Könige I 13:4 Midrasch: Pesikta DeRav Kahana, Midrash Tanchuma, Midrash Tanchuma Buber & Bereshit Rabbah

Rabbi Yudan opened: "Choice silver is the tongue of the righteous; the heart of evildoers is worth little" (Prov. 10:20). "Choice silver is the tongue of the righteous" -- this is the testimony of the prophet. "The heart of evildoers is worth little" -- that is Jeroboam. Thus it is written, "And behold, a man of God came from Judah with the word of Hashem [to Beth El; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense]" (1 Kings 13:1). "And [the man of God] called out on the altar by the word of Hashem, and he said, 'Altar! O altar!'" (1 Kings 13:2). And why [did he call out] "Altar! O altar!" two times? Said Rabbi Abba bar Kahana, [he was calling out to] the altar that was in Beth El, and the altar that was in Dan (see 1 Kings 12:29). What did he call out on it? "Behold, a son is born to the House of David, [and] Josiah is his name. And upon you he shall slaughter the priests of the high places that burn incense upon you" (1 Kings 13:2). "And the bones of Jeroboam will be burned upon you" is not written here; rather, "and the bones of a man will be burned upon you" (ibid.). It teaches that he paid homage to the kingship, as it is written, "And it was that when the king heard the word of the man of God, who had called out on the altar in Beth El, that Jeroboam stretched out his arm above the altar and cried, 'Seize him!'" (1 Kings 13:4). Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Idi, the Place takes greater pity on the honor of the righteous than on His own honor -- [Jeroboam] was standing and sacrificing to an idol and his hand did not wither, but the moment he stretched out his hand against a righteous man, his hand withered. Thus it says, "And the hand withered that he had stretched out against [the man of God]" (ibid.). "And the king answered and said to the man of God, 'Entreat please on my behalf to the face of Hashem your God, and pray for me'" (1 Kings 13:6). Two [amoraim] commented [on this verse]. One said, [it is notable that Jeroboam said,] "your God" and not "my God." And the other said, how could he call Him "my God" when he was standing and sacrificing before an idol, and he was calling it "my god"? Nevertheless, "the man of God entreated the face of Hashem, and the king’s hand was restored, and became as it was before" (ibid.). What is "as it was before"? Rabbi Berachya, Rabbi Yuda bar Simon in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: "Though thou shouldst grind a fool in a mortar among crushed grain with a pestle, yet will his foolishness not depart from him" (Prov. 27:22, Koren tr.). Just as before he would stand and sacrifice to an idol, so too afterwards he would stand and sacrifice to an idol. Another interpretation: "Refined silver is the tongue of the righteous" (Prov. 10:20) -- that is the Holy One Blessed be He, who chose the tongue of Moses, and said, "When you take a census of the Children of Israel " (Ex. 30:12; see Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 6:4).

R. Yudan opened the discussion with the verse: The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is little worth (Prov. 10:20). The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver alludes to the prophet Iddo. The heart of the wicked is little worth refers to Jeroboam. Scripture states: And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-el, and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer; and he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said: “O altar, altar” (I Kings 13:1–2). Why is the word altar repeated twice? R. Abba the son of Kahana said: Because there were two altars, one at Bethel and one at Dan. Why did he say: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and man’s bones shall be burnt upon thee? (ibid., v. 2)? It does not say in the verse “the bones of Jeroboam” but rather man’s bones. You learn from this that he (the prophet) was respectful toward the government. And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying: “Lay hold on him.” And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back (ibid., vv. 4–5).

Another interpretation (of Is. 57:20): BUT THE WICKED ARE LIKE THE TROUBLED SEA. Just as the sea has its mud in its mouth, so the wicked have their stench in their mouth. Thus it is stated (at the end of Is. 57:20): AND ITS WATERS TOSS UP SLIME AND MUD. It is not from choice that one hears blasphemies and invectives, but from the midst of the sins which are within him. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 5:1): IF A SOUL SINS AND HEARS A VOICE SWEARING….⁶⁷Most translations equate the sinning with the swearing. This more literal translation illustrates the point that the swearing comes from a soul which has already sinned. You find <that there are> three things under human control and three things not under human control.⁶⁸Tanh., Gen. 6:12 (i.e., Toledot 12); Gen. R. 67:12. The following are under one's control: The mouth, the hands and the feet. The mouth: If one wants to be engaged in the Torah, he is engaged; <if one wants> to blaspheme and revile, he does so, because his lips are under his control. The hands: If one wants to give alms, he gives them; <if one wants> to steal, he steals. Why? Because they are under his control. The feet: One wanting to go to the synagogue goes; <one wanting> to steal, commit adultery, <or> murder goes, because his feet are under his control. But the following are not under one's control: The eyes, the ears, and the nose. The eyes: If one was passing through the market place and saw someone committing a transgression in the market place, he was seeing what was not under his control. The ears: If one heard the sound of blasphemies and invectives and did not want to hear them, what should he do? He heard what was not under his control. The nose: If one passed through a place of idolatry, smelled idolatrous incense, and did not smell it willingly, what should he do? He smelled what was not under his control. But when the Holy One desires, even these things which are < ordinarily > under one's control are not <any longer> under one's control. The mouth: When Balaam came to curse Israel, the Holy One did not allow him. He blessed them instead, as stated (in Deut. 23:6): BUT THE LORD YOUR GOD DID NOT WANT TO HEED BALAAM; <SO THE LORD YOUR GOD TURNED THE CURSE INTO A BLESSING FOR YOU>…. Also the hands: Thus you find in the case of Jeroboam, when the prophet came AND (according to I Kings 13:2) CRIED OUT {UNTO} [AGAINST] THE ALTAR [ACCORDING TO] THE WORD OF THE LORD AND SAID: O ALTAR, ALTAR, [THUS SAYS THE LORD: BEHOLD, A SON SHALL BE BORN UNTO THE HOUSE OF DAVID…. ] Then Jeroboam said: Moses wrote in the Torah (in Deut. 13:2 [1]): IF THERE ARISES AMONG YOU A PROPHET… AND GIVES YOU A SIGN OR A PORTENT. Now as for you, what portent are you giving me? He said to him: Is it a portent that you want? (I Kings 13:3:) THIS IS THE PORTENT WHICH THE LORD HAS DECREED: BEHOLD, THE ALTAR WILL BE TORN ASUNDER. Then (in vs. 4): JEROBOAM {RAISED} [STRETCHED OUT] HIS ARM FROM OVER THE ALTAR, SAYING: SEIZE HIM, BUT HIS HAND < WHICH HE STRETCHED AGAINST HIM > WITHERED, <AND HE COULD NOT DRAW IT BACK TO HIMSELF>. <This is written > to teach you that it was not under his control. Also the feet: Where it shown concerning them? From the men of Aram (i.e., Syria). When they came against Elisha, the Holy One said to them: Is it in your own right that you have come? What did he do to them? He misdirected them, as stated (in II Kings 6:19): THEN ELISHA SAID TO THEM: THIS IS NOT THE ROAD, AND THIS IS NOT THE CITY. <This is written > to teach you that even the feet are not under one's control. And not only <now> but even in the world to come.⁶⁹Tanh., Lev. 1:7. [So it is stated] (in Job 12:23): HE EXALTS (MSGY') NATIONS AND DESTROYS THEM. The written text (ketiv) is MShG' (which means, "misleads").⁷⁰In unpointed Hebrew the Sin (S) and the Shin (Sh) look alike. Since MShG’, which is pointed mashge’, can also be spelled with the extra yod (i.e., Y), the two words are interchangable in an unpointed text. Then he DESTROYS THEM <and> brings them down to Abaddon,⁷¹Abbadon is a name for Hell, which means “destruction.” while the righteous watch them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 66:24): THEN THEY SHALL GO OUT AND LOOK AT THE CORPSES OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE REBELLED AGAINST ME: THEIR WORMS SHALL NOT DIE NOR SHALL THEIR FIRE BE QUENCHED.