Rashi, on Lam 1:19

“Coph. I called for my friends, but they deceived me: my priests and my ancients pined away in the city: while they sought their food, to relieve their souls.”

“I called to my lovers Heb. לַמְאַהֲבַי, to those who make themselves appear as lovers. [but] they deceived me e.g., the children of Ishmael, who went forth toward the exiles when the captors were leading them on the road nearby, as if they were compassionate toward them. And they brought them various kinds of salty foods and inflated skin flasks. They [the Jews] thought that these were [flasks of] wine, so they ate and became thirsty and wished to drink, and when they untied the flask with their teeth, the air entered their intestines and they died. This is what Scripture says (Isa. 21:13f.): “In the forest in Arabia you shall lodge, etc. Bring water toward the thirsty! The inhabitants of the land of Tema came before the wanderer with bread.” to revive their souls so that they should revive their souls.”

Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.