Chapter 48 in Yirmiyahu is an entire prophecy concerning Moab. In this section, we continue from the parable with which the prophet opened - Moab as wine settled on its dregs, which was not emptied from vessel to vessel and did not go into exile, so that its flavor remained in it and its aroma was not diminished - and proceed to the great reversal: the vessel is about to be emptied, the wineskin is about to burst, and the mighty kingdom is about to be broken. We will follow the order of the verses, in light of the commentaries of the Malbim, Rashi, the Radak, and the Metzudos.
לָכֵן הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים נְאֻם ה' וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי לוֹ צֹעִים וְצֵעֻהוּ, וְכֵלָיו יָרִיקוּ וְנִבְלֵיהֶם יְנַפֵּצוּ׃ (יב) - Therefore, behold, days are coming, says Hashem, when I will send tilters against him, and they will tilt him; they will empty his vessels and shatter their jugs. (12)
Hashem says: Behold, days are coming, and I will send him tzo'im - those who will empty him out. If until now Moab was likened to wine that settled on its dregs and was not emptied from vessel to vessel, from now on they will be poured out from place to place. "And shatter their jugs" - Rashi explains yenapetzu as meaning "they will shatter", whereas the Radak cites in the name of his father that yenapetzu means "they will empty", similar to the phrase "and she emptied her jug" (vate'ar kadah), and as in the Rabbinic phrase regarding a man who wishes to divorce his wife that she "empties onto the refuse heap", where it is a euphemism for the same concept. At any rate, the Radak explains that here He informs them that conquerors will come and exile them - pouring them out from place to place, as Targum Yonatan renders: "plunderers, and they will plunder them", meaning that looters will come and sack them. The allegory signifies that the people of Moab are destined to go into exile.
The Malbim delves deeper into the parable. When wine is sealed shut, a process of fermentation can begin within it, and if the vessel is completely sealed - the internal pressure bursts it. People therefore customarily cover the wine during the fermentation stage with a cloth rather than an airtight seal. As is said in Iyov: "Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins it is ready to burst" - wine that was not vented, and the skins (ovot), which are a type of wineskin, burst because of the internal fermentation.
According to this, the Malbim explains that tzo'im vetze'uhu refers to the bubbling and internal tempest of the wine - tzo'eh, zo'ah, so'eh, and so'er all share one root concept: a storm raging within its interior. That is to say, the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not saying here that an enemy will come from the outside and break the jug, but rather that pressures will build inside the vessel itself, like fermenting wine. This is a metaphor for internal turmoil: fermentation will begin within the country, a rebellion will erupt, and it will be every man's sword against his brother. Because of the fermentation, the wineskin will burst and the wine inside will spill out - so too the cities of Moab will be emptied and desolated.
וּבֹשׁ מוֹאָב מִכְּמוֹשׁ, כַּאֲשֶׁר בֹּשׁוּ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל מִבֵּית אֵל מִבְטֶחָם׃ (יג) - And Moab shall be ashamed of Kemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beit-el, their trust. (13)
The ultimate outcome is that Moab will be ashamed of Kemosh, its god. The greatest shame for an idolater comes when he sees that his idol was powerless to save him. He nurtured it, fed it, honored it, offered sacrifices to it - sometimes even his own children - and then the hour of testing arrived, and the idol failed to do its work. Then he is asked: Where is your god? "The people of Kemosh are undone." You trusted in Kemosh, and behold, this god withered (kamash) and faded, and nothing came of it.
"As the house of Israel was ashamed of Beit-el, their trust" - just as Israel was put to shame by the golden calves in Beit-el, upon which they relied and which they worshipped, when they saw that those very calves went into exile along with them. The captors took them as well, showing clearly that the idols you relied upon did not benefit you at all.
אֵיךְ תֹּאמְרוּ גִּבּוֹרִים אֲנָחְנוּ וְאַנְשֵׁי חַיִל לַמִּלְחָמָה׃ (יד) - How can you say, "We are mighty heroes, and men of valor for the war"? (14)
How can you say that you are strong enough to go out to battle? Where is your might, where is your strength? The Malbim explains the doubling of terms: a "gibbor" (mighty man) is naturally courageous, whereas an "ish chayil" (man of valor) is someone trained in the tactics of war. That is, you claim two things: that you are mighty by nature, and that you have also trained and studied at the finest military academies and are versed in all the tactics of war. How can you say such a thing?
שֻׁדַּד מוֹאָב וְעָרֶיהָ עָלָה, וּמִבְחַר בַּחוּרָיו יָרְדוּ לַטָּבַח, נְאֻם הַמֶּלֶךְ ה' צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ׃ (טו) - "Moav is plundered, and her cities have gone up, and the choicest of his young men have gone down to the slaughter, says the King, whose name is the Lord of Hosts." (15)
Here you see that you possess no courage at all. The Malbim explains that "and her cities have gone up" means "and her cities have gone up to the slaughter," with the word "to the slaughter" applying to both halves of the verse. Herein lies the irony: it is a rule in combat doctrine, to this day, that one cannot remain passive. One might perhaps survive by bracing for impact, but one cannot win. To win, one must be active, which is why the rule when facing an attacker is to "engage the threat." One must not seek out a corner to peek from behind and see what happens - meanwhile, the terrorist continues to kill. One must run toward him, close the distance, and then overcome him. Whoever seeks shelter and merely peers out has no chance.
Accordingly, the prophet asks: How can it be that "her cities have gone up to the slaughter"? After all, your warriors should have scaled the enemy's walls to fight him, but here the exact opposite occurred: the enemy came and scaled your walls. That is not how a warrior behaves. A warrior does not sit back and wait for the enemy; he goes out and attacks. Yet here, the enemy ascended against the cities of Moav to slaughter, while the townspeople hid and fled inside the cities.
"And the choicest of his young men have gone down to the slaughter" - normally, the warriors ascend the city wall to fight, while the ordinary citizens go down into hiding. But here the tables were turned: the citizens went up to the high fortress and were slaughtered, while the warriors did not even ascend to try and do anything; rather, they "went down to the slaughter."
קָרוֹב אֵיד מוֹאָב לָבוֹא, וְרָעָתוֹ מִהֲרָה מְאֹד׃ (טז) - "The calamity of Moav is near to come, and his disaster hastens greatly." (16)
"Eid" means ruin or calamity, as in "for the day of their calamity is near" (Devarim 32:35). The ruin of Moav is close at hand. And do not think that although it is near it will tarry - therefore it says, "and his disaster hastens greatly." The Malbim explains the difference: "karov" (near) is the opposite of distant, and it applies to place (he is two meters near you) and to time (the time of redemption draws near). "Maher" (swift), on the other hand, is the opposite of tarrying. It is possible for the time to be near, yet when it arrives, it unfolds slowly; and it is possible for the time to be distant, yet when it arrives, it comes swiftly. Here both aspects are stated: the calamity of Moav is near in both time and place - the enemy is right outside the door - and when it arrives, it will not linger, but will strike with force and speed.
נֻדוּ לוֹ כָּל סְבִיבָיו וְכֹל יֹדְעֵי שְׁמוֹ, אִמְרוּ אֵיכָה נִשְׁבַּר מַטֵּה עֹז מַקֵּל תִּפְאָרָה׃ (יז) - "Bemoan him, all you who are around him, and all you who know his name; say: How is the strong staff broken, the glorious rod!" (17)
The expression "nudu" is related to nodding the head, a sign of lamentation, as in "neither bemoan him" (Yirmiyahu 16:5). The Metzudas David writes: It is the way of one who hears of the loss of something significant to shake his head, moving it right and left. The prophet says: Even now, before it is broken, shake your heads in lamentation for him - for the prophet perceives these events vividly, and the ruin of Moav is very close at hand.
"A strong staff, a glorious rod" - the Malbim explains that a staff (matteh) always signifies kingdom and governance, whereas a rod (makel) signifies striking and beating. When the staff is not a staff of strength but merely one of glory, and the ruler governs with a strong rod and with harsh force, that is not a good thing. But in Moav, the kingdom was powerful in and of itself.
Let us offer a parable to understand this. At times, a ruler arises who does not possess genuine sovereignty; rather, he is a dangerous and extremely violent warlord who seized control of the government by force, like Gaddafi and his ilk. Concerning such a ruler, one cannot say he has a "rod of strength" (mateh oz), for a mateh signifies true governance and authority, and he possesses no such powerful and established government. What does he possess? A "staff of strength" (makel oz) - he knows how to strike, and whoever chirps against the governor is beheaded. The striking is fierce, but the government itself is weak. By contrast, in a country like America there is a rod of strength: the government is intrinsically strong and well-founded.
Notice the principle: when sovereignty is strong, it does not need a staff of strength, and the staff is used merely for glory. For when does a person resort to violence? Every schoolchild knows that the violent teacher is the weak teacher. One who possesses true inner strength quiets the classroom without raising a hand and without shouting. One who lacks genuine authority shouts and threatens constantly. The very ongoing need for violence testifies to weakness. Weak governments are compelled to resort to violence; otherwise, at the slightest slackening of control, the populace causes unrest.
Thus, the ideal state is a "rod of strength and a staff of glory": the government is strong and established in its own right, while the staff is purely ornamental, with no need to strike constantly. Therefore, in most well-ordered countries there is no death penalty and no torture. Conversely, a state of "a rod of glory and a staff of strength" is deplorable - the government is merely a puppet regime, possessing no power except through violence, executing people at the slightest provocation. Moav possessed both a rod of strength and a staff of glory; therefore they cry out: "How is it broken?" How could a government that was properly structured, endowed with all these virtues, be shattered?
רְדִי מִכָּבוֹד וּשְׁבִי בַצָּמָא, יֹשֶׁבֶת בַּת דִּיבוֹן, כִּי שֹׁדֵד מוֹאָב עָלָה בָךְ שִׁחֵת מִבְצָרָיִךְ׃ (יח) - Descend from glory and sit in thirst, you who dwell as the daughter of Divon, for the despoiler of Moav has come up against you and destroyed your strongholds.
Descend from the glory you enjoyed previously, that honor of a rod of strength and a staff of glory, an honor in which nothing was lacking. "And sit in thirst" - this refers to exile, as in the phrase "parched with thirst" (tzechei tzama), for those driven into exile are far from the resources of their homeland, from water and sustenance; thus, exile is consistently described in terms of hunger and thirst. "For the despoiler of Moav has come up against you" - the enemy came and plundered the entire land of Moav, and also destroyed your fortresses: the very strongholds upon which you relied could not save you. The Malbim explains that the "inhabitant of the daughter of Divon" represents the next stage: after the enemy conquered Moav, he advanced toward the daughter of Divon and demolished her fortresses.
אֶל דֶּרֶךְ עִמְדִי וְצַפִּי יוֹשֶׁבֶת עֲרוֹעֵר, שַׁאֲלִי נָס וְנִמְלָטָה, אִמְרִי מַה נִּהְיָתָה׃ (יט) - Stand by the road and watch, you who dwell in Aroer; ask him who flees and her who escapes, say: What has happened?
The Malbim explains that Aroer was situated at the edge of the wilderness, as we saw earlier, "like the tamarisk in the desert" (ka'aro'er bamidbar), a town far removed from civilization. Therefore, he tells her to stand at the crossroads, where she will be able to catch word of the news. How? People are now fleeing and escaping, traveling along the highway. You, living out in the wilderness, do not know what is transpiring; therefore, stand by the road and hear from the fugitives and survivors what has befallen them, since no one from Moav had directly reached Aroer, and they had to stop passersby along the road to ask.
The Malbim further elucidates the distinction between "one who flees" (nas) and "she who escapes" (nimlatah): the male flees, while the female escapes. "To escape" (lehimalet) denotes survival and deliverance, as Chazal taught that a woman's natural charm serves as her protection. An enemy does not naturally seek to kill women, but rather to take them as captive spoils, as the verse says, "a maiden or two maidens for each man" (Shofetim 5:30), taking the women as maidservants and concubines. It turns out that women were more spared from death, so concerning them scripture uses a term of survival - nimlatah. Men, however, were slain, so concerning them scripture uses a term of flight - nas. "Ask him who flees" refers to the men, and "her who escapes" refers to the women.
הֹבִישׁ מוֹאָב כִּי חַתָּה, הֵילִילוּ וּזְעָקוּ, הַגִּידוּ בְאַרְנוֹן כִּי שֻׁדַּד מוֹאָב׃ (כ) - Moav is put to shame, for it is broken; wail and cry out! Proclaim by the Arnon that Moav is despoiled.
And when you ask, they will tell you: "Moav is put to shame, for it is broken" - the word "chatah" denotes shattering, and shame inevitably follows devastating ruin. Therefore, wail and cry out, and spread the news abroad: "Proclaim by the Arnon that Moav is despoiled." The Arnon river lay on the border of Moav, and since Moav has been plundered, the territories bordering along the Arnon now face imminent peril.
וּמִשְׁפָּט בָּא אֶל אֶרֶץ הַמִּישֹׁר, אֶל חֹלוֹן וְאֶל יַהְצָה וְעַל מֵיפָעַת׃ (כא) - And judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, upon Yahzah, and upon Mepha'ath.
After the enemy conquered the fortresses and triumphed in battle, he sat in judgment - in the sense of "rendering judgment," sitting to deliberate - to decide which places to destroy next. And judgment came upon the cities of the tableland: Holon, Yahzah, and Mepha'ath. Interestingly, Holon appears in Scripture as a city in the land of Moab, and it is worth considering how it ended up paying us a visit [as modern Holon]. Generally, efforts were made to name modern towns after biblical sites in that area: they refused to use the name Telz-Stone, and notice that the official signage reads "Kiryat Ye'arim," because research indicated that the area was historically called Kiryat Ye'arim; Beit Shemesh is situated roughly where biblical Beit Shemesh stood, and so forth. In any event, in Scripture, Holon is one of the cities of Moab.
וְעַל דִּיבוֹן וְעַל נְבוֹ וְעַל בֵּית דִּבְלָתָיִם׃ וְעַל קִרְיָתַיִם וְעַל בֵּית גָּמוּל וְעַל בֵּית מְעוֹן׃ וְעַל קְרִיּוֹת וְעַל בָּצְרָה וְעַל כָּל עָרֵי אֶרֶץ מוֹאָב הָרְחֹקוֹת וְהַקְּרֹבוֹת׃ (כב-כד) - And upon Dibon, upon Nevo, and upon Beit Divlatayim; and upon Kiryatayim, upon Beit Gamul, and upon Beit Me'on; and upon Keriyot, upon Botzrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, both far and near.
All of these were included in the "judgment" rendered by the enemies when deciding where to strike next. "Keriyot" is the name of a city. "Far and near" - the far ones are those situated on the border, while the near ones are those located deep inside the country. Metzudat David explains that "far and near" is measured relative to the Arnon River: those far from the Arnon and those near to it.
נִגְדְּעָה קֶרֶן מוֹאָב וּזְרֹעוֹ נִשְׁבָּרָה, נְאֻם ה'׃ (כה) - The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says Hashem.
"The horn of Moab" refers to the kingdom of Moab. Why is sovereignty referred to as a horn? This expression appears frequently throughout Tanach and in our prayers, and once we understand the underlying principle, the simple meaning becomes clear everywhere. The horn is the highest organ on an animal's body; therefore, sovereignty is called a horn, as it towers above all else, exalted and ruling over the entire nation. Thus we pray, "May our horn be lifted," as well as "and elevate the horn of His anointed" - the kingdom of His anointed. Another explanation is that a horn's function is to gore, and when one wishes to describe a powerful empire that rules over the nations, it is said that their horn has been raised, as in "My horn is exalted through Hashem" - I have a horn with which to gore my enemies. We find, then, that the horn expresses two things: height and royalty, and the power to gore one's enemies. Here, both are meant: their kingdom is cut down and their power is shattered.
"And his arm is broken" - the arm refers to the officers and the soldiers, who serve as the king's arm and execute his power. Yonatan translates this as "their rulers are broken," meaning their ministers and notables. Malbim explains that it refers to their troops and their fortresses.
הַשְׁכִּירֻהוּ כִּי עַל ה' הִגְדִּיל, וְסָפַק מוֹאָב בְּקִיאוֹ, וְהָיָה לִשְׂחֹק גַּם הוּא׃ (כו) - Make him drunk, for he has magnified himself against Hashem; Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be an object of ridicule.
"Make him drunk" refers to drunkenness: hand him the poisoned cup and let him drink it to the dregs. "For he has magnified himself against Hashem" - Malbim explains that this parallels the verse in Tzephanyah, "I have heard the reproach of Moab." Radak elaborates: when they saw the distress of Israel, they opened their mouths wide against them and against Hashem, claiming that He was unable to save them. The Moabites stood by and rejoiced over our downfall, saying: they are finished, Hashem can no longer deliver them. We find that Moab were wicked neighbors who would actively summon the invaders and urge them, "Come and strike Israel." When the invaders hesitated, the Moabites reassured them: "You have nothing to worry about; there is idolatry among them, they have acted wickedly, and Hashem has abandoned them - come and attack!" As the Targum renders: "For they exalted themselves against the people of Hashem"; and so it says, "They taunted and magnified themselves against the people of Hashem of Hosts." It turns out that Moab oppressed us, rejoiced over our misery, and orchestrated our defeat - making them fully deserving of everything the prophet foretells concerning them.
"Moab shall wallow in his vomit" - Radak explains that this is like a drunkard who has consumed too much and writhes and rolls from side to side in his own vomit. The word safak is related to clapping hands together (sefikat kapayim), an expression of adhesion, just as one hand is pressed firmly against the other; so too, he is glued to his vomit and rolls in it.
The Malbim explains differently: safak is related to doubt (safek). The drunkard is in doubt - wait, is what I vomited vomit or wine? And since he is not sure, he tastes it to verify, and goes back and drinks, may Hashem save us, what he vomited up, like a dog returning to its vomit, and everyone laughs at him. What is the metaphor here? Just as the drunkard drinks what he vomited, so too the nation of Moav when exiled from its land: after they were exiled, there were individuals among them who began to return, and their return caused the enemy to come and exile them a second time - as if swallowing and vomiting again. This is "and wallowed (safak) in his vomit": he returned to drink it and vomited it a second time. Therefore, "and he shall also be in derision" - people laugh at him and despise him: Was it not enough for you to be struck once, that you returned there only to be struck a second time?
וְאִם לוֹא הַשְּׂחֹק הָיָה לְךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל, אִם בְּגַנָּבִים נִמְצָא, כִּי מִדֵּי דְבָרֶיךָ בּוֹ תִּתְנוֹדָד׃ (כז) - "For was not Yisrael a laughingstock to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you speak of him, you shake yourself?"
Did you not laugh at Yisrael, Moav? When Yisrael experienced the reality of exile, some of them returned to their land, sneaking in like a thief digging through houses in the dark, in secret - for borders cannot be completely sealed - and thus they returned secretly to their land. This is "Was he found among thieves?" "That whenever you speak of him, you shake yourself" - you would speak about him and laugh at him, and someone who laughs rocks and shakes with laughter. You saw that Yisrael tried to return as individuals and were exiled again, and you laughed. Therefore, in the end, Hashem will laugh at you, and everyone will laugh at your downfall.
Rashi explains that titnodad here is not an expression of rocking with laughter, but an expression of rejoicing: whenever you spoke of him, you would rejoice and exult over his downfall, and therefore you will be punished with titnodad in the sense of wandering (nidudim) and exile - therefore, you will be exiled.
עִזְבוּ עָרִים וְשִׁכְנוּ בַסֶּלַע יֹשְׁבֵי מוֹאָב, וִהְיוּ כְיוֹנָה תְּקַנֵּן בְּעֶבְרֵי פִי פָחַת׃ (כח) - "Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, you inhabitants of Moav, and be like a dove that nests on the sides of the mouth of a pit."
Abandon your cities, as it is prophesied that they will be exiled, and dwell in the rock - a place of crevices where doves dwell. Several explanations have been given for "like a dove that nests on the sides of the mouth of a pit."
Rashi brings an explanation he heard: when a river overflows its banks or rushes forcefully, it erodes the riverbank from below, leaving the upper bank jutting out over the water, creating a kind of overhang on both sides. When the waters recede, doves nest down there in that hollow. A pachat is a place that was eroded or hollowed out (nifchat), where the flow of water beneath undercut it, and this is "the sides of the mouth of a pit (pachat)." When winter arrives and the stream swells again, it washes over the places where the dove nests, forcing it to wander away - like a dove nesting on the sides of the mouth of a pit, wandering when the waters rise. Rashi notes: This is what I heard. However, Yonatan did not translate it this way, but rather: "Like a dove that abandons the opening of the dovecote and descends to dwell at the bottom of the pit."
The Radak explains: pachat is a pit, ditch, trench, or deep cavity, as in the phrases "for they have dug a ditch" and "dug a pit." The dove does not want anyone to reach its nest, so it seeks an inaccessible place, which is a spot preceded by a pit. It nests on the far side of the pit's opening so that the pit obstructs anyone attempting to take its nest - requiring them first to leap across the deep, wide chasm, which they cannot do. Thus, it is protected from its enemies.
The Malbim explains: "the sides of the mouth of a pit" refers to a place with two passages or sides, such that if the enemy approaches from one side, the dove flees to the other side, and if he approaches from the other side, it flees back to the first - a deep trench through which the dove can escape from side to side.
In these verses, all of Moav's confidence is overturned. The wine settled on its dregs will ferment from within until the wineskin bursts - rebellion and civil war will empty the cities; Kemosh, his god, will put him to shame just as Yisrael was ashamed of the golden calves of Beit El; claims of valor and military training prove empty, for it is the enemy who has scaled the walls and the choicest young men have gone down to the slaughter; the destruction is near in both place and time, and hastens to arrive; the kingdom that was a mighty staff and a glorious rod has been cut down like a horn and broken like an arm; and Moav, who magnified his mouth against Hashem and rejoiced in Yisrael's distress, will drink the cup of poison and become a laughingstock, returning to his vomit and going into exile time and again, until its inhabitants abandon the cities and nest in rock crevices like a dove fleeing a hunter. From here emerges a profound lesson: there is no true strength in violence and shouting, nor is there security in an idol or a fortress - only in righteous rule and trust in Hashem alone.