"עמוד על רגליך ויעידו בך": האם כולם שווים בפני החוק?

The king can neither judge nor be judged, he cannot testify and others cannot testify against him. He may not perform halitzah, nor may others perform halitzah for his wife. He may not contract levirate marriage nor may his brothers contract levirate marriage with his wife. Rabbi Judah says: “If he wished to perform halitzah or to contract levirate marriage his memory is a blessing.” They said to him: “They should not listen to him.” None may marry his widow. Rabbi Judah says: “The king may marry the widow of a king, for so have we found it with David, who married the widow of Saul, as it says, “And I gave you my master’s house and my master’s wives into your embrace” (II Samuel 12:8). If any of his near kin die he may not go out of the door of his palace. Rabbi Judah says: “If he wishes to follow the bier he may, since we have found that David followed the bier of Avner, as it says, “And King David followed the bier” (II Samuel 3:31) They answered, “That was only to appease the people.” When they feed him the funeral meal all the people sit on the floor and he sits on a couch.

And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Yo᾽av, and his servants with him, and all Yisra᾽el, and they ravaged the children of ῾Ammon, and besieged Rabba. But David tarried still at Yerushalayim. And it came to pass one evening, that David arose from his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very fair to look upon. And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bat-sheva, the daughter of Eli῾am, the wife of Uriyya the Ĥittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her; for she had purified herself from her uncleanness, and then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. And David sent to Yo᾽av, saying, Send me Uriyya the Ĥittite. And Yo᾽av sent Uriyya to David. And when Uriyya was come to him, David asked how Yo᾽av did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriyya, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriyya departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a portion of food from the king. But Uriyya slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. And when they had told David, saying, Uriyya went not down to his house, David said to Uriyya, Didst thou not come from a journey? why then didst thou not go down to thy house? And Uriyya said to David, The ark, and Yisra᾽el, and Yehuda, dwell in booths; and my lord Yo᾽av, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul lives, I will not do this thing. And David said to Uriyya, Remain here today also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriyya remained in Yerushalayim that day, and the morrow. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house. And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Yo᾽av, and sent it by the hand of Uriyya. And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set Uriyya in the forefront of the hottest battle, and withdraw from him, so that he may be hit, and die. And it came to pass, when Yo᾽av besieged the city, that he assigned Uriyya to a place where he knew that fighting men were. And the men of the city went out, and fought with Yo᾽av: and some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriyya the Ĥittite died also. Then Yo᾽av sent and told David all the things concerning the war; and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war to the king, and if so be that the king’s anger be roused, and he say to thee, Why did you approach so near to the city when you did fight? knew you not that they would shoot from the wall? Who smote Avimelekh the son of Yerubbeshet? did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Teveż? why did you go so near the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriyya the Ĥittite is dead also. So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Yo᾽av had sent him for. And the messenger said to David, Indeed, the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were engaged with them right up to the entrance of the gate. And the shooters shot from the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and thy servant Uriyya the Ĥittite is dead also. Then David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to Yo᾽av, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devours one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him. And when the wife of Uriyya heard that Uriyya her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord.

And the Lord sent Natan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds: but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and reared: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own bread, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him. And there came a traveller to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to prepare it for the wayfaring man that was come to him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared it for the man that was come to him. And David’s anger burned greatly against the man; and he said to Natan, As the Lord lives, the man that has done this is worthy to die: and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Natan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus says the Lord God of Yisra᾽el, I anointed thee king over Yisra᾽el, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Sha᾽ul; and I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Yisra᾽el and of Yehuda; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given thee as much again. Why hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriyya the Ĥittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of ῾Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriyya the Ĥittite to be thy wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thy own house, and I will take thy wives before thy eyes, and give them to thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Yisra᾽el, and before the sun. And David said to Natan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Natan said to David, The Lord also has commuted thy sin; thou shalt not die.

And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. And Ahab spoke unto Naboth, saying: ‘Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.’ And Naboth said to Ahab: ‘The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.’ And Ahab came into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said: ‘I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers.’ And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him: ‘Why is thy spirit so sullen, that thou eatest no bread?’ And he said unto her: ‘Because I spoke unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him: Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it; and he answered: I will not give thee my vineyard.’ And Jezebel his wife said unto him: ‘Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.’ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying: ‘Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people; and set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying: Thou didst curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he die.’ And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him; and the base fellows bore witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying: ‘Naboth did curse God and the king.’ Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying: ‘Naboth is stoned, and is dead.’ And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab: ‘Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.’ And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: ’Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwelleth in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to take possession of it. . And thou shalt speak unto him, saying: Thus saith the LORD: Hast thou killed, and also taken possessions? and thou shalt speak unto him, saying: Thus saith the LORD: In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.’ And Ahab said to Elijah: ‘Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?’ And he answered: ‘I have found thee; because thou hast given thyself over to do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away, and will cut off from Ahab every man-child, and him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel. And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked Me, and hast made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spoke the LORD, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the moat of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.’ But there was none like unto Ahab, who did give himself over to do that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softy. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: ’Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before Me? because he humbleth himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.’

§ The mishna teaches: A king does not judge and is not judged. Rav Yosef says: They taught this halakha only with regard to the kings of Israel, who were violent and disobedient of Torah laws, but with regard to the kings of the house of David, the king judges and is judged, as it is written: “O house of David, so says the Lord: Execute justice in the morning” (Jeremiah 21:12). If they do not judge him, how can he judge? But isn’t it written: “Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together [hitkosheshu vakoshu]” (Zephaniah 2:1), and Reish Lakish says: This verse teaches a moral principle: Adorn [kashet] yourself first, and then adorn others, i.e., one who is not subject to judgment may not judge others. Since it is understood from the verse in Jeremiah that kings from the Davidic dynasty can judge others, it is implicit that they can also be judged. The Gemara asks: But what is the reason that others do not judge the kings of Israel? It is because of an incident that happened, as the slave of Yannai the king killed a person. Shimon ben Shataḥ said to the Sages: Put your eyes on him and let us judge him. They sent word to Yannai: Your slave killed a person. Yannai sent the slave to them. They sent word to Yannai: You also come here, as the verse states with regard to an ox that gored a person to death: “He should be testified against with his owner” (Exodus 21:29). The Torah stated: The owner of the ox should come and stand over his ox. The Gemara continues to narrate the incident: Yannai came and sat down. Shimon ben Shataḥ said to him: Yannai the king, stand on your feet and witnesses will testify against you. And it is not before us that you are standing, to give us honor, but it is before the One Who spoke and the world came into being that you are standing, as it is stated: “Then both the people, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days” (Deuteronomy 19:17). Yannai the king said to him: I will not stand when you alone say this to me, but according to what your colleagues say, and if the whole court tells me, I will stand. Shimon ben Shataḥ turned to his right. The judges forced their faces to the ground out of fear and said nothing. He turned to his left, and they forced their faces to the ground and said nothing. Shimon ben Shataḥ said to them: You are masters of thoughts, enjoying your private thoughts, and not speaking. May the Master of thoughts, God, come and punish you. Immediately, the angel Gabriel came and struck those judges to the ground, and they died. At that moment, when they saw that the Sanhedrin does not have power to force the king to heed its instructions, the Sages said: A king does not judge others and others do not judge him, and he does not testify and others do not testify concerning him, due to the danger of the matter.