1. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 1.1, 4.1, 21.10 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •theology, christian, virgin birth Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 57| 1.1. "וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לַיַּבָּשָׁה אֶרֶץ וּלְמִקְוֵה הַמַּיִם קָרָא יַמִּים וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים כִּי־טוֹב׃", 1.1. "בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ׃", 4.1. "וַיֹּאמֶר מֶה עָשִׂיתָ קוֹל דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ צֹעֲקִים אֵלַי מִן־הָאֲדָמָה׃", 4.1. "וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת־חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד אֶת־קַיִן וַתֹּאמֶר קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת־יְהוָה׃", | 1.1. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.", 4.1. "And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: ‘I have agotten a man with the help of the LORD.’", 21.10. "Wherefore she said unto Abraham: ‘Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.’", |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 69.22 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •theology, christian, virgin birth Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 26| 69.22. "וַיִּתְּנוּ בְּבָרוּתִי רֹאשׁ וְלִצְמָאִי יַשְׁקוּנִי חֹמֶץ׃", | 69.22. "Yea, they put poison into my food; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.", |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 7.14, 54.1 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •theology, christian, virgin birth Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 30, 135, 136| 7.14. "לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוּא לָכֶם אוֹת הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ עִמָּנוּ אֵל׃", 54.1. "רָנִּי עֲקָרָה לֹא יָלָדָה פִּצְחִי רִנָּה וְצַהֲלִי לֹא־חָלָה כִּי־רַבִּים בְּנֵי־שׁוֹמֵמָה מִבְּנֵי בְעוּלָה אָמַר יְהוָה׃", 54.1. "כִּי הֶהָרִים יָמוּשׁוּ וְהַגְּבָעוֹת תְּמוּטֶנָה וְחַסְדִּי מֵאִתֵּךְ לֹא־יָמוּשׁ וּבְרִית שְׁלוֹמִי לֹא תָמוּט אָמַר מְרַחֲמֵךְ יְהוָה׃", | 7.14. "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.", 54.1. "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear, Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail; For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.", |
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4. Tertullian, Against Marcion, 5.4, 5.8 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •theology, christian, virgin birth Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 135 | 5.4. But, says he, I speak after the manner of men: when we were children, we were placed in bondage under the elements of the world. This, however, was not said after the manner of men. For there is no figure here, but literal truth. For (with respect to the latter clause of this passage), what child (in the sense, that is, in which the Gentiles are children) is not in bondage to the elements of the world, which he looks up to in the light of a god? With regard, however, to the former clause, there was a figure (as the apostle wrote it); because after he had said, I speak after the manner of men, he adds), Though it be but a man's covet, no man disannuls, or adds thereto. For by the figure of the permanency of a human covet he was defending the divine testament. To Abraham were the promises made, and to his seed. He said not 'to seeds,' as of many; but as of one, 'to your seed,' which is Christ. Galatians 3:16 Fie on Marcion's sponge! But indeed it is superfluous to dwell on what he has erased, when he may be more effectually confuted from that which he has retained. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son Galatians 4:4 - the God, of course, who is the Lord of that very succession of times which constitutes an age; who also ordained, as signs of time, suns and moons and constellations and stars; who furthermore both predetermined and predicted that the revelation of His Son should be postponed to the end of the times. It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain (of the house) of the Lord shall be manifested; and in the last days I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh as Joel says. It was characteristic of Him (only) to wait patiently for the fullness of time, to whom belonged the end of time no less than the beginning. But as for that idle god, who has neither any work nor any prophecy, nor accordingly any time, to show for himself, what has he ever done to bring about the fullness of time, or to wait patiently its completion? If nothing, what an impotent state to have to wait for the Creator's time, in servility to the Creator! But for what end did He send His Son? To redeem them that were under the law, Galatians 4:5 in other words, to make the crooked ways straight, and the rough places smooth, as Isaiah says Isaiah 40:4 - in order that old things might pass away, and a new course begin, even the new law out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, Isaiah 2:3 and that we might receive the adoption of sons, Galatians 4:5 that is, the Gentiles, who once were not sons. For He is to be the light of the Gentiles, and in His name shall the Gentiles trust. Isaiah 42:4, 6 That we may have, therefore the assurance that we are the children of God, He has sent forth His Spirit into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Galatians 4:6 For in the last days, says He, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh. Now, from whom comes this grace, but from Him who proclaimed the promise thereof? Who is (our) Father, but He who is also our Maker? Therefore, after such affluence (of grace), they should not have returned to weak and beggarly elements. Galatians 4:9 By the Romans, however, the rudiments of learning are wont to be called elements. He did not therefore seek, by any depreciation of the mundane elements, to turn them away from their god, although, when he said just before, Howbeit, then, you serve them which by nature are no gods, Galatians 4:8 he censured the error of that physical or natural superstition which holds the elements to be god; but at the God of those elements he aimed not in this censure. He tells us himself clearly enough what he means by elements, even the rudiments of the law: You observe days, and months, and times, and years Galatians 4:10 - the sabbaths, I suppose, and the preparations, and the fasts, and the high days. For the cessation of even these, no less than of circumcision, was appointed by the Creator's decrees, who had said by Isaiah, Your new moons, and your sabbaths, and your high days I cannot bear; your fasting, and feasts, and ceremonies my soul hates; Isaiah 1:13-14 also by Amos, I hate, I despise your feast-days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies; Amos 5:21 and again by Hosea, I will cause to cease all her mirth, and her feast-days, and her sabbaths, and her new moons, and all her solemn assemblies. Hosea 2:11 The institutions which He set up Himself, you ask, did He then destroy? Yes, rather than any other. Or if another destroyed them, he only helped on the purpose of the Creator, by removing what even He had condemned. But this is not the place to discuss the question why the Creator abolished His own laws. It is enough for us to have proved that He intended such an abolition, that so it may be affirmed that the apostle determined nothing to the prejudice of the Creator, since the abolition itself proceeds from the Creator. But as, in the case of thieves, something of the stolen goods is apt to drop by the way, as a clue to their detection; so, as it seems to me, it has happened to Marcion: the last mention of Abraham's name he has left untouched (in the epistle), although no passage required his erasure more than this, even his partial alteration of the text. For (it is written) that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bond maid, the other by a free woman; but he who was of the bond maid was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by promise: which things are allegorized (that is to say, they presaged something besides the literal history); for these are the two covets, or the two exhibitions (of the divine plans), as we have found the word interpreted, the one from the Mount Sinai, in relation to the synagogue of the Jews, according to the law, which genders to bondage - the other genders (to liberty, being raised) above all principality, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come, which is the mother of us all, in which we have the promise of (Christ's) holy church; by reason of which he adds in conclusion: So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free. In this passage he has undoubtedly shown that Christianity had a noble birth, being sprung, as the mystery of the allegory indicates, from that son of Abraham who was born of the free woman; whereas from the son of the bond maid came the legal bondage of Judaism. Both dispensations, therefore, emanate from that same God by whom, as we have found, they were both sketched out beforehand. When he speaks of the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, Galatians 5:1 does not the very phrase indicate that He is the Liberator who was once the Master? For Galba himself never liberated slaves which were not his own, even when about to restore free men to their liberty. By Him, therefore, will liberty be bestowed, at whose command lay the enslaving power of the law. And very properly. It was not meet that those who had received liberty should be entangled again with the yoke of bondage Galatians 5:1 - that is, of the law; now that the Psalm had its prophecy accomplished: Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us, since the rulers have gathered themselves together against the Lord and against His Christ. All those, therefore, who had been delivered from the yoke of slavery he would earnestly have to obliterate the very mark of slavery - even circumcision, on the authority of the prophet's prediction. He remembered how that Jeremiah had said, Circumcise the foreskins of your heart; Jeremiah 4:4 as Moses likewise had enjoined, Circumcise your hard hearts Deuteronomy 10:16 - not the literal flesh. If, now, he were for excluding circumcision, as the messenger of a new god, why does he say that in Christ neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision? Galatians 5:6 For it was his duty to prefer the rival principle of that which he was abolishing, if he had a mission from the god who was the enemy of circumcision. Furthermore, since both circumcision and uncircumcision were attributed to the same Deity, both lost their power in Christ, by reason of the excellency of faith- of that faith concerning which it had been written, And in His name shall the Gentiles trust? Isaiah 42:4 - of that faith which, he says works by love. Galatians 5:6 By this saying he also shows that the Creator is the source of that grace. For whether he speaks of the love which is due to God, or that which is due to one's neighbor - in either case, the Creator's grace is meant: for it is He who enjoins the first in these words, You shall love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength; Deuteronomy 6:5 and also the second in another passage: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Leviticus 19:18 But he that troubles you shall have to bear judgment. Galatians 5:10 From what God? From (Marcion's) most excellent god? But he does not execute judgment. From the Creator? But neither will He condemn the maintainer of circumcision. Now, if none other but the Creator shall be found to execute judgment, it follows that only He, who has determined on the cessation of the law, shall be able to condemn the defenders of the law; and what, if he also affirms the law in that portion of it where it ought (to be permanent)? For, says he, all the law is fulfilled in you by this: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' Galatians 5:14 If, indeed, he will have it that by the words it is fulfilled it is implied that the law no longer has to be fulfilled, then of course he does not mean that I should any more love my neighbour as myself, since this precept must have ceased together with the law. But no! We must evermore continue to observe this commandment. The Creator's law, therefore, has received the approval of the rival god, who has, in fact, bestowed upon it not the sentence of a summary dismissal, but the favour of a compendious acceptance; the gist of it all being concentrated in this one precept! But this condensation of the law is, in fact, only possible to Him who is the Author of it. When, therefore, he says, Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ, Galatians 6:2 since this cannot be accomplished except a man love his neighbour as himself, it is evident that the precept, You shall love your neighbour as yourself (which, in fact, underlies the injunction, Bear one another's burdens), is really the law of Christ, though literally the law of the Creator. Christ, therefore, is the Creator's Christ, as Christ's law is the Creator's law. You are deceived; God is not mocked. Galatians 6:7 But Marcion's god can be mocked; for he knows not how to be angry, or how to take vengeance. For whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7 It is then the God of recompense and judgment who threatens this. Let us not be weary in well-doing; Galatians 6:9 and as we have opportunity, let us do good. Galatians 6:10 Deny now that the Creator has given a commandment to do good, and then a diversity of precept may argue a difference of gods. If, however, He also announces recompense, then from the same God must come the harvest both of death and of life. But in due time we shall reap; Galatians 6:9 because in Ecclesiastes it is said, For everything there will be a time. Ecclesiastes 3:17 Moreover, the world is crucified unto me, who am a servant of the Creator - the world, (I say,) but not the God who made the world - and I unto the world, Galatians 6:14 not unto the God who made the world. The world, in the apostle's sense, here means life and conversation according to worldly principles; it is in renouncing these that we and they are mutually crucified and mutually slain. He calls them persecutors of Christ. But when he adds, that he bare in his body the scars of Christ - since scars, of course, are accidents of body - he therefore expressed the truth, that the flesh of Christ is not putative, but real and substantial, the scars of which he represents as borne upon his body. 5.8. The head of every man is Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:3 What Christ, if He is not the author of man? The head he has here put for authority; now authority will accrue to none else than the author. of what man indeed is He the head? Surely of him concerning whom he adds soon afterwards: The man ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image of God. 1 Corinthians 11:7 Since then he is the image of the Creator (for He, when looking on Christ His Word, who was to become man, said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness Genesis 1:26), how can I possibly have another head but Him whose image I am? For if I am the image of the Creator there is no room in me for another head. But wherefore ought the woman to have power over her head, because of the angels? 1 Corinthians 11:10 If it is because she was created for the man, 1 Corinthians 11:9 and taken out of the man, according to the Creator's purpose, then in this way too has the apostle maintained the discipline of that God from whose institution he explains the reasons of His discipline. He adds: Because of the angels. 1 Corinthians 11:10 What angels? In other words, whose angels? If he means the fallen angels of the Creator, there is great propriety in his meaning. It is right that that face which was a snare to them should wear some mark of a humble guise and obscured beauty. If, however, the angels of the rival god are referred to, what fear is there for them? For not even Marcion's disciples, (to say nothing of his angels,) have any desire for women. We have often shown before now, that the apostle classes heresies as evil 1 Corinthians 11:18-19 among works of the flesh, and that he would have those persons accounted estimable who shun heresies as an evil thing. In like manner, when treating of the gospel, we have proved from the sacrament of the bread and the cup the verity of the Lord's body and blood in opposition to Marcion's phantom; while throughout almost the whole of my work it has been contended that all mention of judicial attributes points conclusively to the Creator as to a God who judges. Now, on the subject of spiritual gifts, 1 Corinthians 12:1 I have to remark that these also were promised by the Creator through Christ; and I think that we may derive from this a very just conclusion that the bestowal of a gift is not the work of a god other than Him who is proved to have given the promise. Here is a prophecy of Isaiah: There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a flower shall spring up from his root; and upon Him shall rest the Spirit of the Lord. After which he enumerates the special gifts of the same: The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of religion. And with the fear of the Lord shall the Spirit fill Him. Isaiah 11:1-3 In this figure of a flower he shows that Christ was to arise out of the rod which sprang from the stem of Jesse; in other words, from the virgin of the race of David, the son of Jesse. In this Christ the whole substantia of the Spirit would have to rest, not meaning that it would be as it were some subsequent acquisition accruing to Him who was always, even before His incarnation, the Spirit of God; so that you cannot argue from this that the prophecy has reference to that Christ who (as mere man of the race only of David) was to obtain the Spirit of his God. (The prophet says,) on the contrary, that from the time when (the true Christ) should appear in the flesh as the flower predicted, rising from the root of Jesse, there would have to rest upon Him the entire operation of the Spirit of grace, which, so far as the Jews were concerned, would cease and come to an end. This result the case itself shows; for after this time the Spirit of the Creator never breathed among them. From Judah were taken away the wise man, and the cunning artificer, and the counsellor, and the prophet; that so it might prove true that the law and the prophets were until John. Luke 16:16 Now hear how he declared that by Christ Himself, when returned to heaven, these spiritual gifts were to be sent: He ascended up on high, that is, into heaven; He led captivity captive, meaning death or slavery of man; He gave gifts to the sons of men, that is, the gratuities, which we call charismata. He says specifically sons of men, and not men promiscuously; thus exhibiting to us those who were the children of men truly so called, choice men, apostles. For, says he, I have begotten you through the gospel; 1 Corinthians 4:15 and You are my children, of whom I travail again in birth. Galatians 4:19 Now was absolutely fulfilled that promise of the Spirit which was given by the word of Joel: In the last days will I pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and their sons and their daughters shall prophesy; and upon my servants and upon my handmaids will I pour out of my Spirit. Since, then, the Creator promised the gift of His Spirit in the latter days; and since Christ has in these last days appeared as the dispenser of spiritual gifts (as the apostle says, When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son; Galatians 4:4 and again, This I say, brethren, that the time is short ), it evidently follows in connection with this prediction of the last days, that this gift of the Spirit belongs to Him who is the Christ of the predicters. Now compare the Spirit's specific graces, as they are described by the apostle, and promised by the prophet Isaiah. To one is given, says he, by the Spirit the word of wisdom; this we see at once is what Isaiah declared to be the spirit of wisdom. To another, the word of knowledge; this will be the (prophet's) spirit of understanding and counsel. To another, faith by the same Spirit; this will be the spirit of religion and the fear of the Lord. To another, the gifts of healing, and to another the working of miracles; this will be the spirit of might. To another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues; this will be the spirit of knowledge. See how the apostle agrees with the prophet both in making the distribution of the one Spirit, and in interpreting His special graces. This, too, I may confidently say: he who has likened the unity of our body throughout its manifold and various members to the compacting together of the various gifts of the Spirit, shows also that there is but one Lord of the human body and of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit, (according to the apostle's showing,) meant not that the service of these gifts should be in the body, nor did He place them in the human body); and on the subject of the superiority of love above all these gifts, He even taught the apostle that it was the chief commandment, just as Christ has shown it to be: You shall love the Lord with all your heart and soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as your own self. Luke 10:27 When he mentions the fact that it is written in the law, how that the Creator would speak with other tongues and other lips, while confirming indeed the gift of tongues by such a mention, he yet cannot be thought to have affirmed that the gift was that of another god by his reference to the Creator's prediction. 1 Corinthians 14:21 In precisely the same manner, when enjoining on women silence in the church, that they speak not for the mere sake of learning 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 (although that even they have the right of prophesying, he has already shown when he covers the woman that prophesies with a veil), he goes to the law for his sanction that woman should be under obedience. Now this law, let me say once for all, he ought to have made no other acquaintance with, than to destroy it. But that we may now leave the subject of spiritual gifts, facts themselves will be enough to prove which of us acts rashly in claiming them for his God, and whether it is possible that they are opposed to our side, even if the Creator promised them for His Christ who is not yet revealed, as being destined only for the Jews, to have their operations in His time, in His Christ, and among His people. Let Marcion then exhibit, as gifts of his god, some prophets, such as have not spoken by human sense, but with the Spirit of God, such as have both predicted things to come, and have made manifest the secrets of the heart; 1 Corinthians 14:25 let him produce a psalm, a vision, a prayer 1 Corinthians 14:26 - only let it be by the Spirit, in an ecstasy, that is, in a rapture, whenever an interpretation of tongues has occurred to him; let him show to me also, that any woman of boastful tongue in his community has ever prophesied from among those specially holy sisters of his. Now all these signs (of spiritual gifts) are forthcoming from my side without any difficulty, and they agree, too, with the rules, and the dispensations, and the instructions of the Creator; therefore without doubt the Christ, and the Spirit, and the apostle, belong severally to my God. Here, then, is my frank avowal for any one who cares to require it. |
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5. Anon., Genesis Rabba, 1.14, 22.2, 53.15 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •theology, christian, virgin birth Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 57| 1.14. רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל שָׁאַל אֶת רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אָמַר לוֹ בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁשִּׁמַּשְׁתָּ אֶת נַחוּם אִישׁ גַּם זוּ עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנָה, אַכִין וְרַקִּין מִעוּטִין, אֶתִין וְגַמִּין רִבּוּיִן, הָדֵין אֶת דִּכְתִיב הָכָא, מַה הוּא, אֲמַר לֵיהּ, אִלּוּ נֶאֱמַר בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ, הָיִינוּ אוֹמְרִים הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ אֱלָהוּת הֵן, אֲמַר לֵיהּ (דברים לב, מז): כִּי לֹא דָבָר רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם, וְאִם רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם, לָמָּה שֶׁאֵין אַתֶּם יוֹדְעִין לִדְרשׁ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאִי אַתֶּם יְגֵעִין בּוֹ, (דברים לב, מז): כִּי הוּא חַיֵּיכֶם, אֵימָתַי הוּא חַיֵּיכֶם, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאַתֶּם יְגֵעִין בּוֹ. אֶלָּא אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, לְרַבּוֹת חַמָּה וּלְבָנָה וּמַזָּלוֹת, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ, לְרַבּוֹת אִילָנוֹת וּדְשָׁאִין וְגַן עֵדֶן. רַבִּי תַּנְחוּמָא מִשּׁוּם רַב הוּנָא אָמַר (שמות לח, כב): וּבְצַלְאֵל בֶּן אוּרִי בֶּן חוּר לְמַטֵּה יְהוּדָה עָשָׂה אֵת אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה אֹתוֹ משֶׁה, לֹא נֶאֱמַר, אֶלָּא אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֶת משֶׁה, אֲפִלּוּ דְּבָרִים שֶׁלֹא שָׁמַע מִפִּי רַבּוֹ, הִסְכִּימָה דַעְתּוֹ לְמַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר לְמשֶׁה בְּסִינַי. רַבִּי חוֹנְיָא בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אָמַר (מלאכי ב, ו): תּוֹרַת אֱמֶת הָיְתָה בְּפִיהוּ, אֵלּוּ דְּבָרִים שֶׁשָּׁמַע מִפִּי רַבּוֹ. וְרַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי (משלי ג, כו): כִּי ה' יִהְיֶה בְכִסְלֶךָ, אֲפִלּוּ דְּבָרִים שֶׁאַתָּה כְּסִיל בָּהֶן, (משלי ג, כו): וְשָׁמַר רַגְלְךָ מִלָּכֶד, רַבִּי דוֹסָאי אָמַר, מִן הַהוֹרָיָה. רַבִּי אַבָּהוּ אָמַר, מִן הָעֲבֵרָה. רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר, מִן הַמַּזִּיקִין. אָמַר רַבִּי אַבְדִימוּס, אִם נָתַתָּ מִכִּסְךָ צְדָקָה, הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְשַׁמֶּרְךָ מִן הַפִּיסִין וּמִן הַזִּמְיוֹנוֹת, מִן הַגֻּלְגְּלָאוֹת וּמִן הָאַרְנוֹנִית. 22.2. וְהָאָדָם יָדַע וגו', רַבִּי הוּנָא וְרַבִּי יַעֲקֹב בְּרַבִּי אָבִין בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אַבָּא בַּר כַּהֲנָא אָמַר, לֹא שִׁמְשָׁה בְּרִיָּה קֹדֶם לְאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, וַיֵּדַע אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ, הוֹדִיעַ דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ לַכֹּל. דָּבָר אַחֵר, וְהָאָדָם יָדַע, יָדַע מֵאֵיזוֹ שַׁלְוָה נִשְׁלָה, יָדַע מָה עָבְדַת לֵיהּ חַוָּה. אָמַר רַב אַחָא חִיוְיָא חִיוְיִךְ וְאַתְּ חִיוְיָא דְאָדָם. וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד אֶת קַיִן, אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה שְׁלשָׁה פְּלָאִים נַעֲשׂוּ בְּאוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם, בּוֹ בַּיּוֹם נִבְרְאוּ, בּוֹ בַּיּוֹם שִׁמְּשׁוּ, בּוֹ בַּיּוֹם הוֹצִיאוּ תּוֹלָדוֹת. אָמַר לֵיהּ רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קָרְחָה עָלוּ לַמִּטָּה שְׁנַיִם וְיָרְדוּ שִׁבְעָה, קַיִּן וּתְאוֹמָתוֹ, וְהֶבֶל וּשְׁתֵּי תְאוֹמוֹתָיו, וַתֹּאמֶר קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת ה', חָמַת לָהּ הָא אִיתְּתָא בְּנִין, אָמְרָה הָא קִנְיַן בַּעֲלִי בְּיָדִי. רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל שָׁאַל אֶת רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אָמַר לוֹ בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁשִּׁמַּשְׁתָּ נַחוּם אִישׁ גַּם זוֹ עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנָה, אַכִין וְרַקִּין מִעוּטִים, אֶתִין וְגַמִּין רִבּוּיִים, הַאי אֶת דִּכְתִיב הָכָא מַהוּ, אָמַר אִלּוּ נֶאֱמַר קָנִיתִי אִישׁ ה', הָיָה הַדָּבָר קָשֶׁה, אֶלָּא אֶת ה'. אָמַר לֵיהּ (דברים לב, מז): כִּי לֹא דָּבָר רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם, וְאִם רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם, שֶׁאֵין אַתֶּם יוֹדְעִים לִדְרשׁ, אֶלָּא אֶת ה', לְשֶׁעָבַר אָדָם נִבְרָא מֵאֲדָמָה, וְחַוָּה נִבְרֵאת מֵאָדָם, מִכָּאן וְאֵילָךְ (בראשית א, כו): בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ, לֹא אִישׁ בְּלֹא אִשָּׁה וְלֹא אִשָּׁה בְּלֹא אִישׁ, וְלֹא שְׁנֵיהֶם בְּלֹא שְׁכִינָה. 53.15. וַיְהִי אֱלֹהִים אֶת הַנַּעַר וַיִּגְדָּל (בראשית כא, כ), רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל שָׁאַל אֶת רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אָמַר לוֹ בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁשִּׁמַּשְׁתָּ נַחוּם אִישׁ גַּם זוֹ עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנָה, אַכִים וְרַקִּים מִעוּטִים, אֶתִין וְגַמִּין רִבּוּיִם, הָדֵין אֶת דִּכְתִיב הָכָא מַהוּ, אָמַר לוֹ אִלּוּ נֶאֱמַר וַיְהִי אֱלֹהִים הַנַּעַר, הָיָה הַדָּבָר קָשֶׁה, אֶלָּא אֶת הַנַּעַר. אָמַר לוֹ (דברים לב, מז): כִּי לֹא דָּבָר רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם, וְאִם רֵק מִכֶּם, שֶׁאֵין אַתֶּם יוֹדְעִים לִדְרשׁ, אֶלָא אֶת הַנַּעַר, הוּא וְחַמָּרָיו וְגַמָּלָיו וּבְנֵי בֵיתוֹ. (בראשית כא, כ): וַיְהִי רֹבֶה קַשָּׁת, רָבֶה וְקַשְׁיוּתוֹ עִמּוֹ [נסח אחר: וקשיותו אמו], רָבֶה, מִתְלַמֵּד בְּקֶּשֶׁת, רָבֶה עַל כָּל הַמּוֹרִים בַּקֶּשֶׁת. (בראשית כא, כא): וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּמִדְבַּר פָּארָן, אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק זְרוֹק חוּטְרָא לַאֲוִירָא וְעַל עִקְרֵיהּ הוּא קָאֵים, כָּךְ לְפִי שֶׁכָּתוּב (בראשית טז, א): וְלָהּ שִׁפְחָה מִצְרִית וּשְׁמָהּ הָגָר, לְפִיכָךְ (בראשית כא, כא): וַתִּקַּח לוֹ אִמּוֹ אִשָּׁה מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. | 1.14. "Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva and said to him \"seeing as you served Nahum, the man from Gamzu, twenty two years, [who teaches that] i ach /i and i raq /i are [hermeneutic tools for] dimunition ( i mi'ut /i ) and i et /i and i gam /i are [tools for] expansion ( i ribuy /i ) what is your opinion on the i et /i written here; what is it?\" and he said to him: \"if it was said \"in the beginning God created heavens and earth\" we would say that the heavens and the earth are divinities.\" He said to him \"\"for this is no empty thing for you\" (Deuteronomy 32:47) and if it seems empty to you, then it is because you do not know to interpret correctly when you are not careful with it \"for it is your life\" (Deuteronomy 32:47). When is it your life? When you are careful with it.\" But, i et /i the heavens, [this i et /i ] expands to include the sun and moon and zodiac signs, and i et /i the earth, [this i et /i ] expands to include the trees and grass and the Garden of Eden. Rabbi Tanchuma from Rav Huna said \"And Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur from the tribe of Judah made what Moses commanded him\" (Exodus 38:22), does it not say \" i et /i all which Hashem commanded Moses\", even the words which he did not hear from the mouth of his master, he planned his judgment from what was spoken to Moses on Sinai. Rabbi Chonya in the name of Rabbi said \"\"The Torah of truth was from his mouth\" (Malachi 2:6) these are the words which he heard from the mouth of his master\". And the rabbis said \"For Hashem will be your confidence\" (Proverbs 3:26), even though you are confident in them, \"He will guard your foot from being caught\" (Proverbs 3:26)\". Rabbi Dosai said \"from erroneous decisions\". Rabbi Abbahu said \"from sin\". Rabbi Levi said \"from harm\". Said Rabbi Avdimus \"if you gave charity from your money, the Holy One, blessed be He, guards you from tariffs and from fines, from head-taxes and from forced contributions\". ", 22.2. "Now the man knew his woman Chava, etc. Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yaakov the son of Rabbi Avin, in the name of Rabbi Aba bar Kahana said: Before the man, the creations had never had sexual relations, behold here it is not written \"and he knows\" rather, and it is written \"and he knew\", that is, he made known the way of the land to all. Another interpretation: And Adam knew - he knew from what bliss he was expelled; he knew what Chava did to him. Said Rav Acha: Chivyiah [the snake] is your snake, and you are the snake of Adam. 'And she conceived and gave birth to Kayin' - Said Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryiah three wonders happened on that day:on that day they were created, on that day they had relations, on that day they had children. Said Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha: two went up to the bed and seven descended, Kayin and his female twin, Hevel and his two female twins. 'And she said: I acquired a man with God' - the woman sees herself with a baby and says 'behold the acquiring of my husband [is definitely] in my hand.'Rabbi Ishmael asked Rabbi Akiva: since you have served Nachum Ish Gam Zu for twenty two years, and [he taught that] every 'ach' and every 'rak' make for exclusion and every 'et' and every 'gam' make for inclusion, in this verse what is 'et' doing here? He [Akiva] answered: if it were written 'I acquired a man of God [w/o the 'et']' that would be a difficult thing, rather it says 'I acquired a man with God'. He said to him: 'Because this is not an empty thing for you' (Devarim 32:47), and if it was empty, it is because of you, because you cannot LIDROSH, rather 'with God' [means] that in the past Adam was created from the adamah and Chavah was created from the adam. From here and onward, “in our image as our likeness”—not man without woman and not woman without man, and not both of them without Shekhinah [God’s presence].", |
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| 6. Justin, First Apology, 53.5 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •theology, christian, virgin birth Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 135 |
7. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •theology, christian, virgin birth Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 135, 136| 10a. כל פרשה שהיתה חביבה על דוד פתח בה באשרי וסיים בה באשרי פתח באשרי דכתיב (תהלים א, א) אשרי האיש וסיים באשרי דכתיב (תהלים ב, יב) אשרי כל חוסי בו:,הנהו בריוני דהוו בשבבותיה דר"מ והוו קא מצערו ליה טובא הוה קא בעי ר' מאיר רחמי עלויהו כי היכי דלימותו אמרה לי' ברוריא דביתהו מאי דעתך משום דכתיב (תהלים קד, לה) יתמו חטאים מי כתיב חוטאים חטאים כתיב,ועוד שפיל לסיפיה דקרא ורשעים עוד אינם כיון דיתמו חטאים ורשעים עוד אינם אלא בעי רחמי עלויהו דלהדרו בתשובה ורשעים עוד אינם,בעא רחמי עלויהו והדרו בתשובה:,אמר לה ההוא צדוקי לברוריא כתיב (ישעיהו נד, א) רני עקרה לא ילדה משום דלא ילדה רני,אמרה ליה שטיא שפיל לסיפיה דקרא דכתיב כי רבים בני שוממה מבני בעולה אמר ה',אלא מאי עקרה לא ילדה רני כנסת ישראל שדומה לאשה עקרה שלא ילדה בנים לגיהנם כותייכו:,א"ל ההוא צדוקי לר' אבהו כתיב (תהלים ג, א) מזמור לדוד בברחו מפני אבשלום בנו וכתיב (תהלים נז, א) לדוד מכתם בברחו מפני שאול במערה הי מעשה הוה ברישא מכדי מעשה שאול הוה ברישא לכתוב ברישא,אמר ליה אתון דלא דרשיתון סמוכין קשיא לכו אנן דדרשינן סמוכים לא קשיא לן,דא"ר יוחנן סמוכין מן התורה מנין שנא' (תהלים קיא, ח) סמוכים לעד לעולם עשוים באמת וישר,למה נסמכה פרשת אבשלום לפרשת גוג ומגוג שאם יאמר לך אדם כלום יש עבד שמורד ברבו אף אתה אמור לו כלום יש בן שמורד באביו אלא הוה הכא נמי הוה:,אמר ר' יוחנן משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי מאי דכתיב (משלי לא, כו) פיה פתחה בחכמה ותורת חסד על לשונה כנגד מי אמר שלמה מקרא זה לא אמרו אלא כנגד דוד אביו שדר בחמשה עולמים ואמר שירה,דר במעי אמו ואמר שירה שנאמר (תהלים קג, א) ברכי נפשי את ה' וכל קרבי את שם קדשו,יצא לאויר העולם ונסתכל בכוכבים ומזלות ואמר שירה שנאמר (תהלים קג, כ) ברכו ה' מלאכיו גבורי כח עושי דברו לשמוע בקול דברו ברכו ה' כל צבאיו וגו',ינק משדי אמו ונסתכל בדדיה ואמר שירה שנאמר (תהלים קג, ב) ברכי נפשי את ה' ואל תשכחי כל גמוליו,מאי כל גמוליו אמר ר' אבהו שעשה לה דדים במקום בינה,טעמא מאי אמר (רבי) יהודה כדי שלא יסתכל במקום ערוה רב מתנא אמר כדי שלא יינק ממקום הטנופת,ראה במפלתן של רשעים ואמר שירה שנאמר (תהלים קד, לה) יתמו חטאים מן הארץ ורשעים עוד אינם ברכי נפשי את ה' הללויה,נסתכל ביום המיתה ואמר שירה שנאמר (תהלים קד, א) ברכי נפשי את ה' ה' אלהי גדלת מאד הוד והדר לבשת,מאי משמע דעל יום המיתה נאמר אמר רבה בר רב שילא מסיפא דעניינא דכתיב (תהלים קד, כט) תסתיר פניך יבהלון תוסף רוחם יגועון וגו',רב שימי בר עוקבא ואמרי לה מר עוקבא הוה שכיח קמיה דר' שמעון בן פזי והוה מסדר אגדתא קמיה דר' יהושע בן לוי אמר ליה מאי דכתיב (תהלים קג, א) ברכי נפשי את ה' וכל קרבי את שם קדשו אמר ליה בא וראה שלא כמדת הקדוש ברוך הוא מדת בשר ודם מדת בשר ודם צר צורה על גבי הכותל ואינו יכול להטיל בה רוח ונשמה קרבים ובני מעים והקב"ה אינו כן צר צורה בתוך צורה ומטיל בה רוח ונשמה קרבים ובני מעים והיינו דאמרה חנה (שמואל א ב, ב) אין קדוש כה' כי אין בלתך ואין צור כאלהינו.,מאי אין צור כאלהינו אין צייר כאלהינו,מאי כי אין בלתך אמר ר' יהודה בר מנסיא אל תקרי כי אין בלתך אלא אין לבלותך שלא כמדת הקדוש ברוך הוא מדת בשר ודם מדת בשר ודם מעשה ידיו מבלין אותו והקב"ה מבלה מעשיו,א"ל אנא הכי קא אמינא לך הני חמשה ברכי נפשי כנגד מי אמרן דוד לא אמרן אלא כנגד הקב"ה וכנגד נשמה,מה הקב"ה מלא כל העולם אף נשמה מלאה את כל הגוף מה הקדוש ברוך הוא רואה ואינו נראה אף נשמה רואה ואינה נראית מה הקב"ה זן את כל העולם כלו אף נשמה זנה את כל הגוף מה הקב"ה טהור אף נשמה טהורה מה הקב"ה יושב בחדרי חדרים אף נשמה יושבת בחדרי חדרים יבא מי שיש בו חמשה דברים הללו וישבח למי שיש בו חמשה דברים הללו:,אמר רב המנונא מאי דכתיב (קהלת ח, א) מי כהחכם ומי יודע פשר דבר מי כהקדוש ברוך הוא שיודע לעשות פשרה בין שני צדיקים בין חזקיהו לישעיהו חזקיהו אמר ליתי ישעיהו גבאי דהכי אשכחן באליהו דאזל לגבי אחאב (שנאמר (מלכים א יח, ב) וילך אליהו להראות אל אחאב) ישעיהו אמר ליתי חזקיהו גבאי דהכי אשכחן ביהורם בן אחאב דאזל לגבי אלישע,מה עשה הקב"ה הביא יסורים על חזקיהו ואמר לו לישעיהו לך ובקר את החולה שנאמר (מלכים ב כ, א) בימים ההם חלה חזקיהו למות ויבא אליו ישעיהו בן אמוץ הנביא ויאמר אליו כה אמר ה' (צבאות) צו לביתך כי מת אתה ולא תחיה וגו' מאי כי מת אתה ולא תחיה מת אתה בעולם הזה ולא תחיה לעולם הבא,אמר ליה מאי כולי האי אמר ליה משום דלא עסקת בפריה ורביה א"ל משום דחזאי לי ברוח הקדש דנפקי מינאי בנין דלא מעלו,א"ל בהדי כבשי דרחמנא למה לך מאי דמפקדת איבעי לך למעבד ומה דניחא קמיה קודשא בריך הוא לעביד,אמר ליה השתא הב לי ברתך אפשר דגרמא זכותא דידי ודידך ונפקי מנאי בנין דמעלו א"ל כבר נגזרה עליך גזירה א"ל בן אמוץ כלה נבואתך וצא,כך מקובלני מבית אבי אבא אפי' חרב חדה מונחת על צוארו של אדם אל ימנע עצמו מן הרחמים,אתמר נמי רבי יוחנן ורבי (אליעזר) דאמרי תרוייהו אפילו חרב חדה מונחת על צוארו של אדם אל ימנע עצמו מן הרחמים שנא' (איוב יג, טו) הן יקטלני לו איחל | 10a. b Every chapter that was dear to David, he began with “happy is” and concluded with “happy is.” He opened with “happy is,” as it is written: “Happy is the man /b who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked or stood in the way of sinners or sat in the dwelling place of the scornful” (Psalms 1:1). b And he concluded with “happy,” as it is written /b at the end of the chapter: “Pay homage in purity, lest He be angry, and you perish on the way when His anger is kindled suddenly. b Happy are those who take refuge in Him” /b (Psalms 2:12). We see that these two chapters actually constitute a single chapter.,With regard to the statement of Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, that David did not say i Halleluya /i until he saw the downfall of the wicked, the Gemara relates: b There were these hooligans in Rabbi Meir’s neighborhood who caused him a great deal of anguish. Rabbi Meir prayed for /b God to have b mercy on them, that they should die. Rabbi Meir’s wife, Berurya, said to him: What is your thinking? /b On what basis do you pray for the death of these hooligans? Do you base yourself on the verse, b as it is written: “Let sins cease from the land” /b (Psalms 104:35), which you interpret to mean that the world would be better if the wicked were destroyed? But b is it written, /b let b sinners /b cease?” Let b sins /b cease, b is written. /b One should pray for an end to their transgressions, not for the demise of the transgressors themselves., b Moreover, go to the end of the verse, /b where it says: b “And the wicked will be no more.” /b If, as you suggest, b transgressions shall cease /b refers to the demise of the evildoers, how is it possible that b the wicked will be no more, /b i.e., that they will no longer be evil? b Rather, pray for /b God to have b mercy on them, that they should repent, /b as if they repent, then the wicked will be no more, as they will have repented.,Rabbi Meir saw that Berurya was correct b and he prayed for /b God to have b mercy on them, and they repented. /b ,The Gemara relates an additional example of Berurya’s incisive insight: b A certain heretic said to Berurya: It is written: “Sing, barren woman who has not given birth, /b open forth in song and cry, you did not travail, for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, said the Lord” (Isaiah 54:1). b Because she has not given birth, /b she should b sing /b and rejoice?,Berurya responded to this heretic’s mockery and b said: Fool! Go to the end of the verse, where it is written: “For the children of the desolate shall be more numerous than the children of the married wife, said the Lord.” /b , b Rather, what /b is the meaning of: b “Sing, barren woman who has not given birth”? /b It means: b Sing congregation of Israel, which is like a barren woman who did not give birth to children who are /b destined b for Gehenna like you. /b ,In explaining passages from Psalms, the Gemara relates another instance of a response to the question of a heretic: b A certain heretic said to Rabbi Abbahu, it is written: “A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son, Absalom” /b (Psalms 3:1), b and /b similarly b it is said: /b “To the chief musician, i al tashḥet /i , b a i mikhtam /i of David when fleeing from Saul into the cave” /b (Psalms 57:1). b Which event was first? Since the event with Saul was first, /b it would have been appropriate b to write it first. /b ,Rabbi Abbahu b said to him: /b For b you, who do /b not employ the b homiletic /b method b of juxtaposition /b of verses, b it is difficult. /b But for b us, who /b employ the b homiletic /b method b of juxtaposition /b of verses, b it is not difficult, /b as the Sages commonly homiletically infer laws and moral lessons from the juxtaposition of two verses.,Regarding the juxtaposition of verses, b Rabbi Yoḥa said: From where /b in the Bible is it derived that one may draw homiletical inferences from the b juxtaposition /b of verses? b As it is said: /b “The works of His hands in truth and justice, all His commandments are sure. b Adjoined forever and ever, made in truth and uprightness” /b (Psalms 111:7–8). Conclude from here that it is appropriate to draw inferences from the juxtaposition of God’s commandments. Accordingly, David’s fleeing from Absalom is situated where it is in order to juxtapose it to the next chapter, which mentions the war of Gog and Magog; the second chapter of Psalms opens: “Why are the nations in an uproar?”, b Why was the chapter of Absalom juxtaposed with the chapter of Gog and Magog? /b They are juxtaposed b so /b that b if a person should say to you, /b expressing doubt with regard to the prophecy of the war of Gog and Magog “against the Lord and against His anointed”: b Is there a slave who rebels against his master? /b Is there someone capable of rebelling against God? b You too say to him: Is there a son who rebels against his father /b and severs the relationship with the one who brought him into the world and raised him? b Yet, /b nevertheless, b there was /b such a son, Absalom, and b so too there /b can b be /b a situation where people will seek to rebel against God., b Rabbi Yoḥa said /b explanations of other verses b in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: What is /b the meaning of b that which is written: “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of loving-kindness is on her tongue” /b (Proverbs 31:26)? The Sages explain that this chapter discusses the wisdom of Torah and those who engage in its study, so b with reference to whom did Solomon say this verse? He said this /b verse b about none other than his father, David, /b who was the clearest example of one who opens his mouth in wisdom, and b who resided in five worlds /b or stages of life b and /b his soul b said a song /b of praise corresponding to each of them. Five times David said: “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” each corresponding to a different stage of life., b He resided in his mother’s womb, /b his first world, b and said a song /b of praise of the pregcy, b as it is stated: /b “of David. b Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name” /b (Psalms 103:1), in which he thanks God for creating all that is within his mother, i.e., her womb., b He emerged into the atmosphere of the world, /b his second world, b looked upon the stars and constellations and said a song /b of praise of God for the entirety of creation, b as it is stated: “Bless the Lord, His angels, mighty in strength, that fulfill His word, listening to the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all His hosts, /b His servants, that do His will. Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His kingship, bless my soul, Lord” (Psalms 103:20–23). David saw the grandeur of all creation and recognized that they are mere servants, carrying out the will of their Creator ( i Ma’ayan HaBerakhot /i )., b He nursed from his mother’s breast, /b his third world, b and he looked upon her bosom and said a song /b of praise, b as it is stated: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all His benefits [ i gemulav /i ]” /b (Psalms 103:2). The etymological association is between i gemulav /i and i gemulei meḥalav /i , which means weaned from milk (Isaiah 28:9).,We still must understand, however, b what is /b meant by b all His benefits? /b What in particular is praiseworthy in what God provided, beyond merely providing for the infant? b Rabbi Abbahu said: /b In contrast with most other animals, God b placed her breasts /b near her heart, b the place /b that is the source b of understanding. /b , b What is the reason /b that God did this? b Rav Yehuda said: So that /b the nursing child b would not look upon the place of /b his mother’s b nakedness. Rav Mattana said: So that /b the child b would not nurse from a place of uncleanliness. /b , b He witnessed /b in both vision and reality b the downfall of the wicked and he said a song /b of praise, b as it is stated: “Let sinners cease from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul, i Halleluya /i ” /b (Psalms 104:35).,The fifth world was when David b looked upon the day of death and said a song /b of praise, b as it is stated: “Bless the Lord, O my soul. Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed in glory and majesty” /b (Psalms 104:1); for even death is a time of transcendence for the righteous.,The connection between this final praise and the day of death is unclear. The Gemara asks: b From where is it inferred /b that b this /b verse b was stated with regard to the day of death? /b Rabba bar Rav Sheila says: We can derive this b from /b the verses at b the end of the matter, /b where b it is written: “You hide Your face, they vanish; You gather Your breath, they perish /b and return to the dust” (Psalms 104:29).,Other interpretations of this verse exist. The Gemara relates how b Rav Shimi bar Ukva, and some say Mar Ukva, would regularly /b study b before Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, /b who was well versed in i aggada /i and b would arrange the i aggada /i before Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi. /b br Once, Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi b said to him: What is /b the meaning of b that which is written: “Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me bless His Holy name”? /b br Rav Shimi bar Ukva b said to /b Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi: b Come and see that the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like the attribute of flesh and blood, /b as this verse praises the formation of man in his mother’s womb. b The attribute of flesh and blood is /b such that he b shapes a form on the wall /b for all to see, yet b he cannot instill it with a spirit and soul, bowels and intestines. /b While b the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not so, /b as God b shapes one form within another form, /b a child in its mother’s womb, b and instills it with spirit and soul, bowels and intestines. And this is /b the explanation of b what Hannah said /b with regard to the birth of Samuel: b “There is none holy like the Lord, for there is none like You, and there is no Rock like our God” /b (I Samuel 2:2)., b What is /b the meaning of b there is no rock [ i tzur /i ] like our God? There is no artist [ i tzayyar /i ] like our God. /b ,The Gemara continues to interpret the rest of that verse homiletically: b What is /b the meaning of b “there is none like You”? Rabbi Yehuda ben Menasya said: Do not read /b the verse to mean b “there is none like You [ i biltekha /i ]”; rather, read /b it to mean b “none can outlast You [ i levalotkha /i ],” as the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like the attribute of flesh and blood: The attribute of flesh and blood is /b such b that his creations outlast him, /b but b the Holy One, Blessed be He, outlasts His actions. /b ,This did not satisfy Rav Shimi bar Ukva, who b said to /b Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi: b I /b meant to b say to you as follows: Corresponding to whom did David say these five /b instance of b “Bless /b the Lord, b O my soul”? /b He answered him: b He said them about none other than the Holy One, Blessed be He, and corresponding to the soul, /b as the verse refers to the relationship between man’s soul and God. The five instances of “Bless the Lord, O my soul” correspond to the five parallels between the soul in man’s body and God’s power in His world., b Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, fills the entire world, so too the soul fills the entire body. /b br b Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, sees but is not seen, so too does the soul see, but is not seen. /b br b Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, sustains the entire world, so too the soul sustains the entire body. /b br b Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, is pure, so too is the soul pure. /b br b Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, resides in a chamber within a chamber, /b in His inner sanctum, b so too the soul resides in a chamber within a chamber, /b in the innermost recesses of the body. br Therefore, b that which has these five characteristics, /b the soul, b should come and praise He Who has these five characteristics. /b ,With regard to redemption and prayer, the Gemara tells the story of Hezekiah’s illness, his prayer to God, and subsequent recuperation. b Rav Hamnuna said: What is /b the meaning of b that which is written /b praising the Holy One, Blessed be He: b “Who is like the wise man, and who knows the interpretation [ i pesher /i ] of the matter” /b (Ecclesiastes 8:1)? This verse means: b Who is like the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who knows how to effect compromise [ i peshara /i ] between two righteous individuals, between Hezekiah, /b the king of Judea, b and Isaiah /b the prophet. They disagreed over which of them should visit the other. b Hezekiah said: Let Isaiah come to me, as that is what we find with regard to Elijah /b the prophet, b who went to Ahab, /b the king of Israel, b as it is stated: “And Elijah went to appear to Ahab” /b (I Kings 18:2). This proves that it is the prophet who must seek out the king. b And Isaiah said: Let Hezekiah come to me, as that is what we find with regard to Yehoram ben Ahab, /b king of Israel, b who went to Elisha /b the prophet, as it is stated: “So the king of Israel, Jehosaphat and the king of Edom went down to him” (II Kings 3:12)., b What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do /b to effect compromise between Hezekiah and Isaiah? b He brought the suffering /b of illness b upon Hezekiah and told Isaiah: Go and visit the sick. /b Isaiah did as God instructed, b as it is stated: “In those days Hezekiah became deathly ill, and Isaiah ben Amoz the prophet came and said to him: Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Set your house in order, for you will die and you will not live” /b (Isaiah 38:1). This seems redundant; b what is /b the meaning of b you will die and you will not live? /b This repetition means: b You will die in this world, and you will not live, /b you will have no share, b in the World-to-Come. /b ,Hezekiah b said to him: What is all of this? /b For what transgression am I being punished? br Isaiah b said to him: Because you did not /b marry and b engage in procreation. /b br Hezekiah apologized and b said: /b I had no children b because I envisaged through divine inspiration that the children that emerge from me will not be virtuous. /b Hezekiah meant that he had seen that his children were destined to be evil. In fact, his son Menashe sinned extensively, and he thought it preferable to have no children at all.,Isaiah b said to him: Why do you /b involve b yourself with the secrets of the Holy One, Blessed be He? That which you have been commanded, /b the mitzva of procreation, b you are required to perform, and that which is acceptable /b in the eyes of b the Holy One, Blessed be He, let Him perform, /b as He has so decided.,Hezekiah b said to /b Isaiah: b Now give me your daughter /b as my wife; b perhaps my merit and your merit will cause virtuous children to emerge from me. /b br Isaiah b said to him: The decree has already been decreed against you /b and this judgment cannot be changed. br Hezekiah b said to him: Son of Amoz, cease your prophecy and leave. /b As long as the prophet spoke as God’s emissary, Hezekiah was obligated to listen to him. He was not, however, obligated to accept Isaiah’s personal opinion that there was no possibility for mercy and healing.,Hezekiah continued: b I have received a tradition from the house of my father’s father, /b from King David, the founding father of the dynasty of kings of Judea: b Even /b if b a sharp sword rests upon a person’s neck, he should not prevent himself from /b praying for b mercy. /b One may still hold out hope that his prayers will be answered, as was David himself when he saw the Angel of Destruction, but nonetheless prayed for mercy and his prayers were answered.,With regard to the fact that one should not despair of God’s mercy, the Gemara cites that b it was also said /b that b Rabbi Yoḥa and Rabbi Eliezer both said: Even if a sharp sword is resting upon a person’s neck, he should not prevent himself from /b praying for b mercy, as it is stated /b in the words of Job: b “Though He slay me, I will trust in Him” /b (Job 13:15). Even though God is about to take his life, he still prays for God’s mercy. |
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| 8. Anon., Challah, 33 Tagged with subjects: •theology, christian, virgin birth Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 135 |
| 10. Anon., Pesiqta De Rav Kahana, 20.5 Tagged with subjects: •theology, christian, virgin birth Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 136 |
| 11. Anon., Pesikta Rabbati, 5 Tagged with subjects: •theology, christian, virgin birth Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 30 |
