Ibn Ezra on Isaiah

I was sought, etc. This is the reply of God to the prayer of the Israelites; He says: Your fathers have provoked me, but ‘ I was sought,’ that is, I offered myself to be found whenever they were in trouble, to them that asked me not, that I should be accessible to them. I said, ‘ Behold me, behold me,’ repeatedly through the prophets. That was not called by my name in those days, but by the name of Baal.

I have spread out my hands, etc. According to R. Moses Hakkohen, the preceding verse refers to all nations, as if God said, Even to nations that are not called by my name, I was accessible, but as regards my people I have spread my hands to receive them. הדרך לא טוב In a way that is not good. Supply דרך way before לא טוב not good; comp. טוב ורע עץ הדעת דעת=עץ הדעת טוב ורע the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9)

To my face. Like a servant that provokes his master while in his presence. In gardens of idolatry.

That sit among the graves, to inquire of the dead, and to listen to the spirits. ובנצורים And in ruins.. Comp. נצורה waste (1:8). Which eat, etc. All this is done in order to provoke me. וטרק And broth. Its meaning is well known; comp. Judg. 6:20. The Ketib is ופרק; the two words, however, are the same in meaning.

Which say. They, the unclean, say to the others, that have never eaten swine’s meat, etc. גשה אליך=קרב אליך Stand by thyself. Lit. Go nearer to thyself. קדשתיך I am holier than thou. It is an intransitive verb; as to the suffix, קרשתיך I am holier than thou. comp. יצאוני have gone out of me (Jer. x 20); similarly קדשתיך has the same meaning as קדשתי ממך I am holy, more than thou. אלה עשן באפי These put smoke in my nose.

Behold it is written before me. This evil which they have done, is, as it were, written before me; I have not forgotten it.

Your iniquities, etc. You have added sins to the sins of your forefathers. I measured their former work into their bosom. Your fathers went into exile for their idolatry.

Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine, etc. Although they have sinned, it will, nevertheless, be in those days as when the new wine is found in the cluster and one saith to the other do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it. I shall do the same for the sake of my servants, the righteous men of Israel, during their exile; namely, I shall not utterly destroy them.

And I will bring forth out of Jacob, of those that had gone into exile, of the righteous among them: who deserve to be called mine elect.

עמק עכור The valley of Achor. This valley is near Jerusalem; comp. And the valley of Achor for a door of hope (Hos. 2:15). Others render it, Valley of trouble, comparing it with עכר that troublest (1 Kings 18:17). The latter is a forced explanation. For my people that sought me. For He will remember those that seek another besides Him.

הַשְׁכֵחִים That forget, (lit., that are forgetful). It is an adjective, similar in form to יְרֵאִים afraid (1 Sam. 23:3). לגד For the host of the heavens. R. Moses Hakkohen says, that גד means the planet Jupiter which forebodes only good things; that in Arabic the word has the same meaning; but that בגל (Gen. 30:11) is different from it. למני For Meni. According to some מני (lit., number) is the name of the Zodiac, because each of its constellations has a certain number of stars. R. Moses Hakkohen says that מני is the name of one star. the moon. ממסך Drink offering. Comp., מסכה she hath mingled (Prov. 9:2)

ומניתי And I will number. The repetition of the same root is considered as an elegance in Hebrew. Comp. גד גדוד עודנו Gad, a troop shall overcome him (Gen. 49:19); דן ידין Dan shall judge (ibid. 16). Thus the verb ומניתי is used because of מני at the end of the preceding verse; it means I shall number; comp. מונה that telleth (Jer. 33:13)

My servants, that return to Zion. But ye others, that do not serve the Lord, will remain in their miseries.

תְּיֵילִילוּ Ye shall howl. The regular form of the word would be תַּיְלִילוּ; comp., יַיְשִׁירוּ they look straight (Prov. 4:25). It is similar in form to יְיֵדָע he knoweth; (Ps. 138:6), and יְיֵטִיב he doth good (Job 24:21)

And ye shall leave your name for a curse. Comp. The Lord make thee a curse and an oath (Num. 5:21); The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab (Jer. 29:22). The Lord God shall slay thee. Thus they will say to each other. Another name. That is, a better name.

המתברך He who blesseth himself. This word is not like ונברכו and shall be blessed (Gen. 18:18); there is a difference between the two words. באלהי אמן In the God whom all the world will acknowledge to be the true God, and that there is none besides Him. אמן is an adjective of the same root as אמונה truth (25:1); יתברך ונו׳ Shall bless himself, etc. He shall thankfully acknowledge that this is true, or wish and pray that it may become true. Because the former troubles, etc., are hid from mine eyes. The troubles which have befallen the righteous, the servants of the Lord, have been intensified by the circumstance that the wicked used to mock at the pious and their piety, when the latter were afflicted with calamities

בי הנני בורא שמים חדשים וגו׳ For behold, I create new heavens, etc. Some explain this verse thus: Behold, it will be as if I created, etc. The grammarian, R. Jehudah, says, that by the new heavens the creatures in heaven and earth are meant. The right explanation, however, is, that by heavens the atmosphere over the earth is meant, and the meaning of the whole sentence is: God will create a new good atmosphere, that people will be healthy and enjoy a long life; He will likewise increase the productive power of the earth, that it will be as though it were new. Those that refer the passage to the future life of man, are wrong; for it cannot thus agree with the context of the chapter, since in the future life there is neither eating nor drinking, as our sages have taught us, and this idea concerning the future life is the only true one. The former. The former troubles, as some quite correctly explain; others supply heaven and earth; but there is no sense in their explanation, as may be proved from the next verse.

עדי עד Long years. For at last man dies (comp. vers. 20). הנני בורא את ירושלים Behold, I make Jerusalem. From this passage it can be proved that the word ברא does not mean to create (to produce from non-existence into existence) but to form, to renew.

The voice of weeping for one that is slain, or dies too early, as explained in the next verse.

There shall be no more, etc. This verse shows, that those who will return to Zion will enjoy a long life. The old man will complete his days, that is, the days which the natural constitution of man permits him to live; he will live as long as the former generations from Adam to Noah lived; the same is the case with עולל=עול ימים infant of days. ימות וגו׳ כי הנער בן טאה שנה. For the young man shall die one hundred years old, etc. The sinner who dies a hundred years old, will be cursed; for if he lived less than that, his infancy will plead for him, his mental faculties not yet being fully developed; but being a hundred years old he is a young man, and being then a sinner, he is cursed. We learn from this verse that the world will at last be again as it was at the beginning.

And they shall build houses, etc. That is, they will be in safety, for there will be no enemy, as explained in the next verse; or, they will build houses, and dwell therein for a long time, while those that die in war are not so happy.

As the days of the tree that lives for a long time, as the Carob and similar trees. And mine elect shall outlive the work of their hands. Many works of man retain still their new appearance, while man has already become old, as e.g. a building, a book. The pronoun their refers to mine elect, the subject of the sentence.

Nor bring forth for trouble, etc. Their children will not die, for God has blessed the parents, and has blessed the children to remain with them.

טרם I think that it means yet, and with the preposition ב before. The meaning of the passage is: I shall readily give them all that they shall ask of me.

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. This is a figurative expression for peace will be established. Many imagine this to be done in such a way, that God will deprive the wolf of its natural voracity, as indicated by the words, And the lion shall eat straw like the bullock. And dust shall be the serpent’s meat, as is its nature; and it will eat nothing else. The meaning of this passage is: it will do no harm. In all my holy mountain. All these prophecies refer only to Palestine, for it is distinctly said, in all my holy mountain.