Leviticus 26:38

38 ye shall perish among heathen men, and the land of (your) enemies shall waste you.

Leviticus 26:38 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 26:38

And ye shall perish among the Heathen
Not utterly, but great numbers of them, through change of air, and different diet, as Aben Ezra, and through the cruel usage of their enemies; for there is a body of them which continues unto this day; unless this is to be understood of the ten tribes, as R. Akiba F2 interprets it, who are supposed to be entirely lost and swallowed up among the nations where they were carried captive:

and the land of your enemies shall eat you up;
they should die in it through one disease or another; by the pestilence, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so be buried in it; in which sense it may be said to eat them up, or consume them, for the grave swallows up and consumes all that are put into it; Jarchi says, this is to be understood of those that die in captivity.


FOOTNOTES:

F2 In Torat Cohanim, ut supra. (par. 1. fol. 197. 2.)

Leviticus 26:38 In-Context

36 And I shall give dread in their hearts, that shall abide of you, in the countries of your enemies; the sound of a leaf flying shall make them afeared, and so they shall flee it as a sword; they shall fall, while none pursueth, (And I shall put fear in the hearts of those who be left of you, in the countries of your enemies; the sound of a leaf flying in the wind shall make them afraid, and they shall flee it like a sword; they shall fall, when no one pursueth them,)
37 and all they shall fall upon their brethren, as men fleeing battles (out of fear); no man of you shall be hardy to against-stand (your) enemies; (and they all shall fall upon their brothers, like men fearfully fleeing from battle; not one of you shall be hardy to stand against your enemies;)
38 ye shall perish among heathen men, and the land of (your) enemies shall waste you.
39 That if some of these Jews dwell (And those Jews who shall still remain), they shall fail in their wickednesses, in the land of their enemies; and they shall be tormented for the sins of their fathers, and for their own sins,
40 till they acknowledge their wickednesses, and have mind of their evils (and remember their evil-doing), by which they trespassed against me, and went contrary to me.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.