Isaiah 17
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11.
יא
Rashi's Commentary
  • 11.

    On the day of your planting you mingled, and in the morning you cause your seed to blossom; a heap of harvest on a day of sickness and mortal pain.

  • יא

    בְּיוֹם נִטְעֵךְ תְּשַׂגְשֵׂגִי וּבַבֹּקֶר זַרְעֵךְ תַּפְרִיחִי נֵד קָצִיר בְּיוֹם נַחֲלָה וּכְאֵב אָנוּשׁ

  • Rashi's Commentary

    On the day of your planting you mingled: Heb. תְּשַׂגְשֵׂנִי, an expression of mingling. Your branches became mingled with sorts of grasses and mixtures that spoil the branches of the vine. That is to say that in the place where I planted you for Me as a vineyard, there you corrupted your deeds. That is what Ezekiel said to them (20:5): “On the day I chose Israel, and I lifted My hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and I became known to them in the land of Egypt.” And it says further (verse 8): “And they rebelled against Me and they refused to obey…” Here, too, תְּשַׂגְשֵׂנִי, you became mingled with the abominations of Egypt.

    and in the morning you cause your seed to blossom: And on the morrow, when I took you out of there, and I brought you into the land, there, too, your evil seed you caused to blossom.

    a heap of harvest on a day of sickness: a heap of bad harvest that lies by day and by night, that harvest is stricken ill, it has reached a day of distress. [Rashi in printed editions.] [Since it is difficult to make sense of this comment of Rashi, Parshandatha prefers the reading of most mss.:]

    a heap of harvest on a day of sickness: a heap of bad harvest, as “on a day of sickness” proves, that harvest reached a day of distress.

    a heap: Heb. נֵד. This is an expression of a tall heap. Comp. ( Exodus 15:8) “Running water stood erect like a heap (נֵד).” Also ( Ps. 33:3) , “He gathers like a heap (כַּנֵּד).” [The words:] נֵד and נוֹד are not the same [i.e., נֵד is a heap or a stack, and נוֹד is a flask.]

    and mortal pain: that you were paid your reward.

    mortal: Heb. אָנוּשׁ, distressed by severe illness. Comp. (II Sam. 12: 15) “And he became mortally ill (וַיֵּאָנַשׁ) ,” also ( Micah 1:9) , “For her wounds are mortal (אֲנוּשָׁה).” Alternatively

    and in the morning you cause your seed to blossom: Before the heat comes, you have blossomed, and it is customary for the vineyard to blossom when the heat comes, and the one that blossoms in the morning does not thrive. This is in the Midrash of Rabbi Tanhuma (Sh’lach 12).