Sanhedrin 89b — the Talmud in English

And one who sets aside the words of a prophet

for example, ![](pamud.bmp "

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the companion of Micah

the companion of Micah who did not heed the words of Micah the prophet:

as it is written []

1 Kings 20:35[] “

And one man from the sons of the prophets said to his companion, by the word of the Lord: Strike me, please,”

and this was Micaiah son of Imlah the prophet, who prophesied concerning Ahab that he would fall into the hand of Aram, as punishment for having sent Ben-hadad, king of Aram, away in peace when he had fallen into his hand, despite the prophet having told him in the name of the Lord that he should kill him. And the prophet made an evil sign for Ahab by saying to his companion, by the word of the Lord, that he should strike him, “

but the man refused to strike him.”

And it is written: “

And he said to him: Because you did not listen

to the voice of the Lord, behold, you are going from me, and the lion shall strike you.”

And this was a sign that just as this man was punished for not striking him, so Ahab would be punished for not striking Ben-hadad.

And a prophet who transgressed the words of himself—

for example, the prophet Iddo,

who transgressed his own prophecy:

as it is written

concerning the prophet Iddo, when he came to Bethel at the time when Jeroboam was standing upon the altar and offering incense for idolatry, and he prophesied that Josiah would be born and would slaughter all the priests of the high places who offer incense for idolatry, and he gave a sign that the altar would be split and the ashes would be poured out from it. And after Jeroboam recognized that he was a prophet, he invited him to dine with him, but Iddo refused [there, 13:9]: “

For so he commanded me

by the word of the Lord, saying: You shall not eat bread and you shall not drink water” [in this place].

And it is written

that there was an old false prophet there who, after Iddo had gone from Bethel, ran after him and asked him to return with him to Bethel and dine with him. And when Iddo refused and told him that the Lord had commanded him not to eat and drink there [there, 13:18], “

And he said to him”

[the old man]: “

I too am a prophet like you

and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying: Bring him back with you to your house, and let him eat bread and drink water”—he lied to him.”

And it is written: “

And he returned with him

and ate bread in his house and drank water”—Iddo transgressed the words of himself and listened to the voice of the false prophet, and ate and drank with him.

And it is written

that Iddo was punished with death at the hand of Heaven for this [there, 13:24]: “

And he went and found him—a lion

on the road, and it killed him.”

It was taught, it was taught before Rav Hisda: One who suppresses his prophecy is flogged.

He said to him

Rav Hisda: Is it so that

one who eats dates in a sieve is flogged

that one who eats dates from a sieve is flogged for this?!

And here too, why should he be punished with lashes? For

who can warn him

who can know that he has a prophecy and is suppressing it, so that he can warn him not to do so?

And the Gemara answers:

Abaye said: His fellow prophets

his fellow prophets.

And the Gemara asks:

From where did they know

from where did they know about him that he had a prophecy?

And the Gemara answers:

Abaye said: As it is written []

Amos 3:7[]: “

For the Lord God will do nothing unless He has revealed His secret

to His servants the prophets.”

And the Gemara asks:

Perhaps they retracted from it

perhaps the heavenly entourage caused the Holy One, blessed is He, to retract the decree, until He regretted the evil. And the other prophets did not know about this except him; so how could they warn him with certainty?

And the Gemara answers:

If it were so that they had retracted from it

if the Holy One, blessed is He, had retracted,

they would have informed them

He would have informed this

to all the prophets!

And since they do not know of this, it is proof that the Holy One, blessed is He, did not retract; therefore, this is a warning with certainty.

And the Gemara asks:

But Jonah

son of Amittai,

who had retracted from it

for the Holy One, blessed is He, retracted from destroying Nineveh,

and they did not inform him,

and they did not inform him of this from Heaven?

And the Gemara answers:

Jonah, initially

from the outset, “

Nineveh shall be overturned”

they said to him

he was told in the Holy Spirit in these words, and this can also be understood for good: that they were destined to overturn their deeds for good, and when they repented, the prophecy was indeed fulfilled. Only

he did not know whether for good or whether for evil

Jonah erred and thought that the meaning was for evil, that the city would literally be overturned.

And the Gemara examines:

One who sets aside the words of a prophet,

concerning whom we said that his death is at the hand of Heaven,

from where does he know that he will be punished

how does he know whether what the prophet told him is indeed a true prophecy, perhaps he is a false prophet? And why is he punished?

And the Gemara answers:

That he gave him a sign

that the prophet gives him a sign.

And the Gemara asks:

But Micah did not give him

who did not give his companion

a sign, and

nevertheless

he was punished

the companion?

And the Gemara answers:

Where he is established, it is different

if the prophet is established as a righteous person and a true prophet, they must heed him even without his giving a sign.

And the proof of this is:

If you do not say this

that one who is established need not give a sign, then

at Abraham on Mount Moriah, how did Isaac heed him

for Isaac did not hear that the Lord had told Abraham to offer him as an olah, so why did he heed him?

And likewise,

Elijah,

the prophet who commanded that a sacrifice be offered

on Mount Carmel

in order to prove that the prophets of the Baal were false,

how did they rely upon him

all Israel,

and perform offerings outside

for they offered outside the Temple in Jerusalem, which is a prohibition punishable by karet?

Rather,

certainly,

where he is established, it is different,

and therefore they were obligated to heed Abraham and Elijah the prophet.

And the Gemara incidentally expounds the verses of the binding of Isaac: “

And it came to pass after these matters, and God tested Abraham.”

What is “after these matters”?

Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: After the words of the Adversary.

As it is written []

Genesis 21:8[]: “

And the child grew and was weaned

and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.”

The Adversary said before the Holy One, blessed is He: Master of the world! This old man—you have granted him at one hundred years

a

fruit of the womb.

And

from every feast that he made, did he not have one turtledove or one young pigeon to offer before You!?

The Holy One, blessed is He, said to him:

Did he do

all the feast

except for the sake of his son?

If I say to him: Slaughter your son before Me, immediately he will slaughter him!

Immediately, “

and God tested Abraham.” “

And He said: Please take your son”—

Rabbi Shimon bar Abba said: “Please”

is only a language of request—

A parable: This is like a flesh-and-blood king against whom many wars arose, and he had one mighty warrior who defeated

all the wars.

After some time,

a powerful war arose against him.

He said to him,

the king:

Please, stand for me in this war,

so that

they will not say

the people that the

earlier wars had no substance!

So too,

here,

the Holy One, blessed is He, said to Abraham: I tested you with several tests, and you stood in all of them; now stand for Me in this test,

so that

they will not say

that

there is no substance in

the

earlier tests! “

Please take

your son”—

Abraham said to Him:

I have two sons;

which of them do You mean?

The Holy One, blessed is He, said to him: “

Your only one.”

Abraham said to Him: Both are only ones:

this one

a son

is the only one of his mother, and this one

a son

is the only one of his mother?

The Holy One, blessed is He, said to him: “

whom you love.”

Abraham said to Him:

I love both of them;

I love them both.

The Holy One, blessed is He, said to him: “

Isaac.”

And why all this

why did He not tell him immediately that the reference was to Isaac?

So that his mind would not become deranged because of him

so that he would not suddenly hear that he was commanded to offer Isaac.

The Adversary preceded

Abraham

on the way.

He said to him: []

Job 4:2[] “

If one tried a word with you, would you weary

[why does the One who loves you test you with something that will weary [tire] you and destroy your offspring?]

Behold, you instructed many, and you strengthened weak hands; the stumbling one’s knees you made firm with your words

[did you not always strengthen and revive all the inhabitants of the world through your words?]

For now it comes to you and you weary”—

and now it comes to weary and terrify you?

He said to him,

Abraham: []

Psalms 26:11[] “

I shall walk in my integrity”!

He said to him,

the Adversary: []

Job, there, 4:6[] “ Is not your fear your folly”

what you fear of the Lord should have been your confidence, and in the end you lose because you are going to slaughter your son.

He said to him,

Abraham: []

Job, there, 4:7[] “ Remember, please: who that was innocent ever perished”

for the righteous person does not lose through his fear of the Lord.

When he saw that he was not listening to him

when the Adversary saw that Abraham was not heeding him,

he said to him: []

there, 4:12[] “

And a word was secretly brought to me;

thus I heard from behind the curtain: ‘

The ram for an olah

and Isaac is not for an olah!’”

for the Holy One, blessed is He, did not command you at all to offer Isaac.

He said to him,

Abraham:

Such is the punishment of a liar: even when he speaks the truth, they do not listen to him!

Rabbi Levi said: “After these matters” means

after the words of Ishmael and Isaac—

Ishmael said to Isaac: I am greater than you in mitzvot!

Because

you were circumcised as an eight-day-old, whereas

I,

if I had been circumcised,

at thirteen years of age.

was circumcised, I was

thirteen years old.

He said to him,

Isaac:

And with one limb you provoke me!?

For

if the Holy One, blessed is He, says to me: Slaughter yourself before Me! I will slaughter myself!

Immediately, “

and God tested Abraham.”

The Sages taught: A prophet who incited

who prophesied in the name of the Holy One, blessed is He, to worship idolatry—is punished

by stoning,

like anyone who incites to worship idolatry.

Rabbi Shimon says:

his punishment is

strangulation.

The inciters of an apostate city

to worship idolatry—their punishment is

stoning.

Rabbi Shimon says:

their punishment is

strangulation.

It was stated at the beginning of the beraita that the Sages hold that

a prophet who incited is punished by stoning.

And the Gemara examines:

What is the reason of the Sages?

And the Gemara explains: Because it

is derived through

“incitement”—

“incitement”

from an inciter,

for in both of them the expression “incitement” is stated. Concerning a prophet who prophesies to worship idolatry it is stated [Deuteronomy 13:6], “For he has spoken apostasy ... to incite you from the way that the Lord your God commanded you.” And likewise, concerning an ordinary person who incites to worship idolatry it is stated [there, 11], “For he sought to incite you away from the Lord your God.”

And we learn through a gzera shava:

Just as there,

in the case of an inciter, his punishment is

stoning,

as is explicit there in the passage,

so too here,

in the case of a prophet who incited, his punishment is

stoning.

And Rabbi Shimon

his reason is because "

death"

is written in connection with

a prophet who incited: "[there 6] And that prophet or that dreamer of a dream shall be put to death."

And every death stated in the Torah without qualification is only strangulation.

Rabbi Shimon did not receive from his teacher to apply here a gezeira shava, for no person may derive a gezeira shava on his own, unless he received it from his teacher, and his teacher from his teacher, back to Moses our teacher at Sinai.

In the continuation of the beraita it is stated that the Rabbis hold that

those who incite an apostate city are liable to stoning.

And the Gemara asks:

What is the reason of the Rabbis?

And the Gemara explains: because they

derive "

incitement" — "

incitement"

which is also stated concerning those who incite an apostate city: "[there 14] and they incited the inhabitants of their city." And we learn by a gezeira shava

either from an inciter or from a prophet who incited

that in both of them the expression "incitement" is stated, and we said that both are liable to stoning; so too, those who incite an apostate city are liable to stoning.

And Rabbi Shimon

his reason is because here, concerning those who incite an apostate city, he too received from his teacher that a gezeira shava should be applied, and therefore he

derives "

incitement" — "

incitement"

from a prophet

who incited, whose punishment according to Rabbi Shimon is strangulation; so too, those who incite an apostate city are liable to strangulation.

And the Gemara asks:

But let him derive it from an inciter

why does Rabbi Shimon not derive the gezeira shava from an inciter, whose punishment is stoning?

And the Gemara answers:

They derive an inciter of many

that is, those who incite an apostate city,

from an inciter of many

from a prophet who incites the many through his prophecy,

and they do not derive an inciter of many from an inciter of one.

And the Gemara asks:

On the contrary!?

They derive an ordinary person from an ordinary person

it is preferable to derive those who incite an apostate city from an inciter, since both are ordinary people, rather than to derive it from a prophet who incited, for

and they do not derive an ordinary person from a prophet?

And the Gemara answers:

And Rabbi Shimon

holds:

since

the prophet

incited, you have no ordinary person greater than this!

Rav Hisda said: