כג הכובש את נבואתו כגון יונה בן אמיתי והמוותר על דברי נביא כגון
23 this connotes prophesying in the name of idols. And then it is written, Even that prophet shall die,' and by every unspecified death sentence decreed in the Torah strangulation is meant. But he who suppresses his prophecy, or disregards the words of a prophet, or a prophet who transgresses his own words is slain by Heaven, for it is written, All it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken [yishma']:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 19. ');"><sup>19</sup></span> now this may be understood<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'read'. ');"><sup>20</sup></span> [as implying] to proclaim'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Yashmia, [H]. ');"><sup>21</sup></span> and 'hearkening himself'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Yishamea' [H] the Nif'al, as reflexive. ');"><sup>22</sup></span> unto my words;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hence all three are included in the verse, [which, in addition to the usual translation, will accordingly be rendered thus: and the man (i.e., the prophet) who will nor hearken unto my words which he has to speak in my name (namely he refuses to proclaim it.) For he (himself) will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name (v. Meklenburg, a.l.).] ');"><sup>23</sup></span> and the verse concludes, I will require it of him, i.e., [he shall be slain] by Heaven. HE WHO PROPHESIES WHAT HE HAS NOT HEARD. E.g., Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah, as it is written, And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I Kings XXII, 11; II Chron. XVIII, 10. ');"><sup>24</sup></span> But what [else] could he have done, seeing that the spirit of Naboth had deceived him, it is written, And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? … And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him …And he [the Lord] said, Thou shalt persuade him and prevail also; go forth and do so?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I Kings XXII, 20ff. ');"><sup>25</sup></span> Rab Judah said: What is meant by 'Go forth'? 'Go forth' from My precincts.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. Shabb. 149b. Two possible reasons are suggested there for the spirit's expulsion from the sacred precincts, viz., either because one who is the means whereby another is punished must not come into the immediate neighbourhood of God, or because God cannot abide falsehood. Though in this case God himself sought to lure Ahab to his doom, He desired that this should nevertheless be done by arguments drawn from true facts (Maharsha). ');"><sup>26</sup></span> What 'spirit' is meant? — R. Johanan said: The spirit of Naboth the Jezreelite)?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This is deduced from the use of the def. art. in the Heb. 'And the spirit came forth', implying a particular one, viz., that of Naboth the Jezreelite, whom Ahab had turned from a living human being into a spirit — by judicial murder; v. ibid. ch. XXI. Now, returning to the main point: what else could Zedekiah have done: how was he to know that a false spirit was leading all those prophets astray? ');"><sup>27</sup></span> — He should have scrutinised [the forecasts of the assembled prophets]. even as R. Isaac said; viz.: The same communication<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'watchword', 'signal'. ');"><sup>28</sup></span> is revealed to many prophets, yet no two prophets prophecy in the identical phraseology. [Thus,] Obadiah said, The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Obad. I, 3. ');"><sup>29</sup></span> whilst Jeremiah said, Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Jer. XLIX, 16. Thus, though the thought is the same in both (both referred to Edom), the wording differs. ');"><sup>30</sup></span> But since all these prophets<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The four hundred prophets of Ahab, v. I Kings XXII, 6. ');"><sup>31</sup></span> employed [exactly] the same expression,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. ibid. 12 ');"><sup>32</sup></span> it proved that they had nothing [really divinely inspired]. But perhaps he did not know of this [criterion laid down by] R. Isaac? — Jehoshopat was there and warned them thereof, as it is written , And Jehoshopat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we may enquire of him?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I Kings XXII, 7. ');"><sup>33</sup></span> Thereupon he [Ahab] exclaimed, 'But behold all these!' 'I have a tradition from my grandfather's house that the same communication is revealed to many prophets, but no two prophesy in the identical phraseology,' replied Jehosophat. HE WHO PROPHESIES WHAT WAS NOT TOLD HIM. E.g., Hananiah the son of Azur. Now Jeremiah stood in the upper market place, and said, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Behold, I will break the bow of Elam.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Jer. XLIX, 35. ');"><sup>34</sup></span> Thereupon, Hananiah the son of Azur drew an a minori conclusion; If Elam, which only came to assist Babylon, yet the Holy one, blessed be He, said, Behold, I will break the law of Elam; then how much more so the Chaldeans [i.e., Babylonians] themselves! So he went to the lower market place and proclaimed, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel saying, I have broken the yoke of the kingdom of Babylon.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XXVIII, 2. ');"><sup>35</sup></span> R. Papa asked Abaye; But this was not told even to his colleagues [viz., Jeremiah]? He answered: Since the a minori reasoning has been given for [Biblical] exegesis, it is as though it had been told to him [Jeremiah]; hence only to Hananiah was it not revealed.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To the logical implications of the prophecy as deduced by the a minori reasoning, and which was true, viz., that the power of Babylon should be broken, Hananiah added on his own authority that this would take place within two years (ibid. 3). This was entirely false (Maharsha). In any case, only Jeremiah was permitted to draw an a minori conclusion from the prophecy revealed to him alone. ');"><sup>36</sup></span> HE WHO PROPHESIES IN THE NAME OF AN IDOL. E.g., the prophets of Baal. HE WHO SUPPRESSES HIS PROPHECY. E.g., Jonah the son of Amittai.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Jonah I, 1-3. ');"><sup>37</sup></span> OR WHO DISREGARDS THE WORDS OF A PROPHET. E.g., the colleague of Micah