VI. JUDAH AND ISRAEL Vol. IV, (pp. 179-191). 1 WR 12.5. On the delay caused by Solomon’s long sleep, see vol. IV, pp. 128-129. See also ER 24, 125, which reads: Jeroboam received the rulership over the tribes as a reward for his courage in calling Solomon to account. 3 Sanhedrin 101b; vol. IV, p. 53. As to the legal question whether the inhabitants of Abel of Beth-maacah acted in accordance with the law when they surrendered Sheba, who had taken refuge with them, see Tosefta Terumot 7 . 20 ; Y erushalmi 8 , 46b ; B R 94.9 ; Shemuel 32, 140; Koheleth 9.18. The only excuse given for the inhabitants of this city is that Sheba as a rebel against the “throne of David ” had no claim upon them. The Midrashim just quoted (as well as Tan. B. I, 92; PK 10, 87a; Aggadat Bereshit 22, 45-46) maintain that the woman at whose counsel Sheba was killed by the inhabitants of Abel of Beth-maacah was Serah the daughter of Asher, concerning whom see vol. II, p. 116, and Index, s. v. “Paradise, Entering Alive”. The Midrashim cited above give, in full, her pleadings with the inhabitants of the city to yield to the demands of Joab for the surrender of Sheba. On the confusion of Sheba with Shemi the son of Gera by ps.-Jerome on 2 Sam. 16.10, see Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 56-57. About the early history of Jeroboam, comp, the following addition to 1 Kings 12.24 found in Septuagint. There was a man.
. .a servant to Solomon, and his name was Jeroboam, and the name of his mother was Sarira, a harlot . . . And he built for Solomon Sarira in mount Ephraim, and he had three hundred chariots of horses. He built the citadel with the levies of the house of Ephraim, fortified the city of David, and aspired to the kingdom. And Solomon sought to kill him, and he escaped to Sousakim king of Egypt, and was with him until Solomon died. And Jeroboam heard in Egypt that Solomon was dead, and he spoke in the ears of the king of Egypt, saying: “Let me go, and I will depart into my land”; and Sousakim gave to Jeroboam Ano, the eldest sister of Thelkemina his wife, to be his wife. She was great among the daughters of the king, and she bore to Jeroboam Abijah. . .And Jeroboam departed out of Egypt, and came into the land of Sarira. . .And hither the whole tribe of Ephraim assembled, and Jeroboam built 304 Judah and Israel [3-7 a fortress there. The description of Jeroboam’s mother as a harlot is perhaps an old haggadic explanation of her name Zarua ynx, literally “leper”. Comp. Yebamot 63b: n'jyn1? nyus nyT ITON “A shrew is like leprosy to her husband,” and see also vol. VI, p. 266, note 96. s According to Sanhedrin 102a, Jeroboam left Palestine with the intention never to return there again. 4 Seder ‘Olam 1, and the parallel passages cited by Ratner; Baba Batra 121b. Ahijah is one of the seven whose terms of life overlapped one another, so that they form a chain extending from the creation of the world until the end of time.
These seven are: Adam, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Jacob, Amram, Ahijah, and Elijah, the last of whom continues to live. According to Septuagint 1 Kings 12.24, Ahijah was sixty years old when Ano the wife of Jeroboam (comp, note 2) made him inquire about the outcome of her son’s illness; see 1 Kings 14.1, seq. Septuagint further differs from the masoretic text of 1 Kings 11, 29, seq., by making the prophet Shemaiah, instead of Ahijah, the bearer of the divine message to Jeroboam. 6 BR 35.2; Yerushalmi Berakot 9, 13d (bottom); PK 10, 88a. In the legends of the Hasidim Ahijah figures as the teacher of R. Israel Baal Shem Tob, the founder of the sect; comp. Ginzberg, Jewish Encyclopedia, II, 389; see also vol. IV, p. 264. Ahijah suffered a martyr’s death: He was executed by Abijah (the wicked king of Judah and not his namesake, the son of Jeroboam, who is praised in the Haggadah for his piety; comp. vol. IV, p. 183), as was his contemporary Shemaiah by Basha the wicked king of Israel. See Midrash Aggadah Num. 30.5. 6 Jeroboam was as distinguished a scholar as his master, the prophet Ahijah; see Tehillim 5; 55, and comp, also MHG I, 412. 1 Sanhedrin 102a. Ahijah and Jeroboam discussed the mysteries of the divine throne (rDJID ntPyo). The angels therefore asked God: “Dost Thou reveal the secrets of the Torah to this man who is going to set up two calves to be worshipped?” God rejoined: “ Is this man at present righteous or wicked?” “Righteous”, replied the angels.
Whereupon God said: “ I deal with a man as he is, not as he will be”. See Tehillim 5, 55. Comp, note 215 on vol. I, p. 265. The opposite view is given in Zohar Hadash, Bereshit (end) and Ahare (end), where it is said that God had intended to take away Jeroboam from this world while he was still young and pious; but at the pleading of the angels He did not carry out His intention. Later, when Jeroboam forsook God 305 8-p] The Legends of the Jews and His Torah, the angels realized that in their short-sightedness they pleaded for the life of a terrible sinner. 8 Seder ‘Olam 15. That Jeroboam persisted in his evil ways, notwithstanding the miracle performed by the prophet of Judah (on this miracle, see Tan. B. Ill, 10; Tan. Tehillim 12), was the fault of the false prophet of Beth-el (1 Kings 13.11, seq.) who persuaded the king that no miracle took place at all, and supported his words by the fact that the prophet of Judah was killed by a lion, from which incident one ought to conclude that he was not a true prophet; Josephus, Antiqui., VIII, 9. For further details concerning the true prophet of Judah and the false prophet of Bethel, see PK 2, 14b-15a, and the parallel passages cited by Buber, ad loc., and Ratner's note 29 on Seder ‘Olam 20, as well as the references cited in note 133 on vol. IV, p. 51. One might infer the great merit of hospitality from the fact that the false prophet of Beth-el received a revelation (see 1 Kings 13.20) as a reward for his kindness towards the prophet of Judah to whom he offered hospitality; Sanhedrin 103b; ER 12, 60-61.
s Sanhedrin 101b; comp. vol. IV, p. 257. As to the view that only members of the house of David were privileged to sit down in the Temple (i. e., mry “Temple court”), see note 88 on vol. IV, p. 102 and comp, also Josephus, Antiqui., VIII, 4.2, who takes pains to point out that on the occasion of the dedication of the Temple Solomon sat down and then rose for his prayer. Another legend charges the people rather than Jeroboam with the sin of idolatry. Intoxicated with wine at the coronation of Jeroboam, they urged him to erect idols; but not being sure that they would not change their mind on becoming sober, he delayed his decision till the following day. When he saw that the people persisted in their demand, he yielded to them on the condition that the members of the Synhedrion be killed (or, according to others, removed from office), so that one might worship idols without fear of being executed for the offence. Jeroboam then sent emissaries through the entire country to entice the pious to worship idols. These emissaries used to address the people in the following manner: The most illustrious generation was that of the wilderness (see vol. Ill, p. 79), and it worshipped the golden calf, without receiving severe punishment. Our king therefore desires to follow the example set by this generation. It was Jeroboam ’s pride and ambition which made him forsake his God. He knew that in the Sabbatical year the king is commanded to read the word of God to the people in the Temple (see Deut.
31.10), and as long as Israel should make pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rehoboam would in306 Judah and Israel [10-16 evitably appear to the entire nation as the real king. Jeroboam therefore established the worship of the calves, and in this way prevented the people from going up to Jerusalem. He abolished not only the three festivals, when pilgrimages were made, but also the Sabbaths; Yerushalmi ‘Abodah Zarah 1, 39b; Jerome on Hos. 7.4-7. See also the quotation from an unknown Midrash in Shu'aib, Nizzabim 114a, where it is likewise said that Jeroboam claimed to be the legitimate king of Israel on account of his Ephraimitic descent. At first, however, he refused to accept the offered crown because of his poverty; whereupon the people (or, according to some, Ahijah) bestowed great wealth upon him; Aggadat Shir 95, according to the reading of Makiri, Is. 7, 105. 10 Koheleth 2.11, 3. On Jeroboam’s father see vol. IV, pp. 179180. At Shechem Israel renounced not only his allegiance to the house of David, but also his loyalty to God and his sanctuary, (see 1 Kings 12.16, where T brut? is taken to be an “emendation of the Scribes” for “to thy gods”); the salvation of Israel will therefore not come before Israel “seeks the Lord their God, David their king, and the sanctuary” which God in His great goodness had given to His people; Shemuel 13, 84. 1 1 According to the Rabbis, the Bible forbids one to dwell in Egypt.
Comp. Mekilta Beshallah 2, 28b; Yerushalmi Sukkah 55b; Esther R. 1.3 (KnrrnB). 1 J Eldad 25-26. 13 His real name was Zebub, “fly”, and he is called Shishak (from Shuk, “desire”), because he longed for thedeath of Solomon whom he feared to attack; Seder ‘Olam 20; Aggadat Shir 7, 43. Comp. Esther R. 1.2, 13. 14 On the history of the throne, see vol. IV, pp. 159-160. 15 Pesahim 119a. On the further history of these treasures see vol. II, pp. 125-126. Three returned to the place whence they came: Israel, the Torah, and the treasures. Israel came originally from Babylon (Abraham from the other side of the river), and returned thither after having been exiled from the Holy Land; the Torah came from heaven, and the letters of the tables ascended to heaven after Moses broke the tables (see vol. Ill, p. 129); the treasures which came from Egypt returned thither; Pesahim 87a; Mekilta Amalek 1, 53b; ARN 41, 132-133; second version 47, 130. 16 Seder ‘Olam 16; Yerushalmi Yebamot 16, 15a; BR 56.20; WR 33.5; Ruth R. 4.8; Shemuel 18, 100; comp. Josephus, Antiqui., VII, 11.3, who also maintains that Abijam ( = Abijahin 2 Chron. 13.1) 307 i7-i8] The Legends of the Jews died directly after his victory over Jeroboam. Abijah, in speaking of the supporters of Jeroboam as “sons of Belial” (see 2 Chron. 13.7, where the Hebrew representing “vain men” is ’12), insulted the prophet Ahijah, who more than anybody else contributed to the elevation of Jeroboam to the throne of Israel.
Mo'ed Katan 28b. According to the Kabbalists, the son of Abijah will be the Ephraimitic Messiah ; Zohar Hadash Balak (end) . Besides Abijah there were others who, like him, disregarded the command of Jeroboam against pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and by clever ruses fooled the guards at the frontier. The descendants of these pious men celebrated the fifteenth of the month of Ab as a festival by bringing sacrifices to the Temple; see Yerushalmi Ta'anit 4, 68b; Targum 1 Chron. 2.54. Comp., however, Babli Ta'anit 28a, and Megillat Ta'anit 5.9-10, where the pious men, who at the risk of their lives made pilgrimages to Jerusalem, are said to have lived at the time when the Greek government decreed against the Jews ordinances “like those of Jeroboam”. With regard to Jeroboam’s edict against pilgrimages to Jerusalem, see Yerushalmi ‘Abodah Zarah 1, 39b, where the text seems to be corrupt, though Yalkut II, 542, on Hos. 7, has the same reading as our texts. 18 ‘Abodah Zarah 44a; Vulgate 1 Kings 15.13; Jerome on Hos. 4, 14. The assonance of “Phallus” and n^7DlDl may have suggested this assumption. Comp., however, Josephus, Antiqui., VIII, 10.3, who quotes Herodotus of Halicarnassus to the effect that the king of Egypt (i. e., Shishak, who, shortly before Asa, conquered Jerusalem) left behind him pillars upon which were engraved the secret parts of women. To reconcile the contradiction between 1 Kings 15.10 and 2 Chron.
13.2, it is asserted that after repenting of her idolatrous practices, the name of Asa’s mother was changed; her father’s name, too, was changed; the latter was none other than the wicked Absalom. See Targum 2 Chron., loc. cit., and 15.16. Comp, also Josephus, Antiqui., VIII 10.1, and ps. -Jerome on 2 Chron. 15.16. The latter quotes the Jewish tradition, according to which the water of the brook of Kidron turned into fire, and burned the image of the idol which Asa threw into it. The commentators Kimhi and Gersonides on 1 Kings 15.2, as well as ps.-Rashi on 2 Chron. 13.2, call attention to the fact that it was not the mother, but the grandmother, of Asa who had been addicted to idolatry. This is another attempt to reconcile the contradiction between 1 Kings 15.2 and 15.10. Comp, note 91 on vol. IV, p.171. 308 Judah and Israel [19-27 19 Pesahim 119a; Seder ‘01am 16; Esther R. 1.2. Comp. vol. II, pp. 125—126, and vol. IV, pp. 159, 192. The number in the hostile army (comp. 2 Chron, 14.8) was established by Asa from the number of the chariots; comp. Mekilta Beshallah 1, 27b. Most historians identify Zerah with Osorchan I, the successor of Sesanchis (Shishak). It is noteworthy that Seder ‘01am merely states that Zerah restored to Asa what Shishak had won in the battle with Rehoboam, and does not mention that Zerah had in turn taken it from Shishak in war. This latter statement appears first in the Talmud.
20 Pesahim 119a; Seder ‘01am 16. Comp, the references at the beginning of the preceding note. 21 Ekah, introduction, XXX, and Tehillim 79, 358, which read: Four kings expressed four different wishes, and God granted to each of them his desire. David prayed for strength to attack his enemies (Ps. 18.38), and God granted his prayer (1 Sam. 30.17). Asa said: “I have no strength to attack my enemies; but if God so wills, I shall defeat them by pursuing them”; his prayer was heard (2 Chron. 14. 11-12). Jehoshaphat said: “I can neither attack the enemy nor pursue him; but I shall leave the carrying on of the war to God, whom I shall continue to praise and glorify”; God defeated the enemies of Jehoshaphat, while the pious king was engaged in praising Him (2 Chron. 20.21-22). Hezekiah said: “I cannot attack the enemy, nor pursue Ihim, nor engage in continually praising God; but I pray that He should annihilate him while I sleep”; God destroyed the army of the Assyrians while the Jews were asleep (2 Kings 19.35). According to the Haggadah, the words addressed by the prophet Azariah to Asa and his people (2 Chron. 15.3, seq.) contain a prophecy and are to be translated: And for long seasons Israel will be without the true God, etc.; WR 19. 9; Josephus, Antiqui., VIII, 12.2. 22 Sotah 10a. See also Nedarim 3 lb, where it is stated that the servitude of Israel in Egypt was a punishment for Abraham 's having made the scholars engage in war against the kings.
On the view that Asa was distinguished for having his strength in his feet, see vol. I, p. 59. 23 Seder ‘Olam 16; Tosefta Sotah 12.1-2. 24 Seder ‘Olam 17; Tosefta Sotah 12.13. 26 Pesahim 119a; comp. vol. II, pp. 125-126; note 19. 26 Tehillim 15.118 m’SPn is very likely a gloss to yn’TTn. 27 BaR 21.6; Tan. B. IV, 152; Tan. Pinehas 3. According to another view quoted in these sources, Jehoshaphat did not don his royal 309 28-32] The Legends of the Jews robes from the moment he heard that God had decreed the punishment of Asa ’s descendants ; see note 24, as well as the following note. J ehoshaphat had to pay dearly for his friendship and close connection with the wicked house of Omri; his commercial undertakings ceased to prosper from the time he associated himself with the godless; ARN 9, 42; Alphabet of Ben Sira 14a, as a comment upon 2 Chron 20.37. 28 Ketubot 103b; Makkot 24a; Tehillim 15, 118. Comp, also Yerushalmi Sotah (end), where the king’s humility is praised (read ]D yiP ). Notwithstanding his lack of regard for scholars (vol. IV, p. 184), Asa nevertheless married the daughter of the prophet Hanani (2 Chron. 16.7), and the issue of this marriage was Jehoshaphat. The prophet Eliezer, who was active during the reign of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20.37), was a grandson of Hanani, and accordingly liTnnp in the verse referred to is to be translated “the son of his uncle”; ps.Jerome, 2 Chron.
20.31 and 37. 29 Yebamot 7b, given as a haggadic interpretation of nSHnn “Klin of 2 Chron. 20.5. For another Haggadah on this verse see ps. -Jerome. ad loc. 30 Yerushalmi Berakot 9, 13b; Tehillim 4, 3. See also Babli Berakot 10a (bottom), which contains an allusion to it not recognized by Rashi (caption ’^21pD). — In reality God had condemned Jehoshaphat to death for having joined Ahab in war, and he was only saved by his prayer. He lived seven years longer, a period which Scripture puts to his son's account, not to his own. Seder ‘Olam 17; notes 24 and 27. 31 Megillah 11a; PRE 11. Comp, note 82 on vol. I, p. 178. See also Septuagint 1 Kings 18.10, where Obadiah’s words to Elijah read: “There is not a nation or a kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; and if they said: He is not here, then hath he (Ahab) set fire to the kingdom and its territories, because he hath not found thee.” This undoubtedly presupposes that Ahab had power over all the kingdoms. Comp. Index, s. v. “Cosmocrators”. 32 Esther R 1.1. ER 9, 49, counts only two hundred and thirtytwo, who, according to 1 Kings 20.15, are supposed to be the sons of the conquered kings whom Ahab held as hostages. Of them it is said that life in the midst of Jewish surroundings made them pious, and through them God granted victory to Ahab in his war with Benhadad. According to Esther R., loc. cit., twenty of the satrapies owing allegiance to Ahab were devastated by the famine which took place 310 Judah and Israel [33-38 in his time, and therefore only two hundred and thirty-two hostages are mentioned in 1 Kings, loc.
cit. 33 Shemuel 2, 47; Koheleth 6.3; Esther R. 1.1; Nispahim 44. On the winter and summer residences of the rich, see Midrash Shir 24a; on Ahab's great wealth see Berakot 61b; ER 9, 49. On Ahab’s wicked children, see Koheleth 1.18. 3 4 Sanhedrin 102b: 103b. Comp, also Tan. Shemot 29 and Gaster, Exempla pp. 184—185. In Tanhuma the story of the Talmud is elaborated. In the latter passage the great learning of Ahab and of the two other wicked kings (Jeroboam and Manasseh) is emphasized. See also MHG I, 412; vol IV, pp. 180 and 278. 36 Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 219; Tan. B. II, 16; Tan. Shemot 29. During the reign of Ahab Israel was addicted to idolatry, but possessed the great virtue of keeping away from slander and backbiting. During the time of Samuel and Saul the Israelites were just the reverse: they were devoted to the study of the Torah (even young boys and girls were learned in the law), but they had “evil tongues”. The former were victorious in their wars, the latter were unfortunate in their military expeditions. One may infer from this that one is severely punished for the “evil use of his tongue”. See Yerushalmi Peah 1, 16a; WR 26.2; DR 5.10; Tehillim 7, 67; PK 4, 31b; Tan. B. IV, 106; Tan. Hukkat 4; BaR 19.2. Ahab’s generation did not reveal the hiding-place of Elijah and the other hundred prophets; but David ’s abode in his flight from Saul was betrayed many a time. The great victory of Ahab and his people over the Syrians was the reward for their obervance of the Sabbath.
Likewise under Ahab’s son it was because of the observance of the Sabbath that Israel was victorious in the war against Mesha. See Mekilta RS, 162= Midrash Gadol 124. 36 Seder ‘Olam 20; Tosefta Sanhedrin 14.15; Babli 89b; Josephus, Antiqui., VIII, 14.15. The first and the last sources take the prophet mentioned in 1 Kings 20.13, 22 and 28 to be Micaiah, whose activity at the time of Ahab is spoken of in 1 Kings 22.8. 37 WR 26.8; Tan. B. Ill, 84; Tan. Emor 3; Shemuel 24, 121; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 11, 30c. Comp, also Baraita di-Yeshua‘ 46, where Tin p should be read instead of 38 Sanhedrin 48b; Tosefta 4.6. Two views are given there with regard to Ahab’s claims upon Naboth’s possessions. According to one, the king and Naboth were cousins, and when the latter died without issue, his possessions reverted to the nearest of kin, that is, Ahab. 39-42] The Legends of the Jews According to the other view, the property of those executed for lese majeste fell to the royal treasury; comp. vol. IV, p. 126. That Naboth was of noble descent is asserted by Josephus, Antiqui., VIII, 13.7. 39 PR 25, 127a. Josephus, Antiqui., VIII, 13.7, speaks of the three false witnesses who testified against Naboth. This presupposes the old Halakah according to which in cases involving capital punishment three witnesses (or to be more accurate, one accuser and two witnesses) are necessary.
Comp. Ginzberg, Unbekannte Sekte, 170, note 5. Naboth’s fate illustrates the saying, “Woe unto the wicked and woe to his associate; ” Naboth paid with his life for having been on friendly and close relations with the wicked Ahab; Alphabet of Ben Sira, 4b. 40 PK 25, 160b; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 10, 28b; Sotah 3, 18d; Ta'anit 25b; PRE 43; Shir 1.5. 41 Commenting on 1 Kings 22.19, the Rabbis remark that in the heavenly court there were some who pleaded for Ahab’s life and others who demanded his death; this is the meaning of Scripture in speaking of the host of heaven standing by God on His right and on His left; Tan. B. I, 96; II, 8 and 84; Tan. Shemot 18 and Mishpatim 15; Yelammedenu in ‘Aruk, s. v. 42 Sanhedrin 89a; Shabbat 102b. But Naboth ’s soul had to leave the abode of the pious, which is near God, for God tolerates not in His presence those who resort to lies; Sanhedrin and Shabbat loc. cit.; Tosefta-Targum 1 Kings 22.21 and 23. On the view that no two prophets express themselves in the same words, see also Aggadat Bereshit 14, 30; Josephua, Antiqui., VIII, 15.4. The last-named author writes: Zedekiah exhorted him (the king) not to hearken to Micaiah, for he did not speak the truth at all. To support his words, he instanced the saying of Elijah, who was a greater prophet to foretell the future than Micaiah. Now Elijah prophesied that the dogs would lick his (Ahab ’s) blood in the field of Naboth (see 1 Kings 21.19).
It was therefore plain that Micaiah was a false prophet, since he contradicted the words of a prophet greater than himself, and asserted that Ahab would be slain in a place three days’ journey distant from there. It was, however, subsequently seen that Micaiah did not contradict Elijah : Ahab fell in Ramoth Gilead, but his blood was licked by the dogs in Samaria, when they washed the king’s chariot there (1 Kings 22.38). See Josephus, ibid.; comp, also Sanhedrin 39b; Tosefta-Targum 1 Kings 22.34. Ahab’s sad end illustrates the truth of the sayings: “He who honors his enemy 312 Judah and Israel [43-53 is like an ass”, and “He who honors his enemy will meet his death through him”. Ahab honored his enemy Ben-hadad, and was slain in the war against him; Alphabet of Ben Sira lOb-lla. 43 Tehillim 78, 350; Shemuel 11, 80. That it was Naaman's missile which struck Ahab is also mentioned by Josephus, Antiqui., XVIII, 15.5; in Targum 2 Chron. 18.33; by Ephraem, 2 Kings 6.1. On the nature of this miracle, see note 44 on vol. IV, p. 88. Ahab was the only Jew slain in this battle; the suffering of the prophet Micaiah who had himself wounded to bring home the truth of his prophecy concerning the fatal result of the war against the Syrians (1 Kings 22. 37 ; comp, note 36) atoned for the sins of Israel, who were spared further punishment. See Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 11, 30c. This passage, however, is very obscure, and its purport probably is that the suffering of the pious Jehoshaphat (see vol.
IV, p. 186) had the atoning power. 44 Megillah 3a; Mo'ed Katan 28b; Targum Zech. 12.11. Comp., however, Sanhedrin 39b, where 1 Kings 22.36 is explained: And a jubilant song was heard through the battle arrays; the army rejoiced in the final execution of the divine punishment on Ahab. 45 Baba Kamma 17a. On the baring of the shoulders as a sign of mourning, see Biichler, Zeitschrift fur alttest. Wissenschaft, XXI, 81. seq. 46 Sanhedrin, Mishnah 10.1. On the persons who have no share in the world to come, see note 100, on vol. IV, p. 75. Comp, also note 65 on vol. IV, p. 95. 4 7 Konen 31. Comp. vol. IV, pp. 53 and 107. 48 Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 10, 28b, Comp, also ER 9, 49, and Babli 102b, where several authorities are quoted to the effect that Jezebel was mainly responsible for Ahab’s wicked life. 4 9 Sanhedrin 39b. s° Sanhedrin 100b, and somewhat different Yerushalmi 10, 28b. On the custom to devote to the Temple gold corresponding to one’s increase in weight, see Yoma 38b; Sifra 26.29; Ekah 1, 86-87; comp, further ‘Arakin Mishnah 5.1. 51 Esther R. 1.9. Among the heathen Semiramis and Vashti are considered the two reigning queens. Shemuel 2 (beginning) calls Jezebel “the daughter of a priest”, while 1 Kings 16.31 describes her father as a king. s’ PRE 17. 53 ShR 31.9; Tan. Mishpatim 9; Tehillim 15.6. Comp. vol. IV, pp. 240-241. According to Gaster, Exempla, p. 185, however, Joram 313 54-56] The Legends of the Jews was wicked only “from without”, but within he was good, as shown by the sympathy he felt with the sufferings of his people.
Comp. 2 Kings 6.30. 54 PK 2, 13; Tan. Ki-Tissa 9; Tosefta-Targum 2 Kings 3.27; Ta'anit 4a; Midrash Tannaim 100; Sifre D., 148; Ephraem, 2 Kings 3. 26-27; Jerome, Micah 6.7; Josephus, Antiqui., IX, 3.2. Comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei dtn Kirchenv., 83-86. According to one view (Sanhedrin 39b), the king of Moab brought his son as a sacrifice to an idol and not to God. ss Ta'anit 5a; comp, also PR 29, 136b-137a; Sanhedrin 12a; Tosefta 2.9; Yerushalmi 1, 18d; Nedarim 6, 39d. 5 6 Ta'anit 45a; Yerushalmi 1, 64a. Others identify this Joel with Joel the son of Samuel (see note 46 on vol. IV, p. 65), whereas Seder ‘Olam 20 (but see Ratner, ad loc.) maintains that Joel, Nahum, and Habakkuk were contemporaries of Manasseh. A fourth view found in PK 16.128b declares Joel, Amos, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah to have been the eight post-exilic prophets. The reading is not certain; some texts have Micah and Habakkuk instead of Joel and Jeremiah. Jerome, Joel 1.1, very likely on the authority of his Jewish masters, maintains that Joel lived shortly after Hosea, and therefore their books follow one another. Besides the literal interpretation of Joel’s prophecy, according to which a grievous famine took place in his time which was caused by the locust (see Ta'anit, loc. cit., and Jerome 1.6), there is also a symbolic explanation maintaining that the prophet refers to the devastations brought upon Israel by the “four kingdoms” (comp.
Index, s. v.), and therefore he speaks of four kinds of locusts. See Targum and Jerome on Joel 1.4 (he writes: Hebraei inter pr etantur) ; WR 5.3. Comp. Rahmer, Die Commentarii zu den XII Kleinen Propheten, Joel, 4-6.; note 20 on vol. IV, p. 260. On the etymologies of the names Joel and his father Pethuel given by Jerome, Joel 1.1, see Rahmer, ibid., 1-3, and the references in note 20 on vol. IV, p. 260. For an interesting description of the different kinds of locusts which devastated the Holy Land in Joel’s times, see PRK 43a. Comp, also MHG II, 80. As to the statement in PRK that the heart of a certain kind of locust has the shape of the letter Heth, it is to be remarked that to this day this kind of locust is believed to be the only one permitted to be eaten by the Jews of North Africa. On the war against Moab, which took place during the reign of Joram, the contemporary of Joel, see vol. IV, p. 10. This war was caused by the inhuman cruelty of the Moabite king, who 314 Judah and Israel [56 had the bodies of the Edomite kings exhumed and their bones burned to lime. God could not permit such an evil deed to pass unpunished, and the Moabites suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the allied kings. See Baba Batra 22a; Targum and Jerome (who introduces it by tradunt Hebraei ) on Amos 2.1. Comp, also Rashi, ad loc. 3)1
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