1. Septuagint, Ezekiel, 16.37 (th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
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2. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 13.1-13.2 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 13.1. אֵת כָּל־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם אֹתוֹ תִשְׁמְרוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת לֹא־תֹסֵף עָלָיו וְלֹא תִגְרַע מִמֶּנּוּ׃ 13.1. כִּי הָרֹג תַּהַרְגֶנּוּ יָדְךָ תִּהְיֶה־בּוֹ בָרִאשׁוֹנָה לַהֲמִיתוֹ וְיַד כָּל־הָעָם בָּאַחֲרֹנָה׃ 13.2. כִּי־יָקוּם בְּקִרְבְּךָ נָבִיא אוֹ חֹלֵם חֲלוֹם וְנָתַן אֵלֶיךָ אוֹת אוֹ מוֹפֵת׃ | 13.1. All this word which I command you, that shall ye observe to do; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." 13.2. If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams—and he give thee a sign or a wonder," |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 15.1-15.21, 21.6, 34.15 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 15.1. אָז יָשִׁיר־מֹשֶׁה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לַיהוָה וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֵאמֹר אָשִׁירָה לַיהוָה כִּי־גָאֹה גָּאָה סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם׃ 15.1. נָשַׁפְתָּ בְרוּחֲךָ כִּסָּמוֹ יָם צָלֲלוּ כַּעוֹפֶרֶת בְּמַיִם אַדִּירִים׃ 15.2. עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי־לִי לִישׁוּעָה זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ אֱלֹהֵי אָבִי וַאֲרֹמְמֶנְהוּ׃ 15.2. וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן אֶת־הַתֹּף בְּיָדָהּ וַתֵּצֶאןָ כָל־הַנָּשִׁים אַחֲרֶיהָ בְּתֻפִּים וּבִמְחֹלֹת׃ 15.3. יְהוָה אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה יְהוָה שְׁמוֹ׃ 15.4. מַרְכְּבֹת פַּרְעֹה וְחֵילוֹ יָרָה בַיָּם וּמִבְחַר שָׁלִשָׁיו טֻבְּעוּ בְיַם־סוּף׃ 15.5. תְּהֹמֹת יְכַסְיֻמוּ יָרְדוּ בִמְצוֹלֹת כְּמוֹ־אָבֶן׃ 15.6. יְמִינְךָ יְהוָה נֶאְדָּרִי בַּכֹּחַ יְמִינְךָ יְהוָה תִּרְעַץ אוֹיֵב׃ 15.7. וּבְרֹב גְּאוֹנְךָ תַּהֲרֹס קָמֶיךָ תְּשַׁלַּח חֲרֹנְךָ יֹאכְלֵמוֹ כַּקַּשׁ׃ 15.8. וּבְרוּחַ אַפֶּיךָ נֶעֶרְמוּ מַיִם נִצְּבוּ כְמוֹ־נֵד נֹזְלִים קָפְאוּ תְהֹמֹת בְּלֶב־יָם׃ 15.9. אָמַר אוֹיֵב אֶרְדֹּף אַשִּׂיג אֲחַלֵּק שָׁלָל תִּמְלָאֵמוֹ נַפְשִׁי אָרִיק חַרְבִּי תּוֹרִישֵׁמוֹ יָדִי׃ 15.11. מִי־כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם יְהוָה מִי כָּמֹכָה נֶאְדָּר בַּקֹּדֶשׁ נוֹרָא תְהִלֹּת עֹשֵׂה פֶלֶא׃ 15.12. נָטִיתָ יְמִינְךָ תִּבְלָעֵמוֹ אָרֶץ׃ 15.13. נָחִיתָ בְחַסְדְּךָ עַם־זוּ גָּאָלְתָּ נֵהַלְתָּ בְעָזְּךָ אֶל־נְוֵה קָדְשֶׁךָ׃ 15.14. שָׁמְעוּ עַמִּים יִרְגָּזוּן חִיל אָחַז יֹשְׁבֵי פְּלָשֶׁת׃ 15.15. אָז נִבְהֲלוּ אַלּוּפֵי אֱדוֹם אֵילֵי מוֹאָב יֹאחֲזֵמוֹ רָעַד נָמֹגוּ כֹּל יֹשְׁבֵי כְנָעַן׃ 15.16. תִּפֹּל עֲלֵיהֶם אֵימָתָה וָפַחַד בִּגְדֹל זְרוֹעֲךָ יִדְּמוּ כָּאָבֶן עַד־יַעֲבֹר עַמְּךָ יְהוָה עַד־יַעֲבֹר עַם־זוּ קָנִיתָ׃ 15.17. תְּבִאֵמוֹ וְתִטָּעֵמוֹ בְּהַר נַחֲלָתְךָ מָכוֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ פָּעַלְתָּ יְהוָה מִקְּדָשׁ אֲדֹנָי כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ׃ 15.18. יְהוָה יִמְלֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד׃ 15.19. כִּי בָא סוּס פַּרְעֹה בְּרִכְבּוֹ וּבְפָרָשָׁיו בַּיָּם וַיָּשֶׁב יְהוָה עֲלֵהֶם אֶת־מֵי הַיָּם וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָלְכוּ בַיַּבָּשָׁה בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם׃ 15.21. וַתַּעַן לָהֶם מִרְיָם שִׁירוּ לַיהוָה כִּי־גָאֹה גָּאָה סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם׃ 21.6. וְהִגִּישׁוֹ אֲדֹנָיו אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִים וְהִגִּישׁוֹ אֶל־הַדֶּלֶת אוֹ אֶל־הַמְּזוּזָה וְרָצַע אֲדֹנָיו אֶת־אָזְנוֹ בַּמַּרְצֵעַ וַעֲבָדוֹ לְעֹלָם׃ 34.15. פֶּן־תִּכְרֹת בְּרִית לְיוֹשֵׁב הָאָרֶץ וְזָנוּ אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְזָבְחוּ לֵאלֹהֵיהֶם וְקָרָא לְךָ וְאָכַלְתָּ מִזִּבְחוֹ׃ | 15.1. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spoke, saying: I will sing unto the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea." 15.2. The LORD is my strength and song, And He is become my salvation; This is my God, and I will glorify Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him." 15.3. The LORD is a man of war, The LORD is His name." 15.4. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea, And his chosen captains are sunk in the Red Sea." 15.5. The deeps cover them— They went down into the depths like a stone." 15.6. Thy right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, Thy right hand, O LORD, dasheth in pieces the enemy." 15.7. And in the greatness of Thine excellency Thou overthrowest them that rise up against Thee; Thou sendest forth Thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble." 15.8. And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up— The floods stood upright as a heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea." 15.9. The enemy said: ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’" 15.10. Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them; They sank as lead in the mighty waters." 15.11. Who is like unto Thee, O LORD, among the mighty? Who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?" 15.12. Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand— The earth swallowed them." 15.13. Thou in Thy love hast led the people that Thou hast redeemed; Thou hast guided them in Thy strength to Thy holy habitation." 15.14. The peoples have heard, they tremble; Pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia." 15.15. Then were the chiefs of Edom affrighted; The mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon them; All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away." 15.16. Terror and dread falleth upon them; By the greatness of Thine arm they are as still as a stone; Till Thy people pass over, O LORD, Till the people pass over that Thou hast gotten." 15.17. Thou bringest them in, and plantest them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, The place, O LORD, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established." 15.18. The LORD shall reign for ever and ever." 15.19. For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea." 15.20. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances." 15.21. And Miriam sang unto them: Sing ye to the LORD, for He is highly exalted: The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea." 21.6. then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever." 34.15. lest thou make a covet with the inhabitants of the land, and they go astray after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and they call thee, and thou eat of their sacrifice;" |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 6.1-6.2 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 6.1. וַיְהִי כִּי־הֵחֵל הָאָדָם לָרֹב עַל־פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה וּבָנוֹת יֻלְּדוּ לָהֶם׃ 6.1. וַיּוֹלֶד נֹחַ שְׁלֹשָׁה בָנִים אֶת־שֵׁם אֶת־חָם וְאֶת־יָפֶת׃ 6.2. וַיִּרְאוּ בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת־בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם כִּי טֹבֹת הֵנָּה וַיִּקְחוּ לָהֶם נָשִׁים מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר בָּחָרוּ׃ 6.2. מֵהָעוֹף לְמִינֵהוּ וּמִן־הַבְּהֵמָה לְמִינָהּ מִכֹּל רֶמֶשׂ הָאֲדָמָה לְמִינֵהוּ שְׁנַיִם מִכֹּל יָבֹאוּ אֵלֶיךָ לְהַחֲיוֹת׃ | 6.1. And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them," 6.2. that the sons of nobles saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives, whomsoever they chose." |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Hosea, 4.10-4.15, 4.17 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 4.11. זְנוּת וְיַיִן וְתִירוֹשׁ יִקַּח־לֵב׃ 4.12. עַמִּי בְּעֵצוֹ יִשְׁאָל וּמַקְלוֹ יַגִּיד לוֹ כִּי רוּחַ זְנוּנִים הִתְעָה וַיִּזְנוּ מִתַּחַת אֱלֹהֵיהֶם׃ 4.13. עַל־רָאשֵׁי הֶהָרִים יְזַבֵּחוּ וְעַל־הַגְּבָעוֹת יְקַטֵּרוּ תַּחַת אַלּוֹן וְלִבְנֶה וְאֵלָה כִּי טוֹב צִלָּהּ עַל־כֵּן תִּזְנֶינָה בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם וְכַלּוֹתֵיכֶם תְּנָאַפְנָה׃ 4.14. לֹא־אֶפְקוֹד עַל־בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם כִּי תִזְנֶינָה וְעַל־כַּלּוֹתֵיכֶם כִּי תְנָאַפְנָה כִּי־הֵם עִם־הַזֹּנוֹת יְפָרֵדוּ וְעִם־הַקְּדֵשׁוֹת יְזַבֵּחוּ וְעָם לֹא־יָבִין יִלָּבֵט׃ 4.15. אִם־זֹנֶה אַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל אַל־יֶאְשַׁם יְהוּדָה וְאַל־תָּבֹאוּ הַגִּלְגָּל וְאַל־תַּעֲלוּ בֵּית אָוֶן וְאַל־תִּשָּׁבְעוּ חַי־יְהוָה׃ 4.17. חֲבוּר עֲצַבִּים אֶפְרָיִם הַנַּח־לוֹ׃ | 4.10. And they shall eat, and not have enough, They shall commit harlotry, and shall not increase; Because they have left off to take heed to the LORD." 4.11. Harlotry, wine, and new wine take away the heart." 4.12. My people ask counsel at their stock, And their staff declareth unto them; For the spirit of harlotry hath caused them to err, And they have gone astray from under their God." 4.13. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, And offer upon the hills, Under oaks and poplars and terebinths, Because the shadow thereof is good; Therefore your daughters commit harlotry, And your daughters-in-law commit adultery. ." 4.14. I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, Nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; For they themselves consort with lewd women, And they sacrifice with harlots; And the people that is without understanding is distraught." 4.15. Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, Yet let not Judah become guilty; And come not ye unto Gilgal, Neither go ye up to Beth-aven, Nor swear: ‘As the LORD liveth.’" 4.17. Ephraim is joined to idols; Let him alone." |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Joel, 2.28 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
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7. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 16.31-16.34, 18.4, 18.13, 19.1-19.3, 21.23-21.25, 22.8, 24.14, 31.8, 31.16 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 16.31. וַיְהִי כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְדַבֵּר אֵת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַתִּבָּקַע הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר תַּחְתֵּיהֶם׃ 16.32. וַתִּפְתַּח הָאָרֶץ אֶת־פִּיהָ וַתִּבְלַע אֹתָם וְאֶת־בָּתֵּיהֶם וְאֵת כָּל־הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר לְקֹרַח וְאֵת כָּל־הָרֲכוּשׁ׃ 16.33. וַיֵּרְדוּ הֵם וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם חַיִּים שְׁאֹלָה וַתְּכַס עֲלֵיהֶם הָאָרֶץ וַיֹּאבְדוּ מִתּוֹךְ הַקָּהָל׃ 16.34. וְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתֵיהֶם נָסוּ לְקֹלָם כִּי אָמְרוּ פֶּן־תִּבְלָעֵנוּ הָאָרֶץ׃ 18.4. וְנִלְווּ עָלֶיךָ וְשָׁמְרוּ אֶת־מִשְׁמֶרֶת אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לְכֹל עֲבֹדַת הָאֹהֶל וְזָר לֹא־יִקְרַב אֲלֵיכֶם׃ 18.13. בִּכּוּרֵי כָּל־אֲשֶׁר בְּאַרְצָם אֲשֶׁר־יָבִיאוּ לַיהוָה לְךָ יִהְיֶה כָּל־טָהוֹר בְּבֵיתְךָ יֹאכֲלֶנּוּ׃ 19.1. וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל־אַהֲרֹן לֵאמֹר׃ 19.1. וְכִבֶּס הָאֹסֵף אֶת־אֵפֶר הַפָּרָה אֶת־בְּגָדָיו וְטָמֵא עַד־הָעָרֶב וְהָיְתָה לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלַגֵּר הַגָּר בְּתוֹכָם לְחֻקַּת עוֹלָם׃ 19.2. זֹאת חֻקַּת הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּה יְהוָה לֵאמֹר דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה תְּמִימָה אֲשֶׁר אֵין־בָּהּ מוּם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־עָלָה עָלֶיהָ עֹל׃ 19.2. וְאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִטְמָא וְלֹא יִתְחַטָּא וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מִתּוֹךְ הַקָּהָל כִּי אֶת־מִקְדַּשׁ יְהוָה טִמֵּא מֵי נִדָּה לֹא־זֹרַק עָלָיו טָמֵא הוּא׃ 19.3. וּנְתַתֶּם אֹתָהּ אֶל־אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְהוֹצִיא אֹתָהּ אֶל־מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וְשָׁחַט אֹתָהּ לְפָנָיו׃ 21.23. וְלֹא־נָתַן סִיחֹן אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲבֹר בִּגְבֻלוֹ וַיֶּאֱסֹף סִיחֹן אֶת־כָּל־עַמּוֹ וַיֵּצֵא לִקְרַאת יִשְׂרָאֵל הַמִּדְבָּרָה וַיָּבֹא יָהְצָה וַיִּלָּחֶם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל׃ 21.24. וַיַּכֵּהוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְפִי־חָרֶב וַיִּירַשׁ אֶת־אַרְצוֹ מֵאַרְנֹן עַד־יַבֹּק עַד־בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן כִּי עַז גְּבוּל בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן׃ 21.25. וַיִּקַּח יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵת כָּל־הֶעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַיֵּשֶׁב יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּכָל־עָרֵי הָאֱמֹרִי בְּחֶשְׁבּוֹן וּבְכָל־בְּנֹתֶיהָ׃ 22.8. וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם לִינוּ פֹה הַלַּיְלָה וַהֲשִׁבֹתִי אֶתְכֶם דָּבָר כַּאֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֵלָי וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׂרֵי־מוֹאָב עִם־בִּלְעָם׃ 24.14. וְעַתָּה הִנְנִי הוֹלֵךְ לְעַמִּי לְכָה אִיעָצְךָ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה הָעָם הַזֶּה לְעַמְּךָ בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים׃ 31.8. וְאֶת־מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן הָרְגוּ עַל־חַלְלֵיהֶם אֶת־אֱוִי וְאֶת־רֶקֶם וְאֶת־צוּר וְאֶת־חוּר וְאֶת־רֶבַע חֲמֵשֶׁת מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן וְאֵת בִּלְעָם בֶּן־בְּעוֹר הָרְגוּ בֶּחָרֶב׃ 31.16. הֵן הֵנָּה הָיוּ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּדְבַר בִּלְעָם לִמְסָר־מַעַל בַּיהוָה עַל־דְּבַר־פְּעוֹר וַתְּהִי הַמַּגֵּפָה בַּעֲדַת יְהוָה׃ | 16.31. And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground did cleave asunder that was under them." 16.32. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods." 16.33. So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit; and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly." 16.34. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said: ‘Lest the earth swallow us up.’" 18.4. And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, whatsoever the service of the Tent may be; but a common man shall not draw nigh unto you." 18.13. The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thy house may eat thereof." 19.1. And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:" 19.2. This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer, faultless, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke." 19.3. And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, and she shall be brought forth without the camp, and she shall be slain before his face." 21.23. And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz; and he fought against Israel." 21.24. And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was strong." 21.25. And Israel took all these cities; and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the towns thereof." 22.8. And he said unto them: ‘Lodge here this night, and I will bring you back word, as the LORD may speak unto me’; and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam." 24.14. And now, behold, I go unto my people; come, and I will announce to thee what this people shall do to thy people in the end of days.’" 31.8. And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian; Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword." 31.16. Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to revolt so as to break faith with the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD." |
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8. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 24.1, 106.35, 106.37-106.39 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 24.1. לְדָוִד מִזְמוֹר לַיהוָה הָאָרֶץ וּמְלוֹאָהּ תֵּבֵל וְיֹשְׁבֵי בָהּ׃ 24.1. מִי הוּא זֶה מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת הוּא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד סֶלָה׃ 106.35. וַיִּתְעָרְבוּ בַגּוֹיִם וַיִּלְמְדוּ מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם׃ 106.37. וַיִּזְבְּחוּ אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתֵיהֶם לַשֵּׁדִים׃ 106.38. וַיִּשְׁפְּכוּ דָם נָקִי דַּם־בְּנֵיהֶם וּבְנוֹתֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר זִבְּחוּ לַעֲצַבֵּי כְנָעַן וַתֶּחֱנַף הָאָרֶץ בַּדָּמִים׃ 106.39. וַיִּטְמְאוּ בְמַעֲשֵׂיהֶם וַיִּזְנוּ בְּמַעַלְלֵיהֶם׃ | 24.1. A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." 106.35. But mingled themselves with the nations, And learned their works;" 106.37. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto demons," 106.38. And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, Whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with blood." 106.39. Thus were they defiled with their works, And went astray in their doings." |
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9. Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings, 24.1, 24.12, 24.16 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 24.1. בָּעֵת הַהִיא עלה [עָלוּ] עַבְדֵי נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל יְרוּשָׁלִָם וַתָּבֹא הָעִיר בַּמָּצוֹר׃ 24.1. בְּיָמָיו עָלָה נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וַיְהִי־לוֹ יְהוֹיָקִים עֶבֶד שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּמְרָד־בּוֹ׃ 24.12. וַיֵּצֵא יְהוֹיָכִין מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה עַל־מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל הוּא וְאִמּוֹ וַעֲבָדָיו וְשָׂרָיו וְסָרִיסָיו וַיִּקַּח אֹתוֹ מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל בִּשְׁנַת שְׁמֹנֶה לְמָלְכוֹ׃ 24.16. וְאֵת כָּל־אַנְשֵׁי הַחַיִל שִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים וְהֶחָרָשׁ וְהַמַּסְגֵּר אֶלֶף הַכֹּל גִּבּוֹרִים עֹשֵׂי מִלְחָמָה וַיְבִיאֵם מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל גּוֹלָה בָּבֶלָה׃ | 24.1. In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years; then he turned and rebelled against him." 24.12. And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers; and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign." 24.16. And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths a thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon." |
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10. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 53.9 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 53.9. וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־רְשָׁעִים קִבְרוֹ וְאֶת־עָשִׁיר בְּמֹתָיו עַל לֹא־חָמָס עָשָׂה וְלֹא מִרְמָה בְּפִיו׃ | 53.9. And they made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich his tomb; Although he had done no violence, Neither was any deceit in his mouth.’" |
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11. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 20.4, 27.4 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 20.4. כִּי כֹה אָמַר יְהוָה הִנְנִי נֹתֶנְךָ לְמָגוֹר לְךָ וּלְכָל־אֹהֲבֶיךָ וְנָפְלוּ בְּחֶרֶב אֹיְבֵיהֶם וְעֵינֶיךָ רֹאוֹת וְאֶת־כָּל־יְהוּדָה אֶתֵּן בְּיַד מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל וְהִגְלָם בָּבֶלָה וְהִכָּם בֶּחָרֶב׃ 27.4. וְצִוִּיתָ אֹתָם אֶל־אֲדֹנֵיהֶם לֵאמֹר כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כֹּה תֹאמְרוּ אֶל־אֲדֹנֵיכֶם׃ | 20.4. For thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it; and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword." 27.4. and give them a charge unto their masters, saying: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Thus shall ye say unto your masters:" |
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12. Septuagint, Jeremiah, 2.26, 2.37 (8th cent. BCE - 6th cent. BCE)
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13. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 16.15, 16.34, 18.30 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 16.15. וַתִּבְטְחִי בְיָפְיֵךְ וַתִּזְנִי עַל־שְׁמֵךְ וַתִּשְׁפְּכִי אֶת־תַּזְנוּתַיִךְ עַל־כָּל־עוֹבֵר לוֹ־יֶהִי׃ 16.34. וַיְהִי־בָךְ הֵפֶךְ מִן־הַנָּשִׁים בְּתַזְנוּתַיִךְ וְאַחֲרַיִךְ לֹא זוּנָּה וּבְתִתֵּךְ אֶתְנָן וְאֶתְנַן לֹא נִתַּן־לָךְ וַתְּהִי לְהֶפֶךְ׃ | 16.15. But thou didst trust in thy beauty and play the harlot because of thy renown, and didst pour out thy harlotries on every one that passed by; his it was." 16.34. And the contrary is in thee from other women, in that thou didst solicit to harlotry, and wast not solicited; and in that thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, thus thou art contrary." 18.30. Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Return ye, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so shall they not be a stumblingblock of iniquity unto you." |
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14. Hebrew Bible, 2 Chronicles, 36.6 (5th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 36.6. עָלָיו עָלָה נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וַיַּאַסְרֵהוּ בַּנְחֻשְׁתַּיִם לְהֹלִיכוֹ בָּבֶלָה׃ | 36.6. Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon." |
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15. Anon., 1 Enoch, 6.6-6.11, 7.1-7.2 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 6.6. by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn 6.7. and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal 6.8. Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ael, Zaq1el, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens. 7.1. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charm 7.2. and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they |
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16. Anon., Testament of Judah, 21.5 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
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17. Hebrew Bible, Daniel, 9.11 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 9.11. וְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל עָבְרוּ אֶת־תּוֹרָתֶךָ וְסוֹר לְבִלְתִּי שְׁמוֹעַ בְּקֹלֶךָ וַתִּתַּךְ עָלֵינוּ הָאָלָה וְהַשְּׁבֻעָה אֲשֶׁר כְּתוּבָה בְּתוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה עֶבֶד־הָאֱלֹהִים כִּי חָטָאנוּ לוֹ׃ | 9.11. Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, and have turned aside, so as not to hearken to Thy voice; and so there hath been poured out upon us the curse and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God; for we have sinned against Him." |
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18. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 1.47, 1.62 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.47. to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals 1.62. But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. |
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19. Septuagint, Ecclesiasticus (Siracides), 45.23-45.24 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 45.23. Phinehas the son of Eleazar is the third in glory,for he was zealous in the fear of the Lord,and stood fast, when the people turned away,in the ready goodness of his soul,and made atonement for Israel. 45.24. Therefore a covet of peace was established with him,that he should be leader of the sanctuary and of his people,that he and his descendants should have the dignity of the priesthood for ever. |
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20. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 14.2, 14.12-14.31, 15.17, 45.23-45.24 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 14.2. For it was desire for gain that planned that vessel,and wisdom was the craftsman who built it; 14.12. For the idea of making idols was the beginning of fornication,and the invention of them was the corruption of life 14.13. for neither have they existed from the beginning nor will they exist for ever. 14.14. For through the vanity of men they entered the world,and therefore their speedy end has been planned. 14.15. For a father, consumed with grief at an untimely bereavement,made an image of his child, who had been suddenly taken from him;and he now honored as a god what was once a dead human being,and handed on to his dependents secret rites and initiations. 14.16. Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law,and at the command of monarchs graven images were worshiped. 14.17. When men could not honor monarchs in their presence, since they lived at a distance,they imagined their appearance far away,and made a visible image of the king whom they honored,so that by their zeal they might flatter the absent one as though present. 14.18. Then the ambition of the craftsman impelled even those who did not know the king to intensify their worship. 14.19. For he, perhaps wishing to please his ruler,skilfully forced the likeness to take more beautiful form 14.20. and the multitude, attracted by the charm of his work,now regarded as an object of worship the one whom shortly before they had honored as a man. 14.21. And this became a hidden trap for mankind,because men, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority,bestowed on objects of stone or wood the name that ought not to be shared. 14.22. Afterward it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God,but they live in great strife due to ignorance,and they call such great evils peace. 14.23. For whether they kill children in their initiations,or celebrate secret mysteries,or hold frenzied revels with strange customs 14.24. they no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure,but they either treacherously kill one another,or grieve one another by adultery 14.25. and all is a raging riot of blood and murder,theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury 14.26. confusion over what is good, forgetfulness of favors,pollution of souls, sex perversion,disorder in marriage, adultery, and debauchery. 14.27. For the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil. 14.28. For their worshipers either rave in exultation,or prophesy lies,or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury; 14.29. for because they trust in lifeless idols they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm. 14.30. But just penalties will overtake them on two counts:because they thought wickedly of God in devoting themselves to idols,and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness. 14.31. For it is not the power of the things by which men swear,but the just penalty for those who sin,that always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous. 15.17. He is mortal, and what he makes with lawless hands is dead,for he is better than the objects he worships,since he has life, but they never have. |
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21. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 3.110-3.115 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE)
| 3.110. 110 The judgment midway in a mighty age 3.111. Shall come, when all these things shall come to pass. 3.112. O navigable waters and each land 3.113. of the Orient and of the Occident 3.114. Subject shall all things be to him who come 3.115. 115 Into the world again, and therefore he |
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22. Philo of Alexandria, On The Cherubim, 32 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 32. Moses also represents Balaam, who is the symbol of a vain people, stripped of his arms, as a runaway and deserter, well knowing the war which it becomes the soul to carry on for the sake of knowledge; for he says to his ass, who is here a symbol of the irrational designs of life which every foolish man entertains, that "If I had had a sword, I should ere now have slain Thee." And great thanks are due to the Maker of all things, because he, knowing the struggles and resistance of folly, did not give to it the power of language, which would have been like giving a sword to a madman, in order that it might have no power to work great and iniquitous destruction among all whom it should meet with. 32. This, then, may be enough to say on these subjects; but it is necessary now to connect with these things what I am about to say, namely, that it was the Father of the universe who delivered these ten maxims, or oracles, or laws and enactments, as they truly are, to the whole assembled nation of men and women altogether. Did he then do so, uttering himself some kind of voice? Away! let not such an idea ever enter your mind; for God is not like a man, in need of a mouth, and of a tongue, and of a windpipe |
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23. Philo of Alexandria, On The Confusion of Tongues, 13 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 13. For if a man has learnt many dialects, he immediately is looked upon with consideration and respect by those who are also acquainted with them, as being already a friendly person, and contributing no small introduction and means of friendship by reason of his familiarity with words which they too understand; which familiarity very commonly imparts a feeling of security, that one is not likely to suffer any great evil at the hands of such a man. Why, then, did God remove sameness of language from among men as a cause of evils, when it seems it should rather have been established as a most useful thing? V. |
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24. Philo of Alexandria, On The Change of Names, 18 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 18. And when the ruler has appeared, then he in a still greater degree benefits his disciple and beholder, saying, "I am thy God;" for I should say to him, "What is there of all the things which form a part of creation of which thou art not the God?" But his word, which is his interpreter, will teach me that he is not at present speaking of the world, of which he is by all means the creator and the God, but about the souls of men, which he has thought worthy of a different kind of care; |
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25. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Moses, 1.292-1.304 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 1.292. And the king, being very indigt at these words, said: "Having been invited hither to curse my enemies, you have now prayed for and blessed them these three times. Fly, therefore, quickly, passion is a hasty affection, lest I be compelled to do something more violent than usual. 1.293. of what a vast amount of money, O most foolish of men, of how many presents, and of how much renown, and celebrity, and glory, hast thou deprived thyself in thy madness! Now you will return to thy home from a foreign land, bearing with thee no good thing, but only reproaches and (as it seems likely 1.294. And Balaam replied: "All that I have hitherto uttered have been oracles and words of God; but what I am going to say are merely the suggestions of my own mind: and taking him by the right hand, he, while they two were alone, gave him advice, by the adoption of which he might, as far as possible, guard against the power of his enemies, accusing himself of the most enormous crimes. For why, some one may perhaps say, do you thus retire into solitude and give counsel suggesting things contrary to the oracles of God, unless indeed that your counsels are more powerful than his decrees? 1.295. Come, then, let us examine into his fine recommendations, and see how cunningly they were contrived with reference to the most certain defeat of those who had hitherto always been able to conquer. As he knew that the only way by which the Hebrews could be subdued was by leading them to violate the law, he endeavoured to seduce them by means of debauchery and intemperance, that mighty evil, to the still greater crime of impiety, putting pleasure before them as a bait; 1.296. for, said he, "O king! the women of the country surpass all other women in beauty, and there are no means by which a man is more easily subdued than by the beauty of a woman; therefore, if you enjoin the most beautiful of them to grant their favours to them and to prostitute themselves to them, they will allure and overcome the youth of your enemies. 1.297. But you must warn them not to surrender their beauty to those who desire them with too great facility and too speedily, for resistance and coyness will stimulate the passions and excite them more, and will kindle a more impetuous desire; and so, being wholly subdued by their appetites, they will endure to do and to suffer anything. 1.298. And let any damsel who is thus prepared for the sport resist, and say, wantonly, to a lover who is thus influenced, "It is not fitting for you to enjoy my society till you have first abandoned your native habits, and have changed, and learnt to honour the same practices that I do. And I must have a conspicuous proof of your real change, which I can only have by your consenting to join me in the same sacrifices and libations which I use, and which we may then offer together at the same images and statues, and other erections in honour of my gods. 1.299. And the lover being, as it were, taken in the net of her manifold and multiform snares, not being able to resist her beauty and seductive conversation, will become wholly subdued in his reason, and, like a miserable man, will obey all the commands which she lays upon him, and will en enrolled as the salve of passion. 1.300. This, then, was the advice which Balaam gave to Balak. And he, thinking that what he said to him did not want sense, repealed the law against adulteries, and having abrogated all the enactments which had been established against seduction and harlotry, as if they had never been enacted at all, exhorted the women to admit to their favours, without any restraint, every man whom they chose. 1.301. Accordingly, when licence was thus given, they brought over a multitude of young men, having already long before this seduced their minds, and having by their tricks and allurements perverted them to impiety; until Phinehas, the son of the chief priest, being exceedingly indigt at all that was taking place (for it appeared to him to be a most scandalous thing for his countrymen to give up at one time both their bodies and souls--their bodies to pleasure, and their souls to transgression of the law, and to works of wickedne 1.302. For when he saw a man of his nation sacrificing with and then entering into the tent of a harlot, and that too without casting his eyes down on the ground and seeking to avoid the notice of the multitude, but making a display of his licentiousness with shameless boldness, and giving himself airs as if he were about to engage in a creditable action, and one deserving of smiles--Phinehas, I say, being very indigt and being filled with a just anger, ran in, and while they were still lying on the bed, slew both the lover and the harlot, cutting them in two pieces in the middle, because they thus indulged in illicit connections. 1.303. When some persons of those who admired temperance, and chastity, and piety, saw this example, they, at the command of Moses, imitated it, and slew all their own relations and friends, even to a man, who had sacrificed to idols made with hands, and thus they effaced the stain which was defiling the nation by this implacable revenge which they thus wreaked on those who had set the example of wrong doing, and so saved the rest, who made a clear defence of themselves, demonstrating their own piety, showing no compassion on any one of those who were justly condemned to death, and not passing over their offences out of pity, but looking upon those who slew them as pure from all sin. Therefore they did not allow any escape whatever to those who sinned in this way, and such conduct is the truest praise; 1.304. and they say that twenty-four thousand men were slain in one day, the common pollution, which was defiling the whole army, being thus at once got rid of. And when the works of purification were thus accomplished, Moses began to seek how he might give an honour worthy of him who had displayed such permanent excellence to the son of the chief priest, who was the first who hastened to inflict chastisement on the offenders. But God was beforehand with him, giving to Phinehas, by means of his holy word, the greatest of all good things, namely, peace, which no man is able to bestow; and also, in addition to this peace, he gave him the perpetual possession of the priesthood, an inheritance to his family, which could not be taken from it. |
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26. Philo of Alexandria, Allegorical Interpretation, 2.86, 3.242 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
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27. Philo of Alexandria, That The Worse Attacks The Better, 54 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 54. If, therefore, each of these things, the outward sense and the mind, receive the honour which I have been describing, then it follows of necessity that I, who use them both, must derive advantage from them. But if, carrying your language away a long distance from the mind and from the outward sense, you think your father, that is to say, the world which produced you, and your mother, wisdom, by means of which the universe was completed, worthy of honour, you yourself shall be well treated; for neither does God, who is full of everything, nor sublime and perfect knowledge, want anything. So that he who is inclined to pay proper attention to them, benefits not those who receive his attentions and who are in no need of anything, but himself most exceedingly. |
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28. Anon., Didache, 6.3 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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29. Clement of Rome, 1 Clement, 8.3-8.4 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 8.3. Μετανοήσατε, οἶκος Ἰσραήλ, ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνομίας ὑμῶν: εἶπον τοῖς υἱοῖς τοῦ λαοῦ μου. Ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἕως τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν πυρρότεραι κόκκου καὶ μελανώτεραι σάκκου, καὶ ἐπιστραφῆτε πρός με ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας καὶ εἴπητε: Πάτερ: ἐπακούσομαι ὑμῶν ὡς λαοῦ ἁγίου. 8.4. καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ τόπῳ λέγει οὕτως: Is. I, 16-20 Λούσασθε καὶ καθαροὶ γένεσθε, ἀφέλεσθε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μου: παύσασθε ἀπὸ τῶν πονηριῶν ὑμῶν, μάθετε καλὸν ποιεῖν, ἐκζητήσατε κρίσιν, ῥύσασθε ἀδικούμενον, κρίνατε ὀρφανῷ καὶ δικαιώσατε χήρᾳ: καὶ δεῦτε καὶ διελεγχθῶμεν, λέγει κύριος: καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ: ἐὰν δὲ ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον, ὡς ἔριον λευκανῶ: καὶ ἐὰν θέλητε καὶ εἰσακούσητέ μου, τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῆς γῆς φάγεσθε: ἐὰν δὲ μὴ θέλητε μηδὲ εἰσακούσητέ μου, μάχαιρα ὑμᾶς κατέδεται: τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησεν ταῦτα. | |
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30. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 3.181, 4.105, 4.113, 4.126-4.158, 10.184, 10.186-10.189, 10.194-10.213, 10.217-10.218, 11.346, 12.320 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.181. When Moses distinguished the tabernacle into three parts, and allowed two of them to the priests, as a place accessible and common, he denoted the land and the sea, these being of general access to all; but he set apart the third division for God, because heaven is inaccessible to men. 4.105. So Balsam received the ambassadors, and treated them very kindly; and when he had supped, he inquired what was God’s will, and what this matter was for which the Midianites entreated him to come to them. But when God opposed his going, he came to the ambassadors, and told them that he was himself very willing and desirous to comply with their request, but informed them that God was opposite to his intentions, even that God who had raised him to great reputation on account of the truth of his predictions; 4.113. Now when he saw them, he desired the king to build him seven altars, and to bring him as many bulls and rams; to which desire the king did presently conform. He then slew the sacrifices, and offered them as burnt-offerings, that he might observe some signal of the flight of the Hebrews. 4.126. 6. But Balak being very angry that the Israelites were not cursed, sent away Balaam without thinking him worthy of any honor. Whereupon, when he was just upon his journey, in order to pass the Euphrates, he sent for Balak, and for the princes of the Midianites 4.127. and spake thus to them:—“O Balak, and you Midianites that are here present, (for I am obliged even without the will of God to gratify you,) it is true no entire destruction can seize upon the nation of the Hebrews, neither by war, nor by plague, nor by scarcity of the fruits of the earth, nor can any other unexpected accident be their entire ruin; 4.128. for the providence of God is concerned to preserve them from such a misfortune; nor will it permit any such calamity to come upon them whereby they may all perish; but some small misfortunes, and those for a short time, whereby they may appear to be brought low, may still befall them; but after that they will flourish again, to the terror of those that brought those mischiefs upon them. 4.129. So that if you have a mind to gain a victory over them for a short space of time, you will obtain it by following my directions:—Do you therefore set out the handsomest of such of your daughters as are most eminent for beauty, and proper to force and conquer the modesty of those that behold them, and these decked and trimmed to the highest degree you are able. Then do you send them to be near the Israelites’ camp, and give them in charge, that when the young men of the Hebrews desire their company, they allow it them; 4.131. 7. So when the Midianites had sent their daughters, as Balaam had exhorted them, the Hebrew young men were allured by their beauty, and came to discourse with them, and besought them not to grudge them the enjoyment of their beauty, nor to deny them their conversation. These daughters of the Midianites received their words gladly, and consented to it, and staid with them; 4.132. but when they had brought them to be enamored of them, and their inclinations to them were grown to ripeness, they began to think of departing from them: then it was that these men became greatly disconsolate at the women’s departure, and they were urgent with them not to leave them, but begged they would continue there, and become their wives; and they promised them they should be owned as mistresses of all they had. 4.133. This they said with an oath, and called God for the arbitrator of what they promised; and this with tears in their eyes, and all other such marks of concern, as might shew how miserable they thought themselves without them, and so might move their compassion for them. So the women, as soon as they perceived they had made them their slaves, and had caught them with their conversation, began to speak thus to them:— 4.134. 8. “O you illustrious young men! we have houses of our own at home, and great plenty of good things there, together with the natural, affectionate love of our parents and friends; nor is it out of our want of any such things that we came to discourse with you; nor did we admit of your invitation with design to prostitute the beauty of our bodies for gain; but taking you for brave and worthy men, we agreed to your request, that we might treat you with such honors as hospitality required: 4.135. and now seeing you say that you have a great affection for us, and are troubled when you think we are departing, we are not averse to your entreaties; and if we may receive such assurance of your good-will as we think can be alone sufficient, we will be glad to lead our lives with you as your wives; 4.136. but we are afraid that you will in time be weary of our company, and will then abuse us, and send us back to our parents, after an ignominious manner.” And so they desired that they would excuse them in their guarding against that danger. But the young men professed they would give them any assurance they should desire; nor did they at all contradict what they requested, so great was the passion they had for them. 4.137. “If then,” said they, “this be your resolution, since you make use of such customs and conduct of life as are entirely different from all other men, insomuch that your kinds of food are peculiar to yourselves, and your kinds of drink not common to others, it will be absolutely necessary, if you would have us for your wives, that you do withal worship our gods. Nor can there be any other demonstration of the kindness which you say you already have, and promise to have hereafter to us, than this, that you worship the same gods that we do. 4.138. For has any one reason to complain, that now you are come into this country, you should worship the proper gods of the same country? especially while our gods are common to all men, and yours such as belong to nobody else but yourselves.” So they said they must either come into such methods of divine worship as all others came into, or else they must look out for another world, wherein they may live by themselves, according to their own laws. 4.139. 9. Now the young men were induced by the fondness they had for these women to think they spake very well; so they gave themselves up to what they persuaded them, and transgressed their own laws, and supposing there were many gods, and resolving that they would sacrifice to them according to the laws of that country which ordained them, they both were delighted with their strange food, and went on to do every thing that the women would have them do, though in contradiction to their own laws; 4.141. 10. Even Zimri, the head of the tribe of Simeon accompanied with Cozbi, a Midianitish women, who was the daughter of Sur, a man of authority in that country; and being desired by his wife to disregard the laws of Moses, and to follow those she was used to, he complied with her, and this both by sacrificing after a manner different from his own, and by taking a stranger to wife. 4.142. When things were thus, Moses was afraid that matters should grow worse, and called the people to a congregation, but then accused nobody by name, as unwilling to drive those into despair who, by lying concealed, might come to repentance; 4.143. but he said that they did not do what was either worthy of themselves, or of their fathers, by preferring pleasure to God, and to the living according to his will; that it was fit they should change their courses while their affairs were still in a good state, and think that to be true fortitude which offers not violence to their laws, but that which resists their lusts. 4.144. And besides that, he said it was not a reasonable thing, when they had lived soberly in the wilderness, to act madly now when they were in prosperity; and that they ought not to lose, now they have abundance, what they had gained when they had little:—and so did he endeavor, by saying this, to correct the young inert, and to bring them to repentance for what they had done. 4.145. 11. But Zimri arose up after him, and said, “Yes, indeed, Moses, thou art at liberty to make use of such laws as thou art so fond of, and hast, by accustoming thyself to them, made them firm; otherwise, if things had not been thus, thou hadst often been punished before now, and hadst known that the Hebrews are not easily put upon; 4.146. but thou shalt not have me one of thy followers in thy tyrannical commands, for thou dost nothing else hitherto, but, under pretense of laws, and of God, wickedly impose on us slavery, and gain dominion to thyself, while thou deprivest us of the sweetness of life, which consists in acting according to our own wills, and is the right of free-men, and of those that have no lord over them. 4.147. Nay, indeed, this man is harder upon the Hebrews then were the Egyptians themselves, as pretending to punish, according to his laws, every one’s acting what is most agreeable to himself; but thou thyself better deservest to suffer punishment, who presumest to abolish what every one acknowledges to be what is good for him, and aimest to make thy single opinion to have more force than that of all the rest; 4.148. and what I now do, and think to be right, I shall not hereafter deny to be according to my own sentiments. I have married, as thou sayest rightly, a strange woman, and thou hearest what I do from myself as from one that is free, for truly I did not intend to conceal myself. 4.149. I also own that I sacrificed to those gods to whom you do not think it fit to sacrifice; and I think it right to come at truth by inquiring of many people, and not like one that lives under tyranny, to suffer the whole hope of my life to depend upon one man; nor shall any one find cause to rejoice who declares himself to have more authority over my actions than myself.” 4.151. for he avoided that, lest many should imitate the impudence of his language, and thereby disturb the multitude. Upon this the assembly was dissolved. However, the mischievous attempt had proceeded further, if Zimri had not been first slain, which came to pass on the following occasion:— 4.152. Phineas, a man in other respects better than the rest of the young men, and also one that surpassed his contemporaries in the dignity of his father, (for he was the son of Eleazar the high priest, and the grandson of [Aaron] Moses’s brother,) who was greatly troubled at what was done by Zimri, he resolved in earnest to inflict punishment on him, before his unworthy behavior should grow stronger by impunity, and in order to prevent this transgression from proceeding further, which would happen if the ringleaders were not punished. 4.153. He was of so great magimity, both in strength of mind and body, that when he undertook any very dangerous attempt, he did not leave it off till he overcame it, and got an entire victory. So he came into Zimri’s tent, and slew him with his javelin, and with it he slew Cozbi also 4.154. Upon which all those young men that had a regard to virtue, and aimed to do a glorious action, imitated Phineas’s boldness, and slew those that were found to be guilty of the same crime with Zimri. Accordingly many of those that had transgressed perished by the magimous valor of these young men; 4.155. and the rest all perished by a plague, which distemper God himself inflicted upon them; so that all those their kindred, who, instead of hindering them from such wicked actions, as they ought to have done, had persuaded them to go on, were esteemed by God as partners in their wickedness, and died. Accordingly there perished out of the army no fewer than fourteen [twenty-four] thousand at this time. 4.156. 13. This was the cause why Moses was provoked to send an army to destroy the Midianites, concerning which expedition we shall speak presently, when we have first related what we have omitted; for it is but just not to pass over our legislator’s due encomium, on account of his conduct here 4.157. because, although this Balaam, who was sent for by the Midianites to curse the Hebrews, and when he was hindered from doing it by Divine Providence, did still suggest that advice to them, by making use of which our enemies had well nigh corrupted the whole multitude of the Hebrews with their wiles, till some of them were deeply infected with their opinions; yet did he do him great honor, by setting down his prophecies in writing. 