ישעיהו, פרק ל״ג, פסוק ג׳

A sudden, deafening roar shatters the battlefield, sending massive armies and entire nations fleeing in panic. This dramatic image of flight and scattering captures a moment of overwhelming power, where human might crumbles before an unstoppable force.

The primary approach among commentators understands this scene as the miraculous downfall of a massive enemy force, such as the Assyrian army of Sennacherib or the future armies of Gog and Magog. The terrifying noise that triggers this panic is not of human origin. It is the sound of God performing His wonders [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ], or the roaring strike of the angel sent to decimate the Assyrian camp [רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. In the wake of this divine strike, highly respected peoples perish from the earth, while the surviving, ordinary nations are completely scattered [מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The enemy forces suddenly realize that their vast military strength is entirely useless against God. It is His supreme, exalted nature that shatters them [רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. Building on this idea, one perspective notes a striking contrast. If the mere human noise of the Assyrian army was once enough to make other nations flee in terror, surely the majestic, divine power of God is more than enough to shatter the Assyrian camp itself [מלבי״ם].

However, a different perspective interprets the terror and flight not as the downfall of the Assyrian army, but rather as a description of its earlier military conquests. In this view, the overwhelming noise is the tumult of the massive Assyrian forces marching on the world. Hearing this roar, other nations tremble, submit, or flee without daring to fight back. Yet, the ultimate source of this terror is still divine. The Assyrian king's victories do not stem from his own strategic brilliance or personal might. Instead, it is God who grants Him the exalted power and dominance to conquer and scatter other nations [אבן עזרא, שד״ל].