(יא) הֶחָמָ֥ס ׀ קָ֖ם לְמַטֵּה־רֶ֑שַׁע לֹא־מֵהֶ֞ם וְלֹ֧א מֵהֲמוֹנָ֛ם וְלֹ֥א מֶהֱמֵהֶ֖ם וְלֹא־נֹ֥הַּ בָּהֶֽם׃
(11) lawlessness has grown into a rod of wickedness. Nothing comes of them, nor of their abundance, nor of their wealth; nor is there preeminence among them.
(ט) אֹהֵ֥ב כֶּ֙סֶף֙ לֹא־יִשְׂבַּ֣ע כֶּ֔סֶף וּמִֽי־אֹהֵ֥ב בֶּהָמ֖וֹן לֹ֣א תְבוּאָ֑ה גַּם־זֶ֖ה הָֽבֶל׃
(9) A lover of money never has his fill of money, nor a lover of wealth his fill of income. That too is futile.
(ו) וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם יקוק כִּֽי־עָשָׂ֥ה אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּתְעַצֵּ֖ב אֶל־לִבּֽוֹ׃ (ז) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יקוק אֶמְחֶ֨ה אֶת־הָאָדָ֤ם אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֙אתִי֙ מֵעַל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה מֵֽאָדָם֙ עַד־בְּהֵמָ֔ה עַד־רֶ֖מֶשׂ וְעַד־ע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם כִּ֥י נִחַ֖מְתִּי כִּ֥י עֲשִׂיתִֽם׃ (ח) וְנֹ֕חַ מָ֥צָא חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֵ֥י יקוק׃ (פ)
(6) And the LORD regretted that He had made man on earth, and His heart was saddened. (7) The LORD said, “I will blot out from the earth the men whom I created—men together with beasts, creeping things, and birds of the sky; for I regret that I made them.” (8) But Noah found favor with the LORD.
(יא) בֵּין־שׁוּרֹתָ֥ם יַצְהִ֑ירוּ יְקָבִ֥ים דָּ֝רְכ֗וּ וַיִּצְמָֽאוּ׃
(11) Between rows [of olive trees] they make oil, And, thirsty, they tread the winepresses.
(י) שָׂנְא֥וּ בַשַּׁ֖עַר מוֹכִ֑יחַ וְדֹבֵ֥ר תָּמִ֖ים יְתָעֵֽבוּ׃
(10) They hate the arbiter in the gate, And detest him whose plea is just.
(ה) ק֣וֹל יקוק שֹׁבֵ֣ר אֲרָזִ֑ים וַיְשַׁבֵּ֥ר יקוק אֶת־אַרְזֵ֥י הַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃
(5) the voice of the LORD breaks cedars; the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
(ט) מֵ֭רֹב עֲשׁוּקִ֣ים יַזְעִ֑יקוּ יְשַׁוְּע֖וּ מִזְּר֣וֹעַ רַבִּֽים׃
(9) Because of contention the oppressed cry out; They shout because of the power of the great.
(יג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹקִ֜ים לְנֹ֗חַ קֵ֤ץ כָּל־בָּשָׂר֙ בָּ֣א לְפָנַ֔י כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֥ה הָאָ֛רֶץ חָמָ֖ס מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וְהִנְנִ֥י מַשְׁחִיתָ֖ם אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
(13) God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with lawlessness because of them: I am about to destroy them with the earth.
The prutah was an ancient copper Jewish coin with low value. A loaf of bread in ancient times was worth about 10 prutot (plural of prutah). One prutah was also worth two lepta (singular lepton), which was the smallest denomination minted by the Hasmonean and Herodian Dynasty kings.
(יז) הַֽ֭אֱנוֹשׁ מֵאֱל֣וֹקַ יִצְדָּ֑ק אִ֥ם מֵ֝עֹשֵׂ֗הוּ יִטְהַר־גָּֽבֶר׃ (יח) הֵ֣ן בַּ֭עֲבָדָיו לֹ֣א יַאֲמִ֑ין וּ֝בְמַלְאָכָ֗יו יָשִׂ֥ים תָּהֳלָֽה׃ (יט) אַ֤ף ׀ שֹׁכְנֵ֬י בָֽתֵּי־חֹ֗מֶר אֲשֶׁר־בֶּעָפָ֥ר יְסוֹדָ֑ם יְ֝דַכְּא֗וּם לִפְנֵי־עָֽשׁ׃ (כ) מִבֹּ֣קֶר לָעֶ֣רֶב יֻכַּ֑תּוּ מִבְּלִ֥י מֵ֝שִׂ֗ים לָנֶ֥צַח יֹאבֵֽדוּ׃ (כא) הֲלֹא־נִסַּ֣ע יִתְרָ֣ם בָּ֑ם יָ֝מ֗וּתוּ וְלֹ֣א בְחָכְמָֽה׃
(17) “Can mortals be acquitted by God? Can man be cleared by his Maker? (18) If He cannot trust His own servants, And casts reproach on His angels, (19) How much less those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose origin is dust, Who are crushed like the moth, (20) Shattered between daybreak and evening, Perishing forever, unnoticed. (21) Their cord is pulled up And they die, and not with wisdom.”
(ב) הֲנִסָּ֬ה דָבָ֣ר אֵלֶ֣יךָ תִּלְאֶ֑ה וַעְצֹ֥ר בְּ֝מִלִּ֗ין מִ֣י יוּכָֽל׃
(2) If one ventures a word with you, will it be too much? But who can hold back his words?
(א) וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר תָּשִׂ֖ים לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃
(1) These are the rules that you shall set before them:
(לה) חֲמָסִ֤י וּשְׁאֵרִי֙ עַל־בָּבֶ֔ל תֹּאמַ֖ר יֹשֶׁ֣בֶת צִיּ֑וֹן וְדָמִי֙ אֶל־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י כַשְׂדִּ֔ים תֹּאמַ֖ר יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ (ס)
(35) Let the violence done me and my kindred Be upon Babylon,” Says the inhabitant of Zion; “And let my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,” Says Jerusalem.
(יז) נִבְעַ֤ר כָּל־אָדָם֙ מִדַּ֔עַת הֹבִ֥ישׁ כָּל־צֹרֵ֖ף מִפָּ֑סֶל כִּ֛י שֶׁ֥קֶר נִסְכּ֖וֹ וְלֹא־ר֥וּחַ בָּֽם׃ (יח) הֶ֣בֶל הֵ֔מָּה מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה תַּעְתֻּעִ֑ים בְּעֵ֥ת פְּקֻדָּתָ֖ם יֹאבֵֽדוּ׃ (יט) לֹֽא־כְאֵ֜לֶּה חֵ֣לֶק יַעֲק֗וֹב כִּֽי־יוֹצֵ֤ר הַכֹּל֙ ה֔וּא וְשֵׁ֖בֶט נַחֲלָת֑וֹ יקוק צְבָא֖וֹת שְׁמֽוֹ׃ (ס)
(17) Every man is proved dull, without knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame because of the idol, For his molten image is a deceit— There is no breath in them. (18) They are delusion, a work of mockery; In their hour of doom, they shall perish. (19) Not like these in the Portion of Jacob, For it is He who formed all things; And [Israel is] His very own tribe. LORD of Hosts is His name.
(יט) מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ לִשְׁמָמָ֣ה תִֽהְיֶ֔ה וֶאֱד֕וֹם לְמִדְבַּ֥ר שְׁמָמָ֖ה תִּֽהְיֶ֑ה מֵֽחֲמַס֙ בְּנֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־שָׁפְכ֥וּ דָם־נָקִ֖יא בְּאַרְצָֽם׃
(19) Egypt shall be a desolation, And Edom a desolate waste, Because of the outrage to the people of Judah, In whose land they shed the blood of the innocent.
(כו) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹקִ֔ים נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥ה אָדָ֛ם בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּ כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּ וְיִרְדּוּ֩ בִדְגַ֨ת הַיָּ֜ם וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה֙ וּבְכָל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּבְכָל־הָרֶ֖מֶשׂ הָֽרֹמֵ֥שׂ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
(26) And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.”
(טו) וַיִּקַּ֛ח יקוק אֱלֹקִ֖ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּ בְגַן־עֵ֔דֶן לְעָבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשָׁמְרָֽהּ׃
(15) The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it.
(יד) עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ תֵּבַ֣ת עֲצֵי־גֹ֔פֶר קִנִּ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֶת־הַתֵּבָ֑ה וְכָֽפַרְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֛הּ מִבַּ֥יִת וּמִח֖וּץ בַּכֹּֽפֶר׃
(14) Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make it an ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
Gopher Wood
Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible for the substance from which Noah's ark was built. Genesis 6:14 states that Noah was to build the Ark of gofer (Hebrew גפר), more commonly transliterated as gopher wood, a word not otherwise known in the Bible or in Hebrew. Although some English Bibles attempt a translation, older English translations, including the King James Version (17th century), leave it untranslated. The word is unrelated to the name of the North American animal, the gopher.[1]
Identity[edit]
The Greek Septuagint (3rd–1st centuries BC) translated it as xylon tetragonon, squared timber.[2] Similarly, the Latin Vulgate (5th century AD) rendered it as lignis levigatis (lævigatis, in the Clementine Vulgate), smoothed (possibly planed) wood.
The Jewish Encyclopedia believes it was most likely a translation of the Babylonian gushure iṣ erini, cedar beams, or the Assyrian giparu, reeds.[3] The Aramaic Targum Onkelos, considered by many Jews to be an authoritative translation of the Hebrew scripture renders this word as qadros, cedar. The Syriac Peshitta translates this word as arqa, box.[4]
Many modern English translations tend to favor cypress (although otherwise the word for "cypress" in Biblical Hebrew is berosh). This was espoused (among others) by Adam Clarke, a Methodist theologian famous for his commentary on the Bible: Clarke cited the resemblance between Greek word for cypress, kuparisson and the Hebrew word gophar.
Other suggestions include pine, cedar, fir, teak, sandalwood, ebony, wicker, juniper, acacia, boxwood, slimed bulrushes, and resinous wood.
Others, noting the physical similarity between the Hebrew letters g (gimel ג) and k (kaf כ), suggest that the word may actually be kopher, the Hebrew word meaning "pitch"; thus kopher wood would be "pitched wood". Recent suggestions have included a lamination process (to strengthen the Ark), or a now-lost type of tree, but there is no consensus.[5]
Gopher wood or gopherwood is a term used once in the Bible for the substance from which Noah's ark was built. Genesis 6:14 states that Noah was to build the Ark of gofer (Hebrew גפר), more commonly transliterated as gopher wood, a word not otherwise known in the Bible or in Hebrew. Although some English Bibles attempt a translation, older English translations, including the King James Version (17th century), leave it untranslated. The word is unrelated to the name of the North American animal, the gopher.[1]
Identity[edit]
The Greek Septuagint (3rd–1st centuries BC) translated it as xylon tetragonon, squared timber.[2] Similarly, the Latin Vulgate (5th century AD) rendered it as lignis levigatis (lævigatis, in the Clementine Vulgate), smoothed (possibly planed) wood.
The Jewish Encyclopedia believes it was most likely a translation of the Babylonian gushure iṣ erini, cedar beams, or the Assyrian giparu, reeds.[3] The Aramaic Targum Onkelos, considered by many Jews to be an authoritative translation of the Hebrew scripture renders this word as qadros, cedar. The Syriac Peshitta translates this word as arqa, box.[4]
Many modern English translations tend to favor cypress (although otherwise the word for "cypress" in Biblical Hebrew is berosh). This was espoused (among others) by Adam Clarke, a Methodist theologian famous for his commentary on the Bible: Clarke cited the resemblance between Greek word for cypress, kuparisson and the Hebrew word gophar.
Other suggestions include pine, cedar, fir, teak, sandalwood, ebony, wicker, juniper, acacia, boxwood, slimed bulrushes, and resinous wood.
Others, noting the physical similarity between the Hebrew letters g (gimel ג) and k (kaf כ), suggest that the word may actually be kopher, the Hebrew word meaning "pitch"; thus kopher wood would be "pitched wood". Recent suggestions have included a lamination process (to strengthen the Ark), or a now-lost type of tree, but there is no consensus.[5]
(ב) בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֗יא אָמַ֤ר יקוק אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ עֲשֵׂ֥ה לְךָ֖ חַֽרְב֣וֹת צֻרִ֑ים וְשׁ֛וּב מֹ֥ל אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל שֵׁנִֽית׃
(2) At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and proceed with a second circumcision of the Israelites.”
(ב) עֲשֵׂ֣ה לְךָ֗ שְׁתֵּי֙ חֲצֽוֹצְרֹ֣ת כֶּ֔סֶף מִקְשָׁ֖ה תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֹתָ֑ם וְהָי֤וּ לְךָ֙ לְמִקְרָ֣א הָֽעֵדָ֔ה וּלְמַסַּ֖ע אֶת־הַֽמַּחֲנֽוֹת׃
(2) Have two silver trumpets made; make them of hammered work. They shall serve you to summon the community and to set the divisions in motion.
(ח) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יקוק אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ שָׂרָ֔ף וְשִׂ֥ים אֹת֖וֹ עַל־נֵ֑ס וְהָיָה֙ כָּל־הַנָּשׁ֔וּךְ וְרָאָ֥ה אֹת֖וֹ וָחָֽי׃ (ט) וַיַּ֤עַשׂ מֹשֶׁה֙ נְחַ֣שׁ נְחֹ֔שֶׁת וַיְשִׂמֵ֖הוּ עַל־הַנֵּ֑ס וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־נָשַׁ֤ךְ הַנָּחָשׁ֙ אֶת־אִ֔ישׁ וְהִבִּ֛יט אֶל־נְחַ֥שׁ הַנְּחֹ֖שֶׁת וָחָֽי׃
(8) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a seraph figure and mount it on a standard. And if anyone who is bitten looks at it, he shall recover.” (9) Moses made a copper serpent and mounted it on a standard; and when anyone was bitten by a serpent, he would look at the copper serpent and recover.
(ה) יִשְׁמַ֣ע חָ֭כָם וְי֣וֹסֶף לֶ֑קַח וְ֝נָב֗וֹן תַּחְבֻּל֥וֹת יִקְנֶֽה׃
(5) —The wise man, hearing them, will gain more wisdom; The discerning man will learn to be adroit;
אָמַר רַבִּי תַּנְחוּמָא נָשָׂא אָדָם אִשָּׁה מִקְרוֹבוֹתָיו, עָלָיו הוּא אוֹמֵר עֶצֶם מֵעֲצָמַי. לְזֹאת יִקָּרֵא אִשָּׁה כִּי מֵאִישׁ לֻקֳּחָה זֹּאת, מִכָּאן שֶׁנִּתְּנָה הַתּוֹרָה בְּלָשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ. רַבִּי פִּינְחָס וְרַבִּי חִלְקִיָּה בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי סִימוֹן אָמְרֵי כְּשֵׁם שֶׁנִּתְּנָה תּוֹרָה בְּלָשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ כָּךְ נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם בְּלָשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ, שָׁמַעְתָּ מִיָּמֶיךָ אוֹמֵר גִּינִי גִּינְיָא אַנְתְּרוֹפִי אַנְתְּרוֹפָא, גַּבְרָא גַּבְרְתָא, אֶלָא אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה, לָמָּה, שֶׁהַלָּשׁוֹן הַזֶּה נוֹפֵל עַל הַלָּשׁוֹן הַזֶּה.
Rabbi Tanhuma said: if a man marries a relative, of him it is written: "bone of my bones." "This one shall be called 'woman' because she was taken from man." From here we learn that Torah was given in Hebrew. Rabbi Pinchas and Rabbi Hilkiya in the name of Rabbi Simon said: just as the Torah was given in Hebrew, so too the world was created in Hebrew. You have heard it said: 'man' and 'woman' [in other languages as distinct words, unrelated to each other], so why ish and isha [the words for 'man' and 'woman' in Hebrew, which are related to each other]? Because this word falls from this word [and, hence, the grammatical inconsistency is explained if the Torah was given in Hebrew].
Gini - woman in Greek
Antropi - man in Greek
Gavra - man in Aramaic
Antropi - man in Greek
Gavra - man in Aramaic
(יד) עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ תֵּבַ֣ת עֲצֵי־גֹ֔פֶר קִנִּ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֶת־הַתֵּבָ֑ה וְכָֽפַרְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֛הּ מִבַּ֥יִת וּמִח֖וּץ בַּכֹּֽפֶר׃
(14) Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make it an ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
(ד) וְצִוָּה֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְלָקַ֧ח לַמִּטַּהֵ֛ר שְׁתֵּֽי־צִפֳּרִ֥ים חַיּ֖וֹת טְהֹר֑וֹת וְעֵ֣ץ אֶ֔רֶז וּשְׁנִ֥י תוֹלַ֖עַת וְאֵזֹֽב׃
(4) the priest shall order two live clean birds, cedar wood, crimson stuff, and hyssop to be brought for him who is to be cleansed.
(ג) וְלֹא־יָכְלָ֣ה עוֹד֮ הַצְּפִינוֹ֒ וַתִּֽקַּֽח־לוֹ֙ תֵּ֣בַת גֹּ֔מֶא וַתַּחְמְרָ֥ה בַחֵמָ֖ר וּבַזָּ֑פֶת וַתָּ֤שֶׂם בָּהּ֙ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד וַתָּ֥שֶׂם בַּסּ֖וּף עַל־שְׂפַ֥ת הַיְאֹֽר׃
(3) When she could hide him no longer, she got a wicker basket for him and caulked it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child into it and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.
(יד) עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ תֵּבַ֣ת עֲצֵי־גֹ֔פֶר קִנִּ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֶת־הַתֵּבָ֑ה וְכָֽפַרְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֛הּ מִבַּ֥יִת וּמִח֖וּץ בַּכֹּֽפֶר׃
(14) Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make it an ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
(ג) וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ הוּסַ֣ד שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה לִבְנ֖וֹת אֶת־בֵּ֣ית הָאֱלֹקִ֑ים הָאֹ֡רֶךְ אַמּ֞וֹת בַּמִּדָּ֤ה הָרִֽאשׁוֹנָה֙ אַמּ֣וֹת שִׁשִּׁ֔ים וְרֹ֖חַב אַמּ֥וֹת עֶשְׂרִֽים׃
(3) These were the dimensions Solomon established for building the House of God: its length in cubits, by the former measure, was 60, and its breadth was 20.
| Amah (Amot) | (אמה (אמות | 48.16–57.30 cm |
(ח) דָּבָר אַחֵר, וַיֵּצֵא בֶּן אִשָּׁה יִשְׂרְאֵלִית, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (קהלת ד, א): וְשַׁבְתִּי אֲנִי וָאֶרְאֶה אֶת כָּל הָעֲשׁוּקִים, דָּנִיֵּאל חַיָּטָא פָּתַר קְרָיָה בַּמַּמְזֵרִים, (קהלת ד, א): וְהִנֵּה דִּמְעַת הָעֲשׁוּקִים, אֲבוֹתָם שֶׁל אֵלּוּ עוֹבְרֵי עֲבֵרוֹת, וְאִילֵין עֲלוּבַיָא מַה אִכְפַּת לְהוֹן, כָּךְ אָבִיו שֶׁל זֶה בָּא עַל הָעֶרְוָה זֶה מַה חָטָא וּמָה אִכְפַּת לוֹ, (קהלת ד, א): וְאֵין לָהֶם מְנַחֵם, אֶלָּא (קהלת ד, א): מִיַּד עשְׁקֵיהֶם כֹּחַ, מִיַּד סַנְהֶדְּרֵי גְדוֹלָה שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁבָּאָה עֲלֵיהֶם מִכֹּחָהּ שֶׁל תּוֹרָה וּמְרַחַקְתָּן עַל שׁוּם (דברים כג, ג): לֹא יָבֹא מַמְזֵר בִּקְהַל יקוק. (קהלת ד, א): וְאֵין לָהֶם מְנַחֵם, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עָלַי לְנַחֲמָן, לְפִי שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה יֵשׁ בָּהֶן פְּסֹלֶת אֲבָל לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא אָמַר זְכַרְיָה אֲנָא חֲמִיתֵּיהּ אָלוֹ כּוּרְסוֹן כֻּלּוֹ דְּהַב נְקֵי, הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב (זכריה ד, ב): רָאִיתִי וְהִנֵּה מְנוֹרַת זָהָב כֻּלָּהּ וְגֻלָּהּ עַל רֹאשָׁהּ, תְּרֵין אָמוֹרָאִין, חַד אֲמַר גֻּלָּהּ, וְחַד אֲמַר גּוֹאֲלָהּ. מַאן דַּאֲמַר גֻּלָּהּ, שֶׁגֻּלָּה לְבָבֶל וְגָלַת שְׁכִינָה עִמָּהֶן, כִּדְאֲמַר (ישעיה מג, יד): לְמַעַנְכֶם שִׁלַּחְתִּי בָּבֶלָה, וּמַאן דַּאֲמַר גּוֹאֲלָהּ, פָּרוֹקָא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה מז, ד): גֹּאֲלֵנוּ יקוק צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ, וּכְתִיב (מיכה ב, יג): עָלָה הַפֹּרֵץ לִפְנֵיהֶם פָּרְצוּ וַיַּעֲבֹרוּ שַׁעַר וַיַּעֲבֹר מַלְכָּם לִפְנֵיהֶם וַיקוק בְּרֹאשָׁם.
(8) Another teaching about "A son of an Israelite woman went out" - Regarding that which is written "I returned and saw all of the oppression" (Kohelet 4:1), Daniel the Tailor interpreted the verse as referring to Mamzerim. "The tears of the oppressed", the fathers of these sinned, and these [the children] are shamed, how does it concern them? So too, this one's father committed incest, what is the child's sin, and how does it concern him? "And they have no comforter", rather "their oppressors are empowered", this refers to Israel's Great Sanhedrin, who comes at them with the power of Torah, and pushes them away in the name of "a mamzer will not enter the community of the Lord." (Devarim 23:3). "They have no comforter" - says the Holy Blessed One: it is upon me to comfort them; in this world they are cast aside, but in the future, as Zecharia said, "I see a people all of gold", as it is written (Zechariah 4:2) “I see a menorah all of gold, with a bowl [gulah] above it". Two speak; one says "an exile [gulah]" and one says "a redeemer [goalah]". According to the one who says exile, that they were exiled to Babylon and the Shechina was exiled with them, as it says (Isaiah 43:14) "For your sake I send to Babylon". And according to the one who says a redeemer [goalah], a redeemer [paroka], as it says (Isaiah 47:4 "Our redeemer, the LORD of Hosts is Their Name", and it is written (Micah 2:14) "One who makes a breach goes before them; they enlarge it to a gate... [and leave by it]. Their king marches before them, God at their heads".
(טו) בְּפִקֻּדֶ֥יךָ אָשִׂ֑יחָה וְ֝אַבִּ֗יטָה אֹרְחֹתֶֽיךָ׃ (טז) בְּחֻקֹּתֶ֥יךָ אֶֽשְׁתַּעֲשָׁ֑ע לֹ֭א אֶשְׁכַּ֣ח דְּבָרֶֽךָ׃
(15) I study Your precepts; I regard Your ways; (16) I take delight in Your laws; I will not neglect Your word.
Luminescent Gems
First, it will be useful to introduce some mineralogical terminology for gemstones that can glow when exposed to light, friction, or heat. Note that the following discussion will omit modern techniques such as X-rays and ultraviolet light that are too recent to have influenced folklore about luminous gems. Luminescence is spontaneous emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat, as distinguished from incandescence, which is light emitted by a substance as a result of heating. Luminescence is caused by the absorption of energy that is released in small amounts. When the energy comes from light or other electromagnetic radiation, it is referred to as photoluminescence; which is divisible between fluorescence when the glow ceases immediately with the excitation and phosphorescence when the glow continues beyond the period of excitation. Two types of luminescent phenomena are relevant to crystalline materials. Triboluminescence generates light through the breaking of chemical bonds in a material when it is rubbed, pulled apart, scratched, or crushed. Thermoluminescence re-emits previously absorbed electromagnetic radiation upon being heated (e.g., thermoluminescence dating).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tribo.ogv
In Classical antiquity, the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484-425 BCE) was the first European to describe luminous gems. The temple of Heracles at Tyre had two great columns, one of gold, the other of smaragdos ( σμάραγδος, "green gems including emerald") that "shone brightly at night" (Harvey 1957: 33, suggesting the phosphorescent "false emerald" type of fluorspar). Ball says that the "wily priests doubtless enclosed a lamp in hollow green glass, to mislead the credulous". The Pseudo-Plutarch "On Rivers", probably written by the Greek grammarian Parthenius of Nicaea (d. 14 CE), states that in the Sakarya River the Aster (ἀστήρ, "star") gem is found, "which flames in the dark", and thus called Ballen (the "King") in the Phrygian language (King 1867: 9). The Roman author Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE) described the chrysolampis as an eastern gem, "pale by day but of a fiery luster by night" (Ball 1938: 499). The Syrian rhetorician Lucian (c. 125-180 CE) describes a statue of the Syrian goddess Atargatis in Hierapolis Bambyce (present-day Manbij) with a gem on her head called Greek lychnis (λύχνος, "lamp; light") (Schafer 1963: 237). "From this stone flashes a great light in the night-time, so that the whole temple gleams brightly as by the light of myriads of candles, but in the daytime the brightness grows faint; the gem has the likeness of a bright fire." (
[New edit made by, ahem, me]
Rabbinic Judaism includes a number of references to luminous gems. Genesis Rabbah describes the Tzoar which illuminates Noah's Ark (Genesis 6:16) as a gemstone which was bright at night and dim during the day[1] (the King James Version translates as 'window'). The first century Rabbi, Rav Huna, says he was fleeing from Roman soldiers and hid in a cave illuminated by a light that was brighter in the night and darker in the day.
First, it will be useful to introduce some mineralogical terminology for gemstones that can glow when exposed to light, friction, or heat. Note that the following discussion will omit modern techniques such as X-rays and ultraviolet light that are too recent to have influenced folklore about luminous gems. Luminescence is spontaneous emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat, as distinguished from incandescence, which is light emitted by a substance as a result of heating. Luminescence is caused by the absorption of energy that is released in small amounts. When the energy comes from light or other electromagnetic radiation, it is referred to as photoluminescence; which is divisible between fluorescence when the glow ceases immediately with the excitation and phosphorescence when the glow continues beyond the period of excitation. Two types of luminescent phenomena are relevant to crystalline materials. Triboluminescence generates light through the breaking of chemical bonds in a material when it is rubbed, pulled apart, scratched, or crushed. Thermoluminescence re-emits previously absorbed electromagnetic radiation upon being heated (e.g., thermoluminescence dating).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tribo.ogv
In Classical antiquity, the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484-425 BCE) was the first European to describe luminous gems. The temple of Heracles at Tyre had two great columns, one of gold, the other of smaragdos ( σμάραγδος, "green gems including emerald") that "shone brightly at night" (Harvey 1957: 33, suggesting the phosphorescent "false emerald" type of fluorspar). Ball says that the "wily priests doubtless enclosed a lamp in hollow green glass, to mislead the credulous". The Pseudo-Plutarch "On Rivers", probably written by the Greek grammarian Parthenius of Nicaea (d. 14 CE), states that in the Sakarya River the Aster (ἀστήρ, "star") gem is found, "which flames in the dark", and thus called Ballen (the "King") in the Phrygian language (King 1867: 9). The Roman author Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE) described the chrysolampis as an eastern gem, "pale by day but of a fiery luster by night" (Ball 1938: 499). The Syrian rhetorician Lucian (c. 125-180 CE) describes a statue of the Syrian goddess Atargatis in Hierapolis Bambyce (present-day Manbij) with a gem on her head called Greek lychnis (λύχνος, "lamp; light") (Schafer 1963: 237). "From this stone flashes a great light in the night-time, so that the whole temple gleams brightly as by the light of myriads of candles, but in the daytime the brightness grows faint; the gem has the likeness of a bright fire." (
[New edit made by, ahem, me]
Rabbinic Judaism includes a number of references to luminous gems. Genesis Rabbah describes the Tzoar which illuminates Noah's Ark (Genesis 6:16) as a gemstone which was bright at night and dim during the day[1] (the King James Version translates as 'window'). The first century Rabbi, Rav Huna, says he was fleeing from Roman soldiers and hid in a cave illuminated by a light that was brighter in the night and darker in the day.
(א) עוד כל ימי הארץ וגו' לא ישבתו. ו' עִתִּים הַלָּלוּ שְׁנֵי חֳדָשִׁים לְכָל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד, כְּמוֹ שֶׁשָּׁנִינוּ חֲצִי תִשְׁרֵי וּמַרְחֶשְׁוָן וַחֲצִי כִסְלֵו זֶרַע, חֲצִי כִסְלֵו וְטֵבֵת וַחֲצִי שְׁבָט קֹר (חֹרֶף) (ב"מ ק"ו): (ב) קור. קָשֶׁה מֵחֹרֶף: (ג) חרף. עֵת זֶרַע שְׂעוֹרִים וְקִטְנִית הַחֲרִיפִין לְהִתְבַּשֵּׁל מַהֵר, וְהוּא חֲצִי שְׁבָט וַאֲדָר וַחֲצִי נִיסָן: (ד) קציר. חֲצִי נִיסָן וְאִיָּר וַחֲצִי סִיוָן: (ה) קיץ. חֲצִי סִיוָן תַּמּוּז וַחֲצִי אָב, הוּא זְמַן לְקִיטַת תְּאֵנִים וּזְמַן שֶׁמְּיַבְּשִׁים אוֹתָן בַּשָּׂדוֹת, וּשְׁמוֹ קַיִץ, כְּמוֹ הַלֶּחֶם וְהַקַּיִץ לֶאֱכוֹל הַנְּעָרִים (ש"ב ט"ז): (ו) חום. הוּא סוֹף יְמוֹת הַחַמָּה, חֲצִי אָב וֶאֱלוּל וַחֲצִי תִשְׁרֵי, שֶׁהָעוֹלָם חַם בְּיוֹתֵר; כְּמוֹ שֶׁשָּׁנִינוּ בְּמַסֶּכֶת יוֹמָא שִׁלְהֵי קַיְיטָא קָשֵׁי מִקַּיְיטָא: (ז) ויום ולילה לא ישבתו. מִכְּלָל שֶׁשָּׁבְתוּ כָּל יְמוֹת הַמַּבּוּל, שֶׁלֹּא שִׁמְּשׁוּ הַמַּזָּלוֹת, וְלֹא נִכַּר בֵּין יוֹם וּבֵין לַיְלָה (ב"ר פכ"ה ופ' ל"ד): (ח) לא ישבתו. לֹא יִפְסְקוּ כָּל אֵלֶה מִלְּהִתְנַהֵג כְּסִדְרָן:
(1) עוד כל ימי הארץ וגו' לא ישבתו WHILE THE EARTH REMAINETH … SHALL NOT CEASE — Of these six seasons each consists of two months, as we have learned (Bava Metzia 106b): Half of Tishri, Marcheshvan and half of Kislev is seedtime; half of Kislev, Tebeth and half of Shebat is the cold-season. (2) קור COLD-SEASON is more severe than חורף winter. (3) חורף WINTER is the time of sowing barley and pulse which are quick (חריף) to ripen. It is half of Shebat, Adar and half of Nisan. (4) קציר HARVEST — Half of Nisan, Eyar, and half of Sivan. (5) קיץ SUMMER — Half of Sivan, Tammuz and half of Ab. This is the time of fig-gathering, the time when they lay them out to dry in the fields. and its name is קיץ “summer-fruittime”, as (2 Samuel 16:2) “And the bread and the summer-fruit (קיץ) for the young men to eat”. (6) חום HEAT — This is the end of the hot season, half of Ab, Elul and half of Tishri, when the world is excessively hot, as we have learned in Treatise Yoma 29a: “The end of the summer is worse than the summer itself”. (7) ויום ולילה לא ישבתו DAY AND NIGHT SHALL NOT CEASE — From this we may infer that they (day and night) ceased during the period of the Flood, for the planetary system did not function, so that there was no distinction between day and night (Genesis Rabbah 34:11). (8) לא ישבתו SHALL NOT CEASE — None of these shall cease to take their natural course.
(טז) אִיזֵל לְפִישׁוֹן וְסַב מִתַּמָן יוֹהֲרָא וְתִשְׁוִנֵיהּ בְּתֵיבוּתָא לְאַנְהָרָא לְכוֹן וּלְגַרְמִידָא תְשֵׁצִינֵיהּ מִלְעֵיל וְתַרְעָא דְתֵיבוּתָא בְּצִטְרָא תְשַׁוֵי מְדוֹרִין תַּתָּאִין תִּנְיָנִין וּתְלִיתָאִין תַּעַבְדִינֵהּ
(16) Go thou unto Phison, and take from thence a precious stone, and fix it in the ark to illuminate you: with the measure of a cubit (or span) shalt thou complete it above. And a door shalt thou set in the side of the ark; and with dwelling-places, inferior, second, and third, shalt thou make it.
צוהר תעשה לתיבה א"ר יוחנן אמר לו הקב"ה לנח קבע בה אבנים טובות ומרגליות כדי שיהיו מאירות לכם כצהרים
With regard to the verse: “A tzohar you shall make for the ark” (Genesis 6:16), Rabbi Yoḥanan says that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Noah: Set precious stones and jewels in the ark so that they will shine for you as the afternoon [tzohorayim] sun.
כתנאי (בראשית כד, א) ויקוק ברך את אברהם בכל מאי בכל רבי מאיר אומר שלא היתה לו בת רבי יהודה אומר שהיתה לו בת אחרים אומרים בת היתה לו לאברהם ובכל שמה רבי אלעזר המודעי אומר איצטגנינות היתה בלבו של אברהם אבינו שכל מלכי מזרח ומערב משכימין לפתחו רבי שמעון בן יוחי אומר אבן טובה היתה תלויה בצוארו של אברהם אבינו שכל חולה הרואה אותו מיד מתרפא ובשעה שנפטר אברהם אבינו מן העולם תלאה הקדוש ברוך הוא בגלגל חמה אמר אביי היינו דאמרי אינשי אידלי יומא אידלי קצירא
The Gemara comments that this disagreement is parallel to a dispute between tanna’im: The Torah states: “And the Lord blessed Abraham with everything [bakkol]” (Genesis 24:1), and the Sages disagree about what bakkol means. Rabbi Meir says: The blessing is that he did not have a daughter. Rabbi Yehuda says: On the contrary, the blessing was that he had a daughter. Others say: Abraham had a daughter and her name was Bakkol. Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i says: Abraham our forefather was so knowledgeable in astrology [itztagninut] that all the kings of the East and the West would come early to his door due to his wisdom. This is the blessing of bakkol, that he possessed knowledge that everybody needed. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: A precious stone hung around the neck of Abraham our forefather; any sick person who looked at it would immediately be healed. When Abraham our forefather died, the Holy One, Blessed be He, hung this stone from the sphere of the sun, which from that point on brought healing to the sick. Abaye said: This explains the adage that people say: As the day progresses, sickness is lifted.
"The Queen of Sheba and Her only Son Menyelek,"
Translated by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge includes this verse:
"How the House of Solomon the King was illuminated as by day, for in his wisdom he had made shining pearls which were like unto the sun, the moon and the stars in the roof of his house."
The genealogy of the new Solomonic dynasty was published in the early 14th century in the Kebra negast (“Glory of the Kings”), a collection of legends that related the birth of Menilek I, associated Ethiopia with the Judeo-Christian tradition, and provided a basis for Ethiopian national unity through the Solomonic dynasty, Semitic culture, and the Amharic language.
Translated by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge includes this verse:
"How the House of Solomon the King was illuminated as by day, for in his wisdom he had made shining pearls which were like unto the sun, the moon and the stars in the roof of his house."
The genealogy of the new Solomonic dynasty was published in the early 14th century in the Kebra negast (“Glory of the Kings”), a collection of legends that related the birth of Menilek I, associated Ethiopia with the Judeo-Christian tradition, and provided a basis for Ethiopian national unity through the Solomonic dynasty, Semitic culture, and the Amharic language.
(טו) וְזֶ֕ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֖ה אֹתָ֑הּ שְׁלֹ֧שׁ מֵא֣וֹת אַמָּ֗ה אֹ֚רֶךְ הַתֵּבָ֔ה חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים אַמָּה֙ רָחְבָּ֔הּ וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים אַמָּ֖ה קוֹמָתָֽהּ׃ (טז) צֹ֣הַר ׀ תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה לַתֵּבָ֗ה וְאֶל־אַמָּה֙ תְּכַלֶ֣נָּה מִלְמַ֔עְלָה וּפֶ֥תַח הַתֵּבָ֖ה בְּצִדָּ֣הּ תָּשִׂ֑ים תַּחְתִּיִּ֛ם שְׁנִיִּ֥ם וּשְׁלִשִׁ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶֽׂהָ׃
(15) This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. (16) Make an opening for daylight in the ark, and terminate it within a cubit of the top. Put the entrance to the ark in its side; make it with bottom, second, and third decks.
I had a problem with Sefaria at this point!
And put a number of supplementary sources for 31:11-12 here ... there be giants here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qtoWI7KFxNx8QrmCZT42vKuSYeIYLqvI6fwT7n8pb44/
See also this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IMBJyztU2Q
Giants and Noah in the movies
And put a number of supplementary sources for 31:11-12 here ... there be giants here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qtoWI7KFxNx8QrmCZT42vKuSYeIYLqvI6fwT7n8pb44/
See also this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IMBJyztU2Q
Giants and Noah in the movies
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch;[1] Ge'ez: መጽሐፈ ሄኖክ maṣḥafa hēnok) is an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah.[2][3] Enoch contains unique material on the origins of demons and giants, why some angels fell from heaven, an explanation of why the Great Flood was morally necessary, and prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah.
The older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) of the text are estimated to date from about 300–200 BC, and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably to 100 BC.[4]
Various Aramaic fragments found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as Koine Greek and Latin fragments, were proof that The Book of Enoch was known by Jews and early Christians. This book was also quoted by some 1st and 2nd century authors as in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. Authors of the New Testament were also familiar with some content of the story.[5] A short section of 1 Enoch (1:9) is cited in the New Testament, Epistle of Jude, Jude 1:14–15, and is attributed there to "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" (1 En 60:8), although this section of 1 Enoch is a midrash on Deuteronomy 33:2. Several copies of the earlier sections of 1 Enoch were preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls.[3]
It is wholly extant only in the Ge'ez language, with Aramaic fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls and a few Greek and Latin fragments. For this and other reasons, the traditional Ethiopian belief is that the original language of the work was Ge'ez, whereas modern scholars argue that it was first written in either Aramaic or Hebrew; Ephraim Isaac suggests that the Book of Enoch, like the Book of Daniel, was composed partially in Aramaic and partially in Hebrew.[6]:6 No Hebrew version is known to have survived. It is asserted in the book itself that its author was Enoch, before the Biblical Flood.
The most complete Book of Enoch comes from Ethiopic manuscripts, maṣḥafa hēnok, written in Ge'ez; which was brought to Europe by James Bruce in the late 18th century and was translated into English in the 19th century.
The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch;[1] Ge'ez: መጽሐፈ ሄኖክ maṣḥafa hēnok) is an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah.[2][3] Enoch contains unique material on the origins of demons and giants, why some angels fell from heaven, an explanation of why the Great Flood was morally necessary, and prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah.
The older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) of the text are estimated to date from about 300–200 BC, and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably to 100 BC.[4]
Various Aramaic fragments found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as Koine Greek and Latin fragments, were proof that The Book of Enoch was known by Jews and early Christians. This book was also quoted by some 1st and 2nd century authors as in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. Authors of the New Testament were also familiar with some content of the story.[5] A short section of 1 Enoch (1:9) is cited in the New Testament, Epistle of Jude, Jude 1:14–15, and is attributed there to "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" (1 En 60:8), although this section of 1 Enoch is a midrash on Deuteronomy 33:2. Several copies of the earlier sections of 1 Enoch were preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls.[3]
It is wholly extant only in the Ge'ez language, with Aramaic fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls and a few Greek and Latin fragments. For this and other reasons, the traditional Ethiopian belief is that the original language of the work was Ge'ez, whereas modern scholars argue that it was first written in either Aramaic or Hebrew; Ephraim Isaac suggests that the Book of Enoch, like the Book of Daniel, was composed partially in Aramaic and partially in Hebrew.[6]:6 No Hebrew version is known to have survived. It is asserted in the book itself that its author was Enoch, before the Biblical Flood.
The most complete Book of Enoch comes from Ethiopic manuscripts, maṣḥafa hēnok, written in Ge'ez; which was brought to Europe by James Bruce in the late 18th century and was translated into English in the 19th century.
Book of Enoch
CHAPTER VI.
1. And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.' 3. And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' 4. And they all answered
p. 35
him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' 5. Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 6. And they were in all two hundred; who descended ⌈in the days⌉ of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 7. And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. 8. These are their chiefs of tens.
VII
1. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: 3. Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, 4. the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. 6. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
VIII
1. And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals 〈of the earth〉 and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl,
p. 36
[paragraph continues](taught) astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, 〈Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun〉, and Sariêl the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .
IX
1. And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. 2. And they said one to another: 'The earth made †without inhabitant cries the voice of their crying† up to the gates of heaven. 3 ⌈⌈And now to you, the holy ones of heaven⌉⌉, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause before the Most High.".' 4. And they said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, 〈and God of the ages〉, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! 5. Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. 6. Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: 7. And Semjâzâ, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. 8. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. 9. And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. 10. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth. 11. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and
p. 37
[paragraph continues]Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'
X
1. Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: 2. '〈Go to Noah〉 and tell him in my name "Hide thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. 3. And now instruct him that he may escape and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.' 4. And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl, and cast him therein. 5. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. 6. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. 8. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azâzêl: to him ascribe all sin.' 9. And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle: for length of days shall they not have. 10. And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall be granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an eternal life, and that each one of them will live five hundred years.' 11. And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjâzâ and
p. 38
his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. 12. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated. 13. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: 〈and〉 to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations. 15. And destroy all the spirits of the reprobate and the children of the Watchers, because they have wronged mankind. Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth and let every evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear: ⌈and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and truth⌉ shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore.
CHAPTER VI.
1. And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.' 3. And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' 4. And they all answered
p. 35
him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' 5. Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 6. And they were in all two hundred; who descended ⌈in the days⌉ of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 7. And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. 8. These are their chiefs of tens.
VII
1. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: 3. Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, 4. the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. 6. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
VIII
1. And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals 〈of the earth〉 and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl,
p. 36
[paragraph continues](taught) astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, 〈Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun〉, and Sariêl the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .
IX
1. And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. 2. And they said one to another: 'The earth made †without inhabitant cries the voice of their crying† up to the gates of heaven. 3 ⌈⌈And now to you, the holy ones of heaven⌉⌉, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause before the Most High.".' 4. And they said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, 〈and God of the ages〉, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! 5. Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. 6. Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: 7. And Semjâzâ, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. 8. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. 9. And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. 10. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth. 11. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and
p. 37
[paragraph continues]Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'
X
1. Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: 2. '〈Go to Noah〉 and tell him in my name "Hide thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. 3. And now instruct him that he may escape and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.' 4. And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl, and cast him therein. 5. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. 6. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. 8. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azâzêl: to him ascribe all sin.' 9. And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle: for length of days shall they not have. 10. And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall be granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an eternal life, and that each one of them will live five hundred years.' 11. And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjâzâ and
p. 38
his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. 12. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated. 13. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: 〈and〉 to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations. 15. And destroy all the spirits of the reprobate and the children of the Watchers, because they have wronged mankind. Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth and let every evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear: ⌈and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and truth⌉ shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore.
Book of Jubilees 7
-
For owing to these three things came the flood upon the earth, namely, owing to the fornication wherein the Watchers against the law of their ordinances went a whoring after the daughters of men, and took themselves wives of all which they chose: and they made the beginning of uncleanness.
-
And they begat sons the Naphidim, and they were all unlike, and they devoured one another: and the Giants slew the Naphil, and the Naphil slew the Eljo, and the Eljo mankind, and one man another.
-
And every one sold himself to work iniquity and to shed much blood, and the earth was filled with iniquity.
-
And after this they sinned against the beasts and birds, and all that moves and walks on the earth: and much blood was shed on the earth, and every imagination and desire of men imagined vanity and evil continually.
-
And the Lord destroyed everything from off the face of the earth; because of the wickedness of their deeds, and because of the blood which they had shed in the midst of the earth He destroyed everything.
Encyclopedia Judaica
The "sons of God" are explained in the Targum to Genesis 6:4 and the Midrash (Gen. R. 26:5) as young aristocrats who married the daughters of commoners. The Targum renders both gibborim and Nephilim by gibbaraya; the Midrash (Gen. R. 26:7) lists seven names applied to giants. The Babylonian Talmud mentions the names of Shamhazzai, Uzza, and Uzziel, the leaders of the fallen *angels in Enoch , but does not say that they were angels: Yoma 67b alludes to the sins of Uzza and Uzziel; Niddah 61a states that Sihon and Og were descendants of Shamhazzai. In Deuteronomy 3:11 *Og is described as a giant, and this theme was developed to a large degree in aggadic legend. In post-talmudic literature (cf. Rashi, Yoma 67b) the long-suppressed myth came to the surface again. The Palestinian Targum gives the orthodox rendering of Genesis 6:1, but translates verse 4 as: "Shamhazzai and Uzziel fell from heaven and were on earth in those days"–identifying the Nephilim as the fallen angels rather than their children. The same identification is found in a late Midrash, which calls the fallen angels Uzza and Uzziel; another passage in the same document says the Nephilim were descendants of Cain (Aggadat Bereshit, ed. S. Buber, introd., p. 38). The Zohar (1:58a) also identifies the Nephilim with the fallen angels. The standard medieval Bible commentators generally followed the classical aggadah in rejecting the mythological interpretation and asserting that the marriages in Genesis 6 were human. Some variant opinions about the "sons of God" are offered–e.g., that their distinction was not only social, but physical and even moral, and that the offspring were called Nephilim because they "fell short" of their fathers in these respects (Nahmanides, Abrabanel).
The "sons of God" are explained in the Targum to Genesis 6:4 and the Midrash (Gen. R. 26:5) as young aristocrats who married the daughters of commoners. The Targum renders both gibborim and Nephilim by gibbaraya; the Midrash (Gen. R. 26:7) lists seven names applied to giants. The Babylonian Talmud mentions the names of Shamhazzai, Uzza, and Uzziel, the leaders of the fallen *angels in Enoch , but does not say that they were angels: Yoma 67b alludes to the sins of Uzza and Uzziel; Niddah 61a states that Sihon and Og were descendants of Shamhazzai. In Deuteronomy 3:11 *Og is described as a giant, and this theme was developed to a large degree in aggadic legend. In post-talmudic literature (cf. Rashi, Yoma 67b) the long-suppressed myth came to the surface again. The Palestinian Targum gives the orthodox rendering of Genesis 6:1, but translates verse 4 as: "Shamhazzai and Uzziel fell from heaven and were on earth in those days"–identifying the Nephilim as the fallen angels rather than their children. The same identification is found in a late Midrash, which calls the fallen angels Uzza and Uzziel; another passage in the same document says the Nephilim were descendants of Cain (Aggadat Bereshit, ed. S. Buber, introd., p. 38). The Zohar (1:58a) also identifies the Nephilim with the fallen angels. The standard medieval Bible commentators generally followed the classical aggadah in rejecting the mythological interpretation and asserting that the marriages in Genesis 6 were human. Some variant opinions about the "sons of God" are offered–e.g., that their distinction was not only social, but physical and even moral, and that the offspring were called Nephilim because they "fell short" of their fathers in these respects (Nahmanides, Abrabanel).
(ה) הָרְפָאִ֥ים יְחוֹלָ֑לוּ מִתַּ֥חַת מַ֝֗יִם וְשֹׁכְנֵיהֶֽם׃
(5) The shades tremble Beneath the waters and their denizens.
(א) הרפאים. גיהנם המרפה את הבריות:
(יד) מֵתִים֙ בַּל־יִחְי֔וּ רְפָאִ֖ים בַּל־יָקֻ֑מוּ לָכֵ֤ן פָּקַ֙דְתָּ֙ וַתַּשְׁמִידֵ֔ם וַתְּאַבֵּ֥ד כָּל־זֵ֖כֶר לָֽמוֹ׃
(14) They are dead, they can never live; Shades, they can never rise; Of a truth, You have dealt with them and wiped them out, Have put an end to all mention of them.
רָשָׁע מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מָה הָעֲבוֹדָה הַזּאֹת לָכֶם. לָכֶם – וְלֹא לוֹ. וּלְפִי שֶׁהוֹצִיא אֶת עַצְמוֹ מִן הַכְּלָל כָּפַר בְּעִקָּר. וְאַף אַתָּה הַקְהֵה אֶת שִׁנָּיו וֶאֱמוֹר לוֹ: "בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה יקוק לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם". לִי וְלֹא־לוֹ. אִלּוּ הָיָה שָׁם, לֹא הָיָה נִגְאָל:
What does the evil [son] say? "'What is this worship to you?' (Exodus 12:26)" 'To you' and not 'to him.' And since he excluded himself from the collective, he denied a principle [of the Jewish faith]. And accordingly, you will blunt his teeth and say to him, "'For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt' (Exodus 13:8)." 'For me' and not 'for him.' If he had been there, he would not have been saved.
(י) שַׁאֲגַ֣ת אַ֭רְיֵה וְק֣וֹל שָׁ֑חַל וְשִׁנֵּ֖י כְפִירִ֣ים נִתָּֽעוּ׃
(10) The lion may roar, the cub may howl, But the teeth of the king of beasts are broken.
(יח) וַהֲקִמֹתִ֥י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֖י אִתָּ֑ךְ וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֔ה אַתָּ֕ה וּבָנֶ֛יךָ וְאִשְׁתְּךָ֥ וּנְשֵֽׁי־בָנֶ֖יךָ אִתָּֽךְ׃
(18) But I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark, with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives.
(טז) צֵ֖א מִן־הַתֵּבָ֑ה אַתָּ֕ה וְאִשְׁתְּךָ֛ וּבָנֶ֥יךָ וּנְשֵֽׁי־בָנֶ֖יךָ אִתָּֽךְ׃
(16) “Come out of the ark, together with your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives.
(ג) בְּחֶ֥סֶר וּבְכָפָ֗ן גַּ֫לְמ֥וּד הַֽעֹרְקִ֥ים צִיָּ֑ה אֶ֝֗מֶשׁ שׁוֹאָ֥ה וּמְשֹׁאָֽה׃
(3) Wasted from want and starvation, They flee to a parched land, To the gloom of desolate wasteland.
(כא) וְאָמַ֣רְתְּ בִּלְבָבֵ֗ךְ מִ֤י יָֽלַד־לִי֙ אֶת־אֵ֔לֶּה וַאֲנִ֥י שְׁכוּלָ֖ה וְגַלְמוּדָ֑ה גֹּלָ֣ה ׀ וְסוּרָ֗ה וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ מִ֣י גִדֵּ֔ל הֵ֤ן אֲנִי֙ נִשְׁאַ֣רְתִּי לְבַדִּ֔י אֵ֖לֶּה אֵיפֹ֥ה הֵֽם׃ (פ)
(21) And you will say to yourself, “Who bore these for me When I was bereaved and barren, Exiled and disdained— By whom, then, were these reared? I was left all alone— And where have these been?”
(נ) וּלְיוֹסֵ֤ף יֻלַּד֙ שְׁנֵ֣י בָנִ֔ים בְּטֶ֥רֶם תָּב֖וֹא שְׁנַ֣ת הָרָעָ֑ב אֲשֶׁ֤ר יָֽלְדָה־לּוֹ֙ אָֽסְנַ֔ת בַּת־פּ֥וֹטִי פֶ֖רַע כֹּהֵ֥ן אֽוֹן׃
(50) Before the years of famine came, Joseph became the father of two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, bore to him.
(א) בטרם תבא שנת הרעב. מִכָּאן שֶׁאָדָם אָסוּר לְשַׁמֵּשׁ מִטָּתוֹ בִּשְׁנֵי רְעָבוֹן (תענית י"א):
(1) בטרם תבא שנת הרעב BEFORE THE YEAR OF FAMINE CAME — from here we learn that a man must practise continence during times of famine (cf. Taanit 11a).
(יט) וּמִכָּל־הָ֠חַי מִֽכָּל־בָּשָׂ֞ר שְׁנַ֧יִם מִכֹּ֛ל תָּבִ֥יא אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֖ה לְהַחֲיֹ֣ת אִתָּ֑ךְ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה יִֽהְיֽוּ׃
(19) And of all that lives, of all flesh, you shall take two of each into the ark to keep alive with you; they shall be male and female.
(ט) הֲיֹ֣אבֶה רֵּ֣ים עָבְדֶ֑ךָ אִם־יָ֝לִ֗ין עַל־אֲבוּסֶֽךָ׃ (י) הֲֽתִקְשָׁר־רֵ֭ים בְּתֶ֣לֶם עֲבֹת֑וֹ אִם־יְשַׂדֵּ֖ד עֲמָקִ֣ים אַחֲרֶֽיךָ׃
(9) Would the wild ox agree to serve you? Would he spend the night at your crib? (10) Can you hold the wild ox by ropes to the furrow? Would he plow up the valleys behind you?
(יז) בְּכ֨וֹר שׁוֹר֜וֹ הָדָ֣ר ל֗וֹ וְקַרְנֵ֤י רְאֵם֙ קַרְנָ֔יו בָּהֶ֗ם עַמִּ֛ים יְנַגַּ֥ח יַחְדָּ֖ו אַפְסֵי־אָ֑רֶץ וְהֵם֙ רִבְב֣וֹת אֶפְרַ֔יִם וְהֵ֖ם אַלְפֵ֥י מְנַשֶּֽׁה׃ (ס)
(17) Like a firstling bull in his majesty, He has horns like the horns of the wild-ox; With them he gores the peoples, The ends of the earth one and all. These are the myriads of Ephraim, Those are the thousands of Manasseh.
(ט) וְאַתָּ֥ה מָר֗וֹם לְעֹלָ֥ם יקוק׃ (י) כִּ֤י הִנֵּ֪ה אֹיְבֶ֡יךָ ׀ יקוק כִּֽי־הִנֵּ֣ה אֹיְבֶ֣יךָ יֹאבֵ֑דוּ יִ֝תְפָּרְד֗וּ כָּל־פֹּ֥עֲלֵי אָֽוֶן׃ (יא) וַתָּ֣רֶם כִּרְאֵ֣ים קַרְנִ֑י בַּ֝לֹּתִ֗י בְּשֶׁ֣מֶן רַעֲנָֽן׃
(9) But You are exalted, O LORD, for all time. (10) Surely, Your enemies, O LORD, surely, Your enemies perish; all evildoers are scattered. (11) You raise my horn high like that of a wild ox; I am soaked in freshening oil.
בשלמא למ"ד לא ירד מבול לא"י היינו דקם רימא התם אלא למ"ד ירד רימא היכא קם א"ר ינאי גוריות הכניסו בתיבה והאמר רבה בר בר חנה לדידי חזי לי אורזילא דרימא בת יומא והוי כהר תבור והר תבור כמה הויא ארבעין פרסי משכא דצואריה תלתא פרסי מרבעתא דרישא פרסא ופלגא רמא כבא וסכר ירדנא א"ר יוחנן ראשו הכניסו לתיבה והאמר מר מרבעתא דרישא פרסא ופלגא אלא ראש חוטמו הכניסו לתיבה והא א"ר יוחנן לא ירד מבול לא"י לדברי ר"ל קאמר והא קסגיא תיבה אמר ר"ל קרניו קשרו בתיבה והאמר רב חסדא אנשי דור המבול ברותחין קלקלו וברותחין נידונו ולטעמיך תיבה היכי סגיא ועוד עוג מלך הבשן היכא קאי אלא נס נעשה להם שנצטננו בצידי התיבה
The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who says the flood did not descend upon Eretz Yisrael, i.e., Rabbi Yoḥanan, this is the explanation of the fact that the reima remained there, in Eretz Yisrael, and survived the flood. But according to the one who says the flood descended upon Eretz Yisrael, i.e., Reish Lakish, how did the reima remain? Given its large size, it clearly could not have fit into Noah’s ark. Rabbi Yannai says: They brought reima cubs into the ark, and they survived the flood. The Gemara asks: But doesn’t Rabba bar bar Ḥana say: I have seen a day-old offspring of the reima, and it was as large as Mount Tabor. And how large is Mount Tabor? It is forty parasangs. And the length of the cub’s neck was three parasangs, and the place where its head rests, i.e., its neck, was a parasang and a half. It cast feces, and thereby dammed up the Jordan river. Even the cub would have been too large for the ark. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: They brought only the head of the cub into the ark, while its body remained outside. The Gemara asks: But doesn’t the Master, i.e., Rabba bar bar Ḥana, say that the size of the place where its head rests was a parasang and a half? Consequently, even its head alone would not fit into the ark. Rather, they brought the head, i.e., edge, of its nose into the ark, so that it might breathe. The Gemara wonders why Rabbi Yoḥanan was compelled to give this answer: But doesn’t Rabbi Yoḥanan say that the flood did not descend upon Eretz Yisrael? According to his opinion, perhaps the reima survived by remaining there during the flood. The Gemara answers that Rabbi Yoḥanan said his answer in accordance with the statement of Reish Lakish. The Gemara challenges: But the ark was moving upon the water. How it was possible to keep the nose of the reima in the ark? Reish Lakish says: They tied its horns to the ark, so that the reima would move with it. The Gemara asks: But doesn’t Rav Ḥisda say that the people of the generation of the flood sinned with boiling heat and were punished with boiling heat? How could the reima have survived the boiling water? The Gemara replies: And according to your reasoning, that it was impossible to survive the boiling water, how did the ark itself move? It was covered with pitch, which melts in boiling water. Moreover, how did Og, king of the Bashan (see Numbers 21:33–35), who according to tradition was of the generation of the flood, stand, i.e., survive the boiling water? Rather, it must be that a miracle was performed for them, namely that the water on the sides of the ark cooled, allowing the ark, the reima, and Og to survive.
(ד) זֹ֥את הַבְּהֵמָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר תֹּאכֵ֑לוּ שׁ֕וֹר שֵׂ֥ה כְשָׂבִ֖ים וְשֵׂ֥ה עִזִּֽים׃ (ה) אַיָּ֥ל וּצְבִ֖י וְיַחְמ֑וּר וְאַקּ֥וֹ וְדִישֹׁ֖ן וּתְא֥וֹ וָזָֽמֶר׃
(4) These are the animals that you may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat; (5) the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, the mountain sheep,
(ד) דֵּין בְּעִירָא דְּתֵיכְלוּן תּוֹרִין אִמְּרִין דִּרְחֵלִין וְגָדְיָן דְּעִזִּין: (ה) אַיָּלָא וְטַבְיָא וְיַחְמוּרָא וְיַעְלָא וְרֵימָא וְתוֹרְבָּלָא וְדִיצָא:
(כא) וְאַתָּ֣ה קַח־לְךָ֗ מִכָּל־מַֽאֲכָל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵֽאָכֵ֔ל וְאָסַפְתָּ֖ אֵלֶ֑יךָ וְהָיָ֥ה לְךָ֛ וְלָהֶ֖ם לְאָכְלָֽה׃
(21) For your part, take of everything that is eaten and store it away, to serve as food for you and for them.”
זְמוֹרוֹת לְפִילִים, חֲצוּבוֹת לִצְבָאִים, זְכוּכִית לְנַעֲמִיּוֹת
Branches for elephants
?? (poss cistus plant) for deer
Glass for ostrich
Branches
Branches for elephants
?? (poss cistus plant) for deer
Glass for ostrich
Branches
https://www.biblicalnaturalhistory.org/blog/balfour-rothschild-and-the-ostrich/
The Balfour Declaration was a letter issued by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour in November 1917 in support of the establishment of a national home in Palestine for the Jewish people. The letter itself was addressed to Lord Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community at the time. Although he was a scion of the legendary Rothschild family, which led to his important societal position, Walter did not share his family’s interests and aptitudes. He despised banking, had little interest in politics, was unaffiliated to Judaism, and until 1916 evinced no enthusiasm for Zionism. Walter was passionate about one thing only: animals.
Lord Rothschild riding a giant tortoise
It is hard to overstate the eccentric Lord Walter Rothschild’s obsessive fervor for zoology. At his estate in Tring, he collected more specimens than anyone else in recorded history. Rothschild discovered and cataloged countless new species, over two hundred of which are named in his honor. Among his collection of live animals was a tame wolf, 144 giant tortoises, and flocks of cassowaries and kiwis, and he trained zebras to pull his carriage to Buckingham Palace.
Yet despite his lack of interest in his Jewish heritage, Rothschild knew something of it. For example, he once addressed a meeting of the British Ornithologist’s Club about the ostrich of the Bible. The background to this was that when Weizmann led the Zionist Commission to Palestine to implement the Balfour Declaration, Rothschild also charged him with another commission: “to find out what has become of two ostriches.”
Israel Aharoni, the zoologist who pioneered the scientific study of the wildlife of the Holy Land and restored their Biblical Hebrew names, had sent Rothschild several eggs from ostriches found in the Middle East, and also told Rothschild that he was raising two chicks. Since the eggs looked somewhat different from the eggs of the ostriches known from Africa, Rothschild was eager to see the birds. Weizmann located Aharoni and managed to send the young ostriches to Rothschild, who observed several subtle ways in which they differed from African ostriches. Subsequently, Rothschild informed the British Ornithologist’s Club that this was a different subspecies, and designated it as Struthio camelus syriacus, the Syrian ostrich. In Rothschild’s address, he noted that there are several passages in the Bible relating to the ostrich.
Rothschild’s statement about biblical ornithology was correct. The Book of Lamentations refers to the ostriches (ye’enim) of the wilderness, and there are a variety of other verses in the Bible which have been understood as referring to ostriches (albeit that some argue them to refer to different species). The ostrich was also part of the culture of the Jews living in the Land of Israel in post-Biblical times. The Mishnah refers to vessels made from ostrich eggs. A later compilation from the Land of Israel, the Tosefta, notes that ostriches are classified as birds (presumably this was necessary to point out due to their inability to fly). The Jerusalem Talmud makes reference to ostriches eating gold, and the Midrash states that Noah brought shards of broken glass onto the Ark for the ostriches to eat; these seemingly strange statements are explicable in light of the fact that ostriches are required to eat rocks and other sharp items in order to break down the food that they consume, and will happily (and essentially) eat pieces of metal and glass to this end.
At the turn of the twentieth century, the Syrian ostrich lived in the Negev and Sinai deserts; in 1929, an ostrich was caught near Be’er Sheva. Earlier in history there were also ostriches in the coastal regions of Israel, and ostrich eggs are still discovered there today. But the ostrich was having a hard time coexisting with the human inhabitants of the region. The soldier and ornithologist Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen recorded that Arabs prized ostrich eggs for food and hunted the adults for sport; the advent of guns, and cars from which to fire them, quickly caused the demise of the Syrian ostrich. The last known Syrian ostrich was washed up in a flood in the Arava in 1966.
The Balfour Declaration was a letter issued by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour in November 1917 in support of the establishment of a national home in Palestine for the Jewish people. The letter itself was addressed to Lord Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community at the time. Although he was a scion of the legendary Rothschild family, which led to his important societal position, Walter did not share his family’s interests and aptitudes. He despised banking, had little interest in politics, was unaffiliated to Judaism, and until 1916 evinced no enthusiasm for Zionism. Walter was passionate about one thing only: animals.
Lord Rothschild riding a giant tortoise
It is hard to overstate the eccentric Lord Walter Rothschild’s obsessive fervor for zoology. At his estate in Tring, he collected more specimens than anyone else in recorded history. Rothschild discovered and cataloged countless new species, over two hundred of which are named in his honor. Among his collection of live animals was a tame wolf, 144 giant tortoises, and flocks of cassowaries and kiwis, and he trained zebras to pull his carriage to Buckingham Palace.
Yet despite his lack of interest in his Jewish heritage, Rothschild knew something of it. For example, he once addressed a meeting of the British Ornithologist’s Club about the ostrich of the Bible. The background to this was that when Weizmann led the Zionist Commission to Palestine to implement the Balfour Declaration, Rothschild also charged him with another commission: “to find out what has become of two ostriches.”
Israel Aharoni, the zoologist who pioneered the scientific study of the wildlife of the Holy Land and restored their Biblical Hebrew names, had sent Rothschild several eggs from ostriches found in the Middle East, and also told Rothschild that he was raising two chicks. Since the eggs looked somewhat different from the eggs of the ostriches known from Africa, Rothschild was eager to see the birds. Weizmann located Aharoni and managed to send the young ostriches to Rothschild, who observed several subtle ways in which they differed from African ostriches. Subsequently, Rothschild informed the British Ornithologist’s Club that this was a different subspecies, and designated it as Struthio camelus syriacus, the Syrian ostrich. In Rothschild’s address, he noted that there are several passages in the Bible relating to the ostrich.
Rothschild’s statement about biblical ornithology was correct. The Book of Lamentations refers to the ostriches (ye’enim) of the wilderness, and there are a variety of other verses in the Bible which have been understood as referring to ostriches (albeit that some argue them to refer to different species). The ostrich was also part of the culture of the Jews living in the Land of Israel in post-Biblical times. The Mishnah refers to vessels made from ostrich eggs. A later compilation from the Land of Israel, the Tosefta, notes that ostriches are classified as birds (presumably this was necessary to point out due to their inability to fly). The Jerusalem Talmud makes reference to ostriches eating gold, and the Midrash states that Noah brought shards of broken glass onto the Ark for the ostriches to eat; these seemingly strange statements are explicable in light of the fact that ostriches are required to eat rocks and other sharp items in order to break down the food that they consume, and will happily (and essentially) eat pieces of metal and glass to this end.
At the turn of the twentieth century, the Syrian ostrich lived in the Negev and Sinai deserts; in 1929, an ostrich was caught near Be’er Sheva. Earlier in history there were also ostriches in the coastal regions of Israel, and ostrich eggs are still discovered there today. But the ostrich was having a hard time coexisting with the human inhabitants of the region. The soldier and ornithologist Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen recorded that Arabs prized ostrich eggs for food and hunted the adults for sport; the advent of guns, and cars from which to fire them, quickly caused the demise of the Syrian ostrich. The last known Syrian ostrich was washed up in a flood in the Arava in 1966.
זְמוֹרוֹת לִנְטִיעוֹת, יִחוּרִים לִתְאֵנִים, גְּרוֹפִית לְזֵיתִים
Branches for vines
Fig shoots for figs
Olive shoots for olive trees
Branches for vines
Fig shoots for figs
Olive shoots for olive trees
(כ) וַיָּ֥חֶל נֹ֖חַ אִ֣ישׁ הָֽאֲדָמָ֑ה וַיִּטַּ֖ע כָּֽרֶם׃
(20) Noah, the tiller of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard.