Introduction: From the Parable to the Interpretation
Chapter 17 of Yechezkel opens with a riddle and a parable: the great eagle that comes to Lebanon and takes the treetop of the cedar, the low vine planted beside abundant waters, and the second eagle toward which the vine bends its roots. In this section, we stand at the end of the parable and the beginning of its interpretation: the prophet explicitly explains who the eagle is, who the vine is, and what will happen to Tzidkiyahu, who rebelled against Nevuchadnetzar. Afterward, at the end of the chapter, the prophecy turns to good: another taking, an act of taking by the Holy One, blessed be He, which is not to uproot, but to plant.
Verse 10: "Shall It Prosper?" - Can Betrayal Succeed?
וְהִנֵּה שְׁתוּלָה הֲתִצְלָח הֲלֹא כְגַעַת בָּהּ רוּחַ הַקָּדִים תִּיבַשׁ יָבֹשׁ עַל עֲרֻגֹת צִמְחָהּ תִּיבָשׁ׃ - "Behold, it is planted; will it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It shall wither upon the beds where it grew."
"Planted" - according to its own desire, as Rashi explains. And the question is posed: Will it prosper? Is it possible that one who betrayed her first husband could succeed? The application is to Tzidkiyahu, who betrayed Nevuchadnetzar. After all, Nevuchadnetzar made him king, entrusted him with the role, and appointed him, and yet you went and betrayed him - do you think you will succeed? It is impossible for success to come from such treachery.
"Shall it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it?" - The east wind is a metaphor for the king of Babylon, as Babylon lies northeast of Eretz Yisrael, and the east wind is the wind blowing from those directions. The east wind is known as a parching, scorching wind, as it is written: "An east wind shall come, the wind of Hashem coming up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up." In other words, your situation does not allow you the luxury of betraying Nevuchadnetzar. When the east wind comes, it will utterly wither; "it shall wither upon the beds where it grew" - on the very garden beds where it sprouted, right there it will dry up.
The Malbim adds an important point here: Even if the eagle - Nevuchadnetzar, who initially planted it - does not come to uproot it, the sheer fact that it is being uprooted from its place and replanted elsewhere precludes success, because the new place is not its natural habitat. When a tree is uprooted from one place and planted in another, there is no guarantee it will take root and grow. Often it could thrive in the original location, but in the second it withers, failing to establish roots. So says the prophet: Even without Nevuchadnetzar's intervention, you could have no endurance, simply by virtue of having relied upon Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
Verses 11-12: The Solution to the Riddle
וַיְהִי דְבַר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃ אֱמׇר נָא לְבֵית הַמֶּרִי הֲלֹא יְדַעְתֶּם מָה אֵלֶּה אֱמֹר הִנֵּה בָא מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל יְרוּשָׁלִַם וַיִּקַּח אֶת מַלְכָּהּ וְאֶת שָׂרֶיהָ וַיָּבֵא אוֹתָם אֵלָיו בָּבֶלָה׃ - "And the word of Hashem came to me, saying: Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Say: Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king and its officers, and brought them to him to Babylon."
The chapter opened with a riddle and a parable, and now the prophet comes to explain every detail of the parable and what it signifies in reality. A significant portion of the meaning has already been explained alongside the parable, but now the prophet lays it out systematically. "The rebellious house" refers to those who rebel. "Do you not know what these things mean?" - do you comprehend the parable and the riddle I presented to you?
The Malbim explains: "Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem" - this is the great eagle that came to Lebanon. And Lebanon represents the Beit HaMikdash for two reasons: because it whitens (malbin) the sins of Israel, and because it was built from the cedars of Lebanon. "And took its king" - this is the treetop of the cedar, Yehoyachin, as kings are considered the treetop, the highest part of the nation. "And its officers" - this corresponds to "he plucked off the highest of its young twigs." "And brought them to him to Babylon" - this corresponds to "he set it in a city of merchants," for Babylon was a city of merchants.
Verse 13: The Covenant and the Hostages
וַיִּקַּח מִזֶּרַע הַמְּלוּכָה וַיִּכְרֹת אִתּוֹ בְּרִית וַיָּבֵא אֹתוֹ בְּאָלָה וְאֶת אֵילֵי הָאָרֶץ לָקָח׃ - And he took from the royal seed and made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath; and the mighty of the land he took away.
"And he took from the royal seed" - this refers to Tzidkiyahu. The Radak explains that "and the mighty of the land he took away" means that beyond the oath and the covenant, Nevuchadnetzar also took nobles and dignitaries to serve as hostages. This was standard practice among ancient monarchs: whenever there was a concern that a vassal king might rebel against his master, the ruling king secured hostages for himself. At times, he would take one of the king's children and hold him, warning: If you rebel against me, I will kill him. At other times, he would take nobles and dignitaries of the realm and threaten to execute them. In this way, it was guaranteed that the subjugated kingdom would not rebel against the ruling power. This is the meaning of "and the mighty of the land he took away": aside from the oath and the covenant by which he bound Tzidkiyahu not to rebel, he took the nobles as hostages so that he would remain subdued and not become haughty toward him.
The Malbim aligns the application directly with the parable: "And he took from the royal seed" corresponds to "He took of the seed of the land"; "and made a covenant with him" corresponds to "and planted it in a fruitful field" - he planted him specifically to forge a covenant with him, saying, "I am appointing you here on the condition that you remain subservient to me"; and "and the mighty of the land he took away" corresponds to "he set it as a willow tree."
Verse 14: A Lowly Kingdom
לִהְיוֹת מַמְלָכָה שְׁפָלָה לְבִלְתִּי הִתְנַשֵּׂא לִשְׁמֹר אֶת בְּרִיתוֹ לְעׇמְדָהּ׃ - That it might be a lowly kingdom, not lifting itself up, that by keeping his covenant it might stand.
"That it might be a lowly kingdom" - this corresponds to "a spreading vine," so that the vine would trail low upon the ground and not grow tall, remaining subservient to the one who rules over it, Nevuchadnetzar. "Not lifting itself up" - this corresponds to "of low stature," that it be modest in height and not raise its head in rebellion. "That by keeping his covenant it might stand" - this corresponds to "its branches turned toward him," meaning that its branches would face Nevuchadnetzar, that he would observe his covenant and his oath and not rebel against him. "It might stand" - that the covenant endure and be upheld. Nevuchadnetzar did all of this when establishing Tzidkiyahu, to ensure that he would not deviate from his covenant.
Verse 15: The Rebellion and the Appeal to Egypt
וַיִּמְרׇד בּוֹ לִשְׁלֹחַ מַלְאָכָיו מִצְרַיִם לָתֶת לוֹ סוּסִים וְעַם רָב הֲיִצְלָח הֲיִמָּלֵט הָעֹשֵׂה אֵלֶּה וְהֵפֵר בְּרִית וְנִמְלָט׃ - But he rebelled against him, sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape who does such things? Shall he break the covenant and still escape?
Yet instead of all this, what did Tzidkiyahu do? "But he rebelled against him," which corresponds to "and it became a vine, and brought forth branches" - it grew long branches and no longer took heed of the king of Babylon. "Sending his ambassadors into Egypt" - this corresponds to the second eagle in the parable, Pharaoh, to whom Tzidkiyahu turned for assistance. And what did he request? "That they might give him horses and many people" - which corresponds to "that he might water it by the furrows of its plantation": he wanted to be planted in Pharaoh's furrow and be irrigated from there, as if to say, "I am no longer subservient to Nevuchadnetzar; I have taken another master."
Regarding this, the prophet asks: "Shall he prosper?" The answer is that the move will fail for two reasons. First, "Shall he escape who does such things?" - Nevuchadnetzar will not let this pass; he will wage war against you and conquer you, which corresponds to "Shall he not pull up its roots?" Second, "Shall he break the covenant and still escape?" - even if he were not to wage war against you, you broke the covenant and the oath, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, will punish you. Breaking a covenant brings punishment from Hashem. This explains what was said earlier, "it shall wither in the furrows where it grew": even if Nevuchadnetzar were not to come and wither you, you would wither on your own, for you entered into a covenant with Nevuchadnetzar, and in that covenant and oath you are accountable to Heaven. Is it conceivable that you could rebel against him and Heaven would not judge you for it?
Verse 16: In the Midst of Babylon He Shall Die
חַי אָנִי נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה אִם לֹא בִּמְקוֹם הַמֶּלֶךְ הַמַּמְלִיךְ אֹתוֹ אֲשֶׁר בָּזָה אֶת אָלָתוֹ וַאֲשֶׁר הֵפֵר אֶת בְּרִיתוֹ אִתּוֹ בְתוֹךְ בָּבֶל יָמוּת׃ - As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.
"As I live" and "if not" - wherever Scripture says "if not" (im lo), it is an oath formula, as in "Surely [im lo] many houses" (Yeshayahu 5:9), "Surely [im lo] as I have thought" (Yeshayahu 14:24). The Malbim explains that this is the meaning of "shall he escape who does these things?" stated above: he will not escape, for Nevuchadnetzar will come against him in battle. Not only that, but he adds a prophecy: "In the midst of Babylon he shall die" - there will be his death; you will not continue to reign here, your kingdom will cease because Nevuchadnetzar will conquer you, and your death will be in Babylon.
Pasuk 17: Pharaoh Will Not Come to Help
וְלֹא בְחַיִל גָּדוֹל וּבְקָהָל רָב יַעֲשֶׂה אוֹתוֹ פַרְעֹה בַּמִּלְחָמָה בִּשְׁפֹּךְ סֹלְלָה וּבִבְנוֹת דָּיֵק לְהַכְרִית נְפָשׁוֹת רַבּוֹת׃ - "Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company accomplish anything for him in the war, by casting up mounds and building siege walls to cut off many lives."
Pharaoh will not come with a mighty army to assist him in his war against Nevuchadnetzar. You relied on Pharaoh, but you will discover that he will not bother dispatching his army and forces to come fight for you and defend you. "By casting up mounds and building siege walls" - when an army wanted to conquer a city, they would cast up a siege mound, meaning they piled up an earthen ramp at an incline against the wall to climb it, and built siege towers to capture the city and cut off lives. All this shows that the alliance you forged with Pharaoh king of Egypt will be of no avail.
The Malbim juxtaposes this with what was said in the parable: "Neither with great power nor with much people to uproot it by the roots." In Radak's view, this refers to Pharaoh: Pharaoh will not come with a mighty arm and a great multitude to rescue you from Nevuchadnetzar. In the Malbim's view, this refers to Nevuchadnetzar: he will not need to come with a mighty arm and a great multitude, but will conquer you easily without exerting great effort. The underlying concept is identical in both approaches - Pharaoh will not help you; the only question is to whom "the mighty arm and great multitude" refers.
Pasuk 18: "And Behold, He Gave His Hand"
וּבָזָה אָלָה לְהָפֵר בְּרִית וְהִנֵּה נָתַן יָדוֹ וְכׇל אֵלֶּה עָשָׂה לֹא יִמָּלֵט׃ - "And he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he had given his hand, yet he has done all these things; he shall not escape."
"And he despised the oath by breaking the covenant" - corresponding to "and break the covenant and escape?" mentioned earlier. An alah is an oath, and he despised the oath and broke the covenant he had made with Nevuchadnetzar and sworn upon. And what is the meaning of "and behold, he had given his hand"? There are two explanations. Rashi and Radak explain that extending a hand signifies an agreement of love and peace, like a handshake by which he committed to remain in peace and friendship with him. The Malbim explains: he ceased fighting once the city was breached. (Incidentally, all printed editions of Malbim read "sheshek'ah ha'ir", which is a printer's error - it means "shenivke'ah ha'ir", when the city was breached.) That is to say: after he had already ceased fighting, once the city was breached and Nevuchadnetzar was already inside with nothing left to fight for - despite all this, he persisted in his rebellion and sought to flee to Egypt. For Tzidkiyahu fled through the cave leading from the palace, an escape tunnel, as we saw at length above, and ultimately the Holy One, Blessed be He, delivered him into Nevuchadnetzar's hands. Regarding this it is said: How do you expect to escape? And this is "behold, it is planted, will it thrive?" from above - after you were planted here, can you be uprooted from here and transplanted elsewhere, breaking an oath and breaking a covenant, and expect your plan to succeed?
Pasuk 19: "My Oath" and "My Covenant"
לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה חַי אָנִי אִם לֹא אָלָתִי אֲשֶׁר בָּזָה וּבְרִיתִי אֲשֶׁר הֵפִיר וּנְתַתִּיו בְּרֹאשׁוֹ׃ - "Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely My oath that he despised, and My covenant that he broke, I will place upon his head."
"As I live, surely [im lo]" - again, the language of an oath. And why does it say "My oath," when it was Nevuchadnetzar's oath? The answer is: Nevuchadnetzar made him swear by God, and therefore it is called "My oath" - he broke My oath, says Hashem. Likewise, "and My covenant," for it was in the Name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, that he made a covenant with him. Thus, his action constituted a Chillul Hashem against His blessed Name. "I will place upon his head" - that very sin I will bring down upon his head; I will repay his retribution upon his head. Here the phrase is literally fulfilled: what did Nevuchadnetzar do to him after taking him down to Babylon? He blinded him and gouged out his eyes. The retribution was inflicted upon the head, on the eyes in his head.
Pasuk 20: Net and Snare
וּפָרַשְׂתִּי עָלָיו רִשְׁתִּי וְנִתְפַּשׂ בִּמְצוּדָתִי וַהֲבִיאוֹתִיהוּ בָבֶלָה וְנִשְׁפַּטְתִּי אִתּוֹ שָׁם מַעֲלוֹ אֲשֶׁר מָעַל בִּי׃ - And I will spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and I will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against Me.
This is what we mentioned earlier: the escape he attempted after Nevuchadnezzar exerted his power and breached the city. However, escaping through the cave did him no good, because the Holy One, blessed be He, spread a net over him. And how? Chazal tell us, as we saw above: a deer happened to appear before one of Nevuchadnezzar's soldiers, and they pursued it, chasing and chasing, until they reached it - and suddenly they saw Tzidkiyahu emerging from the ground. It turns out that the Holy One, blessed be He, summoned the deer not so they would catch it, but so they would catch Tzidkiyahu; the deer served as a guide for the Chaldean army showing them how to find Tzidkiyahu. Now we can understand the expression, "And I will spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare" - did someone actually lay a physical snare for him here? I prepared this snare for him, says the Holy One, blessed be He. And the reason is "My oath that he despised and My covenant that he broke," and therefore "I will place it upon his head": Hashem warned him not to rebel against Nevuchadnezzar, yet he went ahead and rebelled.
"And I will enter into judgment with him there" - there, in the Babylonian prison, the Holy One, blessed be He, enters into judgment with him, arguing with him, as it were, over the trespass he committed against Him, so that through this he will come to confess. Ostensibly, we do not find that Hashem actually spoke to him there. Rather, when a person commits a wrongful deed and suddenly receives a blow, and the blow is so clear that one can see the hand of Hashem in it and recognize that the wrongdoing brought about the affliction - Hashem has entered into judgment with him, holding trial with him without words. The Holy One, blessed be He, judges him through this and rebukes him, and this is the meaning of "and I will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against Me": through this he will realize that everything that befell him was because of the trespass he committed against Me.
Verse 21: "All His Fugitives in All His Wings"
וְאֵת כׇּל מִבְרָחָו בְּכׇל אֲגַפָּיו בַּחֶרֶב יִפֹּלוּ וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִים לְכׇל רוּחַ יִפָּרֵשׂוּ וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה דִּבַּרְתִּי׃ - And all his fugitives in all his wings shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, Hashem, have spoken.
What is the meaning of "mivrachav"? There are two explanations. Rashi first cites the view of the Targum, that "mivrachav" means his warriors (giborim), without explaining why. One could say that "mivrachav" is related to "mavriach" (routing or putting to flight), in that a warrior routs all who pursue him. However, Rashi also cites the interpretation of Menachem, who connects the word to "Flee (berach), my beloved" (Shir HaShirim 8:14), explaining it as "all the fugitives." It follows, then, that only according to Menachem is the word connected to flight (berichah), whereas according to Targum Yonatan "mivrachim" is a title for warriors, unrelated to flight. In any case, Menachem's explanation is the more widely accepted: "all his fugitives" - all those who try to flee and escape the sword of Nevuchadnezzar.
"In all his wings (agapav)" - the Malbim explains: all his wives and those accompanying him, who will likewise fall by the sword, as we saw explained above in chapter 12, verse 14, where it is also described that all who flee with him will fall by the sword. And what does "agapav" mean? We already addressed this in chapter 12, verse 14. The simple understanding is that it is related to wings (kenafayim), and as Radak cites in the name of his father, the letter alef is an addition, the root being "gapav," referring to armed forces, since soldiers are referred to as "wings." This is like the verse, "and the outstretching of his wings shall fill the breadth of your land" (Yeshayahu 8:8), describing an enemy advancing with immense force. Thus, "all his fugitives in all his wings shall fall by the sword" means that throughout all his forces, they will fall by the sword. "And those who remain shall be scattered (yiparesu) to every wind" - they will disperse, as in "For I have spread you abroad (peirasti) as the four winds of the heavens" (Zechariah 2:10), in the sense of spreading out and scattering; or it could be related to perishah (departure), something departing from a particular point and scattering in different directions.
Verses 22-23: A Taking of Redemption
From here, from verse 22, begins the haftarah that the Yemenite community, particularly the Baladi tradition, customarily reads for Parashat Ha'azinu. Many other communities do not read this haftarah at all, but among Yemenite Jews this was the custom.
כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה וְלָקַחְתִּי אָנִי מִצַּמֶּרֶת הָאֶרֶז הָרָמָה וְנָתָתִּי מֵרֹאשׁ יֹנְקוֹתָיו רַךְ אֶקְטֹף וְשָׁתַלְתִּי אָנִי עַל הַר גָּבֹהַּ וְתָלוּל׃ - Thus said the Lord Hashem: I Myself will take from the high cedar's treetop and set it; from the top of its young shoots I will crop off a tender twig, and I Myself will plant it upon a high and prominent mountain.
After seeing that the cedar's treetop was plucked and removed from its place by Nevuchadnezzar, the Holy One, blessed be He, comes and says: Know that I too will take from the treetop of the cedar, but My taking is not like the taking of the king of Babylon, which was meant to eliminate and destroy. I will take it from the place of exile and replant it back in its proper place. We find, then, that despite the harsh prophecies delivered earlier, the passage concludes with words of good tidings.
The Malbim explains the historical and messianic focus of the prophecy: scripture records that Evil-merodach subsequently released Yehoyachin from prison. That very Yehoyachin is the cedar's treetop that was cropped off and carried away, and he is the one the prophet spoke of at the beginning of the chapter, for on the words "and took the cedar's treetop," the Malbim explained there that he exiled Yehoyachin, the head of the nation, along with the officers and mighty men. Now Hashem says: that same cedar treetop will experience renewal when Evil-merodach releases him from prison. Afterwards, "from the top of its young shoots I will crop off a tender twig" - from his descendants, namely Zerubavel ben Shealtiel, who will come from his lineage. "And I will plant" - I will transplant him from Babylon to the Land of Israel, and from his seed will emerge the scion of the House of David, establishing a lamp for David in the end of days. This is what we recite in the piyut, "Until Zerubavel son of Shealtiel arrives" with his great shofar, and he will blow the great shofar that heralds the Redemption. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: What you now see as a terrible state, with Yehoyachin languishing in prison - I will eventually take him out of there, elevate him, and raise him high. And this is only the beginning, which will culminate in the future Redemption for which we still yearn, when all of reality will be transformed.
"From the top of its young twigs a tender one I will pluck" - while he is still young, and this is Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel (and it is possible that "and I will plant [veshatalti]" even alludes to the name Shealtiel). "And I will plant it upon a high and eminent mountain" - a high mountain is a place that has air and sun, a place suited for proper growth. And what is "talul" (eminent)? From the root tel (a mound or hill), which is an elevated place, and when one wants to denote an exceedingly high place, one says talul. Thus Mount Zion is called a tel, and so too the Temple Mount is called a tel. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will plant him in the eminent place, in the high place.
בְּהַר מְרוֹם יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶשְׁתֳּלֶנּוּ וְנָשָׂא עָנָף וְעָשָׂה פֶרִי וְהָיָה לְאֶרֶז אַדִּיר וְשָׁכְנוּ תַחְתָּיו כֹּל צִפּוֹר כׇּל כָּנָף בְּצֵל דָּלִיּוֹתָיו תִּשְׁכֹּנָּה׃ - "On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, and it shall bring forth branches and bear fruit and become a majestic cedar; and beneath it shall dwell every winged bird, in the shade of its boughs they shall dwell."
Notice the words "and bear fruit": with Tzidkiyahu we saw that there was no fruit, for his sons were slaughtered before his eyes, leaving no fruit behind. But here it is said that there will be fruit - what happened to Tzidkiyahu will not happen to him; rather, "and it shall bring forth branches and bear fruit," and as we explained, the fruit is the children. "And become a majestic cedar" - it will once again grow and become as it was at first, the top of a cedar, and not as it became later, a willow; Tzidkiyahu became a lowly vine that bore no fruit, but here, "and become a majestic cedar." "And beneath it shall dwell" - the Jewish people will dwell in its shade. "Every winged bird, in the shade of its boughs they shall dwell" - its boughs (daliyot) are the high branches that branch outward, and even the boughs spreading far and wide will serve as shelter and refuge.
Notice that there are two explanations here, and we have woven both together because both are true. One explanation speaks of the near future, of Zerubbabel and the redemption of the building of the Second Temple, and the second explanation speaks of Melech HaMashiach. The Malbim integrated both, because both matters are stated here: both regarding the near future through Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and regarding the future redemption when Melech HaMashiach will come and redeem us with an eternal redemption, speedily in our days, Amen.
In summary:
In this section of the chapter, the prophet solves the riddle: The great eagle is Nevuchadnezzar, Lebanon is the Beit HaMikdash, the top of the cedar is Yehoyachin and his princes, the lowly vine is Tzidkiyahu who was crowned to be a lowly kingdom that does not exalt itself, and the second eagle is Pharaoh. Tzidkiyahu despised the oath and broke the covenant, and therefore he will neither prosper nor escape: on one hand, Nevuchadnezzar will conquer him without a mighty arm, and on the other hand, the covenant and the oath were made in the Name of Hashem, and therefore "My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will place upon his head" - quite literally, in the gouging out of his eyes. Even his escape failed, as the Holy One, blessed be He, spread a net over him in the form of the deer that led the Chaldeans to the mouth of the tunnel. Yet the chapter does not conclude with hardship: in contrast to Nevuchadnezzar's destructive taking, the Holy One, blessed be He, promises a different taking, a taking of planting and building - Yehoyachin will emerge from his prison, from his seed will arise Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and from his seed will sprout the shoot of the House of David until the majestic cedar in the shade of whose boughs every winged bird will dwell, in the complete redemption speedily in our days.