"Canaan, balances of deceit are in his hand; he loves to defraud." All the commentators explain that "Canaan" here means a merchant. A Canaanite is a merchant, as in "she makes a belt and gives it to the Canaanite" (Mishlei 31:24), meaning she gives it to a merchant. Since the Canaanites customarily engaged in trade, all merchants were referred to as Canaanites, even if they were Israelites. The Malbim explains: until now, he explained the first half of the opening verse, "Ephraim has surrounded Me with lies." He explained what their falsehood was - their heresy and apostasy, denying Divine Providence and serving the celestial hosts, the heavenly bodies. Now he explains the second half of the first verse: "and the House of Israel with deceit." To what does this refer? This refers to the sins they committed against their fellow man - deceit and fraud. Just like a Canaanite merchant who engages in commerce holding balances of deceit in his hand because he loves to defraud - "he loves to defraud" - so his scales are deceitfully crafted or uncalibrated, rigged to always cause the buyer a loss. Such was their conduct in interpersonal relations: they sinned in these matters just like a Canaanite merchant who loves to defraud.
"And Ephraim said: Indeed, I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself." Rashi opens with an aggadic Midrash that Rabbi Shimon would expound: "I have found an on for myself" - I have found a promissory note (shtar chov) granting me kingship over Israel. That is, Yarovam ben Nevat claimed when he came to rule over Israel: I have rights over them, I have a promissory note proving they belong to me. And on means a deed, as the Mishna and Gemara speak of writing an ono, meaning a contract or deed. What was this deed? With what claim and demand did Yarovam assert authority over the people of Israel? "And Ephraim said: Indeed, I have become rich, I have found an on for myself" - I have great wealth, I have a deed proving my dominion. For when the brothers came to Joseph, they fell before him and said, "Behold, we are your slaves" (Bereishit 50:18). I descend from Joseph, from the tribe of Ephraim, and the other tribes are slaves to my father, Joseph. Therefore, I hold a deed showing they belong to me! In plain words: I have sovereignty over them and a claim to their property, because my father acquired them as slaves; consequently, I inherited them, and through this I became wealthy - "I have found an on for myself," I found a promissory note.
"In all my labors they shall find no iniquity in me that were sin." And since this is so, there is no sin in me if I take them as slaves, for whatever belongs to them belongs to me, and whatever a slave acquires belongs to his master. What does the Holy One, blessed be He, say to him in the next verse? "Yet I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; I will yet make you dwell in tents as in the days of the appointed season." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Behold, we are your slaves" you did not forget, but "I am the Lord your God" written in the Ten Commandments you forgot?! You went and set up two calves, one in Beit El and one in Dan! This is what is meant by "Yet I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt." He says to him: You did not forget the promissory note that they belong to you as slaves, but conveniently forgot "I am the Lord your God" and went and established calves for yourself?!
Now, this is a beautiful Midrash, but take note: it is a Midrash. The plain meaning of the verse (peshuto shel mikra) is not speaking about this. Let us understand what the plain meaning is addressing. Ephraim says - as it were, the people of Israel, the children of the tribe of Ephraim, meaning the Ten Tribes - "I have found wealth for myself." That is, through extortion, through balances of deceit, as we saw above: "Canaan, balances of deceit are in his hand; he loves to defraud." And "I am the Lord your God," says Hashem, "who brought you out from the land of Egypt" - there in Egypt, I distinguished between the drop of a firstborn and a drop that was not of a firstborn. Hashem says: I am also the One Who knows and the One Who exacts retribution from whoever sets up balances of deceit, and from whoever buries his weights in salt to cheat! Deceitful scales were always used covertly. A customer would not know he was being cheated, for if he knew, he would never buy from you again and would take you to court. Therefore, the method of deceitful scales was to trick and deceive the buyer while he remained certain you were acting honestly. What did they do? They would bury the weights in salt, causing the salt to erode the weight imperceptibly. Then, when he placed the weight, instead of a kilogram, it weighed only 950 grams. If twenty people bought from him that day, he gained a full kilogram! Each received 950 grams instead of a kilogram, and in the end, he walked away with a profit. This is what is meant by "balances of deceit."
The Holy One, blessed be He, says: You think no one knows, no one recognizes your actions. As it says, "And Ephraim said: Indeed, I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself." I have wealth, power, and riches - from where? From the extortion of deceitful scales! The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: You think this way, but "Yet I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt." Hashem says: Did you forget that in Egypt I knew how to distinguish between the drop of a firstborn and a drop that was not of a firstborn? Practically speaking, you may be able to deceive those around you, but not the Holy One, blessed be He. And Hashem says: You tell yourself, "I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself," but it would have been far better had you said in your heart, "All my wealth is insufficient to atone for my sins." That would have been much better! At least you would have found reasons to repent. That is what He says to him: It would have been better had you said, "In all my labors they shall find no iniquity in me that were sin" - all my toil will not be enough to atone for the iniquity and the sins I have committed.
Targum Yonatan translates similarly, that the prophet tells them: "All your wealth will not endure for you on the day your debts are settled" - that is, it will not be enough to atone for your deeds. In truth, the wording of Targum Yonatan seems to imply that this wealth will simply not last - as it says of one who amasses wealth unjustly, "in the midst of his days it shall leave him" (Yirmeyahu 17:11). "All your wealth will not endure for you on the day your debts are settled." But Rashi might understand "endure for you" in the sense of "stand by you" - it is not merely that the wealth will vanish, but rather that it will not stand by you to protect and rescue you on the day I reckon your sins. Thus, according to Rashi, "they shall find no iniquity in me" - *lo yimtze'u* means "they will not suffice," just as in "Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to suffice for them (*u-matza lahem*)?" (Bamidbar 11:22). *U-matza lahem* means suffice for them. So he says: It would have been better had you told yourself, "All my labors, all my wealth, will not suffice for me to atone for the iniquity and sins I have committed." Radak explains that here lies an indictment against Ephraim: "And Ephraim said: Indeed, I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself." This is the exact opposite of "and wait for your God continually," which teaches that one must always place his hope in Hashem and recognize that everything comes from Him. Ephraim, in his arrogance, comes and boasts: "I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself" - "My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth" (Devarim 8:17), forgetting that it is Hashem Who gives you the power to get wealth, as it is written, "lest you forget the Lord your God." What does he say? "I have become rich" - by my own efforts I grew wealthy. "I have found *on*" - Radak says this can be understood in two ways: either *on* in its literal sense of power and strength, since money is power; or *on* is interchangeable with *hon* (wealth), as the letters aleph and hei interchange, meaning "I have found great wealth for myself." He forgets that everything comes from Him, blessed be He, and imagines that it is all his own doing: I made myself rich.
"In all my labors they shall find no iniquity in me that were sin." Radak notes an additional evil here: he defrauds and extorts, yet insists that in all he has acquired, there is no money tainted by iniquity or sin. Everything I did here is kosher, entirely legitimate! He feels no remorse that this money came through theft, nor does he acknowledge that it came through sin and iniquity. And even if you claim there was some wrongdoing, he asserts it was merely an inadvertent slip (*chet*). What is the difference between *avon* (iniquity) and *chet* (sin)? An *avon* is intentional, whereas a *chet* is unintentional. That is: even if some tainted money adhered to me, listen, it was an accident - what could I do? It was not an *avon*; rather, if you find an iniquity in me, it was merely a *chet*, an inadvertent error committed without my knowledge.
The Malbim explains: The Holy One, blessed be He, charges him, "Canaan, balances of deceit are in his hand; he loves to defraud." Ephraim counters: Master of the Universe, I am not defrauding! How do people say today? "That's business!" Master of the Universe, it's business, what can one do? Such are the terms of commerce! What can one do - whoever walks a completely straight line ends up in the cemetery! One has to know how to be flexible, how to smooth things over... and all sorts of sanitized expressions whose plain meaning is robbery, extortion, and cheating. People smooth over everything under the guise of making a living: "One has to make a parnassah, one has to get by." And so he says: True, I have become rich and found wealth for myself, having methods to turn a profit in trade, so even if I used balances of deceit, it is not considered a sin. That is, since I did not achieve this through outright theft, but through the regular channels of commerce - well, in business there are tricks of the trade! Using deceitful scales is not counted as a sin. Notice that according to the Malbim, "in all my labors" means: since I achieved this through my own labor, "they shall find no iniquity in me that were sin." What is the difference between *avon* and *chet*? The Malbim consistently explains that *avon* is a distortion of the intellect. When a person invents a justification for himself and turns it into an ideology, that is called *avon* - it becomes intentional, because he convinced himself that this is how things ought to be done. In contrast, *chet* usually stems from desire and is considered unintentional, for desire itself is a kind of lapse in judgment. So he claims: neither *avon* nor *chet* will be found in me! According to the Malbim, he is asserting: Even if this is an *avon* according to the Torah, it is not inherently a sin, because it was achieved through honest toil. "They shall find no iniquity in me that were sin" - they will find no iniquity that is inherently sinful, because this infraction is only from the Torah's perspective, whereas among men, these are the norms of commerce; this is how merchants trade, and that is simply how it works.
"Yet I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; I will yet make you dwell in tents as in the days of the appointed season." The Holy One, blessed be He, answers Ephraim. The Malbim explains: "Yet I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt." Notice that the Exodus from Egypt is explicitly mentioned in connection with the prohibition of charging interest (ribit) and the prohibition of falsifying weights! Both by the law against usury and by the law against false weights, the Torah states: "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt." Why? Because in Egypt, says the Malbim, they lived in utter poverty. They did not lend with interest, because a destitute person has no money to lend. Nor did they hold balances of deceit, because an impoverished person who is not a merchant has no means to cheat, and thus has no scales of deceit. Therefore He says: Remember the day you went out of the land of Egypt! That is: if you lend with interest, if you cheat with weights, I will return you to your condition in Egypt! In Egypt you took no interest and did not cheat with weights - why? Because of deep poverty! Do you wish to return to that state? Do you want to return to that reality? Hashem says to them: Remember that I am the Lord your God Who brought you up from the land of Egypt, where you lived in abject poverty. If you continue to weigh with balances of deceit, "I will yet make you dwell in tents as in the days of the appointed season" - I will reduce you once again to being poor tent-dwellers, without homes or permanent shelter, just as you were during the appointed days of your departure from Egypt. It is therefore in your best interest to act uprightly, lest I return you to that condition. Alternatively, the Malbim offers another explanation: you will cease from all commerce and acquisitions, just as people cease from trade on festivals and holy days. "As in the days of the appointed season" - just as one does not conduct business on a Yom Tov, so I will return you to poverty like the days of a festival, where you will be unable to engage in commerce, just as on festive days there are no merchants.
According to Rashi, this verse is actually a favorable prophecy: "Yet I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; I will yet make you dwell in tents as in the days of the appointed season." I will eliminate the deceitful merchants from your midst and make you dwell in tents - which Rashi explains as raising up from among you Torah scholars who immerse themselves in Torah study, as it is written, "when a man dies in a tent" (Bamidbar 19:14), meaning one who devotes his life to the tent of Torah. Thus Hashem says: I am Hashem Who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and I offer you here a gracious promise: "I will yet make you dwell in tents" - I will remove the deceitful merchants from your midst, and there will arise from you Torah scholars who grow great in Torah.
According to Radak, this is likewise an indictment against Ephraim. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: How dare you rebel against My word after all the goodness I bestowed upon you? According to Radak, all the subsequent verses are explained along this theme: Hashem reminds them of the favors and kindnesses He performed for them, which only magnifies the grievance against them. How could you act so corruptly after all these kindnesses? After all the bountiful good I showered upon you, how can you be so ungrateful? "Yet I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt" - your ancestors knew Me from that very time; I performed signs and wonders for them, taking them out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You ought to have known Me; you ought to have cleaved to Me. When you failed to do so, you displayed gross ingratitude, refusing to take to heart the goodness I performed for your forefathers and for you.
"I have also spoken to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by the hand of the prophets I used similes." "I have also spoken to the prophets" - according to Radak, this was part of the bounty: I delivered prophecies to you, I multiplied visions, and I made Myself known through the hand of the prophets - so how did you dare corrupt your ways? According to the Malbim, Hashem says: I wanted to bring them back in repentance! I multiplied prophets for them. Scripture records that in the days of Achav there were hundreds of prophets, all disciples of Eliyahu. They would rebuke the people until Izevel came and slaughtered the prophets of Hashem, leaving only fifty hidden in one cave and fifty in another. Before that, however, there were hundreds of prophets. So Hashem says: "and I have multiplied visions" - I increased visions and prophecy to speak to the people and bring them to repentance. What is the difference between "prophets" and "vision" (chazon)? The Malbim explains that *chazon* is a specific type of prophecy where Hashem speaks through imagery and allegories. Regarding this He says, "and by the hand of the prophets I used similes." The Malbim explains that a *chazon* is what the prophet sees in a prophetic vision, while the simile refers to symbolic images the prophet perceives that represent the prophecy - such as "I see a rod of an almond tree" (Yirmeyahu 1:11), a seething pot (ibid. 1:13), or a basket of summer fruit (Amos 8:1), which are visual metaphors for the prophetic message. And the speech - "I have also spoken to the prophets" - refers to the actual words Hashem addresses to him, when he hears the voice of Hashem speaking during the vision.
"If Gilead is iniquity, they have become utter vanity; in Gilgal they sacrificed bullocks; yea, their altars are as heaps upon the furrows of the field." Rashi explains: "If Gilead is iniquity" - if iniquity, ruin, catastrophe, and distress came upon the people of Gilead, who were exiled and stricken, it was entirely their own fault. They brought it upon themselves, for "they have become utter vanity" - all their actions were vanity and emptiness. And not only that: "in Gilgal they sacrificed bullocks" - in Gilgal they continued offering sacrifices to idols. Furthermore, observe the staggering quantity of their altars: "yea, their altars are as heaps upon the furrows of the field." Just as the furrows of a plowed field form mounds of earth, so too their altars were like heaps upon the furrows of the field: every single spot had an altar, as numerous as the furrows across the fields! This is what the Gemara says (Sanhedrin 63b): In the generation of Achav, there was not a single furrow in which they did not place an idol and worship it. That is what is written here: "their altars are as heaps," like the ridges of the furrows in the field.
The Malbim explains: As we saw earlier, the prophets who were disciples of Eliyahu were numerous, but ultimately they were murdered there in Gilead. What took place in Gilead? Gilead was the dwelling place of Eliyahu - Eliyahu the Tishbite, from the inhabitants of Gilead. That was Eliyahu's home. And there, Izevel hunted down the prophets and murdered the prophets of Hashem. Concerning this, the prophet said earlier, "Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood" (Hoshea 6:8). Which blood? The blood of the prophets shed within it! And that is the meaning of "If Gilead is iniquity" - if such an act of iniquity occurred among them, murdering the prophets, then "they have become utter vanity" - it was for naught and in vain that I sent these prophets, for not only did their prophecy yield no benefit, but the people even murdered them! That is why it says, "they have become utter vanity" - their mission ended in vanity. Indeed, on the contrary: through this, says the Malbim, "in Gilgal they sacrificed bullocks." What does this mean? For every prophet they murdered, they went and slaughtered sacrifices to their idols! They erected altars to the Baal; they built an altar and an olah-bullock - a bullock for each murdered prophet! Consider how appalling this was: for every wicked murder of a prophet of Hashem, they offered a sacrifice to idolatry! And this is what is meant by "yea, their altars are as heaps upon the furrows of the field" - they imagined that through this they were appeasing the blood of the murdered prophets, offering sacrifices to their idols to atone for shedding innocent blood, the blood of the prophet!
"And Jacob fled into the field of Aram, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep." Rashi explains that the mention of Jacob here is like someone saying to his friend: "Now, where were we? Let us return to what we were discussing earlier." It is similar to that. Since earlier the prophet mentioned, "He strove with an angel and prevailed" (Hoshea 12:5), speaking of the struggle Jacob waged against the angel, he now returns to speaking about Jacob: Look at yet another kindness I performed for him: "And Jacob fled into the field of Aram" - he was forced to flee to the field of Aram, and there I protected him. "And Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep" - this too is an expression of the kindness the Holy One, blessed be He, showed to your ancestors. Why then do you repay good with evil? Along these lines, Radak also explains that they fail to remember the goodness I showed their forefather when he fled from Esau: "and Israel served for a wife" - even while there, he had to serve Lavan for a wife, so that he would give him his daughter, and that service consisted of tending his sheep. So too with the second daughter: "and for a wife he kept sheep." Hashem says: And there I blessed him and multiplied his wealth, so that he eventually departed that household with immense riches. Have you forgotten the goodness I performed for you?
According to the Malbim, all the subsequent verses do not come to describe Hashem's kindness toward us; rather, the exact opposite is true! These verses come to demonstrate how severely Ephraim corrupted their ways and provoked Hashem with their evil deeds. As we saw: "If Gilead is iniquity, they have become utter vanity; in Gilgal they sacrificed bullocks." Now all these verses characterize the wickedness they committed: "And Jacob fled into the field of Aram, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet was he kept. Ephraim provoked Him bitterly; therefore shall his blood be cast upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him." All these verses express how Ephraim provoked Hashem through these deeds. This stands in complete contrast to the approach of Rashi and Radak, who explain that these verses express Hashem's enduring kindness from of old, asking how they could act so corruptly. According to the Malbim, that is not the theme, as we will explain. The Malbim explains: Ephraim provoked bitterly. Consider how they responded to the rebukes leveled against them - over the falsehood and heresy seen at the beginning of the chapter; over their worship of the calves sacrificed in Gilgal; over their deceit, as in "Canaan, balances of deceit are in his hand." When these rebukes were directed at Ephraim, Ephraim answered with cynicism and mockery - answers that provoked Hashem all the more bitterly! Sometimes when someone corrects you, it is better to remain silent. For sometimes, through the very answer you give, you provoke even more bitterly.
Let us explain. When they were rebuked, what did they say? "What are you telling me? You rebuke me for deceit?" He answers: But "Jacob fled into the field of Aram, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep!" This was Ephraim's justification for the deceit he practiced! "Why do you act deceitfully, Ephraim?" He responds: "What are you talking about? It has been in our family for generations! Look: 'And Jacob fled into the field of Aram.' Why was he forced to flee? Because he deceived his brother Esau - he took the birthright from him, he took the blessings! 'And Jacob fled into the field of Aram.' It is in our genes! What do you want? Jacob tricked his brother and was forced to flee! And not only that, we have additional genes from which we inherited deceit: 'and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.' For Lavan also deceived Jacob, initially giving him a wife for whom he had not worked; and ultimately 'for a wife he kept sheep' - afterward he labored for Lavan's daughter, for Rachel. Lavan tricked him, giving him Leah, and the deception succeeded, because Jacob then tended sheep a second time to receive Rachel! So what do you want? Deceit has been coursing through our veins from time immemorial! Why do you protest, 'Canaan, balances of deceit are in his hand'? Yes, that is standard practice among us; that is how it is done!" This response, as noted, was what "provoked Ephraim bitterly" - an answer brimming with insolence and malice. "And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet was he kept."
The Malbim continues to explain: When they were rebuked for their falsehood - that they were deceitful, about the calves they made, and about denying Hashem - they would answer: "What do you want? We must have an intermediary between ourselves and Hashem! Look: when Hashem brought Israel up from Egypt, how did He bring them up? By a prophet! Who brought them up? Moshe Rabbeinu. And Moshe Rabbeinu was the intermediary between them and Hashem. What did the people of Israel do after forty days? They made the Golden Calf! What was the purpose of the calf? Because when Moshe was gone, an intermediary became necessary - another intermediary to serve as a connector, a medium, between us and Hashem! Look: 'And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt' - it was accomplished specifically through an intermediary. And afterward, 'and by a prophet was he kept' - the prophet was always the vehicle for channeling bounty. So too, we require the calves to draw down divine bounty, since 'as for this man Moshe, we do not know what has become of him' (Shemot 32:1)!" In contrast, Rashi and Radak, as explained earlier, interpret all these verses as expressions of Hashem's kindness toward you: "And Jacob fled into the field of Aram" - see how I watched over him then; and "by a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet was he kept" - you disparage the prophets and mock them, yet Hashem brought you up from Egypt through a prophet! I showed you kindness, sent you a prophet, and you departed with great wealth; and "by a prophet was he kept" for forty years in the wilderness. All these goodnesses they fail to remember, provoking Hashem instead. According to Rashi and Radak, these verses express Hashem's kindness toward them, which they conveniently forgot.
"Ephraim provoked Him bitterly, therefore shall his blood be cast upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him." According to the Malbim, there is an indictment and grievance here, for with these cynical answers they provoked Hashem. These were mocking words that cut deep into the innermost chambers. This is the meaning of "Ephraim provoked Him bitterly." It was not enough that you did evil; when I come to question you about the evil you committed, not only are you unabashed and refuse to acknowledge your error, but you put forward such brazen and absurd claims, whereby "Ephraim provoked Him bitterly"! What does *tamrurim* mean? *Tamrurim* means bitter provocation. Just as *bechi tamrurim* means bitter weeping, so "Ephraim provoked Him bitterly." "Therefore shall his blood be cast upon him" (ve-damav alav yitosh): the innocent blood that Ephraim shed, his Lord shall cast upon him - meaning, He will hold him accountable for that blood. To what does this refer? And so too the conclusion of the verse: "and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him" - the reproach with which he insulted God when he made the calves, Hashem will return upon his own head. The Malbim explains that he brought about bitterness through the deeds he performed. Radak explains: "Ephraim provoked Him bitterly, therefore shall his blood be cast upon him." *Yitosh* is related to "scattered (netushim) over all the land" (Shmuel I 30:16) and "they spread out (vayinatshu) over the camp," meaning it will spread. The Holy One, blessed be He - "his Lord," which refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, for even if Ephraim refuses to acknowledge His sovereignty, against their will Hashem remains his Lord - "and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him." For the blood he spilled in his actions, it shall be cast upon him, and for this the Holy One, blessed be He, will exact retribution. And his Lord, the Holy One, blessed be He, will return his recompense upon his head for all the evil deeds he committed - for the innocent blood he shed, for the altars he built, and for all the transgressions he performed, Hashem will exact full retribution from him.