Yeshayah 30:17

17 Elef echad shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five shall ye flee; until ye be left as a pole upon the top of the har, and as a nes (banner, flag) on a hill.

Yeshayah 30:17 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 30:17

One thousand [shall flee] at the rebuke of one
A troop of horse, consisting of a thousand men, shall flee upon the attack and onset of a single person, so dispirited should they be, and so possessed of the fear of the enemy; what was promised to them with respect to their enemies is here turned against them, ( Leviticus 26:7 Leviticus 26:8 ) ( Deuteronomy 32:30 ) : at the rebuke of five shall ye flee;
being attacked by a very small number, the whole army should run away: this denotes with what ease they should be routed, and put to flight; and is to be understood, not of what would be at the present time, but of what should come to pass hereafter, when the Chaldean army should come against them; till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain;
or, "as the mast of a ship", so the Septuagint and other versions. Jarchi says it signifies a high tree, or tall piece of wood fixed in the earth, like a ship's mast ^F16, set up to give warning of an enemy's approach, and when, and where, sometimes fires used to be kindled; hence the Targum is,

``till ye are left as a burning torch on the top of a mountain.''

The Syriac version renders it, "as a wild ass", solitary and alone: and as an ensign on a hill;
erected as a trophy of victory. The design of the metaphors is to show that there should be few that should escape falling into the enemy's hand, here and there one, that should he scattered about, and be very thin, as beacons and signs are, and should be warnings to others of pursuing the same foolish and sinful methods and practices.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 So Ben Melech says, it is a high piece of wood in a ship, on which they hang an ensign or flag; and so he interprets the ensign in the next clause of a veil, so called, because they lift it up upon the mast.

Yeshayah 30:17 In-Context

15 For thus saith Adonoi Hashem Kadosh Yisroel; In shuvah (returning) and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your gevurah (strength); but ye would not.

16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon sus; therefore shall ye flee; and, We will ride off upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

17 Elef echad shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five shall ye flee; until ye be left as a pole upon the top of the har, and as a nes (banner, flag) on a hill.

18 And therefore will Hashem wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have rachamim upon you; for Hashem is Elohei Mishpat; Ashrei are all they that wait for Him.

19 For a people shall dwell in Tziyon at Yerushalayim; thou shalt weep no more; He will be very gracious unto thee at the sound of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee.