1. Septuagint, Tobit, 1.13, 1.18, 5.6 (10th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.13. Then the Most High gave me favor and good appearance in the sight of Shalmaneser, and I was his buyer of provisions. 1.18. And if Sennacherib the king put to death any who came fleeing from Judea, I buried them secretly. For in his anger he put many to death. When the bodies were sought by the king, they were not found. 5.6. The angel replied, "I will go with you; I am familiar with the way, and I have stayed with our brother Gabael. |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 4.2, 17.16 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 4.2. וְאֶתְכֶם לָקַח יְהוָה וַיּוֹצִא אֶתְכֶם מִכּוּר הַבַּרְזֶל מִמִּצְרָיִם לִהְיוֹת לוֹ לְעַם נַחֲלָה כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ 4.2. לֹא תֹסִפוּ עַל־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם וְלֹא תִגְרְעוּ מִמֶּנּוּ לִשְׁמֹר אֶת־מִצְוֺת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם׃ 17.16. רַק לֹא־יַרְבֶּה־לּוֹ סוּסִים וְלֹא־יָשִׁיב אֶת־הָעָם מִצְרַיְמָה לְמַעַן הַרְבּוֹת סוּס וַיהוָה אָמַר לָכֶם לֹא תֹסִפוּן לָשׁוּב בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה עוֹד׃ | 4.2. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." 17.16. Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses; forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you: ‘Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.’" |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Esther, 7.6, 7.10, 8.7, 8.17 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 7.6. וַתֹּאמֶר־אֶסְתֵּר אִישׁ צַר וְאוֹיֵב הָמָן הָרָע הַזֶּה וְהָמָן נִבְעַת מִלִּפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהַמַּלְכָּה׃ 8.7. וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹשׁ לְאֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה וּלְמָרְדֳּכַי הַיְּהוּדִי הִנֵּה בֵית־הָמָן נָתַתִּי לְאֶסְתֵּר וְאֹתוֹ תָּלוּ עַל־הָעֵץ עַל אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַח יָדוֹ ביהודיים [בַּיְּהוּדִים׃] 8.17. וּבְכָל־מְדִינָה וּמְדִינָה וּבְכָל־עִיר וָעִיר מְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר דְּבַר־הַמֶּלֶךְ וְדָתוֹ מַגִּיעַ שִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשׂוֹן לַיְּהוּדִים מִשְׁתֶּה וְיוֹם טוֹב וְרַבִּים מֵעַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ מִתְיַהֲדִים כִּי־נָפַל פַּחַד־הַיְּהוּדִים עֲלֵיהֶם׃ | 7.6. And Esther said: ‘An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman.’ Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen." 7.10. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath assuaged." 8.7. Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew: ‘Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews." 8.17. And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had gladness and joy, a feast and a good day. And many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen upon them." |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 14.4, 24.7 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 14.4. וְחִזַּקְתִּי אֶת־לֵב־פַּרְעֹה וְרָדַף אַחֲרֵיהֶם וְאִכָּבְדָה בְּפַרְעֹה וּבְכָל־חֵילוֹ וְיָדְעוּ מִצְרַיִם כִּי־אֲנִי יְהוָה וַיַּעֲשׂוּ־כֵן׃ 24.7. וַיִּקַּח סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית וַיִּקְרָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר יְהוָה נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע׃ | 14.4. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he shall follow after them; and I will get Me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.’ And they did so." 24.7. And he took the book of the covet, and read in the hearing of the people; and they said: ‘All that the LORD hath spoken will we do, and obey.’" |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 19.16-19.25 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 19.16. בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה מִצְרַיִם כַּנָּשִׁים וְחָרַד וּפָחַד מִפְּנֵי תְּנוּפַת יַד־יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר־הוּא מֵנִיף עָלָיו׃ 19.17. וְהָיְתָה אַדְמַת יְהוּדָה לְמִצְרַיִם לְחָגָּא כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יַזְכִּיר אֹתָהּ אֵלָיו יִפְחָד מִפְּנֵי עֲצַת יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר־הוּא יוֹעֵץ עָלָיו׃ 19.18. בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיוּ חָמֵשׁ עָרִים בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מְדַבְּרוֹת שְׂפַת כְּנַעַן וְנִשְׁבָּעוֹת לַיהוָה צְבָאוֹת עִיר הַהֶרֶס יֵאָמֵר לְאֶחָת׃ 19.19. בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה מִזְבֵּחַ לַיהוָה בְּתוֹךְ אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וּמַצֵּבָה אֵצֶל־גְּבוּלָהּ לַיהוָה׃ 19.21. וְנוֹדַע יְהוָה לְמִצְרַיִם וְיָדְעוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת־יְהוָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְעָבְדוּ זֶבַח וּמִנְחָה וְנָדְרוּ־נֵדֶר לַיהוָה וְשִׁלֵּמוּ׃ 19.22. וְנָגַף יְהוָה אֶת־מִצְרַיִם נָגֹף וְרָפוֹא וְשָׁבוּ עַד־יְהוָה וְנֶעְתַּר לָהֶם וּרְפָאָם׃ 19.23. בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא תִּהְיֶה מְסִלָּה מִמִּצְרַיִם אַשּׁוּרָה וּבָא־אַשּׁוּר בְּמִצְרַיִם וּמִצְרַיִם בְּאַשּׁוּר וְעָבְדוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת־אַשּׁוּר׃ 19.24. בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁלִישִׁיָּה לְמִצְרַיִם וּלְאַשּׁוּר בְּרָכָה בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ׃ 19.25. אֲשֶׁר בֵּרֲכוֹ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת לֵאמֹר בָּרוּךְ עַמִּי מִצְרַיִם וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדַי אַשּׁוּר וְנַחֲלָתִי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ | 19.16. In that day shall Egypt be like unto women; and it shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He shaketh over it." 19.17. And the land of Judah shall become a terror unto Egypt, whensoever one maketh mention thereof to it; it shall be afraid, because of the purpose of the LORD of hosts, which He purposeth against it." 19.18. In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called The city of destruction." 19.19. In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD." 19.20. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and He will send them a saviour, and a defender, who will deliver them." 19.21. And the LORD shall make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day; yea, they shall worship with sacrifice and offering, and shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and shall perform it." 19.22. And the LORD will smite Egypt, smiting and healing; and they shall return unto the LORD, and He will be entreated of them, and will heal them." 19.23. In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians." 19.24. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth;" 19.25. for that the LORD of hosts hath blessed him, saying: ‘Blessed be Egypt My people and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance.’" |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Ezra, 10, 2-9, 1 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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7. Hebrew Bible, Nehemiah, 10-13, 2-3, 5, 7-9, 1 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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8. Septuagint, Tobit, 1.13, 1.18, 5.6 (4th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.13. Then the Most High gave me favor and good appearance in the sight of Shalmaneser, and I was his buyer of provisions. 1.18. And if Sennacherib the king put to death any who came fleeing from Judea, I buried them secretly. For in his anger he put many to death. When the bodies were sought by the king, they were not found. 5.6. The angel replied, "I will go with you; I am familiar with the way, and I have stayed with our brother Gabael. |
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9. Anon., 1 Enoch, 89.15-89.16, 89.26-89.27 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 89.16. cry aloud on account of their little ones, and to complain unto their Lord. And a sheep which had been saved from the wolves fled and escaped to the wild asses; and I saw the sheep how they lamented and cried, and besought their Lord with all their might, till that Lord of the sheep descended at the voice of the sheep from a lofty abode, and came to them and pastured them. And He called that sheep which had escaped the wolves, and spake with it concerning the wolves that it should 89.26. And when they saw the Lord of the sheep, they turned to flee before His face, but that sea gathered itself together, and became as it had been created, and the water swelled and rose till it covered 89.27. those wolves. And I saw till all the wolves who pursued those sheep perished and were drowned. |
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10. Hebrew Bible, Daniel, 2.47, 3.31-3.33 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 2.47. עָנֵה מַלְכָּא לְדָנִיֵּאל וְאָמַר מִן־קְשֹׁט דִּי אֱלָהֲכוֹן הוּא אֱלָהּ אֱלָהִין וּמָרֵא מַלְכִין וְגָלֵה רָזִין דִּי יְכֵלְתָּ לְמִגְלֵא רָזָה דְנָה׃ 3.31. נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר מַלְכָּא לְכָל־עַמְמַיָּא אֻמַיָּא וְלִשָּׁנַיָּא דִּי־דארין [דָיְרִין] בְּכָל־אַרְעָא שְׁלָמְכוֹן יִשְׂגֵּא׃ 3.32. אָתַיָּא וְתִמְהַיָּא דִּי עֲבַד עִמִּי אֱלָהָא עליא [עִלָּאָה] שְׁפַר קָדָמַי לְהַחֲוָיָה׃ 3.33. אָתוֹהִי כְּמָה רַבְרְבִין וְתִמְהוֹהִי כְּמָה תַקִּיפִין מַלְכוּתֵהּ מַלְכוּת עָלַם וְשָׁלְטָנֵהּ עִם־דָּר וְדָר׃ | 2.47. The king spoke unto Daniel, and said: ‘of a truth it is, that your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret.’" 3.31. ‘Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; peace be multiplied unto you." 3.32. It hath seemed good unto me to declare the signs and wonders that God Most High hath wrought toward me." 3.33. How great are His signs! And how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation." |
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11. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 4.35-4.36, 4.49, 5.11, 9.4-9.28, 14.23-14.26 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 4.35. For this reason not only Jews, but many also of other nations, were grieved and displeased at the unjust murder of the man.' 4.36. When the king returned from the region of Cilicia, the Jews in the city appealed to him with regard to the unreasonable murder of Onias, and the Greeks shared their hatred of the crime.' 4.49. Therefore even the Tyrians, showing their hatred of the crime, provided magnificently for their funeral.' 5.11. When news of what had happened reached the king, he took it to mean that Judea was in revolt. So, raging inwardly, he left Egypt and took the city by storm.' 9.4. Transported with rage, he conceived the idea of turning upon the Jews the injury done by those who had put him to flight; so he ordered his charioteer to drive without stopping until he completed the journey. But the judgment of heaven rode with him! For in his arrogance he said, 'When I get there I will make Jerusalem a cemetery of Jews.' 9.5. But the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him an incurable and unseen blow. As soon as he ceased speaking he was seized with a pain in his bowels for which there was no relief and with sharp internal tortures --' 9.6. and that very justly, for he had tortured the bowels of others with many and strange inflictions.' 9.7. Yet he did not in any way stop his insolence, but was even more filled with arrogance, breathing fire in his rage against the Jews, and giving orders to hasten the journey. And so it came about that he fell out of his chariot as it was rushing along, and the fall was so hard as to torture every limb of his body.' 9.8. Thus he who had just been thinking that he could command the waves of the sea, in his superhuman arrogance, and imagining that he could weigh the high mountains in a balance, was brought down to earth and carried in a litter, making the power of God manifest to all.' 9.9. And so the ungodly man's body swarmed with worms, and while he was still living in anguish and pain, his flesh rotted away, and because of his stench the whole army felt revulsion at his decay.' 9.10. Because of his intolerable stench no one was able to carry the man who a little while before had thought that he could touch the stars of heaven. 9.11. Then it was that, broken in spirit, he began to lose much of his arrogance and to come to his senses under the scourge of God, for he was tortured with pain every moment.' 9.12. And when he could not endure his own stench, he uttered these words: 'It is right to be subject to God, and no mortal should think that he is equal to God.' 9.13. Then the abominable fellow made a vow to the Lord, who would no longer have mercy on him, stating' 9.14. that the holy city, which he was hastening to level to the ground and to make a cemetery, he was now declaring to be free;' 9.15. and the Jews, whom he had not considered worth burying but had planned to throw out with their children to the beasts, for the birds to pick, he would make, all of them, equal to citizens of Athens;' 9.16. and the holy sanctuary, which he had formerly plundered, he would adorn with the finest offerings; and the holy vessels he would give back, all of them, many times over; and the expenses incurred for the sacrifices he would provide from his own revenues;' 9.17. and in addition to all this he also would become a Jew and would visit every inhabited place to proclaim the power of God. 9.18. But when his sufferings did not in any way abate, for the judgment of God had justly come upon him, he gave up all hope for himself and wrote to the Jews the following letter, in the form of a supplication. This was its content:' 9.19. To his worthy Jewish citizens, Antiochus their king and general sends hearty greetings and good wishes for their health and prosperity.' 9.20. If you and your children are well and your affairs are as you wish, I am glad. As my hope is in heaven,' 9.21. I remember with affection your esteem and good will. On my way back from the region of Persia I suffered an annoying illness, and I have deemed it necessary to take thought for the general security of all.' 9.22. I do not despair of my condition, for I have good hope of recovering from my illness,' 9.23. but I observed that my father, on the occasions when he made expeditions into the upper country, appointed his successor,' 9.24. o that, if anything unexpected happened or any unwelcome news came, the people throughout the realm would not be troubled, for they would know to whom the government was left.' 9.25. Moreover, I understand how the princes along the borders and the neighbors to my kingdom keep watching for opportunities and waiting to see what will happen. So I have appointed my son Antiochus to be king, whom I have often entrusted and commended to most of you when I hastened off to the upper provinces; and I have written to him what is written here.' 9.26. I therefore urge and beseech you to remember the public and private services rendered to you and to maintain your present good will, each of you, toward me and my son.' 9.27. For I am sure that he will follow my policy and will treat you with moderation and kindness.' 9.28. So the murderer and blasphemer, having endured the more intense suffering, such as he had inflicted on others, came to the end of his life by a most pitiable fate, among the mountains in a strange land.' 14.23. Nicanor stayed on in Jerusalem and did nothing out of the way, but dismissed the flocks of people that had gathered.' 14.24. And he kept Judas always in his presence; he was warmly attached to the man. 14.25. And he urged him to marry and have children; so he married, settled down, and shared the common life.' 14.26. But when Alcimus noticed their good will for one another, he took the covet that had been made and went to Demetrius. He told him that Nicanor was disloyal to the government, for he had appointed that conspirator against the kingdom, Judas, to be his successor.' |
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12. Septuagint, Judith, 1.1 (2nd cent. BCE - 0th cent. CE)
| 1.1. In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh, in the days of Arphaxad, who ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana -- |
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13. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 7.25 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 7.25. For she is a breath of the power of God,and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. |
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14. Septuagint, 3 Maccabees, 1.8-1.10, 1.12, 1.16, 1.22-1.23, 2.6-2.7, 2.13-2.14, 2.17, 2.21, 2.24-2.30, 3.1-3.22, 3.24-3.26, 4.1-4.2, 4.4-4.7, 4.11, 4.13, 4.15-4.16, 4.21, 5.1, 5.3, 5.6-5.8, 5.11-5.13, 5.17-5.18, 5.20-5.22, 5.25, 5.28-5.37, 5.39-5.42, 5.44, 5.47, 5.50-5.51, 6.3-6.4, 6.9-6.11, 6.15, 6.18-6.28, 6.30, 6.33-6.34, 6.40, 7.2-7.8, 7.10-7.15, 7.18, 7.20, 7.22-7.23 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.8. Since the Jews had sent some of their council and elders to greet him, to bring him gifts of welcome, and to congratulate him on what had happened, he was all the more eager to visit them as soon as possible. 1.9. After he had arrived in Jerusalem, he offered sacrifice to the supreme God and made thank-offerings and did what was fitting for the holy place. Then, upon entering the place and being impressed by its excellence and its beauty 1.12. Even after the law had been read to him, he did not cease to maintain that he ought to enter, saying, "Even if those men are deprived of this honor, I ought not to be. 1.16. Then the priests in all their vestments prostrated themselves and entreated the supreme God to aid in the present situation and to avert the violence of this evil design, and they filled the temple with cries and tears; 1.22. In addition, the bolder of the citizens would not tolerate the completion of his plans or the fulfillment of his intended purpose. 1.23. They shouted to their fellows to take arms and die courageously for the ancestral law, and created a considerable disturbance in the holy place; and being barely restrained by the old men and the elders, they resorted to the same posture of supplication as the others. 2.6. You made known your mighty power by inflicting many and varied punishments on the audacious Pharaoh who had enslaved your holy people Israel. 2.7. And when he pursued them with chariots and a mass of troops, you overwhelmed him in the depths of the sea, but carried through safely those who had put their confidence in you, the Ruler over the whole creation. 2.13. see now, O holy King, that because of our many and great sins we are crushed with suffering, subjected to our enemies, and overtaken by helplessness. 2.14. In our downfall this audacious and profane man undertakes to violate the holy place on earth dedicated to your glorious name. 2.17. Do not punish us for the defilement committed by these men, or call us to account for this profanation, lest the transgressors boast in their wrath or exult in the arrogance of their tongue, saying 2.21. Thereupon God, who oversees all things, the first Father of all, holy among the holy ones, having heard the lawful supplication, scourged him who had exalted himself in insolence and audacity. 2.24. After a while he recovered, and though he had been punished, he by no means repented, but went away uttering bitter threats. 2.25. When he arrived in Egypt, he increased in his deeds of malice, abetted by the previously mentioned drinking companions and comrades, who were strangers to everything just. 2.26. He was not content with his uncounted licentious deeds, but he also continued with such audacity that he framed evil reports in the various localities; and many of his friends, intently observing the king's purpose, themselves also followed his will. 2.27. He proposed to inflict public disgrace upon the Jewish community, and he set up a stone on the tower in the courtyard with this inscription: 2.28. None of those who do not sacrifice shall enter their sanctuaries, and all Jews shall be subjected to a registration involving poll tax and to the status of slaves. Those who object to this are to be taken by force and put to death; 2.29. those who are registered are also to be branded on their bodies by fire with the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus, and they shall also be reduced to their former limited status. 3.1. When the impious king comprehended this situation, he became so infuriated that not only was he enraged against those Jews who lived in Alexandria, but was still more bitterly hostile toward those in the countryside; and he ordered that all should promptly be gathered into one place, and put to death by the most cruel means. 3.1. And already some of their neighbors and friends and business associates had taken some of them aside privately and were pledging to protect them and to exert more earnest efforts for their assistance. 3.2. While these matters were being arranged, a hostile rumor was circulated against the Jewish nation by men who conspired to do them ill, a pretext being given by a report that they hindered others from the observance of their customs. 3.2. But we, when we arrived in Egypt victorious, accommodated ourselves to their folly and did as was proper, since we treat all nations with benevolence. 3.3. The Jews, however, continued to maintain good will and unswerving loyalty toward the dynasty; 3.3. The letter was written in the above form. 3.4. but because they worshiped God and conducted themselves by his law, they kept their separateness with respect to foods. For this reason they appeared hateful to some; 3.5. but since they adorned their style of life with the good deeds of upright people, they were established in good repute among all men. 3.6. Nevertheless those of other races paid no heed to their good service to their nation, which was common talk among all; 3.7. instead they gossiped about the differences in worship and foods, alleging that these people were loyal neither to the king nor to his authorities, but were hostile and greatly opposed to his government. So they attached no ordinary reproach to them. 3.8. The Greeks in the city, though wronged in no way, when they saw an unexpected tumult around these people and the crowds that suddenly were forming, were not strong enough to help them, for they lived under tyranny. They did try to console them, being grieved at the situation, and expected that matters would change; 3.9. for such a great community ought not be left to its fate when it had committed no offense. 3.11. Then the king, boastful of his present good fortune, and not considering the might of the supreme God, but assuming that he would persevere constantly in his same purpose, wrote this letter against them: 3.12. King Ptolemy Philopator to his generals and soldiers in Egypt and all its districts, greetings and good health. 3.13. I myself and our government are faring well. 3.14. When our expedition took place in Asia, as you yourselves know, it was brought to conclusion, according to plan, by the gods' deliberate alliance with us in battle 3.15. and we considered that we should not rule the nations inhabiting Coele-Syria and Phoenicia by the power of the spear but should cherish them with clemency and great benevolence, gladly treating them well. 3.16. And when we had granted very great revenues to the temples in the cities, we came on to Jerusalem also, and went up to honor the temple of those wicked people, who never cease from their folly. 3.17. They accepted our presence by word, but insincerely by deed, because when we proposed to enter their inner temple and honor it with magnificent and most beautiful offerings 3.18. they were carried away by their traditional conceit, and excluded us from entering; but they were spared the exercise of our power because of the benevolence which we have toward all. 3.19. By maintaining their manifest ill-will toward us, they become the only people among all nations who hold their heads high in defiance of kings and their own benefactors, and are unwilling to regard any action as sincere. 3.21. Among other things, we made known to all our amnesty toward their compatriots here, both because of their alliance with us and the myriad affairs liberally entrusted to them from the beginning; and we ventured to make a change, by deciding both to deem them worthy of Alexandrian citizenship and to make them participants in our regular religious rites. 3.22. But in their innate malice they took this in a contrary spirit, and disdained what is good. Since they incline constantly to evil 3.24. Therefore, fully convinced by these indications that they are ill-disposed toward us in every way, we have taken precautions lest, if a sudden disorder should later arise against us, we should have these impious people behind our backs as traitors and barbarous enemies. 3.25. Therefore we have given orders that, as soon as this letter shall arrive, you are to send to us those who live among you, together with their wives and children, with insulting and harsh treatment, and bound securely with iron fetters, to suffer the sure and shameful death that befits enemies. 3.26. For when these all have been punished, we are sure that for the remaining time the government will be established for ourselves in good order and in the best state. 4.1. In every place, then, where this decree arrived, a feast at public expense was arranged for the Gentiles with shouts and gladness, for the inveterate enmity which had long ago been in their minds was now made evident and outspoken. 4.1. and in addition they were confined under a solid deck, so that with their eyes in total darkness, they should undergo treatment befitting traitors during the whole voyage. 4.2. But among the Jews there was incessant mourning, lamentation, and tearful cries; everywhere their hearts were burning, and they groaned because of the unexpected destruction that had suddenly been decreed for them. 4.2. when they said and proved that both the paper and the pens they used for writing had already given out. 4.4. For with such a harsh and ruthless spirit were they being sent off, all together, by the generals in the several cities, that at the sight of their unusual punishments, even some of their enemies, perceiving the common object of pity before their eyes, reflected upon the uncertainty of life and shed tears at the most miserable expulsion of these people. 4.5. For a multitude of gray-headed old men, sluggish and bent with age, was being led away, forced to march at a swift pace by the violence with which they were driven in such a shameful manner. 4.6. And young women who had just entered the bridal chamber to share married life exchanged joy for wailing, their myrrh-perfumed hair sprinkled with ashes, and were carried away unveiled, all together raising a lament instead of a wedding song, as they were torn by the harsh treatment of the heathen. 4.7. In bonds and in public view they were violently dragged along as far as the place of embarkation. 4.11. When these men had been brought to the place called Schedia, and the voyage was concluded as the king had decreed, he commanded that they should be enclosed in the hippodrome which had been built with a monstrous perimeter wall in front of the city, and which was well suited to make them an obvious spectacle to all coming back into the city and to those from the city going out into the country, so that they could neither communicate with the king's forces nor in any way claim to be inside the circuit of the city. 4.13. ordered in his rage that these men be dealt with in precisely the same fashion as the others, not omitting any detail of their punishment. 4.15. The registration of these people was therefore conducted with bitter haste and zealous intentness from the rising of the sun till its setting, and though uncompleted it stopped after forty days. 4.16. The king was greatly and continually filled with joy, organizing feasts in honor of all his idols, with a mind alienated from truth and with a profane mouth, praising speechless things that are not able even to communicate or to come to one's help, and uttering improper words against the supreme God. 4.21. But this was an act of the invincible providence of him who was aiding the Jews from heaven. 5.1. Then the king, completely inflexible, was filled with overpowering anger and wrath; so he summoned Hermon, keeper of the elephants 5.1. Hermon, however, when he had drugged the pitiless elephants until they had been filled with a great abundance of wine and satiated with frankincense, presented himself at the courtyard early in the morning to report to the king about these preparations. 5.3. When he had given these orders he returned to his feasting, together with those of his friends and of the army who were especially hostile toward the Jews. 5.3. But at these words he was filled with an overpowering wrath, because by the providence of God his whole mind had been deranged in regard to these matters; and with a threatening look he said 5.6. For to the Gentiles it appeared that the Jews were left without any aid 5.7. because in their bonds they were forcibly confined on every side. But with tears and a voice hard to silence they all called upon the Almighty Lord and Ruler of all power, their merciful God and Father, praying 5.8. that he avert with vengeance the evil plot against them and in a glorious manifestation rescue them from the fate now prepared for them. 5.11. But the Lord sent upon the king a portion of sleep, that beneficence which from the beginning, night and day, is bestowed by him who grants it to whomever he wishes. 5.12. And by the action of the Lord he was overcome by so pleasant and deep a sleep that he quite failed in his lawless purpose and was completely frustrated in his inflexible plan. 5.13. Then the Jews, since they had escaped the appointed hour, praised their holy God and again begged him who is easily reconciled to show the might of his all-powerful hand to the arrogant Gentiles. 5.17. When this was done he urged them to give themselves over to revelry and to make the present portion of the banquet joyful by celebrating all the more. 5.18. After the party had been going on for some time, the king summoned Hermon and with sharp threats demanded to know why the Jews had been allowed to remain alive through the present day. 5.21. When the king had spoken, all those present readily and joyfully with one accord gave their approval, and each departed to his own home. 5.22. But they did not so much employ the duration of the night in sleep as in devising all sorts of insults for those they thought to be doomed. 5.25. But the Jews, at their last gasp, since the time had run out, stretched their hands toward heaven and with most tearful supplication and mournful dirges implored the supreme God to help them again at once. 5.28. This was the act of God who rules over all things, for he had implanted in the king's mind a forgetfulness of the things he had previously devised. 5.29. Then Hermon and all the king's friends pointed out that the beasts and the armed forces were ready, "O king, according to your eager purpose. 5.31. Were your parents or children present, I would have prepared them to be a rich feast for the savage beasts instead of the Jews, who give me no ground for complaint and have exhibited to an extraordinary degree a full and firm loyalty to my ancestors. 5.32. In fact you would have been deprived of life instead of these, were it not for an affection arising from our nurture in common and your usefulness. 5.33. So Hermon suffered an unexpected and dangerous threat, and his eyes wavered and his face fell. 5.34. The king's friends one by one sullenly slipped away and dismissed the assembled people, each to his own occupation. 5.35. Then the Jews, upon hearing what the king had said, praised the manifest Lord God, King of kings, since this also was his aid which they had received. 5.36. The king, however, reconvened the party in the same manner and urged the guests to return to their celebrating. 5.37. After summoning Hermon he said in a threatening tone, "How many times, you poor wretch, must I give you orders about these things? 5.39. But the officials who were at table with him, wondering at his instability of mind, remonstrated as follows: 5.41. As a result the city is in a tumult because of its expectation; it is crowded with masses of people, and also in constant danger of being plundered. 5.42. Upon this the king, a Phalaris in everything and filled with madness, took no account of the changes of mind which had come about within him for the protection of the Jews, and he firmly swore an irrevocable oath that he would send them to death without delay, mangled by the knees and feet of the beasts 5.44. Then the friends and officers departed with great joy, and they confidently posted the armed forces at the places in the city most favorable for keeping guard. 5.47. So he, when he had filled his impious mind with a deep rage, rushed out in full force along with the beasts, wishing to witness, with invulnerable heart and with his own eyes, the grievous and pitiful destruction of the aforementioned people. 5.51. and cried out in a very loud voice, imploring the Ruler over every power to manifest himself and be merciful to them, as they stood now at the gates of death. 6.3. look upon the descendants of Abraham, O Father, upon the children of the sainted Jacob, a people of your consecrated portion who are perishing as foreigners in a foreign land. 6.3. Then the king, when he had returned to the city, summoned the official in charge of the revenues and ordered him to provide to the Jews both wines and everything else needed for a festival of seven days, deciding that they should celebrate their rescue with all joyfulness in that same place in which they had expected to meet their destruction. 6.4. Pharaoh with his abundance of chariots, the former ruler of this Egypt, exalted with lawless insolence and boastful tongue, you destroyed together with his arrogant army by drowning them in the sea, manifesting the light of your mercy upon the nation of Israel. 6.4. Then they feasted, provided with everything by the king, until the fourteenth day, on which also they made the petition for their dismissal. 6.9. And now, you who hate insolence, all-merciful and protector of all, reveal yourself quickly to those of the nation of Israel -- who are being outrageously treated by the abominable and lawless Gentiles. 6.11. Let not the vain-minded praise their vanities at the destruction of your beloved people, saying, `Not even their god has rescued them.' 6.15. Let it be shown to all the Gentiles that you are with us, O Lord, and have not turned your face from us; but just as you have said, `Not even when they were in the land of their enemies did I neglect them,' so accomplish it, O Lord. 6.18. Then the most glorious, almighty, and true God revealed his holy face and opened the heavenly gates, from which two glorious angels of fearful aspect descended, visible to all but the Jews. 6.19. They opposed the forces of the enemy and filled them with confusion and terror, binding them with immovable shackles. 6.21. The beasts turned back upon the armed forces following them and began trampling and destroying them. 6.22. Then the king's anger was turned to pity and tears because of the things that he had devised beforehand. 6.23. For when he heard the shouting and saw them all fallen headlong to destruction, he wept and angrily threatened his friends, saying 6.24. You are committing treason and surpassing tyrants in cruelty; and even me, your benefactor, you are now attempting to deprive of dominion and life by secretly devising acts of no advantage to the kingdom. 6.25. Who is it that has taken each man from his home and senselessly gathered here those who faithfully have held the fortresses of our country? 6.26. Who is it that has so lawlessly encompassed with outrageous treatment those who from the beginning differed from all nations in their goodwill toward us and often have accepted willingly the worst of human dangers? 6.27. Loose and untie their unjust bonds! Send them back to their homes in peace, begging pardon for your former actions! 6.28. Release the sons of the almighty and living God of heaven, who from the time of our ancestors until now has granted an unimpeded and notable stability to our government. 6.33. Likewise also the king, after convening a great banquet to celebrate these events, gave thanks to heaven unceasingly and lavishly for the unexpected rescue which he had experienced. 6.34. And those who had previously believed that the Jews would be destroyed and become food for birds, and had joyfully registered them, groaned as they themselves were overcome by disgrace, and their fire-breathing boldness was ignominiously quenched. 7.2. We ourselves and our children are faring well, the great God guiding our affairs according to our desire. 7.2. Then, after inscribing them as holy on a pillar and dedicating a place of prayer at the site of the festival, they departed unharmed, free, and overjoyed, since at the king's command they had been brought safely by land and sea and river each to his own place. 7.3. Certain of our friends, frequently urging us with malicious intent, persuaded us to gather together the Jews of the kingdom in a body and to punish them with barbarous penalties as traitors; 7.4. for they declared that our government would never be firmly established until this was accomplished, because of the ill-will which these people had toward all nations. 7.5. They also led them out with harsh treatment as slaves, or rather as traitors, and, girding themselves with a cruelty more savage than that of Scythian custom, they tried without any inquiry or examination to put them to death. 7.6. But we very severely threatened them for these acts, and in accordance with the clemency which we have toward all men we barely spared their lives. Since we have come to realize that the God of heaven surely defends the Jews, always taking their part as a father does for his children 7.7. and since we have taken into account the friendly and firm goodwill which they had toward us and our ancestors, we justly have acquitted them of every charge of whatever kind. 7.8. We also have ordered each and every one to return to his own home, with no one in any place doing them harm at all or reproaching them for the irrational things that have happened. 7.11. For they declared that those who for the belly's sake had transgressed the divine commandments would never be favorably disposed toward the king's government. 7.12. The king then, admitting and approving the truth of what they said, granted them a general license so that freely and without royal authority or supervision they might destroy those everywhere in his kingdom who had transgressed the law of God. 7.13. When they had applauded him in fitting manner, their priests and the whole multitude shouted the Hallelujah and joyfully departed. 7.14. And so on their way they punished and put to a public and shameful death any whom they met of their fellow-countrymen who had become defiled. 7.15. In that day they put to death more than three hundred men; and they kept the day as a joyful festival, since they had destroyed the profaners. 7.18. There they celebrated their deliverance, for the king had generously provided all things to them for their journey, to each as far as his own house. 7.22. Besides they all recovered all of their property, in accordance with the registration, so that those who held any restored it to them with extreme fear. So the supreme God perfectly performed great deeds for their deliverance. 7.23. Blessed be the Deliverer of Israel through all times! Amen. |
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15. Philo of Alexandria, Against Flaccus, 190-191, 29, 189 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 189. for he, turning round them and clinging to his executioners, who were hindered in their aims which they took at him with their swords, and who thus struck him with oblique blows, was the cause of his own sufferings being more severe; for he was in consequence mutilated and cut about the hands, and feet, and head, and breast, and sides, so that he was mangled like a victim, and thus he fell, justice righteously inflicting on his own body wounds equal in number to the murders of the Jews whom he had unlawfully put to death. |
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16. Philo of Alexandria, On The Embassy To Gaius, 167-170, 166 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 166. The greater portion of these men ere Egyptians, wicked, worthless men, who had imprinted the venom and evil disposition of their native asps and crocodiles on their own souls, and gave a faithful representation of them there. And the leader of the whole Egyptian troops, like the coryphaeus of a chorus, was a man of the name of Helicon, an accursed and infamous slave, who had been introduced into the imperial household to its ruin; for he had acquired a slight smattering of the encyclical sciences, by imitation of and rivalry with his former master, who gave him to Tiberius Caesar. |
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17. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 18.306 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 18.306. for God would not forget the dangers Petronius had undertaken on account of the Jews, and of his own honor. But when he had taken Caius away, out of his indignation of what he had so insolently attempted in assuming to himself divine worship, both Rome and all that dominion conspired with Petronius, especially those that were of the senatorian order, to give Caius his due reward, because he had been unmercifully severe to them; |
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18. Josephus Flavius, Against Apion, 2.68-2.70 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.68. But still he charges us with being the authors of sedition: which accusation, if it be a just one, why is it not laid against us all, since we are known to be all of one mind? 2.69. Moreover, those that search into such matters will soon discover that the authors of sedition have been such citizens of Alexandria as Apion is; for while they were the Grecians and Macedonians who were in possession of this city, there was no sedition raised against us, and we were permitted to observe our ancient solemnities; but when the number of the Egyptians therein came to be considerable, the times grew confused, and then these seditions brake out still more and more, while our people continued uncorrupted. |
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19. Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds And Sayings, 1.3.3 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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20. Babylonian Talmud, Gittin, 56a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 56a. אמר ליה לא אמר ליה יהיבנא לך דמי פלגא דסעודתיך אמר ליה לא אמר ליה יהיבנא לך דמי כולה סעודתיך א"ל לא נקטיה בידיה ואוקמיה ואפקיה,אמר הואיל והוו יתבי רבנן ולא מחו ביה ש"מ קא ניחא להו איזיל איכול בהו קורצא בי מלכא אזל אמר ליה לקיסר מרדו בך יהודאי א"ל מי יימר א"ל שדר להו קורבנא חזית אי מקרבין ליה,אזל שדר בידיה עגלא תלתא בהדי דקאתי שדא ביה מומא בניב שפתים ואמרי לה בדוקין שבעין דוכתא דלדידן הוה מומא ולדידהו לאו מומא הוא,סבור רבנן לקרוביה משום שלום מלכות אמר להו רבי זכריה בן אבקולס יאמרו בעלי מומין קריבין לגבי מזבח סבור למיקטליה דלא ליזיל ולימא אמר להו רבי זכריה יאמרו מטיל מום בקדשים יהרג,אמר רבי יוחנן ענוותנותו של רבי זכריה בן אבקולס החריבה את ביתנו ושרפה את היכלנו והגליתנו מארצנו,שדר עלוייהו לנירון קיסר כי קאתי שדא גירא למזרח אתא נפל בירושלים למערב אתא נפל בירושלים לארבע רוחות השמים אתא נפל בירושלים,א"ל לינוקא פסוק לי פסוקיך אמר ליה (יחזקאל כה, יד) ונתתי את נקמתי באדום ביד עמי ישראל וגו' אמר קודשא בריך הוא בעי לחרובי ביתיה ובעי לכפורי ידיה בההוא גברא ערק ואזל ואיגייר ונפק מיניה ר"מ,שדריה עילוייהו לאספסיינוס קיסר אתא צר עלה תלת שני הוו בה הנהו תלתא עתירי נקדימון בן גוריון ובן כלבא שבוע ובן ציצית הכסת נקדימון בן גוריון שנקדה לו חמה בעבורו בן כלבא שבוע שכל הנכנס לביתו כשהוא רעב ככלב יוצא כשהוא שבע בן ציצית הכסת שהיתה ציצתו נגררת על גבי כסתות איכא דאמרי שהיתה כסתו מוטלת בין גדולי רומי,חד אמר להו אנא זיינא להו בחיטי ושערי וחד אמר להו בדחמרא ובדמלחא ומשחא וחד אמר להו בדציבי ושבחו רבנן לדציבי דרב חסדא כל אקלידי הוה מסר לשמעיה בר מדציבי דאמר רב חסדא אכלבא דחיטי בעי שיתין אכלבי דציבי הוה להו למיזן עשרים וחד שתא,הוו בהו הנהו בריוני אמרו להו רבנן ניפוק ונעביד שלמא בהדייהו לא שבקינהו אמרו להו ניפוק ונעביד קרבא בהדייהו אמרו להו רבנן לא מסתייעא מילתא קמו קלנהו להנהו אמברי דחיטי ושערי והוה כפנא,מרתא בת בייתוס עתירתא דירושלים הויא שדרתה לשלוחה ואמרה ליה זיל אייתי לי סמידא אדאזל איזדבן אתא אמר לה סמידא ליכא חיורתא איכא אמרה ליה זיל אייתי לי אדאזל איזדבן אתא ואמר לה חיורתא ליכא גושקרא איכא א"ל זיל אייתי לי אדאזל אזדבן אתא ואמר לה גושקרא ליכא קימחא דשערי איכא אמרה ליה זיל אייתי לי אדאזל איזדבן,הוה שליפא מסאנא אמרה איפוק ואחזי אי משכחנא מידי למיכל איתיב לה פרתא בכרעא ומתה,קרי עלה רבן יוחנן בן זכאי (דברים כח, נו) הרכה בך והענוגה אשר לא נסתה כף רגלה איכא דאמרי גרוגרות דר' צדוק אכלה ואיתניסא ומתה דר' צדוק יתיב ארבעין שנין בתעניתא דלא ליחרב ירושלים כי הוה אכיל מידי הוה מיתחזי מאבראי וכי הוה בריא מייתי ליה גרוגרות מייץ מייהו ושדי להו,כי הוה קא ניחא נפשה אפיקתה לכל דהבא וכספא שדיתיה בשוקא אמרה האי למאי מיבעי לי והיינו דכתיב (יחזקאל ז, יט) כספם בחוצות ישליכו,אבא סקרא ריש בריוני דירושלים בר אחתיה דרבן יוחנן בן זכאי הוה שלח ליה תא בצינעא לגבאי אתא א"ל עד אימת עבדיתו הכי וקטליתו ליה לעלמא בכפנא א"ל מאי איעביד דאי אמינא להו מידי קטלו לי א"ל חזי לי תקנתא לדידי דאיפוק אפשר דהוי הצלה פורתא,א"ל נקוט נפשך בקצירי וליתי כולי עלמא ולישיילו בך ואייתי מידי סריא ואגני גבך ולימרו דנח נפשך וליעיילו בך תלמידך ולא ליעול בך איניש אחרינא דלא לרגשן בך דקליל את דאינהו ידעי דחייא קליל ממיתא,עביד הכי נכנס בו רבי אליעזר מצד אחד ורבי יהושע מצד אחר כי מטו לפיתחא בעו למדקריה אמר להו יאמרו רבן דקרו בעו למדחפיה אמר להו יאמרו רבן דחפו פתחו ליה בבא נפק,כי מטא להתם אמר שלמא עלך מלכא שלמא עלך מלכא א"ל מיחייבת תרי קטלא חדא דלאו מלכא אנא וקא קרית לי מלכא ותו אי מלכא אנא עד האידנא אמאי לא אתית לגבאי א"ל דקאמרת לאו מלכא אנא | 56a. The host bsaid to him: No,you must leave. Bar Kamtza bsaid to him: I will give you money for half of the feast;just do not send me away. The host bsaid to him: No,you must leave. Bar Kamtza then bsaid to him: I will give you money for the entire feast;just let me stay. The host bsaid to him: No,you must leave. Finally, the host btookbar Kamtza bby his hand, stood him up, and took him out. /b,After having been cast out from the feast, bar Kamtza bsaidto himself: bSince the Sages were sittingthere band did not protestthe actions of the host, although they saw how he humiliated me, blearn from it that they were contentwith what he did. bI willtherefore bgo and inform [ ieikhul kurtza /i] against them to the king. He wentand bsaid to the emperor: The Jews have rebelled against you.The emperor bsaid to him: Who saysthat this is the case? Bar Kamtza bsaid to him:Go and test them; bsend them an offeringto be brought in honor of the government, and bsee whether theywill bsacrifice it. /b,The emperor bwent and sent with hima choice bthree-year-old calf. Whilebar Kamtza bwas comingwith the calf to the Temple, bhe made a blemish onthe calf’s bupper lip. And some sayhe made the blemish bonits beyelids, a place where according to us,i.e., ihalakha /i, it bis a blemish, but according to them,gentile rules for their offerings, it bis not a blemish.Therefore, when bar Kamtza brought the animal to the Temple, the priests would not sacrifice it on the altar since it was blemished, but they also could not explain this satisfactorily to the gentile authorities, who did not consider it to be blemished.,The blemish notwithstanding, bthe Sages thought to sacrificethe animal as an offering bdue tothe imperative to maintain bpeacewith the bgovernment. Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas said to them:If the priests do that, people bwill saythat bblemishedanimals bmay be sacrificedas offerings bon the altar.The Sages said: If we do not sacrifice it, then we must prevent bar Kamtza from reporting this to the emperor. The Sages bthought to kill him so that he would not go and speakagainst them. bRabbi Zekharya said to them:If you kill him, people bwill saythat bone who makes a blemish on sacrificialanimals bis to be killed.As a result, they did nothing, bar Kamtza’s slander was accepted by the authorities, and consequently the war between the Jews and the Romans began., bRabbi Yoḥa says: Theexcessive bhumility of Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas destroyed our Temple, burned our Sanctuary, and exiled us from our land. /b,The Roman authorities then bsent Nero Caesar againstthe Jews. bWhen he cameto Jerusalem, he wished to test his fate. bHe shot an arrow to the eastand the arrow bcameand bfell in Jerusalem.He then shot another arrow bto the westand bitalso bfell in Jerusalem.He shot an arrow binall bfour directions of the heavens,and each time the arrow bfell in Jerusalem. /b,Nero then conducted another test: bHe said to a child: Tell me a versethat you learned today. bHe said to himas follows: b“And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel”(Ezekiel 25:14). Nero bsaid: The Holy One, Blessed be He, wishes to destroy His Temple, and He wishes to wipe his hands with that man,i.e., with me. The Romans are associated with Edom, the descendants of Esau. If I continue on this mission, I will eventually be punished for having served as God’s agent to bring about the destruction. So bhe fledand bbecame a convert, andultimately bRabbi Meir descended from him. /b,The Roman authorities then bsent Vespasian Caesar againstthe Jews. bHe cameand blaid siegeto Jerusalem for bthree years. There wereat that time binJerusalem bthese three wealthy people: Nakdimon ben Guryon, ben Kalba Savua, and ben Tzitzit HaKesat.The Gemara explains their names: bNakdimon ben Guryonwas called by that name bbecause the sun shined [ inakad /i] on his behalf,as it is related elsewhere (see iTa’anit19b) that the sun once continued to shine in order to prevent him from suffering a substantial loss. bBen Kalba Savuawas called this bbecause anyone who entered his house when he was hungry as a dog [ ikelev /i] would leave satiated [ isave’a /i]. Ben Tzitzit HaKesatwas referred to by that name because bhis ritual fringes [ itzitzit /i] draggedalong bon blankets [ ikeset /i],meaning that he would not walk in the street with his feet on the ground, but rather they would place blankets beneath him. bThere arethose bwho say that his seat [ ikiseh /i] was found among the nobles of Rome,meaning that he would sit among them.,These three wealthy people offered their assistance. bOneof them bsaid tothe leaders of the city: bI will feedthe residents bwith wheat and barley. And oneof them bsaid toleaders of the city: I will provide the residents bwith wine, salt, and oil. And oneof them bsaid tothe leaders of the city: I will supply the residents bwith wood.The Gemara comments: bAnd the Sages gavespecial bpraise to hewho gave the bwood,since this was an especially expensive gift. bAs Rav Ḥisda would give all of the keys [ iaklidei /i] to his servant, exceptfor the key btohis shed bforstoring bwood,which he deemed the most important of them all. bAs Rav Ḥisda said: One storehouse [ iakhleva /i] of wheat requires sixty storehouses of woodfor cooking and baking fuel. These three wealthy men bhadbetween them enough commodities bto sustainthe besieged bfor twenty-one years. /b, bThere were certain zealots amongthe people of Jerusalem. bThe Sages said to them: Let us go out and make peace withthe Romans. But the zealots bdid not allow themto do this. The zealots bsaid tothe Sages: bLet us go out and engage in battle againstthe Romans. But bthe Sages said to them: You will not be successful.It would be better for you to wait until the siege is broken. In order to force the residents of the city to engage in battle, the zealots barose and burneddown bthese storehouses [ iambarei /i] of wheat and barley, and there wasa general bfamine. /b,With regard to this famine it is related that bMarta bat Baitos wasone of the bwealthy women of Jerusalem. She sentout bher agent and said to him: Go bring me fine flour [ isemida /i]. By the time he went,the fine flour bwasalready bsold. He cameand bsaid to her: There is no fine flour,but bthere isordinary bflour. She said to him: Gothen and bbring meordinary flour. bBy the time he went,the ordinary flour bwasalso bsold. He came and said to her: There is noordinary bflour,but bthere is coarse flour [ igushkera /i]. She said to him: Gothen and bbring mecoarse flour. bBy the time he went,the coarse flour bwasalready bsold. He came and said to her: There is no coarse flour,but bthere is barley flour. She said to him: Gothen and bbring mebarley flour. But once again, bby the time he went,the barley flour bwasalso bsold. /b, bShe hadjust bremoved her shoes,but bshe said: I will go outmyself band see if I can find something to eat.She stepped on some bdung,which bstuck to her foot, and,overcome by disgust, bshe died. /b, bRabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai read concerning hera verse found in the section of the Torah listing the curses that will befall Israel: b“The tender and delicate woman among you who would not adventure to set the sole of her footupon the ground” (Deuteronomy 28:56). bThere arethose bwho saythat she did not step on dung, but rather bshe ate a fig of Rabbi Tzadok, and became disgusted and died.What are these figs? bRabbi Tzadok observed fastsfor bforty years,praying bthat Jerusalem would not be destroyed.He became so emaciated from fasting bthat when he would eat something it was visible from the outsideof his body. bAnd when he would eatafter a fast bthey would bring him figsand bhe would suck out their liquid and castthe rest baway.It was one such fig that Marta bat Baitos found and that caused her death.,It is further related that bas she was dying, she took out all ofher bgold and silverand bthrew it in the marketplace. She said: Why do I need this? And this is as it is written: “They shall cast their silver in the streetsand their gold shall be as an impure thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels” (Ezekiel 7:19).,§ The Gemara relates: bAbba Sikkara was the leader of the zealots [ ibiryonei /i] of Jerusalemand bthe son of the sister of Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai.Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bsenta message bto him: Come to me in secret. He came,and Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bsaid to him: Until when will you do this and kill everyone through starvation?Abba Sikkara bsaid to him: What can I do, for if I say something to them they will kill me.Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bsaid to him: Show me a methodso bthat I willbe able to bleavethe city, and it is bpossible thatthrough this bthere will besome bsmall salvation. /b,Abba Sikkara bsaid to him:This is what you should do: bPretend to be sick, and have everyone come and askabout your welfare, so that word will spread about your ailing condition. Afterward bbring something putrid and place it near you, so thatpeople bwill say that you have diedand are decomposing. bAndthen, bhave your students enterto bring you to burial, band let no one else come in so thatthe zealots bnot notice that you arestill blight. Asthe zealots bknow that a livingperson bis lighter than a deadperson.,Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bdid this. Rabbi Eliezer entered from one side and Rabbi Yehoshua from the other sideto take him out. bWhen they arrived at the entranceof the city on the inside, the guards, who were of the faction of the zealots, bwanted to pierce himwith their swords in order to ascertain that he was actually dead, as was the common practice. Abba Sikkara bsaid to them:The Romans bwill saythat bthey pierceeven btheir teacher.The guards then bwantedat least bto push himto see whether he was still alive, in which case he would cry out on account of the pushing. Abba Sikkara bsaid to them: They will saythat bthey pusheven btheir teacher.The guards then bopened the gateand bhe was taken out. /b, bWhenRabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai breached there,i.e., the Roman camp, bhe said: Greetings to you, the king; greetings to you, the king.Vespasian bsaid to him: You are liable for two death penalties, onebecause bI am not a king andyet byou call me king, and furthermore, if I am a king, why didn’t you come to me until now?Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bsaid to him:As for bwhat you saidabout yourself: bI am not a king, /b |
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21. Babylonian Talmud, Megillah, 16a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 16a. ששמשי מוחק וגבריאל כותב אמר רבי אסי דרש ר' שילא איש כפר תמרתא ומה כתב שלמטה שלזכותן של ישראל אינו נמחק כתב שלמעלה לא כל שכן,(אסתר ו, ג) לא נעשה עמו דבר אמר רבא לא מפני שאוהבין את מרדכי אלא מפני ששונאים את המן,(אסתר ו, ד) הכין לו תנא לו הכין,ועשה כן למרדכי אמר ליה מנו מרדכי אמר ליה (אסתר ו, י) היהודי אמר ליה טובא מרדכי איכא ביהודאי אמר ליה (אסתר ו, י) היושב בשער המלך,אמר ליה סגי ליה בחד דיסקרתא אי נמי בחד נהרא אמר ליה הא נמי הב ליה אל תפל דבר מכל אשר דברת,ויקח המן את הלבוש ואת הסוס אזל אשכחיה דיתבי רבנן קמיה ומחוי להו הלכות קמיצה לרבנן כיון דחזייה מרדכי דאפיק לקבליה וסוסיה מיחד בידיה מירתת אמר להו לרבנן האי רשיעא למיקטל נפשי קא אתי זילו מקמיה די לא תכוו בגחלתו בההיא שעתא נתעטף מרדכי וקם ליה לצלותא אתא המן ויתיב ליה קמייהו ואוריך עד דסליק מרדכי לצלותיה,אמר להו במאי עסקיתו אמרו ליה בזמן שבית המקדש קיים מאן דמנדב מנחה מייתי מלי קומציה דסולתא ומתכפר ליה אמר להו אתא מלי קומצי קמחא דידכו ודחי עשרה אלפי ככרי כספא דידי אמר ליה רשע עבד שקנה נכסים עבד למי ונכסים למי,אמר ליה קום לבוש הני מאני ורכוב האי סוסיא דבעי לך מלכא אמר ליה לא יכילנא עד דעיילנא לבי בני ואשקול למזייא דלאו אורח ארעא לאשתמושי במאני דמלכא הכי,שדרה אסתר ואסרתינהו לכולהו בי בני ולכולהו אומני עייליה איהו לבי בני ואסחיה ואזיל ואייתי זוזא מביתיה וקא שקיל ביה מזייה בהדי דקא שקיל ליה אינגד ואיתנח אמר ליה אמאי קא מיתנחת אמר ליה גברא דהוה חשיב ליה למלכא מכולהו רברבנוהי השתא לישוייה בלאני וספר אמר ליה רשע ולאו ספר של כפר קרצום היית תנא המן ספר של כפר קרצום היה עשרים ושתים שנה,בתר דשקלינהו למזייה לבשינהו למאניה אמר ליה סק ורכב אמר ליה לא יכילנא דכחישא חילאי מימי תעניתא גחין וסליק כי סליק בעט ביה אמר ליה לא כתיב לכו (משלי כד, יז) בנפל אויבך אל תשמח אמר ליה הני מילי בישראל אבל בדידכו כתיב (דברים לג, כט) ואתה על במותימו תדרוך,(אסתר ו, יא) ויקרא לפניו ככה יעשה לאיש אשר המלך חפץ ביקרו כי הוה נקיט ואזיל בשבילא דבי המן חזיתיה ברתיה דקיימא אאיגרא סברה האי דרכיב אבוה והאי דמסגי קמיה מרדכי שקלה עציצא דבית הכסא ושדיתיה ארישא דאבוה דלי עיניה וחזת דאבוה הוא נפלה מאיגרא לארעא ומתה,והיינו דכתיב וישב מרדכי אל שער המלך אמר רב ששת ששב לשקו ולתעניתו והמן נדחף אל ביתו אבל וחפוי ראש אבל על בתו וחפוי ראש על שאירע לו,ויספר המן לזרש אשתו ולכל אוהביו וגו' קרי להו אוהביו וקרי להו חכמיו אמר רבי יוחנן כל האומר דבר חכמה אפילו באומות העולם נקרא חכם,אם מזרע היהודים מרדכי וגו' אמרו ליה אי משאר שבטים קאתי יכלת ליה ואי משבט יהודה ובנימין ואפרים ומנשה לא יכלת ליה יהודה דכתיב (בראשית מט, ח) ידך בערף אויביך אינך דכתיב בהו (תהלים פ, ג) לפני אפרים ובנימין ומנשה עוררה את גבורתך,(אסתר ו, יג) כי נפל תפול לפניו דרש ר' יהודה בר אלעאי שתי נפילות הללו למה אמרו לו אומה זו משולה לעפר ומשולה לכוכבים כשהן יורדין יורדין עד עפר וכשהן עולין עולין עד לכוכבים,(אסתר ו, יד) וסריסי המלך הגיעו ויבהילו מלמד שהביאוהו בבהלה,כי נמכרנו אני ועמי וגו' אין הצר שוה בנזק המלך אמרה לו צר זה אינו שוה בנזק של מלך איקני בה בושתי וקטלה השתא איקני בדידי ומבעי למקטלי,ויאמר המלך אחשורוש ויאמר לאסתר המלכה ויאמר ויאמר למה לי אמר רבי אבהו בתחלה על ידי תורגמן כיון דאמרה ליה מדבית שאול קאתינא מיד ויאמר לאסתר המלכה:,ותאמר אסתר איש צר ואויב המן הרע הזה אמר ר' אלעזר מלמד שהיתה מחווה כלפי אחשורוש ובא מלאך וסטר ידה כלפי המן:,והמלך קם בחמתו וגו' והמלך שב מגנת הביתן מקיש שיבה לקימה מה קימה בחימה אף שיבה בחימה דאזל ואשכח למלאכי השרת דאידמו ליה כגברי וקא עקרי לאילני דבוסתני ואמר להו מאי עובדייכו אמרו ליה דפקדינן המן,אתא לביתיה והמן נופל על המטה נופל נפל מיבעי ליה אמר רבי אלעזר מלמד שבא מלאך והפילו עליה אמר ויי מביתא ויי מברא ויאמר המלך הגם לכבוש את המלכה עמי בבית,ויאמר חרבונה וגו' אמר רבי אלעזר אף חרבונה רשע באותה עצה היה כיון שראה שלא נתקיימה עצתו מיד ברח והיינו דכתיב (איוב כז, כב) וישלך עליו ולא יחמול מידו ברוח יברח,וחמת המלך שככה שתי שכיכות הללו למה אחת של מלכו של עולם ואחת של אחשורוש ואמרי לה אחת של אסתר ואחת של ושתי,(בראשית מה, כב) לכלם נתן לאיש חליפות שמלות ולבנימן נתן חמש חליפות אפשר דבר שנצטער בו אותו צדיק | 16a. bthat Shimshai,the king’s scribe who hated the Jews (see Ezra 4:17), bwas erasingthe description of Mordecai’s saving the king, bandthe angel bGavriel was writingit again. Therefore, it was indeed being written in the present. bRabbi Asi said: Rabbi Sheila, a man of the village of Timarta, taught: If something writtendown bbelowin this world bthat is for the benefit of the Jewish people cannot be erased, is it not all the more sothe case bthat something writtenup babovein Heaven cannot be erased?,The verse states that Ahasuerus was told with regard to Mordecai: b“Nothing has been done for him”(Esther 6:3). bRava said: It is not because they love Mordecaithat the king’s servants said this, bbut rather because they hate Haman. /b,The verse states: “Now Haman had come into the outer court of the king’s house, to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows that he had bprepared for him”(Esther 6:4). A Sage btaughtin a ibaraita /i: This should be understood to mean: On the gallows that bhe had prepared for himself. /b,The verse relates that Ahasuerus ordered Haman to fulfill his idea of the proper way to honor one who the king desires to glorify by parading him around on the king’s horse while wearing the royal garments: “And do so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate, let nothing fail of all that you have spoken” (Esther 6:10). The Gemara explains that when Ahasuerus said to Haman: b“And do so to Mordecai,”Haman bsaid to himin an attempt to evade the order: bWho is Mordecai?Ahasuerus bsaid to him: “The Jew.”Haman then bsaid to him: There are severalmen named bMordecai among the Jews.Ahasuerus then bsaid to him:I refer to the one b“who sits at the king’s gate.” /b,Haman bsaid to him:Why award him such a great honor? bIt wouldcertainly bbe enough for himto receive bone village [ idisekarta /i]as an estate, bor one riverfor the levy of taxes. Ahasuerus bsaid to him: This too you must give him. “Let nothing fail of all that you have spoken,”i.e., provide him with all that you proposed and spoke about in addition to what I had said.,The Gemara describes what occurred as Haman went to follow the king’s orders, as the verse states: b“Then Haman took the apparel and the horse”(Esther 6:11). When bhe went, he foundMordecai bas the Sages were sitting before him, and he was demonstrating to them the ihalakhotof the handful,i.e., the scooping out of a handful of flour from the meal-offering in order to burn it on the altar. bOnce Mordecai saw him coming toward him with his horse’sreins bheld in his hands, he became frightened,and bhe said to the Sages: This evil man has come to kill me. Go away from him so that you should not get burnt from his coals,i.e., that you should not suffer harm as well. bAt that moment Mordecai wrapped himselfin his prayer shawl band stood up to pray. Haman cameover to where they were band sat down before them and waited until Mordecai finished his prayer. /b,In the interim, as he waited, Haman bsaid tothe other Sages: bWith what were you occupied? They said to him: When the Temple is standing, one who pledges a meal-offering would bring a handful of fine flour and achieve atonement with it. He said to them: Your handful of fine flour has come and cast aside my ten thousand pieces of silver,which I had pledged toward the destruction of the Jewish people. When Mordecai finished praying, bhe said toHaman: bWicked man,when ba slave buys property, to whom belongs the slave and to whom belongs the property?As I once bought you as a slave, what silver can be yours?,Haman bsaid to him: Stand up, put on these garments and ride on this horse, for the king wants youto do so. Mordecai bsaid to him: I cannotdo so buntil I enter the bathhouse[ibei vanei/b] band trim my hair, for it is not proper conduct to use the king’s garments in this statethat I am in now.,In the meantime, bEsther sentmessengers and bclosed all the bathhouses and allthe shops of bthe craftsmen,including the bloodletters and barbers. When Haman saw that there was nobody else to do the work, bhehimself btookMordecai binto the bathhouse and washed him, andthen bhe went and brought scissors [ izuza /i] from his house and trimmed his hair.While bhe was trimminghis hair bhe injured himself and sighed.Mordecai bsaid to him: Why do you sigh?Haman bsaid to him: The man whom the king hadonce bregarded above all hisother bministers is now made a bathhouse attendant[ibalanei/b] band a barber.Mordecai bsaid to him: Wicked man, were you notonce bthe barber of the village of Kartzum?If so, why do you sigh? You have merely returned to the occupation of your youth. It bwas taughtin a ibaraita /i: bHaman was the barber of the village of Kartzum for twenty-two years. /b, bAfterHaman btrimmed his hair,Haman bdressedMordecai in btheroyal bgarments.Haman then bsaid to him: Mountthe horse band ride.Mordecai bsaid to him: I am unable, as my strength has waned from the days of fastingthat I observed. Haman then bstooped downbefore him bandMordecai bascendedon him. bAs he was ascendingthe horse, Mordecai bgaveHaman ba kick.Haman bsaid to him: Is it not written for you: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls”(Proverbs 24:17)? Mordecai bsaid to him: Thisstatement bappliesonly to bJews, but with regard to you it is written: “And you shall tread upon their high places”(Deuteronomy 33:29).,The verse states: b“And he proclaimed before him: Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor”(Esther 6:11). bAsHaman bwas takingMordecai balong the street of Haman’s house,Haman’s bdaughter was standing on the roof and sawthe spectacle. bShe thoughtto herself that bthe one who is ridingon the horse must be bher father, and the one walking before himmust be bMordecai. Shethen btook a chamber potfull of feces band cast itscontents bonto the head of her father,whom she mistakenly took as Mordecai. When Haman braised his eyesin disgust afterward, and looked up at his daughter, bshe saw that he was her father.In her distress, bshe fell from the roof to the ground and died. /b, bAnd this is as it is written: “And Mordecai returned to the king’s gate”(Esther 6:12). bRav Sheshet said:This means bthat he returned to his sackcloth and his fastingover the troubles of the Jewish people. Simultaneously, b“but Haman hastened to his house, mourning, and having his head covered”(Esther 6:12). b“Mourning”; overthe death of bhis daughter. “And having his head covered”; due to what had happened to him,as his head was full of filth.,The following verse states: b“And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and to all his friendseverything that had befallen him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him: If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, then you will not prevail over him, but you shall fall before him” (Esther 6:13). The Gemara comments: At the beginning of the verse bit calls them “his friends,” andin the continuation of the verse bit calls them “his wise men.” Rabbi Yoḥa said: Whoever says something wise, even ifhe is bfrom the nations of the world, is calleda bwiseman.,The Gemara explains that their wise remark, which earned them their distinction, is contained in their advice: b“If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews [ iYehudim /i],then you will not prevail over him” (Esther 6:13). The word iYehudimcan also refer to people from the tribe of Judah. Haman’s wise men thereby bsaid to him: If he descends from the other tribes, you canstill bprevail over him, but if hedescends bfrom the tribe ofeither bJudah, Benjamin, Ephraim, or Manasseh, you cannot prevail over him.With regard to bJudah,the proof of this is bas it is written: “Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies”(Genesis 49:8), indicating that Judah will emerge victorious over his enemies. And the proof that Haman cannot prevail over bthe othersthat were mentioned is bas it is written with regard to them: “Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your might”(Psalms 80:3).,The wise men continued: b“But you shall fall [ inafol tippol /i] before him”(Esther 6:13). bRabbi Yehuda bar Ilai interpreteda verse bhomiletically: Why are these two fallings, inafoland itippol /i, mentioned here? The wise men bsaid toHaman: bThisJewish bnation is comparedin the Bible bto the dustof the earth band it isalso bcompared to the starsin heaven. This teaches you that bwhen they descend, they descend to the dust, and when they rise, they rise to the stars.Accordingly, when Mordecai is on the rise, you will be utterly incapable of prevailing over him.,The next verse states: b“The king’s chamberlains came, and they hastened [ ivayavhilu /i]to bring Haman” (Esther 6:14). bThis teaches that they brought him in disarray [ ibehala /i],not even giving him a chance to wash himself from the filth.,During the banquet Esther said to Ahasuerus: b“For we are sold, I and my people,to be destroyed, to be slain, and to be annihilated. But if we had been sold merely for bondmen and bondwomen, I would have held my tongue, bsince the affliction [ itzar /i] would not have been worth [ ieino shoveh /i] the damage to the king”(Esther 7:4). The Gemara explains that bshe said to him: This adversary [ itzar /i] is not concerned [ ieino shoveh /i] about the damagethat he is constantly causing bto the king. First he was jealous of Vashti and killed her,as it has been explained that Memucan, who suggesting killing Vashti, was Haman; bnow he is jealous of me and desires to kill me. /b,The verse states: b“Then said the king Ahasuerus and said to Esther the queen”(Esther 7:5). The Gemara asks: bWhy do Ineed it to say b“said”and again b“said”? Rabbi Abbahu said: At firsthe spoke to her bthrough the translator,who would interpret on his behalf, because he thought that she was a common woman of lowly ancestry. bOnce she told him that she came from the house of Saul, immediatelyit says: b“And said to Esther the queen.”Ahasuerus himself spoke to her, as if she had royal lineage, she was a woman befitting his status.,The next verse states: b“And Esther said: An adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman”(Esther 7:6). bRabbi Elazar said:This bteaches that she wasin fact bpointing toward Ahasuerus,indicating that in fact he was an adversary and enemy, band an angel came and pushed her hand toward Haman. /b,The verse states: b“And the king arosefrom the banquet of wine bin his wrathand went into the palace garden” (Esther 7:7), and the next verse states: b“Then the king returned out of the palace gardento the place of the wine drinking” (Esther 7:8). The Gemara comments: The verses here bcompare his returning to his arising: Just as his arisingwas bin wrath, so too, his returningwas bin wrath.And why did he return in wrath? bForwhen bhe wentout bhe found ministering angels who appeared to him as people and they were uprooting trees from the garden, and he said to them: What are you doing? They said to him: Haman commanded usto do this.,And when bhe entered his househe saw that b“Haman was falling upon the bed”(Esther 7:8). The Gemara asks: Why does it say b“was falling” [ inofel /i]in the present tense, implying that he was currently falling? bIt should have said “fell” [ inafal /i]in the past tense. bRabbi Elazar said: This teaches that an angel came and pushed him down on it,and every time he would try to stand up, the angel would push him down again. Ahasuerus bsaid: Woe untome bin the house and woeunto me boutside,as the verse continues: b“Then the king said: Will he even force the queen before me in the house?”(Esther 7:8)., b“And Harbonah,one of the chamberlains, bsaidbefore the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman has made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king, stands in the house of Haman” (Esther 7:9). bRabbi Elazar said: Harbonah was also wicked and involved in that plot,as he too wanted Mordecai executed. bOnce he saw that his plot had not succeeded, he immediately fledand joined Mordecai’s side. bAnd this isthe meaning of bthat which is written: “It hurls itself at him, and does not spare; he would fain flee out of its hand”(Job 27:22), indicating that when God sends calamity upon a wicked person, his friends immediately flee from him.,The verse states: b“Then the king’s wrath was assuaged [ ishakhakha /i]”(Esther 7:10). The Gemara asks: bWhy are there two assuagings here?The term ishakhakhais used rather than ishakaand indicates doubled wrath. There was boneassuaging of the wrath bof the King of the universe, and oneof the wrath bof Ahasuerus. And some say:Ahasuerus’s wrath burned within him for two reasons; bone due toHaman’s involvement with bEsther, and one due tohis involvement with bVashti,and now they were both assuaged.,Before continuing its midrashic interpretation of the rest of the book of Esther, the Gemara expounds a verse concerning Joseph that relates to the Megilla: b“To all of them he gave each man changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gavethree hundred pieces of silver, and bfive changesof clothing” (Genesis 45:22). The Gemara asks: bIs it possible that in thevery bthing from which that righteous manJoseph bhad suffered,as his father’s show of favoritism toward him aroused the enmity of his brothers |
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22. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, 96b (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 96b. ומי סליק נבוכד נצר לירושלים והכתיב (מלכים ב כה, ו) ויעלו אותו אל מלך בבל רבלתה ואמר ר' אבהו זו אנטוכיא רב חסדא ורב יצחק בר אבודימי חד אמר דמות דיוקנו היתה חקוקה לו על מרכבתו וחד אמר אימה יתירה היתה לו ממנו ודומה כמי שעומד לפניו,אמר רבא טעין תלת מאה כודנייתא נרגא דפרזלא דשליט בפרזלא שדר ליה נבוכדנצר לנבוזראדן כולהו בלעתינהו חד דשא דירושלם שנאמר (תהלים עד, ו) פתוחיה יחד בכשיל וכילפות יהלומון בעי למיהדר אמר מסתפינא דלא ליעבדו בי כי היכי דעבדו בסנחריב,נפקא קלא ואמר שוור בר שוור נבוזראדן שוור דמטא זימנא דמקדשא חריב והיכלא מיקלי פש ליה חד נרגא אתא מחייה בקופא ואיפתח שנאמר (תהלים עד, ה) יודע כמביא למעלה בסבך עץ קרדומות,הוה קטיל ואזל עד דמטא להיכלא אדליק ביה נורא גבה היכלא דרכו ביה מן שמיא שנאמר (איכה א, טו) גת דרך ה' לבתולת בת יהודה קא זיחא דעתיה נפקא בת קלא ואמרה ליה עמא קטילא קטלת היכלא קליא קלית קימחא טחינא טחינת שנאמר (ישעיהו מז, ב) קחי רחים וטחני קמח גלי צמתך חשפי שובל גלי שוק עברי נהרות חטים לא נאמר אלא קמח,חזא דמיה דזכריה דהוה קא רתח אמר להו מאי האי אמרו ליה דם זבחים הוא דאישתפיך אמר להו אייתי ואנסי אי מדמו כסי ולא אידמו אמר להו גלו לי ואי לא סריקנא לכו לבשרייכו במסריקא דפרזלא,אמרו ליה האי כהן ונביא הוא דאינבי להו לישראל בחורבנא דירושלם וקטלוהו אמר להו אנא מפייסנא ליה אייתי רבנן קטיל עילויה ולא נח אייתי דרדקי דבי רב קטיל עילויה ולא נח אייתי פרחי כהונה קטיל עילויה ולא נח עד די קטל עילויה תשעין וארבעה ריבוא ולא נח,קרב לגביה אמר זכריה זכריה טובים שבהן איבדתים ניחא לך דאיקטלינהו לכולהו מיד נח הרהר תשובה בדעתיה אמר מה הם שלא איבדו אלא נפש אחת כך ההוא גברא מה תיהוי עליה ערק שדר פורטיתא לביתיה ואיתגייר,תנו רבנן נעמן גר תושב היה נבוזר אדן גר צדק היה מבני בניו של סיסרא למדו תורה בירושלים מבני בניו של סנחריב לימדו תורה ברבים ומאן נינהו שמעיה ואבטליון,מבני בניו של המן למדו תורה בבני ברק ואף מבני בניו של אותו רשע ביקש הקב"ה להכניסן תחת כנפי השכינה אמרו מלאכי השרת לפני הקב"ה רבונו של עולם מי שהחריב את ביתך ושרף את היכלך תכניס תחת כנפי השכינה היינו דכתיב (ירמיהו נא, ט) רפינו את בבל ולא נרפתה עולא אמר זה נבוכדנצר רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר אלו נהרות בבל ותרגמה דצינייתא (צרידתא) דבבלאי,אמר עולא עמון ומואב שיבבי בישי דירושלם הוו כיון דשמעינהו לנביאי דקא מיתנבאי לחורבנא דירושלם שלחו לנבוכדנצר פוק ותא אמר מסתפינא דלא ליעבדו לי כדעבדו בקמאי,שלחו ליה (משלי ז, יט) כי אין האיש בביתו הלך בדרך מרחוק ואין איש אלא הקדוש ברוך הוא שנאמר (שמות טו, ג) ה' איש מלחמה שלח להו בקריבא הוא ואתי שלחו ליה הלך בדרך מרחוק שלח להו אית להו צדיקי דבעו רחמי ומייתו ליה,שלחו ליה (משלי ז, כ) צרור הכסף לקח בידו ואין כסף אלא צדיקים שנאמר (הושע ג, ב) ואכרה לי בחמשה עשר כסף וחומר שעורים ולתך שעורים,שלח להו הדרי רשיעי בתשובה ובעו רחמי ומייתו ליה שלחו ליה כבר קבע להן זמן שנאמר (משלי ז, כ) ליום הכסא יבא (לביתו אין כסא אלא זמן שנאמר (תהלים פא, ד) בכסה ליום חגנו שלח להו סיתווא הוא ולא מצינא דאתי מתלגא וממיטרא,שלחו ליה תא אשינא דטורא שנאמר (ישעיהו טז, א) שלחו כר מושל ארץ מסלע מדברה אל הר בת ציון שלח להו אי אתינא לית לי דוכתא דיתיבנא ביה שלחו ליה קברות שלהם מעולין מפלטירין שלך דכתיב (ירמיהו ח, א) בעת ההיא נאום ה' יוציאו את עצמות מלכי יהודה ואת עצמות שריו ואת עצמות הכהנים ואת עצמות הנביאים ואת עצמות יושבי ירושלים מקבריהם ושטחום לשמש ולירח ולכל צבא השמים אשר אהבום ואשר עבדום ואשר הלכו אחריהם,אמר ליה רב נחמן לרבי יצחק מי שמיע לך אימת אתי בר נפלי אמר ליה מאן בר נפלי א"ל משיח משיח בר נפלי קרית ליה א"ל אין דכתיב (עמוס ט, יא) ביום ההוא אקים | 96b. The Gemara asks: bAnd did Nebuchadnezzar ascend to Jerusalem? But isn’t it writtenwith regard to Zedekiah: “And they took the king, band brought him up to the king of Babylonia, to Riblah”(II Kings 25:6), band Rabbi Abbahu says: Thisplace called Riblah is a reference to bAntioch.Apparently, Nebuchadnezzar was in Antioch, not in Jerusalem. bRav Ḥisda and Rav Yitzḥak bar Avudimiresolved this apparent contradiction. bOne says: An image ofNebuchadnezzar’s blikeness was engraved onNebuzaradan’s bchariot,and he regarded that image as though Nebuchadnezzar were actually there. bAnd one says:Nebuzaradan bwas in extreme fear ofNebuchadnezzar, band it was as thoughNebuzaradan bwasalways bstanding beforeNebuchadnezzar. That is an example of the honor of a servant to his master mentioned in the verse.,§ The Gemara proceeds to discuss the role of Nebuzaradan in the destruction of the Temple. bRava says: Nebuchadnezzar sent to Nebuzaradan three hundred mules laden with iron axes that cut iron. All of them were incapacitatedin the attempt to breach bone gate of Jerusalem, as it is stated: “And now they pound its carved work together with hatchet and with hammers”(Psalms 74:6). Nebuzaradan bsought to returnto Babylonia and bsaid: I am afraid.I want to ensure bthat they will not do to me just as they did to Sennacherib,whose downfall was in Jerusalem.,A Divine bVoice emerged and said: Leaper, son of a leaper; Nebuzaradan, takethe bleap, as the time has arrived for the Temple to be destroyed and the Sanctuary to burn. One ax remained for himto use. bHe went and struckthe gate bwith the dull endof the ax band it opened, as it is stated: “He became known as the wielder of axes upward in a thicket of trees”(Psalms 74:5). At the appropriate time the gate was breached as though the ax were cutting trees., bHe was proceeding and killing until he reached the Sanctuary.When he reached the Sanctuary, bhe ignited a fire in it. The Sanctuary rose,seeking to enter Heaven so that it would not burn. bThey trod upon it from Heavenand returned it to its place, bas it is stated: “The Lord has trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress”(Lamentations 1:15). Nebuzaradan bbecame haughty,taking pride in his conquest. bA Divine Voice emerged and said to him:Your haughtiness is unwarranted, as byou killed a nationthat was already bdead, you burned a Sanctuarythat was already bburned,and byou ground flourthat was already bground, as it is statedwith regard to Babylonia: b“Take millstones and grind flour; uncover your locks, tuck up the train, uncover the leg, pass over rivers”(Isaiah 47:2). bIt was not stated:Grind bwheat, but“grind bflour,”indicating that all the destruction had already been wrought by God, and the role played by the enemy was insignificant.,When he reached the Sanctuary, bhe saw the blood of Zechariahthe priest bboiling.It had not calmed since he was killed in the Temple (see II Chronicles 24:20–22). Nebuzaradan bsaid tothe priests there: bWhat is this? They said to him: It is the blood of offerings that was spilled.Nebuzaradan bsaid to them: Bringanimals band I will testto determine bifthe blood of the animals bis similarto the blood that is boiling. bHe slaughteredthe animals bandtheir blood bwas not similarto the boiling blood. Nebuzaradan bsaid tothe priests: bRevealthe source of that blood bto me, and if not I will comb your flesh with an iron comb. /b,The priests bsaid toNebuzaradan: bThisblood bisthe blood of ba priest and a prophet who prophesied for the Jewish people with regard to the destruction of Jerusalem and whom they killed. He said tothe priests: bI will pacifythe blood so the boiling will stop. bHe brought the Sagesand bkilled them overthe blood bandits boiling bdid not cease. He brought schoolchildrenand bkilled them overthe blood bandits boiling bdid not cease. He brought young priestsand bkilled them overthe blood bandits boiling bdid not cease.He continued killing buntil he killed 940,000people boverthe blood, bandits boiling bdid not cease. /b,Nebuzaradan bapproachedthe blood and bsaid: Zechariah, Zechariah, the worthy among them I killedon your behalf. bIs it satisfactory for you that I kill them all? Immediatelythe boiling bceased.Nebuzaradan bcontemplated repentance. He said: If they, who caused only one person to perish,gained atonement only after all bthiskilling, then with regard to bthat man,referring to himself, bwhat will berequired bfor himto gain atonement? bHe desertedhis army and bdispatcheda last bwill to his house and converted. /b, bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bNaamanthe Aramean (see II Kings, chapter 5) bwas a iger toshav /i,meaning that he accepted upon himself to refrain from idol worship but did not convert to Judaism. bNebuzaradan wasa completely brighteous convert. Among the descendants of Sisera(see Judges, chapter 4) were those who bstudied Torah in Jerusalem. Among the descendants of Sennacheribwere those who btaught Torah in public.The Gemara asks: bAnd who are they?The Gemara answers: They were bShemaya and Avtalyon. /b,The ibaraitacontinues: bAmong the descendants of Hamanwere those who bstudied Torah in Bnei Brak. And even among the descendants of that wickedperson, Nebuchadnezzar, were those whom bthe Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to bring beneath the wings of the Divine Presenceand have them convert. bThe ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe:The bone who destroyed Your House and burned Your Sanctuary,will bYou introducehim bbeneath the wings of the Divine Presence?The Gemara explains: bThat isthe meaning of that bwhich is written: “We have healed Babylonia, but she is not healed”(Jeremiah 51:9). bUlla says: Thisverse bisa reference to bNebuchadnezzar,none of whose children converted. bRabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says:This is not a reference to a person; rather, bthese are the rivers of Babylonia, and interpret itas referring to bthe bitter saltwater rivers of Babylonia. /b,§ On a related note, the Gemara describes the events that led to the destruction of the Temple. bUlla says: Ammon and Moab were bad neighbors of Jerusalem. Once they heard the prophets who prophesied about the destruction of the Jerusalem, they sent to Nebuchadnezzar: Emergefrom your dwelling place band comeconquer them. Nebuchadnezzar bsaidto them: bI am afraid.I want to ensure bthat they will not do to me just as they did tomy bpredecessors. /b,Ammon and Moab bsent to himthat it is written: b“For the iishis not at home; he is gone on a long journey”(Proverbs 7:19), band iish /iis referring to bnoone bbut the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord is an iishof war”(Exodus 15:3). Nebuchadnezzar bsent to themis response: bHe is in a nearbylocation, band He will come.They bsent toNebuchadnezzar: b“He has gone on a journey from afar”(Proverbs 7:19). Nebuchadnezzar bsaid to them: They have righteousamong them bwho will pray for mercy and bring Himto return.,Ammon and Moab bsent toNebuchadnezzar: b“He has taken a bundle of ikesefwith him”(Proverbs 7:20), band ikesef /iis referring to bnothing other than the righteous, as it is stated: “So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of ikesefand for a ikorof barley and a half- ikorof barley”(Hosea 3:2). The inference is that God acquired the congregation of Israel due to the presence of righteous people among them, and Ammon and Moab sent a message to Nebuchadnezzar that God had already taken the righteous and they no longer offered protection.,Nebuchadnezzar bsent to them:Perhaps bthe wicked will repentand become righteous band they will pray for mercy and they will bring Himto return. Ammon and Moab bsent toNebuchadnezzar: bGod already designated the time of theirredemption, bas it is stated: “On the day of the ikeseh /i, He will come home”(Proverbs 7:20), and ikeseh /iis referring to bnothing other thana designated btime, as it is stated:“Sound a ishofarat the New Moon, bat the ikesehon the day of our feast”(Psalms 81:4). Since there is a time designated for redemption, until then you can do as you please. Nebuchadnezzar bsent to them: It is winternow band I cannot comeand conquer Jerusalem bdue to the snow and the rain. /b,Ammon and Moab bsent to him: Come on the peaks of mountains,where the rain does not pool, bas it is stated: “Send the lamb to the ruler of the land from the peaks of the wilderness to the mount of the daughter of Zion”(Isaiah 16:1). Nebuchadnezzar bsent to them: If I cometo Jerusalem, bIwill bhave no place to dwellwhile laying siege to the city. Ammon and Moab bsent to him: Their burial caves are superior to your palaces,and you can clear the caves and dwell there, bas it is written: “At that time, says the Lord, they shall remove the bones of the kings of Judea, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves; and they shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all of the hosts of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked”(Jeremiah 8:1–2). Ultimately Nebuchadnezzar came to conquer Judea and removed the corpses to make room for his army.,§ bRav Naḥman said to Rabbi Yitzḥak: Have you heard when the son of giants [ ibar niflei /i] will come?Rabbi Yitzḥak bsaid to him: Whois bthe son of giants?Rav Naḥman bsaid to him:He is the bMessiah.Rabbi Yitzḥak asked him: Do byou call the Messiah son of giants?Rav Naḥman bsaid to him: Yes, as it is written: “On that day I will establish /b |
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23. Anon., Joseph And Aseneth, 21.6
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24. Anon., Letter of Aristeas, 12-27, 4, 1
| 1. Since I have collected Material for a memorable history of my visit to Eleazar the High priest of the Jews, and because you, Philocrates, as you lose no opportunity of reminding me, have set great store upon receiving an account of the motives and object of my mission, I have attempted to draw up a clear exposition of the matter for you, for I perceive that you possess a natural love of learning |
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