Introduction: The Prophecy of the End of Days Also Foretold by Yeshayahu
Chapter 4 of Micha opens with a prophecy familiar to us from the Book of Yeshayahu, chapter 2, albeit with variations in wording. The well-known rule states that "no two prophets prophesy in the identical style," and we therefore find differences in phrasing here. The Malbim addresses and clarifies several of these nuances, allowing us to understand why one prophet expressed it this way while the other phrased it differently. (We have already studied the detailed explanation according to the Malbim in Yeshayahu chapter 2 in its place.)
The Malbim explains that this chapter is a direct continuation of the previous one. The previous chapter concluded with: "Therefore, on your account, Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the Temple Mount like the high places of a forest" - a depiction of the present reality resulting from the sins of the Jewish people. Now the prophet proclaims: this may be the present, but there is an ultimate destination in the End of Days. Jerusalem will once again be rebuilt and firmly established, by virtue of our walking in the Name of Hashem our God and casting away from ourselves our evil deeds, as we will see further in the chapter.
"Established at the Top of the Mountains" - Height or Honor?
וְהָיָה בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים יִהְיֶה הַר בֵּית־יְהֹוָה נָכוֹן בְּרֹאשׁ הֶהָרִים וְנִשָּׂא הוּא מִגְּבָעוֹת וְנָהֲרוּ עָלָיו עַמִּים׃ - And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the House of Hashem shall be established at the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall stream unto it.
The site where the Beis HaMikdash will stand will be established atop the mountains, elevated above the hills beneath it - a mountain resting upon hills, and thus even loftier. Ostensibly, reaching an elevated location is more difficult, yet the prophet says, "and peoples shall stream (venaharu) unto it." Naturally, a river (nahar) flows downward to lower ground; here, however, even though the mountain is high and exalted, the nations will stream toward it - not flowing downward like a river, but drawn upward toward a high place.
Radak explains that this does not mean the mountain will physically grow taller; rather, it is a metaphor: the nations will exalt and honor the House of Hashem and come to serve Him there. The towering mountains and hills were the locations where the gentiles established their idol worship, but now they will abandon all those mountains. In their eyes, the mountain of the House of Hashem will stand at the head of the mountains and be exalted above the hills - far more significant and superior than all those hills. The meaning pertains to the honor and esteem they will accord the Temple Mount and the Beis HaMikdash, rather than physical altitude.
"And He Will Teach Us of His Ways, and We Will Walk in His Paths"
וְהָלְכוּ גּוֹיִם רַבִּים וְאָמְרוּ לְכוּ וְנַעֲלֶה אֶל־הַר־יְהֹוָה וְאֶל־בֵּית אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב וְיוֹרֵנוּ מִדְּרָכָיו וְנֵלְכָה בְּאֹרְחֹתָיו כִּי מִצִּיּוֹן תֵּצֵא תוֹרָה וּדְבַר־יְהֹוָה מִירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - And many nations shall go and say: "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Hashem, and to the House of the God of Yaakov; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths"; for out of Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem.
The nations will say to one another: let us go up to the mountain of Hashem, and from there to the Beis HaMikdash. The Malbim explains in several places the distinction between a derech (way) and an orach (path): a derech is the main thoroughfare, whereas an orach is a side path branching off from it ("they walked in crooked paths"). Therefore: "and He will teach us of His ways" - they will instruct us in the primary path, the core roots and foundations of faith; "and we will walk in His paths" - the fine details, branches, and specific applications, we will study and fulfill on our own.
And why all of this? "For out of Zion shall go forth Torah" - that is where the Sanhedrin sits, and from there Torah emanates to the entire world. "And the word of Hashem from Jerusalem" - this refers to prophecy, and since the prophets were not necessarily located in the Beis HaMikdash but were spread throughout the entire city, the word of Hashem goes forth from Jerusalem as a whole.
"Peoples" and "Nations" - Why Micha Reversed the Order
The Malbim notes that in Yeshayahu it is written, "and all the nations shall stream to it, and many peoples shall go," whereas in our passage it is written the reverse: "and peoples shall stream unto it," and "and many nations shall go." This is not coincidental. The Malbim remains consistent with his explanation in several places that there is a distinction between goyim (nations) and amim (peoples): Amim are organized nations, with law, justice, and an orderly system of governance; goyim are lesser nations, a kind of mixed multitude. In modern terms: Europe as opposed to Third World countries, where there is also a form of rule, but in practice it is as though there is no government at all.
