Chapter 7 of Yeshayahu is a chapter we have already studied in Sefer Melachim, and here we have an opportunity to review it. It contains additions not found there, and we will study the material in our usual way, according to the commentary of the Malbim and other commentators.
וַיְהִי בִּימֵי אָחָז בֶּן־יוֹתָם בֶּן־עֻזִּיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה, עָלָה רְצִין מֶלֶךְ־אֲרָם וּפֶקַח בֶּן־רְמַלְיָהוּ מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם לַמִּלְחָמָה עָלֶיהָ, וְלֹא יָכֹל לְהִלָּחֵם עָלֶיהָ׃ - "And it came to pass in the days of Achaz son of Yosam, son of Uziyahu, king of Yehudah, that Retzin king of Aram and Pekach son of Remalyahu, king of Yisrael, went up to Yerushalayim to wage war against it, but he could not prevail against it."
Already in the opening, a certain verbosity is noticeable: it would have been enough to say "Achaz son of Yosam," so why add "son of Uziyahu"? Since when is the grandfather's name also mentioned? The Radak explains: to tell you that both of his forebears were righteous - his father Yosam and his grandfather Uziyahu - yet he himself was wicked. In other words: see what a generation of righteous men you had before you, so why did you act wickedly and cause the people of Israel to sin? It is told of Achaz that he locked the doors of the synagogues and study halls and did not allow the study of Torah. As a consequence, Retzin king of Aram, together with Pekach son of Remalyahu, king of Israel - the king of the ten tribes - marched against Yerushalayim.
The Radak adds some background: wars had already preceded this. Retzin king of Aram had already marched against Israel and taken many captives - that was a war in its own right. Beyond that, the king of Israel killed one hundred and twenty thousand men of Yehudah in a single day - that was another war. Now, these two join forces. Achaz is bleeding wounds from this one and bleeding wounds from that one, and now both are coming against him together.
Why does it say "and he could not" rather than "and they could not"? Similarly, at the beginning of the verse: "Retzin went up," rather than "they went up." From this, the Radak concludes that the main campaign was led by Retzin king of Aram, and he brought Pekach son of Remalyahu, king of Israel, merely as auxiliary support. Retzin was the primary combatant, and therefore Scripture speaks in the singular.
And why could he not? Lest you suggest it was because Yehudah was strong, let us read the next verse.
וַיֻּגַּד לְבֵית דָּוִד לֵאמֹר נָחָה אֲרָם עַל־אֶפְרָיִם, וַיָּנַע לְבָבוֹ וּלְבַב עַמּוֹ כְּנוֹעַ עֲצֵי־יַעַר מִפְּנֵי־רוּחַ׃ - "And it was told to the house of David, saying: 'Aram has allied with Ephraim.' And his heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest shake before the wind."
When the house of David hears the report, they are seized with tremendous panic. If so, how can it say "and he could not wage war against it"? If the people were so terrified of the enemy, the enemy could have easily conquered them. When a nation is confident in its strength, one might expect a real battle, but when the people are so fearful, ostensibly they stand no chance against them. Why, then, were Retzin and Pekach unable to fight against it?
The Radak explains: "He could not" - because God did not wish to deliver Yerushalayim into the hand of the enemy. And why? Because Achaz was the son of Yosam, son of Uziyahu, and he possessed the merit of the forefathers. It was the merit of Yosam and Uziyahu that stood by Achaz, even though he himself was wicked. Similarly, Hashem said to Chizkiyahu: "For My sake and for the sake of David My servant" - there is My merit and the merit of David My servant, but on your own, your merit is insufficient. If this was said to the righteous Chizkiyahu, how much more so regarding Achaz, who was exceedingly wicked.
The Midrash asks the same question: "And it came to pass in the days of Achaz, the son of Yosam, the son of Uziyahu" - why did the verse see fit to trace his lineage? Rather, the ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: "Woe that this wicked king reigns!" The Holy One, Blessed be He, replied to them: "He is the son of Yosam, he is the son of Uziyahu; his fathers were righteous." And therefore, "and he was not able to wage war against it" - because of his ancestral merit. The angels were, as it were, apprehensive that the land would now be destroyed because of his wickedness, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, told them: That is true, but ancestral merit will protect them.
Why does it not say "And it was told to Achaz"? After all, Achaz is indeed from the lineage of the House of David, but previously the verse mentioned him by name. Rashi explains: Because he was wicked, his name is not mentioned. The first time, there was no choice and he had to be named, but to repeat the name of a wicked person again - no; therefore, the verse speaks in general terms: "And it was told to the House of David." Radak adds: It mentions "the House of David" in order to invoke his merit. Just as we explained regarding "For My sake and for the sake of David My servant" - Achaz could not have been saved from the hands of Retzin and Pekach son of Remalyahu except in the merit of the House of David, for Hashem did not want the dynasty of the House of David to be cut off, and therefore He saved them.
Why did his heart shake so much? Radak explains: He had prior burns. Retzin, king of Aram, had already defeated him once, and Pekach son of Remalyahu had struck down one hundred and twenty thousand of his men once before. He was fearful, because he had felt the burn of defeat. And now both were uniting and advancing on Jerusalem - since neither had managed to conquer it alone, they were now approaching together. Hence, "his heart shook and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest shake."
And what is the meaning of "as the trees of the forest shake"? Radak explains: Forest trees grow close together, and when the wind sways one tree, it touches its neighbor and moves it as well, multiplying their motion. So it is with people: when one person is afraid, he casts fear into the hearts of everyone. "Woe to us, what a terrifying king!" - and even someone who was not afraid hears his companion's terror and begins to tremble. Like a domino effect among the forest trees, some began to panic and infected one another with dread, until all were swaying in the wind, fearful and trembling.
Our Sages expound: "Trees of the forest" refers to barren trees. Barren trees bear no fruit, so they shake and sway much more easily than fruit trees, whose heavy fruit stabilizes them. Thus they were compared to barren trees, lacking merits and mitzvos, so it is no wonder they sway before the wind. Had they been like fruit trees, their merits would have prevented them from fearing the enemy, and they would have relied on Hashem's salvation, which comes in the blink of an eye.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־יְשַׁעְיָהוּ: צֵא־נָא לִקְרַאת אָחָז, אַתָּה וּשְׁאָר יָשׁוּב בְּנֶךָ, אֶל־קְצֵה תְּעָלַת הַבְּרֵכָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה אֶל־מְסִלַּת שְׂדֵה כוֹבֵס׃ - And Hashem said to Yeshayahu: Go out now to meet Achaz, you and Shear-yashuv your son, to the end of the conduit of the upper pool, to the highway of the fuller's field.
Radak notes: Yeshayahu had two sons, one named "Shear-yashuv" and the other "Maher-shalal-chash-baz" - an entire name that would require an annex on an ID card to write out. And what was the reason for these names? The name "Shear-yashuv" (a remnant shall return) served as a sign and a symbol that the remnant of Yehudah would return after the exile: those who remained, the tribe of Yehudah, would go into exile and return. In contrast, the Ten Tribes did not return after seventy years at the end of the Babylonian exile; they will return only in the future to come.
Another explanation: "Shear-yashuv" comes from the word yishuv (settlement) - the Ten Tribes were exiled, yet settlements still remained here. The Holy One, Blessed be He, did not make a complete end, nor did He exile everyone; rather, He left a remnant, and a portion of the settlement remained in the land. According to the first interpretation, those who were exiled would eventually return, while according to the second, those who remained here stayed in their place.
The Malbim explains: "Yashuv" is an expression of teshuvah (repentance). As it were, the Holy One, Blessed be He, is saying: The remnant of Israel will yet return to Me, they will yet repent. This is not merely a return to the land, but a return to the Creator of the world. And why was Yeshayahu commanded to take him along? To hint to the people: "Shear-yashuv" - you remnants who are left here in Yehudah, return in repentance before you, too, are exiled.
And the name of the second son, "Maher-shalal-chash-baz", served as a sign and an omen regarding the Ten Tribes, that they would quickly go into exile - that their exile would precede the exile of the tribe of Yehudah.
Another opinion is that of Targum Yonatan, followed also by Rashi: "Shear-yashuv" is not a person's name at all. The meaning is: a small remnant who will return to Me through you, and they are like your children. Those who remain here and will yet repent are considered your children, for a teacher is like a father to his students, and whoever teaches his fellow Torah is considered as if he fathered him. According to this explanation, it does not refer to his son, but to his disciples: take your disciples who have repented and go with them to Achaz to rebuke him - so that he will see that there are people who return in repentance, and you too should repent.
The Malbim notes: Remember the matter of the conduit regarding Chizkiyahu. When Sancheiriv, king of Ashur, marched up, Chizkiyahu blocked the waters of the Gichon to withhold them from the king of Ashur, and made the pool and the conduit and brought the water into the city. He did not want the conduit to supply water to Sancheiriv's armies, so that they would dehydrate and be unable to sustain the siege - and the Sages of Israel did not agree with him on this. Says the Malbim: it is very possible that this was also Achaz's intention, that he went out to that same place to perform the same act and block the waters of the Gichon so that the enemy would find no water. And Hashem sends Yeshayahu to stop him: just as with Chizkiyahu this did not have Hashem's approval, so too here the prophet was sent to rebuke him and prevent him from blocking the waters of the conduit.
The place is called "the highway of the fuller's field," and its plain meaning is a place and road where launderers would spread out garments to dry. But Chazal expounded: Achaz humbled himself before Yeshayahu. Even though he was a tyrannical and wicked king, when Yeshayahu the prophet came to him with the word of Hashem, he submitted before him and placed upon his head an "uchla dekatzrei" - a perforated fuller's vessel used to sprinkle water on garments. Incidentally, a fuller is called "katzri" because he shortens (mekatzer) garments: you bring him a garment one meter long and receive it back at eighty centimeters, as the garment shrinks in the wash. Achaz placed the fuller's vessel over his head as a sign of humbling himself before the prophet, willing to accept his instructions in the name of Hashem; therefore, the place was named "the highway of the fuller's field."
וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו: הִשָּׁמֵר וְהַשְׁקֵט, אַל־תִּירָא וּלְבָבְךָ אַל־יֵרַךְ מִשְּׁנֵי זַנְבוֹת הָאוּדִים הָעֲשֵׁנִים הָאֵלֶּה, בָּחֳרִי־אַף רְצִין וַאֲרָם וּבֶן־רְמַלְיָהוּ׃ - And you shall say to him: Take heed and remain calm, do not fear, and let your heart not soften on account of these two tails of smoking firebrands, at the fierce anger of Retzin and Aram, and the son of Remalyahu.
Let us note: the word "Hishameir" here differs from every other occurrence of "Hishamer" in Tanach, which is accented on the penultimate syllable (mile'eil) - "Take heed (hishamer) to yourself and watch your soul diligently" - whereas here it is read "Hishameir", accented on the ultimate syllable (milra). Based on this, the Radak concludes that its meaning is different: everywhere else it means guarding, but here it relates to dregs (shemarim). Dregs denote remaining settled in one's place, as in the phrase "settled on his dregs" - remain calm and quiet, settle on your dregs. Rashi also explains it this way. In contrast, Targum Yonatan explains it in its plain sense as an expression of caution, and so does Rav Saadia Gaon: refrain from waging war and remain calm; do not worry, you have nothing to fear.
The Malbim likewise explains it in the plain sense of guarding, and resolves the grammatical point: there is no difficulty here at all. Everywhere else "hishamer" appears, it is adjacent to the word "lecha" (to yourself), and in Hebrew grammar there is a rule called nasog achor (stress retraction) - when there is a hyphen (makeif) between two words, the first word's stress shifts backward to the penultimate syllable. Therefore, it is always read "hishamer-lecha". This is a general rule wherever there is a makeif between two words: the first word, if it has three letters or more, is read mile'eil, and anyone who examines this rule will see that it holds true. Here, since it does not say "lecha" and there is no makeif, it is read "hishameir" with the stress on the final syllable (milra) - and this is purely due to grammatical rules, while the meaning remains the same: guarding.
Seemingly, this is already included in "do not fear," but the Malbim, true to form, examines every nuance of language. A person who endures many troubles naturally develops a softened, fragile heart - everything makes him weep, everything causes him distress. Therefore, the prophet tells him: and let your heart not grow faint on its own, after everything you have gone through and suffered from them.
What is an od (firebrand)? A wooden poker used to turn over glowing coals. As it turns the coals, its tip burns and emits smoke, growing shorter and shorter. Once it becomes very small, it can no longer be held, as the hand gets too close to the fire, so it is discarded. What remains is called the "tail" of the firebrand (zenav ha'od) - the remnant of the small stick that is no longer fit for use, already consumed, emitting only smoke, devoid of any power to do anything.
And why does he refer to them as "smoking"? Smoke symbolizes fierce wrath, as in the phrase "the wrath of Hashem shall smoke" (ye'eshan af Hashem). Just as the stub of a poker cannot ignite anything, possessing nothing but smoke and nuisance - for smoke stings the eyes and interferes with breathing - so too, these kings come with burning fury, yet they lack the power to inflict real damage, only to cause distress. They are like smoke that gets into the eyes, unable to set anything ablaze.
