Sanhedrin 94a (צד.) — the Talmud in English

They,

that is, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi,

were superior to him

[they were superior to Daniel],

but

on the other hand,

he was superior to them

[he was superior to them].

They were superior to him, as they were prophets,

they were,

whereas he,

Daniel,

was not a prophet.

But

on the other hand,

he was superior to them, as he saw

[he saw] the prophetic vision,

whereas they did not see it.

But once they did not see

the prophetic vision at all,

why were they terrified

[why were they terrified and fled into hiding]?

Although they themselves saw nothing –

their mazal saw it .

Ravina said: Conclude from this that one who is terrified

[one who is afraid] and does not know what he fears,

although he himself does not see

anything –

his mazal sees it.

What is his remedy

[what is his remedy]?

He should leap four cubits from his place

[he should jump four cubits from the place where he is standing].

Alternatively, he should recite

[he should recite]

the recitation of the Shema .

And if he is standing in a filthy place

[and if he is standing in a filthy place, where it is prohibited to say words of Torah],

let him say the following: The goat of the slaughterhouse is fat, more than I am

[go to the goats and leave me alone. This is a whisper].

It is written:

“For the increase of the government and for peace without end, etc.” Rabbi Tanḥum said: Bar Kappara taught in Sepphoris: Why is every mem in the middle of a word open, whereas this mem

in the word “increase”

is closed?

The Holy One, blessed be He, sought to make

the

Messiah out of Hezekiah

221 , and

the

Sennacherib –

Gog and Magog .

The Attribute of Justice said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Sovereign of the Universe! If David, king of Israel, who recited so many songs and praises before You—you did not make him the Messiah—

Hezekiah, for whom You performed all these miracles, saving him from Sennacherib and healing him from his illness,

and he did not sing before You –

would You make him the Messiah?!

For this reason it was closed.

That is, the matters that had arisen in the Holy One, blessed be He’s, thought were closed off and were not carried out .

Immediately, the earth opened

and said before Him: Sovereign of the Universe, I shall sing a song before You in place of this righteous man, and make him the Messiah.

It opened and sang a song before Him, as it is stated: “From the wing of the earth we have heard songs: Glory to the righteous, etc.”

[and the end of the verse is: “And I said: My secret, my secret, woe is me! The treacherous have dealt treacherously, and the treacherous have dealt very treacherously”].

The angel of the world

[the angel to whom the entire world is entrusted]

said before Him: “Its desire, fulfill it for this righteous man!”

A Divine voice emerged

and said: “My secret, my secret.”

That is, the hidden matters are Mine, and I know why the Messiah’s arrival is being delayed.

A prophet said: “Woe is me,” woe is me, until when

[when will the Messiah come]?

A Divine voice emerged and said: “The treacherous have dealt treacherously, and the treacherous have dealt

very treacherously.” And Rava said, and some say Rabbi Yitzḥak: Until plunderers come, and plunderers of plunderers.

That is, until plunderers come against Israel several times .

It is further written in the Book of Isaiah:

“The burden of Dumah. He calls to me from Seir: Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? Etc.”

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: That angel appointed over the spirits

[with whom the souls are deposited] –

Dumah is his name.

All the spirits gathered before Dumah,

the angel appointed over them, and

said to him

[as it is stated: “The burden of Dumah. He calls to me from Seir.” Dumah said that the spirits called to him concerning the exile of Seir and Esau]:

“Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?”

That is, what does the watchman, who is the Holy One, blessed be He, say about the exile, which is like night? When will the end of the redemption from this night come?

He said: “The watchman has said: Morning comes, and also night.”

The angel told them that the watchman, the Holy One, blessed be He, had said as follows: The redemption, which is like morning, will come. But before that there will be a long exile, which is like night .

If you seek

[if you wish to be redeemed] –

seek

[request mercy],

return and come

[return in repentance, and come to the redemption].

It was taught in the name of Rabbi Pappias: It is disgraceful for Hezekiah and his colleagues

[they performed a disgraceful act]

that they did not sing a song until the earth opened and sang a song

as it is stated: “From the wing of the earth we have heard songs: Glory to the righteous, etc.”

Similarly, you say

with regard to what is stated in the portion concerning Jethro:

“And Jethro said: Blessed is the Lord, Who saved you.”

It was taught in the name of Rabbi Pappias: It is disgraceful for Moses and the six hundred thousand

[the entire people of Israel]

that they did not say “Blessed” until Jethro came and said: “Blessed is the Lord.”

It is further written there:

“And Jethro rejoiced.”

And Rav and Shmuel disagreed about the interpretation of this matter:

Rav and Shmuel.

Rav said: He passed a sharp sword over his flesh.

He circumcised himself and converted.

And Shmuel said: His entire flesh became ridged ridges

[wrinkle after wrinkle]

;

because he was distressed over the downfall of Egypt .

Rav said: This is what people say: A convert

[a convert],

until ten generations

[until ten generations] ,

do not insult an Aramean in his presence

[do not insult a gentile in his presence].

It is further written in Isaiah, in the prophecy concerning the downfall of Assyria:

“Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will send leanness among his fat ones.”

What is the meaning of “He will send leanness among his fat ones”?

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let Hezekiah come, who has eight names, and exact payment from Sennacherib, who has eight names [“among his fat ones” is an expression related to eight] .

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let Hezekiah come, who has eight names, and exact payment from Sennacherib, who has eight names [“among his fat ones” is an expression related to eight] .

And from where do we know that

Hezekiah

had eight names?

As it is written: “For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty, Father, Everlasting, Prince, Peace.”

That is, eight names: Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty, Father, Everlasting, Prince, Peace.

And we challenge this:

But there is

another name, for he was also called

Hezekiah!

And we explain: The reason he was called Hezekiah was

because God strengthened him .

Alternatively: Hezekiah –

because he strengthened Israel toward their Father in Heaven.

Sennacherib,

from where do we know that he had eight names?

As it is written concerning him: “Tiglath-pileser,” “Pileser,” “Shalmaneser,” “Pul,” “Sargon,” “Asenappar,” “Great,” “Honored.”

And we challenge this:

But there is

also the name

Sennacherib!

And we explain: The reason he was called Sennacherib was

because he incited strife .

Alternatively: Because he spoke and uttered harsh words against Heaven,

as brought below.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Why did that wicked man merit being called Asenappar the Great and the Honored

[the meaning of “Great and Honored” is: great and honored]?

Because he did not speak disparagingly of the Land of Israel, as it is stated

that Sennacherib’s emissary said to the people of Israel, when he sought to entice them to surrender to him: “Hear the word of the king, etc. Thus says the king of Assyria: Make peace with me and come out to me, etc.”

“Until I come and take you to a land like your land.”

He did not say: to a land better than your land.

Rav and

Shmuel

disagreed concerning Sennacherib, who told Israel that he would take them to a good land like their own.

One said: He was a clever king.

And one said: He was a foolish king .

According to the one who says he was a clever king,

this means that Sennacherib reasoned in his heart:

If I tell them that it is better than your land

[if I tell them that it is a land better than their land],

they will say

[they will say to me]:

You are lying,

for there is no land better than the Land of Israel!

And according to the one who says he was a foolish king,

because

if so,

the truth is as he said, that his land was not better than the Land of Israel,

what advantage did he have?

How did he intend to entice them? In what way would they be better off in his land?

It is written that when Sennacherib exiled the ten tribes: “And he settled them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of Media.”

Where did he exile them

[where did he exile them—that is, where are these places located]?

Mar Zutra said: He exiled them to Africa,

he exiled them there.

And Rabbi Ḥanina said: To the mountains of Salug.

But Israel,

when Sennacherib exiled them,

spoke disparagingly of the Land of Israel.

When they reached “Shush”

[when they reached a place called Shush],

they said: It is equal to our land

[this place is equal to our land] .

When they reached

a place called

“Almin,” they said:

This place is equal

to the world

[to Jerusalem, which is called the House of Eternity].

When they reached

a place called

“Shush Two,” they said: Twice as much.

That is, this place is twice as beautiful as our own. And these places were named after their statements.

It is written later in the verse cited above, “Therefore the Lord, the Lord, etc.”:

“And beneath his glory He will kindle a burning

like the burning of a fire.”

That is, all the armies of Sennacherib were burned.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said:

Although generally “his glory” denotes his body and flesh, and if so, “beneath his glory”

means the soul within the body. But what is stated here,

“beneath his glory” –

and not his actual glory

[it does not refer literally to his glory, his body]. Rather, it refers to his garments, which are also called glory,

as in the case of Rabbi Yoḥanan, who called garments

[he used to call garments]

“those that honor me,”

because they bring honor to a person. Accordingly, the meaning of the verse “And beneath his glory He will kindle a burning like the burning of a fire” is that his body beneath his garments was burned.

Rabbi Elazar said:

The meaning is that

beneath his actual glory,

that is, beneath his body, it was burned,

just as

it was in the

burning of the sons of Aaron. Just as there,

in the burning of the sons of Aaron, there was

burning of the soul, while

the

body

remained

intact, so too here,

the reference is to

burning of the soul, while the body remained intact .

It was taught in the name of Rabbi Joshua ben Korḥa: Pharaoh,

who blasphemed personally,

and not through an emissary [as is brought below], and if so, the disgrace was not so great –

was punished

also

by the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself,

and was therefore not shamed to the same degree. For one who is shamed by a great person is not comparable to one who is shamed by a lesser person .