadic midrash: Here, God recompensed Shem and Japheth for the honor they showed their father, when they covered the nakedness of their father Noah, as it is stated (Genesis 9:23): "And Shem and Japheth took the garment..."
Ibn Ezra
"Therefore, etc." The meaning of "among his fat ones" is the death of the great men of Assyria, for so it is written:
Yiqad. Like “and He bent the heavens” (ויט שמים) and “and he descended” (וירד):
Yakod. On the pattern of *kefor* (Psalms 147:17):
Radak
Therefore, the Lord shall send. Because of this: since he did not consider that there is a Higher One guiding him, but rather said that by his own strength and wisdom he was doing what he was doing, therefore God shall show him that He is the Master, and He is the Lord of Hosts above and Hosts below, and He shall send through His hosts a pestilence, and Razon, which is death, as it is said, “And He sent Razon among them” (Isaiah 10:22). And furthermore, because he said “in their fat ones,” it also says “Razon.” And the meaning of “in their fat ones” is the great ones among them, the mighty and the healthy, as it is said, “And He shall destroy every mighty man of war and every nobleman” (Isaiah 10:26). And likewise, the healthy and the strong are called by this term, as it is said, “Every fat one and every man of war” (2 Samuel 17:27), and similarly it is said, “And He shall strike their fat ones, the young men of Israel” (2 Samuel 17:27). The matter is decided.
"And under His glory." And "in the place of His glory" means: in the place where He was honored, His great and mighty camp—there it shall burn with a burning, like the burning of fire; a consuming pestilence shall burn it up, as fire burns.
Metzudat David
Therefore. Because of the greatness of his heart:
"In his fatness is leanness." He will make lean the fats of his people, meaning that they will perish from the world.
“And under His glory.” In the place where he used to honor himself by attributing the matter to the strength of his arm, in this place he will be an object of mockery and derision, for “a burning will burn” – like a burning of fire. This means that all his men will die by the hand of the angel who strikes them, as if they were burned in fire. And similarly it is said concerning him: “And it shall be for a devouring burning” (above, 9:17).
Metzudat Zion
"Of its oils." The word is derived from the root "shemen," meaning "oil."
Razon. The meaning is leanness (emaciation):
And instead. In place of:
Yiqad. The matter of burning is like that of "upon its fire" (Leviticus 6):
Malbim
Therefore, behold, the glory of a kingdom depends on two things: 1. Its internal strength, namely, the valor of its warriors and the boldness of heart of the masses; 2. Its external honor, the multitude of its people and the honor of its wealth. And the commentator depicted the kingdom as an individual person, whose glory also depends on two things: 1. His internal strength, that he be a fat, strong, and healthy man; 2. His external honor, his wealth and the multitude of his sons. And he compared the defeat of Sennacherib’s camp to this, because first their internal strength was destroyed, and their valor and boldness of heart were lost due to the fear of God. And he compared this to a strong, fat man who fell ill with wasting disease (Abzehrung). And regarding this it is said, “Therefore the Lord will send upon them wasting disease among their fat ones” (Isaiah 10:16). And he compared how the nullification of their internal strength came to them from their own side, not from an external cause, like wasting disease which comes through weakness of the stomach and the power of digestion. 2. That afterwards their external honor was also nullified through an external cause, like a man upon whom a fire broke out and consumed all his honor and property. And this is what is meant by, “And instead of his honor, a fire shall burn, as the burning of fire” (Isaiah 10:17). And this is a figurative expression for the fire from heaven that consumed his camp. And so it appears from the words of our Sages of blessed memory, that first the fear of God fell upon them and they killed one another, and afterwards they were burned by fire from heaven. And so it appears further on, verse 26.
And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; And it shall burn and devour his thorns And his briers in one day.
verse value 3293
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 53 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֤ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·fire" (לְאֵ֔שׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "light·of·Israel" (אֽוֹר־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙, 8 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "light·of·Israel" (אֽוֹר־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙), "to·fire" (לְאֵ֔שׁ), "and·his·Holy·One" (וּקְדוֹשׁ֖וֹ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "in·day" (root יום, 124x in Isaiah); "and·it·shall·consume" (root אכל, 55x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·flame', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְהָיָ֤ה [and·it·shall·be] (26) + אֽוֹר־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [light·of·Israel] (748) + לְאֵ֔שׁ [to·fire] (331) + וּקְדוֹשׁ֖וֹ [and·his·Holy·One] (422) + לְלֶהָבָ֑ה [to·flame] (72) + וּבָעֲרָ֗ה [and·will·burn] (283) + וְאָכְלָ֛ה [and·it·shall·consume] (62) + שִׁית֥וֹ [his·thorns] (716) + וּשְׁמִיר֖וֹ [thorns] (562) + בְּי֥וֹם [in·day] (58) + אֶחָֽד [one] (13) = 3293.
Rashi
"Light of Israel." The Torah that Hezekiah engaged in would become a fire against Sennacherib.
And His sanctity. The Holy One, blessed be He. Another interpretation: And His sanctity refers to the righteous of the generation.
"Set them and guard them." His officers and his mighty ones:
Ibn Ezra
"And the light of Israel" – this refers to the Divine Name, and the meaning is that the angel who destroys [or: who had destroyed, or: who is destroying] the camp:
"His thorns and his briers." The wicked:
Radak
“And the light of Israel shall be.” God, blessed be He, is the light of Israel, and He illuminated them in the darkness in which they were, as it is stated above: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” And behold, God, blessed be He, is like a light that shines and consumes; He will shine upon Israel and consume the camp of Assyria. The matter is repeated in different words to strengthen the meaning. The interpretation of “his thorns and his briers” is as in the Targum. The “great princes” in his camp are called “thorns” because they were painful to the world, like a thorn that causes pain.
Metzudat David
“And the light of Israel shall be.” God, who illuminates Israel.
"And His Holy One." This refers to God, the Holy One of Israel. And the matter is repeated in what is stated:
"Set them and guard them." And He called them so because through them He afflicted the nations, as a thorn afflicts.
Metzudat Zion
“Shayit and Shamir.” These are species of thorns.
Malbim
"And it shall be the light of Israel" – behold, the salvation of God’s people from their distress depends on two matters: 1. Time, for every affliction has a limited duration, and when its time expires, it necessarily departs, just as the night departs when dawn breaks; 2. The improvement of deeds, for since the punishment has a cause, namely sin, if they remove the cause and improve their deeds, the effect necessarily departs, and they are saved even before the appointed time (as it is stated: "If they merit it, I will hasten it; if they do not merit it, it will come in its due time"). It is clear that if they are saved through their deeds, the salvation will be more complete and extraordinary than if they were saved merely through the passage of time. In light of this, the verse states that here, in the downfall of Sennacherib, these two matters converged: 1. From the aspect of time, for the time of salvation and the end of the night had already arrived (as it is stated in the verse: "And it shall come to pass when the Lord has finished His work"), and therefore it says, "And it shall be the light of Israel," meaning the morning light, whose time had come to illuminate Israel’s night, became a fire against Sennacherib to burn him. (The rhetorical device is that light performs two functions: it illuminates and it burns. It states that the very light that illuminates Israel with its illuminating power, burns Sennacherib’s camp with its burning power.) 2. From the aspect of the purity and holiness of their deeds, and therefore it says, "and the holiness of Israel shall be a flame," which is greater than fire, for it is both scorching and visible from afar. So too, through the merits of Israel, the conflagration in the Assyrian camp was intensified, and the miracle became known from afar and burned. "By the fire it consumed" – through the fire; "and by the flame it devoured" – through the flame. "His thorns and his thistles" – this is an allegory for his camp. (And regarding the fact that God is called "the light of Israel" and "the Holy One of Israel" according to their deeds, see above, chapter 1, verse 4; chapter 5, verse 16).
And the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, He will consume both soul and body; And it shall be as when a sick man wastes away.
verse value 2119
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 40 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 2119 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "being·sick" (נֹסֵֽס, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·his·fruitful·field" (וְכַרְמִלּ֔וֹ, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·his·fruitful·field" (וְכַרְמִלּ֔וֹ), "from·soul" (מִנֶּ֥פֶשׁ), "and·until·flesh" (וְעַד־בָּשָׂ֖ר). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "and·glory·of" (root כבוד, 38x in Isaiah); "from·soul" (root נפש, 31x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root כרמל ("and·his·fruitful·field") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root מסס ("as·dissolving") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'he·will·consume', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּכְב֤וֹד [and·glory·of] (38) + יַעְרוֹ֙ [his·forest] (286) + וְכַרְמִלּ֔וֹ [and·his·fruitful·field] (302) + מִנֶּ֥פֶשׁ [from·soul] (470) + וְעַד־בָּשָׂ֖ר [and·until·flesh] (582) + יְכַלֶּ֑ה [he·will·consume] (65) + וְהָיָ֖ה [and·it·shall·be] (26) + כִּמְסֹ֥ס [as·dissolving] (180) + נֹסֵֽס [being·sick] (170) = 2119.
Rashi
"And the glory of his forest and his vineyard." They are the multitude of his armies:
Carmel. A high forest:
"As when a moth-worm melts away (ki-mesos noses)." Since He compared them to the trees of the forest, He compared their doom to the worm that saws with its mouth and grinds the wood; it is called "sas," as in "like wool the moth-worm (sas) shall eat them" (below, 51:8).
Like a thing melted, it is melted. Like a thing dragged, it is dragged:
"As it is ground, it is ground." Like the fine grinding of a worm, which grinds very finely, so too was the ash and the burning of their bodies fine. "Masos" refers to that which is ground and falls by means of a worm, and "nosos" refers to the worm itself.
Ibn Ezra
"And the glory of his forest and his Carmel." This is a parable: There were many [people], like the trees of the forest and Carmel.
From soul to flesh it was consumed. For He annihilated them as if by burning:
Like *masus*. The word is like *yiqod*, and it is not *semikhut* (attached to the preceding word).
And the meaning of “nosas” is that this matter shall be visible like a banner (nes).
Radak
“And the glory of his forest and of his Carmel.” The forest is the place of great trees and cedars, and Carmel is the place of cultivation, in which are fields and vineyards. He compared the camp of Assyria to the forest and to Carmel because there were in his camp great kings and princes, and there was in his camp sufficient for all their needs, and much wealth from the spoils of Egypt and Cush, and there were among them many people, cultivators of the land and others. And the glory of the entire camp, they all died. And what it says, “From soul to flesh, they were consumed,” indicates that the body too was burned. And there is a dispute in the words of our Sages regarding this, and they divided over the verse “And instead of his glory,” not “his glory” literally, as it is in the chapter Chalk. And behold, this verse supports the one who says that the soul together with the body were burned. And the verse that says, “And they rose early in the morning, and behold, they were all dead corpses,” supports the one who said that the souls were burned and the bodies remained, for the corpses were those who were dead. And even though they brought only two verses, behold, it shows the reason of each and every one. And we can reconcile the two verses, that part of their bodies was burned. And so it says below in the portion, “Behold, their nobles cry out outside, and the peoples are burning lime,” and it was like melting, melting. And his camp was like a camp that would melt, carrying the banner, for the entire camp would fall. And Jonathan translated, “And it shall be broken and scattered, they shall be broken and flee,” meaning that the few remaining shall flee.
Metzudat David
"And the glory of his forest." The majority of his people were like the trees of the forest, in which he took pride.
And Carmel. This means the wealthy, like this Carmel, which is full of the blessing of the Lord, fields and vineyards:
From the soul, etc. For He will burn their bodies and their souls.
"And it shall be." That people shall be like the gnawing of the worm, which gnaws the wood finely, bit by bit. And since He compared them to the trees of the forest, He used the term that applies to the destruction of wood.
Metzudat Zion
And his Carmel. The name "Carmel" was applied to a place of fields and vineyards, as it is stated: "And the wilderness shall become Carmel" (below, 32).
Like a masus, it is nosas. The name of the worm that eats and grinds the wood is called nosas, and it is similar to it, as it says, "And like wool, the ses will eat it" (below 51). And the ground wood itself is called masus.
Malbim
"And the glory of His forest and His Carmel" refers to His princes, counselors, and mighty men. For the forest is stronger than the Carmel, and it serves as the image of the mighty men; but the Carmel is more esteemed than the forest, and it is the metaphor for the princes and counselors. From the soul to the flesh, he grasps the metaphor of a forest that is burned: sometimes the stump does not burn, but only the shoots are charred by the fire until the power of growth is removed. This is in the metaphor that the growing soul is burned, not the body. And in the tenor, the camp will be scattered until the spirit of life, which is the kingship and leadership, is removed from it, but the body, which are the individual persons of the camp, will remain intact. He says that from the soul to the flesh they will be consumed—that all of them will be consumed—and it will be like something that has melted away. Also, the "melted one" is Sennacherib, who carries a banner for the nations for war; he too will ultimately be like something melted and a thing that has dissolved.
And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, That a child may write them down.
verse value 2162
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "tree" (עֵ֛ץ, 2 letters) and the longest is "will·write·them" (יִכְתְּבֵֽם, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "number" (מִסְפָּ֣ר), "will·write·them" (יִכְתְּבֵֽם). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·will·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "and·rest·of" (root שאר, 21x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root עץ ("tree") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root מספר ("number") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·will·be', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 2 words. Full calculation: וּשְׁאָ֥ר [and·rest·of] (507) + עֵ֛ץ [tree] (160) + יַעְר֖וֹ [his·forest] (286) + מִסְפָּ֣ר [number] (380) + יִהְי֑וּ [they·will·be] (31) + וְנַ֖עַר [and·boy] (326) + יִכְתְּבֵֽם [will·write·them] (472) = 2162.
Rashi
"And the rest of the trees of his forest" – those who remained in his armies.
They will be counted. They are few in number, so that they can be counted, and a youth can write them down. And our Sages said: Ten remain from them, for there is no small child who does not write a small yod.
Ibn Ezra
And the remainder: that only a few of them shall escape, until the point that a boy who is not accustomed to calculation can write them down.
Radak
“And the rest of the wood of his forest.” Since the prophet compared the camp to the trees of the forest, he said that those remaining from the wood of his forest shall be few in number, meaning few, as it is written: “And I, am I few in number?”
"And a youth shall write them." The explanation is that there were ten remaining [names], and the youth, when he begins to write them, learning how to write at first, will write the letter yod, for it is the first letter of the aleph. And it is possible to interpret that the youth will not be weary to write them, for they will be few, and the youth is able to count them and write them.
Metzudat David
"And the remainder." The remainder of the tree that remains in its forest—this means that which remains in its camp.
They shall be few in number. "Few in number" – that is, a small, countable number.
And a youth. Even a youth should not be weary of writing them and enumerating them, for they will be few.
Malbim
"And the remnant of his forest" – that which remains from the camp will be but a few in number, and the number will be so small that a young boy will be able to write down their names.
And it shall come to pass in that day, That the remnant of Israel, And they that are escaped of the house of Jacob, Shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; But shall stay upon Hashem, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
verse value 5171
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 78 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "again" (ע֜וֹד, 3 letters) and the longest is "will·not·again" (לֹא־יוֹסִ֨יף, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: Israel, Israel. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "will·not·again" (לֹא־יוֹסִ֨יף), "and·escape·of" (וּפְלֵיטַ֣ת), "to·be·leaned·on" (לְהִשָּׁעֵ֖ן). The root ישראל appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "in·the·day" (root יום, 124x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root שען ("to·be·leaned·on") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root אמת ("in·truth") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·him·that·smote·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Rashi
“to lean upon his staff.” To rely on the kings of Egypt, who were the beginning of those who oppressed them.
Ibn Ezra
"And it shall be." On account of his striking him, namely, Assyria, and this is a sign that many of Judah had conspired.
Radak
"And it shall come to pass on that day": To lean upon one who strikes him, as Ahaz used to lean upon the king of Assyria, and he would strike him either by imposing heavy burdens upon him or by waging war against him, for afterwards he indeed fought against him. And now they shall recognize that one should not lean upon a human being, for he requires that you serve him and pay him tribute, and when you do not pay or he is not pleased with you, he will strike you and fight against you. But it is proper to lean upon the Lord of Hosts, for He does not ask anything of man other than that one truly lean upon Him, and He will save him from all his troubles. And since Hezekiah leaned upon the Lord, He struck the king of Assyria who had been striking him, and it became known to all that the Lord is the Holy One of Israel.
Metzudat David
"On that day." When this great miracle will be seen:
“On striking him.” This refers to Egypt, for they were the first to afflict them.
In truth. With all your heart:
Malbim
“And it shall come to pass on that day, when they shall see the power of the Lord and His might, the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob (see the explanation of the words) shall no longer lean upon their striker; they shall no longer seek help from Assyria or from any other nation. Not only did he no longer help them, but he struck them (as stated in 2 Kings 16). And the metaphor is that the staff serves two purposes: for striking and for support; and when they leaned upon the nations to rely on them, it was turned into a rod of affliction. Rather, they shall lean upon the Lord, for He shall be their support, after they have truly leaned upon Him and not through deceit. And even though at present the house of Jacob, who are the house of Ephraim and the ten tribes, are among the nations, nevertheless:”
A remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, To God the Mighty.
verse value 1775
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 22 letters. The shortest word is "rest" (שְׁאָ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "shall·return" (יָשׁ֖וּב, 4 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: rest, rest·of. The root שאר appears 2 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·God" (root איל, 114x in Isaiah); "shall·return" (root שוב, 51x in Isaiah); "Jacob" (root יעקב, 42x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jacob', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: שְׁאָ֥ר [rest] (501) + יָשׁ֖וּב [shall·return] (318) + שְׁאָ֣ר [rest·of] (501) + יַעֲקֹ֑ב [Jacob] (182) + אֶל־אֵ֖ל [to·God] (62) + גִּבּֽוֹר [mighty] (211) = 1775.
Rashi
The remnant shall return. The remnant among them will return to the Holy One, blessed be He.
"Al gibbor" – That He showed them His might in the matter of Sennacherib.
Ibn Ezra
“Remnant of Yashuv.” This is the name of the prophet’s son, and he explained that the meaning of “Remnant of Yashuv” is “Remnant of Jacob,” which refers to Judah. Moreover, “Yashuv” (returning) serves both himself and his people afterward, as it is written, “A gift in secret pacifies anger” (Proverbs 21:14). And indeed, it is so: the remnant of Jacob shall return to the Mighty God.
And the meaning of "Mighty" is because He is able to save them.
Radak
"Remnant of Israel." Since in the days of Hezekiah the majority of Israel went into exile, therefore he said "remnant," meaning that which remained of Israel shall return. And he further explained and said, "The remnant of Jacob shall return to the Mighty God," meaning they shall return in complete repentance to the Lord, who demonstrated His might against the mighty men of humanity.
Metzudat David
The remnant shall return. The remnant shall return, and in order to provide further clarification, it states, “the remnant of Jacob,” etc. This means that the remnant of the children of Jacob shall return to the Lord, Who showed them mighty acts in Assyria.
Malbim
"A remnant shall return": those who remain from them, the refugees from the sword, shall return to the Lord. And do not think that only a portion of those who remain will return; not so, but all the remnant of Jacob shall return to the Mighty God, because they will see the might of the Lord and His strength.
For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, Only a remnant of them shall return; An extermination is determined, overflowing with righteousness. .
verse value 2732
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "if·it·shall·be" (אִם־יִהְיֶ֞ה, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "if·it·shall·be" (אִם־יִהְיֶ֞ה), "completion" (כִּלָּי֥וֹן). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah); "if·it·shall·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "your·people" (root עם, 107x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root חול ("like·the·sand·of") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root חרץ ("determined") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'of·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּ֣י [for] (30) + אִם־יִהְיֶ֞ה [if·it·shall·be] (71) + עַמְּךָ֤ [your·people] (130) + יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [Israel] (541) + כְּח֣וֹל [like·the·sand·of] (64) + הַיָּ֔ם [sea] (55) + שְׁאָ֖ר [rest] (501) + יָשׁ֣וּב [shall·return] (318) + בּ֑וֹ [of·them] (8) + כִּלָּי֥וֹן [completion] (116) + חָר֖וּץ [determined] (304) + שׁוֹטֵ֥ף [washing] (395) + צְדָקָֽה [righteousness] (199) = 2732.
Rashi
"If only He were with you." The prophet said this to Hezekiah: "If He were with you, like the sand of the sea, the remainder would return to the good. You would sweep away the decreed destruction that is coming upon them, and you would delay it from coming, through the righteousness with which You deal."
Ibn Ezra
“Ki...” The meaning is: Even though the Israelites will be numerous in those days, like the sand of the sea, only those who return to God will remain from among them, for a decisive destruction has been decreed by God, as it is written, “You have cut down” (1 Kings 20:40); it will come like a rushing torrent of justice.
Radak
“Only if there shall be.” The pronoun “your people” refers to Hezekiah. He said: Even if they were as numerous as the sand of the sea, the remainder who return in it shall be called “the remainder.” For just as when the majority departs, the small portion is called “the remainder,” so too with Israel: their majority perished, and a severe destruction passed over them, sweeping them away through righteousness and destroying them because they were sinners. And the remainder in it, which is the small portion, returned to God. This refers to the Ten Tribes who went into exile, while the remainder—Judah and Benjamin—returned to God in the days of Hezekiah, and God saved them from the hand of the king of Assyria.
"And complete destruction." Explanation: "Complete" means utter destruction.
Metzudat David
"but rather, etc." This means that even if they are numerous, only a remnant will remain among them, who will return to God, for a complete destruction will come like a rushing flood, with judgment of righteousness and truth, for they will be deserving of total destruction.
Metzudat Zion
Charutz. "Cut off and sever," just as it is stated: "You have cut off your judgment" (1 Kings 20).
Malbim
“For though [your people] be” — the order of the verse is: O Israel! your people [is] like the sand of the sea! though but a remnant of them shall return; destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. And in its explanation: "You, O Israel, your people, who now are numerous and mighty like the sand of the sea," even if after the exile of the King of Assyria there remains only a small remnant, even though the remnant that remains and returns from this great nation will be only a tiny, insignificant portion, nevertheless, their merit will be so great that the righteousness and the righteousness of their deeds will sweep away the determined, decreed, and ordained destruction that was to come upon them, and the Lord will have mercy on His people.
For an extermination wholly determined Shall the Lord, the God of hosts, make in the midst of all the earth.
verse value 2059
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 37 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·determined" (וְנֶחֱרָצָ֑ה, 6 letters). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "for" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah); "all·the·earth" (root ארץ, 169x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·determined', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: כִּ֥י [for] (30) + כָלָ֖ה [all] (55) + וְנֶחֱרָצָ֑ה [and·determined] (359) + אֲדֹנָ֤י [my·lord] (65) + יֱהֹוִה֙ [Hashem] (26) + צְבָא֔וֹת [hosts] (499) + עֹשֶׂ֖ה [doing] (375) + בְּקֶ֥רֶב [in·midst·of] (304) + כׇּל־הָאָֽרֶץ [all·the·earth] (346) = 2059.
