1. Septuagint, Tobit, 3.6, 11.14-11.16 (10th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 3.6. And now deal with me according to thy pleasure; command my spirit to be taken up, that I may depart and become dust. For it is better for me to die than to live, because I have heard false reproaches, and great is the sorrow within me. Command that I now be released from my distress to go to the eternal abode; do not turn thy face away from me. 11.14. Then he saw his son and embraced him, and he wept and said, "Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever, and blessed are all thy holy angels. 11.15. For thou hast afflicted me, but thou hast had mercy upon me; here I see my son Tobias!" And his son went in rejoicing, and he reported to his father the great things that had happened to him in Media. 11.16. Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gate of Nineveh, rejoicing and praising God. Those who saw him as he went were amazed because he could see. |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Job, 1, 2, 3, 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.9, 3.13, 3.14, 3.15, 3.16, 3.17, 3.18, 3.19, 3.20, 3.21, 3.22, 3.23, 3.24, 3.25, 3.26, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 27.1, 27.2, 27.3, 27.4, 27.5, 27.6, 27.9, 27.10, 27.18, 28, 29, 29.1, 29.9, 29.10, 29.11, 29.12, 29.13, 29.14, 29.15, 29.16, 29.17, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 38.1-42.6, 39, 40, 41, 42.1, 42.2, 42.3, 42.4, 42.5, 42.6, 42.12, 42.13, 42.14, 42.15, 42.16, 42.17 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
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3. Hebrew Bible, Leviticus, 16.12-16.15 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 16.12. וְלָקַח מְלֹא־הַמַּחְתָּה גַּחֲלֵי־אֵשׁ מֵעַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה וּמְלֹא חָפְנָיו קְטֹרֶת סַמִּים דַּקָּה וְהֵבִיא מִבֵּית לַפָּרֹכֶת׃ 16.13. וְנָתַן אֶת־הַקְּטֹרֶת עַל־הָאֵשׁ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וְכִסָּה עֲנַן הַקְּטֹרֶת אֶת־הַכַּפֹּרֶת אֲשֶׁר עַל־הָעֵדוּת וְלֹא יָמוּת׃ 16.14. וְלָקַח מִדַּם הַפָּר וְהִזָּה בְאֶצְבָּעוֹ עַל־פְּנֵי הַכַּפֹּרֶת קֵדְמָה וְלִפְנֵי הַכַּפֹּרֶת יַזֶּה שֶׁבַע־פְּעָמִים מִן־הַדָּם בְּאֶצְבָּעוֹ׃ 16.15. וְשָׁחַט אֶת־שְׂעִיר הַחַטָּאת אֲשֶׁר לָעָם וְהֵבִיא אֶת־דָּמוֹ אֶל־מִבֵּית לַפָּרֹכֶת וְעָשָׂה אֶת־דָּמוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְדַם הַפָּר וְהִזָּה אֹתוֹ עַל־הַכַּפֹּרֶת וְלִפְנֵי הַכַּפֹּרֶת׃ | 16.12. And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil." 16.13. And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the ark-cover that is upon the testimony, that he die not." 16.14. And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the ark-cover on the east; and before the ark-cover shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times." 16.15. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the ark-cover, and before the ark-cover." |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 74.13-74.14, 104.26 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 74.13. אַתָּה פוֹרַרְתָּ בְעָזְּךָ יָם שִׁבַּרְתָּ רָאשֵׁי תַנִּינִים עַל־הַמָּיִם׃ 74.14. אַתָּה רִצַּצְתָּ רָאשֵׁי לִוְיָתָן תִּתְּנֶנּוּ מַאֲכָל לְעָם לְצִיִּים׃ 104.26. שָׁם אֳנִיּוֹת יְהַלֵּכוּן לִוְיָתָן זֶה־יָצַרְתָּ לְשַׂחֶק־בּוֹ׃ | 74.13. Thou didst break the sea in pieces by Thy strength; Thou didst shatter the heads of the sea-monsters in the waters." 74.14. Thou didst crush the heads of leviathan, Thou gavest him to be food to the folk inhabiting the wilderness." 104.26. There go the ships; There is leviathan, whom Thou hast formed to sport therein." |
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5. Hebrew Bible, 1 Samuel, 28 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
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6. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 27.1 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 27.1. כִּי עִיר בְּצוּרָה בָּדָד נָוֶה מְשֻׁלָּח וְנֶעֱזָב כַּמִּדְבָּר שָׁם יִרְעֶה עֵגֶל וְשָׁם יִרְבָּץ וְכִלָּה סְעִפֶיהָ׃ 27.1. בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִפְקֹד יְהוָה בְּחַרְבוֹ הַקָּשָׁה וְהַגְּדוֹלָה וְהַחֲזָקָה עַל לִוְיָתָן נָחָשׁ בָּרִחַ וְעַל לִוְיָתָן נָחָשׁ עֲקַלָּתוֹן וְהָרַג אֶת־הַתַּנִּין אֲשֶׁר בַּיָּם׃ | 27.1. In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the slant serpent, and leviathan the tortuous serpent; and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea." |
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7. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 20.14-20.18 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 20.14. אָרוּר הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר יֻלַּדְתִּי בּוֹ יוֹם אֲשֶׁר־יְלָדַתְנִי אִמִּי אַל־יְהִי בָרוּךְ׃ 20.15. אָרוּר הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר בִּשַּׂר אֶת־אָבִי לֵאמֹר יֻלַּד־לְךָ בֵּן זָכָר שַׂמֵּחַ שִׂמֳּחָהוּ׃ 20.17. אֲשֶׁר לֹא־מוֹתְתַנִי מֵרָחֶם וַתְּהִי־לִי אִמִּי קִבְרִי וְרַחְמָה הֲרַת עוֹלָם׃ 20.18. לָמָּה זֶּה מֵרֶחֶם יָצָאתִי לִרְאוֹת עָמָל וְיָגוֹן וַיִּכְלוּ בְּבֹשֶׁת יָמָי׃ | 20.14. Cursed be the day Wherein I was born; The day wherein my mother bore me, Let it not be blessed." 20.15. Cursed be the man who brought tidings To my father, saying: ‘A man-child is born unto thee’; Making him very glad." 20.17. Because He slew me not from the womb; And so my mother would have been my grave, And her womb always great." 20.18. Wherefore came I forth out of the womb To see labour and sorrow, That my days should be consumed in shame?" |
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8. Hebrew Bible, Ecclesiastes, 4.1-4.3 (5th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 4.1. כִּי אִם־יִפֹּלוּ הָאֶחָד יָקִים אֶת־חֲבֵרוֹ וְאִילוֹ הָאֶחָד שֶׁיִּפּוֹל וְאֵין שֵׁנִי לַהֲקִימוֹ׃ 4.1. וְשַׁבְתִּי אֲנִי וָאֶרְאֶה אֶת־כָּל־הָעֲשֻׁקִים אֲשֶׁר נַעֲשִׂים תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ וְהִנֵּה דִּמְעַת הָעֲשֻׁקִים וְאֵין לָהֶם מְנַחֵם וּמִיַּד עֹשְׁקֵיהֶם כֹּחַ וְאֵין לָהֶם מְנַחֵם׃ 4.2. וְשַׁבֵּחַ אֲנִי אֶת־הַמֵּתִים שֶׁכְּבָר מֵתוּ מִן־הַחַיִּים אֲשֶׁר הֵמָּה חַיִּים עֲדֶנָה׃ 4.3. וְטוֹב מִשְּׁנֵיהֶם אֵת אֲשֶׁר־עֲדֶן לֹא הָיָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא־רָאָה אֶת־הַמַּעֲשֶׂה הָרָע אֲשֶׁר נַעֲשָׂה תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ׃ | 4.1. But I returned and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun; and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, but they had no comforter." 4.2. Wherefore I praised the dead that are already dead more than the living that are yet alive;" 4.3. but better than they both is he that hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun." |
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9. Hebrew Bible, Nehemiah, 8.8 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 8.8. וַיִּקְרְאוּ בַסֵּפֶר בְּתוֹרַת הָאֱלֹהִים מְפֹרָשׁ וְשׂוֹם שֶׂכֶל וַיָּבִינוּ בַּמִּקְרָא׃ | 8.8. And they read in the book, in the Law of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." |
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10. Septuagint, Tobit, 3.6, 11.14-11.16 (4th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 3.6. And now deal with me according to thy pleasure; command my spirit to be taken up, that I may depart and become dust. For it is better for me to die than to live, because I have heard false reproaches, and great is the sorrow within me. Command that I now be released from my distress to go to the eternal abode; do not turn thy face away from me. 11.14. Then he saw his son and embraced him, and he wept and said, "Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever, and blessed are all thy holy angels. 11.15. For thou hast afflicted me, but thou hast had mercy upon me; here I see my son Tobias!" And his son went in rejoicing, and he reported to his father the great things that had happened to him in Media. 11.16. Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gate of Nineveh, rejoicing and praising God. Those who saw him as he went were amazed because he could see. |
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11. Mishnah, Berachot, 5.5 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 5.5. One who is praying and makes a mistake, it is a bad sign for him. And if he is the messenger of the congregation (the prayer leader) it is a bad sign for those who have sent him, because one’s messenger is equivalent to one’s self. They said about Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa that he used to pray for the sick and say, “This one will die, this one will live.” They said to him: “How do you know?” He replied: “If my prayer comes out fluently, I know that he is accepted, but if not, then I know that he is rejected.”" |
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12. New Testament, Philippians, 1.23 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.23. But I am in a dilemma between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. |
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13. New Testament, Mark, 9 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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14. Tosefta, Megillah, 3.27 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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15. Anon., Genesis Rabba, 36.8 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
| 36.8. וַיֹּאמֶר בָּרוּךְ ה' אֱלֹהֵי שֵׁם (בראשית ט, כו), אָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ אַף מִיֶּפֶת עָמְדוּ בְּאָהֳלֵי שֵׁם. וַיֹּאמֶר בָּרוּךְ ה' אֱלֹהֵי שֵׁם וִיהִי כְנַעַן, יַפְתְּ אֱלֹהִים לְיֶפֶת, זֶה כֹּרֶשׁ שֶׁהוּא גּוֹזֵר שֶׁיִּבָּנֶה בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן וְיִשְׁכֹּן בְּאָהֳלֵי שֵׁם, אֵין שְׁכִינָה שׁוֹרָה אֶלָּא בְּאָהֳלֵי שֵׁם. בַּר קַפָּרָא אָמַר יִהְיוּ דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה נֶאֱמָרִים בִּלְשׁוֹנוֹ שֶׁל יֶפֶת בְּתוֹךְ אָהֳלֵי שֵׁם. רַבִּי יוּדָן אָמַר מִכָּאן לְתַרְגּוּם מִן הַתּוֹרָה, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (נחמיה ח, ח): וַיִּקְרְאוּ בַסֵּפֶר בְּתוֹרַת הָאֱלֹהִים, זֶה הַמִּקְרָא. מְפֹרָשׁ, זֶה תַּרְגּוּם. וְשׂוֹם שֶׂכֶל, אֵלּוּ הַטְּעָמִים. וַיָּבִינוּ בַּמִּקְרָא, אֵלּוּ רָאשֵׁי הַפְּסוּקִים. רַבִּי הוּנָא בֶּן לוּלְיָאנִי אוֹמֵר אֵלּוּ הַהַכְרָעוֹת וְהָרְאָיוֹת. רַבָּנָן דְּקֵיסָרִין אָמְרֵי מִיכָּן לַמָּסֹרֶת. רַבִּי זְעִירָא וְרַבִּי חֲנַנְאֵל בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אֲפִלּוּ אָדָם רָגִיל בַּתּוֹרָה כְּעֶזְרָא, לֹא יְהֵא קוֹרֵא מִפִּיו וְכוֹתֵב, וְהָא תָּנֵי מַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁהָיָה רַבִּי מֵאִיר בְּאַסְיָא וְלֹא הָיָה שָׁם מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר וְקָרָא לוֹ מִפִּיו וּכְתָבָהּ, תַּמָּן אָמְרִין שְׁתֵּי מְגִלּוֹת כָּתַב, גָּנַז אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנָה וְקִיֵּם אֶת הַשְּׁנִיָּה. | |
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16. Babylonian Talmud, Megillah, 3a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 3a. בנס היו עומדין,אין מהוה הוו ולא הוו ידעי הי באמצע תיבה והי בסוף תיבה ואתו צופים ותקינו פתוחין באמצע תיבה וסתומין בסוף תיבה,סוף סוף אלה המצות שאין נביא עתיד לחדש דבר מעתה אלא שכחום וחזרו ויסדום,וא"ר ירמיה ואיתימא רבי חייא בר אבא תרגום של תורה אונקלוס הגר אמרו מפי ר' אליעזר ור' יהושע תרגום של נביאים יונתן בן עוזיאל אמרו מפי חגי זכריה ומלאכי ונזדעזעה ארץ ישראל ארבע מאות פרסה על ארבע מאות פרסה יצתה בת קול ואמרה מי הוא זה שגילה סתריי לבני אדם,עמד יונתן בן עוזיאל על רגליו ואמר אני הוא שגליתי סתריך לבני אדם גלוי וידוע לפניך שלא לכבודי עשיתי ולא לכבוד בית אבא אלא לכבודך עשיתי שלא ירבו מחלוקת בישראל,ועוד ביקש לגלות תרגום של כתובים יצתה בת קול ואמרה לו דייך מ"ט משום דאית ביה קץ משיח,ותרגום של תורה אונקלוס הגר אמרו והא אמר רב איקא בר אבין אמר רב חננאל אמר רב מאי דכתיב (נחמיה ח, ח) ויקראו בספר תורת האלהים מפורש ושום שכל ויבינו במקרא ויקראו בספר תורת האלהים זה מקרא מפורש זה תרגום,ושום שכל אלו הפסוקין ויבינו במקרא אלו פיסקי טעמים ואמרי לה אלו המסורת שכחום וחזרו ויסדום,מאי שנא דאורייתא דלא אזדעזעה ואדנביאי אזדעזעה דאורייתא מיפרשא מלתא דנביאי איכא מילי דמיפרשן ואיכא מילי דמסתמן דכתיב (זכריה יב, יא) ביום ההוא יגדל המספד בירושלם כמספד הדדרימון בבקעת מגידון,ואמר רב יוסף אלמלא תרגומא דהאי קרא לא ידענא מאי קאמר ביומא ההוא יסגי מספדא בירושלים כמספדא דאחאב בר עמרי דקטל יתיה הדדרימון בן טברימון ברמות גלעד וכמספדא דיאשיה בר אמון דקטל יתיה פרעה חגירא בבקעת מגידו,(דניאל י, ז) וראיתי אני דניאל לבדי את המראה והאנשים אשר היו עמי לא ראו את המראה אבל חרדה גדולה נפלה עליהם ויברחו בהחבא מאן נינהו אנשים אמר ר' ירמיה ואיתימא רבי חייא בר אבא זה חגי זכריה ומלאכי,אינהו עדיפי מיניה ואיהו עדיף מינייהו אינהו עדיפי מיניה דאינהו נביאי ואיהו לאו נביא איהו עדיף מינייהו דאיהו חזא ואינהו לא חזו,וכי מאחר דלא חזו מ"ט איבעיתו אע"ג דאינהו לא חזו מזלייהו חזו,אמר רבינא שמע מינה האי מאן דמיבעית אע"ג דאיהו לא חזי מזליה חזי מאי תקנתיה ליקרי ק"ש ואי קאים במקום הטנופת לינשוף מדוכתיה ארבע גרמידי ואי לא לימא הכי עיזא דבי טבחי שמינא מינאי:,והשתא דאמרת מדינה ומדינה ועיר ועיר לדרשה משפחה ומשפחה למאי אתא אמר רבי יוסי בר חנינא להביא משפחות כהונה ולויה שמבטלין עבודתן ובאין לשמוע מקרא מגילה,דאמר רב יהודה אמר רב כהנים בעבודתן ולוים בדוכנן וישראל במעמדן כולן מבטלין עבודתן ובאין לשמוע מקרא מגילה,תניא נמי הכי כהנים בעבודתן ולוים בדוכנן וישראל במעמדן כולן מבטלין עבודתן ובאין לשמוע מקרא מגילה מכאן סמכו של בית רבי שמבטלין תלמוד תורה ובאין לשמוע מקרא מגילה קל וחומר מעבודה ומה עבודה שהיא חמורה מבטלינן תלמוד תורה לא כל שכן,ועבודה חמורה מתלמוד תורה והכתיב (יהושע ה, יג) ויהי בהיות יהושע ביריחו וישא עיניו וירא והנה איש עומד לנגדו [וגו'] וישתחו (לאפיו),והיכי עביד הכי והאמר רבי יהושע בן לוי אסור לאדם שיתן שלום לחבירו בלילה חיישינן שמא שד הוא שאני התם דאמר ליה כי אני שר צבא ה',ודלמא משקרי גמירי דלא מפקי שם שמים לבטלה,אמר לו אמש בטלתם תמיד של בין הערבים ועכשיו בטלתם תלמוד תורה אמר לו על איזה מהן באת אמר לו עתה באתי מיד (יהושע ח, ט) וילן יהושע בלילה ההוא בתוך העמק אמר רבי יוחנן | 3a. bstood by way of a miracle? /b,The Gemara answers: bYes,two forms of these letters bdid existat that time, bbutthe people bdid not know whichone of them was to be used bin the middle of the word and which at the end of the word, and the Seers came and establishedthat bthe openforms are to used be bin the middle of the word and the closedforms bat the end of the word. /b,The Gemara asks: bUltimately,however, doesn’t the phrase b“these are the commandments”(Leviticus 27:34) indicate bthat a prophet is not permitted to initiate any matterof ihalakha bfrom now on? Rather,it may be suggested that the final letters already existed at the time of the giving of the Torah, but over the course of time the people bforgot them,and the prophets bthencame and breestablished them. /b,§ The Gemara cites another ruling of Rabbi Yirmeya or Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba. bRabbi Yirmeya said, and some saythat it was bRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abbawho said: bTheAramaic btranslation of the Torahused in the synagogues bwas composed by Onkelos the convert based onthe teachings of bRabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. TheAramaic btranslation of the Prophets was composed by Yonatan ben Uzziel based ona tradition going back to the last prophets, bHaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.The Gemara relates that when Yonatan ben Uzziel wrote his translation, bEretz Yisrael quakedover an area of bfour hundred parasangs [ iparsa /i] by four hundred parasangs,and ba Divine Voice emerged and said: Who is this who has revealed My secrets to mankind? /b, bYonatan ben Uzziel stood up on his feet and said: I am the one who has revealed Your secrets to mankindthrough my translation. However, bit is revealed and known to You that I did this not for myown bhonor, and not for the honor of the house ofmy bfather, but ratherit was bfor Your honorthat bI did this, so that discord not increase among the Jewish people.In the absence of an accepted translation, people will disagree about the meaning of obscure verses, but with a translation, the meaning will be clear., bAndYonatan ben Uzziel balso sought to reveal a translation of the Writings,but ba Divine Voice emerged and said to him: It is enough for youthat you translated the Prophets. The Gemara explains: bWhat is the reasonthat he was denied permission to translate the Writings? bBecause it has in ita revelation of bthe end,when the bMessiahwill arrive. The end is foretold in a cryptic manner in the book of Daniel, and were the book of Daniel translated, the end would become manifestly revealed to all.,The Gemara asks: bWas the translation of the Torahreally bcomposed by Onkelos the convert? Didn’t Rav Ika bar Avin saythat bRav Ḥael saidthat bRav said: What isthe meaning of that bwhich is writtenwith respect to the days of Ezra: b“And they read in the book, the Torah of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, and they caused them to understand the reading”(Nehemiah 8:8)? The verse should be understood as follows: b“And they read in the book, the Torah of God,” this is thescriptural btext; “distinctly,” this is the translation,indicating that they immediately translated the text into Aramaic, as was customary during public Torah readings., b“And they gave the sense,” these arethe divisions of the text into separate bverses. “And they caused them to understand the reading,” these are the cantillation notes,through which the meaning of the text is further clarified. bAnd some saythat bthese are theMasoretic btraditionswith regard to the manner in which each word is to be written. This indicates that the Aramaic translation already existed at the beginning of the Second Temple period, well before the time of Onkelos. The Gemara answers: bTheancient Aramaic translation bwas forgotten and thenOnkelos came and breestablished it. /b,The Gemara asks: bWhat is differentabout the translation of Prophets? Why is it that when Onkelos revealed the translation bof the Torah,Eretz Yisrael bdid not quake, andwhen he revealed the translation bof the Prophets, it quaked?The Gemara explains: bThemeaning of bmattersdiscussed bin the Torah is clear,and therefore its Aramaic translation did not reveal the meaning of passages that had not been understood previously. Conversely, in bthe Prophets, there are matters that are clear and there are matters that are obscure,and the Aramaic translation revealed the meaning of obscure passages. The Gemara cites an example of an obscure verse that is clarified by the Aramaic translation: bAs it is written: “On that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon”(Zechariah 12:11)., bAndwith regard to that verse, bRav Yosef said: Were it not for theAramaic btranslation of this verse, we would not have known what it is saying,as the Bible does not mention any incident involving Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. The Aramaic translation reads as follows: bOn that day, the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Ahab, son of Omri, who was slain by Hadadrimmon, son of Tavrimon, in Ramoth-Gilead, and like the mourning for Josiah, son of Amon, who was slain by Pharaoh the lame in the valley of Megiddon.The translation clarifies that the verse is referring to two separate incidents of mourning, and thereby clarifies the meaning of this verse.,§ The Gemara introduces another statement from the same line of tradition. The verse states: b“And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great trembling fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves”(Daniel 10:7). bWho were these men?The term “men” in the Bible indicates important people; who were they? bRabbi Yirmeya said, and some saythat it was bRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abbawho said: bThese arethe prophets bHaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. /b,The Gemara comments: In certain ways bthey,the prophets, bwere greater than him,Daniel, and in certain ways bhe,Daniel, bwas greater than them. They were greater than him, as they were prophets and he was not a prophet.Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were sent to convey the word of God to the Jewish people, while Daniel was not sent to reveal his visions to others. In another way, however, bhe was greater than them, as he sawthis vision, band they did not seethis vision, indicating that his ability to perceive obscure and cryptic visions was greater than theirs.,The Gemara asks: bSince they did not seethe vision, bwhat is the reason that they were frightened?The Gemara answers: bEven though they did not seethe vision, btheir guardian angels sawit, and therefore they sensed that there was something fearful there and they fled., bRavina said: Learn fromthis incident that with regard to bone who is frightenedfor no apparent reason, balthough he does not seeanything menacing, bhis guardian angel seesit, and therefore he should take steps in order to escape the danger. The Gemara asks: bWhat is his remedy? He should recite iShema /i,which will afford him protection. bAnd if he is standing in a place of filth,where it is prohibited to recite verses from the Torah, bhe should distance himself four cubits from hiscurrent blocationin order to escape the danger. bAnd ifhe is bnotable to do so, blet him say the followingincantation: bThe goat of the slaughterhouse is fatter than I am,and if a calamity must fall upon something, it should fall upon it.,§ After this digression, the Gemara returns to the exposition of a verse cited above. bNowthat byou have saidthat the phrases b“every province” and “every city”appear bforthe purposes of midrashic bexposition, for whatexposition do the words b“every family”appear in that same verse (Esther 9:28)? bRabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said:These words come bto include the priestly and Levitical families,and indicate bthat they cancel their servicein the Temple band come to hear the reading of the Megilla. /b, bAs Rav Yehuda saidthat bRav said: The priests at theirTemple bservice, the Levites on their platformin the Temple, where they sung the daily psalm, band the Israelites at their watches,i.e., the group of Israelites, corresponding to the priestly watches, who would come to Jerusalem and gather in other locations as representatives of the entire nation to observe or pray for the success of the Temple service, ball cancel their service and come to hear the reading of the Megilla. /b, bThis is also taughtin a ibaraita /i: bThe priests at their service, the Levites on the platform, and the Israelites at their watches, all cancel their service and come to hear the reading of the Megilla.The Sages of bthe house of RabbiYehuda HaNasi breliedupon the ihalakhastated bhereand determined bthat one cancels his Torah study and comes to hear the reading of the Megilla.They derived this principle by means of ban ia fortiori /iinference bfrom theTemple bservice: Just asone who is engaged in performing bservicein the Temple, bwhich isvery bimportant, cancelshis service in order to hear the Megilla, is it bnot all the more soobvious that one who is engaged in bTorah studycancels his study to hear the Megilla?,The Gemara asks: bIs theTemple bservice more important than Torah study? Isn’t it written: “And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood over against himwith his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went over to him and said to him: Are you for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, No, but I am captain of the host of the Lord, I have come now. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, band bowed down”(Joshua 5:13–14).,The Gemara first seeks to clarify the incident described in the verse. bHow didJoshua bdo this,i.e., how could he bow to a figure he did not recognize? bDidn’t Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi say: It is prohibited for a person to greet his fellow at nightif he does not recognize him, as bwe are concerned that perhaps it is a demon?How did Joshua know that it was not a demon? The Gemara answers: bThere it was different, asthe visitor bsaid to him: But I am captain of the host of the Lord. /b,The Gemara asks: bPerhapsthis was a demon band he lied?The Gemara answers: It bis learnedas a tradition that demons bdo not utter the name of Heaven for naught,and therefore since the visitor had mentioned the name of God, Joshua was certain that this was indeed an angel.,As for the angel’s mission, the Gemara explains that the angel bsaid toJoshua: bYesterday,i.e., during the afternoon, byou neglected the afternoon daily offeringdue to the impending battle, band now,at night, byou have neglected Torah study,and I have come to rebuke you. Joshua bsaid to him: For which of thesesins bhave you come? He said to him: I have come now,indicating that neglecting Torah study is more severe than neglecting to sacrifice the daily offering. Joshua bimmediatelydetermined to rectify the matter, as the verses states: b“And Joshua lodged that night”(Joshua 8:9) b“in the midst of the valley[iha’emek/b]” (Joshua 8:13), and bRabbi Yoḥa said: /b |
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17. Origen, Homilies On Leviticus, 8 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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