Isaiah: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
35:1 YESUSUM MIDBAR VE TSIYAH VE TAGEL ARAVAH VE TIPHRACH KA CHAVATSALET
יְשֻׂשׂוּם מִדְבָּר וְצִיָּה וְתָגֵל עֲרָבָה וְתִפְרַח כַּחֲבַצָּלֶת
BN: The wilderness and the wasteland will rejoice, and the Aravah desert dance circle-dances in celebration, and blossom like the crocus.
Is this a continuation or a new piece - we certainly seem to be in mid-sentence at the start of this verse? But if the latter, what does "them" refer to? Why are they glad? The last chapter ended with the destroyed wilderness reviving because it had accepted the DAVAR, so clearly this is continuation and should not be chapter-divided.
YESUSUM: See the closing chapters of Deuteronomy, 28:63 and 30:9 in particular, where essentially the same wrap-up message is being given: create a lifestyle for self and nation that accords with the DAVAR, the workings of the forces of Nature, and live by that code, and all will be as well as you can hope for, given the nature of those forces.
TAGEL: What is the difference between this and YESUSUM, both generally translated as "rejoice"? TAGEL comes from the root GIYL (גִּיל), and is usually employed when celebratory dancing, specifically circle-dancing, is taking place as part of ritual and ceremony (Hava Nagilah being the most obvious exemplar). That same root takes us to the shrine at Gil-Gal, and various other places of importance such as Gil'ad and Gal-Ed, all of them ancient megaliths of the Stonehenge type, built as a circular temple, most often with a tumulus adjacent, or as the shrine on the tor of the tumulus.
35:2 PARO'ACH TIPHRACH VE TAGEL APH GIYLAT VE RANEN KEVOD HA LEVANON NITAN LAH HA DAR HA KARM-EL VE HA SHARON HEMAH YIR'U CHEVOD YHVH HA DAR ELOHEYNU
KJ: It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
Is this a continuation or a new piece - we certainly seem to be in mid-sentence at the start of this verse? But if the latter, what does "them" refer to? Why are they glad? The last chapter ended with the destroyed wilderness reviving because it had accepted the DAVAR, so clearly this is continuation and should not be chapter-divided.
YESUSUM: See the closing chapters of Deuteronomy, 28:63 and 30:9 in particular, where essentially the same wrap-up message is being given: create a lifestyle for self and nation that accords with the DAVAR, the workings of the forces of Nature, and live by that code, and all will be as well as you can hope for, given the nature of those forces.
TAGEL: What is the difference between this and YESUSUM, both generally translated as "rejoice"? TAGEL comes from the root GIYL (גִּיל), and is usually employed when celebratory dancing, specifically circle-dancing, is taking place as part of ritual and ceremony (Hava Nagilah being the most obvious exemplar). That same root takes us to the shrine at Gil-Gal, and various other places of importance such as Gil'ad and Gal-Ed, all of them ancient megaliths of the Stonehenge type, built as a circular temple, most often with a tumulus adjacent, or as the shrine on the tor of the tumulus.
ARAVAH: See the link.
CHAVATSALET: Gets translated as a "rose", but that would be VERED (ורד) - "I am the crocus of the valley" just doesn't sound the same, does it! (see Song of Songs 2:1). Properly this is the crocus, though there is a case to be made for it being saffron.
35:2 PARO'ACH TIPHRACH VE TAGEL APH GIYLAT VE RANEN KEVOD HA LEVANON NITAN LAH HA DAR HA KARM-EL VE HA SHARON HEMAH YIR'U CHEVOD YHVH HA DAR ELOHEYNU
פָּרֹחַ תִּפְרַח וְתָגֵל אַף גִּילַת וְרַנֵּן כְּבוֹד הַלְּבָנוֹן נִתַּן לָהּ הֲדַר הַכַּרְמֶל וְהַשָּׁרוֹן הֵמָּה יִרְאוּ כְבוֹד יְהוָה הֲדַר אֱלֹהֵינוּ
BN: It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice, even performing circle-dances, and singing. The glory of the Levanon shall be given to it, the splendour of Karm-El and Sharon; they shall see the glory of YHVH, the excellence of our gods. {P}
RANEN: Funny that I picked Hava Nagilah as my exemplar, and here it is, endorsed. "Hava neranana" is the second verse of that song.
