열왕기상 22:28의 인용 해설

אם כמות כל האדם ימותו אלה, “if these people die like any other human being, etc.” Our sages (Tanchuma Korach 8) illustrate this by a parable. The bridal attendants of the king’s daughter who held proof of that daughter’s virginity at her wedding in their hands were challenged by one of the wedding guests who claimed that the evidence they claimed to possess was forged. Thereupon these bridal attendants demanded from the king that he personally confirm that what they held in their hands was proof of his daughter’s virginity, and that if the king would refuse to do so they themselves would have to conclude that the accusation was true and that they had been furnished with forged evidence. The king responded by saying that it was better to execute the guest than to have the loyal attendants spread lies about the chastity his daughter. This is what motivated Moses to demand such an unusual penalty for Korach and his fellow-rebels. He argued that if these rebels were allowed to die in bed like most mortals, and the physicians would check on them prior to their deaths as they do with most sick people, then he Moses, would also deny that he had ever been appointed by G’d to lead the Jewish people and that he had arrogated all this authority to himself without divine appointment. Korach would then be considered as having a valid complaint.
We have a similar incident in Jewish history which is described in Kings I 22,28 where Michaya (the true prophet) said to Tzekekiah (the false prophet): “if you ever come home safe, then I will also admit that the Lord has not spoken to me.”
Something similar occurred at Mount Carmel (Kings I 18,36-37) when the prophet Elijah proclaimed: “let it be known today that You are the G’d in Israel and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord are G’d; for You have turned their hearts backward.” What Elijah meant with this postscript was ”if You do not respond to my request I myself will say that You have turned their hearts backward.”
It is a well known fact that the quarrel initiated by Korach at that time has become the root cause for the neglect or worse of the entire Torah seeing that each individual nowadays reserves the right for himself to reject a part of the Torah as not being divinely decreed. The moment one begins to challenge even a minute part of the Torah as being “man-made,” the flood gates have been opened to reject Torah as a whole. Eventually, the challenger will declare that the entire Torah is man’s invention and that the lawgiver perpetrated a colossal fraud relying on the gullibility of his people. In order to head off such events in the future the punishment for Korach and his fellow rebels had to be especially severe. They had brought this upon themselves seeing that we have a principle that anyone who challenges the words of Moses is considered as having challenged the word of the Lord Himself (Sanhedrin 110).

And You have turned their hearts away. You gave them an opportunity to turn away from following You, although You could have directed their hearts toward You.²³See Maseches Berachos 31b. Alternatively, “You misled them by occasionally allowing their idolatrous prayers to be effective.”—Ralbag Or, Eliyahu is referring to the future and is saying, “When You answer my prayer and send down fire, You will have turned their hearts away from the Baal and back to You.”—Radak in the name of Rav Sa’adyah Gaon And according to Midrash Aggadah, if You do not answer me, I will deny and say that You turned their hearts. And so did Moshe say, “If as all men die will these men meet their death,”²⁴Bamidbar 16:29. I, too, will deny and say, “then Adonoy has not sent me,”²⁵Ibid. to speak [the words of] the Torah and the commandments, and so did Michoyhu say, “If you really return in peace, Adonoy did not speak to me.”²⁶Below 22:28.