Talmud su Genesi 15:24

How does Rebbi Yose bar Ḥanina explain “In view of all this”? Since they accepted [the obligations] with good grace, the verse credits it to them as if they had accepted it voluntarily¹³The Babli (Qiddušin 31a, Baba Qama 38a, 87a, Avodah Zarah 3a) holds that the person who is obligated receives greater reward than the person who is not obligated. This opinion, quoted in the name of R. Ḥanina and undisputed in the Babli, clearly is not accepted in the Yerushalmi and is never quoted there. One must assume that the statement was the opinion of R. Ḥanina when he was still in Babylonia.. How does Rebbi Eleazar explain “more than your forefathers?” He explains it for the future since Rebbi Ḥelbo, Simeon bar Abba said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Your forefathers inherited the land of seven peoples¹⁴Deut. 7:1: The Hittites, Girgashites, Emorites, Canaanites, Perizites, Ḥiwwites, Yebusites., but you will in the future inherit the land of ten peoples. The three others are (Gen. 15:19) “the Qenites, the Qenizites and the Qadmonites.¹⁵These three, promised to Abraham, are never mentioned by Moses. The list, with minor deviations, also appears in Gen.rabba 44(27) and Babli Baba Batra 56a.” Rebbi Jehudah said, [these are] Arabia, Salmaia¹⁶A people living in the desert between Syria and Mesopotamia [Pliny Hist.Nat. vi, 26, 30.] These identifications are given in the Midrash in the name of Rebbi, in the Babli in the name of R. Meïr. and Nabataea. Rebbi Simeon says, Asia, Spain, and Damascus¹⁷The same list in Gen.rabba; in the Babli the list contains Asia, Spain, and an unidentified region variously written ערדיסקיס, ערדסקס, ערסקיס, אדרסקא, עידסקיס.. Rebbi Eliezer ben Jacob says, Asia, Cartagena, and Thrace¹⁸In Gen.rabba.תרקי . The last identification is a conjecture by A. Neubauer. The word cannot mean Turkey since in Talmudic times the Turk peoples were still living in the Altai mountains. This list is not in the Babli.. Rebbi says, Edom, Moab, and the best of Ammon¹⁹This is attributed to the rabbis in Gen.rabba, to R. Jehudah in the Babli.. “More than your forefathers”: Your forefathers, even though they were redeemed, were later subjugated again. But you when you are redeemed will not be subjugated again. What is the reason? (Jer. 30:6) “Inquire and see whether a male gives birth.” Just as a male cannot give birth so you, after you are redeemed, will not be subjugated again²⁰The image of the male as symbol of the sterility of the days of the Messiah is found in Yerushalmi Midrashim [Mekhilta deR.Ismael,Bešallaḥ 1 (ed. Horovitz-Rabin p. 118), Cant.rabba 1(37)]. It is discussed at length in the author’s The Scholar’s Haggadah (Northvale NJ, 1995), pp. 314–316..

There were seven patriarchs with whom a divine covenant was made, viz.: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Phinehas and David. In connection with Abraham it is written, In that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying.³⁵Gen. 15, 18. In connection with Isaac it is written, But My covenant will I establish with Isaac.³⁶ibid. XVII, 21. In connection with Jacob it is written, Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob.³⁷Lev. 26, 42. In connection with Moses it is written, For after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.³⁸Ex. 34, 27. In connection with Aaron it is written, It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord.³⁹Num. 18, 19. In connection with Phinehas it is written, And it shall be unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.⁴⁰ibid. XXV, 13. In connection with David it is written, I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn unto David My servant.⁴¹Ps. 89, 4. Perhaps this passage is quoted here to teach men to emulate their special characteristics. Abraham stands as the example of hospitality, Isaac of self-sacrifice, Jacob of scholarship (cf. Gen. 25, 27, where according to Rabbinic interpretation tents means schools), Moses of meekness, Aaron of peace-making, Phinehas of zeal on behalf of God, and David of singing His praise.

BARAITHA. Seven patriarchs were under [divine] covenant and they are: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Phinehas and David. Of Abraham it declares, In that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram.¹⁶⁴Gen. 15, 18. Of Isaac it declares, But My covenant will I establish with Isaac.¹⁶⁵ibid. XVII, 21. Of Jacob it declares, Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob.¹⁶⁶Lev. 26, 42. Of Moses it declares, For after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.¹⁶⁷Ex. 34, 27. Of Aaron it declares, It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord unto thee.¹⁶⁸Num. 18, 19. Of Phinehas it declares, And it shall be unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.¹⁶⁹ibid. XXV, 13. Of David it declares, I have made a covenant with My chosen.¹⁷⁰Ps. 89, 4.
GEMARA. It has been taught: Israel too were under [divine] covenant. Whence is this learnt? As it is stated, For after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.¹⁷¹Ex. 34, 27. Shall we say that this refutes the view of R. ‘Aḳiba who said: The generation of the Wilderness¹⁷²Cf. Num. 14, 26ff. have no share in the World to Come?¹⁷³Cf. Sanh. 108a (Sonc. ed., p. 738). R. ‘Aḳiba could reply: On the contrary, it is a support of my view: here it is written, and with Israel, and it is written, Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; forasmuch as they broke My covenant.¹⁷⁴Jer. 31, 30f, in A.J. XXXI, 31f. Because the generation of the Wilderness broke the covenant by their murmurings against God they lost their share in the World to Come, and only when God will renew the covenant with Israel and Judah will they again be entitled to a share. What, then, is the force of the repetition [and] with? It is to include the babes and sucklings [who came out of Egypt].¹⁷⁵With this new generation of Israel God will enter into the new covenant.
Come and hear: [It is written,] Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, I have made a covenant with your fathers¹⁷⁶Jer. 34, 13.—this is a refutation of R. ‘Aḳiba! He can reply: This is rather a support for me, for it is written, But your fathers hearkened not unto Me.¹⁷⁷ibid. 14. They therefore forfeited their share in the World to Come. Come and hear: [It is written,] Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice!¹⁷⁸Ps. 50, 5. This verse implies that the covenant was binding for all time. This is certainly a refutation [of R. ‘Aḳiba’s statement].

How does Rebbi Yose bar Ḥanina explain “In view of all this, we execute a contract and sign”? Since they accepted [the obligations] with good grace, the verse credits it to them as if they had accepted it voluntarily. How does Rebbi Eleazar explain “more than your forefathers?” He explains it for the future since Rebbi Ḥelbo, Simeon bar Abba said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Your forefathers inherited the land of seven peoples, but you will in the future inherit the land of ten peoples. The three others are (Gen. 15:19) “the Qenites, the Qenizites and the Qadmonites.” Rebbi Jehudah said, [these are] Arabia, Salmaia and Nabataea. Rebbi Simeon says, Asia, Spain, and Damascus. Rebbi Eliezer ben Jacob says, Asia, Cartagena, and Thrace. Rebbi says, Edom, Moab, and the best of Ammon. “More than your forefathers”: Your forefathers, even though they were redeemed, were later subjugated again. But you when you are redeemed will not be subjugated again. What is the reason? (Jer. 30:6) “Inquire and see whether a male gives birth.” Just as a male cannot give birth so you, after you are redeemed, will not be subjugated again.

Further [R. ‘Aḳiba] sat on the bench [and taught]: Good things are brought about through the agency of good men.⁶⁷Cf. Shab. 32a (Sonc. ed., p. 146). Even if Moses and Aaron had not arisen, Israel would still have been worthy to be redeemed from Egypt,⁶⁸Because of the promise God made to Abraham. as it is stated, And afterward shall they come out with great substance.⁶⁹Gen. 15, 14. Had not Moses and Aaron and the Generation of the Wilderness arisen, Israel would still have been worthy to receive the Torah, as it is stated, He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright.⁷⁰Prov. 2, 7, sound wisdom being a synonym for the Torah and the upright for Israel. The section of ‘the judges’⁷¹Ex. 18, 21-23. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if Jethro had not arisen. The section of ‘the smaller Passover’⁷²Num. 9, 1-14, also known as the ‘second Passover’. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if the ‘unclean’ had not arisen, as it is stated, We are unclean by the dead body of a man; wherefore are we to be kept back, so as not to bring the offering of the Lord in its appointed season among the children of Israel?⁷³ibid. 7. The section of ‘inheritance’⁷⁴ibid.XXVII, 6-11. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if the daughters of Zelophehad⁷⁵ibid. 1-5. had not arisen. The Temple would have been worthy to be built even if David and Solomon had not arisen, as it is stated, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established.⁷⁶Ex. 15, 17. Israel would have been worthy to be redeemed in the days of Haman even it Mordecai and Esther had not arisen, as it is stated, And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly,⁷⁷Lev. 26, 44. etc.
Israel were destined to be enslaved even if Pharaoh had not arisen in Egypt, as it is stated, And [they] shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.⁷⁸Gen. 15, 13. Israel were destined to serve idols even if Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had not arisen, as it is stated, And this people will rise up, and go astray after the foreign gods of the land.⁷⁹Deut. 31, 16. The section of ‘the blasphemer’⁸⁰Lev. 24, 10ff. and of ‘the gatherer of sticks’⁸¹Num. 15 32-36. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if the son of the Israelitish woman and the gatherer of sticks had not arisen. Israel would have been destined to be destroyed by the sword even if so and so⁸²i.e. nations hostile to Israel. They were so many that they are not specified. had not arisen, as it is stated, All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword;⁸³Amos.Cf. IX, 10. and it declares, By sword and famine shall they be consumed.⁸⁴Jer. 14, 15. Israel would have deserved to be destroyed even if Nebuchadnezzar and his companions had not arisen, as it is stated, Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.⁸⁵Micah 3, 12.

Further [R. ‘Aḳiba] sat on the bench [and taught]: Good things are brought about through the agency of good men.⁶⁷Cf. Shab. 32a (Sonc. ed., p. 146). Even if Moses and Aaron had not arisen, Israel would still have been worthy to be redeemed from Egypt,⁶⁸Because of the promise God made to Abraham. as it is stated, And afterward shall they come out with great substance.⁶⁹Gen. 15, 14. Had not Moses and Aaron and the Generation of the Wilderness arisen, Israel would still have been worthy to receive the Torah, as it is stated, He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright.⁷⁰Prov. 2, 7, sound wisdom being a synonym for the Torah and the upright for Israel. The section of ‘the judges’⁷¹Ex. 18, 21-23. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if Jethro had not arisen. The section of ‘the smaller Passover’⁷²Num. 9, 1-14, also known as the ‘second Passover’. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if the ‘unclean’ had not arisen, as it is stated, We are unclean by the dead body of a man; wherefore are we to be kept back, so as not to bring the offering of the Lord in its appointed season among the children of Israel?⁷³ibid. 7. The section of ‘inheritance’⁷⁴ibid.XXVII, 6-11. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if the daughters of Zelophehad⁷⁵ibid. 1-5. had not arisen. The Temple would have been worthy to be built even if David and Solomon had not arisen, as it is stated, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established.⁷⁶Ex. 15, 17. Israel would have been worthy to be redeemed in the days of Haman even it Mordecai and Esther had not arisen, as it is stated, And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly,⁷⁷Lev. 26, 44. etc.
Israel were destined to be enslaved even if Pharaoh had not arisen in Egypt, as it is stated, And [they] shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.⁷⁸Gen. 15, 13. Israel were destined to serve idols even if Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had not arisen, as it is stated, And this people will rise up, and go astray after the foreign gods of the land.⁷⁹Deut. 31, 16. The section of ‘the blasphemer’⁸⁰Lev. 24, 10ff. and of ‘the gatherer of sticks’⁸¹Num. 15 32-36. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if the son of the Israelitish woman and the gatherer of sticks had not arisen. Israel would have been destined to be destroyed by the sword even if so and so⁸²i.e. nations hostile to Israel. They were so many that they are not specified. had not arisen, as it is stated, All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword;⁸³Amos.Cf. IX, 10. and it declares, By sword and famine shall they be consumed.⁸⁴Jer. 14, 15. Israel would have deserved to be destroyed even if Nebuchadnezzar and his companions had not arisen, as it is stated, Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.⁸⁵Micah 3, 12.

Say little and do a lot. How so? This teaches us that the righteous say little and do a lot, but the wicked say a lot and don’t do anything at all. And how do we know that the righteous say little and do a lot? For this is what we find with Abraham our forefather, who said to the angels, “Have a piece of bread with me today,” as it says (Genesis 18:5), “I will get a piece of bread, and you can dine to your heart’s content.” But then after that, look at what Abraham did for the angels who serve God! He went and prepared three bulls and nine measures of fine flour for them! And how do we know that he prepared nine measures of fine flour? Because it says (Genesis 18:6), “Abraham hurried into the tent, to Sarah, and said: Hurry! Three measures of fine flour! The word three refers to the first three [measures], the word fine brings it to six, and the word flour makes nine. And how do we know that he prepared three bulls for them? Because it says (Genesis 18:7), “Abraham ran to the cattle [and selected a good, tender calf].” Cattle is one [bull]. Calf is two. Tender is three. (And some say that good was four.) “Then he gave it to the boy, who hurried to prepare it.” That is, he gave it to Ishmael, in order to train him in performing the mitzvot.
Even the Holy Blessed One said little and did a lot, as it says (Genesis 15:13–14), “[God] said to Abram: Know well that your offspring will be strangers in a land not their own, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. But I will judge the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall go out with great wealth.” God spoke of this judgment with only the two letters dalet and nun, which spell the word dan (judge). But when the time came to pay back the enemies of Israel, God used seventy-two letters to do it, as it says (Deuteronomy 4:34), “Or has any god attempted to come and take one nation out from another, with great acts, signs, and wonders, and with awesome power?” From this you learn that when the enemies of Israel were made to pay for what they had done, they paid with seventy-two letters.
And how do we know that the wicked say a lot and don’t do anything at all? For this is what we find with Ephron, who said to Abraham (Genesis 23:15), “A piece of land worth four hundred pieces of silver; [what is that between you and me?]” [as if he was willing to give away the land for free]. But in the end, when Abraham went to give him the payment, it says, “Abraham understood Ephron, and paid him the money” [and he simply accepted it].

R. Joshua said: Great is peace, for it is given [as a blessing] to the living and the dead. Whence to the living? [As it is stated,] And Jethro said to Moses: ‘Go in peace’.⁵¹Ex. 4, 18. And whence to the dead? [As it is stated,] But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace.⁵²Gen. 15, 15.

⁶¹From this point to the end of the tractate is an aggadic addendum. The greatest man among the Anakim⁶²Josh. 14, 15.—among the Anakim refers to our father Abraham whose height was equal to that of seventy-four men; his eating and drinking were of a similar proportion, equal to those of seventy-four men; so too his strength. What did he do?⁶³This is probably a reference to Gen. 25, 6, But unto the sons of the concubines … Abraham gave gifts; and he sent them away … eastward, unto the east country. He removed the sixteen⁶⁴So GRA in accordance with Gen. 25, 2-4. V, M and H incorrectly ‘seventeen’. sons of Keturah, built for them a walled city of iron and settled them in it. The sun never penetrated into it because it was exceedingly high, so Abraham handed to them disks of precious stones and pearls of which use will be made⁶⁵So GRA. V, M and H read, ‘and they will be used’. in the hereafter when the Holy One, blessed be He, will cause the sun and moon to be confounded, as it is written, When the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed,⁶⁶Is. 24, 23. because use will be made of these [disks as luminaries].
Og⁶⁷King of Bashan; Deut. 3, 11. is identical with Eliezer,⁶⁸Abraham’s servant; cf. Gen. 15, 2, XXIV, 2ff. and [he was so huge that] he could hide Abraham’s feet in the palm of his hand. Once he was rebuked [by Abraham] and from fright his tooth fell out. Abraham picked it up and made ivory beds of it in which he slept. Others say that he made of it a chair which he used⁶⁹lit. ‘and sat in it’. all his life. Who gave him to Abraham? Nimrod.⁷⁰Mentioned in Gen. 10, 8ff. Og went and built sixty cities, the smallest of which was sixty miles high, as it is stated, Threescore cities, all the region of Argob.⁷¹Deut. 3, 4. And what did he eat? A thousand oxen and the same [number of] other animals, and his drink consisted of a thousand measures. A⁷²So GRA. V, M and H read ‘and what was the’. drop of his semen weighed thirty-six pounds.⁷³V and H add ‘and so for all generations’, which makes no sense.
It was taught: What did our father Jacob do when his sons brought him the coat [stained] with blood?⁷⁴Cf. Gen. 37, 31ff. He did not believe them at all. Whence do we infer this? For it is written, But he refused to be comforted,⁷⁵ibid. 35. because no consolations are acceptable for a living person. One, however, who is dead passes naturally from the mind,⁷⁶lit. ‘he is forgotten from the heart of his own accord’. as it is stated, I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind.⁷⁷Ps. 31, 13. What then did he do? He proceeded to make a test with sheaves,⁷⁸GRA transposes the order of V, M and H by putting the test of the sheaves before that of the stones, and omits ‘according to the first opinion’. writing upon them the respective names of the tribes, their constellations and the months, and said to them, ‘I order you to prostrate yourselves before Levi because he wears the Urim and Thummim’,⁷⁹Cf. Ex. 28, 30. but they did not stand up. ‘Before Judah who is king’, but they did not stand up; but when he mentioned Joseph to them, they all stood up and bowed before Joseph. But it was not yet quite clear that he was alive. So Jacob went to the mountains, hewed twelve stones, arranged them in a row, and wrote on each the name of its tribe, the name of its constellation and the name of its month. On one stone he wrote ‘Reuben, lamb, Nisan’⁸⁰The name of the tribe, constellation and month. and similarly on every stone. He began from Simeon and said to them, ‘I order you to stand up for Reuben’, but they did not stand up. ‘For Simeon’, but they did not stand up. ‘For every tribe’, but the stones did not stand up. As soon, however, as he mentioned the name of Joseph to them, they stood up at once and bowed before Joseph’s stone.⁸¹The translation follows the text of GRA. For this reason, all the tribes were written on Joseph’s stone. Similarly, all Israel are called by Joseph’s name, as it is stated, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock.⁸²Ps. 80, 2 where Joseph is a synonym of all Israel. So also all the heads of the families of the priests and Levites, [e.g.] Eliashib,⁸³Neh. 3, 1. because of the phrase lahashibo ’el ’abiw;⁸⁴In the story of Joseph (Gen. 37, 22), E.V. to restore him to his father. The name Eliashib is broken up in three parts corresponding in sound and meaning to these three Heb. words. From ‘For this reason’ to ’abiw is the reading of GRA. V and H have instead: ‘but from the mishmaroth, Eliashib the priest’. Elḳanah,⁸⁵Connected with ḳanah, ‘he bought’. because Potiphar had bought him [as it is stated,] And Joseph ms brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar … bought him.⁸⁶Gen. 39, 1. V inserts in parentheses, And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Ẓaphenath, paneah, etc. (ibid. XLI, 45), which has no relevance to the subject.
When Rebekah left her father’s house⁸⁷Cf. ibid. XXIV, 59ff. she was three years old,⁸⁸V, M and H add ‘and three days’. because it is customary among kings, when a daughter is born to them, to hear of it after three days;⁸⁹H reads ‘after three years and three days’. but as her father did not hear [of her birth] he did not defile her up to that time; and now a miracle happened to her in that her father died so that he should not defile her, as it is written, Neither had any man known her,⁹⁰Gen. 24, 16. and by man only her father could be meant,⁹¹From ‘he did not’ to ‘meant’ is GRA’s reading. V, M and H read: ‘therefore a miracle happened to her that she should not be defiled’. for such was the practice of the Arameans to lie with their virgin daughters after they were three years of age,⁹²‘After … age’ is inserted by GRA; omitted in V, M and H. and then to give them away in marriage.⁹³V, M and H add: ‘on account of that which is written, Neither had any man known her, and by man only her father could be meant’.
Dinah was six years old when she bore Asenath from [her association with] Shechem,⁹⁴Cf. Gen. 34. corresponding to⁹⁵lit. ‘the number of’. the six years which Jacob served Laban in payment for the flock,⁹⁶ibid. XXXI, 41. thus completing⁹⁷lit. ‘until’. the twenty years of his service. [The Archangel] Michael then descended and took her away to the house of Potiphar.
From here onward let the man of understanding increase knowledge.⁹⁸From ‘completing the twenty years’ to ‘knowledge’ is GRA’s text. V and M have instead: ‘and he added twenty years, because he died. From this point onwards let the man of understanding increase knowledge. And Michael descended and led her to Potiphar’s house’.