35:3 CHAZKU YADAYIM RAPHOT U VIRKAYIM KOSHLOT AMETSU
KJ: Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
35:4 IMRU LE NIMHAREY LEV CHIZKU AL TIYRA'U HINEH ELOHEYCHEM NAKAM YAVO GEMUL ELOHIM HU YAVO VE YOSHA'ACHEM
KJ: Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
BN: Say to those whose hearts are palpitating: "Be strong. Fear not. You will see, your gods will come with vengeance, with the recompense of Elohim he will come and save you."
RANEN: Funny that I picked Hava Nagilah as my exemplar, and here it is, endorsed. "Hava neranana" is the second verse of that song.
SHARON: Same for my choice of Sharon, above. But note the geography: Lebanon (ha Levanon; it is always ha Levanon, the Lebanon), Karm-El and Sharon – all west and north-west Yisra-El, coastal Yisra-El and beyond, far from Yehudah, far from Tsi'on. Whereas the Aravah is in the south-east, and most definitely part of Yehudah.
35:3 CHAZKU YADAYIM RAPHOT U VIRKAYIM KOSHLOT AMETSU
חַזְּקוּ יָדַיִם רָפוֹת וּבִרְכַּיִם כֹּשְׁלוֹת אַמֵּצוּ
KJ: Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
BN: [It shall...] Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the tottering knees.
35:4 IMRU LE NIMHAREY LEV CHIZKU AL TIYRA'U HINEH ELOHEYCHEM NAKAM YAVO GEMUL ELOHIM HU YAVO VE YOSHA'ACHEM
אִמְרוּ לְנִמְהֲרֵי לֵב חִזְקוּ אַל תִּירָאוּ הִנֵּה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם נָקָם יָבוֹא גְּמוּל אֱלֹהִים הוּא יָבוֹא וְיֹשַׁעֲכֶם
BN: Say to those whose hearts are palpitating: "Be strong. Fear not. You will see, your gods will come with vengeance, with the recompense of Elohim he will come and save you."
NIMHAREY: From the root MAHAR = "to hasten".
NAKAM: Yet again in this chapter we need to go to the latter chapters of Deuteronomy, 32:35 and 41 on this occasion; and how odd that is, because, according to all the scholars, Deuteronomy belongs to the epoch of the Second Temple, centuries after Yesha-Yah.
Four possible explanations: a) that our text is a much later edited version of Yesha-Yah, made to conform with Second Temple theology; b) that there was a First Temple version of Deuteronomy, but it got replaced/updated when the Second Temple was created; c) that Y-Y thought all this up entirely independently, but it took several centuries before it became accepted and adopted; d) pure coincidence.
And now it is "do not fear" because the deity is on your side; but we have been told, and repeatedly, to fear whatever side we are on, because it is fear that will bring us, and fear that will keep us. And given the nature of the DAVAR, we ought to have fear - wildfires, tsunamis, avalanches.... the forces of Nature, the gods, doing what they must inexorably do when electrons converge with protons...
35:5 AZ TIPAKACHNAH EYNEY IVRIM VE AZNEY CHERSHIM TIPATACHNAH
KJ: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
KJ: Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
KJ: And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
35:5 AZ TIPAKACHNAH EYNEY IVRIM VE AZNEY CHERSHIM TIPATACHNAH
אָז תִּפָּקַחְנָה עֵינֵי עִוְרִים וְאָזְנֵי חֵרְשִׁים תִּפָּתַחְנָה
KJ: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
BN: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Repeating 29:18.
35:6 AZ YEDALEG KA AYIL PISE'ACH VE TARON LESHON ILEM KI NIVKE'U VA MIDBAR MAYIM U NECHALIM BA ARAVAH
35:6 AZ YEDALEG KA AYIL PISE'ACH VE TARON LESHON ILEM KI NIVKE'U VA MIDBAR MAYIM U NECHALIM BA ARAVAH
אָז יְדַלֵּג כָּאַיָּל פִּסֵּחַ וְתָרֹן לְשׁוֹן אִלֵּם כִּי נִבְקְעוּ בַמִּדְבָּר מַיִם וּנְחָלִים בָּעֲרָבָה
KJ: Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
BN: Then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
NIVKE'U...ARAVAH: The discovery of new springs and wells, new streams and rivers, or simply the flash floods that turn the wadis into temporary rivers every spring? If the latter, then yet another example of the DAVAR at work.
35:7 HAYAH HA SHARAV LA AGAM VE TSIMA'ON LE MABU'EY MAYIM BINVEH TANIM RIVTSAH CHATSIR LE KANEH VA GOM'E
הָיָה הַשָּׁרָב לַאֲגַם וְצִמָּאוֹן לְמַבּוּעֵי מָיִם בִּנְוֵה תַנִּים רִבְצָהּ חָצִיר לְקָנֶה וָגֹמֶא
BN: And the parched land shall turn into a pool, and the thirsty ground into springs of water; where crocodile now live, green pastures shall appear, a veritable courtyard of reeds and rushes.
KJ: And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
DERECH HA KODESH: The Highway of Holiness, a kind of Via Virtuosa that reflects the Zoroastrian "I am the Way" as well as the later Zoroastrian-influenced Talmudic Halachah, which is for everyone except…
YA'AVRENU: those who are prohibited, but phrased here using the original Egyptian term for the unwanted, the outcast, Habiru.
EVIYLIM: Is this the source of the word "evil".
35:9 LO YIHEYEH SHAM ARYEH U PHERITS CHAYOT BAL YA'ALENAH LO TIMATS'E SHAM VE HALCHU GE'ULIM
KJ: No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
SHARAV: The parched land was the principal subject of the previous chapter (34:9 ff).
TANIM: As with the TOHU, BOHU and LILIT word-plays in the previous chapter, so here we cannot regard the TANIM purely as literal creatures. This becomes even more the case with the repetitions of NEVEH and CHATSIR, from 34:13... but wait, surely this verse is 34:13, moved to its next stage, but with its deliberate ambivalences still intact.
KANEH: Takes us back to 34:15, KINENAH.
So fertility again, but a very Egyptian fertility this time, continuing this chapter's tour of the regions of Kena'an; good flax for Torah scrolls, but not too many vineyards.
35:8 VE HAYAH SHAM MASLUL VA DERECH VE DERECH HA KODESH YIKAR'E LAH LO YA'AVRENU TAM'E VE HU LAMO HOLECH DERECH VE EVIYLIM LO YIT'U
35:8 VE HAYAH SHAM MASLUL VA DERECH VE DERECH HA KODESH YIKAR'E LAH LO YA'AVRENU TAM'E VE HU LAMO HOLECH DERECH VE EVIYLIM LO YIT'U
וְהָיָה שָׁם מַסְלוּל וָדֶרֶךְ וְדֶרֶךְ הַקֹּדֶשׁ יִקָּרֵא לָהּ לֹא יַעַבְרֶנּוּ טָמֵא וְהוּא לָמוֹ הֹלֵךְ דֶּרֶךְ וֶאֱוִילִים לֹא יִתְעוּ
KJ: And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
BN: And there shall be a raised section of land, and on it a highway, and it shall be called "The Highway of Holiness"; the unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for the others, the ones who follow the straight and narrow, and even the foolish among them will not go astray.
DERECH HA KODESH: The Highway of Holiness, a kind of Via Virtuosa that reflects the Zoroastrian "I am the Way" as well as the later Zoroastrian-influenced Talmudic Halachah, which is for everyone except…
YA'AVRENU: those who are prohibited, but phrased here using the original Egyptian term for the unwanted, the outcast, Habiru.
EVIYLIM: Is this the source of the word "evil".
35:9 LO YIHEYEH SHAM ARYEH U PHERITS CHAYOT BAL YA'ALENAH LO TIMATS'E SHAM VE HALCHU GE'ULIM
לֹא יִהְיֶה שָׁם אַרְיֵה וּפְרִיץ חַיּוֹת בַּל יַעֲלֶנָּה לֹא תִמָּצֵא שָׁם וְהָלְכוּ גְּאוּלִים
BN: No lion shall be found there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up along it; they shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there.
35:10 U PHEDUYEY YHVH YESHUVUN U VA'U TSI'ON BE RINAH VE SIMCHAT OLAM AL RO'SHAM SASON VE SIMCHA YASIYGU VE NASU YAGON VA ANACHAH
KJ: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
GE'ULIM: See the link, and my notes at Joshua 20:3.
35:10 U PHEDUYEY YHVH YESHUVUN U VA'U TSI'ON BE RINAH VE SIMCHAT OLAM AL RO'SHAM SASON VE SIMCHA YASIYGU VE NASU YAGON VA ANACHAH
וּפְדוּיֵי יְהוָה יְשֻׁבוּן וּבָאוּ צִיּוֹן בְּרִנָּה וְשִׂמְחַת עוֹלָם עַל רֹאשָׁם שָׂשׂוֹן וְשִׂמְחָה יַשִּׂיגוּ וְנָסוּ יָגוֹן וַאֲנָחָה
BN: And the ransomed of YHVH shall return, and come with singing to Tsi'on, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. {S}
Isaiah:
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56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
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