Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Ezekiel 38:17

According to Tanchuma Behaalotcha 12 Moses took 72 pieces of paper. On seventy of them he wrote the word “elder,” whereas two pieces of paper he left blank. Every man drawing a slip of paper with the word “elder” knew he had been appointed. The two men who would draw blanks would have to conclude that they had not been found worthy. Seeing Eldod and Meydod were aware of this and were very humble, they remained in the camp without either returning to their private tents nor assembling around the Tabernacle before the drawing of these slips of paper to ensure that none of the participants would be embarrassed by drawing a blank (seeing now Moses only had to prepare 70 such slips). They knew that if they had participated they would have been chosen as the Torah had testified והמה בכתובים, “they had been among the recorded ones” (verse 26). Seeing that they were so modest and humble they were rewarded with a measure of Holy Spirit. Concerning this the Torah wrote (verse 26) “they did not go to the ‘Tent,’ but prophesied in the camp (the general encampment of the Israelites).” The ability to prophesy in an area of a lesser degree of sanctity than the proximity of the Tabernacle was remarkable.
There is an explicit verse in Isaiah 61,1 indicating that the virtue of modesty and humility leads to its owner being imbued with prophetic spirit. The prophet writes: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me as a herald of joy to the humble.” The merit of their humility resulted in these two people Eldod and Meydod enjoying a higher degree of Holy Spirit than the seventy elders. Whereas the elders were able to prophesy only concerning events on the following day, i.e. telling the people to sanctify themselves in anticipation of events which would occur on the morrow (verse 18), Eldad and Meidad enjoyed prophetic visions extending to the time when the Messiah would arrive. They made statements regarding the downfall of Gog and Magog. as is written in Ezekiel 38,17: “Thus said the Lord G’d: ‘why, you are the one I spoke of in ancient days through My servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years (שנים) in those days that I would bring you against them.’” Our sages in Sanhedrin 17 suggest that the word שנים, ”years” in that verse be read as שנים, “two,” the reference being to the two people Eldad and Meidad in our verse here. [There is good reason for this as throughout the verse the word the prophet uses for “years” is ימים, not שנים. Ed.] Additional proof that Eldad and Meidad possessed superior Holy Spirit is the fact that whereas the Torah does not mention the names of the seventy elders, the names of these two men are recorded for all posterity. Furthermore, whereas the elders received their Holy Spirit via a human being, i.e. Moses, Eldad and Meidad had received it from G’d directly seeing Moses had not placed his hand on either of them. In addition to this, the 70 elders all died in the desert whereas Eldad and Meidad entered the Holy Land (Eldad was referred to as אלידד בן כסלון , and Meidad as קמואל בן שפטן, in Numbers 34,21 and 24). These men are described as having been appointed to help in allocating the land of Canaan to the Israelites. All this teaches you that they were richly rewarded for their humility.
ויהי כנח עליהם הרוח, “it was when the spirit rested upon them, etc.” This refers to the spirit of Moses which they received. Concerning the Holy Spirit received by Eldad and Meidad the Torah writes ותנח עליהם הרוח (verse 26), meaning this spirit came directly from G’d.

MY LORD MOSES, ‘K’LA’EIM’ (SHUT THEM IN). The meaning of this is that Moses had told the people the words of G-d, that He would take of the spirit which was upon him and put it upon those that will stand with him in the Tent of Meeting. Now those that did not go to the Tent [i.e., Eldad and Medad who had also been designated for that honor], and yet held themselves to be among those upon whom Moses’ spirit had been put [by prophesying in the camp,²⁵⁵Verse 27. as Eldad and Medad did], were as rebels against Moses’ words. Therefore Joshua said to Moses, “Shut them in, for perhaps it is a lying spirit²⁵⁶I Kings 22:22. in their mouths, or it is an evil spirit that terrifies them,²⁵⁷See I Samuel 16:14. and thus they must be put in a prison like a man that is mad, and maketh himself like a prophet.”²⁵⁸Jeremiah 29:26. But Moses in his humility answered: “Would that all the people of the Eternal were prophets, that the Eternal would give His spirit upon them!²⁵⁹Verse 29. — for G-d put His spirit directly upon them without taking of the spirit which was upon me, and would that this would happen to all the people.”
