Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, And trust in chariots, because they are many, And in horsemen, because they are exceeding mighty; But they look not to the Holy One of Israel, Neither seek Hashem!
verse value 5744
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 93 letters. The shortest word is "and·because" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·horses" (עַל־סוּסִ֖ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 510: to·the·Holy·One·of, sought. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "that·go·down" (הַיֹּרְדִ֤ים), "upon·horses" (עַל־סוּסִ֖ים), "they·rely" (יִשָּׁעֵ֑נוּ). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "and·not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "and·because" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·rely', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 15 words.
Rashi
Woe. Concerning Hoshea and the Ten Tribes who descended to Egypt for aid, having sent messengers to So, king of Egypt (II Kings 17:4):
And on horses. Those that come from there, for they are swift to run:
He will save them. (Like “and they did not listen to the Holy One of Israel”)—just as Hezekiah did, as it is stated (II Kings 18:5): “He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, and rebelled against the king of Assyria.”
Ibn Ezra
"Hoy! Like 'woe' to those who descend to Egypt, who did not see this salvation and went to seek safety, and there they will die."
"And they did not trust." This means that they did not relax themselves to trust in the Name [of God], from the root of "trust" in the verse "turn away from me" (Isaiah 22:4). And the one who says that "trust" is written with a missing nun is not correct.
Radak
“Woe.” “And they lean upon horses” — upon the horses of Egypt.
And they did not look to the Holy One of Israel. And they did not trust, and so it is said: “A person shall trust in His Maker.”
Metzudat David
Alas. The prophet said: One should lament over Hoshea and the Ten Tribes.
Those who went down to Egypt: to seek help against Sennacherib.
And they shall lean upon horses. Their trust was in the swift horses that come from Egypt:
“On chariots, for they are many.” This refers to the chariots that were numerous, and to the majority of the horsemen who rode on horses and did not heed; they did not turn to trust in the Lord.
Metzudat Zion
"Yish'anu." The matter is one of trust and reliance:
"Riders." They are the horsemen, who are accustomed to this.
"Atzmu." The matter of an increase, as in "they increased" in the verse "his widows are increased to me" (Jeremiah 15:8):
And they did not look. And they did not turn aside. And so it is said: "A man shall look to his Maker" (above 17:).
Malbim
“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help” (the gates restrict the going down to Egypt for help), and they did not seek the Holy One, Israel’s God; and they trusted in chariots because they were many, and they did not seek the Lord. For sometimes, even though a person trusts in the Lord, nevertheless he seeks natural means and does not rely on a miracle. And this is not a sin for every person. Only for a person who knows that even the means are attained from the Lord, and who is accustomed to miracles, is this also considered a sin. From this aspect, the verse first says: “Woe to those who go down to Egypt to seek help from Egypt,” and they relied on the horses that they would give them for the sake of war, which are natural means. And why did they not seek the Holy One, Israel’s God? For the name “Holy One, Israel’s God” is called by Him from the aspect of particular providence and the signs and wonders that He performs for the sake of Israel. And they should have relied entirely on the Lord’s particular providence. However, there is a second aspect: not only does a person rely on natural means, but he also trusts in them—that is, he removes his trust from the Lord entirely and thinks that everything depends on the strength of the hand and its actions. And this is a great sin. And this is what the verse added: “And they trusted with complete trust in chariots because they were many in quantity, and in horsemen because they were very strong in quality.” And also “the Lord”—the name “the Lord” indicates His general governance—they did not seek, for they denied the Lord entirely, and they placed all their trust in the help of flesh. And this is what is meant by “they did not seek,” for they denied Him absolutely.
Yet He also is wise, And brings evil, And does not call back His words; But will arise against the house of the evil-doers, And against the help of them that work iniquity.
verse value 3401
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "evil" (רָ֔ע, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·his·words" (וְאֶת־דְּבָרָ֖יו, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·also·He" (וְגַם־ה֤וּא), "and·his·words" (וְאֶת־דְּבָרָ֖יו), "and·will·rise" (וְקָם֙). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "and·brought" (root בוא, 120x in Isaiah); "and·his·words" (root דבר, 88x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'turned·back', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְגַם־ה֤וּא [and·also·He] (61) + חָכָם֙ [wise] (68) + וַיָּ֣בֵא [and·brought] (19) + רָ֔ע [evil] (270) + וְאֶת־דְּבָרָ֖יו [and·his·words] (629) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + הֵסִ֑יר [turned·back] (275) + וְקָם֙ [and·will·rise] (146) + עַל־בֵּ֣ית [against·the·house·of] (512) + מְרֵעִ֔ים [companion] (360) + וְעַל־עֶזְרַ֖ת [and·against·help·of] (783) + פֹּ֥עֲלֵי [workers·of] (190) + אָֽוֶן [iniquity] (57) = 3401.
Rashi
And he did not remove his words, which he said: “And the Lord shall bring you back in ships to Egypt” (Deuteronomy 28:68). It is a measure for measure: I said to you, “You shall not see it again” (ibid.), and you went of your own accord; in the end, you will go into exile against your will.
"And he shall rise." This refers to the Ten Tribes, who are a house of evildoers, and to Egypt, which serves as their aid.
Ibn Ezra
And also. Also the Name knew their thoughts and brought evil upon them:
"And His word He did not remove." He did not abolish it.
Radak
And he too is wise. And God is also wise and knows their thoughts, because they did not seek the Lord, but went down to Egypt for help, because their knowledge and thoughts were that the Lord would neither do good nor do evil. Therefore, according to their thoughts, He brought evil upon them to show them that He does good and evil, and that what they thought—relying on Egypt for help—would be of no avail to them.
And He did not remove His words. The words that the prophets prophesied in His name, He did not remove those words; rather, He established them, so that people would know that God watches over the affairs of human beings and speaks with the prophets and sends them to admonish human beings. And when they see that the evil which the prophets spoke to them in the name of the Lord comes upon them, they will know that He sees them.
"And He shall stand upon the house of evildoers." These are Israel.
And regarding "the help of the workers of iniquity." These are the Egyptians.
Metzudat David
And he too is wise. If they devised a plan to nullify the evil decreed through the aid of Egypt, behold, he too is wise to thwart their counsel and bring about the evil, and he will not revoke His words which He decreed upon them through the prophets.
"And He shall rise up against the house of His enemies": God shall rise up against Israel, who are the "house of His enemies," and bring evil upon them; and He shall also rise up against the people of their aid, namely Egypt, the workers of iniquity.
Metzudat Zion
"Evildoers." The wicked:
Malbim
And He too is wise: whereas you think to devise schemes against the decree of the Lord upon you, He is wiser to bring His decree to fulfillment. And He will bring (the sayings are limiting), and evil will come and rise against the house of evildoers, and He will not remove His words, (and He will rise) against the aid of workers of iniquity. This means that the evil which He decreed upon you, you have brought about and executed, and it rose against the house of evildoers, who are the tribe of Ephraim, the wicked and sinners. And what you think to remove His words and annul them by calling upon the kings of Egypt to help you—the Lord did not remove His words because of this, and He rose also against the aid of workers of iniquity, who are the Egyptians. Although He did not decree evil upon them, He rose against them as well, so that He would not revoke His word which He decreed upon Ephraim, for the Egyptians sought to remove His words and annul them.
Now the Egyptians are men, and not God, And their horses flesh, and not spirit; So when Hashem shall stretch out His hand, Both he that helps shall stumble, and he that is helped shall fall, And they all shall perish together.
verse value 2847
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 70 letters. Verse gematria: 2847 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "man" (אָדָם֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·their·horses" (וְסוּסֵיהֶ֥ם, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·not·God" (וְֽלֹא־אֵ֔ל), "and·their·horses" (וְסוּסֵיהֶ֥ם), "and·not·spirit" (וְלֹא־ר֑וּחַ). The root עזר appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "and·not·God" (root איל, 114x in Isaiah); "all·of·them" (root כל, 93x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·not·spirit', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 10 words.
Rashi
"He shall stretch out His hand." This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, supports all things with His hand; and when He stretches it out, they fall, just as one who holds an object in his palm: when he lowers his palm, the object falls. So too [here]. This is an Aggadic midrash; and Targum Jonathan [renders]: "He shall raise His hand — the blow of His might."
Ibn Ezra
"And Egypt." And not the wind. [Rather, an] angel, as it is written: "The Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit" (Isaiah 48:16).
His hand. His blow:
"ויחדו" (And they gathered together): [This refers to] Egypt and those who fled to them. The reason is that the king of Assyria devastated Egypt when he came to Jerusalem.
Yekhalion. Complete, like yekhasion (Psalms 36:8):
Radak
And Egypt is a human being, not a deity. They have no power to help unless God desires it, for it is not in his power to bring about either good or evil, for a human being may speak but not act, and may decree but not fulfill.
"And their horses": Likewise, the Israelites placed their trust in them, [relying upon] flesh rather than upon the Spirit. And the explanation is: "and not an angel," for the horse is a falsehood for salvation. How, then, could Egypt help them, when they could not even help themselves? For the Lord will cast them upon them.
And the helper shall stumble. Egypt:
And the helped one shall fall. Israel:
"And they shall be gathered together." This refers to the king of Assyria, whose staff is his fury and his scepter his wrath, for even in this instance the king of Assyria was taken captive, and with that captivity and plunder he came against Jerusalem when he encamped against it. And concerning this it is said: "the labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Cush," etc. And the Targum [translates]: "And not by God, nor by spirit."
Metzudat David
"And Egypt." This means: What is this trust? Is Egypt not a man and not a God?
"And the Lord shall stretch forth His hand." To smite them:
"And when the helper stumbles." This refers to Egypt, who desired to assist Israel, for they too would fall into the hands of Assyria.
And the helped one shall fall. These are Israel, who thought that they would be helped by Egypt:
And they were united. The helper and the helped both departed from the world:
Metzudat Zion
"Ruach." So is the angel called, and so is the Lord God: "The Lord God sent me, and His spirit" (below 48:).
Malbim
Regarding “and Egypt,” it says: If so, since the One fighting against you is God, blessed be He, and the weapons in His hand are ministering spirits, doers of His word, if you wish to remove His decree by means of aid that you seek, it is necessary that the helper also be a God like Him, and that his weapons also be ministering spirits. This is not so with Egypt, for they are not God, and their horses with which they fight are not spirit, for Egypt is man and their horses are flesh. The One fighting against them is the Lord. Behold, even if He extends His hand slightly, the helper will stumble, and the one being helped will fall automatically, and they will all be destroyed together. And now, how have you acted foolishly in your trust in Egypt? In contrast to this, I will show you how great is the power of the aid that comes through God to those who trust in Him, namely the inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem.
For thus says Hashem to me: Like as the lion, or the young lion, growling over his prey, Though a multitude of shepherds be called forth against him, Will not be dismayed at their voice, Nor abase himself for the noise of them; So will Hashem of hosts come down To fight upon mount Zion, and upon the hill thereof.
verse value 6160
Insights
Verse structure: 27 words, 114 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·mount·Zion" (עַל־הַר־צִיּ֖וֹן, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: not, not. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "lion" (הָאַרְיֵ֨ה), "and·the·young·lion" (וְהַכְּפִ֜יר), "over·his·prey" (עַל־טַרְפּ֗וֹ). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 22 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "said·Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "for" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'will·answer', dividing the verse into phrases of 20 and 7 words.
Rashi
"as he mused." The utterance of a voice, like "and the doves cooed" (below 59).
That which is called upon him: full of shepherds. They will gather upon him at the call of a multitude’s voice:
“Full of shepherds.” [This denotes] an assembly of shepherds. And similarly, “They are full after you” (Jeremiah 12:6); and similarly, “They are gathered together against me” (Job 16:10). All of these are terms of gathering.
"He shall not answer" – this means he shall not humble himself, nor make himself appear poor. Similarly, "to humble yourself before Me" (Exodus 10:3), and likewise "and the pride of Israel shall be humbled" (Hosea 5:5).
Thus he shall go down. And he shall not fear the multitude of the nations:
Ibn Ezra
"Ki." Yehageh, according to the meaning of "yisha'ag":
“Which will call.” This refers to their calling to one another, to unite and engage in battle with the lion.
Complete. All of them, so that no shepherd will be lacking, so that none will fail to come:
“And from their wealth he shall not be afflicted.” This is derived from the root of “ani” (Deuteronomy 24:12), which also means “to afflict” (Exodus 10:3), similar to the verse “He shall be brought low, the song of the mighty” (Isaiah 25:5).
He descended. A hint to the angel:
Radak
For thus says the Lord: Behold, Assyria and Egypt shall be destroyed, inasmuch as they have not known Me. And behold, you shall know that the Lord will bring harm to whom He wills, and likewise He will do good to whom He wills; and they are the inhabitants of Jerusalem. For the king of Assyria, who had ravaged Israel and Judah and Egypt, came to ravage Jerusalem, yet he shall not have the power in his hand, because God does not will it.
"For thus says the Lord to me." The prophet said: Thus did God say to him: "When I come upon that camp, I will come like a lion upon its prey, and I will roar, as it were."
“asher yikra” – according to its Targumic rendering, “that which happens to occur.”
“Full of shepherds.” A gathering of shepherds, just as it says, “They called after you, ‘Mala’” (Jeremiah 12:6), and similar verses, the matter being one of gathering and assembling. And regarding “the lion roars, and the shepherds will come from here and from there to rescue the prey from its hand, if they are able,” yet the lion will not be frightened by the sound of the shepherds, nor will it abandon its prey on their account.
"And from their tumult he shall not be humbled." Explanation: He shall not be humbled, as in "to be humbled before," and similar expressions.
Thus the Lord of Hosts descended. Upon the camp that came to wage war against Mount Zion and its hill; and “Zion” is in the feminine form, as in “Zion is she whom no one seeks,” or alternatively, the explanation is “to wage war,” for God descended upon it to wage war, army against army, the camp of Assyria.
Metzudat David
"For thus says the Lord, etc." This means that then they will know that everything is under Divine providence, for Jerusalem, which trusted in Me, will not fall into the hands of Assyria; and as it continues, "and they will fall into His hand."
"As He shall roar." Like the lion that roars when standing over its prey, which, if a gathering of shepherds should assemble against it, behold, it will not fear their voice nor be humbled by their great multitude to abandon its prey; so too will the Lord descend to guard Mount Zion and encamp His army there, and He will not heed the multitude of the nations. And He speaks in the language customary among human beings:
Metzudat Zion
"Yehageh." The meaning of *hagah* is like that of "and the doves cooed" (*ve'yonim hagah nagah*, infra 59), and it was borrowed to denote the roaring of a lion.
And the young lion. This is one of the names of the lion, and it refers to a young lion.
He will call. The matter of "gathering" is that through the "calling" (qeri'ah) those who are gathered are assembled, as it is said: "And Barak called out Zebulun" (Judges 4:10).
"Upon him." On his account it is full. The meaning of "gathering" is like [the verse]: "Upon me they shall be gathered" (Job 16:10).
"Lo yechat." – "Lo yipachad," just as it says, "Ve'al tachat" (Joshua 1:9).
"and from their multitude." The matter concerns a multitude of people, as it is stated: "over this multitude" (2 Chronicles 34:12).
He will humble. The matter of humbling oneself is like the phrase “He refused to humble himself” (Exodus 10:3):
To the host. The matter is of a division of men of war:
Her hill. The word is derived from the root of "hill" and "mountain."
Malbim
For thus says the Lord to me: This indicates that the salvation of the Lord for Jerusalem is depicted in two aspects. On one side, down below on earth, no preparation for war was made; instead of Sennacherib besieging with all his camp, the people of Jerusalem sat securely and did nothing. From this perspective, the Lord is depicted as dwelling in Jerusalem like a lion and a lion cub that sits securely upon its prey. Even if they call out and gather against him a multitude of shepherds, He will not move from His place and will do nothing. They will not terrify Him from His place, neither because of the noise of their voices and their shouting, nor because He would be overwhelmed and subdued by their great multitude and gathering. So the Lord of Hosts will descend to battle on Mount Zion. That is to say, His descent to the earth below is depicted in this manner: in the city of Jerusalem below, the matter was similar in this respect, that He sat securely like a lion, without fear and without moving from His place. Likewise, He did not prepare a war army and did nothing, but rather sat securely like a lion and a young lion; who will rise against Him? But in contrast to this, let us look at the matter of the Lord regarding what He did above in the height of His holiness. In this regard, He is compared by means of another parable.
As birds hovering, So will Hashem of hosts protect Jerusalem; He will deliver it as He protects it, He will rescue it as He passes over.
verse value 2838
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 50 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 2838 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "so" (כֵּ֗ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "over·Jerusalem" (עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "as·birds" (כְּצִפֳּרִ֣ים), "hovering" (עָפ֔וֹת), "will·defend" (יָגֵ֛ן). The root גנן appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "over·Jerusalem" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "hosts" (root צבא, 73x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root גנן ("will·defend") in Isaiah. First appearance of the root פסח ("passover") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'over·Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: כְּצִפֳּרִ֣ים [as·birds] (440) + עָפ֔וֹת [hovering] (556) + כֵּ֗ן [so] (70) + יָגֵ֛ן [will·defend] (63) + יְהֹוָ֥ה [Hashem] (26) + צְבָא֖וֹת [hosts] (499) + עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם [over·Jerusalem] (686) + גָּנ֥וֹן [protecting] (109) + וְהִצִּ֖יל [and·will·deliver] (141) + פָּסֹ֥חַ [passover] (148) + וְהִמְלִֽיט [and·will·rescue] (100) = 2838.
Rashi
Pesach. It means skipping, and there is another interpretation that it is a term of pity.
And He will rescue. He will bring Israel out of the distress; a term of escape (hamlatah) — "eschamucier" in Old French.
Ibn Ezra
“Like birds.” The word *tziporim* is feminine; and if it were with a mem, as in *pilegashim*, it would always be feminine. Therefore, [the verb] *ofot* [is used].
"עפות" – a participle functioning as an adjective, like "רצות" and "שבות" (Ezekiel 1:14):
Yagen. “He will shield,” from the root of “shield” (Genesis 15:1), and the meaning is that the children of the birds will shield them and save them.
And He saved. It is an infinitive, even though it has a hireq vowel.
Pesach. From the root of "And the Lord passed over the doorposts" (Exodus 12:23):
Radak
“Like flying birds.” The term is feminine, as in “every clean bird.” And Ibn Ezra, of blessed memory, wrote that they compared the angel of the Lord who struck the Assyrian camp to a lion in its might, and to flying birds in its swiftness.
"והציל" – the he has a chireq as its source; likewise "והמליט"; and similarly "למען הרגיע את הארץ" and others like it are written in the book Mikhlal.
Metzudat David
Like birds flying. Just as birds hasten to fly, so too the Lord will hasten to protect Jerusalem.
Protecting, He will save. He will guard them and He will save them:
Pesach and hamalit. When the angel came to strike the camp of Assyria, he would leap over Jerusalem, and they would be saved from the plague.
Metzudat Zion
As birds. So it refers to all birds:
“Flying.” The language of fluttering and blossoming.
Pesach. The matter of skipping and leaping, as it is written: "And the Lord passed over the door" (Exodus 12:23).
And he delivered. The matter of salvation and deliverance from distress:
Malbim
Like birds in flight: just as a bird, when it desires to snatch away its nestling, then swiftly and lightly flies to save its nest, so will the Lord guard Jerusalem, flying upward upon the thick beams to save the nest of His dwelling. And the salvation was in two aspects: 1. He guarded and saved, serving as a shield so that the enemy would not approach the nest; 2. He leaped and rescued, leaping and springing upon the enemy’s camp and rescuing from their hand the spoil that they had already seized long ago. The intent of the term “rescued” is that although in the land they made no natural preparations for war, and this was due to the trust that the enemy would not approach their borders, behold, in the heavens the sons of lightning fought for them and saved Zion in a manner sublime, above nature. And thus, since you see that Egypt and their horses will not save you, but rather the Lord is the God who saves, therefore:
Turn you to Him Against whom you have deeply rebelled, O children of Israel.
verse value 1944
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. Verse gematria: 1944 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "rebellion" (סָרָ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "made·deep" (הֶעְמִ֥יקוּ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "return" (שׁ֗וּבוּ), "made·deep" (הֶעְמִ֥יקוּ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·whom" (root אשר, 176x in Isaiah); "Israel" (root ישראל, 84x in Isaiah); "return" (root שוב, 51x in Isaiah). Full calculation: שׁ֗וּבוּ [return] (314) + לַאֲשֶׁ֛ר [to·whom] (531) + הֶעְמִ֥יקוּ [made·deep] (231) + סָרָ֖ה [rebellion] (265) + בְּנֵ֥י [son] (62) + יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (541) = 1944.
Rashi
“Return.” To the One whose thoughts you have deeply pondered in order to stray from Him, and from whom you have strayed—now, return to Him.
Ibn Ezra
“Return.” These are the words of the prophet: “Return to the Name, you children of Israel, who have deepened His transgression,” from the root *sorer* (Deuteronomy 21:18):
Radak
“Return.” The verse teaches: When they have deeply entrenched themselves in wrongdoing, “return.” These are the Children of Israel, who persisted in evil; “return from your evil ways.” “Return,” before the day comes when you will be compelled to return in any case. When you see the great deed that God will perform in the camp of Assyria, you will still receive a greater reward if you return beforehand and believe the words of the prophet.
Metzudat David
"Return, etc." – You, children of Israel, return to Him from Whom you have deeply pondered how to stray. That is to say: Return to the Lord, from Whom you have strayed.
Malbim
"Return, O children of Israel! To Him whom you have deeply offended by turning away from Him, return to Him, for then you will be saved. For behold, all the evil that has come upon you has come only because you turned away from Him; and if you return to Him, you will know."
For in that day they shall cast away every man his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, Which your own hands have made to you for a sin.
verse value 2006
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 55 letters. Notable word values: "sin" (חֵֽטְא) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "they·will·reject" (יִמְאָס֗וּן, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "they·will·reject" (יִמְאָס֗וּן), "and·idols·of" (וֶאֱלִילֵ֖י). The root אליל appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah); "which" (root אשר, 176x in Isaiah); "in·the·day" (root יום, 124x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·gold', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: כִּ֚י [for] (30) + בַּיּ֣וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הַה֔וּא [that] (17) + יִמְאָס֗וּן [they·will·reject] (167) + אִ֚ישׁ [man] (311) + אֱלִילֵ֣י [idols·of] (81) + כַסְפּ֔וֹ [his·money] (166) + וֶאֱלִילֵ֖י [and·idols·of] (87) + זְהָב֑וֹ [his·gold] (20) + אֲשֶׁ֨ר [which] (501) + עָשׂ֥וּ [they·did] (376) + לָכֶ֛ם [to·you] (90) + יְדֵיכֶ֖ם [your·hands] (84) + חֵֽטְא [sin] (18) = 2006.
Ibn Ezra
“Ki.” “Your hands” is an allusion to those who perform [the commandment]:
And the meaning of "sin" is that there is no sin greater than it.
Radak
For on that day: When God strikes the camp of Assyria, they will see that not by the sword of man will they fall, and they will know that the hand of the Lord has done this, and every man will despise his idols of silver, and they will know that they are vanity, and the Lord is God and there is none else. And the idols that your hands have made for you, you will recognize that they are a sin and a great error that entered your minds, for they will not benefit nor save, for they are nothingness and did not save those who relied on them. For behold, all the cities of Judah were captured and Jerusalem was saved, because they relied on the Lord and prayed before Him to save them from the hand of the king of Assyria.
Metzudat David
"For on that day": This refers back to the earlier verse, to say: "Return" before the miracle is performed, for after the miracle, every man will despise the idols of silver which your hands have made for you to serve and to sin with them. And since that will be the case, the repentance will not be considered so significant; therefore, hasten in repentance before the miracle comes.
Malbim
For on that day a man will cast away his idols which your hands have made for you, and which you have prepared for yourselves as sin and iniquity, and lack; immediately when they cast away their idols, then
Then shall Asshur fall with the sword, not of man, And the sword, not of men, shall devour him; And he shall flee from the sword, And his young men shall become tributary.
verse value 2967
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 58 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (לוֹ֙) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (לוֹ֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·face·of·sword" (מִפְּנֵי־חֶ֔רֶב, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 507: Asshur, you·shall·eat·it. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "not·man" (לֹא־אִ֔ישׁ), "and·sword" (וְחֶ֥רֶב), "not·man" (לֹא־אָדָ֖ם). The root חרב appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·will·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "from·face·of·sword" (root פנים, 88x in Isaiah); "not·man" (root איש, 59x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·eat·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְנָפַ֤ל [and·will·fall] (166) + אַשּׁוּר֙ [Asshur] (507) + בְּחֶ֣רֶב [in·sword] (212) + לֹא־אִ֔ישׁ [not·man] (342) + וְחֶ֥רֶב [and·sword] (216) + לֹא־אָדָ֖ם [not·man] (76) + תֹּאכְלֶ֑נּוּ [you·shall·eat·it] (507) + וְנָ֥ס [and·will·flee] (116) + לוֹ֙ [to·him] (36) + מִפְּנֵי־חֶ֔רֶב [from·face·of·sword] (390) + וּבַחוּרָ֖יו [and·his·young·men] (238) + לָמַ֥ס [to·tribute] (130) + יִהְיֽוּ [they·will·be] (31) = 2967.
Ibn Ezra
"And he fell." By the sword—not by a man, but by the hand of the angel and his drawn sword. And if it is in the manner of a parable, in order to make the listeners understand.
And his chosen ones. Those who flee will be taken on the way:
Radak
“And he fell.” For the angel is neither a man nor a human being.
“And he fled from him because of the sword.” The explanation is: The king of Assyria fled from him as if from a sword, as though those who had drawn their swords were pursuing him; when he saw the great plague in his camp, he would flee from him.
"And his chosen ones." The small number that remains shall become tributary, meaning that their hearts shall melt away in terror.
Metzudat David
"And Assyria shall fall." This means that after repentance, the miracle will come, in which Assyria will fall by the sword—not by the sword of man, but by the sword of the angel.
And a sword, etc. The matter is repeated in what is stated:
"And he fled from him." When the King of Assyria sees the plague, he will flee from him as if from a sword.
"And his chosen ones shall be melted." Those remaining from his army shall have their hearts melt with fear.
Metzudat Zion
It shall eat it. The matter of corruption:
And "Nas." The matter of fleeing:
To the tribute. The word is from the roots hamasah and hamagah, meaning melting and dissolving.
Malbim
“And Asshur shall fall by the sword, not of man” — meaning that it was not by human agency, but solely by the hand of the Lord. And “nor shall the sword of man devour it,” for at times an enemy may fall by the decree of the Lord who arranges his downfall; yet after he has fallen by the hand of the Lord the sword of man then devours him, as was the case in most of the wars of Israel, where the Lord caused their enemies to fall before them, and they then destroyed them with the sword. Here, however, he was killed by the angel of the Lord. Moreover, the verse states that he fell “by the sword, not of man,” because the term “man” (ish) encompasses even an angel; thus, his downfall was by the Lord alone. And he was devoured “by the sword, not of man,” meaning only by the angel, who is not human. And “he fled from the sword” — this implies that one who falls by the hand of the Lord does not subsequently flee when the danger passes, nor does he subsequently pay tribute. However, since the plague that struck them was for the sake of Hezekiah and his people, he was compelled to flee afterward from the sword of Hezekiah, and his young men became tribute to Israel.
And his rock shall pass away by reason of terror, And his princes shall be dismayed at the ensign, Says Hashem, whose fire is in Zion, And His furnace in Jerusalem.
verse value 4140
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 60 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (לוֹ֙) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 4140 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "to·him" (לוֹ֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "utterance·Hashem" (נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֗ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 36: to·him, to·him. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·his·rock" (וְסַלְעוֹ֙), "from·fear" (מִמָּג֣וֹר), "from·a·standard" (מִנֵּ֖ס). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "utterance·Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "whose·fire" (root אשר, 176x in Isaiah); "in·Jerusalem" (root ירושלם, 42x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·princes', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְסַלְעוֹ֙ [and·his·rock] (172) + מִמָּג֣וֹר [from·fear] (289) + יַעֲב֔וֹר [shall·pass] (288) + וְחַתּ֥וּ [and·they·will·be·shattered] (420) + מִנֵּ֖ס [from·a·standard] (150) + שָׂרָ֑יו [his·princes] (516) + נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֗ה [utterance·Hashem] (117) + אֲשֶׁר־א֥וּר [whose·fire] (708) + לוֹ֙ [to·him] (36) + בְּצִיּ֔וֹן [in·Zion] (158) + וְתַנּ֥וּר [and·oven] (662) + ל֖וֹ [to·him] (36) + בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם [in·Jerusalem] (588) = 4140.
Rashi
"And his rock shall pass away from terror; and his strength shall be weakened from the abundance of fear."
"And they shall be dismayed by the miracle" – because of the miracles that will be seen, that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs for Israel.
Which has light for it in Zion. There the fire will be prepared to burn them:
Ibn Ezra
"And his rock" etc. "His rock" shall pass—meaning the boundary of his kingdom—due to his great fear; this is the meaning of "from terror." The sense is that he will flee and not rely on his rock, [and they shall be terrified] from every omen that his fleeing or remaining officers see in his land.
"Light and a furnace." This is an allusion to the altar, or alternatively, it is a metaphorical expression, as he mentioned above: "and a flame of fire devouring."
Radak
And his rock. And to his rock and his strong fortress he shall flee, for he will not trust in himself until he is there, due to excessive fear. And there are those who explain that even his rock he will flee, due to excessive fear, and he will run away even further. And the first explanation is correct. And the Targum: "And his rulers shall pass away because of fear."
"And his princes shall be terrified because of the banner." Just as a person is afraid of a banner and becomes terrified when he sees the banner of the armies, so too shall his princes—the survivors—be terrified of the plague that they see.
“Which has light for it.” This refers to the light and the furnace that are in Jerusalem, which will burn them; and some say that “which has light for it” refers to Zion, and the furnace is on the altar, which is in the Temple, meaning that this is for the honor of His altar and His Sanctuary.
Metzudat David
And his rock. His strength will depart from him, and he will go away due to excessive fear.
“And they shall be terrified by the banner of his princes.” His princes shall be terrified, as people are terrified by the bearer of the banner seen from afar, and it is the foremost among all the men of war.
“Which is a light for Him in Zion.” Which He prepared there, a flame and a furnace of fire, to burn therein the camp of Assyria; and this is a metaphor.
Metzudat Zion
And His rock. This means that He is strong like a rock.
From the word "miggor." The concept of fear is akin to "vayagar Moav" (Numbers 22):
And they were terrified. The meaning is fear:
“Mi-nes.” A long pole that is borne in the army:
"Or" [light]. [It refers to] a flame, as in the phrase a light to sit before it (see below, 47).
Malbim
And his rock, his rock which is the fortress, was made into a millstone by the mortar, which passes through it as if the pestle and the mortar had cut and divided the rock into halves. This means that afterward all his fortresses were conquered, and his banners were lowered from their standard, whereas until now they had raised their banner over all the nations for war. Now they were afraid when they saw the banner of war. Says the Lord, who is light for Him in Zion. This indicates that the light of Israel was like fire; the light that shone for Hezekiah was fire to consume the camp of Sennacherib, until the light and the radiance were in Zion, where Hezekiah sat, and the furnace to be kindled was in Jerusalem. The city surrounding Jerusalem, Sennacherib fell and was burned, as if the light that shone in Zion had kindled the furnace and the fiery oven, which is Jerusalem, from whose heat the camp of Sennacherib, which had encamped around it, was burned.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim