Talmud zu Jeschijahu 38:78

⁷From Terumot 1:1, Notes 52–55. The slightly different Terumot text is given in the second column.“If sometimes he is insane and sometimes healthy. When he is insane he is insane in all regards, when healthy he is normal in all regards.” A case came before Samuel who said, when he is of sound mind he should deliver the bill of divorce. Why? Samuel follows Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish; as Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said⁸In the next paragraph., when he regains his sanity. It follows that Samuel acted according to Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish who said, only if he is of sound mind may he deliver the bill of divorce; (Is. 38:16) “make me healthy and let me live!⁹The verse is quoted correctly in Terumot.”

⁵²A similar text in Tosephta 1:3.“It sometimes he is insane [when he is sometimes healthy he is normal in all regards], when he is insane he is insane in all regards, when healthy he is normal in all regards.⁵³He is a responsible and competent person in all legal respects.” A case came before Samuel who said, when he is of sound mind he should deliver the divorce document⁵⁴It is not enough that he be sane when telling the scribe to write and the witnesses to sign; he must also be sane when he delivers the document. Whether a document can be held over a spell of insanity is a matter of dispute between R. Simeon ben Laqish and R. Joḥanan in Giṭṭin 7:1.; one must investigate⁵⁵The text in Giṭṭin is slightly different: “Samuel holds with R. Simeon ben Laqish.” following Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish; as Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, when he is of even mind; that is as Samuel [acted]. Following Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish who said, only if he is of sound mind he may deliver the divorce document; (Is. 38:16) “make me healthy and let me live!”

⁴⁴A complete parallel to this paragraph is in Lev. rabba 36(3); a short reference is in the Babli, 104a. Bar Qappara said, Ahaz and all evil kings of Israel have no part in the World to Come. What is the reason? All their kings fell, not one of them calls to Me⁴⁵Hos. 7:7. This seems to contradict Misnhah 2, where only two kings of Israel are denied part in the World to Come.. They objected to him: Is he not mentioned in the era⁴⁶Greek ὑπατεία, ἡ, “consulate”, for which years are counted. of kings, in the days of Uzziahu, Yotham, Ahaz, Yeḥizqiahu the kings of Jehudah⁴⁷Is. 1:1.? He answered them, because he showed shame. How did he show shame? Rebbi Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Eleazar, Rebbi Yose in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: You find that when the prophet came to accuse him⁴⁸In the Midrash, “to needle him”. The change from קנטר to קטרג may be a scribal error., he fled to an impure place and buried his face in an impure place, implying that the Divine Presence does not dwell at an impure place. That is what is written⁴⁹Is. 7:3.: The Eternal said to Isaiah, please go out towards Aḥaz, you and your son Še’ar Yašuv, to the end of the canal of the upper pond, to the path of the fuller’s field. Do not read fuller’s but suppressing⁵⁰The argument suggests that under the influence of the Greek, שׁ,שׂ,ס all sounded the same.. He hid his face and fled before him. (How is that? When the prophet came to accuse him, he fled to an impure place and buried his face in an impure place.)⁵¹The repetition of the sentence looks like dittography, but it also appears in the Midrash text. Rebbi Jehudah⁵²He is Rebbi. R. Jehudah ben Rabban Simeon, as spelled out in the Midrash and required for chronological reasons. says, because he was made to suffer about his firstborn son. What is the reason? Zimri, the strongman of Ephraim, killed⁵³2Chr. 28:7. The name should be זִכְרִי not זִמְרִי. etc. Rebbi Hoshaia the Elder said, because his father was just. ⁵⁴From here on exists a Genizah fragment (G): L. Ginzberg, Yerushalmi Fragments, New York 1909, pp. 260–264. But was Manasse’s father not just⁵⁵Mishnah 2 declares that Manasse has no part in the World to Come. It implies that Ahaz has part in the World to Come.? Manasse’s father was just but his son was evil. Hezekias’s father was evil and his son was evil. That is what Hezekias says⁵⁶Is. 38:17.: Behold about peace, bitter is bitter for me. Bitter before me, from Aḥaz. Bitter after me, from Manasse. Aḥaz’s father was just and his son just, that is what is written⁵⁷Prov. 11:21. The first part of the verse has differing interpretations below and in Midrash Prov. 11:21, Babli Berakhot 61a, Eruvin 18b, Sotah 4b.: hand to hand will not cleanse evil, but the seed of the just will escape. [Rebbi Phineas said.]⁵⁸Addition from G. In the Midrash: R. Simon. it is not written “the seed of a just will escape” but the seed of the just will escape. The seed lying⁵⁹In G: “planted between” מושתת. between two just men will escape⁶⁰The Babli 104a states categorically that the good deeds of the son save the father from judgment but the merits of the father cannot save the son. This is the basis of the Qaddish ritual of modern Judaism..

Concerning them who moan like a dove,¹⁶Cf. Isa. 38, 14, LIX, 11. Here and in what follows the mannerisms of proud men are alluded to. who make motions with their hands [when talking],¹⁷[So Jastrow, s.v. num I.] click their heels and walk on tip-toe, Scripture declares, Let not the foot of pride overtake me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.¹⁸Ps. 36, 12.

¹⁷²Is. 38:2.Hezekiah turned his face to the wall. Which wall did he lift his eyes to? Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, he lifted his eyes to Raḥab’s wall, for her house was on the wall of the fortification; she lived on the wall. He said before Him: Master of all worlds, Raḥab saved two souls for You, and see how many souls You saved for her. That is what is written¹⁷⁴Jos.6:25.: The youths, the spies, came and led out Raḥab, and her father’s house, and her mother, and her brothers, and all of hers, and all her families they brought out and left them outside of Israel’s camp. Rebbi Simeon ben Ioḥai stated, even if her family was 200 persons strong and they furthermore were related to other families, all of whom were saved by her merit. My forefathers who brought to You all these proselytes so much more that You should spare my life.

Rebbi Yasa, Rebbi Ḥelbo. Rebbi Berekhiah, Rebbi Ḥelbo comes to it in the name of Rebbi Eudaimon from Ḥaifa: A person has to turn his face to the wall in order to pray. What is the reason? (Is. 38:2) “Hezekiah turned his face to the wall.” Which wall did he lift his eyes to? Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, he lifted his eyes to Raḥab’s wall, (Jos. 2:15) “For her house was on the wall of the fortification.” He said before Him: Master of the world, Raḥab the inn-keeper saved two souls for You, and see how many souls You saved for her. [That is what is written (Jos.6:23): “The youths came, etc.” Rebbi Simeon bar Yoḥai said, even if her family was 200 persons strong and they furthermore were related to another 200 families, all of these were saved by her merit²¹⁶The argument, as usual, refers to the part of the verse not quoted in the text: “The youths, the spies, came and removed Raḥab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all her belongings; and they removed all her families and deposited them outside of the camp of Israel.” One would have expected “all her family” but it says “all her families”..] My forefathers who brought to You all these proselytes, so much more²¹⁷This expression is elliptic, see the last two paragraphs.. Rebbi Ḥananiah bar Pappus²¹⁸In the Babli, he is called Rebbi Ḥanina bar Pappus. He belongs to the circle of the students of R. Yoḥanan, but it is not known whether he was himself one of the latter’s students. His authority was accepted by Abbaie and Rava, the undisputed leaders of the fourth generation of Amoraïm in Babylonia. said, he lifted his eyes to the wall of the Temple. (Ez. 43:8) “When they put their lintel next to My lintel, their doorposts next to My doorpost, with the wall between Me and them²¹⁹This verse ends with a curse upon the people addressed, the bad kings of Judea. But since the royal palace and the Temple were designed by David and built by Solomon, one must assume that the layout and use were done by praiseworthy kings..” They were important people, they could not go and pray in the Temple every time, so they prayed in their house and the Holy One, praise to Him, considers it as if they had prayed in the Temple. My fathers who built for You all this glory, so much more. Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman²²⁰In the Babli (10b), this sermon is by Rebbi Levi and the following one by R. Simeon ben Laqish. said, he lifted his eyes to the wall of the woman from Sunem, as it was said (2Kings 4:10): “Let us make a small upper storey on the wall”. He said before Him: Master of the world, the woman from Sunem made one wall for Elisha and You revived her son. My forefathers who built for You all this glory, so much more that You should give me my life. The rabbis say, he lifted his eyes to the walls of his heart. (Jer. 4:19) “My innards, my innards I make tremble, the walls of my heart are in uproar.” He said before Him: Master of the world, I checked all my 248 limbs²²¹This number is given in Mishnah Ahilut 1:8 where they are all enumerated in anatomic detail. that You gave me and I did not find one of them I offended You with; so much more that You should give me my life.

The following are variants between Isaiah⁷⁶Chapters XXXVI-XXXIX. and the text of Kings:⁷⁷2 Kings 18-XX. Now in the four[teenth];⁷⁸Kings XVIII, 13; Isa. 36, 1 now it came to pass in the four[teenth]. Hezekiah;⁷⁹In Kings ibid. 14-16 the name is spelt Ḥizḳiyyah instead of Ḥizḳiyyahu. Rab-saris … to king Hezehiah … unto Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by.⁸⁰Kings 17. In Isa. 36, 2 Rab-saris is lacking, the order of the words is to Jerusalem unto the king. The clause and they went up … they came is lacking, and stood is in the singular but the plural in Kings. And when they had called to the king … unto them.⁸¹Kings 18; and when they … king is lacking in Isa. 3 which has unto them for unto him. Sayest thou⁸²Kings 20; Isa. 5 I said. now … thou trustest;⁸³In Isa. 6 now is lacking, as is also leka (lit. thou trusteth for thyself), compared with Kings 21. ye say … in Jerusalem;⁸⁴For ye say in Kings 22, Isa. 7 has thou say and omits in Jerusalem. with … king;⁸⁵Kings 23, the Heb. for with … king is ’eth melek; in Isa. 8 it is ’eth hammelek. now … against this place … against this land and destroy it;⁸⁶For now in Kings 25, Isa. 10 reads and … now. In against this land the preposition is ‘al for ’el. the son of Hilkiah … with us;⁸⁷Kings 26; in Isa. 11 the son of Hilkiah is lacking, and to us occurs instead of with us. unto them … hath … to;⁸⁸Kings 27; in Isa. 12 unto them is omitted, and hath … to is ha‘al for ha’el. and spoke … the word of;⁸⁹Kings 28; in Isa. 13 and spoke is omitted and word is in the plural. and hearken not … when he persuadeth;⁹⁰Kings 32; in Isa. 18 and hearken not is lacking, and when is replaced by beware lest. hath … ever delivered;⁹¹Kings 33; Isa. 18 hath … delivered. Hena, and Ivvah have they delivered;⁹²Kings 34; in Isa. 19 Hena and Ivva is lacking, and before have the conjunction and is inserted. the countries;⁹³Kings 35; Isa. 20 these countries. but the people held their peace;⁹⁴Kings 36; in Isa. 21 the people is lacking and wayyaḥarishu is read for weheḥerishu. the words of Rab-shakeh.⁹⁵Kings 27 and Isa. 22 are identical in the Heb. The reference is probably to 2 Kings 19, 4 and Isa. 37, 4 where the former reads all the words of Rab-shakeh while the latter omits all.
And Shebna;⁹⁶2 Kings 19, 2;in Isa. 37, 2 we’eth precedes the name. the prophet precedes the son of Amoz;⁹⁷ibid.; in Isa. ibid. the prophet follows. The order in E.V. is the same in both. all the words of;⁹⁸Kings 4; in Isa. 4 all is omitted. unto them;⁹⁹Kings 6 lahem; Isa. 6 ’alehem. to his own land;¹⁰⁰Kings 7 has the preposition l, Isa. 7 ’el. of Tirhakah;¹⁰¹Kings 9 has the preposition ’el, Isa. 9 ‘al. behold he is come out … again;¹⁰²ibid.; Isa. 9 omits behold and for again (wayyashab) reads and when he heard (wayyishma‘). what;¹⁰³Kings 11 has ’eth ’asher, Isa. 11 ’asher. O Lord, the God of;¹⁰⁴Kings 15. Isa. 16 inserts of hosts after Lord. I have heard thee;¹⁰⁵Kings 20, wanting in Isa. 21. against the Holy One;¹⁰⁶Kings 22 reads ‘al, Isa. 23 ’el. thy messengers;¹⁰⁷Kings 23; Isa. 24 thy servants. the choice;¹⁰⁸Kings 23 reads mibḥor; Isa. 24 mibḥar. and I have entered into his farthest lodge;¹⁰⁹ibid.; in Isa 24 and I come up to the height of the mountains. strange;¹¹⁰Kings 24; lacking in Isa. 25. in … times¹¹¹Kings 25 reads lemimë, Isa. 26 mimë. … should be laid waste;¹¹²In Kings 25 the reading is lahshoth, in Isa. 26 lehash’oth. and confounded;¹¹³Kings 26 has wayyeboshu, Isa. 27 waboshu. and as corn blasted;¹¹⁴ibid.; Isa. 27 and as a field of corn. that which springeth of the same;¹¹⁵Kings 29 reads saḥish, Isa. 30 shaḥis. he came;¹¹⁶Kings 33 reads yabo’, Isa. 34 ba’. will defend this city;¹¹⁷Kings 34 has the preposition ’el, Isa. 35 ‘al. and it came to pass that night;¹¹⁸Kings 35; lacking in Isa. 36. and smote;¹¹⁹ibid. the reading is wayyak, in Isa. 36 wayyakeh. fourscore.¹²⁰Kings 35; Isa. 36 and fourscore.
His face;¹²¹2 Kings 20, 2 reads ’eth panaw; Isa. 38, 2 omits ’eth. saying;¹²²ibid.; lacking in Isa. 2. I beseech Thee;¹²³Kings 3; in Isa. 3 and said is inserted before I. heart;¹²⁴ibid. ubelebab; Isa. ubeleb. return … the princes of My people … I will heal thee;¹²⁵Kings 5; lacking in Isa. 5. and I will add;¹²⁶Kings 6 wehosafti; Isa. 5 behold, I will add (hinneni yosif). for Mine own sake and for My servant David’s sake;¹²⁷ibid.; lacking in Isa. 6. take … and he recovered;¹²⁸Kings 7. The whole sentence is lacking in Isa. and Hezekiah said unto Isaiah … the third day;¹²⁹Kings 8. The whole sentence is lacking in Isa. this;¹³⁰Kings 9; Isa. 7 and this. that the Lord;¹³¹ibid. the Heb. particle is ki, in Isa. 7 ’asher. will do the thing;¹³²ibid.; Isa. 7 this thing. go forward.¹³³ibid.; Isa. 8 behold, I will cause … to return. Berodach¹³⁴Kings 12; Isa. 39, 1 Merodach. … for he had heard;¹³⁵ibid. the reading is ki shama‘; Isa. ibid. wayyishma‘. Hezekiah had been sick;¹³⁶ibid.; Isa. ibid. that he had been sick, and was recovered. hearkened unto them;¹³⁷Kings 13; Isa. 2 was glad of them. all his treasure house;¹³⁸ibid.; Isa. ibid. omits all. oil¹³⁹ibid.; Isa. ibid. the … oil. … the house of his armour¹⁴⁰ibid.; Isa. ibid. inserts all before the house. … they are come;¹⁴¹Kings 14; Isa. 3 adds unto me the word of the Lord;¹⁴²Kings 16; in Isa. 5 of hosts follows Lord. to Babylon;¹⁴³Kings 17 the reading is Babelah, in Isa. 6 Babel. is it not so, if.¹⁴⁴Kings 19 reads halo ’im, Isa. 8 if but (ki). The variants here listed are not complete and there are others which are not included (cf. GRA).