However, from the words of our Rabbis it appears that the custom in Israel was that no one would prophesy about future events in the presence of a prophet who is greater than him, but they would follow him as his disciples, and these were the sons of the prophets.²⁶⁰I Kings 20:35. Rambam defines the sons of the prophets as “those who sought the prophetic gift. And although they directed their minds towards it, the Divine Spirit might or might not rest upon them” (Hilchoth Yesodei Hatorah 7:5). Thus the Rabbis have said in Tractate Sanhedrin [with reference to the prophecy of Eldad and Medad]:²⁶¹Sanhedrin 17 a. “We can well understand according to that Sage who said that [Eldad and Medad prophesied that] ‘Moses will die [before entering the Land],’ that Joshua therefore said, My lord Moses, shut them in [since he wished to save Moses from grief]. But according to the Sage who said that [they prophesied] about the quails [that they would come from the sea], why should they be shut in [and not prophesy]? It is because the case resembled that of a pupil who renders a decision in the presence of his master.” Similarly [this was the reason why they were forbidden to prophesy] according to the Sage who says that they prophesied about Gog and Magog.²⁶²Ezekiel 38:17. And the Rabbis have mentioned a similar case in Tractate Megillah in the matter of Deborah.²⁶³In Megillah 14 b the Talmud lists the seven prophetesses that prophesied in Israel, mentioning among them Deborah, Huldah, etc. It is related in the Book of Kings that King Josiah of Judah sent to Huldah a delegation to inquire about a certain matter (II Kings 22:14). On this the Gemara asked: “But how could Huldah prophesy whilst Jeremiah — the leading prophet in Jerusalem — was present?” To this question the answer is given that “Huldah was a relative of Jeremiah and therefore he did not mind her prophesying.” Thus it is clear from this text that there was a rule in Israel that no one should prophesy in the presence of a greater prophet. Ramban’s mentioning “Deborah” is merely a reference to the text in the Gemara which begins this discussion, but the actual reference is to Huldah, as explained above. But Moses said that he, being the master, foregoes the honor due to him [and the law is that a Rabbi is able to renounce the honor due to him],²⁶⁴Kiddushin 32 a. and he desires and is happy [that they prophesy]. And I have seen that the Targum Yerushalmi²⁶⁵This is found in our Targum Yonathan ben Uziel. rendered: “k’la’eim — withhold from them the Holy Spirit.” The Targum thus understood the word k’la’eim to be like the expressions: Behold, ‘lo echla’ (I did not refrain) my lips;²⁶⁶Psalms 40:10. ‘lo thichla’ (Thou wilt not withhold) Thy compassions from me.²⁶⁷Ibid., Verse 12.
Now the reason for this matter is that Joshua thought that [Eldad and Medad] were prophesying because they were of them that were recorded²⁶⁸Verse 26. [among the prescribed number of seventy men that were to join Moses], because the spirit of Moses was transmitted to all that were recorded, for he intended that all [seventy of them should become prophets]. Therefore Joshua said to Moses: “It is not fitting that they [Eldad and Medad] should prophesy in the camp, since they did not fulfill the word of G-d who commanded: and thou [Moses] shalt bring them unto the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with thee,²⁶⁹Verse 16. and thus it might appear that not all of them prophesied through His putting of the spirit which was upon you [on them]. It is therefore fitting for my lord to direct your mind towards the spirit of G-d [which is upon you] and to bring it [completely] back to you, so that it should not be taken from you except for those who stand before you in accordance with the word of G-d. For it was because you intended at first that all who were recorded [should be prophets] that some of your glory came upon them, and if you will now intend to withdraw it from them, it will come to rest only upon those who stand before you in accordance with the word of G-d.” But Moses answered [Joshua by saying] that he should not be zealous for his sake, for he wishes that they prophesy whether in his presence or outside it, since G-d had put His spirit upon them — either by transmission from Moses or [directly from G-d] without such a transmission.

Dieses Auftreten Eldads und Medads im Momente der Berufung der Ältesten zum ersten Sanhedrin und Mosche Äußerungen sind von höchster Bedeutsamkeit für alle Nachfolger dieses jüdischen "Ältestenkollegiums" für alle Zeit. Es ist damit bekundet, daß mit der Einsetzung der höchsten geistigen Behörde in Israel kein Monopol des Geistes gestiftet werden sollte, daß die geistige Begabung von Gott durch keinerlei Amt und Beruf bedingt sei und der letzte im Volke ebenso des Anteils am Gottesgeiste gewürdigt werden könne, wie der erste im höchsten Amte. Mosche Äußerung bleibt aber für alle zur Lehre und Leitung Berufenen in Israel das ewig vorleuchtende Muster, daß sie als höchstes Ideal ihrer Wirksamkeit das Ziel vor Augen haben sollen: sich überflüssig im Volke zu machen, daß das Volk zu einer solchen geistigen Höhe in allen seinen Schichten gelange, daß es der Lehrer und Leiter nicht mehr bedürfe! Und wohl haben die Nachfolger dieser "Ältesten" den Geist ihres Mosche geerbt, haben es als ihre höchste Aufgabe erkannt: להרביץ תורה בישראל, der Erkenntnis des göttlichen Gesetzes die breiteste Basis im Volke zu bereiten, und haben ihr: והעמידו תלמידים הרבה, als erste Maxime für alle geistigen Führer ihres Volkes hinausgegeben. Mit dem "המקנא אתה לי!?" hat unser Mosche der Scheidewand zwischen "Geistlichkeit" und "Laien" im wahren Israel für immer den Boden entzogen. — Sanhedrin 17a werden verschiedene Meinungen über den Inhalt der von Eldad und Medad gesprochenen Prophetie geäußert. Nach der einen habe sie das bevorstehende Wachtelereignis betroffen. Eine andere gibt deren Inhalt also an: משה מת יהושע מכניס ישראל לארץ und endlich eine dritte spricht sich dahin aus: על עסקי גוג ומגוג היו מתנבאין, sie hätten von den letzten Gog- und Magogkämpfen prophezeit, die nach Ezechiel und Secharja die Schlussentwicklung der Geschichte der Zeiten bilden und von denen es Ezechiel 38, 17 heißt: האתה הוא אשר דברתי בימים קדמונים ביד עבדי נביאי ישראל הנבאים בימים ההם שנים להביא אותך עליהם, bist du der, vom dem ich bereits in Tagen der Vorzeit durch meine Diener, die Propheten Israels, gesprochen, welche in jenen Tagen auf Jahre hinaus prophezeiten? In diesen gleichzeitig auf Jahre hinaus prophezeienden Männern wurden Eldad und Medad erblickt. Wir haben an einer anderen Stelle den Gedanken entwickelt, wie in גוג ומגוג das גג-Prinzip, das "Giebelprinzip", das Prinzip der Konzentrierung aller Leitung in der gipfelnden Spitze in seiner äußersten Konsequenz zum Ausdruck gelangt, dem gegenüber daher nach dessen Überwindung die siegreiche Stadt der Menschengestaltung המונה "die Volkstümliche" genannt wird (Ezech. 39, 16). Ist an diesem Gedanken etwas Wahres, so dürfte es nicht wenig bezeichnend sein, wenn der Hinblick auf diesen fernsten Sieg des Volkstümlichen, über dessen Gog- und Magoggegensatz, oder das Näherliegende, die Verkündigung von Mosches Tode und Josuas Führerschaft als Inhalt der Prophetien Eldads und Medads begriffen werden. Es wäre dann der Mund der bescheidensten, aus Bescheidenheit vom zuerkannten einflussreichen Beruf einer Volksleitung zurück, und lieber במחנה, in Mitte des Volkes gebliebenen Männer der Verkündung der idealsten volkstümlichen Zukunft gewürdigt worden, wo nicht im "אהל" sondern im "מחנה", nicht im "גוג מגוג", sondern im "המון" der Schwerpunkt des sozialen Weltheiles liegen wird, oder eines Faktums, das, wie der Tod Mosche und die Vollendung des nationalen Geschickes unter Josua, die Wahrheit veranschaulicht, daß kein Mensch, nicht einmal ein Mosche, sich für unentbehrlich halten oder von seinen Zeitgenossen als unentbehrlich gehalten werden dürfte. Mosche stirbt — und das Geschick der Nation geht doch in Erfüllung. —