## Ibn Ezra on Isaiah Chapter 18

###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:1:1
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:1:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:1:1)

**הוי ארץ.** הוי לשון קריאה כמו הוי הוי ונוסו מארץ צפון (זכריה ב' י'):

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
הדי *Oh !*¹ It is the sign of the vocative case. Comp. Zac. 2:10.

footnotes:
¹ A. V., Woe. See I. E. on 1:4, and c. i., note 13.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:1:2
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:1:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:1:2)

**צלצל כנפים.** כפול מצל, שהיא ארץ רחבה:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
צלצל *Shadowing*. Reduplication of צל shadow. A shady land is identical with a wide land.²

footnotes:
² The idea of connecting shady with wide, is probably suggested by the image of a shady tree, whose branches extend over a large area.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:1:3
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:1:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:1:3)

**מעבר לנהרי כוש.** שם מלכות אשור:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia*. That is, beyond the rivers of the kingdom of Assyria.³

footnotes:
³ Ethiopia (Kush) is here identified with Assyria. I. E. on Gen. 10:11 seems to deny the connection between Ethiopia and Assyria, and to consider Asshur (═Assyria) as a son of Japheth or Shem, but not as a descendant of Kush (Ethiopia) or Ham. See c. xlii. Note 1.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:1
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:2:1)

**השולח.** מי שהוא מנהגו לשלוח בים שלוחים:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*That sendeth*, etc. That is accustomed to send messengers over the sea.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:2
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:2:2)

**לכו.** אתם מלאכים קלים ובשרו ישראל שברחו וגלו והם מעבר לנהרי כוש:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*Go*, *ye swift messengers*, and bring good tidings to the Israelites, that are fled or are driven into exile, and are now beyond the rivers of Ethiopia.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:3
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:2:3)

ובעבור נהרי אמר ובכלי גמא:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*And in vessels of bulrushes*. This phrase is added because of the rivers mentioned before,


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:4
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:2:4)

**ממושך.** הם ישראל שנמשכו ממקומם ככבשים עד שמורטו:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
גוי ממשך ומורט *A nation dragged and peeled*.⁴ The Israelites are meant, that have been dragged from their homes like sheep, until they were flayed from the dragging.

footnotes:
⁴ A. V., Scattered and peeled.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:5
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:2:5)

**ממושך אל עם נורא.** הם הכושיים:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*To a terrible people*. To the Ethiopians.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:6
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:2:6)

**[מן הוא].** מן אותו העם, או הוא רמז לנהרי:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
מן הוא *From thence*.⁵ From that people, or from those rivers.⁶

footnotes:
⁵ A. V., From their beginning.
⁶ ממֶּנּוּ ═ מן הוּא. The pronoun is sometimes written in full, instead of a suffix. That I. E., who is always very particular about the gender and number should have found in the singular הוא a reference to the plural נהרי rivers, is very strange. Instead of נהרי we have perhaps to read עֵבֶר נהרי


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:7
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:2:7)

**גוי וגו'.** היתה דעתו כדעת הנער כאשר ילומד קו לקו, על כן היתה מבוסה:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
גוי קו קו *A nation of line by line*.⁷ A nation whose intellect is like that of a child, who is taught gradually, line by line. ומבוסה And therefore it is trodden down.

footnotes:
⁷ A. V., A nation meted out.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:8
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:2:8)

ואל"ף **בזאו** לחסרון אות הכפל, וכמוהו דליו שוקים (משלי כ"ו ז') על דעת ר' משה הכהן:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
בזאו *They have spoiled*. א is to replace the second ז of the root which is omitted; comp. דליו they are thin⁸ (Prov. 26:7). This is the explanation of R. Moses Hakkohen.

footnotes:
⁸ Root דלל to be poor. דללו ═ דליו as בזזו ═ בואו.8a I. E. himself is of opinion that בָּזוּ ═ בזאו. See Moznaim, sub voce, המתחלפים, and Zahoth, On the Numerals, sub voce עשרים.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:9
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:2:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:2:9)

וטעם **נהרים**מלכים, כמו את מי הנהר (ישעיהו ח' ז'):

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*Rivers*. This is a figure for kings; comp. The water of the river⁹ (8:7)

footnotes:
⁹ To this phrase Isaiah adds the explanation: The king of Assyria.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:3:1
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:3:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:3:1)

**כל וגו'.** הטעם כאילו נס נישא על כל הארץ:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*All ye inhabitants of the world*. As if a banner were raised over the whole earth.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:3:2
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:3:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:3:2)

**וכתקוע שופר וגו'.** לדעת מעשה השם במחנה סנחריב:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*You shall hear*, so as to know the work of the Lord, which He has done in the camp of Sennacherib.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:4:1
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:4:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:4:1)

**כי וגו'.** טעם אשקטה על השכינה שעמדה:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*I will take my rest*. This refers to the divine glory¹⁰ which remained.

footnotes:
¹⁰ In order to remove the anthropomorphism, God takes rest, I. E. substitutes for God, or the pronoun referring to Him, the word שכינה (lit. dwelling,) the divine glory revealed in His works. This divine glory, he says, remained in Jerusalem, that is, revealed itself in the deliverance of the holy city from the threatened humiliation by Sennacherib.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:4:2
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:4:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:4:2)

