ישעיהו, פרק י״ז, פסוק ו׳

Agricultural imagery paints a bleak picture of destruction, leaving behind only a tiny, fragile remnant. The process of gathering crops serves as a metaphor for poverty, general lowliness, and extreme weakness [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. During a harvest, small, isolated clusters of grapes are often left on the vine simply because no one bothers to collect them [מצודת ציון]. Similarly, when harvesting olives, the branches are heavily beaten to shake the fruit loose [רש"י, מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא]. After this violent striking, only a few solitary, small berries remain [מצודת ציון, שד"ל]. These surviving fruits cling to the highest, most choice branch of the tree [רד"ק, מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא], or to the tall tree itself [שד"ל]. Other scattered berries are left on the thin, fruit-bearing branches [מלבי"ם, רש"י] of an orchard that was once highly fruitful and successful [אבן עזרא, שד"ל]. Ultimately, these forgotten gleanings represent refugees and survivors who manage to endure a sweeping disaster [שד"ל].

The identity of these few survivors is a subject of discussion. The primary approach among commentators is that the prophecy points to King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem who survived the sweeping conquest of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. Just as the few olives at the very top of the tree survive because the harvester cannot physically reach them, Jerusalem remained safe and out of the Assyrian king's grasp because of its elevated and superior status [רש"י, רד"ק, מצודת דוד].

Conversely, some argue that comparing survivors to forgotten, leftover grapes lacks dignity and does not fit the glorious, miraculous rescue orchestrated by God in Jerusalem. Instead, this metaphor points to the earlier exile of the tribes of Reuben and Gad during the reign of Ahaz. The few individuals left behind in the land did not survive through bravery or divine miracles. They were simply ignored and forgotten by the Assyrian king, much like a harvester who overlooks a few sparse grapes in a vineyard [שד"ל]. Another perspective suggests that the survivors were a small group of farmers and vineyard workers whom Sennacherib intentionally left behind to work the land, similar to how a farmer leaves a small portion of the harvest for the poor [מלבי"ם].

Alongside these historical explanations regarding the Israelites, a Midrashic tradition turns the imagery entirely around. In this view, the few remaining individuals are not Jewish at all. Rather, they represent the tiny fraction of survivors from Sennacherib's own massive army after it was suddenly and overwhelmingly defeated [רש"י].