Introduction: The Prophecy Regarding Sancheiriv and the Salvation of Jerusalem
Chapter 33 of Yeshayahu continues the account of Sancheiriv, king of Assyria, besieging Jerusalem in the days of Chizkiyahu. The prophet opens with a cry of "Woe" upon the destroyer, continues with the prayer of Israel and their plea for salvation, depicts the terror of the siege, and reveals the immense spiritual gain that sprouted for the Jewish people specifically out of this distress. In our study, we will proceed verse by verse, largely based on the commentary of the Malbim, alongside the insights of Rashi, Radak, Chazal, and the Midrashim.
Verse 1: Woe to You, Destroyer, While You Were Not Destroyed
הוֹי שׁוֹדֵד וְאַתָּה לֹא שָׁדוּד וּבוֹגֵד וְלֹא־בָגְדוּ בוֹ כַּהֲתִמְךָ שׁוֹדֵד תּוּשַּׁד כַּנְּלֹתְךָ לִבְגֹּד יִבְגְּדוּ־בָךְ׃ - Woe to you, destroyer, while you were not destroyed; and betrayer, while they did not betray you! When you finish destroying, you will be destroyed; when you complete your betrayal, they will betray you.
Here the prophet addresses Sancheiriv: You have plundered many nations, yet you yourself were never plundered. And if you were never plundered, why did you go and plunder others? Similarly: You betrayed many nations who forged a covenant with you, yet they never betrayed you - at the very least toward them you should have shown loyalty. Know, however: "When you finish destroying, you will be destroyed" - when you complete your deeds, the Holy One, Blessed is He, will enact the ultimate plan and then you yourself will be plundered. "Tushad" means both that you will be plundered and also connotes bloodshed, as in the phrase "his blood shall be poured out (yushad) upon the ground." "Kannelotkha" means when you conclude and finish, similar to "nor shall their perfection (minlam) bend to the earth."
The Brisker Rav, Rav Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik, explains in the name of his father, Rav Chaim of Brisk, a wondrous principle: There are predatory creatures whose entire strength lies in their venom, and that venom is their very life force. If the creature does not prey and does not inject its venom, it harms itself - just as a cow must produce milk, and if she does not, it causes her harm. The venom that is not discharged outward begins to exert a destructive effect upon the creature itself.
This is what the verse means: "Woe to you, destroyer, while you were not destroyed" - you are such a destroyer that your entire vitality comes from plundering others. Therefore, "when you finish destroying, you will be destroyed": the moment you cease plundering and can no longer execute your destructive drive, the venom is no longer released outward and it will weaken you from within. Since your entire life force was drawn from the damage you inflicted upon others, once that destruction ceases, you will automatically wither - and consequently, you yourself can be plundered.
Verse 2: Be Their Arm Every Morning
יְהֹוָה חׇנֵּנוּ לְךָ קִוִּינוּ הֱיֵה זְרֹעָם לַבְּקָרִים אַף־יְשׁוּעָתֵנוּ בְּעֵת צָרָה׃ - Hashem, be gracious to us, we have put our hope in You; be their arm every morning, and our salvation in time of distress.
The Jewish people turn to the Holy One, Blessed is He: Master of the Universe, grant us grace as an unearned gift and rescue us from that destroyer. According to Rashi, "be their arm" denotes strength - be for us a mighty arm and a strong hand, day after day as he besieges us, to deliver us from the hand of the enemy.
The Malbim offers an original interpretation: "Zero'am" is related to light, as in "light is sown (zarua) for the righteous." Morning represents the light that arrives after the darkness of night, and night represents distress. And who are those enveloped in the night? The Ten Tribes, who have already been exiled and dwell in the gloom of exile. Therefore they pray: Master of the Universe, for those already in darkness - bring morning upon them, let the light shine upon them. Yet there are also the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Chizkiyahu and his faction, who are now facing the threat of exile, and concerning them they plead: "and our salvation in time of distress" - for us, do not wait until morning, but right now, in the very depths of the night, while Sancheiriv besieges Jerusalem, let salvation come.
