Chapter 9 of Yeshayahu continues the prophet's words to the House of David. After explaining that the tribe of Ephraim - that is, the Ten Tribes, whom we currently see prospering - poses a threat to the Kingdom of Yehudah, with Rezin king of Aram having allied with Pekach son of Remalyahu king of Yisrael, both of them threatening Yehudah, the prophet now says: Know that this very nation whom you now see in darkness, the tribe of Yehudah, will see a great light dawn upon them. And when will this great light appear? In the fifteenth year of Chizkiyahu, when the downfall of Ashur occurs and one hundred and eighty thousand troop commanders perish in a single night - then they will have a great light.
הָעָם הַהֹלְכִים בַּחֹשֶׁךְ רָאוּ אוֹר גָּדוֹל, יֹשְׁבֵי בְּאֶרֶץ צַלְמָוֶת אוֹר נָגַהּ עֲלֵיהֶם׃ - The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwell in a land of the shadow of death, light has shone upon them.
Notice the duplication in the verse: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light," and again, "those who dwell in a land of the shadow of death, light has shone upon them" - which is likewise an expression for obscurity and gloom. What is the meaning of this repetition? The Malbim explains that a person may find himself in darkness while outside the sun is shining, simply because he is hiding from the light. The light exists, it surrounds him, yet he does not perceive it because he has sheltered himself from it. How can he see the light? By stepping out of his hiding place, whereupon the light will immediately shine upon him. Corresponding to this, Scripture states: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light" - those who hide their faces from the light will see a great light, for the light is already present around them, and until now they had merely not seen it because they were hiding in the dark.
On the other hand, a person may be in darkness where the gloom is absolute - not merely because he placed himself in a dark place, but because outside there is no light whatsoever, such as in the dead of night when there is no sun at all. In such a state, for him to experience light, that light must shine upon him from the outside. Corresponding to this, the verse states: "those who dwell in a land of the shadow of death" - for tzalmavet signifies an even deeper darkness and gloom - "light has shone upon them": even upon those whose darkness is absolute from without, the light will shine.
And what is "nogah"? The Malbim explains that nogah is what an early riser observes in the minutes before sunrise, or even half an hour before it: the glow of the sun, where one who looks eastward sees the sky begin to brighten before the sun itself has appeared. It is the sunlight striking the atmosphere; we do not see the sun itself, as it has not yet crossed the horizon, yet we see its radiance reflected, and this is nogah - an aura of light appearing before dawn breaks. This is the meaning of "those who dwell in a land of the shadow of death, light has shone [nogah] upon them": even for those who are in a place of utter darkness, where from the perspective of time itself there is no light, the light will gradually begin to break through their darkness until they too are privileged to stand in the light.
There are two parts to the Jewish people. One part is the tribe of Yehudah, and they possess light: they are in their own land, they are ruled by a king, but they have figuratively turned their faces away from the light and hidden from it. To them the prophet says: The people who walk in darkness in a place where light exists will see a great light. When the salvation comes, everyone will come to recognize that Hashem is One and His Name is One; they will see that the Holy One, Blessed is He, watches over His devout ones; they will behold what a tremendous deliverance Hashem will bring about, and they will step out of the dark place in which they reside and see that outside there is light.
Yet there is another part of the Jewish people that is truly immersed in gloom, for whom night has already fallen - these are the Ten Tribes exiled in Chalach, Chavor, and the River Gozan. They are not in the light merely hiding their faces, where one could simply tell them to remove the barrier and see; they are in actual obscurity. Therefore, the prophet declares: Know that even "those who dwell in a land of the shadow of death," those who were already exiled from the Ten Tribes, when the light of Hashem's salvation arrives - "light has shone upon them." The light will reach them as well; not a full daylight, but nevertheless, they too will experience light.
To what does this refer? We have already explained this in Sefer Melachim regarding the movement of the sun, which turned backward in the days of Chizkiyahu, when Chizkiyahu requested a sign and wonder and the Holy One, Blessed is He, moved the sun fifteen degrees backward. The Malbim raised a question there: Did proving to Chizkiyahu that he would recover really require such an astounding miracle, that the sun should turn back by long hours? Seemingly, this was unnecessary. The Malbim explained that this miracle was intended for those who dwell in darkness, the inhabitants of the shadow of death - those exiled in Chalach, Chavor, and the River Gozan - for there was no person in the world who did not witness this sign and wonder. When they began to investigate the matter, they were told: The Holy One, Blessed is He, is performing miracles for Chizkiyahu His king in the Land of Israel. This instilled within them a spirit of enthusiasm and a yearning to return to the Holy Land, infusing them with life right where they were.
Had a miracle been needed merely for Chizkiyahu himself, the Holy One, Blessed is He, could have performed a private and local wonder for him, just as He did for Gidon with the fleece - drought in one spot and dew in another. Why did He need to move the sun? In order to show it to the people dwelling in the shadow of death. According to this, the verses are understood wonderfully and complement one another: "those who dwell in a land of the shadow of death, light has shone upon them" - when? When the Holy One, Blessed is He, causes Chizkiyahu's sun to shine and performs such a sign and wonder, striking down one hundred and eighty thousand troop commanders in the Assyrian camp. From all the miracles and wonders that took place in the days of Chizkiyahu - first, for the people who walk in darkness there will be a great light; and second, even upon the people who dwell in the shadow of death in those exile locations, light has shone upon them. Through this, they would return to the Holy Land and find refuge under the protection of Chizkiyahu. Indeed, as Chazal state according to one opinion, one of the prophets went and brought back the Ten Tribes - meaning the Ten Tribes returned in the wake of those very miracles we see here.
הִרְבִּיתָ הַגּוֹי, לוֹ הִגְדַּלְתָּ הַשִּׂמְחָה, שָׂמְחוּ לְפָנֶיךָ כְּשִׂמְחַת בַּקָּצִיר, כַּאֲשֶׁר יָגִילוּ בְּחַלְּקָם שָׁלָל׃ - You have multiplied the nation, You have increased their joy; they rejoice before You like the joy of harvest, as they exult when dividing spoil.
Here the prophet turns his face, as it were, toward the Holy One, blessed be He, and says: "You have multiplied the nation," You have aggrandized the nation. And who is this nation? The Malbim explains that this refers to the camp of Sancheiriv. For earlier, the prophet referred to the people of Israel as "the people" (ha'am), and if he now shifts to speak of "the nation" (hagoy) - this does not refer to the people of Israel, but to their enemies. "You have multiplied the nation" - You elevated Sancheiriv and delivered all the kingdoms of the earth into his hands.
The word is written as lo with an alef (לא - "not") and read as lo with a vav (לו - "for him/it"). Let us first explain the keri (the reading tradition): "You have increased the joy for him" - You magnified the joy for the tribe of Yehudah. For if a weak adversary comes against a person and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves him, that is indeed a joy; but if a mighty conqueror who overturns empires and topples kingdoms comes against him, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves him - what immense joy that is, that from such a formidable enemy Hashem delivered us! And this is what is meant by "You have multiplied the nation" - the fact that You elevated and aggrandized Sancheiriv was so that "for him," for the people of Israel, You would increase the joy when seeing the downfall of this nation. Therefore it is written that the Holy One, blessed be He, "makes nations great and destroys them" (Iyov 12:23) - Hashem elevates a nation because when it is raised high, the fall is all the harder and the crash resonates far and wide. "After these things, King Achashveirosh promoted Haman the son of Hamedasa the Agagite" - from such a height, the fall is truly resounding.
According to this, we can also understand the ketiv (the written form) with an alef: "not" - not for him. The fact that You multiplied the nation was not for him; it was not for his sake, nor for his benefit. He thinks: Hashem made me great, so I must be someone of consequence. No, it was not for you, but rather "You have increased the joy for him" - You magnified the joy for the people of Israel, who gained tremendous benefit from this, and through this Israel's name spread throughout the land as the only nation that could withstand Sancheiriv.
"They rejoice before You like the joy of harvest, as they exult when dividing spoil" - the verse expresses two forms of joy: a person's joy in gathering the harvest, and a person's joy when dividing the spoils of his enemies after victory in battle. The Malbim explains that these two joys represent two distinct types of joy. On the one hand, a person would seemingly rejoice more in gathering the harvest, because the collection of spoil is inevitably tinged with grief: there has never been a war from which we emerged with zero casualties - except for the initial wars of Moshe and Yehoshua - and even the victorious nation suffers loss of life. The joy of harvest, by contrast, is a complete joy, without warfare and without danger, simply gathering the crop.
On the other hand, the joy of dividing spoil has a quality that the joy of harvest lacks: in the joy of harvest, there is no joy of victory. I gathered the harvest, I have great wealth, and certainly I am happy - but in the joy of victory in war, aside from the outcome of gathering abundant wealth, there is also the thrill of triumph itself: an enemy who harassed us and besieged us, a major war, and we emerged victorious. That in itself brings a person tremendous joy.
The prophet comes and declares: Israel experienced both qualities together. On the one hand, "like the joy of harvest" - for the downfall occurred without battle and without danger; not one of us died, since the angel of Hashem went forth and struck the camp of Ashur. This was a complete joy like that of the harvest, without any loss of life. On the other hand, "as they exult when dividing spoil" - we went out and divided the spoil, and this joy was great because we also saw the triumph over the enemies. Thus, we had both advantages: the thrill of dividing spoil and vanquishing the enemy, yet without the sorrow that usually accompanies it, for not a single man among us fell and the angel defeated them all. Consequently, the joy here was truly consummate.
The Malbim further notes a nuance in the wording: the verse uses the term simchah (joy) - "You have increased the joy [hasimchah]," "they rejoice [samchu] before You like the joy [kesimchat] of harvest" - and it also uses the term gilah (exultation) - "as they exult [yagilu] when dividing spoil." What is the distinction? Simchah always denotes continuous, steady joy, whereas gilah denotes a new joy that suddenly awakens within a person. A person will exult (yagil) upon finding a lost object - that is gilah; but for someone who goes to work and brings in a handsome income, one does not say yagil, but rather yismach (he rejoices), for this is an ongoing, regular occurrence: one day a person earns more and one day less, but today, Baruch Hashem, I turned a good profit. That is simchah, not an extraordinary event outside the ordinary course of life like a surprise find. Therefore, Scripture says "like the joy [kesimchat] of harvest," since harvesting is regular and routine, whereas "as they exult [yagilu] when dividing spoil" - for one does not divide spoil every day, and thus the term gilah is fitting.
Rashi explains why it is written lo with an alef (meaning "not") and read as lo (meaning "to him"): because the joy of Chizkiyahu was not complete, as it was in that very period that he was told, "Behold, days are coming when everything in your house... shall be carried off" (Yeshayahu 39:6). At that time, when Chizkiyahu witnessed such a miracle, he assumed that Hashem had performed the miracle for his sake and because of him; however, as explained, Hashem performed the miracle not for him, but for the people who walked in darkness and the shadow of death. When all the kings heard that the Holy One, blessed be He, had performed such a miracle, they wanted to come and see who this extraordinary person was for whom Hashem wrought such a wonder. Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan sent emissaries to him, and Chizkiyahu welcomed them and showed them all his treasures - thereby implying, as it were: Hashem performed this miracle for me.
The Malbim explains that they sent envoys to find out for whom Hashem performed the miracle: for the nation or for the king. What difference did it make? If it was for the nation, there was no point in getting tangled up with them, as that would be dangerous; but if it was for the king, a new king would eventually arise and they could attack them. And that is indeed what happened in the end: he showed them all his treasures; they saw them, took note of everything, filed it away, and waited until King Chizkiyahu passed away, whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, brought the tragedy upon his son. Thus, at the very same moment there was great joy over the miracle, at that very time he received a prophecy in which Hashem told him, "Behold, days are coming when everything in your house will be carried away" - that very person to whom you showed all your treasures now knows everything and also believes the miracle was done for you, as that was the message you projected to him; consequently, he will come after your lifetime and take all the treasures. That is why it is written "you did not (lo - לֹא) increase the joy": in truth, "you increased the joy for him (lo - לוֹ)," but here it was a joy mixed with sorrow, for he received bitter news, and therefore the "lo" (to him) was transformed into "lo" (not).
And what is "as men rejoice when dividing spoil"? Which spoil is being referred to? The spoil of the king of Assyria. As we have learned, Sancheiriv went and fought Tirhakah king of Cush, plundered the spoil of Cush and the spoil of Egypt, and returned to besiege Chizkiyahu, and there he fell. And why was all of this necessary? Even as he set out, he said to Chizkiyahu: Do not think I am leaving; I will yet return, just wait. And indeed he returned and fell at the hand of the angel of Hashem. The commentators explain why the Holy One, blessed be He, did this: because Sancheiriv originally came with empty pockets, without money. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: This cannot be. He sent him against the king of Cush, sent him against Egypt; he conquered them and came with great wealth and immense plunder. Now come; now the angel of Hashem will come and finish you off, and you will leave all that money here. This is "they rejoice when dividing spoil." Rashi explains that this refers to that very spoil, like the declaration "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil" regarding Egypt - once again they would receive the spoil of Egypt, and Chizkiyahu and his people plundered it all.
כִּי אֶת עֹל סֻבׇּלוֹ וְאֵת מַטֵּה שִׁכְמוֹ שֵׁבֶט הַנֹּגֵשׂ בּוֹ, הַחִתֹּתָ כְּיוֹם מִדְיָן׃ - For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, You have shattered as on the day of Midian.
Here the prophet offers another parable, the parable of the ox. The ox suffers from three things: first, the heavy yoke placed upon its neck; second, the owner walking alongside it who bends its shoulder down with the yoke, pressing down upon it so that it will plow and work; and third, the rod - so that if the ox slows down, it is struck to make it speed up. Corresponding to these three elements, he allegorizes the subjugation of the people: The yoke is the crushing tribute imposed by the king of Assyria, "the yoke of his burden" - the yoke they endure. "The staff of his shoulder" is the cruel governor who bends his shoulder to bear the burden; it is not merely the burden of tax, but there is someone pressing you to pay, weighing down the yoke on your neck and tormenting you until he receives the tax. And "the rod of his oppressor" refers to the troops, the army, those who constantly strike anyone who does not submit to Sancheiriv's authority.
At times, the yoke and the burden of the tax might be lifted from them while the cruel governor remains; at other times the reverse happens - the governor is dead, yet his soldiers continue to torment the people they oppress. Therefore, he comes and says: Know that when the Holy One, blessed be He, brings salvation from Sancheiriv, it will be a complete and total salvation, leaving no suffering behind. With Sancheiriv's downfall, everything was broken all at once: the yoke of his burden, the staff of his shoulder, and the rod of his oppressor - the Holy One, blessed be He, nullifies all of them through the angel who strikes the camp of Assyria.
Hachitota ("You have shattered") is an expression of breaking, as in "the bows of the mighty are broken (chattim)." And "as on the day of Midian" - like Midian who oppressed Israel and were all miraculously slain in a single night, as recorded in the Book of Shoftim. Furthermore, the downfall of both of them, Midian and Assyria, took place on the night of Pesach: it is cited that Gidon said to the angel, "Yesterday we recited Hallel," indicating it was Pesach. And in what merit? In the merit of the Omer, as it is written of Gidon that he was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from Midian, and what protected them was the harvesting of the Omer. Here too, Sancheiriv's downfall occurred on the night of Pesach, which is why the prophet compares it: You, Hashem, will shatter them just as You shattered them on the day of Midian.
כִּי כׇל סְאוֹן סֹאֵן בְּרַעַשׁ וְשִׂמְלָה מְגוֹלָלָה בְדָמִים, וְהָיְתָה לִשְׂרֵפָה מַאֲכֹלֶת אֵשׁ׃ - For every boot tramping with noise, and cloak rolled in blood, shall be for burning, fuel for fire.
