Chapter 39 in Yeshayahu is a short chapter, yet it concludes the first major section of the book and opens the gateway to the Babylonian exile. Before turning to the Malbim's explanation, it is worthwhile to read through the entire chapter and examine a series of difficult questions that arise from it.
First, what does Yeshayahu the prophet actually want from Chizkiyahu for displaying his wealth? Did not Shlomo HaMelech display his greatness and his majesty before many nations? Did not monarchs come to pose riddles to him and marvel at his greatness? Is a king forbidden from showing his storehouses of treasure?
Second, in Divrei HaYamim it is stated regarding Chizkiyahu: "Yet Chizkiyahu did not make return according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Yehudah and Yerushalayim." The Malbim asks: what arrogance of heart was there here? He merely went in seeming innocence and showed his treasures! And it is especially difficult to understand what is stated there, that God left him "to test him, to know all that was in his heart" - what great test was taking place here, and what was exposed here that was so terrible?
Third, who ultimately gets punished? His descendants. And what was the sin of his descendants? "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge"? Furthermore, had Yerushalayim itself not sinned? There was idolatry, sexual immorality, and bloodshed there; yet here it seems as though the entire exile is blamed on Chizkiyahu alone: you showed them the treasures - the decree was sealed. Is that the whole story?
And fourth, the sharpest difficulty of all: after Chizkiyahu hears such a terrible decree, he says, "The word of Hashem that you have spoken is good," and adds, "For there shall be peace and truth in my days." What is so good about this? Was Chizkiyahu pleased? Seemingly, it sounds as if he were saying: The main thing is that during my days there will be quiet, and do whatever You will with the children! Does a person speak this way concerning his own children, especially when they are suffering on his account? Any person would feel pangs of conscience. These are the fundamental questions, and with the help of the Malbim's insights we will presently see the explanation.
בָּעֵת הַהִיא שָׁלַח מְרֹדַךְ בַּלְאֲדָן בֶּן־בַּלְאֲדָן מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל סְפָרִים וּמִנְחָה אֶל־חִזְקִיָּהוּ וַיִּשְׁמַע כִּי חָלָה וַיֶּחֱזָק׃ - At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Chizkiyahu; for he had heard that he had been sick, and had recovered.
Rashi cites the words of Chazal explaining what prompted Merodach-baladan to send letters and a gift to Chizkiyahu. This Merodach was accustomed to eating at the third hour and going back to sleep until the ninth hour - in our terms, he would eat at eight or nine in the morning, go back to sleep until three or four in the afternoon, running his kingdom in the late afternoon rather than by day. When the sphere of the sun reversed for Chizkiyahu, upon waking from his sleep at the ninth hour he found that it was morning. In other words, he thought: I have slept a full twenty-four hours; I have slept through an entire day and night.
Over such a thing, he sought to execute all his servants. He said to them: Did you let me sleep day and night until morning without waking me? They said to him: It was the sphere of the sun that turned back. The astonishing thing is that he accepted this explanation as completely matter-of-fact. The sun went backward? Very well, just tell me who turned it back. Apparently, he saw that everyone corroborated this, and that there was no conspiracy or attempt to deceive him. They told him: The God of Chizkiyahu did this. Apparently, within a very short time the matter became known across the world, and the astrologers, who understood esoteric matters, knew to whom to attribute it. He said: If he has such a God, I wish to correspond with him, to know him, and to send him a tribute.
The Malbim reveals what lies beneath the surface in these seemingly straightforward verses. The miracle was tremendous and renowned; "their line has gone out through all the earth." The entire world witnessed the sun reversing ten degrees, turning afternoon back into morning. This was something impossible to ignore. And Babylon dispatched envoys to investigate, spy out, and understand why and on whose account this miracle had been performed.
For in truth, explains the Malbim, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not perform such a monumental miracle merely so that Chizkiyahu would know he will recover. Does someone who needs an aspirin go and buy an entire hospital? In three days he would know he was healed anyway - is that why the sun is turned back ten degrees? Rather, the miracle was certainly performed to broadcast far and wide that there is a great God in heaven. And to whom? "And those lost in the land of Assyria and those cast out in the land of Egypt shall come." The Ten Tribes had already been exiled, and the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to awaken them and say to them: There is a God in heaven Who is still mindful of you. When they see that the God of Israel turns the sun backwards, and the entire world is talking about it, the slender spark that still connects them to their heritage is rekindled.
And indeed, Chazal say that in the wake of the miracle, some of the Ten Tribes returned to their land to seek refuge under Chizkiyahu's protection, and no one opposed them, for the dread of them had fallen upon all the inhabitants of the land, just as Yeshayahu had prophesied in several places earlier. Says the Malbim: had they merited it, this would have been the opportunity for the general ingathering of exiles, for the coming of Mashiach, and for the final Redemption - had they only used the miracle as a catalyst to draw closer to Hashem. And this is what Chazal meant when they said: "The Holy One, blessed be He, sought to make Chizkiyahu the Mashiach." There was a divine plan here for the Redemption to arrive right then. Yet from this very episode, instead of great benefit, great ruin emerged.
Who arrives here? Merodach-baladan, king of Babylon. From the plain meaning of the verses, it appears he came out of innocent admiration. But that is not so. Throughout Tanach, we see a close alliance between the king of Babylon and the king of Assyria; at times Assyria, the Chaldeans, and Babylon are even referred to as a single empire. Remember what happened to Sancheriv: he and his entire army, one hundred and eighty thousand troop commanders, perished. To Babylon, this was an excruciating blow; they were cut from the same cloth. From that moment on, they plotted how to take vengeance on the people of Israel, how to recoup all those millions - for Sancheriv had arrived with all the silver and gold he had captured from Tirhakah, king of Cush, and all of it remained in our hands, while they had lost an army of millions.
And they did not wait long. In the days of Menashe, Scripture records that the army officers of the king of Assyria came against him, bound him in fetters, and carried him off to Babylon, putting him inside a copper cauldron - the well-known story where he began crying out to Hashem. Understand, then, how intensely curious they were to discover the secret of the Jewish people's power. Notice their cunning: they presented themselves as polite, admiring visitors, but in reality they sought to uncover this secret weapon and learn how to neutralize it. This was precisely the tactic of Delilah when she coaxed Shimshon: "Tell me wherein your great strength lies, and with what you might be bound to afflict you." They wanted to know if this power could be overcome.
Chizkiyahu, however, did not grasp this. He did not realize they had come as spies; he assumed they had come out of genuine awe and admiration. And when they asked him by what merit such a tremendous sign had occurred, instead of explaining that the Holy One, blessed be He, remembers the Ten Tribes and seeks to awaken them and gather His dispersed, what did he tell them? Me. Do you know how esteemed I am before the Holy One, blessed be He? He moved the sun ten degrees backward for my sake, as a sign that I would recover from my illness.
And this was a grave sin on Chizkiyahu's part, says the Malbim, identified in Divrei HaYamim: "for his heart was lifted up; therefore wrath came upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem." The Holy One, blessed be He, performs such an astonishing wonder, and you claim it for yourself - for what? Merely to say that you would heal from your illness? Had you conveyed matters as they truly were, Assyria would have released the lost souls in its land, Egypt the outcasts in its land, and everyone would have recognized that there is a God in heaven. Instead, you put them at ease: No, no, this was all about me.
The Malbim notes that his sin was twofold - a double failing. The first was an element of pride: that the Holy One, blessed be He, performed such an immense wonder specifically for my sake. Concerning this, Divrei HaYamim states, "God left him, to test him, to know all that was in his heart." The Malbim asks: Why did Hashem not tell him explicitly that the miracle was intended to stir the Ten Tribes? He answers: this was the very test, "to test him, to know all that was in his heart." Hashem wanted to examine this trait. This is not meant literally, of course, since the Almighty already knows what is in man's heart; rather, Heaven does not punish a person for mere thoughts in the heart, and Hashem wished to see whether this sentiment would translate from potential into action.
And the second sin was that he went and said this specifically to the Babylonian ministers. The Malbim observes that this was not only a transgression, but outright foolishness. For what was the result of his statement? They were reassured: We thought Hashem performed such wonders for the nation of Israel as a whole, but it turns out it was purely personal for him. Their conclusion: let us wait until Chizkiyahu's days come to an end, and once he dies, we will deal with his son. Chizkiyahu is an exceptionally righteous man for whom God performs miracles unlike anything seen before; once he is gone, these miracles will cease, and then we will overcome them. Thus, Chizkiyahu inadvertently emboldened them: this is my private miracle, you have nothing to fear from the Jewish people. He did not say this explicitly, but by claiming the miracle for himself, he effectively gave them the green light to invade later on.
And this, the Malbim explains, is what emboldened them to attack in the days of Menashe. Throughout Chizkiyahu's reign there was peace - with such a nation one does not tangle; if someone can turn back the sun, who knows what else he is capable of! But once he passes away, we will settle accounts with his son. Thus they invaded, "thinking that their protection had departed upon their king's death." This is why Chazal taught that the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to make Chizkiyahu the Mashiach, but he did not utter song: instead of thanking Hashem for the miracle wrought to gather His banished, you claimed the miracle for yourself. Because of this, the general ingathering did not occur, the outcasts were not assembled, the redemption of Israel did not arrive, and the fear of Israel held by the kings of Assyria vanished, leading them to attack.
וַיִּשְׂמַח עֲלֵיהֶם חִזְקִיָּהוּ וַיַּרְאֵם אֶת־בֵּית נְכֹתֹה אֶת־הַכֶּסֶף וְאֶת־הַזָּהָב וְאֶת־הַבְּשָׂמִים וְאֵת הַשֶּׁמֶן הַטּוֹב וְאֵת כָּל־בֵּית כֵּלָיו וְאֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר נִמְצָא בְּאֹצְרֹתָיו לֹא־הָיָה דָבָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא־הֶרְאָם חִזְקִיָּהוּ בְּבֵיתוֹ וּבְכָל־מֶמְשַׁלְתּוֹ׃ - And Chizkiyahu rejoiced over them, and showed them the house of his treasures, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his entire armory, and all that was found in his storehouses; there was nothing that Chizkiyahu did not show them in his house, nor in all his realm.
"The house of his treasures" (beit nechoto) - Rashi explains that this refers to his storehouse of spices, a special treasury where all the spices were kept, as in the verse "spicery (nechot), balm, and ladanum." "And the precious oil" - some say this was the anointing oil used to anoint kings and kohanim, while others say it was balsam oil. Balsam oil was found in the Land of Israel, and Sefer Yosippon mentions that it grew in Yericho, and Yericho was named for its fragrance (rei'ach). This should not be confused with the persimmon found in markets today, which is entirely unrelated. This oil was exceedingly precious, and its fragrance carried far and wide.
What was it used for? Among the people of Sedom, when they wanted to discover where a person hid his money, they would leave a deposit with him along with a vial of balsam oil. The host would place everything in his safe or secret hiding place, and the Sedomite would return at night, sniffing like a puppy after the scent of the balsam, locate the spot, and take his own deposit as well as the host's money. Those were their methods. Incidentally, the mother-in-law who set her daughter-in-law on fire also used balsam oil, as it catches fire easily.
"There was nothing that he did not show them" - Chazal say he showed them even the Sefer Torah and the Tablets of the Covenant. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (104a) asks: What is "beit nechoto"? Rav said: His wife served them drinks - instead of maintaining modesty and having servants attend to them, he brought out his own wife to serve them; ostensibly honoring them, but where was his own dignity? Shmuel said: He showed them his treasure house. Rabbi Yochanan said: Armor that devours armor, meaning iron that overpowers iron - a hardened steel capable of sawing through any other iron, akin to what is called tempered steel today, capable of bending, breaking, and cutting through all other metals.
The Malbim explains: "And he rejoiced over them (aleihem)" and not "in them (bahem)" - to teach you that he did not rejoice in the envoys themselves, as he sensed they had not come as allies and friends, but rather to investigate the source of his strength. Yet he rejoiced because of them, for now he had someone before whom to boast. Here was an opportunity to show off his greatness, how much honor and wealth he possessed, and the immense treasures at his disposal. His intention was to say: Do not think I am merely favored in the eyes of Hashem; know that I am also successful in all my worldly affairs, in wealth, in prestige, in the rare traits of royalty, and with extraordinary success.
Here, too, was a twofold sin. The first, in the words of the Malbim, was against political wisdom - an act of sheer foolishness from a rational standpoint. After all, if you already recognized that they came to spy, why show them your treasures? By doing so, you merely provoked them and whetted their appetite, signaling that there are fortunes here. It is the way of kings to conceal their treasures so as not to entice foreign monarchs to invade and conquer them, yet you revealed everything. The second sin was against Hashem: a king is commanded, "neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold," the reason being "that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren." Here, Hashem had multiplied your silver and gold, and you boasted of it and took pride before them - you stumbled in the very trap the Torah warned against, allowing your heart to become haughty and attributing all your success to yourself.
וַיָּבֹא יְשַׁעְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ חִזְקִיָּהוּ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו מָה אָמְרוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה וּמֵאַיִן יָבֹאוּ אֵלֶיךָ וַיֹּאמֶר חִזְקִיָּהוּ מֵאֶרֶץ רְחוֹקָה בָּאוּ אֵלַי מִבָּבֶל׃ - Then Yeshayahu the prophet came to King Chizkiyahu, and said to him: "What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?" And Chizkiyahu said: "They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon."
Rashi cites the words of Chazal: He was one of three men whom the Omnipresent tested and found to be like a chamber pot. This is a sharp expression, comparing God to one who taps on a vessel to test its soundness, only to discover that it is flawed. Who were they? Kayin, Chizkiyahu, and Bil'am. Chizkiyahu should have replied: Why do you ask me who and what; after all, you are a prophet and ought to know! Instead, he began boasting, saying, "They have come to me from a far country," and was punished accordingly. So too with Bil'am: when the Holy One, blessed be He, asked him, "Who are these men with you?" he should have replied: Master of the Universe, is anything hidden from You? Instead, he answered, "Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Moav, sent to me" - as if to say: Look how important I am, kings send delegations to me! And so too with Kayin: when the Holy One, blessed be He, asked him, "Where is Hevel your brother?" he should have said: Master of the Universe, all hidden things are revealed before You. Instead, he said, "I know not; am I my brother's keeper?" - is that any way to answer the Creator of the universe?
The Malbim examines the prophet's inquiry closely. There are actually two questions here, but their sequence seems puzzling: first, "What did these men say?" and only then, "and from where did they come to you?" Logically, he should have asked first where they came from, and only then delved into the details. Furthermore, the answer is perplexing: "They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon." If you are already naming the place, what need is there to add that it is far away? Yeshayahu knew full well whether Babylon was near or far. Just as if someone asks you where visitors are from and you reply "from America," there is no need to add "from afar."
Rather, Yeshayahu came to rebuke him for both matters in which he sinned. First, "What did these men say?" - meaning regarding the sign: what did they ask you, and what did you answer them? This was the more severe question. Then, "and from where did they come to you?" - did you not fear that these dangerous men would develop an appetite and return with their army to plunder spoil? The second question is secondary to the first. For how could you have boasted and taken pride, claiming that this entire great miracle was performed for your sake? Especially since by doing so, you signaled "I am the great one here," leading them to conclude they should simply wait until you die and then seize the kingdom from your son. As long as you are alive they will not take the risk, but after you they will come. Had you instead stated that the people of Israel are beloved before Hashem, they would have concluded that it is better not to tamper with this nation at all.
Chizkiyahu, who was a righteous and wise king, understood both questions and the rebuke contained within them very well. Notice: he completely ignores the first question. To the charge that he claimed the miracle occurred in his merit, he had no answer - for indeed, he was caught at fault there, and so he remained silent. To the second question he replies: "They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon" - and now the redundancy is understood. His meaning was: no danger has ever threatened me from Babylon; as far as I am concerned, it is like a distant land from which no threat emerges. And if there is no risk from them, there is no need to harbor concerns, which is why I showed them my treasures. On this point, he had some defense.
וַיֹּאמֶר מָה רָאוּ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וַיֹּאמֶר חִזְקִיָּהוּ אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר בְּבֵיתִי רָאוּ לֹא־הָיָה דָבָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא־הִרְאִיתִים בְּאוֹצְרֹתָי׃ - And he said, "What have they seen in your house?" And Chizkiyahu said, "They have seen all that is in my house; there was nothing among my treasuries that I did not show them."
Now the prophet returns to ask specifically about the point to which he had indeed responded. And Chizkiyahu explains his stance fully: Since, to my understanding, they are from a distant land, there is no impediment to showing them, and therefore "there was nothing among my treasuries that I did not show them." I showed everything, for there is no room here for concern.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְשַׁעְיָהוּ אֶל־חִזְקִיָּהוּ שְׁמַע דְּבַר־ה' צְבָאוֹת׃ הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים וְנִשָּׂא כָּל־אֲשֶׁר בְּבֵיתֶךָ וַאֲשֶׁר אָצְרוּ אֲבֹתֶיךָ עַד־הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָּבֶל לֹא־יִוָּתֵר דָּבָר אָמַר ה'׃ וּמִבָּנֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר יֵצְאוּ מִמְּךָ אֲשֶׁר תּוֹלִיד יִקָּחוּ וְהָיוּ סָרִיסִים בְּהֵיכַל מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל׃ - And Yeshayahu said to Chizkiyahu, "Hear the word of the Lord of Hosts: Behold, days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will father, they will take, and they will be officers in the palace of the king of Babylon."
The prophet tells him: Although it seems to you now that these men come from a distant land and have no connection here, look at what you have caused. They saw your treasures, and this aroused their desire to come and conquer. And just as you said, "there was nothing among my treasuries that I did not show them," so there will be nothing left that they will not take from your treasures. And not only the wealth, but also your sons: "and they will be officers in the palace of the king of Babylon." And who are they? Rashi explains: Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, royal descendants, who were also taken.
וַיֹּאמֶר חִזְקִיָּהוּ אֶל־יְשַׁעְיָהוּ טוֹב דְּבַר־ה' אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ וַיֹּאמֶר כִּי יִהְיֶה שָׁלוֹם וֶאֱמֶת בְּיָמָי׃ - And Chizkiyahu said to Yeshayahu, "Good is the word of the Lord which you have spoken." And he said, "For there will be peace and truth in my days."
This reaction is startling, and seemingly very difficult: What is good about this curse? And is saying "there will be peace and truth in my days" not purely selfish? Surely one would not say such a thing about an ordinary person, all the more so about a righteous king like Chizkiyahu, and especially when he knows that the trouble coming upon his children is happening because of him! How could he adopt an attitude of "peace be upon my own soul"?
The Malbim explains: Chizkiyahu recognized that he had acted foolishly, admitted that he was wrong, and justified the word of the Lord from two perspectives. First, from the perspective of wisdom: this is not a punishment imposed arbitrarily from the outside; rather, you reap what you sow. You cooked up an invitation for an invasion - you will receive the invasion. Inevitably they will come and conquer, and this stems from your own foolishness; you have no one else to blame. Second, from the perspective of justice and righteousness as a punishment: since I became arrogant and acted contrary to the will of Hashem, I deserve punishment. Thus, "Good is the word of the Lord" - I accept Heaven's judgment upon myself; there is truth and justice in this verdict, and I do not complain about this harsh decree.
And now to the second part, which contains a wonderful insight. There is a fundamental difference between a decree for good and a decree for bad, a principle we have encountered several times. A decree for good must inevitably be fulfilled; it is neither dependent upon nor conditional on subsequent behavior or change of deeds. In contrast, a decree for bad is not guaranteed to come to pass, for it is possible that people will repent and it will be annulled. We see this numerous times throughout the Prophets, and the Rambam writes this as well: When testing a prophet to see if he is a true prophet, we tell him to prophesy something good that will occur at a specific time. We do not ask him to prophesy something bad, for if he says that war will break out in two weeks and it does not, he can always claim that they repented. But if he promised great abundance and it did not materialize, he has no excuse, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, never reneges on a promise of good. (Except for the singular case of Eli and the House of Eli, which has been discussed elsewhere and is not the subject here.)
Now notice what we have here: two decrees, one for bad and one for good. The decree for bad is that enemies will come upon your sons - and this decree is not bound to happen, for perhaps my sons will mend their ways, perhaps they will repent, and perhaps I will repent as well. About this I am less troubled, for it can be annulled. Yet from that very pronouncement emerges a decree for good: that in your days evil will not come, "for there will be peace and truth in my days." And this is a promise of good that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will certainly not retract. It turns out that the good is guaranteed, while the bad is not absolute - and there is certainly reason here to rejoice and give thanks.
This brings to mind a story once told: A man came from the doctors to his Rebbe and burst into tears. The Rebbe asked him, "Why are you crying?" He answered, "I was at the doctors and they told me I only have three months left; beyond that they promise nothing." The Rebbe said to him, "Rejoice! To me, they have not promised even a single day. Who guarantees you even one moment? To you, they guaranteed three months of life - all honor to that doctor, he acted with greatness!" This is the nature of a decree for good. A person who is promised such a good promise, "there will be peace and truth in my days," coming directly from Hashem, can be at ease. And as for the harsh decree, may Hashem grant that they repent, and may the decree be transformed for good.
Chapter 39 reveals how an opportunity for redemption turned into a decree of exile. The great miracle of the sun reversing course was not performed merely for Chizkiyahu's personal knowledge, but to awaken the outcasts of Israel in Assyria and Egypt and to publicize the Name of Heaven throughout the world; had it been properly utilized, Chizkiyahu would have become Mashiach. Instead, Chizkiyahu appropriated the miracle for himself before the ministers of Babylon, thereby sinning in two ways: in arrogance toward Heaven, and in foolishness that pacified his enemies and invited them to come in the days of his son. Likewise, in showing his treasures, he sinned doubly: against the wisdom of leadership, by inciting the conqueror's greed, and against the command that a king "shall not multiply for himself silver and gold," which was intended to prevent haughtiness of heart. Therefore, the prophet rebuked him with two questions, and to the more severe of them, Chizkiyahu had no answer. Yet in the end, in his greatness, Chizkiyahu accepted the divine judgment upon himself from the standpoint of both wisdom and justice, rejoicing in the positive promise that would not be retracted, while holding out hope regarding the harsh decree that the repentance of his children might annul it.