Isaiah, Assyria and Israel

God’s chosen peoples in the Jewish commentary of Isaiah’s prophecy

Yaacov Maoz

Rabbi Zekhariah Moshe Mizrakhi, chairperson

of the Assyrian Jews Committee in Israel, in the 1940s

The prophet Isaiah, who was active in the days of the First Temple, in the days of the
Kingdom of Judah and the Assyrian Empire, was one of the most important, central and
influential prophets in the Bible. In one of his famous prophecies, he envisioned a great
future for the nation of Israel, together with the nations of the Egyptians and the
Assyrians: “In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing
in the midst of the earth; for that, the Lord of hosts hath blessed him, saying: Blessed
be Egypt My people and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance”
(Isaiah 19:24-25). The central question that preoccupies us in this article is how Jews
interpreted these verses and what possible impact their interpretation has on Israeli-
Assyrian relations.

Anyone familiar with the classical Jewish commentary of the Bible knows that it is not
a common sight for commentators to pay homage to other peoples. Most of the
commentary was written during the long years of exile, in which almost all non-Jewish
peoples harassed, burned, raped, robbed, expelled, and persecuted Jews. There was only
one way left to spar with them, and that was the interpretation of the Bible, in which
they threw all their anger at the ancient peoples who wreaked havoc (‫ )המיטו שואה‬on the
Jewish people, destroyed the two temples and exiled the people of Israel from their
land. Nevertheless, Isaiah's prophecy invites many commentators to speak in praise of
the other two peoples: Egypt and Assyria.

What is the nature of the blessing that will grow from the future partnership between
the three nations? One of the greatest commentators on the Bible, Rabbi Shlomo
Yitzhaki, says: “Peace and blessings, according to which there was no nation as
important in the world at that time as Egypt and Assyria. And Israel was humiliated…
And the prophet said, by the miracle that He will do to Hezekiah, the name of Israel
will be exalted above, and will be important as one of those kingdoms for blessing and
greatness.” (‫ על הפסוקים‬,‫)רש"י‬. The miracle happened to King Hezekiah, who reigned in
Judah in the days when King Sennacherib of Assyria threatened to conquer Jerusalem
and failed to do so. To this day, historians find it difficult to explain why Sennacherib
abandoned the campaign in Jerusalem and returned to Nineveh. Still, the two
superpowers of the time, Pharaoh’s Egypt and Sennacherib’s Assyria are the future
model of the Jewish people.

Rashi is followed by other commentators such as Rabbi David Altshuler who writes
that Egypt and Assyria “will have a blessing more than all the nations,” ( ‫ על‬,‫מצודת דוד‬
‫)הפסוקים‬, and Rabbi Meir Weiser, who comments that Israel “will be blessed by Egypt
and Assyria” )‫ על הפסוקים‬,‫(מלבי"ם‬. Rabbi Altshuler emphasizes in his commentary on
verse 25 that “each of the three of them was blessed by God.” All three peoples together
and separately are blessed. Rabbi Shabtai Cohen adds that these peoples, not only will
not be punished by God for the exile of Israel, but will also rise above ( ‫ על‬,‫שפתי כהן‬
‫)הפסוקים‬.

Medieval commentators link the special blessing to Assyria and Egypt in that, in the
future, the two peoples will recognize the absolute kingdom of God. Rabbi Avraham
Ibn Ezra states: “For there shall be in Assyria men that shall recognize God... And here,
Israel will be a blessing, for Egypt and Assyria will also be blessed.” ( ‫ מקראות‬,‫ראמב"ע‬
‫)גדולות‬. Like him, Rabbi David Kimchi writes: “Assyria the work of My hands – who
knew that they were My hands and I am God and there is no more.” (‫ על הפסוקים‬,‫)רד"ק‬.
The Holy Zohar, written in Aramit (Aramaic), which is the Jewish version of Assyrian,
also claims “it was said of Egypt and Assyria that their righteous men would repent and
worship God and Malka Meshikha (Anointed King)” (‫)זוהר ח"ב נו ע"ב‬. The basic book
of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, states that the righteous men (‫ )חסידים‬in Egypt and
Assyria will repent and become believers like Israel.

The monotheistic faith will be the portion of the three peoples and, from this, they will
be blessed; peace will prevail between them, and their collaborations will prosper. In
this sense, both the Egyptians and the Assyrians fulfilled the prophecy. These two
peoples hold the belief in one God, albeit with significant differences. The Qur’an
rightly calls Jews and Christians by the well-known nickname “the people of the book”
(‫ )أهل الكتاب‬because the belief in the Bible is common to both and this, in fact, is the
most basic common denominator between Assyria and Israel.

Rabbi Eliezer of Beaugency links the prophecy of Isaiah to another phenomenon in the
Bible: “‘We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria, to have bread enough’
(Lamentations 5: 6). That is, these three will be more excellent and blessed than every
nation... May they be more blessed in wealth and honor then all the other nations.”
(‫ יחזקאל ותרי עשר‬,‫)פירוש על ישעיהו‬. The Book of Lamentations mourns the destruction of
Jewish society during the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians. At that
time, the besieged people of Jerusalem, who were suffering from the reproach of
famine, turned to Egypt and Assyria for humanitarian aid (so we call it today).
According to Rabbi Eliezer, this is a testimony to the existing alliance between the three
nations and is the one that will grow the blessing in the future to come.

An expert in Biblical Studies, the late Professor Yehuda Elitzur of Bar Ilan University,
explained that there is a close connection between the origin of the fathers of the nation,
and the prophecy of Isaiah: “Abraham came from Mesopotamia, went down to Egypt
and kept his eyes open all the time to inherit the land of Canaan. And so it was with
Jacob who came from Harran and went down to Egypt. These deeds of the fathers are
a sign of the vision of the future: the highway from Egypt to Assyrian... [Isaiah] foretells
Egypt and Assyria as part of the fulfillment of the destiny of the fathers” ( ,‫משא מצרים‬
‫ אתר דעת‬,‫)עיונים בספר ישעיהו‬.

Rabbi Moshe Wiener of the Hesder Yeshiva, Maalot Yaacov (Israel), opposes the idea
that these are Jews who immigrated from Egypt and Assyria, as other commentators
claim, but the Egyptian and Assyrian nations themselves: “This is not the simple
explanation. It seems that the verse simply speaks of a blessing that will take place in
Egypt and Assyria, when they themselves will connect to Israel after the great
salvation” (18.11.12 ‫ אתר מעלות יעקב‬,‫)משא מצרים‬. Rabbi David Hillel Wiener also
commented on the connection between Israel and these two nations: “This special
prophecy describes that, in the future, there will be a great correction for the great
nations that troubled Israel – Egypt and Assyria, and the people of Israel will have a
special bond of influence and mutual acceptance from these nations” ( ‫ ישיבת‬,‫ספר יונה‬
‫)ההסדר עכו‬. The adoption of the idea of mutual influence and acceptance from the
nations of the world is a rare phenomenon in Jewish thought.

This rare phenomenon has been discussed by two key figures in the Jewish landscape
of today. Professor Ruhama Weiss from Jerusalem and Rabbi Irving Yitzchak
Greenberg from Riverdale (New York). “In our weekly portion [of the Torah, Balack]
there is a recognition of the spiritual power of the Gentiles. This recognition requires,
of course, connections and collaborations between members of different religions.
Unfortunately, says Rabbi Greenberg, this pluralism is almost forgotten and gone in the
[Jewish] Orthodox world. See for example the following verse from Isaiah 19:25...
Israel appears as part of a trio of God’s chosen peoples, alongside Egypt and Assyria...
God has a significant and good relationship with other peoples. God is infinity, so he
has the possibility to love an infinity of peoples” ( ‫ ידיעות אחרונות‬,‫ יהדות‬,‫האל אוהב את כולם‬
06.07.12).

I also found similar words by the Israeli Air Force officer, Col. (Res.) Ofer Burin:
“Isaiah describes to us a situation in which a regional alliance exists between Assyria,
Egypt and Israel. I hope that the leaders of the peoples of the region will know how to
find the way to such an alliance… Isaiah saw all this happen in the end of days... An
effort must be done for a regional alliance that can deal with regional threats... We
should fulfil the vision of Isaiah, one of our great prophets. A Vision of Peace and Joint
Prosperity” (24.11.12 ‫ מיום‬929 ‫)אתר‬. It seems that there is no good way to end this article
but with these words.

Khaya Ashur, Khaya Israel!

Many thanks to Dr. Nicholas Al-Jeloo for editing this article.

Dr. Yaacov Maoz is the chairperson of the Committee for the Revival of the Aramit-
Ashurit (Assyrian-Aramaic) Language in Israel and an activist for the promotion of
Assyrian-Israeli relations. He is a lecturer in Jewish philosophy, author, poet, publicist
and commentator on Jewish society on IDF Radio (Gali Tzahal).

‫גרסה עברית‬
/https://jokopost.com/religion/25376