standing

נְצִיב מֶלַח (Bereishis 19:26) he glosses as a mound of salt. The stone set up to be served is a מַצֵּבָה; and the man set over a people is a נְצִיב, as נְצִיב פְּלִשְׁתִּים (Shmuel I 13:3), the governor of the Pelishtim, and שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר נִצָּבִים (Melachim I 4:7), twelve officers set over the people. לְבַד מִשָּׂרֵי הַנִּצָּבִים (Melachim I 5:30) he reads in two ways: besides officers who were set over, the mem of the plural being missing; or besides the officers of those set over, for there were officers over those set over, and those set over were over the rest of the people.

וּמֶלֶךְ אֵין בֶּאֱדוֹם נִצָּב מֶלֶךְ (Melachim I 22:48), and there was no king in Edom, a governor was king: in Yehoshafat's day Edom had no king of its own, and the governor whom the kings of David's house set over them served them as king. The pasuk tells it here, he says, because Yehoshafat walked in the way of Hashem, so that Edom did not rebel under him; under his son Yehoram, who did evil, Edom rebelled at once and set a king over itself.

הַנִּצָּבָה לֹא יְכַלְכֵּל (Zecharyah 11:16), the one that stands he will not sustain: the sick ewe standing in her place and unable to stir. And הַנִּצָּב (Shoftim 3:22) is the haft of the knife, which holds the blade so that there is a handle to cut with. So too וּלְהַצִּיב הַדָּֽרְבָֽן (Shmuel I 13:21), and to set the goad, is setting the goad up: that is, all these tools were mended with the פצירה פים, a sharpening tool, and the goad was set in it to be sharpened and polished with it.

Most of what is written here may belong to the root יָצַב, where he has set down their like; nothing decides between the two.

כִּי מִי עָמַד בְּסוֹד (Yirmiyahu 23:18), for who has stood in the counsel of Hashem, and וְאַתָּה פֹּה עֲמֹד עִמָּדִי (Devarim 5:28), and you, stand here with me. עֲמֹד פֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל (Shoftim 4:20), stand at the entrance of the tent, is the infinitive, as is וְיָֽכָלְתָּ עֲמֹד (Shemos 18:23), and you will be able to stand; and וַיָּבֹא אֵצֶל עָמְדִי (Daniel 8:17), and he came near where I stood, is that he came beside me, to the place where I was standing.

וַיַּֽעֲמֹד הַשָּֽׁמֶן (Melachim II 4:6), the oil stopped, no more of it being poured out; and וַֽתַּֽעֲמֹד מִלֶּֽדֶת (Bereishis 29:35), she ceased bearing.

וְיָרֵחַ עָמָד (Yehoshua 10:13), and the moon stood; and וַתַּֽעֲמֹד מִלְחָמָה (Divrei HaYamim I 20:4), war held on, which he glosses ותתקיים, it endured. הֲיַֽעֲמֹד לִבֵּךְ (Yechezkel 22:14), will your heart hold and be strong; וַיַּֽעֲמֹד כָּל־הָעָם בַּבְּרִֽית (Melachim II 23:3), all the people stood in the covenant, that is, they took strength in accepting the covenant to keep it; לְמַעַן יַֽעַמְדוּ יָמִים רַבִּֽים (Yirmiyahu 32:14), that they last many days; and בֵּין הָעֹֽמְדִים הָאֵֽלֶּה (Zecharyah 3:7), among these that endure, which he takes as a hint at the angels, who endure for ever.

עַמּוּדֵי שָׁמַיִם יְרוֹפָפוּ (Iyov 26:11), the pillars of heaven tremble, and וּלְעַמּוּד בַּרְזֶל (Yirmiyahu 1:18), and an iron pillar, belong here, because the pillars are what keeps the house standing, or what stands beneath it; and by the likeness of a pillar, עַמּוּד הֶֽעָנָן (Shemos 13:22), the pillar of cloud, and וְעַמּוּד הָאֵשׁ, and the pillar of fire, are so called.

וַיַּֽעֲמִידֵם לָעַד לְעוֹלָם (Tehillim 148:6), He set them to endure for ever; וְהֶֽעֱמַדְנוּ עָלֵינוּ מִצְוֹת (Nechemiah 10:33), we upheld mitzvos and took them upon ourselves. On וְהַֽעֲמַדְתָּ לָהֶם כָּל־מָתְנָֽיִם (Yechezkel 29:7), and you made all their loins stand, he says that a man who leans is bent over, and when the prop gives way he straightens up from his bending. Yonasan renders it so, וְלָא תְהֵי לְהוֹן לְבֵית סוּמְכְוָן, you will not be a house of support to them, which Radak takes to mean that you will set them on their own loins, so that they lean on you no longer; he has explained the pasuk another way under the root מעד. וּמֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה מַֽעֲמִיד בַּמֶּרְכָּבָה נֹכַח אֲרָם (Divrei HaYamim II 18:34), and the king of Yisrael held himself up in the chariot facing Aram, means that he held himself up and braced himself so that Aram should not see him wounded, and showed himself as though he had not been struck, so that Aram should not take heart against Yisrael in the battle.

לֹא תַֽעֲמֹד עַל־דַּם רֵעֶךָ (Vayikra 19:16), do not stand by your fellow's blood, means that you are not to hold back from going to save him where you can, as Chazal explained it (Sanhedrin 73a): from where do we know that one who sees his fellow drowning in a river, or robbers or a wild beast coming upon him, is bound to save him? Because the pasuk says, do not stand by your fellow's blood. The noun is מַעֲמָד, as וּמִֽמַּֽעֲמָֽדְךָ יֶֽהֶרְסֶֽךָ (Yeshayahu 22:19), and from your station he shall pull you down. Rabbi Yonah reads עֶמְדָּתֽוֹ in יִקַּח מִכֶּם עֶמְדָּתֽוֹ (Michah 1:11) as אמדתו, his estimate, from estimating. Radak says it may be read from standing, as the word is formed: he will learn his standing from you. That is, the one who dwells in Tzaanan will not go out to the mourning for Beis HaEtzel, and Beis HaEtzel will learn its standing from you: as you did not go out to mourn when your brothers went into exile, so they will not go out when you are in exile. And עִמָּדִי in בְּעוֹד שַׁדַּי עִמָּדִי (Iyov 29:4 in his edition), while Shaddai was yet with me, is as עִמִּי, with me. The word may be drawn from standing, meaning in the place where I am; and it is found only of one speaking of himself.