Sotah 9b — the Talmud in English

And so we find with the primordial serpent -

the serpent who caused Adam and Eve to sin

who set his eyes upon what was not fit for him

who set his eyes upon Eve and had intercourse with her—his punishment was

that what he sought was not given to him.

And moreover,

what was in his possession -

was taken away from him.

For previously the serpent walked upright, but after his punishment, he walks on his belly.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I said

before he sinned

let

the serpent

be king over every beast and animal, but now

that he has sinned,

he is cursed above every beast and above every animal of the field. I said: He shall walk upright; now he shall walk on his belly.

I said: His food shall be the food of man

and superior to that of beast and bird,

but now he shall eat dust.

He

the serpent

said

in his heart:

I shall kill Adam and take

as a wife

Eve. Now: “I shall place enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.” And so we find -

with Cain -

he coveted the additional twin sister who was born together with Abel.

Korah -

he coveted the priesthood.

And Balaam -

he coveted Balak’s money.

And Doeg -

he envied King David.

And Ahithophel -

he coveted the kingship.

And Gehazi -

he coveted Naaman’s property.

And Adonijah -

he coveted Abishag.

Uzziah -

he coveted the priesthood.

And Haman.

All of these,

who set their eyes upon what was not fit for them: what they sought was not given to them, and what was in their possession -

was taken away from them. The thigh began with the transgression, and so the thigh is punished first, and so on.

What is the basis for these words?

From where is it known that this is the order of the punishment: first the thigh and afterward the belly

?

If you say

if

it is because it is written: “When the Lord makes your thigh fall and your belly swell,”

and from here it follows that the order of the matters is first the thigh and afterward the belly,

but it is written

and in another verse it implies the opposite:

“And her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall fall.”

And if so, it implies first the belly and afterward the thigh. And we answer:

Abaye said: When he curses,

when the priest recites the curses before her, which is the beginning of her punishment, then

he first curses the thigh

and afterward he curses the belly.

First he mentions the thigh and afterward the belly

, but when the waters examine her, -

and when she drinks the water and is examined by it,

they examine in their usual manner -

they examine in the manner in which they enter the woman’s body,

the belly first -

and afterward the thigh.

First her belly swells, and afterward her thigh falls.

And we raise an objection:

In the curse too it is written: “To swell the belly and to make the thigh fall,”

also in the curse we find in the Torah that the order of the matters begins with the belly, and if so this contradicts the other verse concerning the curse, which begins first with the thigh. And we answer: in truth, in the curse the priest first mentions the thigh, while the verse in the curse that says the opposite

that -

the priest informs her that the belly is first, and afterward the thigh, so as not to cast aspersion upon the bitter waters. -

It comes to teach us that the priest explains to her that the order of her punishment is first the belly and afterward the thigh, and not in the manner in which he says it in the curse; and this is in order not to cast aspersion upon the waters, so that people should not say that the waters did not act as the Torah says, and therefore he had to tell her how she would die.

Mishna:

We learned in the previous Mishna that by the manner with which a person measures, they measure for him, and now the Mishna brings several examples of this -

Samson followed his eyes

when he sought to marry the Philistine woman who found favor in his eyes

.

Therefore

his punishment was that

the Philistines gouged out his eyes.

As it is stated -

“The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes.”

And so we find that

Absalom was arrogant because of his hair

which was beautiful.

Therefore

his punishment was that he

was hanged by his hair.

And because he came

Absalom

upon ten concubines of his father.

Therefore

his punishment was that

they gave

who stabbed

him ten lances

when they killed him

.

As it is stated -

“Ten young men bearing Joab’s weapons surrounded him,”

and all ten stabbed him with lances.

And because he stole

deceived

three [

hearts] -

the

heart of his father

King David,

and

the

heart of the court,

for Absalom was a lifelong nazirite, and his hair was long, and he wished to make things easier for himself, because it weighed upon him. He told David that he wished to go to Hebron to fulfill his vow, to offer the nazirite offering, and he asked David to write him that any two men whom he wished to go with him were required to attach themselves to him. He would show David’s seal to two hundred men from the heads of the Sanhedrin, and all of them would go with him; they went innocently in order to accompany him, and did not know that he intended to rebel against David. Thus he deceived David and the Sanhedrin.

And

so too we find that he deceived the

heart of Israel.

As it is stated -

“Absalom stole the heart of the men of Israel.”

Therefore they were thrust

they thrust into him

into

the heart

three shafts

corresponding to the three hearts that he stole.

As it is stated -

“And he took [

Joab]

three shafts in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom.”

And so

as

with regard to good,

when a person performs a mitzva, his reward is measure for measure, and so we find -

that

Miriam waited for Moses one hour

to see what would happen to Moses’ basket in the river.

As it is stated -

“And his sister stood from afar”

to know what would be done to him.

Therefore

Miriam merited that when she was afflicted with leprosy

they delayed

in their encampment

for her

with

Israel seven days in the wilderness

until she was healed of her leprosy

.

As it is stated -

“And the people did not journey”

on their journeys

until the gathering of

the healed

Miriam.

And so we find -

for

Joseph merited

he wished to merit

burying his father, and

behold,

there was none among his brothers greater than he,

for he was king

,

and nevertheless he went to bury his father.

And as

it is stated -

“And Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up both chariots and horsemen.”

Therefore he merited—as it is stated concerning him:

“Who is greater for us than Joseph,”

who merited great honor at his burial,

for no one engaged in

the burial

of him except Moses,

than whom there was none greater.

For

Moses merited

he wished to merit engaging

in

the burial of

Joseph’s bones, and there was none in Israel greater than he,

than Moses our teacher

.

As it is stated -

“And Moses took Joseph’s bones with him.”

And so we find:

for

who was greater than Moses

our teacher? Nevertheless, he himself engaged in Joseph’s burial.

No one engaged in

the burial

of him

of Moses,

except the Omnipresent,

the Holy One, blessed be He, in His own honor and Himself, as it were, buried him.

As it is stated -

“And He buried him in the valley.”

And

it was not only concerning Moses that they said

that the Holy One, blessed be He, engages in their burial,

but

also

concerning all the righteous.

As it is stated -

“And your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall gather you,”

for the Holy One, blessed be He, gathers the souls of the righteous and engages in their burial

.

Gemara:

In order to explain the sugya, we shall first briefly present the story of Samson:

The Holy One, blessed be He, promised Manoah and his wife that a son would be born to them who would save Israel, but he had to be a nazirite all his days, and if a son were born to them, they would call his name Samson. At first Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a Philistine woman, and he told his father that she had found favor in his eyes, and he married her because he wished to fight the Philistines, and thought that it would be preferable first to marry a woman from among them. Afterward his wife was divorced from him, and as revenge he took three hundred foxes and placed torches between their tails, and thus burned the fields of the Philistines. After this Samson went to Gaza and saw there a prostitute and had intercourse with her. When the Philistines heard that he was in the city, they sought to kill him, and Samson placed the doors of the city gate upon his shoulders and carried them away. Afterward Samson loved a woman whose name was Delilah, and the Philistines asked her to seduce him so that he would tell her what the secret of his great strength was. Indeed, Delilah succeeded in seducing him, and he told her that his great strength was because he was a nazirite from the day of his birth, and on the day that he shaved his hair his strength would leave him. Then she shaved his hair, and then the Philistines came and gouged out his eyes and imprisoned him. Afterward the Philistines gathered to celebrate Samson’s capture, and then Samson asked the Holy One, blessed be He, to return his strength to him one more time. Then he seized the pillars of the building and brought the building down upon its occupants.

The Sages taught:

Samson rebelled against the Holy One, blessed be He, through his eyes

.

As it is stated -

“And Samson said to his father: Take her for me, for she is upright in my eyes,”

he asked his father for the woman who had found favor in his eyes, saying that he wanted her as a wife, and through this he rebelled against the Holy One, blessed be He, by means of his eyes.

And

therefore

he was punished measure for measure, that

the Philistines gouged out his eyes.

As it is stated -

“The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes.”

The Gemara asks:

Is that so?

How is it possible that what he told his father—that he wanted the woman who had found favor in his eyes—is considered rebellion -

But it is written: “And his father and his mother did not know”

that his desire to marry the woman was because

“it was from the Lord,”

and it is explained that the Holy One, blessed be He, caused him to desire her so that he could provoke the Philistines, and if so, this was not rebellion against the Holy One, blessed be He, but rather the Creator’s will.

The Gemara answers:

When he went, in any event,

although the matter was from His providence, nevertheless, as for why he chose specifically this woman,

he followed her beauty

because she found favor in his eyes, and he followed his eyes.

It was taught

we learned in a beraita -

Rabbi says: The beginning of his corruption

of Samson, was

in Gaza -

therefore he was afflicted in Gaza.

From where do we know that

the beginning of his corruption was in Gaza?

As it is written -

“And Samson went to Gaza, and he saw there a prostitute, and so on.”

From where do we know that

therefore he was afflicted

that the beginning of his punishment was

in Gaza?

As it is written -

“And they brought him down to Gaza.”

The Gemara asks:

But it is written -

“And Samson went down to Timnah,”

and concerning this it is written: “And he saw there a woman from the daughters of the Philistines, and she was pleasing in Samson’s eyes.”

It follows that the deed in Timnah preceded the deed in Gaza, and if so, why did the beraita not say that the beginning of his corruption was in Timnah?

The Gemara answers:

The beginning of his corruption, in any event, was in Gaza,

for concerning the deed in Timnah it is written that he took her as a wife, and this is not complete corruption, since he took her as a wife and did not have intercourse with her promiscuously, whereas only the deed that occurred in Gaza is considered corruption, for he saw a prostitute and had intercourse with her:

It is written in the verse -

“And it came to pass afterward that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name was Delilah.”

And why was her name called Delilah?

It was taught: Rabbi says -

Had

even if

not

been

her name called

from birth

Delilah, she was fit to be called Delilah.

And because she

weakened

she depleted

his strength,

of Samson,

she weakened

she depleted

his heart,

and

she weakened

and depleted

his deeds.

She weakened his strength

from where do we know this?

As it is written -

after she removed his hair,

“And his strength departed from him,”

that his strength departed from him.

She weakened his heart

from where do we know this?

As it is written -

“And Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart,”

that he told her everything that was in his heart, meaning that he told her the entire secret of his strength.

She weakened his deeds,

for

the Divine Presence departed from him

the Divine Presence departed from him after she removed his hair

.

As it is written -

“And he did not know that the Lord had departed from him”:

“And Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart” -

The Gemara asks:

From where did she know

that he had told her his heart? After all, he had told her several lies earlier, and she had found him to be a liar.

The Gemara answers:

Rabbi Hanin said in the name of Rabbi: Words of truth are recognizable

when a person speaks words of truth, they are accepted by the heart.

And since he told her that his hair was the cause of his strength, and she also saw that his hair was more grown than the hair of other people, she understood that what he had told her as well—that his great strength was because he was a nazirite of God—was true.

Abaye said -

for

she knew of that righteous man that he would not utter

that he would not bring forth

the Name of Heaven in vain.

Once he said

that the cause of his strength was because

“I am a nazirite of God,”

and he mentioned the Name of God.

She said

Delilah

Now surely he is speaking the truth,

for now he is speaking words of truth.

It is written in the verse -

“And it came to pass, when she tormented him”

Delilah

with her words all the days

that he should reveal to her the secret of where he derived his great strength,

and she pressed him -

What is the meaning of “and she pressed him”?

How did she succeed in forcing him to reveal his secret?

Rabbi Yitzhak of the school of Rabbi Ami said -

At the time of the completion of intercourse,

when a person’s desire is great,

she slipped away from beneath him,

and this forced him to reveal his secret:

It is written in the verse—that this angel warned Samson’s mother when she was pregnant—

“And now, beware, please, and do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything impure” -

What is the meaning of “anything impure”?

What impure things did the prophet tell her not to eat?

And furthermore,

and there is another difficulty: Is it the case that

until now

now

she had been eating impure things

things forbidden for consumption

.

Rabbi Yitzhak of the school of Rabbi Ami said -

Things forbidden to a nazirite

although he told her that since he would be a nazirite of God, she was forbidden to eat from the vine, and likewise forbidden to drink wine and strong drink, we still have no proof that she was forbidden to drink grape juice, meaning that if she soaked grapes in water and the water acquired the taste of wine, she would be forbidden to drink it. Therefore he told her that she was forbidden to consume anything impure.

It is written in the verse -

“And God split the mortar

the place where the tooth is fixed

that is in Lehi,”

for the Holy One, blessed be He, split the jawbone of the donkey, and a miracle occurred, and water emerged from there for the mighty Samson when he was thirsty -

Rabbi Yitzhak of the school of Rabbi Ami said -

He

behold

desired

he lusted

for an impure thing

to marry the daughter of a gentile woman.

Therefore his life was made dependent upon an impure thing

upon the jawbone of the donkey, through which a miracle was performed for him when he was thirsty, and water emerged from the donkey

.

It is written in the verse -

“And the spirit of the Lord began,” and so on -

Rabbi Hama bar Rabbi Hanina said

how is the verse interpreted?

Now

was fulfilled

was realized

the prophecy of Jacob our father -

As it is written

in the blessings of Jacob our father -

“Let Dan be a serpent on the road,”

for he compared Dan through the holy spirit to a serpent; and when Samson was born, Jacob’s prophecy was fulfilled, for Samson was from the tribe of Dan, and he was compared to a serpent on the road, for just as a serpent takes revenge and bears a grudge, so too Samson takes revenge and bears a grudge.

And what is the meaning of

“to move him in the camp of Dan”?

Rabbi Yitzhak of the school of Rabbi Ami said -

This teaches that the Divine Presence jingled before him like a bell

the Divine Presence, as it were, accompanied him wherever he went, like a pair of bells.

And from where do we know this?

It is written here

in Jacob’s blessings

“to move him in the camp of Dan,”

so that an expression of a bell is written.

And it is written there

concerning the High Priest, who wore a robe on which there were

“a bell and a pomegranate,”

and there the Divine Presence rested upon the High Priest.

It is written in the verse: “And the spirit of the Lord began to move him”

between Zorah and Eshtaol

and it implies that in the particular place between Zorah and Eshtaol the holy spirit began to move him, and what is this matter -

Rabbi Asi said -

Tzor'a and Eshtaol were two great mountains, and Samson uprooted them and ground them against each other

And between the two mountains Samson's strength began, and this is the place where the spirit of holiness of Jacob began to stir within him.

It is written in the verse: when the angel came to the wife of Manoah, Samson's mother, he said to her: “Behold, you are pregnant and will bear a son, who is destined to be called Samson the mighty,”

“and he will begin to save Israel.”