Torah Reading is Shemot 1:1-6:1; Haftorah is Isaiah 27:6-28:13, 29:22-23
By Irv Jacobs, M.D.
LA JOLLA, California — These mainly poetic passages come from two separate parts of Isaiah I’s writings. Most are commonly dated ca. 730s BCE, but there are some earlier and many later contributors’ insertions. This has muddled previous date assignments of these materials. Modern scholars now think a good bit arose from the time of the fall of the Babylonian empire to Persia in 539 BCE. It is arguable that some of what are called predictions actually were formulated ‘after the events.’
The connection to the Torah portion is that Shemot begins with a reference to ‘sons of Israel’ having descended to Egypt with Jacob, where they prospered and the land was filled with them. Similarly, these prophetic poetic passages describe that in days to come Jacob/Israel shall ‘strike root’ in their homeland, as the metaphor, ‘plentiful fruit.’ [1]
I have chosen the translation and interpretations of Emeritus Professor Dr. Robert Alter of the University of California Berkeley. [2]
This ancient Hebrew poetry is magnificent, filled with elaborate poetic devices. In addition to praise, it conveys much chastisement. The rabbis who chose these words, took liberty to connect passages that were not continuous in the Book of Isaiah.
Here follows excerpts:
In days to come Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall bud and flower,
and the face of the world shall fill with bounty, [3]
Has he been struck like the blow of his striker?
Like the slaying of his slain was he slain? [4]
In due measure, when He (God) drove her out, He contended with her,
He let loose His fierce blast on an east-wind day. [5]
Therefore in this shall Jacob’s crime be atoned,
all this comes from removing his offense:
When he turns all the stones of the altar
into shattered stones of chalk—
no cultic poles or incense altars shall stand. [6]…
Women come light fires with them,
for they are not a discerning people.
Therefore its Maker shall show it no mercy,
and its Fashioner shall not grant it grace. [7]…
And…
the LORD shall beat out the grain
from the stream of the Euphrates to Egypt’s river.
And you shall be gathered in
one by one, you Israelites. [8]…a great ram’s horn shall sound,
and those lost in the land of Assyria shall come.
and the dispersed in the land of Egypt [9]…
Here the tone changes to castigation:
Woe, crown of the pride of Ephraim’s (North’s) drunkards… [10]and a withered blossom his glory’s splendoron the head of the fat-proud, stunned by wine…Underfoot shall be trampled…On that day the LORD of Armies shall becomea crown of splendor and tiara of glory to His people’s remnant [11]…And these, too, blundered through wineand through strong drink went astray.Priest and prophet blundered through strong drink…—juddered (faltered) in judgment.For all the tables were covered with vomit,filth, with no space left. [12]…For it is filth-pilth, filth-pilthvomit-momit, vomit-momit [13]…So that they should walk and stumble backward,and be broken, snared, and trapped.
At his point, the rabbinical editors skip ahead a chapter of Isaiah, to create the mandatory upbeat ending for this haftorah.
Therefore thus said the LORD Who redeemed Abraham to the house of Jacob:Not now shall Jacob be shamed…For when he sees his children,My handiwork, in his midst,They shall hallow My nameand hallow Jacob’s Holy One,and the God of Israel they shall hold in awe.And those whose spirit strayed shall know discernment,and the grumblers shall learn their lesson. [14]
The composite prophet(s) here demonstrate(s) polished poetic skills, particularly with metaphors, of both praise and strong condemnation. Nor is ‘he’ above use of a goodly share of earthy scatological terms.
He jumps around from condemnation to praise—and back. He manifests knowledge of Israelite history covering over 200 years.
This haftorah had to be patched together from different contributors because of the time frames depicted.
Modern scholarship has determined that there are a host of contributors to this and other such composite prophecies preserved in the Tanach.
*
NOTES
[1] Etz Hayim, The Jewish Publication Society, 2001, New York, p. 342
[2] Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, Prophets Vol. 2, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2019, pp. 705-9, 715-6
[3] an optimistic metaphor prediction for Israel
[4] poetic similes expressing violence
[5] These reference metaphoric punishment from God for Israel’s offenses. The reference to the east (desert) wind especially signals disaster.
[6] Your pagan cultic altars will be shattered.
[7] Strong metaphoric reference to coming of God’s punishment
[8] Then God will rescue you from both Egypt and Assyria, the powers from both south and north in 8th Century BCE.
[9] This passage comes from c. 600 BCE, referencing the Northern kingdom’s demise 121 years earlier.
[10] The awareness of [9] put fear in the South (Judah): it was next in line for destruction.
[11] God, the true crown wearer, will prevail for our surviving remnant.
[12] The Hebrew denotes both vomit and diarrhea.
[13] We have English equivalents of such demeaning gibberish, e.g. sin-shwin, sin-shwin; moron-shmoron . In this case, the offense is against God!
[14] This refers not only to worship of the true God, but a return to absorbing his moral teachings.
*
Irv Jacobs is a retired medical doctor who delights in Torah analysis. He often delivers a drosh at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, and at his chavurah.