There are three depictions here, all conveying a single theme. Se'on is an expression of noise and clamor, and the prophet depicts the noise as being so intense that it is as though it makes an uproar against itself. Like a bomb that blows up everything around it as well as itself, so too will there be a roar that shakes everything around it, while it itself is blown apart and disintegrated by the very noise it produced.
"And cloak rolled in blood": they had a kind of red garment that they would raise as a banner, and that garment signified: strengthen yourselves in battle, advance against the enemies and strike them down. The prophet says: that very red cloak, which was meant to symbolize war and bloodshed, will itself be stained and soiled with its own blood. You came to symbolize the killing of others - you yourself will be struck down; you yourself will be stained with blood.
"And it shall be for burning, fuel for fire": The enemy, who was the one who burned everything, will himself be burned; that very fire which devours all others will ultimately devour itself, as it were. Thus, all three motifs express one and the same idea: the boot that came to storm against others will storm against itself, the garment that came to shed the blood of others will have its own blood shed, and the burning that burns others will itself become fuel for fire. The meaning is that in the end he will be destroyed from within himself - a burning of the soul while the body remains intact (sereifah veguf kayam). No outsider will come to harm him, no army will come to subdue him; rather, it will be from Hashem, their souls burned within them. They will, as it were, devour themselves and destroy themselves, and an observer will see no external force that went and struck them down.
What is a simlah, and how does it differ from a kesut or a beged? The Malbim explains that a simlah also includes something not tailored to a person's size; even an ordinary piece of cloth is called a simlah, as in "and they shall spread out the cloth (hasimlah)." Therefore, even a banner or flag spread upon a standard to raise it high is called a simlah, for it is neither a tailored garment nor a fitted cloak, but simply unstitched cloth.
And speaking of the word simlah, a delightful folk story is told - some attribute it to Rashi, though others note it is historically impossible. Once, Rashi came to visit the Rambam. He knocked on the door and asked for him, but they told him he was not home and would return in an hour, so he went on his way. After they closed the door, they noticed that a valuable garment hanging there had disappeared. Immediately they were convinced: it must be that wayfarer, who looked poor and destitute; without our noticing, he took it and left. They searched for him throughout the city, caught him, and made him pay for a complete garment. His protests availed nothing, and he was forced to pay. Afterward, he wrote his name five times upon the Rambam's door - for Rashi's given name was Shlomo. When the Rambam arrived and saw the writing on the door, he tried to decipher it, asked to be told what had happened, and then understood what was written: "Shlomo shilmah, Shlomo, simlah sheleimah" - why did Shlomo have to pay for a complete garment when he never stole it? Immediately, he recognized that this was a great Torah scholar, and he sent to search for him throughout the city until they found him, brought him in, and asked for his forgiveness. Whether it happened or not, it is a charming story.
"Megolelah" means soiled or rolled in filth, as in "and Amasa rolled (mitgolel) in blood" and "upon the carcasses of your idols (gilluleikhem)," referring to defilement and repulsive filth. As for "for burning, fuel for fire" (lesereifah ma'akholet esh), the Malbim notes a fascinating distinction: we have various terms for fire - to light (lehadlik), to burn (liv'or), to ignite (lehatzit) - and we have akhal (to devour) and saraf (to burn). The verbs akhal and saraf differ from dalak, ba'ar, and hitzit, which indicate the initial kindling of the fire - at first one lights, kindles, or ignites (and between these, too, there are differences, as we will discuss later) - whereas akhal and saraf denote the actual incineration and consumption by the fire, which always constitute the second stage.
And what is the difference between akhal (devouring) and saraf (burning)? Akhal signifies what the fire does - the fire devours; whereas saraf expresses what happens to the object in which the fire burns. For example, if a stick is lit, ignited, and set ablaze, the fire devours and the stick is burned. What happens to the stick is described with the root s-r-f (burning), while the active agent working upon it is described with the root a-kh-l (devouring). The verb akhal portrays the destruction from the perspective of the agent, while the verb saraf depicts what happens to the consumed object, which is burned and turned to ash. This is why the verse states: "And it shall be for burning, fuel for fire." The enemy is symbolized by the verb akhal, for he was always the devourer; and what will happen to him? "It shall be for burning" - he will be turned to ash. He who was always fuel for fire, consuming others, will himself undergo burning and become ash.
כִּי יֶלֶד יֻלַּד לָנוּ, בֵּן נִתַּן לָנוּ, וַתְּהִי הַמִּשְׂרָה עַל שִׁכְמוֹ, וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ פֶּלֶא יוֹעֵץ אֵל גִּבּוֹר אֲבִי עַד שַׂר שָׁלוֹם׃ - For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us, and the authority has been placed upon his shoulder; and his name was called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
And how and from where will this salvation come? "For a child has been born to us" - there will be something new, a new fortune born for us. The Malbim explains that the term yulad (born) always denotes a new reality, not necessarily the birth of an infant, as in "you do not know what a day may bring forth (yeled yom)," "before the decree brings forth (ledet chok)," and "these are the generations of Yaakov" (toledot Yaakov), which the commentators explain as his happenings and vicissitudes. Here too, "a child has been born to us" signifies a new destiny, a new cause that has emerged for us. And what is it? "A son has been given to us" - there will be an heir to the throne, for the current king is Achaz, and now there will be Chizkiyahu. "And the authority has been placed upon his shoulder" - until now, upon his shoulder lay the yoke of the king of Assyria, as mentioned earlier, "and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor"; but now what rests upon his shoulder will be authority, dominion, and sovereignty.
And what is the meaning of the names: "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace"? The Malbim explains: "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father" should be placed, as it were, in parentheses. "And his name was called" - who called it? The Holy One, blessed be He. And who is the Holy One, blessed be He? The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father. And what did He name him? "Prince of Peace." Thus, the verse should be read: "And He called his name Prince of Peace" - the Holy One, blessed be He, called his name Prince of Peace, with His own description set in between. "Wonderful Counselor" (Pele Yo'etz) means a counselor of wonder: the Holy One, blessed be He, counsels designs and works wonders. "Eternal Father" (Avi Ad) means that the Holy One, blessed be He, is the Father of time, for ad signifies eternity, as we say, "Trust in Hashem forever and ever (adei ad)," and all of temporal existence is termed ad; the Holy One, blessed be He, is the Father and Originator of time, whose eternity does not fall under the dominion of time, for He is beyond time. "Mighty God" (El Gibbor) means that the Holy One, blessed be He, is mighty and performs mighty deeds with great power. And it is He who called Chizkiyahu "Prince of Peace" (Sar Shalom) - that is, his rule will not come through wars, but in peace, and there will be peace throughout his days.
The three titles describing the Holy One, blessed be He, here are meant to signify to us that Hashem's promise will never change, and that when the Holy One, blessed be He, makes a promise, its fulfillment is absolute. For when you reflect upon it, a person's promise fails for one of three reasons. First, the promiser changes his mind: I promised, but I calculated the matter, saw that it was not worthwhile, and retracted. With the Holy One, blessed be He, this is impossible, for Hashem is a "Wonderful Counselor," a counselor of wonder, and His counsel never changes. Second, I promised, but I am unable to follow through. To this, the verse says: the Holy One, blessed be He, is "Mighty God," and with Him there is no such thing as inability, for He possesses absolute omnipotence. And third, I promised, I did not change my mind, and I even possessed the ability, but I was taken before my time and did not manage to fulfill it; I had all the will and all the means, but time was not in my hands. To this, the verse says: the Holy One, blessed be He, is "Eternal Father," the Father of eternity. Thus, the promise of the Holy One, blessed be He, will certainly be fulfilled under any circumstance and in any event; therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I call his name Prince of Peace, and My word shall not return void.
