Introduction: A New Prophecy Within the Chapter
The section before us, from verse 15 onward, is essentially a chapter in its own right. We have already noted in the past that the division into chapters is not of Jewish origin, and here we have another example: from verse 15 begins an entirely new prophecy and a completely new subject.
To understand what this is about, a brief background is necessary. Those familiar with the Book of Kings will recall that when Sancheiriv besieged Jerusalem, there were people inside the city acting as a fifth column. They secretly reached out to Sancheiriv's forces and told them: know that only Chizkiyahu and his faction have not surrendered, but Shebna and his faction have surrendered, and we are the majority here. In doing so, they essentially sought to seize power from Chizkiyahu, so that Sancheiriv would accept Shebna as governor and appoint him and his men to rule over Jerusalem.
"This Steward" - Who Was Shebna?
כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה צְבָאוֹת לֶךְ־בֹּא אֶל־הַסֹּכֵן הַזֶּה עַל־שֶׁבְנָא אֲשֶׁר עַל־הַבָּיִת׃ - Thus said the Lord God of Hosts: Go, attend to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household.
What is "this steward" (ha-sokhen)? Why does the prophet call Shebna a sokhen? The expression sokhen is interpreted in several ways. The best-known interpretation is a person appointed over the king's assets and the royal palace, responsible for revenues and expenditures. Similarly, the "storage cities" (arei miskenot) built for Pharaoh were cities where grain was stockpiled. So too, regarding Avishag the Shunammite, "and she became a steward (sokhenet) to the king," the plain meaning being that she managed the royal household.
The Malbim adds that the term also refers to a pleasure-seeker, someone who pursues bodily lusts, indulgence in food, and the like. After all, the miskenot cities stored grain and produce for consumption. Therefore, our Sages expound, as quoted by Rashi: "The sokhen" - he was a pleasure-seeker. According to this, "and she became a sokhenet to him" also relates to pleasure. There is another explanation mentioned there that does not apply here: our Sages derived sokhenet from the verse "one who chops wood warms himself (yisachen) by them," meaning to provide warmth, as someone who chops wood warms himself with fire; likewise, David took Avishag to warm him. But here, that explanation is not fitting.
There is another explanation specific to this context: sokhen comes from the place name Sikhni - "he was from Sikhni." He came from a place called Sikhni near Jerusalem, and from there he arrived in the city. Another explanation: just as a sokhenet is in charge of the house, there is an opinion in Chazal that Shebna was in charge of the Beit HaMikdash. Some say, to our shame, that he was the Kohen Gadol, while others say he was the amarkal (chief trustee). An amarkal is akin to a director-general: amar kol - "he speaks everything," meaning that whatever he says is carried out according to his word.
"What Have You Here, and Whom Have You Here" - A Grammatical Note
מַה־לְּךָ פֹה וּמִי לְךָ פֹה כִּי־חָצַבְתָּ לְּךָ פֹּה קָבֶר חֹצְבִי מָרוֹם קִבְרוֹ חֹקְקִי בַסֶּלַע מִשְׁכָּן לוֹ׃ - What have you here, and whom have you here, that you have hewn a grave for yourself here, hewing his grave on high, carving out a dwelling for himself in the rock?
Let us first examine a grammatical point that we have addressed in the past, yet it is a rule well worth knowing. Notice: "mah lekha foh" and "u-mi lekha foh" are written without a dagesh, whereas "ki khatzavta lekha poh kever" has a dagesh. Why? According to the rules of grammar, when preceded by a vowel-sound (an adjacent Ahva"y letter), the dagesh is dropped from the Begadkefat letters. The letters Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Khaf, Peh, and Tav at the beginning of a word normally take a dagesh: we say k'far and not ch'far. But if the preceding word ends in one of the letters Alef, Heh, Vav, or Yod, the dagesh drops. "Par'oh" is always read with a dagesh, but in "ki far'oh", the word ending in a Yod causes the dagesh to drop. Similarly, in "vayar Balak" (read: Valak), the Alef at the end of "vayar" causes the dagesh to drop from the Bet.
This rule also applies to the word "lekha". Superficially, it ends with a Khaf and not one of the letters of Ahva"y, but phonetically it sounds as though it ends with a Heh - "lekha". Because of this, it is treated as an adjacent vowel sound, and therefore "mah lekha foh" has no dagesh. Had the text read "melekh poh", we would read "poh" with a dagesh.
And why does the dagesh remain in the last instance, "ki chatzavta lecha poh"? Because of the cantillation mark Tevir. The accent Tevir pauses and steps down, and therefore the reading is: "For you have hewn for yourself, here, a grave." Since there is a pause here, it is no longer an adjacent open syllable, so the letter pei retains its dagesh. In the first two instances, "lecha foh" is read together as a continuous unit, immediately following an open vowel, so the dagesh drops away. So much for the grammatical analysis; now let us turn to the meaning of the verse.
What Are You Looking for Here?
The prophet turns to Shebna and says to him: After all, you came from another city, as we saw in one explanation that "soken" relates to the town of Sichnin. You are not a local at all. What are you looking for here in Jerusalem? "What have you here?" - Do you own an ancestral field or a family estate here? "And whom have you here?" - Do you have relatives from your father's family here? For a person generally comes to settle in a town where his kin reside, and he wishes to be buried near his ancestors. Yet you have neither.
"That you have hewn for yourself a grave here" - yet you have hewn yourself a grave here, implying that you expect to remain here for many decades; you acquired a burial estate where you would be laid to rest after a hundred and twenty years. In other words, you treat this place as your permanent home.
"He who hews his grave on high, who engraves a dwelling for himself in the rock" - you went and carved yourself a tomb in the mountain, in an elevated place. And why "hewing" (chotzevi)? Because their practice was to carve out burial caves, creating a cavern and hollowing out niches along the walls to bury the dead. "Who engraves a dwelling for himself in the rock" - inside the carved chamber, they sculpted a place to deposit the casket. And what is the difference between a hewer (chotzev) and an engraver (chokek)? A chotzev cuts into attached bedrock, whereas a chokek carves into detached stone. One who sculpts a detached stone is called a chokek, as in "engraved (chakuk) upon the Tablets," while one who quarry-cuts into the mountain itself is called a chotzev. First he hewed out a burial chamber, and then he carved the niche inside it.
It is worth noting how burials were conducted in those days. Anyone who visits the Israel Museum or similar sites sees stone ossuaries, small stone chests. In practice, the deceased was not buried in them initially: they first interred the body in the soil, and after a year, once the flesh had decomposed, they gathered the bones and placed them into the ossuary. Therefore, one should not be surprised when seeing such a small chest and wonder how a body was folded into it - this was done only after no flesh remained on the bones. In this manner they maintained family tombs, which is entirely permissible according to Halachah. Incidentally, this was the earliest form of tiered burial: they made shelf-like niches, placed the ossuaries inside, and sealed them. But first, they let the flesh decompose in the earth, because on bare stone flesh decays slowly, whereas in the earth it decomposes much faster. The flesh must decompose quickly so that the soul can depart from the body, for as long as the flesh has not entirely decomposed, the soul does not fully leave the body and endures distress.
The prophet tells him: You prepared a magnificent place for yourself high up on the mountain, seeking honor and splendor, and you carved a grand resting place for your bones. But the Creator of the world is preparing something entirely different for you - downfall, disgrace, and humiliation, as we will see immediately.
The First Fifth Column
Rashi explains that Scripture intends to censure him, for he was the earliest known "fifth column." These are the traitors to Israel who deliver their own people to the nations, operating from within to undermine us from the inside. That was Shebna: he actively opposed Chizkiyahu and shot an arrow to the king of Assyria to notify him that "Shebna and his faction have surrendered" - meaning, when you come to attack here, know that you have allies among us. The Gemara states that he wrote a note and tied it to an arrow (katav pitka vesheda begira). That was their ancient text message: taking an arrow, wrapping a letter around it, and shooting it toward the enemy camp. Seeing that a dispatch had arrived, they communicated with one another in this way.
"The Hurling of a Mighty Man"
הִנֵּה יְהֹוָה מְטַלְטֶלְךָ טַלְטֵלָה גָּבֶר וְעֹטְךָ עָטֹה׃ - Behold, Hashem will hurl you away with the hurling of a mighty man, and He will wrap you tightly.
The Holy One, blessed be He, is about to cast you away with "the hurling of a *gever*," which carries several explanations. Rashi cites the Targum: "like a rooster that is tossed from place to place." A rooster is a flighty creature that darts in an instant from spot to spot, and in rabbinic and Biblical Hebrew it is called a gever, as in "the call of the rooster" (kriat hagever). That is to say: I will toss you about like a restless rooster hopping from one place to another.
Chazal expound: Why does the pasuk say "the tossing of a man" (taltelah gever) rather than the tossing of a woman? Because "the uprooting of a man is harder than that of a woman." When a family must relocate from place to place, a woman generally adapts quickly: in a single moment she packs the suitcases, shortly thereafter she has settled in and made three friends among the neighbors, and within two days she knows the names of all the neighborhood residents one by one. A man, by contrast - it takes so long until he leaves the house, until he acclimates, until he finds a shul (for months he goes to a different shul each time, barely exchanging a word with anyone). So too with acquiring languages: a woman quickly understands the neighbor speaking French, knowing what she wants and what she is saying, whereas the man can live twenty years in the United States and claim he does not know English, and as for writing - forget about it.
From here stems the warning that people should be cautious about taking elderly parents and relocating them from place to place, for this is exceedingly difficult for a man. There are numerous known cases where children wanted their parents to be close to them and moved them from place to place, and before long the father passed away. It is very difficult for a person to endure being uprooted, especially after years of being accustomed to a familiar place.
The Radak explains differently: "The tossing of a man" refers to a harsh, powerful tossing, for a man (gever) symbolizes strength and might - an overpowering, intensifying tossing. And where will He toss you? Into the open air of heaven, as it says, "and He will swoop you up (ve'otech ateh)" - like a bird of prey (ayit) soaring through the air. The deeper meaning is that Shevna left Yerushalayim to go out to Sancheirev's army to ally with them and be accepted by them. "Otech ateh" is related to ayit (bird of prey), as in "and the people swooped down on the spoil (vaya'at ha'am el hashalal)" - they swooped down like a bird of prey gliding toward its spoil. Chazal offer another explanation: Shevna had already begun to receive his punishment on account, being struck with tzara'as, and this is the meaning of "ve'otech ateh," as in "and he shall cover his upper lip (ve'al safam ya'ateh)," stated regarding a metzora.
"Like a Ball into a Wide Land"
צָנוֹף יִצְנׇפְךָ צְנֵפָה כַּדּוּר אֶל־אֶרֶץ רַחֲבַת יָדָיִם שָׁמָּה תָמוּת וְשָׁמָּה מַרְכְּבוֹת כְּבוֹדֶךָ קְלוֹן בֵּית אֲדֹנֶיךָ׃ - He will wind you tightly like a winding, rolling you like a ball into a wide land; there you shall die, and there shall be the chariots of your glory, the disgrace of your master's house.
"He will wind you tightly like a winding" - He will wrap you round and round like a turban until your body resembles a ball; and just as a ball is thrown and rolls in a wide-open land and people kick it around from place to place, so shall be done to you. At first you will fly willingly to Sancheirev's army like a bird of prey, like a bird soaring joyfully, but afterward they will roll you against your will like a ball.
"There you shall die" - you sought to hew yourself a tomb in order to die here, but the prophet tells him: No, sir, you will not die here, but there. "And there shall be the chariots of your glory, the disgrace of your master's house" - you sought the disgrace of your master's house; you wanted to build yourself up from Chizkiyahu's disgrace, telling Sancheirev: "Chizkiyahu is rebelling against you, but I am with you." The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: Your glory will turn into disgrace.
And how so? It is related that when Shevna organized the entire faction for a mass departure toward Sancheirev, the entire party and its registered supporters assembled. But when the moment came to leave, he suddenly looked back and saw that no one was behind him: one slipped away, another said "I have to run," another "I cannot right now," another "I am in a hurry." The day of reckoning arrived, and at the ballot box, no one was with him. He arrived before Sancheirev completely alone. Sancheirev asked him: What did you claim? That you have a following? Where is the party center? Where is everyone? Shevna answered: What could I do? They abandoned me. Sancheirev said: If so, you are making a mockery of me, treating me as a fool. You came to make peace with me and promised to bring masses, yet you arrive alone? And you still expect gifts and rewards? The Gemara says: They pierced his heels, tied him to the tails of their horses, and dragged him over thorns and briers, tumbling him like a ball - and thus shall be done to all who betray Hashem. This is the meaning of "and there shall be the chariots of your glory": you thought they would grant you a chariot and honor, and these are the "chariots" you will receive instead of honor. "The disgrace of your master's house" - you desired disgrace for your master's house, and that very disgrace you shall receive; they will tie you behind the horse and drag you, and this will be your punishment for what you have done.
The Malbim offers an additional explanation here. The difficulty with the first explanation is that the word kaddur ("ball") lacks the comparative letter kaf: if the intent was that He will wind you in a turban so that you resemble a ball, the text should have read k'chaddur. Although we find several places in Tanach where the comparative kaf is omitted, making this a minor difficulty, the Malbim nevertheless adds another explanation: the letter kaf in kaddur is indeed the comparative prefix ("as/like"), and the root word itself is dur - related to medurah (a bonfire), as in "pile (dur) the bones under it," referring to fire burning the bones beneath it, from which the word medurah derives. According to this, the pasuk means: He will burn you like a bonfire in a wide-open land.
"And I Will Thrust You from Your Station" - Two Stages of Downfall
וַהֲדַפְתִּיךָ מִמַּצָּבֶךָ וּמִמַּעֲמָדְךָ יֶהֶרְסֶךָ׃ - And I will thrust you from your station, and from your position he shall tear you down.
First, "And I will thrust you from your station (matzav)": currently you possess a powerful position; you are at the pinnacle of stature, a high-ranking minister, and according to one opinion even a Kohen Gadol or treasurer (amarkal) of the Beis HaMikdash. From this strength I will bring you down. And afterward, "and from your position (ma'amad) he shall tear you down": so that you should not say, "They will bring me down from the heights and I will simply live as an ordinary citizen" - even from that simple standing he will demolish you. You will have no foothold and no standing whatsoever, but utter ruin.
This is the difference between matzav (post) and ma'amad (station), much like the Malbim already explained the difference between omed (standing) and nitzav (stationed): omed merely indicates that one is not sitting, whereas nitzav refers to one who firmly reinforces his standing at that specific point, standing with strength, or someone placed in charge of others, as in "stationed in the place of the great," being stable and firmly established in his place.
We should also note: at first it says "I will thrust you" (vahadafticha) in the first person, but afterward it does not say "and I will tear you down," but rather "he will tear you down" (yehersecha), as though someone else will do the tearing down. Why? The Malbim explains that this reflects what actually happened: the initial thrust came from the Creator of the world, but he was subsequently destroyed by that cruel king, who tied his heels to the horse, tormenting and destroying him. The initial fall is "I will thrust you" - I will give you the push, but the conclusion of the story will be carried out by another: "he will tear you down," through Sancheriv.
Elyakim ben Chilkiyahu in His Place
וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְקָרָאתִי לְעַבְדִּי לְאֶלְיָקִים בֶּן־חִלְקִיָּהוּ׃ - "And it shall come to pass on that day, that I will call My servant, to Elyakim the son of Chilkiyahu."
Who is "My servant Elyakim"? Rashi explains: he was the steward over the household when Sancheriv fell. That is, Shevna was initially appointed over the household, and after he was punished, Elyakim ben Chilkiyahu was appointed in his place.
וְהִלְבַּשְׁתִּיו כֻּתׇּנְתֶּךָ וְאַבְנֵטְךָ אֲחַזְּקֶנּוּ וּמֶמְשַׁלְתְּךָ אֶתֵּן בְּיָדוֹ וְהָיָה לְאָב לְיוֹשֵׁב יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וּלְבֵית יְהוּדָה׃ - "And I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your sash, and I will place your authority into his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah."
It was their custom that when someone was appointed on behalf of the king, he was dressed in a sash and a precious robe for splendor and honor. We saw this with Yosef, where they placed a gold chain upon his neck and dressed him in garments of fine linen. These were apparently also garments signifying his position, like a special uniform for the royal ministers.
"And strengthen him with your sash" - the avnet is the sash, and strengthening it is an allegory for his not falling from his greatness. For someone who wishes to exert strength girds his loins with a belt and tightens it, like Eliyahu who ran before Achav, of whom it says, "and he girded up his loins," tying the sash tightly around his waist. This comes to say: not like you, whose sash was loose and so you stumbled from your greatness; with him the sash will be firm and he will retain his greatness.
"And I will place your authority into his hand" - and in this too he will not be like you: "and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah," having compassion on them as a father pities his children. Not like you, who went to inform on Chizkiyahu and his faction, showing them no pity and caring only for your own benefit. He will be like a father looking out for the welfare of the people. There is an opinion in Chazal, which the Radak cites as a possibility, that this Elyakim ben Chilkiyahu was the Kohen Gadol, but this is not universally agreed upon, and some say he was simply an official appointed by the king.
"And I Will Place the Key of the House of David upon His Shoulder"
וְנָתַתִּי מַפְתֵּחַ בֵּית־דָּוִד עַל־שִׁכְמוֹ וּפָתַח וְאֵין סֹגֵר וְסָגַר וְאֵין פֹּתֵחַ׃ - "And I will place the key of the house of David upon his shoulder; and he shall open and none shall shut, and he shall shut and none shall open."
According to Targum Yonatan, this refers to the key to the Beit HaMikdash and the authority of the House of David. According to the Radak, it is a metaphor: he will be the royal counselor to the king of Judah, and everything the king of Judah does will be done according to his word; he is the one who opens and the one who shuts, an expression signifying that the keys are in his hands and everything is determined by his direction.
However, the Radak wonders: The key should have been in his hand, so why does it say "upon his shoulder"? A burden is placed upon the shoulder, but a key is held in hand or on a keychain! The Radak answers that there are two allegories here: one is that the key is in his hand, meaning that all affairs of the kingdom are decided by him, and he is the one who opens and locks; and the second is that he will bear, endure, and sustain all the affairs of the kingdom, carrying it upon his shoulder, as in "and the dominion was upon his shoulder." In other words, it does not mean that the literal key was on his shoulder, but rather: a key in his hand, and bearing the burden of the nation upon his shoulder.
The Malbim, however, explains it more simply: It was customary for ministers appointed over the royal palace to carry the key upon their shoulder as a badge of office. Their keys were large, and one can sometimes see in ancient paintings how a chain was draped over the neck with the key hanging down over the shoulder. This was a mark of distinction. This was not a small key like ours, but a key that could be thirty centimeters long, and he would wear it suspended over himself, like generals who wear their medals in front. And this demonstrated to all: the keys are with me, I hold the office.
"And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place"
וּתְקַעְתִּיו יָתֵד בְּמָקוֹם נֶאֱמָן וְהָיָה לְכִסֵּא כָבוֹד לְבֵית אָבִיו׃ - "And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place, and he shall be for a throne of glory to his father's house."
The verse offers an allegory for the greatness and authority he will possess, to the point that it will bring honor to his entire family, and everyone will hang upon him, like a small child holding onto an adult. This is the meaning of "and he shall be for a throne of glory to his father's house": his authority will be a throne of honor for his entire ancestral house, unlike Shevna, whose position was a disgrace to his father's house, that such a traitor had emerged from among them.
And what is the meaning of "in a sure place" (b'makom ne'eman)? A peg driven into a wall can support weight up to a certain limit; in a mound of earth it will support much less; while in concrete or rock it can support tremendous weight. Therefore, where the peg is driven is crucial. "In a sure place" means a firm, sturdy place, where the peg is driven deeply and securely, capable of bearing a heavy load without easily pulling out. Try pulling out a nail driven by a nail gun into a concrete wall - it is impossible. Such a peg is fit to hang anything upon and will not budge from its place. In the same way, he will be firmly planted and anchored in his position in the strongest possible manner.
וְתָלוּ עָלָיו כֹּל כְּבוֹד בֵּית־אָבִיו הַצֶּאֱצָאִים וְהַצְּפִעוֹת כֹּל כְּלֵי הַקָּטָן מִכְּלֵי הָאַגָּנוֹת וְעַד כׇּל־כְּלֵי הַנְּבָלִים׃ - "And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the offshoots, all the small vessels, from the basin vessels to all the musical vessels."
The allegory continues: Since he is like a peg driven into a sure place upon which many things can be hung due to its strength, everyone will hang upon him - and in the application, everyone will rely on him; he will be a pillar of strength upon whom they can depend. Even the small children, and all their vessels will hang upon him, meaning that all their needs will be in his hands, from the smallest to the greatest.
What are "ha-tze'etza'im ve-ha-tzephi'ot"? The Malbim explains: Tze'etza'im (offspring) is related to tzo'ah (excrement), which is so called because it emerges (yotzei) from the human body, and likewise offspring emerge from a person's body and are therefore called tze'etza'im. There is no derogatory comparison here, God forbid, but merely an etymological expression of emergence - both emerge from the body. Similarly, tzephi'ot is related to tzephi'ei habakar (bovine dung), which is something that emerges from the body; here it refers to offspring, to the younger children.
"All the small vessels, from the basin vessels" - the aganot were the vessels used to throw the blood upon the altar, as stated regarding Moshe Rabbeinu, "And Moshe took half of the blood and put it in basins." And "the vessels of nevalim" - these are musical instruments. That is to say, both the Kohanim and the Levi'im will hang their honor upon him. In short: he will be a support for both small and great; everyone will rely on him - the young and the old, the Kohanim and the Levi'im, some hanging their basin vessels upon him and others their musical instruments - and to all he will be faithful, the dependable figure upon whom all can rely, like a peg driven into a sure place.
"The peg shall be removed" - The End of Shevna
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא נְאֻם יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת תָּמוּשׁ הַיָּתֵד הַתְּקוּעָה בְּמָקוֹם נֶאֱמָן וְנִגְדְּעָה וְנָפְלָה וְנִכְרַת הַמַּשָּׂא אֲשֶׁר־עָלֶיהָ כִּי יְהֹוָה דִּבֵּר׃ - "On that day, says the Lord of Hosts, the peg that is fastened in a sure place shall be removed, and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off; for the Lord has spoken."
"Will be removed" (tamush) - will depart. The greatness of Shebna, who was like a peg driven into a secure place, will first be moved from its place, and then "be cut down" (venigde'ah); and that which is cut down inevitably falls - "and fall" (venafelah). And then "the burden that was on it will be cut off" (venikhrot hamasa asher aleha), meaning that his entire position will be terminated and transferred to Eliakim ben Chilkiyahu, who will become the peg driven into a secure place, managing the affairs of Israel in the finest possible manner. And why? "For the Lord has spoken" (ki Hashem dibber) - since Shebna committed such grievous deeds, this will be his punishment, and in his place Eliakim will be appointed.
In summary:
The prophecy from verse 15 onward forms a section of its own: a rebuke to Shebna, the master of the palace, who was the first fifth column in Israel and sought to hand over Chizkiyahu and Jerusalem into the hands of Sennacherib. The prophet asks him, "What do you have here, and whom do you have here?" - you are not a native here and have neither an ancestral home nor relatives here, yet you carved out a magnificent tomb for yourself in the mountain. And the Holy One, blessed be He, answers him that this honor will turn into disgrace: Hashem will cast him out with the violent hurling of a man, send him flying like a bird of prey to the Assyrian camp, and there they will wind him tightly and roll him like a ball - for they pierced his heels, bound him to their horses' tails, and dragged him over thorns - and there he will die. The beginning of his downfall is "I will thrust you out" (vehadaftikha) by Hashem, and its conclusion is "he will pull you down" (yehereskha) at the hands of Sennacherib. In his stead will rise Eliakim ben Chilkiyahu, who will wear the tunic and the strengthened sash so that he will not slip from his greatness; he will be like a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the House of Judah, will bear the key of the House of David upon his shoulder, and will be driven like a peg in a secure place upon which everyone, small and great, Kohanim and Levi'im, will hang all their honor.