Talmud for Numbers 7:89

The same was said by David, king of Israel; for it is stated, He made darkness His hiding-place.⁶¹Ps. 18, 12. With reference to whom did David say this verse? He only said it by way of praising the Holy One, blessed be He, Who is Yah ruling in the heights of the universe; He is One and His name is One, and He dwells in three hundred and ninety firmaments.⁶²The Heb. for ‘heaven’, שמים, has the numerical value 390. Upon each firmament His Name and attributes are inscribed; in each are Ministering Angels, Seraphim, Ophannim,⁶³lit. ‘wheels’, cf. Ezek. 1, 15ff. Cherubim, celestial spheres⁶⁴The spheres of the zodiac. and the throne of glory. Do not wonder too much at this statement; because a king of flesh and blood has a number of residences, some for warm weather and some for cold weather; how much more so [can this be said] of the King, the Life of the universe, since everything belongs to Him!
When Israel perform the will of the All-present, [56b] He dwells in Araboth the seventh [heaven]⁶⁵The seventh heaven is the abode of righteousness, justice and peace; cf. Ḥag. 12a (Sonc. ed., pp. 71f.). and He does not disinterest Himself in anything [in the world]; as it is stated, From between the two cherubim; and He spoke unto him.⁶⁶Num. 7, 89. But when He is wroth, He ascends and dwells in the upper heavens, and though people cry aloud and weep, their voices are not heard, even though they decree a fast, wallow in ashes, clothe themselves in sackcloth and shed tears.

One does not ask two questions simultaneously¹⁰³Babli 73a.. If they were asked, there are Tannaim who state, He answers the first but does not answer the second; and there are Tannaim who state, He answers the second but does not answer the first; and there are Tannaim who state, He answers neither the first nor the second. He who says, He answers the first but does not answer the second; from the following: David said, Eternal, God of Israel, etc., would the people of Qeˋilah surrender me into his hand¹⁰⁴ISam. 23:11., etc.? ]Would Saul descend, David asked incorrectly. Was it not necessary, would Saul descend, and if he descended, would the people of Qeˋilah surrender me into his hand?]¹⁰⁵Corrector’s addition. The question asked in 23:11 was illogical since the first question was relevant only if the answer to the second question was positive. Therefore it was necessary for David to ask the first question a second time, 1Sam. 23:12. There is no reason to assume a corruption of the biblical text. He who said, He answers the second but does not answer the first; from the following: David said, would the people of Qeˋilah surrender me¹⁰⁶ISam. 23:12.., etc. He who said, He answers neither the first nor the last, David asked the Eternal as follows, shall I pursue this troop, shall I reach it¹⁰⁷ISam. 30:8.? David asked for mercy in this case, Eternal, God of Israel, please tell Your servant¹⁰⁴ISam. 23:11.. You should know, since he asked two [questions] and He answered three [answers]: He said, pursue, for catching you will catch and saving you will save¹⁰⁷ISam. 30:8.. There are Tannaim who state, he was hearing the voice; there are Tannaim who state, the writing was protruding. He who said, he was hearing the voice is understandable since it is written, he heard the voice¹⁰⁸Num. 7:89.. He who said, the writing¹⁰⁹Identifying Urim and Tummim with an oracle involving the breast plate of the High Priest on whose precious stones the names of the 12 tribes were engraved, Ex. 28:21. This seemed to be excluded since not the entire alphabet was occurring in these names. was protruding, but there is no ח for the tribes, and there is no צ [and no ק] for the tribes! Abraham, Isaac, Jacob was written on them. But there is no ט for the tribes! All these are the tribes of Israel¹¹⁰Gen. 49:28. was engraved on them.

‘R. Joshua b. Levi said: Every day’, etc. Whence do we know this? For it is written, Hark! the Lord crieth [yiḳra’] unto the city—and it is wisdom to have regard for Thy name.¹⁰⁵Micah 6, 9. Perhaps the verse speaks of an ordinary voice [calling and not a Bath Ḳol]? Here it is stated yiḳra’, and elsewhere it is stated, And the Lord called [wayyiḳra’] unto him out of the mountain:¹⁰⁶Ex. 19, 3. as there it was [God calling] from Sinai, so here too it is [God calling] from Sinai. Alternately, here it states yiḳra’ and of the tent of meeting it states, And the Lord called [wayyiḳra’] unto Moses, and spoke unto him out of the tent of meeting.¹⁰⁷Lev. 1, 1. But it might be argued that here¹⁰⁸In Micah 6, 9, where the word ḳol is used, translated hark. it uses the word ḳol and elsewhere it states, God answered him by a voice [beḳol]!¹⁰⁹Ex. 19, 19, which seems to imply that it was not God Who spoke. Then quote, Then he heard the Voice speaking.¹¹⁰Num. 7, 89. Here it is clear that God is speaking. [It might also be argued,] Here it states, unto the city¹¹¹In Micah 6, 9, and therefore the comparison is not complete. and there it does not! [Draw the inference] from the following: Hark [ḳol]! one calleth [ḳore’]: Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord,¹¹²Isa. 40, 3. where ‘calling’ and ‘wilderness’ occur, and it is written, They encamped in the wilderness¹¹³Ex. 19, 2, which refers to a time before Sinai.—perhaps this refers to the periodical ‘callings’! When it mentions ‘calling’ it implies a regular calling, as it is written, When I call unto them, they stand up together.¹¹⁴Isa. 48, 13.
Our Rabbis have taught:¹¹⁵Ber. 55a (Sonc. ed., p. 335). R. Joḥanan there enumerates three things: famine, plenty and leadership. Five things the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself proclaims, viz.: the leader, famine, plenty, the sword, and those who escape the sword. ‘The leader’, as it is written, See, I have called by name Beẓalel.¹¹⁶Ex. 31, 2. ‘Famine’, as it is written, For the Lord hath called for a famine.¹¹⁷2 Kings 8, 1. ‘Plenty’, as it is written, And I will call for the corn and will increase it.¹¹⁸Ezek. 36, 29. ‘The sword’, as it is written, For I will call for a sword.¹¹⁹Jer. 25, 29. ‘Those who escape the sword’, as it is written, And among the remnant those whom the Lord shall call.¹²⁰Joel 3, 5. It is all right with three since the Divine Name is written in connection with them, but with And I will call for the corn, perhaps [this means] by a messenger, as it is written, I will call my servant Eliaḳim!¹²¹Isa. 22, 20. If you do not admit this, surely there [with Eliaḳim] the Divine Presence called to him [to act as leader], because it was similar to that of Beẓalel who was a leader.