Introduction: The Burden of Damascus and Ephraim
The previous chapter dealt with Moav, and our chapter deals with Damascus and Ephraim. The prophet sets the two downfalls side by side: the fall of Aram (Damascus) and the fall of Ephraim (the Ten Tribes). The connection between them is clear: as we saw earlier, Aram and Ephraim joined together to wage war against Judah, and therefore both will fall in the same manner and by the same hand - the hand of Sennacherib. Yet there is a difference in the degree of destruction, and this is what the prophet opens by describing.
מַשָּׂא דַּמָּשֶׂק הִנֵּה דַמֶּשֶׂק מוּסָר מֵעִיר וְהָיְתָה מְעִי מַפָּלָה׃ - The burden of Damascus: Behold, Damascus is removed from being a city, and it shall become a ruinous heap.
"Removed from being a city" - Damascus will no longer be reckoned among the count of cities. It will not be numbered among cities at all; rather, how will it be counted? "And it shall become a ruinous heap" - it will be counted among the heaps of rubble. A ruinous heap is a desolate and ruined place, collapsed houses, like a site struck by an earthquake where everything was reduced to mounds of stones. This is the prophecy concerning Damascus: its houses will collapse, the site will be desolate, and no one will be able to come and dwell there. It will suffer such a downfall that it will be regarded as heaps of fallen houses.
עֲזֻבוֹת עָרֵי עֲרֹעֵר לַעֲדָרִים תִּהְיֶינָה וְרָבְצוּ וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד׃ - The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, with none to make them afraid.
The cities of Aroer are the cities of Ephraim, which have long been abandoned since the exile of the Ten Tribes. They too will experience a downfall, yet not to the point of absolute desolation like Damascus. Rather, "they shall be for flocks" - sheep will still be able to graze there. And lest one think they will graze there only intermittently, Scripture states: "which shall lie down, with none to make them afraid" - the flocks will bed down there permanently, for there will be neither wild beasts nor collapsed rubble to disturb them. We find, then, that the downfall of Aram is more severe, reduced to actual heaps of ruins, whereas with Ephraim, the land will still serve as pastureland.
וְנִשְׁבַּת מִבְצָר מֵאֶפְרַיִם וּמַמְלָכָה מִדַּמֶּשֶׂק וּשְׁאָר אֲרָם כִּכְבוֹד בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל יִהְיוּ נְאֻם יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת׃ - The fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Aram shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, says the Lord of Hosts.
Ephraim had hoped to receive aid and support from Aram: Pekah son of Remaliah relied on Rezin king of Aram to help him, the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, to come and wage war against the Kingdom of Judah. Concerning this, the prophet announces: "The fortress shall cease from Ephraim" - when Damascus falls, the fortress in which Ephraim thought to take refuge will be eliminated. Damascus was their fortified city and stronghold, and the moment it falls, they will have nowhere to turn for refuge and salvation. "And the kingdom from Damascus" - sovereignty will cease from Damascus and from all of Aram. "And the remnant of Aram shall be as the glory of the children of Israel" - the glory of the children of Israel, meaning Ephraim, was humbled when Sennacherib came and exiled them. The prophet says to Damascus: know that a similar fate awaits you. Both your glory and your entire kingdom will cease, and just as the glory of Ephraim was brought low, so too will your glory be brought low.
Prophecy Concerning Ephraim: The Glory of Jacob Shall Wane
וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִדַּל כְּבוֹד יַעֲקֹב וּמִשְׁמַן בְּשָׂרוֹ יֵרָזֶה׃ - And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall wane, and the fatness of his flesh shall grow lean.
From here onward, the prophet prophesies exclusively concerning Ephraim. "Shall wane" relates to depletion: the glory of Jacob's wealth will dwindle. As is well known, "Jacob" signifies Israel's state on a lower level - from the root for "heel" - as opposed to "Israel," which expresses their state on a lofty level, signifying princely stature. Furthermore, "and the fatness of his flesh shall grow lean" - its men, the strong among them who sustain the kingdom, will be reduced to a meager few, conveyed by the image of leanness and wasting away.
וְהָיָה כֶּאֱסֹף קָצִיר קָמָה וּזְרֹעוֹ שִׁבֳּלִים יִקְצוֹר וְהָיָה כִּמְלַקֵּט שִׁבֳּלִים בְּעֵמֶק רְפָאִים׃ - And it shall be as when the harvester gathers the standing grain, and his arm reaps the ears; and it shall be as one who gleans ears of grain in the valley of Rephaim.
