This haftarah, which is read only outside Israel on the eighth day of Pesah,* is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud (Megila 31a). Rashi explains the choice of this haftarah by saying that the defeat of Assyria described in the haftarah occurred on Pesah night. Yalkut Shimoni interpreted the opening verse of the haftarah: "He shall stand and wave his hand, O mount of fair Zion," in relation to the reading of the Hallel at night, which is only done on Pesah.

Rabshaqeh peeked over the wall and heard that Israel was reading the hallel. He said to Sanhereb retreat! Because miracles are done for them on this night. He (Sanhereb) belittled his (Rabshaqeh's) words, as it is said: "He shall stand and wave his and, O mount of fair Zion. (Yalkut Shimoni Melakhim 241)

(Jacobsen connects the idea of Moshe being the first savior with the messiah being the last savior. Hazon Hamiqra, vol. 2, p. 89) While Rashi's explanation works well for the first verses, there are elements at the end of the haftarah that relate more to the themes of the day, the splitting of the sea and the redemption from Egypt.

The beginning of the haftarah concludes a section of prophecies about Assyria. Isaiah, who is the first of the prophets to witness the rise of a world power, Assyria, explains the success of this idol-worshipping nation as God's will. Isaiah develops the idea of Assyria being the implement of God, to carry out His will by punishing an unfaithful Israel.

Ha! Assyria rod of My anger, in whose hand, as a staff, is My fury! I send him against an ungodly nation, I charge him against people that provokes Me. (Is. 10:5-6)

Although Assyria was God's rod of punishment, God will punish Assyria because of its twofold transgressions. 1) It went beyond God's wishes with excessive cruelty, to destroy Jerusalem (10:11). 2) It haughtily attributed its military success to its own might (10:12-15). The haughty Assyria will therefore be destroyed by God. This destruction is described metaphorically by Isaiah. Assyria waves his hand "to beckon his army onwards" (NJPS translation, note o) to attack Jerusalem. It is at this point that the prophet describes the destruction of Assyria. Lo! The Sovereign Lord of Hosts will hew of the tree- crowns with an ax: the tall ones shall be felled the lofty ones cut down: The thickets of the forest shall be hacked away with iron, and the Lebanon trees shall fall in their majesty. (Is. 10:33-34)

This prophecy of Assyria and its leaders at the gates of being cut down as they are about to capture Jerusalem fits with the account found in Isaiah chapter 37, and the description of the siege of Jerusalem found in Sanhereb's annals. Chapter 37 describes how Assyria's armies besieged Jerusalem, with their general, Rabshaqeh taunting and demoralizing Jerusalem's defenders. Hizqiyah prays to God and is answered that Assyria shall not enter this city: He shall not shoot an arrow at it, or advance upon it with a shield, . . .He shall go back by the way he came, he shall not enter this city.

According to the account in Isaiah (37:36), That night an angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred and eighty- five thousand in the Assyrian camp, and the following morning they were all dead copses. (37:36; NJPS)

The unsuccessful campaign against Jerusalem can also be detected in Sanhereb's boastful annals. He doesn't describe the total subjugation of Jerusalem and Hizqiyahu after a military victory. Rather, he claims that he held Hizqiyahu as a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage.

He does not describe the total conquest of Jerusalem. After the use of tree metaphors to describe the defeat of Assyria, the prophet continues with the use of tree metaphor to describe the future leader of Israel.

But a shoot shall grow up from the stump of Yishai, a twig shall sprout from his stock. The spirit of the Lord shall alight upon him: a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and valor, a spirit of devotion and reverence for the Lord. (11:1-2)

The rest of the haftarah describes the idyllic period that will be brought in by the righteous king from the house of Yishai. The nations react to this event by coming to Jerusalem to seek his counsel. Israel also will return from the places where they were dispersed and they will have domestic harmony. Reference to the exodus from Egypt is made, especially to the splitting of the sea.

The Lord will dry up the tongue of the Egyptian sea. He will raise His hand over the Euphrates with the might of His wind and break it into seven wadis, so that it can be trodden dry-shod. Thus there shall be a highway for His people out of Assyria, such as there was for Israel when it left the land of Egypt. (11:15-16; NJPS)

The haftarah ends with the song of praise that will be sung for that future redemption with a reference to a verse in the song of the sea. (" . . .ozzi vezimrat yah YHWH vayhi li lishu'a"--For Yah the Lord is my strength and might and He has been my deliverance.)

The choice of the haftarah for the eighth day of Pesah reflects the theme of the seventh day, the splitting of the sea, with an application to the future--to the time when all of Israel's exiles will be redeemed.

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Endnotes

*In Israel this haftarah is read on Yom Ha'asma`ut.