Sanhedrin 89b (פט:) — the Talmud in English

And one who disregards the words of a prophet -

for example,

the colleague of Micah,

the colleague of Micah who did not heed the words of Micah the prophet -

as it is written [

I Kings 20:35] “

And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his colleague by the word of the Lord: Strike me, please,”

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

“but the man refused to strike him.”

And it is written: “

And he said to him: Because you did not heed

the voice of the Lord, behold, as you leave me, a 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 transgresses his own words -

for example, the prophet Iddo,

who transgressed his own prophecy -

as it is written concerning the prophet Iddo, when he came to Bethel while Jeroboam was standing upon the altar and offering incense to an idolatrous worship, and he prophesied that Josiah would be born and would slaughter all the priests of the high places who offered incense to idolatry, and he gave a sign that the altar would split and the ashes upon it would spill out. After Jeroboam realized that he was a prophet, he invited him to dine with him, but Iddo refused [

I Kings 13:9]: “

For so was I commanded

by the word of the Lord, saying: You shall eat no bread and drink no water” [in this place].

And it is written

that there was an old false prophet there. After Iddo had left Bethel, the old prophet ran after him and asked him to return with him to Bethel and dine with him. When Iddo refused and told him that the Lord had commanded him not to eat or drink there [I Kings 13:18], “

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, that he may 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 his own words and heeded the voice of the false prophet, eating and drinking with him.

And it is written

that Iddo was punished with death at the hands of Heaven for this [I Kings 13:24]: “

And he went and found him a lion

on the road and killed him.”

A tanna taught before Rav Ḥisda: One who suppresses his prophecy is flogged.

He said to him,

Rav Ḥisda: Is it so that

one who eats dates in a sieve is flogged

one who eats dates from a sieve is flogged for doing so?

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

who can administer a warning to 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 does nothing unless He reveals His counsel

to His servants the prophets.”

And the Gemara asks:

But perhaps they retracted,

perhaps the heavenly entourage caused the Holy One, blessed be He, to retract the decree, until He regretted the evil that He had intended. The other prophets would not know about this, except for him; so how could they administer a warning to him with certainty?

And the Gemara answers:

If it were so that they retracted,

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

they would have informed him,

He would have made this known

to all the prophets!

And since they do not know of such a retraction, this proves that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not retract, and therefore the warning is a certain one.

And the Gemara asks:

But Jonah,

son of Amittai,

they retracted,

the Holy One, blessed be He, retracted His decree to overturn Nineveh,

but they did not inform him,

they did not inform him of this from Heaven?

And the Gemara answers:

In the case of Jonah, initially,

from the outset, “

Nineveh shall be overturned”

they said to him

this was said to him in these words through divine inspiration, and it could also be understood positively: They were destined to overturn their deeds for the good, and when they repented, the prophecy indeed came to pass. Only

he did not know whether it was for good or for evil,

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

And the Gemara discusses:

With regard to one who disregards the words of a prophet,

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

from where did he know that he would be punished,

how could he know whether what the prophet told him was indeed a true prophecy, or perhaps he was a false prophet? Why should he be punished?

And the Gemara answers:

The prophet gave him a sign,

the prophet gave him a sign.

And the Gemara asks:

But Micaiah did not give him,

he did not give his colleague

a sign, and

nevertheless

he was punished,

the colleague?

And the Gemara answers:

When he is established, it is different,

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

And the proof of this is:

For if you do not say so,

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

at Mount Moriah, how did Isaac heed Abraham,

for Isaac did not hear that God had told Abraham to offer him as an offering; why, then, did he heed him?

And likewise,

Elijah,

the prophet who commanded them to offer a sacrifice

on Mount Carmel,

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

how could all Israel rely upon him,

all Israel,

and perform slaughter outside,

offering sacrifices outside the Temple in Jerusalem, which is a prohibition punishable by karet?

Rather,

certainly,

when he is established, it is different,

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

The Gemara, incidentally, expounds the verses concerning the binding of Isaac - “

And it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham.”

What is meant by “after these things”?

Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: After the words of the Satan.

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 Satan said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe! You have graciously given this old man a child at the age of one hundred

with

the fruit of the womb.

And

from all the feasts that he made, did he not have one turtledove or one young pigeon to offer before You!?

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

Did he do anything

all of this feast

except for the sake of his son?

If I say to him: Sacrifice your son before Me, he will immediately sacrifice him!

Immediately, “

God tested Abraham.” “

And He said: Please take your son” -

Rabbi Shimon bar Abba said: The word “

please”

is nothing but an expression of supplication.

This may be compared to a mortal king against whom many wars were waged, 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 by me in this war,

so that

people will not say

that the

earlier wars had no substance!

So too,

here,

the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham: I tested you with several trials and you withstood them all; now withstand this trial for Me,

so that

people will not say

that

there was no substance to the

earlier

trials! “

Take please

your son” -

Abraham said to Him:

I have two sons,

which one do You mean?

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

Your only one.”

Abraham said to Him: Both of them are only sons:

this one,

a son

who is the only one of his mother, and this one,

a son

who is the only one of his mother?

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

Whom you love.”

Abraham said to Him:

I love them both,

I love them both.

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

Isaac.”

And why all this,

why did He not tell him immediately that He meant Isaac?

So that his mind would not be unsettled by it,

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

The Satan preceded Abraham

to

the road.

He said to him: [

Job 4:2] “

If one attempts a word with you, will you weary

[Why is your Beloved testing you with something that will weary you and destroy your descendants?]

Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened weak hands; the failing have been upheld by your words

[Have you not always strengthened and given life to all the inhabitants of the world through your words?]

For now it comes to you, and you will weary.”

And now he has come to weary and terrify you?

He said to him,

Abraham: [

Psalms 26:11] “

I shall walk in my integrity”!

He said to him,

the Satan: [

Job, there] “ Is not your fear your foolishness?”

What you fear from God should have been your confidence, and in the end you are losing because you are going to slaughter your son.

He said to him,

Abraham: [

Job, there] “ Remember, please: Who that was innocent ever perished?”

The righteous person does not suffer loss because of his fear of God.

Once he saw that he was not heeding him,

when the Satan saw that Abraham was not listening to him,

he said to him: [

Job, there] “

And a word was secretly brought to me;

thus I heard from behind the curtain: ‘

The ram for an offering

and not Isaac for an offering!”

The Holy One, blessed be 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, no one listens to him!

Rabbi Levi said: “After these things” means

after

the words of Ishmael and Isaac -

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

Because

you were circumcised at eight days, whereas

if

I

was circumcised

at thirteen years of age.

He said to him,

Isaac:

And you provoke me with one organ!?

For

if the Holy One, blessed be He, said to me: Sacrifice yourself before Me, I would sacrifice myself!

Immediately, “

God tested Abraham.”

The Sages taught: A prophet who incites,

who prophesies in the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, that one should worship idolatry, his punishment is

stoning,

like anyone who incites others to worship idolatry.

Rabbi Shimon says:

His punishment is

strangulation.

Those who incite the inhabitants of an idolatrous 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 Rabbis maintain that

a prophet who incites is executed by stoning.

And the Gemara discusses:

What is the reason of the Rabbis?

And the Gemara explains: It is because

it is derived through the verbal analogy of

“incitement” and

“incitement”

from the inciter,

for in both cases the expression “incitement” is stated. Concerning a prophet who prophesies that one should 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.” Similarly, concerning an ordinary person who incites others to worship idolatry, it is stated [Deuteronomy 13:11]: “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 in that passage,

so too here,

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

stoning.

And Rabbi Shimon

his reason is that

“death”

is written concerning him in the case of a prophet who incited, as it is stated: “And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death.”

And every death stated anonymously in the Torah is nothing other than strangulation.

Rabbi Shimon did not receive from his teacher that a gzera shava should be applied here, for a person may not derive a gzera shava on his own unless he received it from his teacher, and his teacher from his teacher, back to Moses at Sinai.

Later in the beraita it is stated that the Rabbis maintain that

the inciters of an idolatrous city are executed by stoning.

And the Gemara discusses this:

What is the reason of the Rabbis?

And the Gemara explains: Because they

derive

“incitement” from

“incitement”—the expression “incitement” is also stated with regard to the inciters of an idolatrous city: “And they incited the inhabitants of their city.” And we learn by means of a gzera shava

whether

from an inciter or from a prophet who incited—in both of whom the expression “incitement” is stated, and we said that both are executed by stoning; so too, the punishment of the inciters of an idolatrous city is stoning.

And Rabbi Shimon

his reason is that here, with regard to the inciters of an idolatrous city, he too received from his teacher that a gzera shava should be applied. Therefore he

derives

“incitement”—

“incitement”

from a prophet

who incited, whose punishment according to Rabbi Shimon is strangulation; so too, the punishment of the inciters of an idolatrous city is strangulation.

And the Gemara discusses this:

But let him derive it from an inciter,

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

The Gemara answers:

We derive the case of an inciter of many—

that is, the inciters of an idolatrous city—

from an inciter of many,

from a prophet who incites the many through his prophecy;

but we do not derive the case of an inciter of many from an inciter of one.

And the Gemara asks:

On the contrary!?

We derive an ordinary person from an ordinary person; it is preferable to derive the case of the inciters of an idolatrous city from an inciter, since both are ordinary people, rather than to derive it from a prophet who incited, since

therefore

we do not derive an ordinary person from a prophet?

The Gemara answers:

And Rabbi Shimon

maintains:

since

the prophet

incited, you have no greater ordinary person than this!

Rav Ḥisda said: