Comentários de Citação sobre I Crônicas 5:26

In the twelfth year of Achaz, etc. It is impossible to say that Hoshei'a became king in the twelfth year of Achaz, because in the fourth year of Achaz, he assassinated Pekach and reigned in his place,¹See above, 15:30. and when you examine Pekach's years you will find it so. Likewise, it is impossible to say that he reigned for only nine years, for he reigned from the fourth year of Achaz until the sixth year of Chizkiyohu, when Shomron was conquered, and this amounts to more than sixteen years. What then is the meaning of “nine years”? [It was nine years] since he rebelled against the king of Ashur. This is what is learned in Seder Olam. And it is impossible to say that in the twelfth year of Achaz he started to rebel, for if so, you will find the years of his revolt five years during the days of Achaz and six years during the days of Chizkiyohu, making [a total of] eleven years, yet here he states [that he reigned] nine [years]. ”The twelfth year of Achaz” was mentioned only in connection with the verse following, ”Shalmaneser [king Ashur] went up against him, etc.”²Below, v. 3.³According to Rashi, the nine years mentioned in this verse refer to the total length of Hoshei'a's revolt, which began in the fourteenth year of Achaz. [i.e.,] that in the twelfth year of Achaz, Sancheiriv went up against Hoshei'a and exiled those who were on the eastern bank of the Yardein. Thus we learned in Seder Olam. And a verse is written in Divrei Hayomim, ”Adonoy of Yisroel aroused Pul king of Ashur … and he exiled the people of Reuvein and the people of Gad,”⁴I Divrei Hayomim 5:26. and it did not explain during which time frame. But here it explains that it occurred in the twelfth year of Achaz['s reign]. The ten tribes were exiled at three different times: [The first exile was] in the twentieth year of Pekach, as it is written above, ”Tiglas Pileser the king of Ashur came and took Iyon and Dan, etc., and the entire land of Naphtoli and exiled them to Ashur.”⁵See above, 15:29. In our editions, however, Dan is not mentioned in the verse. Now this was the fourth year of Achaz. [The second exile,] he waited eight years and came upon them in the twelfth year of Achaz, and exiled the members of Reuvein and the Gad. But, when Hoshei'a son of Eilah saw this, he revolted against him and sent messengers to So the king of Egypt. [And the third exile] he waited eight years and came and laid siege on Shomron. After three years it was conquered, and everyone was exiled. This is [the meaning of] what is written, ”Like the first time, he dealt mildly, the land of Zevulun and the land of Naphtoli,”⁶Yeshayohu 8:23. so did he deal mildly⁷By exiling only two tribes. also in the second [exile], for he exiled but two tribes. But, “in the last one, he swept,” [i.e.,] he swept everything out like one who sweeps a house. In any case, according to the amount he wrote here as the number of years of his revolt, [i.e.,] nine years, he did not revolt against him until the fourteenth year of Achaz, for Achaz reigned sixteen years; the revolt was during three years of Achaz['s reign] and six years during the days of Chizkiyohu['s reign].

'ומקנה רב היה לבני ראובן וגו, “and The Reubenites possessed large quantities of livestock;” the tribes of Reuven and Gad, who possessed more wealth than the others grew to love their material possessions and this is what encouraged them to separate from their brethren, the other tribes to the extent that they wanted to make their residence on the east bank of the river Jordan. A look at history will show us that these tribes were the first to be exiled from their land. Both they and half of the tribe of Menashe who had also taken up residence on the east bank of that river (Compare Chronicles I 5,26.) [They were exiled in 740 B.C. about 20 years earlier than the tribes that had split from the Davidic dynasty on the west bank of the Jordan. Ed.] Psalms 75,7-8 refers to this event when the psalmist says: כי לא ממוצא וממערב ולא ממדבר הרים כי אלוקים שפט זה ישפיל וזה ירים, “for neither from his point of departure , motza, from birth, (the constellation governing that date) nor from the east or west, (geographical position) or from the wilderness or mountains (is man’s fate determined) for G–d is it who gives judgment. He lifts up or brings down.” In other words, man’s travails and planning are not what determines his success or failure in matters concerning material wealth. Rabbi Acha is on record as saying that every time the word הרים, “mountains” appears in the Bible it is to be understand literally, except in this verse in Psalms when the author uses it as a metaphor, for describing man’s status among his fellow man, i.e. his wealth. Man must not boast of his wealth as it may be here today and gone tomorrow. It is G–d Who has given him wealth, and it is He Who will deprive him of it when He sees fit to do so. What is the reason why in the Hebrew language physical possessions are referred to as נכסים, “chattels?” Because these “possessions,” have a way of moving from one “owner” to another “owner.” The same is true for the word זוז which describes coins in the Hebrew language, a word derived from the root which means: ”to move.” The same is true of the word ממון meaning “money,” i.e. something being constantly counted. It is also called מעות, reminding us that it is being used to deceive people, to falsify. Another quote on this subject is provided by Rabbi Abba, who draws our attention to the prayer of Channah in Samuel I 2,7: ה' מוריד ומעשיר, משפיל אף מרומם, “It is (only) the Lord Who makes poor and rich, He casts down and He also lifts high.” Even though He elevates a person, this does not have to be at the expense of casting down another person, as He can do it to the same person.” The Torah had described how each soldier enriched himself during the campaign against Midian. Although G–d brought disaster upon Midian, the Israelites were enriched. The same happened in Egypt when the plagues G–d had brought upon the Egyptians ended up by enriching the Jewish slaves. All this happened simultaneously. Our sages said that G–d gave mankind three gifts. They are: חכמה, גבורה , and עושר, “wisdom, physical strength and bravery, as well as material wealth. Whoever is endowed with either one of these gifts has actually been endowed with all three of them. How is this line to be understood? As long as these gifts are the result of studying the Torah and being G–d fearing. Unless these endowments are the product of the above, they are useless in the end. This is why the prophet Jeremiah has said in Jeremiah 9,22: אל יתהלל חכם בחכמתו ואל יתהלל הגבור בגבורתו, ואל יתהלל העשיר בעשרו כי אם בזאת יתהלל המתהלל השכל וידוע אותי כי אני ה' כל עושה חסד חסד משפט וצדקה בארץ, “let not the wise boast about his wisdom, let not the strong boast about his strength; let not the rich glory in his riches; but only in this should one glory (if at all) in his earnest devotion to Me. For I the Lord act with kindness, Justice, and equity in the world.” (Compare Bamidbar Rabbah on this portion) I have also heard an explanation on this verse along the lines of a statement in the Talmud, tractate Niddah folio 16: there is one angel by the name of laylah, who is in charge of everything connected with conception; he presents every drop of human semen to the Lord and asking Him whether the ovum this drop will fertilise shall be endowed with wisdom, or foolhardiness, with physical strength or weakness, with wealth or poverty. He does not ask if the human being that will be born from this drop of semen will be a wicked person or a righteous person, as this is something that G–d has abstained from interfering with. It is the basis of the whole freedom, i.e. “image of G–d,” G–d has given to man as opposed to the angels and the animals, not to mention inert parts of the universe. The three outstanding examples of the endowments called “wisdom, physical strength and material wealth,” i.e. the wealthy Korach and the wealthy Haman, were symbols of the latter, one Jewish one non Jewish, who came to a totally disastrous end, each after having boasted of enormous admiration amongst his supporters. They had both displayed what we call wisdom, and instead of this helping them, it led them to an early and ignoble death. They had not been endowed with their wealth from G–d, but had acquired it by immoral means. Solomon, in Kohelet 5,12, refers to this when he said that “riches hoarded by their owners lead to their misfortune.” (Compare Tanchuma 5 and Bamidbar rabbah 22,7 on our verse on this subject.

And our Sages (Tanchuma Matot 7) interpreted about them the verse, An inheritance acquired hastily at the beginning, and its end will not be blessed (Proverbs 20:21). Because they took their inheritance first, therefore their end was not blessed, as they went at the head of all exiles, as it is said And he exiled the Reubenites and the Gadites (1 Chronicles 5:26). And in order to explain the vav [the letter that means “and”] in and its end, it seems that this is its interpretation: According to our Sages, they prioritized their livestock over their children, and about this it says An inheritance acquired hastily at the beginning, for they prioritized their inheritance, namely the livestock, to mention it first; therefore also their end, namely the children whom they delayed [in importance], will not be blessed. For both their bodies and their inheritance all vanished like smoke — the main along with the secondary, all of them went captive before the pursuer.

That too shall be carried off to Assyria This took place in the twelfth year of Ahaz, “And the Lord (sic) aroused the desire of Pul king of Assyria...and they exiled the Reubenites and the Gadites etc.” (I Chron. 5:26), and he took the golden calves that were in Bethel and went away, to fulfill what was said: “That too shall be carried off to Assyria.” [from Seder Olam ch. 22]

whom my fathers destroyed Pul, the king of Assyria, and Tiglath-Pilneser.

but its end will not be blessed For they were exiled many years before the rest of the tribes, as is explained in Seder Olam (ch. 22), and in the Midrash of Rabbi Tanhuma (see Mattoth 7): “In the second year of Ahaz, the Lord aroused the desire of the king of Assyria, etc. (I Chron. 5:26),” but the rest of the tribes were exiled in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which is the ninth year of Hoshea the son of Elah.

For there is no weariness for the one who oppresses her For the king of Assyria, who was given the mission to oppress and to besiege her and their land [(var.) your land], is neither weary nor slothful to come upon them as many as three times: one in the days of Pekah, when he took Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah,... and Kedesh,...and Galilee, the entire land of Naphtali (II Kings 15:29). And that exile took place in the fourth year of Ahaz, and in the twelfth year, “the Lord incited Pul, the king of Assyria... and exiled the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.” This verse is in Chronicles (I 5:26). This exile took place in the twelfth year of Ahaz, at the beginning of Hoshea’s revolt, as is stated (II Kings 17:4): “And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea,” after he had subordinated himself to him for eight years. Although the calculation is not explicit in the Bible, it is, nevertheless, possible to deduce it from the Baraitha of Seder Olam (Ch. 22). The third exile took place in the sixth year of Hezekiah, the ninth year of Hoshea’s revolt, when Samaria that is the capital was captured, and everyone was exiled. That is what is stated here, for there is no weariness for the adversary, who will oppress her, [i.e.,] the land of Israel mentioned in the passage, “And he shall look to the land.”