Sanhedrin 106b (קו:) — the Talmud in English

It is written later in that same verse:

“The Israelites killed him by the sword among their slain.”

This indicates that they carried out multiple forms of execution upon him.

Rav said: They carried out upon him

the Israelites

the four forms of execution: stoning, burning, decapitation, and strangulation.

And this is what they did: They hanged him and kindled a fire beneath the gallows. Then they cut off his head, and it fell into the fire.

In this way, the four forms of execution were carried out upon him: strangulation, through the hanging; decapitation, when they cut off his head; stoning, when he fell to the ground; and burning, when he fell into the fire and was burned.

A certain heretic said to Rabbi Ḥanina: Have you heard how old Balaam was

when he was killed?

He said to him: It is not written explicitly

in Scripture.

Rather,

this matter can be derived

from what is written: “Men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days,”

meaning that such people do not live beyond half their years. And a person’s lifespan is seventy years; therefore Balaam was

thirty-three years old, or thirty-four

—that is, he had not reached thirty-five, which is half his lifespan.

The heretic said to him

—the same heretic—:

You have spoken well

—you have said something correct

! I myself saw Balaam’s notebook

—I saw Balaam’s register—,

and it was written in it: “Balaam the lame was thirty-three years old when Pinḥas the bandit killed him.”

He was thirty-three years old when Pinḥas killed Balaam, the army commander.

Mar, son of Ravina, said to his son: Regarding all of them,

all those kings and ordinary people whom we learned have no share in the World to Come,

do not expend yourself in expounding

—do not elaborate greatly about them.

Except for Balaam the wicked: to the extent that you find material about him—

expound it

—apart from Balaam the wicked; whatever you find to expound about him disparagingly, expound.

It is written, “Doeg

the Edomite,”

and

afterward

it is written

of that man

“Doeg.”

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At first, the Holy One, blessed be He, sat with Doeg, wondering whether this one might turn to a wicked path.

Therefore, at first his name was “Doeg.”

After he had turned

After he turned

to a wicked path,

the Holy One, blessed be He, said

:

“Woe that this one has turned out this way.”

Therefore he was called “Doeg.”

(Mnemonic: mighty, wicked, and righteous; army; and scribe.)

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Why do you boast of evil, mighty man? The kindness of God endures all day”?

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Doeg:

Are you not

mighty in Torah? Why do you boast of evil

—why do you boast by speaking slander about David?

Is not the kindness of God extended over you all day

—are you not wise in Torah? For Torah is called kindness, as it is written: “And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “But to the wicked God says: What right have you to recount My statutes”?

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Doeg the wicked: What right have you to recount My statutes

—what connection have you to the study of the statutes of Torah?

When you reach the passage concerning murderers and the passage concerning those who speak slander, what do you expound from them?

For you killed the inhabitants of Nov and spoke slander about David! And it is written later in the verse:

“And you cast My covenant behind you.” Rabbi Ami said

: It says “behind you,” and not “in your heart.” For

Doeg’s Torah is

only on the lips and outwardly,

and it does not reside in his heart.

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “The righteous see and fear, and laugh at him”?

At first,

when the righteous see that the way of the wicked is prospering,

they fear. And ultimately,

when he dies in the middle of his life and his punishment returns upon his own head,

they laugh.

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “He swallowed wealth and vomits it out; God expels it from his belly”?

David said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, let Doeg die!

He said to him—

the Holy One, blessed be He:

“He swallowed wealth and vomits it out”

—that is, wait until he vomits out the Torah that he swallowed, until he forgets it.

David said

before Him:

“God expels it from his belly”

—do not wait until he forgets it on his own; rather, hasten and cause him to forget it.

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “God will also demolish you forever”?

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to David: Let Doeg enter the World to Come

—let Doeg come to the life of the World to Come.

He said before Him: “God will also demolish you forever.” “

Demolish you”

is an expression of demolition and destruction. “Forever” means the eternal life of the World to Come. This is what David said: Doeg should not enter the life of the World to Come.

What is the meaning of that which is written: “He will tear you away and uproot you from the tent, and uproot you from the land of the living forever”?

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let teachings be said in the beit-midrash in his name

—let teachings be recited in the beit-midrash in Doeg’s name.

David said

before Him:

“He will tear you away and uproot you from the tent.”

“He will tear you away and uproot you” are expressions of breaking and uprooting. And “tent” refers to the beit-midrash.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said:

Let him have Torah scholars as sons

—let Doeg have sons who are Torah scholars.

David said before Him:

“And uproot you from the land of the living forever.”

Remove and uproot his roots from the land of the living, so that he will not have sons who are Torah scholars.

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Where is the scribe? Where is the measurer? Where is the scribe who counts the towers? Where is the scribe who counts all the letters of the Torah”?

“Where is the measurer”—

who weighs all the kal va-chomer arguments

in the Torah.

That is, he knew how to expound by means of kal va-chomer.

“Where is the scribe who counts the towers”—

for he was a scribe who counted three hundred established halakhot concerning the

matter of

the tower that floats in the air.

That is, why is the upper stroke on the letter lamed bent downward?

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Four hundred questions

—problems—

were asked by Doeg and Ahithophel concerning the tower that floats in the air, and not even one was resolved for them

—not even one of them was resolved.

Rava said:

Is

it a great accomplishment

—

to ask questions?

For

in the time

of

Rav Yehuda, all their study was in the order of Nezikin

—all their learning was in the order of Nezikin, because they did not engage so extensively in exposition.

Whereas we study a great deal of Uktzin

—while we study Uktzin extensively.

And when he reached

—when he arrived—

Rav Yehuda,

in the course of his studies, at the matter of

a woman who pickles vegetables

with their stalks [roots] in vinegar or brine

in

the

pot, and some say

—and there are those who say that it was concerning

olives pickled with their leaves

—with their leaves attached—

they are

pure 787,

he would say:

“Here I see the difficult teachings of Rav and Shmuel!”

That is, this is a difficult halakhic matter and requires the same exertion as the teachings of Rav and Shmuel, because he did not know the reason for the ruling.

Yet we study Uktzin in thirteen academies

—in thirteen study halls, all of which engage in tractate Uktzin and know it thoroughly!

And

nevertheless, although we studied more than Rav Yehuda, when there was a drought,

Rav Yehuda removed one shoe

—he would remove one of his shoes—

and

he had not yet managed to remove his second shoe before

the rain came

—before the rain arrived.

And

if

we were to cry out

—were we to shout—

there would be no one to heed us

—no one would pay attention to us.

Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, seeks the heart

—He desires purity of heart—.

As it is written: “And the Lord sees into the heart.”

Therefore, since they were more pious, the Holy One, blessed be He, answered them.

Rav Mesharshiyya said: Doeg and Ahithophel did not understand the teachings

—they did not know how to interpret halakha properly and according to its rationale.

Mar Zutra raised an objection: Regarding one of whom it is written, “Where is the scribe? Where is the measurer? Where is the scribe who counts the towers,”

can you say that they did not understand the teachings?

Rather,

they knew how to study and interpret halakha, but

the teaching did not reach them in accordance with the halakha

—they were not privileged to have the halakha established according to their views.

As it is written: “The counsel of the Lord is for those who fear Him.”

And they were not God-fearing.

Rabbi Ami said: Doeg did not die—

until he forgot

his

learning. As it is stated: “He shall die without discipline, and through his great folly he shall go astray.”

Rav said: He became a leper

—Doeg ultimately became a leper.

As it is stated: “You have destroyed every harlot from among You,”

and

it is written there,

concerning houses in walled cities:

“Completely,” and we render it, “absolutely.” And we learned

concerning a leper:

“The only difference between one quarantined and one confirmed

is the letting down of the hair and the rending of the garments.”

Thus, the expression “absolutely” is used regarding a leper; and although concerning Doeg it says “You have destroyed,” its translation is “absolutely.”

(Mnemonic: three saw, half, and called.)

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Three angels of destruction came upon Doeg. One caused him to forget his learning, one burned his soul, and one scattered his ashes throughout the synagogues and study halls.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Doeg and Ahithophel did not see one another. Doeg lived

in the days of Saul, and Ahithophel—

in the days of David.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Doeg and Ahithophel did not live out half their days

—they died before reaching half their lifespans, for half a person’s lifespan is thirty-five years.

It was taught likewise: “Men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days.”

“Men of blood”—this is Doeg, who killed the priests of Nov. “And deceit”—this is Ahithophel’s counsel.

That is,

all the years of Doeg’s life amounted to no more than thirty-four, and those of Ahithophel no more than thirty-three.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At first, David called Ahithophel his teacher; afterward, he called him his colleague; and ultimately, he called him his disciple.

At first he called him his teacher: “But you are a man of my stature, my master and my intimate acquaintance.”

“My master” means my teacher.