Introduction: The Prophecy of Vengeance Against Edom
Chapter 63 of Yeshayahu opens with one of the most powerful prophecies in all of Nevi'im: a depiction of the Holy One, blessed be He, arriving from Edom, His garments stained red with blood. The prophet portrays here the great Day of Judgment, when the Holy One, blessed be He, will settle accounts with Edom for all it has inflicted upon Israel, and at that very moment Israel's salvation will arrive. We will study the verses in order, examining the words of Chazal and Rashi, the commentaries of Radak and the Metzudos, and especially the unique approach of the Malbim.
מִי־זֶה בָּא מֵאֱדוֹם חֲמוּץ בְּגָדִים מִבָּצְרָה זֶה הָדוּר בִּלְבוּשׁוֹ צֹעֶה בְּרֹב כֹּחוֹ אֲנִי מְדַבֵּר בִּצְדָקָה רַב לְהוֹשִׁיעַ׃ - "Who is this coming from Edom, with dyed garments from Botzrah, this One majestic in His apparel, striding in the greatness of His strength? 'It is I, who speaks in righteousness, mighty to save.'"
The Two Mistakes of the Guardian Angel of Se'ir
Before turning to the primary explanation, let us cite the words of Chazal cited by Rashi. The prophet here prophesies concerning Se'ir and Botzrah, and Chazal state that the ministering angel of Se'ir is destined to make two errors. The first mistake: he flees to Botzrah, and why specifically there? Because he mistakenly thought that Botzrah was Betzer, the city of Betzer in the wilderness that served as a city of refuge. He realizes that doom has been decreed upon him, so he thinks that by fleeing to a city of refuge he will be spared from judgment. But Botzrah is not Betzer. The second mistake: even had it been a city of refuge, a city of refuge protects only an unintentional killer, whereas Edom killed, murdered, slaughtered, burned, and tortured - and all of it with willful intent. Everything that Edom, which is the kingdom of Rome, did to us throughout the generations was done with premeditation.
Rashi cites another Midrash Aggadah: Botzrah provided a king for Se'ir when its first king died, as it is written, "And Yovav son of Zerach of Botzrah reigned in his stead," and Botzrah belonged to Moav, as it is stated, "upon Keriot and upon Botzrah." Since it was a partner in their crimes by providing them with a king, it too will be called to account.
The Radak's Explanation: The Warrior Returning from Battle
Radak explains that this is a prophecy regarding the future destruction of Edom. The verse, as it were, allegorizes the Holy One, blessed be He, who destroys Edom, as a warrior returning from the battlefield, his clothes stained red with blood from the battles and the great victories he achieved. At this scene, someone stands and asks: "Who is this coming from Edom, with dyed garments from Botzrah?" The Holy One, blessed be He, answers: "It is I, who speaks in righteousness" - I am the One who spoke in My righteousness to Israel, promising them that I would redeem them, and now I have come to fulfill what I promised.
And what is the meaning of "mighty to save"? Seemingly, if You are striking Edom, it should be called "mighty in retribution" or "mighty in vengeance" - why "mighty to save"? Radak explains: these two go hand in hand. For the sake of the rebuilding of Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, destroys Edom, as is well known: Tyre was built only from the ruins of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem is built only from the ruins of Tyre. The moment Edom is struck down, that very act constitutes salvation for Israel.
According to Radak, "chamutz begadim" means red-stained garments; "from Botzrah" refers to a major city of Edom, which is why all of Edom is referred to by the name of its prominent city. "Majestic in His apparel" - these are the garments of vengeance. "Striding in the greatness of His strength" - shaking and tossing the nations from one end to the other.
The Metzudos: A Tone of Wonder
The Metzudas David explains that the Holy One, blessed be He, will execute vengeance upon the nations, and according to his approach, the entire verse is framed as a question of wonder: "This One majestic in His apparel" - He is always majestic in His attire, so how could His garments be blood-stained? "Striding in the greatness of His strength" - in the greatness of His strength He shakes and moves whomever He wills from place to place without any struggle at all, tossing them in an instant, so how did blood splatter onto His clothing? To this the Holy One, blessed be He, answers: "It is I, who speaks in righteousness" - I am the One who promised to perform righteousness with Israel, and I abound in salvation just as I promised.
According to this, chamutz begadim means his garments are dyed. And where do we find the term chamutz in the context of dyeing? Here the commentators struggle, and the Metzudat Tziyon also finds this difficult, offering as a quasi-proof that chamutz may be an anagram of machutz (crushed), as in "that your foot may be dipped [timchatz] in blood" - where a foot stained with blood appears wounded. Here too, chamutz begadim is like machutz begadim: there is blood on his garments from crushing his enemies. And Bozrah is an expression of a fortress (mivtzar).
The Malbim: Edom and Bozrah - Governance and Faith
The Malbim quotes the Ibn Ezra that Edom refers to the empire of Rome and Constantinople, while Bozrah is the capital of their faith. What does "capital of their faith" mean? If one were to ask today what the center of Edom is in the world, the answer would be America or Russia; and if asked what the capital of their faith is, the answer would be the Vatican. The center of their faith is there. So it was in their time: Bozrah was the center of faith, and Edom was the center of political rule.
The Holy One, Blessed be He, comes to Edom for two purposes: first, to save the Jewish people; and second, to settle the score. Indeed, this reckoning was already established in the days of Yaakov Avinu. When Eisav told him, "Let us journey on and go, and I will go alongside you," Yaakov replied: go ahead, "until I come to my lord, to Seir." And as we have explained more than once, his intention was: we will meet again on the great and awesome Day of Judgment, "And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Eisav" - and then we will settle the score for everything.
And to Bozrah, the Holy One, Blessed be He, comes so that they will recognize the true faith, for it is the center of their religion. As we have explained several times, Hashem desires that not only the Jewish people acknowledge and know His Divinity, but all nations. As we say, "And many nations shall walk in the light of Hashem," "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea," "All inhabitants of the world will recognize and know," "To perfect the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty." Even regarding the plagues of Egypt it is said, "So that you may know" - spoken to Pharaoh and Egypt - "so that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth." We see that there is a divine purpose for His sovereignty to be revealed throughout the entire world. The ones meant to lead this process are the Jewish people: had we done the will of Hashem, His kingdom would have been revealed through the entire world witnessing how a nation conducts itself in accordance with Hashem's will. And if not, then the very fact of our persecution reveals the honor of Hashem, as we have elaborated elsewhere.
"Chamutz Begadim" - Specifically Clean Garments
Here the Malbim offers a novel interpretation: initially, the Holy One, Blessed be He, comes to Edom and Bozrah in clean garments and with gentle words, as if attempting to persuade them peacefully; and only when this proves ineffective does He don garments of vengeance and wage war against them. Therefore, chamutz begadim does not mean soiled with blood, as other commentators understand, but quite the opposite: in white, clean garments. Unlike the Metzudat David, who wondered how He could be chamutz begadim when He has always been majestic in His apparel, the verse itself is telling us that His garments are pristine.
On what does the Malbim base this? As we explained in the past, when searching for the meaning of a word in Tanach, the approach is to use a concordance: opening other occurrences and seeing how the word is understood from the context there. The rule is to find its "companion in Scripture." The difficulty begins when a commentator writes, "and I have found no companion to it" - a unique word. Then one attempts to find a related word through an anagram or a similar grammatical form and link them together. And if even that is impossible, it is interpreted "according to its context": if a verse says "poor and destitute [dal verash]," and one does not know what rash means but knows what dal means, its contextual interpretation is that rash likewise relates to poverty.
So it is here: the Malbim explains that chamutz means clean. On what does he rely? "Ashru chamotz" - where the prophet commands to execute justice and judgment, meaning: vindicate the one who is innocent in his judgment. "Me'avel vechamotz" - one who acted unrighteously and wishes to cleanse himself. "Ki yitchametz levavi" - that it be purified of its thoughts. If so, chamutz begadim means pure, clean garments: Who is this coming from Edom whose garments are pure and clean? Who is this coming from Bozrah who is majestic in his apparel?
Beged and Levush - Two Demands
The Malbim asks: What is the difference between begadav (his garments) and levusho (his attire)? Are they not the very same thing? Rather, there is a distinction. Beged refers to general clothing, what a person wears on an ordinary basis. Levush refers to a distinct, specific attire: a uniform, sackcloth, royal robes. Levush always denotes special attire.
And from here to the underlying message: from Edom, who cause us harm, the Holy One, Blessed be He, demands that they not distress Israel. What does He ask of them? Mercy and compassion. This is the idea of the beged - the divine attributes with which the Holy One, Blessed be He, conducts Himself toward His creations: merciful, gracious, slow to anger. With these garments, the Holy One, Blessed be He, comes to Edom: be merciful, gracious, and patient toward the Jewish people. From Bozrah, on the other hand, which is the center of their faith, the Holy One, Blessed be He, demands that they acknowledge His Divinity and His Oneness - and this is a special attire, royal attire. Therefore, "this one who is majestic in his apparel [levusho]" is said specifically in relation to Bozrah.
"Marching in the greatness of His strength" - stormy and surging with great power. And to this, the Holy One, blessed be He, replies in two parts: in response to the question regarding Bozrah - "I who speak in righteousness," from the aspect of matters between man and God, that they recognize the true faith; I come from Bozrah to speak with them about faith in Hashem. And in response to the question regarding Edom, who are the oppressors and persecutors - "mighty to save": I come from there to save My people Israel, and the way to achieve this is to confront Edom and say to them, why are you afflicting My people?
מַדּוּעַ אָדֹם לִלְבוּשֶׁךָ וּבְגָדֶיךָ כְּדֹרֵךְ בְּגַת׃ - "Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like those of one who treads in a winepress?"
The Radak explains: Why are your garments red? In the word lilvushecha, the letter lamed is superfluous, meaning simply "your apparel" [levushecha]. The Malbim explains that as soon as the questioner sees that the white garments have turned red - for chamutz means clean and white - he wonders: From what did they turn red? From what were they defiled with blood? "Why is your apparel [levushecha] red," referring to the special outer garment, "and your garments [begadecha]" referring to the general attire, "like one who treads in a winepress" - like a person treading in a winepress upon whom grape juice splatters.
And what is the deeper meaning? The primary purpose of the Holy One, blessed be He's coming was for the sake of the special garment, to teach the nations faith, which is the ultimate goal of perfecting the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty - that the nations believe in Hashem and recognize His kingdom. Yet it turns out that not only did they fail to accept the faith, but it became necessary to exact retribution from them, and consequently His garments became red from the splattered blood. In other words: indeed, this is how it began; the Holy One, blessed be He, came and spoke soft words to the nations, dressed in clean garments - but the nations refused to accept. Edom did not agree to cease tormenting Israel, and Bozrah did not agree to accept the true faith, and so the Holy One, blessed be He, was compelled to punish them as they deserved. Therefore His apparel is red, and His garments too are like one who treads in a winepress - those very garments that symbolize the demand upon the nations not to distress the people of Israel.
פּוּרָה דָּרַכְתִּי לְבַדִּי וּמֵעַמִּים אֵין־אִישׁ אִתִּי וְאֶדְרְכֵם בְּאַפִּי וְאֶרְמְסֵם בַּחֲמָתִי וְיֵז נִצְחָם עַל־בְּגָדַי וְכָל־מַלְבּוּשַׁי אֶגְאָלְתִּי׃ - "I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the peoples there was no man with Me; and I trod them in My anger and trampled them in My wrath, and their lifeblood splattered upon My garments, and I stained all My apparel."
"I Have Trodden the Winepress Alone"
The winepress is called a purah, from the word perur [crumbing], because grapes are crushed and crushed inside it. The Holy One, blessed be He, compares the wicked to grapes that will be crushed, squashed, and trampled by Him when the time of Redemption arrives, and each person will be held accountable for all that he has done.
"And of the peoples there was no man with Me" - the Radak explains: Had I thought that the merits of Israel would join with Me to exact retribution from the nations, behold, I see that no man is with Me. Israel lacks merit, and as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, must do everything out of His will alone, without our merits joining to assist, in the sense of "Ascribe strength to God." Therefore, "and I trod them in My anger and trampled them in My wrath" - had there been a man with Me, Israel's merits would have been the reason to exact retribution from them; but since there is no man with Me, what is the reason I punish the nations? Only My anger and My wrath over what they did to Israel. The intense fury over their afflicting Israel is the engine for retribution, even though by right and truth it would have been fitting for our merits to be that engine. As we saw earlier, "And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor" - there is no one helping and aiding the Holy One, blessed be He, meaning that on our own account we are not worthy of redemption through our good deeds. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I am compelled to do this alone, solely out of His blessed will.
"And their nitzcham splattered upon My garments" - nitzcham refers to their blood, and the garments become red. Why is blood called neitzach? The Radak explains: because it constitutes a person's life and strength. Perhaps because through it a person endures, or perhaps from the connotation of victory [nitzachon] and resilience - an expression of vitality: human life and strength derive from the blood. "And I stained [egal'ti] all My apparel" - I was soiled, as in "defiled bread" [lechem mego'al], meaning stained and soiled.
The Malbim: The Winepress Intended to Produce Wine
The Malbim explains: One who treads in a winepress does so with the intention of producing wine. So too with Me: when I trod upon the nations, I had a positive objective, to bring them to repentance and elevate them. But I saw that "of the peoples there was no man with Me" - and note the contrast: the Radak interpreted this as referring to Israel, whereas the Malbim explains that it does not refer to Israel at all, which aligns better with the biblical phrase "and of the peoples." That is to say: I thought that when I came to draw them near, someone among the nations would repent - yet behold, not one returned. I sought to extract wine from them, taking grapes, which are an unrefined raw material, and producing wine, which is superior, yet I found Myself alone.
Therefore, "and I trod them in My anger [af] and trampled them in My wrath [cheimah]." What is the distinction between af and cheimah? As we have seen numerous times in the Malbim, this is his consistent approach throughout Tanach: af refers to external anger, visible to the eye - "for a fire is kindled in My nostril [be'api]," the heating of the nose, its reddening, smoke rising from the nostrils; whereas cheimah is the internal fury harbored within a person's heart. The Malbim offers a wonderful explanation based on this principle in Megillat Esther, explaining the phrase "and his wrath burned within him" - why it burned within him and he could not reveal his fury to others.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says: "And I trod them in My anger" - with outward anger I punished them, and My intention was merely to tread upon them like one who treads a winepress. One who treads a winepress removes the grape seeds and the skins and extracts the wine; likewise, I wished only to purge the wicked, to create a separation between the good portion and the evil portion, to punish the wicked and bring near the righteous. But I saw that there were none like that at all; there was no one worthy of being called righteous who came to join Me. Therefore, "and I trampled them in My wrath" - the burning inner fury directed at them for their refusal to repent. And trampling, explains the Malbim, is already a form of total destruction: to obliterate entirely.
And through this, "and their lifeblood was sprinkled upon My garments" - the outer garments, which correspond to the demand that they not oppress Israel; "and I stained all My raiment" - the special garment expressing belief in the One God, the royal garment with which He approached Botzrah so that they would accept faith in Him. Instead of accepting this faith upon yourselves, your trampling caused those very garments, which you could have received for good, to become soiled.
כִּי יוֹם נָקָם בְּלִבִּי וּשְׁנַת גְּאוּלַי בָּאָה׃ - For a day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come.
The Radak explains: A day of vengeance has been in My heart for ages and eons, until the year of My redemption arrived, and then there would be a day of vengeance against the nations. This day of vengeance has been brewing in My heart for a long time, and behold, now the time of redemption has come.
The Malbim explains that here Scripture provides the reason why the Holy One, blessed be He, hastens to tread and trample, and does not show them patience: "For the year of My redeemed has come." Two elements join together here: a dedicated day of vengeance against the nations, and on the other hand, a year of redemption to redeem Israel. In a single action, as it were, two birds with one stone: He exacts retribution from the nations and redeems the people of Israel to take them out of exile.
וְאַבִּיט וְאֵין עֹזֵר וְאֶשְׁתּוֹמֵם וְאֵין סוֹמֵךְ וַתּוֹשַׁע־לִי זְרֹעִי וַחֲמָתִי הִיא סְמָכָתְנִי׃ - And I looked, and there was none to help, and I was astonished, and there was none to support; so My own arm brought salvation to Me, and My wrath supported Me.
My Wrath Supported Me
Rashi explains: "And I looked, and there was none to help" - there was no one to help Israel. "And I was astonished" - an expression of silence, as in "and He was astonished that there was no intercessor." I remain silent and see that there is none to support. If so, what will help Me carry out these actions? "My wrath supported Me" - the engine and impetus to exact retribution from the nations is My wrath against them.
For, as it were, I needed help from the Jewish people. It is obvious that the Holy One, blessed be He, needs no help; rather, the meaning is that the merits of Israel always serve as aid and support before Him, blessed be He. For the providence of the Holy One, blessed be He, operates through judgment: there are those who advocate for acquittal and those who advocate for conviction; nothing is done under the table. Everything is conducted according to law, according to the statutes and the rules: accusers, defenders, prosecuting angels, defending angels, and a verdict, and the Holy One, blessed be He, does not act, as it were, contrary to the accusation of the Attribute of Justice.
And what opened the path here to overcome the nations even though there was no support from Israel's merits? The Holy One, blessed be He, says: My wrath - the fury I harbor toward the nations. And if you might say: Did Israel not deserve this, and were not the afflictions inflicted by the nations part of the process the Jewish people were meant to undergo in exile in order to repent? To this Rashi replies: "I was only a little angry, and they helped for evil." The nations were overly stringent in their decrees against Israel. The Holy One, blessed be He, decreed a measure of punishment, and they carried out everything according to the strictest "Chazon Ish measure", far above and beyond. Regarding this it is said, "and My wrath supported Me" - the fury and anger toward them strengthened My hand and stirred My heart to exact retribution from them, even though Israel on their own merits were not worthy of redemption.
And as has been explained several times, there is the Order of Judgment (Hanhagat HaMishpat) and there is the Order of Divine Oneness (Hanhagat HaYichud). According to the Order of Judgment, which proceeds through defenders and accusers, the Jewish people lack sufficient merits. But the Order of Divine Oneness is the providence in which the Holy One, blessed be He, pays heed to nothing other than His blessed will alone: that His Oneness be revealed in the world - there is none else besides Him, there are no accusers, no advocates on the right and no accusers on the left, only Him alone. And then, Kudsha Berich Hu, by His own supreme will, will come in the greatness of His anger and wrath against the nations and exact retribution from them as befits Him and as befits them.
The Malbim notes precisely: "And I looked, and there was none to help" - the generation was not meritorious; "and I was astonished, and there was none to support" - there was no righteous person praying for them. And corresponding to these two are two answers: corresponding to "and there was none to help," meaning the generation was not meritorious - "so My own arm brought salvation to Me," I accomplished this by My own power; and corresponding to "and there was none to support," meaning there was no righteous person praying - "and My wrath supported Me," the wrath over the sins of the nations is what supported Me to go and exact retribution from them.
וְאָבוּס עַמִּים בְּאַפִּי וַאֲשַׁכְּרֵם בַּחֲמָתִי וְאוֹרִיד לָאָרֶץ נִצְחָם׃ - "And I trod down nations in My anger, and made them drunk in My fury, and brought down their strength to the earth."
"Ve-avus" is an expression of wallowing in blood and trampling, as in "wallowing in your blood" (mitboseset be-damayikh), and "they have trampled My portion" (bosesu et chelkatí). The Malbim explains according to his consistent approach: "And I trod down nations" will be through My anger (api), the outward anger; and through My fury (chamati), the inner wrath, I will make them completely drunk and cast down their strength to the earth.
And what is the meaning of "and made them drunk in My fury"? Radak explains: I will make them drink the cup of My fury until they become intoxicated, and as it were, they will reel like drunkards under the overwhelming weight of Hashem's wrath upon them, until "I brought down their strength to the earth" - their might and power will be cast down to the ground.
In Summary:
The chapter opens with the vivid image of the warrior returning from battle with blood-red garments, and with the question, "Who is this coming from Edom?" Chazal and Rashi revealed here the two fatal errors of the guardian angel of Se'ir: that Botzrah is not Betzer the city of refuge, and that a city of refuge provides asylum only for unintentional killers, whereas Edom sinned willfully. Radak explained the parable regarding the downfall of Edom, which is itself the salvation of Israel, for Jerusalem is rebuilt only from the destruction of Tzor. The Malbim offered a profound, novel perspective: "chamutz begadim" actually refers to pure, pristine garments, for initially the Holy One, Blessed is He, approached Edom and Botzrah with gentle overtures - coming to Edom in the overarching mantle of the attributes of mercy and grace, asking that they cease distressing Israel, and coming to Botzrah, the epicenter of their religion, in royal vestments so they would accept the true faith upon themselves. Only when He saw that "from the peoples there was no man with Me" - that no one repented - did the treading originally meant to produce wine turn into a trampling in wrath, staining His robes deep red. All this occurs not through the strength of our own merits, for "I looked, and there was no helper," but through the Providential guidance of Yichud (absolute Divine Unity) and the fury of the Holy One, Blessed is He, against the nations who abetted our harm - "For a day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come."