Rashi
For when it is completed and decreed. You will see that the Holy One, blessed be He, executes judgment upon the wicked, and you will be humbled and return to Him.
Ibn Ezra
"Ki." And it was decreed: a decree was issued from God, as it is written, "You have decreed" (1 Kings 20:40).
Radak
“Ki kela venacharta.” Just as it says “keliyon charutz” (complete destruction), and the phrase “venacharta” is repeated to strengthen the meaning, namely: because the completion will be thorough, it states: “I am making it complete, and the completion will be decisive.”
Metzudat David
"For it shall be finished and decreed." He means that the matter shall be firmly decreed as to what the Lord will do within the land, and therefore only a few will remain from the many.
Metzudat Zion
And it was severed. It was decreed and cut off:
Malbim
"For when it is completed and decreed" — this means that even though the Lord has decreed destruction, and even though the decree has been finalized and its judgment completed to the point that the decree must inevitably come to pass, since it follows the completion of the judgment, nevertheless, the Lord will provide a substitute in their place, and the destruction decreed will fall upon the idolaters, those who blaspheme God. This is what the verse states: "The destruction that is decreed, the Lord [God] of Hosts shall bring about, and He will accomplish it in the midst of all the land"; and the people of God will be rescued and shown mercy.
Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: O My people that dwell in Zion, be not afraid of Asshur, though he smite you with the rod, and lift up his staff against you, after the manner of Egypt.
verse value 4214
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 71 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 4214 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "therefore" (לָכֵ֗ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "shall·lift·against·you" (יִשָּֽׂא־עָלֶ֖יךָ, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "he·will·strike·you" (יַכֶּ֔כָּה), "shall·lift·against·you" (יִשָּֽׂא־עָלֶ֖יךָ). 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "thus·said" (root אמר, 244x in Isaiah); "do·not·fear" (root איל, 114x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'of·Asshur', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 6 words.
Rashi
"Therefore." Because I knew that you would return to Him, Hezekiah and his followers. (Another explanation: "Therefore" is an expression of an oath, meaning "truly.")
"Thus said the Lord: Do not fear Assyria; with the rod he will smite you." With the rod of his mouth he will revile and blaspheme you, through Rabshakeh.
"And his staff shall rise against you." To threaten, in the manner that He did to Egypt. And there is another interpretation: "With a rod He will strike you," meaning that until now He struck you with a rod, and He is accustomed to raising His staff and His terror against you, like the Egyptians. In the name of Rabbi Menachem, Rabbi Yosef said to me:
Ibn Ezra
Therefore. the one who dwells in Zion, because all the cities of Judah were captured:
He will strike you. in his thought:
On the way to Egypt. For from there he passed.
Radak
“Therefore.” The one who dwells in Zion said: Since the king of Assyria conquered all the land of Judah, as it is written, “And he encamped against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them,” and only Jerusalem remained, Zion said—she being the head of the kingdom—“With a rod He will strike you, but He will not utterly destroy you.” That is to say, He will not destroy you completely, but rather like one who strikes with a rod, which pains the person struck but does not kill him; so too will the king of Assyria do to Judah.
"And he shall lift up his staff against you." This refers to the tax that he imposed on the inhabitants of Jerusalem: three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
By the way of Egypt. By the same path and in the same manner that the Egyptians treated Israel, as it is stated: “And they set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens” (Exodus 1:11); they afflicted them with taxes and with hard labor, but they did not utterly destroy them. So too did the king of Assyria treat Israel.
Metzudat David
Therefore. Because I knew that Hezekiah and his entourage would return to me:
"With a rod He will strike you." This means that He will not bring complete destruction upon you, but rather He will strike you with a rod that causes pain, and He will lift His staff over you to threaten and terrify.
On the way. Just as He did in Egypt, where they afflicted Israel and threatened them, but did not destroy them completely.
Malbim
Therefore, do not fear, My people. Although the other nations will fear Assyria, you, My people, do not fear. And even though the Ten Tribes will also fear Assyria, nevertheless, you, My people, who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, for he will not be able to harm you. For he will only strike you with a rod, and the striking of a rod is not dangerous. He will not strike you with a staff, whose striking is dangerous, for his staff will only be raised over you, and he will frighten you with it when he goes on the way to Egypt, to wage war there against Tirhakah, king of Cush, and against Egypt. Then he will frighten you with his staff through Rabshakeh [below, chapter 37], but he will not be able to actually strike you with it, for quickly it will fall and be broken.
For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall be accomplished, and Mine anger shall be to their destruction.
verse value 1803
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "little·of" (מְעַ֣ט, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·their·destruction" (עַל־תַּבְלִיתָֽם, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "for·yet" (כִּי־ע֖וֹד), "and·my·anger" (וְאַפִּ֖י), "to·their·destruction" (עַל־תַּבְלִיתָֽם). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for·yet" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "to·their·destruction" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "and·my·anger" (root אף, 39x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root מזער ("a little") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'a little', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּי־ע֖וֹד [for·yet] (110) + מְעַ֣ט [little·of] (119) + מִזְעָ֑ר [a little] (317) + וְכָ֣לָה [and·extermination] (61) + זַ֔עַם [indignation] (117) + וְאַפִּ֖י [and·my·anger] (97) + עַל־תַּבְלִיתָֽם [to·their·destruction] (982) = 1803.
Rashi
For yet a little while, and the wrath that was given as a rod into the hand of Assyria, as stated above, "the rod is in their hand—that is My wrath," shall come to an end.
"And My anger." Which was [against you] as a rod, shall turn upon their outrage (tavlitam) — a term as in "they have wrought corruption (tevel)" (Leviticus 20:12) — upon the taunts and blasphemies with which the servants of the king of Assyria blasphemed Me.
Ibn Ezra
“Ki.” A little, a small amount, in days, and I will exhaust My wrath and My anger upon them, due to the great extent of their corruption. And there are those who interpret their destruction from the word “bloti” (Genesis 18:12), on the pattern of “tekhilatam” [should be read: tekhilat] (Psalms 139:22).
Radak
"For yet a little while." He repeated the phrase in order to diminish the time. He said: "Yet a little while" will pass, and My wrath against the King of Assyria will be exhausted, for until now he was the rod of My anger and the staff of My wrath to strike the nations. But now My wrath and My anger against him will be exhausted until it is completely spent. And this is what is meant by "and My anger against their destruction" ("va'api al tevilatam"): "tevilatam" (their destruction) is on the pattern of "techilatam" (their end).
Metzudat David
"And the anger shall be consumed." My anger, which I have placed in the hand of Assyria to serve as a rod for him, as stated above, and the rod is in their hands—my anger, behold, in a short time the anger shall be consumed.
And My anger. My wrath shall turn against the world, because of the insults and reproaches which the youths of the king of Assyria uttered in their reproach; and He means to say that the wrath shall fall upon them to exact retribution for the world.
Metzudat Zion
"From a small amount." Its meaning is like "a little," and similarly "zeir" (a small one) refers to the similar phrase there (below, 28). And the duplication of synonymous terms serves to diminish the time.
“tavalitem.” Its meaning is a disgraceful matter that is not fit to be done, like “taval hu” (Leviticus 20).
Malbim
"For yet a very little while, in days not many, and the wrath shall be consumed—the wrath that I cursed, which was the rod in His hand to smite the nations, as it is stated, 'And the rod is in their hand, My wrath'—it shall be consumed, for I will not be angry anymore; and if so, there will no longer be in His hand a rod to smite. Yet My anger will not be consumed yet, but it will not be against the children of the world, only against the corruption and abominations of the children of Assyria."
And Hashem of hosts shall stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the Rock of Oreb; and as His rod was over the sea, so shall He lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
verse value 3788
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 61 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֤ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "whip" (שׁ֔וֹט, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·will·stir·up" (וְעוֹרֵ֨ר, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·will·stir·up" (וְעוֹרֵ֨ר), "as·blow·of" (כְּמַכַּ֥ת), "Oreb" (עוֹרֵ֑ב). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "against·him" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "hosts" (root צבא, 73x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root עור ("and·will·stir·up") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root שוט ("whip") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Oreb', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְעוֹרֵ֨ר [and·will·stir·up] (482) + עָלָ֜יו [against·him] (116) + יְהֹוָ֤ה [Hashem] (26) + צְבָאוֹת֙ [hosts] (499) + שׁ֔וֹט [whip] (315) + כְּמַכַּ֥ת [as·blow·of] (480) + מִדְיָ֖ן [Midian] (104) + בְּצ֣וּר [upon·a·rock] (298) + עוֹרֵ֑ב [Oreb] (278) + וּמַטֵּ֙הוּ֙ [and·his·tribe] (66) + עַל־הַיָּ֔ם [over·the·sea] (155) + וּנְשָׂא֖וֹ [and·He·will·lift·it·up] (363) + בְּדֶ֥רֶךְ [in·way·of] (226) + מִצְרָֽיִם [Egypt] (380) = 3788.
Rashi
And he stirred him up. And to stir him up:
A rod. A stroke of chastisement:
Like the smiting of Midian. They were slain in one night, and the kings who fled from them and escaped were slain—Oreb at the Rock of Oreb—as is explained in the Book of Judges; so too, after he returns to his land, he will die there by the sword.
"And His staff [shall be] over the sea." And He will again arouse against him [Assyria] His staff that was upon the sea against Pharaoh and his host.
"And they carried." And they removed them from the world, just as He carried away Egypt.
Ibn Ezra
"And He stirred up..." – Just as when He struck the sea with His staff, causing the waters to return upon the Egyptians.
"And they carried." This is an allusion to Sennacherib, who returned in disgrace.
Radak
“and he stirred him up.” A whip is harsher than a rod and a staff. He said, “He struck him with a rod, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will strike him with a whip.” And the blow with which He will strike him will be like the blow of Midian at the Rock of Orev, where he struck the camp of Midian and the princes of Midian who fled; they pursued after them and killed Orev at the Rock of Orev, and Zeev at the Winepress of Zeev. And it mentions the Rock of Orev alone, like one who mentions the headings of matters, for the matter is known, and it is written in the Book of Judges: “Thus he struck the camp of the king of Assyria, and the king who fled, his sons struck him with the sword.”
And his staff is raised over the sea. And that staff which he was carrying against you, its end shall be like the end of Pharaoh’s staff at the sea, for there the anger of the Lord was fully expended upon it, and the Holy One, blessed be He, lifted his staff against him.
“On the way of Egypt.” Just as that path He took in Egypt, where He drowned them in the sea, so too did the camp of Assyria perish in Jerusalem. And the letter kaf is like the letter mem in the place of two letters. And the explanation of “his staff was upon the sea” is: just as He had done over the sea.
Metzudat David
"And He will rouse." The Lord will rouse against him the rod of striking, similar to the plague of Midian in the days of Gideon, who fell in one night, and the kings who fled were killed. "Oreb at the rock of Oreb" – and so were they all, as it is stated in Judges. And to be concise, [the text] did not mention all of them, but only one of them. And he intended to say that Sennacherib will be like them: after he returns to his land, he will die there by the sword and his staff. [The phrase] returns to the word "and He will rouse," to say that He will rouse against him his staff, which was upon the sea when He struck it and its army.
"And they shall carry." He will remove him from the world, just as He carried Egypt.
Metzudat Zion
And he aroused. The language of arousal:
"Whip." Its meaning is like that of a rod, as in "a whip for a horse" (Proverbs 26:3).
"And they carried." The term refers to the concept of bearing a burden and carrying it.
On the road. In the matter:
Malbim
And He will stir up, the Lord will stir up against Assyria a rod, just as He struck Midian at the Rock of Oreb, that the camp of Midian killed one another due to the fear of the Lord that fell upon them, and their princes who fled were killed afterwards [as it is stated in Judges 7], and likewise the fear of the Lord fell upon the camp of Assyria and they killed one another, and the king who fled, his sons struck him with sword and staff, and afterwards the Lord will stir up against him His staff with which He struck Egypt at the sea, which was entirely by the Lord alone, and likewise the angel of the Lord killed them afterwards and burned them, (and this accords with what was stated above in verse 16)
“And they carried it on the way of Egypt” is a figure of speech, as if to say: at the time when the king of Assyria was traveling on the way of Egypt, upon his return from Taharqa, king of Cush, against Jerusalem (as Rashi cites below, 37:36, from Seder Olam), and he then passed by the Reed Sea, he took this staff from the Reed Sea—which is the staff of the Lord that was used at the sea—and brought it with him to the Land of Israel, where he was smitten by the Lord with it. The implication is that from the time he returned from Egypt and set his face toward Jerusalem, he was destined to be smitten by the angel of the Lord, just as the Egyptians were smitten.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that His burden shall depart from off your shoulder, And his yoke from off your neck, And the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of fatness.
verse value 2280
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 52 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "yoke" (עֹ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·face·of·fat" (מִפְּנֵי־שָֽׁמֶן, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 140: from·off, from·off. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "your·shoulder" (שִׁכְמֶ֔ךָ), "and·his·yoke" (וְעֻלּ֖וֹ), "and·a cord" (וְחֻבַּ֥ל). The root על appears 4 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "from·off" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "in·the·day" (root יום, 124x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·neck', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְהָיָ֣ה [and·it·shall·be] (26) + בַּיּ֣וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הַה֗וּא [that] (17) + יָס֤וּר [he·shall·turn·aside] (276) + סֻבֳּלוֹ֙ [his·burden] (98) + מֵעַ֣ל [from·off] (140) + שִׁכְמֶ֔ךָ [your·shoulder] (380) + וְעֻלּ֖וֹ [and·his·yoke] (112) + מֵעַ֣ל [from·off] (140) + צַוָּארֶ֑ךָ [your·neck] (317) + וְחֻבַּ֥ל [and·a cord] (46) + עֹ֖ל [yoke] (100) + מִפְּנֵי־שָֽׁמֶן [from·face·of·fat] (570) = 2280.
Rashi
"And the yoke shall be destroyed." Sennacherib [did so] because of Hezekiah, who was as pleasant to his generation as oil. And our Sages explained: because of the oil of Hezekiah, which was burning in the synagogues and houses of study, for he encouraged them to engage in Torah, as it is stated: "Which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied" (Proverbs 25:1).
Ibn Ezra
"And it shall be." His suffering shall cease, that of the king of Assyria.
And “the kuf of ‘your neck’—return it to Judah.”
And he will bind. Like destruction, and similarly, "and he will destroy the work of your hands" (Ecclesiastes 5:5), and its meaning is that the yoke shall be destroyed as when oil is placed on the neck, and the meaning is that Judah will prevail.
Radak
“And it shall come to pass on that day.” And the yoke is broken because of the anointing oil: the yoke of Sennacherib is broken because of the anointing oil of Hezekiah. And behold, this is contrary to the norm, for the anointing oil on the neck of the ox is broken by the yoke that is upon it at all times; thus is the way of the world. And so it was fitting that the anointing oil of Israel should be broken because of the yoke of Sennacherib, for they were few and Sennacherib was a great multitude. But the Holy One, blessed be He, in His compassion, reversed the matter, and the anointing oil was stronger than the yoke, and the yoke of Sennacherib was broken because of the anointing oil of Israel. And the Targum translates: “And the nations shall be broken before the Messiah,” meaning Hezekiah, who was anointed with the anointing oil. And even though he was not anointed, for they do not anoint a king who is the son of a king, he was worthy to be anointed, only that it was not necessary. And in the midrashic interpretation: because of the anointing oil of Hezekiah, which he used to kindle in the houses of assembly and in the houses of study.
Metzudat David
“His burden.” The burden that Sennacherib placed upon the shoulders of Israel will be removed then.
And his yoke. The yoke that was placed upon your neck will be removed, and the matter is repeated in what is stated:
"And the yoke shall be destroyed." This is a sarcastic statement, for since the path by which the neck is fattened is spoiled because of the yoke, he says that it should be the opposite: that the yoke should be spoiled because of the fatness. That is to say, Sennacherib, who imposes the yoke, will be destroyed by means of Hezekiah.
Metzudat Zion
"Savel." The matter of a heavy burden, as in "nosei savel" (1 Kings 5).
Your shoulder. Your shoulder:
And its yoke. This is the yoke that is placed around the neck of the animal when it is plowing.
"And one who wounds." The matter of "damage" is akin to "and you have marred the work of Your hands" (Ecclesiastes 5:5).
Malbim
“And it shall be,” meaning, He will remove his suffering, so that you will not need to give him tribute; and He will also remove his yoke, so that you will not be subjugated under him. And regarding the phrase “the yoke of his burden,” because the parable is grasped from the fact that the neck of the ox is thick and fat, and the yoke is too narrow to encircle the neck, then they break the yoke and destroy it, lest it harm the neck. So too, the merit of Hezekiah is exceedingly great, and the yoke of Assyria is too small to contain and restrain the power against this merit; and necessarily the yoke will be broken on account of him, and it will not stand against him.
He is come to Aiath, He is passed through Migron; At Michmas he lays up his baggage;
verse value 1856
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "went·in" (בָּ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "through·Migron" (בְּמִגְר֑וֹן, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "to·Aiath" (עַל־עַיַּ֖ת), "through·Migron" (בְּמִגְר֑וֹן), "at·Michmas" (לְמִכְמָ֖שׂ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Aiath" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "went·in" (root בוא, 120x in Isaiah); "passed" (root עבר, 41x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root כלי ("his·vessels") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'through·Migron', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: בָּ֥א [went·in] (3) + עַל־עַיַּ֖ת [to·Aiath] (580) + עָבַ֣ר [passed] (272) + בְּמִגְר֑וֹן [through·Migron] (301) + לְמִכְמָ֖שׂ [at·Michmas] (430) + יַפְקִ֥יד [he·lays·up] (204) + כֵּלָֽיו [his·vessels] (66) = 1856.
Rashi
“Bā ‘al ‘Ēt.” He counts and continues [to list] the journeys that Sennacherib traveled, coming upon the cities of Judah on his way to Jerusalem on the day of his defeat: Ayath, Migron, Michmash, Ramah, Gibeath-shaul, Bath-gallim, Laishah, Anathoth, Madmenah, Gebim. All of these are place names.
Ibn Ezra
“Behold, he cometh,” etc. The text mentions the marches of the king of Assyria as he came to Zion.
"He shall deposit his vessels." With a small portion of his camp, He will come to Zion speedily.
Radak
“He has come to Aiath.” Now the text relates that when Sennacherib came with his army against Jerusalem, he recalled the campaigns he had previously conducted in the land of Benjamin and in Judah, and he was determined to devastate Jerusalem. All of these are names of cities; most of them are not mentioned in the Book of Joshua, because one city had two names.
"To deposit his gear in Michmash." The lamed is used in place of a bet, as in "I have killed because of my wounds" and "before you, by the sword," and similar cases, as we have written in the book Mikhlol regarding the usage of the letters. And he deposited in Michmash the majority of his war equipment so that he could go quickly to Jerusalem, for he thought in his heart that he would not need the majority of his war equipment, for it seemed easy in his eyes to conquer it.
Metzudat David
“Coming upon Ai.” The prophet began to mock Sennacherib for having come with vigorous haste to conquer Jerusalem, to the extent that he traveled many journeys in a single day. He said, “Coming upon Ai,” and from there he passed through Migron and Michmash, leaving behind the majority of his war equipment to lighten the load, thinking that he would not need them all.
Metzudat Zion
To Michmas. In Michmas, and the lamed comes in place of a bet; and similarly, “You sat on the throne” (Psalms 9:5), and “His judgment is on the throne,” and there are many like this.
Yafkid. From the language of "deposit" and "storage":
Malbim
Regarding the verse “He came to Aiath,” it depicts how, on one hand, the king of Assyria arrived with great power and the entire land melted away before him; and on the other hand, it depicts how Jerusalem and Mount Zion laugh and mock his great strength, knowing that there he will stand, fall, and not rise. It says: “At the beginning, he came to Aiath, conquered the city of Aiath, and from there he passed through Migron, and no one fought against him, and at Michmas he laid down his weapons to lighten his burden.”
They are gone over the pass; They have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah trembles; Gibeath-shaul is fled.
verse value 2276
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 38 letters. Notable word values: "to·us" (לָ֑נוּ) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "Geba" (גֶּ֖בַע, 3 letters) and the longest is "ford" (מַעְבָּרָ֔ה, 5 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "ford" (מַעְבָּרָ֔ה), "Geba" (גֶּ֖בַע), "lodging" (מָל֣וֹן). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·have·crossed·over" (root עבר, 41x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root מעבר ("ford") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root חרד ("feared") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: עָֽבְרוּ֙ [they·have·crossed·over] (278) + מַעְבָּרָ֔ה [ford] (317) + גֶּ֖בַע [Geba] (75) + מָל֣וֹן [lodging] (126) + לָ֑נוּ [to·us] (86) + חָֽרְדָה֙ [feared] (217) + הָרָמָ֔ה [the·Ramah] (250) + גִּבְעַ֥ת [Gibeah·of] (475) + שָׁא֖וּל [Shaul] (337) + נָֽסָה [has·fled] (115) = 2276.
Rashi
For us. The term denotes lodging:
"Fled." All fled in terror from his hosts.
Ibn Ezra
They crossed over to the other side. The river, or a place name:
For us. From the root of "to lodge" (Genesis 24:23):
Radak
They passed over to the other side. The Targum: They crossed the Jordan.
Geba ha-Milon. It is stated: When they crossed the Jordan, they came to lodge in Geba, which is a city of Benjamin; and as soon as the inhabitants of Ramah saw this, they were alarmed.
"Ramah trembles." The explanation is that the inhabitants of Ramah trembled. And likewise,
“Givat Sha’ul, he fled.” Explanation: The inhabitants of Givat Sha’ul fled, for so is the manner of Scripture in many places. And Giv‘ah and Givat Sha’ul are two towns in the land of Benjamin, as it is written in the Book of Joshua. It is possible that Givat Sha’ul is the Givat Benjamin mentioned in the Book of Samuel, and it was associated with Sha’ul because he was king and from the tribe of Benjamin; or perhaps he built a palace there for his residence, and therefore it was named after him. So too in the Book of Samuel: “And Sha’ul went up to his house, Givat Sha’ul.” It is also possible that Givat Sha’ul was distinct from Givat Benjamin, and that Sha’ul built that hill, and it was named after him.
Metzudat David
"Crossed over." His men crossed over to the other side of the Jordan.
Geba. “In the city of Geba”:
For us. In the inn, we were secure without fear, and we did not camp in the field as is the way of men of war.
Fear. Then fear seized the men of Ramah, and the men of Saul’s hill fled in terror:
Metzudat Zion
"He fled." The matter of fleeing:
Malbim
He crossed over, from there he crossed over from the crossing of Michmash and lodged in Geva, which is at the crag of the rock of Michmash, on this side, and from there his arrival became known to all the inhabitants of the land, both near and far, until Ramah trembled, and even Saul’s hill tried to flee.