Radak explains these expressions as referring to the miracles of those days. "Pele" (Wonder) - refers to that wonder where the sun retreated backward. "Yoetz" (Counselor) - that the counsel of Hashem was fulfilled and the counsel of Sancheriv was thwarted; for Sancheriv told them not to believe what Chizkiyahu promised them, claiming his counsel would not stand, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let us see whose counsel stands - and it was the counsel of Hashem that stood. "El Gibbor" (Mighty God) - that Hashem prevails even over the mighty. Even though Sancheriv came with a massive army and mighty legions, to the point that he dried up the Jordan River as he crossed it, nevertheless Hashem wiped out his entire camp in a single brief moment, for He possesses power over even the mighty warrior. "Avi Ad" (Eternal Father) - that the Holy One, blessed be He, is the Father of time and created it, as we explained according to the Malbim. This also symbolizes an additional miracle: when Yeshayahu came to him and said that since he had not married, the Holy One, blessed be He, was cutting short his days, Chizkiyahu stood in prayer, and the Holy One, blessed be He, added fifteen years to his life. And who is able to grant such an addition? Only Hashem, Who is Avi Ad, the Father of eternity, in Whose hands the years are entrusted, and Who alone can add to one's years. Thus, all of these names come to describe the wonders that occurred in the days of that "child born to us" upon whose shoulder authority would rest.
לְמַרְבֵּה הַמִּשְׂרָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם אֵין קֵץ, עַל כִּסֵּא דָוִד וְעַל מַמְלַכְתּוֹ, לְהָכִין אֹתָהּ וּלְסַעֲדָהּ בְּמִשְׁפָּט וּבִצְדָקָה, מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם, קִנְאַת ה' צְבָאוֹת תַּעֲשֶׂה זֹּאת׃ - For the increase of authority and for peace without end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to support it with justice and with righteousness, from now and forever; the zeal of Hashem, Lord of Hosts, will do this.
Notice a strange and unique phenomenon in the entire Tanach: a closed mem, a final mem, in the middle of the word - "למרבה". The meaning is: know that in his days, there will be no end or boundary to the abundance of authority and the abundance of peace. Abundance of authority - that he will possess absolute rule; and abundance of peace - that he will enjoy absolute peace. The Malbim explains that normally, these two things clash with one another: if there is an abundance of absolute authority, there is no abundance of peace. Why? Because when a ruler holds absolute power without partners, it incites revolt - look at what happened in Tunisia and what is happening in Egypt. When you increase absolute authority, peace is lost. But with Chizkiyahu it will not be so: there will be an increase of authority, he will hold absolute rule, and nevertheless, "and for peace without end" - there will be an endless state of peace, so that not even a sword of war will pass through their land.
"Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom" - the Malbim explains: upon the throne of David he will have an abundance of authority, meaning vast dominion; while "his kingdom" always symbolizes the country, and over his country there will be an abundance of peace, so that no sword will pass through his land. Here, the clauses of the verse correspond in parallel, as we have learned several times in the past: the verse divides into four sequential clauses, where clause 1 connects to clause 3, and clause 2 connects to clause 4. So too here: "For the increase of authority" connects to "upon the throne of David", signifying absolute dominion with no rivals rising against him; and for the increase of peace (for the word "for the increase" applies to both authority and peace) connects to "over his kingdom", meaning that over his kingdom there will be peace and no sword at all.
The continuation of the verse likewise features parallel clauses: "to establish it" parallels "with justice", and "to support it" parallels "with righteousness", forever.
The chapter opens with a twofold promise of light: for the tribe of Judah, around whom the light already shone and who merely hid their faces from it - "saw a great light"; and for the exiled ten tribes, who were in complete darkness - "a light shone upon them", like the radiant light of dawn, and through the merit of Chizkiyahu's miracles and the sun retreating backward, they would be inspired to return to the Holy Land. Sancheriv's immense stature was itself intended to magnify Israel's joy at his downfall, a complete joy encompassing both virtues - like the joy of harvest with no casualties, and like the rejoicing of dividing spoil marked by triumph over the enemy, though "lo" was written with an alef because this joy was tempered by the bitter prophecy concerning the treasures of the House. The yoke of Assyria was shattered completely at once, like the day of Midian on the night of Pesach, and the enemy was consumed from within: threw itself into turmoil, wallowed in its blood, and was consumed by its own fire. From all of this, the authority would rest upon the shoulder of Chizkiyahu, whom the Holy One, blessed be He - the Wonder Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Whose promise will never change and never fail - called Prince of Peace, and for the increase of authority and for peace without end.