1. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 3.14, 23.26 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 3.14. וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה תֹאמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם׃ 23.26. לֹא תִהְיֶה מְשַׁכֵּלָה וַעֲקָרָה בְּאַרְצֶךָ אֶת־מִסְפַּר יָמֶיךָ אֲמַלֵּא׃ | 3.14. And God said unto Moses: ‘I AM THAT I AM’; and He said: ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you.’" 23.26. None shall miscarry, nor be barren, in thy land; the number of thy days I will fulfil." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 5.22, 5.24, 6.9, 11.30, 15.2-15.3, 16.2-16.3, 18.11, 19.19, 24.1 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 5.22. וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ חֲנוֹךְ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים אַחֲרֵי הוֹלִידוֹ אֶת־מְתוּשֶׁלַח שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה וַיּוֹלֶד בָּנִים וּבָנוֹת׃ 5.24. וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ חֲנוֹךְ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים וְאֵינֶנּוּ כִּי־לָקַח אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים׃ 6.9. אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה בְּדֹרֹתָיו אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים הִתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹחַ׃ 15.2. וְאֶת־הַחִתִּי וְאֶת־הַפְּרִזִּי וְאֶת־הָרְפָאִים׃ 15.2. וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה מַה־תִּתֶּן־לִי וְאָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ עֲרִירִי וּבֶן־מֶשֶׁק בֵּיתִי הוּא דַּמֶּשֶׂק אֱלִיעֶזֶר׃ 15.3. וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם הֵן לִי לֹא נָתַתָּה זָרַע וְהִנֵּה בֶן־בֵּיתִי יוֹרֵשׁ אֹתִי׃ 16.2. וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרַי אֶל־אַבְרָם הִנֵּה־נָא עֲצָרַנִי יְהוָה מִלֶּדֶת בֹּא־נָא אֶל־שִׁפְחָתִי אוּלַי אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם לְקוֹל שָׂרָי׃ 16.3. וַתִּקַּח שָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת־אַבְרָם אֶת־הָגָר הַמִּצְרִית שִׁפְחָתָהּ מִקֵּץ עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים לְשֶׁבֶת אַבְרָם בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן וַתִּתֵּן אֹתָהּ לְאַבְרָם אִישָׁהּ לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה׃ 18.11. וְאַבְרָהָם וְשָׂרָה זְקֵנִים בָּאִים בַּיָּמִים חָדַל לִהְיוֹת לְשָׂרָה אֹרַח כַּנָּשִׁים׃ 19.19. הִנֵּה־נָא מָצָא עַבְדְּךָ חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ וַתַּגְדֵּל חַסְדְּךָ אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ עִמָּדִי לְהַחֲיוֹת אֶת־נַפְשִׁי וְאָנֹכִי לֹא אוּכַל לְהִמָּלֵט הָהָרָה פֶּן־תִּדְבָּקַנִי הָרָעָה וָמַתִּי׃ 24.1. וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַיהוָה בֵּרַךְ אֶת־אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל׃ 24.1. וַיִּקַּח הָעֶבֶד עֲשָׂרָה גְמַלִּים מִגְּמַלֵּי אֲדֹנָיו וַיֵּלֶךְ וְכָל־טוּב אֲדֹנָיו בְּיָדוֹ וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל־אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם אֶל־עִיר נָחוֹר׃ | 5.22. And Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters." 5.24. And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him." 6.9. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and wholehearted; Noah walked with God." 11.30. And Sarai was barren; she had no child." 15.2. And Abram said: ‘O Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go hence childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’" 15.3. And Abram said: ‘Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed, and, lo, one born in my house is to be mine heir.’" 16.2. And Sarai said unto Abram: ‘Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; it may be that I shall be builded up through her.’ And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai." 16.3. And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife." 18.11. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, and well stricken in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.—" 19.19. behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me, and I die." 24.1. And Abraham was old, well stricken in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things." |
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3. Hesiod, Works And Days, 406 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)
| 406. If you want wealth, do this, add industry |
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4. Plato, Laws, 8.841d (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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5. Septuagint, Ecclesiasticus (Siracides), 2.11 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 2.11. For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;he forgives sins and saves in time of affliction. |
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6. Philo of Alexandria, On The Eternity of The World, 12 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 12. But some say that it was not Aristotle who invented this doctrine, but some of the Pythagoreans; but I have met with a work of Ocellus, a Lucanian by birth, entitled, "A Treatise on the Nature of the Universe," in which he has not only asserted that the world is indestructible, but he has even endeavoured to prove it so by demonstrative proofs. IV. |
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7. Philo of Alexandria, On The Preliminary Studies, 72, 71 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 71. Therefore, continues the sacred historian, Sarah, the wife of Abraham, having taken Hagar, the Egyptian woman, her own handmaiden, ten years after Abraham had begun to dwell in the land of Canaan, gave her to Abraham her "husband, to be his Wife." Wickedness is by nature an envious, and bitter, and evil-disposed thing, but virtue is gentle, and inclined to communion, and friendly; wishing in every possible manner to benefit those who are well disposed, either by its own power or by the means of others. |
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8. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Joseph, 43 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 43. in other nations the youths are permitted, after they are fourteen years of age, to use concubines and prostitutes, and women who make gain by their persons, without restraint. But among us a harlot is not allowed even to live, but death is appointed as a punishment for any one who adopts such a way of life. Therefore, before our lawful marriage we know nothing of any connection with any other woman, but, without ever having experienced any similar cohabitation, we approach our virgin brides as pure as themselves, proposing as the end of our marriage not pleasure but the offspring of legitimate children. |
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9. Philo of Alexandria, On The Posterity of Cain, 122 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 122. on which account Moses bears witness, exhorting us to war against the contrary opinions, for he says, "The time has departed from them, and the Lord is among Us." So that those men by whom the life of the soul is honoured, have divine reason dwelling among them, and walking with them; but those who pursue a life of pleasure have only a brief and fictitious want of opportunities: these men, therefore, having swollen extravagantly, and become enormously distended by their profuse fatness and luxury, have burst asunder. But the others, being made fat by that wisdom which nourishes the souls that love virtue, have a firm and unshaken power, a specimen of which is the fat which is sacrificed as a whole burnt-offering from every victim: |
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10. Philo of Alexandria, On Curses, 101-107, 109-168, 170-172, 79-100 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 100. And Jacob's brother, he says, was Jubal, and the interpretation of this latter name is "inclining," being symbolically speech according to utterance; for this is naturally the brother of intellect; and it is with extraordinary propriety that he called the conversation of that intellect which changes affairs, "inclining," for it agrees after a fashion and harmonizes with both, as the equivalent weight does in a scale, or as a vessel which is tossed by the sea inclines first to one side and then to the other, from the violence of the waves; for the foolish man has not learnt how to say anything firm or stable. |
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11. Philo of Alexandria, On Sobriety, 17 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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12. Philo of Alexandria, On The Special Laws, 1.138, 3.32, 3.34-3.36, 3.172 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.138. But nevertheless, he consecrates also their own first-born male children after the fashion of other first fruits, as a sort of thanks-offering for fertility, and a number of children both existing and hoped for, and wishing at the same time that their marriages should be not only free from all blame, but even very deserving of praise, the first fruit arising from which is consecrated to God; and keeping this in their minds, both husbands and wives ought to cling to modesty, and to attend to their household concerns, and to cherish uimity, agreeing with one another, so that what is called a communion and partnership may be so in solid truth, not only in word, but likewise in deed. 3.32. And there are particular periods affecting the health of the woman when a man may not touch her, but during that time he must abstain from all connection with her, respecting the laws of nature. And, at the same time, he must learn not to waste his vigour in the pursuit of an unseemly and barbarous pleasure; for such conduct would be like that of a husbandman who, out of drunkenness or sudden insanity, should sow wheat or barley in lakes or flooded torrents, instead of over the fertile plains; for it is proper to cast seed upon fields when they are dry, in order that it may bear abundant fruit. 3.34. But those people deserve to be reproached who are ploughing a hard and stony soil. And who can these be but they who have connected themselves with barren women? For such men are only hunters after intemperate pleasure, and in the excess of their licentious passions they waste their seed of their own deliberate purpose. Since for what other reason can they espouse such women? It cannot be for a hope of children, which they are aware must, of necessity, be disappointed, but rather to gratify their excess in lust and incurable incontinence. 3.35. As many men, therefore, as marry virgins in ignorance of how will they will turn out as regards their prolificness, or the contrary, when after a long time they perceive, by their never having any children, that they are barren, and do not then put them away, are still worthy of pardon, being influenced by habit and familiarity, which are motives of great weight, and being also unable to break through the power of those ancient charms which by long habituation are stamped upon their souls. 3.36. But those who marry women who have been previously tested by other men and ascertained to be barren, do merely covet the carnal enjoyment like so many boars or goats, and deserve to be inscribed among the lists of impious men as enemies to God; for God, as being friendly to all the animals that exist, and especially to man, takes all imaginable care to secure preservation and duration to every kind of creature. But those who seek to waste all their power at the very moment of putting it forth are confessedly enemies of nature.VII. 3.172. But when men are abusing one another or fighting, for women to venture to run out under pretence of assisting or defending them, is a blameable action and one of no slight shamelessness, since even, in the times of war and of military expeditions, and of dangers to their whole native land, the law does not choose that they should be enrolled as its defenders; looking at what is becoming, which it thinks desirable to preserve unchangeable at all times and in all places, thinking that this very thing is of itself better than victory, or then freedom, or than any kind of success and prosperity. |
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13. Philo of Alexandria, On The Virtues, 185 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 185. It is a very beautiful exchange and recompense for this choice on the part of man thus displaying anxiety to serve God, when God thus without any delay takes the suppliant to himself as his own, and goes forth to meet the intentions of the man who, in a genuine and sincere spirit of piety and truth, hastens to do him service. But the true servant and suppliant of God, even if by himself he be reckoned and classed as a man, still in power, as has been said in another place, is the whole people, inasmuch as he is equal in value to a whole people. And this is naturally the case in other matters also; |
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14. Philo of Alexandria, On The Contemplative Life, 18, 2, 67, 13 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 13. Then, because of their anxious desire for an immortal and blessed existence, thinking that their mortal life has already come to an end, they leave their possessions to their sons or daughters, or perhaps to other relations, giving them up their inheritance with willing cheerfulness; and those who know no relations give their property to their companions or friends, for it followed of necessity that those who have acquired the wealth which sees, as if ready prepared for them, should be willing to surrender that wealth which is blind to those who themselves also are still blind in their minds. |
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15. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Moses, 1.75, 2.14, 2.43-2.44 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.75. And God said, "At first say unto them, I am that I am, that when they have learnt that there is a difference between him that is and him that is not, they may be further taught that there is no name whatever that can properly be assigned to me, who am the only being to whom existence belongs. 2.14. But the enactments of this lawgiver are firm, not shaken by commotions, not liable to alteration, but stamped as it were with the seal of nature herself, and they remain firm and lasting from the day on which they were first promulgated to the present one, and there may well be a hope that they will remain to all future time, as being immortal, as long as the sun and the moon, and the whole heaven and the whole world shall endure. 2.43. In this way those admirable, and incomparable, and most desirable laws were made known to all people, whether private individuals or kings, and this too at a period when the nation had not been prosperous for a long time. And it is generally the case that a cloud is thrown over the affairs of those who are not flourishing, so that but little is known of them; 2.44. and then, if they make any fresh start and begin to improve, how great is the increase of their renown and glory? I think that in that case every nation, abandoning all their own individual customs, and utterly disregarding their national laws, would change and come over to the honour of such a people only; for their laws shining in connection with, and simultaneously with, the prosperity of the nation, will obscure all others, just as the rising sun obscures the stars. |
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16. Philo of Alexandria, Hypothetica, 11.14 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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17. Philo of Alexandria, Against Flaccus, 29 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 29. But the men of Alexandria being ready to burst with envy and ill-will (for the Egyptian disposition is by nature a most jealous and envious one and inclined to look on the good fortune of others as adversity to itself), and being at the same time filled with an ancient and what I may in a manner call an innate enmity towards the Jews, were indigt at any one's becoming a king of the Jews, no less than if each individual among them had been deprived of an ancestral kingdom of his own inheritance. |
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18. Philo of Alexandria, Questions On Genesis, 4.154 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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19. Philo of Alexandria, That The Worse Attacks The Better, 148, 7, 71, 147 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 147. On this account the law-giver says, "Every word which a widow or a woman who is divorced vows against her own soul shall remain against It." For if we call God the husband and father of the universe, supplying the origin and generation of all things, we shall be speaking rightly: as we shall if we call that heart widowed and divorced from God which either has not received divine seed, or, after having received it, has again voluntarily made it abortive. |
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20. Philo of Alexandria, That God Is Unchangeable, 11 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 11. And yet she who is speaking is in reality only the mother of one son, namely, of Samuel. How then does she say that she has borne seven children, unless indeed any one thinks that the unit is in its strictest nature identical with the number seven, not only in number, but also in the harmony of the universe, and in the reasonings of the soul which is devoted to virtue? For he who was devoted to the one God, that is Samuel, and who had no connection whatever with any other being, is adorned according to that essence which is single and the real unit; |
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21. Philo of Alexandria, That Every Good Person Is Free, 43 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 43. But the lawgiver of the Jews ventures upon a more bold assertion even than this, inasmuch as he was, as it is reported, a student and practiser of plain philosophy; and so he teaches that the man who is wholly possessed with the love of God and who serves the living God alone, is no longer man, but actually God, being indeed the God of men, but not of the parts of nature, in order to leave to the Father of the universe the attributes of being both and God. |
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22. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 2.119-2.161 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.119. 2. For there are three philosophical sects among the Jews. The followers of the first of which are the Pharisees; of the second, the Sadducees; and the third sect, which pretends to a severer discipline, are called Essenes. These last are Jews by birth, and seem to have a greater affection for one another than the other sects have. 2.121. They do not absolutely deny the fitness of marriage, and the succession of mankind thereby continued; but they guard against the lascivious behavior of women, and are persuaded that none of them preserve their fidelity to one man. 2.122. 3. These men are despisers of riches, and so very communicative as raises our admiration. Nor is there anyone to be found among them who hath more than another; for it is a law among them, that those who come to them must let what they have be common to the whole order,—insomuch that among them all there is no appearance of poverty, or excess of riches, but every one’s possessions are intermingled with every other’s possessions; and so there is, as it were, one patrimony among all the brethren. 2.123. They think that oil is a defilement; and if anyone of them be anointed without his own approbation, it is wiped off his body; for they think to be sweaty is a good thing, as they do also to be clothed in white garments. They also have stewards appointed to take care of their common affairs, who every one of them have no separate business for any, but what is for the use of them all. 2.124. 4. They have no one certain city, but many of them dwell in every city; and if any of their sect come from other places, what they have lies open for them, just as if it were their own; and they go in to such as they never knew before, as if they had been ever so long acquainted with them. 2.125. For which reason they carry nothing at all with them when they travel into remote parts, though still they take their weapons with them, for fear of thieves. Accordingly, there is, in every city where they live, one appointed particularly to take care of strangers, and to provide garments and other necessaries for them. 2.126. But the habit and management of their bodies is such as children use who are in fear of their masters. Nor do they allow of the change of garments, or of shoes, till they be first entirely torn to pieces or worn out by time. 2.127. Nor do they either buy or sell anything to one another; but every one of them gives what he hath to him that wanteth it, and receives from him again in lieu of it what may be convenient for himself; and although there be no requital made, they are fully allowed to take what they want of whomsoever they please. 2.128. 5. And as for their piety towards God, it is very extraordinary; for before sunrising they speak not a word about profane matters, but put up certain prayers which they have received from their forefathers, as if they made a supplication for its rising. 2.129. After this every one of them are sent away by their curators, to exercise some of those arts wherein they are skilled, in which they labor with great diligence till the fifth hour. After which they assemble themselves together again into one place; and when they have clothed themselves in white veils, they then bathe their bodies in cold water. And after this purification is over, they every one meet together in an apartment of their own, into which it is not permitted to any of another sect to enter; while they go, after a pure manner, into the dining-room, as into a certain holy temple 2.131. but a priest says grace before meat; and it is unlawful for anyone to taste of the food before grace be said. The same priest, when he hath dined, says grace again after meat; and when they begin, and when they end, they praise God, as he that bestows their food upon them; after which they lay aside their [white] garments, and betake themselves to their labors again till the evening; 2.132. then they return home to supper, after the same manner; and if there be any strangers there, they sit down with them. Nor is there ever any clamor or disturbance to pollute their house, but they give every one leave to speak in their turn; 2.133. which silence thus kept in their house appears to foreigners like some tremendous mystery; the cause of which is that perpetual sobriety they exercise, and the same settled measure of meat and drink that is allotted to them, and that such as is abundantly sufficient for them. 2.134. 6. And truly, as for other things, they do nothing but according to the injunctions of their curators; only these two things are done among them at everyone’s own free will, which are to assist those that want it, and to show mercy; for they are permitted of their own accord to afford succor to such as deserve it, when they stand in need of it, and to bestow food on those that are in distress; but they cannot give any thing to their kindred without the curators. 2.135. They dispense their anger after a just manner, and restrain their passion. They are eminent for fidelity, and are the ministers of peace; whatsoever they say also is firmer than an oath; but swearing is avoided by them, and they esteem it worse than perjury for they say that he who cannot be believed without [swearing by] God is already condemned. 2.136. They also take great pains in studying the writings of the ancients, and choose out of them what is most for the advantage of their soul and body; and they inquire after such roots and medicinal stones as may cure their distempers. 2.137. 7. But now, if anyone hath a mind to come over to their sect, he is not immediately admitted, but he is prescribed the same method of living which they use, for a year, while he continues excluded; and they give him also a small hatchet, and the fore-mentioned girdle, and the white garment. 2.138. And when he hath given evidence, during that time, that he can observe their continence, he approaches nearer to their way of living, and is made a partaker of the waters of purification; yet is he not even now admitted to live with them; for after this demonstration of his fortitude, his temper is tried two more years; and if he appear to be worthy, they then admit him into their society. 2.139. And before he is allowed to touch their common food, he is obliged to take tremendous oaths, that, in the first place, he will exercise piety towards God, and then that he will observe justice towards men, and that he will do no harm to any one, either of his own accord, or by the command of others; that he will always hate the wicked, and be assistant to the righteous; 2.141. that he will be perpetually a lover of truth, and propose to himself to reprove those that tell lies; that he will keep his hands clear from theft, and his soul from unlawful gains; and that he will neither conceal anything from those of his own sect, nor discover any of their doctrines to others, no, not though anyone should compel him so to do at the hazard of his life. 2.142. Moreover, he swears to communicate their doctrines to no one any otherwise than as he received them himself; that he will abstain from robbery, and will equally preserve the books belonging to their sect, and the names of the angels [or messengers]. These are the oaths by which they secure their proselytes to themselves. 2.143. 8. But for those that are caught in any heinous sins, they cast them out of their society; and he who is thus separated from them does often die after a miserable manner; for as he is bound by the oath he hath taken, and by the customs he hath been engaged in, he is not at liberty to partake of that food that he meets with elsewhere, but is forced to eat grass, and to famish his body with hunger, till he perish; 2.144. for which reason they receive many of them again when they are at their last gasp, out of compassion to them, as thinking the miseries they have endured till they came to the very brink of death to be a sufficient punishment for the sins they had been guilty of. 2.145. 9. But in the judgments they exercise they are most accurate and just, nor do they pass sentence by the votes of a court that is fewer than a hundred. And as to what is once determined by that number, it is unalterable. What they most of all honor, after God himself, is the name of their legislator [Moses], whom, if anyone blaspheme, he is punished capitally. 2.146. They also think it a good thing to obey their elders, and the major part. Accordingly, if ten of them be sitting together, no one of them will speak while the other nine are against it. 2.147. They also avoid spitting in the midst of them, or on the right side. Moreover, they are stricter than any other of the Jews in resting from their labors on the seventh day; for they not only get their food ready the day before, that they may not be obliged to kindle a fire on that day, but they will not remove any vessel out of its place, nor go to stool thereon. 2.148. Nay, on theother days they dig a small pit, a foot deep, with a paddle (which kind of hatchet is given them when they are first admitted among them); and covering themselves round with their garment, that they may not affront the Divine rays of light, they ease themselves into that pit 2.149. after which they put the earth that was dug out again into the pit; and even this they do only in the more lonely places, which they choose out for this purpose; and although this easement of the body be natural, yet it is a rule with them to wash themselves after it, as if it were a defilement to them. 2.151. They are long-lived also, insomuch that many of them live above a hundred years, by means of the simplicity of their diet; nay, as I think, by means of the regular course of life they observe also. They condemn the miseries of life, and are above pain, by the generosity of their mind. And as for death, if it will be for their glory, they esteem it better than living always; 2.152. and indeed our war with the Romans gave abundant evidence what great souls they had in their trials, wherein, although they were tortured and distorted, burnt and torn to pieces, and went through all kinds of instruments of torment, that they might be forced either to blaspheme their legislator, or to eat what was forbidden them, yet could they not be made to do either of them, no, nor once to flatter their tormentors, or to shed a tear; 2.153. but they smiled in their very pains, and laughed those to scorn who inflicted the torments upon them, and resigned up their souls with great alacrity, as expecting to receive them again. 2.154. 11. For their doctrine is this: That bodies are corruptible, and that the matter they are made of is not permanent; but that the souls are immortal, and continue forever; and that they come out of the most subtile air, and are united to their bodies as to prisons, into which they are drawn by a certain natural enticement; 2.155. but that when they are set free from the bonds of the flesh, they then, as released from a long bondage, rejoice and mount upward. And this is like the opinions of the Greeks, that good souls have their habitations beyond the ocean, in a region that is neither oppressed with storms of rain or snow, or with intense heat, but that this place is such as is refreshed by the gentle breathing of a west wind, that is perpetually blowing from the ocean; while they allot to bad souls a dark and tempestuous den, full of never-ceasing punishments. 2.156. And indeed the Greeks seem to me to have followed the same notion, when they allot the islands of the blessed to their brave men, whom they call heroes and demigods; and to the souls of the wicked, the region of the ungodly, in Hades, where their fables relate that certain persons, such as Sisyphus, and Tantalus, and Ixion, and Tityus, are punished; which is built on this first supposition, that souls are immortal; and thence are those exhortations to virtue, and dehortations from wickedness collected; 2.157. whereby good men are bettered in the conduct of their life by the hope they have of reward after their death; and whereby the vehement inclinations of bad men to vice are restrained, by the fear and expectation they are in, that although they should lie concealed in this life, they should suffer immortal punishment after their death. 2.158. These are the Divine doctrines of the Essenes about the soul, which lay an unavoidable bait for such as have once had a taste of their philosophy. 2.159. 12. There are also those among them who undertake to foretell things to come, by reading the holy books, and using several sorts of purifications, and being perpetually conversant in the discourses of the prophets; and it is but seldom that they miss in their predictions. 2.161. However, they try their spouses for three years; and if they find that they have their natural purgations thrice, as trials that they are likely to be fruitful, they then actually marry them. But they do not use to accompany with their wives when they are with child, as a demonstration that they do not marry out of regard to pleasure, but for the sake of posterity. Now the women go into the baths with some of their garments on, as the men do with somewhat girded about them. And these are the customs of this order of Essenes. |
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23. Josephus Flavius, Against Apion, 2.225-2.235 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.225. Yet do some men look upon Plato’s discourses as no better than certain idle words set off with great artifice. However, they admire Lycurgus as the principal lawgiver; and all men celebrate Sparta for having continued in the firm observance of his laws for a very long time. 2.226. So far then we have gained, that it is to be confessed a mark of virtue to submit to laws. But then let such as admire this in the Lacedemonians compare that duration of theirs with more than two thousand years which our political government hath continued; 2.227. and let them farther consider, that though the Lacedemonians did seem to observe their laws exactly while they enjoyed their liberty, yet that when they underwent a change of their fortune, they forgot almost all those laws; 2.228. while we, having been under ten thousand changes in our fortune by the changes that happened among the kings of Asia, have never betrayed our laws under the most pressing distresses we have been in; nor have we neglected them either out of sloth or for a livelihood. Nay, if any one will consider it, the difficulties and labors laid upon us have been greater than what appears to have been borne by the Lacedemonian fortitude 2.229. while they neither ploughed their land nor exercised any trades, but lived in their own city, free from all such painstaking, in the enjoyment of plenty, and using such exercises as might improve their bodies 2.231. I need not add this, that they have not been fully able to observe their laws; for not only a few single persons, but multitudes of them, have in heaps neglected those laws, and have delivered themselves, together with their arms, into the hands of their enemies. /p 2.232. 33. Now as for ourselves, I venture to say, that no one can tell of so many; nay, not of more than one or two that have betrayed our laws, no, not out of fear of death itself; I do not mean such an easy death as happens in battles, but that which comes with bodily torments, and seems to be the severest kind of death of all others. 2.233. Now I think, those that have conquered us have put us to such deaths, not out of their hatred to us when they had subdued us, but rather out of their desire of seeing a surprising sight, which is this, whether there be such men in the world who believe that no evil is to them so great as to be compelled to do or to speak any thing contrary to their own laws. 2.234. Nor ought men to wonder at us, if we are more courageous in dying for our laws than all other men are; for other men do not easily submit to the easier things in which we are instituted; I mean, working with our hands, and eating but little, and being contented to eat and drink, not at random, or at every one’s pleasure, or being under inviolable rules in lying with our wives, in magnificent furniture, and again in the observation of our times of rest; 2.235. while those that can use their swords in war, and can put their enemies to flight when they attack them, cannot bear to submit to such laws about their way of living: whereas our being accustomed willingly to submit to laws in these instances, renders us fit to show our fortitude upon other occasions also. /p |
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24. Mishnah, Yevamot, 6.6 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 6.6. A man shall not abstain from procreation unless he already has children. Beth Shammai says: two males, And Beth Hillel says: male and a female, for it says, “Male and female created he them” (Genesis 5:2). If a man married a woman and lived with her for ten years and she bore no child, he may not abstain [any longer from the duty of propagation]. If he divorced her she is permitted to marry another, and the second husband may also live with her for ten years. If she miscarried [the period of ten years] is counted from the time of her miscarriage. A man is commanded concerning the duty of propagation but not a woman. Rabbi Yoha ben Beroka says: Concerning both of them it is said, “And God blessed them; and said to them… “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28)." |
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25. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 9.6 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 9.6. Or have onlyBarnabas and I no right to not work? |
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26. New Testament, Matthew, 19.10-19.12 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 19.10. His disciples said to him, "If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry. 19.11. But he said to them, "Not all men can receive this saying, but those to whom it is given. 19.12. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it. |
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27. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, 107b (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 107b. בחברון מלך שבע שנים ובירושלים מלך שלשים ושלש שנים וכתיב (שמואל ב ה, ה) בחברון מלך על יהודה שבע שנים וששה חדשים וגו' והני ששה חדשים לא קחשיב ש"מ נצטרע,אמר לפניו רבש"ע מחול לי על אותו עון מחול לך (תהלים פו, יז) עשה עמי אות לטובה ויראו שונאי ויבושו כי אתה ה' עזרתני ונחמתני א"ל בחייך איני מודיע אבל אני מודיע בחיי שלמה בנך,בשעה שבנה שלמה את בית המקדש ביקש להכניס ארון לבית קדשי הקדשים דבקו שערים זה בזה אמר עשרים וארבעה רננות ולא נענה אמר (תהלים כד, ז) שאו שערים ראשיכם והנשאו פתחי עולם ויבא מלך הכבוד מי זה מלך הכבוד ה' עזוז וגבור ה' גבור מלחמה ונאמר (תהלים כד, ט) שאו שערים ראשיכם ושאו פתחי עולם ויבא מלך הכבוד וגו' ולא נענה,כיון שאמר (דברי הימים ב ו, מב) ה' אלהים אל תשב פני משיחך זכרה לחסדי דויד עבדך מיד נענה באותה שעה נהפכו פני שונאי דוד כשולי קדירה וידעו כל ישראל שמחל לו הקב"ה על אותו העון,גחזי דכתיב וילך אלישע דמשק להיכא אזל א"ר יוחנן שהלך להחזיר גחזי בתשובה ולא חזר אמר לו חזור בך אמר לו כך מקובלני ממך החוטא ומחטיא את הרבים אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה,מאי עבד איכא דאמרי אבן שואבת תלה לחטאת ירבעם והעמידה בין שמים לארץ ואיכא דאמרי שם חקק בפיה והיתה מכרזת ואומרת אנכי ולא יהיה לך,וא"ד רבנן דחה מקמיה שנאמר (מלכים ב ו, א) ויאמרו בני הנביאים אל אלישע הנה [נא] המקום אשר אנחנו יושבים שם לפניך צר ממנו מכלל דעד השתא לא הוו (פיישי) [צר],תנו רבנן לעולם תהא שמאל דוחה וימין מקרבת לא כאלישע שדחפו לגחזי בשתי ידים [ולא כרבי יהושע בן פרחיה שדחפו ליש"ו בשתי ידים],גחזי דכתיב (מלכים ב ה, כג) ויאמר נעמן הואל וקח ככרים (ויפצר) [ויפרץ] בו ויצר ככרים כסף וגו' ויאמר אליו אלישע מאין גחזי ויאמר לא הלך עבדך אנה ואנה ויאמר אליו לא לבי הלך כאשר הפך איש מעל מרכבתו לקראתך העת לקחת את הכסף ולקחת בגדים וזיתים וכרמים וצאן ובקר ועבדים ושפחות ומי שקל כולי האי כסף ובגדים הוא דשקל,אמר רבי יצחק באותה שעה היה אלישע יושב ודורש בשמונה שרצים נעמן שר צבא מלך ארם היה מצורע אמרה ליה ההיא רביתא דאישתבאי מארעא ישראל אי אזלת לגבי אלישע מסי לך כי אתא א"ל זיל טבול בירדן א"ל אחוכי קא מחייכת בי אמרי ליה הנהו דהוו בהדיה מאי נפקא לך מינה זיל נסי אזל וטבל בירדנא ואיתסי אתא אייתי ליה כל הני דנקיט לא צבי לקבולי מיניה גחזי איפטר מקמיה אלישע אזל שקל מאי דשקל ואפקיד,כי אתא חזייה אלישע לצרעת דהוה פרחא עילויה רישיה א"ל רשע הגיע עת ליטול שכר שמנה שרצים וצרעת נעמן תדבק בך ובזרעך עד עולם ויצא מלפניו מצורע כשלג: (מלכים ב ז, ג) וארבעה אנשים היו מצורעים פתח השער אמר ר' יוחנן גחזי ושלשה בניו,[הוספה מחסרונות הש"ס: רבי יהושע בן פרחיה מאי הוא כדקטלינהו ינאי מלכא לרבנן אזל רבי יהושע בן פרחיה ויש"ו לאלכסנדריא של מצרים כי הוה שלמא שלח לי' שמעון בן שטח מני ירושלים עיר הקודש ליכי אלכסנדרי' של מצרים אחותי בעלי שרוי בתוכך ואנכי יושבת שוממה,קם אתא ואתרמי ליה ההוא אושפיזא עבדו ליה יקרא טובא אמר כמה יפה אכסניא זו אמר ליה רבי עיניה טרוטות אמר ליה רשע בכך אתה עוסק אפיק ארבע מאה שיפורי ושמתיה,אתא לקמיה כמה זמנין אמר ליה קבלן לא הוי קא משגח ביה יומא חד הוה קא קרי קריאת שמע אתא לקמיה סבר לקבולי אחוי ליה בידיה הוא סבר מידחא דחי ליה אזל זקף לבינתא והשתחוה לה אמר ליה הדר בך אמר ליה כך מקובלני ממך כל החוטא ומחטיא את הרבים אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה ואמר מר יש"ו כישף והסית והדיח את ישראל:],תניא א"ר שמעון בן אלעזר יצר תינוק ואשה תהא שמאל דוחה וימין מקרבת,ת"ר ג' חלאים חלה אלישע אחד שגירה דובים בתינוקות ואחד שדחפו לגחזי בשתי ידים ואחד שמת בו [שנא' (מלכים ב יג, יד) ואלישע חלה את חליו וגו'],עד אברהם לא היה זקנה כל דחזי לאברהם אמר האי יצחק כל דחזי ליצחק אמר האי אברהם בעא אברהם רחמי דליהוי ליה זקנה שנאמר (בראשית כד, א) ואברהם זקן בא בימים עד יעקב לא הוה חולשא בעא רחמי והוה חולשא שנאמר (בראשית מח, א) ויאמר ליוסף הנה אביך חולה עד אלישע לא הוה איניש חליש דמיתפח ואתא אלישע ובעא רחמי ואיתפח שנא' (מלכים ב יג, יד) ואלישע חלה את חליו אשר ימות בו:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big דור המבול אין להם חלק לעוה"ב ואין עומדין בדין שנא' (בראשית ו, ג) לא ידון רוחי באדם לעולם לא דין ולא רוח דור הפלגה אין להם חלק לעולם הבא שנאמר (בראשית יא, ח) ויפץ ה' אותם משם על פני כל הארץ (וכתיב ומשם הפיצם) ויפץ ה' אותם בעוה"ז ומשם הפיצם ה' לעולם הבא אנשי סדום אין להם חלק לעולם הבא שנא' (בראשית יג, יג) ואנשי סדום רעים וחטאים לה' מאד רעים בעולם הזה וחטאים לעולם הבא אבל עומדין בדין,ר' נחמיה אומר אלו ואלו אין עומדין בדין שנאמר (תהלים א, ה) על כן לא יקומו | 107b. bin Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years”(I Kings 2:11). bAnd it is written: “In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six monthsand in Jerusalem he reigned for thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah” (II Samuel 5:5). bAnd those six months,the prophet bdid not tallythem as part of the forty years of King David’s reign. bConclude from itthat there were six months that he was not considered king because he bwas afflicted with leprosy. /b,David bsaid before Himafter this: bMaster of the Universe, pardon me for this sin.God said to him: bIt is forgiven for you.David requested: b“Perform on my behalf a sign for good, that they that hate me may see it and be put to shame”(Psalms 86:17); show me a sign in my lifetime so that everyone will know that You have forgiven me. God bsaid to him: In your lifetime I will not makeit bknownthat you were forgiven, bbut I will makeit bknown in the lifetime of your son, Solomon. /b,The Gemara explains: bWhen Solomon built the Templeand bsought to bring the Ark into the Holy of Holies,the bgates clung togetherand could not be opened. Solomon buttered twenty-four songsof praise, bandhis prayer bwas not answered. He said: “Lift up your heads, you gates, and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle”(Psalms 24:7–8). bAnd it is stated: “Lift up your heads, you gates, yea, lift them up, you everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in.Who then is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts; He is the King of glory. Selah” (Psalms 24:9–10), band he was not answered. /b, bOnce he said: “O Lord God, turn not away the face of Your anointed; remember the good deeds of David Your servant”(II Chronicles 6:42), bhe was immediately answered,and the gates opened (II Chronicles 7:1). bAt that moment, the faces of all of David’s enemies turneddark blike thecharred bbottom of a pot. And all of the Jewish people knew that the Holy One, Blessed be He, had forgiven him for that sin,as it was only by David’s merit that Solomon’s prayer was answered.,§ The mishna states that bGehazi,the attendant of Elisha, has no share in the World-to-Come. The Gemara explains that this is bas it is written: And Elisha went to Damascus(see II Kings 8:7). bWhere did he go,and for what purpose? bRabbi Yoḥa says: He went to cause Gehazi to repent, but he did not repent.Elisha bsaid to him: Repent.Gehazi bsaid to him: Thisis the tradition that bI received from you: Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. /b, bWhat did he dothat caused the masses to sin? bThere arethose bwho saythat bhe hung a magnetic rock on Jeroboam’s sin,i.e., on the golden calf that Jeroboam established as an idol, so that bhe suspended it between heaven and earth,i.e., he caused it to hover above the ground. This seemingly miraculous occurrence caused the people to worship it even more devoutly than before. bAnd there arethose bwho say: He engravedthe sacred bnameof God bon its mouth, and it would declare and say: “I amthe Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2), band: “You shall not haveother gods” (Exodus 20:3). The idol would quote the two prohibitions from the Ten Commandments that prohibit idol worship, causing the people to worship it even more devoutly than before., bAnd there arethose bwho say:Gehazi bpushed the Sagesaway bfromcoming bbefore him,i.e., he prevented them from learning from Elisha, bas it is stated: “And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, behold this place where we are staying before you is too cramped for us”(II Kings 6:1). It may be derived bby inference that until now they were not numerousand the place was not bcrampedfor them, as Gehazi would turn people away., bThe Sages taught: Always have the lefthand bdrivesinners baway and the right drawthem bnear,so that the sinner will not totally despair of atonement. This is bunlike Elisha, who pushed away Gehazi with his two handsand caused him to lose his share in the World-to-Come, band unlike Yehoshua ben Peraḥya, who pushed away Jesus the Nazarene with his two hands. /b,Elisha drove bGehaziaway, bas it is written: “And Naaman said: Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silverin two bags, with two changes of garments” (II Kings 5:23). Naaman offered Gehazi payment for the help Elisha had given him. The verse states: b“And Elisha said to him: Where from, Gehazi? And he said: Your servant went nowhere at all. And he said to him: Went not my heart with you, when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it the time to receive silver and to receive garments, and olive groves, and vineyards, and sheep and cattle, and menservants and maidservants?”(II Kings 5:25–26). The Gemara asks: bAnd didGehazi btake all that? It ismerely bsilver and garments that he took. /b, bRabbi Yitzḥak says:This was the incident involving Gehazi: bAt that moment, Elisha was sitting and teachingthe ihalakhotof the beightimpure bcreeping animals.Now bNaaman, the general of the army of Aram, was a leper. A certain young Jewish woman who had been taken captive from Eretz Yisrael said to him: If you go to Elisha, he will heal you. WhenNaaman bcameto him, Elisha bsaid to him: Go immerse in the Jordan.Naaman bsaid to him: Are you mocking meby suggesting that this will cure me? bThosecompanions bwho were withNaaman bsaid to him: What is the difference to you? Go, tryit. Naaman bwent and immersed in the Jordan and was healed.Naaman bcameand bbrought toElisha ball thoseitems bthat he hadtaken with him from Aram, and Elisha bdid not agree to receivethem bfrom him. Gehazi took leave from before Elishaand bwentand btookfrom Naaman bwhat he took, andhe bdepositedthem., bWhenGehazi bcame, Elisha saw the leprosy that had grown onGehazi’s bhead.Elisha bsaid to him: Wicked one! The time has arrived to takeyour breward forstudying the matter of bthe eight creeping animals.Since the silver Gehazi received was his reward for studying the matter of the eight creeping animals, Elisha enumerated eight items that Gehazi sought to purchase with the silver that he took. Then Elisha said to Gehazi: b“The leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your seed forever. And he went out of his presence a leper as white as snow”(II Kings 5:27). With regard to the verse: b“And there were four men afflicted with leprosy at the entrance of the gate”(II Kings 7:3), bRabbi Yoḥa says:These were bGehazi and his three sons,as he and his descendants were cursed.,§ bWhat isthe incident involving bYehoshua ben Peraḥya?The Gemara relates: bWhen King Yannai was killing the Sages, Yehoshua ben Peraḥya and Jesus,his student, bwent to Alexandria of Egypt. When there was peacebetween King Yannai and the Sages, bShimon ben Shataḥ senta message btoYehoshua ben Peraḥya: bFrom me, Jerusalem, the holy city, to you, Alexandria of Egypt: My sister, my husband is located among you and I sit desolate.The head of the Sages of Israel is out of the country and Jerusalem requires his return.,Yehoshua ben Peraḥya understood the message, barose, came, and happenedto arrive at ba certain innon the way to Jerusalem. bThey treated him with great honor.Yehoshua ben Peraḥya bsaid: How beautiful is this inn.Jesus, his student, bsaid to him:But bmy teacher, the eyes ofthe innkeeper’s wife bare narrow [ iterutot /i].Yehoshua ben Peraḥya bsaid to him: Wicked one!Do byou involve yourself with regard to thatmatter, the appearance of a married woman? bHe produced four hundred ishofarotand ostracized him. /b,Jesus bcame beforeYehoshua ben Peraḥya bseveral timesand bsaid to him: Accept our,i.e., my, repentance. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya btook no notice of him. One dayYehoshua ben Peraḥya bwas reciting iShema /iand Jesus bcame before himwith the same request. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya bintended to accept hisrequest, and bsignaled him with his handto wait until he completed his prayer. Jesus did not understand the signal and bthought: He is driving me away. He wentand bstood a brickupright to serve as an idol band he bowed to it.Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then bsaid toJesus: bRepent.Jesus bsaid to him: Thisis the tradition that bI received from you: Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. And the Master says: Jesus performed sorcery, incitedJews to engage in idolatry, band led Israel astray.Had Yehoshua ben Peraḥya not caused him to despair of atonement, he would not have taken the path of evil., bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Shimon ben Elazar says:With regard to the evil binclination,to ba child, andto ba woman, have the lefthand bdrivethem baway and the right drawthem bnear.Total rejection of the evil inclination will lead to inaction, unlike channeling its power in a positive direction. One should not draw them too near, lest they lead him to sin, but one should not drive his wife or his child away completely, lest he cause them to abandon the path of righteousness., bThe Sages taught: Elisha fell ill with three illnesses: Oneillness was due to the fact bthat he incited bears toattack and eat bchildren(see II Kings 2:24–25); band onewas due to the fact bthat he pushed Gehazi away with two handsand caused him to despair of atonement; band onewas the illness bfrom which he died, as it is stated: “And Elisha was fallen ill of his illnessfrom which he was to die” (II Kings 13:14), indicating that he had previously suffered other illnesses.,Apropos the death of Elisha, the Gemara says: bUntilthe time of bAbraham there was no aging,and the old and the young looked the same. bAnyone who saw Abraham said: That is Isaac,and banyone who saw Isaac said: That is Abraham. Abraham prayed for mercy, that he would undergo aging, as it is stated: “And Abraham was old, well stricken in age”(Genesis 24:1). There is no mention of aging before that verse. bUntilthe time of bJacob there was no weakness,i.e., illness. Jacob bprayed for mercy and there was weakness, as it is stated: “And one said to Joseph: Behold, your father is ill”(Genesis 48:1). bUntilthe time of bElisha, there was no ill person who recovered, and Elisha came and prayed for mercy and recovered, as it is stated: “And Elisha was fallen ill of his illness from which he was to die”(II Kings 13:14). That is the first mention of a person who was ill and who did not die from that illness.,mishna The members of bthe generation of the flood have no share in the World-to-Come and will not stand in judgmentat the end of days, bas it is stated: “My soul shall not abide [ iyadon /i] in man forever”(Genesis 6:3); bneitherwill they stand in bjudgment [ idin /i] norshall their bsoulsbe restored to them. The members of bthe generation of the dispersion have no share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And the Lord scattered them from there upon the face of all the earth”(Genesis 11:8), band it is written: “And from there did the Lord scatter themupon the face of all the earth” (Genesis 11:9). b“And the Lord scattered them”indicates bin this world; “and from there did the Lord scatter them”indicates bfor the World-to-Come. The people of Sodom have no share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly”(Genesis 13:13). b“Wicked”indicates bin this world; “and sinners”indicates bfor the World-to-Come. But they will stand in judgmentand they will be sentenced to eternal contempt., bRabbi Neḥemya says:Both bthese,the people of Sodom, band those,the members of the generation of the flood, bwill not stand in judgment, as it is stated: “Therefore the wicked shall not stand /b |
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28. Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot, 63a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 63a. והמלוה סלע לעני בשעת דחקו עליו הכתוב אומר (ישעיהו נח, ט) אז תקרא וה' יענה תשוע ויאמר הנני:,סי' אש"ה וקרק"ע עז"ר זא"ת שת"י הברכו"ת תגר"י פחת"י: א"ר אלעזר כל אדם שאין לו אשה אינו אדם שנאמר (בראשית ה, ב) זכר ונקבה בראם ויקרא את שמם אדם ואמר רבי אלעזר כל אדם שאין לו קרקע אינו אדם שנא' (תהלים קטו, טז) השמים שמים לה' והארץ נתן לבני אדם,ואמר רבי אלעזר מאי דכתיב (בראשית ב, יח) אעשה לו עזר כנגדו זכה עוזרתו לא זכה כנגדו ואיכא דאמרי ר' אלעזר רמי כתיב כנגדו וקרינן כניגדו זכה כנגדו לא זכה מנגדתו,אשכחיה רבי יוסי לאליהו א"ל כתיב אעשה לו עזר במה אשה עוזרתו לאדם א"ל אדם מביא חיטין חיטין כוסס פשתן פשתן לובש לא נמצאת מאירה עיניו ומעמידתו על רגליו,וא"ר אלעזר מאי דכתיב (בראשית ב, כג) זאת הפעם עצם מעצמי ובשר מבשרי מלמד שבא אדם על כל בהמה וחיה ולא נתקררה דעתו עד שבא על חוה,ואמר ר' אלעזר מאי דכתיב (בראשית יב, ג) ונברכו בך כל משפחות האדמה אמר ליה הקב"ה לאברהם שתי ברכות טובות יש לי להבריך בך רות המואביה ונעמה העמונית כל משפחות האדמה אפילו משפחות הדרות באדמה אין מתברכות אלא בשביל ישראל (בראשית יח, יח) כל גויי הארץ אפילו ספינות הבאות מגליא לאספמיא אינן מתברכות אלא בשביל ישראל,ואמר רבי אלעזר עתידים כל בעלי אומניות שיעמדו על הקרקע שנאמר (יחזקאל כז, כט) וירדו מאניותיהם כל תופשי משוט מלחים כל חובלי הים על הארץ יעמדו ואמר ר' אלעזר אין לך אומנות פחותה מן הקרקע שנאמר וירדו רבי אלעזר חזיא לההיא ארעא דשדי ביה כרבא לפותיא א"ל אי תשדייה לאורכיך הפוכי בעיסקא טב מינך,רב על לביני שיבלי חזנהו דקא נייפן אמר להו אי נייפת איתנופי הפוכי בעיסקא טב מינך אמר רבא מאה זוזי בעיסקא כל יומא בשרא וחמרא מאה זוזי בארעא מילחא וחפורה ולא עוד אלא מגניא ליה אארעא ומרמיא ליה תיגרי,אמר רב פפא זרע ולא תזבין אע"ג דכי הדדי נינהו הני מברכן זבין ולא תיזול הני מילי ביסתרקי אבל גלימא לא מיתרמיא ליה,טום ולא תשפיץ שפוץ ולא תיבני שכל העוסק בבנין מתמסכן קפוץ זבין ארעא מתון נסיב איתתא נחית דרגא נסיב איתתא סק דרגא בחר שושבינא,א"ר אלעזר בר אבינא אין פורענות באה לעולם אלא בשביל ישראל שנאמר (צפניה ג, ו) הכרתי גוים נשמו פנותם החרבתי חוצותם וכתיב (צפניה ג, ז) אמרתי אך תיראי אותי תקחי מוסר,רב הוה מיפטר מרבי חייא אמר ליה רחמנא ליצלך ממידי דקשה ממותא ומי איכא מידי דקשה ממותא נפק דק ואשכח (קהלת ז, כו) ומוצא אני מר ממות את האשה וגו' רב הוה קא מצערא ליה דביתהו כי אמר לה עבידי לי טלופחי עבדא ליה חימצי חימצי עבדא ליה טלופחי,כי גדל חייא בריה אפיך לה אמר ליה איעליא לך אמך אמר ליה אנא הוא דקא אפיכנא לה אמר ליה היינו דקא אמרי אינשי דנפיק מינך טעמא מלפך את לא תעביד הכי שנאמר (ירמיהו ט, ד) למדו לשונם דבר שקר העוה וגו',רבי חייא הוה קא מצערא ליה דביתהו כי הוה משכח מידי צייר ליה בסודריה ומייתי ניהלה אמר ליה רב והא קא מצערא ליה למר א"ל דיינו שמגדלות בנינו ומצילות אותנו | 63a. band who lends a iselato a pauper at his time of need, about him the verse states: “Then shall you call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say: Here I am”(Isaiah 58:9).,§ The Gemara provides ba mnemonicdevice for a series of statements cited in the name of Rabbi Elazar: bWoman; and land; helper; this; two; the blessings; merchants; lowly.The Gemara presents these statements: bRabbi Elazar said: Any man who does not have a wife is not a man, as it is stated: “Male and female He created them…and called their name Adam”(Genesis 5:2). bAnd Rabbi Elazar said: Any man who does not havehis own bland is not a man, as it is stated: “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; but the earth He has given to the children of men”(Psalms 115:16)., bAnd Rabbi Elazar said: What isthe meaning of bthatwhich bis written: “I will make him a helpmate for him [ ikenegdo /i]”(Genesis 2:18)? If one is bworthyhis wife bhelps him;if he is bnot worthyshe is bagainst him. And some saya slightly different version: bRabbi Elazar raised a contradiction: It is writtenin the Torah with a spelling that allows it to be read: bStriking him [ ikenagdo /i], and we readit as though it said: bFor him [ ikenegdo /i].If he is bworthyshe is bfor himas his helpmate; if he is bnot worthyshe bstrikes him. /b,The Gemara relates that bRabbi Yosei encountered Elijahthe prophet and bsaid to him: It is written: I will make him a helpmate. In whatmanner bdoes a woman help a man?Elijah bsaid to him:When ba man brings wheatfrom the field, does he bchewraw bwheat?When he brings home bflax,does he bwearunprocessed bflax?His wife turns the raw products into bread and clothing. Is his wife bnot foundto be the one who blights up his eyes and stands him on his feet? /b, bAnd Rabbi Elazar said: What isthe meaning of bthatwhich bis written: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”(Genesis 2:23)? This bteaches that Adam had intercourse with each animal and beastin his search for his mate, band his mind was not at ease,in accordance with the verse: “And for Adam, there was not found a helpmate for him” (Genesis 2:20), buntil he had intercourse with Eve. /b, bAnd Rabbi Elazar said: What isthe meaning of bthatwhich bis written: “And in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed [ inivrekhu /i]”(Genesis 12:3)? bThe Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Abraham: I have two good shoots to graft[ilehavrikh/b] bonto you: Ruth the Moabite,the ancestress of the house of David, band Naamah the Ammonite,whose marriage with Solomon led to the ensuing dynasty of the kings of Judea. b“All the families of the earth”means: bEven families that live in the earth,i.e., who have land of their own, bare blessed only due to the Jewish people.Similarly, when the verse states: b“All the nations of the earthshall be blessed in him” (Genesis 18:18), it indicates that beven ships that come from Galia to Hispania are blessed only due to the Jewish people. /b, bAnd Rabbi Elazar said: All craftsmen are destined to stand uponand work bthe land, as it is stated: “And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land”(Ezekiel 27:29). bAnd Rabbi Elazar said: There is no occupation lowlier thanworking bthe land, as it is stated: “And they shall come down,”implying that one who works the land is of lower stature than even a sailor. The Gemara similarly relates: bRabbi Elazar saw land that was plowedacross bits width. He said to it:Even bif they plow youonce more blengthwise,for further improvement, bconducting business is better thanfarming with byou,as the potential profits gained by selling merchandise are far greater than those from working the land.,The Gemara relates a similar incident: bRav entered between the sheavesin a field and bsaw them wavingin the wind. bHe said to them: If youwant to bwavego ahead and bwave,but bconducting business is better thanfarming with byou. Ravasimilarly bsaid:One who has ba hundred dinarsthat are invested bina bbusinessis able to eat bmeat and wine every day,whereas he who has ba hundred dinarsworth bof landeats only bsalt and vegetables. And what is more,working the land bcauses him to lie on the groundat night in order to guard it, bandit bdraws quarrels upon himwith other people., bRav Pappa said: Sowyour own produce band do not buyit. bEven though they are equal to each otherin value, bthesethat you sow bwill be blessed.Conversely, bbuyyour clothes brather than weave [ iteizul /i]them yourself. The Gemara comments: bThis appliesonly to bmats [ ibistarkei /i], butwith regard to the bcloakone wears, perhaps bhe will not find itprecisely to his liking, and therefore he should make his own cloak, which fits his measurements.,Rav Pappa further advised: If there is a hole in your house, bcloseit bup and do notenlarge it and then bplasterit, or at least bplasterit band do notknock it down and bbuildit again. bAs, whoever engages in construction becomes poor. Hurryto bbuy landso that you do not lose the opportunity. Be bpatient and marry a womanwho is suitable for you. bDescend a levelto bmarry a womanof lower social status, and bascend a levelto bchoose a friend [ ishushevina /i]. /b, bRabbi Elazar bar Avina said: Calamity befalls the world only due tothe sins of bthe Jewish people, as it is stated: “I have cut off nations, their corners are desolate; I have made their streets waste”(Zephaniah 3:6), band it is written: “I said: Surely you will fear Me, you will receive correction”(Zephaniah 3:7). This indicates that other nations were punished so that the Jewish people would mend their ways.,The Gemara cites more statements with regard to wives. When bRav was taking leave ofhis uncle and teacher, bRabbi Ḥiyya,upon his return from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, Rabbi Ḥiyya bsaid to him: May the Merciful One save you from something that is worse than death.Rav was perplexed: bIs there anything that is worse than death? He went, examinedthe sources, band foundthe following verse: b“And I find more bitter than death the woman, etc.”(Ecclesiastes 7:26). Rabbi Ḥiyya was hinting at this verse, and indeed, bRav’s wife wouldconstantly baggravate him. When he would say to her: Prepare me lentils, she would prepare him peas;if he asked her for bpeas, she would prepare him lentils. /b, bWhen Ḥiyya, his son, grew up, he would reversethe requests Rav asked him to convey bto her,so that Rav would get what he wanted. Rav bsaid tohis son Ḥiyya: bYour mother has improvednow that byouconvey my requests. bHe said toRav: bIt is I who reverseyour request bto her.Rav bsaid to him: This isan example of the well-known adage bthat people say:He bwho comes from you shall teach you wisdom;I should have thought of that idea myself. bYou,however, bshould not do so,i.e., reverse my request, bas it is stated: “They have taught their tongue to speak lies, theyweary themselves to bcommit iniquity, etc.”(Jeremiah 9:4). If you attribute such a request to me, you will have uttered a falsehood.,The Gemara relates a similar story. bRabbi Ḥiyya’s wife wouldconstantly baggravate him.Nevertheless, bwhen he would find somethingshe would appreciate, bhe would wrap it in his shawl and bringit bto her. Rav said to him: Doesn’t sheconstantly baggravate you?Why do you bring her things? Rabbi Ḥiyya bsaid to him: It is enough for usthat our wives braise our children and save us /b |
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29. Stoic School, Stoicor. Veter. Fragm., 3.136
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