Verse 3: At the Noise of the Tumult Peoples Fled
מִקּוֹל הָמוֹן נָדְדוּ עַמִּים מֵרוֹמְמֻתֶךָ נָפְצוּ גּוֹיִם׃ - At the sound of a tumult peoples fled; when You arose, nations were scattered.
At the sound of the tumult of Sancheriv's camp, nations fled. Sancheriv, after all, exiled the nations and mixed them up: he took a nation from here and planted it there, took a nation from there and brought it here. He exiled the Kingdom of Israel to Kutha, Ava, and Sepharvaim, and brought Kuthim from Kutha and settled them in their place. Because of his mixing of the nations, today we no longer know who is an Amalekite and who is an Egyptian, and we have no way of identifying each nation, since an authentic Egyptian or an authentic Amalekite no longer exists.
And why is it called "the sound of a tumult"? Because when the nations went out to war, they would terrify their enemies with sounds: shouting, screaming, and blowing horns. "Hamon" denotes roaring and commotion. From all of Sancheriv's noise, nations fled. Yet we are not afraid, for "when You arose, nations were scattered" - through the exaltation and might of the Holy One, blessed be He, the nations threatening us will be scattered in every direction. And if those who terrify all other nations will be dispersed like this, we have nothing to fear from them.
Verse 4: And Your Spoil Shall Be Gathered Like the Gathering of the Locust
וְאֻסַּף שְׁלַלְכֶם אֹסֶף הֶחָסִיל כְּמַשַּׁק גֵּבִים שֹׁקֵק בּוֹ׃ - And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the locust; as the rushing of cisterns he runs upon it.
In this verse there are two lines of interpretation. The straightforward explanation, according to Chazal, Rashi, and Radak, explains it as referring to the triumph of Israel, who overpowered the enemy and took his spoil. The Malbim, however, explains it in the opposite manner - what the enemy is destined to do to us.
Let us begin with the words of Chazal. In the days of Chizkiyahu, the prophet said to Israel: "Your spoil shall be gathered." For when Sancheriv arrived here, he came with immense spoil that he had taken from Tirhakah, king of Cush. Initially, he was summoned back to defend his own land under attack, and he immediately left everything here, though announcing that he would yet return. When he returned, he returned with all the silver and gold and with his army, and all of this fell into our hands. Israel asked the prophet: Is it to plunder or to divide? There are two ways to deal with spoils of war: to plunder - meaning each person loots for himself and keeps whatever he takes; or to divide - meaning everyone collects the spoil into one large pile and divides it equally among everyone. He told them: "Like the gathering of the chasil-locust" - just like the gathering of locusts, where each person takes for himself, and there is no centralized division.
They asked him: But isn't there also Jewish property in this spoil, since the wealth of the Ten Tribes is mixed into it, which is Jewish money and not Gentile property? He answered them: "As the rushing of cisterns he runs upon it." "Gevim" (cisterns or pools) are ditches where water collects, and people would often immerse in them for purification. Just as these pools raise a person from impurity to purity, so too with the money of Israel: once it fell into the hands of idolaters, it immediately became purified. For when a Gentile plunders money from a Jew and the Jew despairs of recovering it (ye'ush), the money becomes the Gentile's property, and whoever takes it from the Gentile now takes it for himself; we do not say to him, "This is Jewish property, return it." Thus, the money that fell into the "cisterns" - into the hands of Sancheriv - became purified, and you are permitted to take it, and it is yours. According to this interpretation, the verse refers to the enemy's spoil falling into our hands.
The Malbim, however, explains differently: here the Holy One, blessed be He, responds, as it were, to the prophet. We had said, "Woe, spoiler, and you were not spoiled; treacherous dealer, and they did not deal treacherously with you," and we prayed, "Hashem, be gracious to us, for You we have waited; be their arm every morning," arguing that if nations fled at the sound of a tumult, then surely when You reveal Yourself and punish them, "nations will be scattered." To this, the Holy One, blessed be He, replies: "And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the chasil-locust" - the enemy will come and gather your spoil and your wealth with ease, just as one gathers locusts during a downpour. For "gevim" are collection pools of water, and the rain is the "mashak" (downpour) that descends and fills the pools. And the easiest time to gather locusts is in the rain: locusts cannot fly in the rain, the water collects in puddles, and people simply go and gather them with ease. In the same way, your spoil will be gathered easily by Sancheriv - like the gathering of locusts when the waters rush and surge.
Verse 5: He Has Filled Zion with Justice and Righteousness
נִשְׂגָּב יְהֹוָה כִּי שֹׁכֵן מָרוֹם מִלֵּא צִיּוֹן מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה׃ - Hashem is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
Hashem is exalted and elevated in that He dwells on high, meaning He is transcendent and distinct from human beings. And if you ask: Will not Sancheriv come and seize the treasures? The Holy One, blessed be He, replies that He will provide treasures far more precious and exalted than the spoil that was lost - "He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness." For in the wake of Sancheriv's threat, Israel repented and drew closer to the Holy One, blessed be He. Thus, although a treasury of silver and gold was taken from us - since on Sancheriv's earlier incursions he took tribute of silver from us - in return we received justice and righteousness: we repented and drew close to Hashem, and the generation of Chizkiyahu became tzaddikim. Here is immense spoil received in place of the physical spoil that was lost - and it is far more precious than anything Sancheriv took from here.
Verse 6: The Fear of Hashem Is His Treasure
וְהָיָה אֱמוּנַת עִתֶּיךָ חֹסֶן יְשׁוּעֹת חׇכְמַת וָדָעַת יִרְאַת יְהֹוָה הִיא אוֹצָרוֹ׃ - And the faith of your times shall be the strength of salvations, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of Hashem, that is his treasure.
The Malbim explains: "Chosen" (strength/store) means power, spoil, and wealth. In place of the spoil that you lost, you have a different strength and a different gain - "the faith of your times": that you maintained your faith during these bad, difficult times, and your heart did not turn back from faith in Hashem. We saw Chizkiyahu go to sleep with absolute bitachon that the Holy One, blessed be He, would perform a miracle for him. This immense faith is a source of strength for you, a wealth of salvations, of wisdom and knowledge - you attained the knowledge of Hashem and the wisdom to perceive Hashem, may He be blessed. You lost money, but you were strengthened in bitachon and emunah.
And if you ask: Where shall we store this strength, the faith we acquired, and the spiritual strengthening we received? To this, Scripture says: "The fear of Hashem, that is his treasure." The fear of Hashem is the storehouse in which a person preserves everything he has acquired. When a person adopts a good character trait or experiences an ascent in avodat Hashem, how can he preserve it? Through yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven). If he has yirah, he holds onto that spiritual ascent, maintains it, and rises even further. But without yirah - we see something, we are inspired, "There is a God!", and the next day it is back to business as usual. A maidservant saw at the Sea of Reeds and remained a maidservant; they witnessed the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and forty days later made a golden calf. The fear of Hashem is what arrests the momentary inspiration and the faith that accompanied you during those exalted moments, enabling you to leverage them into true avodat Hashem.
The Verse as a Source for the Six Orders of the Mishnah
This verse is familiar to all from the Gemara, which expounds it as an allusion to the Six Orders of the Mishnah. While this is not the literal meaning (peshat) of the verses or their contextual sequence, because of the fundamental nature of this homily, we will present it. The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat 31a states: Reish Lakish said: What is the meaning of that which is written, "And the faith of your times shall be the strength of salvations, wisdom, and knowledge"? "Your times" (itecha) - this refers to Seder Moed; "strength" (chosen) - this refers to Seder Nashim; "salvations" (yeshuot) - this refers to Seder Nezikin; "wisdom" (chochmat) - this refers to Seder Kodashim; "and knowledge" (vada'at) - this refers to Seder Taharot. Even so - even if one learned all six orders and completed the entire Shas - "the fear of Hashem, that is his treasure." Only yirah is the storehouse where everything is retained; without it, you have gathered and gathered, but nothing is preserved in your hands.
Rava said: When a person is brought in for Heavenly judgment, they say to him: Did you conduct your business transactions with integrity? Did you designate set times for Torah study? Did you engage in procreation? Did you eagerly await salvation? Did you engage in deep analysis with wisdom? Did you deduce one matter from another? Even so, after all this, they examine one decisive factor - if "the fear of Hashem is his treasure," yes; and if not, no. This is compared to a person who told his agent: Carry up a kor of wheat for me to the upper attic (where grain was stored). He went and carried it up for him. He asked him: Did you mix into it a kav of chumton (a natural preservative)? He replied: No. He told him: Better that you had not carried it up - for all the grain will rot, and what did you gain from all your effort? So too here: all those accomplishments are valuable only when accompanied by yirat Shamayim. If one did them all without yirat Shamayim - and we explained that this includes one who has no intention to ever reach Torah lishmah (for its own sake), who studies Torah merely for intellectual pleasure rather than with the goal of knowing Hashem, may He be blessed - he is told: Better that you had not carried it up. And even if one does not currently stand at that complete level, one must at least strive to attain lishmah.
How the Orders Are Alluded to in the Verse
"Emunat" (faith) - this refers to Seder Zera'im. The Yerushalmi explains the reason, as cited also by Tosafot: because one has faith in the Life of the Worlds and sows. For to sow seeds requires faith - who knows if rain will fall, and who knows if the crop will not rot in the soil? Many things can happen. Rashi adds another reason: "Emunat" means that one believes in Hashem, and on that basis trusts enough to set aside his tithes. For when you bring the produce home from the field, you separate tithes, and this is no simple matter: twenty percent of one's total yield must be given away. Who is capable of giving like that? Only one who believes in Hashem. One who lacks faith says: Why should I give away twenty percent of my income, and then pay income tax and VAT on top of that? But the believer knows: "Tithe so that you may become wealthy" (Aser kedei shetit'asher); on the contrary, all blessing depends on how much one gives, and blessing and success will surely rest upon him. The Maharsha adds: The first tractate in Seder Zera'im is Berachot, and in the laws of blessings, the first thing learned is to recite one hundred blessings each day, and the listener responds "Amen" - and "Amen" means "I believe in Hashem." Blessings bring a person to emunah and strengthen it.
"Chosen" (strength/store) - this refers to Seder Nashim. For "achsanta" in Aramaic means inheritance, as frequently found in the Targum, and through one's wife there are heirs. It can also be explained in another way: "Honor your wives so that you will become wealthy" - thus one's wife is, so to speak, one's financial strength (chosen). The Maharsha also notes that chosen is an acronym: Chelek Seder Nashim (portion of the Order of Nashim).
"Yeshuot" (salvations) - this refers to Seder Nezikin. One who studies Seder Nezikin knows how to be saved from all manner of trouble: to be careful not to cause damage, that his ox or cow not enter where it should not, and so forth. The Maharsha explains: There are four primary categories of damages (avot nezikin) - the Ox, the Pit, the Tooth/Grazer (Mav'eh), and the Fire (Hev'er) - and the holy books state that they correspond to damages from Heaven, as there are celestial destructive agents that come to harm man, and earthly damages mirror them. We require salvation from Hashem to deliver us from those celestial destructive agents; hence, the title "salvations" is fitting for this order.
"Chochmat" (wisdom) - this refers to Seder Kodashim, as it is well known that Seder Kodashim requires great wisdom. "Vada'at" (and knowledge) - this refers to Seder Taharot, for da'at is superior to chochmah and represents a higher level, where the matter becomes integrated into him as true knowledge - delving deeply into it and understanding it with his intellect as well.
Pasuk 7: Behold, their valiant ones cry outside
הֵן אֶרְאֶלָּם צָעֲקוּ חֻצָה מַלְאֲכֵי שָׁלוֹם מַר יִבְכָּיוּן׃ - Behold, their valiant ones cry outside; the messengers of peace weep bitterly.
The word er'ellam is a unique word in the entire Tanach, with no parallel. For this reason, four different interpretations have been suggested for it. As we have explained, the standard method for clarifying a word in Tanach is through a concordance, as Rashi, Radak, and all the commentators do: when one does not know the meaning of a word, one looks up the other places where it appears, and from the context understands its definition. For example, if one does not know what mashkeh (waters/irrigates) means, and finds a verse where someone waters and a plant grows, one understands that this is an action that causes growth; and from another place one sees "waters with water," understanding that irrigation is moistening the garden so that it will grow. But when a word is unique, there is nothing to compare it to, and one must search for words with similar roots - and that is where divergent opinions begin, as one commentator compares it to one root and another to a different root.
Rashi explains based on the fact that the Altar is called Ariel, and the Beis HaMikdash is likewise called Ariel. "Behold, their Ariel [er'ellam] cry outside" - they already cried out and eulogized in the streets and thoroughfares over the Altar that was lost to them. "The angels of peace weep bitterly" - the angels who were accustomed to herald peace no longer perform their task, because now there is distress and Sancheriv is besieging Jerusalem, the Altar lies idle and neglected, and the people cry outside: Master of the Universe, we wish to return and offer sacrifices!
Radak cites three additional interpretations. First: er'ellam refers to angels, as in the phrase "the er'ellim [angels] conquered the metzukim [mortals]," where it refers to the celestial forces that overcame the giants of the earth. According to this, "Behold, their angels cry outside" - the angels cry out to the Holy One, blessed be He. The matter is repeated in different words, "er'ellam" and "angels of peace," because there are two kinds of emissaries: a physical messenger and a spiritual messenger. As is well known, Chazal sometimes interpret "and he sent messengers [malachim]" as literal angels, and sometimes as human envoys; the word malach can refer to a human agent, and it can refer to a sublime spiritual power. Therefore, it is doubled here to address both types.
Radak cites another interpretation in the name of Targum Yonasan: er'ellam is a contraction of two words - er'eh lahem ("I will appear to them"). The Targum renders: "When it is revealed to them they will cry out bitterly; the emissaries of the nations who went to announce peace will return weeping and bitter of soul" - when it is revealed to them they will shriek bitterly; the emissaries of the nations who went to establish peace with Sancheriv return in tears and bitterness of soul, because Sancheriv did not make peace with them, but rather went and destroyed them all.
The Malbim explains that er'ellam are their mighty warriors, as in the phrase "and he struck the two ariel of Moav on a snowy day" - an expression of a warrior. "Behold, their valiant warriors cry outside" - the warriors of the Assyrian camp cried out outside Jerusalem and called upon them to surrender. This refers to Ravshakeh and his men, who stood and shouted in "Yehudis," that is, in Lashon HaKodesh: "You have no chance! Sancheriv has destroyed everyone and no one has defeated him, he is invincible, so why are you being stubborn? Rebel against Chizkiyahu!" And when they said to him, "Please speak in Aramaic, why do you speak in Yehudis?", he answered that he was not speaking to them [the officials] alone, but wanted the people to hear and rebel against the king - that was their plan. Thus, the warriors stand outside the walls, shouting and blaspheming the Name of God. "And the messengers of peace weep bitterly" - Chizkiyahu had sent emissaries to Sancheriv to make peace with him, and they too return weeping, bringing word that Sancheriv refuses peace, and there is no alternative: he is about to enter and conquer Jerusalem.
Pasuk 8: The highways lie desolate
נָשַׁמּוּ מְסִלּוֹת שָׁבַת עֹבֵר אֹרַח הֵפֵר בְּרִית מָאַס עָרִים לֹא חָשַׁב אֱנוֹשׁ׃ - The highways lie desolate, the wayfarer has ceased; he has broken the covenant, he has despised cities, he regards no man.
"The highways lie desolate" - the thoroughfares, that is, the roads and highways, have become desolate, and not even on the byways does anyone travel. "The wayfarer has ceased" - out of sheer terror, people completely stopped traveling along the roads. Such a reality had already occurred in the days of Sisera: "At the sound of the archers between the water troughs... the highways ceased," until Devorah arose - there was terrible fear, and people were afraid to walk on the roads.
"He has broken the covenant" - the enemy who had an agreement with Chizkiyahu violated it. "He has despised cities" - they said to him: "Look, there are cities here; leave them intact and we will become your vassals and pay you tribute." Yet he despised them, showing no interest in vassal tribute, wishing only to invade, conquer, and destroy everything. "He regards no man" - one might have expected him to at least spare the impoverished of the land, vinedressers and plowmen, showing a measure of mercy to mankind; yet he showed no pity even to simple folk, having determined to come and annihilate everything.
Radak cites an original explanation in the name of his father, suggesting that the verse refers, as it were, to the Holy One, blessed be He, for Israel was saying: God has already broken His covenant with us and despised our cities. For it is written, "a land upon which the eyes of the Lord your God are always set," but now, as it were, He has despised the cities and His eyes are no longer upon us, as Sancheriv has arrived and besieged us, placing us in mortal danger.
Verse 9: The Land Mourns and Languishes
אָבַל אֻמְלְלָה אָרֶץ הֶחְפִּיר לְבָנוֹן קָמַל הָיָה הַשָּׁרוֹן כָּעֲרָבָה וְנֹעֵר בָּשָׁן וְכַרְמֶל׃ - The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is shamed and withered; the Sharon has become like a desert wilderness, and Bashan and Carmel are shaken bare.
"Avel" (mourns) is an expression of mourning: the land languishes and is as if in mourning, including the entire land of Yehudah. "Lebanon is shamed" - Lebanon always represents the lush forest, the Forest of Lebanon, and it was devastated. In the next stage, he laid waste to the Sharon as well, which is "withered; the Sharon has become like a desert wilderness" - "kamel" refers to vegetation that grew and then withered away, and the Sharon became like an aravah, an uninhabited wasteland. "And Bashan and Carmel are shaken" - an expression of shaking out, for Sancheriv conquered and shook out even Bashan and Carmel.
In summary:
The chapter opens with a cry of "Woe" to Sancheriv, the plunderer who has not been plundered and the betrayer whom none have betrayed, along with the promise that once his destructive power is spent, he himself will fall - like that beast whose venom weakens it when it can no longer discharge it. From there, the Jewish people transition to prayer: "Be their arm every morning" for the Ten Tribes in the darkness of exile, "and our salvation in time of trouble" for the inhabitants of Yerushalayim under siege. The prophet depicts the terror of Sancheriv, who exiled and confounded the nations, as well as the spoils - whether it refers to the enemy's spoil that fell into our hands and was gathered pure "as the leaping of locusts," or, according to the Malbim, our own spoil that was gathered up easily like locusts collected in the rain. Yet in exchange for the material treasure that was lost, we received an incomparably precious treasure: "He filled Tzion with justice and righteousness," "the faithfulness of your times shall be the strength of salvations, wisdom, and knowledge" - faith and trust acquired specifically in a time of distress, provided it is preserved in the proper vessel: "the fear of Hashem is his treasure," which serves as the preservative (chumton) that protects the entire kor of grain, and without which it were better had it never been brought up. The conclusion of this section of the chapter presents a grim depiction of the siege: the cries of the Assyrian warriors outside, the weeping of the envoys of peace, the desolate highways, the broken covenant, and the mourning land - a bleak picture out of which salvation is destined to burst forth.