Ibn Ezra on Isaiah

THIS chapter commences a new prophecy, but not without connection with the preceding. Zion will now be saved from the hands of Sennacherib, and she will besides be highly distinguished in the future.

This will take place, as the prophet says, In the last of the days. That is, in the days of Messiah, which are the last of the days of the world. Those days have not yet come; for since the days of Isaiah there has never been a period free from war. We learn from Josephus, and the literature of the Persians and Medes, that during the whole time of the second temple in Jerusalem war had never ceased. Moreover,.’ the prophet distinctly declares, Neither shall they learn war any more. And shall be exalted. We know that the mount of the temple will not be physically raised; but what the phrase means is, that it will be established in such a way that people will hasten up to it from the four comers of the earth, as if it were higher than all hills. ונהרו And they will flow. Root, נהר ‘to flow’; comp. נהר river, which is so called on account of its flowing motion.

And he shall judge. He, who is the judge, the Messiah, shall judge (comp. Numb. 26:59). לְאִתִּים Into plowshares. Comp. אֵתוֹ his plowshare (1 Sam. 13:20); the Dagesh of the ת compensates for the omitted silent letter י; the same purpose is served by the long vowel Zere under א in the word .אֵתוֹ למזמרות Pruning-hooks. Instruments for pruning the vineyards.

O house of Jacob, etc. With these words the prophet rebukes Israel, as if he said, Since Zion will now, as you are well aware, be redeemed for her justice, and a time, besides, will come for her great salvation, we all owe obedience to the words of the prophecies, which are true as the light. The prophet includes himself in this rebuke, by using the first person plural, pro formd, as Moses did when he prayed, forgive our iniquity; or because he grew up among the people and acquired something of their mode of speaking, as I shall explain (6:5)

Thou hast forsaken, etc. Some refer the second person to God, and say that the prophet confesses here before Him that He has justly forsaken them, for they are full of Eastern customs, etc. R. Moses Hakkohen refers it to Israel, and explains accordingly : Thou, O Israel, hast forgotten thy people and its religion. מלאו According to some, they are enthusiastic; comp. מלא with enthusiasm (Jer. 12:6); I think that it means, they are full, namely, with the wisdom of the children of the East, the Aramæans ; comp. Aram in the east, and the Philistines in the west (9:11); the next is, therefore, And are soothsayers like the Philistines. בית יעקב in this verse must then be vocative, like the first (5:5). ובילדי And with ideas of. And with what they bring forth by thought; for the resultant of any two forces is called נולד ‘ born, product.’ ישפיקו They satisfy themselves. Comp. יִשְׂפׂק ‘it shall suffice’ (1 Kings 20:10), although of a different conjugation; the latter being Kal, the former Hiphil. They are satisfied with secular knowledge, and do not seek for the prophecy, which is the best light.

Full of silver and gold. Silver is mentioned before gold, because it is in quantity more abundant. קצה End. ה is paragogic, like ה in לילה night; the accent is therefore on the penultima. In the preceding verse Israel is described as wise, in this as rich and mighty; in the same order Jeremiah enumerates these qualities (Jer. 9:23)

אלילים Idols. Root אַל "not"; the idols are called by this name, because there is no reality in them. They worship the work of his hands, that which his fingers have made. They—all the people—worship the work of his—the smith’s—hands, that which his—the smith’s—fingers have made. ידיו "his hands", and ישתחוו "they worship" ; the Version evades the difficulty by translating ידיו "their hands".

וישה And boweth down. Niphal of שחח; comp. וימס ‘And it was melted’ (Jos. 7:5) Niphal of מסס. Their acts degraded them. ואל תשא להם According to some—the ת being the sign for the second person, and referring to God—and thou forgive them not. I am, however, of opinion that the passage has the following meaning: Not one of them dares to lift up his head or soul, because the context requires a phrase similar to And the man humbles himself ; or that the word ארץ ‘ the earth ’ is to be supplied: And the earth is not able to bear them (comp. Gen. 13:6). The Grammarian, who asserts that אַל is only found with a command, is mistaken; comp. אל־מות, where there is no death (Prov. 12:28)

בא Infinitive: ‘ to enter ’ (comp. Hab. 2:3); or imperative : enter ; the advice which they will give each other. הטמן The same; infinitive or imperative. It is the Niphal of טמן

עיני The looks of. עין ‘eye,’ or ‘ look,’ though generally feminine, is sometimes masculine (as e.g. in this verse, since the masculine form שָׁפֵל is joined to עֵינֵי) ; and עֵינֵי ‘ the looks,’ is identical with כל אחד מעיני ‘ each of the looks’; comp. בנות ‘ each of the branches ’ (Gen. 49:22). in עֵינֵי נבהות אדם שָׁפֵל The lofty looks of man shall be humbled) is explained by giving to the plural the meaning one of, or each of. Haughtiness. The contrary, lowliness, is meant; comp. He will enlighten my darkness (Ps. 18:29)

ושפל He shall be brought low. The ו changes the past into a future; comp. וטהר he shall be clean (Lev. 22:7)

The cedars, etc. All this may be taken either literally, or symbolically for the young, great, rich, mighty, and the kings.

ההרים The mountains. I derive הרים from הרה to conceive, as I shall explain in the Book of Psalms (148:9).

The tower. The tower on the royal palace..)

Ships of Tarshish. If taken figuratively, they signify the merchants; literally, they are ships which belong to Israelites, and are going to Tarshish. שכיות Pictures. Comp. אבן משנית A stone with a picture (Lev. 26:1)

And the loftiness, etc. This idea is repeated here, because all the objects previously enumerated, excite pride in those that possess them, and cause dejection to those that lose them.

יחלוף He shall abolish. Comp. בני חלוף the afflicted (Prov. 31:5), to whom death is imminent; this root has a similar meaning in חלף it is over (Song 2:11). כליל. This word remains the same in the masculine and feminine, singular and plural; it means all (comp. Exod. 28:31; Lev. 6:16). He shall abolish. The third person refers to God.

עשו They made. The subject is not named; it is the indefinite one or they; comp. ויאמר ליוסף and he (= some one) said to Joseph (Gen. 48:1). עשוהו one has done it (Eccles. 2:12). חפר פרות. I think the singular is חפרפרת, and signifies a bird that flies out in the night like the bat, and keeps itself hidden during the day ; others say that חפרפרת means a bird which eats up the fruits during the night; in this case it consists of two separate words.

נקרת The clefts of. Literally a hollowed place of. סעפי. Branchlike pieces projecting from the rocks, where people can hide themselves. לערוץ To be mighty. Root ערץ ; comp. עריץ mighty. According to others, it is a transitive verb, meaning to terrify; אל תערץ (Jos. 1:9) has, perhaps, the same meaning, the word לבך thine heart, being supplied—do not terrify or discourage thine heart—and עריץ (29:20), is then a transitive adjective, terrible, like אימים (Gen. 14:5), the terrifying ones.

Cease ye, etc. Since God has issued His decrees against you, as indicated in the words ‘ Because of the fear of the Lord,’ etc. (ver. 10), no man has the power to undo them; cease, therefore, to rely on man, he will not help you, for he is vanity.