But now thus says Hashem that created you, O Jacob, And He that formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are Mine.
verse value 4700
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 59 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 4700 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "do·not·fear" (אַל־תִּירָא֙, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "who·created·you" (בֹּרַאֲךָ֣), "Mine·you" (לִי־אָֽתָּה). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "thus·says" (root אמר, 244x in Isaiah); "for" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְעַתָּ֞ה [now] (481) + כֹּֽה־אָמַ֤ר [thus·says] (266) + יְהֹוָה֙ [Hashem] (26) + בֹּרַאֲךָ֣ [who·created·you] (223) + יַעֲקֹ֔ב [Jacob] (182) + וְיֹצֶרְךָ֖ [and·who·formed·you] (326) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + אַל־תִּירָא֙ [do·not·fear] (642) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + גְאַלְתִּ֔יךָ [I·redeemed·you] (464) + קָרָ֥אתִי [I·called] (711) + בְשִׁמְךָ֖ [in·your·name] (362) + לִי־אָֽתָּה [Mine·you] (446) = 4700.
Rashi
And now. Even all this, thus says the Lord: Do not fear.
Ibn Ezra
"And now." The prophet said: Since you admit [the truth], now God will redeem you.
"I called by Your name" – this is a great merit, as it is written, "See, I have called by name" (Exodus 31:2). And the merit is that you are Mine.
Radak
"And now, thus says the Lord." Some say that this passage concerns Cyrus, King of Persia, who sent the Israelites out of the Babylonian exile. But my father, of blessed memory, interpreted it in reference to Sennacherib, and this is the correct interpretation. Indeed, this matter is connected to what precedes it, "and it burned him around," as we have explained; and now He assured the inhabitants of Jerusalem regarding Sennacherib. And one may also interpret this passage as referring to the future.
"Your Maker, Jacob." That you may recognize that I am your Maker and the Maker of the world.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you.” From the sword of Sennacherib, for he will not capture Jerusalem; and if so, it is destined—meaning, “I have redeemed you” from the exile.
To Me you are, and upon Me it is incumbent to redeem you:
Metzudat David
“And now.” This means: Even despite all this, thus says the Lord, etc.: “Do not fear, lest you be consumed in exile.”
"For I have redeemed you." For behold, I redeemed you from Egypt, and at that time I called you by your name, saying, "You are Mine, My people, and My firstborn son."
Malbim
And now, nevertheless, do not despair, thus says the Lord who created you, Jacob. There is a difference between "Creator" and "Fashioner," for "Creator" refers to the bringing forth of the matter of the thing, and "Fashioner" refers to the bringing forth of its form. Likewise, there is a difference between Jacob and Israel: they are called Jacob when they are at a lowly level, and they are called Israel when they are in a state of importance and conduct themselves in a manner of miracle. The meaning is that from the aspect of the beginning of their existence, which is analogous to the matter of the nation and the initial stage of their existence, they are Jacob; and from the aspect of their essential form, they are Israel, princes and rulers over nature and its affairs. The verses of the Scripture delimit this: "Thus says He who created you, Jacob, do not fear, for I have redeemed you," meaning that from the aspect of the beginning of your existence, in which He chose you as a people through the redemption from Egypt, it is incumbent that He redeem you a second time, for "the Children of Israel are servants unto Me" — and not servants of Nebuchadnezzar. And from the aspect that He fashioned you, Israel, "I called you by your name, you are Mine," meaning that through your essential form and the name Israel, I called you by this name which indicates that you are Mine, that you are not subject to nature but only to particular providence. The meaning is that from the aspect that He is your Creator, Jacob, it is incumbent that you not be under the service of the lower ministers of the exile of Babylon and Persia; and from the aspect that He is your Fashioner, Israel, it is incumbent that you not be under the dominion of the upper ministers, the heavenly host, and their decrees.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you; When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Neither shall the flame kindle upon you.
verse value 4465
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 60 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·on·the·rivers" (וּבַנְּהָר֖וֹת, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: not, not, not. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "when·you·pass" (כִּֽי־תַעֲבֹ֤ר), "and·on·the·rivers" (וּבַנְּהָר֖וֹת), "they·will·wash·you" (יִשְׁטְפ֑וּךָ). The root לא appears 3 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "with·you·I" (root אני, 76x in Isaiah); "when·you·pass" (root עבר, 41x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·will·wash·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: כִּֽי־תַעֲבֹ֤ר [when·you·pass] (702) + בַּמַּ֙יִם֙ [in·the·water] (92) + אִתְּךָ־אָ֔נִי [with·you·I] (482) + וּבַנְּהָר֖וֹת [and·on·the·rivers] (669) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + יִשְׁטְפ֑וּךָ [they·will·wash·you] (425) + כִּֽי־תֵלֵ֤ךְ [when·you·walk] (480) + בְּמוֹ־אֵשׁ֙ [in·fire] (349) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + תִכָּוֶ֔ה [you·will·be·burned] (431) + וְלֶהָבָ֖ה [and·flame] (48) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + תִבְעַר־בָּֽךְ [shall·burn·in·you] (694) = 4465.
Rashi
"When you pass through the waters." When you passed through the Sea of Reeds, I was with you.
"And in the rivers they shall not be drowned." You dwelled among the nations, which were as numerous as the waters of a river, yet they were unable to destroy you.
"When you walk through the fire": In the future to come, for behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven (Malachi 3:19), when I will make the sun blaze upon the wicked, "and the day that comes shall set them ablaze" (ibid.) — yet even there you shall not be scorched.
And the flame. That it will burn the nations, as it is stated: “And the peoples shall burn their pots” (Isaiah 33:12), yet it shall not consume you.
Ibn Ezra
"For, etc." The verse likens the princes to rivers, and also to fire, as it is stated, "A fire went out from Heshbon" (Numbers 21:28). And the meaning of "when you pass through the waters" is with regard to Media and Persia, when they will capture Babylon.
Radak
"When you pass through the waters." Since He compared the army of Sennacherib to the waters of a river, as it says, "The mighty and numerous waters of the river, the king of Assyria," and it says, "It shall flood and pass over until the neck," He said to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: "For the rivers of the king of Assyria shall not flood you, nor shall his fire burn you," for He also compared them to fire, as it says, "And He shall set it on fire all around." And if it were referring to the future, He would have said: "When you go out from exile and pass among the nations, which are like rivers or like fire, they shall not harm you."
Metzudat David
"When you pass through the waters" — and you would be close to drowning in them:
"And in the rivers." Even if you pass through the rushing rivers, they will not sweep you away.
"You shall not be burned." You shall not be scorched by the fire, nor shall the flame consume you. This means that even if you are in the depths of distress, you shall not perish there.
Metzudat Zion
In "bemo." Within, and similarly in "bemo" from Madmenah (above, 25):
Tikhveh. The meaning of "charred" and "burning" is like "scars of fire" (Leviticus 13).
Malbim
"When you pass through the waters" – this means that there are two types of salvation: 1) Natural salvation, in which God guides and protects him in such a way that the harmful element does not approach him. From this perspective, it says, "When you pass through the waters, I am with you," meaning that you will pass through the waters in peace; and "When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned," for I will protect you, meaning that you will walk in a secure manner, far from harm. 2) Miraculous salvation, in which, even though he walks in a place of danger and enters the waters and the fire, the natural properties of the waters and the fire are nullified, and they do not harm him. Regarding this, it adds, "And the rivers shall not overflow you," meaning that even if you are in the river itself and amidst the flow of its waters, "and the flame shall not burn you," meaning that the power of the flame is nullified to the extent that it does not burn at all. The first type is limited by "against your Maker, Jacob," and the second type is limited by "against your Redeemer, Israel."
For I am Hashem your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for you.
verse value 4373
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֗י, 2 letters) and the longest is "your·Savior" (מוֹשִׁיעֶ֑ךָ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "your·ransom" (כׇפְרְךָ֙), "and·Seba" (וּסְבָ֖א). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "for" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah); "Israel" (root ישראל, 84x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·Savior', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: כִּ֗י [for] (30) + אֲנִי֙ [I] (61) + יְהֹוָ֣ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ [your·God] (66) + קְד֥וֹשׁ [holy·one·of] (410) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [Israel] (541) + מוֹשִׁיעֶ֑ךָ [your·Savior] (446) + נָתַ֤תִּי [I·gave] (860) + כׇפְרְךָ֙ [your·ransom] (320) + מִצְרַ֔יִם [Egypt] (380) + כּ֥וּשׁ [Ethiopia] (326) + וּסְבָ֖א [and·Seba] (69) + תַּחְתֶּֽיךָ [under·you] (838) = 4373.
Rashi
"I have given your ransom to Egypt." They were for you as a redemption, in that their firstborn died, whereas you, My firstborn son, were saved. Yet you became liable to complete destruction, as it is stated (Ezekiel 20:8): "And I said, I will pour out My fury upon them in the land of Egypt."
Ibn Ezra
"I have given Egypt as your ransom." [This means that] the kings of Media will do them harm.
Radak
"For I am the Lord. The Holy One of Israel, I am the Holy One of Israel, your Father, and I am your Redeemer."
"I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead." When the army of Sennacherib came and turned his face toward Jerusalem, he heard concerning Tirhakah, king of Cush, that he had gone out to fight against him. He returned [to Cush] and fought with Cush, Seba, and Egypt, and he returned with that captivity to fight against Jerusalem, and there God struck down his camp. Now [the verse] says that God gave Cush, Seba, and Egypt as a ransom for Israel, and they were handed over into the hand of the king of Assyria in place of Israel. Even though Seba is the son of Cush, [the text] generally includes [Seba] within Cush in the latter construction. And if it is destined that the matter will be as it is said in the prophecy of Daniel, "For the king of the north shall come with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, and he shall enter and overflow and pass over. He shall enter into the glorious land, and many countries shall follow; and he shall deal with them differently than his father and his father's fathers. He shall cast them to the power of many, and he shall divide the land for gain," and it says, "And the land of Egypt shall not be delivered," and it says, "And he shall set his face with the might of his kingdom, and with a face of understanding, and he shall do what he pleases, and none shall stand against him. And he shall stand in the glorious land with destruction in his hand, and all the treasures of gold and silver and all the desirable things of Egypt shall be in his power, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow him," and it says, "At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people," etc.
Metzudat David
"For I am the Lord, etc." And everything is in My hand:
"I have given Egypt as your ransom." Were you not in Egypt deserving of utter destruction, as it is stated, "And I said, 'I will pour out My fury upon them in the land of Egypt'" (Ezekiel 20:8)? And yet, at that time, I gave Egypt as your ransom, for they were destroyed in your stead.
Cush and Seba are beneath you. When Sennacherib set his face to wage war against Jerusalem, he first went out to wage war against Cush and Seba, and they perished in your stead, and they served as a ransom for you.
Metzudat Zion
"Your atonement." The matter of redemption:
Malbim
For, in contrast to the first, natural salvation, it explains, "I am the Lord your God," Who watches over you so that no evil touches you; and in contrast to the miraculous salvation, which is above nature, it says, "I am the Holy One of Israel, your Savior," (this Name indicates miraculous providence), Who saves you by a miracle: "I gave Egypt as your ransom." This alludes to what was stated above (20:4): "Thus shall the King of Assyria treat the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, naked and barefoot." When the King of Assyria went against Israel, he returned from the land of Judah by the word of the Lord to fight against Cush (as explained above in chapter 37). Then he took captive from Egypt and exiled Cush, and thereby Israel was saved. Now, he did not exile all of Egypt, but only took captives from it, whereas he exiled all of Cush, as it states: "the captives of Egypt, the exiles of Cush." Now, there is a difference between *kofer* (ransom) and *tachat* (substitute), for *kofer* is paid in money, and *kofer* is not effective for a person who is liable for death, as it is stated, "You shall not accept ransom for the life of a murderer." It is only effective if he is liable for another punishment. According to this, after the captives of Egypt served as a substitute for the captives of Israel—and this indicates the aspect that Israel had not yet become liable for exile, only for captivity—it was effective to offer a *kofer* that was not of the same category as the liability. But *tachat* is of the same category as the liability: a life for a life. This occurred with the exile of Cush, which served as a substitute for the exile of Israel, who had become fully liable for exile, and the lives of Cush were given in their stead. In this, he added that not only did I give Egypt as your ransom at a time when you were not yet liable for death and exile, but even at a time when you became liable for exile and death, when a *kofer* that is not of the same category as the liability is not effective, then I gave Cush and Seba in your place.
Since you are precious in My sight, and honourable, and I have loved you; Therefore will I give men for you, And peoples for your life.
verse value 5099
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 53 letters. The shortest word is "man" (אָדָם֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "I·loved·you" (אֲהַבְתִּ֑יךָ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "I·loved·you" (אֲהַבְתִּ֑יךָ), "and·I·will·give" (וְאֶתֵּ֤ן). The root תחת appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "since" (root אשר, 176x in Isaiah); "and·I" (root אני, 76x in Isaiah); "and·I·will·give" (root נתן, 56x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·loved·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: מֵאֲשֶׁ֨ר [since] (541) + יָקַ֧רְתָּ [you·are·precious] (710) + בְעֵינַ֛י [in·my·eyes] (142) + נִכְבַּ֖דְתָּ [you·are·honored] (476) + וַאֲנִ֣י [and·I] (67) + אֲהַבְתִּ֑יךָ [I·loved·you] (438) + וְאֶתֵּ֤ן [and·I·will·give] (457) + אָדָם֙ [man] (45) + תַּחְתֶּ֔יךָ [under·you] (838) + וּלְאֻמִּ֖ים [and·peoples] (127) + תַּ֥חַת [instead·of] (808) + נַפְשֶֽׁךָ [your·soul] (450) = 5099.
Rashi
"And I will set a man in your stead." I am always accustomed to this:
Ibn Ezra
“And I will give man.” “I created them as I created you.”
Radak
“From that which is precious.” The matter is repeated, and He said, “From that which is precious and honored,” meaning that Israel is precious and honored in My eyes, I will give these nations under you. They will be destroyed, and Israel will be saved and will go forth from exile.
Metzudat David
“From that which is precious.” Because you are precious in My eyes and honored above all the nations, and I have loved you; therefore, My way is to give other people in your stead.
"And to the nations, etc." – The matter is doubled, as if to say: as I did in the past, so will I do yet again.
Metzudat Zion
Yekarah. From the language of "yakar" and "chashuv" (precious and important):
Malbim
“Because you are precious in My eyes, honored, and I have loved you”: The matter is precious due to its rarity, like gold and pearls; honored due to its intrinsic excellence; and beloved because it finds favor. It states: “Behold, you are precious in My eyes” on account of the root of your soul, which is from a lofty place, or the rock from which you were hewn, your forefathers; “honored” on account of your excellence in Torah and good deeds; and “I have loved you” on account of the Divine Will (and these are the three things mentioned above [Isaiah 41:8]: “And you, O Israel, My servant, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, My beloved,” as I explained there; see there). Therefore, “I will give men in your place,” meaning: in place of your body, I will give a single man; but in place of your soul and spirit, which are noble and from on high, I will give many nations and peoples. Therefore,
Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your seed from the east, And gather you from the west;
verse value 2331
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "do·not·fear" (אַל־תִּירָ֖א, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·from·the·west" (וּמִֽמַּעֲרָ֖ב). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah); "I·will·bring" (root בוא, 120x in Isaiah); "do·not·fear" (root איל, 114x in Isaiah). First appearance of the root מערב ("and·from·the·west") in Isaiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·you·I', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: אַל־תִּירָ֖א [do·not·fear] (642) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + אִתְּךָ־אָ֑נִי [with·you·I] (482) + מִמִּזְרָח֙ [from·east] (295) + אָבִ֣יא [I·will·bring] (14) + זַרְעֶ֔ךָ [seed] (297) + וּמִֽמַּעֲרָ֖ב [and·from·the·west] (358) + אֲקַבְּצֶֽךָּ [I·will·gather·you] (213) = 2331.
Ibn Ezra
From the east. This is Babylonia:
And from the west. This refers to Egypt and Assyria, as it is written: “And the heart of the king of Assyria” (Ezra 10:22).
Radak
“Fear not.” This cannot be interpreted other than as referring to the future. And according to what we explained regarding the preceding verse concerning Sennacherib, it says “Fear not,” meaning: Just as I acted on your behalf when he passed by, so too will I act on your behalf in the future, and I will gather your exile from the four corners of the earth. And what it says “your seed” means: Even the small children I will lead to them; or it says “your seed” because the prophecy concerns that future exile, and the prophecy was spoken to those who were alive at that time, and they themselves will not be present then, but rather their seed will be; therefore it said “I will bring your seed.” And what it says “I will gather you” alludes to the resurrection of the dead, that those who were of that generation and went into exile will be brought back to life.
Metzudat David
From the east. Those who are scattered there:
Malbim
“Fear not, for I am with you; to gather your dispersed ones.” (And He said twice “Fear not,” because the Israelites would fear on account of two matters: first, while they are in their exile, they might be unable to endure and perish among the nations; therefore He said, “Fear not, for when you pass through the waters... I have given Egypt as your ransom...” meaning that the natural elements will be subdued before them and the nations will give a ransom for their lives. Second, they would fear because they might consider it impossible that their dispersed ones would be gathered from the four corners of the earth; therefore He said, “Fear not, for from the east I will bring your seed... and from the west I will gather Israel.”) “From the east I will bring your seed.” I have already written above (in chapter 11) regarding the verse “And He will gather the outcasts of Israel and assemble the dispersed of Judah,” that the Israelites who were exiled to the eastern lands, namely the Ten Tribes, are not dispersed and do not require gathering, for they all dwell in one place, and only their coming to the Land of Israel is needed. Therefore it says, “From the east I will bring your seed.” But the Israelites who were exiled to the west, namely the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, were scattered to the four winds and require gathering; therefore it says, “From the west I will gather you.”
I will say to the north: ‘Give up’, And to the south: ‘Keep not back, bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of the earth;
verse value 3434
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "I·will·say" (אֹמַ֤ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "do·not·withhold" (אַל־תִּכְלָ֑אִי, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "to·the·north" (לַצָּפוֹן֙), "give" (תֵּ֔נִי), "and·to·south" (וּלְתֵימָ֖ן). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·will·say" (root אמר, 244x in Isaiah); "the·land" (root ארץ, 169x in Isaiah); "bring" (root בוא, 120x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'do·not·withhold', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: אֹמַ֤ר [I·will·say] (241) + לַצָּפוֹן֙ [to·the·north] (256) + תֵּ֔נִי [give] (460) + וּלְתֵימָ֖ן [and·to·south] (536) + אַל־תִּכְלָ֑אִי [do·not·withhold] (492) + הָבִ֤יאִי [bring] (28) + בָנַי֙ [my·sons] (62) + מֵרָח֔וֹק [from·far] (354) + וּבְנוֹתַ֖י [and·my·daughters] (474) + מִקְצֵ֥ה [from·end·of] (235) + הָאָֽרֶץ [the·land] (296) = 3434.
Rashi
He says: "To the north wind." Give up the exiles that are in the north.
"And to the south." This [refers to] a strong wind. Do not withhold from blowing strongly to bring My exiles. And similarly, (Song of Songs 4:16) "Awake, north wind, and come, south wind." Since the north wind is weak, it requires strengthening; therefore, it is written "Awake." But the south wind, which does not require strengthening, is written "Come," as it is. And similarly, "Do not withhold."
Ibn Ezra
He says to the north: "Bring forth." My sons:
And to the south. "Right" (i.e., the right hand), and behold, He will gather them from the four corners of the land.
[“My sons”]: And my daughters, men and women:
Radak
He says: And behold, He mentioned the four winds, for Tiyman is the south. And He said: “Tani, tichlai, bring them” in the feminine language, because “wind” is in the feminine language. And what He said “to the winds” is by way of a parable, as if the winds would lift them up from their place and bring them to the Land of Israel; or He spoke about the inhabitants of the winds, as He said, “And they shall bring your sons in bosoms,” etc. And the meaning of “your sons and your daughters” is men and women, for “Yinahel” [He shall lead] refers to women slowly with their children, as it is said, “They shall go up, leading [Yinahel].”
Metzudat David
"Give." “Give the scattered Israelites there.”
"Do not withhold." Do not withhold from bringing Israel. "Bring." It is as if He commanded each of the winds of the heavens to bring Israel.
Metzudat Zion
Tikhlai. The meaning is "prevention," as in "And the people ceased from bringing" (Exodus 36:6).
Malbim
He said to the north: "Release"; likewise, the Jews who are in the north, who are confined there by mountains surrounding them, from which they cannot emerge, the Lord will say to this portion [of the land] to release those confined within it. But those dwelling in the south are not confined between the mountains of Edom; rather, it is only that the nations do not permit them to go forth. Therefore, He says: "Do not imprison them, and do not detain them in your hands from going forth."
Every one that is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, I have formed him, indeed, I have made him.’
verse value 3048
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "all" (כֹּ֚ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "indeed·I·made·him" (אַף־עֲשִׂיתִֽיו, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "called" (הַנִּקְרָ֣א), "and·to·my·glory" (וְלִכְבוֹדִ֖י), "I·formed·him" (יְצַרְתִּ֖יו). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "indeed·I·made·him" (root עשה, 101x in Isaiah); "all" (root כל, 93x in Isaiah); "called" (root קרא, 84x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·created·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 2 words. Full calculation: כֹּ֚ל [all] (50) + הַנִּקְרָ֣א [called] (356) + בִשְׁמִ֔י [in·my·name] (352) + וְלִכְבוֹדִ֖י [and·to·my·glory] (78) + בְּרָאתִ֑יו [I·created·him] (619) + יְצַרְתִּ֖יו [I·formed·him] (716) + אַף־עֲשִׂיתִֽיו [indeed·I·made·him] (877) = 3048.
Rashi
“All that is called by My name, for My glory I created it, I formed it, I made it.” All the righteous ones who are called by My name, and all that is made for My glory, I formed it, I made it, I designed it with everything it needs, and I prepared everything. That is to say: even though they have passed through exile and distress, I have already prepared for them all the necessities of their redemption.
Ibn Ezra
"All who are called by My name" etc. Some say that "called" (nekara) is used in the sense of "calls" (kore), but this is not correct; rather, it means exactly what it says: all who are called by My name, namely, the people of the Lord.
“And for My honor.” That honor may be accorded to My Name.
"I created him." This refers to the Jewish people:
"And I have made Him." The meaning is "and I have established Him." And Rabbi Solomon, author of the *HaShirim HaShekulim* (Metered Poems), of blessed memory, explained in it that this refers to the Light of the World, and this does not connect to the meaning of the passage.
Radak
"All who are called by My name": All Israel are called "the people of the Lord," and in saying "all," it means that not one of them will be left behind, even though they are scattered to all corners; or, it means "all who are called by My name" from among Israel, namely the righteous ones, for God refined them upon their departure, and the good ones will be saved, as it is said, "All who are written for life in Jerusalem," and these are the ones called by the name of the Lord.
“And for My sake I created him.” Just as it is said, “Your Maker, Jacob, and He who formed you, Israel” — these terms denote those who recognize and know that God created them and created the world, and they acknowledge this. Indeed, they were created for the honor of God, because they acknowledge Him and proclaim that the Name created the formation of man from non-existence to existence. Not from absolute non-existence, for he was created from the earth; rather, since he was not created from his own kind, namely flesh, it is as if he was created from non-existence. “Formation” refers to the arrangement of his limbs; “making” refers to the arrangement of his sustenance and the needs of his body. Therefore, it says, “I made him.” Therefore, a person must contemplate the formation of man and the arrangement of his limbs, how they were made with wisdom, and the arrangement of his livelihood from the day of his birth. This wisdom leads a person to recognize his Creator, to praise Him, and to give thanks to His Name; and this is the honor of God. Therefore, it says, “Israel, whom I formed for My sake,” meaning that he contemplates My deeds and acknowledges My unity. It is fitting that I bring him out of exile.
Alternatively, the verse can be interpreted regarding the entire world, because it says, “I said to the north, ‘Give forth!’” — I said that I am worthy to command the four winds of the world, because the entire world is called by My Name, as it is said, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “And for My sake I created it,” meaning that I brought it from non-existence to existence, for there was nothing from which it was created.
I formed him. His forms and his strength:
"I have made him." This means: I have perfected his details. And the Targum says: "Each thing is for itself," etc.
Metzudat David
All who are called by My name. All Israel, who are called by the name of the people of God.
"And for My glory." That is, [the commandment is] to be honored and to be glorified through them, as it is stated: "Israel, in whom I shall be glorified" (below 49).
"I formed him, etc." – This means that I have already prepared for him all the necessities of redemption; there is no lack.
Malbim
"Kol," He says, "not only do I command the four winds of heaven to bring forth the exiles, but know that all that is called by My name—that is, all of creation, the upper and lower realms, all that is related to My name, which I created, and all that I created for My glory, which is all of creation that I created for My glory, so that the Glory of the Lord may be revealed through existence—behold, all of existence in its entirety, I formed it, and I also made it, only for the sake of..."
The blind people that have eyes shall be brought forth, and the deaf that have ears.
verse value 1748
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "being" (יֵ֑שׁ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·eyes" (וְעֵינַ֣יִם, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "brought·out" (הוֹצִ֥יא), "people·blind" (עַם־עִוֵּ֖ר), "and·eyes" (וְעֵינַ֣יִם). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·eyes" (root עין, 45x in Isaiah); "brought·out" (root יצא, 42x in Isaiah); "people·blind" (root עור, 30x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'being', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: הוֹצִ֥יא [brought·out] (112) + עַם־עִוֵּ֖ר [people·blind] (386) + וְעֵינַ֣יִם [and·eyes] (186) + יֵ֑שׁ [being] (310) + וְחֵרְשִׁ֖ים [and·deaf] (564) + וְאׇזְנַ֥יִם [and·ears] (114) + לָֽמוֹ [at] (76) = 1748.
Rashi
“Who brought out a blind people.” “Who brought them out” is akin to “to bring them out from exile,” referring to those who were exiled because they became like the blind—having eyes but not seeing.
Ibn Ezra
He brought out. The name of the verb:
"A blind people." [They were so] at first; and even though they have eyes, behold, the entire passage is connected.
Radak
"Hatzia" – The source [of the word] implies: "I said to bring out a people who are in exile, like the blind and the deaf."
Metzudat David
"Bring out (hotzi)": to bring out from the exile those who were exiled because they became like the blind, who have eyes but do not see the deeds of the Lord; that is to say, they have a heart but are unwilling to understand.
And the deaf. They became like the deaf, having ears but not hearing the commandments of the Lord.
Malbim
"Bring forth the people who are blind" signifies that the ultimate purpose of all creation is for My honor, and My honor will not be revealed except through the ingathering of the exiles, the revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven, and His unity. Therefore, it is necessary that I prepared all of existence, its ordinances, and its completion solely in such a manner that all of existence would assist in this: that this blind people would go out and return on the day of Jezreel. For this is the ultimate purpose of creation in its entirety, and all of existence was prepared to serve as intermediaries assisting toward this ultimate purpose, through which existence as a whole will be perfected to attain the desired goal, which is the perfection of all existence, blind yet having eyes, as it is written above: "Who is blind if not My servant?" and "deaf and ears for them," as it is written: "I will send a deaf one like My angels," as explained in the aforementioned sources.
All the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled; who among them can declare this, And announce to us former things? Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified; And let them hear, and say: ‘It is truth.’
verse value 4602
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 83 letters. Verse gematria: 4602 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "who?" (מִ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·the·nations" (כׇּֽל־הַגּוֹיִ֞ם, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·they·will·be·gathered" (וְיֵאָֽסְפוּ֙), "and·former·things" (וְרִאשֹׁנ֖וֹת), "announce·to·us" (יַשְׁמִיעֻ֑נוּ). The root שמע appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·let·them·say" (root אמר, 244x in Isaiah); "announce·to·us" (root שמע, 106x in Isaiah); "all·the·nations" (root גוי, 65x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'announce·to·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 6 words.
Rashi
"All the nations have gathered together." If all the nations of the idolaters have gathered together, who among them and their prophets will declare the future events and things like them from their error, or the past events that have already passed, let them make us hear to say, "We declared them before they came."
“Let them bring their witnesses.” [This means that] they heard that prophecies had been uttered against them beforehand, and [those prophecies] were vindicated. But I have witnesses who are your witnesses: I informed your father Abraham of the exiles, and they came to pass.
Ibn Ezra
"All, etc." And perhaps one might say that Israel did not know these future events, for they are blind; perhaps there are among the nations and their sages those who know. Therefore it says: "Who among you can declare these future events, and let them make us hear the former things that have passed, which they declared before they came to be."
"Let them give their testimony." Who has heard this?
[And they shall be righteous]. Then the righteous of this generation will be:
They shall hear. The witnesses indeed:
And they said, "The truth." Thus it was:
Radak
"All the nations have gathered together." The verb is in the past tense in place of the future tense: they and all their wise men will assemble.
"Which of them?" – who among them will declare this future thing:
"And the first things shall He make us hear." The "first things" refer to the matter of Sennacherib; He will make us hear them before they come to pass, just as I made you hear them through the prophets.
“Let them give their witnesses.” This means that they testified before the event had taken place.
"And they were righteous." It is said of them that they are righteous in their statement and trustworthy in their words.
“And they shall hear and say, ‘It is true.’ And if they do not know, they shall hear what the prophet says and say, ‘For it is true,’ and they shall acknowledge the truth.”
Metzudat David
"All the nations have gathered together." If all the idolaters were to gather together, who among them could foretell such future events? Did the idol say to them:
And the first ones: Or, the first ones that have already passed shall cause us to say, "We told them before they came."
“Let them bring their witnesses.” This means: Let them bring witnesses who testified that he had made the matter known before the time came, and then they would be righteous in their words.
"And they shall hear." Or, "they shall hear" what the prophet will say, and they will say, "The matter is true," as if to say, "or they will bring witnesses, or they will confess to the truth."
Metzudat Zion
And they heard. The vav is a vav of division.
Malbim
"Concerning all the nations, after this prophecy of the ingathering of the exiles has been proclaimed, He turns His face toward the idolaters in their time. They recount wonders about their idols—how they were born and how they performed many wonders in heaven and on earth—and their tales are filled with countless, innumerable falsehoods (as is known in the books of mythology, which are remnants of these foreign tales of falsehood). He says to them: 'Let the nations and these peoples be gathered together; who among them can declare this? Let them recount the wonders that their idols performed in ancient times. Is there anyone among them who can declare such a thing—a well-known future event encompassing all the inhabitants of the world, like this prophecy of the ingathering of the exiles? They only recount things that occurred in the past, in the first generations, of which there is no memory among the living. Why do they not declare a future event, as the prophet declares in the name of the Lord? They only make us hear the former things—what was, not what will be? Indeed, even these former things that they make us hear, let them present their witnesses and justify themselves.' This means that one who recounts a wondrous event that occurred in the past must verify his words either through witnesses who saw this thing with their own eyes, or through reason, so that every listener will understand on his own that the matter is true. This is what is written: 'Or let them present their witnesses and justify themselves,' or let the listeners hear and say that the recounted matter is true. [And this implies that their tales of falsehood are products of the days of darkness, spiderwebs woven by the priests of the idols to tell of ancient days that no man saw, and there is no witness to testify that he saw the thing. The tales themselves contradict the truth (for the definition of truth is that the recounted matter agrees with reason and reality), to the point that every listener laughs at them]:"
You are My witnesses, says Hashem, and My servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe Me, and understand That I am He; before Me there was no God formed, neither shall any be after Me.
verse value 4519
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 80 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "says·Hashem" (נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֔ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: God, not. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·believe" (וְתַאֲמִ֨ינוּ), "and·you·will·discern" (וְתָבִ֙ינוּ֙), "not·was·formed" (לֹא־נ֣וֹצַר). 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "says·Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "it·will·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·chose', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 13 words.
Rashi
And My servant Jacob:
"Whom I have chosen": He shall testify that I promised him when he went to Aram-Naharaim, and I kept My promise.
“So that you may know, etc.” – All this I have done, in order that you may apply your heart to know Me.
Ibn Ezra
"You. It refers to the people of Israel, and 'My servant' refers to the prophet."
“For I am He.” This is the Uniqueness that is above all “existence,” for every “existent” is not itself in its own essence.
Regarding “Before Me no god was formed” (Isaiah 43:10): Some say that “before” refers to before the revelation at Mount Sinai, and “after” refers to after the revelation, and there is no need for anything else; rather, it means that there was no God before Him, and likewise there will not be any after Him. The reason is that He is the first and the last. And the word “formed” is mentioned together with “God,” because there is no God besides Him except for the Formed One. Those with awakened hearts will mistakenly infer from the words of the Prophet that the Divine Name was “formed”—far be it, far be it!—but they simply do not understand the truth.
Radak
"You are My witnesses," He said to Israel. "And My servant whom I have chosen is the prophet." He said: "You are My witnesses, for all that I told you concerning Sennacherib—regarding the evil he did to you and his downfall—I told you all of it through the prophet before it happened. And likewise, the prophet is a witness, for he spoke to you in My name, and as he said, so it came to pass."
“Lema’an tida’u” – From the former things you shall know the latter, for they will be fulfilled, and you will believe in Me. Thus I will fulfill the future events just as I have said, to bring your children out from the final exile. And you will understand that even if you had no testimony regarding this from your own knowledge, you would still be able to comprehend that what I say is true, for I am the Truth and My words are true. And the wise man Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained: “I am He” – this refers to the Unity that has nothing above it, for every existent is not itself in its essence.
“Before Me there was no God formed.” This matter is difficult for the commentators because he said “before” and “after,” yet He, blessed be He, has no beginning and no end. Furthermore, he said “formed.” Therefore, some of them explained that “formed” is like “formed” (i.e., as an active verb), meaning: Before I formed the creations, no other God formed any creation; and he said this concerning the idols. And after I formed them, likewise no God other than Me formed any creation. And my master and father, of blessed memory, explained “formed” according to its plain meaning, as a passive participle (nifal), and interpreted it as being in construct form, because it has a patach vowel, meaning: There was no thing formed by any God other than Me, because the creations were formed by Me. And likewise, there will not be any thing formed by any other God either; that is to say, after they were formed by Me, there will not be any thing formed by any other God. And Jonathan the Aramaic translator rendered: “You are witnesses, etc.”
Metzudat David
"You are My witnesses." But I have witnesses that you are Israel, My witnesses, and My servant the prophet, whom I have chosen; he also is a witness that I have declared the downfall of Sennacherib from then, before it came to pass.
"To know." From the first [plagues] you will know all the later ones, that they too will be so:
And believe me, that I will fulfill My word:
"And you shall know that I am He": From this [verse] you learn that there is no one who knows the future like Me; from this you shall know that I alone am [God], and there is no other deity.
“Before Me no God was formed.” This means: Before I created the creations, nothing was formed by God other than Me; and after I created the creations, nothing will be formed by God other than Me, for there is no God other than Me.
Malbim
"You, but the things that will be told about Me are all true and enduring, both those told about Me from the signs and wonders that I performed in the past, for which I have witnesses, for 'You are My witnesses,' says the Lord, 'for you were before Me six hundred thousand foot-soldiers who saw the wonders with their own eyes,' and both those that will be declared in My name concerning the future, for which the witness is My servant whom I chose, who showed the future to My servant the prophet in a prophetic vision, who grasped the future as if it were present through a prophetic apprehension after which there is no doubt, 'in order that you may know,' meaning that in the declaration they will declare from Me, the matter will be fulfilled and verified, whether from the aspect of experience and notoriety, which is what is meant by 'in order that you may know,' or from the aspect of tradition and faith, which is what is meant by 'and you will believe in Me,' or from the aspect of intellect and the proofs of reason, which is what is meant by 'and you will understand,' for 'I am He, before Me no god was formed,' meaning that the worshippers of the ancient idols, in their vanities, used to attribute fathers and genealogies to their idols, to the point that they said, 'So-and-so idol is the son of so-and-so idol,' and 'So-and-so idol fought with his father and dethroned him from his divinity and imprisoned him among the depths of the great abyss and reigned in his place in the heavens,' until his son came and dethroned him from his greatness and thundered against him with a wondrous voice and reigned in his place (as is known in the vanities of mythology). But I am the God before whom no god was formed, and I did not inherit My divinity from another, and likewise after Me there will not be another god who will reign in My place. And likewise, the adherents of polytheism among the foolish found many gods, and each had a specific dominion: one over the thunder, and one over the seas, until they attributed to every natural force a specific idol, to the point that they needed to serve all the idols, each one at the time they needed to extract their desire from him regarding a matter under his dominion, as is known from the events of ancient days. Against this, He said..."
I, even I, am Hashem; and beside Me there is no saviour.
verse value 837
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "I" (אָנֹכִ֥י, 4 letters) and the longest is "apart·from·me" (מִבַּלְעָדַ֖י, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 81: I, even·I. The root אנכי appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "and·nothing" (root אין, 92x in Isaiah); "savior" (root ישע, 32x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: אָנֹכִ֥י [I] (81) + אָנֹכִ֖י [even·I] (81) + יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + וְאֵ֥ין [and·nothing] (67) + מִבַּלְעָדַ֖י [apart·from·me] (156) + מוֹשִֽׁיעַ [savior] (426) = 837.
Ibn Ezra
"I, I" – The meaning is that I say "I, I" twice to indicate that I will not change, unlike the hosts above, which change relative to the firm [sphere] (mutzak), and the lower beings which change in their essence and form; therefore, I will save at all times.
Radak
"I, I" – the doubling is for emphasis; similarly, "I, I, He." He said "I" (Anokhi), which indicates the very essence of His truth. And since I am the fundamental basis of all that exists, and all that exists is within My domain, there is no savior other than Me. This means that nothing arises from a will other than Mine, nor is anything done apart from Me. I have saved you many times, and I will save again, and nothing can prevent it. The wise Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained "I, I" as meaning that He has not changed, unlike the heavenly hosts, in contrast to the firmament and the lower realms, which change in their essence and form. Therefore, I will save at all times.
Metzudat David
"I, I am the Lord." The repetition is for emphasis.
And there is no savior besides Me. There is no savior other than Me.
Metzudat Zion
Mivla’adi. Its meaning is like "besides" or "other than," and similarly, "Without me, God will answer" (Genesis 41:16):
Malbim
"I, I am the Lord; there is none besides Me, I alone am found, and there is no savior apart from Me, for I rule over all."
I have declared, and I have saved, and I have announced, and there was no strange god among you; therefore you are My witnesses, says Hashem, and I am God.
verse value 3213
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 52 letters. The shortest word is "stranger" (זָ֑ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·I·saved" (וְהוֹשַׁ֙עְתִּי֙, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·I·saved" (וְהוֹשַׁ֙עְתִּי֙), "and·I·have·announced" (וְהִשְׁמַ֔עְתִּי), "and·I·am·God" (וַאֲנִי־אֵֽל). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "says·Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "and·I·have·announced" (root שמע, 106x in Isaiah); "and·nothing" (root אין, 92x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'stranger', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: אָנֹכִ֞י [I] (81) + הִגַּ֤דְתִּי [I·declared] (422) + וְהוֹשַׁ֙עְתִּי֙ [and·I·saved] (797) + וְהִשְׁמַ֔עְתִּי [and·I·have·announced] (831) + וְאֵ֥ין [and·nothing] (67) + בָּכֶ֖ם [among·you] (62) + זָ֑ר [stranger] (207) + וְאַתֶּ֥ם [and·you] (447) + עֵדַ֛י [my·witnesses] (84) + נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֖ה [says·Hashem] (117) + וַאֲנִי־אֵֽל [and·I·am·God] (98) = 3213.
Rashi
"I have declared." The exiles to Abraham:
And I will save them. To fulfill the words of the verse: “In the time of distress”
"And I made heard. To you the former things:"
"And there shall be no foreigner among you." In those days when I performed all these acts, no foreign god appeared among you, among the idolators, to display his greatness and divinity before Me.
"And you are My witnesses." [This is because] I opened for you seven heavens, yet you saw no form [of any created being].
Ibn Ezra
"I have declared. In Egypt to save you:"
“And I saved you, and I made My voice heard to you at Mount Sinai:”
"And there shall be no stranger among you." For only the Israelites were present.
"And you are My witnesses." The meaning is that you have heard this from the mouths of your fathers.
And I [it should be read: I] am God. Always, in the sense of “I, the Lord, have not changed” (Malachi 3:6):
Radak
"I am the Lord." "I have declared and I have saved": This means that on the occasions when I saved you, I first declared [My will] to you through the prophets and made you hear [My words] through them, [saying], 'I will save you,' and so I did.
"And there is no foreigner among you" – meaning, there is no foreign god among you. Therefore, I have set My face toward you for good, to save you; and I did not do so for the other nations, for they have a foreign god in whom they trust. And you are witnesses to this, for thus I acted with your fathers, and with you. And I am God, who was able at the beginning and will be able at the end. And the Targum of Jonathan rendered it: "I have appeared to Abraham your father, etc."
Metzudat David
"I have declared." Before all else, I declared salvation, and likewise I saved.
And I made them hear. This means that I did not declare it only to the prophet, but rather I made all of you hear through him.
"And there shall be no stranger among you." This means that there was no one among you who was a stranger to knowing the matter, for you all heard it from the prophet.
"And you are My witnesses." This is indeed the truth:
"And I am He." This means: I am the One who saved you.
Malbim
"I am He": I bring proof against what is written, "Before Me there was no God formed, and after Me there will be none," for behold, "I have declared" My salvation. For I declared it in the past tense and promised to save in the future, and I did indeed save. And this cannot be conceived regarding idolaters, for the idol that reigns after the first one does not fulfill the words and promises of the first one. And against what is written, "I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior," I bring proof: for behold, "I have made you hear, and there is no foreigner among you." At the time that I made you hear My words, did you not see that there is no foreign god among you besides Me, only I alone? As it is written, "You have shown me to know that the Lord is God; there is none else besides Him," and you are witnesses, says the Lord, that you perceived this with your eyes at the Revelation at Mount Sinai. And also, "I am God": even the very nature of divinity testifies to this, for it has already been demonstrated through miracles that the definition of divinity is that it be One, eternal, and unchanging. And whoever is not One, eternal, and unchanging is necessarily not God.
Indeed, since the day was I am He, and there is none that can deliver out of My hand; I will work, and who can reverse it?
verse value 1127
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "I" (אֲנִ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "also·from·day" (גַּם־מִיּוֹם֙, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "also·from·day" (גַּם־מִיּוֹם֙), "I·do" (אֶפְעַ֖ל). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "also·from·day" (root יום, 124x in Isaiah); "He" (root הוא, 98x in Isaiah); "and·nothing" (root אין, 92x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'delivering', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: גַּם־מִיּוֹם֙ [also·from·day] (139) + אֲנִ֣י [I] (61) + ה֔וּא [He] (12) + וְאֵ֥ין [and·nothing] (67) + מִיָּדִ֖י [from·my·hand] (64) + מַצִּ֑יל [delivering] (170) + אֶפְעַ֖ל [I·do] (181) + וּמִ֥י [and·who] (56) + יְשִׁיבֶֽנָּה [will·bring·it·back] (377) = 1127.
Rashi
“Also from the day ‘I am He.’” It is not only that on that specific day I was alone, but rather, even from the time of the creation of the day, “I am He”—I was alone.
I will act. If I came to act, there is no responder:
Ibn Ezra
Also [from the day]. The reason is that "I am God" precedes the existence of [the concept of] "day"; therefore, the word "also" [is used].
[From the day]. From the existence of the day:
"I am He. And since I am God, from Whose hand can one escape?"
I will act. “My desire and My will,” and “who will turn back My deeds?”
Radak
“Even from the day”: Before there was a day, meaning before the world existed. The reason for the word “even” is that He said, “I have declared and I have caused you to hear,” meaning in ancient days, in the days of your fathers, He said, “For even before that, I am He; and furthermore, before the world existed, I too am He.” And similarly, “From everlasting to everlasting, You are God”—before the world existed. And since I am thus, there is no one who can save from My hand, whether I desire to save the nation from the nations or I desire to do harm to them.
“I will act, and who will reverse it?”—meaning, when I act and perform a deed, who will reverse that action? And it can also be interpreted as: “From the day that I am He”—that is, from long ago, I have been with you, as it is said, “For from of old I have broken your yoke…”—meaning, from long ago, and in all that I was with you and delivered you from the hands of your enemies, there was no one else who saved you from My hand.
Metzudat David
“Also from the day.” Also from the time of the creation of the day, I alone am He to help and to save.
And there is no one who can rescue from My hand. Whom I desire to destroy:
I will act. "Whatever I will, I will do"—whether to save or to destroy.
"And who can recall it?" Who can reverse that action and prevent it?
Malbim
“Also from the day” – this adds that not only from the time that I revealed Myself to you, but also from the day, from the beginning of antiquity, I alone am He; and likewise in the future I will act, I alone, and who can reverse this, since there is no other besides Me in the past nor in the future, as will be explained from experience.
Thus says Hashem, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And I will bring down all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their shouting.
verse value 4904
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 70 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֛ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 4904 is divisible by 613, the number of the commandments (mitzvot). The shortest word is "all·of·them" (כֻּלָּ֔ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·I·will·bring·down" (וְהוֹרַדְתִּ֤י, 7 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "your·Redeemer" (גֹּאַלְכֶ֖ם), "for·your·sake" (לְמַעַנְכֶ֞ם), "I·sent" (שִׁלַּ֣חְתִּי). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "thus·said" (root אמר, 244x in Isaiah); "all·of·them" (root כל, 93x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 9 words. Full calculation: כֹּֽה־אָמַ֧ר [thus·said] (266) + יְהֹוָ֛ה [Hashem] (26) + גֹּאַלְכֶ֖ם [your·Redeemer] (94) + קְד֣וֹשׁ [holy·one·of] (410) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + לְמַעַנְכֶ֞ם [for·your·sake] (250) + שִׁלַּ֣חְתִּי [I·sent] (748) + בָבֶ֗לָה [to·Babylon] (39) + וְהוֹרַדְתִּ֤י [and·I·will·bring·down] (631) + בָֽרִיחִים֙ [as·the·fugitives] (270) + כֻּלָּ֔ם [all·of·them] (90) + וְכַשְׂדִּ֖ים [and·Chaldeans] (380) + בָּאֳנִיּ֥וֹת [in·ships·of] (469) + רִנָּתָֽם [their·ringing·cry] (690) = 4904.
Rashi
"For your sake I sent them to Babylon." And the Targum: "Because of your sins I exiled you to Babylon."
“And I will bring down their bars of iron” — all of them. “And I will break their bars of iron” — all of them. “Oars” (mashot) is a tree that guides the ship and straightens it.
And the Chaldeans. They led you away in ships of their jubilant song. And one may also interpret this in reference to the news of the redemption. For your sake I have sent. I will send the kings of Media against Babylon, and I will bring down the Chaldeans in ships and with oars into exile to the land of Media. And the Chaldeans I will bring down in ships, in which their song of triumph was sung.
Ibn Ezra
"Thus." “I have sent” to Babylonia: Some say that the letter tav in the word “I have sent” alludes to the prophet. But in my opinion, it refers to the word of God, for initially it says, “Thus says the Lord,” and afterward, “I am the Lord, your Holy One.” And the meaning is that I have come with such speed that it is as if I have sent. A great sage in Spain said that the Divine Glory speaks with the prophet, and the ministering angel of Israel is the one sent to Babylonia to redeem Israel.
"And I will bring down her bars." The bars of Babylon, and she was captured, as in the sense of "He has broken and shattered her bars" (Lamentations 2:9), the gates of the city:
[“And the Chaldeans, etc.”] And I will bring down the Chaldeans, who are in ships of their rejoicing, I will bring them down from the ships.
Radak
Thus said the Lord. This prophecy concerns the Babylonian exile:
"Your Redeemer" – from the exile of Babylonia.
"Holy One of Israel": Your Father. And we have already explained in the verse "for when He saw" the meaning of their saying "Holy One of Israel," and He said it several times in this book, meaning that by virtue of His holiness He does good for them in their exile, as it is said, "And I will remember My covenant with Jacob."
"For your sake I have sent to Babylon." On account of you, so that you might come from exile, I sent Cyrus to Babylon to destroy it and to bring you out from it and to return you to your land.
And I will bring down all the fugitives. I will bring down the inhabitants of Babylon from their heights, and they will flee when Cyrus comes.
"Bars." A description, like "its bars" (in the verse "until Zoar"), except that this one is with a dagesh, while "bericheha" is of the rafeh [undageshed] forms.
“And the Chaldeans shall flee in ships, and their cry shall be raised.” “And the Chaldeans shall flee in ships, and their cry” — namely, the cry of weeping. A similar usage is found in “Arise, sing in the night” (Lamentations 2:19). Some explain that “va-richim” is like “in ships,” with the bet serving as a preposition; and “richim” is a name for ships because they travel by the wind. The Targum, however, renders it “with oars.” I am astonished at the learned Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, who wrote his commentary on “shelachti” as if he read it as “sholchati” with a qibbuts on the shin, from the paal conjugation, whose verbal root is not mentioned there. Thus is the language of his commentary: “And behold, the meaning is that I have come swiftly to redeem you, as if I had sent.” A great sage in Spain said that the Divine Glory speaks with the prophet, and the minister of Israel is the one sent to Babylon to redeem Israel. These are his words: “And I have received the tradition that its reading is ‘shelachti’ with a chireq on the shin, from the paal conjugation with dagesh. And so I have found in all the precise books that I have seen. The Targumist also assumed that it was read thus, for he translated it, ‘Because of your sins, you were exiled to Babylon.’ Yet his interpretation is not like ours, for he means that I sent you into exile to Babylon. But according to what is found in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, it appears that they read ‘shelachti’ with a qibbuts on the shin, for they said: ‘In every place where Israel went into exile, the Divine Presence went with them. They went into exile to Babylon, and the Divine Presence went with them, as it is said, “For your sake I sent to Babylon” (Isaiah 43:14). They went into exile to Eilam, and the Divine Presence went with them, as it is said, “And I will set My throne in Eilam” (Jeremiah 49:38).’”
Metzudat David
"For your sake." In order that you might go forth from exile, I sent Cyrus to Babylon to destroy it.
I have brought down all the fugitives. All the inhabitants of Babylonia I have brought them down in ships, and the Chaldeans raised the sound of their cry in the vessels in which they went into exile.
Metzudat Zion
"Bars." Its meaning is like that of ships, as their entire movement is by means of the wind.
In ships. In vessels:
"Their cry." The meaning is a voice of crying and wailing, like "Arise and cry out in the night" (Lamentations 2:19).
Malbim
Thus says the Lord: He brings proof from the two past redemptions, namely the Redemption from Babylonia and the Redemption from Egypt, regarding the fulfillment of the future Redemption. Now, the Redemption from Babylonia occurred according to the natural order, whereas the Redemption from Egypt was above the natural order. Therefore, he mentions the Redemption from Babylonia first, in order to continue and proceed in his speech according to his manner, saying: “Behold, for your sake I sent out to Babylonia what I sent out to Babylonia, and I brought down their bars and their fortresses, and I brought the Chaldeans into exile in ships of their rejoicing.” This was for your sake, in order that I might redeem you from there. And since the Redemption from Babylonia was fitting, either due to merit or due to the promise, therefore...
I am Hashem, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.
verse value 1457
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "I" (אֲנִ֥י, 3 letters) and the longest is "holy·one·of" (קְדֽוֹשְׁכֶ֑ם, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "holy·one·of" (קְדֽוֹשְׁכֶ֑ם), "your·king" (מַלְכְּכֶֽם). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "Israel" (root ישראל, 84x in Isaiah); "I" (root אני, 76x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'holy·one·of', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֲנִ֥י [I] (61) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + קְדֽוֹשְׁכֶ֑ם [holy·one·of] (470) + בּוֹרֵ֥א [creating] (209) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [Israel] (541) + מַלְכְּכֶֽם [your·king] (150) = 1457.
Ibn Ezra
"I am the Lord your Holy One." That I may be your King to save you.
Radak
"I am the Lord, your Holy One." This means that I sanctify My Name among you, as it is said regarding Cyrus: "The Lord has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; Whoever is among you of all His people, may his God be with him, and let him go up."
"Creator of Israel." Just as we explained "Your Creator, Jacob":
"Your king": He is your king in truth, and He will not abandon you into the hands of the kings of the nations.
Metzudat David
"I am the Lord." This means: I, the Lord, who is sanctified to you, performed this act.
"Creator." This means: I am the Creator of Israel and your King; I did this. The matter is repeated in what is stated:
Malbim
"I am the Lord"—that is to say, "I have done this," or alternatively, "because I am the Lord, your Holy One, through the holiness of your deeds," or even, "even if you do not merit it, I will do this because I am the Creator of Israel, your King, like a king who redeems his servants even though they are unworthy."
Thus says Hashem, who makes a way in the sea, And a path in the mighty waters;
verse value 1771
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 34 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "thus" (כֹּ֚ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "who·gives" (הַנּוֹתֵ֥ן, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "strong" (עַזִּ֖ים), "path" (נְתִיבָֽה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "said" (root אמר, 244x in Isaiah); "way" (root דרך, 57x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'way', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: כֹּ֚ה [thus] (25) + אָמַ֣ר [said] (241) + יְהֹוָ֔ה [Hashem] (26) + הַנּוֹתֵ֥ן [who·gives] (511) + בַּיָּ֖ם [in·the·sea] (52) + דָּ֑רֶךְ [way] (224) + וּבְמַ֥יִם [and·in·water] (98) + עַזִּ֖ים [strong] (127) + נְתִיבָֽה [path] (467) = 1771.
Rashi
"He who makes a path in the sea." In the Sea of Reeds, and there I brought out Egypt to pursue you: chariots and horses, and an army and reinforcements, and they shall all lie dead together on the shore of the sea, and they shall not rise.
Ibn Ezra
"Thus." He who provides a path in the sea: This is a sign that ships will come from the enemies to Babylon, and they will defeat the ships of Babylon.
Radak
“Thus says the Lord, Who makes a way in the sea”: He who made a way for His people Israel through the Reed Sea will save you from this exile, for the matter is connected to the above. And the matter is repeated in different words, and it says, “a path in mighty waters,” or it says, “mighty waters” regarding the Jordan.
Metzudat David
He who gives. That He gave a path through the Sea of Reeds when the Israelites went out from Egypt:
“And in mighty waters.” This refers to the Jordan, which was split in the days of Joshua.
Metzudat Zion
“Mighty.” The word is derived from the root meaning “strength” and “might.”
Netivah. A path and a way:
Malbim
Thus says the Lord: I also redeemed you from Egypt with a redemption that was above nature, for in this redemption I made a way in the sea, and not only one great path for all those who went out of Egypt, but I made in the raging waters a path, paths for individuals, for the sea was divided into twelve splits, for each tribe a path of its own, as is known in the tradition of our Sages of blessed memory.
Who brings forth the chariot and horse, The army and the power— They lie down together, they shall not rise, They are extinct, they are quenched as a wick:
verse value 2143
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "strength" (חַ֣יִל, 3 letters) and the longest is "a team·swallow" (רֶכֶב־וָס֖וּס, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 28: together, they·quenched. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "a team·swallow" (רֶכֶב־וָס֖וּס), "they·will·lie·down" (יִשְׁכְּבוּ֙), "not·arise" (בַּל־יָק֔וּמוּ). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·one·bringing·forth" (root יצא, 42x in Isaiah); "not·arise" (root קום, 36x in Isaiah); "together" (root יחד, 34x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·strength', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: הַמּוֹצִ֥יא [the·one·bringing·forth] (152) + רֶכֶב־וָס֖וּס [a team·swallow] (354) + חַ֣יִל [strength] (48) + וְעִזּ֑וּז [and·strength] (96) + יַחְדָּ֤ו [together] (28) + יִשְׁכְּבוּ֙ [they·will·lie·down] (338) + בַּל־יָק֔וּמוּ [not·arise] (194) + דָּעֲכ֖וּ [they·went·out] (100) + כַּפִּשְׁתָּ֥ה [as·the·flax] (805) + כָבֽוּ [they·quenched] (28) = 2143.
Rashi
As it is written: “Like flax, they were extinguished.” Jonathan rendered it: “Like flax, they were extinguished.”
Ibn Ezra
“The one who brings out a chariot and horse of war [and a war horse]. Heavy and warlike on land, and they are the Chaldeans who go out to fight against the Persians.”
Da'ach. From the binyan whose active participle is not called [by its own name], and its meaning is "extinguished," and similarly, "His lamp shall be extinguished in the darkness of gloom" (Proverbs 20:20).
Radak
"The One Who brings out." And after mentioning the miracle He performed for them at the Sea of Reeds, He also mentioned the miracle He performed for them concerning Sennacherib. That is to say: He Who performed these miracles for you will yet perform [more] for you in Babylonia. And He said "The One Who brings out," referring to the one who brought out the army of the king of Assyria with chariots and horses, and brought them to the Land of Israel, as it is written: "The Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria," etc. And He said "Assyria," [meaning] a rod of My anger, and behold, He brought them out, and He cast them down in Jerusalem.
"They shall lie down together, they shall not rise." When they lay down at night, they did not rise, as it says, "And they rose early in the morning, and behold, they were all dead bodies." This is what is meant by the verse, "They were extinguished like flax, they were quenched," meaning that they died in an instant, like stubble that, once ignited, is quickly extinguished; and "they were quenched" (da'chu) is akin to "they were extinguished" (kavu).
Metzudat David
“The one who brings out a chariot, etc.” – This refers to the One who placed it in the heart of Egypt to bring out the men of the chariots and their horses, and the men of war, with all their might, to pursue the Children of Israel.
Together. They all lay down together and did not rise again, for they were drowned in the waters of the sea.
They were extinguished. Their souls departed from them, and they were extinguished quickly, like a burning wick that is extinguished swiftly, for it does not linger long in its burning.
Metzudat Zion
And "strong." From the word "strength" and "might":
Da'ako. The matter refers to leaping, and likewise [the verse states] "Da'ako ke'esh kotzim" ("They shall leap like fire among thorns," Psalms 118:12); see there that when the fire is extinguished, the flame leaps.
Malbim
"The One who brings out [the people], and along with the salvation of Israel, I submerged there, in that very standing, also Egypt:"
Remember you not the former things, Neither consider the things of old.
verse value 3176
Insights
Verse structure: 4 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "first" (רִאשֹׁנ֑וֹת, 6 letters) and the longest is "and·former" (וְקַדְמֹנִיּ֖וֹת, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "do·not·remember" (אַֽל־תִּזְכְּר֖וּ), "and·former" (וְקַדְמֹנִיּ֖וֹת), "do·not·consider" (אַל־תִּתְבֹּנָֽנוּ). The root איל appears 2 times in this verse. 2 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "do·not·remember" (root איל, 114x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'first', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 2 words. Full calculation: אַֽל־תִּזְכְּר֖וּ [do·not·remember] (664) + רִאשֹׁנ֑וֹת [first] (957) + וְקַדְמֹנִיּ֖וֹת [and·former] (616) + אַל־תִּתְבֹּנָֽנוּ [do·not·consider] (939) = 3176.
Rashi
“Do not remember the former things.” These miracles that I am reminding you of, which I performed in Egypt—do not dwell upon them from now on, for in this redemption you shall engage in giving thanks and praise.
"Do not gaze upon them. Do not look at them; do not give them your heart."
Ibn Ezra
"Do not remember. In the mouth, the ancient wonders:"
Do not scrutinize them in thought:
Radak
“Do not remember the former things.” He said: Behold, these are the former wonders; do not remember them. For the wonder of the ingathering of the exiles will be so great that it will surpass them. And he repeated the matter in different words, saying, “Nor contemplate the things of old.” Similarly, the prophet Jeremiah said, “They shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt.’” And our Sages of blessed memory explained: “Do not remember the former things” refers to the yoke of the kingdoms; “Nor contemplate the things of old” refers to the Exodus from Egypt.
Metzudat David
"Do not remember the former things." Do not remember in order to marvel at the miracles that I performed for you in the early days, and "the ancient things," etc. The matter is repeated in what is stated:
Metzudat Zion
Reflect. The matter of contemplation with the intention of the heart:
Malbim
(18-19)
“Do not remember” – this means: Behold, the former redemption, namely the Exodus from Egypt, although there were open miracles there, nevertheless, since it was in ancient times, you do not wish to remember those miracles anymore, because, being the “former” ones, they have been forgotten from your hearts. And also the “ancient” one, namely the Redemption from Babylon, which occurred in a time that was relatively recent in your era – you did not forget that redemption. However, since that redemption occurred in a natural manner, and the miracles within it were concealed to the extent that only one who ponders can understand that there were wondrous acts of God – “Do not ponder” – you do not wish to understand, and you say that it happened through natural means. But now, you will certainly be compelled both to remember and to ponder, for “I am about to do a new thing,” which is the future redemption, in which both degrees will be present: A. “Now it shall sprout” – and since it will be now, in your time, you will certainly remember it. B. “Will you not know it?” – for its miracles will also be open miracles, to the extent that you will not need to ponder to understand it, but you will know it through sensory perception; all will see that it is the finger of God. “Even I will make” – meaning, after that, in this redemption, I will also make a path in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, as prophesied above (chapter 35). “Will you not then...”
Behold, I will do a new thing; Now shall it spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, And rivers in the desert.
verse value 4320
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 52 letters. Verse gematria: 4320 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "also" (אַ֣ף, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·wasteland" (בִּישִׁמ֖וֹן, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "you·shall·know·it" (תֵּדָע֑וּהָ), "in·wasteland" (בִּישִׁמ֖וֹן). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "is·it·not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "doing" (root עשה, 101x in Isaiah); "they" (root הן, 86x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·know·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: הִנְנִ֨י [they] (115) + עֹשֶׂ֤ה [doing] (375) + חֲדָשָׁה֙ [new] (317) + עַתָּ֣ה [now] (475) + תִצְמָ֔ח [will·sprout] (538) + הֲל֖וֹא [is·it·not] (42) + תֵּדָע֑וּהָ [you·shall·know·it] (485) + אַ֣ף [also] (81) + אָשִׂ֤ים [I·will·put] (351) + בַּמִּדְבָּר֙ [in·the·wilderness] (248) + דֶּ֔רֶךְ [way] (224) + בִּישִׁמ֖וֹן [in·wasteland] (408) + נְהָרֽוֹת [rivers] (661) = 4320.
Ibn Ezra
"Behold, I will do a new thing." [This refers] to the conquest of Babylonia, or that Israel alone will be saved; and this is the correct view in my eyes. And furthermore, "I will make waters in the wilderness," for the sake of those who return from exile to Zion.
Radak
Behold, I am doing a new thing. Behold, I am doing a new wondrous thing, and he says regarding the ingathering of the exiles:
"Now it shall flourish." And in His saying "now," the meaning of this word is a near time, for the redemption is near to come if Israel returns in repentance. And this is how much its time has arrived, if Israel merits, as our Sages of blessed memory said. And in our sins, which have multiplied, what has come out of them has come out. Or, He said "now" as if to say, "now it shall flourish," meaning: be assured of it as if you were seeing it with your own eyes.
Do you not know it? This salvation—do you not know it from of old, for it is written in the Torah of Moses, as it is stated: “And the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you” (Deuteronomy 30:3). And this verse was not said regarding the Babylonian exile, for they were not scattered among all the nations, nor did all the exiles return from the exile; only the exiles of Babylon returned, for the Ten Tribes did not return from their exile. Furthermore, the verse states, “When you return to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 30:10), and those who returned from Babylon did not return to the Lord with all their heart and with all their soul, for there were among them those who desecrated the Sabbath and those who married foreign women. And what is said in the Book of Jeremiah, “When seventy years are completed for Babylon” (Jeremiah 29:10), and it states, “And you shall seek Me and find Me” (Jeremiah 29:13)—regarding both exiles, he alluded in that passage.
“Even I will place.” The word “even” implies: “I will still do for you a great and wondrous good, which you will not know from the Torah, namely that I will place in the desert, in the wilderness of Shimmom, rivers,” as it is stated above in the verse “The voice of one calling,” and similarly it is stated above in the section “Strengthen the weak hands,” the entire matter.
Beisimon. A place that is desolate, namely the wilderness, and its root is y-sh-m, from [the verse] “and the high places shall be desolate.”
Metzudat David
A new thing. A new miracle that I have never done before:
"Now it shall bud." In the near future, it shall be, if you will heed My voice:
Do you not know that? That salvation is written in the Torah, as it is stated: “And the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you” (Deuteronomy 30:3).
The way. To the exiles of the diaspora:
“Rivers.” To quench the thirst:
The beasts of the field shall honour Me, The jackals and the ostriches; Because I give waters in the wilderness, And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, Mine elect;
verse value 5809
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 65 letters. The shortest word is "beast·of" (חַיַּ֣ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "will·honor·me" (תְּכַבְּדֵ֙נִי֙, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "will·honor·me" (תְּכַבְּדֵ֙נִי֙), "and·daughters·of" (וּבְנ֣וֹת), "because·I·give" (כִּֽי־נָתַ֨תִּי). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "my·people" (root עם, 107x in Isaiah); "because·I·give" (root נתן, 56x in Isaiah); "water" (root מים, 41x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ostrich', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 8 words. Full calculation: תְּכַבְּדֵ֙נִי֙ [will·honor·me] (486) + חַיַּ֣ת [beast·of] (418) + הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה [field] (314) + תַּנִּ֖ים [jackals] (500) + וּבְנ֣וֹת [and·daughters·of] (464) + יַעֲנָ֑ה [ostrich] (135) + כִּֽי־נָתַ֨תִּי [because·I·give] (890) + בַמִּדְבָּ֜ר [in·the·wilderness] (248) + מַ֗יִם [water] (90) + נְהָרוֹת֙ [rivers] (661) + בִּֽישִׁימֹ֔ן [in·wasteland] (412) + לְהַשְׁק֖וֹת [to·water] (841) + עַמִּ֥י [my·people] (120) + בְחִירִֽי [chosen] (230) = 5809.
Rashi
"Honor Me, the beasts of the field." A place that is desolate and serves as a breeding ground for the beasts of the field, for jackals and ostriches.
"For I will give waters in the wilderness." That is to say, in a desolate land I will provide settlement.
Ibn Ezra
"Honor Me." For the good that I do, and He mentioned hyenas, etc., because they dwell in a parched land, and this good I will do for the sake of the honor of My people.
Radak
"Honor Me": By way of parable, just as it says, "Or a spring to the land and your river," as it stated above, "The wilderness and the parched land shall rejoice," for when water is present in a place of drought, it is as if the wilderness and the parched land rejoice; and all the more so the beasts of the field, which will derive benefit from the waters, will rejoice and be glad. And it is as if you honor Me with your praises.
"My people, my chosen ones." That I have chosen them from among all the other nations.
Metzudat David
“Let the beasts of the field honor Me.” This is stated in the manner of an allegory, as if the beasts of the field were to honor Me with their praises, because they find water in the desert at their dwelling places.
to water My people. At the time of their return from exile through the desert:
Metzudat Zion
Tannin: A species of serpent.
“And the daughters of ya'anah.” A species of bird found in the desert.
Malbim
“The beasts of the field will honor Me.” Indeed, even the beasts of the field will honor Me through these miracles, even though these animals were not obligated to offer this praise for three reasons: 1. They do not recognize any benefit from the path and the waters. Hence it says, “Only the beasts of the field will honor Me”—they will only honor Me on account of this (for the difference between honor [kavod] and praise [tehillah] is that honor arises from recognition of exaltedness, whereas praise comes through the benefit that one derives from the praised one and his actions; the beasts of the field will not offer praise, for they do not derive benefit from the path and the waters, but they will only honor). For the beasts of the field have no need for a path, and the jackals and ostriches have no need for waters (since they dwell in desolation and ruin constantly). 2. For indeed, the beasts of the field were not created to praise and honor the Lord. 3. For these miracles were not performed for their sake; rather, the beasts, the jackals, and the ostriches will honor Me only because I provided waters in the wilderness to quench the thirst of My chosen people, and not for their sake. And if so, if these mute creatures will honor Me, how much more so...
The people which I formed for Myself, That they might tell of My praise.
verse value 2074
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 21 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִ֔י, 2 letters) and the longest is "I·bound" (יָצַ֣רְתִּי, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "the·people·whom" (עַם־זוּ֙), "my·praise" (תְּהִלָּתִ֖י), "they·shall·tell" (יְסַפֵּֽרוּ). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·people·whom" (root עם, 107x in Isaiah); "I·bound" (root יצר, 29x in Isaiah); "to·me" (root לי, 20x in Isaiah). Full calculation: עַם־זוּ֙ [the·people·whom] (123) + יָצַ֣רְתִּי [I·bound] (710) + לִ֔י [to·me] (40) + תְּהִלָּתִ֖י [my·praise] (845) + יְסַפֵּֽרוּ [they·shall·tell] (356) = 2074.
Rashi
"This nation I formed for Myself; they shall recount My praise."
Ibn Ezra
"Am zot" – like "zeh," and the meaning is: this is His people; and the sense applies to those who return.
Radak
“This nation I have formed for Myself” – I have formed them to be a nation for Me, and they shall recount My praises regarding the miracles that I will perform for them when I bring them out from exile. And now He begins a new passage to admonish the Israelites of that generation, saying that all the good which I am destined to bestow upon your children after you, when they are in exile, I shall do neither on account of your righteous deeds nor for your sake. And He said:
Metzudat David
"I have created for Myself." "I have created them for Myself, a people, in order that they may recount My praise."
Malbim
"This nation, which is the nation for whom I performed all this, the nation which I created for Myself solely for this purpose, that they were formed to praise the Lord, all the more so will they recount My praise. And even though they will not only honor Me, but will also recount My praise, because they will attain the benefit that flows to them from My deeds, then I will know that Israel will recognize and know, and will praise and recount the deeds of the Lord and His wonders."
Yet you have not called upon Me, O Jacob, Neither have you wearied thyself about Me, O Israel.
verse value 2397
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "about·me" (בִּ֖י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·not·me" (וְלֹא־אֹתִ֥י, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·not·me" (וְלֹא־אֹתִ֥י), "you·called" (קָרָ֖אתָ), "neither·you·wearied" (כִּֽי־יָגַ֥עְתָּ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not·me" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "you·called" (root קרא, 84x in Isaiah); "Israel" (root ישראל, 84x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jacob', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְלֹא־אֹתִ֥י [and·not·me] (448) + קָרָ֖אתָ [you·called] (701) + יַעֲקֹ֑ב [Jacob] (182) + כִּֽי־יָגַ֥עְתָּ [neither·you·wearied] (513) + בִּ֖י [about·me] (12) + יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (541) = 2397.
Rashi
"And you did not call upon Me." You did not call upon Me when you turned to idolatry.
"When you have labored in Me." You have grown weary quickly in My service.
Ibn Ezra
"And not, etc." The reason is that this good which I do [it should be: which I will do] for My people is not an obligation, for even the Israelites in Babylonia did not ask of Me.
And the meaning is: “When you have labored,” even if you did not call upon Me until you have labored for My sake.
And the meaning of “Yisrael” is that it is a term of address (vocative), like “You, Yisrael.”
Radak
"And you did not call Me, Jacob." Even if you did not call upon Me in your time of distress, all the more so did you not labor for Me, O Israel. And the explanation of "you did not labor" is that you did not say, "I have labored for You," for you did not even call upon Me.
The meaning is: “In My service,” i.e., “You did not call upon Me, nor did you exert yourself to serve Me.” And there is a way to interpret it as: “Not only did you not call upon Me, but you exerted yourself to serve idolatry, which is a burden to Me.”
Metzudat David
"And not Me." But you, Jacob, did not call upon Me, for you turned after the idols.
"For you were weary" – For you have become weary and exhausted in My service, and you have ceased from the work.
Malbim
And it does not come, saying: "Behold, I knew in the future that you would recognize Me and praise Me; yet why did you not call Me 'You, Jacob' until now? And more than this, that even you, Israel (who are the great and important ones in the nation), not only did you not call Me, but you have also wearied Me, as if My service and My commandments were a burden to you. Yet I will ask you: In what have I wearied you? And what is the benefit that I will gain from your service? Surely..."
You have not brought Me the small cattle of your burnt-offerings; Neither have you honoured Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with a meal-offering, Nor wearied you with frankincense.
verse value 3187
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 60 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִּי֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "not·you·brought" (לֹֽא־הֵבֵ֤יאתָ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: not, not. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "not·you·brought" (לֹֽא־הֵבֵ֤יאתָ), "your·burnt-offerings" (עֹלֹתֶ֔יךָ), "and·your·sacrifices" (וּזְבָחֶ֖יךָ). The root לא appears 3 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "not·you·brought" (root בוא, 120x in Isaiah); "your·burnt-offerings" (root עלה, 49x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·honored·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: לֹֽא־הֵבֵ֤יאתָ [not·you·brought] (449) + לִּי֙ [to·me] (40) + שֵׂ֣ה [sheep] (305) + עֹלֹתֶ֔יךָ [your·burnt-offerings] (530) + וּזְבָחֶ֖יךָ [and·your·sacrifices] (53) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + כִבַּדְתָּ֑נִי [you·honored·me] (486) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + הֶעֱבַדְתִּ֙יךָ֙ [I·burdened·you] (511) + בְּמִנְחָ֔ה [with·a·gift] (105) + וְלֹ֥א [and·not] (37) + הוֹגַעְתִּ֖יךָ [I·wearied·you] (514) + בִּלְבוֹנָֽה [in·frankincense] (95) = 3187.
Rashi
"You have not brought Me your burnt offerings." But rather to idolatry.
"I did not enslave you." There is much labor in the meal offering, yet only a handful ascends to the Most High. And even so, I did not command you to bring Me an obligatory offering, but rather a voluntary one.
Ibn Ezra
"You did not bring to Me. Your burnt offerings in Babylon:"
And you have not honored Me with your offerings. With the peace-offerings, and I did not ask of you that you serve Me with meal-offerings.
"And I have not wearied you with balm." That you should procure it for me:
Radak
You did not bring it to me. And this occurred in the days of Ahaz, when the Temple service was abolished from the Holy Temple, as it is written concerning him: “And he shut the doors of the House of the Lord, and he made altars for himself in every corner in Jerusalem, and in every city and city he built a house to burn incense to other gods.” Likewise, his son Hezekiah confessed regarding him, saying: “Our fathers have transgressed and turned away their faces from the dwelling of the Lord, and they turned their backs; moreover, they shut the doors of the vestibule and extinguished the lamps, and they did not burn incense, nor offer burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel.”
"And your sacrifices." Like "and in your sacrifices," it is lacking the letter bet of the preposition, and there are many instances like it.
"I did not enslave you. Rather, you served Me and labored for My sake; I was the One who enslaved and caused labor. And since you did not labor and did not serve Me, I do not enslave or cause labor."
"With frankincense." For the frankincense was pure in the incense, and they did not burn it.
Metzudat David
You did not bring to Me. This was in the days of Ahaz, when the Temple service was abolished, as it is stated, “And he shut the doors of the House of the Lord, etc.” (2 Chronicles 28). Likewise, his son Hezekiah offered thanks and said, “Our fathers have trespassed, etc., and they also shut, etc., and they did not offer a burnt offering in the Holy Place, etc.” (ibid. 29).
"And your sacrifices." You did not honor Me with your sacrifices, for you did not bring them to Me.
"I did not enslave you with the meal-offering." I did not impose upon you a burdensome labor and excessive expense in bringing the meal-offering, for I commanded that only the handful be burned; and likewise, I did not weary you with the frankincense, for I did not command that you increase the amount of frankincense.
Metzudat Zion
"And your sacrifices." The vav here is in place of "with," just as in "And Joseph was in Egypt" (Exodus 1:5), meaning "with Joseph who was in Egypt."
"I have wearied you." The word is derived from the noun "yegiah" (weariness/toil).
Levonah. A type of incense placed upon the meal-offering:
Malbim
“You did not bring me a lamb for your burnt offering; the burnt offering that you brought, you did not bring it to Me, for I do not need a burnt offering and sacrifice, but you brought it only onto the fire alone, as it is written, ‘My sacrifices, my bread, my fire.’ Now, the burnt offering was entirely consumed, and the sacrifices that are the peace-offerings, you lifted from them the fat onto the altar. One might say, ‘Behold, you imagine to yourself that the burnt offering, which is entirely consumed, you brought to Me for My sake, and the sacrifices, which are the peace-offerings, from which you lifted the first portion of the fat, thereby you honored Me by way of honor, lifting for Me from your food the choicest portion — “the thigh and the haunch.”’ But this is not so, for ‘your burnt offering you did not bring to Me,’ and ‘your sacrifices, which are the peace-offerings, in them you did not honor Me.’ And thus, I have no benefit from the sacrifice. Moreover, you cannot even say that at least this service was a burden upon you. This is what is meant by: ‘I did not burden you with an offering,’ since it is only a handful of fine flour, and ‘I did not weary you with incense.’ The metaphor grasps how one demands from him a great labor, and afterwards adds to it an additional burden, so that first he works, and then, through the addition, he becomes utterly weary. But since the offering is not labor, even the addition that you bring with the offering, which is the incense, is not weariness.”
You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, Neither have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities.
verse value 3873
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 64 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·your·sins" (בְּחַטֹּאותֶ֔יךָ, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "not·you·bought" (לֹא־קָנִ֨יתָ), "your·sacrifices" (זְבָחֶ֖יךָ), "you·satisfied·me" (הִרְוִיתָ֑נִי). The root קנה appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "you·burdened·me" (root עבד, 48x in Isaiah); "in·your·iniquities" (root עון, 24x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·satisfied·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: לֹא־קָנִ֨יתָ [not·you·bought] (591) + לִּ֤י [to·me] (40) + בַכֶּ֙סֶף֙ [with·silver] (162) + קָנֶ֔ה [cane] (155) + וְחֵ֥לֶב [and·fat·of] (46) + זְבָחֶ֖יךָ [your·sacrifices] (47) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + הִרְוִיתָ֑נִי [you·satisfied·me] (681) + אַ֗ךְ [indeed] (21) + הֶעֱבַדְתַּ֙נִי֙ [you·burdened·me] (541) + בְּחַטֹּאותֶ֔יךָ [in·your·sins] (456) + הוֹגַעְתַּ֖נִי [you·wearied·me] (544) + בַּעֲוֺנֹתֶֽיךָ [in·your·iniquities] (558) = 3873.
Rashi
"You did not buy Me cane with money." For the incense, you did not need to purchase it with silver, since it was abundant in your land. Rabbi Abba said: Cinamon was growing in the Land of Israel, and goats and gazelles ate it, as stated in the Midrash on Lamentations.
"You have made me a servant of your sins." You caused Me to become a servant to the worshippers of idols, as Ezekiel saw: "And behold, a whirlwind came out of the north." This was the chariot of the Divine Presence returning from Babylonia, which had gone to conquer the entire world under the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, so that they would not say, "In the hand of a lowly nation did He deliver His sons," as it is stated in Hagigah.
Ibn Ezra
Kaneh. This refers to the kaneh bosem (aromatic cane):
"And fat." "You have not satisfied Me with the sacrifices of sin-offerings," and behold, it is lacking a bet, just like "six days" (Exodus 20:11).
"But You have made me serve." The Torah speaks in the language of mankind, and the meaning is that because of your sins, I have appeared in the eyes of the nations like a slave who has no power; and so too is the meaning of "You have wearied me."
Radak
"You have not acquired [it]; acquire [it]." "Kaneh" is the kaneh used in the incense. And when it says "acquire kaneh," it means that you have not acquired it, because the kaneh did not come to the Land of Israel except through acquisition, since it came to them from a distant land, as it is written: "And good kaneh from a distant land."
"You have satisfied me." This is an analogy:
“Only I have served you.” Indeed, the matter is the opposite: I did not serve you, but you served Me. The meaning is that I endured the burden like a servant who bears his toil. And so it is said, “I was weary with bearing; I was burdened with the sins,” for the sins and iniquities were upon Me as a heavy load. This is by way of metaphor: I bore your burden like a servant who has no power to lighten his toil. According to the way of justice, I should have consumed you in a moment because of the multitude of your sins. But I endured, and did not destroy you. This was for My sake, not for your sake. And for your sins, I take vengeance upon you little by little.
Metzudat David
"You have not acquired. You did not need to acquire [it]; you purchased it to burn upon the altar, for it grew in Jerusalem, and fat, etc. You did not satisfy Me with the fat of your sacrifices, for you did not offer them before Me."
"But you have enslaved Me." I did not enslave you; rather, you enslaved yourselves through your sins. And this is why he served Nebuchadnezzar, in order to conquer the entire world under him, so that they would not say, "Under the hand of a lowly, non-Jewish nation has the Lord delivered Israel."
"You have wearied me." The matter is repeated in what is stated:
Metzudat Zion
Kaneh. A type of perfume:
And milk. The vav is in place of "with":
"You have satisfied me." The matter of satiation, as it is written, "and it shall be sated with their blood" (Jeremiah 46:10).
"הוגעתני" – from the word "יגיעה" (toil/exhaustion):
Malbim
No. See, I did not command you to acquire for Me a reed that is not acquired except with full money, which is precious in existence, as it is written, “And acquire good from a distant land.” Nor did I have you satiate Me with the fat of your sacrifices, for I commanded only regarding the fatty lobe of the liver, the two kidneys, and the flank fat. But rather, you have burdened Me with your sins. You bring Me the offering as a substitute for your sins to atone for them; from the offering I derive no benefit. And with your sins you have burdened Me, for I have grown weary of bearing them. And afterward, you have wearied Me with excessive toil, until I have been wearied by your iniquities, which are intentional sins.
I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions for Mine own sake; And your sins I will not remember.
verse value 1620
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 37 letters. Verse gematria: 1620 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·your·sins" (וְחַטֹּאתֶ֖יךָ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 81: I, I. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "wiping" (מֹחֶ֥ה), "and·your·sins" (וְחַטֹּאתֶ֖יךָ), "I·will·remember" (אֶזְכֹּֽר). The root אנכי appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "He" (root הוא, 98x in Isaiah); "for·my·sake" (root מען, 28x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'for·my·sake', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: אָנֹכִ֨י [I] (81) + אָנֹכִ֥י [I] (81) + ה֛וּא [He] (12) + מֹחֶ֥ה [wiping] (53) + פְשָׁעֶ֖יךָ [your·transgressions] (480) + לְמַעֲנִ֑י [for·my·sake] (200) + וְחַטֹּאתֶ֖יךָ [and·your·sins] (454) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + אֶזְכֹּֽר [I·will·remember] (228) = 1620.
Rashi
"I, I, am He": I am the One who blotted them out of old, and I am the One who will destroy them even now.
For My sake. Not on account of your merit, nor on account of the righteousness of your fathers.
Ibn Ezra
"I am the Lord, etc." And behold, for My sake, so that My Name should not be profaned, I will blot out your transgressions.
Radak
"I, I, He is." The repetition serves to strengthen the meaning, namely: "I am He who forgave the transgression of the generation of the wilderness, and I am He who forgives and blots out your transgressions in every generation."
"For My sake. That My Name not be profaned among you, if I consume you:"
Metzudat David
"I, I": This means, "I am the One who forgave [your sins] from of old, and I am the One who forgives them even now; and [this is] not on account of your righteousness, but rather for My sake, so that My Name should not be desecrated when I bring upon you destruction commensurate with your sins."
"And I will not remember your iniquities." This means that He will erase them thoroughly, so that no trace remains at all, and they will not be remembered.
Metzudat Zion
"מוחה" – The meaning of "מוחה" (erasing) is akin to the expression "אכלה ומחתה פיה" ("she ate and wiped her mouth") in Proverbs 30.
Malbim
"I am He" — meaning, do you not see that the offering is brought only for the sin offering, which pertains to the unintentional transgression, and for the iniquities, which pertain to the intentional transgression, I do not accept an offering? And the main thing that I am engaged in to rebuke is your great iniquities. And if so, these iniquities I do not rebuke for your sake, but only for My sake. (Meaning, that in the bringing of the offering, it appears to the eye that the Lord forgives the sin on account of the sinner who brought the offering and for his sake, until it seems that not only the Lord alone is forgiving the sin, but the person assists in the matter. But the iniquities for which you did not bring any offering at all — behold, only I, I, am forgiving them, without assistance from you and not for your sake, but only for My sake, because I desire kindness.) And what appears to be that you assist in the removal of the unintentional sins through the offering — know that your sins I will not remember at all; for the unintentional ones, I did not pay attention at all, because the main thing in My eyes is the majority of the iniquities that you transgressed in rebellion, so much so that through them I forgot the unintentional ones and did not remember them. And the forgiveness for the iniquities that I remember, which are the rebellious ones, I did only for My sake, as a gift and free kindness.
Put Me in remembrance, let us plead together; Declare you, that you may be justified.
verse value 2298
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "together" (יָ֑חַד, 3 letters) and the longest is "remind·me" (הַזְכִּירֵ֕נִי, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "remind·me" (הַזְכִּירֵ֕נִי), "let·us·be·judged" (נִשָּׁפְטָ֖ה), "you·may·be·justified" (תִּצְדָּֽק). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "you" (root אתה, 50x in Isaiah); "you·may·be·justified" (root צדק, 37x in Isaiah); "together" (root יחד, 34x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'together', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: הַזְכִּירֵ֕נִי [remind·me] (302) + נִשָּׁפְטָ֖ה [let·us·be·judged] (444) + יָ֑חַד [together] (22) + סַפֵּ֥ר [declare] (340) + אַתָּ֖ה [you] (406) + לְמַ֥עַן [so·that] (190) + תִּצְדָּֽק [you·may·be·justified] (594) = 2298.
Rashi
“Remind me.” Every reward that you and your fathers have upon Me:
Let us be judged together. Let us come to judgment:
Ibn Ezra
“Remind Me.” And if you were to say, “I did not sin against You while I was in my land, and You exiled Me for no reason,” [then] “Remind Me.”
Let us be judged together. Let us stand for judgment:
"Book." Your words are [to be spoken] in order that you may be justified:
Radak
"Put Me in remembrance." And if you should say that I have forgotten your righteous deeds — though they are not as many as your sins — therefore I say "put Me in remembrance," like a person reminding his fellow of something he has forgotten.
"Let us judge together. I and you: whether I have struck you according to your sins, or whether I have blotted them out for you."
“Declare, that you may be justified.” Declare first your arguments, that you may be justified in judgment, as it is said, “The righteous one is first in his dispute.” This means that even if you declare, if you declare the truth, you will not be justified; and even if you do not declare all your sins, nor declare all the righteous deeds that I have done with you.
Metzudat David
“Remember me.” This is an allegory: Just as one person says to his companion, “Remember me,” meaning, “What recompense do you have for me? Let us judge together. Let us discuss our matters to see with whom the law lies.”
“Count you” – meaning, recount you first, so that you may be justified, for the first one is righteous in the dispute; and it is as if it says, even if you were to recount first, you would not be considered righteous against Me.
Malbim
“Remind Me” means: I will not recall your sins; but you, if you have any merit or argument against Me for your benefit, remind Me, and we will judge and reprove regarding them—if there is substance in your words. The verse adds, saying: “Nor will I judge nor reprove you at all; only speak, you, whatever you wish, but in order that you may be justified.” I desire that you be justified, and even if I know how to prove the opposite of your words, I will remain silent, provided you have any argument whatsoever, no matter how slight.
Your first father sinned, And your intercessors have transgressed against Me.
verse value 1287
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 26 letters. Notable word values: "sinned" (חָטָ֑א) = 18, chai, 'life'. Verse gematria: 1287 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "against·me" (בִֽי, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·your·intercessors" (וּמְלִיצֶ֖יךָ, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·your·intercessors" (וּמְלִיצֶ֖יךָ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "your·father" (root אב, 20x in Isaiah); "they·rebeled" (root פשע, 20x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sinned', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: אָבִ֥יךָ [your·father] (33) + הָרִאשׁ֖וֹן [the·first] (562) + חָטָ֑א [sinned] (18) + וּמְלִיצֶ֖יךָ [and·your·intercessors] (206) + פָּ֥שְׁעוּ [they·rebeled] (456) + בִֽי [against·me] (12) = 1287.
Rashi
"Your first father sinned, when he said, 'By what shall I know?' (Genesis 15:8)."
"And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me." There is not one among all the spokesmen upon whom You rely for their merit in whom I have not found transgression. Isaac loved him who hates Me.
Ibn Ezra
“Your first father”: This is Jeroboam, whom Israel chose as king, not by the command of God.
"and your spokesmen" – they are the princes, the spokesmen of the king, or the Levites, the spokesmen of the priests. And there are those who say that "your father" refers to the teachers, as it is written: "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel" (II Kings 2:12), and "and I shall be a father to Pharaoh" (Genesis 45:8), and "father of all who play the lyre and the pipe" (Genesis 45:22). And the spokesmen are the students, and it is from the root of "for he made him a spokesman" (Genesis 42:23).
Radak
Your first father sinned. And how can you say, “You have not sinned,” when your first father sinned? He is the first man, for man is innately prone to sin, for the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.
"And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me." The explanation is: your princes and your great ones. And similarly in "the spokesmen of the princes of Babylon," for the matter is one with what is said, "as the number of the census of the people." And He mentioned the princes, for they were worthy to admonish the people and to return them to the good path, and they transgressed against Me. And some say: "Your father, your king," like "and the hand of the Lord shall be upon you and upon your fathers," and they interpret it regarding Jeroboam. And it is more correct for its interpretation to be regarding Saul, for he was the first king over all Israel.
Metzudat David
"Your first father sinned." Adam, the first man, sinned against Me by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. And even though his nature was according to My design, how much more so are you, who were born from a man and a woman full of sin.
And your spokesmen. Even the spokesmen upon whom you rely to plead your cause favorably, and who are the most upright of the generation—behold, they too have transgressed against Me.
Metzudat Zion
And your advocates. The word is from the root "malitz," which means one who presents the matter in its most favorable light.
Malbim
“Your father—yet what can you recount, and what merit can you invoke to claim that I exiled you unjustly? Were not your ancestral fathers, meaning the generations that existed during the Temple period, sinners before Me? And were not your advocates, namely the priests and the prophets, transgressors against Me with deliberate intent? (For regarding them, all their sins are counted as deliberate, unlike the people, who acted unintentionally, and their deliberate sins were counted for them as unintentional errors.) Therefore, ‘I have profaned the princes of holiness’—the gates are barred—because your advocates transgressed against Me, I profaned the princes of holiness, who are your advocates, the priests and the prophets. And because your ancestral fathers sinned, consequently, ‘I have given Jacob to a decree of destruction’—I delivered the entire people to a decree of destruction and desolation. And Israel, which refers to the holiness of Israel, their holy ones, and their leaders, I have given to revilers, for they reviled their Torah and their holiness.”
Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, And I have given Jacob to condemnation, And Israel to reviling.
verse value 2631
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "princes·of" (שָׂ֣רֵי, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·revilings" (לְגִדּוּפִֽים, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·I·profaned" (וַאֲחַלֵּ֖ל), "to·the·ban" (לַחֵ֙רֶם֙), "to·revilings" (לְגִדּוּפִֽים). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Israel" (root ישראל, 84x in Isaiah); "and·I·will·give" (root נתן, 56x in Isaiah); "Jacob" (root יעקב, 42x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'holiness', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַאֲחַלֵּ֖ל [and·I·profaned] (75) + שָׂ֣רֵי [princes·of] (510) + קֹ֑דֶשׁ [holiness] (404) + וְאֶתְּנָ֤ה [and·I·will·give] (462) + לַחֵ֙רֶם֙ [to·the·ban] (278) + יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב [Jacob] (182) + וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [and·Israel] (547) + לְגִדּוּפִֽים [to·revilings] (173) = 2631.
Rashi
"And I will profane the princes of her sanctuary." On account of your iniquities:
Ibn Ezra
"And I was profaned [among the princes of the sanctuary]." These are the priests, as it is also written: "For they were princes of the sanctuary."
"And I will give." And now, this evil have I done to you because of your deeds:
Radak
"And I will profane." The vav is patach, for the matter is not in the past tense; rather, its meaning is: In every generation and every generation, I profane the princes of holiness, and I give Jacob and Israel over to reproach because of their sins. But I do not destroy them utterly and completely. And the mention of "princes of holiness" is because it said, "And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me." He said that the princes of holiness who are in Israel are profaned by the hand of the enemy and perish because of the sin of the transgressing princes and the people, for the good ones perish because of the sin of the wicked when the wicked are many. And so it said, "Lest you be swept away in the sin of the city," for one does not escape among the many except by a miracle. And so it said, "You have given the carcass of Your servants as food for the birds of the heavens, the flesh of Your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth." Behold, they were the servants of God and His faithful ones, and they perished because of the sin of the many. And concerning this it said, "For judgment shall return to righteousness." And the meaning of "for a cherem" is for slaughter, like "and he devoted all the soul to the ban."
"לגדופים" – for insults. For they are a reproach and an insult among the nations, and in the midrashic interpretation of "and I will profane the princes of holiness", these are the Levites.
Metzudat David
"And I will profane." On account of your sins, I will profane even the holy princes among you.
"And I will give." I will give you as a curse, and a desolation, and a reproach, from the mouth of the enemy:
Metzudat Zion
"Va'echallel" – this denotes the profanation of that which is holy. Similarly, "He shall not profane his seed" (Leviticus 21:15).
"And I will give." The matter of handing over:
"to banish." The matter concerns desolation and destruction.
Regarding "to blasphemies." Its meaning is similar to "shame," and likewise: "those who blasphemed" (above, 37).
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Malbim