Sotah 12a — the Talmud in English

It is also precise, as it is written

in another verse concerning Caleb, who is called

the Kenizzite,

meaning that he was only among the household of Kenaz and grew up with him,

learn from it

that he was not his son, as was Othniel; therefore he was not called the son of Kenaz.

“And Azubah”—this is Miriam. And why was she called Azubah? Because everyone had abandoned her from the beginning,

for she was sickly in her youth, and all the young men of Israel abandoned her and did not wish to marry her.

And Caleb

begot

Azubah.

And we raise an objection: did he, then, give birth to her?

But he had married her,

as it is said that he took Ephrath, who was Azubah, after she was healed.

And we explain:

Rabbi Yohanan said: Whoever marries for the sake of Heaven

like Caleb, who married Miriam despite the fact that she was ill, because he examined her brothers Moses and Aaron and saw that they were righteous, and most children resemble the mother’s brothers; therefore

Scripture credits him as though he had given birth to her.

And we explain why she was called

Yeriyot:

because

her face resembled curtains,

for because of her illness she was greenish, and there was no redness at all in her face.

“And these are her sons,”

and we interpret:

Do not read “her sons,” but “her builders,”

for these are not the names of her sons, but names by which her husband Caleb was called, because he built her and made her like other women by marrying her.

And he was called

Yashar,

because

he straightened himself

so as not to err along with the spies.

And he was called

Shovav,

because

he subdued his inclination,

for he rebelled against his inclination and did not participate in the counsel of the spies.

And

he was called

Ardon, because he subdued his inclination

which incited him to go with the spies.

And some say that

he was called Ardon

because Miriam’s face

was

like a rose,

after she was healed. [Maharsha and Ya’avetz read: Caleb’s face.]

And we explain further a verse stated in Chronicles concerning Caleb.

“And to Ashhur the father of Tekoa there were two wives, Helah and Naarah.” Ashhur—this is Caleb. And why was he called Ashhur? Because his face was blackened by fasts

which he undertook in abundance in order to be saved from the counsel of the spies.

And he was called

“father”

because

he became for her

Miriam

like a father,

for he attended to her with medicines and nourishment to heal her.

And he was called

Tekoa,

because

he fixed his heart upon his Father in Heaven,

with the decision not to participate in the counsel of the spies.

“There were two wives,”

and we explain that he had only one, but

Miriam became for him like two wives.

“Helah and Naarah,”

and we explain:

not

that there were two wives named

Helah and Naarah, but

these were Miriam’s names, for she was

at first Helah,

sick,

and ultimately Naarah,

for when she was healed, her appearance returned to her like that of a young woman.

And it is further written there:

“And the sons of Helah were Zereth and Zohar and Ethnan.”

And we explain that all these are names of Miriam, who was called

Zereth,

since

she became a rival to her companions

because they envied her beauty.

And she was called

Zohar, because her face

was radiant and

like midday.

And she was called

Ethnan,

because

everyone who saw her

became more inflamed with desire, and immediately

would bring a gift to his wife.

“And Pharaoh commanded all his people”

“Every son who is born, you shall cast into the Nile.”

Rabbi Yosei bar Rabbi Hanina said:

With this decree, which was added to the decree to kill the children of Israel at their birth,

he also decreed against his own people, [This is the explanation Rashi brought from Midrash Tanhuma: this decree was added on the day Moses was born. Pharaoh’s astrologers said to him that they saw that the savior of Israel had been born that day, but they did not know whether he was Jewish or Egyptian. Therefore, he gathered all his people and asked them all to bring him every child born on that day, in order to cast them into the Nile and kill them.

как приводит Раши из Мидраша Танхума, этот указ был издан в день рождения Моше. Астрологи фараона сказали ему, что в этот день родился избавитель Израиля, но они не знали, еврей он или египтянин. Поэтому он собрал весь свой народ и потребовал, чтобы все отдавали ему детей, родившихся в этот день, чтобы бросить их в реку и убить.]

And Rabbi Yosei bar Hanina said: Pharaoh issued three decrees.

Pharaoh

At first,

he decreed against the midwives:

“If it is a son, you shall kill him,”

and he relied upon them and did not appoint guards to ensure that they carried out his decree.

And ultimately

he appointed guards over the matter and said to them:

“Every son who is born, you shall cast into the Nile.”

And ultimately,

on the day Moses was born,

he also decreed against his own people,

and at first he decreed only for that day. But since he was hidden for three months, and his astrologers saw that he had not been cast into the Nile, he continued the decree until he was cast in.

“And a man of the house of Levi went,”

and we explain:

Where did he go? Rabbi Yehuda bar Zevina said: He went on the counsel of his daughter.

And similarly we find:

It was taught: Amram was the great man of the generation,

and everyone listened to his words and acted as he did.

When the wicked Pharaoh decreed, “Every son who is born, you shall cast into the Nile,” he said: “In vain are we laboring”

to bear children [and similarly they interpreted, “and our labor”—these are the sons—Maharsha].

He arose and divorced his wife,

and when the Israelites saw that the great man of the generation did so,

they all arose and divorced their wives.

His daughter

Miriam

said to him,

to Amram:

“Father, your decree is harsher than Pharaoh’s, for

Pharaoh

decreed only upon the males,

as he said to cast into the Nile only “the son who is born,”

but you,

when you separated from your wife and divorced her, and they all learned from you to do likewise, thereby

you decreed

both

upon the males and

both

upon the females.

And in another matter your decree is harsher than Pharaoh’s decree, for

Pharaoh decreed only

to kill them

in this world,

for after they are killed they will return to life in the World to Come,

but

if

you

impose upon the Israelites a decree both

in this world,

that they should not bear children, and both

in the World to Come,

for since they are not born, they do not come to the World to Come.

And your decree is harsher than

the wicked Pharaoh’s,

for his decree:

whether his decree will be fulfilled or whether his decree will not be fulfilled,

whereas

you are righteous; surely your decree will be fulfilled, as it is stated: “You shall also decree a matter, and it shall be established for you,”

and we explain that a righteous person decrees and the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfills.

And when Amram heard her words,

he arose and took his wife back,

and when the Israelites saw this,

they all arose and took their wives back.

And this is what is meant by “he went”: he went on Miriam’s counsel.

“And he took,”

and we object: she was already his wife and he had divorced her, and if so

it should have said, “and he took her back.”

And we explain:

Rabbi Yehuda bar Zevina said: He performed an act of taking her in marriage,

for he made for her a wedding celebration like the first wedding,

he seated her in a palanquin, and Aaron and Miriam danced before her, and the ministering angels said: “The mother of children is glad.”

“The daughter of Levi,”

and we wonder: how was Yocheved called “the daughter of Levi”? Could

she have been the daughter of one hundred and thirty years, and

still

was she called “daughter”?

After all, people are called by their father’s name only in childhood, and it should have said that he took his aunt Yocheved.

And he proves that Yocheved was one hundred and thirty years old:

for Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina said:

To resolve what we find when Jacob and his sons descended to Egypt: it is stated that seventy souls came, whereas if you count them, you find only sixty-nine. Rabbi Hama explained that the seventieth soul

was Yocheved, whose conception was on the way and whose birth was between the walls

at their entry into Egypt. Although she was not counted among those descending from the Land of Israel, she was counted among those coming to Egypt. And this is also precise from what

is stated: “whom she bore to Levi in Egypt,”

which implies that only

her birth was in Egypt, and

yet

her conception was not in Egypt.

And since she was born at their entry into Egypt, at Moses’s birth she was approximately one hundred and thirty years old [and when Amram took her back, she was already pregnant, as below], for Moses left Egypt at the age of eighty, and their entire exile in Egypt was two hundred and ten years; it follows that 130 = 210 - 80. If so, it is difficult how Yocheved was called “the daughter of Levi” at such an advanced age.

And we explain:

Rabbi Yehuda said: The signs of maidenhood appeared in her,

the menstrual cycle returned to her, and her face regained the appearance of the days of her youth, with the wrinkles smoothed away.

“And the woman conceived and bore a son,”

and we object:

But she had been pregnant with him

with Moses already

for three months from the outset,

as it explains below. Why, then, is it stated that after he took her she conceived again? And we answer:

Rabbi Yehuda bar Zevina said:

For this reason a second pregnancy is written concerning her, so that it would be

compared to her conception: just as her conception was without pain,

as is implied by its being written after her taking in marriage as though she had now conceived and had not previously been pregnant—that is, she felt no pain of pregnancy at all—and it was written to compare it to the pregnancy,

so too

her birth was without pain, and

to learn

from here concerning righteous women who were not subject to

any

of Eve’s suffering,

for Eve’s decree was not pronounced upon them, and they were not included in the document of decrees and curses concerning the pain of childbirth and pregnancy.

“And she saw him, that he was good.”

It was taught: Rabbi Meir says: “Good” was his name.

Rabbi Yehuda says: “Toviah” was his name.

Rabbi Nehemiah says

that she saw through the holy spirit that he was destined to be

fit for prophecy,

and this was the goodness that she saw in him.

Others say

that she saw that he

was born circumcised.

And the Sages say: When Moses was born, the entire house was filled with light,

and concerning this it was said “good,” as we derive:

It is written here, “And she saw him, that he was good,” and it is written there, “And God saw the light, that it was good”;

thus, the light is called “good.”

“And she hid him for three months,”

and we explain how she was able to hide him and the Egyptians did not discover him:

for the Egyptians did not count

Yocheved’s months of pregnancy

except from the time that he took her back

in the second taking in marriage, and they came to examine her only after nine months from this marriage.

And

they did not know that

she had been pregnant with him for three months from the outset,

from her first marriage, before Amram divorced her. We learn this matter from this verse: therefore they did not examine after her when she gave birth early, because she had already been pregnant for these three months.

“And she could no longer hide him,”

and we object:

Why

could she no longer hide him, and why could she not

hide him

in a hiding place,

and go away

so that she would not be beside him while they examined her house? What did she have to fear? They would surely not discover him in a hiding place.

And we answer:

Rather, wherever the Egyptians would hear that a baby had been born, they would bring a baby

of their own

there,

and cause him to cry,

so that they would hear them

the hidden infants

and cry out

and cry, as an infant cries when he hears the voice of his fellow crying. And concerning this we find that it is written that the Divine Voice said to the waters of the sea at the splitting of the Sea of Reeds:

“Seize for us the little foxes,”

so that they would drown these Egyptians, who, when they were little, were “destroying the vineyards,” and “our vineyards are in blossom” when the children were still little; they brought them so that they would cry with them and expose them.

“And she took for him a papyrus basket.”

And we explain:

What is different

about her taking specifically

papyrus? Rabbi Eliezer said: From here [we learn] concerning the righteous, that their money is dearer to them than their bodies,

and therefore she took this inexpensive material, although Moses’s body would have been better protected in a basket of hard and strong wood.

And why so much?

Why is their money dearer to them than their bodies?

Because they do not stretch out their hands toward robbery.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said:

She took specifically papyrus because she preferred

a soft material that can withstand

both

a soft object and

both

a hard object,

whereas a basket of hard wood, even though it protects better, has a disadvantage: it can break if it encounters a hard object while being swept along by a strong current of water, but a soft object, when it encounters a hard object, turns back.

“And she coated it with clay and pitch. It was taught:

She coated the basket

with clay from the inside, and

with

pitch

soft

on the outside, so that the righteous one would not smell

Moses

a foul odor

of the pitch.

“And she placed the child in it, and she placed it in the reeds,”

and Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani disagreed about which “reeds” Yocheved placed the basket in.

Rabbi Elazar says

that the reference is to

the Sea of Reeds; Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said

that the reference is that she placed him in

a marsh,

where willows grow, and a marsh is called suf,

as it is written: “Reed and marsh withered,”

for reeds called kaneh grow in a marsh, and willows called suf grow there.