1. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 26 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
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2. Aristobulus Cassandreus, Fragments, 5 (4th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
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3. Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q403, 0 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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4. Philo of Alexandria, On The Decalogue, 150, 132 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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5. Philo of Alexandria, On Flight And Finding, 112 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 112. for the word of the living God being the bond of every thing, as has been said before, holds all things together, and binds all the parts, and prevents them from being loosened or separated. And the particular soul, as far as it has received power, does not permit any of the parts of the body to be separated or cut off contrary to their nature; but as far as depends upon itself, it preserves every thing entire, and conducts the different parts to a harmony and indissoluble union with one another. But the mind of the wise man being thoroughly purified, preserves the virtues in an unbroken and unimpaired condition, having adapted their natural kindred and communion with a still more solid good will. XXI. |
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6. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Joseph, 29-31, 28 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 28. It is worth while, however, after having thus explained the literal account given to us of these events, to proceed to explain also the figurative meaning concealed under that account; for we say that nearly all, or that at all events, the greater part of the history of the giving of the law is full of allegories; now the disposition which we have at present under consideration, is called by the Hebrews Joseph; but the name being interpreted in the Greek language means, "the addition of the Lord," a name most felicitously given, and most appropriate to the account given of the person so called; for the democratic constitution in vogue among states is an addition of nature which has sovereign authority over everything; |
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7. Philo of Alexandria, On The Creation of The World, 101-128, 89-100 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 100. But seven alone, as I said before, neither produces nor is produced, on which account other philosophers liken this number to Victory, who had no mother, and to the virgin goddess, whom the fable asserts to have sprung from the head of Jupiter: and the Pythagoreans compare it to the Ruler of all things. For that which neither produces, nor is produced, remains immovable. For generation consists in motion, since that which is generated, cannot be so without motion, both to cause production, and to be produced. And the only thing which neither moves nor is moved, is the Elder, Ruler, and Lord of the universe, of whom the number seven may reasonably be called a likeness. And Philolaus gives his testimony to this doctrine of mine in the following Words:ù"for God," says he "is the ruler and Lord of all things, being one, eternal, lasting, immovable, himself like to himself, and different from all other beings." XXXIV. |
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8. Philo of Alexandria, On Dreams, 1.13 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.13. It is well, therefore, to enrol one's self under the banners of one who discusses these matters without an oath; but he who is not very much inclined to assent to the assertions of another will at least assent to them when he has made oath to their correctness. But let no one refuse to take an oath of this kind, well knowing that he will have his name inscribed on pillars among those who are faithful to their oaths. III. |
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9. Philo of Alexandria, On The Special Laws, 1.168, 1.190, 1.325, 2.58, 2.162-2.163, 2.167, 2.175-2.177, 2.183, 2.188-2.192, 3.45-3.48, 3.121 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.168. And since, of the sacrifices to be offered, some are on behalf of the whole nation, and indeed, if one should tell the real truth, in behalf of all mankind, while others are only in behalf of each individual who has chosen to offer them; we must speak first of all of those which are for the common welfare of the whole nation, and the regulations with respect to this kind of sacrifice are of a marvellous nature. 1.190. The sacrifices which are whole burnt offerings and are joint offerings on behalf of the nation or--to speak more accurately--on behalf of the entire race of humanity have been addressed to the best of my ability. However, a he-goat accompanies the whole burnt offerings on each day of the feast. He is called "concerning sins" and is sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins. His meat is Distributed{25}{although S. Daniel included a negative in her edition (PAPM 24 1.325. Therefore, as it was aware that no inconsiderable number of wicked men are often mingled in these assemblies, and escape notice by reason of the crowds collected there, in order to prevent that from being the case in this instance, he previously excludes all who are unworthy from the sacred assembly, beginning in the first instance with those who are afflicted with the disease of effeminacy, men-women, who, having adulterated the coinage of nature, are willingly driven into the appearance and treatment of licentious women. He also banishes all those who have suffered any injury or mutilation in their most important members, and those who, seeking to preserve the flower of their beauty so that it may not speedily wither away, have altered the impression of their natural manly appearance into the resemblance of a woman. 2.58. But Moses, from a most honourable cause, called it consummation and perfection; attributing to the number six the origination of all the parts of the world, and to the number seven their perfection; for the number six is an oddeven number, being composed of twice three, having the odd number for the male and the even number for the female, from the union of which, production takes place in accordance with the unalterable laws of nature. 2.162. There is also a festival on the day of the paschal feast, which succeeds the first day, and this is named the sheaf, from what takes place on it; for the sheaf is brought to the altar as a first fruit both of the country which the nation has received for its own, and also of the whole land; so as to be an offering both for the nation separately, and also a common one for the whole race of mankind; and so that the people by it worship the living God, both for themselves and for all the rest of mankind, because they have received the fertile earth for their inheritance; for in the country there is no barren soil but even all those parts which appear to be stony and rugged are surrounded with soft veins of great depth, which, by reason of their richness, are very well suited for the production of living Things.{20}{sections 163û174 were omitted in Yonge's translation because the edition on which Yonge based his translation, Mangey, lacked this material. These lines have been newly translated for this volume.} 2.163. The reason is that a priest has the same relation to a city that the nation of the Jews has to the entire inhabited world. For it serves as a priest--to state the truth--through the use of all purificatory offerings and the guidance both for body and soul of divine laws which have checked the pleasures of the stomach and those under the stomach and [tamed] the mob [of the Senses]{21}{there is a clear problem with the text here, i.e., the noun ochlon lacks a verb.} by having appointed reason as charioteer over the irrational senses; they also have driven back and overturned the undiscriminating and excessive urges of the soul, some by rather gentle instructions and philosophical exhortations, others by rather weighty and forcible rebukes and by fear of punishment, the fear which they brandish threateningly. 2.167. For this reason it amazes me that some dare to charge the nation with an anti-social stance, a nation which has made such an extensive use of fellowship and goodwill toward all people everywhere that they offer up prayers and feasts and first fruits on behalf of the common race of human beings and serve the really self-existent God both on behalf of themselves and of others who have run from the services which they should have rendered. 2.175. and the sheaf of the first fruits is barley, calculated for the innocent and blameless use of the inferior animals; for since it is not consistent with holiness to offer first fruits of everything, since most things are made rather for pleasure than for any actually indispensable use, it is also not consistent with holiness to enjoy and partake of any thing which is given for food, without first giving thanks to that being to whom it is becoming and pious to offer them. That portion of the food which was honoured with the second place, namely, barley, was ordered by the law to be offered as first fruits; for the first honours were assigned to wheat, of which it has deferred the offering of the first fruits, as being more honourable, to a more suitable season.THE SEVENTH FESTIVALXXX. 2.176. The solemn assembly on the occasion of the festival of the sheaf having such great privileges, is the prelude to another festival of still greater importance; for from this day the fiftieth day is reckoned, making up the sacred number of seven sevens, with the addition of a unit as a seal to the whole; and this festival, being that of the first fruits of the corn, has derived its name of pentecost from the number of fifty, (penteµkosto 2.177. We must disclose another reason. Its nature is wondrous and highly prized for numerous reasons including the fact that it consists of the most elemental and oldest of the things which are encased in substances, as the mathematicians tell us, the rightangled triangle. For its sides, which exist in lengths of three and four and five, combine to make up the sum twelve, the pattern of the zodiac cycle, the doubling of the most fecund number six which is the beginning of perfection since it is the sum of the same numbers of which it is also the Product.{23}{literally, "being the sum of its own parts to which it is equal." In mathematical notation: 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 = 1 x 2 x 3.} To the second power, it seems, they produce fifty, through the addition of 3 x 3 and 4 x 4 and 5 x 5. The result is that it is necessary to say that to the same degree that fifty is better than twelve, the second power is better than the first power. 2.183. For those for whom it is lawful and permissible will use what has once been consecrated; and it is lawful for those who are consecrated to the priesthood, who have received the right given by the humaneness of the law to share in the things offered on the altar which are not consumed by the unquenchable fire, either as a wage for their services or as a prize for contests in which they compete on behalf of piety or as a sacred allotment in view of the fact that with regard to the land they have not acquired their appropriate part in the same way as the other tribes. 2.188. Immediately after comes the festival of the sacred moon; in which it is the custom to play the trumpet in the temple at the same moment that the sacrifices are offered. From which practice this is called the true feast of trumpets, and there are two reasons for it, one peculiar to the nation, and the other common to all mankind. Peculiar to the nation, as being a commemoration of that most marvellous, wonderful, and miraculous event that took place when the holy oracles of the law were given; 2.189. for then the voice of a trumpet sounded from heaven, which it is natural to suppose reached to the very extremities of the universe, so that so wondrous a sound attracted all who were present, making them consider, as it is probable, that such mighty events were signs betokening some great things to be accomplished. 2.190. And what more great or more beneficial thing could come to men than laws affecting the whole race? And what was common to all mankind was this: the trumpet is the instrument of war, sounding both when commanding the charge and the retreat. ... There is also another kind of war, ordained of God, when nature is at variance with itself, its different parts attacking one another. 2.191. And by both these kinds of war the things on earth are injured. They are injured by the enemies, by the cutting down of trees, and by conflagrations; and also by natural injuries, such as droughts, heavy rains, lightning from heaven, snow and cold; the usual harmony of the seasons of the year being transformed into a want of all concord. 2.192. On this account it is that the law has given this festival the name of a warlike instrument, in order to show the proper gratitude to God as the giver of peace, who has abolished all seditions in cities, and in all parts of the universe, and has produced plenty and prosperity, not allowing a single spark that could tend to the destruction of the crops to be kindled into flame.THE NINTH FESTIVALXXXII. 3.45. And it is very likely that there may be other Pasipha's also, with passions equally unbridled, and that not women only, but men likewise may fall madly in love with animals, from whom, perhaps, indescribable monsters may be born, being memorials of the excessive pollution of men; owing to which, perhaps, those unnatural creations of unprecedented and fabulous monsters will exist, such as hippocentaurs and chimaeras, and other similar animals. 3.46. But so great are the precautions which are taken against them in the holy laws of God, that in order to prevent the possibility of men ever desiring any unlawful connection, it is expressly commanded that even animals of different kinds shall not be put together. And no Jewish shepherd will endeavour to cross a sheep with a he-goat, or a ram with a she-goat, or a cow with a horse; and if he does, he must pay the penalty as breaking a solemn law of nature who is desirous to keep the original kinds of animals free from all spurious admixture. 3.47. And some persons prefer mules to every other kind of animal for the yoke, since their bodies are very compact, and are very strong and powerful; and accordingly, in the pastures and stalls where they keep their horses, they also keep asses of an extraordinary size, which they call celones, in order that they may breed with the mares; and then the mares produce a mixed animal, half horse and half ass, which, since Moses knew that its production was wholly contrary to nature, he forbade the existence of with all his might by a general injunction, that that no union or combination between different kinds of animals should on any account be permitted. 3.48. Therefore he provided thus against those evils in a manner suited to and consistent with nature; and from a long distance off, as from a watchtower, he admonished men and kept them in the straight path, in order that both men and women, learning from these percepts of his, might abstain from unlawful connections. 3.121. For the merciful and forgiving God can never be supposed to have given up any innocent person to be put to death; but whoever ingeniously escapes the judgment of a human tribunal by means of his own cunning and wariness, he is convicted when brought before the invisible tribunal of nature, by which alone the uncorrupted truth is discerned without being kept in the dark by the artifices of sophistical arguments. For such an investigation does not admit of arguments at all, laying bare all devices and intentions, and bringing the most secret counsels to light; and, in one sense, it does not look upon a man who has slain another as liable to justice, inasmuch as he has only sinned to be the minister of a divine judgment, but still he will have incurred an obscure and slight kind of defilement, which, however, may obtain allowance and pardon. |
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10. Philo of Alexandria, On The Contemplative Life, 70 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 70. And they do not use the ministrations of slaves, looking upon the possession of servants of slaves to be a thing absolutely and wholly contrary to nature, for nature has created all men free, but the injustice and covetousness of some men who prefer inequality, that cause of all evil, having subdued some, has given to the more powerful authority over those who are weaker. |
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11. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Moses, 1.117 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.117. but nature does not expend her powers to no purpose when they are not wanted, so as to provide rain for a land which does not require it, but it rejoices in the variety and diversity of scientific operations, and arranges the harmony of the universe from a number of opposite qualities. And for this reason it supplies the benefits which are derivable from water, to some countries, by bestowing it on them from above, namely from heaven, and to others it gives it from below by means of springs and rivers; |
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12. Philo of Alexandria, On The Embassy To Gaius, 306 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 306. Now the things set up on that occasion were shields, on which there was no representation of any living thing whatever engraved. But now the thing proposed to be erected is a colossal statue. Moreover, then the erection was in the dwelling-house of the governor; but they say, that which is now contemplated is to be in the inmost part of the temple, in the very holy of holies itself, into which, once in the year, the high priest enters, on the day called the great fast, to offer incense, and on no other day, being then about in accordance with our national law also to offer up prayers for a fertile and ample supply of blessings, and for peace of all mankind. |
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13. Philo of Alexandria, Questions On Genesis, 4.9, 4.42 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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14. Aristobulus Milesius, Fragments, 5 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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15. Babylonian Talmud, Yoma, 53b (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 53b. אמרו ליה לרב יוסף הכי עביד רבא אמר ליה יהא רעוא דתרום רישך אכולה כרכא,אמר רבי אלכסנדרי אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי המתפלל צריך שיפסיע שלש פסיעות לאחוריו ואחר כך יתן שלום אמר ליה רב מרדכי כיון שפסע שלש פסיעות לאחוריו התם איבעיא ליה למיקם משל לתלמיד הנפטר מרבו אם חוזר לאלתר דומה לכלב ששב על קיאו,תניא נמי הכי המתפלל צריך שיפסיע שלש פסיעות לאחוריו ואחר כך יתן שלום ואם לא עשה כן ראוי לו שלא התפלל ומשום שמעיה אמרו שנותן שלום לימין ואחר כך לשמאל שנאמר (דברים לג, ב) מימינו אש דת למו ואומר (תהלים צא, ז) יפול מצדך אלף ורבבה מימינך,מאי ואומר וכי תימא אורחא דמילתא היא למיתב בימין ת"ש יפול מצדך אלף ורבבה מימינך,רבא חזייה לאביי דיהיב שלמא לימינא ברישא א"ל מי סברת לימין דידך לשמאל דידך קא אמינא דהוי ימינו של הקב"ה אמר רב חייא בריה דרב הונא חזינא להו לאביי ורבא דפסעי להו שלש פסיעות בכריעה אחת,ומתפלל תפלה קצרה בבית החיצון מאי מצלי רבא בר רב אדא ורבין בר רב אדא תרוייהו משמיה דרב אמרי יהי רצון מלפניך ה' אלהינו שתהא שנה זו גשומה ושחונה שחונה מעליותא היא אלא אימא אם שחונה תהא גשומה,רב אחא בריה דרבא מסיים בה משמיה דרב יהודה לא יעדי עביד שולטן מדבית יהודה ולא יהיו עמך ישראל צריכין לפרנס זה מזה ולא תכנס לפניך תפלת עוברי דרכים,רבי חנינא בן דוסא הוה קא אזיל באורחא שדא מטרא עליה אמר רבש"ע כל העולם כולו בנחת וחנינא בצער פסק מיטרא כי אתא לביתיה אמר רבש"ע כל העולם כולו בצער וחנינא בנחת אתא מיטרא א"ר יוסף מאי אהניא ליה צלותיה דכהן גדול לגבי ר' חנינא בן דוסא,תנו רבנן מעשה בכהן גדול אחד שהאריך בתפלתו ונמנו אחיו הכהנים ליכנס אחריו התחילו הם נכנסין והוא יוצא אמרו לו מפני מה הארכת בתפלתך אמר להם קשה בעיניכם שהתפללתי עליכם ועל בית המקדש שלא יחרב אמרו לו אל תהי רגיל לעשות כן שהרי שנינו לא היה מאריך בתפלתו כדי שלא להבעית את ישראל, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big משניטל ארון אבן היתה שם מימות נביאים ראשונים ושתייה היתה נקראת גבוה מן הארץ שלש אצבעות ועליה היה נותן נטל את הדם ממי שהיה ממרס בו נכנס למקום שנכנס ועמד במקום שעמד והזה ממנו אחת למעלה ושבע למטה,ולא היה מתכוון להזות לא למעלה ולא למטה אלא כמצליף וכך היה מונה אחת אחת ואחת אחת ושתים אחת ושלש אחת וארבע אחת וחמש אחת ושש אחת ושבע יצא והניחו על כן הזהב שבהיכל,הביאו לו את השעיר שחטו וקבל במזרק את דמו נכנס למקום שנכנס ועמד במקום שעמד והזה ממנו אחת למעלה ושבע למטה וכך היה מונה אחת אחת ואחת אחת ושתים וכו' יצא והניחו על כן הזהב השני שבהיכל רבי יהודה אומר לא היה שם אלא כן אחד בלבד נטל דם הפר והניח דם השעיר,והזה ממנו על הפרוכת שכנגד הארון מבחוץ אחת למעלה ושבע למטה ולא היה מתכוון וכו' וכך היה מונה וכו' נטל דם השעיר והניח דם הפר והזה ממנו על הפרוכת שכנגד הארון מבחוץ אחת למעלה ושבע למטה וכו' עירה דם הפר לתוך דם השעיר ונתן את המלא בריקן, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big משנגנז לא קתני אלא משניטל תנן כמאן דאמר ארון גלה לבבל דתניא רבי אליעזר אומר ארון גלה לבבל שנאמר (דברי הימים ב לו, י) ולתשובת השנה שלח המלך נבוכדנאצר ויביאהו בבלה עם כלי חמדת בית ה',רבי שמעון בן יוחאי אומר ארון גלה לבבל שנאמר (ישעיהו לט, ו) לא יותר דבר אמר ה' אלו עשרת הדברות שבו,רבי יהודה (בן לקיש) אומר ארון במקומו נגנז שנאמר (מלכים א ח, ח) ויראו ראשי הבדים מן הקדש על פני הדביר ולא יראו החוצה ויהיו שם עד היום הזה,ופליגא דעולא דאמר עולא שאל רבי מתיא בן חרש את רבי שמעון בן יוחאי ברומי וכי מאחר שרבי אליעזר מלמדנו פעם ראשונה ושניה ארון גלה לבבל ראשונה הא דאמרן (דברי הימים ב לו, י) ויביאהו בבלה עם כלי חמדת בית ה' שניה מאי היא דכתיב (איכה א, ו) ויצא מבת ציון | 53b. bThey said to Rav Yosef: This is what Rava does.Rav Yosef was blind and could not see for himself. Rav Yosef bsaid to him: May it beGod’s bwill that you lift your head over the entire city,in reward for honoring your teacher.,§ Apropos the obligation of a student to walk backward when taking leave of his teacher, the Gemara discusses a similar topic. bRabbi Alexandri saidthat bRabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One who prays must take three steps backwardupon concluding his prayer band then recite: Peace,in a manner befitting one who departs from before the Holy One, Blessed be He. bRav Mordekhai said to him: Since he has taken three steps backward, he should stand thereand not return to his place immediately. This is banalogous to a student who takes leave of his teacher. If he returns immediatelyto the place where was first standing, bhe is similar to a dog who returns to its vomit,and his previous action is spoiled.,The Gemara comments that bthis was also taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOne who prays must take three steps backwardupon concluding his prayer band then recite: Peace. And if he did not do so, it is better for him not to have prayed,as his actions are disrespectful toward God. bAnd they said in the name of Shemayathe Sage bthatwhen bone recites: Peace,he first bows bto the right and then to the left, as it is stated: “At His right hand was a fiery law to them”(Deuteronomy 33:2), band it says: “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right side”(Psalms 91:7).,The Gemara asks: bWhat isthe reason for: bAnd it says?Why is it necessary to cite another source? The Gemara explains: bIf you saythat bit ismerely bthe usual manner to givean object bwith the righthand, but this bears no special significance, bcomeand bhear: “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right side,”which indicates that the right side is the more significant one.,The Gemara relates that bRava saw Abaye reciting: Peace,by bowing at the end of his prayer btohis bright first.Rava bsaid to him: Do you maintainthat you should bow bto your right? I sayyou should bow bto your leftfirst, bas it is the right of the Holy One, Blessed be He,since He is opposite you face-to-face, as it were. bRav Ḥiyya, son of Rav Huna, said: I observed that Abaye and Ravaboth btookthose bthree steps all in oneact of bbowing,without standing upright in between, by way of submission to and acceptance of God’s authority.,§ The mishna taught: bAndthe High Priest brecites a brief prayer in the outer chamber.The Gemara asks: bWhatdoes bhe pray? Rava bar Rav Adda and Ravin bar Rav Adda both said in the name of Ravthat this was his prayer: bMay it be your will, Lord our God, that this year shall be rainy and hot.The Gemara immediately expresses surprise at this request: Is bheat a goodmatter? Why should he request that the year be hot? bRather, sayand emend it as follows: bIfthe upcoming year is bhot, may italso bbe rainy,lest the heat harm the crops., bRav Aḥa, son of Rava, concludedthe language of this prayer bin the name of Rav Yehuda: May the rule of power not depart from the house of Judah; and may your nation Israel not depend on each other for sustece,rather, they should be sustained from the produce of their land; band let not the prayer of travelers enter Your presencewhen they pray for the rain to stop on their travels.,The Gemara relates: bRabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa was walking on the roadwhen brain fell upon him. He said: Master of the Universe, the entire world is comfortable and Ḥanina is suffering. The rain stopped. When he came to his house he said: Master of the Universe, the entire world is sufferingfor lack of rain band Ḥanina is comfortable. The rain cameback. bRav Yosef said: What effect does the prayer of the High Priest have with regard to Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa?Notwithstanding the prayer of the High Priest in the Holy of Holies, Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa’s sanctity is greater, as God fulfills his bidding.,§ The mishna stated that the High Priest would not extend his prayer. bThe Sages taughtin the iTosefta /i: There was ban incidentinvolving ba certain High Priest who extended his prayer, and his fellow prieststook a vote, bcounted,and decided bto go in after himout of concern that he had died or fainted and required assistance. bThey began to enter andat that moment bhe emerged. They said to him: Why did you extend your prayer? He said to them:Why not? bDoes it trouble you that I prayed for you and for the Temple not to be destroyed? They said to him: Do not make a habit of doing so, as we learned: He would not extend his prayer, so as not to alarm the Jewish people,who might fear he had died., strongMISHNA: /strong bAfter the Ark was takeninto exile, bthere was a rockin the Holy of Holies bfrom the days of the early prophets,David and Samuel, who laid the groundwork for construction of the Temple, bandthis stone bwas calledthe bfoundationrock. It was bthree fingerbreadths higher than the ground, andthe High Priest bwould placethe incense bon it.After the High Priest left the Holy of Holies, bhe took the bloodof the bull sacrificed as a sin-offering bfromthe one bwho was stirring it,so it would not coagulate. bHe entered into the place that hehad previously bentered,the Holy of Holies, band stood at the place where hehad previously bstoodto offer the incense, between the staves. bAnd he sprinkled fromthe blood, bonetime bupward and seventimes bdownward. /b, bAnd he would neither intend to sprinklethe blood bupward norto sprinkle it bdownward, but rather like one who whips,with the blood sprinkled in a single column, one drop below the other. bAnd thisis how bhe would countas he sprinkled, to avoid error: bOne; one and one; one and two; one and three; one and four; one and five; one and six; one and seven.The High Priest then bemergedfrom there band placedthe bowl with the remaining blood bon the golden pedestal in the Sanctuary. /b, bThey brought him the goatto be sacrificed as a sin-offering to God. bHe slaughtered it and received its blood in the bowl. Heagain bentered into the place that hehad previously bentered,the Holy of Holies, band stood at the place that hepreviously bstood, and sprinkled fromthe blood of the goat bonetime bupward and seventimes bdownward. And thisis how bhe would count,just as he counted when sprinkling the blood of the bull: bOne; one and one; one and two; etc.The High Priest then bemergedfrom the Holy of Holies band placedthe bowl with the remaining blood bon the second golden pedestal in the Sanctuary. Rabbi Yehuda says: There was only one pedestal there,and he btook the blood of the bullfrom the pedestal band placed the blood of the goatin its place., bAnd he sprinkled fromthe blood of the bull bon the curtain opposite the Ark from outsidethe Holy of Holies, bonetime bupward and seventimes bdownward, and he would not intend, etc. And thisis how bhe would count, etc.When he concluded, bhe took the blood of the goatfrom the pedestal band placed blood of the bullin its place on the pedestal. bAnd he sprinkled fromthe goat’s blood bon the curtain opposite the Ark from outside,just as he did with the blood of the bull, bonetime bupward and seventimes bdownward, etc.Afterward, bhe poured the blood of the bull into the blood of the goat and placedthe blood bfrom the fullbowl into the bemptybowl, so that the blood would be mixed well., strongGEMARA: /strong The Gemara comments with regard to the wording of the mishna: It does bnot teach: Afterthe Ark bwas buried, but: Afterit bwas taken.If so, bwe learnedthis mishna bin accordance withthe opinion of bthe one who saidthat bthe Ark was exiled to Babyloniaand was not buried in its place, bas it was taughtin a ibaraita /i: bRabbi Eliezer says: The Ark was exiled to Babylonia, as it is stated: “And at the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylonia, along with the precious vessels of the House of the Lord”(II Chronicles 36:10). These precious vessels must include the Ark.,Likewise, bRabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: The Ark was exiled to Babylonia, as it is stated:“Behold, the days come that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored until this day, shall be carried to Babylonia; bnothing [ idavar /i] shall be left, says the Lord”(Isaiah 39:6). bThese are the Ten Commandments [ idibrot /i] that are inside it;they too shall not be left behind., bRabbi Yehuda ben Lakish says: The Ark was buried in its place, as it is stated: “And the ends of the staves were seen from the sacred place before the partition, but they could not be seen without; and they are there to this day”(I Kings 8:8). The expression “to this day” means forever, as the text might be read at any time. This teaches that the Ark is hidden in its place.,The Gemara comments: And bthisopinion that the Ark was exiled to Babylonia bdisagrees withthat bof Ulla, as Ulla said: Rabbi Matya ben Ḥarash asked Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai in Rome: And since Rabbi Eliezer taught us once and twice,i.e., from two separate verses, that bthe Ark was exiled to Babylonia.The Gemara interrupts its citation of Rabbi Matya ben Ḥarash’s question to identify these two verses. bThe firstverse is bthat which we said: “And brought him to Babylonia, along with the precious vessels of the House of the Lord.” What is the secondverse? Rabbi Eliezer said: bAs it is written: “And gone from the daughter of Zion is /b |
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16. Epigraphy, Jigre, 9
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