ישעיהו, פרק ב׳, פסוק כ׳

In the future, during the Messianic era or a time when God executes judgment upon the wicked, humanity will reach a profound breaking point. People will suddenly wake up from their illusions and cast away their most prized possessions. On that day, individuals will discard their idols of silver and gold. These objects are understood as physical statues that people either crafted themselves to pray to [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ] or commissioned artists to make on their behalf [אבן עזרא]. Beyond the literal statues, some suggest that the very wealth of silver and gold represents the true idols that humanity worshipped [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

As people flee, these false gods are associated with specific creatures of the dark. The primary approach among commentators is that the first creature is a mole, an animal that digs deep tunnels into the earth [רש"י, מלבי"ם, שד"ל, מצודת ציון]. A contrasting view suggests it refers to a nocturnal bird that pecks at fruit, though this interpretation faces criticism because the plural form for fruit used here is unusual in the Bible [רד"ק, אבן עזרא, שד"ל]. The second creature is widely identified as the bat, which flies in the darkness and hides in caves [מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא, מלבי"ם, שד"ל].

There are three main perspectives on how the discarded idols relate to these animals. The first approach suggests that out of sheer terror and panic, fleeing people will throw their idols directly into deep crevices, dirt holes, and bat caves. This act expresses utter contempt for the false gods that failed to help them, or it serves as a desperate attempt to hide the valuable metals in hopes of melting them down later [רש"י, רד"ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

A second perspective explains that the idols themselves were actually crafted in the shape of these very animals. In the ancient world, people worshipped creatures based on the domains they controlled. When individuals sought refuge in caves, they would forge silver and gold idols in the likeness of moles and bats, bowing to them for protection. On the ultimate day of judgment, they will realize the futility of these figures and throw them away [רש"י, רד"ק, מלבי"ם].

A third approach offers a sense of poetic irony. According to this view, people will not carefully throw their idols into specific animal holes, as a panicked escape leaves no time to search for precise tunnels. Instead, they will simply abandon their gold and silver idols in the streets. Stripped of their pride, the people themselves will be forced to bow down to the level of moles and bats. In a state of immense humiliation, they will bend low to hide inside the dirt tunnels and dark caves of these lowly creatures, making a desperate bid for shelter [שד"ל].