מלכים ב י״ט

ותוכחה. שהרשעים מתווכחין ומראין פנים לדבריהם, לאמר לנו הכח והגבורה:

[And] debate. That the wicked are debating¹Alternatively, ותוכחה means “disgrace.—Targum Or “reproof.”—Radak and showing evidence to [support] their words, claiming, “We have the power and the strength.”²Alternatively the phrase refers to God and means, “may He rebuke for the words, etc.”

בנים. ישראל:

Children. Yisroel.

עד משבר. עד צרה הדומה לאשה יושבת על משבר ואין בה כח לילד, משבר, שם מושב אשה הכורעת לילד:

As far as the birthstool. As far as a distress similar to a woman sitting on the birthstool, but not having strength to give birth.

והוכיח. אישפרובי"ר בלע"ז, הראה פנים לדבריו, שהצליח בכל אשר הלך:

And he brought proof with the words. Aprover, in O.F., He showed evidence to [support] his statement,³Below, v. 9. [namely,] that he prospered wherever he went.

ושמע שמועה. ויעלה מעליכם ושב לארצו, ולא מחמת השמועה, אלא לאחר זמן ישוב לארצו בבושת פנים, והפלתיו שם בחרב, ומה היא השמועה, וישמע אל תרהקה, שמע שיצא תרהקה להלחם עמו, ועלה מעל ירושלים והלך לכוש, ונלחם עם תרהקה ופוט ומצרים שעמו, ונצחם ונטל חמדת אוצרותיהם, ובא לירושלים ונפל שם, הוא שאמר (ישעיהו מה יד): יגיע מצרים וסחר כוש וגו' עליך יעבורו וגו':

And he will hear a rumor. And he will withdraw from you and return to his land. He will not [return] because of the rumor, but after a while he will return to his land in disgrace, and I will cause him to fall there by the sword. Now what was the rumor? ”And he heard about Tirhaikoh.”⁴Yeshayohu 45:14. He heard that Tirhaikoh had gone out to wage war against him, so, he left Yerusholayim and went to Cush, and waged war with Tirhaikoh, and Egypt, who were with him. He defeated him and took their most coveted treasures, and came to Yerusholayim, where he fell. In reference to this, Yeshayohu stated, ”The toil of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, etc., will become yours, etc.”⁵See commentary above, 18:34.

וישב וישלח מלאכים. להודיע שאינו שב לארצו, אלא להלחם עם כוש, ולחזור כאן:

He again sent messengers. To notify him that he was not returning to his land, rather he was waging war with Cush, and then to return here.

עדן. שם מדינה:

Eden. The name of a province.

הנע ועוה. אותן מלך אשור:

He exiled and twisted. The king of Ashur exiled and twisted them.⁶Alternatively, this refers to Eretz Yisroel.—Radak

אמנם. אמת הוא שהחריבו מלכי אשור את העמים, ונתנו את אלהיהם באש:

Indeed. It is true that the kings of Ashur destroyed the peoples and put their deities in fire.

מרום הרים. הר הבית:

The highest mountains. [This refers to] the Temple Mount.⁷The sacrifices that are offered in the Beis Hamikdosh atoned for the sins and “whitened” them. The verse in Yeshayohu 1:18 states, “If your sins will be like scarlet, they will become as white [=ילבינו] as snow.” See Maseches Gittin 56b and Rashi there.

ירכתי לבנון. בית המקדש, שמלבין עונות:

To the end of the Levanon. [This refers to] the Beis Hamikdosh which whitens [=מלבן] sins.⁸Alternatively “its tallest cedar [trees]” refers to the great leaders and nobles among the Bnei Yisroel.—Radak See Rashi in Bamidbar 13:20.

ואכרת קומת ארזיו. לא אשוב עד שאחריבנו:

And I will cut down its tallest cedar [trees]. I will not return until I have destroyed it.⁹”Its remotest lodge,” refers to the Beis Hamikdosh which is the lodging place of the Shechinah.—Radak

קצו. סופו:

Remotest. Its end.¹⁰I.e., his army is so vast that they drink up all the water available, he therefore had to dig and search for other water sources.—Radak

יער כרמלו. מליאת ארצו ויופי הדרו:

Its fruitful forest. The fullness of its land and the beauty of its splendor.

אני קרתי ושתיתי מים זרים. כלומר התחלתי בכל מעשה וגמרתי, כזה הכורה בור ומוצא מים זרים ושותה מים נובעים קורא זרים, לפי שעד הנה לא הכירו בהם:

I dug and drank strange water. I.e., I started all my deeds and completed [them], as one who digs a hole and finds flowing water and drinks it. Flowing water he calls “זרים [=strange],” because until now no one knew of them.

ואחריב בכף פעמי. אם צרתי על עיר הבוטחת בנהרותיה, הבאתי עליה גייסות רבות שהובישו יאוריה בשתייתם ושתית בהמתם ומרמס רגליהם:

And I dry up with the soles of my feet. If I besiege a city that depends upon its rivers, I bring many troops upon it who dry up its rivers with their drinking and the drinking of their cattle¹¹His soldiers were so numerous that as they crossed a river they carried away so much water on their feet that the river bed was left dry by the time they all crossed it. See Maseches Sanhedrin 95b. and by the treading of their feet.¹²Yeshayohu 10:5.

ואחריב. לשון הוה, כן דרכי תמיד:

And I dry up. This is in the present tense [because] this is always my way.

הלא שמעת למרחוק. למה תתפאר ותתגדל בזאת, לא שלך היא, כי שמעת למרחוק על ידי הנביאים שגזרתי על העמים להביאך עליהם, כענין שנאמר (שם י ה): הוי אשור שבט אפי:

Have you not heard from afar. Why do you glorify and aggrandize yourself with this? This is not yours, for you have heard from afar through the prophets, that I decreed upon the nations to bring you upon them, as the matter that is stated, ”Ho, Ashur, the staff of My wrath.”¹³Yeshayohu 30:33.

למימי קדם. משנברא העולם, עלתה במחשבה, שנאמר (שם ל לג): כי ערוך מאתמול תפתה גם הוא למלך הוכן, זה סנחריב שנשרף באש גיהנם, שנאמר (שם לא ט:) נאם ה' אשר אור לו בציון:

In days of yore. Since the world was created, it entered My thought, as it is stated, ”For [Gehinnom] is arranged from days of yore; that too was prepared for the king.”¹⁴Yeshayohu 31:9. This refers to Sancheiriv, who was burned in the fire of Gehinnom, as it is stated, ”The word of Adonoy, Who has fire in Tzion.”¹⁵קצרי יד is an expression meaning “lack of power,” as in Bamidbar 11:23, “Is the power of AD limited [= תקצר’ ה היד].”

עתה הבאתיה. וזה הכח שבידך:

Now I have brought it about. And this is the power that is in your hand.

ותהי. ביאתה של גזרתי, להשאות ערים בצורות, להיות לגלים נצים, לגלי אדמה שצומחין בהן ירקות, שאתה מחריבן בגזרתי:

And it shall be. The coming of My decree shall be to make desolate fortified cities into blossoming hills, into piles of earth upon which vegetables grow, for you destroy them because of My decree.

להשות. לשון שאייה גלמודה:

To make desolate. An expression of desolation, forsaken.

ויושביהן קצרי יד. הם, שאני התשתי את כחן לפניך, ואין הגבורה שלך, אין אתה גבור, אבל הם חלשים:

Their inhabitants were short of strength. Those whom I weakened before you,¹⁶I.e., it is a Divine gift for which Sancheiriv could claim no credit. and the might is not yours.¹⁷The nations that Sancheiriv conquered had already been condemned to punishment and destruction. You are not mighty, rather they are weak.¹⁸In Tehilim 129:6 the verse states” … like the grass on rooftops which even before it is plucked, withers.”

חציר גגות. הממהר ליבש:

Like grass of the rooftops. Which dries quickly.¹⁹Alternatively, grass is unable to move and defend itself from being cut.—Ralbag

ושדפה לפני קמה. כשבלים השדופות, בטרם יתקשו לבא לידי קמה:

And wind blast before [becoming] standing grain. Like blasted stalks of grain, before they hardened to become standing grain.

ושבתך וצאתך ובאך. תרגם יונתן: ומיתבך בעיצה ומיפקך לאגחא קרבא ומיתך לארעא דישראל גלי קדמי, מאתי נהיתה:

Your sitting and your going out and your coming in. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, ”And your sitting in counsel, and your going out to wage war, and your coming to the land of Yisroel, is revealed to Me;” it emanated from Me.

ואת התרגזך אלי. ואת אשר סופך להתגאות ולהתעורר אלי ברוגז ורעש, אשטרימי"ה בלע"ז:

And your raging against Me. And that ultimately you will become arrogant and aroused against Me with anger and tumult, estorimir, in O.F..

ושאננך. כמו ושאונך:

And your tumult. [Means] the same as ושאונך [=your tumult].²⁰Alternatively, “your tranquility,” i.e., their rage was on account of their tranquility.—Radak

חחי. כמין שיר הוא, שמושכין בו בהמה שעסקיה רעים, כמו ששנינו (שבת נא ב) כל בעלי השיר יוצאין בשיר:

My ring. A kind of ring by which they pull an animal whose behavior is bad,²¹Alternatively, חח is a fish hook which pierces the fish when it is pulled out of the water.—Radak as we learned, ”And all animals that are usually pulled with a ring may go out [on Shabbos] with a ring.”²²Maseches Shabbos 51b.

ומתגי. תרגם יונתן: זמם, והוא של ברזל, ותוחבין אותו בנחירי הנאקה ונמשכת בו, לפי שעסקיה רעים, והוא ששנינו (שם:) ונאקה בחוטם:

And my bit. [Targum] Yonoson rendered זמם, which is made of iron, and which is inserted into the nostrils of a female camel,²³Alternatively, מתג is the bit placed in the animal's mouth by which to lead it.—Radak and she is pulled with it, because her behavior is bad. This is what we learned, ”And the female camel [may go out on Shabbos] with a nose ring.”²⁴Maseches Shabbos 51b.

וזה לך האות. לחזקיהו אמר הנביא, וזה שאמרתי לך סנחריב יפול כאן, יהי לך לאות אף לימים הבאים שאתם יראים למות ברעב, לפי שסנחריב החריב את הארץ וגדע את האילנות:

And this shall be the sign for you. The prophet said to Chizkiyohu, ”And this prophecy which I said to you that Sancheiriv will fall here, will be a sign for you²⁵Alternatively, the sign for the fulfillment of the prophecy is that Sancheiriv will return to his land, mentioned in v. 7 above. The fulfillment of this prophecy serves as a sign that the remainder of the prophecy will likewise be fulfilled.—Radak also for the approaching days, for you are afraid of dying from hunger, because Sancheiriv destroyed the land and chopped down the trees.”

אכול השנה ספיח. בשנה הזאת יצמחו לכם צמחים ותתפרנסו מהם:

This year you will eat what grows by itself. This year plants will grow for you, and you will be sustained by them.

סחיש. גדועי אילנות שיצמחו, וכשתראה דברי קיים במפלת האוכלסין, יהיה לך לאות שאף הבטחה זו תתקיים:

What grows from the tree stumps. The chopped off trees that will sprout, and when you see My word fulfilled concerning the fall of the armies, it will be a sign for you that this promise, too, will be fulfilled.

קנאת ה' צבאות. שיקנא לכבודו ולשמו, ולא שיש זכות בידכם, כי הרבה הרשיע אחז אביך:

The zeal of Adonoy of Hosts. That He will be zealous for His honor and for His Name, not that you have any merit,²⁶For even the merit of the Patriarchs had been used up, according to Rashi in Yeshayohu 37:32. for Achaz your father committed many wicked deeds.

ולא יקדמנה. לא יערך לפניה מגן:

He will not advance upon it. He will not set a shield before it.²⁷The first soldiers attacking a city were the shield bearers.—Radak

סוללה. צבור אדמה להגביה תל לעמוד עליו להלחם על העיר, ועל שם שהוא כובשו וחובטו בעצים ומקבות כדי שיהא נדוש וכבוש בחוזק, קורהו סוללה, לשון (ישעיה סב י): סולו סולו המסילה:

A ramp. A heap of earth to raise a mount upon which to stand to wage war against the city, and because one presses it down and beats it with sticks and sledge hammers, so that it becomes trodden and pressed down with strength, it is called סוללה, an expression of, “Beat down [=סולו], beat down [=סולו] the highway.”²⁸Yeshayohu 62:10. See also II Shmuel 20:15.

ויהי בלילה ההוא. כששב סנחריב מעל כוש, ובא עד נוב שהיתה סמוכה לירושלים:

And it was that night. When Sancheiriv returned from [battling] with Cush, and he came as far as Nov, which was near Yerusholayim.²⁹Although his astrologers told him that he would be successful in conquering Yerusholayim if he were to attack it on that very day, Sancheiriv in his arrogance decided to camp overnight in Nov and wait for the following day. This ultimately led to his downfall. See Maseches Sanhedrin 95a. Dovid who was Chizkiyohu's ancestor, incurred guilt by causing the deaths of the kohanim of Nov, and it was therefore decreed that his descendants would be liable for punishment for many years. This was the last day of the decree, as stated in Yeshayohu 10:32, “Yet today he will stand in Nov.”

מאה ושמונים וחמשה אלף. כולם ראשי גייסות:

One hundred eighty-five thousand. All of them were heads of companies.³⁰Sancheiriv's camp was enormous. Each of these 185,000 officers was in charge of 2,000 men. See Rashi above, in 18:24.

וישב בנינוה. היא ראש לארץ אשור:

And dwelt in Nineveh. It was the capital of Ashur.

בית נסרוך אלהיו. נסר מתיבתו של נח:

In the temple of Nisroch his god. A board from Noach's ark.³¹נסרת is a contraction of נסר מתיבתו של נח. ³²Sancheiriv believed it was the deity which saved Noach from the Flood, so it will save him also. See Maseches Sanhedrin 96a.

הכהו בחרב. שמעו אותו שאמר לשוחטן לפניו אם יצילוהו, שלא יהרגוהו שרי המלכות שמתו בניהם על ידו (סנהדרין צו א):

Slew him with a sword. They heard him that he said he would slaughter them³³Sancheiriv asked his wise men what was the merit that the Bnei Yisroel had that God fights their battles. They replied that their forefather Avrohom brought his son for a burnt offering. So he decided that he too will offer his two sons. When his sons heard this, they killed him.—Radak before him if they would spare him, so that they would not kill him---the princes of the kingdom, whose sons perished on account of him.