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6 [1] AND I WILL GIVE PEACE IN THE LAND — So that there will be peace among you, and no man shall fight against his brother, or “peace” may mean that *He will cause evil beasts to cease out of the Land*. *Neither shall the sword go through your Land* at all, but you will pursue your enemies, going forth against them in battle, and they will flee. And [the meaning of the verse] by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], is that He will give peace which will cleave to the [higher] “earth,” which is the all-inclusive peace which is equal to everything.
[2] AND I WILL CAUSE EVIL BEASTS TO CEASE OUT OF THE LAND. According to Rabbi Yehudah who said that He will remove them from the world [entirely, the verse] is [to be understood] in its plain sense — that evil beasts will not come into their Land. For since there will be plentitude and an abundance of blessings, and the cities will be full of people, [wild] beasts will not come into inhabited places. And according to Rabbi Shimon who says that He will cause them to cease from causing harm, the verse is stating: “and I will cause the evil of the beasts to cease out of the Land.” This is the correct interpretation for when [Israel] observes the commandments, the Land of Israel will be like the world was at its beginning, before the sin of the first man, when no wild beast or creeping thing would kill a man, just as the Rabbis have said: “It is not the wild ass that kills, but it is sin that kills.” It is [because of] this that Scripture says, *and the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp*, and similarly, *and the cow and the bear shall feed … and the lion shall eat straw like the ox*. For dangerous beasts only prey [on human beings] on account of the sin of man, because of which it was decreed upon him that he be *a prey to their teeth*, and preying was made a part of their nature so that they also prey on each other, as is well-known for having once preyed on man, they add [to this tendency that of preying on animals] so that they become more harmful. And so Scripture states, *And he learned to catch the prey, he devoured men*. Now at the time of the creation of the world, it is said of the beasts that He gave them the herb for food, as it is written, *And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is a living soul, I have given every green herb for food*, and Scripture states, *and it was so*, meaning that such was the nature with which they were endowed forever. It was [only] afterwards that they learned how to prey, on account of [human] sin which causes death, as I have explained. Now when slaughtering animals [for food] became permitted for the sons of Noah after the flood, He warned with reference to humans [that shedding their blood was forbidden saying], *And surely your blood of your lives will I require … the life of man*, but not the blood of one beast from the hand of another, for they were left to prey [on each other and on man] as was their wont. But the beasts of the Land of Israel, when [man will be] in a state of perfection, will cease from their harmful way, and revert to their original nature with which they were endowed at the time of their creation. I have already referred to a part of this in *Seder Eileh Toldoth Noach*. Therefore Scripture stated concerning the time of the redeemer who is descended of the stock of Jesse, that peace will return to the world and preying and all dangerous beasts will cease, as was their nature at first. The [original] intention [when referring to the redeemer was in connection with] Hezekiah [king of Judah], whom the Holy One, blessed be He, had wished to make the Messiah, but their merits [i.e., those of the people of his generation] were not sufficient for such [achievement], so that the fulfillment [of that prophecy] will be with reference to the Messiah who is destined to come.
Version: Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976
Source: https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/NNL_ALEPH002108945/NLI
License: CC-BY