Midras Mazmur 74:6: Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition) & Midrash Tehillim

What does the term ben Baladan mean? It was said that Merodach's father was a king whose appearance was changed to that of a dog. And his son Beladan sat on the throne. And when he used to sign his name, he did so in conjunction with his father's for the sake of his honor. And to this the passage refers (Mal. 1, 6) A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master, i.e., a son honoreth his father, as just mentioned, and a servant his master, as in (Jer. 52, 12-13) And in the fifth month on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came Nebusaradan, the captain of the guard, (who) served the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem. And he burnt the house of the Lord, etc. (Ib., b) Was then Nebuchadnezzar at that time in Jerusalem? Behold it is written (II Kings 25, 20) And Nebusaradan, the captain of the guard, took these, and conducted them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And R. Abahu said that Riblah is identical with Antukhia? R. Chisda and R. Isaac b. Abdimi [differed as to the explanation of the passage]; one said that the image of Nebuchadnezzar was engraved on his (Nebusaradan's) carriage, and the other said that the fear of Nebuchadnezzar rested upon him, so that it always appeared to him that he was standing by him. Raba said: "Three hundred mules loaded with iron axes which could cut iron (steel) were given to Nebusaradan by Nebuchadnezzar while going to attack Jerusalem. And all of them were swallowed (broken) at one gate of Jerusalem, as it is said (Ps. 74, 6) And now they hew in pieces the carved work thereof altogether with hatchets and hammers." Seeing this he thought to return, saying: "I fear that I might meet the same fate as Sennacherib." But a heavenly voice was heard: "Tramp, son of a tramp, Nebusaradan, jump now [to Jerusalem] for the time has come that the Sanctuary be destroyed and the Temple be burnt." At that time one axe remained with him [from all he had] and with it he struck the gate, and it opened, as it is said (Ib. ib. 5) [The enemy] is known as one that lifteth up high axes against the thickets of a forest. Then he slew every one coming under his hand till he reached the Temlpe and then kindled it. However, the Temple arose heavenward, but it was pressed down by Heaven, as it is said (Lam. 1, 15) The Lord hath trodden as in a wine press the virgin, the daughter of Judah. Nebusaradan became proud of all this, whereupon a Bath Kol (heavenly voice) was heard saying: "You slew a vanquished nation, a burnt temple have you burned, ground flour have you ground," as it is said (Isa. 47, 2) Take the mill and grind meal; uncover thy locks, strip off the train, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. It is not said, And grind wheat, but Grind meal.

"A Psalm of David, the conqueror. Hear, O God, my voice in my complaint. As it is written in Amos 3:7, 'Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.' The Lord informed David what should be done to Daniel and what those who could have gone up to fight with the Lord in heaven would have done. The sons of Korah also say (Psalm 74:7), 'They have burned your sanctuary with fire, and razed it to the ground.' And if they could have drilled through the firmament, they would have done so, as it is written (Psalm 18:8), 'Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.' And because they could not go up, they do it below, as it is written (Psalm 2:2), 'The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together.' And because they could not go up, they sought counsel from Daniel, as it is written (Daniel 6:8-9), 'All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree.' They said to him, 'Are you not the king? For all the kings make decrees and issue laws,' as it is written (Esther 1:19), 'According to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.' When he heard this, he made an agreement with them, as it is written (Daniel 6:10-11), 'Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.' When they caught him, he said to them, 'My Lord, the King of the Universe, sees all. Hide me from the plot of evildoers, from the tumult of those who do wrong.' When they found him, they approached him and said (Daniel 6:13-14), 'Then they answered and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.'" As it says (Proverbs 30:30): "A lion, mightiest among beasts, recoils before none." The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Let a lion come and rescue a lion from the mouth of a lion." (ibid. 30:29) "There is a king who is formidable in his retinue." (ibid. 30:28) "There are three impressive beings that stride forth, four that are stately in gait: a lion, mightiest among beasts, recoils before none." This is exemplified by the story of Daniel, in which seventy powerful men were unable to consume him. They told him that they had not eaten him because they were seventy, but if they were to increase their number, they would be able to overpower him. Daniel challenged them to spend the night with him, and if they could overpower him in the morning, they could eat him. In the end, they were devoured themselves. As it says (Psalms 7:13), "God shoots His arrows suddenly," and as a result, the lions were defeated. Therefore it is said (Proverbs 30:30), "Lions, mightiest among beasts, that retreat before none." How many were there? As it says (Daniel 6:2), "Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two. There were also one hundred and twenty satraps, of whom Daniel was one." Thus, there were one hundred and twenty-two, as it says, "They were males and females." This teaches that for each person there were four lions, and each lion had four limbs. They tried to throw them into a pit, but the lions did not descend. As it says (ibid. 6:24), "The lions had the mastery over them and broke all their bones in pieces." Therefore, it is said (Psalms 58:11), "The righteous man will rejoice when he sees revenge; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked." And it says (Psalms 64:11), "The righteous man will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him, and all the upright in heart will exult."