"Streaming" (nehirah) is a natural flow, like water drawn along on its own without preparation. "Going" (halichah) is a planned undertaking, where people convene together and say, "Come, let us go up," and since they have a king, their journey proceeds in an orderly, organized manner alongside their monarch. Therefore, in Yeshayahu: the lesser nations will stream spontaneously, while the prominent peoples will travel in a planned procession. Micah says: That is true at the beginning, but later on, even the prominent peoples will stream and be drawn naturally - hence here, "and peoples shall stream unto it"; and even the lesser nations will assemble and go in order to learn the ways of governance. What is more: Micah says "and peoples shall stream unto it" (alav) - onto the mountain itself, which is more than being drawn toward it, representing an even higher level in the nations' drawing near to the service of Hashem.
The Elimination of the Causes of War
וְשָׁפַט בֵּין עַמִּים רַבִּים וְהוֹכִיחַ לְגוֹיִם עֲצֻמִים עַד־רָחוֹק וְכִתְּתוּ חַרְבֹתֵיהֶם לְאִתִּים וַחֲנִיתֹתֵיהֶם לְמַזְמֵרוֹת לֹא־יִשְׂאוּ גּוֹי אֶל־גּוֹי חֶרֶב וְלֹא־יִלְמְדוּן עוֹד מִלְחָמָה׃ - And he shall judge between many peoples, and decide concerning mighty nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
Who is this judge? His name is not explicitly mentioned, but the reference is to Melech HaMashiach. Rashi explains that judgment here is in the sense of rebuke - he will rebuke the nations for their conduct. The Malbim explains that through Melech HaMashiach, the root causes that brought about wars between nations will be eliminated, and consequently, war itself will cease. The Malbim now elaborates on how this will occur.
The classic cause of war is differences in religion and faith. People once assumed that religious wars belonged to pagan eras of idolaters, and that in the twenty-first century the nature of warfare would be entirely different. Yet reality proves otherwise: the primary conflict raging across the world today, in all its ramifications, is a religious war - the Muslim war against heretics and Christians, whether Iran against the world powers or factions within Syria. Nor is it accidental that Europe is so hostile toward Israel; there is a very deep religious hatred toward Jews there, as we recall from the eras of pogroms and massacres, where the hand of the clergy was always deeply implicated - inciting and serving as primary accomplices, driven by the perceived need to avenge the death of that man. The Christian worldview is far more deeply religious than that of other nations, and therefore conflict there also carries a religious nature. This cause will be eliminated: "For from Zion shall Torah go forth" - there will be one Torah for the entire world, not one doctrine for this nation and another for that, and consequently the primary cause of war will vanish.
A second cause: sometimes war breaks out over a dispute between nations, and the resolution is achieved by the power of the sword - the sword deciding who is right or who prevails. Regarding this it is said, "And he shall judge between many peoples": in any matter of dispute - over territory or a thousand other issues - the sword will not decide; rather, Melech HaMashiach will judge and determine who is in the right.
A third cause: rebellion within a country itself (Syria serving as an example). Concerning this it is said, "and decide [rebuke] concerning mighty nations" - Mashiach will rebuke them and straighten their ways through his admonition. As a result of this, "and they shall beat their swords into plowshares" - the sword designed to kill will instead be used for productive labor, like a plowshare and a hoe. "Neither shall they learn war anymore" - all the academies and institutions that teach the tactics and rules of warfare will be shut down, for there will simply be no war.
It was noted at the time: part of an agreement between the United States and Syria involved disarmament, and there was an immense quantity of precious, sophisticated metals from which missiles had been manufactured - titanium and the like. And what did they do with them? They manufactured pens from them, Parker pens and similar items. Someone remarked that this was a realization of the prophecy, "and they shall beat their swords into plowshares" - from swords they made pens.
"Each Man Under His Vine" - The Abolition of Economic Warfare
וְיָשְׁבוּ אִישׁ תַּחַת גַּפְנוֹ וְתַחַת תְּאֵנָתוֹ וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד כִּי־פִי יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת דִּבֵּר׃ - But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it.
Here yet another cause is abolished: strife and conflict due to a lack of sustenance. At times, a nation conquers another for economic motives - such as Iraq embarking on its venture against Kuwait over oil fields, and the United States rushing to defend the Kuwaitis, not purely out of love for them, but out of fear that oil prices would skyrocket. An American is willing to let you touch anything except his wallet; there is a god there called gods of silver and gods of gold, and that is the American god. For its sake, America was willing to shed its soldiers' blood and wallow in conflict, and it continues to become embroiled wherever it fears economic harm.
The prophet says: Even this will no longer be a reason to go out in raiding bands - as we find with David, that when they told him, "Your people Israel need sustenance," he replied, "Go out in raiding bands." And why not? "They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid" - when everyone has abundance and livelihood, naturally no one is afraid; there is enough for everyone and nothing to fight over.
And let us pay attention to the precise phrasing: "He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke mighty nations." "Peoples" refers to those with a king, the rule of law, and judicial systems, who seemingly do not need the judgment of the King Messiah and would not listen to him - yet nevertheless, "He shall judge between many peoples"; even though they are an organized kingdom, he will judge between them. And the baser nations do not listen to moral discipline and do not accept rebuke - yet nevertheless, "and rebuke mighty nations"; even the base ones will accept rebuke. This is truly contrary to nature.
"And We Will Walk in the Name of the Lord Our God" - Our Merit for the Future Era
כִּי כׇּל־הָעַמִּים יֵלְכוּ אִישׁ בְּשֵׁם אֱלֹהָיו וַאֲנַחְנוּ נֵלֵךְ בְּשֵׁם־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד׃ - For let all the peoples walk each one in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.
Rashi explains "let each walk in the name of its god" - they will go to ruin for having practiced idolatry, and similarly Targum Yonatan: they will go to Gehinnom for walking in the name of their gods. But as for us, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God - we have eternity, forever and ever.
The Malbim explains differently: The verse comes to explain by what merit we will earn all this bounty in the Future Era. The answer: because throughout the entire exile, while all the nations walk each in the name of its god, every nation with its idolatry and its ideologies - we walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever, in an eternal manner, and we have not forgotten Your commandments. Because of this, we will be worthy of all this great honor. And as Radak phrases it: Even though He destroyed the Temple and exiled us from His land, we did not exchange our God for another god, but rather we walk in His name all our days, as it is stated, "If we have forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god" - we did not forget the name of our God, for Whose sake we are slain all the day. Therefore, in the End of Days, the Torah and the word of the Lord will go forth from Jerusalem to the entire world.
"I Will Assemble the Lame and Gather the Banished" - The Ten Tribes Versus Judah
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה אֹסְפָה הַצֹּלֵעָה וְהַנִּדָּחָה אֲקַבֵּצָה וַאֲשֶׁר הֲרֵעֹתִי׃ - In that day, says the Lord, I will assemble the lame, and gather the banished, and those whom I have afflicted.
The Malbim already explained on Isaiah chapter 11 ("And He will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah") that there is a distinction between Judah and Israel. Judah consists of the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, who were in Jerusalem (along with the tribe of Levi), and all of us today trace our lineage back to them. In contrast, the Ten Tribes were exiled in the first exile, the exile of Samaria, to Chalah, Chavor, and the river of Gozan, to places beyond the Mountains of Darkness, and today we have no knowledge of their location. What is clear is that they did not scatter across the entire world; they are concentrated together. By contrast, the exile of Judah, the exile of Jerusalem which occurred years later, was dispersed across the entire world, and to this day one can find Jews at the ends of the earth - and that is from the second exile. There is an opinion that the Ten Tribes will not return, but the accepted view among us is that they will return in the future.
From here stems the difference in wording: *aseifah* (assembling) is used for someone who is not widely scattered, but merely displaced from his location and needs to be brought inside - like "he drew up (*vaye'esof*) his feet into the bed" regarding Yaakov. *Kibbutz* (gathering) is used for something shattered into many fragments and scattered into many parts. Therefore, "I will assemble (*osefah*) the lame" refers to the Ten Tribes, who do not require a scattered gathering, but merely an assembling.
And why are they called "the lame"? Like sheep limping on their hip. A lame person has no stable footing; he wavers constantly, and his feet do not stand upright on the level path of faith and religion. The Ten Tribes did not remain clinging to the Torah of Hashem - they practiced idolatry, made the calves and all the abominations, and because of this they were exiled; therefore, they are "the lame." In contrast, Judah and Benjamin, who are us, remained attached to the Torah of Hashem and the commandments.
Another explanation for the designation "the lame" (*tsole'ah*): because they are located on a side (*tsela*) of the earth, and their location is unknown. *Tsela* means an edge or angle, like the sides of the Mishkan, and they are situated in some corner that we do not know of - and when the Messiah arrives, he will reveal it to us. And do not ask: Surely today anthropologists and scientists know everything - that is an illusion. When the Messiah arrives and reveals it, you will suddenly discover how much they did not know. Consider zoology, which many are certain has reached its culmination, yet just a few years ago researchers found a completely new species of fish, the first time they ever saw such a fish - even scientists have surprises. The classic example is Gan Eden: Adam HaRishon was on earth, the earthly Gan Eden is not in Heaven, and even after he was expelled, the fiery ever-turning sword was needed to ensure he would not return there. And where is it? It is concealed from our eyes. Not everything that exists here is necessarily something you can see. So too with the Ten Tribes - they exist, and we do not know where. The Messiah will come and assemble the lame, those who are spiritually lame and those situated at the side of the world. And so it is said in Tzefaniah, "I will save the lame," and there it refers to the salvation of the soul - that they are distant spiritually, and He will save them and gather them.
In contrast, Yehudah and Binyamin were scattered to the four corners of the earth, and regarding them it is said, "and her that was cast off I will gather" - they must be gathered, because "gathering" is always spoken of something that is dispersed and broken into fragments. "And her whom I have afflicted" - the tribe of Yehudah endured many evils and troubles in the lands of their dispersion: persecutions, murders, pogroms, autos-da-fé, and expulsions. The afflictions during the Second Temple era caused by the Greeks (for the Ten Tribes did not return for the Second Temple), and afterward by the Romans during the Destruction, and then throughout the entire length of the exile. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: All of these cast off ones from Yehudah, who were driven away to the ends of the earth, I will gather, one from a city and two from a family, until they return to their land.
"And I will make her that limped a remnant"
וְשַׂמְתִּי אֶת־הַצֹּלֵעָה לִשְׁאֵרִית וְהַנַּהֲלָאָה לְגוֹי עָצוּם וּמָלַךְ יְהֹוָה עֲלֵיהֶם בְּהַר צִיּוֹן מֵעַתָּה וְעַד־עוֹלָם׃ - And I will make her that limped a remnant, and her that was cast far off a mighty nation; and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even forever.
The Radak explains "a remnant" - that they will not perish in exile; a remnant of them will survive and return to their land. And "the one cast far off" (hanehala'ah) is the cast off one previously mentioned, from the language of being driven further away (hal'ah), and as the Targum renders: hanehala'ah is like the cast off, mebadra - those scattered and driven away.
The Radak cites an explanation in the name of his father, that hanehala'ah refers to the strong and fat animal of the flock. A shepherd would place a strong, healthy goat at the head of the flock to lead the rest behind it. (At one time, when Rav Ovadia Yosef ztz"l wanted to criticize the prime minister, he remarked that when a shepherd is displeased with his flock, he puts a blind goat at their head - and the moniker stuck.) According to this: the limping one who cannot walk - I will strengthen her; and the leading one who is already strong and walks at the head - I will increase her strength and make her into a mighty nation.
The Malbim explains along the lines discussed earlier: The Ten Tribes are "her that limped", who were completely lost to us, seemingly vanished from existence and assimilating among the nations - them I will make into a remnant, so that they will be revealed and a remnant of them will endure. And "her that was cast far off" refers to the tribe of Yehudah, who are already the remnant of Israel and still exist, yet are driven further and further, pushed from nation to nation and from place to place, weakened and battered by expulsions, decrees of destruction, and massacres - and them I will make into a mighty nation. "And the Lord shall reign over them": First, they will be under Hashem's kingship and direct providence; second, the kingship will be centered on Mount Zion; third, it will be an eternal kingdom - from the time of redemption and forever, they will never be exiled again.
"Tower of the Flock" - The Stages of Redemption
וְאַתָּה מִגְדַּל־עֵדֶר עֹפֶל בַּת־צִיּוֹן עָדֶיךָ תֵּאתֶה וּבָאָה הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה הָרִאשֹׁנָה מַמְלֶכֶת לְבַת יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - And you, tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you it shall come, and the former dominion shall arrive, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
Whom is the prophet addressing? There are several explanations here. Targum Yonatan translates: "And you, the Messiah of Israel, who is hidden because of the sins of the congregation of Zion" - you, the Mashiach of Israel, who remains concealed and hidden on account of the sins of the community of Zion. Ofel (stronghold) is akin to ofel (darkness or concealment), and as Radak explains, it connotes something hidden, concealed, and veiled.
Rashi cites another interpretation: "Migdal Eder" (the tower of the flock) is the Beit HaMikdash, and "Ofel" is a tower of strength ("ofel vavachan") - the Beit HaMikdash which is a tower of strength for us, where we serve the Holy One, blessed be He, and are sheltered under the wings of Hashem, may He be blessed. "And the former dominion shall come" - the complete dominion will return to Jerusalem just as it was at first; "the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem" - like the reign of the House of David, which will return and be established once again.
The Radak explains that "Migdal Eder" is the Tower of David. It is called this because Israel is compared to a flock of sheep, as we find in several places that the Jewish people are a flock of sheep whom Hashem gathers; and Zion and Jerusalem are the place where all of Israel gathered three times a year, assembled there like a flock inside a sheepfold.
The Malbim explains that "Migdal Eder" is Mount Zion: You, Mount Zion, will initially be like a simple watchtower for the flock - that very flock of the limping and the cast off being gathered together. A shepherd's tower is not a mighty fortress, but that is how it will begin; and afterward you will become an "Ofel", a mighty fortress. In this, the stages of the dawn of redemption are alluded to in three phases: First, "to you shall it come, daughter of Zion" - the exiles will begin to gather, the exile of Yehudah and Binyamin who are the daughter of Zion, those exiled from the Second Temple. Afterward, "and the former dominion shall come" - a modest governance, a measure of leadership, similar to what Israel had before a king reigned, in the era of the Judges when the judges led them. Simply understood, he is referring to our era; notice that the Malbim wrote this nearly 150 to 200 years ago, and already then spoke of a gradual beginning, a small government of judges and leaders. Then, in the third stage, "the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem" - no longer merely a provisional government, but a full-fledged kingdom, the monarchy of the House of David, and King Mashiach will reign in full sovereignty, as described in Yechezkel chapter 34. The kingdom of the House of David will be revealed gradually; the redemption unfolds bit by bit, like the morning star whose light gradually intensifies: initially at the level of a judge alone, until they achieve the full monarchy.
The Malbim adds a precision in the language: here there are two expressions of arrival - ta'ateh ("shall come") and uva'ah ("and shall come") (related to ata, atat, as in the Aramaic phrase azal ve'ata, and likewise "Nobles shall come [ye'etayu] from Egypt"). Ta'ateh expresses an absolute arrival, whereas ba'ah denotes an incomplete arrival. Therefore, "the daughter of Zion, unto you it shall come [ta'ateh]" represents an absolute arrival; whereas the dominion will come gradually, more and more each time, until it reaches the status of kingdom. And this is the difference between ba'ah and u'va'ah: ba'ah is in the past, while u'va'ah indicates an ongoing arrival. This is why the cantillation mark of the word u'va'ah is on the final syllable (milra), to tell you that the dominion will arrive slowly, not all at once and not in a single act.
Returning to the Present: "Why Do You Cry Out Loud?"
עַתָּה לָמָּה תָרִיעִי רֵעַ הֲמֶלֶךְ אֵין־בָּךְ אִם־יוֹעֲצֵךְ אָבָד כִּי־הֶחֱזִיקֵךְ חִיל כַּיּוֹלֵדָה׃ - Now, why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you, has your counselor perished, that pangs have seized you like a woman in childbirth?
Having announced what will occur at the End of Days, explains the Malbim, the prophet returns to address the note on which he concluded the previous chapter: "Because of you, Zion shall be plowed as a field." We see this often in the words of the prophets - alternating words of rebuke and words of comfort, rebuffs and embraces. This is done to find an attentive ear among the people, so that they do not break. This is also the correct educational approach: a repelling left hand alone is not the way; there must also be an embracing right hand - telling someone: "If you walk in this path, you will suffer such and such a loss; but on the other hand, look at the destinies and promises awaiting you, and how worthwhile it is for you."
Now the prophet envisions in his prophecy what will take place in the days of Yehoyakim and Tzidkiyahu, which had not yet occurred, seeing how they would be exiled to Babylon. "Now, why do you cry aloud" - from the root meaning to shout in brokenness, a wail of despair. Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished? You still have a king, and you still have counselors - and yet, "pangs have seized you like a woman in childbirth." When the child is about to emerge from the womb, trembling and birth pangs seize the mother: chil denotes shuddering and fear, while chavalim are the labor pains (and these are not "portions [chavalim] fallen in pleasant places"). The allegory: she is, as it were, ready for birth, and what is this birth? That the city gates will be breached and they will go into exile. And just as when the baby emerges much blood emerges with it, so too, Heaven forbid, there will be great bloodshed in the city when they go out into exile. The prophet says to them: You have a king, you have counselors - on the contrary, repent and mend your ways, and this tragedy will not occur!
"And You Shall Go Unto Babylon; There You Shall Be Delivered"
חוּלִי וָגֹחִי בַּת־ציּוֹן כַּיּוֹלֵדָה כִּי־עַתָּה תֵצְאִי מִקִּרְיָה וְשָׁכַנְתְּ בַּשָּׂדֶה וּבָאת עַד־בָּבֶל שָׁם תִּנָּצֵלִי שָׁם יִגְאָלֵךְ יְהֹוָה מִכַּף אֹיְבָיִךְ׃ - Writhe and bring forth, daughter of Zion, like a woman in childbirth; for now you shall go forth from the city, and dwell in the field, and you shall go unto Babylon; there you shall be delivered, there the Lord shall redeem you from the hand of your enemies.
"Chuli" comes from the root of trembling. "Vagochi" - Rashi explains it from the language of bending and bowing down, as in the Talmudic phrase "a wall that leans [gocheh] toward the public domain." The Malbim explains it in accordance with the metaphor of bringing the fetus out of the womb, from the word gachon (belly). (It is not entirely clear why he defined this as lying on her belly, since a woman giving birth does not lie on her belly; perhaps he refers to the newborn being on its belly, or it aligns with Rashi's interpretation that she bends herself over.)
"For now you shall go forth from the city" - just like the expulsion of the fetus from the womb, so will you be expelled from the city. "And dwell in the field" - when the prophet told them to surrender to the king of Babylon, that is, not to resist him, they did not listen to him; some of them went to Egypt and other surrounding nations to save themselves, and these "dwelt in the field." "And you shall go unto Babylon" - this refers to the second group, who remained behind and were ultimately exiled to Babylon. "There you shall be delivered" - specifically there, because those who dwelt in the field were killed by the Chaldeans, and those who were saved were those who heeded the word of the prophet and went into exile to Babylon, as he had promised them that they would endure there. "There the Lord shall redeem you from the hand of your enemies" - for the Babylonian exiles returned and were redeemed when Cyrus granted permission to rebuild the Temple; whereas the Egyptian exiles, who thought to flee from God's decree, were overtaken by the enemies in the open field and slain by the Chaldeans.
The Malbim adds: we frequently find the metaphor of childbirth used to describe the breaching of a city. Just as in birth the baby breaks through and exits the walls surrounding it, so too when a city is breached, the people break through and exit the walls surrounding them; and just as birth involves the discharge of blood, so too when walls are breached, the people often go into exile amid great bloodshed.
"Many Nations Have Assembled Against You"
וְעַתָּה נֶאֶסְפוּ עָלַיִךְ גּוֹיִם רַבִּים הָאֹמְרִים תֶּחֱנָף וְתַחַז בְּצִיּוֹן עֵינֵינוּ׃ - And now many nations have gathered against you, saying: "Let her be defiled, and let our eye gaze upon Zion."
Ibn Ezra cites those who say that this refers to the future in the Messianic era, and cites in the name of Rabbi Moshe HaKohen that these matters refer to the Second Temple era, where the ruler in question is Zerubbabel. The Malbim likewise explains that it refers to the Second Temple: after their redemption in the days of Cyrus and their return to rebuild the Temple, many nations gathered against them - such as the Greeks, roughly in the middle of the Second Temple era (which lasted about 420 years), and later Rome, which ultimately destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. Afterwards, throughout the long exile, many nations gathered against us, up until the final gathering that will culminate everything - the war of Gog, prince of Meshech, Tubal, and Tiras. All of this is included in "And now many nations are gathered against you": time and time again, they will gather against us.
And what do they say? The Malbim explains that these gatherings took two forms. At times, they sought to take us as slaves and subjugate us to them, so that we would be subservient to them like a servant flattering his master - and this is "who say: Let her be defiled (techanaf)," that we should fawn over them and become their servants, as in the days of the Greeks and the Romans, who wanted the Jewish people to be a source of tribute and labor. At other times, they come with the claim, "And let our eye gaze upon Zion": they are convinced that what the prophets saw in their visions was said about them. The Ishmaelites are convinced that the redemption and everything associated with it was spoken about them, and in their scriptures, the binding of Isaac appears as the binding of Ishmael; and where the Mountain of the House of Hashem stands, there must surely be a mosque, for in their view Muhammad received updates and upgrades to the Torah of Moshe and they are the true successors. The Christians thought and continue to think the exact same thing: Hashem rejected the people of Israel and cast them out of their land, and we are the true continuation. Therefore, they will come to conquer Jerusalem because they are convinced it belongs to them. In this same way, the army of Gog and Magog will come - convinced that the visions seen by the prophets were spoken about them.
"They did not know the thoughts of Hashem, nor did they understand His counsel"
וְהֵמָּה לֹא יָדְעוּ מַחְשְׁבוֹת יְהֹוָה וְלֹא הֵבִינוּ עֲצָתוֹ כִּי קִבְּצָם כֶּעָמִיר גֹּרְנָה׃ - But they do not know the thoughts of Hashem, nor do they understand His counsel, for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
The general meaning is this: they do not understand that their arrival for war is not in order to conquer and succeed, but rather, as the verse states, "And I will put hooks in your jaws" - the Holy One, Blessed be He, drew them here in order to cast them down here. They do not realize that the entire plan is designed for their downfall. They are convinced that they are coming to fulfill the words of the prophets themselves or to subjugate us, completely failing to understand that this is not the plan at all.
Here the Malbim makes a wonderful linguistic distinction in the Holy Tongue, which he explains in several places. There is a difference between machashavah (thought) and eitzah (counsel), and there is a difference between yediah (knowledge) and havanah (understanding). "The counsel of Hashem" (atzo) is the ultimate purpose - the ultimate objective, what the bottom line will be. "The thoughts of Hashem" (machshavot Hashem) are the means by which the Holy One, Blessed be He, acts to bring about that purpose. The nations gathering against Zion do not understand that their gathering is part of Hashem's thoughts, the means to reach the purpose; "nor did they understand His counsel" - they do not understand that all this is taking place so that the counsel of the Holy One, Blessed be He, will be realized in the End of Days.
And what is His counsel? That Hashem will judge them for their deeds and hold them accountable for all their persecution of the Jewish people; and there, in the Land of Israel, they will recognize the true faith and return to the correct and upright path. Through the signs and wonders, those who survive from Gog and from the nations that come to wage war will turn to the true faith; and the wicked, in the words of the Malbim, will perish like chaff blown away from a threshing floor.
And what is the difference between knowledge (yediah) and understanding (havanah)? Knowledge is something attained through the senses - I saw it with my eyes, and therefore I have clear knowledge. Understanding takes place in the mind. Therefore, one who knows the means can come to understand the ultimate purpose, whereas one who does not know the means cannot understand the purpose. For example, when you see a king massing his army toward a certain border, you do not know the battle plans themselves, but the thoughts - the means - you know through your senses, for you have seen the army assembling. Then, you can understand with your intellect what the purpose is: to conquer the neighboring country. He did not say a word, and perhaps it is merely a military drill, but on your own you understand the objective. Here, too: "They did not know the thoughts of Hashem," and consequently "nor did they understand His counsel" - they failed to comprehend with their intellect where all this is leading.
"For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor" - they did not realize that He gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. Just as sheaves are gathered into the threshing floor to remove the chaff and the husks and retain the grain, the pure wheat, the choice portion, so too Hashem gathered them to the threshing floor to thresh them there. Through this, the chaff will be stripped away - "and the wicked are like chaff" blown in the wind - and the grain will be clarified: from among them will emerge righteous converts and those who will recognize the true faith and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of Hashem," as we saw at the beginning of the chapter.
"Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion" - The War of Gog and Magog
קוּמִי וָדוֹשִׁי בַת־צִיּוֹן כִּי־קַרְנֵךְ אָשִׂים בַּרְזֶל וּפַרְסֹתַיִךְ אָשִׂים נְחוּשָׁה וַהֲדִקּוֹת עַמִּים רַבִּים וְהַחֲרַמְתִּי לַיהֹוָה בִּצְעָם וְחֵילָם לַאֲדוֹן כׇּל־הָאָרֶץ׃ - Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and your hooves I will make bronze; you will crush many nations, and you will dedicate their unjust gain to Hashem, and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
Now the prophet speaks of the war of Gog and Magog. After Hashem has gathered the nations like sheaves to the threshing floor, like grain to the threshing floor to separate the chaff from the wheat, He commands the daughter of Zion, the people of Israel, to thresh - like a threshing heifer. The threshing of grain was done using a threshing sledge harnessed to an animal, rolling over the wheat on the ground, crushing and removing its husk. After this grinding and separation, they would lift and winnow it into the wind, so that the light chaff would blow away - "like chaff driven by a storm from the threshing floor" - while the grain settled to the ground.
"For I will make your horn iron" - you will be able to conquer with this horn and gore the hordes of Gog. "And I will make your hooves bronze" - for the work of threshing, to separate the grain from the chaff, you will have strong bronze hooves. "And you will crush many nations" - in order to strip away their husk, one must crush finely, from the root of crushing and grinding, like trampling upon many nations until only pure flour remains.
"And I will consecrate their unjust gain to Hashem" - all the illicit gain they plundered until today, everything they took and robbed from the people of Israel throughout the generations, will be designated as cherem and consecrated to Hashem, like consecrated property, in the spirit of "Israel is holy to Hashem." "And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth" - and even the wealth they did not plunder from the people of Israel, though not categorized as cherem, will belong to Hashem in that He is the Master of the entire earth and everything belongs to the Master of the Universe. The Malbim explains the distinction: "betza" (ill-gotten gain) is what a person acquired unjustly, as in the verse "Such are the ways of all who seek unjust gain," which was taken unlawfully; whereas "chayil" (wealth) refers to what was gathered lawfully and justly.
"Daughter of Troops" - Retribution for the Humiliations
עַתָּה תִּתְגֹּדְדִי בַת־גְּדוּד מָצוֹר שָׂם עָלֵינוּ בַּשֵּׁבֶט יַכּוּ עַל־הַלְּחִי אֵת שֹׁפֵט יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - Now gather yourself in troops, daughter of troops; a siege has been laid against us; with a rod they strike the cheek of the judge of Israel.
In the verse that concludes the chapter, the prophet describes which nations will gather against Jerusalem and be threshed by Israel. The troop that will march against Jerusalem in the end of days are the descendants of the nations that besieged Jerusalem and destroyed it in ancient times - the children of Assyria, of Babylon, of Rome. "Now gather yourself in troops, daughter of troops" - the daughter of that troop, their descendants, will now gather in bands to come and fight against us. They are the ones who "laid a siege against us" in ancient times, and now they will assemble as the host of Gog and Magog.
And who is that troop, and what did they do back then? "With a rod they strike the cheek of the judge of Israel" - their forefathers struck the judges of Israel on the cheek with a rod. The Malbim explains: striking someone on the cheek is an act of humiliation, and striking with a rod is also an act of humiliation - beating a person with a stick is disgraceful. And when a rod is struck across the cheek, it is a double humiliation: both with a stick and on the face. This was done to the judges of Israel, and how much more so to the common people.
In simple terms: now the time has come to exact retribution for the blows and indignities we suffered at the hands of the nations. Here is the "daughter of troops" - their daughter, and in a straightforward sense, their reincarnated continuation, the very same nations and individuals, who will now pay the price in the war of Gog and receive their due retribution for all their evil deeds.
In summary:
The chapter opens with the vision of the end of days: the mountain of the House of Hashem exalted and revered in the eyes of all peoples, nations streaming toward it to learn the fundamentals of the Torah from Zion, and the Messianic king eliminating every cause of warfare - religious discord, disputes between nations, internal rebellions, and economic hardship - until "each person shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with none to make them afraid." And our merit for all of this lies in the fact that throughout the exile, while all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, we have walked in the name of Hashem our God forever and ever. The prophet then promises an ingathering of the lame (the Ten Tribes) and an assembling of the outcast (the exile of Judah), outlining the redemption that unfolds in stages: Migdal Eder, the Ophel, a modest dominion, and finally the complete sovereignty of the House of David. From there, the prophet turns back to the present - the birth pangs of exile to Babylon and salvation precisely there - and to the gatherings of the nations against us throughout the generations, culminating in the final gathering of Gog and Magog, whom Hashem has gathered like sheaves to the threshing floor: to thresh, to refine, to leave righteous converts and destroy the wicked like chaff, and to exact retribution from the offspring of those troops who degraded and struck the judges of Israel. May Hashem so assist us, and may our eyes behold it soon, Amen and Amen.