Sanhedrin 190

דכתיב (בראשית כח, י) ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה וכתיב ויפגע במקום וילן שם כי בא השמש כי מטא לחרן אמר אפשר עברתי על מקום שהתפללו בו אבותי ואני לא התפללתי בו בעי למיהדר כיון דהרהר בדעתיה למיהדר קפצה ליה ארעא מיד ויפגע במקום

as it is written, And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went to Haran;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XXVIII, 10. ');">¹</span> which is followed by and he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 11. The first verse implies that he had reached Haran, the second that he had not. The Talmud therefore proceeds to reconcile the discrepancy. ');">²</span> For when he reached Haran, he said [to himself], 'Shall I have passed through a place in which my fathers prayed, without doing so likewise!' He wished therefore to return, but no sooner had he thought of this than the earth contracted, and immediately he lighted upon a place [the objective of his journey]. An alternative exegesis is this: Pegi'ah<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H], the root idea of [H] 'he lighted upon'. ');">³</span>

דבר אחר אין פגיעה אלא תפלה שנאמר (ירמיהו ז, טז) ואתה אל תתפלל בעד העם הזה ואל תשא בעדם רנה ותפלה ואל תפגע בי

can only mean prayer, as it is written, Therefore pray thou not for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H]. ');">⁴</span> to me.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Jer. VII, 16. Rashi, in his teacher's name, and the Wilna Gaon both delete the passage 'an alternative&nbsp;… me' as being out of place here. ');">⁵</span> And tarried there all night, because the sun was set. Having prayed, he wished to proceed: thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said: This righteous man has come to my habitation:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' According to tradition, he was on the future site of the Temple. ');">⁶</span>

וילן שם כי בא השמש בתר דצלי בעי למיהדר אמר הקב"ה צדיק זה בא לבית מלוני יפטר בלא לינה מיד בא השמש והיינו דכתיב ויזרח לו השמש וכי לו בלבד זרחה והלא לכל העולם כולו זרחה אלא א"ר יצחק שמש שבא בעבורו זרחה בעבורו

shall he depart without a night's rest? Immediately the sun set [before its time].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This exegesis is based on the use of the plus perfect [H], instead of the continuous imperfect [H], which is interpreted as implying that its setting was premature. ');">⁷</span> Hence it is written, [And as he passed over Penuel,] the sun rose for him.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XXXII, 32. ');">⁸</span> Now, had the sun risen for him alone: surely it had risen for the whole world! But, said R. Isaac, the sun which had [prematurely] set on his account, now rose [prematurely] on his account too.

ומנלן דכלה זרעיה דדוד דכתי' (מלכים ב יא, א) ועתליה אם אחזיהו ראתה כי מת בנה ותקם ותאבד את כל זרע הממלכה והא אשתייר ליה יואש התם נמי אשתייר אביתר דכתיב (שמואל א כב, כ) וימלט בן אחד לאחימלך בן אחיטוב ושמו אביתר אמר רב יהודה אמר רב אלמלא (לא) נשתייר אביתר לאחימלך בן אחיטוב לא נשתייר מזרעו של דוד שריד ופליט

Now, whence do we know that David's seed ceased?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since David reversed his prayer; v. supra 95a. ');">⁹</span> — From the verse, And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' II Kings XI, 1. ');">¹⁰</span> But was not Joash left? — There too Abiathar was left, as it is written, And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I Sam. XXII, 20. Since the cessation of David's seed was in expiation of the crime against the city of Nob, it was but just that as one had escaped on that occasion, so should one now too be saved. ');">¹¹</span>

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב בא עליהם סנחריב הרשע בארבעים וחמשה אלף איש בני מלכים יושבים בקרונות של זהב ועמהן שגלונות וזונות ובשמנים אלף גבורים לבושי שריון קליפה ובששים אלף אחוזי חרב רצים לפניו והשאר פרשים וכן באו על אברהם וכן עתידין לבוא עם גוג ומגוג

Rab Judah said in Rab's name: Had not Abiathar been left of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, not the slightest remnant<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'one that escaped or remained.' ');">¹²</span> would have remained of David's seed. Rab Judah said in Rab's name: The wicked Sennacherib advanced against them<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The Israelites in the days of Hezekiah. ');">¹³</span>

במתניתא תנא אורך מחנהו ארבע מאות פרסי רחב צואר סוסיו ארבעים פרסי סך מחנהו מאתים וששים ריבוא אלפים חסר חד בעי אביי חסר חד ריבויא או חסר חד אלפא או חסר מאה או חסר חד תיקו

with a force consisting of forty-five thousand princes, each enthroned in a golden chariot and accompanied by his ladies and harlots, eighty thousand warriors in coat-of-mail, and sixty thousand swordsmen of the front line, the rest cavalrymen. A similar host attacked Abraham ,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' On the occasion of his pursuit of the four kings. (Gen. XIV). ');">¹⁴</span> and a like force will accompany Gog and Magog.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. p. 630, n. 6. ');">¹⁵</span> In the Baraitha it was taught: The length of his army was four hundred parasangs, the horses standing neck to neck formed a line forty parasangs long, and the grand total of his army two million, six hundred thousand less one. Abaye inquired: Less one ribbo [ten thousand], one thousand, one hundred, or one? The question stands over.

תנא ראשונים עברו בשחי שנאמר (ישעיהו ח, ח) וחלף ביהודה שטף ועבר אמצעיים עברו בקומה שנאמר (ישעיהו ח, ח) עד צואר יגיע אחרונים העלו עפר ברגליהם ולא מצאו מים בנהר לשתות עד שהביאו מים ממקום אחר ושתו שנאמר (ישעיהו לז, כה) אני קרתי ושתיתי מים וגו'

A Tanna taught: The first company swam across, as it is written, he shall overflow and go over;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Isa. VIII, 8. ');">¹⁶</span> the second walked across,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'passed over in an upright position.' ');">¹⁷</span> as it is written, he shall reach even to the neck; the third cast up the dust [of the river bed] with their feet and found no water in the river to drink, until it was brought from elsewhere and they drank, as it is written, I have digged, and drunk water.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XXXVII, 25. The passage of the first company, effected by swimming, so diminished the water of the river that the second had to walk across, while the second thoroughly emptied it, leaving it quite dry. ');">¹⁸</span>

והכתיב (ישעיהו לז, לו) ויצא מלאך ה' ויכה במחנה אשור מאה ושמנים וחמשה אלף (ויקומו) [וישכימו] בבקר והנה כלם פגרים מתים אמר ר' אבהו הללו ראשי גייסות הן

But is it not written, Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the mornings behold, they were all dead corpses?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 36, proving that this was the size of the army. ');">¹⁹</span> — R. Abbahu replied: These were the army captains. R. Ashi said: This may be deduced too, for it is written, [Therefore shall the Lord&nbsp;… send] among his fat ones leanness,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. X, 16. ');">²⁰</span> meaning, amongst the cream [i.e., the leaders] of them. Rabina said: This may be also deduced, for it is written, And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the men of valour, and the leaders and the princes in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shamefacedness to his own land. And when he entered into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' II Chron. XXXII, 21. This is another proof that the reference is only to the leaders. ');">²¹</span>

אמר רב אשי דיקא נמי דכתיב (ישעיהו י, טז) במשמניו רזון בשמינים דאית בהו אמר רבינא דיקא נמי דכתיב (דברי הימים ב לב, כא) וישלח ה' מלאך ויכחד כל גבור חיל ונגיד ושר במחנה וגו' ויבא בית אלהיו ומיציאי מעיו שם הפילוהו בחרב שמע מינה

This proves it. Wherewith did he [the angel] smite them? — R. Eliezer said: He smote them with his hand, as it is written, And Israel saw the great hand,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ex. XIV, 31. ');">²²</span> implying the hand that was destined to exact vengeance of Sennacherib.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This is deduced from the def. art. ');">²³</span>

במה הכם רבי אליעזר אומר ביד הכם שנאמר (שמות יד, לא) וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה היד שעתידה ליפרע מסנחריב רבי יהושע אומר באצבע הכם שנאמר (שמות ח, טו) ויאמרו החרטמים אל פרעה אצבע אלהים היא היא אצבע שעתידה ליפרע מסנחריב ר' אליעזר בנו של ר' יוסי הגלילי אומר אמר לו הקב"ה לגבריאל מגלך נטושה אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם נטושה ועומדת מששת ימי בראשית שנאמר (ישעיהו כא, טו) מפני חרבות נדדו וגו'

R. Joshua said: He smote them with his finger, as it is written, Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. VIII, 14. ');">²⁴</span> implying this is the finger destined to punish Sennacherib. R. Eliezer, the son of R. Jose, said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel, 'Is thy sickle sharpened [to mow down the Assyrians]?' He replied: 'Sovereign of the Universe! It has been sharpened since the Six days of Creation', as it is written, For they fled from the swords, from the sharpened sword etc.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Isa. XXI, 15. ');">²⁵</span> R. Simeon b. Yohai said: It was the time for the ripening of fruits, so the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel, 'When thou goest forth to ripen the fruits,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gabriel being the angel in charge of this. ');">²⁶</span>

ר' שמעון בן יוחי אומר אותו הפרק זמן בישול פירות היה אמר לו הקב"ה לגבריאל כשאתה יוצא לבשל פירות הזקק להם שנאמר (ישעיהו כח, יט) מידי עברו יקח אתכם כי בבקר בבקר יעבור ביום ובלילה והיה רק זועה הבין שמועה וגו' אמר רב פפא היינו דאמרי אינשי אגב אורחך לבעל דבבך אישתמע

attack them, as it is written, As he passeth<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' On his mission of ripening the fruits. ');">²⁷</span> he shall take you:' for morning by morning shall he pass by, by day and by night, and it shall be a sheer terror to understand the report.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XXVIII, 19. ');">²⁸</span> R. Papa said: Thus people say, 'In passing, reveal thyself to thine enemy.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'on the way make thyself heard by the enemy,' i.e., take revenge when the opportunity is afforded. ');">²⁹</span>

ויש אומרים בחוטמן נשף בהן ומתו שנאמר (ישעיהו מ, כד) וגם נשף בהם ויבשו ר' ירמיה בר אבא אמר כפיים ספק להם ומתו שנאמר (יחזקאל כא, כב) וגם אני (הכתי) [אכה] כפי אל כפי והניחותי חמתי ר' יצחק נפחא אמר אזנים גלה להם ושמעו שירה מפי חיות ומתו שנאמר (ישעיהו לג, ג) מרוממתך נפצו גוים

Others say: He [Gabriel] breathed into their nostrils, and they died, as it is written, and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XL, 24. ');">³⁰</span> R. Jeremiah b. Abba said: He smote his hands at them, and they died, as it is written, I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ezek. XXI, 22. ');">³¹</span> R. Isaac the Smith said: He unsealed their ears for them, so that they heard the Hayyoth<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [The celestial 'living creatures' mentioned in Ezekiel's mystic vision; v. Ezek. I and X.] ');">³²</span>

וכמה נשתייר מהם רב אמר עשרה שנאמר (ישעיהו י, יט) ושאר עץ יערו מספר יהיו ונער יכתבם כמה נער יכול לכתוב עשרה ושמואל אמר תשעה שנאמר (ישעיהו יז, ו) ונשאר בו עוללות כנוקף זית שנים שלשה גרגרים בראש אמיר ארבעה חמשה בסעיפיה

sing [praises to God] and they died, as it is written, at thine exaltation the people were scattered.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Isa. XXXIII, 3. The first half of the verse reads, At the noise of the tumult the people fled. 'Tumult' is taken to refer to the song of the Hayyoth in their 'exaltation' of the Lord. ');">³³</span> Now how many were left of them. [sc. the Assyrians host]? — Rab said: Ten, as it is written, And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. X, 19. ');">³⁴</span> What figure can a child write? — Ten.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [A yod ([H]), being formed by a mere stroke of the pen, is the easiest letter for a child to write.] ');">³⁵</span>

ר' יהושע בן לוי אמר ארבעה עשר שנאמר שנים שלשה [וכו'] ארבעה וחמשה רבי יוחנן אמר חמשה סנחריב ושני בניו נבוכדנצר ונבוזר אדן נבוזר אדן גמרא נבוכדנצר דכתיב (דניאל ג, כה) ורוה דרביעאה דמי לבר אלהין ואי לאו דחזייה מנא הוה ידע סנחריב ושני בניו דכתיב (מלכים ב יט, לז) ויהי הוא משתחוה בית נסרוך אלהיו ואדרמלך ושראצר בניו הכוהו בחרב

Samuel said: Nine [were left], as it is written, yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two and three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four and five in the utmost fruitful branches thereof.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XVII, 6. This is rendered: 'just as after the shaking of an olive tree there may remain two olives here and three there, so shall there be left of the army four here and five there-nine in all.' ');">³⁶</span> R. Joshua b. Levi said: Fourteen, as it is written, two, three&nbsp;… four five.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Interpreting, 'two here, three there, four here, five there- fourteen in all.' ');">³⁷</span> R. Johanan said: Five, viz., Sennacherib and his two sons, Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuzaradan. [That] Nebuzaradan [survived] is a tradition. Nebuchadnezzar, as it is written, And the form of the fourth is like an angel of God:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Dan. III, 25. ');">³⁸</span>

אמר רבי אבהו אלמלא מקרא כתוב אי אפשר לאמרו דכתיב (ישעיהו ז, כ) ביום ההוא יגלח ה' בתער השכירה בעברי נהר במלך אשור את הראש ושער הרגלים וגם את הזקן תספה

Had he not seen [an angel], how did he know [his appearance]?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hence he must have been present when Gabriel destroyed the army. — The speaker is Nebuchadnezzar. ');">³⁹</span> Sennacherib and his two sons, as it is written, And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' II Kings XIX, 37. It is assumed that they all must have been in the army before Jerusalem. ');">⁴⁰</span> R. Abbahu said: Were not the [following] verse written, it would have been impossible to conceive of it: viz., In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by the riverside, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall consume the beard.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Isa. VII, 20. ');">⁴¹</span>

אתא קודשא בריך הוא ואדמי ליה כגברא סבא א"ל כי אזלת לגבי מלכי מזרח ומערב דאייתיתינהו לבנייהו וקטלתינהו מאי אמרת להו אמר להו ההוא גברא בההוא פחדא נמי יתיב אמר ליה היכי נעביד א"ל זיל

The Holy one, blessed be He, went and appeared before him [Sennacherib] as an old man, and said to him, 'When thou goest to the kings of the east and the west, whose sons thou didst lead [to battle]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. supra. ');">⁴²</span> and cause their death, what wilt thou say to them?' He replied, 'I<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'that man', frequently employed euphemistically for I'. ');">⁴³</span> too entertain that fear. What then shall I do?' asked he. 'Go,' He replied,