Sanhedrin 96

ושני נפשך במאי אישני אמר ליה זיל אייתי לי מספרא ואיגזייך אנא מהיכא אייתי אמר ליה עול לההוא ביתא ואייתי אזל אשכחינהו אתו מלאכי שרת ואידמו ליה כגברי והוו קא טחני קשייתא

and change your appearance so that they will not recognize you. Sennacherib asked him: With what shall I change it? God said to him: Go bring me scissors and I will shear you Myself. Sennacherib asked: From where should I bring the scissors? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: Go to that house and bring them. He went and found ministering angels, who came and appeared to Sennacherib as men; and the angels were grinding date pits.

אמר להו הבו לי מספרא אמרו ליה טחון חד גריוא דקשייתא וניתן לך טחן חד גריוא דקשייתא ויהבו ליה מספרתא עד דאתא איחשך אמר להו זיל אייתי נורא אזל ואייתי נורא בהדי דקא נפח ליה אתלי ביה נורא בדיקניה אזל גזייה לרישיה ודיקניה אמרו היינו דכתיב וגם את הזקן תספה אמר רב פפא היינו דאמרי אינשי גרירתיה לארמאה שפיר ליה איתלי ליה נורא בדיקניה ולא שבעת חוכא מיניה

Sennacherib said to them: Give me scissors. The ministering angels said to him: Grind a se’a of pits and we will give it to you. He ground a se’a of pits and they gave him scissors. By the time he came back with the scissors it grew dark. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Sennacherib: Go and bring fire to provide light. Sennacherib went and brought fire. While he was fanning it, the fire ignited his beard and it spread and sheared his head and his beard. The Sages said: This is the meaning of that which is written: “And it shall also destroy the beard” (Isaiah 7:20). Rav Pappa says that this is in accordance with the adage that people say: If you scorch a gentile and it is pleasant for him, ignite a fire in his beard and you will never tire of ridiculing him. It means that if one does not protest when others ridicule him, they will escalate the ridicule. The adage is based upon this incident involving Sennacherib.

אזל אשכח דפא מתיבותא דנח אמר היינו אלהא רבא דשיזביה לנח מטופנא אמר אי אזיל ההוא גברא ומצלח מקרב להו לתרין בנוהי קמך שמעו בנוהי וקטלוהו היינו דכתיב ויהי הוא משתחוה בית נסרך אלהיו ואדרמלך ושראצר בניו הכהו בחרב וגו׳

Sennacherib went and found a beam from Noah’s ark, from which he fashioned a god. He said: This beam is the great god who delivered Noah from the flood. He said: If that man, referring to himself, goes and succeeds, he will sacrifice his two sons before you. His sons heard his commitment and killed him. This is the meaning of that which is written: “And it came to pass as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god that Adrammelech and Sarezer, his sons, smote him with the sword, and they fled to Ararat” (II Kings 19:37), where Noah’s ark had come to rest. The Gemara explains that this interpretation is based upon the etymological similarity between neser, the Hebrew term for beam, and Nisroch, the god that Sennacherib fashioned from a beam.

ויחלק עליהם לילה הוא ועבדיו ויכם וגו׳ אמר רבי יוחנן אותו מלאך שנזדמן לו לאברהם לילה שמו שנאמר והלילה אמר הרה גבר ורבי יצחק נפחא אמר שעשה עמו מעשה לילה שנאמר מן שמים נלחמו הכוכבים ממסלותם נלחמו עם סיסרא אמר ריש לקיש טבא דנפחא מדבר נפחא

§ Apropos the war between the kings and Abraham mentioned above, the Gemara explains a verse: “And he pursued as far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night [laila], he and his servants, and smote them” (Genesis 14:14–15). The term “by night” [laila] appears out of place in this verse. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: That angel that happened to come and assist Abraham in that war, Laila is his name, as it is stated: “And Laila said: A man-child is brought forth” (Job 3:3), indicating that there is an angel named Laila. And Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa says: God performed for him an act of night, i.e., the stars in heaven waged war on his behalf, as it is stated: “They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera” (Judges 5:20). Reish Lakish said: The statement of Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa, the smith, is preferable to the statement of the son of the smith, Rabbi Yoḥanan.

וירדף עד דן אמר רבי יוחנן כיון שבא אותו צדיק עד דן תשש כחו ראה בני בניו שעתידין לעבוד עבודה זרה בדן שנאמר וישם את האחד בבית אל ואת האחד נתן בדן ואף אותו רשע לא נתגבר עד שהגיע לדן שנאמר מדן נשמע נחרת סוסיו

With regard to the previous verse: “And he pursued as far as Dan” (Genesis 14:14), Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Once that righteous person, Abraham, came to Dan, his strength weakened. He saw through the Divine Spirit that his descendants were destined to worship idols in Dan, as it is stated: “And he fashioned two calves of gold…and he set one in Bethel, and the other one he placed in Dan” (I Kings 12:28–29). And even that wicked person, Nebuchadnezzar, did not prevail until he reached Dan, as it is stated: “From Dan the snorting of his horses is heard” (Jeremiah 8:16).

אמר רבי זירא אף על גב דשלח רבי יהודה בן בתירא מנציבין הזהרו בזקן ששכח תלמודו מחמת אונסו והזהרו בוורידין כרבי יהודה והזהרו בבני עמי הארץ שמהן תצא תורה כי הא מילתא מודעינן להו

Rabbi Zeira says: Even though Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira sent a statement from Netzivin: Be vigilant with regard to treating with deference an elder who forgot his studies due to circumstances beyond his control, and be vigilant with regard to cutting the jugular veins when slaughtering an animal in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, and be vigilant with regard to treating with respect the children of ignoramuses, as from some of them Torah will emerge, we inform them of a message like this matter.

צדיק אתה ה׳ כי אריב אליך אך משפטים אדבר אותך מדוע דרך רשעים צלחה שלו כל בגדי בגד נטעתם גם שרשו ילכו גם עשו פרי מאי אהדרו ליה כי את רגלים רצתה וילאוך ואיך תתחרה את הסוסים ובארץ שלום אתה בוטח ואיך תעשה בגאון הירדן

The verse states: “Right would you be, Lord, were I to contend with You; yet will I reason with You: Why does the path of the wicked prosper; why are all who deal treacherously secure? You have planted them, they have also taken root; they grow, they also bring forth fruit” (Jeremiah 12:1–2). What did they respond to Jeremiah from heaven? “If you have run with the pedestrians, and they have wearied you, how can you contend with horses? And though in a land of peace you feel secure, how will you do in the wild country of the Jordan?” (Jeremiah 12:5).

משל לאדם אחד שאמר יכול אני לרוץ שלש פרסאות לפני הסוסים בין בצעי המים נזדמן לו רגלי אחד רץ לפניו שלשה מילין ביבשה ונלאה אמרו לו ומה לפני רגלי כך לפני הסוסים על אחת כמה וכמה ומה שלשת מילין כך שלש פרסאות על אחת כמה וכמה ומה ביבשה כך בין בצעי המים על אחת כמה וכמה

The Gemara interprets the verse according to its straightforward meaning. This is a parable of a person who said: I can run three parasangs before the horses in the swamplands. He encountered a pedestrian and ran before him for three mil on dry land and wearied. The people said to him: And if running before a pedestrian you grew so weary, then if you were to run before horses, all the more so would you become weary. And if after running three mil you grew so weary, then if you were to run three parasangs, four times that distance, all the more so would you become weary. And if after running on dry land you grew so weary, then if you were to run in the swamplands, all the more so would you become weary.

אף אתה ומה בשכר ארבע פסיעות ששלמתי לאותו רשע שרץ אחר כבודי אתה תמיה כשאני משלם שכר לאברהם יצחק ויעקב שרצו לפני כסוסים על אחת כמה וכמה היינו דכתיב לנבאים נשבר לבי בקרבי רחפו כל עצמתי הייתי כאיש שכור וכגבר עברו יין מפני ה׳ ומפני דברי קדשו

The Gemara explains: So too, you, Jeremiah: And if with regard to the reward for four paces that I compensated that wicked person, Nebuchadnezzar, who ran in My honor, you are astonished at its magnitude, when I compensate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who ran before Me like horses throughout their lives, all the more so will their reward be great. This teaches the potency of even a minor mitzva. That is the meaning of that which is written: “Concerning the prophets. My heart within me is broken; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man and like a man whom wine has overcome, due to the Lord and due to His sacred words” (Jeremiah 23:9).

הני ארבע פסיעות מאי היא דכתיב בעת ההיא שלח מראדך בלאדן בן בלאדן מלך בבל ספרים וגו׳ משום כי חלה חזקיהו ויחזק שדר ליה ספרים ומנחה אין לדרש (את) המופת אשר היה בארץ דאמר רבי יוחנן אותו היום שמת בו אחז שתי שעות היה

The Gemara asks: With regard to these four paces of Nebuchadnezzar, what is the incident to which the Gemara alludes? The Gemara answers that the incident is as it is written: “At that time Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylonia, sent a letter and a gift to Hezekiah, as he had heard that he had been ill and was recovered” (Isaiah 39:1). The Gemara asks: Due to the fact that Hezekiah had been ill and was recovered, he sent him a letter and a gift? The Gemara answers: Yes, and he did so in order “to inquire of the wonder that was in the land” (II Chronicles 32:31). As Rabbi Yoḥanan says: On that day that Hezekiah’s father, Ahaz, died, daylight lasted two hours, ten hours shorter than the standard day, so that the wicked Ahaz would be buried hurriedly, without the pomp typically accorded kings.

וכי חלה חזקיהו ואיתפח אהדרינהו קודשא בריך הוא להנך עשר שעי ניהליה דכתיב הנני משיב את צל המעלות אשר ירדה במעלות אחז בשמש אחרנית עשר מעלות ותשב השמש עשר מעלות במעלות אשר ירדה אמר להו מאי האי אמרו ליה חזקיהו חלש ואיתפח אמר איכא גברא כי האי ולא בעינא לשדורי ליה שלמא כתבו ליה שלמא למלכא חזקיה שלם לקרתא דירושלם שלם לאלהא רבא

And when Hezekiah fell ill and recovered, the Holy One, Blessed be He, restored those ten hours to Hezekiah, as it is written: “Behold, I will return the shadow of the dial, which descended on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which it had gone down” (Isaiah 38:8). Merodach said to his servants: What is this wonder that the day was extended? They said to him: Hezekiah fell ill and recovered, and the sun shone for him. Merodach said: There is a man like that and I do not need to send him greetings? The ministers of Merodach wrote to Hezekiah: Greetings to King Hezekiah, greetings to the city of Jerusalem, and greetings to the great God.

נבוכדנאצר ספריה דבלאדן הוה ההיא שעתא לא הוה התם כי אתא אמר להו היכי כתביתו אמרו ליה הכי כתבינן אמר להו קריתו ליה אלהא רבא וכתביתו ליה לבסוף אמר אלא הכי כתובו ׳שלם לאלהא רבא שלם לקרתא דירושלם שלם למלכא חזקיה׳ אמרי ליה קריינא דאיגרתא איהו ליהוי פרוונקא

Nebuchadnezzar was the scribe of Baladan, and at that time he was not there. When he came there he said to the other scribes: How did you write the king’s message? They said to him: We wrote this: Greetings to King Hezekiah, greetings to the city of Jerusalem, and greetings to the great God, as we were commanded. Nebuchadnezzar said to the scribes: You called him: The great God, and you wrote Him at the end of the list of greetings? He said: Rather, write this: Greetings to the great God, greetings to the city of Jerusalem, and greetings to King Hezekiah. The scribes said to Nebuchadnezzar: The one who reads the letter, let him be the messenger. You gave the advice; you correct the text.

רהט בתריה כדרהיט ארבע פסיעות אתא גבריאל ואוקמיה אמר רבי יוחנן אילמלא (לא) בא גבריאל והעמידו לא היה תקנה לשונאיהם של ישראל

Nebuchadnezzar pursued the messenger to take the letter from him and revise it. When he ran four paces, the angel Gabriel came and stopped his pursuit. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: If Gabriel had not come and stopped his pursuit there would have been no remedy for the enemies of the Jewish people, a euphemism for the Jewish people. Had Nebuchadnezzar succeeded in revising the letter, his reward would have been so great that he would have been able to destroy the Jewish people, as he desired.

מאי בלאדן בן בלאדן אמרי בלאדן מלכא הוה ואישתני אפיה והוה כי דכלבא הוה יתיב בריה על מלכותא כי הוה כתיב הוה כתיב שמיה ושמיה דאבוה בלאדן מלכא היינו דכתיב בן יכבד אב ועבד אדניו

The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of: Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan? If his name was Merodach it was not Baladan. The Sages say: Baladan was a king, and his visage was transformed and became like that of a dog. His son was sitting on the throne in his stead and when he would write a letter he would write his name and the name of his father, King Baladan. That is the meaning of that which is written with regard to the honor accorded by gentiles to their fathers: “A son honors his father and a servant his master” (Malachi 1:6).

בן יכבד אב הא דאמרן ועבד אדניו דכתיב ובחדש החמישי בעשור לחדש היא שנת תשע עשרה שנה למלך נבוכדנאצר מלך בבל בא נבוזראדן רב טבחים עמד לפני מלך בבל בירושלם וישרף את בית ה׳ ואת בית המלך

The Gemara elaborates: “A son honors his father” is referring to that which we stated with regard to Baladan. “And a servant his master” is referring to a verse, as it is written: “And in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, who stood before the king of Babylonia, into Jerusalem. And he burned the House of the Lord, and the house of the king” (Jeremiah 52:12–13).

ומי סליק נבוכד נצר לירושלים והכתיב ויעלו אתו אל מלך בבל רבלתה ואמר רבי אבהו זו אנטוכיא רב חסדא ורב יצחק בר אבודימי חד אמר דמות דיוקנו היתה חקוקה לו על מרכבתו וחד אמר אימה יתירה היתה לו ממנו ודומה כמי שעומד לפניו

The Gemara asks: And did Nebuchadnezzar ascend to Jerusalem? But isn’t it written with regard to Zedekiah: “And they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylonia, to Riblah” (II Kings 25:6), and Rabbi Abbahu says: This place called Riblah is a reference to Antioch. Apparently, Nebuchadnezzar was in Antioch, not in Jerusalem. Rav Ḥisda and Rav Yitzḥak bar Avudimi resolved this apparent contradiction. One says: An image of Nebuchadnezzar’s likeness was engraved on Nebuzaradan’s chariot, and he regarded that image as though Nebuchadnezzar were actually there. And one says: Nebuzaradan was in extreme fear of Nebuchadnezzar, and it was as though Nebuzaradan was always standing before Nebuchadnezzar. That is an example of the honor of a servant to his master mentioned in the verse.

אמר רבא טעין תלת מאה כודנייתא נרגא דפרזלא דשליט בפרזלא שדר ליה נבוכדנצר לנבוזראדן כולהו בלעתינהו חד דשא דירושלם שנאמר פתוחיה יחד בכשיל וכילפת יהלמון בעי למיהדר אמר מסתפינא דלא ליעבדו בי כי היכי דעבדו בסנחריב

§ The Gemara proceeds to discuss the role of Nebuzaradan in the destruction of the Temple. Rava says: Nebuchadnezzar sent to Nebuzaradan three hundred mules laden with iron axes that cut iron. All of them were incapacitated in the attempt to breach one gate of Jerusalem, as it is stated: “And now they pound its carved work together with hatchet and with hammers” (Psalms 74:6). Nebuzaradan sought to return to Babylonia and said: I am afraid. I want to ensure that they will not do to me just as they did to Sennacherib, whose downfall was in Jerusalem.

נפקא קלא ואמר שוור בר שוור נבוזראדן שוור דמטא זימנא דמקדשא חריב והיכלא מיקלי פש ליה חד נרגא אתא מחייה בקופא ואיפתח שנאמר יודע כמביא למעלה בסבך עץ קרדמות

A Divine Voice emerged and said: Leaper, son of a leaper; Nebuzaradan, take the leap, as the time has arrived for the Temple to be destroyed and the Sanctuary to burn. One ax remained for him to use. He went and struck the gate with the dull end of the ax and it opened, as it is stated: “He became known as the wielder of axes upward in a thicket of trees” (Psalms 74:5). At the appropriate time the gate was breached as though the ax were cutting trees.

הוה קטיל ואזל עד דמטא להיכלא אדליק ביה נורא גבה היכלא דרכו ביה מן שמיא שנאמר גת דרך ה׳ לבתולת בת יהודה קא זיחא דעתיה נפקא בת קלא ואמרה ליה עמא קטילא קטלת היכלא קליא קלית קימחא טחינא טחינת שנאמר ׳קחי רחים וטחני קמח גלי צמתך חשפי שבל גלי שוק עברי נהרות׳ ׳חטים׳ לא נאמר אלא ׳קמח׳

He was proceeding and killing until he reached the Sanctuary. When he reached the Sanctuary, he ignited a fire in it. The Sanctuary rose, seeking to enter Heaven so that it would not burn. They trod upon it from Heaven and returned it to its place, as it is stated: “The Lord has trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress” (Lamentations 1:15). Nebuzaradan became haughty, taking pride in his conquest. A Divine Voice emerged and said to him: Your haughtiness is unwarranted, as you killed a nation that was already dead, you burned a Sanctuary that was already burned, and you ground flour that was already ground, as it is stated with regard to Babylonia: “Take millstones and grind flour; uncover your locks, tuck up the train, uncover the leg, pass over rivers” (Isaiah 47:2). It was not stated: Grind wheat, but “grind flour,” indicating that all the destruction had already been wrought by God, and the role played by the enemy was insignificant.

חזא דמיה דזכריה דהוה קא רתח אמר להו מאי האי אמרו ליה דם זבחים הוא דאישתפיך אמר להו אייתי ואנסי אי מדמו כסי ולא אידמו אמר להו גלו לי ואי לא סריקנא לכו לבשרייכו במסריקא דפרזלא

When he reached the Sanctuary, he saw the blood of Zechariah the priest boiling. It had not calmed since he was killed in the Temple (see II Chronicles 24:20–22). Nebuzaradan said to the priests there: What is this? They said to him: It is the blood of offerings that was spilled. Nebuzaradan said to them: Bring animals and I will test to determine if the blood of the animals is similar to the blood that is boiling. He slaughtered the animals and their blood was not similar to the boiling blood. Nebuzaradan said to the priests: Reveal the source of that blood to me, and if not I will comb your flesh with an iron comb.

אמרו ליה האי כהן ונביא הוא דאינבי להו לישראל בחורבנא דירושלם וקטלוהו אמר להו אנא מפייסנא ליה אייתי רבנן קטיל עילויה ולא נח אייתי דרדקי דבי רב קטיל עילויה ולא נח אייתי פרחי כהונה קטיל עילויה ולא נח עד די קטל עילויה תשעין וארבעה ריבוא ולא נח

The priests said to Nebuzaradan: This blood is the blood of a priest and a prophet who prophesied for the Jewish people with regard to the destruction of Jerusalem and whom they killed. He said to the priests: I will pacify the blood so the boiling will stop. He brought the Sages and killed them over the blood and its boiling did not cease. He brought schoolchildren and killed them over the blood and its boiling did not cease. He brought young priests and killed them over the blood and its boiling did not cease. He continued killing until he killed 940,000 people over the blood, and its boiling did not cease.

קרב לגביה אמר זכריה זכריה טובים שבהן איבדתים ניחא לך דאיקטלינהו לכולהו מיד נח הרהר תשובה בדעתיה אמר מה הם שלא איבדו אלא נפש אחת כך ההוא גברא מה תיהוי עליה ערק שדר פורטיתא לביתיה ואיתגייר

Nebuzaradan approached the blood and said: Zechariah, Zechariah, the worthy among them I killed on your behalf. Is it satisfactory for you that I kill them all? Immediately the boiling ceased. Nebuzaradan contemplated repentance. He said: If they, who caused only one person to perish, gained atonement only after all this killing, then with regard to that man, referring to himself, what will be required for him to gain atonement? He deserted his army and dispatched a last will to his house and converted.

תנו רבנן נעמן גר תושב היה נבוזר אדן גר צדק היה מבני בניו של סיסרא למדו תורה בירושלים מבני בניו של סנחריב לימדו תורה ברבים ומאן נינהו שמעיה ואבטליון

The Sages taught in a baraita: Naaman the Aramean (see II Kings, chapter 5) was a ger toshav, meaning that he accepted upon himself to refrain from idol worship but did not convert to Judaism. Nebuzaradan was a completely righteous convert. Among the descendants of Sisera (see Judges, chapter 4) were those who studied Torah in Jerusalem. Among the descendants of Sennacherib were those who taught Torah in public. The Gemara asks: And who are they? The Gemara answers: They were Shemaya and Avtalyon.

מבני בניו של המן למדו תורה בבני ברק ואף מבני בניו של אותו רשע ביקש הקדוש ברוך הוא להכניסן תחת כנפי השכינה אמרו מלאכי השרת לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא ׳רבונו של עולם מי שהחריב את ביתך ושרף את היכלך תכניס תחת כנפי השכינה׳ היינו דכתיב רפינו את בבל ולא נרפתה עולא אמר זה נבוכדנצר רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר אלו נהרות בבל ותרגמה דצינייתא (צרידתא) דבבלאי

The baraita continues: Among the descendants of Haman were those who studied Torah in Bnei Brak. And even among the descendants of that wicked person, Nebuchadnezzar, were those whom the Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to bring beneath the wings of the Divine Presence and have them convert. The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe: The one who destroyed Your House and burned Your Sanctuary, will You introduce him beneath the wings of the Divine Presence? The Gemara explains: That is the meaning of that which is written: “We have healed Babylonia, but she is not healed” (Jeremiah 51:9). Ulla says: This verse is a reference to Nebuchadnezzar, none of whose children converted. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says: This is not a reference to a person; rather, these are the rivers of Babylonia, and interpret it as referring to the bitter saltwater rivers of Babylonia.

אמר עולא עמון ומואב שיבבי בישי דירושלם הוו כיון דשמעינהו לנביאי דקא מיתנבאי לחורבנא דירושלם שלחו לנבוכדנצר פוק ותא אמר מסתפינא דלא ליעבדו לי כדעבדו בקמאי

§ On a related note, the Gemara describes the events that led to the destruction of the Temple. Ulla says: Ammon and Moab were bad neighbors of Jerusalem. Once they heard the prophets who prophesied about the destruction of the Jerusalem, they sent to Nebuchadnezzar: Emerge from your dwelling place and come conquer them. Nebuchadnezzar said to them: I am afraid. I want to ensure that they will not do to me just as they did to my predecessors.

שלחו ליה ׳כי אין האיש בביתו הלך בדרך מרחוק׳ ואין איש אלא הקדוש ברוך הוא שנאמר ׳ה׳ איש מלחמה׳ שלח להו בקריבא הוא ואתי שלחו ליה הלך בדרך מרחוק שלח להו אית להו צדיקי דבעו רחמי ומייתו ליה

Ammon and Moab sent to him that it is written: “For the ish is not at home; he is gone on a long journey” (Proverbs 7:19), and ish is referring to no one but the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord is an ish of war” (Exodus 15:3). Nebuchadnezzar sent to them is response: He is in a nearby location, and He will come. They sent to Nebuchadnezzar: “He has gone on a journey from afar” (Proverbs 7:19). Nebuchadnezzar said to them: They have righteous among them who will pray for mercy and bring Him to return.

שלחו ליה ׳צרור הכסף לקח בידו׳ ואין כסף אלא צדיקים שנאמר ׳ואכרה לי בחמשה עשר כסף וחמר שערים ולתך שערים׳

Ammon and Moab sent to Nebuchadnezzar: “He has taken a bundle of kesef with him” (Proverbs 7:20), and kesef is referring to nothing other than the righteous, as it is stated: “So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of kesef and for a kor of barley and a half-kor of barley” (Hosea 3:2). The inference is that God acquired the congregation of Israel due to the presence of righteous people among them, and Ammon and Moab sent a message to Nebuchadnezzar that God had already taken the righteous and they no longer offered protection.

שלח להו הדרי רשיעי בתשובה ובעו רחמי ומייתו ליה שלחו ליה כבר קבע להן זמן שנאמר ׳ליום הכסא יבא ביתו׳ אין כסא אלא זמן שנאמר ׳בכסה ליום חגנו׳ שלח להו סיתווא הוא ולא מצינא דאתי מתלגא וממיטרא

Nebuchadnezzar sent to them: Perhaps the wicked will repent and become righteous and they will pray for mercy and they will bring Him to return. Ammon and Moab sent to Nebuchadnezzar: God already designated the time of their redemption, as it is stated: “On the day of the keseh, He will come home” (Proverbs 7:20), and keseh is referring to nothing other than a designated time, as it is stated: “Sound a shofar at the New Moon, at the keseh on the day of our feast” (Psalms 81:4). Since there is a time designated for redemption, until then you can do as you please. Nebuchadnezzar sent to them: It is winter now and I cannot come and conquer Jerusalem due to the snow and the rain.

שלחו ליה תא אשינא דטורא שנאמר ׳שלחו כר מושל ארץ מסלע מדברה אל הר בת ציון׳ שלח להו אי אתינא לית לי דוכתא דיתיבנא ביה שלחו ליה קברות שלהם מעולין מפלטירין שלך דכתיב ׳בעת ההיא נאם ה׳ יוציאו את עצמות מלכי יהודה ואת עצמות שריו ואת עצמות הכהנים ואת עצמות הנביאים ואת עצמות יושבי ירושלים מקבריהם ושטחום לשמש ולירח ולכל צבא השמים אשר אהבום ואשר עבדום ואשר הלכו אחריהם׳

Ammon and Moab sent to him: Come on the peaks of mountains, where the rain does not pool, as it is stated: “Send the lamb to the ruler of the land from the peaks of the wilderness to the mount of the daughter of Zion” (Isaiah 16:1). Nebuchadnezzar sent to them: If I come to Jerusalem, I will have no place to dwell while laying siege to the city. Ammon and Moab sent to him: Their burial caves are superior to your palaces, and you can clear the caves and dwell there, as it is written: “At that time, says the Lord, they shall remove the bones of the kings of Judea, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves; and they shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all of the hosts of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked” (Jeremiah 8:1–2). Ultimately Nebuchadnezzar came to conquer Judea and removed the corpses to make room for his army.

אמר ליה רב נחמן לרבי יצחק מי שמיע לך אימת אתי ׳בר נפלי׳ אמר ליה מאן ׳בר נפלי׳ אמר ליה משיח משיח ׳בר נפלי׳ קרית ליה אמר ליה אין דכתיב ׳ביום ההוא אקים

§ Rav Naḥman said to Rabbi Yitzḥak: Have you heard when the son of giants [bar niflei] will come? Rabbi Yitzḥak said to him: Who is the son of giants? Rav Naḥman said to him: He is the Messiah. Rabbi Yitzḥak asked him: Do you call the Messiah son of giants? Rav Naḥman said to him: Yes, as it is written: “On that day I will establish