Ibn Ezra on Isaiah

Hearken to me. The prophet speaks now to the good people, who believe in the words of the prophets. Look, etc. Be not surprised how Zion can again be filled with her children as before, but look, etc. Look unto the rock. Comp. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock (Ex. 18:6). Unto the rock. Unto the name of the rock, of which you are hewn; that is, unto the name of Abraham. מקבת The hole. Comp. ויקב and bored (2 Kings 12:10). To the hole of the pit, etc. Sarah is meant.

תחוללכם That bare you. According to R. Jonah, it is future, like ,תשובבכם instead of the past חוללתכם. R. Moses Hakkohen believes it to be an adjective, although there is no other adjective of the same form. וַאֲבׇרְכֵהוּ And blessed him. The ו has Pathah, because ואברכהו is future: it means, I told him that I should bless him; and so it was. In the same way.

The Lord shall comfort Zion, etc. Thus the connection of this verse with the preceding one is explained. He hath comforted all her waste places, by the multitude of her children, of her inhabitants.

Hearken unto me. The first person in this verse refers to God. A law. The word of God proclaimed by the prophet. ארגיע I will make to rest. Comp. המרנעה the rest (28:12). One of the commentators explains it: I will do in a moment, without delay. The first explanation is better.

Is near, to be seen. זרועי Mine arms, is the subject. עמים The people is the object. The isles shall wait upon me, etc., at that time.

Lift up your eyes, etc. Philosophers derive from this verse the doctrine of the immortality of the soul of man; their doctrine is right; but this verse certainly does not contain it. השמים The sky. הארץ The inhabited part of the earth. Both may perish, but the salvation of the Lord, His faithfulness, His righteousness remains for ever.

The reproach of men. The reproach of the Babylonians and the heathen peoples that have been brought to Babylon as captives.

סס The worm. It is hap. leg. But my righteousness shall be for ever. Comp. And His righteousness endureth for ever (Ps. 112:8).

עורי Awake. The accent is on the last syllable; there are many instances of this exception. Put on strength, O arm of the Lord. The strength is, like the garment, an ornament of the arm. רהב Tyrant. Comp. רהבים tyrants (Ps. 40:5; 87:4). מחוללת Causing terror. Comp. חיל trembling (Ex. 15:14). He has caused terror by the miracles done in Egypt. The dragon. Pharaoh is meant; comp. I am against thee, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great dragon, etc. (Ez. 29:3)

Which hath dried the sea. This refers to the division of the Red Sea. מי תהום רבה The waters of the great deep. Repeat הטחרבת which hath dried before these words. השמה That hath made. It is in form similar to השבה that hath returned (Ruth 2:6). The second part of the verse is a mere repetition of the idea contained in the first.

And the redeemed, etc. The connection between this and the preceding verses is: Awake, O arm, etc., and then, when this is the case, the redeemed of the Lord shall return. I have explained this already (35:10)

I am he that comforteth you. The pronouns I and you, refer to the prophet and the people respectively. Thou. It is generally believed that Israel is here addressed; but I think, that the prophet speaks to his own soul, in a prophetical spirit; comp. And I have put my words in thy mouth (ver. 16). כחציר=חציר As grass. Comp. אש אכלח as consuming fire (Deut. 4:24)

And forgottest. It is as if thou didst forget. The prophet, in his prophetical spirit, speaks thus to his own heart. The Lord thy Maker, who is omnipotent; for heaven and earth are in His power. The oppressor. Comp. I gave my back to the smiters (50:6). To destroy, that is, to kill men. And where is, etc. Where is now the fury of the oppressor.

צועה The captive exile. Comp. צועים oppressors. וצעוהו and they shall oppress them (Jer. 48:2). The literal meaning of the word, though a participle active, is bound; he who is oppressed, and is in distress, is, as it were, bound. This meaning of the word is proved by the words which follow: that he may be loosed. And that he should not die. The prophet is meant. Nor that his bread should fail, as was the case with Micaiah and Jeremiah, who received but scanty food (1 Kings 22:27; Jer. xxxvii.)

רגע Who stilleth. Some say that גער = רגע who rebuketh, by metathesis; others compare it with מרגוע rest (Jer. 6:17), and render it who giveth rest; I approve of this latter explanation. ויהמו גליו Whose waves roared, that is, whose waves have been roaring. The meaning of the verse might also be the following: I am he who stilleth the sea, but I am also he who commandeth that its waves shall roar. Sea and waves are figurative expressions for the oppressors.

I have covered thee to protect thee against him, who was ready to destroy (ver. 13). To plant the heavens. A figurative expression for the announcement to be made to the countries that they shall be restored to their former happiness. ליסוד To lay the foundations. It is the infinitive; the radical י is silent, according to the rule; the word ליסוד is, however, in form similar to the perfect verb; comp. לישון to sleep (Eccl. 5:11)

Which hast drunk, etc. Israel is compared to a man that is drunk, and is not aware of what is done unto him; he lies down in deep sleep. קבעת The dregs. It is hap. leg. Some explain it to signify the dregs that are fixed (קבע to fix) to the bottom of the vessel. התרעלה Trembling. Comp. הרעלו they have been shaken (Nah. 2:4). The cup of trembling, that is, the cup, at the sight of which man trembles. מצית Thou hast wrung out. Comp. תמצו you may milk out (66:11), though of a different conjugation. The meaning of this figure is, thou hast received the full measure of evil.

There is none to guide her. Israel is like a woman, that has none to guide her; Israel has no king nor judge, to be saved by him.

ינוד Shall be sorry. Comp. לנוד to mourn (Job 2:11). שתים וגוי Two things, etc. Desolation and the sword are the same, for desolation accompanies the sword; destruction and famine are likewise the same; comp. בשברי לכם מטה לחם. and when I have broken the staff of your bread (Lev. 26:26). Others explain שתים In pairs. The evils come unto thee in pairs. במי=מי By whom. By whom shall I comfort thee ? Man is usually comforted by being told that some other man has met with the same accident.

עולפו Have fainted. Comp. ויתעלף and he fainted (Jon. 4:8). They lie. They are killed by famine and sword. תוא A bird. It is hap. leg. כתוא מכמר As the bird of the net, that is, the bird caught in a net. מכמר Net. Comp. מכמוריו their own nets (Ps. 141:10). The rebuke of thy God. This is the explanation of the preceding, the fury of the Lord.

Hear now, the prophecy which follows in the next verses. ושכורת And drunken with. Supply חמה anger, אף wrath, or רעות evils.

יריב עמו He will plead the cause of His people. Comp. אלמנה ריב the cause of the widow (1:23)

מוגיך That afflict thee. Comp. יגון trouble. It is Hiphil of יגה. Comp. הוגה He hath afflicted (Lam. 1:12). Bow down, that is, make thyself low, that we may go over thee. And as the street, etc. Repetition of the same idea.