4.158. And while it was in his power to claim this glory to himself, and make men believe they were his own predictions, there being no one that could be a witness against him, and accuse him for so doing, he still gave his attestation to him, and did him the honor to make mention of him on this account. But let every one think of these matters as he pleases. 10.184. Now as to Shalmanezer, he removed the Israelites out of their country, and placed therein the nation of the Cutheans, who had formerly belonged to the inner parts of Persia and Media, but were then called Samaritans, by taking the name of the country to which they were removed; but the king of Babylon, who brought out the two tribes, placed no other nation in their country, by which means all Judea and Jerusalem, and the temple, continued to be a desert for seventy years; 10.186. 1. But now Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took some of the most noble of the Jews that were children, and the kinsmen of Zedekiah their king, such as were remarkable for the beauty of their bodies, and the comeliness of their counteces, and delivered them into the hands of tutors, and to the improvement to be made by them. He also made some of them to be eunuchs; 10.187. which course he took also with those of other nations whom he had taken in the flower of their age, and afforded them their diet from his own table, and had them instructed in the institutes of the country, and taught the learning of the Chaldeans; and they had now exercised themselves sufficiently in that wisdom which he had ordered they should apply themselves to. 10.188. Now among these there were four of the family of Zedekiah, of most excellent dispositions, one of whom was called Daniel, another was called Aias, another Misael, and the fourth Azarias; and the king of Babylon changed their names, and commanded that they should make use of other names. 10.189. Daniel he called Baltasar; Aias, Shadrach; Misael, Meshach; and Azarias, Abednego. These the king had in esteem, and continued to love, because of the very excellent temper they were of, and because of their application to learning, and the profess they had made in wisdom. 10.194. while they had their souls in some measure more pure, and less burdened, and so fitter for learning, and had their bodies in better tune for hard labor; for they neither had the former oppressed and heavy with variety of meats, nor were the other effeminate on the same account; so they readily understood all the learning that was among the Hebrews, and among the Chaldeans, as especially did Daniel, who being already sufficiently skillful in wisdom, was very busy about the interpretation of dreams; and God manifested himself to him. 10.195. 3. Now two years after the destruction of Egypt, king Nebuchadnezzar saw a wonderful dream, the accomplishment of which God showed him in his sleep; but when he arose out of his bed, he forgot the accomplishment. So he sent for the Chaldeans and magicians, and the prophets, and told them that he had seen a dream, and informed them that he had forgotten the accomplishment of what he had seen, and he enjoined them to tell him both what the dream was, and what was its signification; 10.196. and they said that this was a thing impossible to be discovered by men; but they promised him, that if he would explain to them what dream he had seen, they would tell him its signification. Hereupon he threatened to put them to death, unless they told him his dream; and he gave command to have them all put to death, since they confessed they could not do what they were commanded to do. 10.197. Now when Daniel heard that the king had given a command, that all the wise men should be put to death, and that among them himself and his three kinsmen were in danger, he went to Arioch, who was captain of the king’s guards 10.198. and desired to know of him what was the reason why the king had given command that all the wise men, and Chaldeans, and magicians should be slain. So when he had learned that the king had had a dream, and had forgotten it, and that when they were enjoined to inform the king of it, they had said they could not do it, and had thereby provoked him to anger, he desired of Arioch that he would go in to the king, and desire respite for the magicians for one night, and to put off their slaughter so long, for that he hoped within that time to obtain, by prayer to God, the knowledge of the dream. 10.199. Accordingly, Arioch informed the king of what Daniel desired. So the king bid them delay the slaughter of the magicians till he knew what Daniel’s promise would come to; but the young man retired to his own house, with his kinsmen, and besought God that whole night to discover the dream, and thereby deliver the magicians and Chaldeans, with whom they were themselves to perish, from the king’s anger, by enabling him to declare his vision, and to make manifest what the king had seen the night before in his sleep, but had forgotten it. 10.201. When Daniel had obtained this knowledge from God, he arose very joyful, and told it to his brethren, and made them glad, and to hope well that they should now preserve their lives, of which they despaired before, and had their minds full of nothing but the thoughts of dying. 10.202. So when he had with them returned thanks to God, who had commiserated their youth, when it was day he came to Arioch, and desired him to bring him to the king, because he would discover to him that dream which he had seen the night before. 10.203. 4. When Daniel was come in to the king, he excused himself first, that he did not pretend to be wiser than the other Chaldeans and magicians, when, upon their entire inability to discover his dream, he was undertaking to inform him of it; for this was not by his own skill, or on account of his having better cultivated his understanding than the rest; but he said, “God hath had pity upon us, when we were in danger of death, and when I prayed for the life of myself, and of those of my own nation, hath made manifest to me both the dream, and the interpretation thereof; 10.204. for I was not less concerned for thy glory than for the sorrow that we were by thee condemned to die, while thou didst so unjustly command men, both good and excellent in themselves, to be put to death, when thou enjoinedst them to do what was entirely above the reach of human wisdom, and requiredst of them what was only the work of God. 10.205. Wherefore, as thou in thy sleep wast solicitous concerning those that should succeed thee in the government of the whole world, God was desirous to show thee all those that should reign after thee, and to that end exhibited to thee the following dream: 10.206. Thou seemedst to see a great image standing before thee, the head of which proved to be of gold, the shoulders and arms of silver, and the belly and the thighs of brass, but the legs and the feet of iron; 10.207. after which thou sawest a stone broken off from a mountain, which fell upon the image, and threw it down, and brake it to pieces, and did not permit any part of it to remain whole; but the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron, became smaller than meal, which, upon the blast of a violent wind, was by force carried away, and scattered abroad, but the stone did increase to such a degree, that the whole earth beneath it seemed to be filled therewith. 10.208. This is the dream which thou sawest, and its interpretation is as follows: The head of gold denotes thee, and the kings of Babylon that have been before thee; but the two hands and arms signify this, that your government shall be dissolved by two kings; 10.209. but another king that shall come from the west, armed with brass, shall destroy that government; and another government, that shall be like unto iron, shall put an end to the power of the former, and shall have dominion over all the earth, on account of the nature of iron, which is stronger than that of gold, of silver, and of brass.” 10.211. 5. When Nebuchadnezzar heard this, and recollected his dream, he was astonished at the nature of Daniel, and fell upon his knee; and saluted Daniel in the manner that men worship God 10.212. and gave command that he should be sacrificed to as a god. And this was not all, for he also imposed the name, of his own god upon him, [Baltasar,] and made him and his kinsmen rulers of his whole kingdom; which kinsmen of his happened to fall into great danger by the envy and malice [of their enemies]; for they offended the king upon the occasion following: 10.213. he made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits, and set it in the great plain of Babylon; and when he was going to dedicate the image, he invited the principal men out of all the earth that was under his dominions, and commanded them, in the first place, that when they should hear the sound of the trumpet, they should then fall down and worship the image; and he threatened, that those who did not do so, should be cast into a fiery furnace. 10.217. but when none of them could find out the meaning of the dream, nor discover it to the king, Daniel was the only person that explained it; and as he foretold, so it came to pass; for after he had continued in the wilderness the forementioned interval of time, while no one durst attempt to seize his kingdom during those seven years, he prayed to God that he might recover his kingdom, and he returned to it. 10.218. But let no one blame me for writing down every thing of this nature, as I find it in our ancient books; for as to that matter, I have plainly assured those that think me defective in any such point, or complain of my management, and have told them in the beginning of this history, that I intended to do no more than translate the Hebrew books into the Greek language, and promised them to explain those facts, without adding any thing to them of my own, or taking any thing away from there. 11.346. 7. Now when Alexander was dead, the government was parted among his successors, but the temple upon Mount Gerizzim remained. And if any one were accused by those of Jerusalem of having eaten things common or of having broken the Sabbath, or of any other crime of the like nature |
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31. Josephus Flavius, Life, 14, 13 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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32. Mishnah, Avodah Zarah, 2.3 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 2.3. The following things belonging to non-Jews are forbidden [for Jews to use] and the prohibition extends to any benefit that may be derived from them: wine, or a non-Jew’s vinegar that was formerly wine, Hadrianic earthenware, skins pierced at the animal’s heart. Rabban Shimon Gamaliel says: when its tear is round, [the skin] is forbidden, but if oblong it is permitted. Meat which is being brought into a place of idol worship is permitted, but that which is brought out is forbidden, because it is like a sacrifice to the dead, this is the opinion of Rabbi Akiba. With non-Jews going on a pilgrimage [to worship idols] it is forbidden to have any business transactions, but with those returning it is permitted. |
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33. Mishnah, Avot, 3.4, 5.19 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 3.4. Rabbi Haiah ben Hakinai said: one who wakes up at night, or walks on the way alone and turns his heart to idle matters, behold, this man is mortally guilty." 5.19. Whoever possesses these three things, he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father; and [whoever possesses] three other things, he is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked. A good eye, a humble spirit and a moderate appetite he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father. An evil eye, a haughty spirit and a limitless appetite he is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked. What is the difference between the disciples of Abraham, our father, and the disciples of Balaam, the wicked? The disciples of Abraham, our father, enjoy this world, and inherit the world to come, as it is said: “I will endow those who love me with substance, I will fill their treasuries” (Proverbs 8:21). But the disciples of Balaam, the wicked, inherit gehinnom, and descend into the nethermost pit, as it is said: “For you, O God, will bring them down to the nethermost pit those murderous and treacherous men; they shall not live out half their days; but I trust in You” (Psalms 55:24)." |
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34. New Testament, 1 John, 2.19, 2.22, 2.24, 5.5 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.19. They went out from us, but they didn't belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us. 2.22. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 2.24. Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father. 5.5. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? |
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35. New Testament, 1 Peter, 1.1, 1.14-1.15, 2.13-2.17, 2.22, 4.13-4.14 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as strangers in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia 1.14. as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance 1.15. but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior; 2.13. Therefore subject yourselves to every ordice of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; 2.14. or to governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evil-doers and for praise to those who do well. 2.15. For this is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 2.16. as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. 2.17. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 2.22. who did not sin, "neither was deceit found in his mouth. 4.13. But because you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also you may rejoice with exceeding joy. 4.14. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. |
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36. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 6.9, 6.10, 6.11, 6.12, 6.13, 6.14, 6.15, 6.16, 6.17, 6.18, 6.19, 6.20, 7.10, 8, 8.1, 8.1-11.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 8.10, 8.11, 8.12, 8.13, 9, 10, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, 10.10, 10.11, 10.12, 10.13, 10.14, 10.15, 10.16, 10.17, 10.18, 10.19, 10.20, 10.21, 10.22, 10.23, 10.24, 10.25, 10.26, 10.27, 10.28, 10.29, 10.30, 10.31, 10.32, 10.33 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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37. New Testament, 1 Thessalonians, 1.9-1.10 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.9. For they themselves report concerning us what kind of a reception we had from you; and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God 1.10. and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead -- Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. |
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38. New Testament, 2 Peter, 2.15, 3.15-3.16 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.15. forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrong-doing; 3.15. Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you; 3.16. as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. |
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39. New Testament, 2 Corinthians, 5.9-5.10, 6.16 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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40. New Testament, Acts, 2.17, 2.22, 15.2, 15.20, 15.29, 21.25 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 2.17. 'It will be in the last days, says God, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. 2.22. You men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know 15.2. Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small discord and discussion with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas, and some others of them, to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. 15.20. but that we write to them that they abstain from the pollution of idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood. 15.29. that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell. 21.25. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality. |
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41. New Testament, Apocalypse, 1.1, 1.3, 1.9-1.20, 2.2, 2.4-2.7, 2.9-2.11, 2.13, 2.15-2.17, 2.20-2.26, 3.1-3.5, 3.9, 3.12, 3.17, 3.21, 4.1, 5.5-5.6, 5.9-5.10, 6.2, 7.14, 9.20-9.21, 10.7, 11.7, 11.18, 12.9, 12.11, 12.17, 13.7, 13.14-13.18, 14.1-14.4, 14.8-14.12, 15.2, 16.1-16.17, 17.1-17.6, 17.14-17.18, 18.3-18.4, 18.9, 18.23, 19.2, 19.10, 21.7-21.8, 22.9, 22.15 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.1. This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John 1.3. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand. 1.9. I John, your brother and partner with you in oppression, kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God's Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 1.10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet 1.11. saying, "What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. 1.12. I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. 1.13. And in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest. 1.14. His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. 1.15. His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters. 1.16. He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest. 1.17. When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, "Don't be afraid. I am the first and the last 1.18. and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 1.19. Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter; 1.20. the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lampstands are seven assemblies. 2.2. I know your works, and your toil and perseverance, and that you can't tolerate evil men, and have tested those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and found them false. 2.4. But I have this against you, that you left your first love. 2.5. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I am coming to you swiftly, and will move your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent. 2.6. But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 2.7. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of my God. 2.9. I know your works, oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 2.10. Don't be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life. 2.11. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. He who overcomes won't be harmed by the second death. 2.13. I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. You hold firmly to my name, and didn't deny my faith in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 2.15. So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans in the same way. 2.16. Repent therefore, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth. 2.17. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it. 2.20. But I have this against you, that you tolerate your woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my servants to commit sexual immorality, and to eat things sacrificed to idols. 2.21. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 2.22. Behold, I will throw her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great oppression, unless they repent of her works. 2.23. I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 2.24. But to you I say, to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as don't have this teaching, who don't know what some call 'the deep things of Satan,' to you I say, I am not putting any other burden on you. 2.25. Nevertheless that which you have, hold firmly until I come. 2.26. He who overcomes, and he who keeps my works to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. 3.1. And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars says these things: "I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 3.2. Wake up, and keep the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God. 3.3. Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If therefore you won't watch, I will come as a thief, and you won't know what hour I will come upon you. 3.4. Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 3.5. He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 3.9. Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 3.12. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name. 3.17. Because you say, 'I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;' and don't know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked; 3.21. He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father on his throne. 4.1. After these things I looked and saw a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, like a trumpet speaking with me, was one saying, "Come up here, and I will show you the things which must happen after this. 5.5. One of the elders said to me, "Don't weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals. 5.6. I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. 5.9. They sang a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the book, And to open its seals: For you were killed, And bought us for God with your blood, Out of every tribe, language, people, and nation 5.10. And made them kings and priests to our God, And they reign on earth. 6.2. And behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came forth conquering, and to conquer. 7.14. I told him, "My lord, you know."He said to me, "These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb's blood. 9.20. The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn't repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn't worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. 9.21. They didn't repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts. 10.7. but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as he declared to his servants, the prophets. 11.7. When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. 11.18. The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your servants the prophets, their reward, as well as the saints, and those who fear your name, the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth. 12.9. The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 12.11. They overcame him because of the Lamb's blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn't love their life, even to death. 12.17. The dragon grew angry with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep God's commandments and hold Jesus' testimony. 13.7. It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him. 13.14. He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given to him to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived. 13.15. It was given to him to give breath to it, to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as wouldn't worship the image of the beast to be killed. 13.16. He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, so that they should give them marks on their right hand, or on their forehead; 13.17. and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. 13.18. Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six. 14.1. I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. 14.2. I heard a sound from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of a great thunder. The sound which I heard was like that of harpers playing on their harps. 14.3. They sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand, those who had been redeemed out of the earth. 14.4. These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 14.8. Another, a second angel, followed, saying, "Babylon the great has fallen, which has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality. 14.9. Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand 14.10. he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. 14.11. The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. 14.12. Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 15.2. I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who overcame the beast, and his image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 16.1. I heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth! 16.2. The first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth, and it became a harmful and evil sore on the men who had the mark of the beast, and who worshiped his image. 16.3. The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died. 16.4. The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and it became blood. 16.5. I heard the angel of the waters saying, "You are righteous, who are and who were, you Holy One, because you judged this way. 16.6. For they poured out the blood of the saints and the prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve this. 16.7. I heard the altar saying, "Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments. 16.8. The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire. 16.9. People were scorched with great heat, and people blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They didn't repent and give him glory. 16.10. The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain 16.11. and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores. They didn't repent of their works. 16.12. The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. Its water was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrise. 16.13. I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, something like frogs; 16.14. for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go forth to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God, the Almighty. 16.15. Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn't walk naked, and they see his shame. 16.16. He gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, Megiddo. 16.17. The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came forth out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done! 17.1. One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters 17.2. with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality. 17.3. He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored animal, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 17.4. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of the sexual immorality of the earth. 17.5. And on her forehead a name was written, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 17.6. I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement. 17.14. These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful. 17.15. He said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. 17.16. The ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute, and will make her desolate, and will make her naked, and will eat her flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire. 17.17. For God has put in their hearts to do what he has in mind, and to come to unity of mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished. 17.18. The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth. 18.3. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury. 18.4. I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come forth, my people, out of her, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don't receive of her plagues 18.9. The kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived wantonly with her, will weep and wail over her, when they look at the smoke of her burning 18.23. The light of a lamp will shine no more at all in you. The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will be heard no more at all in you; for your merchants were the princes of the earth; for with your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 19.2. for true and righteous are his judgments. For he has judged the great prostitute, her who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 19.10. I fell down before his feet to worship him. He said to me, "Look! Don't do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. 21.7. He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son. 21.8. But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. 22.9. He said to me, "See you don't do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. 22.15. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. |
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42. New Testament, Jude, 14, 23-24, 3, 8, 11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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43. New Testament, Colossians, 1.9-1.10, 1.22, 2.18, 3.5 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.9. For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don't cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding 1.10. that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 1.22. yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and blameless before him 2.18. Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind 3.5. Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; |
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44. New Testament, Ephesians, 1.4, 2.1-2.3, 2.8, 4.22, 5.1-5.10, 5.14 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.4. even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love; 2.1. You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins 2.2. in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience; 2.3. among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 2.8. for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God 4.22. that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit; 5.1. Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children. 5.2. Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance. 5.3. But sexual immorality, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be mentioned among you, as becomes saints; 5.4. nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not appropriate; but rather giving of thanks. 5.5. Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God. 5.6. Let no one deceive you with empty words. For because of these things, the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience. 5.7. Therefore don't be partakers with them. 5.8. For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 5.9. for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth 5.10. proving what is well-pleasing to the Lord. 5.14. Therefore he says, "Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. |
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45. New Testament, Galatians, 2.16, 3.2, 4.4-4.7, 5.19-5.21 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.16. yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law butthrough the faith of Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus,that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works ofthe law, because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law. 3.2. I just want to learn this from you. Did you receivethe Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith? 4.4. But when the fullness of the time came,God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law 4.5. thathe might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive theadoption of sons. 4.6. And because you are sons, God sent out theSpirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, "Abba, Father! 4.7. Soyou are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heirof God through Christ. 5.19. Now the works of the fleshare obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness,lustfulness 5.20. idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies,outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies 5.21. envyings,murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which Iforewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practicesuch things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. |
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46. New Testament, Hebrews, 9.14 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 9.14. how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? |
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47. New Testament, Romans, 2.22, 3.8, 3.20, 3.27-3.28, 5.10-5.11, 6.1-6.23, 8.2-8.14, 10.1-10.13, 10.25, 10.27, 12.4-12.11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.22. You who say a man shouldn't commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 3.8. Why not (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), "Let us do evil, that good may come?" Those who say so are justly condemned. 3.20. Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 3.27. Where then is the boasting? It is excluded. By what manner of law? of works? No, but by a law of faith. 3.28. We maintain therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 5.10. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life. 5.11. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 6.1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 6.2. May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer? 6.3. Or don't you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 6.4. We were buried therefore with him through baptism to death, that just like Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. 6.5. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection; 6.6. knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin. 6.7. For he who has died has been freed from sin. 6.8. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him; 6.9. knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no more has dominion over him! 6.10. For the death that he died, he died to sin one time; but the life that he lives, he lives to God. 6.11. Thus also consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 6.12. Therefore don't let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 6.13. Neither present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 6.14. For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace. 6.15. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? May it never be! 6.16. Don't you know that to whom you present yourselves as servants to obedience, his servants you are whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness? 6.17. But thanks be to God, that, whereas you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto you were delivered. 6.18. Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness. 6.19. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification. 6.20. For when you were servants of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 6.21. What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 6.22. But now, being made free from sin, and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification, and the result of eternal life. 6.23. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 8.2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. 8.3. For what the law couldn't do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh; 8.4. that the ordice of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 8.5. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 8.6. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; 8.7. because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God's law, neither indeed can it be. 8.8. Those who are in the flesh can't please God. 8.9. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn't have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. 8.10. If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 8.11. But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 8.12. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 8.13. For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 8.14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. 10.1. Brothers, my heart's desire and my prayer to God is for Israel, that they may be saved. 10.2. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 10.3. For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they didn't subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 10.4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 10.5. For Moses writes about the righteousness of the law, "The one who does them will live by them. 10.6. But the righteousness which is of faith says this, "Don't say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down); 10.7. or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.) 10.8. But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart;" that is, the word of faith, which we preach: 10.9. that if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10.10. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 10.11. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. 10.12. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him. 10.13. For, "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. 12.4. For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don't have the same function 12.5. so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 12.6. Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; 12.7. or service, let us give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching; 12.8. or he who exhorts, to his exhorting: he who gives, let him do it with liberality; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 12.9. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good. 12.10. In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate one to another; in honor preferring one another; 12.11. not lagging in diligence; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; |
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48. New Testament, Luke, 1.16, 3.16 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.16. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. 3.16. John answered them all, "I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the latchet of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire |
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49. New Testament, Matthew, 3.11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.11. I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. |
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50. Ps.-Philo, Biblical Antiquities, 18.13-18.14, 28.1, 28.3, 48.1 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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51. Aristides of Athens, Apology, 15 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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52. Irenaeus, Refutation of All Heresies, 1.6.3, 1.24.5, 1.25.4, 1.25.6, 1.26.3, 1.28.2, 1.31.2, 2.14.5, 2.26.1 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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53. Justin, Dialogue With Trypho, 34.7, 35.5 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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54. Pliny The Younger, Letters, 10.96 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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55. Pliny The Younger, Letters, 10.96 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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56. Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 15a. יכול אני לבעול כמה בעילות בלא דם או דלמא דשמואל לא שכיחא אמר להו דשמואל לא שכיח וחיישינן שמא באמבטי עיברה,והאמר שמואל כל שכבת זרע שאינו יורה כחץ אינו מזרעת מעיקרא נמי יורה כחץ הוה,ת"ר מעשה ברבי יהושע בן חנניה שהיה עומד על גב מעלה בהר הבית וראהו בן זומא ולא עמד מלפניו אמר לו מאין ולאין בן זומא אמר לו צופה הייתי בין מים העליונים למים התחתונים ואין בין זה לזה אלא שלש אצבעות בלבד שנאמר (בראשית א, ב) ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים כיונה שמרחפת על בניה ואינה נוגעת אמר להן רבי יהושע לתלמידיו עדיין בן זומא מבחוץ,מכדי ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים אימת הוי ביום הראשון הבדלה ביום שני הוא דהואי דכתיב (בראשית א, ו) ויהי מבדיל בין מים למים וכמה אמר רב אחא בר יעקב כמלא נימא ורבנן אמרי כי גודא דגמלא מר זוטרא ואיתימא רב אסי אמר כתרי גלימי דפריסי אהדדי ואמרי לה כתרי כסי דסחיפי אהדדי,אחר קיצץ בנטיעות עליו הכתוב אומר (קהלת ה, ה) אל תתן את פיך לחטיא את בשרך מאי היא חזא מיטטרון דאתיהבא ליה רשותא למיתב למיכתב זכוותא דישראל אמר גמירא דלמעלה לא הוי לא ישיבה ולא תחרות ולא עורף ולא עיפוי שמא חס ושלום ב' רשויות הן,אפקוהו למיטטרון ומחיוהו שיתין פולסי דנורא א"ל מ"ט כי חזיתיה לא קמת מקמיה איתיהיבא ליה רשותא למימחק זכוותא דאחר יצתה בת קול ואמרה (ירמיהו ג, יד) שובו בנים שובבים חוץ מאחר,אמר הואיל ואיטריד ההוא גברא מההוא עלמא ליפוק ליתהני בהאי עלמא נפק אחר לתרבות רעה נפק אשכח זונה תבעה אמרה ליה ולאו אלישע בן אבויה את עקר פוגלא ממישרא בשבת ויהב לה אמרה אחר הוא,שאל אחר את ר"מ לאחר שיצא לתרבות רעה א"ל מאי דכתיב (קהלת ז, יד) גם את זה לעומת זה עשה האלהים אמר לו כל מה שברא הקב"ה ברא כנגדו ברא הרים ברא גבעות ברא ימים ברא נהרות,אמר לו ר"ע רבך לא אמר כך אלא ברא צדיקים ברא רשעים ברא גן עדן ברא גיהנם כל אחד ואחד יש לו ב' חלקים אחד בגן עדן ואחד בגיהנם זכה צדיק נטל חלקו וחלק חברו בגן עדן נתחייב רשע נטל חלקו וחלק חברו בגיהנם,אמר רב משרשיא מאי קראה גבי צדיקים כתיב (ישעיהו סא, ז) לכן בארצם משנה יירשו גבי רשעים כתיב (ירמיהו יז, יח) ומשנה שברון שברם,שאל אחר את ר"מ לאחר שיצא לתרבות רעה מאי דכתיב (איוב כח, יז) לא יערכנה זהב וזכוכית ותמורתה כלי פז אמר לו אלו דברי תורה שקשין לקנותן ככלי זהב וכלי פז ונוחין לאבדן ככלי זכוכית אמר לו ר"ע רבך לא אמר כך אלא מה כלי זהב וכלי זכוכית אע"פ שנשברו יש להם תקנה אף ת"ח אע"פ שסרח יש לו תקנה אמר לו אף אתה חזור בך אמר לו כבר שמעתי מאחורי הפרגוד שובו בנים שובבים חוץ מאחר,ת"ר מעשה באחר שהיה רוכב על הסוס בשבת והיה רבי מאיר מהלך אחריו ללמוד תורה מפיו אמר לו מאיר חזור לאחריך שכבר שיערתי בעקבי סוסי עד כאן תחום שבת א"ל אף אתה חזור בך א"ל ולא כבר אמרתי לך כבר שמעתי מאחורי הפרגוד שובו בנים שובבים חוץ מאחר,תקפיה עייליה לבי מדרשא א"ל לינוקא פסוק לי פסוקך אמר לו (ישעיהו מח, כב) אין שלום אמר ה' לרשעים עייליה לבי כנישתא אחריתי א"ל לינוקא פסוק לי פסוקך אמר לו (ירמיהו ב, כב) כי אם תכבסי בנתר ותרבי לך בורית נכתם עונך לפני עייליה לבי כנישתא אחריתי א"ל | 15a. bI can engage in intercourse several times without blood.In other words, I can have relations with a woman while leaving her hymen intact. If this is so, it is possible that the assumed virgin had intercourse in this manner and is forbidden to the High Priest. bOr, perhapsa person who can act like bShmuel is not commonand the ihalakhais not concerned with this case. bHe said to them:One like bShmuel is not common, and we are concerned that she may have conceived in a bath.Perhaps she washed in a bath that contained a man’s semen, from which she became impregnated while remaining a virgin.,The Gemara asks: How could she possibly become pregt in such a manner? bDidn’t Shmuel say: Any semen that is not shot like an arrow cannot fertilize?The Gemara answers: This does not mean that it must be shot like an arrow at the moment of fertilization. Even if binitially,when released from the male, bit was shot as an arrow,it can balsofertilize a woman at a later moment.,With regard to the fate of ben Zoma, bthe Sages taught: There was once an incident with regard to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥaya, who was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and ben Zoma saw him and did not stand before himto honor him, as he was deep in thought. Rabbi Yehoshua bsaid to him: From wheredo you come band where are you going, ben Zoma,i.e., what is on your mind? bHe said to him:In my thoughts bI was looking uponthe act of Creation, at the gap bbetween the upper waters and the lower waters, as there is onlythe breadth of ba mere three fingers between them, as it is stated: “And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters”(Genesis 1:2), blike a dove hovering over its young without touchingthem. bRabbi Yehoshua said to his studentswho had overheard this exchange: bBen Zoma is still outside;he has not yet achieved full understanding of these matters.,The Gemara explains: bNow,this verse: b“And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters,” when wasit stated? bOn the first day,whereas bthe divisionof the waters boccurred on the second day, as it is written: “And let it divide the waters from the waters”(Genesis 1:6). How, then, could ben Zoma derive a proof from the former verse? The Gemara asks: bAnd how much,in fact, is the gap between them? bRav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: Like the thickness of a thread; and the Rabbis said: Likethe gap between bthe boards of a bridge. Mar Zutra, and some sayit was bRav Asi, said: Like two robes spread one over the other,with a slight gap in between. bAnd some said: Like two cups placed one upon the other. /b,§ The Gemara stated earlier that iAḥerchopped down the saplings,becoming a heretic. bWith regard to him, the verse states: “Do not let your mouth bring your flesh into guilt”(Ecclesiastes 5:5). The Gemara poses a question: bWhat wasit that led him to heresy? bHe sawthe angel bMitatron, who was granted permission to sit and write the meritsof bIsrael. He said:There is ba traditionthat in the world babove there is no sitting; no competition; noturning one’s bback before Him,i.e., all face the Divine Presence; band no lethargy.Seeing that someone other than God was seated above, bhe said: Perhaps,the Gemara here interjects, bHeaven forbid, there are two authorities,and there is another source of power in control of the world in addition to God. Such thoughts led iAḥerto heresy.,The Gemara relates: bThey removed Mitatronfrom his place in heaven band smote himwith bsixty rods [ ipulsei /i] of fire,so that others would not make mistake that iAḥermade. bThey saidto the angel: bWhat is the reasonthat bwhen you sawElisha ben Avuya byou did not stand before him?Despite this conduct, since Mitatron was personally involved, he bwas granted permission to erase the merits of iAḥer /iand cause him to stumble in any manner. bA Divine Voice went forth saying: “Return, rebellious children”(Jeremiah 3:22), bapart from iAḥer /i. /b,Upon hearing this, Elisha ben Avuya bsaid: Since that man,meaning himself, bhas been banished from that world, let him go out and enjoy this world. iAḥerwent astray. He wentand bfound a prostituteand bsolicited herfor intercourse. bShe said to him: Andare byou not Elisha ben Avuya?Shall a person of your stature perform such an act? bHe uprooted a radish from a patchof radishes bon Shabbat and gave it to her,to demonstrate that he no longer observed the Torah. The prostitute bsaid: He is otherthan he was. He is not the same Elisha ben Avuya, he is iAḥer /i, other.,The Gemara relates: iAḥerasked Rabbi Meira question, bafter he had gone astray. He said to him: What isthe meaning of that bwhich is written: “God has made even the one as well as the other”(Ecclesiastes 7:14)? Rabbi Meir bsaid to him: Everything that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created, He createda similar creation bcorresponding to it. He created mountains, He created hills; He created seas, He created rivers. /b, iAḥer bsaid to him: Rabbi Akiva, your teacher, did not say so, butexplained the verse as follows: Everything has its opposite: bHe created the righteous, He created the wicked; He created the Garden of Eden, He created Gehenna. Each and everyperson bhas two portions, one in the Garden of Eden and one in Gehenna.If he bmeritsit, by becoming brighteous, he takes his portion and the portion of hiswicked bcolleague in the Garden of Eden;if he is found bculpableby becoming bwicked, he takes his portion and the portion of his colleague in Gehenna. /b, bRav Mesharshiyya said: What is the versefrom which it is derived? bWith regard to the righteous, it is stated: “Therefore in their land they shall possess double”(Isaiah 61:7); whereas bwith regard to the wicked, it is stated: “And destroy them with double destruction”(Jeremiah 17:18); therefore, each receives a double portion.,iAḥerasked Rabbi Meiranother question, again bafter he had gone astray. What isthe meaning of that bwhich is written: “Gold and glass cannot equal it; neither shall its exchange be vessels of fine gold”(Job 28:17)? If it is referring to the praise and honor of the Torah, it should have compared it only to gold, not to glass. bHe said to him:This is referring to bwords of Torah, which are as difficult to acquire as gilded vessels and vessels of fine gold but are as easy to lose as glass vessels. iAḥer bsaid to him: Rabbi Akiva, your teacher, did not say so, buttaught as follows: bJust as golden vessels and glass vessels have a remedy even when they have broken,as they can be melted down and made into new vessels, bso too a Torah scholar, although he has transgressed, has a remedy.Rabbi Meir bsaid to him:If so, byou too, returnfrom your ways. bHe said to him: I have already heardthe following declaration bbehind thedividing bcurtain,which conceals God from the world: b“Return, rebellious children,”(Jeremiah 3:22) bapart from iAḥer /i. /b,The Gemara cites a related story: bThe Sages taught: There was once an incident involving iAḥer /i, who was riding on a horse on Shabbat, and Rabbi Meir was walking behind him to learn Torah from him.After a while, iAḥer bsaid to him: Meir, turn back, for I have already estimatedand measured baccording to the steps of my horsethat bthe Shabbat boundary ends here,and you may therefore venture no further. Rabbi Meir bsaid to him: You, too, returnto the correct path. bHe said to him: But have I not already told youthat bI have already heard behind thedividing bcurtain: “Return, rebellious children,” apart from iAḥer /i? /b,Nevertheless, Rabbi Meir btook hold of himand bbrought him to the study hall. iAḥer bsaid to a child,by way of divination: bRecite your versethat you studied today bto me. He recitedthe following verse bto him: “There is no peace, said the Lord, concerning the wicked”(Isaiah 48:22). bHe brought him to another study hall. iAḥer bsaid to a child: Recite your verse to me. He recited to him: “For though you wash with niter, and take for you much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me”(Jeremiah 2:22). bHe brought him to another study hall. iAḥer bsaid to /b |
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57. Babylonian Talmud, Hulin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 13a. ואין להן מחשבה,אמר ליה מחשבה גרידתא לא קא מיבעיא ליה כי קא מיבעיא ליה מחשבתו ניכרת מתוך מעשיו,כגון דהוה קיימא עולה בדרום ואתיוה בצפון ושחטה מאי מדאתייא בצפון ושחט איכוין לה או דילמא מקום הוא דלא איתרמי ליה,הא נמי אמרה רבי יוחנן חדא זימנא דתנן המעלה פירותיו לגג מפני הכנימה וירד עליהם טל אינן בכי יותן ואם נתכוין לכך הרי הן בכי יותן,העלום חרש שוטה וקטן אף על פי שנתכוונו לכך אינן בכי יותן מפני שיש להן מעשה ואין להן מחשבה,וא"ר יוחנן ל"ש אלא שלא היפך בהן אבל היפך בהן הרי זה בכי יותן,הכי קא מיבעיא ליה דאורייתא או דרבנן,רב נחמן בר יצחק מתני הכי א"ר חייא בר אבא בעי רבי יוחנן קטן יש לו מעשה או אין לו מעשה,אמר ליה רבי אמי ותיבעי ליה מחשבה מאי שנא מחשבה דלא קא מיבעיא ליה דתנן אין להן מחשבה מעשה נמי לא תיבעי ליה דתנן יש להן מעשה,הכי קא מיבעיא ליה דאורייתא או דרבנן ופשיט יש להן מעשה ואפילו מדאורייתא אין להן מחשבה ואפי' מדרבנן מחשבתו ניכרת מתוך מעשיו מדאורייתא אין לו מדרבנן יש לו,בעא מיניה שמואל מרב הונא מנין למתעסק בקדשים שהוא פסול שנאמר (ויקרא א, ה) ושחט את בן הבקר שתהא שחיטה לשם בן בקר אמר לו זו בידינו היא לעכב מנין (ת"ל) (ויקרא יט, ה) לרצונכם תזבחוהו לדעתכם זבוחו:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big שחיטת עובד כוכבים נבלה ומטמאה במשא:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big נבלה אין איסור הנאה לא מאן תנא א"ר חייא ברבי אבא א"ר יוחנן דלא כרבי אליעזר דאי ר"א האמר סתם מחשבת עובד כוכבים לעבודת כוכבים,רבי אמי אמר הכי קתני שחיטת עובד כוכבים נבלה הא דמין לעבודת כוכבים תנינא להא דת"ר שחיטת מין לעבודת כוכבים פיתו פת כותי יינו יין נסך ספריו ספרי קוסמין פירותיו טבלין וי"א אף | 13a. bbut they do not havethe capacity to effect a halakhic status by means of bthought. /b,Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba bsaid toRabbi Ami: With regard to a case of effecting a halakhic status by means of bthought alone,Rabbi Yoḥa bdoes not raise a dilemma. When he raises a dilemma,it is with regard to a case where bhis thought is discernible from his actions. /b, bFor example,in a case bwherean animal that is brought as ba burnt offering was standing in the southof the Temple courtyard banda minor btook it to the northof the courtyard, the designated place for its slaughter, band slaughtered itthere, bwhatis the ihalakha /i? Can one conclude bfromthe fact bthat he took it to the north and slaughteredit there that bhe hadthe bintent toslaughter the animal for the sake of a burnt offering; bor perhapshe moved the animal to the north because ba place did not happento be available bfor himin the south?,Rabbi Ami asked: But with regard to bthismatter, btoo, Rabbi Yoḥaalready bsaida conclusive resolution bone time, as we learnedin a mishna ( iMakhshirin6:1): In the case of bone who takes his produce up to the roofto protect it bfrom insects, and dew fell upon it,the produce bis not inthe category of the verse: “But bwhenwater bis placedupon the seed” (Leviticus 11:38), from which it is derived that produce becomes susceptible to ritual impurity only if it is dampened by one of seven liquids and its owner was agreeable to its dampening. bAnd ifafter taking the produce up to the roof bhe intendedthat the produce would be dampened by dew, the produce bis inthe category of the verse “But bwhenwater bis placedupon the seed.”,That mishna continues: In a case where ba deaf-mute, an imbecile, or a minor tookthe produce bupto the roof, beven if they intendedthat the produce would be dampened by dew, the produce bis not inthe category of the verse “But bwhenwater bis placedupon the seed” bdue tothe fact bthat they havethe capacity to perform ban action but they do not havethe capacity for halakhically effective bthought. /b, bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa says:The itanna btaughtthis ihalakha bonlyin a case bwherethe minor bdid not turn them over. Butif bhe turned them over,indicating that he wants them to be dampened by the dew, the produce bis inthe category of the verse “But bwhenwater bis placedupon the seed.” Evidently, Rabbi Yoḥa rules that when the intention of a minor is apparent from his actions, it is halakhically effective.,Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said to Rabbi Ami that bthisis bthe dilemmathat Rabbi Yoḥa braises:In a case where the intent of a minor is clear from his actions, is the fact that his thought is effective bby Torah law or by rabbinic law?That is one version of the exchange between Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba and Rabbi Ami., bRav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak teachestheir exchange in bthismanner. bRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba saysthat bRabbi Yoḥa raises a dilemma:With regard to ba minor, does he havethe capacity to perform ban actionthat is halakhically effective bor does he not havethe capacity to perform such ban action? /b, bRabbi Ami said toRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: bAnd letRabbi Yoḥa braise this dilemmawith regard to the bthoughtof a minor. bWhat is differentabout the bthoughtof a minor bthatRabbi Yoḥa bdoes not raise a dilemma?Is it due to the fact bthat we learnedin a mishna ( iKelim17:15): A deaf-mute, an imbecile, and a minor bdo not havethe capacity for effective bthought?With regard to baction as well let him not raise this dilemma, as we learnedin the same mishna: bThey havethe capacity to perform ban action. /b,Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said to Rabbi Ami that bthisis bthe dilemmathat Rabbi Yoḥa braises:Is the fact that their actions are effective and their thought is ineffective bby Torah law,and a minor’s action would consequently be effective even with regard to the sacrifice of a burnt offering, boris this fact bby rabbinic lawand it is merely a stringency? bAndRabbi Yoḥa bresolvesthe dilemma: bThey havethe capacity to perform ban action andit is effective, beven by Torah law.But bthey do not havethe capacity for effective bthought, even by rabbinic law.Nevertheless, in a case where bhis thought is apparent from his actions, by Torah law he does not haveeffective thought, and bby rabbinic law he haseffective thought.,§ bShmuel asked Rav Huna: From whereis it derived with regard bto one who acts unawares inthe slaughter of bsacrificialanimals, i.e., he slaughtered without intending to perform the act of slaughter at all, bthatthe offering bis disqualified?Rav Huna said to him that it is derived from a verse, bas it is stated: “And he shall slaughter the young bull”(Leviticus 1:5), indicating bthat the slaughter must be for the sake of a young bull,i.e., knowing that he is performing an act of slaughter. Shmuel bsaid tohim: bwereceived bthisas an established ihalakhaalready bthatone must have intent to slaughter the animal iab initio /i. But bfrom whereis it derived that intent to slaughter is bindispensableeven after the fact? It is derived from a verse, as bthe verse states: “You shall slaughter it to your will”(Leviticus 19:5), indicating: bSlaughterthe animal bwith your intent,i.e., in the form of a purposeful action., strongMISHNA: /strong bSlaughterperformed by ba gentilerenders the animal ban unslaughtered carcass, andthe carcass bimparts ritual impurity through carrying. /b, strongGEMARA: /strong The slaughter renders the animal ban unslaughtered carcass, yes; an item from whichderiving bbenefit is prohibited, no. Whois the itannawho btaughtthe mishna? bRabbi Ḥiyya, son of Rabbi Abba, saidthat bRabbi Yoḥa said: It is not in accordance withthe opinion of bRabbi Eliezer, as, ifit were in accordance with the opinion of bRabbi Eliezer, doesn’t he say: The unspecified thought of a gentile is for idol worship. /b, bRabbi Ami saidthat bthisis what the mishna bis teaching: Slaughterperformed by ba gentilerenders the animal ban unslaughtered carcass, butslaughter performed bby a hereticis bforthe sake of bidol worship.The Gemara notes: bWe learnfrom an inference in the mishna bthat which the Sages taughtexplictly in a ibaraita /i: bSlaughterperformed by ba hereticis bforthe sake of bidol worshipand deriving benefit from it is prohibited, the halakhic status of bhis breadis that of bthe bread of a Samaritan,the status of bhis wineis that of bwineused for ba libationin idol worship, bhissacred bscrollsthat he writes bare the scrolls of sorcerersand it is a mitzva to burn them, bhis produce is untithed produceeven if he separated iterumaand tithes, band some say: Even /b |
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58. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 105a. דקאתי מיהודה מואב סיר רחצי זה גחזי שלקה על עסקי רחיצה על אדום אשליך נעלי זה דואג האדומי עלי פלשת התרועעי אמרו מלאכי השרת לפני הקב"ה רבש"ע אם יבא דוד שהרג את הפלשתי והוריש את בניך גת מה אתה עושה לו אמר להן עלי לעשותן ריעים זה לזה,(ירמיהו ח, ה) מדוע שובבה העם הזה ירושלים משובה נצחת וגו' אמר רב תשובה נצחת השיבה כנסת ישראל לנביא אמר להן נביא לישראל חזרו בתשובה אבותיכם שחטאו היכן הם אמרו להן ונביאיכם שלא חטאו היכן הם שנאמר (זכריה א, ה) אבותיכם איה הם והנביאים הלעולם יחיו אמר להן (אבותיכם) חזרו והודו שנאמר (זכריה א, ו) אך דברי וחוקי אשר צויתי את עבדי הנביאים וגו',שמואל אמר באו עשרה בני אדם וישבו לפניו אמר להן חזרו בתשובה אמרו לו עבד שמכרו רבו ואשה שגרשה בעלה כלום יש לזה על זה כלום אמר לו הקב"ה לנביא לך אמור להן (ישעיהו נ, א) איזה ספר כריתות אמכם אשר שלחתיה או מי מנושי אשר מכרתי אתכם לו הן בעונותיכם נמכרתם ובפשעכם שלחה אמכם,והיינו דאמר ריש לקיש מאי דכתיב דוד עבדי (ירמיהו מג, י) נבוכדנצר עבדי גלוי וידוע לפני מי שאמר והיה העולם שעתידין ישראל לומר כך לפיכך הקדים הקב"ה וקראו עבדו עבד שקנה נכסים עבד למי נכסים למי,(יחזקאל כ, לב) והעולה על רוחכם היה לא תהיה אשר אתם אומרים נהיה כגוים כמשפחות הארצות לשרת עץ ואבן חי אני נאם ה' אלהים אם לא ביד חזקה ובזרוע נטויה ובחימה שפוכה אמלוך עליכם אמר רב נחמן כל כי האי ריתחא לירתח רחמנא עלן ולפרוקינן,(ישעיהו כח, כו) ויסרו למשפט אלהיו יורנו אמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר להן נביא לישראל חזרו בתשובה אמרו לו אין אנו יכולין יצר הרע שולט בנו אמר להם יסרו יצריכם אמרו לו אלהיו יורנו:,ארבעה הדיוטות בלעם ודואג ואחיתופל וגחזי: בלעם בלא עם דבר אחר בלעם שבלה עם בן בעור שבא על בעיר,תנא הוא בעור הוא כושן רשעתים הוא לבן הארמי בעור שבא על בעיר כושן רשעתים דעבד שתי רשעיות בישראל אחת בימי יעקב ואחת בימי שפוט השופטים ומה שמו לבן הארמי שמו,כתיב (במדבר כב, ה) בן בעור וכתיב (במדבר כד, ג) בנו בעור אמר רבי יוחנן אביו בנו הוא לו בנביאות,בלעם הוא דלא אתי לעלמא דאתי הא אחריני אתו מתניתין מני,רבי יהושע היא דתניא ר"א אומר (תהלים ט, יח) ישובו רשעים לשאולה כל גוים שכחי אלהים ישובו רשעים לשאולה אלו פושעי ישראל כל גוים שכחי אלהים אלו פושעי עובדי כוכבים דברי ר"א אמר לו ר' יהושע וכי נאמר בכל גוים והלא לא נאמר אלא כל גוים שכחי אלהים אלא ישובו רשעים לשאולה מאן נינהו כל גוים שכחי אלהים,ואף אותו רשע נתן סימן בעצמו אמר (במדבר כג, י) תמות נפשי מות ישרים אם תמות נפשי מות ישרים תהא אחריתי כמוהו ואם לאו הנני הולך לעמי,וילכו זקני מואב וזקני מדין תנא מדין ומואב לא היה להם שלום מעולם משל לשני כלבים שהיו בעדר והיו צהובין זה לזה בא זאב על האחד אמר האחד אם איני עוזרו היום הורג אותו ולמחר בא עלי הלכו שניהם והרגו הזאב אמר רב פפא היינו דאמרי אינשי כרכושתא ושונרא עבדו הלולא מתרבא דביש גדא,(במדבר כב, ח) וישבו שרי מואב עם בלעם ושרי מדין להיכן אזול כיון דאמר להו (במדבר כב, ח) לינו פה הלילה והשבותי אתכם דבר אמרו כלום יש אב ששונא את בנו,אמר רב נחמן חוצפא אפילו כלפי שמיא מהני מעיקרא כתיב לא תלך עמהם ולבסוף כתיב קום לך אתם אמר רב ששת חוצפא מלכותא בלא תאגא היא דכתיב (שמואל ב ג, לט) ואנכי היום רך ומשוח מלך והאנשים האלה בני צרויה קשים ממני וגו',א"ר יוחנן בלעם חיגר ברגלו אחת היה שנאמר (במדבר כג, ג) וילך שפי שמשון בשתי רגליו שנאמר (בראשית מט, יז) שפיפון עלי אורח הנושך עקבי סוס בלעם סומא באחת מעיניו היה שנאמר (במדבר כד, ג) שתום העין,קוסם באמתו היה כתיב הכא נופל וגלוי עינים וכתיב התם (אסתר ז, ח) והנה המן נופל על המטה וגו' איתמר מר זוטרא אמר קוסם באמתו היה מר בריה דרבינא אמר שבא על אתונו מ"ד קוסם באמתו היה כדאמרן ומ"ד בא על אתונו היה כתיב הכא (במדבר כד, ט) כרע שכב וכתיב התם (שופטים ה, כז) בין רגליה | 105a. bwho comes fromthe tribe of bJudah. “Moab is My washing pot”; thisis referring to bGehazi, who was afflictedwith leprosy bover matters of washing,as he took money from Naaman, who he instructed to immerse in the Jordan River. b“Over Edom I will cast My shoe”; thisis referring to bDoeg the Edomite. “Philistia, cry aloud [ ihitroa’i /i] because of Me”;this is referring to the fact that bthe ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, if David, who killed the Philistine and bequeathedthe city of bGath to your sons, will comeand complain that You gave a share in the World-to-Come to his enemies Doeg and Ahithophel, bwhat will You do concerning him?Will you accept his complaint? God bsaid tothe ministering angels: bIt is upon me to renderDavid and his enemies bfriends [ ire’im /i] with each other,and even David will agree.,§ With regard to the verse: b“Why is this people of Jerusalem slid back in perpetual backsliding?”(Jeremiah 8:5), bRav says: The congregation of Israel answeredwith ba convincing response to the prophet. The prophet said to the Jewish people: Repent,as byour ancestors sinned,and bwhere are they? They saidto the prophets: bAnd your prophets who did not sin, where are they?They too died, bas it is stated: “Your fathers, where are they, and the prophets; do they live forever?”(Zechariah 1:5). The prophet bsaid tothe Jewish people: bYour ancestors reconsidered and concededthat the admonitions of the prophets were fulfilled, bas it is stated: “By my words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets,did they not overtake your fathers? And they repented and said: As the Lord of hosts intended to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so has He dealt with us” (Zechariah 1:6)., bShmuel saysthat this was the convincing answer: bTen people came and sat beforethe prophet Ezekiel. bHe said to them: Repent. They said toEzekiel: In the case of ba slave sold by his ownerto another master, bor a woman divorced by her husband, does thisperson bhave anyclaim bupon thatperson? Since God gave the Jewish people to other masters, the ties that existed between Him and us were severed. bThe Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the prophet: Go say to them: “Where is your mother’s scroll of severance, with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors have I sold you? For your iniquities you sold yourselves and for your transgressions was your mother sent away”(Isaiah 50:1). Learn from this that God did not sever His ties to the Jewish people., bAnd that is what Reish Lakish says: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written: “David, My slave”(II Samuel 3:18), and: b“Nebuchadnezzar, my slave”(Jeremiah 43:10)? How can the wicked Nebuchadnezzar be depicted as a slave of God in the same manner that David was depicted? Rather, bit is revealed and known before the One Who spoke and the world came into being, that the Jewish people are destined to say thatGod sold them to the nations and they no longer have ties to Him. bTherefore, the Holy One, Blessed be He, preemptively calledNebuchadnezzar bHis slave.With regard to the ihalakhaconcerning ba slave who acquires property, the slavebelongs bto whomand bthe propertybelongs bto whom?They both belong to the master, in this case, the Holy One, Blessed be He.,With regard to the verse: b“And what comes into your mind shall never come to be, that you say: We will be like the nations, like the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone. As I live, says the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, will I rule over you”(Ezekiel 20:32–33), bRav Naḥman says: Let the Merciful One become wrathful at uswith ball that wrath, and redeem us. /b,With regard to the verse: b“And chastise in judgment; his God will instruct him”(Isaiah 28:26), bRabba bar bar Ḥana saysthat bthe prophet said to the Jewish people: Repent. They said to him: We cannot,since bthe evil inclination dominates us. He said to them: Chastise your inclinations. They said to him: “His God will instruct him,”i.e., God should instruct the evil inclination to allow us to overcome him, as we are incapable of doing so on our own.,§ The mishna teaches that bfourprominent bcommoners, Balaam, Doeg, Ahithophel, and Gehazi,have no share in the World-to-Come. The Gemara elaborates: The name bBalaamis interpreted as a contraction of: bWithout a nation [ ibelo am /i],or one who has no share in the World-to-Come with the Jewish nation. bAlternatively,the name bBalaamis interpreted as one bwho wore down theJewish bpeople [ ibila am /i].He is the bson of Beor,one bwho engaged in bestiality [ ibe’ir /i]. /b,It was btaughtin a ibaraita /i: bHe is Beor,father of Balaam, bhe is Cushan-Rishathaim, he is Laban the Aramean.He was called bBeor because he engaged in bestiality.He was called bCushan-Rishathaim because he performed two evil deeds [ irishiyyot /i] to the Jewish people, one during the time of Jacob,when he pursued him intending to kill him, band one during the time when the judges judged. And what was hisactual bname? His name was Laban the Aramean. /b, bIt is written: “Son of Beor”(Numbers 22:5), band it is writtenelsewhere: b“His son Beor”(Numbers 24:3). bRabbi Yoḥa saysin resolving the apparent contradiction: Balaam’s bfather was his son interms of bprophecy,as Balaam was a much greater prophet.,The Gemara infers from the mishna: bBalaam isthe bone who does not come into the World-to-Come; but othergentiles bcomeinto the World-to-Come. bWhoseopinion is expressed in bthe mishna? /b, bIt isin accordance with the opinion of bRabbi Yehoshua, as it is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Eliezer says:It is written: b“The wicked shall be turned back to the netherworld, all that nations that forget God”(Psalms 9:18). b“The wicked shall be turned back to the netherworld”; these are the sinners of the Jewish people,as only the sinners are sentenced to the netherworld. b“All the gentiles that forget God”; these are the sinners of the gentiles.From the fact that it is written: “All the gentiles,” it is apparent that none of the gentiles have a share in the World-to-Come. This is bthe statement of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: But is it statedin the verse that the sinners of the Jewish people will be blike all of the gentiles? It is stated only: “All the gentiles that forget God.” Rather, the wicked shall be turned back to the netherworld,and bwho are they?They are ball the gentiles that forget God.Gentiles who fear God do have a share in the World-to-Come., bAnd that wicked person,Balaam, balso provided a sign with regard to himself. He said: “Let me die the death of the righteous,and let my end be like his” (Numbers 23:10). bIf I die the death of the righteous,by natural causes, bmy end will be like his,i.e., I will receive a share in the World-to-Come like the Jewish people. bAnd ifI do bnotdie by natural causes: b“I will go to my people”(Numbers 24:14), i.e., my fate will be that of the rest of the wicked people in my generation, who have no share in the World-to-Come.,With regard to the verse: b“And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian set outwith their divinations in their hands, and they came to Balaam” (Numbers 22:7), it was btaughtin a ibaraita /i: bMidian and Moabhad previously bnever had peacebetween them, and they were always at war with each other. What led them to make peace at that time? There is ba parable of two dogs that were with the flock, and they were hostile to one another. A wolf cameand attacked bone. Theother bone said: If I do not help him, today he kills him and tomorrow he comes toattack bme. They both went and killed the wolf.Moab and Midian joined together to face the potential common threat, the Jewish people. bRav Pappa saysthat bthisis in accordance with the adage bthat people say: A weasel [ ikarkushta /i] and a cat made a wedding from the fat of the luckless.Despite their hatred of one another, they join together for their mutual benefit at the expense of a third party.,It is written: b“And the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam”(Numbers 22:8). The Gemara asks: bAnd to where did the princes of Midianwho accompanied the princes of Moab bgo?The Gemara answers: bOnceBalaam bsaid to them: “Lodge here this night, and I will bring you wordwhen the Lord speaks to me” (Numbers 22:8), the elders of Midian bsaid:If he seeks permission from the Lord, he will not join us, as bis there any father who hates his son?Certainly the Lord will help the Jewish people., bRav Naḥman says: Impudence is effective even toward Heaven.How so? bInitially, it is writtenthat God said to Balaam: b“You shall not go with them”(Numbers 22:12), band ultimatelyafter Balaam persisted and asked, bit is written: “Rise up and go with them”(Numbers 22:20). bRav Sheshet says: Impudence is monarchy without a crown,as it is an assertion of leadership and lacks only the official coronation as king, bas it is written: “And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me”(II Samuel 3:39). The sons of Zeruiah, due to their impudence, were as formidable as David himself., bRabbi Yoḥa says: Balaam was disabled in one of his legs, as it is statedconcerning him: b“And he went limping [ ishefi /i]”(Numbers 23:3). bSamsonwas disabled bin both his legs, as it is statedwith regard to Samson, who was from the tribe of Dan, in the prophetic blessing of Jacob: “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, ban adder [ ishefifon /i] in the path that bites the horse’s heels”(Genesis 49:17). Rabbi Yoḥa interprets ishefifonas the plural of ishefi /i, indicating disability in both legs. bBalaam was blind in one of his eyes, as it is stated: “Whose eye is open”(Numbers 24:3), indicating that one eye was open and the other was blind.,The Gemara relates: Balaam bwas a diviner byusing bhis penis. It is written here: “Fallen, yet with opened eyes”(Numbers 24:4), band it is written there: “And Haman was fallen upon the divanwhereupon Esther was” (Esther 7:8), indicating that the verb fallen has sexual connotations. bIt was statedthat there is an amoraic dispute with regard to this matter. bMar Zutra says:Balaam bwas a diviner byusing bhis penis. Mar, son of Ravina, says: He engaged in bestiality with his donkey. The one who saysthat he bwas a diviner byusing bhis penisderives it bas we stated. And the one who saysthat bhe engaged in bestiality with his donkeyderives it as follows: bIt is written here: “He crouched, he lay down”(Numbers 24:9), band it is written there: “Between her legs /b |
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59. Anon., Numbers Rabba, 20.23 (4th cent. CE - 9th cent. CE)
| 20.23. וַיָּחֶל הָעָם לִזְנוֹת אֶל בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב (במדבר כה, א), בּוֹא וּרְאֵה מַה כְּתִיב בִּיצִיאָתָן מִמִּצְרַיִם (שמות יד, ב): דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיָשֻׁבוּ וְיַחֲנוּ לִפְנֵי פִּי הַחִירֹת, מַהוּ פִּי הַחִירֹת, מָקוֹם קָבוּעַ לִזְנוּת הָיָה, וּלְפִי שֶׁהִצְנִיעוּ עַצְמָן בִּיצִיאָתָן מִמִּצְרַיִם נִקְרָא פִּי הַחִירֹת, וְאֵלּוּ שֶׁהִפְקִירוּ עַצְמָן לַאֲנָשִׁים, כְּתִיב: וַיָּחֶל הָעָם לִזְנוֹת, וַיָּחֶל הָעָם, כָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר הָעָם, לְשׁוֹן גְּנַאי הוּא, וְכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְשׁוֹן שֶׁבַח הוּא, (במדבר יא, א): וַיְהִי הָעָם כְּמִתְאֹנְנִים. (במדבר כא, ה): וַיְדַבֵּר הָעָם בֵּאלֹהִים וּבְמשֶׁה. (במדבר יד, א): וַיִּבְכּוּ הָעָם בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא. (במדבר יד, יא): עַד אָנָה יְנַאֲצֻנִי הָעָם. (שמות לב, כה): וַיַּרְא משֶׁה אֶת הָעָם כִּי פָרֻעַ הוּא. (שמות לב, א): וַיִּקָּהֵל הָעָם עַל אַהֲרֹן, וְכֵן כֻּלָּם. וַיָּחֶל הָעָם לִזְנוֹת, זְרֹק מַטֶּה לָאֲוִיר לְעִקָּרוֹ נוֹפֵל, מִי שֶׁפָּתַח בִּזְנוּת תְּחִלָּה, הִשְּׁלִים לְבַסּוֹף, אִמּוֹתֵיהֶם הִתְחִילוּ בְּזִמָּה (בראשית יט, לא לד): וַתֹּאמֶר הַבְּכִירָה אֶל הַצְּעִירָה, לְכָה נַשְׁקֶה אֶת אָבִינוּ יַיִן וְנִשְׁכְּבָה, וַיְהִי מִמָּחֳרָת וַתֹּאמֶר הַבְּכִירָה אֶל הַצְּעִירָה הֵן שָׁכַבְתִּי אֱמֶשׁ, לִמְּדַתָּה אֲחוֹתָהּ, וּלְפִיכָךְ חָסַךְ הַכָּתוּב עַל הַצְּעִירָה וְלֹא פֵּרְשָׁהּ, אֶלָּא (בראשית יט, לה): וַתִּשְׁכַּב עִמּוֹ, וּבַגְּדוֹלָה כְּתִיב (בראשית יט, לג): וַתִּשְׁכַּב אֶת אָבִיהָ. אוֹתָהּ שֶׁפָּתְחָה בִּזְּנוּת תְּחִלָּה הִשְׁלִימוּ בְּנוֹתֶיהָ אַחֲרֶיהָ לִזְנוֹת אֶל בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב. (במדבר כה, ב): וַתִּקְרֶאןָ לָעָם לְזִבְחֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶן, שֶׁהָלְכוּ בַּעֲצָתוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר לא, טז): הֵן הֵנָּה הָיוּ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּדְבַר בִּלְעָם לִמְסָר מַעַל בַּה'. עָשׂוּ לָהֶם קְלָעִים וְהוֹשִׁיבוּ בָּהֶם זוֹנוֹת וּבִידֵיהֶן כָּל כְּלֵי חֶמְדָה, וְהָיְתָה זְקֵנָה יוֹשֶׁבֶת מִבַּחוּץ וּמְשַׁמֶּרֶת לַיַּלְדָה שֶׁהָיְתָה לִפְנִים מִן הַחֲנוּת, כְּשֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל עוֹבְרִין לִטֹּל חֵפֶץ בַּשּׁוּק זְקֵנָה אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ בָּחוּר אִי אַתָּה רוֹצֶה כְּלִי פִּשְׁתָּן שֶׁבָּא מִבֵּית שְׁאָן, וְהָיְתָה מַרְאָה לוֹ וְאוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ הִכָּנֵס לִפְנִים וְתִרְאֶה חֲפָצִים נָאִים, הַזְּקֵנָה אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ בְּיוֹתֵר, וְיַלְדָה בְּפָחוֹת, מִכָּאן וָאֵילָךְ אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ יַלְדָה הֲרֵי אַתָּה כְּבֶן בַּיִת שֵׁב בְּרֹר לְעַצְמְךָ, וְצַרְצוּר יַיִן מֻנָּח אֶצְלָהּ וַעֲדַיִן לֹא נֶאֱסַר יַיִן שֶׁל גּוֹיִם, נַעֲרָה יוֹצְאָה מְקֻשֶּׁטֶת וּמְבֻסֶּמֶת וּמְפַתָּה אוֹתוֹ וְאוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ לָמָּה אָנוּ אוֹהֲבִין אֶתְכֶם וְאַתֶּם שׂוֹנְאִין אוֹתָנוּ, טֹל לְךָ כְּלִי זֶה חִנָּם, הֲלוֹא (בראשית מב, יא): כֻּלָּנוּ בְּנֵי אִישׁ אֶחָד, בְּנֵי תֶּרַח אֲבִי אַבְרָהָם, אֵין אַתֶּם רוֹצִים לֶאֱכֹל מִזִּבְחוֹתֵינוּ וּמִבִּשׁוּלֵינוּ, הֲרֵי לָנוּ עֲגָלִים וְתַרְנְגוֹלִים שַׁחֲטוּ כְּמִצְוַתְכֶם וְאִכְלוּ, מִיָּד מַשְׁקַתּוּ הַיַּיִן וּבוֹעֵר בּוֹ הַשָֹּׂטָן, הָיָה נִשְׂטֶה אַחֲרֶיהָ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (הושע ד, יא): זְנוּת וְיַיִן וְתִירוֹשׁ יִקַּח לֵב, וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים בִּלְעָם צִוָּה אוֹתָם שֶׁלֹא לְהַשְׁקוֹתָם, שֶׁלֹא יִדּוֹנוּ כִּשְׁתוּיֵי יַיִן אֶלָּא כִּמְזִידִין. כֵּיוָן שֶׁהָיָה תּוֹבְעָהּ אוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ אֵינִי נִשְׁמַעַת לָךְ עַד שֶׁתִּשְׁחַט זֶה לִפְעוֹר וְתִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לוֹ, וְהוּא אוֹמֵר לַעֲבוֹדַת כּוֹכָבִים אֵינִי מִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה, וְאוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ אֵין אַתָּה אֶלָּא כִּמְגַלֶּה עַצְמְךָ, וְהוּא נִשְׂטֶה אַחֲרֶיהָ וְעוֹשֶׂה כֵן. זוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים הַפּוֹעֵר עַצְמוֹ לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר זוֹ הִיא עֲבוֹדָתוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר כה, ב): וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ לֵאלֹהֵיהֶן, וַיִּצָּמֶד יִשְׂרָאֵל לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר (במדבר כה, ג), בַּתְּחִלָּה הָיוּ נִכְנָסִין בְּצִנְעָה, וּלְבַסּוֹף נִכְנָסִין צְמִידִים צְמִידִים, זוּגוֹת, כְּעִנְיָן שֶׁל צֶמֶד בָּקָר. דָּבָר אַחֵר, כְּאָדָם צָמִיד בִּמְלַאכְתּוֹ, וַיִּצָּמֶד, כִּצְמִידִים עַל יָדֶיהָ, רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר זוֹ גְזֵרָה קָשָׁה מִן הָעֵגֶל, דְּאִלּוּ בָּעֵגֶל כְּתִיב (שמות לב, ב): פָּרְקוּ נִזְמֵי הַזָּהָב, וּבְכָאן, וַיִּצָּמֶד, כִּצְמִידִים. בָּעֵגֶל נָפְלוּ שְׁלשֶׁת אֲלָפִים, וְכָאן עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה אֶלֶף. (במדבר כה, ד): וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל משֶׁה קַח אֶת כָּל רָאשֵׁי הָעָם וְהוֹקַע אֹתָם, רַבִּי יוּדָן אָמַר רָאשֵׁי הָעָם תָּלָה עַל שֶׁלֹא מִיחוּ בִּבְנֵי אָדָם. רַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אָמַר לֹא תָּלָה רָאשֵׁי הָעָם, אֶלָּא אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמשֶׁה הוֹשֵׁב לָהֶן רָאשֵׁי סַנְהֶדְרִיּוֹת וְיִהְיוּ דָּנִים כָּל מִי שֶׁהָלַךְ לִפְעוֹר. אָמַר, מִי מוֹדִיעָן, אָמַר לוֹ אֲנִי מְפַרְסְמָן, כָּל מִי שֶׁטָּעָה הֶעָנָן סָר מֵעָלָיו וְהַשֶּׁמֶשׁ זוֹרַחַת עָלָיו בְּתוֹךְ הַקָּהָל, וְיִהְיוּ הַכֹּל יוֹדְעִין מִי שֶׁטָּעָה וְיִתְלוּ אוֹתוֹ, תֵּדַע לְךָ שֶׁהוּא כֵּן (במדבר כה, ה): וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה אֶל שֹׁפְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הִרְגוּ אִישׁ אֲנָשָׁיו וגו'. | 20.23. 23 (Numb. 25:1) “The people began to go whoring unto the daughters of Moab.” Come and see what is written in their leaving from Egypt: (In Exodus 14:2,) “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-Hahiroth (which sounds like liberty, iheiruth /i).” What is the meaning of Pi-Hahiroth? It was a place that was fixed for unchastity. And because they sheltered themselves [from it] in their leaving, it was called Pi-Hahiroth. But these [Moabite women] because they made themselves available to the people, it is written, (in Numb. 25:1), “the people began to go whoring [unto the daughters of Moab].” (Numb. 25:1) “The people began”: Every place that “the people” is mentioned, it is an expression of shame; but every place that “Israel” is mentioned, it is an expression of commendation: (In Numb. 11:1,) “Now the people were as murmurers [speaking evil in the ears of the Lord]”; (in Numb. 21:5,) “So the people spoke against God and against Moses”; (in Numb. 14:1,) “and the people wept on that night”; (in Numb. 14:11), “Until when will the people anger Me”; (in Exod. 32:25,) “And Moses saw that the people were wild”; (in Exod. 32:1,) “and the people gathered together against Aaron”; and similarly in all of them. (Numb. 25:1) “The people began to go whoring.” Throw a stick into the air, sup68 /supclass=\"footnote\"Gk.: iaer./i [and] it falls to its place of origin (i.e., its root). sup69 /supclass=\"footnote\"For this proverb in other contexts, see Gen. R. 53:15; 86:6.The one who had begun with the whoredom at first, finished with it in the end. Their matriarchs (i.e., the matriarchs of Ammon and Moab) began with whoredom (according to Gen. 19:31-34), “And the first-born said to the younger, ‘Let us give our father to drink […].’ So it came to pass on the next day that the first-born said unto the younger […].” She (the first-born) had instructed her in whoredom, and for that reason the Holy One, blessed be He, had pity on the younger and did not expose her. Rather (according to vs. 35), “and she slept with him”; but with reference to the elder, it is written (in vs. 33), “and slept with her father.” sup70 /supclass=\"footnote\"Thus in the case of the elder, her incest was specifically mentioned.In the case of the one who began in whoredom at first, her daughters (i.e., the daughters of Moab) went after her to finish [it, as stated (in Numb. 25:1), “the people began] to go whoring unto the daughters of Moab.” (Numb. 25:2) “And they invited the people to the sacrifices for their gods”: Thus they (i.e., daughters of Moab) were going by the counsel of Balaam, as stated (in Numb. 31:16), “Here these women at the bidding of Balaam made the Children of Israel.” sup71 /supclass=\"footnote\" iySanh.10:2 (28cd); iSanh.106a; iPRE47.They made themselves curtained stalls and installed harlots in them with every object of delight in their hands. Now a girl would have an old woman as an agent, for an old woman would be in front of the shop. During the time that Israel was passing by on the way to the marketplace, the woman would say to him, “Young man, surely you want objects of linen which have come from Beth-Shean!” Then she would show them to him and say to him, “Come inside and you will see fine things”; and when the old woman would tell him a high price, the girl would [give him] a lower one. From then on the girl would tell him, “You are like one of the family. Sit down and choose for yourself.” Now a jug of wine was placed by her, since the wine of gentiles had not yet been forbidden. Then out comes the girl, perfumed and adorned, and seduces him and says to him, “Why do you hate us, when we love you? Take for yourself this article gratis. We all are children of a single man, children of Terah, the father of Abraham. So do you not want to eat from our sacrifices and from our cooking? Here are calves and cocks for you; slaughter them according to your own precepts, and eat.” Immediately she has him drink the wine, and then the Satan burned within him, so that he became a fool for her, as stated (in Hosea 4:11), “Harlotry, wine and young wine sway the heart.” There are also those who say [that] Balaam commanded them not to have them drink the wine, so that they would not be judged as those who are drunk, but as willful sinners. When he sought her out, she said to him, “I am not listening to you until you slaughter it [as a sacrifice] to Peor and bow down to it.” But he would say, “I am not bowing down to idolatry.” And she would say to him, “You only need to reveal yourself to it.” And [since] he had become a fool for her, he would do so. This is what the masters said, “One who reveals himself (to defecate) to Baal Peor – this is its worship” (Sanhedrin 64a). It is so stated (Numb. 25:2), “and they bowed down to their gods.” (Numb. 25:3) “Thus Israel was joined (rt.: itsmd /i) to Baal Peor”: At the beginning, they went in chastely, but at the end they went as many teams of pairs, like a pair ( itsemed /i) of oxen. Another explanation: Like a man tied to his work; joined (rt.: itsmd /i) [to Baal Peor] like bracelets (rt.: itsmd /i). R. Levi said, “This was more serious than the [sin of the golden] calf, for while in reference to the calf, it is written (in Exod. 32:2), ‘Take off the gold rings,’ here [it is written] (in Numb. 25:3), ‘was joined (rt.: itsmd /i) [to Baal Peor,]’ like bracelets (rt.: itsmd /i)]. Because of the calf about three thousand fell, but here (according to Numb. 25:9) [the number fallen is] twenty-four thousand.” (Numb. 25:4) “[…] Take all the heads of the people, and impale them [before the Lord in the sun].” R. Judan said, “He hanged the heads of the people, because they had not protested about the people.” R. Nehemiah said, “He did not hang them. Rather the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, ‘Appoint Sanhedrin sup72 /supclass=\"footnote\" iSanhedraot.Gk. plural: isynhedria./i heads for them, and let them judge whoever went to Peor.’ He said to him, ‘But who will make such a one known?’ The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘I will expose them. In the case of whoever has gone astray, the cloud shall be peeled back from upon him, and the sun shall shine upon him in the midst of the congregation. Then they will know anyone who has gone astray and hang him.’” You know for yourself that it is so, as stated (in Numb. 25:5), “So Moses said unto the judges of Israel, ‘Each of you kill [those of] his own people [who have been joined to Baal Peor].’”" |
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60. Anon., 6 Ezra, 16.69-16.70
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61. Septuagint, 4 Maccabees, 5.2
| 5.2. ordered the guards to seize each and every Hebrew and to compel them to eat pork and food sacrificed to idols. |
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