Midrash su I Cronache 29:2
וּֽכְכָל־כֹּחִ֞י הֲכִינ֣וֹתִי לְבֵית־אֱלֹהַ֗י הַזָּהָ֣ב ׀ לַ֠זָּהָב וְהַכֶּ֨סֶף לַכֶּ֜סֶף וְהַנְּחֹ֣שֶׁת לַנְּחֹ֗שֶׁת הַבַּרְזֶל֙ לַבַּרְזֶ֔ל וְהָעֵצִ֖ים לָעֵצִ֑ים אַבְנֵי־שֹׁ֨הַם וּמִלּוּאִ֜ים אַבְנֵי־פ֣וּךְ וְרִקְמָ֗ה וְכֹ֨ל אֶ֧בֶן יְקָרָ֛ה וְאַבְנֵי־שַׁ֖יִשׁ לָרֹֽב׃
Ora ho preparato con tutta la mia forza per la casa del mio Dio l'oro per le cose d'oro e l'argento per le cose d'argento e l'ottone per le cose di ottone, il ferro per le cose di ferro e legno per le cose del legno; pietre di onice e pietre da incastonare, pietre scintillanti e di vari colori, e ogni sorta di pietre preziose e pietre di marmo in abbondanza.
Esther Rabbah
“Hangings of white [ḥur], green [karpas] and blue [tekhelet], fastened with cords of fine linen and purple wool on silver rods and marble pillars, couches of gold and silver, on a floor of alabaster, marble, mother-of-pearl, and onyx” (Esther 1:6).
“Ḥur, karpas, and tekhelet” – Akelas translated it: White [ḥur] and green [karpas] linen. Rav Beivai said: sky-blue [tekhelet]. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Like garments that free men wear. “Fastened with cords of fine linen and purple wool” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Come and see what the clothing of that wicked one was like; everyone hangs [curtains] with cords of [simple] wool and cords of [simple] linen, and this wicked one [hangs curtains] with cords of fine linen and purple wool. “On silver rods” – Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great and Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta: One said: They were furled like the curtain of a cabinet. The other said: They were folded like the sails of a ship.
“And pillars of marble,” – the quarry [from which the marble came] was not revealed to any creature other than to [those from] this wicked kingdom. They objected: But is it not written [regarding the materials assembled for the construction of the Temple]: “And all precious stones and marble stones in abundance” (I Chronicles 29:2)? Solomon would place a gem on one side and a gem on the other side with the marble stones between them. It was easier for Aḥashverosh to craft pillars of silver and gold than to bring pillars of marble from Perak Onsin to Media. If you say that they were cut [into small pieces and reassembled], Rabbi Mattana said: I slept on the capital of one of them, and it was the width of my height with arms and legs extended.
“Ḥur, karpas, and tekhelet” – Akelas translated it: White [ḥur] and green [karpas] linen. Rav Beivai said: sky-blue [tekhelet]. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Like garments that free men wear. “Fastened with cords of fine linen and purple wool” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Come and see what the clothing of that wicked one was like; everyone hangs [curtains] with cords of [simple] wool and cords of [simple] linen, and this wicked one [hangs curtains] with cords of fine linen and purple wool. “On silver rods” – Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great and Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta: One said: They were furled like the curtain of a cabinet. The other said: They were folded like the sails of a ship.
“And pillars of marble,” – the quarry [from which the marble came] was not revealed to any creature other than to [those from] this wicked kingdom. They objected: But is it not written [regarding the materials assembled for the construction of the Temple]: “And all precious stones and marble stones in abundance” (I Chronicles 29:2)? Solomon would place a gem on one side and a gem on the other side with the marble stones between them. It was easier for Aḥashverosh to craft pillars of silver and gold than to bring pillars of marble from Perak Onsin to Media. If you say that they were cut [into small pieces and reassembled], Rabbi Mattana said: I slept on the capital of one of them, and it was the width of my height with arms and legs extended.
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