**ואביטה.** ואראה:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
ואביטה And I shall see.¹¹

footnotes:
¹¹ What I. E. means to say by this remark can hardly be discovered, unless we suppose that he read מכוני instead of במכוני—the word is quoted by I. E. without ב—and explained by this remark, the exceptional construction of the verb הביט with a noun without the preposition ב; he says that it has the meaning of ראה to see, which governs the accusative.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:4:3
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:4:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:4:3)

**מכוני.** היא ירושלם:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
מכוני *My dwelling-place*, Jerusalem.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:4:4
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:4:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:4:4)

**כחם.** אויר:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
אויר צח ═ צח Pure air.¹²¹²

footnotes:
¹² According to I. E. the words כחם צח אלי אור, must be rendered when the pure air is warm after the rain. A. V., Like a clear heat upon herbs.
¹² According to I. E. the words כחם צח אלי אור, must be rendered when the pure air is warm after the rain. A. V., Like a clear heat upon herbs.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:4:5
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:4:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:4:5)

**צח עלי אור.** אחר הגשם כמו יפיץ ענן אורו (איוב ל"ז י"א), כי השמש הנקרא אור גם כן הירח, כי כן כתוב לעושה אורים גדולים (תהלים קל"ו ז'), הם סבת הגשם במאמר השם:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
עלי אור *After rain*. Comp. ענן אורו the cloud of his rain¹³ (Job 37:11). The sun is also called אור, the moon too,—comp. אורים גדולים great luminaries¹⁴ (Ps. 136:7)—because they are the cause of the rain,¹ but of course only at the will of the Almighty.

footnotes:
¹³ A. V., His bright cloud.
¹⁴ Sun and moon.
¹ The same remark is made by I.E. in Gen. 2:6.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:1
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:5:1)

**כי לפני קציר.** כמו תשלח קציריה, והטעם היות קציר:


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:2
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:5:2)

**כתם פרח ובוסר גומל.** כמו ויגמל שקדים (במדבר י"ז כ"ג) עודנו יהיה בנצתו:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
גומל *Ripening*, Comp. ויגמל And it ripened (Num. 17:23). יהיה נצה Will still be in the flower.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:3
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:5:3)

**וכרת.** השם:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*And He will cut off*. The pronoun refers to God.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:4
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:5:4)

**הזלזלים.** הם דבקים עם השרש, ואין למלה הזאת אחות:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
הזלזלים *The sprigs*. The branches which are joined to the root; the word is hap. leg.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:5
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:5:5)

**ואת הנטישות.** אותם הבדים הגדולים שנטשו:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
הנטישות The large branches, that spread (נטש) widely.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:6
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:5:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:5:6)

**התז.** כמו כרת ובלשון קדמונינו ז"ל ימצא, ובא פועל עבר אחרי עבר בלא וי"ו דבק כמו חמק עבר (שיר השירים ה' ו'), וטעם הפסוק קודם שימלא פרי מחשבותם יכחדו:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
כרת ═ התז He cut. This verb is often met with in Rabbinical Hebrew.¹⁵ The two verbs in the past follow each other without a conjunction, like חמק עבר Hath gone, passed by (Song 5:6). The meaning of the verse is: The Assyrians will perish before the fruit of their devices will be ripe.

footnotes:
¹⁵ Comp. Talmud Babli. Gittin 70a, Synhedrin, 52b.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:6:1
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:6:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:6:1)

**יעזבו.** זה מחנה אשור הנכחד ביד המלאך:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*They will be left*, etc. The host of Assyria, having been destroyed through the angel, will be left, etc.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:6:2
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:6:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:6:2)

**לעיט.** כמו וירד העיט (בראשית ט"ו י"א), על משקל שש (אסתר א' ו') גם שיש (דברי הימים כ"ט ב'):

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
לעיט *To the fowl* (comp. Gen. 15:11); its forms are like those of שֵׁשׁ (Est. 1:6), and שַׁיִשׁ (1 Chron. 29:2), marble.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:6:3
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:6:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:6:3)

**וקץ.** מגזרת קיץ (בראשית ח' כ"ב):

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
וקץ *And shall summer*. Comp. קיץ summer (Gen. 8:22).


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:6:4
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:6:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:6:4)

**תחרף.** מגזרת חורף [שם], לאכול נבלות המתים:

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
תחרף *Shall winter*. Comp. הֹרֶף winter (Gen. 8:22).—The beasts will remain there to eat the corpses of the killed.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:7:1
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:7:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:7:1)

**בעת.** שי, דורון הטעם יובילו שי (תהלים ע"ו י"ב):

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
שי *Present*. Comp. Ps. 76:12.


###### Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:7:2
[Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 18:7:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ibn%20Ezra%20on%20Isaiah/r/18:7:2)

**עם ממושך ומורט.** הם ישראל הגולים, והנה יובאו לכבוד השם אל מקומו שהוא בהר ציון, ולפי דעת רבי משה זה פי' יוסיף יי שנית ידו (ישעיהו י"א י"א):

**Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873:**
*A people dragged and peeled*. Israel, who has been dragged and flayed during the period of his captivity, will now be brought, to the honour of God, to His abode on Mount Zion. According to R. Moses Hakkohen, this chapter describes the redemption announced by the words—The Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of the people, etc.¹⁶ (11:11.

footnotes:
¹⁶ This verse describes, according to R. Moses Hakkohen, the deliverance of the Israelites in the time of Hezekiah. Comp. I. E. on 11:11.