Comments On Isaiah 11
Mahx Notes on Rashi Comments1 On Rashi: And a shoot shall spring forth from the stem of Jesse: Here Rashi speaks of King Hezekiah of Judah and his people being consoled by this prophecy of Mashiach, then on and a twig shall sprout from its roots: Rashi points out that this prophecy is to given to console the ten northern tribes who have been exiled to Assyria. There is a deep prophetic hint in this that Ephraim is to be consoled in seeing Judah consoled about Mashiach. Both Judah and his house and Ephraim and his house are, while they will be found in very different conditions, here prophetically exhorted to look for hope and consolation to the shoot, the royal twig, that sprouts from the stem of Jesse. The deep prophetic allusion is to Ephraim, with his fellows, being brought back from being a kind of gentile, a form of spiritual death, to being a tribe of Israel, together with his fellow tribes, again, a form of resurrection from the dead. This is through the consolation that Ephraim receives in seeing Judah being consoled in Judah being redeemed by his Mashiach. For when Ephraim sees Judah's soul being redeemed this will also be the redemption of Ephraim's soul. It is for this reason that it is said in verse 10: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious." 2 On Rashi: Rashi comments on these attributes collectively in his notes on verses 3-5. Rabbi David Kimchi (Redak) and Ibn Ezra see all of the listed attributes as being comprehended in the spirit of the LORD. The sentence structure indicates this reading. Yet the resting upon him of the spirit of the LORD may itself be read as an overall virtue or attribute, as well. This is the point of John 3:34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives [him] the Spirit without measure." If his animation, as Rashi reads, "his delight" in verse 3, is also counted, there are seven attributes listed here. 3 On Rashi: The Judaica commentary translates "might", גְבוּרָה, as "heroism". This English term has an idiomatic quality that points us in the right direction of understanding that all these attributes are employed both mentally in judgement and actively in salvation. |
Isaiah Chapter 11 יְשַׁעְיָהוּ with Rashi commentaryא וְיָצָא חֹטֶר, מִגֵּזַע יִשָׁי; וְנֵצֶר, מִשָּׁרָשָׁיו יִפְרֶה. 1 And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall grow forth out of his roots. Rashi: And a shoot shall spring forth from the stem of Jesse: And if you say, ‘Here are consolations for Hezekiah and his people, that they shall not fall into his hands. Now what will be with the exile that was exiled to Halah and Habor, is their hope lost?’ It is not lost! Eventually, the King Messiah shall come and redeem them. a shoot: [This is symbolic of] the royal sceptre. and a twig: an expression of a sapling. and a twig shall sprout from its roots: and the entire section, and at the end (v. 11), "And it shall come to pass, that on that day, the Lord shall apply His hand again…[from Assyria]… Hence, [it is obvious] that this prophecy was said to console those exiled to Assyria. .ב וְנָחָה עָלָיו, רוּחַ יְהוָה--רוּחַ חָכְמָה וּבִינָה, רוּחַ עֵצָה וּגְבוּרָה, רוּחַ דַּעַת, וְיִרְאַת יְהוָה. 2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. ג וַהֲרִיחוֹ, בְּיִרְאַת יְהוָה; וְלֹא-לְמַרְאֵה עֵינָיו יִשְׁפּוֹט, וְלֹא-לְמִשְׁמַע אָזְנָיו יוֹכִיחַ. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; Rashi: And he shall be animated by the fear of the Lord: He shall be filled with the fear of the Lord. [ed enos mera il luy in O.F., and He shall be enlivened.] and neither with the sight of his eyes shall he judge: For, with the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is within him, will he know and understand who is innocent and who is guilty. ד וְשָׁפַט בְּצֶדֶק דַּלִּים, וְהוֹכִיחַ בְּמִישׁוֹר לְעַנְוֵי-אָרֶץ; וְהִכָּה-אֶרֶץ בְּשֵׁבֶט פִּיו, וּבְרוּחַ שְׂפָתָיו יָמִית רָשָׁע. 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the land; and he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Rashi: with equity: This is an expression of mildness and tenderness. and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth: As the Targum states: And he shall smite the sinful of the earth. and with the breath of his lips: Jonathan [renders:] And with the speech of his lips. ה וְהָיָה צֶדֶק, אֵזוֹר מָתְנָיו; וְהָאֱמוּנָה, אֵזוֹר חֲלָצָיו. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. Rashi: And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins: Jonathan [renders:] And the righteous shall surround him; i.e., they will cleave to him like a girdle. ו וְגָר זְאֵב עִם-כֶּבֶשׂ, וְנָמֵר עִם-גְּדִי יִרְבָּץ; וְעֵגֶל וּכְפִיר וּמְרִיא יַחְדָּו, וְנַעַר קָטֹן נֹהֵג בָּם. 6 And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. Rashi: and a fatling: a fattened ox [following Jonathan]. ז וּפָרָה וָדֹב תִּרְעֶינָה, יַחְדָּו יִרְבְּצוּ יַלְדֵיהֶן; וְאַרְיֵה, כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל-תֶּבֶן. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ח וְשִׁעֲשַׁע יוֹנֵק, עַל-חֻר פָּתֶן; וְעַל מְאוּרַת צִפְעוֹנִי, גָּמוּל יָדוֹ הָדָה. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den. Rashi: shall play: Heb. וְשִׁעֲשַׁע, shall play. over the hole of an old snake: over a hole in the ground in which the snake makes its nest [krot in O.F.], a cave. an old snake: פֶּתֶן. A snake, when it ages, becomes deaf and is called פֶּתֶן. From then on, it cannot be charmed; as it is said (Psalms 58:6): “Who will not hearken to the voice of charmers.” and over the eyeball of a venomous snake: Jonathan renders: the eyeballs of venomous snakes [מְאוּרַת from אוֹר, light]. Menahem (Machbereth Menachem p. 32) interpreted it as an expression of a hole, namely holes in the ground. Comp. (Gen. 11:28) “The valley of the Chaldees (אוּר) ” ; (infra 24:15) “In the valleys (בָּאוּרִים) honor the Lord.” a weaned child: a child weaned from his mother’s breasts. shall stretch forth his hand: Heb. הָדָה. Jonathan renders: shall stretch forth his hands (sic). Comp. (Ezekiel 7:7) “The joyful call (הֵד) of the mountains, also (infra 16:9)” The cry (הֵידָד)," which is an expression of raising the voice. This, too, is an expression of raising, and the final [letter] ‘heh’ appears in it as a radical which sometimes falls out, like עָשָׂה (made), בָּנָה (built), קָנָה (acquired). ט לֹא-יָרֵעוּ וְלֹא-יַשְׁחִיתוּ, בְּכָל-הַר קָדְשִׁי: כִּי-מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ, דֵּעָה אֶת-יְהוָה, כַּמַּיִם, לַיָּם מְכַסִּי 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Rashi: knowledge of the Lord: [lit.] to know the Lord. י וְהָיָה, בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, שֹׁרֶשׁ יִשַׁי אֲשֶׁר עֹמֵד לְנֵס עַמִּים, אֵלָיו גּוֹיִם יִדְרֹשׁוּ; וְהָיְתָה מְנֻחָתוֹ, כָּבוֹד. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious. Rashi: as a banner for peoples: that peoples should raise a banner to gather to him. יא וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, יוֹסִיף אֲדֹנָי שֵׁנִית יָדוֹ, לִקְנוֹת, אֶת-שְׁאָר עַמּוֹ--אֲשֶׁר יִשָּׁאֵר מֵאַשּׁוּר וּמִמִּצְרַיִם וּמִפַּתְרוֹס וּמִכּוּשׁ, וּמֵעֵילָם וּמִשִּׁנְעָר וּמֵחֲמָת, וּמֵאִיֵּי, הַיָּם 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, that shall remain from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. Rashi: a second time: Just as he acquired them from Egypt, when their redemption was absolute, without subjugation, but the redemption preceding the building of the Second Temple is not counted, since they were subjugated to Cyrus. and from the islands of the sea: the islands of the Kittim, the Romans, the descendants of Esau. יב וְנָשָׂא נֵס לַגּוֹיִם, וְאָסַף נִדְחֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וּנְפֻצוֹת יְהוּדָה יְקַבֵּץ, מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת הָאָרֶץ 12 And He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the dispersed of Israel, and gather together the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Rashi: And he shall raise a banner: Perka, perche in O.F. [i.e., the verse is literally referring to the pole upon which the banner is attached.] And it shall be for a sign to gather to him and to bring the exiles of Israel to Him as a present. יג וְסָרָה קִנְאַת אֶפְרַיִם, וְצֹרְרֵי יְהוּדָה יִכָּרֵתוּ: אֶפְרַיִם לֹא-יְקַנֵּא אֶת-יְהוּדָה, וִיהוּדָה לֹא-יָצֹר אֶת-אֶפְרָיִם 13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. Rashi: Ephraim shall not envy Judah: The Messiah, the son of David, and the Messiah, the son of Joseph, shall not envy each other. יד וְעָפוּ בְכָתֵף פְּלִשְׁתִּים יָמָּה, יַחְדָּו יָבֹזּוּ אֶת-בְּנֵי-קֶדֶם; אֱדוֹם וּמוֹאָב מִשְׁלוֹחַ יָדָם, וּבְנֵי עַמּוֹן מִשְׁמַעְתָּם.14 And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they spoil the children of the east; they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. Rashi: And they shall fly of one accord against the Philistines in the west: Heb. בְכָתֵף. Israel will fly and run of one accord against the Philistines who are in the west of Eretz Israel and conquer their land. [כָּתֵף, lit. a shoulder, is used in this case to denote unity. The word שֶׁכֶם, also lit. a shoulder, is used in a similar sense.] Comp. (Hoshea 6:9) “They murder on the way in unison (שֶׁכְמָה) ” ; (Zeph. 3:9) “One accord (שְׁכֶם אֶחָד).” And so did Jonathan render it: And they shall join in one accord to smite the Philistines who are in the west. and the children of Ammon shall obey them: As the Targum states: Will hearken to them. They will accept their commandments over them. טו וְהֶחֱרִים יְהוָה, אֵת לְשׁוֹן יָם-מִצְרַיִם, וְהֵנִיף יָדוֹ עַל-הַנָּהָר, בַּעְיָם רוּחוֹ; וְהִכָּהוּ לְשִׁבְעָה נְחָלִים, וְהִדְרִיךְ בַּנְּעָלִים 15 And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with His scorching wind will He shake His hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dry-shod. Rashi: And… shall dry up: [lit. shall cut off] to dry it, so that the exiles of Israel will pass through it from Egypt. over the river: The Euphrates River, for the exiles from Assyria to cross. with the strength of His wind: Heb. בַּעְיָם. This is hapax legomenon in Scripture, and according to the context it can be interpreted as “with the strength of His wind.” into seven streams: into seven segments, for the aforementioned seven exiles: from Assyria and from Egypt, etc. Those from the islands of the sea are not from that side. and He shall lead: the exiles within it. with shoes: on dry land. טז וְהָיְתָה מְסִלָּה--לִשְׁאָר עַמּוֹ, אֲשֶׁר יִשָּׁאֵר מֵאַשּׁוּר: כַּאֲשֶׁר הָיְתָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּיוֹם עֲלֹתוֹ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם 16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of His people, that shall remain from Assyria, like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. Rashi: And there shall be a highway: in the midst of the water for the remnant of His people. |