Here the prophet describes the three exiles that Sennacherib imposed on them. In the first exile - "as the harvester gathers the standing grain" - like one who harvests a field that is full of standing stalks. The analogy: the land was completely populated. The second time - "and his arm reaps the ears of grain" - like one who reaps ears of grain scattered here and there, where it is no longer a full standing crop, because after the first exile not many were left and the land was empty. And the third time - "and it shall be as one who gleans ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim": the Valley of Rephaim is a barren, desolate place where no one goes to sow, and only sparse ears of grain grow there. One who comes to gather them cannot do so with a sickle or scythe; would one go reap an isolated stalk? He has no choice but to glean them one by one by hand. Therefore it does not say "reaps" here, but "gleans", teaching you that by the third time he found only isolated individuals.
And the Malbim adds another explanation to this verse by way of metaphor. Kamah (standing grain) is grain still attached to the ground, while katzir (harvested grain) is already reaped. Harvested grain is easy to collect - one simply walks along, picks it up, and takes it - whereas standing grain is harder, requiring the additional act of reaping. The prophet says: when the enemy comes to conquer the land of Ephraim, "and it shall be as when the harvest gathers the standing grain" - he will gather the standing grain with the same ease that one gathers already harvested grain. And not only that, but "and his arm reaps ears of grain" - with his arm alone, without sickle or scythe, he will reap the ears without exerting himself at all. Yet along with all this, "like one who gleans ears of grain" - he will reap everything and leave nothing behind, like a person gleaning ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim, where one cannot reap with a scythe, but rather must pick them one by one. The meaning is: even though the tribe of Ephraim is currently like standing grain deeply rooted in the land, and a person might think: "Here is such a great nation, ten tribes rooted here, who could ever uproot them?" - know that the king of Assyria will gather them as easily as one gathers harvested grain. He will not even need harvesting tools, neither scythe nor sickle, but will gather them like one gleaning stalks by hand, with no need for weapons of war, conquering them with great ease. This is the prophecy of the downfall of Ephraim for having allied with the king of Aram to wage war against Judah.
וְנִשְׁאַר־בּוֹ עוֹלֵלֹת כְּנֹקֶף זַיִת שְׁנַיִם שְׁלֹשָׁה גַּרְגְּרִים בְּרֹאשׁ אָמִיר אַרְבָּעָה חֲמִשָּׁה בִּסְעִפֶיהָ פֹּרִיָּה נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - Yet gleanings shall be left in it, like the beating of an olive tree: two or three berries at the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the fruitful branches, says the Lord, the God of Israel.
Olot (gleanings) are the single, scattered grapes left intentionally for the poor as agricultural gifts for the needy (matnot aniyim). The prophet says that even these will not be numerous: "Yet gleanings shall be left in it, like the beating of an olive tree" - very few indeed. "At the top of the uppermost bough" (be-rosh amir) - in the choicest part of the tree there will be only two or three, and in its branches, the branches extending from the trunk where there is usually more fruit, there will be four or five. That is to say, even what Sennacherib ultimately leaves behind will be sparse and few in number.
Notice the phrasing "and there shall be left" (ve-nish'ar). We have explained in the past the distinction between nish'ar and notar: notar refers to what was not taken, what remained on its own - for example, when one took everything, but overlooked a few items and did not take them. In contrast, nish'ar refers to what one deliberately chose to leave behind. Here, he will intentionally leave behind a few people so that they may continue working the land - as vinedressers and plowmen - and the verse tells you that they will be very few in number.
Amir is the treetop. Why is it called this? From the expression "You have elevated (he'emarta) the Lord this day" (Devarim 26:17), an expression of exaltedness. First, it implies importance, as fruit at the treetop receives the full sun and ripens best. Second, it denotes height, being at the very top of the tree. Se'ifim are the slender branches extending from the thicker boughs that bear the fruit; the term se'if signifies something branching out from the main entity.
Regarding "like the beating of an olive tree" (ke-nokef zayit): Metzudat Tzion explains nokef as related to cutting down, as in "and He will cut down (venikaf) the thickets of the forest" (Yeshayahu 10:34). However, it seems that nokef connects more closely to the root nogef (striking). Consider the Talmudic idiom, "A person does not stub (nokef) his finger below unless it is decreed from Above" (Chullin 7b) - which many misunderstand in modern parlance to mean being unwilling to lift a finger to help, which is an error. Rashi explains: nokef means nogef (striking); a person does not strike his finger below and shed a drop of blood unless it is decreed from Above. Thus, nogef denotes striking. And how are olives harvested? One beats the branches and they fall, or shakes the tree, and where it is difficult to shake, one strikes the tree so that the olives fall. According to this, the verse is understood in its plain sense: "like the beating of an olive tree" - like one striking the olive tree to shake loose its fruit.
The Nullification of the Two Sects: Man Shall Turn to His Maker
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִשְׁעֶה הָאָדָם עַל־עֹשֵׂהוּ וְעֵינָיו אֶל־קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל תִּרְאֶינָה׃ - On that day, man shall turn to his Maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel.
The Malbim explains: during that era, there were two sects among idolaters. One sect completely denied the existence of the Creator and attributed everything to idols, asserting that the idol is the creator and fashioner, and that everything is produced by it. The second sect, of which we find many examples throughout Tanach, believed that there is a Creator of the universe, but argued: Hashem is the God of gods, exalted high above all, and we cannot form a connection with Him, for He does not commune with lowly creatures such as ourselves. Therefore, their practice was to turn specifically to the stars, constellations, and forces of nature - all those deities who supposedly act as intermediaries between us and Him, appointed by the Holy One, blessed be He, as officers through whom we receive divine abundance. This was the more prevalent view.
The prophet says: on that day, both sects will be dismantled. Addressing the first sect, the verse states: "man shall turn to his Maker" - man will turn and recognize that there is a God Who made him, the Creator, and not an idol. Addressing the second sect - where one might still think that although the Creator made him, He desires that we interact through the stars and constellations - the verse continues: "and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel" - he will believe in Hashem's direct providence (hashgachah). A state will be reached where none will maintain that Hashem's providence does not rest upon us, or that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not concern Himself with lowly creatures such as human beings and has abandoned them to the stars and constellations. Instead, man will believe that Hashem alone exercises providence, without intermediaries.
And why specifically "the Holy One of Israel"? This title comes to indicate the unique individual providence (hashgachah pratit) and the deep attachment we have to Hashem, may He be blessed. For "You are holy and Your Name is holy," and the people of Israel are also holy - "and holy ones praise You each day, selah." This is a shared designation between us and Hashem, signifying the bond between us: the Jewish people are called holy (kedoshim), and the Holy One, blessed be He, is called Holy (Kadosh). And where do we derive the title "holy" in the first place? Solely from our cleaving to the Holy One, blessed be He. This is what the prophet means: we will reach a stage where not only will a person not believe that an idol made him, but he will also know that the Holy One of Israel - Hashem, may He be blessed, Himself - is the One Who watches over us, Who knows what is happening with man at every given moment, and to Him alone is it proper to pray.
The Malbim notes a precision: What is the difference between turning toward (lish'ot) and seeing (lirot)? "To turn toward" means to direct one's entire body. If you call me, I can look at you with my eyes, or I can turn my entire body toward you; when one turns toward someone, one's whole body faces them. Seeing, by contrast, is with the eye alone. Furthermore, whenever the root for seeing is used, scripture says "saw [something]" (ra'ah et) or "looked upon" (ra'ah be-); nowhere do we find the phrasing "saw toward" (ra'ah el). One says "he saw the house" or "he saw the people," but not "he saw toward the house." Yet here it is written, "and his eyes shall look toward the Holy One of Israel"! Perforce, when speaking of something sublime that cannot be grasped by physical eyes, but only by what may be called a spiritual vision, it is indeed appropriate to speak of looking "toward." The meaning is that his eyes will be gazing and inclined toward the Holy One of Israel, for Hashem cannot be perceived with physical sight, and therefore one's eyes are directed toward Him, and no longer toward foreign deities.
וְלֹא יִשְׁעֶה אֶל־הַמִּזְבְּחוֹת מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו וַאֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֶצְבְּעֹתָיו לֹא יִרְאֶה וְהָאֲשֵׁרִים וְהָחַמָּנִים׃ - And he will not turn toward the altars, the work of his hands, nor will he look upon what his fingers have made, neither the Asherim nor the sun-images.
Furthermore, he will not turn toward the altars made by his hands, upon which he had previously offered sacrifices and burnt incense, nor will he look upon the idols fashioned by his fingers, the Asherah poles and the sun-images. The Malbim explains that here the parallel clauses of the verses correspond to each other. We have already explained this principle, which the Malbim frequently employs in the Book of Iyov: if verse A contains two parts, 1 and 2, and verse B likewise contains two parts, 1 and 2, know that the continuation of part 1 in the first verse corresponds to part 1 in the second verse, and the continuation of part 2 in the first verse corresponds to part 2 in the second verse, and they are to be read together.
Accordingly, we read: "On that day, man will turn toward his Maker," paired with, "and he will not turn toward the altars, the work of his hands." This refers to the first sect, who denied the existence of Hashem and believed that idols controlled everything; therefore, they built altars to the idol and turned to it alone. On the other hand, "and his eyes shall look toward the Holy One of Israel" is paired with, "nor will he look upon what his fingers have made." This refers to the second sect, who acknowledged Hashem's existence but denied His divine providence, believing that the idol served as an intermediary between us and Hashem, Blessed be He. They did not build altars to the idol, for they reasoned that Hashem created heaven and earth, so why build altars to an idol? Yet during worship, they needed the idol before them, like an intermediary official. If you asked such a person in whom he believes, he would answer, "In Hashem," but when worshipping Hashem, he felt the need for an official intermediary in front of him. Therefore, they would set up idols before them when worshipping and bowing down in their temples of idolatry. This is what the prophet says: a person will no longer place an idol before himself to bow down to it; rather, his eyes will look toward the Holy One of Israel, and he will not look upon what his fingers have made, because he will possess complete faith in Hashem's divine providence, and consequently, Hashem alone will be before his eyes.
The Malbim notes another subtle distinction: Why does the verse say "the work of his hands" regarding the altars, but "what his fingers have made" regarding the idol? "The work of his fingers" denotes something a person crafts directly by himself, whereas "the work of his hands" can also refer to something done by his laborer and still be attributed to him. But "the work of his fingers" is like the common expression, "I made this with my own ten fingers" - meaning personally, by oneself. The idols were sculpted with their very own fingers. Therefore the prophet says: not only will he not turn toward the altars, which are the work of his hands, but even the idol fashioned with his own fingers, which they considered of higher status, he will not look upon either.
His Strong Cities Like the Abandoned Forest
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיוּ עָרֵי מָעוּזּוֹ כַּעֲזוּבַת הַחֹרֶשׁ וְהָאָמִיר אֲשֶׁר עָזְבוּ מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהָיְתָה שְׁמָמָה׃ - On that day, his strong cities will be like the abandoned forest and the treetop, which they abandoned before the Children of Israel, and it will be a desolation.
The prophet continues and prophesies concerning Ephraim: "His strong cities will be" - Ephraim's fortified cities, from the word ma'oz (stronghold) - "like the abandoned forest and the treetop." What is the abandoned forest and treetop? There was a dense forest in the hill country of Ephraim, as mentioned in the Book of Yehoshua. The children of Ephraim came to Yehoshua and said that they were a numerous people and the territory allotted to them was insufficient for their tribe. Yehoshua told them: Here is a mountain, and upon the mountain is a forest; go up to the forest, clear the trees, and you will have room to dwell. Yet they were initially unable to dispossess the Canaanites, who held sway over the forest because they possessed iron chariots, and those inhabiting the forest were powerful.
Notice the expression "which they abandoned" (asher azvu): here it does not stem from abandonment, but rather from fortification and strengthening, as in "and they fortified (vaya'azvu) Jerusalem unto the broad wall," where the intent is strengthening, and like ma'azivah, the plaster layer applied to reinforce a roof. Thus, azvu here means they fortified: just as the Canaanites fortified the woods and treetops against the Children of Israel, realizing that Israel intended to conquer their woods and forests, yet nevertheless "it will be a desolation" - that fortress and stronghold built by the Canaanites was ultimately emptied of its inhabitants and laid desolate. So says the prophet to Ephraim: whatever fortresses you reinforce now against your enemies, know that they too will end in desolation and ruin. Just as it happened long ago to the Perizzites who inhabited the mountain, whom Israel eventually conquered, leaving their strongholds desolate, so will it happen to you. Just as you conquered them and Canaanite lands became desolate, so too will you be conquered, and your cities will become a desolation.
Because You Forgot the God of Your Salvation
כִּי שָׁכַחַתְּ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעֵךְ וְצוּר מָעֻזֵּךְ לֹא זָכָרְתְּ עַל־כֵּן תִּטְּעִי נִטְעֵי נַעֲמָנִים וּזְמֹרַת זָר תִּזְרָעֶנּוּ׃ - Because you forgot the God of your salvation, and the rock of your stronghold you did not remember; therefore you plant pleasant plantings, and with a foreign vine you sow it.
"Because you forgot the God of your salvation" - you entirely forgot Hashem, Blessed be He, Who has always been the God of your salvation. "And the rock of your stronghold you did not remember" - even the fact that Hashem, Blessed be He, is presently the rock of your stronghold, the rock and fortress through which you are protected and saved, the stronghold you see right before your eyes, it is impossible to genuinely forget that. A person might forget what happened twenty years ago, but one cannot simply forget what stands right before one's eyes. Therefore it says, "you did not remember," meaning: you did not wish to remember, you refused to bring it to mind.
The Malbim explains the difference between forgetting (shikhchah) and failing to remember (i-zechirah): "you forgot" (shakhachat) refers to someone who genuinely forgot, whereas "you did not remember" (lo zachart) means that one took active measures not to remember - deliberate actions of pushing the memory away. An example of this is: "Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Yosef" (Bereishit 40:23) - which was through his own negligence, as he made conscious efforts not to remember, and afterward "and he forgot him" genuinely; at first he made an effort to banish the thought, and ultimately he simply forgot on his own. Therefore: "For you have forgotten the God of your salvation" - regarding how Hashem saved us in the past, which requires active recollection to recall, that was genuinely forgotten. But regarding "the Rock of your stronghold", how Hashem protects us right now and serves as a rock for us in the present, one cannot say "I forgot" - what could you have forgotten, when it is right before your eyes? Rather, "you did not remember", meaning that you took actions to push from your mind the reality that the Holy One, blessed be He, is guarding and protecting you right now.
"Therefore you plant pleasant plants and sow it with the vine-branch of a stranger" - this is an allegory for a person who possesses a delightful sapling, an exceptionally beautiful and rare plant - na'aman coming from the root of pleasantness (no'am) - and went and grafted onto it an alien branch (zmorat zar). And how do we know this refers to grafting? The Malbim explains: in Lashon HaKodesh, the term zeri'ah (sowing) applies to seeds and grain, whereas with trees, the term zeri'ah is never used; instead, neti'ah (planting) is used, for trees are planted, not sown. If you ever find the term zeri'ah used regarding a tree, know that it refers to grafting: taking a branch from one tree and grafting it into an existing tree - making an incision, inserting it, and binding it. This is called "sowing" in trees, and otherwise, the term sowing has no application to trees.
Accordingly: you possessed an extraordinary, delightful plant, and what did you go and graft into it? An alien branch, an inferior, degraded species, something that will only ruin the beauty and majesty of the pleasant plants. The nimshal is: you have the Rock of your stronghold, you have the God on high, and you are children of the living God. And what did you go and do? You grafted an alien branch. You went, children of Ephraim, and took other idols for yourselves; you took an alien branch and planted and sowed it in your midst; you turned to foreign nations and relied upon them instead of strengthening your trust in Hashem, blessed be He.
בְּיוֹם נִטְעֵךְ תְּשַׂגְשֵׂגִי וּבַבֹּקֶר זַרְעֵךְ תַּפְרִיחִי נֵד קָצִיר בְּיוֹם נַחֲלָה וּכְאֵב אָנוּשׁ׃ - On the day of your planting you make it grow, and in the morning you make your seed sprout; a heap of harvest on a day of grief and incurable pain.
Beyond the folly of grafting an alien, inferior species onto pleasant plants, you also exerted yourself to hasten the growth and absorption of that plant, hoping it would multiply and flourish immediately. "On the day of your planting you make it grow" - on the very day you planted it, and right away, "and in the morning you make your seed sprout", expecting it to blossom and grow by the following morning. You tended to it so obsessively that by the very next morning it was already budding and putting forth blossoms. Even so - "a heap of harvest on a day of grief and incurable pain." The seed you sowed you will not merit to reap, for the harvest will flee from you.
And what is "on a day of nachalah"? Many commentators explain it as related to illness (choli), but the Malbim explains it from the word nachal, a torrent or river, as in "the torrent passed over our soul" (Tehillim 124:4). The meaning is thus: the harvest will flee from you and you will not merit to reap what you produced, when a day arrives in which a torrent of mighty waters sweeps away the entire harvest. And this deluge will reach you as well, causing you "incurable pain" (ke'ev anush) - a mortal blow, an exceptionally severe wound.
The nimshal is: you went to seek help from foreign nations, and not only did you ask, but you urged them: "Come quickly, come quickly!" This is the alien branch you planted in your midst - instead of turning to Hashem, you turned to other nations and even rushed them: "On the day of your planting you make it grow, and in the morning you make your seed sprout," urging them to come swiftly and flourish immediately. The prophet tells them: know that this will not avail you, for when you need their help, the torrent will sweep them away as well. And who is the torrent? Sancheiriv will come and exile both you and Aram, upon whom you rely; "and to Kir he will exile," exiling you to Chalach, Chavor, and the Gozan river. Those upon whom you rely and whose salvation you cultivate so hurriedly - the river will wash them away along with you, and they will bring you no benefit whatsoever.
And what is the meaning of "teshagseigi"? This expression does not appear often in Tanach. The Malbim explains: there is the root yisgeh, meaning to increase and grow, as in "like a cedar in Lebanon he shall grow (yisgeh)" (Tehillim 92:13). It is a rule in Lashon HaKodesh that doubling a root indicates intensification or repetition. Yisgeh means he will grow, while teshagseig, doubling the shin and gimmel, means it will multiply and continuously increase. Gal is a single wave, while galgal is wave after wave, or turning round and round. Kar is a messenger or runner, and kirkara or lekarker means running repeatedly, leaping again and again. So too, patz and potzetz, or katz (cutting a tree) and katzatz (chopping it into small pieces). Doubling a root consistently indicates multiplication or intensity. Here as well: "On the day of your planting you make it grow (teshagseigi)" - you wait to see it flourish and expand that very day, and by the next morning you want this seed to blossom already, yet that hope will not be realized.
Regarding "and incurable pain" (u-khe'ev anush), the Malbim notes that it is like "her wound is incurable (anushah)" (Michah 1:9), related to the root enosh. Now, enosh relates to humanity (enoshiyut). When we say someone strikes with humanity, it means he strikes gently, possessing human empathy and mercy rather than acting with cruelty. If so, a makkah anushah should seemingly mean a merciful blow; why then does it mean the exact opposite? Because it belongs to the category of contronyms - words with opposite meanings. In Lashon HaKodesh there are opposite roots: for example, siklu me'even (Yeshayahu 62:10), where on the one hand liscol means to pelt with stones, yet lesakel means to clear away stones. Similarly, "uproot my produce (tesharesh)" (Iyov 31:12), where lehashrish means to strike roots in the ground, but mesharesh means to uproot something entirely. So too with killes: on the one hand la'ag va-keles means mockery and scorn, while on the other le'ala u-lekalles means praise and exaltation. In the same way, anush: on the one hand it denotes humanity and compassion, but on the other it denotes the utter lack of humanity - pain so severe that no human being could endure or inflict its like.
"Woe, the Roar of Many Peoples": The Downfall of the Nations
הוֹי הֲמוֹן עַמִּים רַבִּים כַּהֲמוֹת יַמִּים יֶהֱמָיוּן וּשְׁאוֹן לְאֻמִּים כִּשְׁאוֹן מַיִם כַּבִּירִים יִשָּׁאוּן׃ - Woe, the roar of many peoples, who roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rush of nations, who rush like the rushing of mighty waters!
Rashi explains here a principle that applies across all generations: the whip with which Israel is struck will ultimately be struck itself. Therefore, whenever the prophets foretell retribution upon Israel at the hands of the nations, they immediately follow it with the downfall of the nation that struck Israel. In other words, you find a consistent pattern throughout prophecy: the prophets deliver a harsh prophecy concerning the Jewish people, warned if they stray from the path or reprimanded for having strayed, and immediately afterward comes a prophecy concerning the nations. What is the meaning of this balance? Quite simply: the harsh prophecy will be fulfilled against the Jewish people through a particular nation, and then the prophet tells you: know that the nation serving as this whip will ultimately be broken. This is the meaning of "Woe, the roar of many peoples, who roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rush of nations, who rush like the rushing of mighty waters" - ultimately, these nations will fall and be shattered.
The Malbim explains based on the context of the verses: in the previous verse it said, "on the day of an overflowing stream and incurable pain," and he explained that a stream (*nachal*) will come and wash away the entire harvest. There it spoke of Ephraim, of the Ten Tribes, who went and planted "a foreign branch" and intermarried with foreign women. Here the prophet explains the nature of that stream: the stream that will wash them away is the multitude of many peoples, a multitude resembling the roaring of the seas, a churning sea, and this is the camp of Sennacherib. Sennacherib's camp will come and exile the Ten Tribes, and it is the stream that washes away the harvest of that illicit grafting - for the Ten Tribes joined with the nations, creating a forbidden mixture (*kilayim*), a foreign branch. And in this camp there will be both vast quantity - "like the roaring of the seas they shall roar," denoting loud commotion and murmuring - and also overwhelming quality: "the crash of nations," for *sha'on* (crashing roar) is far greater than mere murmuring; it is an immense, tangible din.
And why does it say "they shall roar" regarding the seas, yet regarding the nations it says "like the crash of mighty waters"? The Malbim explains that there is a distinction between *amim* (peoples) and *le'umim* (nations). An *am* denotes a group of people who share a common government, whereas a *goy* denotes a group of people even without a common government; but an *am* specifically means they possess a unified rule. And what is a *le'om*? Those who share unity through religion. Notice: there can be several distinct peoples who form a single *le'om*. For example, all the Arab nations are distinct peoples (*amim*) yet one *le'om*, the religion of Islam. The *le'om* unites many peoples under the same faith, not by government - since they do not share one king - but through their shared belief. Thus, *le'umim* is broader than *amim*: if we mention America and England, we are speaking of two distinct peoples (*amim*) but one *le'om*, since their shared religion is Christianity.
Furthermore, there is a distinction between *hamon* (multitude or murmur) and *sha'on* (uproar or crash). *Hamon* refers to an ordinary churning or murmur; this is why a crowd of people is called a *hamon*, for when you stand near a large gathering there is a buzz, a hum, and the sound of chatter. *Sha'on*, on the other hand, is an extraordinary noise, far beyond the ordinary. Likewise, there is a difference between *rabbim* (many) and *kabbirim* (mighty): *rabbim* refers to quantity, that there are many people, whereas *kabbirim* means immense in quality, far greater and far more powerful. According to this, we can appreciate the precision: "the multitude of many peoples" (*hamon amim rabbim*) - peoples are narrower than *le'umim*, and therefore many peoples are described with the language of *hamon* and roaring, a sound that is not overly massive: "like the roaring of the seas they shall roar." But regarding the "crash of nations" (*sha'on le'umim*) - since nations encompass far more, an entire religious collective comprising several peoples - the nations produce a *sha'on*, a vastly greater uproar. Therefore, it does not say like the crash of "many" waters, but "like the crash of mighty waters (*mayim kabbirim*) they shall crash," for *kabbir* is far more than *rav*, immensely more powerful in quality as well. This is the stream spoken of by the prophet in the previous verse: "on the day you plant, you make it grow, and in the morning you make your seed blossom," but the harvest flees on the day of an overflowing stream and incurable pain; on that day a surging torrent will sweep everything away, which is the multitude of many peoples and the crash of mighty waters.
לְאֻמִּים כִּשְׁאוֹן מַיִם רַבִּים יִשָּׁאוּן וְגָעַר בּוֹ וְנָס מִמֶּרְחָק וְרֻדַּף כְּמֹץ הָרִים לִפְנֵי־רוּחַ וּכְגַלְגַּל לִפְנֵי סוּפָה׃ - Nations shall roar like the crash of many waters, but He will rebuke him, and he shall flee far away, and be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like whirling dust before the storm.
Now the prophet turns to Assyria: that very Assyria who comes like a rushing torrent will fall, he and his entire camp. Those nations will roar and surge, but there is a voice above the many waters stronger than them: "Mighty on high is Hashem," mighty waters far stronger than the camp of Assyria. "He will rebuke him" - whom will Hashem rebuke? That roar produced by Assyria, the numerous nations and the tremendous din they create as they come to conquer the Ten Tribes. "And he shall flee far away" - from His holy abode Hashem will come and rebuke him, and he will flee in disgrace to Nineveh. For we see that his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, pursued and struck him down, and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. Thus, in the end he flees, driven away before the mighty waters of Hashem, blessed be He.
"And be chased" - he will be pursued by the rebuke of Hashem. And how precise the imagery is: "like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like whirling dust before the storm." The Malbim explains: a wind (*ru'ach*) is an ordinary wind, while a storm (*sufah*) is a vastly more powerful tempest. Chaff flies only because of the wind, but a tumbleweed (*galgal*) does not merely blow in the wind - it also rolls on its own momentum. Picture a wheel of thorns rolling down a mountain slope: on its own it rolls down the incline, and on top of that, the wind drives it far faster. Therefore, the prophet progresses in stages: at first he will be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and even more than that, like a rolling weed that rolls of its own accord - and not before a mere wind, but before a storm, which is greater than a wind. What does this add? Not only will the king of Assyria flee because Hashem pursues and strikes him, but ultimately he will also be pursued by his own countrymen and nation, and his own sons will strike him with the sword. That is to say, beyond the wind and storm with which Hashem chases him, from within his own house and nation they will rise up and kill him.
לְעֵת עֶרֶב וְהִנֵּה בַלָּהָה בְּטֶרֶם בֹּקֶר אֵינֶנּוּ זֶה חֵלֶק שׁוֹסֵינוּ וְגוֹרָל לְבֹזְזֵינוּ׃ - At evening time, behold, terror; before morning, he is no more! This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us.
And what will become of that Assyria? "At evening time, behold, terror." The prophet compares him to the terror of harmful spirits (*shedim*) in the evening; as is known, in earlier times *shedim* were very prevalent, evoking terrible dread. The Malbim explains: at night, demons are deeply terrifying, but when day breaks and light suddenly appears, it is over; nothing remains, for *shedim* have no dominion during the day. Therefore, "at evening time, behold, terror; before morning, he is no more" - morning arrives, those harmful forces vanish, and nothing is left, as if it never existed.
And what is *ballahah* (terror)? There is a verse in Iyov, "it shall march him to the king of terrors (*ballahot*)." The Malbim notes: there is a distinction between *ballahah* and *behalah*. *Behalah* is ordinary panic, whereas *ballahah* expresses the terrifying forces of destructive spirits and demons that strike dread into man, like the burning coals of plague and the bitter pestilence (*ketev meriri*), who are appointed over the netherworld and Gehennom, evoking terrible fright and horror in a person. The primary time of their dominion is at night, as it says, "You bring on darkness and it is night, in which all the beasts of the forest creep forth" - the "beasts of the forest" being those forces of impurity whose dominion is by night, and when the morning light arrives, they vanish into nothingness.
Based on this, the Malbim draws a vivid metaphor for the camp of Assyria. When did the Assyrian camp arrive at Jerusalem? At night. And they said: tomorrow morning each of us will take his portion; we will breach the wall of Jerusalem and conquer it effortlessly - is this the Jerusalem for which I brought so many legions? They arrived at night, but just as the power of demons ends in the morning and there is no dread of demons by day, so the power of these destructive forces came to an end. Morning arrived, and it was over; nothing remained: the angel of Hashem went out into the camp of Assyria and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand troop commanders. Indeed, "at evening time, behold, terror" - there was terrible dread when he came and laid siege to Jerusalem, but "before morning, he is no more" - before morning even arrived, they were already gone, dead corpses.
"This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us" - this is what our plunderers deserve, and this is the lot, as in "my lot and my portion," that awaits those who rob us. The Malbim analyzes the precise phrasing: what is the difference between *chelek* (portion) and *goral* (lot), and between a *shoseh* (plunderer) and a *bozez* (robber)? And why is a *chelek* assigned to our plunderers, while a *goral* is assigned to our robbers? A *chelek* means that which is due to you by right. If one says you have a share (*chelek*) in an inheritance, it is not an unowed gift; the inheritance is rightfully yours, and the division simply determines which specific portion you receive. A *goral*, on the other hand, is something one can win even when it is not strictly owed to him; a person's lot can yield far more than what was formally due him. In an inheritance, if your portion is a quarter, the division determines which quarter you receive, but it will always remain a quarter. In contrast, through a lot, it is possible to receive far more than what was originally due.
The Malbim further explains, as he notes in several places: a *bozez* (robber) has a single objective - to increase his wealth; he wants to seize plunder. In contrast, when the verse says "the Philistines are plundering (*shosim*) the threshing floors," the *shoseh* (plunderer) does not come merely for profit, but to ruin, spoil, and destroy. Therefore, the *shoseh* is worse than the *bozez*: if the robber has no way to carry something away, he will leave it behind, for he has not come to destroy, but only to take what he can. The plunderer, however, though he also takes a portion, will ruin and destroy whatever he cannot take, as vandalism and destruction are his primary aim.
According to this: the despoilers, whose intent is to destroy and who are malicious at heart - those who came to destroy the Jewish people - "this is the portion of those who despoil us"; what they receive is the portion truly due them, according to their measure and their wickedness, and this downfall is coming to them as a literal measure-for-measure. But "and the lot of those who plunder us": the plunderers, even though they are not truly sworn enemies of ours and their entire goal is merely self-enrichment - coming wherever money is to be found - nevertheless, they too will receive this punishment. And while this is not a punishment strictly due them measure-for-measure, it is a "lot," and by lot one can receive far more than what is strictly coming to him, so that the punishment they receive will be greater than what they technically warranted.
In summary:
The chapter opens by comparing the downfall of Damascus to that of Ephraim, who joined forces to wage war against Judah and both fell at the hand of Sennacherib - with the difference being that Damascus would become a heap of ruins, while Ephraim would be left as grazing land for flocks. From there, the prophet proceeds to describe Ephraim's downfall across three exiles, from standing stalks of grain down to the gleaning of isolated ears, announcing that the king of Assyria will gather them up effortlessly without sickle or scythe, leaving behind only the barest remnant. Amid the rebuke, the prophet promises the day when both factions of idolaters will be abolished, and man will recognize both the Creator Who made him and His individual Divine Providence - "On that day a man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will gaze toward the Holy One of Israel." Ephraim's sin is summarized in two respects: they forgot the salvations of Hashem from the past, and refused to remember that Hashem is the rock of their stronghold in the present; therefore, they grafted an alien vine into pleasant plantings, leaning upon foreign nations and urging them on. The chapter concludes with comfort: that very raging torrent itself, the multitude of nations and the roar of peoples, will be rebuked from afar and driven away like chaff and tumbleweed before the gale, and the camp of Assyria - which was like a terrifying night terror - will dissolve before morning; our despoilers will receive the portion they deserve, and our plunderers their lot.