[ p. 115 ]
IX. 1_b_. These are punishable by decapitation: M: (1) the murderer, [^371] and (2) the members of a beguiled city. [^372]
A murderer who has struck his neighbour with iron or stone, or held him down in fire or water so that he could not rise, and he die, is guilty. If he pushed him in water or fire so that he could rise, yet he die, he is innocent. If he incited a dog or snake against the victim, he is innocent. If the snake bit him, R. Jehuda would convict, but the majority acquit.
A murderer who has struck his neighbour with a stone, or with his fist, so that he was expected to die yet afterwards improved, and then grew worse and died, is guilty. R. Nehemia would acquit, since the death may be attributable to other causes.
T. XII. 3. R. Shimeon, [^373] the Temanite, says: “As the fist [^374] with which a murder is alleged to have been committed is such a thing as is known to the judges and witnesses (as being able to produce death), so the stone [1] (with which a murder is alleged to have been committed) ought to be subject to examination by the judges and witnesses, unless the stone be lost.” R. Akiba said to him: "Supposing that [ p. 116 ] even the stone were not lost, and it or the weapon be hung up in the court, would the judges know whether the defendant struck the victim on the leg or on ‘the bird of life’? [2] Or suppose the victim had been pushed from the top of a tower and he die, could we say, ‘Let the tower come to the court’? And even if thou say, ‘Let the court go and see the tower,’ suppose that it have fallen in the meantime, could we say, ‘Let the builders come and build it up again’? In that case what reason would there be to trust in witnesses at all? Therefore, even in capital cases, dependence must be placed on the word of the witnesses.”
4_a_. If the stone be mingled with other objects, they decide which of them are harmless; if there be sufficient (stone) to cause death the culprit is guilty, if not he is free. If the missile be such that if it falls into fire it is burnt up, or if into water it dissolves, he is free.
M.IX. 2. The following are innocent: one who intended to kill a beast but killed a man; or a foreigner but killed an Israelite; or a miscarriage but killed a mature birth; one who intended to strike some one on the loins such that a blow on the loins would not kill, but reached the heart in such a way that a blow on the heart would be fatal, and the victim die; or one who intended to strike some one on the heart in such a way that on the heart it would be fatal, but struck him on the loins where it would not be fatal, and yet the victim die; or one who intended to strike an adult with a blow which would not be fatal to an adult but it fell on a child, being such that it would be fatal to a child, [ p. 117 ] and the child die; or one who intended to strike a child with a blow which to a child would be fatal but it fell on an adult, being such as would not be fatal to an adult, and yet the adult die—such a one is innocent.
If one intended to strike a person on the loins with a blow such as would there be fatal, and it fall on his heart, and he die; or intended to strike an adult with a blow such as to him would be fatal and it fall on a child, and the child die—he is guilty. R. Shimeon holds that even if he intend to kill one man and kill another he is innocent.
T. XII. 4_b_. If he intended to strike one person and he struck another, R. Jehuda convicts, whereas R. Shimeon acquits. But R. Jehuda admits that if he intended to kill a beast but killed a man; or a foreigner but killed an Israelite; or a miscarriage but killed a mature birth,—-he is innocent.
M.IX. 3. If one murderer is associated with others they are all free from penalty. R. Jehuda maintains that they are all put together in prison. If a number of offenders are all liable to death, and are associated together, they are to be condemned to the more lenient death; e.g. those liable to stoning are to suffer burning. R. Shimeon maintained that they should be condemned to stoning, since burning is the severer death. But the majority held that he should be condemned to burning, since stoning is the severer death. R. Shimeon maintained that if burning were not the severer death it would not be applied to a priest’s daughter who had sinned; it was replied, that if stoning [ p. 118 ] were not the severer death it would not be applied to blasphemy and idolatry. Further, decapitation is relaxed to strangling; R. Shimeon favoured the sword, but the majority strangling.
T. XII. 5. They who are condemned for crimes punishable by severe deaths, and at the same time for crimes punishable by easier deaths, are to be killed by the easier. R. Jose says strangling is the easiest death. R. Jose said, further, the culprit is condemned for the first crime of which he was guilty. Thus, if a man has had criminal connexion with his mother-in-law, who was likewise a man’s wife, if she was in the first instance his mother-in-law and later became a man’s wife, he is condemned to burning. If she was in the first instance a man’s wife and later became his mother-in-law, he is condemned to strangling.
M. IX. 4. If a man become liable in the court to two death-penalties, he should be condemned to the severer one. If a man commit a transgression for which there are two kinds of death-penalty, he should be condemned to the severer one. R. Jose holds that he should be condemned to the first obligation to which he becomes liable.
T. XII. 6. If a man commit a transgression for which there are two kinds of death-penalty, he should be condemned to the severer one. In the case of any one condemned to death-penalties enjoined in the Law, if thou canst not put him to death by a severer means, put him to death by any means, be it severe or easy, for it is written: AND THOU SHALT EXTERMINATE THE EVIL FROM THY MIDST. [3]
M.IX. 5. If a man has been scourged, and then scourged a second time in the court, he is taken [ p. 119 ] to prison and fed with barley till his belly bursts. If a man has committed murder, and there be no witnesses, he is taken to prison and fed with the BREAD OF ANGUISH AND WATER OF AFFLICTION. [4]
T. XII. 7. If a man about to commit a crime be warned and he keep silent, or if, when he is warned, he shake his head, they are to warn him a first time and a second time, and the third time to take him to prison. Abba Shaul says: He is warned a third time; and on the fourth is taken to prison and fed with BREAD OF ANGUISH AND WATER OF AFFLICTION. In the same way, they who have been found guilty and condemned to scourging, and have repeated the offence and been scourged a second time, on the third occasion are to be taken to prison. Abba Shaul says: They are scourged a third time, and on the fourth occasion they are taken to prison and fed with barley till their belly bursts.
M.IX. 6. If any one steal a sacred vessel, or curse by Kosem, [5] or marry a heathen woman, [6] zealous people may attack them. If a priest minister in an unclean condition, [7] his brother priests do not bring him to the court, but the young attendant priests take him outside the courtyard and break open his brain with clubs. If a stranger serve in [ p. 120 ] the Temple, R. Akiba says he is to be strangled, but the majority hold that he is to be left in the hands of Heaven. [8]
X. I. These are they who have no share in the world to come: [10] who say there is no resurrection of the dead; [11] that the Law is not from Heaven; and the Epicureans. [12] R. Akiba adds: He who reads the external books; [13] and he who whispers over a wound, saying: ALL THE SICKNESS WHICH I BROUGHT ON EGYPT I WILL NOT BRING UPON THEE, [14] etc. Abba Shaul adds: He who pronounces the Name with its proper letters. [15]
T. XII. 9. To these they added: they who break the yoke and violate the covenant, [16] or misinterpret [ p. 121 ] the Law, or pronounce the Name with its proper letters, [17] have no share in the world to come. (10) R. Akiba says: He who, at a banquet, renders the Song of Songs in a sing-song way, turning it into a common ditty, has no share in the world to come. Abba Shaul, in the name of R. Akiba, says: He also who whispers over a wound, “It is written, AND ALL THE SICKNESS WHICH I BROUGHT UPON EGYPT I WILL NOT BRING UPON THEE,” and spits, [18] has no share in the world to come.
M.X. 2. Three kings and four commoners have no share in the world to come. The three kings are Jeroboam, Ahab, and Manasseh. R. Jehuda holds that Manasseh has a share in the world to come, for it is written: HE PRAYED AND MADE SUPPLICATION, AND HE HEARD HIS PRAYER AND BROUGHT HIM BACK TO HIS KINGDOM AT JERUSALEM. [19] They replied: He was restored to his kingdom but not to life in the world to come. The four commoners are Balaam, Doeg, Ahithophel, and Gehazi.
T. XII. xi. Four kings, Jeroboam, Ahab, Ahaz, and Manasseh have no share in the world to come. R. Jehuda says: Manasseh has a share in the world to come, for it is written: HIS PRAYER ALSO, AND HOW GOD WAS ENTREATED OF HIM, AND ALL HIS SIN AND HIS TRESPASS, AND THE PLACE WHEREIN HE BUILT HIGH PLACES, AND SET UP THE ASHERIM AND THE GRAVEN IMAGES, BEFORE HE HUMBLED HIMSELF, BEHOLD THEY ARE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF HOZEH [20]\—showing that God received his supplication and brought him to the life of the world to come. T. XIII. 1. Those under age, [21] the children of the [ p. 122 ] wicked in the land (of Israel) have no share in the world to come, for it is written: BEHOLD, THE DAY COMETH, BURNING LIKE A FURNACE; AND ALL THE PROUD AND ALL THAT WORK WICKEDNESS SHALL BE AS STUBBLE [22]\—so Rabban Gamaliel; but R. Jehoshua says: They shall come to the world to come, for it says in one place, THE LORD PRESERVETH THE SIMPLE; [23] and in another, HEW DOWN THE TREE AND DESTROY IT, NEVERTHELESS LEAVE THE STUMP OF THE ROOTS THEREOF IN THE EARTH. [24] Rabban Gamaliel replied: I bring forward on behalf of my view, HE SHALL LEAVE TO THEM NEITHER ROOT NOR BRANCH; [25] which means that the Almighty will not leave a meritorious deed, or parts of a meritorious deed (to be rewarded in a future life) to them or to their fathers for ever. And another explanation is; ROOT means the soul, and BRANCH means the body.
2. The children of the wicked among the heathen shall not live (in the world to come), nor shall they be judged. But R. Eliezer holds: None of the heathen has any share in the world to come, for it is written: THE WICKED SHALL RETURN TO SHEOL, ALL THE HEATHEN THAT FORGET GOD. [26] “ THE WICKED SHALL RETURN TO SHEOL,”—these are the wicked in Israel; “ALL THE HEATHEN THAT FORGET GOD,”—these are the wicked among the heathen. R. Jehoshua said to him, “If Scripture had said: THE WICKED SHALL RETURN TO SHEOL, ALL THE HEATHEN, and then said no more, I should have spoken according to thy words; but since Scripture says: WHO FORGET GOD, behold there must be righteous men among the heathen who have a share in the world to come.”
3. The School of Shammai [27] say: There are three classes; one for EVERLASTING LIFE, another for [ p. 123 ] SHAME AND EVERLASTING CONTEMPT [28]\—who are accounted wholly wicked, and a third class who go down to Gehenna, where they scream and again come up and receive healing, as it is written: AND I WILL BRING THE THIRD PART THROUGH THE FIRE, AND WILL REFINE THEM AS SILVER IS REFINED, AND WILL TRY THEM AS GOLD IS TRIED; AND THEY SHALL CALL ON MY NAME AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD. [29] And of these last Hannah said: THE LORD KILLETH AND THE LORD MAKETH ALIVE, HE BRINGETH DOWN TO SHEOL AND BRINGETH UP. [30]
The School of Hillel say: HE IS GREAT IN MERCY, [31] that is, He leans in the direction of mercy; and of them David said: I AM WELL PLEASED THAT THE LORD HATH HEARD THE VOICE OF MY PRAYER, [32] etc.; and of them, the whole psalm is written.
4. The transgressors of Israel and the transgressors of the heathen who are in the world go down to Gehenna with their bodies, and are judged there for twelve months; after twelve months their souls are destroyed and their bodies burnt; Gehenna casts them forth and they become dust; the wind blows them about and scatters them under the soles of the feet of the righteous, as it is written: AND YE SHALL TREAD DOWN THE WICKED, FOR THEY SHALL BE DUST UNDER THE SOLES OF THE FEET OF THE RIGHTEOUS IN THE DAY THAT I DO THIS, SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS. [33] But the heretics and renegades and traitors and Epicureans, and those who denied the Law, or separated themselves from the ways of the congregation, or denied the resurrection of the dead, and all who sinned and caused the many to sin, like Jeroboam and Ahab, and who set their dead in the land of the living, and stretched [ p. 124 ] out their hands against the Temple, [34] Gehenna is shut up after them, and they are condemned in it for ever; for it is written: AND THEY SHALL GO FORTH AND LOOK ON THE CORPSES OF THE MEN WHO WERE TRANSGRESSORS AGAINST ME, FOR THEIR WORM DIETH NOT, AND THEIR FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. AND THEY SHALL BE AN ABHORRING UNTO ALL FLESH. [35] Sheol wastes away, but they do not waste away, for it is written: AND THEIR FORM SHALL CAUSE SHEOL TO PASS AWAY. [36] What brought this upon them? Because they stretched out their hands against the Temple, [34:1] as it is written: BECAUSE OF HIS TEMPLE; [34:2] and ZEBUL means nothing else than “Temple,” for it is written: I HAVE SURELY BUILT THEE A BETH ZEBUL, A PLACE FOR THEE TO DWELL IN FOR EVER. [37]
M.X. 3_a_. The Generation of the Flood have no share in the world to come, nor shall they stand in the judgment, for it is written: [^412] My SPIRIT SHALL NOT JUDGE [38] WITH MAN FOR EVER. [39]
T. XIII. 6. The Generation of the Flood have no share in the world to come, nor shall they live in the world to come, for it is written: AND HE DESTROYED EVERY LIVING THING THAT WAS UPON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, [^415]\—that is in this world; [ p. 125 ] AND THEY PERISHED FROM THE EARTH,—that is in the world to come.
R. Jehuda, [40] the son of Bethyra, says: AND THE LORD SAID, MY SPIRIT SHALL NOT JUDGE WITH MAN FOR EVER; [41] that is, “There will be no judgment, nor shall My spirit be in thee for ever.”
Another explanation: AND THE LORD SAID: LO YADON. The Almighty says, “I will not suffer their soul to return to its case.” [42]
R. Menahem, [43] the son of R. Jose says: SHALL NOT JUDGE;—the Almighty means, “I shall not judge them when I recompense a good reward to the righteous;” for the fate of the spirits of the wicked is sorer than that of all others, for it is written: THEIR SPIRIT IS A FIRE CONSUMING THEM. [44]
7. The Generation of the Tower of Babel have no share in the world to come, nor shall they live in the world to come, for it is written: [45] THEN THE LORD SCATTERED THEM ABROAD FROM THENCE UPON THE FACE OF THE WHOLE EARTH,—that is, in this world; AND THEY LEFT OFF TO BUILD THE CITY,—that is, in the world to come.
M.X. 3_b_. The men of Sodom have no share in the world to come, [46] but they shall stand in the judgment, for it is written: AND THE MEN OF SODOM WERE EVIL AND WICKED. [47] R. Nehemia says, Neither the Generation of the Flood nor the men of Sodom shall stand in the judgment, for it is [ p. 126 ] written: THEREFORE THE UNGODLY SHALL NOT STAND IN THE JUDGMENT, [48]\—this is the Generation of the Flood; NOR THE EVIL IN THE CONGREGATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS,—these are the men of Sodom. To this it was answered, “They shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous, but they shall stand in the congregation of the ungodly.” [49]
T. XIII. 8. The men of Sodom have no share in the world to come, nor shall they live in the world to come, for it is written: AND THE MEN OF SODOM WERE EVIL AND WICKED, [50]\—m this world; AGAINST THE LORD, EXCEEDINGLY,—in the world to come.
Another explanation: EVIL—each against his neighbour, AND WICKED—in obscenity, AGAINST THE LORD—in idolatry, EXCEEDINGLY—in shedding blood.
9_a_. The spies have no share in the world to come, for it is written: NEITHER SHALL ANY OF THEM THAT DESPISED ME SEE IT. [51]
M.X. 3_c_, The Generation of the Wilderness have no share in the world to come, nor shall they stand in the judgment, for it is written: THEY SHALL COME TO AN END IN THE WILDERNESS AND THERE THEY SHALL DIE, [52]\—so R. Akiba; but [ p. 127 ] R. Eleazar says, It is said of them: GATHER TOGETHER MY HOLY ONES, WHO MADE A COVENANT WITH ME BY SACRIFICE. [53]
The company of Korah are not destined to rise, for it is written: THE EARTH COVERED THEM AND THEY PERISHED FROM THE CONGREGATION, [54]\—so R. Akiba; but R. Eleazar says, It is said of them: THE LORD KILLETH AND MAKETH ALIVE, HE BRINGETH DOWN TO SHEOL AND BRINGETH UP. [55]
T. XIII. 9b. Korah and his company have no share in the world to come, nor shall they live in the world to come, for it is written: THE EARTH COVERED THEM,—in this world; AND THEY PERISHED FROM THE CONGREGATION,—in the world to come,—so R. Akiba; but R. Jehuda, the son of Bethyra, says, They will reach the world to come, for of them it is written: I HAVE GONE ASTRAY LIKE A PERISHING SHEEP; SEEK THY SERVANT. [56] We find perishing spoken of here, and also in the case of Korah and his company; as in the perishing spoken of in the one place, that which is perishing is being sought: so in the perishing spoken of in the other place, that which is perishing is likewise being sought.
10. The Generation of the Wilderness have no share in the world to come, nor shall they live in the world to come, for it is written: OF THEM I SWARE IN MY WRATH THAT THEY SHOULD NOT ENTER INTO MY REST, [57]\—SO R. Akiba; but R. Eleazar says, They will reach the world to come, for of them David says: GATHER MY HOLY ONES TOGETHER, THEY WHO MADE A COVENANT WITH ME BY SACRIFICE. [58] (11) What does Scripture mean by “I SWARE IN MY WRATH”? It was in my wrath that I [ p. 128 ] sware, but I am repenting. R. Jehoshua, the son of Karha, says, These words were said concerning the future generations, for it is written: GATHER MY HOLY ONES TOGETHER—because they did with me deeds of love; THEY WHO MADE (lit. “cut”) A COVENANT WITH ME—because they were cut for my sake; WITH SACRIFICE—because they exalted me and were slain for my sake.
R. Shimeon, the son of Menasia, says: The generation of the wilderness will reach the world to come, for of them it is written: AND THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD SHALL RETURN AND COME TO ZION WITH GLADNESS. [59]
M.X. 3_d_. The Ten Tribes are not to return, for it is written: AND HE CAST THEM FORTH INTO ANOTHER LAND LIKE (AS TO) THIS DAY. [60] As a day goes and does not return, so they go and do not return,—so R. Akiba; but R. Eleazar says, “As a day darkens and then becomes light, so they, after being in darkness, shall then have light.”
T. XIII. 12. The Ten Tribes have no share in the world to come, nor shall they live in the world to come, for it is written: AND THE LORD DROVE THEM OUT FROM THEIR LAND WITH ANGER AND HEAT AND GREAT WRATH,—In this world; AND CAST THEM FORTH UNTO ANOTHER LAND,—in the world to come. R. Shimeon, the son of Jehuda, of Kephar-Akkos, says: It is likewise written, LIKE (AS AT) THIS DAY; therefore if their deeds are “like as at this day,” they will not reach the world to come; but if they are not, they will reach it.
Rabbi says, Both of them shall have a share in [ p. 129 ] the world to come, for it is written: AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THAT DAY THAT THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING IN THE LAND OF ASSHUR, AND THOSE WHO ARE DRIVEN AWAY INTO THE LAND OF EGYPT, SHALL COME AND WORSHIP THE LORD IN THE HOLY MOUNTAIN IN JERUSALEM. 1
M.X. 4. The members of a beguiled city, [61]\—as it is written: THERE SHALL GO FORTH FROM THY MIDST MEN, SONS OF BELIAL, AND THEY SHALL BEGUILE THE INHABITANTS OF THEIR TOWN; [62]\—these are not slain unless the beguilers are from the same town, and unless the majority are beguiled. Also, the beguilers must be men. If they be women or children, [63] or come from outside of the town, those who have been beguiled must be regarded as single offenders needing two witnesses, and every offender must receive the legal warning. The punishment is more severe in the case of individuals than in that of multitudes: for individuals are liable to stoning, so that their property is not confiscate; whereas multitudes suffer (only) from the sword, and therefore their property is confiscate.
[ p. 130 ]
M.5. THOU SHALT SMITE THE PEOPLE OF THAT CITY WITH THE SWORD; but an ass or camel caravan passing through from place to place—such are to be set free. [64] UTTERLY DESTROY IT, AND ALL THAT IS IN IT, AND ITS BEASTS, WITH THE SWORD; therefore they have said that the goods of the righteous in it are lost, but what is outside is saved; whereas that of the wicked, inside or outside, is lost.
T. XIV. 1. “A beguiled city”: there never was, and never will be, such; then why is it contained in Scripture? To teach, “Study and receive the reward.”
Three places in Israel cannot at the same time be adjudged “beguiled cities,” lest the land of Israel be destroyed; but only one or two (at one time). R. Shimeon says: Not even two (together), but only one in Judæa and one in Galilee. On the frontier even a single town cannot be so condemned, lest the heathen break through and destroy the land of Israel.
When the heavier penalty [65] falls on the men of a beguiled city, a lighter penalty falls on their property and the city; and when the lighter penalty falls on the men of a beguiled city, a heavier penalty falls on their property and the city. For when they are to be stoned, their property and the [ p. 131 ] city are not destroyed; but when they are to be slain by the sword, their property and the city are to be destroyed.
2. If a caravan of asses or camels, going from place to place, lodge in the midst of the town, and are beguiled together with it, they are to die by the sword, and their property and the city are to be destroyed. [66] If they have not delayed thirty days, they are to be stoned [67] and their property and the city are not to be destroyed. In every case, those who beguile the city are to be stoned, [68] and their property and the city are to be destroyed. [69]
If women and not men, or minors and not those of full age have beguiled the city, can it be (properly) a beguiled city? Scripture says: THE INHABITANTS OF THEIR TOWN;—the matter deals with “the inhabitants” of their city, and not with any of these.
3. Those under age, the children of the men of the beguiled city, who have been beguiled with it, are not to be slain; but R. Eliezer says that they are to be slain. R. Akiba said to him: I argue from: HE WILL SHOW THEE MERCY, AND HAVE COMPASSION UPON THEE AND MULTIPLY THEE. [70] If to shew mercy to those who are of age it is said: THOU SHALT SURELY SMITE; [71] and if to show mercy to the beasts it is said, UTTERLY DESTROY IT AND ALL THAT IS THEREIN AND ITS BEASTS; [71:1] I maintain that the words, AND HE WILL SHOW THEE MERCY, must refer to those in the city who are under age.
R. Eliezer says: Even those who are of age are not slain except at the mouth of witnesses and [ p. 132 ] after the legal warning. And I argue that the purpose of AND HE WILL SHOW THEE MERCY is lest the judges say, “If we adjudge this to be a beguiled city, to-morrow the brethren and the neighbours of those who have been condemned will preserve hatred in their hearts against us.” But thus saith the Almighty: Behold, I will cause them to have mercy and to bear my love in their hearts, so that they shall say, “We have naught against you in our hearts, for ye have uttered a true judgment.”
And the friends of the dead do not make (open) lamentation: they mourn, but only in their hearts.
4. The property of the righteous that is in the city is lost, but what is outside escapes; while that of the wicked both within and without is lost. R. Eliezer says, “This is illustrated by the instance of Lot. He was in Sodom only for the sake of his property, yet he left the town empty-handed, as it is written: ESCAPE THITHER IN HASTE, [72] as if to say ” Let it suffice thee that thou escape with thy life.“ Said R. Shimeon: Why is it said, ”The property of the righteous that is therein is lost "? Because it is the property of the righteous which makes them dwell among the ungodly. And is it not an example of the a fortiori argument? If mere property, which cannot hear or see or speak, is condemned by the Almighty to be burnt because it makes the righteous live among the ungodly, much more ought the man to be burnt who turns away his fellow from the way of life to the way of death.
M. X. 6a. ALL THE SPOIL THEREOF THOU SHALT GATHER INTO THE MIDST OF THE MARKETPLACE [73]; if it have no market-place they must make one. If the market-place is outside, they [ p. 133 ] bring it inside, for it is written: INTO THE MIDST (OF) ITS MARKET-PLACE.
AND THOU SHALT BURN THE WHOLE CITY AND ALL ITS SPOIL WITH FIRE; its spoil, but not spoil belonging to Heaven. Therefore the holy things in it are redeemed, [74] the heave-offerings allowed to rot, and the Second Tithe and the Scriptures stored away. [75]
T. XIV. 5. Offerings intended for the altar shall die, but those for the Temple repairs are to be redeemed. R. Shimeon says: ITS CATTLE excludes the firstborn of cattle, and the tithes; and ITS SPOIL excludes money belonging to the Temple or the money for the Second Tithe. [76] What is immovable, whether holy or not holy, is not to be destroyed, for it is said, THOU SHALT GATHER, thus excluding what is immovable. But in the other city (i.e. Jericho) [^454] everything, whether immovable or not, was destroyed.
X. 6_b_. A WHOLE OFFERING TO THE LORD THY M. GOD; R. Shimeon said: (“It is as if God said:) When you exercise judgment in a beguiled city, I will consider it as though you offer me a whole offering.” AND IT SHALL BE A PERPETUAL HEAP AND SHALL NEVER AGAIN BE BUILT UPON;—you may not even make gardens or parks,—so R. Jose the Galilæan; but R. Akiba says: AND SHALL NEVER AGAIN BE BUILT UPON, means that it shall [ p. 134 ] not be built as it was before; but gardens and parks may be made of it.
THOU SHALT KEEP NAUGHT OF THE ACCURSED THING, THAT THE LORD MAY TURN FROM THE HEAT OF HIS WRATH AND SHOW THEE MERCY AND KINDNESS AND INCREASE THEE;—the whole time that the ungodly is in the world, the HEAT OF WRATH is in the world; when the ungodly is perished from the world, the HEAT OF WRATH is taken from the world.
T. XIV. 6. If they slay the men, and burn the clothing, and hamstring the cattle (is this according to the Law?) [77] R. Meir says, “Where it is customary to destroy by shedding blood, you shed blood; where it is by burning, you burn; and where by hamstringing, you hamstring.”
A man is not put to death by means of arrows or spears, and not with the point of the sword but with its edge, as it is written: WITH THE EDGE OF THE SWORD. [78]
AND IT SHALL BE A PERPETUAL HEAP, AND SHALL NO MORE BE BUILT; [79]\—they shall not even make it into gardens or parks,—so R. Jose the Galilæan; but R. Akiba says: IT SHALL NO MORE BE BUILT, that is, in the form that it was before it shall not be built up; but it may be made into gardens and parks.
AND IT SHALL BE A PERPETUAL HEAP, as it was in the days of Joshua. R. Jose and R. Jehoshua, the son of Karha, say: Behold it says, CURSED Is THE MAN BEFORE THE LORD WHO SHALL RISE AND BUILD THIS CITY, JERICHO; [80] but do we not know [ p. 135 ] that Jericho is now there? The command was that it should not be rebuilt and called by the name of another city; and that another city should not be built and called by the name of Jericho.
7. WITH THE LOSS OF HIS FIRSTBORN SHALL HE LAY THE FOUNDATION THEREOF, AND WITH THE LOSS OF HIS YOUNGEST SON SHALL HE SET UP THE GATES THEREOF; [81] and so it says: IN HIS DAYS DID HIEL THE BETHELITE BUILD JERICHO. [82] But did not Hiel belong to the kingdom of Jehoshaphat, [83] and was not Jericho in the district of Benjamin? [84] Then why is the matter connected with Ahab? [85] To teach that guilt is connected with him who is guilty. 8. Similarly it is written: AND JONATHAN THE SON OF GERSHOM THE SON OF MANASSEH. [86] But was he the son of Manasseh? Was he not the son of Moses? [87] Then why is the matter connected with Manasseh? To teach that guilt is connected with him who is guilty. 9. WITH THE LOSS OF ABIRAM HIS FIRSTBORN HE LAID THE FOUNDATION THEREOF, AND WITH THE LOSS OF SEGUB HIS YOUNGEST SON HE SET UP THE GATES THEREOF. In the case of Abiram, (Hiel) had no warning from which to learn; [88] but in the case of Segub, the wicked man had such a warning. But they sought to increase their wealth. Why? Because a curse rested on them, so that they continually decreased, as Scripture says, ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD WHICH HE SPAKE BY THE HAND OF JOSHUA THE SON OF NUN. [89]
10. R. Shimeon, the son of Eleazar, says: He did not build the old Jericho, but another one; and [ p. 136 ] after it was built he was allowed to inhabit it, for it is said: AND THE SONS OF THE PROPHETS WHICH WERE IN JERICHO DREW NEAR TO ELISHA. [90] Therefore it is not possible for the court to say, “We are condemning a place as a beguiled city, and so destroying the land of Israel”; [91] but as there is joy in the presence of the Almighty at the continuance of the righteous, so there is joy in the presence of the Almighty at the destruction of the wicked, as it is written: WHEN THE WICKED PERISH, THERE IS REJOICING. [92]
11. Whatsoever is left of a beguiled city and its inhabitants, together with the fruits, or any idol pedestal and what is on it, a merkolis [93] and what is on it, or anything to which the prohibitions [94] dealing with idolatry apply, is forbidden, and no benefit may be derived from it.
Bomberg text adds: The spies have no share in the world to come, as it is written (Numb. 14. 37): “And the men who brought an evil report of the land died by the plague before the Lord.” They died\—in this world; by the plague\—in the world to come.
115:1 Numb. 35. 16 ff. ↩︎
115:2 Deut. 13. 15. ↩︎
115:3 R. Shimeon, the Temanite, was one of the second generation of the Tannaim, c. 120 A.D. ↩︎
115:4 Exod. 21. 18. ↩︎
115:5 Numb. 35. 17. ↩︎
116:1 A euphemism; unless, as in the following section of the Mishnah, the heart is meant. ↩︎
118:1 Deut. 17. 7. ↩︎
119:1 Isa. 30. 20. ↩︎
119:2 Meaning uncertain. The majority of Jewish commentators treat as the name of an idol. A possible interpretation is, that it is an abbreviation of some transliterated unorthodox divine name, such as, for example, κοσμοπλάστης, or a disguised form of the Tetragrammaton. The criminal is then the blasphemer who utters the name “under a pseudonym” (Sanh. VII. 5). Although he cannot be legally stoned, he may become the object of irregular justice. ↩︎
119:3 On the ground of Numb. 25. 6-15. ↩︎
119:4 Legally, (Makkoth III. 2), he can only be punished by scourging. ↩︎
120:1 See Josephus, Bell. VI. ll. 4; V. v. 2; Ant. XV. xi. 5; from which it is to be gathered that the Romans recognized that the Jews could put intruders to death. The well-known Temple barrier inscription discovered in 1871 reads: “No man of another nation to enter within the fence and enclosure round the Temple; and whoever is caught will have himself to blame that his death follows.” Cf. J. Armitage Robinson, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, p. 160. ↩︎
120:2 Most codices, excepting C and K add: “All Israel have a share in the world to come, as it is written, And thy people are all of them righteous; they shall inherit the earth for ever” (Isa. 60. 21). ↩︎
120:3 Cf. Mark. 12. 18; Acts 23. 8. ↩︎
120:4 An epithet constantly applied to those, Jews and Gentiles alike, who come into opposition with Rabbinical standpoints. The word probably owes its popularity and frequency as a term of abuse, not to a widespread knowledge and practice of Epicurean teachings, so much as to the word-play on the root paḳar, “be free from restraint, licentious, sceptical.” ↩︎
120:5 Books excluded from the Hebrew Canon; in spite of R. Akiba’s dictum, Ben Sira is sometimes quoted in Talmud and other rabbinical literature. ↩︎
120:6 Exod. 15. 26. ↩︎
120:7 See Mishnah VII. 5. ↩︎
120:8 Cf. Deut. 31. 16. ↩︎
121:1 See note on M. VII. 5. ↩︎
121:2 Cf. Mark 7. 33; 8. 23. ↩︎
121:3 2. Chron. 33. 13. ↩︎
121:4 2. Chron. 33. 19. ↩︎
121:5 Not yet thirteen years. and a day old. ↩︎
122:1 Mal. 4. 1. ↩︎
122:2 Psalm 116. 6. ↩︎
122:3 Dan. 4. 23. ↩︎
122:4 Mal. 4. I. ↩︎
122:5 Psalm 9. 17. ↩︎
122:6 See note on Tosefta VII. I. ↩︎
123:1 Dan. 12. 2. ↩︎
123:2 Zech. 13. 9. ↩︎
123:4 Exod. 34. 6. ↩︎
123:5 Psalm 116. 5. See especially vv. 3-4. ↩︎
123:6 Mal. 4. 3. ↩︎
124:2 Isa. 66. 24. ↩︎
124:3 Psalm 49. 14. ↩︎
124:1 Not the usual word for Temple, but zebul, “lofty habitation.” ↩︎
124:4 1 Kings 8. 13. ↩︎
124:5 Gen. 6. 3. ↩︎
124:6 Lo yadon,—the meaning is uncertain. It is here given a double meaning, “shall not judge” and “shall not continue”; therefore if God’s spirit does not continue in them for ever, they can have no life hereafter. Editions based on the Bomberg text add the explanatory gloss, “Neither judgment nor spirit.” ↩︎
124:7 Bomberg text adds the paragraph: The Generation of the Dispersion (Gen. 11. 8-9) have no share in the world to come, as it is written: “And God scattered them abroad,”—in this world, “and from thence God scattered them abroad,”—in the world to come. ↩︎
124:8 Gen. 7. 23. ↩︎
125:1 R. Jehuda b. Bethyra, C. 90-130 A.D., was a notable teacher in Nisibis, in Mesopotamia. ↩︎
125:2 Gen. 6. 3. ↩︎
125:3 Playing on the word neden. ↩︎
125:4 R. Menahem b. Jose was a son of R. Jose h. Halafta, and lived towards the end of the second century A.D. ↩︎
125:5 Isaiah 33. 11. ↩︎
125:6 Gen. II. 8. ↩︎
125:7 Bomberg text adds: As it is written [Gen. 13. 13]: “And the men of Sodom were evil and wicked exceedingly in the sight of the Lord,”—evil in this world, and wicked with respect to the world to come. ↩︎
125:8 Gen. 13. 13. C by error repeats quotation from Gen, 6. 3. ↩︎
126:1 Psalm 1. 5. ↩︎
126:2 That is, they shall stand in the judgment. The men of Sodom are called evil, hence they cannot be among the “congregation of the righteous,” i.e. in the world to come; yet they are not called ungodly (rashā‘im), but only wicked (rā‘im): therefore Psalm 1. 5 does not exclude them from the judgment. ↩︎
126:3 Gen. 13. 13. ↩︎
126:4 Numb. 14. 23. ↩︎
126:5 Numb. 14. 35. ↩︎
127:1 Psalm 50. 5. ↩︎
127:2 Numb. 16. 33. ↩︎
127:4 Psalm 119. 176. ↩︎
127:5 Psalm 95. 11. ↩︎
127:6 Psalm 50. 5. ↩︎
128:1 Isa. 35. 10. ↩︎
128:2 Deut. 29. 28. ↩︎
129:1 Isa. 27. 13. ↩︎
129:2 Bomberg text adds “have no share in the world to come,” wrongly assimilating the section to the preceding paragraphs. The Mishnah here takes up the second head announced for treatment in M. IX. 1_b_ (p. 125). Cf. Introduction, p. viii, n. 2. ↩︎
129:3 Deut. 13. 13. ↩︎
129:4 All, except C, here add: “or if only a minority be beguiled.” ↩︎
130:1 This is the preferable reading. Another reading: “These may save it [i.e. the town]” is found in C and the Bomberg text; this has to be explained as meaning that the passers-by, being temporarily members of the city, and remaining (so we have to take for granted) unbeguiled, help to make the unbeguiled a majority; in which case the place is no longer a beguiled city. The beguiled minority will then be classed as individual idolators, subject to the penalty of stoning. ↩︎
130:2 See Mishnah VII. 1.; stoning is first and slaying by the sword (decapitation) third in order of severity; see also previous note. ↩︎ ↩︎
131:1 The Erfurt MS. adds: “And if they delayed thirty days they are to die by the sword and their property and the city are to be destroyed.” ↩︎
131:2 Erfurt MS.: “die by the sword.” ↩︎
131:3 In accordance with M. VII. 10_b_. ↩︎
131:4 Erfurt MS. adds: “If women and those under age have beguiled it, they are to die by the sword, and their property and the city are not to be destroyed.” ↩︎
131:5 Deut. 13. 17. ↩︎
131:6 Deut. 13. 15. ↩︎
132:1 Gen. 19. 22. ↩︎
132:2 Deut. 13. 16. ↩︎
133:1 Cf. Lev. 27. 30. ↩︎
133:2 They are too sacred to destroy; therefore they are buried to preserve them from any sacrilegious use. ↩︎
133:3 See note on Mishnah, I. 3. ↩︎
133:4 Jericho is regarded as an historical example of a “ beguiled city.” ↩︎
134:1 Because Josh. 6. 21 says, “They utterly destroyed all . with the edge of the sword” . . . and v. 24, “and they burnt the city with fire and all that was therein.” ↩︎
134:2 Deut. 13. 15. ↩︎
134:3 Deut. 13. 16. ↩︎
134:4 Josh. 6. 26. ↩︎
135:1 1 Kings 16. 34. ↩︎
135:2 Josh. 6. 26. ↩︎
135:3 As a native of Bethel. ↩︎
135:4 Josh. 18. 21. ↩︎
135:5 Given in the list of Ahab’s misdoings. ↩︎
135:6 Judges 18. 30. R.V. and R.V. mg. ↩︎
135:7 Exod. 18. 3. ↩︎