Commentaire de citation sur Les Juges 3:14

What kind of merit did the king of Moab have that his daughter Ruth married an Israelite and the Davidic dynasty issued from her? The story occurred in the days of the Judges, when the king of Moab ruled over Israel and caused them great troubles. They served the king of Moab for 18 years, until they screamed to God. God sent a helper called Ehud the son of Gera, from the tribe of Benjamin, and he was left-handed. Israel sent a nice present to the king of Moab through the hands of Ehud. Ehud made for himself a double-edged sword, a cubit long. He was able to wear it under his garment, so that it could not be seen. He girded it on his right side, since he was left-handed. He had it close to hand and he brought the present to the king. The king was a stout man and fat. When he finished his speech, he dismissed his colleagues who brought the present. He thought that one person could run away more easily. When the king was sitting on his throne, Ehud said to the king, I have a secret to tell you. The king told everyone to leave. Ehud said to him: My lord King, I have a message from God, which is God’s command. The king stood up from his throne, out of respect for God, and Ehud stabbed him with the sword in his belly and his innards spilled out and the sword remained stuck in his body. Ehud ran up and locked the king in the room and left. He helped all of Israel get out of its troubles.²¹Judges, 3:14–28. Because he stood up from his throne out of respect for God, blessed be He, God, blessed be He, said: because you rose out of respect for me, I will also establish a son for you who will sit on God’s throne.²²Ruth Rabbah, 2.9. They lived there for ten years. This teaches us that the decree lasts for ten years.²³Yalkut Shimoni, Ruth, Remez 600.

three hundred and ninety days We learned in Seder Olam (ch. 26): This teaches us that Israel sinned for three hundred and ninety years from the time they entered the Land until the ten tribes were exiled therefrom. You find [the events of] two hundred and forty-three of them delineated: From the time Jeroboam assumed the throne until Hoshea son of Elah was exiled and in “the days that the judges judged” are one hundred and eleven years. The rest, however, are not delineated. (These are [the calculations of] the three hundred and ninety years—that I found in a responsum from Rabbi Joseph, the head of the yeshivah—that the ten tribes sinned from the days of Joshua until Sannecherib exiled them from Samaria. Calculate: in the days of the Judges there were 8 years under the rule of Cushan, 18 under the rule of Eglon, 20 under the rule of Sisera, 7 under the rule of Midian, 18 under the rule of the children of Ammon, and 40 under the rule of the Philistines. This totals 111. From Micah until the Ark was captured were 40 years, totaling 151. Calculate for Jeroboam son of Nebat 22, Nadab his son 2, Baasa 24, Elah his son 2, Omri 12, Ahab 22, Ahaziah his son 2, Jehoram his brother 12, Jehu 28, Jehoahaz 17, Jehoash his son 16, Jeroboam his son 41the total is 350 (sic.). And [with] Menachem son of Gadi 10, Pekahiah his son 2, Pekah son of Remaliah 20, and Hoshea son of Elah 9 years, the total is 391, but Hoshea’s last year is not counted because in Hoshea’s ninth year, Samaria was captured and Hoshea was counted as having reigned 8 years, leaving a total of 390. The forty years that the kings of Judah sinned after the exile of Sannecherib until [the prophecy of] this chapter was said to Ezekiel are delineated below, and I did not find it necessary to explain them. This is not found in other editions.)

Three centuries from the conquest of the land in the days of Yehoshua, until Yiftoch. This teaches us concerning the years of the Judges mentioned until now—whether the years of subjugation by the nations are included in the reckoning of the days of the Judge, or not.³The three hundred year total is only accurate if certain of the years of subjugation are included in the years of the judge, and certain years are not, as Rashi explains below. We learn in Seder Olam:⁴Ch. 12. Yehoshua directed Yisroel for twenty eight years—I am not aware of any Scriptural derivation for this. Asniel for forty years,⁵ the years of subjugation by Cushan Rishasaim are included.⁶Eight years. (3:8). Afterward, Ehud for eighty years,⁷ with the eighteen years of subjugation by Eglon⁸ included. This totals one hundred forty eight years. Devorah for forty years,⁹ with the years of subjugation by Yavin¹⁰Twenty years. (4:3.) included, totaling one hundred eighty eight years. Afterward, seven years of subjugation by Midyon,¹¹ forty years of Gidon,¹² and¹³ three of Avimelech, totaling two hundred thirty eight years. Afterward, twenty three years of Tola¹⁴ and twenty two of Yair,¹⁵ with one year overlapping both, and eighteen years of the Bnei Ammon¹⁶ until Yiftoch's appearance. This totals three hundred.