Talmud sobre Números 16:36

It also happened that King Ptolemy assembled seventy-two elders and placed them in seventy-two [separate] rooms without telling them the reason for which he had assembled them. He then went to each one of them and said to him,¹⁷lit. ‘to them’. ‘Write for me [a translation of] the Torah of Moses your master’. The Omnipresent inspired them¹⁸lit. ‘put counsel in the heart of each one of them’. and the mind of all of them was identical, so that each on his own¹⁹So GRA. wrote the [same translation of the] Torah, introducing [the same] thirteen alterations²⁰Deviations from the traditional text. In the extant Versions of the Septuagint only some of these are found. as follows: ‘God created in the beginning’.²¹Instead of In the beginning God created (Gen. 1, 1) the Heb. of which might be misinterpreted to mean that a power named ‘Bereshith’ (in the beginning) created God. ‘And God said I shall make a man in image and likeness.’²²The Heb. text reads: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness (Gen. 1, 26). The plural us and our might erroneously suggest a plurality of deities. ‘And He finished on the sixth [day] and rested on the seventh [day].’²³For the Heb.: And He finished on the seventh day (Gen. 2, 2) which could be understood to imply that God did some work on the seventh day. ‘Male and female He created him.’²⁴Instead of created them (ibid. V, 2) from which it might be inferred that man and woman were, from the first, two separate beings, contrary to ibid. II, 21. ‘Come let Me go down and there confound their language.’²⁵Instead of let us go down (ibid. XI, 7). ‘And Sarah laughed among her relatives,²⁶i.e. she laughed in the presence of people and therefore incurred censure (ibid. XVIII, 12). The Heb. means ‘within herself’ as Abraham had done when he laughed … in his heart (ibid. XVII, 17) and had not been rebuked. saying.’ ‘For in their anger they slew oxen²⁷So GRA, H and M. V incorrectly ‘a man’. and in their self-will they digged up a stall.’²⁸Changing men (ibid. XLIX, 6) to ‘oxen’ and oxen to ‘stall’ in order to remove the stigma of murder from Jacob’s sons. ‘And Moses took his wife and his children and set them upon a carrier²⁹So M. V and H read ‘carriers of men’. of men.’³⁰i.e. an animal conformable with the dignity of Moses, instead of ass (Ex. 4, 20). ‘Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt and in the land of Canaan and in other lands³¹So M. V omits ‘and in other lands’. [The reading of the Septuagint is ‘in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt’.] was four hundred and thirty years.’³²Instead of the Heb. which omits ‘in the land of Canaan and in other lands’ (Ex. 12, 40), and implies that all the 430 years were spent in Egypt when, in fact, they could not have dwelt there more than 210 years (cf. Rashi to Meg. 9a). ‘And he sent the elect of the children of Israel.’³³So GRA and Meg. 9a but omitted in V. ‘Elect’ is substituted for young men (ibid. XXIV, 5), the former being regarded as more suitable persons for the service. ‘And upon the elect of the children of Israel He laid not His hand.’³⁴Here also ‘elect’ was substituted for the Heb. for nobles (ibid. 11). The alteration was not essential, but ‘elect’ which was mentioned earlier was preferred. It should be noted that in the total of thirteen alterations, this and the preceding are counted as one. ‘I have not taken one desirable thing³⁵A ‘desirable thing’ [which occurs in the Septuagint] for the Heb. ass (Num. 16, 15) to avoid the suggestion that Moses did not take an ass but more precious objects. from them.’ ‘The [beast] with small legs.’³⁶Instead of the Heb. for the hare (Lev. 11, 6) which is arnebeth, so as not to give offence to Ptolemy the name of whose queen was Arnebeth. ‘Which the Lord thy God hath allotted to give light unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.’³⁷The insertion ‘to give light’ (Deut. 4, 19) removes the possible misunderstanding that the heavenly bodies enumerated in the verse were intended by God to be objects of worship. ‘Which I commanded should not be served.’³⁸Deut. 17, 3 reads which I have commanded not. This might be taken to mean that God did not desire their existence and their creation was consequently due to a power beyond His control. It should be noted that the last two alterations are regarded as one in the enumeration because both deal with heavenly bodies as objects of worship.

They [all] introduced [the same] thirteen alterations:¹⁶For a comparison of these variants with the Heb. text, cf. on Sof. I, 8. ‘God created in the beginning’; ‘I shall make a man in image and likeness’; ‘And He finished on the sixth [day] and rested on the seventh [day]’; ‘Male and female He created him’; ‘Come let Me go down’; ‘And Sarah laughed among her relatives, saying’; ‘For in their anger they slew oxen and in their self-will they digged up a stall’; ‘And Moses took his wife and his children and set them upon a carrier of men’; ‘Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt was four hundred and thirty years’; ‘I have not taken one desirable thing from them’; ‘And the [beast] with small legs’; ‘Which the Lord thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples to give light under the whole heaven’; ‘And they offer sacrifices to the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven which I commanded should not be served’.

⁷⁹Similar texts are in Tanhuma Qorah 2 (Buber 4), Num. rabba 18(2), Midrash Prov. 11(27). Rav said, Koraḥ was an Epicurean. What did he do? He went and made togas completely of blue wool. He came before Moses and asked him, does a toga made completely out of blue wool need ṣiṣit? He answered, it is an obligation since it is written⁸⁰Deut. 22:12. While from Num. 15:37–41 one might free a blue toga from exhibiting a blue thread, this verse makes it clear that a knotted appendage is needed.: braids you shall make for yourselves. Does a house full of Torah scrolls need a mezuzah? He answered, it needs a mezuzah since it is written⁸¹Deut. 6:9, 11:20., you shall write them on the door-posts of your house, etc. He asked him, what is the rule for a white spot the size of a bean⁸²Lev. 13:18–23. By rabbinic interpretation, a white spot indicates skin disease only if it is at least the size of a Cilician bean.? He answered him, it is impure. If it spread over his entire body? He answered him, it is pure⁸³Lev. 13:13.. At that moment, Koraḥ said that the Torah is not from Heaven, nor is Moses a [true]^G prophet, nor Aaron a High Priest. ⁸⁴Cf. Num. rabba 18(15), Midrash Prov. 11(27). Then Moses said, Master of all worlds! If a mouth of the earth had been created during the Six Days of Creation, it is fine. Otherwise it should be created now: If the Eternal would create a Creation⁸⁵Num. 16:30..

Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, three [persons] were untrue to their prophetic insights because of ponaria⁸⁶Latin poenariae (scil., actiones) “criminal” (actions), a post-Augustean word (E.G.). The criticism levelled at Moses, Elijah, and Micha (i. e., Michaihu ben Nimla) is that they formulated as a possibility what they prophetically knew was a certainty., viz., the following: Moses, Elijah, and Micha. Moses said, if an everyman’s death these should die⁸⁷Num. 16:29., etc. Elijah said, hear me, o Eternal, hear me, so this people will know, otherwise You would have turned their hearts backwards⁸⁸1K. 18:37.. Micha said, if you would return in peace, the Eternal did not speak through me⁸⁹1K. 22:28..

⁹⁰Num. 16:33.They and everything that belonged to them descended alive into the pit. Rebbi Berekhiah in the name of Rebbi Ḥelbo, even their names flew away from their papyrus rolls^90aGreek τόμος, “piece, roll of papyrus, volume”.. Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina said, even one of their needles that was in the hand of an Israel as a loan was swallowed up with them, for it is written: They and everything that belonged to them descended alive into the pit. Who prayed for them? Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman said, Moses prayed for them, Reuben shall live and not die⁹¹Deut. 33:6, this refers to Datan and Abiram from the tribe of Reuben.. ⁹²Midrash Shemuel ed. Buber 5(12). Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, Hannah prayed for them. This is Rebbi Joshua ben Levi’s opinion, as Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said in the name of Rebbi Yose: Koraḥ’s (opinion) [band]^G was continuously sinking until Hannah stood up and said, the Eternal kills and brings to life, He sends down into the pit and lifts⁹³1S. 2:6. She was married to a descendant of Korah’s (2 Chr. 6:18–23)..

They who smite in secret, openly blaspheme, treat the public with contempt and causers of strife are destined to be like Ḳorah and his assembly, concerning whom Scripture declares, And the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly.⁵Num. 16, 33.

BARAITHA. If you have suffered monetary loss, remember Job who suffered both monetary loss and also [suffered] in his body.⁸²Cf. Job 1f. And if you suffer in your body, remember Dathan and Abiram⁸³Num, 16, 33. who went down alive to the grave.
GEMARA. [The Baraitha] cites Job and it also cites Dathan and Abiram. Should you say that Job was of the nations of the world,⁸⁴Not an Israelite; cf. B.B. 15b (Sonc. ed., p. 74). Therefore no lesson is to be learnt from him. then there is [the instance of] Dathan and Abiram who suffered both a monetary loss and also in their bodies.

MISHNAH: The generation of the desert has no part in the World to Come, as it is said³¹⁴Num. 14:35. The argument in the longer text of the Mishnah in the Babli is reproduced here at the start of the Halakhah. In all these cases, the double emphasis in the verse is interpreted that the first expression refers to this world, the second to the World to Come.: in this desert they shall be terminated and there they will die, the words of Rebbi Aqiba. Rebbi Eliezer says, about them it says³¹⁵Ps. 50:5., assemble for Me My lovely ones, who sealed My Covenant by a sacrifice³¹⁶The ceremony described in Ex. 24:1–9 guaranteed their eternal life. Since R. Aqiba war R. Eliezer’s student, the inversion of the chronological order clearly indicates that the latter’s opinion is accepted as practice..
The band of Korah will not be resurrected in the future, as it is said³¹⁷Num. 16:33. the earth covered them; they were lost from among the congregation, the words of Rebbi Aqiba. Rebbi Eliezer says, about them it says⁹³1S. 2:6. She was married to a descendant of Korah’s (2 Chr. 6:18–23)., the Eternal kills and brings to life, He sends down into the pit and raises up.

³²⁵Babli 109b, Tosephta 13:9. The band of Korah will not have part in the Future World and not be resurrected in the future. What is the reason? ³¹⁷Num. 16:33.The desert covered them, in this world; they were lost from among the congregation, in the future. It was stated: Rebbi Jehudah ben Bathyra says, one understands from what is said, I erred like a lost sheep; look after Your servant³²⁶Ps. 119:176., that just as the lost object mentioned there at the end will be searched for, so also the lost object mentioned here at the end will be searched for³²⁷By the doctrine of invariability of lexemes..

Thirteen things they changed for King Ptolemy. They wrote for him, “God created the beginning³⁷⁶Gen. 1:1; change not found in LXX..” “I shall make man in stature and form³⁷⁷Gen. 1:26; change not found in LXX..” “Male and his openings He created them³⁷⁸Gen. 1:27; change not found in LXX..” “He finished on the Sixth and rested on the Seventh³⁷⁹Gen. 2:2; change found in LXX.” “Now I shall descend³⁸⁰Gen. 11:7; change found in LXX..” “Sarah laughed in her surroundings, saying.³⁸¹Gen. 18:12; LXX: “in herself”.” “For in their rage they slew a bull and in their will uprooted a trough³⁸²Gen. 49:6; change not found in LXX..” “Moses took his wife and his sons and let them ride on people-carriers³⁸³Ex. 4:20. LXX: “beast of burden”..” “The dwelling of the Children of Israel, which they dwelled in Egypt and other lands, was 430 years.³⁸⁴Ex. 12:40. LXX: “In the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan.”” And the hare³⁸⁵Lev. 11:6 (in LXX 11:5). LXX: “rough-foot”, a designation of the hare., “and the young of foot.” King Ptolemy’s mother was called “hare³⁸⁶The dynasty of the Ptolemies was called the Lagides, after an ancestor Lagos “hare”.”. “Not one precious thing I took from them³⁸⁷Num. 16:15; change found in LXX.” “Which the Eternal, your God, distributed them to give light to all peoples under all the heavens.³⁸⁸Deut. 4:19; change not found in LXX.” “Which I did not command peoples to worship them.³⁸⁹Deut. 17:3; change not found in LXX.
The comparisons with the LXX text was done on the basis of Rahlfs’s edition; the history of the text between the time of the Jewish translation in Alexandria and its adaptation by Christian editors in the Roman Empire is unknown. The same list is in the Babli 9a.”

The Holy Blessed One tested our ancestors with ten trials, and they did not emerge whole from any of them. They are as follows: “In the wilderness, on the plain, facing Suf, [between Paran, and Tophel, and Lavan, and Hatzerot, and Di-zahav]” (Deuteronomy 1:1). “In the wilderness”: When they made the Golden Calf, as it says (Exodus 32:8), “They made themselves a molten calf.” “On the plain”: Because of water, as it says (Exodus 17:3), “There the people thirsted for water.” “Facing Suf”: When they rebelled at the Sea of Reeds (and some say: This was the idol that Micah made). Rabbi Yehudah said: They rebelled at the sea, meaning, they rebelled in the sea, as it says (Psalms 106:7), “They rebelled at the Sea of Reeds.” “Between Paran”: With regard to the spies (as it says in Numbers 13:3), “Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran.” “And Tophel”: These were the frivolous words (tiphlot) they said about the manna. “Lavan”: This was Korah’s mutiny. “Hatzerot”: Because of the quails. So far, that is seven. But in another place (Deuteronomy 9:22) it says, “At Tav’erah, and at Masah, and at Kivrot HaTa’avah.” “Di-zahav”: This is when (Aaron) said to them: Enough (dai) of this golden (zahav) sin which you have committed with the calf! But Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya'akov would say: [Terrible] enough (dai) is this sin that Israel was punished for to last from now until the resurrection of the dead.

Korah and his company will not be granted eternal life, and will not even be given a trial, as it says (Numbers 16:33), “The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the midst of the congregation.” These are the words of Rabbi Eliezer.
But Rabbi Yehoshua said: They will be given a trial! It is about them that the verses speak (I Samuel 2:6), “The Eternal deals death and gives life, casts down into Sheol and raises up.” The verse there (Numbers 16:33) speaks of Sheol: “They went down alive into Sheol, with all that belonged to them.” And the verse (in I Samuel) speaks of Sheol. So just as later one can be cast down into Sheol or raised up from it, so too, when Sheol is mentioned here, they go down into it, but will one day be raised up from it.
Rabbi Eliezer said: Then how do you interpret the verse, “The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the midst of the congregation”? [Rabbi Yehoshua] responded: They vanished from the midst of the congregation, but they did not vanish from the World to Come.