The Malbim adds: The verse says "two stubs" [of smoking firebrands] - the brand is already burning from both ends, unlike the middle of a brand which can still be grasped. Moreover, it is not an actively burning brand, for a burning brand can ignite fire; rather, it is a brand that has practically burned out on its own.
Furthermore, their smoke is not the smoke of divine fire, but rather "at the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram" - not smoke sent from Hashem. At times, Assyria serves as the rod of the Holy One, blessed be He's wrath, and at times Rezin and Pekach ben Remalyahu are an instrument of chastisement in His hand, in which case there would truly be cause for fear. One might ask: Who and what are they? True, on their own they are nothing, but the One Who sends them is great and mighty, and if our issue is with the Sender, then we are indeed in trouble. Here, however, the prophet tells him: this burning fury is not from Hashem, but from Rezin, Aram, and ben Remalyahu. They arose against you by their own free will; this is not His will, may He be blessed, and they are not His emissaries in this matter. If so, what do you have to fear? They amount to nothing.
יַעַן כִּי־יָעַץ עָלֶיךָ אֲרָם רָעָה, אֶפְרַיִם וּבֶן־רְמַלְיָהוּ לֵאמֹר׃ - "Because Aram has plotted evil against you, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying:"
נַעֲלֶה בִיהוּדָה וּנְקִיצֶנָּה וְנַבְקִעֶנָּה אֵלֵינוּ, וְנַמְלִיךְ מֶלֶךְ בְּתוֹכָהּ אֵת בֶּן־טָבְאַל׃ - "Let us go up against Judah and harass it, and breach it for ourselves, and crown a king within it, the son of Tabeal."
"U-nekitzenah" - according to its plain meaning, we will stir it up and incite battle within it. "Ve-navkienah" - we will breach its wall and enter it, as Radak explains. Rashi explains "ve-navkienah" as deriving from bik'ah, a plain or level valley: until now it has stood like a steep mountain, but we will pave and level it so that it becomes easy for us to conquer. Furthermore, one can add: until now there has been a division and separation between the Ten Tribes and Judah, between the Kingdom of Samaria and the Kingdom of Judah; Pekach ben Remalyahu plans to reunite the kingdom under his own rule. Therefore he says, "ve-navkienah" - we will make it like an unbroken plain, without divisions or borders, not Judah versus Israel, but rather I will reign over all of them.
The Malbim offers an original insight into "u-nekitzenah": they pictured Jerusalem as an abscess, a pus-filled boil. How does one treat such a wound? By piercing it to drain the pus, allowing it to dry up and heal. "U-nekitzenah" derives from kotz (thorn), as in "a prickling brier and a piercing thorn": we will prick it with a thorn, thereby draining the pus from within - the reigning government, Ahaz - and thus the place will be healed, meaning it will belong to us and we can take everything inside it.
Rashi explains, based on Targum Yonatan: the one who is good to us (tav elan), fitting in our eyes. According to this, "ben Tabeal" is not a person's name, but an acronym-like phrase - tav el, good to us. Rashi cites a second interpretation: tav means good, and al is like lo (not), as in al ta'aseh ("do not do"); that is, one who is not good in the eyes of the Omnipresent, him we will crown. A third interpretation relies on letter substitution: there are various cipher systems of interchangeable letters, such as Atbash (where Alef swaps with Tav, Beit with Shin) and Albam. Rashi explains: if we write tav (Tet-Beit) in the Albam cipher, Tet swaps with Reish and Beit swaps with Mem, yielding Ram; and transposing al (Alef-Lamed) into Lamed-Alef (Lo) gives Ram-Lo, an allusion to ben Remalyahu. In other words, the one who seeks to seize the monarchy here and rule over Judah as well is Pekach ben Remalyahu, who already ruled over the Ten Tribes and now aspired to expand his reign over all of Israel.
Radak, on the other hand, follows the literal sense of the text: "u-nekitzenah" is related to awakening, that they should awaken and open up to us, and we will breach its walls; while "the son of Tabeal" is the actual name of an individual - a man from the children of Ephraim whom they planned to crown in Jerusalem.
כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה: לֹא תָקוּם וְלֹא תִהְיֶה׃ - Thus said the Lord God: It shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass.
Thus far were their plans; now hear the plan of the Creator of the world. And why the double expression, "It shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass"? "Stand" refers to bringing the matter into execution at the outset - to establish something that was previously lying prone. "Come to pass" is an expression of enduring existence, that it will remain standing afterward. In other words: the scheme will not take off initially, nor will it have any continuity afterward. You have nothing to worry about.
כִּי רֹאשׁ אֲרָם דַּמֶּשֶׂק וְרֹאשׁ דַּמֶּשֶׂק רְצִין, וּבְעוֹד שִׁשִּׁים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה יֵחַת אֶפְרַיִם מֵעָם׃ - For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken, that it be not a people.
"The head of Aram" - the royal capital of Aram is Damascus. The Malbim explains: in its day, Damascus was a place of blatant, notorious wickedness, known as a haven for the corrupt, and one can judge the depravity of the entire nation and state from its head. If the head of Aram is Damascus, whose inhabitants are so corrupted, then the entire country is like them. And who is the head of Damascus? Rezin, who is likewise notorious for his wickedness and corruption. If the king is corrupt, certainly all his ministers, officers, and subjects are scoundrels. Could such wicked men rule over Jerusalem? Hashem will not deliver Jerusalem into their hands.
וְרֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם שֹׁמְרוֹן וְרֹאשׁ שֹׁמְרוֹן בֶּן־רְמַלְיָהוּ, אִם לֹא תַאֲמִינוּ כִּי לֹא תֵאָמֵנוּ׃ - And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.
And should you say: but another king marches alongside him, Pekach ben Remaliahu the king of Israel - he too is far from worthy of ruling over Jerusalem, for the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliahu, and they too are thoroughly wicked. And from where do we know they are wicked? From the fact that within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken, that it be not a people. This prophecy had been known to them since the days of Amos, who prophesied that Ephraim and their kingdom were destined to go into exile. Ephraim symbolizes the Ten Tribes, named after Yarov'am ben Nevat from the tribe of Ephraim, who was their first king, which is why this kingdom is attributed to Ephraim. Behold, long ago Amos prophesied that within sixty-five years they would be exiled, yet they persist in their wickedness and have not repented. This testifies to their corrupt character and traits. And just as we said that corrupt Rezin and Damascus are not worthy to rule over Jerusalem, so too it is inconceivable that Pekach ben Remaliahu should rule over it.
The prophet sees that Achaz does not believe his words, and therefore he rebukes him sharply. In what does he lack belief? He is still terrified and trembling before Rezin and Pekach ben Remaliahu, still fearful that they will conquer him. A tangible manifestation of this will be seen later: he went and paid tribute to the king of Assyria to come to his aid and rescue him, paying no heed to the prophet who told him not to fear them. The prophet senses this and tells him: "If you will not believe" - I see that you do not believe my words.
And what is the meaning of "surely you shall not be established (ki lo te'amenu)"? Who is the person who always suspects that others are deceiving and swindling him? Someone who is deceitful himself - a schemer who tricks others, and consequently always suspects that people are out to trick him. And who is easiest to deceive? The innocent, for the naive person deceives no one and thus never imagines that anyone would deceive him, until he is burned a few times and becomes suspicious as well. By nature, one who is dishonest assumes everyone else is dishonest. This is what the prophet is saying to them: Do you refuse to believe the word of Hashem because you yourselves are not trustworthy? Because you lack integrity and uprightness, do you assume that the word of Hashem cannot be trusted either? The flaw lies entirely within you. And Rashi explains this as a declaration: I know that you are wicked, and therefore "you will not be believed" - there is no trust in you, and nothing I say to you will make any difference.
Chapter 7 opens in the days of Achaz, a wicked king whose salvation was owed solely to the merit of his righteous forebears - Yotam and Uziyahu - and the merit of the Davidic dynasty, which is why Rezin king of Aram and Pekach ben Remaliahu could not prevail against Jerusalem. The people trembled like the trees of the forest, like barren trees devoid of merit, infecting one another with fear. Hashem sends Yeshayahu along with Shear-Yashuv - his son or his disciples - to reprove Achaz, to halt his construction of the conduit, and to reassure him: the two kings are nothing more than two smoking stumps of firebrands, lacking the power to incinerate and capable only of causing distress, and their smoke is merely their own fury, not the wrath of Hashem. Their plan to breach Judah and crown the son of Tave'el will not stand and will not come to pass, for wicked men like Rezin and the son of Remaliahu are unworthy to rule over Jerusalem. The prophecy concludes with piercing words of rebuke: if you do not believe in the word of Hashem, it is only a reflection of your own lack of faith and integrity.