The shoot from the stock of Jesse on whom the Spirit rests; the wolf dwelling with the lamb, the earth full of the knowledge of the LORD, and the exiles regathered.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, And a twig shall grow forth out of his roots.
verse value 2261
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "branch" (חֹ֖טֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·his·roots" (מִשׇּׁרָשָׁ֥יו, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "branch" (חֹ֖טֶר), "from·stock·of" (מִגֵּ֣זַע), "and·sprout" (וְנֵ֖צֶר). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·shall·come·forth" (root יצא, 42x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jesse', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְיָצָ֥א [and·shall·come·forth] (107) + חֹ֖טֶר [branch] (217) + מִגֵּ֣זַע [from·stock·of] (120) + יִשָׁ֑י [Jesse] (320) + וְנֵ֖צֶר [and·sprout] (346) + מִשׇּׁרָשָׁ֥יו [from·his·roots] (856) + יִפְרֶֽה [will·bear·fruit] (295) = 2261.
Rashi
"And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse." And if you were to say, "Behold, these are words of consolation for Hezekiah and his people, so that they would not fall into his [the enemy's] hand," what then of the exile that he [Hezekiah] exiled in Chaldea and Babylon? Perhaps it was lost? They reasoned: It was not lost; ultimately, our Messiah-King will come and redeem them.
“Rod.” A scepter of kingship.
ונצר. The language of a sapling that is nursed:
“And it shall bud from its roots.” In the entire matter, and at its conclusion, “And it shall come to pass on that day that the Lord shall set His hand yet again”—thus this prophecy was spoken for the comfort of the exiles from Assyria. (The transcriber remarks: In my youth, I was perplexed and asked several Geonim concerning what my master, my grandfather the Rema, wrote in his gloss in the Laws of Rosh Hashanah that “nut” (egoz) has the numerical value of “chet” [sin, 17] — yet it is also the numerical value of “tov” [good, 17]. And I answered according to the Zohar, regarding the difficulty that Rabbi Eliezer raised before his father, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.)
Ibn Ezra
"And he went out..." Most of the commentators said that this refers to the Messiah, and the reason is that the camp of Assyria, which was besieging Jerusalem, will die, and furthermore, the time of the complete redemption of Jerusalem will come. And according to the opinion of Rabbi Moses the Priest, it alludes to Hezekiah, for he is connected with the passage.
Choṭer. From the root of the Targumic translation of "staff":
Geza. Like zera:
And "netzer" is like "sa'af" (branch), as it is written: "As a branch he was loathed" (Isaiah 14:19):
And the meaning of "and he went out" is that he was young when this prophecy occurred.
Radak
“And there shall go forth a shoot.” He juxtaposed this passage, which concerns the days of the Messiah, with the promise that was made in the days of Hezekiah. He said: Do not marvel at such a great miracle that will be done in the days of Hezekiah, in the downfall of the camp of Assyria in a single moment, for He will yet do for Israel a greater miracle than this in the days of the Messiah, which will be for Israel in the ingathering of the exiles, and this will be from the royal house of Hezekiah. And He mentioned Jesse, because from him came the first king. And the meaning of “shoot” is “staff,” as the Targum translates it. And He said “from the stump,” “from its roots,” because a tree that is cut down will sprout and put forth suckers from its stump and from its roots. And the meaning of “stump” is what remains of the tree upon the ground, and from the sides of the stump the shoots will grow, and likewise from the roots, which are beneath the ground, they will also blossom. And since Israel had been exiled from their land for many years and their kingdom was severed, as if the tree had been cut down, but the stump and the roots remained, He said that there is still hope that the stump will sprout. And the prophet said that from the roots of Jesse and from his stump there will yet go forth a shoot, a branch, and there will be yet another king over Israel as at the beginning, and more than it was, and He said:
Metzudat David
“And there shall come forth a rod.” This is to say: Do not marvel at this great wonder, for there will come a time when He will perform even greater wonders than this, for a royal scepter shall emerge from the root of Jesse—from the seed of David—namely, the King Messiah.
And a shoot, etc. The duplication of the matter in what is stated:
Metzudat Zion
"Rod." Its meaning is like that of a staff, and similarly, "rod of pride" (Proverbs 14), and it intends to say: scepter of royalty.
“From its stump.” From the root, as our Sages of blessed memory said, “Its stump shall sprout anew” (Taanit 25a). And likewise, “Even if its roots are deep in the earth, its stump” (below, 40).
And a branch. Its meaning is like that of "a branch" in "he shall be detestable" (below, 14):
Yifreh. He shall make fruit:
Malbim
"And a shoot shall come forth" (the metaphor is connected with the preceding matter, [namely,] "the great forest of Sennacherib's camp shall be cut down"); yet, one shoot shall come forth from the stump of Jesse, and it shall become a great forest, as it is stated (below 27:6), "Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and bud." And according to this, it is clear from the order of the verses that this prophecy concerns Hezekiah. But the promises contained therein were not fulfilled then? Therefore, the truth is that it refers to the End of Days, for it is a future prophecy. Rashi sought to rectify the continuity of the verses by explaining that the primary intent of this prophecy was spoken concerning the Ten Tribes who went into exile in the days of Hezekiah. They did not return then and remained in Halah and Habor until the End of Days. Therefore, after mentioning the downfall of Sennacherib, [the text asks:] "And if you ask, 'What will become of these lost and scattered ones?'" [the answer is:] "Still, a vision for the appointed time," meaning in the future, for a shoot shall come forth from the stump of Jesse. These are his words.
And with the correct perspective, we find in these words a strong foundation, and it is this: Immediately from the time of the first general exile, which occurred in the days of Sennacherib, from that time forth began the era of Redemption. My meaning is that from that time forth, the prophets began to prophesy that a general Redeemer would come who would gather these scattered ones from the four corners of the earth. For the redemption that occurred in the interim, from the Babylonian exile, was only for the tribe of Judah, not general. And since the general redemption has two times, as it is stated: "If they merit, I will hasten it; if they do not merit, at its appointed time"—namely: a) the fixed time which shall not pass, and b) before that time, if they merit through good deeds (as stated above 10:17)—behold, the possibility of redemption according to the merit of deeds and repentance began immediately from the days of Hezekiah.
And with this intention, they said in the chapter "Chelek" (Sanhedrin 94a) that the Lord sought to make Hezekiah the Messiah and Sennacherib Gog and Magog, but only because he caused a certain sin, see there. Their intention was that if they had merited, Hezekiah himself would have been the general Redeemer, and all the future promises would have been fulfilled in his days. And since they did not merit then, the matter remains suspended in its possibility until the arrival of the limited time, when they will be redeemed necessarily. Therefore, this prophecy of "And a shoot shall come forth from the stump of Jesse" is attached to the downfall of Sennacherib, for if they had been worthy, the prophecy would have been fulfilled then. However, these conditions that we discussed, the Seer himself elucidated in his double wording: "And a shoot shall come forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall blossom."
For there is a difference between a "stump" (geza) and a "root" (shoresh). The root is under the ground, and the stump is the tree protruding from the ground near its root. And there is a difference between a "shoot" (hotzer) and a "branch" (netzer). For a tree that is cut down, while its stump remains intact, and it returns to sprout from its stump, then the stump itself rises slowly and grows. This growth is called a "shoot," for the sprout emerging from the stump is thick and strong. But if even the stump is cut down, and only the root remains in the ground, and it returns to sprout from its root, then this growth no longer relates to the first tree, but rather as a new planting. And this suckling that rises from the root is tender and weak, and is called a "branch." And this is what it says: "Or, a shoot shall come forth from the stump of Jesse." This is if they merit, and the general redemption occurs immediately in the days of Hezekiah, for then the kingdom of the Sanhedrin was still existing. And in metaphor, the stump of Jesse is still intact, and the Messiah's relation to the kingdom of the Sanhedrin is like the relation of the shoot to the stump, which is the body of the previous tree renewed with power and splendor. Or, "and a branch from his roots shall blossom." This is if they do not merit to be redeemed now, and years and years pass until even the stump is abolished, meaning that the kingdom of the Sanhedrin ceases completely. Nevertheless, the essence of its roots is left in the ground, and only the root hidden in the ground, unseen, remains. Yet, when the time arrives, then a branch shall blossom from the root. This relates to a new blossoming through a tender branch and suckling, which has no relation to the previous tree. And the order of the verse is: either "a shoot shall come forth" immediately, or at least "a branch from his roots shall blossom."
And the spirit of Hashem shall rest upon him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Hashem.
verse value 2717
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 2717 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "spirit·of" (ר֣וּחַ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·might" (וּגְבוּרָ֔ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 214: spirit·of, spirit·of, spirit·of, spirit·of. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·will·rest" (וְנָחָ֥ה), "wisdom" (חׇכְמָ֣ה), "and·understanding" (וּבִינָ֗ה). The root רוח appears 4 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "upon·him" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "spirit·of" (root רוח, 44x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root בינה ("and·understanding") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root דעת ("knowledge") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 10 words. Full calculation: וְנָחָ֥ה [and·will·rest] (69) + עָלָ֖יו [upon·him] (116) + ר֣וּחַ [spirit·of] (214) + יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + ר֧וּחַ [spirit·of] (214) + חׇכְמָ֣ה [wisdom] (73) + וּבִינָ֗ה [and·understanding] (73) + ר֤וּחַ [spirit·of] (214) + עֵצָה֙ [counsel] (165) + וּגְבוּרָ֔ה [and·might] (222) + ר֥וּחַ [spirit·of] (214) + דַּ֖עַת [knowledge] (474) + וְיִרְאַ֥ת [and·fear·of] (617) + יְהֹוָֽה [Hashem] (26) = 2717.
Ibn Ezra
ונחה. On the pattern of "and she shall return to her father's house" (Leviticus 22:13), from the two that are seen:
And behold, he explained that the Spirit of the Lord is the spirit of wisdom and understanding; and so it is written concerning Joshua in the Torah (Deuteronomy 34:9):
And "might." For Hezekiah was mighty, as it is written (2 Chronicles 32:5):
Radak
"And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him." For all of this will be from the Lord; He first said "the Spirit of the Lord," and afterward He explicated it as: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Wisdom is that which a person will teach him, and he will know it, and it will be prepared for him at all times; and understanding is a person's contemplation of that which he has not learned, based on that which he has learned.
And counsel. It is the knowledge and familiarity with the ways and conduct of people in this world toward one another. And knowledge and fear of the Lord are both attached to the Name, meaning that one knows the Lord and stands in awe of Him.
Metzudat David
"The Spirit of the Lord." [This refers to] the spirit of prophecy.
“Spirit of wisdom, etc.” All of these shall rest upon him, and in him they shall be found.
Malbim
“And the Spirit shall rest upon Him” — His perfection will consist of three things:
1. The perfections pertaining to the fact that He possesses an intellectual soul, namely the faculties of wisdom and understanding. Wisdom is that which is received from His teachers, and understanding is the derivation of one matter from another through logical inferences. Therefore it is said, “The Spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon Him.”
2. The perfections pertaining to the fact that He is a human being, and this will be manifested in counsel and might. Counsel encompasses the perfection of the imaginative faculty, to the extent that he can contemplate every matter with correct conjecture, as stated by the Guide [of the Perplexed]. And might arises from the perfection of the active faculty. Therefore it is said, “The Spirit of counsel and might.”
3. The perfections pertaining to the fact that He possesses a holy soul, emanating from on high, whose rank is superior to that of the intellectual soul. The perfection of this soul depends on His possessing the knowledge of God, meaning to know true matters concerning the truth of God, His providence, and His ways. This is the level of the prophets, who attained these truths through prophecy. And He will possess the Spirit of the fear of God, for knowledge without fear is nothing, and likewise fear without knowledge does not know from whom one should fear. Based on this, it is said that these three perfections will be present in the Messiah in a sublime perfection, such that they will not be natural, but will be attributed to the exalted Spirit of God, which transcends nature.
And his delight shall be in the fear of Hashem; And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, Neither decide after the hearing of his ears;
verse value 2383
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 51 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·not·to·sight·of" (וְלֹֽא־לְמַרְאֵ֤ה, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·he·shall·delight" (וַהֲרִיח֖וֹ), "in·fear·of" (בְּיִרְאַ֣ת), "and·not·to·sight·of" (וְלֹֽא־לְמַרְאֵ֤ה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "his·eyes" (root עין, 45x in Isaiah); "and·he·shall·delight" (root רוח, 44x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root מראה ("and·not·to·sight·of") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַהֲרִיח֖וֹ [and·he·shall·delight] (235) + בְּיִרְאַ֣ת [in·fear·of] (613) + יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + וְלֹֽא־לְמַרְאֵ֤ה [and·not·to·sight·of] (313) + עֵינָיו֙ [his·eyes] (146) + יִשְׁפּ֔וֹט [He·judges] (405) + וְלֹא־לְמִשְׁמַ֥ע [and·not·to·hearing·of] (517) + אׇזְנָ֖יו [his·ears] (74) + יוֹכִֽיחַ [he·will·decide] (54) = 2383.
Rashi
“And his nose shall be filled with the fear of the Lord.” He shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord, and in the vernacular: *irawen mirlo'i*.
"And he shall not judge according to the appearance of his eyes." For through the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, within him, he will know and understand who is deserving and who is liable.
Ibn Ezra
And its smell. Sometimes the sense of hearing will deceive you, so that you hear but there is no sound; likewise, the eye will deceive you, so that it appears to you that what is still is moving. Only the sense of smell will not deceive you. And its smell—meaning, as if he would smell the matter through the fear of Heaven that he possesses—he will not judge according to what his eyes see, nor according to what he hears, for it is possible that the testimony of the witnesses is false.
And these are the reproofs and the ordinances, which are according to the manner of kingship:
Radak
“And He shall discern by the breath of His lips.” Since smell is a subtle sense, the verse employs it to denote a matter that is easily perceived through the sense of smell; similarly, “from afar he shall smell battle,” just as a wick catches fire when it smells the flame. And so it says, “And He shall discern by the breath of His lips,” meaning that with a slight understanding, people—both the righteous and the wicked—will be perceived, and He will not need to rely on the testimony of the eyes or the hearing of the ear in judging people and admonishing them, for from His knowledge and His intellect He will comprehend their deeds with a slight contemplation. And my master and father, of blessed memory, explained “And He shall discern by the breath of His lips” as referring to his speech, i.e., the breath of his mouth; and similarly, “to my breath, to my cry,” meaning that his speech will always be in the fear of the Lord.
Metzudat David
"And his smell." Since smell is a very subtle sensation, therefore it calls a subtle sensation by the name of "smell." That is to say, with a little understanding and contemplation, he will sense and distinguish whether people are good or bad.
"In the fear of the Lord." This feeling will be his on account of the fear of the Lord:
“And not by appearance, etc.” When people judge, they will not need to see matters with their eyes or hear with their ears, for in their heart they will understand through their knowledge.
Metzudat Zion
"And its smell." From the word "smell":
He will decide. A term of clarifying a matter:
Malbim
"And his smell" — through the fear of Heaven, he will return to being spiritual, so that his physical powers will be lifted from him, and he will not serve the senses and material forces at all, but will be entirely spirit and soul. Therefore, "he will not judge by what his eyes see." Now, judgment is between a person and his fellow, to rescue the oppressed from the hand of his oppressor, and in this the judge will judge according to what he sees with his eyes: who is liable and who is entitled. And sometimes he will err in what his eyes see and issue a crooked judgment. But the Messiah will not judge by what his eyes see; rather, he will know the truth due to his spirituality.
And let it not be inferred from the phrase “to his ears” that the reproof is concerning evil deeds that have become known to him from the people, and he will rebuke them for these deeds; for the manner of one who reproves is to rebuke them according to what he has heard reported about them, as it is stated, “Not good is the report that I hear concerning those who transgress against the Lord.” And even in this case, at times they may cause him to hear the opposite of the truth in his ears. But the Messiah will rebuke based on the fact that he knows the matters through his Holy Spirit.
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the land; And he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth, And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
verse value 4529
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "his·mouth" (פִּ֔יו, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·poor·of·land" (לְעַנְוֵי־אָ֑רֶץ, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "with·equity" (בְּמִישׁ֖וֹר), "for·poor·of·land" (לְעַנְוֵי־אָ֑רֶץ), "and·he·will·strike·the·land" (וְהִֽכָּה־אֶ֙רֶץ֙). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·by·the·breath·of" (root רוח, 44x in Isaiah); "in·justice" (root צדק, 37x in Isaiah); "he·will·slay" (root מות, 28x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root ענו ("for·poor·of·land") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'for·poor·of·land', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְשָׁפַ֤ט [and·will·judge] (395) + בְּצֶ֙דֶק֙ [in·justice] (196) + דַּלִּ֔ים [low] (84) + וְהוֹכִ֥יחַ [and·reprove] (55) + בְּמִישׁ֖וֹר [with·equity] (558) + לְעַנְוֵי־אָ֑רֶץ [for·poor·of·land] (457) + וְהִֽכָּה־אֶ֙רֶץ֙ [and·he·will·strike·the·land] (327) + בְּשֵׁ֣בֶט [in·rod·of] (313) + פִּ֔יו [his·mouth] (96) + וּבְר֥וּחַ [and·by·the·breath·of] (222) + שְׂפָתָ֖יו [his·lips] (796) + יָמִ֥ית [he·will·slay] (460) + רָשָֽׁע [wicked] (570) = 4529.
Rashi
"b'mishor" – a term denoting smoothness and softness:
“And He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth.” As Targum Jonathan renders: “And He shall destroy the guilty ones of the earth.”
"And with the breath of His lips." And in the Targum: "And in speaking with His lips."
Ibn Ezra
"And he shall judge the poor with justice." According to the laws of the Torah, that he shall not show partiality to the poor (Exodus 23:3):
And He will judge with righteousness. To the good:
"And he shall strike the earth." With his mouth, as if it were a rod for the wicked.
Radak
“And He shall judge with righteousness.” [The verse states:] “The poor and the humble of the land,” and even though He will judge all people with righteousness, both the poor and the rich, since the custom of the world is to show partiality to the great and the rich, it says that He will not do so, but rather with righteousness He will take the judgment of the poor from the rich, and He will rebuke the strong with equity for the sake of the humble of the land, so that they will not rob them nor oppress them because they are weak and feeble. And according to those who interpret “for the humble of the land” in place of “because of,” those who interpret it say: “he is my brother, and the like.”
“And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth”: This means the wicked of the earth. And since He mentioned the afflicted of the earth, who are their opposite, He relied on the reader’s understanding. Moreover, the end of the verse proves that He said, “He shall slay the wicked.” And even without the missing word, the matter can be understood as that He shall strike those in the earth who deserve to be struck, for He said, “And He shall correct the afflicted of the earth with equity.” And the meaning of “with the rod of His mouth” and “with the breath of His lips” is that He shall curse them and they shall die, as it is written concerning the righteous: “You shall decree a thing, and it shall be established for you.” And it is said of Samuel the prophet: “Whatever He shall speak, it shall come to pass.” And it is said of Elisha the prophet: “And he cursed them in the name of the Lord, and there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tore forty-two of the young men.”
Metzudat David
“And he shall judge with righteousness for the poor.” He will take the case of the poor with righteousness from the rich, and he will not show partiality to the great, and he will reprove the mighty in fairness, as is fitting, on account of the afflicted of the land, so that they will no longer be robbed from now on.
“And he shall strike the earth.” The wicked of the land he shall strike with the curse of his mouth, and behold, he is like a rod that strikes.
And with the spirit, etc. The doubling of the matter is stated in what is written:
Metzudat Zion
and he reproved. From the language of reproof and moral instruction:
“On the plain.” From the language of “straightness.”
"לענוי" – The lamed is used in place of "because of," just as in "Open your mouth for the mute" (Proverbs 31:8).
"And with breath." This refers to the matter that comes through the diversion of the breath of the mouth:
Malbim
“And he shall judge” — the gates of this verse restrict the gates of the preceding verse: “He shall not judge according to the sight of his eyes.” Rather, “And he shall judge” with justice for the poor. The justice itself will be like a stone and a plummet in his hand, with which he will examine the judgment. And he will hold justice in his hand as a measuring line, with which he will judge the judgment of the poor, for he will not err due to the arguments of litigants distorting justice.
And let him not rely on what his ears hear, but rather let him judge with equity for the humble of the land; righteousness itself shall be in his hand as a plumb line, by which he will correct and admonish the humble so that they accept reproof. And he shall not turn aside from what is right, neither to the right nor to the left, to strike. The text depicts that if he finds a land or nation that does not accept his words, he will strike them all with the rod of his mouth and his curse. He will not need a physical rod or whip, for his mouth will be the rod with which he strikes lands and nations. As for the individual wicked person who rebels against him, he will not need to curse him at all; rather, with the breath that issues merely from his outer lips, he will put him to death. "Mouth" encompasses the entire mouth, whereas "lip" refers specifically to the outer lip. It is the manner of one speaking with his mouth that after he ceases to speak, a slight breath still escapes from the lips. In light of this, the text depicts that after he strikes a land with the words of his mouth, with the slight breath that remains on his lips after the speech, he will kill an individual wicked person, and he will not need to speak at all for his sake.
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, And faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
verse value 1411
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 32 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָ֥יָה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "justice" (צֶ֖דֶק, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·faithfulness" (וְהָאֱמוּנָ֖ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 214: gird, gird. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "his·loins" (מׇתְנָ֑יו), "and·the·faithfulness" (וְהָאֱמוּנָ֖ה). The root אזר appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "justice" (root צדק, 37x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root מתן ("his·loins") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root אמונה ("and·the·faithfulness") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·loins', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְהָ֥יָה [and·it·shall·be] (26) + צֶ֖דֶק [justice] (194) + אֵז֣וֹר [gird] (214) + מׇתְנָ֑יו [his·loins] (506) + וְהָאֱמוּנָ֖ה [and·the·faithfulness] (113) + אֵז֥וֹר [gird] (214) + חֲלָצָֽיו [his·loins] (144) = 1411.
Rashi
“And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins.” The righteous shall surround Him, clinging to Him like a girdle.
Ibn Ezra
"And it shall be, etc. And behold, righteousness shall not depart from him all his days, in all his deeds:"
Radak
"And justice shall be the strength of his loins." The justice and faithfulness that he will uphold will be for him a strength, so that his loins will not falter; and the verse is duplicated with different words.
Metzudat David
“And righteousness shall be the belt of his loins, etc.” The righteousness and faithfulness that he will uphold will serve as his strength, like a person who girds his loins with a belt, for he is thereby energized and strengthened.
Metzudat Zion
Ezor. A belt:
His loins. His loins have one explanation for them.
Malbim
“And righteousness shall be the belt of his loins”: This depicts that righteousness and faithfulness will not be for him an external possession, but rather like a belt attached to the loins and waistbands, which is something belonging to his very body; so too, righteousness and faithfulness will be attached to him with an intrinsic attachment, never separating from him at any time, as it is stated: “For as the belt clings to the loins of a man…” (Jeremiah 13:11). He compares righteousness to the belt of his loins, which is the one worn over his garments; so too, righteousness, which pertains to the relationship between a person and his fellow, will be visible to all. And faithfulness, which pertains to the relationship between a person and the Divine, He compares to the belt worn beneath his garments, which is not seen except by the man who wears it alone; for the hidden aspect of his faithfulness in his heart will be greater than that which is revealed to the many. For this is the condition of the perfectly faithful person: that his inner conscience be greater than his outward appearance, as stated by Chovot HaLevavot in Sha’ar HaAvodah.
And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, And the leopard shall lie down with the kid; And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.
verse value 2671
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 54 letters. The shortest word is "in·them" (בָּֽם, 2 letters) and the longest is "with·lamb" (עִם־כֶּ֔בֶשׂ, 5 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·will·dwell" (וְגָ֤ר), "with·lamb" (עִם־כֶּ֔בֶשׂ), "and·leopard" (וְנָמֵ֖ר). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "together" (root יחד, 34x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root רבץ ("will·stretch·oneself·out") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root קטן ("young") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'will·stretch·oneself·out', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 8 words. Full calculation: וְגָ֤ר [and·will·dwell] (209) + זְאֵב֙ [wolf] (10) + עִם־כֶּ֔בֶשׂ [with·lamb] (432) + וְנָמֵ֖ר [and·leopard] (296) + עִם־גְּדִ֣י [with·kid] (127) + יִרְבָּ֑ץ [will·stretch·oneself·out] (302) + וְעֵ֨גֶל [and·a·calf] (109) + וּכְפִ֤יר [and·young·lion] (316) + וּמְרִיא֙ [and·well-fed] (257) + יַחְדָּ֔ו [together] (28) + וְנַ֥עַר [and·boy] (326) + קָטֹ֖ן [young] (159) + נֹהֵ֥ג [conducting] (58) + בָּֽם [in·them] (42) = 2671.
Rashi
“Meri.” "A fattened ox."
Ibn Ezra
“And the wolf shall dwell...” – this is an allegory for the peace that will exist in his days.
And "mariya." I explained it (Isaiah 1:11) that it is a species of ox, and its fat is forbidden.
Radak
“And the wolf shall dwell.” Some commentators explain that in the days of the Messiah, the natures of the beasts and cattle will change, returning to what they were at the beginning of creation and in Noah’s Ark. For at the beginning of creation, if the lion had eaten the lamb, creation would have been ruined. And what did the lion or any other carnivorous, flesh-eating animal eat? If they had eaten the flesh of other beasts and cattle, that species would have been missing from the world, since they were all created male and female, no more, and they did not wait to eat until the prey had multiplied. Rather, surely they ate the grass of the field until the prey had multiplied, and from that day onward their nature was to eat flesh. Similarly, in Noah’s Ark, if the carnivores had eaten the prey, that prey would have been missing from the world, since they entered two by two, no more, unless we say that the seven pairs of clean animals that he brought in were for the sake of the carnivores. And there are those who explain that all this is an allegory: the wolf, the leopard, the bear, and the lion are an allegory for the wicked who oppress and plunder, who are like carnivorous beasts to the prey; and the lamb, the cow, the calf, and the kid are an allegory for the humble of the land. And he said that in the days of the Messiah there will be peace in the land, and one will not harm another. But this explanation is not tenable, because it says, “They shall not harm or destroy in all My holy mountain.” And in the days of the Messiah, peace will be throughout the entire world, as it is written, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore,” and it says, “The bow of war shall be broken,” and it says concerning the Messiah, “He shall speak peace to the nations.” The correct view is that the nature of the beasts will not change, and they will prey and eat flesh as they do now. Rather, He assured Israel that the harmful beasts will not cause damage throughout the Land of Israel. This is what is stated: “They shall not harm or destroy in all My holy mountain.” The reason is that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” Since they are righteous and guard the way of the Lord, a harmful beast will not rule over them, nor over their cattle, nor over anything that is theirs, as He promised through Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him: “I will remove the harmful beast from the land.” And even if they pass through the land, they will not cause harm.
Metzudat David
“And the wolf shall dwell.” Even the beasts will not hunt their prey, and the wolf will dwell together with the lamb and not hunt it; they will lie down together and not tremble from one another.
He leads them. And they shall not harm the youth:
Metzudat Zion
And he shall dwell. He shall dwell:
And the leopard. The name of a wild beast:
Yarbotz. Its meaning is lying down to rest:
And "kefir." One of the names of the lion.
And "mari'ah." A fattened beast; and likewise, "and the fat of the mari'im" (above, 1).
He leads them. He shall lead them:
Malbim
And the stranger, he adds to say that even the leopard, which is the fiercest of beasts, will not harm, and even with a kid, which is the nursing offspring that it would be easy for him to harm, nevertheless it will lie down with it together and not harm it, and there will be no novelty at all that people will marvel over this, for a calf and a lion’s cub and a fatling will go together, just as it is customary now that the great bull goes and with him small calves, then the calf will go with the great bull along with the lion’s cub, which is the young lion, and a young boy will lead them as something customary.
And the cow and the bear feed; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
verse value 2540
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "and·bear" (וָדֹב֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "will·eat·straw" (יֹאכַל־תֶּֽבֶן, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·cow" (וּפָרָ֤ה), "and·bear" (וָדֹב֙), "they·will·pasture" (תִּרְעֶ֔ינָה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "will·eat·straw" (root אכל, 55x in Isaiah); "together" (root יחד, 34x in Isaiah); "their·children" (root ילד, 31x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root ארי ("and·lion") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'their·children', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּפָרָ֤ה [and·cow] (291) + וָדֹב֙ [and·bear] (12) + תִּרְעֶ֔ינָה [they·will·pasture] (735) + יַחְדָּ֖ו [together] (28) + יִרְבְּצ֣וּ [they·will·stretch·oneself·out] (308) + יַלְדֵיהֶ֑ן [their·children] (109) + וְאַרְיֵ֖ה [and·lion] (222) + כַּבָּקָ֥ר [as·the·ox] (322) + יֹאכַל־תֶּֽבֶן [will·eat·straw] (513) = 2540.
Ibn Ezra
And a cow. It is large, for the calf is small. And there are those who say that the female is stronger than the male.
"It shall eat straw." This implies that its natural instinct is removed, and it will not harm by tearing prey.
Radak
"And the cow and the bear shall graze together, etc." Similarly, the prophet Hosea said, "And I will make a covenant for them on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground" (Hosea 2:19). And regarding what is stated, "And the lion shall eat straw like the ox," it is as if the lion will eat straw like the ox, so that it will not tear the flesh of animals in the Land of Israel unless it finds a carcass. Furthermore, the matter can be interpreted allegorically: the lion, the bear, and the serpent are an allegory for evil beliefs. And the explanation of "And the cow and the bear shall graze together" is that all the activity of the beasts will be nothing other than to engage in the service of God, not in the vanities of the world. This is what is stated, "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord."
And "meriah." Some say that it is a species of the large cattle, and others explain that the fattened among the beasts are called "meriyim," and so did Jonathan translate: "fat ones."
“and a cow and a bear.” The term “bear” (דוב) here refers to the female, as is also indicated by the phrase “and two bears shall go out” (ותצאנה שתים דובים), where the feminine plural verb and pronoun are used. Similarly, the text reads “a goat and goats, and sheep,” and likewise, “their young shall lie down together.”
Metzudat David
They shall graze. Each one shall graze in the place of deception, and even the bear shall not devour its prey:
They shall be together. In place of their children, and they shall not be afraid of one another.
Like the ox. Just as the cattle eat straw, so too will the lion eat.
Malbim
And the cow. And you might ask: What will the predatory animals eat then? He says that the bear will then graze in the meadow and will not need to hunt its prey. Moreover, their young will grow up together as if they were of one species. And not only the bear, which even now also eats other foods, but even the lion, whose entire sustenance at present is only meat, will eat straw like cattle.
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, And the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk’s den.
verse value 2922
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "a snake" (פָּ֑תֶן, 3 letters) and the longest is "poisonous serpent" (צִפְעוֹנִ֔י, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·will·play" (וְשִֽׁעֲשַׁ֥ע), "suckling" (יוֹנֵ֖ק), "on·hole" (עַל־חֻ֣ר). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·upon" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "his·hand" (root יד, 79x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root שעע ("and·will·play") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root ינק ("suckling") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'a snake', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְשִֽׁעֲשַׁ֥ע [and·will·play] (746) + יוֹנֵ֖ק [suckling] (166) + עַל־חֻ֣ר [on·hole] (308) + פָּ֑תֶן [a snake] (530) + וְעַל֙ [and·upon] (106) + מְאוּרַ֣ת [light hole] (647) + צִפְעוֹנִ֔י [poisonous serpent] (306) + גָּמ֖וּל [dealing] (79) + יָד֥וֹ [his·hand] (20) + הָדָֽה [he·stretched·forth] (14) = 2922.
Rashi
And he delighted. And he played:
“Upon the hole of the asp.” Upon the hole of dust in which the snake nests, called “krot” in the vernacular (Old French). “Asp” is a snake that when it grows old becomes deaf and is called an “asp,” for it no longer heeds a charm, as it is said (Psalms 58:5): “Which cannot hear the sound of charmers.”
"And upon the lair of adders." Jonathan rendered it: "the gleam of the eyeballs of the deadly serpents." Menachem interpreted it as referring to holes and earthen pits. So too, "Ur of the Chaldeans" (Genesis 11:31), and so too, "in the hollows (ba-urim) glorify the Lord" (below, 24:15).
Gemul. A weaned infant is one who has been weaned from his mother’s breasts.
“His hand is stretched out.” The Targum renders: “His hand He stretched out,” like the word “shout” in “the echo of the mountains” (Ezekiel 7:7), and like the word “shout” (below, 15), which is a term for raising the voice; likewise, this is a term for raising. The final he is vocalized with a segol, and the yod falls away, as in the words “he made,” “he built,” “he acquired.”
Ibn Ezra
“and he delighted.” In this cantillation mark you will always find it doubled.
Chor. The mouth or the nose:
“Me'urat” (the light-hole). The eye, which is the possessor of light:
It is possible that the heh here stands in place of a yod, [as in] "yado eleha — his hand against her" (Jeremiah 50:14), and the meaning is "He will stretch out His hand," or "She has no sister."
Radak
And "ma'oret" [a hole or opening]. It is called so, like a "chore" [hole], because one enters through it to the place where the snake is. And likewise the tunnels in the mountains, which we explained as caves, have an opening through which light enters; therefore, they are called so. The verse doubles the matter in different words. And he explained "gamul" [weaned] like "yonak" [suckling], except that "gamul" is called at the time of the completion of its suckling. And he said "yonak" and "gamul" regarding the snake, because snakes are sometimes found in the holes of the house, and the small ones [children] play on the floor of the house and in the holes of the walls. And the explanation of "haddah" is like "yadah" [hand], meaning he stretched out his hand. And behold, the enmity of the snake decreed in the days of Creation with mankind will be removed in the days of the Messiah throughout the Land of Israel, and for the people of Israel wherever they go, a snake or wild beasts will not harm them. And Targum Jonathan [translates]: "ma'oret tzefo'oni chizhu galgalei einei chivuy churman," meaning that when the snake is in its hole, which is a place of darkness, the circle of its eye shines, and the suckling sees the light from outside and thinks it is a shining stone or glass, and stretches out his hand to take that thing he thinks [it is], touching the snake, and the snake will not harm him. And he mentioned "patan" [adder] and "tzefo'oni" [viper], because they are the worst of the species of snakes, and even so they will not harm [him], all the more so the other snakes.
Metzudat David
"וְשִׂעֲשֵׁעַ" – A nursing infant will occupy himself with delight by reaching out his hand toward the hole where the adder is sitting, and it will not harm him.
And upon the den. Upon the cleft where the viper dwells there.
Gemul. A child who is weaned from his mother’s breast shall extend his hand there and shall not be harmed.
Metzudat Zion
"ושעשע" (and he will delight). The meaning is engagement for the sake of joy, as it says: "Your Torah is my delight" (Psalms 119:70).
Chor. A hole, as it is said: “And behold, a certain hole in the wall” (Ezekiel 8:7).
Pitan. A species of venomous snake:
"From the cleft." Its meaning is a split or a fissure, like the expression "in the fires, glorify the Lord" (infra 24).
Tzefoni. A type of venomous snake:
Weaning. An infant who is removed from close proximity to his mother’s breasts is called “weaned,” as it is written: “on the day that he weaned Isaac” (Genesis 21:8).
"Haddeh." The matter of lifting the hand to extend it, and it is close to the language of "hidad" in "I have caused to cease" (below 16), which is said concerning the matter of raising the voice.
Malbim
And "he will delight" (וְשִׂעֲשַׁע), [the commentator] adds to say that even the serpent, between whom and man enmity was placed, will not harm him. And not only will it not harm him intentionally, but even if he steps upon the nest of a horned viper, upon the venomous poison within it, the weaned child will stretch out his hand, and the poison will not harm him, for it will not be poison at all, but merely a shining substance that does not burn.
They shall not hurt nor destroy In all My holy mountain; For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Hashem, As the waters cover the sea.
verse value 3027
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "knowledge" (דֵּעָה֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·not·destroy" (וְלֹֽא־יַשְׁחִ֖יתוּ, 9 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "for·it·is·full" (כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֣ה), "as·the·water" (כַּמַּ֖יִם), "to·the·sea" (לַיָּ֥ם). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "the·land" (root ארץ, 169x in Isaiah); "in·all·mountain·of" (root כל, 93x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·holy', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 7 words. Full calculation: לֹא־יָרֵ֥עוּ [not·harm] (317) + וְלֹֽא־יַשְׁחִ֖יתוּ [and·not·destroy] (771) + בְּכׇל־הַ֣ר [in·all·mountain·of] (257) + קׇדְשִׁ֑י [my·holy] (414) + כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֣ה [for·it·is·full] (106) + הָאָ֗רֶץ [the·land] (296) + דֵּעָה֙ [knowledge] (79) + אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה [Hashem] (427) + כַּמַּ֖יִם [as·the·water] (110) + לַיָּ֥ם [to·the·sea] (80) + מְכַסִּֽים [cover] (170) = 3027.
Rashi
“Know God” — to know God:
Ibn Ezra
One shall not harm. Concerning the adder and the viper, as if all the Land of Israel is full of the knowledge of God, for it is known that God knows not to destroy forever, but rather to build and to repair.
Like waters. You omit the word "which," and so it is, for the thoughts increase, as it were, like the waters that cover the sea [corrected: the waters that cover], so that they do not cease, but rather increase.
Radak
"You shall not graze." All the Land of Israel is called "My Holy Mountain," and the term "mountain" is used because it is higher than all the lands. The reason why they are not to graze is that the land is filled with the knowledge of the Lord.
“The land” means the Land of Israel, as Jeremiah the prophet said: “For they shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them…”
“Like waters covering the sea.” The place of the waters is called “the sea,” because the waters fill that place until they cover it, so that the bottom of the sea is not seen.
Metzudat David
"They shall not harm." The evil serpents shall no longer cause harm, nor shall they destroy any.
"For it is full, etc. And because of this, this good thing shall be:"
“Like waters covering the sea.” The place of the waters is called “sea,” and the waters fill that place until the ground is not visible. And he said: Just as everything was covered with waters, so too shall all be covered and filled with understanding.
Malbim
“‘They shall not harm’ refers to the predatory beasts, whose way it was to harm for their own benefit; and ‘nor destroy’ refers to the asp and the viper, which only destroyed without any benefit to themselves. ‘For the earth shall be full’—he says in his metaphor that the knowledge of the Lord will spread so greatly that even the predatory beasts will recognize that the time of rectification has arrived, even though they lack intellectual capacity. He compares this to waters covering the hollow of the sea, for there is no place that can withstand the waters so as not to be covered by them. So too, the physical nature of the beasts, which is not prepared for intellect, will not withstand the knowledge of the Lord, which will spread over all flesh. And this is a metaphor for the change in the nature of the beasts by the matter of the Lord.”
And it shall come to pass in that day, That the root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the peoples, To him shall the nations seek; And his resting-place shall be glorious.
verse value 3724
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 58 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "root" (שֹׁ֣רֶשׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "they·will·resort·to" (יִדְרֹ֑שׁוּ, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "a·sign" (לְנֵ֣ס), "they·will·resort·to" (יִדְרֹ֑שׁוּ), "his·resting·place" (מְנֻחָת֖וֹ). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "that" (root אשר, 176x in Isaiah); "in·the·day" (root יום, 124x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root נס ("a·sign") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root מנוחה ("his·resting·place") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·will·resort·to', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 3 words.
Rashi
A banner for the nations. That the nations will raise a banner to gather to Him.
Ibn Ezra
"And it shall come to pass, etc." If this refers to the Messiah, that all the world will be under his dominion, and according to the opinion of Rabbi Moses the Cohen mentioned above, it refers to the sign of the sun, for so it is written to expound the miracle (2 Chronicles 32:31):
And his resting place was honor. With honor; and so it is found in II Kings 18:16: "The house of the Lord."
Radak
"And the root of Jesse" – meaning, the one who emerges from the root of Jesse, as it is stated, "And a shoot shall come forth from his root," for Jesse is the root. And so did Jonathan render it: "A son of Jesse."
“Which stands.” The meaning is: which will be standing on that day, which is the day of the ingathering of the exiles. And he will be for all the nations like the standard-bearer in an army, whom the entire army follows; so too will all the nations seek out the Messiah and follow him to do whatever he commands. They will all listen to him. Therefore, he will be in honor, such that he will have no war, but will be in rest and honor, for all the nations will honor him and serve him.
Metzudat David
The root is Yishai. The Messiah who will emerge from the root of Yishai, who will stand on that day—the day of the ingathering of the exiles—will be a banner for the nations. He will be for all the nations like one who carries a banner, for the manner is that all the soldiers follow after him; so too will all the idolaters seek out the Messiah, and they will follow after him to do whatever He commands them.
"And his rest shall be glory." He chooses rest and does not provoke others; but the Messiah's rest will be for his glory, because all will listen to him.
Metzudat Zion
Lis. It is a long pole, and at its head there is a cloth, and it is made to be carried before the soldiers, and all of them follow after it.
Malbim
The root of Jesse, the King Messiah, as it is stated, “And a shoot shall come forth from his roots, and he shall flourish, which shall stand as a banner for the peoples.” At the beginning of his revelation, all the nations will raise a banner to gather and fight against him in the war of Gog and Magog. And then the nations will seek him out, recognizing that he is the true Redeemer. And his rest shall be glory, meaning that his rest will not be like the rest of an insignificant king, against whom people do not bother to fight. On the contrary, first they will all gather against him, and the rest that he will attain afterward will be for him a great glory, for the hand of the Lord will strengthen him and grant him rest.
And it shall come to pass in that day, That the Lord will set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people, That shall remain from Assyria, and from Egypt, And from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, And from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
verse value 7343
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 97 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "his·hand" (יָד֔וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·from·Egypt" (וּמִמִּצְרַ֜יִם, 7 letters). 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "second" (שֵׁנִית֙), "to·buy" (לִקְנ֖וֹת), "the·remnant" (אֶת־שְׁאָ֣ר). The root שאר appears 2 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "that" (root אשר, 176x in Isaiah); "in·the·day" (root יום, 124x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root כוש ("and·from·Cush") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root עילם ("and·from·Elam") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·people', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 11 words.
Rashi
Secondly: Just as He acquired them from Egypt, for their redemption was clear and without any servitude, but the redemption of the Second Temple is not counted as a true redemption, for they were still in servitude to Cyrus.
And from the islands of the sea. These are the islands of the Kittim, the Greeks:
Ibn Ezra
"And it shall come to pass." A second time, corresponding to the Redemption from Egypt. And behold, this is a sign that the verse speaks of the days of the Messiah, for the Redemption of the Second Temple was not a complete redemption, since not all the tribes, nor even all of Judah, returned to their land. The one who interprets this as referring to Hezekiah, saying that they gathered to his kingship when they saw that Jerusalem had been saved and Sennacherib died after the death of the majority [it should be read: the majority] of his camp.
Radak
"And it shall be the second time." For the first time, He acquired them from the house of bondage, from Egypt. And on the day of the ingathering of the exiles, the Lord will extend His hand a second time to acquire them from all the nations among whom they were scattered. This is not said concerning the Babylonian exile, because only Judah and Benjamin went out from the Babylonian exile; the Ten Tribes were not gathered. Therefore, we cannot say "the second time" regarding that gathering, because all Israel went out from Egypt—none remained. Rather, "the second time" means that this gathering from the exile will be like the first, in that all of them went out from Egypt, and similarly, all of them will go out in this gathering from the exile. Therefore, it states: "From Asshur, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea." And regarding what it says, "the remnant of His people," this is because many of them perished in the exile.
"From the islands of the sea." This includes those from the lands of Edom and Ishmael who are from the Land of Israel, and behold, they are considered as the islands of the sea.
Metzudat David
"And the Lord will add" etc. For from the time He acquired them from the house of bondage, from the hand of Egypt, and now He will again extend His hand to acquire those remaining in exile who did not perish.
"From Assyria, etc." — this goes back to the word "to purchase," to say: "to purchase them from Assyria, etc."
Metzudat Zion
"To acquire." We have found the terminology of acquisition without a price, even though there is no seller, as it is said: "Who possesses heaven and earth" (Genesis 14:19).
Malbim
Second, corresponding to the Exodus from Egypt, for once they recognize the truth of the Redeemer, the ingathering of the exiles will take place:
And He will set up an ensign for the nations, And will assemble the dispersed of Israel, And gather together the scattered of Judah From the four corners of the earth.
verse value 3345
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 53 letters. The shortest word is "something lifted up" (נֵס֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·shattered" (וּנְפֻצ֤וֹת, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·shattered" (וּנְפֻצ֤וֹת), "from·four" (מֵאַרְבַּ֖ע), "corners" (כַּנְפ֥וֹת). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·land" (root ארץ, 169x in Isaiah); "Israel" (root ישראל, 84x in Isaiah); "for·the·nations" (root גוי, 65x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root נפץ ("and·shattered") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root קבץ ("will·gather") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְנָשָׂ֥א [and·will·lift] (357) + נֵס֙ [something lifted up] (110) + לַגּוֹיִ֔ם [for·the·nations] (89) + וְאָסַ֖ף [and·he·shall·gather] (147) + נִדְחֵ֣י [pushed] (72) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + וּנְפֻצ֤וֹת [and·shattered] (632) + יְהוּדָה֙ [Judah] (30) + יְקַבֵּ֔ץ [will·gather] (202) + מֵאַרְבַּ֖ע [from·four] (313) + כַּנְפ֥וֹת [corners] (556) + הָאָֽרֶץ [the·land] (296) = 3345.
Rashi
“Nasa nes.” The passage in Aramaic: “And it shall be a sign to gather them unto Him, and to bring the exiles of Israel as an offering to Him.”
Ibn Ezra
"And He shall lift up." As if the Divine Name will raise a banner for all the nations, so that Israel will see it and return to their land.
And behold, the ten tribes of Israel—Judah is also mentioned:
Radak
"And he shall raise a banner." This is as if the Holy One, blessed be He, raises a banner for the nations so that they will tremble and come to the place of the banner; so too, on that day, all the nations will send forth the Israelites who are in their lands, allowing them to go with honor.
Metzudat David
"And he raised a banner": This means that he would arouse the hearts of the Persians and send the Israelites out of exile, as if he had raised a banner for them to hint at this matter.
"And He shall gather." With this, the scattered exiles of Israel will be gathered, etc.
Metzudat Zion
And they were scattered. The meaning of "scattered":
Kanafot. The ends:
Malbim
And he shall lift up a banner: a sign that the exiles will be gathered, as it is written, “And they shall bring your brethren from all the nations as an offering to the Lord.”
And He will gather: The Ten Tribes, who are not scattered but rather exiled from their place beyond the River Kush, and there they all sit gathered together, as it comes in the tradition of our Sages of blessed memory: “He will gather them and bring them into their land.” And the dispersion of Judah, the tribe of Judah that the Lord dispersed to the four corners of the heavens, He will gather them from the four corners of the earth. See the commentary on the words.
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, And they that harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
verse value 4378
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 64 letters. Notable word values: "and·Judah" (וִיהוּדָ֖ה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "and·will·turn·aside" (וְסָ֙רָה֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "Judah" (אֶת־יְהוּדָ֔ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 331: Ephraim, Ephraim, not·vex. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·narrowing" (וְצֹרְרֵ֥י), "shall·be·cut·off" (יִכָּרֵ֑תוּ), "not·envy" (לֹא־יְקַנֵּ֣א). The root אפרים appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·will·turn·aside" (root סור, 29x in Isaiah); "not·vex" (root יצר, 29x in Isaiah); "and·narrowing" (root צר, 21x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root יצר ("not·vex") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·be·cut·off', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְסָ֙רָה֙ [and·will·turn·aside] (271) + קִנְאַ֣ת [jealousy·of] (551) + אֶפְרַ֔יִם [Ephraim] (331) + וְצֹרְרֵ֥י [and·narrowing] (506) + יְהוּדָ֖ה [Judah] (30) + יִכָּרֵ֑תוּ [shall·be·cut·off] (636) + אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ [Ephraim] (331) + לֹא־יְקַנֵּ֣א [not·envy] (192) + אֶת־יְהוּדָ֔ה [Judah] (431) + וִיהוּדָ֖ה [and·Judah] (36) + לֹא־יָצֹ֥ר [not·vex] (331) + אֶת־אֶפְרָֽיִם [Ephraim] (732) = 4378.
Rashi
“Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah.” The Messiah son of Joseph and the Messiah son of David shall not be jealous of one another.
Ibn Ezra
And it shall be removed. So that Ephraim should not be jealous because the Messiah is from the tribe of Judah, and if this refers to Hezekiah, so that Ephraim should not be jealous because of the permanence of his kingdom.
"And the adversaries of Judah." Their enemies. And if [it refers] to Hezekiah — regarding Aram — behold, he did not besiege Ephraim to repay them their recompense for the days of Pekah.
Radak
And it shall be removed. When the children of Israel will be gathered to their land, the jealousy that was among them during their exile from their land, which was due to their division into kingdoms, stemming from their jealousy of the kingdom of the House of David, shall be removed.
"And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off." For previously, there were adversaries in Judah against Ephraim.
"And Ephraim." This means all of Israel, except for Judah. Because the people of Israel were jealous of the kingship of the House of David, Judah was hostile and adversarial toward them. Indeed, we see that they withheld the kingship for seven years, during which David reigned only over Judah. Likewise, when David returned to the kingship after fleeing from Absalom, he said, "Why have our brothers stolen you away?" (2 Samuel 19:43). It is also stated, "The word of the men of Judah was harsher than the word of the men of Israel," and "Sheva son of Bichri blew the trumpet" (2 Samuel 20:1-2). This continued until the kingdom was divided under the reign of Rehoboam, who said, "I will add to your burden" (1 Kings 12:14). As for the phrase "they shall be cut off," it means that they shall cease to exist. Similarly, "the bow of war shall be cut off". The verse is duplicated in meaning but expressed with different words.
Metzudat David
"And the jealousy of Ephraim shall cease." They shall not be jealous of Judah because the Messiah will be from their tribe, unlike in the past when the kingdom was divided in the days of Jeroboam.
And the adversaries of Judah. They are the sons of Ephraim, whom He mentioned and repeated in what He said:
They shall be cut off. This means that they will no longer be oppressors, for the hatred will be severed, and how!
"Ephraim, etc." This means that the Messiah son of Joseph, who will come from Ephraim, and the Messiah son of David will not be jealous of one another, nor will they cause distress to one another.
Metzudat Zion
יצור. From the language of צרה (distress):
Malbim
And "it shall be cut off": In the former time, the Kingdom of Judah had two opposing forces: 1. The jealousy of Ephraim, who were not enemies of Judah but were jealous concerning the matter of the monarchy; 2. Their enemies from among the nations. Now, the jealousy will no longer exist, and the enemies will be cut off.
Ephraim: Initially, Ephraim was jealous of Judah when the entire kingship belonged to Judah, thinking that Judah was diminishing from him the portion of kingship that was due to him. And Judah was hostile toward Ephraim because he rebelled against the kingdom of David. And now they know that the kingship belongs to the House of David, and they will not be jealous of one another. (And our Sages of blessed memory interpreted this regarding the two Messiahs, and it is likewise explained in my own comments.)
And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; Together shall they spoil the children of the east; They shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; And the children of Ammon shall obey them.
verse value 3907
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 64 letters. The shortest word is "sea" (יָ֔מָּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·children·of·the·east" (אֶת־בְּנֵי־קֶ֑דֶם, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: sea, and·Moab. 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·they·shall·fly" (וְעָפ֨וּ), "in·shoulder" (בְכָתֵ֤ף), "Philistines" (פְּלִשְׁתִּים֙). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "their·hand" (root יד, 79x in Isaiah); "and·sons·of" (root בן, 43x in Isaiah); "together" (root יחד, 34x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root כתף ("in·shoulder") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root אדום ("Edom") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·children·of·the·east', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְעָפ֨וּ [and·they·shall·fly] (162) + בְכָתֵ֤ף [in·shoulder] (502) + פְּלִשְׁתִּים֙ [Philistines] (860) + יָ֔מָּה [sea] (55) + יַחְדָּ֖ו [together] (28) + יָבֹ֣זּוּ [they·will·spoil] (25) + אֶת־בְּנֵי־קֶ֑דֶם [the·children·of·the·east] (607) + אֱד֤וֹם [Edom] (51) + וּמוֹאָב֙ [and·Moab] (55) + מִשְׁל֣וֹחַ [put·forth] (384) + יָדָ֔ם [their·hand] (54) + וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + עַמּ֖וֹן [Ammon] (166) + מִשְׁמַעְתָּֽם [their·subjects] (890) = 3907.
Rashi
“And they shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the sea.” Israel shall fly and run, united as one, against the Philistines who are in the west of the Land of Israel, and they shall conquer their land, just as it is said, “They shall run together” (Hosea 6:9), “united as one” (Zephaniah 3:9). And so the Targum translates: “And they shall join together as one shoulder to destroy the Philistines who are in the west.”
“And the children of Ammon, their commandment.” As its Targum [renders it]: “They will heed their [commandments],” meaning they accept their ordinances upon themselves.
Ibn Ezra
“Ve’afu.” One says that it is like “a scroll that is unrolled” (Zechariah 5:1), i.e., spread out. And Rabbi Moses the Priest said that it means “there is no evil to him,” and the sense is like “they shall rest,” with the word “place” omitted, [as in] “land.”
Yam. That is, they are from the west of the Land of Israel.
Benei Kedem: They are the Arameans.
“Sending their hand.” That they shall send their hand to plunder them:
And the children of Ammon—they shall turn to obedience to them:
Radak
“Ve’afu.” They shall be shaken toward the direction of the Philistines, to the west of the Land of Israel. And as the Targum of Jonathan renders it, and we explain that “ve’afu” pertains to the concept of “afaf,” which is rapid motion. He used the language of “afaf” to denote the swiftness of their movement toward the place of the Philistines to strike them and plunder them. And there are those who explain that “ve’afu” pertains to the concept of “ayef” and “yag’a,” meaning they shall be weary from striking the shoulder of the Philistines. The word “ba’ketef” is written in the construct state and follows the known rule, for according to the rule of the construct state, it should be written with six dots. And Ben Asher wrote that it is written thus because it is accented on the final syllable, to correct the reading of the peh due to the peh of “Pelishtim.”
Edom and Moab. Even though there is no distinguishable nation today among the nations except for Israel, who are distinct from the gentiles by their Torah and did not intermingle with the nations, but the rest of the nations have largely intermingled, and now they are between the religion of Ishmaelites and the religion of gentiles, when it mentions Edom and Moab and the children of Ammon, it means their lands and those who dwell in them today. And likewise, what is said in the prophecy of Daniel regarding the future: "And these shall be delivered from his hand: Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon," this is its interpretation.
“Sending forth their hand.” That the Israelites shall send forth their hands, i.e., act freely, in all that they desire.
“Their obedience.” That they shall be obedient to all that they command them. And he mentioned these places because they are close to the Land of Israel, but also all the nations shall be under the hand of Israel.
Metzudat David
“And they shall fly.” They shall hasten like a bird that flies, to go to the side of the Philistines, who dwell in the west of the Land of Israel.
Together. Judah and Ephraim:
"Sending their hand." Let "sending their hand" mean that they shall stretch out their hand against them to plunder them.
"their discipline." "They shall go to their discipline" means that they shall be obedient to them, to accept their command.
Metzudat Zion
And they shall fly. From the language of flying:
“On the shoulder.” On the side and flank.
They shall plunder. From the language of booty and spoil:
Malbim
"And they shall fly" — they shall fly swiftly to the shoulder and side of the Philistines, which is in the west of the Land of Israel; and likewise, the sons of the East shall plunder in the east, Edom and Moab in the south, and the sons of Ammon in the north. From the extent of their outstretched hand, until there, their authority and subjugation shall spread: they shall come under their subjugation.
And Hashem will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; And with His scorching wind will He shake His hand over the River, And will smite it into seven streams, And cause men to march over dry-shod.
verse value 3419
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 72 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 3419 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "his·hand" (יָד֛וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "sea·of·Egypt" (יָם־מִצְרַ֔יִם, 7 letters). 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·a noble" (וְהֶחֱרִ֣ים), "sea·of·Egypt" (יָם־מִצְרַ֔יִם), "and·he·shall·wave" (וְהֵנִ֥יף). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "his·hand" (root יד, 79x in Isaiah); "and·will·lead" (root דרך, 57x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root חרם ("and·a noble") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root מצרי ("sea·of·Egypt") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·spirit', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Rashi
And He dried it up. To dry it, so that the exiles of Israel would pass through it from Egypt.
"On the river." The river Euphrates, through which the exiles of Assyria passed.
“ba'im rucho.” There is no parallel for this phrase in Scripture, and according to the context, it is interpreted as “the strength of his spirit.”
“to seven rivers.” This refers to seven sections, to undergo the seven exiles mentioned above: from Assyria, from Egypt, etc. And “from the islands of the sea” is not from that same side.
And He guided the exiles within it:
“With sandals.” On dry land:
Ibn Ezra
And He devoted it to destruction. It means “He will cut off,” as in “and every devoted thing” (Leviticus 27:29), implying that the Israelites would pass through on dry land, and the sea would not detain them, so that they would return quickly.
“ba’im.” He has no brother, and the mem is part of the root, and its pronunciation is like that of “be-ko’ach” [“with strength”]; those who explain it as derived from the root of “im tiva’u ba’u” [“if they come, they will enter”] (Isaiah 21:12) do not know grammar.
The river. It is the Nile:
And He guided. A verb that takes two direct objects:
Radak
"And He devoted them to destruction." The meaning is excision, for every expression of "herem" (devotion to destruction) implies excision and annihilation. Likewise, "and He devoted them to destruction" conveys the idea of excision and decree. And in this context, it is used with regard to the sea, as it is said: "To Him who cleaves the Sea of Reeds into cleavages."
“Until the tongue of the Sea of Egypt.” This is the River of Egypt, called the Shihor, and it came to the will of God that the measure of the path that the redeemed would cross through it [be determined]:
And he waved his hand over the river. This river is the River Euphrates, and so did Jonathan translate it. The meaning of “and he waved his hand” is that he would cause a strong wind to blow, which would dry it up, just as he did at the Sea of Reeds at the Exodus from Egypt, as it says, “and it shall be a path for the remnant of his people.”
“Be’im rucho.” With the strength of his spirit, he will drive the river away and dry it up. The word be’im is interpreted according to the context, and it has no parallel in Scripture. My brother, Rabbi Moshe, explained that ‘im derives from le’ei ha-sadeh, which means “heap” or “mound.” He interpreted be’im as in “waves,” that is, “in the waves of the sea.” The river will raise its hand and its spirit to calm them and to dry them up.
“And He smote it into seven streams”: The Holy One, blessed be He, will strike the Euphrates River and drive it with a mighty wind until it returns to seven streams, and there will be a path between stream and stream.
And He guided. Those who traverse those paths in sandals, so that the path would be dry as if there had been no water there, and they would pass through it in their sandals, with their feet. And "He guided" is a transitive verb, and God is the One who guides, and the one who passes through is the one who treads. And what is said about "seven"—it is possible that there were seven paths and no more; and it is also possible that "seven" signifies a matter of multiplicity, meaning, many paths, for such is the usage of the language, as in "seven times for your sins" and "A righteous person falls seven times and rises again."
Metzudat David
"And He devoted it to destruction." [This means] He will cut off the waters of the River of Egypt to make a path for the redeemed to cross through it.
"By the river": This is the River Euphrates.
“And he shall smite it.” Each one shall be smitten so that it may be divided into seven streams, and there shall be a path and a way between one stream and another.
And He will guide. By means of those paths of trails, He will guide the children of the Exile to tread with the shoes that are on their feet, for it will return to being dry.
Metzudat Zion
And he banned it. The matter is one of excision and loss.
"Tongue of the Sea of Egypt." It is the Nile, and since it joins the sea, it appears as if it is a tongue of the sea, and because it extends like a tongue, it is called a "tongue."
And he shall wave. The matter of lifting:
“Ba’im.” The matter is one of strength, and it has no parallel.
And He directed. From the language of "way" and "going."
Malbim
“And he shall shut it up,” so that it may be dried up, that the apostates shall pass through it in the land of Egypt; “by the river,” the River Euphrates, through which the lost ones shall pass in the land of Assyria; “and he shall strike it into seven streams,” corresponding to the seven places enumerated in verse 11, excluding Egypt; “and he shall lead them in sandals,” in the place where he shall lock up the river with locks and shut it off by drawing back its waters; in the seven aforementioned places he shall make a trodden path for the multitude.
And there shall be a highway for the remnant of His people, That shall remain from Assyria, Like as there was for Israel In the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
verse value 5554
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 59 letters. The shortest word is "his·people" (עַמּ֔וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·Israel" (לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "whole burnt offering" (עֲלֹת֖וֹ). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "that" (root אשר, 176x in Isaiah); "from·land·of" (root ארץ, 169x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root מסלה ("highway") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·Assyria', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְהָיְתָ֣ה [and·it·shall·be] (426) + מְסִלָּ֔ה [highway] (135) + לִשְׁאָ֣ר [to·rest·of] (531) + עַמּ֔וֹ [his·people] (116) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + יִשָּׁאֵ֖ר [will·be·remained] (511) + מֵאַשּׁ֑וּר [from·Assyria] (547) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר [as] (521) + הָֽיְתָה֙ [was] (420) + לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [for·Israel] (571) + בְּי֥וֹם [in·day·of] (58) + עֲלֹת֖וֹ [whole burnt offering] (506) + מֵאֶ֥רֶץ [from·land·of] (331) + מִצְרָֽיִם [Egypt] (380) = 5554.
Rashi
"And there was a path" – within the waters for the rest of his nation:
Ibn Ezra
And it shall be. And behold, he has explained the reason for the ban and the plague:
"As it was, etc." – This is an allusion to the splitting of the Red Sea.
Radak
"And it shall be." In this river there shall be a highway for the rest of his people; that is to say, it shall be a paved road, as though it had been a road for a long time. And what he said, "for the rest," we have already explained. And what he said, "from Assyria," is because those who are in Assyria have a direct route to cross the Euphrates River into the Land of Israel.
"And as it was": The meaning is that just as there was a path through the Sea of Reeds, so too will there be a path through the River Euphrates.
Metzudat David
“And there shall be a highway.” It shall be a paved road, as if a road had existed there from of old.
“Which shall remain”: That they did not die in exile.
From Ashur. It refers back to the word "path": the path shall be straight, from Ashur.
"As it is said, etc." Just as there was a path through the Sea of Reeds on the day of their going up, etc., so too there will be a path through the Euphrates River and the River of Egypt.
Metzudat Zion
“M’sillah.” A paved and trodden path.
Malbim
"And there shall be a highway" – for the exiles to pass through it to the Land of Israel, by way of seas and rivers, as in days of old, through the sea and through the Jordan.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim