מדרש על איוב 42:18

One of the Rabbis who was sitting before R. Samuel b. Nachmeni said: "Job never existed; and is mentioned in the Scripture only as a parable." Whereupon R. Samuel b. Nachmeni said to him: "According to your theory then what is the meaning of the passage (Job. 1, 1) There was a man in the land of Utz whose name was Job." But even according to your theory is not the following passage (Sam. 12, 3) But the poor man had nothing, etc., a mere parable? The same may be said concerning Job." "If it were so," responded R. Samuel b. Nachmeni, "why, then, his name and the name of the country he came from?" R. Jochanan and R. Elazar both said that Job was from among the Babylonian exiles; and his college was in Tiberias. The following objection was raised: "Job's age was from the time when Israel came to Egypt until they left it." Read, as many years as the Israelites were in Egypt. (Ib. b)) Another objection was raised. "There were seven prophets who have prophesied to the nations, viz: Balaam and his father. Job, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuchite, Zophar the Na'amathite, and Elihu ben Barahel the Buzite." [Hence he was not from among the Babylonian exiles]. And even according to your theory, was then Elihu [just mentioned] not a Jew? Behold, it is written of the family of Ram, [which refers to Abraham. Surely you will say that the Baraitha means their prophecies were for the nations? The same can be said concerning Job. But have then the Jewish prophets not prophesied, for all nations? The Jewish prophets prophesied to Israel mainly, and to the nations also, but the above-mentioned seven have prophesied exclusively for other nations. Another objection was raised. A pious man was among the nations, and Job was his name; and he came to this world only for the purpose of receiving his reward. The Holy One, praised be He! however, brought chastisements upon him, and he began to blaspheme; the Holy One, praised be He! then doubled his reward in this world, so that he should have no share in the world to come. Hence Job was not a Jew? On this point the Tannaim of the following Baraitha differ. R. Elazar said: "Job lived in the time of the Judges as it is said (Job. 27, 12) … deal in such vanities. Which generation was one entirely of vanities? It was the generation of the Judges." R. Joshua b. Karcha said: "Job lived in the time of Ahasuerus; as it is said (Job 42, 15) And there were not found such handsome women as the daughters of Job, etc. And in which generation were handsome women searched for? This was in the generation of Ahasuerus." But perhaps it was in the time in David, of which the passage says (I Kings 1, 3) So they sought for a fair maiden throughout all the territory of Israel. There they searched only among the daughters of Israel, but in the time of Ahasuerus [it is written] in all the land. R. Nathan said: "Job was in the time of the Queen of Sheba, as it is said (Job 1, 15) When the Sabeans made an incursion." The sages, however, say: "Job lived in the time of the Chaldeans, as it is said (Ib., ib. 17) The Chaldeans posted themselves," etc. Still others say: "Job lived in the time of Jacob and married Dinah, the latter's daughter." And all the sages just mentioned, except the last, hold that Job was an Israelite. How can you assume that they hold Job was a non-Jew, for how is it possible that the Shechina should rest on a non-Jew after the death of Moses? Behold! the master said: "Moses asked that the Shechina might not dwell with nonJews, and his request was granted, as it is said (Ex. 33, 6) So shall we be distinguished I and Thy people."

(Gen. 6, 1) And it came to pass when men began to multiply — and daughters were born unto them. R. Jochanan said: "With a daughter comes multiplication into the world." Resh Lakish, however, maintains that with a daughter strife comes into the world. Resh Lakish said to R. Jochanan: "According to your opinion, that multiplication comes with daughters; then why was not Job doubled with daughters just as he was with sons and with all his property?" He answered: "Although they were not doubled in number, nevertheless they were in beauty, as it is written (Job 42, 13-15) He had also fourteen sons and three daughters, And he called the name of the first Yemimah, and the second, Keziah, and the third Keren-hapuch; i.e., Yemimah because she was bright as the day, Keziah because her perfumery odor spread like that of cassia; Keren-hapuch, because, said R. Chisda, she spread forth a savor like garden comes, as it is written (Jer. 4, 30) Thou circle with paint thine eyes." To R. Simon, Rabbi's son, a daughter was born; and he became dejected. His father said to him: "With thy daughter came multiplication." Bar Kapara said to him: "Your father offered you a vain consolation, for we are taught in a Baraitha: The world cannot be without male and females. However, happy is he whose children are males, and woe to him whose children are females. The world cannot be without a spice dealer and a tanner; happy is he who is a spice dealer and woe to him who is a tanner."

... The judgment of the wicked in Gehinnom lasts twelve months, as it says “And it shall be from new moon to new moon…” (Yeshayahu 66:23) R’ Yochanan ben Nuri says: from Pesach until Atzeret (Shavuot), as it says “…and from Sabbath to Sabbath…” (ibid.) After twelve months the souls of the sinners of Israel who transgressed the Torah and the commandments are consumed and their bodies are consumed and they are turned to dust. Gehinnom spits them out and the wind scatters them underneath the feet of the righteous, as it says “And you shall crush the wicked, for they will be as ash under the soles of your feet…” (Malachi 3:21) But those who separated from the ways of the community, like the Sadducees, and the betrayers and the hypocrites and the heretics, and those who ‘spread their terror in the land of the living,’ and those who denied the resurrection, and those who say Torah is not from heaven, and those who scoff at the words of the Sages – Gehinnom is locked before them and they are judged there forever, as it says “And they shall go out and see the corpses of the people who rebelled against Me…” (Yeshayahu 66:24) Not only this, but the netherworld will cease to be but they will not cease to be, as it says “…and their form will outlast the grave as his dwelling place (zevul).” (Tehillim 49:15) From His dwelling place He will wear out their form, and their form will wear out the netherworld. What caused this to happen to them? Because they stretched out their hands against the dwelling place, as it says ‘as his dwelling place,’ and there is no dwelling place other than the Holy Temple, as it says “I have surely built You a house to dwell in…” (Melachim I 8:13)

You who are present today, all of you: You are the existence of this world and the world to come. When the Holy One, blessed be He, will come to give a goodly reward to the righteous, He will show them behemoths that crouch on a thousand mountains; and a thousand mountains will bring up grasses and they will eat. And from where [do we know] that they crouch on a thousand mountains? As it is stated (Psalms 50:11), "The behemoths on a thousand mountains." And they drink all [the water] that the Jordan draws, as it is stated (Job 40:23), "he is certain that he will draw the Jordan to his mouth." Rav Yosef said, "They take one swallow and draw all that the Jordan draws for six months. And it is a full verse (Job 39:24), 'With trembling and anger, he swallows the earth.'" And the Leviathan also crouches upon the deep. In the world to come, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the ministering angels, "Come and fight with him." But when they descend to fight against him, he suspends his eyes and stares at them. And [then] they fear and flee, as it is stated (Job 41:17), "From his rising do the powers fears, the breakers are lacking." When he seeks to eat, he makes a wave in the sea. And [so] the fish think that it is [bringing] something edible, and they go to it; and he opens his mouth and swallows them. And not one of them escapes, but rather all of them enter into his mouth. And [then] the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the ministering angels, "Cast arrows." And they fling [them] at him, but he pays no attention, but they are rather considered like straw by him - as it is stated (Job 41:20), "The son of the bow does not make him flee." And [then] the Holy One, blessed be He, says to them, "Take projectile stones and hurl them at him." And they do it, but he thinks it is straw - as it is stated (Job 41:21), "The catapult is considered like straw." And if you say, where is he crouching; the Holy One, blessed be He, said, upon the clay that is better than gold - as it is stated (Job 41:22), "he reclines on the broken leaves of clay." And if you say [that] if he seeks to leave, he [can] leave - [hence] we learn to say, "he is enclosed with a narrow (tsar) seal" (Job 41:7) - I have closed in front of him, and sealed across from him and I have even restricted (hetsarti) him. And [so] how do the righteous ones eat [it]? Rather the Holy One, blessed be He, puts a spirit into the behemoths and also into the Leviathan, and they come and fight, one with the other - as it is stated (Job 41:8), "One approaches to the other." This one overturns the ground and quiets the behemoths, and these split the Leviathan. [Then] the righteous ones immediately gather around them, and the Holy One, blessed be He, says to each and every one [to eat]. And [each righteous one] eats according to his reward, as it is stated (Job 40:30), "Will the charmers (chavarim) repast upon him?" - Chizkiyah said, "These are [Torah] colleagues (chaverim)." Another [understanding]: "Will the charmers repast upon him?" - anyone who has charmed himself from doing [evil]. "Will it be divided by the traders?" (Job 40:30) - there are among men those that engage in trade: This one gives fifty gold pieces and this one gives ten; they purchase a pearl and it produces revenue. According to what each and every one gave do they take from the revenue. So did the Holy One, blessed be He, say - "Let anyone that was involved with Torah [study] and with [practice of] the commandments, come and take his reward"; as it is stated (Job 42:2), "There is no one so fierce as to rouse him; [and] who can stand (yityatsev) in front of Me?" Who are the ones that are eating in front of [God]? "You who are present." Said the Holy One, blessed be He, "You stood in front of Me in this world to accept the commandments; so too will I stand you in the world to come"; as it is stated (Isaiah 66:22), "For as the new heaven and the new earth, which I will make, shall stand in front of Me - speaks the Lord - so shall your seed and your name stand." Thus did Rabbi Tanchuma expound.

“Was [haya] [a Judean man in the Shushan citadel]….” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Everyone about whom “haya” is stated, it is he at the beginning and it is he at the end.⁹ He was righteous from beginning to end. They objected to him; but isn’t it written: “One was [haya] Abraham” (Ezekiel 33:24)?¹⁰ Abraham began his life as an idolater; he wasn’t the same at the beginning and the end. He said to them: That is not, in fact, a refutation, as Rabbi Ḥanina and Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At age three Abraham identified his Creator. That is what is written: “Because [ekev] Abraham heeded My voice” (Genesis 26:5). The number of years that Abraham heeded the voice of his Creator is the equivalent of ekev (172),¹¹Ayin – 70, kof –100, beit – 2 and he lived one hundred and seventy-five years. [If one does not accept this explanation,] how do I find expression for haya about him? It means that he was fated from the beginning to guide the entire world to repent.¹²Although Abraham was not a believer in God his whole life, he had the potential from the beginning.
“[The Lord God said:] Behold, the man has become [haya] [like one of us, knowing good and evil]” (Genesis 3:22) – he became fated to die. “The serpent was [haya] more cunning” (Genesis 3:1) – he was fated for punishment. “Cain was [haya] a cultivator of the ground” (Genesis 4:2) – he was fated for exile, as you say: “Cain departed from the presence of the Lord” (Genesis 4:16); saying that he would be “restless and wandering” (Genesis 4:12). “There was [haya] a man in the land of Utz” (Job 1:1) – he was fated for suffering. “Noah, a righteous man, was [haya] faultless” (Genesis 6:9) – he was fated to acknowledge his Creator. “Moses was [haya] herding (Exodus 3:1) – he was fated for salvation. Mordekhai was fated for redemption.
Rabbi Levi and the Rabbis: Rabbi Levi said: Anyone about whom haya is stated witnessed a new world. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: They are five.
Noah – yesterday “Water eroded stone” (Job 14:19), as Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Even millstones were dissolved during the flood, and now [after the flood] it says: “The sons of Noah who emerged from the ark…” (Genesis 9:18),¹³Immediately following this verse, the Torah relates how the earth was repopulated by Noah’s sons while Noah was alive. indicating that he witnessed a new world.
Joseph – yesterday “they tortured [his feet] with chains” (Psalms 105:18), and now “And Joseph was [haya] was the ruler over the land” (Genesis 42:6); that is, he witnessed a new world.
Moses – yesterday he was fleeing from Pharaoh and now he is drowning him in the sea; that is, he witnessed a new world.
Job – yesterday “He spills my bile onto the ground” (Job 16:13), and now “and the Lord gave Job double what he had had” (Job 42:10); that is, he witnessed a new world.
Mordekhai – yesterday “he wore sackcloth and ashes” (Esther 4:1), and now “he emerged from before the king in royal garments” (Esther 8:15).
“And his name was Mordekhai” (Esther 2:5). Just as myrrh [mor] is first of all the spices,¹⁴It is first on the list of ingredients of the sacred oil of anointment (Exodus 30:23). so was Mordekhai first among the righteous in his generation.

“Stay tonight, and it will be, in the morning, if he will redeem you, good, he will redeem; but if he will be unwilling to redeem you, I will redeem you, as the Lord lives, lie until the morning” (Ruth 3:13).
“Stay tonight” – tonight you are lying without a man, but you will not lie another night without a man. “It will be in the morning, if he will redeem you, good, he will redeem; but if he will be unwilling to redeem you…” Rabbi Meir was sitting and expounding in the study hall in Tiberias, and Elisha his teacher was passing through the marketplace riding a horse on Shabbat. They said to Rabbi Meir: Elisha your teacher is coming and passing in the marketplace. He emerged to him. [Elisha] said to him: ‘In what were you engaged?’ He said: ‘“The Lord blessed the latter period of Job more than his beginning”’ (Job 42:12).’ [Elisha] said: ‘What did you say in its regard?’ He said: ‘“Blessed” [indicates that] He doubled his property for him.’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Akiva your teacher did not say so; rather, the Lord blessed the latter period of Job due to his beginning, thanks to the repentance and good deeds that he had to his credit initially.’
[Elisha] said to him: ‘What else did you say to them?’ [Rabbi Meir said:] ‘“The end of a matter is better than its beginning”’ (Ecclesiastes 7:8). [Elisha] said to him: ‘What do you say in its regard?’ He said to him: ‘There can be a person who purchases merchandise in his youth and he loses, and [he purchases again] in his old age and he profits. Alternatively, “the end of a matter is better than its beginning,” there can be a person who performs evil deeds in his youth and in his old age he performs good deeds. Alternatively, “the end of a matter is better than its beginning,” there can be a person who studies Torah in his youth and forgets it and he reviews it in his old age; that is: “The end of a matter is better than its beginning.”’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Akiva your teacher did not say so; rather, “the end of a matter is good,” when it was good from “its beginning.”
‘There was an incident involving me. My father Avuya was one of the prominent leaders of the generation. When he came to circumcise me, he invited all the prominent residents of Jerusalem, and he invited Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua among them. When they had eaten and drunk, some began to sing songs and others recited alphabetical poems. Rabbi Eliezer said to Rabbi Yehoshua: ‘These are engaged in theirs, but we are not engaged in ours.’ They began with Torah, and from Torah to Prophets, and from Prophets to Writings, and the matters were as joyous as when they were given from Sinai. Fire began burning around them. During their actual giving at Sinai, were they not given in fire? As it is stated: “The mountain burned with fire until the heart of the heavens” (Deuteronomy 4:11). [Avuya] said: Since the power of Torah is so great, this son, if he endures, I will devote him to Torah. Because his intention was not for the sake of Heaven, my Torah did not endure in me.’
[Rabbi Meir said to Elisha:] ‘What do you say regarding [the verse]: “Gold and glass cannot equal it” (Job 28:17)?’ He said to him: ‘What do you say in its regard?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘These are matters of Torah that are as difficult to acquire as gold vessels and are as easily lost as glass.’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Akiva your teacher did not say so. Rather, just as vessels of gold and glass, if they are broken, can be repaired. So, too, a Torah scholar who forgot his learning can recover it.’
[Elisha] said to [Rabbi Meir]: ‘Go back.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Why?’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘The Shabbat boundary extends [only] to here.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘How do you know?’ [Elisha] said: ‘From the [number of] steps my horse [has taken, I can tell] that it has already gone two thousand cubits.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘You have all this wisdom and yet you do not repent?’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘I do not have the strength.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Why?’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘I was riding my horse and sauntering behind a synagogue on Yom Kippur that coincided with Shabbat, and I heard a divine voice thundering and saying: “Repent wayward children” (Jeremiah 3:22), “Return to Me and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7), except for Elisha ben Avuya, who was aware of My might but rebelled against Me.’
From where did he adopt this course of action?²¹³Why did Elisha abandon his religious observance? They said: One time, he was sitting and studying in the Geinosar Valley and he saw a certain person who climbed to the top of a palm tree and took the mother bird and the fledglings, and he climbed down unharmed. After Shabbat, he saw a certain person who climbed to the top of a palm tree, took the fledglings and sent away the mother bird. He climbed down and was bitten by a snake and died. [Elisha] said: ‘It is written: “Send away the mother and take the fledglings for yourself, so it will be good for you and you will prolong your days” (Deuteronomy 22:7). Where is the goodness for this one? Where are the prolonged days for this one?’ But he did not know that Rabbi Akiva had publicly expounded on it: “So it will be good for you,” in the world that is entirely good; “and you will prolong your days,” in the world that is entirely long.²¹⁴The World to Come.
Some say, it was because he saw the tongue of Rabbi Yehuda the baker in the mouth of a dog. He said: ‘If for the tongue that toiled in Torah all his days it is so, for a tongue that does not know and does not toil in Torah, all the more so.’ He said: ‘If so, there is no reward given to the righteous and no revival of the dead.’ Some say, it was because when his mother was pregnant with him, she passed houses of idol worship. She smelled [the offering they had sacrificed in their idolatrous rite] and they gave her from that food and she ate it. It was seething in her stomach like the venom of a serpent.²¹⁵Because Elisha’s mother had eaten from the idolatrous sacrifice, Elisha had an ingrained desire for sin (Etz Yosef).
Years passed and Elisha ben Avuya fell ill. They came and said to Rabbi Meir: ‘Elisha your teacher is ill.’ He went to him. [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Repent.’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Is [repentance] accepted even in such [circumstances]?’ Rabbi Meir said to him: ‘But is it not written: “You turn man to contrition [daka] [and say: Return, son of man]” (Psalms 90:3) – until his soul is crushed?’²¹⁶The term daka can mean contrition or crushed. Thus, the verse is interpreted to mean that God wants man to repent even if it is at the very end of his life. At that moment Elisha ben Avuya cried, and he died. Rabbi Meir was joyful. He said: ‘It appears that my teacher departed in repentance.’
When they buried him, fire came to burn his grave. They came and said to Rabbi Meir: ‘The grave of your teacher is burning.’ He emerged and spread his garment over it. [Rabbi Meir] said to [Elisha]: “Stay tonight,” (Ruth 3:13) in this world that is entirely night. “It will be in the morning, if he will redeem you, good, he will redeem” (Ruth 3:13). “It will be in the morning,” – in the world that is entirely good. “If he will redeem you, good, he will redeem,” – this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord is good to all” (Psalms 145:9). “But if he will be unwilling to redeem you, I will redeem you, as the Lord lives, lie until the morning” (Ruth 3:13).²¹⁷Rabbi Meir is requesting that Elisha be allowed to rest in peace as long as he himself is alive. When Rabbi Meir dies, he will advocate on behalf of Elisha. [The fire] subsided.
They said to [Rabbi Meir]: ‘Our teacher, in the World to Come, if they say to you: What do you request,²¹⁸For whom would you request protection from punishment. your father or your teacher, what will you say?’ [Rabbi Meir] said: ‘My father and then my teacher.’ They said to him: ‘Will they listen to you?’ He said: ‘Is it not a mishna: “One may rescue the casing of a scroll with the scroll, and the casing of phylacteries with the phylacteries” (Shabbat 16:1)? They will rescue Elisha due to the merit of his Torah.’²¹⁹Just as the casing is saved from fire on Shabbat due to the scroll, Elisha should be saved due to his Torah. Years later, [Elisha’s] daughters came and demanded charity from Rabbeinu.²²⁰Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi He said: “Let no one extend kindness to him; and let no one be gracious to his orphans” (Psalms 109:12). They said: ‘Rabbi, do not look at his actions, look at his Torah.’ At that moment, Rabbi wept and decreed that they should be supported. If one whose Torah was not for the sake of Heaven produced such,²²¹Produced such a disciple as Rabbi Meir; alternatively, produced daughters with such wisdom and modest comportment (Etz Yosef). one whose Torah is for the sake of Heaven, all the more so.
Rabbi Yosei said: There are three whose evil inclination came to attack them, but each and every one of them outdid it with an oath. These are Joseph, David, and Boaz. Joseph, as it is written: “How can I perform this great wickedness [and sin to God]?” (Genesis 39:9). Rabbi Ḥunya in the name of Rabbi Idi: Is this verse lacking? “I will sin to the Lord,” is not written here, but rather, “I will sin to God [Elohim].”²²²The Bible generally refers to sinning before the Lord rather than sinning before God. Elohim appears as an expression of oath in the language of the Sages. . and said: ‘By God! I will not sin, and I will not perform this great wickedness.’
David, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “David said: As the Lord lives; rather the Lord will smite him” (I Samuel 26:10).²²³The verse is David’s response to the suggestion of Avishai ben Tzeruya that he kill Saul. Saul had come with an armed force to kill David, but David and Avishai had sneaked into their camp and could easily have killed Saul. To whom did he take an oath? Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, Rabbi Elazar said: He took an oath to his evil inclination. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: He took an oath to Avishai ben Tzeruya. He said to him: ‘As the Lord lives, if you touch him, I will mix your blood with his blood.’
Boaz, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “As the Lord lives, lie until the morning” (Ruth 3:13). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Ḥunya, Rabbi Yehuda says: That entire night his evil inclination was agitating him and saying: ‘You are single and seeking a wife and she is single and seeking a husband. Arise and consort with her and she will become your wife.’ He took an oath to his evil inclination and said: ‘As the Lord lives, I will not touch her.’ He said to the woman: “Lie until the morning… if he will redeem you, good, he will redeem.” Rabbi Ḥunya said: “A wise man is strong [baoz]” (Proverbs 24:5), a wise man is Boaz. “And a man of knowledge increases strength” (Proverbs 24:5), but he outdid his evil inclination with an oath.

“The end of a matter is better than its beginning; one of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit” (Ecclesiastes 7:8).
“The end of a matter is better than its beginning.” Rabbi Meir was sitting and expounding in the study hall of Tiberias, and his teacher, Elisha, was passing in the marketplace, riding on a horse on Shabbat. They said to Rabbi Meir: ‘Your teacher Elisha is coming and passing in the marketplace on Shabbat.’ He emerged to him. [Elisha] said to him: ‘In what were you engaged?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘“The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning”’ (Job 42:12). he [continued and] said to him: ‘“Blessed” [indicates] that He doubled his possessions for him.’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Akiva, your teacher, did not say so, but rather “the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning,” thanks to the repentance and good deeds that he had to his credit from his beginning.’
[Elisha] said to [Rabbi Meir]: ‘What else did you say?’ [Rabbi Meir answered:] “The end of a matter is better than its beginning.” [Elisha] said to him: ‘What did you say in its regard?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘You have a person who purchases merchandise in his youth and he loses [money on it], and [he engages in commerce] in his old age and he makes a profit. Alternatively, “the end of a matter is better than its beginning” – you have a person who begets children in his youth and they die, [and he begets children] in his old age, and they endure. Alternatively, “the end of a matter is better than its beginning” – you have a person who performs wicked deeds in his youth, and in his old age, performs good deeds. Alternatively, “the end of a matter is better than its beginning” – you have a person who studies Torah in his youth and forgets it, and in his old age he returns to it; that is what is written: “the end of a matter is better than its beginning.”’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Rabbi Akiva, your teacher, did not say so; rather [he explained the verse to mean:] “The end of a matter” is good when it is good “from its beginning.”
‘Likewise, there was an incident: Avuya, my father, was one of the prominent leaders of the generation. When he came to circumcise me, he invited all the prominent residents of Jerusalem and all the prominent leaders of the generation, and invited Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua with them. When they had eaten and drunk, some began to sing songs and others recited alphabetical poems. Rabbi Eliezer said to Rabbi Yehoshua: ‘These are engaging in their [areas of interest], but we are not engaging in ours.’ They began with the Torah, from the Torah to the Prophets, and from the Prophets to the Writings, and the matters were as joyous as when they were given at Sinai, and the fire was burning around them. In their original giving at Sinai, were they not given in fire, as it is stated: “The mountain was ablaze with fire to the heart of the heavens” (Deuteronomy 4:11). [Avuya] said: ‘Since the power of the Torah is so great, this son, if he endures, I will dedicate him to the Torah.’ Because his intention was not for the sake of Heaven, my Torah did not endure in me.’
[Elisha said to Rabbi Meir:] ‘And what else did you say [in your lecture]?’ [Rabbi Meir answered:] ‘“It cannot be valued like gold and glass”’ (Job 28:17). [Elisha asked:] ‘What did you say in its regard?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘These are matters of Torah that are as difficult to acquire as gold and glass.’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Akiva, your teacher, did not say so; rather, just as vessels of gold and glass, if they break they can be repaired, so too, a Torah scholar, if he lost his learning, he can return to it.
[Elisha] said to him: ‘Return and enter [the city].’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Why?’ [Elisha said:] ‘The Shabbat boundary ends here.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘How do you know?’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘From the [number of] steps my horse [has taken, I can tell] that it has already gone two thousand cubits.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘You have all this wisdom and you do not repent?’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘I do not have the strength.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Why?’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘I was riding a horse and was sauntering behind the Temple on Yom Kippur that coincided with Shabbat. I heard a Divine Voice crying out and saying: “Return wayward children” (Jeremiah 3:22), “return to Me and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7), except for Elisha ben Avuya, who was aware of My might and rebelled against Me.’
From where did he have this?⁵⁴What caused Elisha to forsake the Torah to begin with? He saw a certain person who climbed to the top of a palm tree on Shabbat. He took the mother bird with the fledglings and climbed down unharmed. After Shabbat, he saw a certain person who climbed to the top of a palm tree, took the fledglings, and sent the mother away. He climbed down and a snake bit him and he died. [Elisha] said: ‘It is written: “Send away the mother bird and take the fledglings for yourself so it will be good for you and you will prolong your days” (Deuteronomy 22:7). Where is the good of this one? Where are the prolonged days of this one?’ But he did not know that Rabbi Akiva had expounded it: “So it will be good for you,” in the world that is entirely good; “and you will prolong your days,” in the world that is eternally long [the World to Come].
And some say it was because he saw the tongue of Rabbi Yehuda the baker in the mouth of a dog. He said: ‘If for the tongue that toiled in Torah throughout his life it is so, for the tongue that does not know and does not toil in Torah, all the more so. He said: If so, there is no reward given to the righteous and no revival of the dead.’ And some say it was because when his mother was pregnant with him, she passed by houses of idol worship and smelled,⁵⁵She smelled the aroma of the offerings being sacrificed and craved them. and they gave her some of that kind, and she ate it, and it was churning in her stomach like the venom of a snake.⁵⁶Because Elisha’s mother had eaten from the idolatrous sacrifice, Elisha had an ingrained desire for sin (Etz Yosef).
Sometime later, Elisha ben Avuya fell ill. They came and said to Rabbi Meir: ‘Elisha is ill.’ [Rabbi Meir] went to him and said: ‘Repent.’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Is [repentance] accepted even in such [circumstances]?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘But is it not written: “You turn man to contrition [daka] [and say: Return, son of man]” (Psalms 90:3) – until his soul is crushed?’⁵⁷The term daka can mean contrition or crushed. Thus, the verse is interpreted to mean that God wants man to repent even if it is at the very end of his life. At that moment, Elisha ben Avuya wept, and he died. Rabbi Meir was glad and said: ‘It appears that my teacher departed in the midst of repentance.’
When they buried him, fire came to burn his grave. They came and said to Rabbi Meir: ‘The grave of your teacher is burning.’ He emerged and spread his garment over it. [Rabbi Meir] said to [Elisha]: ‘“Stay tonight” (Ruth 3:13), in this world that is entirely night. “It will be in the morning, if he will redeem you, good, he will redeem” (Ruth 3:13). What is: “It will be in the morning”? It is in the world that is totally good. “If he will redeem you, good, [he will redeem]”⁵⁸It is expounded as though it is written: “If the Good will redeem you.” – this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord is good to all” (Psalms 145:9). “But if he will be unwilling to redeem you, I will redeem you, as the Lord lives; lie until the morning”’ (Ruth 3:13).⁵⁹Rabbi Meir was requesting that Elisha be allowed to rest in peace as long as he himself was alive. When Rabbi Meir himself died, he would advocate on behalf of Elisha. The fire subsided.
They said to [Rabbi Meir]: ‘Rabbi, in the World to Come, if they say to you, which do you request,⁶⁰Whom do you request should be protected from punishment. your father or your teacher, what would you say?’ He said to them: ‘First [my] father and then my teacher.’ They said to him: ‘Will they listen to you?’ He said to them: ‘Is it not a mishna: One may rescue the casing of a Torah scroll with the Torah scroll, and the casing of phylacteries with the phylacteries (Shabbat 16:1)? They will save Elisha due to the merit of his Torah.’⁶¹Just as the casing is saved from fire on Shabbat due to the scroll, Elisha should be saved due to his Torah.
Ultimately, his daughters came and demanded charity from Rabbeinu.⁶²Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. He said: ‘“Let no one extend kindness to him; and let no one be gracious to his orphans”’ (Psalms 109:12). They said: ‘Rabbi, do not look at his actions, look at his Torah.’ At that moment, Rabbi wept and decreed that they should be supported. He said: ‘If one whose Torah was not for the sake of Heaven produced such,⁶³Produced daughters with such wisdom and modest comportment; alternatively, this means if he produced a disciple such as Rabbi Meir (Matnot Kehuna). one whose Torah is for the sake of Heaven, all the more so.’
“One of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit.” A certain Persian came to Rav [and] said to him: ‘Teach me Torah.’ [Rav] said to him: ‘Say alef.’ He said to [Rav]: ‘Who says that it is alef? Let them say that it is not so.’ ‘Say bet.’ He said to [Rav]: ‘Who says that it is bet? Let them say that it is not so.’ Rav scolded him and had him removed, with reprimand. He went to Shmuel [and] said to him: ‘Teach me Torah.’ [Shmuel] said to him: ‘Say alef.’ He said to [Shmuel]: ‘Who says that it is alef?’ ‘Say bet.’ He said to [Shmuel]: ‘Who says that it is bet?’ [Shmuel] pulled him by his ear. He said: ‘My ear, my ear!’ Shmuel said to him: ‘Who says that it is your ear?’ He said to [Shmuel]: ‘Everyone knows that it is my ear.’ [Shmuel] said to him: ‘Here, too, everyone knows that this is alef and this is bet.’ The Persian was silenced, and he accepted it upon himself. That is, “one of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit.” The patience that Shmuel extended the Persian is better than the exactitude with which Rav acted in his regard. Had he not done so, the Persian would have returned to his corruption.⁶⁴Instead, he converted to Judaism and credited Shmuel for his patience. He read in [Shmuel’s] regard: “One of patient spirit is better.”
Moreover, Aquila the proselyte⁶⁵He had not yet converted. asked Rabbi Eliezer, he said to him: ‘The love with which the Holy One blessed be He loves the proselyte is with only bread and garment, as it is stated: “He loves the proselyte, giving him bread and a garment” (Deuteronomy 10:18). [Yet] I have so many peacocks and so many pheasants that even my servants pay no attention to them.’ He said to him: ‘Is it insignificant in your eyes what our patriarch Jacob requested initially, as it is stated: “And He will give me bread to eat and a garment to wear” (Genesis 28:20)? Is that an insignificant matter?’
[Aquila] came before Rabbi Yehoshua and asked him this. [Rabbi Yehoshua] said to him: ‘A proselyte who converts for the sake of Heaven is privileged, and his daughters may marry into the priesthood. “Bread,” this is the showbread; “garment,” these are the priestly vestments.’ He drew him near with his words. His disciples said to him: ‘Is the matter for which the elder entreated insignificant in your eyes, as it is stated: “And He will give me bread”? Why, then, do you dispatch him with a trifling matter?’⁶⁶Apparently, the disciples did not like Rabbi Yehoshua’s first homiletical interpretation. Alternatively, this critique was stated by Rabbi Eliezer’s disciples and belongs in the text before Aquila came to Rabbi Yehoshua (see Matnot Kehuna and Bereshit Rabba 70:5). He began to placate him with his words:⁶⁷Rabbi Yehoshua told Aquila the following alternate interpretation of the verse. ‘“Bread,” this is Torah, as it is stated: “Come partake of my bread” (Proverbs 9:5);⁶⁸This statement is attributed in Proverbs to wisdom, which is personified and offers a speech. The midrash interprets wisdom as a reference to Torah. “garment,” this is glory, as it is stated: “Through me kings reign” (Proverbs 8:15).’⁶⁹Through Torah, kings reign, and their glory is reflected in the royal garments. That is, “one of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit.” The patience that Rabbi Yehoshua extended Aquila the proselyte is better than the exactitude with which Rabbi Eliezer acted in his regard. Had he not done so, he would have returned to his corruption. He read in his regard: “One of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit.”

He likewise tests the poor. If they do not complain in this world, they will receive their reward in the world-to-come, as is said: For thou dost save the afflicted people (Ps. 18:28). Job suffered in this world and was repaid twofold, as it is said: And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10).

(Numb. 21:4:) “Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by way of the Reed Sea in order to go around the Land of Edom, but the people grew restive on the journey.” But is it not written (of that era in Neh. 9:20), “And You gave Your good spirit to enlighten them?” It is simply that those remnants of Israel which had come out of Egypt over whom death had been decreed, saw neither a peaceful nor agreeable spirit in the desert.¹²²Numb. R. 19:21. Thus it says (in Numb. 14:33), “And your children shall roam in the wilderness....” This was (according to Numb. 21:4) the people who grew restive on the journey. (Numb. 21:5:) “And the people spoke against God and against Moses.” They equated the slave and his Master. (Numb. 21:5:) “Our soul loathes this miserable food,” for that generation was unable to taste any of the fruits of the land at all. R. Aqiva said, “When merchants [even] uncovered a basket with some fruits of the land for them, they died.” It is so stated (in Deut. 1:35), “Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land,” [i.e.,] any good that comes because of the land. That is why the people grew restive on the journey. These are the ones that grumbled (in Numb. 21:5), “Our soul loathes.” (Numb. 21:6:) “Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people.” Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, see fit to exact retribution from them through serpents?¹²³Numb. R. 19:22. It is simply that the snake started [the use of] slanderous language at the beginning and was cursed; yet they did not learn from it and spoke slanderous language against the Holy One, blessed be He. [The Holy One, blessed be He, said,] “Let the serpent, which was the first [to use] slanderous language, come and exact retribution from those who [still] speak slanderous language.” This is what is written (in Eccl. 10:8), “the one who breaks through a barrier¹²⁴In general “to break through a barrier” means “to say,” but here the reference may denote more specifically the barrier of one’s teeth, through which slander must pass. will have a snake bite him.” Another interpretation of why retribution was exacted from them through serpents: Even if the serpent eats all the luxury foods of the world, for him they are turned to dust in his mouth. Thus it is stated (in Is. 65:25), “but the serpent's food shall be dust.” Now these people ate the manna, as stated (in Ps. 106:15), “So He gave them what they asked for,” and (in Ps. 78:29), “He gave them their desire.” It also says (in Deut. 2:7), “these forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.”¹²⁵I.e., no luxury foods. Let a serpent that eats many species and has [but] one taste in his mouth come and exact the retribution from those who eat one species and taste many species. (Numb. 21:6:) “Fiery serpents (serafim).” [They are called serafim] because they burn (sorefim) the soul. R. Judan says, “[God] sent out the [same] serpents that the cloud of glory would burn and make into a fence for the camp to let them know the miracles that the Omnipresent had done for them.” (Numb. 21:7:) “Then the people came unto Moses and said, ‘We have sinned, since we spoke against the Lord and you.’” [They] knew that they had spoken against Moses, so they fell prostrate before him and said (ibid., cont.), “pray unto the Lord to remove the serpent¹²⁶The use of the singular here may be suggesting to midrashic interpreter that this was the same serpent that sinned in the Garden of Eden. See the parallel in Numb. R. 19:23. from us.” Rabbi says, “There was one serpent.” [(Ibid., cont.:) “And he prayed.” The passage serves] to make Moses' humility known to you, in that he did not hesitate to seek mercy for them. And [it is also] to make the power of repentance known to you. As soon as they said, “We have sinned,” he was immediately reconciled to them. [The passage serves] to teach you that the one who forgives should not be cruel. And so too does it say (in Gen. 20:17), “Abraham then prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife.” And so does it say (in Job 42:10), “The Lord restored Job’s fortunes when he prayed on behalf of his friends.” And where is it shown that if one has sinned against his companion and says to him, “I have sinned,” without [the companion] forgiving him, that [the unforgiving one] is called a sinner? Where it is stated (in I Sam. 12:23), “As for me also, far be it for me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray on your behalf.” When? When they came and said to him, “We have sinned,” [as stated] (in I Sam. 12:10), “and [they] said, ‘We have sinned […].’” And he answered, “Far be it from me to sin.” (Numb. 21:8), “And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, [and put it on a pole]; then it shall come to pass that, when anyone bitten [looks at it, he shall live],” not only one bitten by a serpent, but anyone bitten, even one bitten by an adder, by a scorpion, a wild beast, or a dog. (Numb. 21:9:) “So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it up by a miracle.”¹²⁷Nes. The usual rendering would read: AND SET IT UP ON A POLE (nes). However, since nes can also mean “miracle,” the midrash is understanding it in the latter sense. He tossed it into the air and it remained there. (Numb. 21:10:) “Then the Children of Israel journeyed on and camped in Oboth (Ovot, rt: 'wb),” because they had become enemies (oyevim, rt: 'yb) to the Omnipresent.¹²⁸Numb. R. 19:24. (Numb. 21:11:) “And they camped at Iye-Abarim ('avarim, rt.: 'br),” because they were full of transgressions ('averot, rt.: 'br). (Numb. 21:12:) “And they camped in the Wadi Zered,” because the wadi was [only] about a full span (zeret) [in width]; but they were unable to cross it for thirty-eight years. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 2:13-14), “Now then arise and cross the Wadi Zered…. And the time that we traveled from Kadesh-Barnea until we crossed the Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years.”(Numb. 21:13:) “From there they journeyed and camped on the other side of (m'br) the Arnon (rt.: rnn),” because the Omnipresent was reconciled to them.¹²⁹The argument seems to depend on the following: M‘BR is close to M‘BRH, which means, “away from transgression” or, with different voweling, “away from wrath”; while the root, RNN, means “sing” or “rejoice.”

23 (Numb. 21:7) “Then the people came unto Moses and said, ‘We have sinned’”: [They] knew that they had spoken against Moses, so they fell prostrate before him and said (ibid., cont.), “pray unto the Lord to remove [the serpent]⁷³The use of the singular here may be suggesting to midrashic interpreter that this was the same serpent that sinned in the Garden of Eden. from us….” There was one serpent. [(Ibid., cont.) “And he prayed”: The passage serves] to make Moses' humility known to you, in that he did not hesitate to seek mercy for them. And [it is also] to make the power of repentance known to you. As soon as they said, “We have sinned,” he was immediately reconciled to them. [The passage serves] to teach you that the one who forgives should not be cruel. And so too does it say (in Gen. 20:17), “Abraham then prayed to God, and God healed [Abimelech and his wife].” And so does it say (in Job 42:10), “The Lord restored Job’s fortunes when he prayed on behalf of his friends.” And where is it shown that if one has sinned against his companion and says to him, “I have sinned,” without [the companion] forgiving him, that [the unforgiving one] is called a sinner? Where it is stated (in I Sam. 12:23), “As for me also, far be it for me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray on your behalf.” When? When they came and said to him, “We have sinned,” [as stated] (in I Sam. 12:10), “and [they] said, ‘We have sinned […].’” And he answered, “Far be it from me to sin.” (Numb. 21:8), “And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, [and put it on a pole]; then it shall come to pass that, when anyone bitten [looks at it, he shall live],” not only one bitten by a serpent, but anyone bitten, even one bitten by an adder, by a scorpion, a wild beast, or a dog. (Numb. 21:9) “So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it up by a miracle”:⁷⁴Nes. The usual rendering would read: AND SET IT UP ON A POLE (nes). However, since nes can also mean “miracle,” the midrash is understanding it in the latter sense. He tossed it into the air and it remained there.

(Gen. 21:1:) THEN THE LORD VISITED SARAH. Let our master instruct us: If there is a quarrel between someone and his friend, how is there atonement for him on the Day of Atonement?¹⁰⁹PR 38. Thus have our masters taught (in Yoma 8:9): FOR TRANSGRESSIONS THAT ARE BETWEEN SOMEONE AND THE OMNIPRESENT, THE DAY OF ATONEMENT ATONES. FOR < TRANSGRESSIONS > THAT ARE BETWEEN HIM AND HIS COMPANION, THE DAY OF ATONEMENT DOES NOT ATONE UNTIL HE MAKES PEACE WITH HIS COMPANION. ¹¹⁰Cf. Matthew 5:22f. If he went to make peace, and he did not accept, what should he do? R. Jose, the son of a Damascene woman, said:¹¹¹As Buber points in a note, R. Jose’s statement belongs further down in the paragraph, where it is found in PR 38. This would be a ready sign¹¹²Gk.: semeion. for you. Every time that you show mercy to your companion, there is one showing mercy (i.e., the Omnipresent) to you. But if you do not show mercy to your companion, there is no one showing mercy to you.¹¹³Mark 11:25; Matthew 6:14-15; 18:23-35; Matthew 6:12//Luke 11:4. What should he do? R. Samuel ben Nahman said: Let him bring ten people and set them in a single line. Then let him say before them: My brothers, there has been a quarrel between me and such and such a person. So I went to make peace with him, but he did not accept. Immediately the Holy One sees that he has humbled himself before him, and he has mercy on him.¹¹⁴yYoma 8:9 (45c); cf. Yoma 87a. Thus it is stated (in Job 33:27): LET HIM DRAW UP A LINE (YShWR)¹¹⁵The midrash understands YShWR as a verb related to the noun shurah (“line”) and vocalized yeshawwer. OF PEOPLE AND SAY: I HAVE SINNED AND PERVERTED THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT (yashar).¹¹⁶This word also is related to YShWR (“line”). What < else > is written there (in vs. 28)? SO HE REDEEMS HIS SOUL FROM GOING INTO THE PIT. It is also written (in Prov. 28:13): BUT WHOEVER CONFESSES AND FORSAKES < HIS TRANSGRESSIONS > SHALL OBTAIN MERCY. R. Judah said: The one who confesses in order to forsake < transgressions > shall obtain mercy. Now you find it to be so (in Scripture). All the days that Job was angry with his companions and his companions with him, strict justice was extended against him. Thus it is stated (in Job 30:4): BUT NOW THOSE WHO ARE YOUNGER THAN I LAUGH AT ME. He said to Eliphaz: And are you not a son of Esau?¹¹⁷The midrash identifies Job’s companion with the Eliphaz mentioned in Gen. 36:4, 10-12, 15-16;I Chron. 1:35-36. If your father had persisted in begging me to have him eat with my dogs, I should have refused him. (Thus Job 30:1 continues:) WHOSE FATHERS I REFUSED TO SET WITH THE DOGS OF MY FLOCK. Then his companions said: Are you the only venerable one? We also have venerable ones, as stated (in Job 15:10): (WE ALSO HAVE) [WITH US ALSO ARE] BOTH THE OLD AND THE VENERABLE, < OLDER THAN YOUR FATHER >. Then, when the Holy one appeared to them and said to them: Why are you persisting? Come and make peace with Job. Thus it is stated (in Job 42:8): NOW THEREFORE, TAKE SEVEN BULLS AND SEVEN RAMS, < GO UNTO MY SERVANT JOB, AND SACRIFICE A BURNT OFFERING FOR YOURSELVES. > THEN LET MY SERVANT JOB PRAY FOR YOU. < When the Holy One had so spoken >, they immediately went and did so. What is written there (in vs. 10)? AND THE LORD RESTORED THE FORTUNES OF JOB. When? (Ibid., cont.:) WHEN HE PRAYED FOR HIS FRIENDS. So < it was with > Abimelech (according to Gen. 20:17): THEN ABRAHAM PRAYED < UNTO GOD; AND GOD HEALED ABIMELECH >…. The Holy One said: Abraham has sought mercy for Abimelech; I will visit him. Immediately (there follows in Gen. 21:1): THEN THE LORD VISITED SARAH.

Teach us, oh teacher – if one has an argument with their friend, how shall they attain atonement on Yom Kippur? This is what our Rabbis taught: transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones; however, for transgressions between a person and another, Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases the other person (Mishna Yoma 8:9) And if one goes to appease him and the offended party will not accept the apology, what should one do? R’ Shmuel bar Nachmani says: bring ten people and stand them in a line and say before them – there was an argument between my self and so-and-so, I tried to appease him and he did not want to accept my apology, rather he persists in his refusal. From where do we know one should do thus, it says “He declares to men, “I have sinned; I have perverted what was right; But I was not paid back for it.” (Job 33:27) The Holy One see that you are humbling yourself and gives atonement for your sins, because so long as one holds fast to their refusal to recognize their own behavior they are not forgiven. Do you want proof of this? So long as Job stood against his friends and they against him, the attribute of justice prevailed. So we find that Job said to them “But now those younger than I deride me, [Men] whose fathers I would have disdained to put among my sheep dogs.” (Job 30:1) And they said to him “Among us are gray-haired old men, Older by far than your father.” (Job 15:10) At the very moment when he forgave them and prayed for mercy upon them, the Holy One returned to him, as it says “The LORD restored Job’s fortunes…” (Job 42:10) When? “…when he prayed on behalf of his friends…” (ibid.) This is as it says elsewhere, “…show you compassion, and in His compassion increase you…” (Deuteronomy 13:18) R’ Yose ben Dormaskit said: take this sign in your hand – so long as you are merciful upon your fellows, HaMakom (God) will be merciful upon you. As soon as Avraham prayed for mercy on behalf of Avimelech, he received his own reward, as it says “Abraham then prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife…” (Genesis 20:17) Andwhat was the reward which he received? That his wife became pregnant and bore him a son, as it says “The LORD took note of Sarah as He had promised, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken.” (Genesis 21:1)

And her name was Keturah: Rav said, "She is Hagar." Rabbi Nechemiah said to him, "And is it not written, 'he added.'" He said to him, "[That signifies that] he [now] married her according to the [Divine] word; like that which you say (Isaiah 8), 'And the Lord added to speak to me more.'" He said to him, "And is it not written, 'And her name was Keturah?'" He said to him, "[It is] since she was fragrant (mekuteret) with commandments and good deeds." He said to him, "And is it not written, 'And to the sons of the concubines that Avraham had?'" He said, "It is [actually] written, 'concubine' (in the singular, such that there only be one concubine - Hagar)." "While he was still alive (chai)" - [this is a reference to] the one that sat by the well and said to the Life (chai) of the worlds, "Look at my embarrassment!" Rabbi Berakhia said, "Even though you say (Genesis 21:14), 'and she went and strayed in the wilderness, etc., [such that] you would say that she was suspected with any [other man]; hence we learn to say, 'And her name was Keturah' - like a type of knot (ketur) like this, [with which] he seals a storehouse and opens it with a seal, [that is] tied and sealed." Bar Kapra said, "The addition of the Holy One, blessed be He, is greater than the main part: Kayin was was the main part and as a result of Hevel being the addition - as it is is written (Genesis 4:2), 'And she added to give birth' - he and his two twins were born; Yosef was the main part, and as a result of it being written, addition, with Binyamin, he established ten [children], as it is written (Genesis 46:21), ' And the children of Binyamin were Bela and Becher, etc.'; Er was the main part, and as a result of Shelah being [born] with the language of addition, he established ten [courts], behold, it is written in I Chronicles 4:21, 'And the sons of Shelah the son of Yehudah were Er, the father (a term that is also used for the head of a court) of Lecha, and Ladah, the father of Maresha, and the families of the house Avodat HaButs of the house of Ashbea'; the main part of the years of Iyov were only seventy years, [and] one hundred and forty years were added to him, as it is written (Job 42:16), 'And Iyov lived after this one hundred and forty years'; the main part of the reign of Chizkiyahu was only fourteen years, and fifteen years were added to him, as it states (Isaiah 38:), 'behold, I will add fifteen years to your days; Yishmael is the main part, and as a result of the children of Keturah being [born] with the language of addition, 'And she gave birth for him to Zimran, etc.'"