Isaiah 17
ืืฉืขืืื ืคืจืง ืืดื
Section: ื ืืืืื ยท ื ืืืืื ืืืจืื ืื | Book: Isaiah | Chapter: 17 of 66 | Day: 164 of 742
Date: July 25, 2026
ืงืืืื ืขื ืื ืดื
Chapter 17 is the massa of Damesek โ and, uniquely among the oracles against the nations, it folds Israel itself into a foreign powerโs doom. Radak explains the structure at the outset: because Retzin king of Aram and Pekach ben Remalyahu king of Israel bound themselves together against Yerushalayim (the crisis of chapter 7), the prophecy of Damascusโs destruction carries the northern kingdom down with it. The two allies share one oracle because they chose one fate. Damascus is โremoved from being a cityโ and becomes a fallen heap; the cities of Aroer are abandoned to the flocks โ and here Rashi records both a startling midrash and his own peshat. The midrash asks how a prophet standing over Damascus comes to proclaim against Aroer, a city of Israel โ and answers with the image of Damascusโs 365 idol-markets, one deity for each day of the sunโs year, all of which Israel bundled together and worshipped every day: Israelโs fall is announced beside Damascus because Israel out-idolized Damascus. Rashiโs own reading is soberly historical: Aroer was Pekachโs territory, and its cities were already abandoned โ Reuven and Gad had already gone into exile โ so the oracle traces the northern kingdomโs step-by-step extinction: the fortress ceases from Efrayim, the kingship from Damascus, and the remnant of Aram becomes โlike the glory of the children of Israelโ โ both exiled, as Rashi notes, these to Chalach and Chavor, those to Kir.
The heart of the chapter is a harvest. โThe glory of Yaakov shall be brought low, and the fat of his flesh shall grow leanโ โ and then the figure: as the reaper gathers the standing grain in one arm and cuts the ears with the other, so Sancheriv will sweep up the northern tribes entirely, gleaning even the fugitives โlike one gathering ears in Emek Rephaim,โ the valley just outside Yerushalayim. But the following verse turns the same agricultural image into the bookโs remnant-theology: โgleanings shall be left in it, as when one beats an olive tree โ two or three berries at the top of the uppermost bough.โ Rashi identifies the berries: Chizkiyahu and his company inside Yerushalayim, the few who remain; and Radak adds the reason the figure is exact โ the berries at the top of the amir survive precisely because the beaterโs reach fails there, and Yerushalayim, the high place of the land, was the one bough the king of Assyria could not reach. Rashi also preserves the startling counter-reading of Chazal: the two or three berries are what remained of Sancherivโs own army.
The remnant is defined by what it does next: โOn that day man shall turn (yishโeh) to his Maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel; and he shall not turn to the altars, the work of his hands.โ Radak reads this as the Chizkiyahu reform in prophetic summary: the king purged the idols from the Mikdash and the land and taught Israel that Hashem alone is God โ that the One who made man is the one to serve and trust. The verse pair is built on a single verb: the same โturningโ misdirected at handmade altars is redirected to the Maker of the hands themselves. Verses 9-11 then diagnose the northern kingdomโs fall in the vocabulary of gardening: the fortress cities lie abandoned โlike the abandonment of the forest and the boughโ โ Rashi hears the cities the Emorim abandoned before the children of Israel in the days of Yehoshua, conquest replayed in reverse โ โbecause you forgot the God of your salvation and did not remember the Rock of your strength.โ The pleasant saplings sown with โa strange slipโ are, in Rashiโs reading, the twelve tribes planted as a delightful planting whose branches turned alien โ by idolatry, or, in his second reading, by intermarriage; Radak compresses it to a line: you exchanged the service of the great God for the service of a strange god. And the withering follows the planting: what blossomed overnight while Israel was faithful becomes, on the day of the blow, โa heap of harvest on a day of sickness and mortal pain.โ
The chapter closes with a storm-panel (verses 12-14) that turns from the punished to the punisher, and Rashi states the principle that governs the whole prophetic corpus: the scourge with which Israel is beaten is itself beaten afterward โ which is why the prophets, having announced Israelโs punishment through a nation, immediately append that nationโs punishment. The roaring of many peoples โlike the roaring of the seasโ is Sancherivโs host; God rebukes it โ Radak hears the same rebuke that dried the Yam Suf โ and it flees far off, chased โlike the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the thistle-wheel before the storm.โ Rashiโs homely botanical note makes the image precise: the galgal is the round, spoked head of the dry thistle that bursts apart at summerโs end and rolls before the wind โ the mightiest army in the world reduced to tumbleweed. And then the tersest night in the Tanakh: โAt evening-time, behold terror; before morning โ it is not.โ Radak simply cites the fulfillment: the angel went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of Assyria, โand they arose in the morning, and behold, all of them were dead corpses.โ
The last line hands the chapter its moral: โThis is the portion of our despoilers, and the lot of our plunderers.โ Rashi widens it beyond Assyria โ this is the portion of Sancheriv and the portion of Gog uMagog, of every power in every age that comes to plunder Israel. The massa that began with Damascus thus ends where the oracles keep ending: at the walls of Yerushalayim on the morning after, with the plunderer gone and the gleanings โ the two or three berries on the topmost bough โ still on the tree. Chapter 18 will carry the same news to the farthest nation, the land of whirring wings beyond the rivers of Cush.
ืคืจืง ืืดื ยท Chapter 17
ืคืกืืง ืืณ ยท Verse 1
Hebrew:
ืึทืฉืึผึธึื ืึผึทืึผึธึืฉืึถืง ืึดื ึผึตึคื ืึทืึผึถึืฉืึถืงึ ืืึผืกึธึฃืจ ืึตืขึดึืืจ ืึฐืึธืึฐืชึธึื ืึฐืขึดึฅื ืึทืคึผึธืึธึฝืื
English:
The โDamascusโ Pronouncement.Behold,Damascus shall cease to be a city;It shall become a heap of ruins.
ืคืกืืง ืืณ ยท Verse 2
Hebrew:
ืขึฒืึปืึืึนืช ืขึธืจึตึฃื ืขึฒืจึนืขึตึืจ ืึทืขึฒืึธืจึดึฃืื ืชึผึดึฝืึฐืึถึืื ึธื ืึฐืจึธืึฐืฆึืึผ ืึฐืึตึฅืื ืึทืึฒืจึดึฝืืื
English:
The towns of Aroer shall be deserted;aThe towns of Aroer shall be deserted Emendation yields (cf. Septuagint) โIts towns shall be deserted forevermore.โ They shall be a place for flocksTo lie down, with none disturbing.
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืณ ยท Verse 3
Hebrew:
ืึฐื ึดืฉืึฐืึผึทึคืช ืึดืึฐืฆึธืจึ ืึตืึถืคึฐืจึทึืึดื ืึผืึทืึฐืึธืึธึฅื ืึดืึผึทืึผึถึืฉืึถืง ืึผืฉืึฐืึธึฃืจ ืึฒืจึธึื ืึผึดืึฐืึคืึนื ืึผึฐื ึตึฝืึพืึดืฉืึฐืจึธืึตืึ ืึดึฝืึฐืึืึผ ื ึฐืึปึื ืึฐืึนืึธึฅื ืฆึฐืึธืึฝืึนืชืย {ืค}
English:
Fortresses shall cease from Ephraim,bEphraim Emendation yields โAram.โ And sovereignty from Damascus;The remnant of Aram shall becomeLike the mass of Israelitesโdeclares GOD of Hosts.
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืณ ยท Verse 4
Hebrew:
ืึฐืึธืึธืึ ืึผึทืึผึฃืึนื ืึทืึืึผื ืึดืึผึทึื ืึผึฐืึฃืึนื ืึทืขึฒืงึนึื ืึผืึดืฉืึฐืึทึฅื ืึผึฐืฉืึธืจึืึน ืึตืจึธืึถึฝืื
English:
In that day,The mass of Jacob shall dwindle,And the fatness of his body become lean:
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืณ ยท Verse 5
Hebrew:
ืึฐืึธืึธึื ืึผึถึฝืึฑืกึนืฃึ ืงึธืฆึดึฃืืจ ืงึธืึธึื ืึผืึฐืจึนืขึืึน ืฉืึดืึผึณืึดึฃืื ืึดืงึฐืฆึืึนืจ ืึฐืึธืึธึื ืึผึดืึฐืึทืงึผึตึฅื ืฉืึดืึผึณืึดึืื ืึผึฐืขึตึฅืึถืง ืจึฐืคึธืึดึฝืืื
English:
After being like the standing grainHarvested by the reaperโWho reaps ears by the armfulโHe shall be like the ears that are gleanedIn the Valley of Rephaim.
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืณ ยท Verse 6
Hebrew:
ืึฐื ึดืฉืึฐืึทืจึพืึผึคืึน ืขึฝืึนืึตืึนืชึ ืึผึฐื ึนึฃืงึถืฃ ืึทึืึดืช ืฉืึฐื ึทึงืึดื ืฉืึฐืึนืฉืึธึื ืึผึทืจึฐืึผึฐืจึดึืื ืึผึฐืจึนึฃืืฉื ืึธืึดึืืจ ืึทืจึฐืึผึธืขึธึฃื ืึฒืึดืฉืึผึธึื ืึผึดืกึฐืขึดืคึถึืืึธึ ืคึผึนึฝืจึดืึผึธึื ื ึฐืึปืึพืึฐืึนืึธึื ืึฑืึนืึตึฅื ืึดืฉืึฐืจึธืึตึฝืื
English:
Only gleanings shall be left of him,As when one beats an olive tree:Two berries or three on the topmost branch,Four or five on the boughs of the crowncon the boughs of the crown Lit. โon her boughs, the many-branched one.โ โdeclares the ETERNAL, the God of Israel.
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืณ ยท Verse 7
Hebrew:
ืึผึทืึผึฃืึนื ืึทืึืึผื ืึดืฉืึฐืขึถึฅื ืึธืึธืึธึื ืขึทืึพืขึนืฉืึตึืืึผ ืึฐืขึตืื ึธึืื ืึถืึพืงึฐืึฅืึนืฉื ืึดืฉืึฐืจึธืึตึื ืชึผึดืจึฐืึถึฝืื ึธืื
English:
In that day, people shall turn to their Maker, their eyes look to the Holy One of Israel;
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืณ ยท Verse 8
Hebrew:
ืึฐืึนึฃื ืึดืฉืึฐืขึถึื ืึถืึพืึทึฝืึผึดืึฐืึผึฐืึืึนืช ืึทืขึฒืฉืึตึฃื ืึธืึธึืื ืึทืึฒืฉืึถึจืจ ืขึธืฉืึคืึผ ืึถืฆึฐืึผึฐืขึนืชึธืืึ ืึนึฃื ืึดืจึฐืึถึื ืึฐืึธืึฒืฉืึตืจึดึืื ืึฐืึธืึทืึผึธื ึดึฝืืืย {ืก}ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
English:
they shall not turn to the altars that their own hands made, or look to the sacred postsdsacred posts Used in worship of the goddess Asherah. and incense stands that their own fingers wrought.
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืณ ยท Verse 9
Hebrew:
ืึผึทืึผึจืึนื ืึทืึืึผื ืึดืึฐืึฃืึผโื ืขึธืจึตึฃื ืึธืขืึผืึผึืึน ืึผึทืขึฒืืึผืึทึคืช ืึทืึนึืจึถืฉืึ ืึฐืึธึฃืึธืึดึืืจ ืึฒืฉืึถึฃืจ ืขึธึฝืึฐืึืึผ ืึดืคึผึฐื ึตึื ืึผึฐื ึตึฃื ืึดืฉืึฐืจึธืึตึื ืึฐืึธืึฐืชึธึื ืฉืึฐืึธืึธึฝืื
English:
In that day, their fortress cities shall be like the deserted sites that the Horesh and the Amirethe Horesh and the Amir Septuagint reads โthe Amorites and the Hivites.โ abandoned because of the Israelites; and there shall be desolation.
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืณ ยท Verse 10
Hebrew:
ืึผึดึคื ืฉืึธืึทึืึทืชึผึฐึ ืึฑืึนืึตึฃื ืึดืฉืึฐืขึตึืึฐ ืึฐืฆึฅืึผืจ ืึธืขึปืึผึตึืึฐ ืึนึฃื ืึธืึธึืจึฐืชึผึฐ ืขึทืึพืึผึตึื ืชึผึดืึผึฐืขึดืึ ื ึดืึฐืขึตึฃื ื ึทืขึฒืึธื ึดึืื ืึผืึฐืึนึฅืจึทืช ืึธึืจ ืชึผึดืึฐืจึธืขึถึฝื ึผืึผื
English:
Truly, you have forgotten the God who saves youAnd have not remembered the Rock who shelters you;That is why, though you plant a delightfulfdelightful Emendation yields โtrue.โ So Vulgate (cf. Septuagint); cf. Jer. 2.21. sapling,What you sow proves a disappointing slip.
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืดื ยท Verse 11
Hebrew:
ืึผึฐืึคืึนื ื ึดืึฐืขึตืึฐึ ืชึผึฐืฉืึทืึฐืฉืึตึืึดื ืึผืึทืึผึนึืงึถืจ ืึทืจึฐืขึตึฃืึฐ ืชึผึทืคึฐืจึดึืืึดื ื ึตึฅื ืงึธืฆึดึืืจ ืึผึฐืึฅืึนื ื ึทืึฒืึธึื ืึผืึฐืึตึฅื ืึธื ึฝืึผืฉืืย {ืก}ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
English:
On the day that you plant, you see it grow;On the morning you sow, you see it budโBut the branches wither awayOn a day of sickness and mortal agony.
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืดื ยท Verse 12
Hebrew:
ืึืึนื ืึฒืืึนืึ ืขึทืึผึดึฃืื ืจึทืึผึดึืื ืึผึทืึฒืึฅืึนืช ืึทืึผึดึืื ืึถืึฑืึธืึืึผื ืึผืฉืึฐืึฃืึนื ืึฐืึปืึผึดึืื ืึผึดืฉืึฐืึืึนื ืึทึฅืึดื ืึผึทืึผึดืืจึดึืื ืึดืฉืึผึธืึฝืึผืื
English:
Ah, the roar of many peoplesThat roar as roars the sea,The rage of nations that rageAs rage the mighty watersโ
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืดื ยท Verse 13
Hebrew:
ืึฐืึปืึผึดึืื ืึผึดืฉืึฐืึืึนื ืึทึคืึดื ืจึทืึผึดืืึ ืึดืฉืึผึธืึืึผื ืึฐืึธึฅืขึทืจ ืึผึืึน ืึฐื ึธึฃืก ืึดืึผึถืจึฐืึธึืง ืึฐืจึปืึผึทึืฃ ืึผึฐืึนึคืฅ ืึธืจึดืืึ ืึดืคึฐื ึตืึพืจึืึผืึท ืึผืึฐืึทืึฐืึผึทึื ืึดืคึฐื ึตึฅื ืกืึผืคึธึฝืื
English:
Nations raging like massive waters!But [God] shouts at them, and they flee far away,Driven like chaff before winds in the hills,And like tumbleweed before a gale.
โถCommentaries (1)
ืคืกืืง ืืดื ยท Verse 14
Hebrew:
ืึฐืขึตึฅืช ืขึถึืจึถืึ ืึฐืึดื ึผึตึฃื ืึทืึผึธืึธึื ืึผึฐืึถึฅืจึถื ืึผึนึืงึถืจ ืึตืื ึถึื ึผืึผ ืึถึื ืึตึฃืึถืง ืฉืืึนืกึตึืื ืึผ ืึฐืืึนืจึธึื ืึฐืึนืึฐืึตึฝืื ืึผืย {ืค}
English:
At eventide, lo, terror!By morning, it is no more.Such is the lot of our despoilers,The portion of them that plunder us.
โถCommentaries (1)