Sanhedrin 96b (צו:) — the Talmud in English

There is a difficulty:

And did Nebuchadnezzar ascend

[Did he ascend]

to Jerusalem? But it is written

in that same context: “And they seized the king [Zedekiah]]

and brought him up to the king of Babylonia, to Riblah,” and Rabbi Abbahu said:

Riblah

is Antioch.

But Antioch is not in Eretz Yisrael!

Rav Hisda and Rav Yitzḥak bar Avdimi resolved

this difficulty:

One said: An image of his likeness

of Nebuchadnezzar

was engraved for him

for Nebuzaradan

on his chariot,

and it appeared to him as though he were standing before him.

And one said: He was in exceedingly great fear

of Nebuzaradan

of him

[of Nebuchadnezzar],

and it seemed

to him

as though

he

were standing

always

before him.

This was the honor that the servant, Nebuzaradan, showed his master, Nebuchadnezzar.

Rava said: He loaded three hundred

mules with iron axes capable of cutting iron, and Nebuchadnezzar sent them to Nebuzaradan

[a load of three hundred mules carrying sharp iron hammers, which cut iron, Nebuchadnezzar sent to Nebuzaradan], in order to breach the gates of Jerusalem.

All of them were swallowed by a single gate of Jerusalem

[all those hammers broke against one gate of Jerusalem].

As it is stated: “Her openings together they battered with axes and hatchets.”

This indicates that all the axes and hatchets struck a single entrance together, yet accomplished nothing.

He sought to turn back

[Nebuzaradan wished to retrace his steps to Babylonia].

He said: I am afraid

[I fear]

that they will do to me as they did to Sennacherib

[that the Jews will do to me as they did to Sennacherib, whose entire army was killed].

A heavenly voice emerged and said

[a divine voice emerged and said]:

Leaper, son of a leaper

[leaper, son of a leaper] ,

Nebuzaradan, leap

[jump]

! The time has arrived for the Temple to be destroyed and the Sanctuary to be burned

[for the time has arrived for the Temple to be destroyed and the Sanctuary to be burned].

One axe remained

[one of the hammers that Nebuchadnezzar had sent him remained].

He came and struck with its blunt end

[he came and struck the gate with the blunt side of the hammer] , not with its sharp edge —

and it opened

[and the gate opened].

As it is stated

in the Book of Psalms, where David prayed before the Holy One, blessed be He:

“He is known as one who brings upward, among the tangled branches of the wood of axes” .

That is: The tangled wood of axes with which Nebuzaradan broke the gates of Jerusalem is known before You, as though he had brought it upward to the Throne of Glory.

He continued killing as he went—

until he reached the Sanctuary

[Nebuzaradan continued killing until he reached the Sanctuary].

He kindled a fire in it

[Nebuzaradan set fire to the Sanctuary].

The Sanctuary rose up

and sought to ascend to Heaven!

They trod upon it from Heaven

[they trampled it from Heaven and brought it low].

As it is stated: “The winepress of the Lord He has trodden for the virgin daughter of Judah.”

His mind became haughty

[Nebuzaradan became arrogant] over his success .

A heavenly voice emerged

[a heavenly voice emerged]

and said to him: You have killed a slain people

[you have killed a people already destined to be killed], since it had already been decreed that they would be killed.

And likewise,

you have burned a burned Sanctuary

[you have burned a Sanctuary already destined to be burned], since it had already been decreed that it would be burned.

And this is as though

you have ground already-ground flour

[you have ground flour that was already ground].

As it is stated: “Take the millstone and grind flour; uncover your locks, bare your leg, cross rivers.”

“Grind wheat”

is not stated; rather,

“grind

flour.”

This was a prophecy of calamity that the prophet declared to Israel: Even though you have already been ground into flour, you will be ground again; you will uncover your head and bare your leg, and you will go into exile.

He saw

[Nebuzaradan saw]

the blood of Zechariah, which was boiling

[the blood of Zechariah, whom Israel had killed because he prophesied harsh prophecies to them concerning the destruction of the Temple. The blood was boiling on the floor of the Temple courtyard].

He said to them

Nebuzaradan said to the Jews:

What is this?

What is this blood, which is boiling and does not subside?

They said to him: It is the blood of sacrifices that was spilled

[that was poured out].

He said to them: Bring sacrifices, and I will compare them to see whether they resemble it

[bring sacrificial blood, and we will test whether it resembles this blood].

They slaughtered

[they slaughtered] sacrifices,

but they did not resemble it

[the blood did not resemble that blood].

He said to them: Reveal to me

what this blood is,

and if not—

I will rake your flesh with an iron comb

[I will comb your flesh with an iron comb]!

They said to him: This is the blood

of a

priest and prophet, who prophesied

[who prophesied]

to Israel concerning the destruction of Jerusalem

[that Jerusalem would be destroyed],

and they killed him.

He said to them

to Israel:

I will appease him

[I will appease Zechariah, and his blood will subside].

He brought Sages and killed them over it

[he brought Sages and killed them over that blood]—

but it did not subside.

He brought schoolchildren

[children studying in the house of their teacher],

and killed them over it—

but it did not subside.

He brought young priests

[young members of the priesthood],

and killed them over it—

but it did not subside.

Until he killed over it

[until he killed over it]

ninety-four myriads

of people—

but it did not subside.

Nebuzaradan approached

Nebuzaradan

it

[that blood], and

said: Zechariah, Zechariah! The best among them—

I have destroyed them; would it please you if I killed them all

[do you want me to kill all of Israel]?

Immediately, it subsided

the blood.

Nebuzaradan reflected

Nebuzaradan reflected

thoughts of repentance in his mind. He said: What will become of them,

Israel,

who destroyed only one soul

of Zechariah—and

thus

were punished—

that man,

Nebuzaradan, who killed so many people—

what will become of him

[what will happen to him]?

He fled

[he ran away],

sent a writ of testament to his household

[he sent a written will home],

and converted.

The Sages taught in a beraita: Naaman,

who was the commander of the army of Aram, and Elisha healed him of his leprosy, and he accepted upon himself not to worship idolatry [as related in II Kings, chapter 5]—

was a ger toshav.

He had not accepted upon himself all the mitzvot, but only not to worship idolatry.

But

Nebuzaradan was a righteous convert.

He accepted upon himself completely the yoke of Torah and mitzvot.

The descendants of Sisera studied Torah in Jerusalem.

The descendants of Sennacherib taught Torah publicly.

And who are they

[who are those descendants]—

Shemaiah and Avtalyon.

The descendants of Haman studied Torah in Bnei Brak .

And even concerning the descendants of that wicked man,

Nebuchadnezzar,

the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to bring them beneath the wings of the Divine Presence.

The ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe! Shall You bring beneath the wings of the Divine Presence the one who destroyed Your House and burned Your Sanctuary?

This is the meaning of that which is written: “We have healed Babylonia, but she was not healed.” Ulla said: This is Nebuchadnezzar,

for the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to heal him and bring his descendants beneath the wings of the Divine Presence, but in the end he was not healed.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: These are the rivers of Babylonia,

which are unpleasant to drink.

And he interpreted it as referring to the bitter date palms of Babylonia

[they are bitter palms that stand beside the rivers] .

Since we cited above the incident involving Nebuzaradan, how he conquered Jerusalem, the Gemara brings another matter concerning this subject.

Ulla said: Ammon and Moab were wicked neighbors

[bad neighbors]

of Jerusalem.

When they heard the prophets prophesying about the destruction of Jerusalem

[when Ammon and Moab heard the prophets prophesying about the destruction of Jerusalem],

they sent to Nebuchadnezzar: Go forth and come

[leave your place and come to conquer Eretz Yisrael].

Nebuchadnezzar said

Nebuchadnezzar said:

I am afraid that they will do to me as they did to my predecessors

[I fear that they will do to me as they did to those who came before me], for Sennacherib and his army all died at the hand of a single angel.

They sent to him: “For the man is not at home

he has gone on a distant journey ”

[this is a verse in the Book of Proverbs].

And “man”—

refers only to the Holy One, blessed be He. As it is stated: “The Lord is a man of war.”

That is, so to speak, the Holy One, blessed be He, is not in His house, the Temple.

He sent to them: He is nearby, and he will come.

Perhaps He is indeed not in His house now, but He is in a nearby place and will come to save Israel! [Nebuchadnezzar’s answer is not derived from the verse; rather, from the sequence of the verses, through which we hear the claims of Ammon and Moab, we understand what Nebuchadnezzar answered them.]

They sent to him: “He has gone on a distant journey.”

That is, He is not nearby and will not come.

He sent to them: They have righteous people among them, who will pray for mercy—

and bring Him

[they have righteous people who will plead for mercy and bring the Holy One, blessed be He]!

They sent to him: “He took the bundle of money in his hand.” And “money”—

refers only to the righteous,

as is demonstrated by the following verse. That is, the righteous among them had died.

And from where do we know that the righteous are called “money”?

As it is stated: “So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer of barley and a lethekh of barley.”

This is the interpretation of the verse: “So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver”—that is, I redeemed them for Myself from Egypt on the fifteenth of Nisan, in the merit of the righteous, who are called “silver.” “And a homer of barley and a lethekh of barley”—a homer of barley is thirty se’a, and a lethekh is fifteen se’a; these are the forty-five righteous upon whom the world is sustained [as stated in Ḥullin 92a].

He sent to them: The wicked will repent and pray for mercy, and bring Him

[the wicked will repent, pray for mercy, and bring the Holy One, blessed be He]!

They sent to him: He has already set a time for them,

so that He will not come again until the end of the seventy years of the Babylonian exile .

As it is stated: “On the day of reckoning he will come to his house.” ‘Reckoning’

refers only to a set time. As it is stated: “On the day that is appointed for our festival.”

He sent to them: It is winter

[winter]

now,

and

I cannot come because of

the

snow and rain

[the snow and the rain].

They sent to him: Come by the lower route of the mountain

[come by a path beneath the mountains], and they will protect you from the rain and snow.

As it is stated: “Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the wilderness to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.”

This is the interpretation of the verse: Send to the ruler, who is Nebuchadnezzar, that he should come to the mountain of the daughter of Zion by way of the rocks and mountains.

He sent to them:

It is now the rainy season, and

if I come—

I have no place in which to sit

[I will have no place around Jerusalem where my soldiers and I can sit, protected from the rain].

They sent to him: Their graves,

those of Israel,

are superior to the palaces

[than palaces]

of yours,

and you can sit in their burial caves surrounding Jerusalem.

And from where do we know that this is indeed what happened—that Nebuchadnezzar and his army removed the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves in order to sit in those burial caves?

As it is written: “At that time, declares the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves and lay them out before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which

they loved and served and followed.”

Since we cited the verse, “He took the bundle of money in his hand,” indicating that the righteous had become fewer, the Gemara now discusses the matter of the Messiah. One of the signs of the messianic era is that Torah scholars will become fewer .

Rav Naḥman said to Rabbi Yitzḥak: Have you heard when Bar Nafli will come

[do you know when Bar Nafli will come]?

He said to him: Who is Bar Nafli

[who is this “Bar Nafli” about whom you are asking]?

He said to him:

Bar Nafli is the

Messiah.

Rabbi Yitzḥak was astonished and asked him:

Messiah—

do you call him Bar Nafli?