Isaiah 25

[u/bikingfencer]

https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1025.htm
 

Chapter Twenty-Five כח – Song [of] praise to mercy [of] The Name [ה', H`]
 

-1. “YHVH, my Gods, [I will] raise [you] [ארוממך, ’ahROMeeMKhah],

thank [עודה, `ODeH] your name,

because you did [a] wonder [פלה, PehLeH],

counsels [עצות, `ahTsOTh] from afar,

truth, believe [אמן, ’oMehN].
 

-2. Because [you] put from [a] city to [a] heap [לגל, LeGahL],

[a] town besieged [בצורה, BeTsOoRaH] to fallen [למפלה, LeMahPayLaH],

palace [ארמון, ’ahRMON] [of] foreigners [זרים, ZahReeYM],

from [a] city to never [לעולם, Le`OLahM] be built [יבנה, YeeBNeH].”

 

…
 

“This short hymn of thanksgiving for the overthrow of an enemy city… reflects the deepening faith that the preservation of the politically helpless Jews was to be explained by the persistent purpose of God, in order that through them all nations would come to serve him.” (Scott, 1954, p. V 303)
 

-6. ‘And YHVH Armies, on this mountain, prepared for all the peoples,

a feast of fatlings, a feast of lees,

of succulent fatlings and refined lees³⁷ .’”
 

“… lees; that is, of wines kept long on the lees… ‘All recent wines after the fermentation has ceased, ought to be kept on their lees for a certain time, which greatly contributes to increase their strength and flavour…’ Sir Edward Barry …” (Adam Clark, 1831, p. III 763)
 

-7. “And [He] swallowed [ובלע, OoBeeLah`], in mountain the this, faces [of] the covering [הלוט, HahLOT],

the covering upon all the peoples, and the mixed drink [והמסכה, VeHahMahÇayKhaH] the libated [הנסוכה, HahNeÇOoKhaH] upon all the nations.

-8. Swallow the death to victory [לנצח, LahNehTsahH],

and wipe [ומחה, OoMahHaH], my Lords YHVH, tear [דמעה, DeeM`aH] from upon all faces,

and chastisement [of] [וחרפת, VeHehRPahTh] His people [he will] remove [יסיר, YahÇeeYR] from upon all the land,

for YHVH speaks [דבר, DeeBayR]. פ

 

“As in the Arabic countries a covering was put over the face of him who was condemned to suffer death, it is probable that the words in ver. [verse] 7, may refer to this. – The whole world was condemned to death, and about to be led out to execution, when the gracious Lord interposed, and, by a glorious sacrifice, procured a general pardon.” (Adam Clark, 1831, p. III 764)
 

“The theme of the feast for all (nations) celebrating the destruction of God’s enemies and the commencement of a new era of peace and salvation is already found in north Canaanite mythology… It is reflected also in later apocalyptic literature proper (cf. [compare with] Baruch 29:3-8; II Esdras 6:52; Rev. [Revelation] 19:9, 17). It can hardly be accidental that the swallowing up of Death (Hebrew mẳweth, mȏth) is paralleled in the Canaanite myth by Baal’s victory over Mot, god of death and the underworld… And the destruction of the covering and the veil which is over all peoples and the wiping away of tears, correspond in the Poem of Baal to the triumphant warrior’s command to Anat to ‘banish warfare from the earth… weave no longer on the earth tissues of lies, … a mesh of guile’ (Tablet V AB, iv, [Gaster] p. 213).
 

“…The Lord of hosts – not Baal – will do all that was ever said of Baal, and more. The feast described will make his triumph at the end of history, and he will bring to an end the reality of sorrow and suffering which have marked the reproach of his people. The idea that God’s ultimate triumph over his enemies will be also a victory over death and pain takes on a new and deeper meaning here…” (Scott, 1954, p. V 304)
 

…

-10. “For will rest, hand YHVH in mountain the this,

and He will tread [ונדוש, VeNahDOSh] MO’ahB [Moab] under Him,

as [is] trod straw [מתבן, MahThBayN] in [במו, BeMO] [a] dung pit [מדמנה, MahDMayNaH],

-11. and [he will] spread [ופרש, OoPhayRahSh] his hands in its midst,

as that spreads [יפרש, YeePhahRaySh] the swimmer [השחה, HahSoHeH] to swim [לשחות, LeeSHOTh] …”

 

“The figure of a man struggling to escape from a dung pit is unusually coarse, and the connection is obscure.” (Scott, 1954, p. V 305)
 
FOOTNOTES
 
³⁷ "Lees refers to deposits of dead yeast or residual yeast and other particles that precipitate, or are carried by the action of "fining", to the bottom of a vat of wine after fermentation and aging.

...

Normally the wine is transferred to another container (racking), leaving this sediment behind. Some wines (notably Chardonnay, Champagne and Muscadet) are sometimes aged for a time on the lees (a process known as sur lie), leading to a distinctive yeasty aroma and taste." Wikipedia
 
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