Sanhedrin 92b — the Talmud in English

And if you will say: During those years in which the Holy One, blessed be He, will renew His world,

and the world will be desolate for one thousand years,

as it is stated: “And the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day,”

meaning that the Holy One, blessed be He, alone will remain, while the rest of the world will be desolate [and one day of the Holy One, blessed be He, is one thousand years], and these righteous people, who will not return to their dust,

what will they do

at that time?

The Holy One, blessed be He, will make wings for them like eagles

and they will glide over the surface of the water

as it is stated: “Therefore we will not fear when the earth changes and when the mountains totter in the heart of the seas.”

And this is the meaning of the verse: We will not fear when the earth changes, when the Holy One, blessed be He, changes His world, because we are in the heart of the seas.

And perhaps you will say

that

they suffer

because they must fly in the heavens for such a long time!

The verse therefore states: “But those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

That is, they will have the strength to glide and fly without suffering.

And we raise an objection:

Let us derive this from the dead whom Ezekiel revived,

who afterward returned to their dust; so too, the righteous whom the Holy One, blessed be He, will revive in the future will return to their dust!

And we answer: The tanna of the school of Elijah

agrees with the one who says

that Ezekiel did not revive the dead; rather,

it was truly a parable.

Ezekiel was hinting to them about the exile: Just as a person returns to life, so will Israel return from exile.

As it is taught in a beraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: The dead whom Ezekiel revived stood on their feet and recited a song -

And

immediately

they died.

And

what song did they recite?

“The Lord kills with justice and gives life with mercy”.

Rabbi Joshua says: This was the song they recited: “The Lord kills and gives life; He brings down to the grave and raises up”.

Rabbi Judah says: It was truly a parable.

Apparently, Rabbi Judah’s words are contradictory, for truth is the exact opposite of a parable! Therefore,

Rabbi Nehemiah said to him: If it was truth

—

why

did you say

“a parable,” and if it was a parable

why “truth”?

Rather,

you certainly intended to say:

Truly

[clearly]—

it was a parable.

Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean, says: The dead whom Ezekiel revived went up to Eretz Yisrael, married, and fathered sons and daughters.

Rabbi Judah ben Bateira stood on his feet and said: I am descended from the descendants

of those dead whom Ezekiel revived,

and these are the phylacteries

[and these phylacteries]

that my grandfather left me—

they are from them

[from those dead].

And who are they

[who were]

the dead whom

Ezekiel revived?

Rav said: These were the children of Ephraim, who calculated the

time of the

end

of the Exodus from Egypt—

but they erred

in their calculation.

And what was their error?

In truth, the period of the decree, “They shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years,” which was stated to Abraham at the Covenant Between the Parts, began from the time Isaac was born. For Abraham was told: “Your offspring shall be a stranger”—and this refers to Isaac, as it is written: “For in Isaac shall your offspring be called.”

The children of Ephraim erred and counted the years from the Covenant Between the Parts, when the Holy One, blessed be He, announced that decree to Abraham.

And it is taught in Seder Olam: “When Abraham our father was spoken to at the Covenant Between the Parts, he was seventy years old.” Thirty years passed from the Covenant Between the Parts until Isaac was born, as it is written: “And Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.” It follows that from the Covenant Between the Parts until they left Egypt, four hundred years passed.

The children of Ephraim erred during those thirty years before Isaac’s birth. They therefore thought that the period of the decree had already ended, and they left Egypt before their time—and were killed.

And from where do we know this?

As it is stated: “And the children of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son, and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elad, and the men of Gath who were born in the land killed them

as it is written: ‘And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him.’”

And Samuel said:

Those dead whom Ezekiel

revived were people who denied the resurrection of the dead.

As it is stated: “And He said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off.”

Their statement, “Our hope is lost,” proves that they denied the resurrection of the dead and thought that they had no hope remaining.

These bones that came to life were a sign for all Israel that they will eventually live in the resurrection of the dead, just as these did. For they said, “Our hope is lost,” and now they knew that I revive the dead.

In truth, they did not deserve to live, for we learned in the Mishna that one who denies the resurrection of the dead has no share in the World-to-Come! Rather, they lived as a sign for all Israel, demonstrating that there will be a resurrection of the dead in the future.

Rabbi Jeremiah bar Abba said: These were people who had no moisture

of mitzva

as it is stated: “The dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.”

Rabbi Isaac Nappaḥa said: These were people who covered

the entire Sanctuary with abominations and creeping creatures [for they painted images on the walls of the Sanctuary].

As it is stated: “And I entered and saw, and behold, every form of creeping creature and abominable beast, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall all around, etc.”

And it is written there: “And He carried me around them, all around.”

That is, regarding those people who covered the Sanctuary, about whom the word “around” is written, Ezekiel passed over them to revive them.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said:

Those bones whom Ezekiel

revived were the dead in the plain of Dura,

whom Nebuchadnezzar killed, as related below.

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said:

Those dead were

from the river Eshal to Rabbat of the plain of Dura

[these are places in the plain of Dura].

When the wicked Nebuchadnezzar exiled Israel, there were among them young men who outshone the sun in their beauty

[they were so handsome that the rising of the sun was considered inferior in comparison with them].

And

the

Chaldean women saw them—

and flowed with discharge

from desire.

They said

these women

to their husbands, and their husbands

said

it to the king.

The king commanded—

and they killed them.

And still,

even after those young men had been killed,

the

Chaldean women

continued to flow with discharge,

for the radiance of their appearance was still visible.

The king commanded—

and they trampled them.

For when they saw them disfigured, their desire would cease.

The Sages taught: When the wicked Nebuchadnezzar cast Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the fiery furnace

[Nebuchadnezzar had erected a large golden statue, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and commanded that the entire world bow to it; whoever did not bow would be cast into the fiery furnace. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah refused to bow],

the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Ezekiel: Go and revive the dead in the plain of Dura.

Once he had revived them, bones came and struck that wicked man

[Nebuchadnezzar]

in the face,

and then went away.

He said

Nebuchadnezzar:

What is the nature of

these bones

?

They said to him: The companions of these men

[of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah]

revived the dead in the plain of Dura.

Nebuchadnezzar began

to praise the Holy One, blessed be He,

and said: “How great are His signs, and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and His dominion is with

every generation, etc.”

[How great are His signs, and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and His dominion is with every generation—that is, in every generation].

Rabbi Isaac said: Boiling gold should be poured into the mouth of that wicked man

[this is an expression of a curse. But since Nebuchadnezzar’s praise is being discussed, an elevated expression, “gold should be poured,” was used].

For had an angel not come

and struck him

[Nebuchadnezzar]

on the mouth, he would have sought to denigrate all the songs and praises that David recited in the Book of Psalms.

Nebuchadnezzar had begun to utter praises more beautiful than David’s, and had he completed his words, the Holy One, blessed be He, would have been more inclined toward them than toward the songs David recited.

The Sages taught: Six miracles occurred on that day

when Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were cast into the fiery furnace.

And these are they:

1.

The furnace floated up.

At first it had been sunk into the ground like a lime kiln, but it floated and rose upward so that the entire world could see it [and the commentators on the verse wrote that it floated so that they could leave the furnace easily].

2.

The furnace was breached.

That is, some of its walls fell, so that everyone could see what was happening inside it.

3.

Its foundation weakened

[its pride was humbled].

4.

The statue was overturned

the golden one that Nebuchadnezzar had erected

onto its face.

5.

Four kingdoms were burned

[the kings and their men who had assisted Nebuchadnezzar in throwing them into the fire].

6.

Ezekiel revived the dead in the plain of Dura.

And all of them,

all the events we have mentioned that occurred on that day,

are Gemara

[that is, there is no proof of them from Scripture; rather, this is a tradition received from our Sages].

And

this matter, that

four kingdoms

were burned, is proven from the

Scripture:

First,

before Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were cast into the furnace,

it is written: “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces, etc.; and it is written: ‘Then certain Chaldeans came forward.’”

Seven kingdoms are mentioned in this verse.

And

finally, after they returned from the furnace,

it is written: “Then the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s counselors assembled and saw these men, etc.”

Only three kingdoms are mentioned in this verse; four kingdoms are missing!

Those kingdoms that were not mentioned in the final verse were burned.

The school of Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov taught: Even in a time of danger—

a person should not alter himself from his position of authority

[from his conduct of greatness]

that is his.

As it is stated

regarding Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

“Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, and their turbans, etc.”

Although they were being led to be burned in the fire, they went in their splendid garments, so that they would not appear agitated or frightened. By proceeding in their splendor, they caused their enemies to be ashamed before them.