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Post by alon on Sept 9, 2016 22:30:44 GMT -8
Isaiah 51:12-52:12, Haftarah for Par’shah Shoftim
Isaiah 51:9 (JPS) Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Art thou not it that hewed Rahab in pieces, that pierced the dragon?
This is a petition for God to awaken in strength and deliver His people, just as He did when He took them out of Mitzrayim. It is, as we’ll see, important to our haftarah.
Isaiah 51:12-16 (JPS) I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as grass; And hast forgotten the LORD thy Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and fearest continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, as he maketh ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor? He that is bent down shall speedily be loosed; and he shall not go down dying into the pit, neither shall his bread fail. For I am the LORD thy God, who stirreth up the sea, that the waves thereof roar; the LORD of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of My hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: 'Thou art My people.'
Why is it we all tend to forget who and what our Elohim is, the things He has done, every time some new circumstance or a new enemy rears up before us? We need to stay in the Word in order to know Who He is. We need to stay in prayer, giving thanks for all He has done. In this way it will be kept in our minds and engraved on our hearts, and we’ll be less likely to lose faith. We are in Shemei Ratzon- the Days of Favor right now. Many of us are preparing for the Fall Feasts by taking stock of our lives, thinking where we need improvement. One thing that immediately came to my mind was this:
Matthew 6:33 (ESV) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Isaiah 51:17 (JPS) Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, that hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; thou hast drunken the beaker, even the cup of staggering, and drained it.
Yerushalayim is here portrayed as a drunken woman; a woman who has dank about all she can. She is staggering drunk, unable to find her way.
Isaiah 51:18 (JPS) There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.
She has no one to guide her, no one to help her home.
Isaiah 51:19-20 (JPS) These two things are befallen thee; who shall bemoan thee? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how shall I comfort thee? Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net; they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.
Her sons are in no better shape. There is no one even to bemoan her fate. She lies desolate and destroyed, hungry and brutalized.
Isaiah 51:20-23 (JPS) Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine; Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people: behold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of staggering; the beaker, even the cup of My fury, thou shalt no more drink it again; And I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; that have said to thy soul: 'Bow down, that we may go over'; and thou hast laid thy back as the ground, and as the street, to them that go over.
However here Yehshayahu prophesies that help is at hand. Not only is redemption near, but her Elohim, Elohim Shophtim Ba’aretz- God Who Judges in the Earth will make those who persecuted her drink from the same cup they forced her to drink from.
Yeshayahu 51:17-23 form a dark backdrop for the bright prophetic future depicted in the next chapter. The prophecies of Yeshayahu in chapter 52 seem to be more about the Millennial Reign than just about returning captives to Tzion.
Isaiah 52:1 (JPS) Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
This verse begins the response of Elohim Shama- The God Who Hears. And so they will know He hears, the language echoes their plea in Yeshayahu 51:9. In fact, this section borrows phraseology from a few previous prophesies (Jer 4:20; 15:2-5; Isa 29:9-10), all of which prophesied destruction. Now, in the same terms Yeshayahu reverses those prophecies.
Isaiah 52:2 (JPS) Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
The holy city is to awaken and put on clean clothing; her best! Be kadosh, separated from defilement. And while soon we know the Temple will be rebuilt and the unclean will no longer defile it, we also know that it was later and will be again defiled. So this prophecy would seem to belong more to the Olam Haba.
Zechariah 3:1-4 (ESV) A Vision of Joshua the High Priest Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan [Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary] standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”
Regardless, Tzion’s ordeal at the time is nearly over. “Shake thyself from the dust” indicates she is to aride from the dust which settles over destruction, shake herself off and begin rebuilding both the city and the dignity of the people of El Marom- God Most High.
Isaiah 52:3-6 (JPS) For thus saith the LORD: Ye were sold for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the Lord GOD: My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause [oppressed them due to My anger]. Now therefore, what do I here, saith the LORD, seeing that My people is taken away for nought? They that rule over them do howl, saith the LORD, and My name continually all the day is blasphemed. Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore they shall know in that day that I, even He that spoke, behold, here I am.
El ELohe Yisro’el never sold Yehuda, and no one ever paid anything for them, therefore He alone owns that people. No one else has a claim on them. Furthermore the excessive ill-treatment of His people causes His own image and reputation to be harmed. YHVH Izuz v’Gibbor- The Lord Strong and Mighty has delivered this people before, and He can do it again:
Leviticus 26:13 (ESV) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
“Here I am”- Christian resources such as Strong’s get this term wrong, as do earlier translations. Many more recent translations do get it right, however. And this is a fairly significant statement to get wrong! It is used (according to Strong’s) 1060 times in the KJV, and always it is a person responding to the call of Elohim- except this once. Here Elohe Chaseddi- The God of My Mercy uses it to respond to the call of His people in 51:9. Also:
Isaiah 58:9a (ESV) Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
Isaiah 65:1 (ESV) I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by [that did not call upon] my name.
Isaiah 52:7 (JPS) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings, that announceth peace, the harbinger of good tidings, that announceth salvation; that saith unto Zion: 'Thy God reigneth!'
Any malach with such a message should be welcomed, even honored! And the message here is very theocratic, “Your God reigns!”
Luke 1:32-33 (ESV) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Isaiah 52:8 (JPS) Hark, thy watchmen! they lift up the voice, together do they sing; for they shall see, eye to eye, the LORD returning to Zion.
YHVH Melech Olam- The Lord King Forever is returning to Yerushalayim! The watchmen may see Him coming:
Isaiah 40:5 (ESV) And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Obviously some of the people had already returned to start the rebuilding and to therefore see the glory of El HaKabodh- The God of Glory returning. However many still remained in the land of their captivity, not wanting to endure the hardships of rebuilding or fearful of the dangers. Accordingly, those remaining are encouraged to return and take part in the task of rebuilding Yerushalayim and inded all of Yisro’el.
Isaiah 52:9-10 (JPS) Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the LORD hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
Yerushalayim, the city which had laid desolate is now told to rejoice! El Nathan Nekamah- The God Who Avenges Me is now glorified and the salvation of His people known in all the earth.
Isaiah 52:11-12 (JPS) Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of the LORD. For ye shall not go out in haste, neither shall ye go by flight; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rearward.
Again we have a contrast to the exodus from Mitzrayim. That one was hastily organized, the Hebrews carrying spoils and the remains of Ya’akov. However this exodus was to be more organized; and they were to remain undefiled, ritually pure, because they carried instead of plunder the Temple vessels taken by the Babylonians.
Dan C
Resources: JPS Study TNK, MF Unger, my father, Rav S and others
Isaiah 51:9 (JPS) Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Art thou not it that hewed Rahab in pieces, that pierced the dragon?
This is a petition for God to awaken in strength and deliver His people, just as He did when He took them out of Mitzrayim. It is, as we’ll see, important to our haftarah.
Isaiah 51:12-16 (JPS) I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as grass; And hast forgotten the LORD thy Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and fearest continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, as he maketh ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor? He that is bent down shall speedily be loosed; and he shall not go down dying into the pit, neither shall his bread fail. For I am the LORD thy God, who stirreth up the sea, that the waves thereof roar; the LORD of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of My hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: 'Thou art My people.'
Why is it we all tend to forget who and what our Elohim is, the things He has done, every time some new circumstance or a new enemy rears up before us? We need to stay in the Word in order to know Who He is. We need to stay in prayer, giving thanks for all He has done. In this way it will be kept in our minds and engraved on our hearts, and we’ll be less likely to lose faith. We are in Shemei Ratzon- the Days of Favor right now. Many of us are preparing for the Fall Feasts by taking stock of our lives, thinking where we need improvement. One thing that immediately came to my mind was this:
Matthew 6:33 (ESV) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Isaiah 51:17 (JPS) Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, that hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; thou hast drunken the beaker, even the cup of staggering, and drained it.
Yerushalayim is here portrayed as a drunken woman; a woman who has dank about all she can. She is staggering drunk, unable to find her way.
Isaiah 51:18 (JPS) There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.
She has no one to guide her, no one to help her home.
Isaiah 51:19-20 (JPS) These two things are befallen thee; who shall bemoan thee? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how shall I comfort thee? Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net; they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.
Her sons are in no better shape. There is no one even to bemoan her fate. She lies desolate and destroyed, hungry and brutalized.
Isaiah 51:20-23 (JPS) Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine; Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of His people: behold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of staggering; the beaker, even the cup of My fury, thou shalt no more drink it again; And I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; that have said to thy soul: 'Bow down, that we may go over'; and thou hast laid thy back as the ground, and as the street, to them that go over.
However here Yehshayahu prophesies that help is at hand. Not only is redemption near, but her Elohim, Elohim Shophtim Ba’aretz- God Who Judges in the Earth will make those who persecuted her drink from the same cup they forced her to drink from.
Yeshayahu 51:17-23 form a dark backdrop for the bright prophetic future depicted in the next chapter. The prophecies of Yeshayahu in chapter 52 seem to be more about the Millennial Reign than just about returning captives to Tzion.
Isaiah 52:1 (JPS) Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
This verse begins the response of Elohim Shama- The God Who Hears. And so they will know He hears, the language echoes their plea in Yeshayahu 51:9. In fact, this section borrows phraseology from a few previous prophesies (Jer 4:20; 15:2-5; Isa 29:9-10), all of which prophesied destruction. Now, in the same terms Yeshayahu reverses those prophecies.
Isaiah 52:2 (JPS) Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
The holy city is to awaken and put on clean clothing; her best! Be kadosh, separated from defilement. And while soon we know the Temple will be rebuilt and the unclean will no longer defile it, we also know that it was later and will be again defiled. So this prophecy would seem to belong more to the Olam Haba.
Zechariah 3:1-4 (ESV) A Vision of Joshua the High Priest Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan [Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary] standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”
Regardless, Tzion’s ordeal at the time is nearly over. “Shake thyself from the dust” indicates she is to aride from the dust which settles over destruction, shake herself off and begin rebuilding both the city and the dignity of the people of El Marom- God Most High.
Isaiah 52:3-6 (JPS) For thus saith the LORD: Ye were sold for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the Lord GOD: My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause [oppressed them due to My anger]. Now therefore, what do I here, saith the LORD, seeing that My people is taken away for nought? They that rule over them do howl, saith the LORD, and My name continually all the day is blasphemed. Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore they shall know in that day that I, even He that spoke, behold, here I am.
El ELohe Yisro’el never sold Yehuda, and no one ever paid anything for them, therefore He alone owns that people. No one else has a claim on them. Furthermore the excessive ill-treatment of His people causes His own image and reputation to be harmed. YHVH Izuz v’Gibbor- The Lord Strong and Mighty has delivered this people before, and He can do it again:
Leviticus 26:13 (ESV) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
“Here I am”- Christian resources such as Strong’s get this term wrong, as do earlier translations. Many more recent translations do get it right, however. And this is a fairly significant statement to get wrong! It is used (according to Strong’s) 1060 times in the KJV, and always it is a person responding to the call of Elohim- except this once. Here Elohe Chaseddi- The God of My Mercy uses it to respond to the call of His people in 51:9. Also:
Isaiah 58:9a (ESV) Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
Isaiah 65:1 (ESV) I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by [that did not call upon] my name.
Isaiah 52:7 (JPS) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings, that announceth peace, the harbinger of good tidings, that announceth salvation; that saith unto Zion: 'Thy God reigneth!'
Any malach with such a message should be welcomed, even honored! And the message here is very theocratic, “Your God reigns!”
Luke 1:32-33 (ESV) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Isaiah 52:8 (JPS) Hark, thy watchmen! they lift up the voice, together do they sing; for they shall see, eye to eye, the LORD returning to Zion.
YHVH Melech Olam- The Lord King Forever is returning to Yerushalayim! The watchmen may see Him coming:
Isaiah 40:5 (ESV) And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Obviously some of the people had already returned to start the rebuilding and to therefore see the glory of El HaKabodh- The God of Glory returning. However many still remained in the land of their captivity, not wanting to endure the hardships of rebuilding or fearful of the dangers. Accordingly, those remaining are encouraged to return and take part in the task of rebuilding Yerushalayim and inded all of Yisro’el.
Isaiah 52:9-10 (JPS) Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the LORD hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
Yerushalayim, the city which had laid desolate is now told to rejoice! El Nathan Nekamah- The God Who Avenges Me is now glorified and the salvation of His people known in all the earth.
Isaiah 52:11-12 (JPS) Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of the LORD. For ye shall not go out in haste, neither shall ye go by flight; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rearward.
Again we have a contrast to the exodus from Mitzrayim. That one was hastily organized, the Hebrews carrying spoils and the remains of Ya’akov. However this exodus was to be more organized; and they were to remain undefiled, ritually pure, because they carried instead of plunder the Temple vessels taken by the Babylonians.
Dan C
Resources: JPS Study TNK, MF Unger, my father, Rav S and others