Cry you with a shrill voice, O daughter of Gallim! Hearken, O Laish! O you poor Anathoth!
verse value 2609
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "neigh" (צַהֲלִ֥י, 4 letters) and the longest is "daughter·of·Gallim" (בַּת־גַּלִּ֑ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 135: neigh, poor. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "daughter·of·Gallim" (בַּת־גַּלִּ֑ים), "hearken" (הַקְשִׁ֥יבִי), "Laish" (לַ֖יְשָׁה). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "your·voice" (root קול, 35x in Isaiah); "daughter·of·Gallim" (root בת, 25x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root צהל ("neigh") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root קשב ("hearken") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'daughter·of·Gallim', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: צַהֲלִ֥י [neigh] (135) + קוֹלֵ֖ךְ [your·voice] (156) + בַּת־גַּלִּ֑ים [daughter·of·Gallim] (485) + הַקְשִׁ֥יבִי [hearken] (427) + לַ֖יְשָׁה [Laish] (345) + עֲנִיָּ֥ה [poor] (135) + עֲנָתֽוֹת [Anathoth] (926) = 2609.
Rashi
“Make your voice heard.” To warn the people:
“Hearken, Laishah,” to the sound of the Shofar, and flee for yourselves; and likewise, “Answer, Anathoth.”
Ibn Ezra
Tzehalah. Tzehalah means raising the voice, and similarly, "tzehalat hasus" (the neighing of the horse).
Bat Galim. The name of a country, and it is possible that "Bat" is like "Bat Zion":
Radak
“Strengthen your voice.” Lift up your voice like a shofar, so that the men of Lesh will hear and flee. The camp of Assyria was on its way, first striking the city called Bat-Galim, and afterward Lesh.
Metzudat David
“Cry out with a loud voice.” He means to say that those places sent word to the men of Bet-Galim, telling them to raise their voices to warn the people to hasten to flee, and you, inhabitants of Leshem, heard the voice and hastened to flee; likewise, the poor community in Anatot heard and they too fled.
Metzudat Zion
Tze’alei. The matter of making a loud voice heard, and similarly, "the waters shouted for joy" (below 24):
Malbim
A daughter of Galim, it is a mitzvah for her to cry out with a voice until she listens to Laish, and also the poor city of Anatot, to inform these cities, saying, that already:
Madmenah is in mad flight; The inhabitants of Gebim flee to cover.
verse value 682
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "fled" (נָֽדְדָ֖ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "Madmenah" (מַדְמֵנָ֑ה, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "fled" (נָֽדְדָ֖ה), "Gebim" (הַגֵּבִ֖ים), "they·have·fled·to·safety" (הֵעִֽיזוּ). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "dwelling" (root ישב, 71x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Madmenah', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: נָֽדְדָ֖ה [fled] (63) + מַדְמֵנָ֑ה [Madmenah] (139) + יֹשְׁבֵ֥י [dwelling] (322) + הַגֵּבִ֖ים [Gebim] (60) + הֵעִֽיזוּ [they·have·fled·to·safety] (98) = 682.
Rashi
“Flee for safety.” They gathered to flee, and our Sages interpreted “Cry aloud your voice” (this verse, expounded in the Aggadah of Perek Chelek), and the entire verse in another midrash in the aggadic section, and they established the journeys as ten; but Jonathan rendered them all as names of places.
Ibn Ezra
"Nadadah." The gabim, a place name, or cisterns, in the Aramaic Targum:
"העיזו" – they caused their own souls, or others from among Israel, to flee; for it is an active verb, as in "send, gather to safety" (Exodus 9:19).
Radak
“Wandered from her place.” This is the city of Madmannah, which we found among the cities of Moab; its name is Madmannah. But among the cities of Israel, we did not find this name. And it is as we have written that a city can have two names. It is possible that it is the city mentioned among the cities of Judah: “Ziklag, Madmannah, and Sansannah,” even though their vowel points are not the same, their letters are identical. Likewise, “the Givvim” is the name of a city, and “the Ezrah” is a term for gathering, like “Send out the Ezrah of your livestock.”
Metzudat David
“Wandered.” The congregation of Madmenah wandered from its place and fled.
They fled. Together to flee:
Metzudat Zion
"העיזו" – The matter of "gathering" is like [the verse] "He sent out to gather the livestock" (Exodus 9).
Malbim
"Madmenah has fled," and even the inhabitants of Gebim grew bold and gathered all their possessions to a place secure from the enemy.
This very day shall he halt at Nob, Shaking his hand at the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem.
verse value 2815
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 42 letters. The shortest word is "hill" (הַ֣ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "daughter·of·Zion" (בַּת־צִיּ֔וֹן, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "at·Nob" (בְּנֹ֣ב), "to·stand" (לַעֲמֹ֑ד), "he·waves" (יְנֹפֵ֤ף). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "day" (root יום, 124x in Isaiah); "his·hand" (root יד, 79x in Isaiah); "yet" (root עוד, 44x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·stand', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 7 words.
Rashi
“Yet today at Nov.” The entire way he was in turmoil in order to arrive at Nov on that very day, for his soothsayers had said to him, “If you engage her in battle today, you will conquer her.” But when he arrived at Nov and saw that Jerusalem was small, he did not heed the words of his soothsayers. He began to wave his hand in arrogance and said, “For a city like this did I stir up all these armies? Let us lodge here tonight, and tomorrow each man will throw his stone at her.”
The mountain. Daughter of Zion, to the mountain, daughter of Zion:
Ibn Ezra
Furthermore. A day will come when he will stand in Nob:
Radak
Still, this day, at Nob. By way of midrashic interpretation: for in a single day he completed all the journeys mentioned, and he pressed himself to be at Nob on that very day, because from there one can see Jerusalem; and as soon as he saw it from there:
He will wave his hand. Against Jerusalem, like a person who despises the matter, he said, "This is not considered [significant] in my eyes, for how many fortified towns have I conquered from it?" And my master and father, of blessed memory, interpreted the verse thus: "Even today, they will return to Nob, to stand there—those who fled from there because of Sennacherib."
“Daughter of Zion, He will wave His hand over her.” He said this by way of a parable: that He will yet wave His hand over Daughter of Zion over the camp of Assyria in its defeat, and likewise over the hill of Jerusalem. This is a repetition of the same idea in different words, and this verse comes in the manner of what was said: “Daughter of Zion, you have mocked; Daughter of Jerusalem, you have shaken your head.”
Metzudat David
"Still during the day." This is how he hastened in his journey, in order to stand at Nob still during the day, for from there one who looks can see Jerusalem.
He would wave. When he saw Jerusalem, he would wave his hand at it in a manner of contempt and mockery, as if saying, “Is it not easy for me to subdue it?” And the verse says, “Mountain…”
Givat, etc. The duplication of the matter in what is stated:
Metzudat Zion
And he shall wave. The meaning of lifting:
Malbim
Furthermore, today, in contrast to this depiction of how all the cities surrounding Jerusalem trembled and were appalled before the enemy, it depicts how Mount Zion laughs at all this, and Mount Zion and Jerusalem wave and hint with their hand to the fleeing cities, saying to them: “Why do you flee? Why do you fear? For behold, today he will be stopped at Nob; today he will be compelled to stand at Nob and will not go beyond that, for Nob is close to Jerusalem. There he shall fall, ruined. How will his downfall come about?” It relates.
Behold, the Lord, Hashem of hosts, Shall lop the boughs with terror; And the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, And the lofty shall be laid low.
verse value 2636
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 58 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "they" (הִנֵּ֤ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·high" (וְהַגְּבֹהִ֖ים, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "lops·off" (מְסָעֵ֥ף), "bough" (פֻּארָ֖ה), "with·terror" (בְּמַעֲרָצָ֑ה). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "they" (root הן, 86x in Isaiah); "hosts" (root צבא, 73x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·terror', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: הִנֵּ֤ה [they] (60) + הָאָדוֹן֙ [the·lord] (66) + יְהֹוָ֣ה [Hashem] (26) + צְבָא֔וֹת [hosts] (499) + מְסָעֵ֥ף [lops·off] (250) + פֻּארָ֖ה [bough] (286) + בְּמַעֲרָצָ֑ה [with·terror] (407) + וְרָמֵ֤י [and·rising] (256) + הַקּוֹמָה֙ [height] (156) + גְּדוּעִ֔ים [hewn·down] (133) + וְהַגְּבֹהִ֖ים [and·the·high] (71) + יִשְׁפָּֽלוּ [shall·be·laid·low] (426) = 2636.
Rashi
Behold, the Lord. On that night:
“Branching forth from its trunk in its midst.” It spreads out its branches, which are the main limbs of its trees.
"With terror (be-ma'aratzah)." With the saw that lops off the branches. This "pu'rah" is not a term for a winepress — for it is not written with a vav like "purah" in "I have trodden the winepress alone" (below, 63:3) and "to draw fifty purah" (Haggai 2:16) — rather with an alef, like "and its boughs (po'rotav) grew long" (Ezekiel 31:5). And *mesa'ef* is a term for lopping branches — *esbrancher* in Old French — like "and all its branches were cut off" (below, 27b), and similarly "its branches were spread out" (below, 17b).
"With terror (be-ma'aratzah)." With a destructive implement that crushes (oretz) and breaks them.
And the tall of stature: “The kings and the princes.”
“Cut off.” The term “cutting off” is used only with regard to trees and something hard:
Ibn Ezra
Behold. From the branch, it will cut off the branches, like “You shall not boast after him” (Deuteronomy 24:20) and “Your root is from the land of the living” (Psalms 52:7).
Pareh. Like a branch, and thus: “And it sent forth branches” (Ezekiel 17:6).
With might. In the attribute of Might, from the root of "tyrant":
"And the lofty of stature." Because the princes have been cut off:
Radak
"Behold the Lord." Sennacherib thought that there was no Master over him, as he said, "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for my understanding" (Isaiah 10:13). The prophet said, "Behold the Lord." The Lord of Hosts is the Master of the hosts above and below, and He will overthrow the army of the king of Assyria, and He compared his camp to a forest full of tall trees, and He said that the Lord will lop off the branches, meaning: He will cut off the branches.
"bema'artzah." Explanation: With a mighty hand He will crush them and break them.
And the lofty of stature. That is to say, the trees of great stature are to be cut down, and this is an allegory for the great princes who were with him.
Metzudat David
“Behold the Lord” – as if to say, “But it did not turn out as he had thought, for behold, the Lord has cut off His branches with the destroyer,” meaning that He sent the angel and struck them.
"And the lofty of stature." “The trees of stature are cut down.” This means: the mighty men have died.
Metzudat Zion
Mesa'ef. The matter of branches is like "and all its branches" (below 27), and the meaning is that he will remove the branches. And similarly "and he stoned it" (above 5), and the intention is that he removed the stones.
“Pareh.” This too is a matter of a branch, as it is said, “and its branches grew long” (Ezekiel 31). And although the term “masa’ef” (branches) was used, the term “pareh” is also stated for the sake of adding clarity. So too, “they were bound with chains” (Nahum 3).
"bema'artzah." Thus is the name of the instrument that destroys and breaks, and it is a word derived from its rising to break the land (above, 2).
And those of lofty stature. Their meaning is loftiness and height:
Cut off. The matter of cutting off is like "the sycamores are cut down" (above, 9):
Malbim
Behold the Lord, who has all the hosts in His hand, and He will raise a banner above the natural order to destroy this great forest of Sennacherib’s camp. Regarding “pruning” (masa’ef): one who cuts trees from the forest for his own needs will first cut down the worthless, tangled underbrush and the short trees. But here, since the cutting is for destruction, the matter will be the opposite: first He will prune its glory—the branches that give splendor to the tree—not by trimming them with shears to make them neat, as is customary, but by breaking them off to destroy them. Afterwards, He will cut down the tall-statured ones—the trees that tower above the other trees of the forest. Afterwards, even the lofty ones will be brought low; the destruction will encompass every tall tree, until only lowly, small underbrush remains. And afterwards...
And He shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
verse value 1346
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "and·He·will·cut·down" (וְנִקַּ֛ף, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·Lebanon" (וְהַלְּבָנ֖וֹן, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·He·will·cut·down" (וְנִקַּ֛ף), "thickets·of" (סִֽבְכֵ֥י), "in·the·iron" (בַּבַּרְזֶ֑ל). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "will·fall" (root נפל, 24x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root נקף ("and·He·will·cut·down") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root ברזל ("in·the·iron") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·iron', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְנִקַּ֛ף [and·He·will·cut·down] (236) + סִֽבְכֵ֥י [thickets·of] (92) + הַיַּ֖עַר [forest] (285) + בַּבַּרְזֶ֑ל [in·the·iron] (241) + וְהַלְּבָנ֖וֹן [and·Lebanon] (149) + בְּאַדִּ֥יר [by·a·mighty·one] (217) + יִפּֽוֹל [will·fall] (126) = 1346.
Rashi
וְנִקַּף. Even this is a term of cutting off, like "he cuts off olives" (כְּנוֹקֵף זַיִת), and "וְנִקַּף" is in the Nifal conjugation.
The thickets of the forest. The important and mighty branches:
And Lebanon. The density of its forest and its orchards are the majority of its forces.
“By the mighty one he shall fall.” They shall fall by means of an angel. Another interpretation: “By the mighty one” refers to the merit of Hezekiah, who is the mighty and perfect one of Israel, as it is stated, “And his mighty one shall be from him” (Jeremiah 30:21).
Ibn Ezra
ונקף. A term denoting cutting off:
“Tangles of the forest.” The trees that are intertwined:
“With iron.” An allegory for an angel:
[And Lebanon shall fall with might]. And the princes who are like the trees of Lebanon will fall by mighty iron, and behold, "by iron" draws itself and others with it:
Radak
And it shall be cut off. It is from the dagesh-forming binyan, and its meaning is that of cutting off, as in “their festivals shall be cut off,” and the Targum translates it as “and you shall cut off its head, and you shall cut them off.”
And they were entangled. This is an allegory for the great princes who came together with Sennacherib in a single counsel, and they became entangled with one another in a unified plan and with one heart, just as the branches of trees become intertwined with one another.
“With iron.” Just as the branches of a tree are cut down with iron, so too will they be cut down with something stronger than them.
"And Lebanon." This is a generalization of all the trees of the forest, and it stated "Lebanon," which is the name of a forest in the Land of Israel, and the verse speaks of what is currently the case.
In the mighty one. It is the angel who strikes them:
Metzudat David
"ונקף" – The intertwined branches shall be cut down with iron; that is to say, his great army shall be slain by the hand of the angel.
"And Lebanon." The trees of Lebanon will fall by the hand of the mighty and strong one, who is the angel. The matter is repeated in what is stated, for the sake of emphasizing the matter and for the beauty of the rhetoric.
Metzudat Zion
And it shall cut down. The meaning is that of cutting off, like “he who cuts down an olive tree” (below 17).
Savki. The meaning is that of clinging or entanglement, as it is written: “Until the thorns are entangled” (Nahum 1:10).
And Lebanon. So too, the name of a forest in the Land of Israel.
Malbim
"And he shall compass it about": He will surround with iron all the tangled thickets of the forest, and all its branches and trunks, until all of Lebanon, in its entirety, shall fall by means of mighty iron. The metaphor refers to the downfall of his camp by the hand of the angel of the Lord: first his commanders and mighty men will fall, and afterward the entire camp will fall.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim