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THE LEGENDS OF
THE JEWS
THE
THE JEWS
LOUIS GINZBERG
V
NOTES TO VOLUMES I AND II
FROM THE CREATION TO THE EXODUS
PHILADELPHIA
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA
1-925
COPYRIGHT BY
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA
1925
Printed by
The Jewish Publication Society Press
Philadelphia, Pa,
U.S. A.
TO THE MEMORY OF
JUDGE MAYER SULZBERGER
PREFACE
The reader who wishes to acquaint himself with the aim and purpose
of "The Legends of the Jews" and with the method and system followed
by the author will find the necessary information in the Preface to
the first volume. I desire, however, to supplement it by a few remarks
which I hope will be useful as a guide to the two volumes of Notes.
Volumes one to four, containing the Bible as mirrored by Jewish
imagination and phantasy, are intended chiefly for the general reader
and not for the scholar. It is true, I flatter myself, that the latter
too will welcome the opportunity offered him for the first time of read-
ing hundreds of legends in connected form instead of being forced to
hunt for them in the vast literature of the Jews spreading over a period
of two thousand years and in Christian writings of many a century.
In the arranging and setting of the material in order, however, my main
effort was to offer a readable story and narrate an interesting tale.
Volumes five and six, on the other hand, which contain the notes to
the previous four volumes, are meant primarily, if not exclusively,
for the student. The material dealt with in them is of a nature which,
in the opinion of the author, will interest not only students of the
legendary lore of the Jews, but also students of many other fields of
learning. The student of comparative folk-lore will be attracted not only
by the rich material offered him for his studies, but also by the fact of its
being Jewish. The Jews may well be described as the great dissemina-
tors of folk-lore. Many a legend that originated in Egypt or Babylonia
was appropriated by the European peoples and many a European
fairy tale found its way to Asia through the medium of the Jews,
who on their long wanderings from the East to the West, and back
from the West to the East, brought the products of oriental fancies
to the occidental nations, and the creations of occidental imagination
to the oriental peoples.
The danger of confounding popular beliefs with the belief of a people
is great, and I have on more thart one occasion strongly protested
against the methodological error of a certain school of theologians, who
attempt to draw a picture of the Jewish religion by the artificial light
of popular fancies. But who will gainsay that the Volksfrommigkeit
VII
Preface
is reflected in the legends of a people? If this be true of legend in
general, how much more so of Jewish legend, and particularly of that
part thereof in which Jewish imagination expressed itself with regard
to biblical events, persons and teachings. Creation, the election of
Israel, the Torah, the merits of the Fathers, reward and punishment,
and many similar problems, engaged the attention, not only of Jewish
thought, but also of Jewish imagination. It is a well known fact
that one cannot know any one thing well unless he goes beyond it and
apprehends its relation to other things. To understand a people,
it is not sufficient to study its thought and imagination, but also the
relation of the two to one another. Almost one half of this volume is
therefore intended as much for the student of Jewish religious thought
as for the Jewish folk-lorist.
One of the outstanding characteristics of "the popular mind" is
its conservatism and adherence to old forms. Nothing perhaps il-
lustrates this more clearly and convincingly than the close affinity
that exists between the pseudepigraphic literature and the rabbinic
Haggadah, notwithstanding the centuries that He between some of
the Pseudepigrapha and the Midrashim. Fascinating as the study of
the relation between these two branches of Jewish literature is, it is
barely in its infancy. Jewish scholars have sorely neglected the study
of the Pseudepigrapha, and non-Jewish scholars that of Rabbinics,
and consequently very little has been achieved in this field of learning.
The two volumes of Notes contain, besides hundreds of parallels bet ween
the rabbinic sources and the pseudcpigraphic writings, also a number
of lengthy studies on the Pseudepigrapha, especially on their relation
to the Haggadah. To mention only two examples. To the Books of
Adam, i. e. the Vita Adae and the Apocalypse of Moses, ten pages are
devoted (118-128), and an almost equal number of pages is given to
the Books of Enoch (153-162).
What has just been said about the relation of the pseudepigraphic
literature to the Haggadah might be applied mutatis mutandis also
to the affinity between Philo and the Rabbis. There are few Jewish
authors about whom so much has been written as about Philo. And
yet the most important problem connected with Philo is not yet solved.
Was he a Jewish thinker with a Greek education, or a Greek philosopher
with Jewish learning? I hope that the very numerous references in
the Notes to the frequent similarity of the views held by the Rabbis
and by Philo will contribute something towards the solution of this prob-
VIU
Preface
lern. I call special attention to those Notes where apparently philosophic
utterances of Philo reveal themselves on close scrutiny as sound rab-
binic doctrine, the philosophical tinsel of which can be easily removed.
Notwithstanding the early claim of the Church to be the sole and true
interpreter of the Bible, the products of later Jewish thought and im-
agination found their way into it. The channels through which they
reached the Christian world were two. The Church had at its very
beginning adopted the pseud epigraphic literature as well as the Hel-
lenistic writings, especially those of Philo. Besides this literary in-
fluence of later Judaism upon the Church, cognizance must also be
taken of the oral communications made by Jewish masters to their
Christian disciples. Not only the Church Fathers, Origen, Eusebius,
Ephraem and Jerome, of whom it is well known that they studied the
Bible under the guidance of Jewish teachers, have appropriated a good
deal of Jewish legendary lore, but alsoTertullian, Lactantius, Ambrosius,
Augustine and many other teachers and leaders of the Church have
come under direct influence of Jews. It is true that the Church Fathers
sometimes sneeringly refer to thefabulae Judaicae, but more often they
accept these fabulae and even refrain from betraying the source from
which they drew them. The large material culled from the writings of
the Church Fathers to illustrate their dependence upon Jewish tradition
will be, I hope, of some value to the student of the patristic literature.
At the same time the student of Jewish literature will be interested to
learn that many a Haggadah first met with in Jewish literature in a
Midrash composed in the seventh or eighth century, and even later,
was transmitted as Jewish tradition by the Church Fathers of the
fifth or fourth or even the third century. Not infrequently the pat-
ristic literature throws also some light upon the origin of a Haggadah
which often owes its existence to the desire of combating Christian
interpretation of the Bible. An interesting example of such a Hag-
gadah is pointed out in the very beginning of this volume on page 3,
note 3.
The proble\ns that presented themselves to the author were so mani-
fold and diverse that it was quite impossible to deal fully with them.
What I strove to achieve, and I hope that I have not failed, was to have
the legendary material as complete as possible. There are very few
Jewish legends bearing on biblical events or persons that will not be
found, or at least referred to, in the seven volumes of this work. When
a legend has several variants, I give them if they are essential, other-
IX
Preface
wise the student is referred to the sources for further minute study.
I found it therefore advisable to give the reference to all parallel
passages of the original sources, as in most cases some slight variants
are not lacking. The order of the sources is the chronological one,
i. e. the older source precedes the younger one, except when on account
of its fulness or for some other reason the Text is based on the latter
one, in which case it comes first.
I have purposely avoided references to secondary sources, and while
one is frequently accustomed to be referred to Rashi, Yalkut and other
mediaeval authors as sources for Jewish legend, these authors are
mentioned in the Notes only when they offer either material not found
in the older literature extant or some important variants.
I have also been very sparing with references to modern writers on
the Haggadah or on general Folk-lore. There are a considerable
number of doctoral dissertations, mostly in German, which attempt to
give the lives of prominent figures of the Bible according to the Hug-
gadah. At their best, they are correct translations of some sections
of the Midrash Rabba, and there was no need to refer to translations,
as the Notes are written for those who are able to make use of the ori-
ginal sources. For this very reason, I also refrained from giving ex-
planations to the texts quoted if they are found in the commentaries.
Explanations are given in the Notes only when the commentators
fail to do so, or where I differ with their views. As I have a thorough
dislike for polemics, I rarely gave my reasons for the refusal to accept
the views of others.
As to the literature on general Folk-lore, I was guided by the con-
sideration that a student of comparative Folk-lore is surely acquainted
with the standard works of Bolte and Polivka, Cosquin, Child, Clouston,
Hartland, Grasse, Hertz, Kohler, Oesterley and other great masters of
this field of study, and it would have been entirely superfluous to call
attention to the very numerous parallels found in these works to
Jewish legends. The relation of the legendary lore of the Jews to that
of the other nations is of extreme interest to the student *of Folk-lore,
but the discussion of this relation does not fall within the scope of this
work.
A folk-Ioristic motif often appears in a variety of legends which for-
mally are quite distinct from one another. In cases like this, reference
is made either to the Text of the related legend or to the Note pertain-
ing thereto. The attention of the student is, however, called to the
X
Preface
fact that it is necessary to examine both Text and Note to make clear
the meaning of such a reference. To avoid multiplying the references,
it was found advisable to refer to the Index, which will appear in the
seventh volume, and which will contain under the subject headings
all the passages of Text and Notes that are related to one another.
The Index will also give a complete bibliography of the works
quoted in the Notes. For the convenience of the reader, however, a
list of abbreviated titles of books is attached to this volume. I have
followed the usual forms of quoting, and no special directions are neces-
sary for those who a-re able to make use of the sources in their original.
The titles of the Hellenistic and patristic works are given in Latin,
and the editions referred to are the critical ones, if there be any, other-
wise the vulgate text is used. Most of the writings of the Church
Fathers, for instance, are quoted according to the Patrology of Migne.
In quoting the works of Philo the divisions of the older editions are
retained for the benefit of those who have not the critical edition of
Cohn and Wendland at their disposal. Almost all the Hebrew works
made use of in the Notes were accessible to me in their first editions.
In quoting, however, the Talmudim, Midrashim and similar works, the
ordinary editions are referred to, except where critical editions exist.
The transliteration of Hebrew words is that of the Jewish Encyclo-
paedia, except that because of typographical difficulties, I did not make
use of the diacritical points. Accordingly H stands for n and n, K
for 3 and p, T for B and n, and Z for T and X
The Notes were completely ready for the printer more than five years
ago, and the delay of their publication is a matter for which the author
must not be held responsible. I am glad, however, to be able to state
that the sixth volume containing the Notes to volumes three and four
is so far advanced in print that it will appear within a short time. I
also hope that the seventh volume, which will consist of the Excursuses,
Index and Bibliography, will not be delayed unduly.
In the concluding lines of the preface I can not help giving expression
to the feeling of deep sadness that overcomes me at the thought
that Dr. B. Halper, who greatly assisted me in seeing this work
through the press, was snatched away from our midst before its comple-
tion. With the devotion of the friend and the interest of the scholar
he did much more for this book than even the most conscientious editor
could be expected to do. His untimely death was a great loss to
Jewish scholarship and still more to his friends, who will always re-
member him with love and affection.
New York, April 24, 1925 Louis GINZBERG
XI
CONTENTS
PAGE
I. The Creation of the World (Vol. I, pp. 1-46) 3
II. Adam (Vol. I, pp. 47-102) 63
III. The Ten Generations (Vol. I, pp. 103-142) 132
IV. Noah (Vol. I, pp. 143-182) 167
V, Abraham (Vol. I, pp. 183-308) 207
VI. Jacob (Vol. I, pp. 309-424) 270
I. Joseph (Vol. II, pp. 1-184) 324
II. The Sons of Jacob (Vol. II, pp. 185-222) 378
III. Job (Vol. II, pp. 223-242) 381
IV. Moses in Egypt (Vol. II, pp. 243-375) 391
I. THE CREATION OF THE WORLD
(PP- 3-46)
1 Tehillim 90, 391. For further details relating to the pre-exist-
ent things, see Excursus I.
a The Torah is conceived as having emanated from God 's wisdom.
Comp. Excursus I.
3 PRE 3. As to God's taking counsel with the angels and the
Torah, comp. also vol. I, pp. 51 and 55. Similarly both Talmudim
and the Midrashim frequently speak of God's court of justice, con-
sisting of the angels as members. Comp. Yerushalmi Berakot 9, 14b;
Sanhedrin 1, 18a, and Babli 38b; WR 24. 2; BaR 3. 4; BR 51. 2; ShR
6. 1 and 12. 4; Shir 1. 9; PR 42, 175b; Tan. Wa-Era 16; Tan. B. I,
96, 106; II, 36, 51; Tehillim 119, 497; Yerushalmi Rosh ha-Shanah
2, 58b; ShR 30. 18. Tertullian, Adversus Praxean, 16, clearly points
to the fact that the legend that the angels were consulted by God
with regard to the creation is due to an anti-Christian tendency. Its pur-
pose is to exclude the possibility of assuming that the Trinity is im-
plied wherever the Bible employs the plural in connection with the
deity. Comp. notes 10 and 12 on vol. I, pp. 51-53. ,
4 Raziel 20b and Sode Raza in Yalkut Reubeni on Gen. 1. 3,
excerpted from an unknown but late midrashic source, since it is a
further development of the Haggadot cited in notes 1 and 3 from Te-
hillim and PRE; comp. Luria on PRE 3, note 25, and vol. I, pp.
51-52.
5 BR 3. 7 and 9. 2; Koheleth 3. 11; Tehillim 34, 245. This is
a faint reflection of the view that God formed the world out of eter-
nal chaos, since the legend could not question the doctrine of creatio
ex nihilo. Comp. Excursus I. The legend about the nine hundred
and seventy-four generations which existed prior to the creation of
the world (or cautiously expressed, the generations that God had in-
tended to create), originally presupposed a pre-existent chaos; comp.
BR. 28. 4; Koheleth 1, 15 and 4. 3; Shir 4. 4; Tehillim 90, 392, and
105, 459; Hagigah 13b; ARN 31, 91; Tan. Lek 11 and Yitro 9; ER
3
68] The Legends of the Jews
2, 9; 6, 33; 13, 68; 16, 130; EZ 10, 189. Subsequently the legend
concerning the nine hundred and seventy-four generations was brought
into relation with the Haggadah that the Torah was created one thou-
sand years prior to the creation of the world. Comp. Excursus I,
See also Shabbat 88b and Targum Job 22, 16, according to the manu-
script reading recorded in Levy's Chald'dischcs Wortcrbuch I, 186.
6 BR 12. 15 and 21. 7; Midrash Shir 39b; PR 40, U>7a (instead
of ItiynD in jn read y^nD Kin "CD "he would act as a spoiled child ");
Yelammedcnu quoted by Sikli (comp. Poznanski in Hazofeh, III, 16-
17, and in Maybaum- Festschrift, as well as Ginzbcrg's remarks in
Hazofeh IV, 31; Ozar Midrashim 64); Yerushalmi Targumim on (ion.
1. 2; a quotation from an unknown Midrash by R. Bahya in Kad
ha-Kemah, Rosh ha-Shanah 68a, and by R. Aaron in Orchot Hayyim
I, 99c. The goodness of God as underlying the principle of creation
is very frequently mentioned by Philo; comp. De Mut. Norn., 5; DC
M. Optf., 5 (further references to Philo are cited by Siegfried, Philo,
205-206). Similarly Wisdom 11. 24. The daily morning prayer (Yo-
zer) reads: "And in His goodness He renews the creation every clay
continually." God is often described as "the very good" (Yerushal-
mi Ta'anit 2, 65b; PK 25, 161a), and hence the maxim: "Only God
is good" (Matthew 19. 17; Alphabetot 83; the latter source was very
likely used by R. Bahya, Gen. 1. 31), is only a paraphrase of Ps,
149. 9, as pointed out in the Alphabetot. Philo is accordingly de-
pendent upon Jewish tradition, but the Jewish sources are indepen-
dent of him, although it is rather striking that the rendering of tPnVtt
by "God's goodness" in the Targumim, toe. cit., coincides with that
of Philo (Quis Haeres Sit, 6), while the Rabbis (see e.g. Sifre D.,
27) maintain that the Tetragrammaton mT designates God's attri-
bute of goodness but His justice is expressed by O'r&N. Comp. note
46 on vol. I, p. 164, as well as note 9.
7 As to Behemoth and Ziz, comp. vol. I, pp. 28, 29, 30.
8 Comp. Index, s.v. "Israel, Guardian Angels of". Originally
these two angels belonged to two different traditions: one considered
Michael the guardian angel of Israel, while according to the other,
contrary to Daniel 10. 21, Gabriel occupied this position, The ri-
valry of these two angels is met with in Jewish legends throughout
the centuries (comp. Index, s.v.) and the harmonizing tendency of our
legend argues for its comparatively late date. Instead of Michael and
Gabriel, in Hekalot 6, 179-180, the Serafim (two of them; comp.
SodeRazain Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 1. 26, lOa, which reads: There are two
4
The Creation of the World [910
angels with whom God takes counsel, and these are the same with
whom God took counsel at the time of the creation of Adam) are
said to burn the books containing the accusations brought by Satan
and the guardian angels of the Gentiles against Israel (in accordance
with Yoma 77a, read Wan instead of ^K1D~r and TO instead of rrtna).
Comp. also Berakot I7a ftr!?Ba) and EZ 5, 182, as well as Rimze
Haftarot, 1 Sheb'uot, concerning the accusations of the angels against
Israel.
9 Konen 37-38; Midrash Behokmah 63-66; Pesikta Hadta 48-49.
The distance of the angels of destruction, as well as all other evils,
from God is alluded to in very old sources; comp. Yerushalrni
Ta'anit 2, 65b; Tan. B. I, 95, and III, 39-40; Tan. Tazria' 9;
Tehillim 5, 54, and 87, 374; PK 24, 161b; Gittin 88a; Hagigah
12a; BR 3. 6 and 51. 31; MHG I, 22-25; see also note 54; note 176
on vol. II, p. 70, and note 766 on vol. Ill, p. 374. In all these and
similar passages (Wa-Yekullu I7b-18a and Griinhut, ad loc.) the un-
derlying idea is that God, the original source of good, would not come
in close contact with evil. This view is related to, but not identi-
cal with, the doctrine of Philo that nothing but good emanates from
God. To give a philosophic turn to a popular conception is one of
Philo J s chief merits. A different opinion is expressed by Freuden-
thal, Hellenistische Studien, I, 70. Origen, Contra Celsum, 4, 66, is evi-
dently based upon Philo. The fallen angels are found according to
2 Enoch 18, in the second heaven, i.e., far away from the throne of
God. Attention, however, is to be drawn to the fact that in rabbin-
ic sources the angels of destruction are not identified with the fallen
angels, as in the Books of Enoch, and elsewhere in pseudepigraphic
literature, but are the angels whose task it is to inflict punishment
upon the wicked. The statement made in PR 22, 114a, that the an-
gels of destruction, unlike all the others (comp. Friedmann, ad loc.) t
have "joints", wishes to convey the idea that they do not stand be-
fore God 's throne, and do not fulfil their duties speedily like the other
angels, but move about slowly, from one place to another, like human
beings who move by means of "joints".
1 The mystic passages in the earliest rabbinic sources already
discuss the idea that God created the world by the means of
"letters" (comp., e.g., Yerushalrni Hagigah 2, 77c; Menahot 29b;
Berakot 55a; BR 1. 9; Midrash Shir 39b; PR 21, 108b, and 33, 153a;
ER 31, 164; Shir 5. 11; see also the passages referred to by Theodor
on BR 9, line 9), and in gaonic literature this neo-Pythagorean-gnos-
5
II 14] The Legends of the Jews
tic theory plays an important part, especially in the Sefer Yezirah
(see Ginzberg's article on the Sefer Yezirah in the Jewish Encyclo-
pedia, and the literature cited there, as well as Joel, Blicke, I, 121),
and the literature dependent on this book, as Midrash 'Aseret ha-
Dibrot 62, Konen 23-24, and many others. Along with these mystic
speculations (Pesikta Hadta 36 asserts that God created the universe
by means of the Sefer Yezirah; comp. also Seder Rabba di-Bereshit
1-5), the forms, names, and order of the Hebrew letters are a favorite
theme of the "pedagogic Haggadot", whose object it is to render
the elementary instruction to the young interesting and attractive.
Such Haggadot are, e.g., Shabbat 104a; Yerushalmi Megillah 1, 7 Id;
BR 8. 11 (see the numerous parallel passages cited by Theodor), as
well as the non-mystic elements of the two versions of the Alphabet
of R. Akiba. Darmesteter, R.E.J., IV, 259, seq., and Muller, Siteungs-
berichte Wiener Akademie, Phil.-historische Klasse, CLXVIII, treatise
2, furnish a rich collection of parallels to these Haggadot from patristic
as well as from later Christian literature. To these " pedagogic Hag-
gadot" belong also the Tagin and Midrash R. Akiba, whereas Mid-
rash ha-Shiloah (in Onkeneira's Ayyum&h Kannidgalot, 18) and Tik-
kune Zohar deal exclusively with the first word of the Bible, concern-
ing which a great deal may be found in other parts of rabbinic liter-
ature; comp. BR 1. 7; MGH I, 10-11; Alphabet of R. Akiba 19; Seder
Rabba di-Bereshit 3-4; Midrash Aggada on Gen. 1.1; the comment-
aries Hadar, Da' at, Pa'aneah, and Toledot Yizhak on Gen., loc. cit*
For interesting parallels in Christian literature relating to the forms
of the Hebrew alphabet, comp. especially ps.- Matthew 31; Gospel of
Thomas 6 (in both versions).
11 An allusion to Ps. 145. 15; comp. also Berakot 4b*
1 a There are different versions relating to the controversy of the
letters about precedence originally a " pedagogic Haggadah", it was
later combined with the mystic theory of the letters. The text given
is essentially based on 2 Alphabet of R, Akiba 50-55, with the omis-
sion of many biblical verses, which are quoted by God and by the
letters. Other versions are found in MHG I, 12-13; 'Aseret ha-Dib-
rot 62; Midrash R. Akiba 23-24; Zohar I, 2b-3a and 205b.
1 3 This number, as Lekah, Gen. 1. 1, correctly remarks, corres-
ponds to God's "ten words". Comp. vol. I, p, 49 (beginning).
14 I.e., "time", which is here mentioned as having been created si-
multaneously with the world. This is in agreement with Philo, who
in De M. Opif., 7, rejects the view which assumes that "time" is older
6
The Creation of the World [i5~*7
than the world; BR 3. 7 and Koheleth 3. 11 hold this very opinion
rejected by Philo.
15 Hagigah 12a; PRE 3. The former passage mentions God's ten
attributes whidh were made use of at the creation of the world. So
also in ARN, second version 43, 119, whereas the first version knows
only of seven such attributes. This latter view corresponds to Jub.
2. 2; Philo, De M, Opif., 7; Tadshe 6, which state that only seven
categories of creation took place on the first day. Other sources as-
cribe three kinds of creation to each day; comp. vol. I, pp. 82-83.
Quite instructive is the fact that the Talmud does not conceive rm
D'H^N (Gen. 1. 2) as "God's spirit", but as "God's wind", which in-
terpretation is certainly due to an anti-Christian tendency, since the
Christians identified God's spirit with the Holy Ghost; comp. Origen,
Princip.j I, 33, and Jerome,, ad loc. The Jewish interpretation was
later accepted by some of the Church Fathers, as e.g, t by Ephraim,
I, 8 B, F; Basilius, Hexaemeron, 3, and Theodoretus, Gen., loc. cit.\
comp. also Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 14-15. The pre-
valent opinion of the Palestinian Midrashim is that by " God's spir-
it" the spirit ( =soul) of Adam is meant; according to others it implies
the spirit of the Messiah; BR 8. 1. The souls of all the pious, how-
ever, were likewise created at the same time as Adam, or, as others
assert, the primordial light which came into being on the first day
is the material out of which the souls have been formed; comp. Ex-
cursus I, where details are also given concerning the view of the Rab-
bis about the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo, on which they insist to the
extent of counting Tohu ("void") and Bohu ("emptiness") among
the things created. As to God's spirit in the form of a dove (Mat-
thew 3. 16), comp. Tosefta Hagigah 2. 5; Yerushalmi 2, 77a; Babli
15a; BR 2. 4.
1 6 The heavens, like all the beings dwelling therein, consist of a
combination of fire (not of an earthly or physical nature) and water,
whereas the earth was formed of the snow found under the heavenly
throne; Konen 24; BR 4. 7(0 W " heaven "=D'D1 PK "fire and water");
Hagigah 12a; BaR 12. 4. Comp. further Lekah, Gen. 1. l(y"IN "earth"
is derived from pi "the running one", i.e., the one around which
everything moves), and note 18.
*7 BR 1. 15; Yerushalmi Hagigah 2, 77c; Babli 12a; Tamid 32a
(the question is here discussed whether light or darkness was creat-
ed first; to Philo, too, darkness is something positive, not merely the
absence of light; comp. De M, Opif,, 7, where darkness is identified
i
18-19] The Legends of the Jews
with dffp air); WR 36. 1; Tan. B. I. 10 and 15; PRE 18; Shemuel
5, 55-56; Mishle 60; Tosefta Keritot (end); Mekilta (beginning). In
most of the passages just quoted mention is made of two more
views in addition to the one given in the text. According to one,
the heaven preceded the earth (so Philo), while according to the se-
cond, the earth preceded the heaven. Joel, Blicke, I, 112, remarks
that in these speculations we have an echo of the Greek theories ap-
pertaining to cosmogony. Recognitiones, I, 27, agrees with the later
Rabbis that heaven and earth were created simultaneously. Comp.
Konen 24, where the old view is still retained. Although created si-
multaneously, nevertheless the heavens were created by God's right
hand, and the earth by His left; PRE 18; Zohar II, 18b, 65b; comp.
Luna, PRE, ad loc. At the very beginning God created the world
to come, which He, however, hid, so that not even the angels could
see it, then He fashioned this world; Alphabetot 97; comp. Isa. 64,4.
18 PRE 3. But in the older sources (BR 3. 4; PK 21, I45b;
WR 31. 7; ShR 15. 22 and 50. 1; Tan. B. L 6, and II, 123; Tan. \Va-
Yakhel 6; Tehillim 27, 221, and 104, 440) it is the light emanating
from God's splendor, that was the beginning of all creation. The
view that snow was the primeval component of the earth is mentioned
only in PRE and in the sources dependent on it (comp. Luria, ad loc.),
whereas ShR 13. 1 maintains that the world was created of the earth
found under God 's throne; comp. however, BR 1. 6 and parallel passages,
where it is proved by Job 37. 7 that the earth was created of snow.
Zohar III, 34b, however, is directly dependent on ShR, loc. tit* As
to the account of the creation in Konen 24-25, comp. Excursus I.
It may also be remarked that the statement in ShR 15. 22, accord-
ing to which the light emanated from fire (of a heavenly kind) occurs
very likely already in 4 Ezra 6. 40, where lumen aliguid luminis is based
on the faulty reading mD "TIN instead of PN *m It is however
possible that 4 Ezra wishes to say the same as many of the Midrash-
im just quoted, according to which the primordial light was made of
God's splendor, in Hebrew ''light from light." Philo expresses this
view in words similar to those of the Haggadah; comp. Freuden-
thal, Hellenistische Studien, 71; Weinstein, Genesis der Agada, 4L
See also the following note.
19 BR 3. 6, 11. 2, 12. 6, and 42. 3; Hagigah 12a (only this pas-
sage and BHM VI, 59, give a detailed but rather obscure description
of Tohu and Bohu; comp. Joel, Blicke, I, 142); PR 5, 20a, and 46,
187a; EZ 21, 94; Tehillim, 97, 422. Comp. further ER 3, 14 and
8
The Creation of the World [20-21
16-17; EZ 12, 193; Nispahim 56; PRE 3 (here, in accordance with
ARN, second version, 37, 95, should be read D'p'nx nmK instead of
D'pHX mrnN); comp. also vol. I, pp. 86, 262, 388; vol. IV, p. 234,
with regard to the future light of the pious. On this light which
is, however, not identified with the primordial light (but comp. 4
Ezra 6. 40, which reads; lumen, ...de thesauris tuis, which literally
corresponds to the rabbinic MUn "11K, since Mi = " preserved in
the treasury"; see also the preceding note), comp. the Apocalypse
of Baruch 51. 3; Enoch 38. 4 (numerous parallel passages are cited
by Charles, adloc.)\ 2 Enoch 66. 3 and 9. Concerning Philo 's view
on the primordial light, comp. De M, Opif., 8 and 18; Sachs, Beitrdge,
II, 34; Weinstein, Genesis der Agada, 38. For the further develop-
ment of this light doctrine among the medieval philosophers and
mystics, comp. Al-Barceloni, 18-22; Zohar I, 31b, 34a, 45b, and II,
ISSb.
20 The Hebrew word for heaven DW (for its etymology see
note 16; BR 4.7 and parallel passages cited by Theodor) looks like a
plural though it is really a singular (see Barth, Z.D.M.G., 42; 346),
hence the conception that there are several heavens is already met
with in the Bible. But the exact fixing of their number belongs to
a more recent date. Comp. the following two notes.
31 The significance of the number seven in Jewish legend may
be seen by referring to the Index s.v. Seven. PK 23, 154b-155a; Tehil-
lim 9, 87 (comp. the parallel passages cited by Buber); PRE 18 and
Tadshe 6, 19-20, maintain that from the history of mankind and
that of Israel, as well as from nature, one may prove that this num-
ber plays an important part. Similar discussions on the importance
of "seven" are found in Philo, De M. Opif., 30-34 (in a very elabor-
ate form), and in 4 Maccabees 14. 17. Yezirah 4, which is the source
for Zohar I, 15b and 38a, as well as for MHG I, 11, points out that
everything physical is determined by seven limitations: above and
below, right and left, before and behind, and its own individual form.
Similarly Philo, All. Leg., 1. 2, Zohar I, 38a, derives the conception
of seven heavens, seven hells, and other "sevens" from this funda-
mental idea, and this view of Zohar deserves serious attention.
On the seven heavens comp. further the following note. The de-
pendence of Tadshe, loc. cit., on Philo is not to be assumed (against
Epstein, R.E.J., XXI, 87, seg..), in view of the fact that the conception
of the seven stages of man's age, though of Greek origin, occurs not
only in' Philo and Tadshe, but also in Koheleth 1. 2.
9
22] The Legends of the Jews
22 Hagigah 12b. For the correct reading of this classic pas-
sage concerning the seven heavens, comp., besides Variae Lectioncs,
ad loc., MHG I, 14-15, The seven heavens are further mentioned
in BR 19. 7; PK 1, Ib, and 24, 154b-155a (the names of the heavens
are different here from those in the Talmud); PR 5, 17b-18b, and
15, 68b; Shir 5. 1; Tan. B. Ill, 37-38; Tan. Pekude 6 and Naso 15;
BaR 12. 6 and 13. 2; WR 29. 11; Tehillim 9, 88, and 109, 471; Seder
Rabba di-Bereshit 5-6 (read maiJJD instead of mryD). The last-named
source, 21-26, also gives a detailed description of the heavens (this
is the only rabbinic passage which speaks of a heavenly ladder lead-
ing from one heaven to another; comp. note 49 on Vol, I, p. 70). See also
* Aseret ha-Dibrot 63-65 and the older version of this Midrash on the first
commandment; ARN37, 110; Midrash Shir 2b; Alphabetot 86-87; PRE
18; DR 2. 32; comp. also PK 1, 7b; PR 20, 98b; Zohar 1, 85b; II, I64b-
165a, 172a; III, 9a-10a. That the idea concerning the seven heavens
originated in the tannaitic period cannot be definitely proved. It is
found in a statement by R, Meir (ARN, loc* cit.) t but the authen-
ticity of this source is not above suspicion. From DR 2. 32; Tehillim
109, 471 (read an for pan), and 148, 538, it may be seen that even
much later the prevailing view was that there were only three (ac-
cording to some, two) heavens. This view is in agreement with
the opinion of 12 Testaments, Levi 3, and 2 Cor. 15. 6. 2 Enoch
3-31, whose cosmogony, however, is rather syncretistic, and the fol-
lowing pseudepigraphic works (which contain Christian revisions), 3
Baruch; Ascension of Isaiah 8, 13; Testament of Abraham 19 (longer
recension), as well as some versions of the 12 Testaments (containing
Christian revisions), lac. cit., are the oldest passages referring to the
seven heavens. The view of "ten heavens" (corresponding to the
ten groups of angels; it may also be a learned combination of the views
concerning the three and seven heavens, respectively) is found in some
of the texts of 2 Enoch 22 and Zohar II, 164b-165a and I72a. The
later popular view among Jews, Christians, and gnostics was that
there were seven heavens. The learned classes, however, were not
inclined to accept this view; they were of the opinion that two, or
at most, three heavens, were sufficient. As to the rabbinic sources,
comp. Hagigah, DR, Tehillim, loc. cit. As to the Church Fathers,
see Ginsberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 10-14, as well as Siegfried,
Philo., index, $.v. "Himmel". In the description of the individual
heavens, each of the sources follows its own way. As to the pseu-
depigraphic works, comp. 2 Enoch; 3 Baruch; Ascension of Isaiah;
10
The Creation of the World [23-27
12 Testaments, Levi, As to the rabbinic literature, see Hagigah; Seder
Rabba di-Bereshit 21-26; Sode Raza in Yalkut Reubeni on Gen. 1.
1, 3c-4a; Raziel 12a-13d, 19a-19c, and 27c-27d; Zohar II, 254a-263a,
whose fantastic description of the seven "Hekalot" (the heavenly
halls) is nothing more than an account of the seven heavens. Just as
the gnostics speak of three hundred and sixty-five heavens (Tertul-
lian, Haer. t 1), even so do the Jewish mystics assert that besides the
seven heavens there is still another great number of heavens; comp.
BHM I, 132; Alphabetot 89; Sode Raza, loe. tit. With regard to the
description of the heavens in the text according to Hagigah, the fol-
lowing is to be noticed. The manna is placed in the third heaven;
comp. voL III, p. 44, and Apocalypse of Baruch 29. 8. As to the
fourth heaven in which the heavenly temple is situated, comp. Zeba-
him 62a; Menahot llOa; Kebod Huppah, 11. For the literature ap-
pertaining to this subject, see Excursus I. PR 20, 98b, seems to locate
the heavenly temple in the seventh heaven. As to the removal of the
instruments of punishment from the sixth heaven, comp. Tan. B, I,
99; BR 51. 3; Tehillim 5. 54. With regard to this subject, i.e., on
the idea that no evil is to be found in God's proximity, see note 9.
Comp. further Enoch 60. 17, and vol. IV, p. 102. As to the dew
for the purpose of quickening the dead, comp. vol. Ill, p. 95; vol.
IV, p. 333, 336, 360. See also the Apocalypse of Baruch 29. 7 and
73. 2; 2 Enoch 22. 9; as well as the "dew of light" of the gnostics in
Preuschen, Adamschriften, 63. The old rabbinic sources where this
is mentioned are the following: Yerushalmi Berakot 5, 9b; Ta'anit
1, 63d. This dew particularly plays a very important part in mystic
literature; comp. PRE 34 (end) and the sources cited by Luria. As
to the seventh heaven 'Arabot, comp. BHM I, 132, which is the source
for Tola' at Ya'akob (at the end of Asher Yazar).
23 The sea and the water in Jewish legend, like Apsu and Ti-
amat in Babylonian mythology, are two different elements: the one
is sweet water and the other salt water. To point out the exact
nature of this difference, Konen 24 uses the phrase D'plHD D'D ("sweet
water"), in contrast to D* "sea"=salt water.
a4 That is, counted from above downward.
as Seven names for hell are already given in 'Erubin 19a, which
in Tehillim 11, 100 (with some variants) appear as seven compart-
ments of hell; comp. notes 55-57.
a6 Corresponding to the number of days of the solar year.
27 Concerning these monsters, comp. note 34 on vol. I, p. 114.
11
28-30] The Legends of the Je*ivs
38 MHG I, 16-17. For a full account of the seven earths, see
Konen 35-37; Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 5-28 (different versions); Ru-
ziel (nwi3 nJ7D), 27a-27b. Older sources speak of seven or ten
names of the earth (comp. note 22 with reference to the seven or ten
heavens), as well of the seven earths. It is, however, doubtful whether
this does not really mean seven parts (zones); comp. PK 24, 155a;
WR 19. 11; Shir 6. 4 (here, however, only six heavens are mentioned,
the highest of which, where God dwells, not being' included, ami six
earths; comp. PK 1, 7b, and ShR 15. 26); ARN 38, 110; second ver-
sion 43, 119; Mishle 8, 59, and 9, 61; Tehillim 92, 402; PRK 8; see
further Sode Raza in Yalkut Reubeni on Gen. 1.1, 2d-3a. Another
sevenfold division of the earth is to be found in the following state-
ment of Hagigah 12b and, with essential variants, in Yerushuhni 2,
77a; Leket 8b; Tehillim 104, 442; Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 11. Ac-
cording to this statement, the earth rests on pillars, which rest on
water, which rests on mountains, which rest on the winds, which
rest on storms, which rest on God's arm. The number of the pillars
upon which the earth rests is variously given: seven, twelve, and even
one, whose name is "Zaddik" (righteous). These seven pillars of
the earth are personified in the Clementine writings as the seven saints
Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, The view
that there is a connection between the seven pillars of the earth spo-
ken of by the Rabbis and the seven saints of the Clementine writings,
first suggested by Ginzberg in the Jewish Encyclopedia, IV, 114, is
now proved to be correct by Alphabetot 1G3, where the seven pillars
are actually identified with the seven pious men: the three patriarchs
and Moses, Aaron, David, and Solomon.
29 BR 1, 13; Tan. B. I, 6. Comp. also Alphabetot 97.
30 Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 4-5; Alphabetot 89. A passage
found at the end of the Mishnah which, however, does not belong to
it, but is a later insertion (comp, Sanhedrin lOOa; Tehillim 31, 239,
and Schwarz, Die Controversen t 2) reads as follows: In the time to
come God will bestow three hundred and ten worlds on every right-
eous person. Comp. further Petirat Mosheh 121 (where Wai is to
be struck out), and Ketoret ha-Sammim 4b, where a passage from ARN
is cited concerning the three hundred and ten worlds. This passage
does not occur in our texts of this Midrash, but it resembles the state-
ment of BHM I, 132 (this is the source of R. Bahya, Gen. 1, 1) with
reference to the three hundred and ninety heavens. On these heavens
see Derek Erez R. 2 (end) and Targum Yerushalmi Exod. 28.
12
The Creation of the World [3*~"33
30. Instead of three hundred and ten, Alphabetot of R. Akiba has
three hundred and forty. In the same source, 29, the view regard-
ing the distance between the angels and the Shekinah is very likely
connected with the statement made in 'Abodah Zarah 3b and Seder
Rabba 4 concerning the eighteen thousands worlds. Comp. like-
wise note 97.
31 BR 6. 6 and numerous parallel passages cited by Theodor.
Comp, likewise Ascension of Isaiah 7. 18; vol. II, p. 307; vol. Ill,
p. Ill; vol. IV, p. 334. See also the sources cited in the following
note.
32 Ta'anit lOa; Pesahim 94a; Yerushalmi Berakot 1, 2c. Comp.
the material collected by Hirschensohn, Sheba' Hokmot, 1-13, on the
views of the ancient rabbinic sources concerning the extension of the
earth and other physical-meteorological observations found in these
writings. On the thickness of the heavens comp. BR 6. 6, and the
Greek Baruch 3.
33 Konen 27. Yalkut Reubeni on Lev. 2. 13 quotes the fol-
lowing from an unknown Midrash: The world is divided into three
parts: inhabited land, desert, and sea; the temple is situated in the
inhabited land, the Torah was given in the desert, and salt from the
sea is offered with every sacrifice. God's power extends over all
these three parts of the earth; He led Israel through the Red Sea,
they wandered through the wilderness, and reached the inhabited
land, Palestine; R. Bahya on Num. 10. 35. According to 4 Ezra 42,
a seventh part of the earth is water; but this bears no relation to
Recognitiones 9, 26. This passage contains only the view that the
world is divided into seven zones. Comp. the rabbinic parallel pas-
sages cited in note 28. The division into twelve zones, which is fre-
quently found in non-Jewish sources (comp. Broil, Sphaera, 296, and
Jeremias, ATAO 2, 50-51), is not unknown to rabbinic literature,
where it is stated that according to Deut. 32. 8 the earth consists of
twelve parts corresponding to the twelve sons of Jacob. Comp. Se-
der Rabba di-Bereshit 4; Alphabet R. Akiba 24; Lekah, Gen. 1. 14
(end, where it is said that the various zones correspond to the signs
of the Zodiac). See further note 73 on vol. I, p. 173. The view that
paradise is situated in the east is based on Gen. 2. 8. But DlpD in
this verse was taken by very old authorities in the sense of u pre-ex-
^sting" (comp. Excursus I). Thus many Rabbis assert that paradise
was situated in the west, or to be more accurate, in the north-west.
13
34"~39] The Legends of the Jews
Comp. Tosafot Berakot 55b, caption tODD; Enoch 32; voL III F p.
161.
3 4 Konen 28-31; Baba Batra 25a; vol. Ill, pp. 160 t 232.
35 Gittin 31b. On the winds comp. Hirschensohn, Sheba* Hok-
mot, 8-11; Derenbourg, Monatsschrift, XXX, 173-174. Comp. vol.
Ill, p. 282.
36 Gittin 31b; Konen 31. An interesting parallel to 2 Enoch 40.
11, concerning the stilling of the wind in order that the world should
not be destroyed, is found in BR 24. 4 (comp. the parallel passages
cited by Theodor).
37 PRE 3; Tehillim 2, 16. Comp. likewise Baba Batra 25b.
38 This is the usual transliteration, whereas Shetiyyah is the only
permissible form, if it is to be derived from W.
35 Tan. B. Ill, 78; Tan. Kedoshim 10. We are here confronted
with a legend which is composed of various elements. Palestine,
God's favorite land, was created before all other parts of the world;
Sifre D., 37; Mekilta RS, 168; Ta'anit lOa; Sibyl 5. 300. Comp. like-
wise Excursus I. Instead of Palestine in general, Jerusalem (Yoma
54b; Tehillim 50, 279; Targum Ps. 50. 2), or the site of the temple
(comp. the following note) is designated as the beginning of creation.
The widespread popular notion that the earth came into being as a
result of a stone which God had thrown into the water (comp. Dahn-
hardt, Natursagen, I, 4, and see further the remarks on water as the
primeval first element in Excursus I) was subsequently brought in-
to relation with the view that creation began with the site of the tem-
ple; hence the legend that creation began with the stone found in the
holy of holies; see Tosefta Yoma 4. 6; comp. also Babli 54b (prtt* '1
NJIDJ, in view of Tosefta 'Erubin 7. 18, against Rabbinovicz, is to be
retained); Yerushalmi 5, 42b; Tan., loc. cU. t and parallel passages.
Independent of, and partly contradictory, to this view is the opin-
ion which maintains that Palestine is situated in the centre of the
earth; Jub. 8. 12; Enoch 26. 1 (according to 96. 20, Gehenna is like-
wise located in the centre of the earth, because an entrance thereof
is found in Jerusalem, the centre of Palestine; see 'Erubin 19a; Preu*
schen, Adamschriften, 27, which is not anti-Jewish); PR 10, 34a, and
many of the parallel passages in later Midrashim, cited by Fried-
mann (Yoma, loc. til, on the contrary, distinguishes between the
centre of the earth and Jerusalem), to which many more may be
added; comp. e.g. Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 4; Zohar II, 151a; III,
161b and 221b. Jerusalem is already mentioned in Aristeas, 83 as
14
The Creation of the World [39
the centre of Palestine, and this agrees with the later Midrashim,
Tan., loc. cit., and parallel passages; Seder Rabba di-Bereshit, loc.
cit. Since it was assumed that the ark was placed in the centre of
the holy of holies (Meleket ha-Mishkan 53; not so Maimonides, Yad
ha-Hazakah, Bet ha-Behirah 4. 1, and RSBM on Baba Batra 99a)
upon the Eben Shetiyyah, the legend, desirous of finding creation
centres (comp. the elaborate account of such circles in Zohar II, 157,
and III, 161b), quite naturally saw in this stone the centre of
the earth. In view ,of the belief that the creation of the earth
(and of everything; comp. Yoma 85a) began with its centre, the Eben
Shetiyyah also became^ the beginning of creation. The oldest source
(Yoma 5. 2), where this stone is mentioned, leaves no doubt that it
is considered to have come down there at the time of the first pro-
phets (i.e., Samuel and David; comp. Sotah 48b and Yerushalmi 9,
24b; see, however, Yerushalmi Berakot 5, 8d), and it is therefore
impossible to assume that the Mishnah identified it with the stone
with which creation began. It is accordingly probable that nw is
the same as nWN, and nW 'N is to be translated "fire-stone", *. e. t
meteor. We have here, therefore, a tradition based upon 2 Sam-
uel 24. 16, se$., and 1 Chron. 21. 26, according to which a meteor
fell down at this place (note that the Mishnah does not read
pro rPn), where subsequently the holy of holies was situated. Hadar
on Exod. 19. 19 quotes Targum Yerushalmi ad loc., in which fcWM *J3N is
employed in the sense of meteors. Later, however, rPHP 'to was
connected with W "loom" (creation as a spinning out of skeins of
the warp is a favorite picture; comp. BR 10. 5 and the parallels given
by Theodor) and W "foundation"; comp. Tosefta, Yerushalmi, and
Babli Yoma, loc. cit.-, Yerushalmi Pesahim 4, 30d; PK 28, I7la; Tan.
B. Ill, 78; Tan. Ahare 3 and Kedoshim 10; WR 20. 4; BaR 21. 4;
Shir 3, 9. In all these passages it is stated that the stone was called
Eben Shetiyyah because the foundation of the world had been laid
with it. A later development of the Eben Shetiyyah legend trans-
ferred to this stone all that which had originally been said concern-
ing the foundation of the temple (comp. vol. IV, p. 96, and note 69
appertaining to it). It is therefore asserted that the *' Ineffable Name"
was engraved on this stone, whose power checks the Tehom from over-
flowing the earth; comp. Targum Yerushalmi Exod. 28. 30; Targum
Eccl. 3. 11. This legend is further enlarged upon in Jewish Jesus
tales. Since the knowledge of this name enabled anyone to accom-
plish all one desired, a device was necessary to prevent misuse. At
15
40-43] The Legends of the Jews
the gate of the temple two brazen dogs were placed (on such magic
dogs comp. vol. Ill, pp. 6-7), so that whenever a person who had
acquired the knowledge of the Name would pass, they began to bark.
Frightened by this sound, the person would forget the knowledge of
the Name. Jesus, however, had written the Name on paper, which
he hid under his skin. He forgot the Name while passing the dogs,
but later learned it again from the paper which he pulled out from under
his skin. By means of the Name he was able to perform all the
miracles. Comp. Krauss, Leben Jesu, index s.v. "Grundstein." The
view that the Name of the Messiah is engraved upon a stone of the
heavenly temple belongs likewise to the Eben Shetiyyah legend cycle.
For further details concerning this legend, see vol. I, p. 352; Feucht-
wanger in Monatsschrift LV, 43-47; Jeremias, Babylonisches im NT,
79-80, and ATAO 2, 49, 155, 372, 374, 585.
40 Konen 24-25, based on old sources; comp. BR 3. 4-5; PK 21,
145b; WR31. 7; ShR 15. 22 and 50. 1; Tehillim 50, 279 (where it is
said that also the destruction of this world as well as the creation of
the new world will begin with Zion) and 104, 441; ER 5, 21; Tan.
B. II, 96.
41 Originally a mythological conception of creation as a strug-
gle between light and darkness ( chaos). In Jewish sources the
prince of darkness is the angel of death ( = Satan); comp, ShR 8.
6; Yelammedenu in Ozar Midrashim 64b; Tan. Wa-Yakhel 4. He
is, of course, considered to have been created by God.
43 PR 20, 95a-96b, and 203a. The allegorical interpretation of
the sign of the Zodiac, although found in both versions of the Pes-
ikta, does not belong to the original legend concerning the struggle
between light and darkness, i.e., God and Satan, and is therefore
rightly omitted in the manuscript made use of for the text. In this
account water and darkness are identical, because water is conceived
as the chaotic primeval substance. On the rebellion of the water
comp. notes 50-53 and 71-73, as well as Konen 25 (read VTCQD rtDpnnJl
or nyp-irui for rrm rapinr); the formation of solid bodies out of the
fluid water will thus be explained), where, quite manifestly, the struggle
between light and darkness, as the strife of the former against the
water, is described, although just a little before (24) this struggle is
given in quite a different form.
43 BR 5. 8 and 46. 3, where the Midrash refers to Aquila's trans-
lation of *TV by "ikanos"; comp. Theodor on the second passage just
referred to and Joel, Bltcke, 1, 147. As to the aspiration of created things
16
The Creation of the World [4450
to be infinite, see the utterance of R. Simeon b. Lakish in Hagigah 12a
(combined with the myth of the rebellion of the waters; see note 42),
and Dahnhard, Natursagen, I, 2. Comp. also Tan. B. I, 7-8, 80,
197, 202; Tan. Hayye Sarah 3. In the first passage of Tan. it is said
that the heavens which were created out of the heap of snow (comp.
note 18), in accordance with God's blessing, " became fruiful and
multiplied",
44 PRE 4; Konen 25. comp. note 98 on vol. I, p. 83, and Jub."
2. 4, according to which the firmament only was created on the sec-
ond day. See also Philo, De M. OpiJ. 10.
45 PRE 4; Theophil, 2. 13. Comp. vol. Ill, p. 162.
46 BR 4. 2-7, which contains a number of remarks concerning
the relation of the firmament created on the second day to the heav-
ens created on the first day. See further Mekilta RS, 100, and
Jerome on Is. 64. 1.
47 Tosefta Hagigah 2. 6; Yerushalmi 2, 77a; Babli 15a; BR 2.
4 and 4. 3-5. Comp. the following note.
48 Seder Rabba di-Bereshit (the text must be emended to read
12130 nrnyo T orrVy pis rbyn 1 ? npW a'am). . The waters
above (comp. Greek Baruch 2) are found, however, according to an-
other view at a " distance of five hundred years" from the firma-
ment, where they are suspended at God's command. The waters
above are assumed in Seder Rabba di-Bereshit to be of an illumin-
ating nature, while the waters below are of the opposite character.
Accordingly, in 2 Enoch 27, light and darkness are identified with the
waters above and the waters below, respectively. See also Konen
24 and note 42.
49 BR 4. 6. This is to serve as an explanation why the Bible
does not use the phrase "and it was good" in connection with the
creations of the second day; comp. note 54 where this subject is treat-
ed at full length.
s Hadar on Gen. 1. 9 and thence inBHM V, 150-156; the text
needs to be emended. The sentence from |fU1 to rPPN"!! cer-
tainly does not belong here, and instead of f !3T|H^m read miVflS Jjnpl
ttyazou. Comp. Konen 25 and Sanhedrin 38b. Read also PK D^Bl
and after nopn OiT^7 Ht33 insert IT. On the formula of incantation
used by the angel of the countenance" (D'asn *1B>) comp. Origen,
Contra Celsum, 4. 34. Quite a considerable number of versions of
the legend of the rebellion of the waters (comp. note 42) are extant.
The waters above, which are masculine, aspired to a union with the
17
Legends of the Jews
waters below, which are feminine, and had not God separated them
by means of the firmament (read anztfn OWE JPp~n jnn), their
union might have destroyed the world. Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 6.
As to other versions comp. the notes 52,53, and 72.
51 Comp. notes 49 and 54. .
52 Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 9 (the source for this paragraph is
not identical with that of 6); Raziel lib, 18a-18b, and 27d; Konen
25. God "tore" the mass of waters into two halves, the waters
above and the waters below, and informed them that they would be
divided again for Israel's sake (as to these conditions, comp. aho vol.
I, pp. 50-51); 'Aseret ha-Dibrot 63; MHG I, 26; ShR 15. 22; Radar
on Gen. 1. 4: as compensation to the waters below, God command-
ed the water libation in the temple and the use of salt with all sac-
rifices, A similar source was used by Rashi; R. Bahya; R. Shem
Tob b. Shem Tob; R. Isaac Caro, and Bertinora on Lev. 2. 13; comp.
Berliner, Raschi, 426. Comp. also ER 31, 161, concerning the weep-
ing of the primeval elements of creation, which wished to remain
all the time in God's proximity. See further the following note, as
well as note 72.
53 'Aseret ha-Dibrot 63; MHG I, 26; Raziel 27d. The song of
praise to God by the waters originally belonged to another cycle of
legends which state that the waters the primeval element praised
God before any other thing had been created, and that they willingly
submitted to His command to withdraw in order to render creation
possible. Comp. BR 5. 2-4; ShR 17. 1 and 15. 22 (the second pas-
sage, however, contains a mixture of myths, referring also to the re-
bellion of the waters at the same time); Tehillim 93, 415-416 (in Ma-
'asiyyot, Gaster's edition, 8, it is Alexander the Great, not Hadrian,
as in Tehillim, who hears the hymn of the waters); PR 192b; Alpha-
betot 82 (the hymn of the water induced God to create the world);
Midrash quoted in Hadar on Gen. 7. 5 and Exod. 15. 8 (the waters
praised God when Israel crossed the Red Sea); Yerushalmi 'Abodah
Zarah 3, 42a; PRE 5; Ta'anit 25b. Comp. notes 71-72; TertuIKan,
De Baptismo, 3.
54 BR 4. 16, where two other reasons are given why the Bible
does not have the sentence "And He saw that it was good" with ref-
erence to the second day of creation : l)because the things created on
the second day were not completed on that day and were finish-
ed on the third; hence this sentence is repeated twice on the third
day; 2) because God had foreseen that Moses would incur death on
18
The Creation of the World [55
account of the ''water"; comp. vol. 111,307, seq. Two of the mid-
rashic explanations are also cited by the Church Fathers ; comp. Je-
rome on Gen. 1. 8; Ephraim 1, 15 B-C; Albertus Magnus XIX, 1. 731;
Origen, Ad Africanum, 4. See Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufs'dtze, 176,
and Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv. 15-16. Midrash ha-Ne-
'elam on Gen. 1. 9 reads: Only unity is good. This agrees almost
verbatim with Philo, De Allegor*, 2. 1. That hell was created on the
second day is also found in various other passages of rabbinic liter-
ature; comp. BR 11. 9 and 31. 9; Pesahim 54a; PRE 3; ShR 15. 22;
Tan. B. I, 12; Tan. Hayye Sarah 3; Tosefta Berakot 5 (6). 7. Comp.
Excursus I.
55 In rabbinic sources the word ordinarily used for "hell" is
Gehinnom, although this is at the same time the name of one of the
parts of hell; comp. the passages quoted in note 25. The Rabbis,
of course, knew that Gehinnom originally was the name of the valley
near Jerusalem (Jer. 7. 32), where Moloch had been worshipped in
ancient times, and they therefore explained the meaning of this
word, as well as its synonym Tofet, from its connection with the
worship of Moloch. Comp. the vivid description of the worship of
Moloch in Ge ben Hinnom in Tan. B. V, 15; Ekah 1, 71-72; Yelam-
medenu in 'Aruk, s.v. fcW and ^p:p. See Krauss in ZDMG, LXVI,
273-274. The relation between Gehenna and Jerusalem is, however,
of a closer nature, for one of the three gates of hell (the one is found
in the inhabited land, the other in the wilderness, and the third at
the bottom of the sea) is located in Jerusalem; 'Erubin 19a (where the
exact place of this gate is given) ; PK 29, 186b (bottom) ; comp. note
39. Tamid 32b cites two opinions: according to one, hell is found above
the firmament (but not in heaven), while the other maintains that
it is "beyond the mountains of darkness". There is a widespread
view that hell and paradise are situated side by side, so that it is pos-
sible to look from one place into the other; PK 30, 191b; Koheleth 7.
14; Midrash Tannaim 224. On the enormous size of hell comp.
Pesahim 94a; Ta'anit lOa; Shir 6. 9 (the size of the entire world bears
the same relation to hell as a lid to its pot) ; PR 41, 173b (hell expands
according to its needs); PRK, Griinhut's edition, 71. As to the in-
tensity of the fire of hell, comp. Berakot 57b and Shabbat 39a (bot-
tom), which state that the heat of the hot springs of Tiberias is due
to the fact that its waters pass the gates of Gehenna. Comp, also
Yerushalmi Berakot 6, lOd (end) where D^pl 'a have reference to
the statement in 'Erubin 19a.
19
$6 61] The Legends of the Jews
56 Sotah lOb (nnD "habitations", a play on the word mrtD
"fire-place"); for the various descriptions of hell and paradise comp.
Index, s.v. "Hell and Paradise". The place where Moloch was wor-
shipped (comp. the preceding note), according to the description in
the older Midrashim, consisted of seven compartments (Go ben Hin-
nom is thus modelled after Gehinnom). The allegoric interpretation
of the seven compartments as symbolizing the sevenfold punishment
is found not only in Ezra 7. 80-81 , but also among the later Kabbal-
ists; comp. Zohar II, 150b, and Azulai, Hesed le-Abraham, 5 Id. Rath-
er strange is Mishle 7, 57, which speaks of fourteen compartments
of hell (the text is not to be emended, as it is based on the interpret-
ation of DTiyjP as "two times seven"), whereas the rabbinic sources
(in addition to those mentioned above, comp. also TchilHm 11, 109-
103) and the Babylonian myth concerning the descent of Ishtar into
hell know only of seven compartments.
57 The names vary in the different versions; comp. 'Erubin 19a;
Tehillim 11, 100 and 101; PRK, Griinhut's edition, 77, and vol. I,
p. 10.
* 8 Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 15; Konen 35 (bottom; read D'W*'J?
p*n rom>); comp. further Alphabet R. Akiba 28; BUM V, 50; vol. I,
p 10. The numbers given in Konen concerning the dimensions
of hell presuppose a "distance of 500 years" as a unit. Comp, vol.
I, p. 11.
59 Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 19-20; BHM V, 49-50. Comp.
further vol. II, pp. 311-312, as well as vol. Ill, p. 37. On serpents
which have venom instead of blood, see King, Creation Tablets, 16
and 50.
60 Masseket Gehinnom 147. On the different kinds of fire comp.
vol. II, p. 310; vol. Ill, p. 244; vol. IV, p, 199. See further Alphabet
R. Akiba 81; PRK, 16a; Sefer Yezirah (not in our text) in Mahzor
Vitry 319. On the Persian origin of this legend, comp, Darmesteter
in R.E.J. I, 186, and Kohut, Angdologie, 32-33.
61 BR 1. 3 and 3. 8 (according to one opinion the angels were
created as late as the fifth day, simultaneously with the other
winged creatures), as well as 11. 9; Tan. B. I, 1 and 12; ShR 15. 22;
PRE 4; Tehillim 24, 204; 76, 373-374; 104, 442; Konen 25, Rem-
iniscences of the old view, according to which the angels were created
on the first day (Jub. 2. 2; 2 Enoch 29. 3; Apocalypse of Baruch 21. 6),
have been preserved even in authoritative Midrashim, but partic-
ularly in the mystic literature. In the latter an attempt is made to har-
20
The Creation of the World [62
monize the conflicting views concerning the day on which the angels
were created by assuming that the higher ranks were created on the
first day, and the lower ones later; comp. Tan. Wa-Yesheb 4 and
Yelammedenu in Ozar Midrashim, I, 64 (where two contrary opinions
are found besides one another); ER 1, 3, as well as 19, 160, and per-
haps also BR 21. 9 (ER, loc. cit., understands BR to say that the Cher-
ubim were created first, taking DIpD to mean "in the beginning");
PRE 4; Konen 24 (in the two last-mentioned sources the archangels
are differentiated from the other angels; comp. the words D'OK^D '?
rfrnn ifcrnatP, and Luna, note 1); Zohar I, 46a (the contrary opinion
is given in III, 217); Ketab Tamim 59; Peletat Soferim2\ Zohar Hadash
lib and 12a (mention is made here of angels who existed prior to
the creation of the world; comp. Excursus I); R. Bahya on Gen. 38.
12. The authoritative view maintaining that the angels were created
on the second day (as to the reason given for this view, comp. also
the statement in Alphabetot 89 and 103 concerning the disappear-
ance of all the angels before the creation of the new world; see fur-
ther Tertullian, Adversus Hcrmogenem 34) is also found in Tan. Hayye
Sarah 3 and in the quotation from this Midrash in Makiri Is. 43, 141;
Batte Midrashot IV, 33; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 1. 26. Comp.
also note 22 on vol. I, p. 59.
62 PRE 4; Konen 25 and 24. The fact that the angels were
created of fire does not interfere with their incorporeality, for in
legend fire, particularly the heavenly fire, is incorporeal (comp.
Konen 24); see also Enoch, at the beginning and 20, which reads:
"All the fiery hosts of great archangels and incorporeal powers".
Although they are incorporeal, they are not eternal, since there are
angels who come into being for a moment only and vanish immedi-
ately after. Thus there are angels who spring up daily out of the
stream Dinur ( = "stream of fire"; *comp. Dan. 7. 10); they praise
God, and then disappear. Out of every word uttered by God angels
are created. Comp. Hagigah 13b-14a; BR 78. 1 (Michael and Ga-
briel are the only angels who do not vanish) ; Alphabetot 88 ; Trypho
in Justin's Dialogue, 128. Trypho J s remarks concerning angels are
particularly important with respect to the attitude of the Synagogue
towards angelology. His remark, 60, that wherever Scripture speaks
of the appearance of angels, it wishes to express symbolically God's
visible activity, is also found in BR 97. 3; ShR 2. 5 and 32. 9. His
other statement, 128, that the angels are borne by God's power, cor-
responds to the view poetically expressed by the Rabbis that the splen-
21
63] The Legends of the Jews
dor of the Shekinah sustains the angels. Comp. PK 6, 57a; ShR 32,
4 and 47. 5. A statement like that of Jub. 15. 27 to the effect that
certain classes of angels bear the sign of the Abraharmc covenant on
them would have struck the Rabbis as blasphemy. Comp. the fol-
lowing note and note 6 on vol. I, p. 50.
6 3 BR 21. 9; Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 69 and 925; ShR 25.
2; PRE 4; Tehillim 104, 442 (in the two last-named sources the angels
are wind when performing their duties, in God's presence they are
fire). Comp. also BR 50. 1. On angels as shades, see BaR 10. 5;
perhaps also Baba Batra 9 la. In WR 31. 5 it is said that the angels
are males and not females, i.e., they never assume the form of women;
but comp. the parallel passages in Mishle 21, 89, and BR, loc.
cit. It is, however, to be observed that Lekah, Gen. 3. 24, in citing
the last-named passage does not read the word D'Wu Men, women,
boys, and maidens among angels are mentioned in mystical literature,
but this description has hardly anything to do with their forms; it
merely expresses the different degrees of their ranks. Comp. Yal-
kut Hadash, s, v. a^^D Nos. 63,93; R. Moses ha- Darshan in Mag-
azin, XV, 80; Hasidim 277. Although the rabbinic sources hardly
offer any remarks concerning the forms of angels, many a statement
is found in the older literature regarding their size and rapidity; comp,
Enoch 40. 1; Berakot 4b; HuIIin 91b; BR 68. 12 and 51. 1. As to
the material out of which the angels were created, comp. the pre-
ceding note, as well as PK 1, 3a-3b; ShR 3. 11; BaR 15* 8; DR 5. 12;
Yerushalmi Rosh ha-Shanah 2, 58a; 2 ARN 24 F 48-49; Tan. Wa-Yig-
gash 6; Targum Job 25. 2; Pesahim, 118a (bottom). Along with lre
which is the peculiar heavenly element, water and snow (also hail)
are mentioned as the material out of which the angels were fashioned.
On fire, water, and snow as the primeval elements, comp. Index, $,
v. The statement found in many passages of rabbinic literature that
Michael was created of fire and Gabriel of snow or water (see Index,
s.v. "Michael", "Gabriel") implies the view that the former be-
longs to heaven and the latter to the earth. The idea that the res-
idence of the angels is in heaven is unanimously expressed by the Rab-
bis, as well as by the authors of the pseudepigraphic writings. Philo's
view, De Gig&nt., 2, and De Somn., 22, that the angels inhabit the
air is entirely unknown to the Rabbis (BR 26. 5, to which Siegfried,
PUlo, 147, alludes, has nothing to do with the place inhabited by
the angels; this passage was misunderstood by Siegfried; for the correct
translation thereof, see note 1 on vol. I, 105). Similarly there is no-
22
The Creation of the World [6465
thing in the older sources of rabbinic literature in support of Philo's
statement concerning the identity of the angels with the souls (Noe
4; De Gigan., and De Somn., loc. tit.), which is only found in the Kab-
balah; comp., e. g. t Zohar I, 7a, and note 444 on vol. II, p. 184.
64 Enoch 20. 1; Yerushalmi 'Erubin 1, 19d, and Shemuel 23
(for the two last mentioned passages see Ginzberg, Uribekannte Sekte,
243 note 2; concerning the presence of the Shekinah in the assembly
of ten, comp. also Sanhedrin 39a; Berakot 6a); Adamschriften, 27,
speaks of nine hosts of angels. On the names of the ten classes of
angels, found only in medieval sources, comp. Azilut (beginning);
Maimonides, Yad ha-Hazakah, Yesode ha-Torah, 2. 7; Zohar II, 43a;
R. Moses ha-Darshan (from a manuscript in Gross, Gallia Judaica,
411); Konen 25; Derek Erez 2. The last two sources know only of
five (six?) classes of angels; comp. the following note. The division
of angels into seven classes mentioned in Enoch 61. 10 is an older
view which makes the number of classes correspond to the number
of archangels and to the heavens. On the other hand, there is one
view which counts three heavens (comp. note 22), and hence knows
only of three archangels (see note 13 on vol. I, p. 54). Accordingly
the idea that there are ten classes of angels is based on a combination
of two older views. On the number of angels comp. Sifre N., 42;
Sifre D., 51; Tehillim 68, 319; ER 6, 32 and 34; 17, 84; 29, 156, and
160; EZ 12, 193; Alphabet R. Akiba 21; Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 28;
a midrashic quotation (the source is a somewhat different version of
the description of Solomon's throne given in BHM. V, 34.) by R.
Bahya on Gen. (beginning). The statement "as great as is the mul-
titude of the angels, so great is the race of man" (Revelation of John
towards the end) has a parallel in Tehillim, loc. cit. All these classes
of angels reside at a very great distance from the Shekinah, whereas
God is near to those that are broken-hearted (Ps. 34. 19), because
He loves them more than the angels; Alphabet R, Akiba 29; Midrash
Shir 16b (frequently quoted by the mystics, as, e.g., Rokeah, Hasidul,
at the end; Teshubah 28; Orehot Hayyim I, lOla).
65 PRE 4; Enoch 9. 1; 40. 2-10 (here the reading is Phanuel
instead of Uriel); 71. 9. On these four archangels comp. vol. Ill,
p. 232, and the note 440 appertaining to it. The very old view con-
cerning the seven archangels (Enoch 20. 1-8; 81. 5; 90. 21-22; 12
Testaments, Levi 8.1, and in many other works of the pseudepigraph-
ic literature, as well as rabbinic writings of the post-talmudic period
as PRE, loc. cit., and particularly in mystic works; comp. Al-Bar-
23
66-70] The Legends of the Jews
celoni, 247, which is indeed the oldest rabbinic source on the names
of the archangels and their relation to the planets; Raziel 3Sa, Ola,
where various sources are made use of) naturally supposes seven classes
of angels. Along with the sevenfold and fourfold divisions of angels,
found in pseudepigraphic and rabbinic literatures, we meet with the
conception of twelve archangels, which is connected with the signs of
the Zodiac; comp. Raziel 52a, Ola (which is based on another source
than the two other passages referred to above)- A S * this view in
pseudepigraphic literature, comp. Bousset, Religion, 374-376.
66 Hullin 91a; 2 ARN 27, 55; 44, 124; Midrash Tannaim 71;
Sifre D., 306 (end); BHM VI, 37; Mishle 9. 75; BR 65. 21; Tan. B.
Ill, 74; Tan. Kedoshim 6; Nispahim 56. The last-named passage
states that when the angels had complained of the fact that man
w r as preferred to them, God replied: "What, ye wish to precede Is-
rael in chanting songs of praise to Me? They, though 'born of woman '
and subject to the evil inclination, conquer their evil inclination and
daily proclaim Me as the one God and King, and wait for the coming
of My Kingdom and the establishment of My house." Although
man, who is a terrestrial being, is inferior to the angels, he surpasses
them by overcoming the evil inclination, which the angels do not
possess at all (BR 48. 11). The pious are therefore greater than the
angels (Sanhcdrin 39a; BR 88. 1; Tchillim 91, 398, and 103, 438)-
In the world to come the angels will try to find out from Israel the
things taught to them by God; Ycrushalmi Shabbat 3, 8d, and BR 1.
12. Comp. Schechter, Aspects, 49; Singer, Das Buck d, Juhilticn
98, note 6; vol. I, p. 334; vol. Ill, p. 32.
67 The windows of heaven are frequently mentioned in Enoch
(comp. Charles' Index, s.v,) and likewise in rabbinic sources; comp.
Yerushalmi Rosh ha-Shanah 2, 58a; ShR 15. 22; PRE 6; Ghulxirg,
Unbekannte Sekte, 78.
68 On the defilement of the celestials by corning into contact
with terrestrial beings, comp. note 105.
69 This stream of fire is very likely the one which springs out
of the perspiration of the Hayyot encircling God's throne, and out
of which the daily angels rise to chant songs of praise to God and
disappear after their task has been accomplished; BR 78. 1; ShR 15.
6; Hagigah 14a. Comp. note 62.
70 Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 28-30; 3 Hekalot 161-163. In other
sources it is not Shamiel who appears as the master of heavenly song
(probably the correct reading is Shammiel, since it is derived from
24
The Creation of the World [70
y$?# "he summoned"), but Michael (comp. vol. I, p. 386), or rather
Metatron; comp. Sefer ha-Heshek, 26, No. 13, and 8a, No. 61. The
mystic literature knows also of a heavenly Hazzan; comp. Hagigah
13b and PR 20, 97a, concerning the function of the angel Sandalfon
(on the text of PR see Ketab Tamim, 59). See also the account in the
mystic literature of the gaonic period (Pirke Hekalot, Wertheimer's
edition, 31; comp. also Baer, Siddur, 120) concerning the angel Is-
rael; comp. Zunz, Synagogale Poesie, 477. This angel is described as
belonging to the order of the Hayyot; comp. note 253 on vol. I, 388.
Originally the name Hayyot was used to designate the creatures with
animal forms mentioned in Ezekiel 1. 5 t seq. t as surrounding God's
throne. These were considered as a distinguished class of angels
(Sifra 1. 1 and Sifre N., 103; in these passages the life of the angels,
or at least of this class, is assumed to be eternal; comp. note 62) ; sub-
sequently, however, the Hayyot denoted a class of angels. Simi-
larly Hashmal (Ezek 1. 4) is taken to be as the name of a class of an-
gels; comp. Hagigah 13a-13b. In this passage of the Talmud (comp.
Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 28) the description of God's throne in Is.
6. 1-3 is said to be identical with that of Ezek. 1. 5, seq., and the
discrepancies are removed. Thus it is said, for instance, that the
six wings of the Seraphim in Is. correspond to the four faces of the
Hayyot of Ezek., since two of the wings with which they had formerly
praised God were taken away from them after the destruction of
the temple. PR 33, 155b-156a, reads somewhat differently. The
bull image of the Hayyot (Ezek. 1. 10), was changed by Ezekiel's
prayer to that of Cherubim, so that God should not be constantly
reminded of Israel's aberration in connection with the golden calf.
The feet of the Seraphim (Is. 6. 2) were concealed for the same reason
because the calves' feet (Ezek. 1. 7) would have constantly served
as a reminder of the golden calf; Hagigah 13b; WR 27. 3. On the
liturgical formulas which the angels employ in their doxology, comp.
Hullin 91b-92a; Hagigah 14a; ER 31, 163; Hasidim 400; Seder R.
Amram 18a. See also the quotations from medieval authors given
in Baer's Siddur, 120. Comp. also Hagigah 12b; Mahkim 119; Seder
Troyes 26 (Moses caught the formula Baruk Shem, etc., from the
whispering angels); DR 2. 36. In all these legends the tendency is
to trace back the origin of the essential parts of the liturgy, as the
Shema 1 , Bareku, and Kedushah, to the angels; comp. also vol. Ill,
pp. 256-257. Not all angels however are perfect; comp. the sources
cited at the beginning of this note, according to which countless
25
71-73] The Legends of the Jews
numbers of angels perish in the stream DInur, whenever they do
not chant their hymns at the exact moment. Comp. Zohar III,
64b; Ekah 3, 132-133.
7 x PRE 5 (read, with the two last parallel passages, nxpD } ; Te-
hillim 93, 415; Aguddat Aggadot 7; MHG I, 29. A different version
is given in Tehillim 90, 391, which reads: The mountains flew over the
waters as birds, whereupon God distributed them in accordance with the
nature of the earth. Other legends concerning the origin of the moun-
tains are found in vol. I, pp. 79-SO; see note 29 on vol. I, p. 112. D'"in
in BR 3. 8 is based on an erroneous reading (comp. Theodor, ad toe.)
and D'Tri is the correct reading, for the Midrash attempts to explain
why Gen. 1. 3 reads "TH DV "one day", and not ]10feO 01* "the first
day", a difficulty to which also Josephus, Antigui., 1, 1, calls atten-
tion. See aslo Hippolytus, ad loc.
72 PRE 5; Aguddat Aggadot 7. On the rebellion of the waters
comp. vol. I, pp. 14-15, as well as the following note.
7 3 Baba Batra 74b; Tan. IV, 97-98; Tan. Hayye Sarah 3 and
Hukkat 1; BaR IS. 22; ShR 15. 22; Tehillim 1, 17 (D* *7V WlJ?); Wa-
Yosha' 46; Hagigah 12a ("Ol 3*mD ,Tn D77), Comp, also vol. I, pp.
14^16, 27, and 40 (Leviathan, Rahab, and the angel of death art* con-
sidered identical), as well as vol. Ill, p. 25, and Yerushalmi Sanhedrin
7, 25d, where the prince of the sea (D* hw ~HP) is mentioned twice.
In the Midrashim cited above two entirely different elements are
combined: God's strife with Rahab (which is a reminiscence of an
old Babylonian myth), taken from the Babylonian Talmud, loc*
cit., and the weeping of the waters on account of the separation
of the upper and lower waters (a mythological explanation of rain
as tears), which is found in the Palestine sources (BR 5. 4 ami the
Midrashim cited in note 52). The eagerness of the waters to obey
God's command is emphasized in PR 192b-193a and WR (accord-
ing to a quotation from it found in Makiri on Ps. 33, 210) as a pro-
test against the mythological account of the rebellion of the waters.
A legend which is also composed of various elements is the one given
in Tan. Hayye Sarah, loc. ciL, and ShR, loc, cU.^ where the ocean
and the "sea of death" are considered identical (a Babylonian view,
comp. KAT 3, 576, note 2), and at the same time it is said that it will
be "cured" in the time to come. The last statement is s found in the
old sources in connection with the Sea of Sodom (comp. note 184
on vol. I, p. 256), which was known to Pausanias and the Church
Fathers as the "Dead Sea". This name is unknown in Jewish sources;
26
The Creation of the World [74
hence the above-mentioned Midrash confused the "Dead Sea" of his
source of Christian origin? with the "Sea of Death" of Babylonian
mythology, that is the ocean. In ' Erubin 22b it is supposed that the
ocean surrounds the earth (so also Herodotus 11,21 and 23), whereas ac-
cording to PRE 5, the earth extends over the waters of the abyss as
a ship in the midst of the sea. 'Aseret ha-Dibrot 63 speaks of the
" Great Sea that encompasses the earth ". This corresponds to ' Erubin,
loc. cit., since the designation of "Great Sea" for the ocean is known
in rabbinic literature; comp. the explicit statement concerning this
identity made in Konen 32, as well as Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 9
and Luria, note 7 on PRE, loc. cit, t and the statement (in Sifre D.,
39; Mikwaot 5. 4; BR 5. 8) that there is only one sea; the Bible speaks
of "seas", because the sea differs in its peculiarities in different places.
The reason why the ocean does not overflow, though all the waters
enter into it, is because the salt waters "absorb" the sweet; BR 13.
9; Bekorot 9a; Koheleth 1. 7. A different view is given in Tikkune
Zohar (end), which reads: The ocean derives its name (Dl^plK) from
'pltt "he spat out", because it "spits out" the water or the aquatic
animals that come into it. Comp. Kohut's essay in Judische Woch-
enschrift II, No. 5, on the ocean according to Jewish sources. With
regard to the strife of the waters, comp. also 4 Ezra 4. 15-17, where
it is said that the waves of the sea took counsel to wage war against the
wood of the field that they win more territory; although the wood
had been vanquished by fire, the counsel of the waves of the sea did
not succeed because the sand kept them within their bounds. This
is, however, not a mythological conception, as maintained by many,
but a fable; comp. the following note. The reason why the waters
of the seas and the abysses did not overflow the earth is due to the
fact that God had sealed their boundaries with His name; Prayer
of Manasseh 3. For details on this "sealing" comp. vol. Ill, p. 99,
and vol. IV, p. 96.
74 Konen 25, which essentially follows BR 5. 9. Comp. further
Sanhedrin 39b; ER 29, 143; Eileh Ezkerah (beginning). It is a leg-
endary application of an old fable, which is already found in Ahikar;
comp. Smend, Alter und Herkunft des Achikar-Romans, 77, seq. From
Ahikar it was directly or indirectly borrowed by the Greeks; comp.
Back, Monatsschrift XXV, 132-135, and XXXIII, 267. On the
pride of the trees comp. Tub ha-Arez 93, which reads: The fruits of
the ground thrive even when moistened by the feminine waters (on
the sex of the waters comp. vol. I, p. 162), but not the trees, which,
27
75] The Legends of the Jews
on account of their pride, would not thrive unless moistened b> mas-
culine waters. According to PRE 5 and Aguddat Aggadot 7, the
plants of paradise were created first and were afterwards utilized
for the purpose of the cultivation of the earth. For the opposite
view comp. BR 15. 1, which reads: God took cedars of Lebanon, which
were not larger than the tentacles of a grasshopper, and planted them
in paradise. Comp. note 96 on vol. I, p. 82. The shooting up of
the trees is only a special application of the view that the first things
in creation were produced in their fully developed form (comp. note
21 on vol. I, p. 59). This view is especially emphasized by Philo,
De M. Opif, 13, with reference to plants, which God brought forth
out of the ground in their complete form, "as if the earth had been
pregnant with them for a long time". PRE 5 similarly speaks of
the pregnancy of the earth, where, in connection with the conception
of rain as the consort of the earth (comp. note 39 on vol. I, p. 162),
the legitimate fecundation is differentiated from the illegitimate.
When the earth is fructified by rain, it is considered a legitimate
fecundation, whereas when it is artificially watered, it is an illegitimate
fecundation. As to the statement made in PRE concerning the
origin of rain, comp. also BR 13. 9-10 and the parallel passages cited
by Theodor, where various views are expressed on this point. The
view that the clouds drew their water from the ocean, and the ob-
jection raised against it, is also found in the Slavonic version of ill
Baruch 10. S.
75 Hullin 60a; comp. Back, Monatsschrift XXIX, 307, with re-
ference to this talmudic passage. The Palestinian sources, BR 5, 9,
and Yerushalmi Kilayim 1, 27b, mention two views: according to
one the earth did not follow God's bidding; it only produced edible
fruits, but not edible trees, which it was also commanded by God
to produce. On account of this disobedience it was cursed by God
after Adam's fall. The opposite view maintains that the earth was
so eager to obey God 's orders that it went one step further and pro-
duced all trees bearing fruit; but after Adam's fall the fertility of
the earth was diminished, and it produced barren trees as well; comp.
vol. I, p. 80 (top). "The prince of the world" mentioned in HuUin,
loc. cit., bears no relation to the demiurge of the Gnostics, nor to Sa-
tan, "the prince of the earth" (John 12. 31, and in many other places
of the New Testament), but it signifies, here as elsewhere in rabbinic lit-
erature (comp. Index, s. t>.) the angel in charge of the world, or, to
be more accurate, the earth. Comp. Joel, Blicke, I, 124--12&. The
28
The Creation of the World [76-81
identification of this angel with Metatron in the mystic literature
of the gaonic period is not found in talmudic sources. In Ascension
of Isaiah 2. 4 "the ruler of the world" is Satan as the prince of the
world in the New Testament.
7 fi Jub. 2. 7; BR 11. 9, 12. 5, 15. 3, 21. 9; 2 Enoch 21. 1. The
prevalent view in the rabbinic sources is that paradise was created
before the world; comp. Excursus I. In Konen 25 paradise is dif-
ferentiated from its plants, presupposing that paradise is pre-exist-
ent, while the plants were created on the third day. This is an attempt
to harmonize two different views.
77 On this gold, comp. Yoma 45a; BaR 11. 3; Tan. B. IV, 33;
Tan. Naso 9. In all these passages it is stated that this gold bears
fruit. In this and in other accounts of paradise the description of
the future Jerusalem and the temple by the prophets is transferred
to paradise; for later on paradise was identified with the hea veiny Jeru-
salem. Alphabetot 96-97 contains many points which are analogous
to the description given in the text, with this essential difference
that the reward of the pious is postponed for the future world. As
to the site of the earthly paradise, comp. vol. I, p. 11. The old rab-
binic sources hardly contain anything definite on the earthly para-
dise; but in the pseudepigraphic literature, particularly in the Books
of Enoch (comp. Charles' edition, index, s. v.) and in later haggadic
works a good deal is said about it.
78 According to Baba Batra 75a and PR 38, 163a, there are
seven "canopies" given to each pious person.
79 These four streams are frequently mentioned in the legends;
comp. 2 Enoch 8. 5; PR 38, 163a; Aggadat Shir 4, 83-84; see also
vol. I, p. 132; vol. II, p. 315; Visio Pauli 23; Koran 47. 16-17. While
in the Koran the stream of oil is replaced by a stream of fresh water,
it is just this stream of balsam which is frequently alluded to in rab-
binic literature; BR 62 (beginning); Ta'anit 25a; Yerushalmi 'Abodah
Zarah 3, 42c; Tan. B. II, 131; Bacher, Agada der paltistinensischen
Amortter, II, 102, note 7; Jeremias, Babylonisches im NT, 47. On
the wine preserved for the pious, comp, Sanhedrin 99a and Matthew
26. 29; Targum Eccl. 9. 7, where the Midrash given in the text was
very likely made use of.
8 This picture is mentioned in the Talmud, Baba Mezi'a 48a,
with reference to the beauty of R. Johanan, upon which our source
is based; comp. PK 1, 3b.
81 I. e. t the branches of this tree extend to the farthest ends
82-88] The Legends of the Jews
of paradise. On the joys of the four different ages, which the pious
experience, see Zohar I, 140a, where it is explained allegorically.
82 Instead of ]'30 read ] 1 no ("fanning", from TO3 "blew"); the
variant ] t) ^3D seems to be an explanation of the difficult ^30, which,
as a lectio difficilior, deserves preference. On the seven clouds of
glory see vol. II, p. 374.
83 Comp. vol. IV, p. 205, with reference to the fragrance of
paradise. Concerning the "canopies", see note 78.
84 Concerning these worlds see note 30. According to Zohar I,
125a, Eden is situated in the seventh heaven (according to another
view, even above the seventh heaven), and paradise is situated on
earth directly opposite to it. Comp. Berakot 34b; Sanhedrin 99a:
No eye has ever seen Eden,. . .Adam dwelt in the garden ( = paradise)
of Eden; comp. note 17, end.
85 The divisions of the dwellers in paradise (or Eden?) into
seven classes is very frequently met with (Sifre D., 10 and 47; Midrash
Tannaim 6; Tehillim 11, 10, and 16, 128; WR 30. 20; PK 28, 197b;
PRK, Schonblum's edition, 36a). In one passage only is the number
reduced to three (ARN 43, 120; comp. also note 97). Perhaps the
difference of opinion on this point is in some way related to various
opinions about the number of the heavens (comp. note 21); each
heaven having a separate class of dwellers, the more pious one is,
the higher the heaven in which he dwells. It is said in Shir 6. 8 that
sixty groups of the pious study the Torah under the shades of the
tree of life, while eighty groups of the average men study the Torah
within a short distance from that tree. Mention is often made of
the habitations, or rather worlds, which every pious man receives ac-
cording to his merit; comp. Shabbat 152a; Ruth R. 1, 16; PK 4, 75a;
Tehillim 34 (end); ShR 42. 2; Koheleth 12. 5; Baba Batra 75a (bw
-TITNl inN); 2 Enoch 61. 2; John 14. 2. This view does not conflict
with the division of the pious into classes, since the individual, though
being one of a class, does not forfeit his independence. The honor
conferred upon R. Akiba and his colleagues as members of the first,
i, 0., the foremost division, is already mentioned in Baba Batra lOb.
86 I. e. t as martyrs during the religious persecutions; comp.
Gittin 57b.
87 Comp, Hagigah 14b where this Rabbi describes his disciples
as belonging to the "third division".
88 Under these, the descendants of Moses (comp. vol. IV, p.
317) are to be understood.
30
The Creation of the World [89-94
89 In Berakot 34b two views are cited; according to one, those
who repent are considered superior to those who have never sinned,
while the other view maintains the opposite case. As to the high
esteem in which innocent youths are held, comp. Pesahim 113a. On
the study of the Torah under God's guidance, comp. note 194.
90 Perek Gan 'Eden, which is extant in many recensions: Yal-
kut I, 20 (from a poor text of Yalkut published by Jellinek in BHM
II, 52-53, under the wrong title Seder Gan 'Eden); Baraita di-She-.
muel 25 (text in manuscript by Rachlin, Bar Levoi, New York, 1906,
pp. 82-84); Mahzor Vitry 735. Aggadat Shir and Targum Eccl.,
and probably also Zohar (comp. notes 79 and 81), seem to have made
use of this description of paradise. Most of the legends relating to
paradise and hell are attributed to R. Joshua b. Levi, who, according
to a well-known tradition, already mentioned in the Talmud (Ke-
tubot 77b) , was permitted to enter paradise during his life-time. Hence
the description of paradise begins: "R. Joshua b. Levi said: There
are eighty myriads of trees in every corner of paradise, etc/' In
Baraita di-Shemuel, after this description of paradise, there follows
in a second chapter another description of the seven divisions of the
pious in paradise (comp. note 97). The entire tractate is headed
Masseket Gan ' Eden. It is, however, quite obvious from the contents
that the two descriptions are of different origin. That a description
of hell followed the one of paradise is quite probable, and the desig-
nation of the latter as Perek Gan 'Eden clearly points to this di-
rection; but the description of hell found in our text of Baraita di-
Shemuel 30-32 (published in BHM I, 147-149), from another source,
has been artificially attached to that of paradise. One of the des-
criptions is purely legendary, while the other is midrashic-haggadic;
they therefore must be of different origin.
91 These seven divisions are obviously identical with those pre-
viously described. There are many other descriptions of these di-
visions; comp. note 97. Concerning the proselyte Obadiah, comp.
vol. IV, pp. 240-241.
92 The views of the ancient authorities differ on the question
whether the "generation of the wilderness" have a portion in the
life to come (=paradise); comp. note 177 on vol. Ill, p. 79.
93 The sentence Dl^BQND. . .^Dl is to be placed after DP Kin;
hence the translation in the text.
94 Read D^DBDP instead of D'3D0, and comp. Konen 28. On
Chileab comp. Vol. II, p. 260 and vol. IV, p. 118. On Menasseh
81
95~97] The Legends of the Jews
comp. Vol. IV, p. 280. On those who repent, see note 89 and
Koheleth 1. 8.
95 Read 01K1 nstf'D i;a (=Ezek. 28. 13) instead of the mean-
ingless ]W*nn DlfcO nm 'iaa. Comp. Konen 29. A scribe who mis-
read D"W for D"jfc added juwnn.
96 According to Yoma 45a f fine gold (TS) is the third best among
the seven kinds of gold, whereas Parvaim gold (comp. note 77, as
well as Masseket Kelim 89) is the very best.
97 Ma'aseh de-R. Joshua b. Levi 48-49. This description is
partly (not in its entirety, as Jellinek asserts) incorporated into Konen
28-30, which source is to be used for the establishing of a correct
text of Ma'aseh (comp. notes 94-95), Great caution must, however,
be taken, since Konen had other sources, along with Ma'aseh, at its
disposal for the description of paradise. R. Joshua b. Levi's des-
cription of paradise, found in Caster's Ma'asiyyot 96-97, corresponds
to ours in the introductory parts only, in which the adventure of
this sage with the angel of death is mentioned (according to Ketubot
77b; comp, note 90), but not in the description of paradise proper.
Very characteristic is the fact that this source knows only of three
halls of paradise, one of glass, for proselytes; one of silver, for the
righteous of Israel (instead of ^*n ^D VD, p, 97, line 24, read om ^D
^KW jnro on); one of gold, in which dwell the three patriarchs and
Moses, Aaron, David, "the weeping" Messiah, and Elijah comfort-
ing him. On the division of paradise into three, comp, note 85. The
most elaborate description of paradise is that given by Jellinek in
BHM III, 131-140 (comp. also the additions, 194-198), published
under the title of Seder Gan 'Eden. This description has been ex-
tensively made use of by kabbaiistic authors (comp, Jellinek, Ein-
Uitung und Zusatze, as well as Zohar I, 41a; III, 167b) who describe
it as a part of the Book of Enoch. It, however, shows traces of spec-
ulative mysticism (for instance, great emphasis is laid upon the dif-
ference between spirit and soul, on the union of the masculine with
the feminine souls which result in the productions of new souls, and
on many other views of speculative mysticism), and it therefore could
not have originated earlier than the end of the twelfth century, The
division of the pious into seven classes is also known to this source,
but it differs from the divisions found elsewhere (Perek Gan 'Eden
52-53 and Sha'are Gan 'Eden 42-43 = Baraita di-Shemuel 28-29;
comp. note 90). This source is also acquainted with a portion of
paradise assigned to women, who, like the men, are divided into sev-
32
The Creation of the World [97
en classes, each of which is under the supervision of some famous
woman from biblical times. These are: Bithiah, the foster-mother
of Moses, Jochebed, Miriam, Huldah the prophetess, Abigail, the
four matriarchs, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah. As nine women are
given here as heads of seven divisions, the text must therefore be
corrected in accordance with Zohar III, 167b. The distinction drawn
here between the garden (= paradise) and Eden is old (comp. note 84
and Sha'are Gan 'Eden, loc. cit. t where the dwellers of Eden are
divided into twelve classes), but this source expresses this distinc-
tion in a different manner. To the old mysticism belongs the con-
ception of the 390 heavens and 18000 worlds (comp. note 30), but this
source gives a different interpretation of this mystic doctrine. Quite
new is the conception of the secret chamber of the Messiah in paradise
which is called here, as well as in Zohar II, 8a, by the peculiar name
"bird's nest". On the whole, the Messiah plays an important part
in this description of the life of the pious in paradise. Old is the view
that the pious, particularly the patriarchs and the Messiah, grieve
over Israel's suffering, and pray to God for their redemption; Ber-
akot 18b; ShR 15. 26; BaR 19. 15; Tehillim 14, 115; Ekah 2, 11
(in the two last-named passages it is Jacob especially who is most
concerned about Israel's suffering); Baba Mezi'a 85b (comp. this
passage in vol. IV, p. 219); Mahzor Vitry 17; Pardes 54d; Seder Rashi
22; a kabbalistic source in Yalkut Reubeni on Deut. 23. 3; Tosafot
on Sotah 34d (caption ^DUN), and the passages cited there from
the Talmud; see further PR 12, 46b-47a. Whereas Tehillim 30,
234 and 14 (according to the reading of Makiri, ad. loc., 79, bottom),
and PR 2, 5b, state that the pious when dead continually praise God,
later sources (PR 198a; BHM V, 43; Recanati on Gen. 3. 24; R. Bahya
on Exod. 20. 8; Seder Gan 'Eden 138) maintain that on the Sabbath,
festivals, and new-moons the dead rise from their graves, behold the
the Shekinah, and praise the Lord. Comp. also Zohar II, 8a (which
very likely depends upon the Seder Gan 'Eden, loc. cit.}; Yalkut Reu-
beni Gen. 19. 2; vol. Ill, p. 400. On Korah comp. vol. Ill, p. 300, and
vol. IV, p. 234. R. Joshua b. Levi is also the author of a description
of hell which is given in vol. II, pp. 310, seq. For further details con-
cerning the description of hell and paradise, comp. Gaster, Hebrew
Version of Hell and Paradise in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,
1893, pp. 571-611; Rachlin, Bar Levoi, 70-86; Landau, Hdlle und
Fegfeuer (Heidelberg, 1909, passim). A fragment of a description
p8 loo] The Legends of the Jews
of paradise is found in Steinschneider- Festschrift, Hebrew section,
55-56. Comp. also Abkat Rokel, II, 1.
98 Hagigah 12a. The view that the light created on the first
day is identical with that of the heavenly bodies is given as that of
the majority of scholars. But there are some who maintain that
the light of the first day is entirely different from all the other lights.
Comp. vol. I, pp. 8-9. Philo, De M. Opif., 3-4, asserts that the
ideal world was created on the first day (concerning this explana-
tion of the expression TDK QT comp. note 71), whereas the material
world appeared on the following days. Similarly a Tanna of the
middle of the second century asserts: Everything was created on the
first day, except that some things appeared earlier and others later;
Tan. B. I, 2; BR 12.4; Origen on Gen. 2. 2; Ephraim, I, I27C; Ba-
silius Hexaemeron, 4. Comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bet den Kircfanv., 24.
See also Ginzberg's remarks in R.E.J., LXVIII, 148. On the same view
by the philosophers of the middle ages, see Horovitz, Ueber den Ein-
fluss... auf den Kalam, 22, note 2. Comp. also note 97 on vol.
I, p. 82.
99 God created the sun and the moon in order to give the lie
to the heathen who worship them as deities; had God only created
one of them, the heathen would have apparently had good reason
for adoring it. Similarly Philo, De M. Opif., 14-15; Theophilus 2. 15;
Tadshe (beginning), which reads: God first created the plant world
and then the heavenly bodies, in order that it should not be said that
the latter produced the former; comp. also vol. I, p. 16, where the
same idea is expressed with reference to the angels.
1 Konen 25-26, which is based on older sources; comp. BR 6. 3;
Hullin 60b; Shebu'ot 9a (the sacrifice of atonement on the new-moon
is God 's acknowledgement that He dealt too severely with the moon) ;
PRE 4 and 51; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 1. 16 and Num. 28. 15.
These sources, as well as others (Mekilta Bo 1, 3a; PK 5, 54a; PR
15, 78a; Tan. B. II, 47), also speak of the compensation received by
the moon for its reduction in size: it became a symbol of Israel and
the pious, whereas the sun represents Esau and the ungodly. More-
over the moon is sometimes seen also by day while the sun on the
other hand is never seen by night. A reminiscence of the myth-
ological conception of the diminution of the moon (the rationalistic
explanation of the Haggadah by Back, Monatsschrift XXIX, 226>
seq,, must not be taken seriously) as a punishment for its re-
bellious conduct toward God may be found in Enoch 18. 15,
84
The Creation of the World [100
where mention is made of the chastisement of the stars which
"did not come at their appointed times". This corresponds
to the reproach administered to the moon, mentioned in BR, loc. cit.,
for having encroached upon the province of its colleague ( = the sun),
i. e., for having shone during the day. The myth sought to explain
the appearance of the moon by day, which, owing to the superior-
ity of the sun over it, was rather baffling to the primitive mind. Hul-
lin, loc. cit., as well as the later addition in BR (WW Kin *JN), does
not present the myth in its original form. That the sun and moon
are endowed with wisdom and passion like man is originally a myth-
ological conception which had been maintained for a long time by
Jews and Christians. On this conception in pseudepigraphic lit-
erature and Philo, comp. Psalms of Solomon, end (the prayer at the
appearance of the new-moon, TCfih 0np, in present use, which is al-
ready found in Sanhedrin 42a, partly corresponds to this psalm);
Apocalypse of Baruch 48. 9; Enoch 2, 1-5, 3 (it is more than a poetic
description of the order reigning in nature and the lack of order dis-
played by man); Philo, De Plant. Noe, 3; De Somn. 1, 4 and 2, 16. On
the rabbinic sources containing this view, comp., besides the pas-
sages referred to at the beginning of this note, also those cited in
notes 102, 104, 105, 112. For the Christian sources, see Origen,
1, 7; Visio Pauli 4-6. Like the heavenly bodies, even so the
earth, the plants, in short, all existing things, were conceived more
or less by analogy to man; comp. note 193. Concerning the motions
of the heavenly bodies, the Books of Enoch, as well as the old rab-
binic sources, contain a good deal of material which is on the bound-
ary line of mythology and astronomy; comp. Pesahim 94a; Yerushal-
mi Rosh ha-Shanah 2, 58a; Baba Batra 25a; PK 29, 186a-186b; ER
2, 9-10; Hallel 89; Shir 3. 11; see also the two writings Baraita
di-Shemuel and Baraita di-Mazzalot, which are entirely devoted
to this subject. Old material is found also in Raziel, which is
particularly instructive for the history of astrology. Of interest is
"the case" in which the disc of the sun is inserted (vap8j)Kiov p'rfU
"case"), a conception often mentioned in old rabbinic literature
as well as in the writings of the Persians and Arabs (comp. Griin-
baum, Gesammelte Aufsatze, 145-146). It is noteworthy that this
"case" is known in rabbinic sources (BR 6. 6; Koheleth 1. 5; PK
29, 186a; Nedarim 8b; 'Abodah Zarah 3b; Tehillim 19, 168 and 170;
Tan. B. II, 98; Tan. Tezawweh 8; Hallel 89; Baraita di-Ma'aseh
Bereshit 50) by the Greek word p^rTD Concerning the darkness of
35
IOIIO2] The Legends of the Jews
the sun and the moon, which occupied the minds of the ancients,
comp. Mekilta Bo 1. 3a; Tosefta Sukkah 2. 6 and Rabli 29u; IVrek
Erez 2; Nispahim 10; see also the references in note 112, and Imlrx
s. v. Eclipse. The view that the light of the sun is seven times as in-
tense as that of the moon (Enoch 72.37, 73. 2, and 78. 4, as well as 2 Knodi
11,2) is based on Is. 30. 26. This opinion is also shared by the legend
given in the text in accordance with Konen 24-25 concerning the
restoration of the light of the moon and the sevenfold increase of
the light of the sun in the future. The old midrashic sources (Mid-
rash Tannaim 181; ShR 15. 21; Targum, ad /#<:.), however, conceive
the passage of Is., loc. cit., in a different manner, and according to
them the relationship between the light of the sun and that of the
moon is 1: 49 or 1: 343. That the sun and the moon hud been of
equal size, as stated by Enoch 72. 37, is not stated explicitly in rab-
binic literature, but the legend given in the text implies it. Similar
is the view of modern scientists that the moon was originally an in-
dependent planet; comp. See, Researches, II. Like all first things
created (comp. vol. I, p. 59), the moon was created in a fully devel-
oped form, so that there was full moon on the fourth day of creation;
Seder 'Olam 4.
101 PRE 6; Baraita de-Ma* asch Bereshit 50. The metaphor
of the sun as bridegroom is, of course, taken from Ps. 10, 6. It is,
however, questionable whether the crown and the wreath (in Hebrew
these two things are represented by one word) belong to this con-
ception. The wreath of the bridegroom is Jewish (comp. Sot ah 9.
14) but the wreath of the sun may have been borrowed from the ( Irccks,
as the Jews have often seen the image of the sun-god wreathed. The
Greek Apocalypse of Baruch knows of the crown of the sun, as well
as of its chariot; so also Enoch 75/8; 2 Enoch 11. 2, Many of the
rabbinic sources cited above employ the word roo^iS "chariot", which
is, however, rendered *' throne", in order to retain the picture of the
bridegroom.
102 MHG I, 41-42; PRE 6; Tchiilim 19, 168-170; Baraita de-
Ma 1 asch Bereshit 50; Kohelcth S6; 'Aseret ha-Dibrot 64; Zohnr
Hadash on Gen. 4, 19b; 2 Enoch 11. 4; Greek Apocalypse of Baruch
6. Comp. also vol. I, p. 132. The song of praise of the heavenly
bodies is partly based on Ps. 1, but presupposes also an acquaint-
ance with the Pythagorean doctrine (perhaps of oriental origin) of
the music of the spheres. The original text of Enoch 41. 7 very
likely read ifW tib DH irnw DnHSJDl D'TiD nni: "And they give thanks
36
The Creation of the World [103-105
and they glorify; they would cease to exist if they would not praise."
In consequence of the similarity between the letters n and n, the trans-
lator was misled into making the text say just the opposite. With re-
gard to the music of the spheres, Philo, De Car., 3, refers to it in the
very words which remind one of the anonymous Midrash quoted in
Hadar, Deut. 32. 1. Comp. also DR 10. 1 and 2; Yelammedenu in
Yalkut I, 729. See further vol. I, pp. 44, seq. The song of praise
of the sun and moon did not strike the naiVe mind as strange, in view
of the fact that the surfaces of these luminaries resemble the human
countenance; comp. R. Benjamin b. Zerah (about 1050) in his piyyut
noK DTJ7N 13TI7K in the Roman and German Mahzor (comp. Zunz, L-it-
eraturgeschichic, 121), who undoubtedly made use of a version of Mid-
rash Konen different from ours, but which Treves still had before
him in his commentary on the Roman Mahzor entitled Kimha Da-
bishuna, ad loc. The human countenance of the sun is also referred
to in the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch 6. Comp. also the preceding
note as well as note 112 and note 6 on vol. IV, p. 4.
103 PRE 6 ; Baraita de-Ma' aseh Bereshit. See also 2 Enoch
37. 2. In the Midrashim (BR 5. 6; Koheleth 1. 5; Tehillim 19, 170;
Baraita de-Ma'aseh Bereshit, loc. cit.) it is said that the sun is led
through a stream, which is put up for that purpose in heaven, be-
fore it starts its revolution, to cool off its heat; otherwise it might
consume the earth.
104 PRE 51 and 6; Baraita de-Ma'aseh Bereshit 50. The moon
and the stars have light but no heat, and hence the "bath of hail".
On the stream of fire in which the sun bathes, comp. also Enoch 17.
4 and Baba Batra 84a. The latter passage reads: The sun passes
paradise in the morning and hell in the evening. Dawn is a reflec-
tion of the roses of paradise; the evening twilight of the fire of hell.
The stream of fire in which the sun bathes, is identical with the' Nehar
di-Nur; comp. Luria on PRE 51 and note 62.
10 * WR 31. 9; Tehillim 19, 169; ER 2, 11; MHG I, 42; Alpha-
betot 118 ; Baraita de-Ma'aseh Bereshit 50. Quite similar is the state-
ment of the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch 8 to the effect that the an-
gels remove the crown of the sun in the evening, bring it to heaven,
and "renew" it there (the "renewing" of creation every day is also
alluded to in the morning prayer, at the end of Yozer, comp. note 6),
because the sun and its rays are becoming defiled on earth. With re-
gard to the compulsory motion of the heavenly bodies, which do not wish
to shed their light upon a sinful world, comp. vol. Ill, pp. 197-298;
37
106-107] The Legends of the Jews
vol. IV, p. 309. In Visio Pauli 4-6, the sun, moon, stars, and
the sea implore God to grant them the power to destroy the sinners.
There is a widespread view, which is based on Dent. 31. 28, to the
effect that the earth, the heaven, and the heavenly bodies bear
witness for and against man, according to his actions; coinp. Enoch
1. 7; Sifre D., 306; 'Abodah Zarah 3a. The following legend is
quoted by many medieval authors (Mahzor Vitry 373; Zohar III,
275a; Sefcr Mizivot Gadol, 42nd positive precept; Kanch in Yalkut
Reubeni I, 16, 8b) from an unknown midrashic source which reads:
Whenever Satan brings accusations against Israel on the New Year, the
day when God sits down to judge the whole universe, God commands
him to produce witnesses in support of his accusations. But he can
only secure one witness on that day, the sun, because the moon is
invisible at that time; but when Satan appears ten clays later, on the
Day of Atonement, with his second witness, he is informed by the
Lord that Israel repented of their sins during the ten days of peni-
tence and that they were pardoned. Satan fares still worse in the
legend given in PR 45, 185b-186a, according to which, while Satan
is searching for more sins, God removes sins from the balance in which
the good and evil deeds are weighed. On the appearance of the heav-
enly bodies, before and after their daily course, before God, comp.
Baba Batra 25a and vol. Ill, p. 116.
106 Zohar Hadash Bereshit 4, 23a (on Gen. 2. 8); that God's
name is engraved in the sun is already mentioned in PRE 6, as well
as in the Baraita dc-Ma'aseh Bereshit 50; whereas according to the
Greek Apocalypse of Baruch 6, the bird running before the sun (comp,
vol. I, p. 32) bears on its body an inscription of golden letters. In
the old Midrashim (Tan. B. II, 112; Kinyan Torah; introduction to
Ekah 2; Tan. Ki-Tissa 16; PK 15, 121a; ShR 41. 6) it is said that a
heavenly voice proclaims daily on mount Horeb: "Woe to mankind
for contempt of the Torah." The revelation which took place on
Sinai-Horeb is a constant accusation against mankind for not walk-
ing in God's path, despite the Torah that was given to them. Si-
milarly the daily appearance of the sun also is a constant accusation
against the sinners who do not recognize their Creator.
I0 ? BR 6. 7; ShR 5. 9; Koheleth Z. 86; Shcmue! 9 t 74; Yoma
20b-21a; PRE 34. On the grating of the sun against its wheel, comp,
Sachs, Beitr'dge, I, 50; Perlcs, Etymologuche Studien, 72; Grtinbaum,
Gesammclte Aufsatze, 145. This has nothing to do with the music
of the spheres, despite the statement of Maimonides, Guide of the
38
The Creation of the World [108109
Perplexed, II, 8, and Zohar Hadash Bereshit 4 (caption ]iy&B? n^n).
The old Jewish sources are not acquainted with the conception of
the music of the spheres; comp. note 102. As to the noises which
resound throughout the universe but are nevertheless inaudible to
man, a good deal more is mentioned in the sources just quoted. These
noises are at the birth and death of man, at the first sexual inter-
course, as well as at the time- of divorce, the felling of a fruitful tree
and the sloughing of the skin of a serpent, the falling of rain (Yoma
loc. cit., reads more accurately: the roaring of the taurinc angel when
he causes the water from the lower abyss to be poured into the up-
per abyss; comp. Ta'anit 25b; Baraita de-Ma' aseh Bereshit 49; Seder
Rabba di-Bereshit 10; Responsen dcr Geonim, Harkavy's edition, No.
289. p. 142); finally there resounds out of Rome such a loud voice,
that were it not for the grating of the sun, it would have been audible
all over the world. In these sources mythological conceptions, as,
for instance, the roaring of the taurine angel of the abyss, which is
merely the Jewish recast of the Babylonian belief about the god "Ea",
are found side by side with purely poetical images. As to the loud
voice which resounds at the time of a divorce, comp. Index s. v.
Divorce. See also vol. I, p. 59.
108 Nedarim Sb; Yoma 20b, which reads: These motes 'are
named ttV "la" in Aramaic, according to which nV (Dan. 4. 32) is
explained. On the grating of the sun, comp. Low in Orientalische
Literaturzeitung, XV, 305.
I0 * Yerushalmi Ta'anit 4, 68b; Babli 27b; Soferim 7. 5. One
should not go out of doors on Wednesday night (i.e., on Wednesday
eve, for according to the Jewish conception the day belongs to the
preceding night) because the demon Agrat the daughter of Mahlat
( -rfcnD m rrttN; the transliteration is doubtful, and Kohut's Persian
etymology in Angelologie, 88, is certainly untenable) with her eighteen
myriads of malicious throngs come out on this night (also on Saturday
night) to inflict evil on man. See Pesahim Ilia and 112b; PRK (Griin-
hut's edition) 73; BaR 12. 3. Comp. further Sifra 26. 4; Geiger,
Kebuzzat Maamarim, 167, and Ginzberg's note in the supplement.
In the middle ages Monday (comp. vol. I, p. 15) and Wednesday
were considered as unlucky days, and there is an accepted rule ]'K
Y33 ]'^nnD "one should not begin any undertaking on Monday or
Wednesday". Briill, Jahrbucker, IX, 5 (cornp. also ibid., ,66), accepts
the explanation found in a manuscript, according to which the belief
39
no 112] The Legends of the Jews
is due to the fact that 13 in Persian signifies "bad"; but this expla-
nation is rather far-fetched.
110 Comp. vol. I, pp. 23-24.
111 It is not on earth but in heaven where the moon slipped
in its terror of the punishment which was pronounced.
112 Hadar on Gen. 1. 16, which cites an unknown midrashic
source; Toledot Yizhak on Gen., loc. cit., which is very likely based on
Hadar. According to this legend, the word 0':HO "stars " is connected
with the word HUD "was extinguished"; the light of the moon was
dimmed because some of her parts fell off. On the etymology of
IP "sun", HT and TTD "moon", see Konen 25-26. The text of
this passage is to be corrected in accordance with Zohar Hadash
Bereshit 4, 19b: 2W tf$ "servant of man". Jellinek emended it
correctly without having known the parallel passage. In the legends
concerning the sun, moon, and the stars it is presupposed that these
luminaries are endowed with consciousness and intelligence. This
idea, as pointed out in note 100, was so widespread among the ancients
that Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, II, 5 (comp. also Yad h&
Hazakah, Yesode ha-Torah, 3. 9), was justified in referring to the
Haggadah as support for his doctrine which he borrowed from the
Greeks, that the heavenly bodies were endowed with intelligence.
Philo, De Plan. Noe, 3 and De Somn., 4, likewise calls attention to
the agreement among the Jews and the Greeks concerning this view*
It should, however, be observed that in the liturgy, at least as far
as the old prayers are concerned, the conception of the heavenly bodies
as intelligent or animate beings is entirely ignored, though the op-
portunity has frequently presented itself to make use of this idea,
as, for instance, in the morning and evening prayer, in the passages
of Yozer and Ma'arib 'Arabim. On the passages in pseudepigra-
phic literature stating that the heavenly bodies are endowed with
life and senses, comp. note 100, as well as Enoch 41. 5, and the pas-
sages cited by Charles. Not only Enoch 18. 13-16, but also the Tal-
mud (Mo'ed Katan 16a) speaks of "rebellious" stars; comp. also
vol. IV, p. 36, on Meroz (Jud. 5. 23). On the eclipse of the moon
and sun comp. note 100. See further Philo, De M. Opif., 19, and Stein-
schneider in Maga&in Jttr Literatur d. Auslands, 1845, No. 80. Con-
cerning the material of which the sun and moon were made very lit-
tle is found in the Haggadah; according to Konen 25 the moon con-
sists of light, the sun of fire. The statement made in the Greek Apo-
calypse of Baruch 9 to the effect that the moon has the likeness of a
The Creation of the World [113118
woman (in the original myth she must have been the wife of the sun)
is unknown in Jewish sources. On the human form of the moon,
however, see note 102. Comp. further Index, s, v. " Man in the Moon".
113 Konen 26, where B>K should probably be read instead of TIN;
comp., however, Ginzberg, Unbekannte Sekte, 114, note 2, as well
as PRE 9.
114 Konen 26. On the three elements, light, fire, and water,
by the combination of which all the heavenly and earthly bodies have
been formed, comp. Konen 24.
xi s Hullin 127a; Yerushalmi Shabbat 14, 14c; Tehillim 104,
445; PR 23, 117a. The creation of the sea shows God's might as
much as that of all the other creatures taken together. Similarly
God's power is manifested in the creation of Leviathan as in that
of all the other creatures taken together. See Mekilta Bahodesh 7,
69b (read D instead of DVn), and Mekilta RS, 109.
116 Midrash Jonah 98; comp. also vol. I, p. 40, and vol. IV,
p. 249, as well as Mekilta RS, 109. A vast collection of passages
from rabbinic literature, which treat of Leviathan, is given by I. Low
in Judaica (Cohen-Festschrift, Berlin, 1912), 338-340. Comp. also
Low in Orientalische Studien, 555; Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufsdtee,
127-130.
117 Baba Batra 74b; BR 7. 4; Konen 26; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 1. 20. In all these passages, D'l^n (Gen., loc. cit.) is identified
with Leviathan (so BR 11. 9, and the parallel passages cited by
Theodor, ad loc.). pn is indeed the proper word for Leviathan, since
by looking at it man is induced to relate ( pn) God's wonders.
Comp. Lekah, Gen., loc. cit. According to another view D*nn means
the " sea-gazelle"; comp. Baba Batra, loc. cit. t and note 132,
118 Baba Batra 74b; Zohar II, 108b. Konen 26 mentions the cre-
ation of the female Leviathan, but not its slaying; it thus assumes
the existence of a pair of these monsters which have no sexual desire,
so that they do not multiply. This is explicitly stated in BR 7. 4
with reference to Behemoth; this source quotes the dissenting view
that neither Leviathan nor Behemoth exists as a "pair". In Baba
Batra, loc. cit., however, it is stated that God not only slew the fe-
male, but also castrated the male. Comp. also Targum Yerushal-
mi Gen. 1. 20. The Leviathan "pair" may be compared with the
Babylonian myth concerning Tiamat and her only mate Kingu,
according to which the latter is vanquished by Marduk and made
harmless, while the former is slain.
41
up 125] The Legends of the Jews
119 Baba Batra 74b. The Midrashim (PK 6, 58; PR 16, 8 la;
WR 22. 9; BaR 21. 18; Tan. Pinehas 6) describe, in still more glowing
colors, the enormous quantities of water needed by Behemoth, and
quote a view according to which a river comes out from paradise
in order to quench the thirst of this monster. Comp. note 142.
120 PK 29, ISSa; Baba Batra 74b; Midrash Jonah 98; PRE 9.
Comp. vol. I, p. 40; vol. IV, p. 249.
121 Baba Batra 74b-75a. Comp. also the Midrashim cited in
note 119.
122 Shabbat 77b; PRK (Griinhut's edition) 74; Iggeret Ba'ale
Hayyim 3, 12. According to I. Low, Orientalische Stitdien t 565,
rriD73 which causes terror to the Leviathan, is the Greek %aX/ds
"lizzard".
123 PK 29, 188a. Comp, also vol. I, p. 28, with regard to the
illuminating canopy over the heads of the pious made of the hide of
Leviathan. The clothes of the first "human couple" which were
"garments of light", were made of the hide of the female Leviathan
(comp. Index, s. v. "Adam, Garments of"). Comp. the unknown
Midrash in Hadar and Da 1 at (rmrp nrDD) on Gen. 3. 21. In the
Babylonian myths of creation the heavens are formed of the upper
parts of the body of Tiamat.
12 4 'Abodah Zarah 3b; PRE 9; Midrash Jonah 9v8; Hasidim
476. Comp, further Septuagint and Targum on Ps. 104. 26, both
of which understand this passage to say (very likely on the basis of
Job 40. 27, as already remarked by Rashi on Ps., loc. cit., which es-
caped the notice of Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufstiizc 128) that God
sports with Leviathan. In 'Abodah Zarah, loc. cit., the following
account is given of God's occupation during the twelve hours of the
day. He studies the Torah during the first three hours; He judges
the world for three hours; during the next three hours He provides
for the needs of all living creatures; the last three hours He spends
sporting with Leviathan. This Haggadah is allcgorically explained
in ER 2, 61-62, where Leviathan is taken symbolically to represent
the power of the heathen (comp. Tebillim 104, 445). It is accord-
ingly stated there that nothing pleases God so much as the failure
of the designs of the heathen against Him (comp. Ps, 2. 1-4). On
the plan of God's daily occupation comp. further ER 17, 84; IS, 90;
26, 130; 31, 162. On Leviathan =evil, comp. note 127, end.
125 Baba Batra 75a, which literally reads: If Leviathan were
not to put his head into paradise and become perfumed by its frag-
42
The Creation of the World [126127
ranee, no creature could exist on account of the awful odor he emits.
This statement has nothing to do with the medieval legend concern-
ing the offensive odor of the devil, but it is related to the ancient
identification of Leviathan with the sea. The latter has an offensive
odor. Comp. vol. Ill, p. 25 (end of paragraph).
1 2 6 Baba Batra 74b, where a reason is given why the female mon-
ster and not the male was put to death. Comp. note 118 and the
following note.
I2 7 PK 29, 188a-188b; Baba Batra 75a; Alphabetot 98. The
contest between the angels and the monsters is variously described
in the sources quoted above, and especially noteworthy is the des-
cription of Alphabetot. Gabriel receives the order from God to drag
out Leviathan from the Great Sea (= Ocean, or the Mediterranean
Sea; comp. Baba Batra 74b and note 73), for which purpose the angel
provides himself with the necessary implements. He succeeds in
hooking Leviathan, but is swallowed up in his attempt to drag him
out on dry land. Whereupon God Hinself is obliged to seize Levi-
athan, and He slays him in the presence of the pious. Then Michael
and Gabriel are sent against the male and female Behemoth, but being
unable to carry out God f s command (this is the way the fragmentary
text is to be emended) , He Himself is then obliged to accomplish it. For
further details concerning Leviathan and Behemoth, comp. Pirke
Mashiah, 76; BHM VI. 150; WR 13. 3; Kalir in the piyyut D^iy \\y\
(end of Lamentations in Roman Mahzor) , who made use of old sources
which are no longer extant, in his description of the two monsters
and of their contest which ends with the annihilation of both. Comp.
further vol. I, pp. 29 and 30 with reference to Ziz and Behemoth.
It is noteworthy that the tannaitic literature does not contain any-
thing concerning Leviathan and Behemoth (the remark in Sifra 11.
10 that Leviathan is a clean fish has hardly anything to do with the
view that it will be eaten at the Messianic banquet, comp. also Hullin
67b and note 139, beginning), nor concerning the Messianic banquet.
The word used in Abot 3. 25 need not be taken literally, as may be
seen from Tosefta Sanhedrin 8. 9. Only in post-tannaitic literature,
especially in later Midrashim, does the Messianic banquet play a
great part. Comp., besides the sources already quoted, Nistarot R.
Simeon 80; BHM V, 45-46; VI, 47; Alphabet R. Akiba 33. Comp.
also vol. IV, pp. 115-116 and 249. Luzzatto, in his notes on the Ro-
man Mahzor II, 212b, correctly remarked that the legend about the
Messianic banquet wants to convey the view that this will be the
43
127] The Legends of the Jews
last feast, after which the pure spiritual life will begin, when there
will be no bodily needs or pleasures. Those who interpret the Lev-
iathan-Behemoth legends allegorically conceive the Messianic ban-
quet in a spiritual sense. Comp. further below. Targum Yeru-
shalmi Num. 11. 26 reads: And they will enjoy the good things which
were prepared for them in the pristine times. This is not to be trans-
lated, as is done by Bousset, Religion, 327: And they will., .to en-
joy the meat of the steer. This mistranslation is due to the fact
that Bousset incorrectly read KTin for fcUIB. Comp. also note 79 with
regard to the wine of the Messianic banquet. The pseudepigruphic
literature already knows the essential elements of the highly devel-
oped Leviathan-Behemoth legends found in the later Midrashim.
In Enoch 60.7-10 it is asserted, in agreement with BR 7.4, that Levi-
athan and Behemoth (alluding to Job 40. 20 and Ps 50. 10-11, Be-
hemoth was described in the Hebrew text of Enoch as m$ mono,
which the translator, however, misunderstood and instead of <"T$
"field", i.e., "the dry land", has rfttf "his breast") were created on
the fifth day, and of these two the former was the female and the
latter the male. But they were separated (comp. vol. I, p. 27, with
regard to the female of the Leviathan), the male monster, Be-
hemoth, received the desert Dudain for his abode (undoubtedly iden-
tical with the desert Dudel, Enoch 10. 4; that the latter is situated
in the proximity of Jerusalem, the former east of paradise, cannot
be urged as an objection to this identification, as the holy city is east
of paradise; comp. PRE 20 20, beginning. See further notes 119
and 141 on the habitation of Behemoth in the proximity of paradise),
whereas the female Leviathan lives in the depth of the sea. Both,
however (verse 24), will serve as food (for the pious; but the text is
not very clear here). In 4 Ezra 6. 49-52, Enoch is made use of, but
at the same time an attempt is made to explain how it happens that
the male monster Behemoth lives on the dry land, while his mate,
Leviathan, is in the water* The mates of Leviathan and Behemoth
are spoken of in rabbinic sources (comp. note 118), Nowhere, how-
ever (Targum Yerushalmi 1, 21, is based on Baba Batra 74b, and does not
maintain, as Gunkel, Schopfung und Chaos, p. 54, incorrectly asserts, that
Behemoth is the wife of Leviathan), is the idea expressed that both mon-
sters are "a mated pair"; nor does it occur in BR 7. 4; comp. Gins-
berg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 16. The Apocalypse of Baruch 29, 4
knows of the legend that both monsters are destined to be the food
of the pious in the time to come, but does not offer any additional
44
The Creation of the World [127
information on the subject. The Apocalypse of Abraham 10 speaks
of Leviathans (i. e., the male and female monsters), which the arch-
angel Jaoel holds in check; in another passage (21 ; the text is not quite
clear) Leviathan and his possession are spoken of, where, perhaps,
the Leviathan and his mate should be read. In case this apocalyptic
work was originally composed in Hebrew, the present text can easily
be explained as being due to the translator's confusion of 'VTOp =inj?3p
"his mate" with imp=OJ'Jp "his possession". Comp. Kiddushin 6a,
where instead of the reading map, as is found in our texts, we should
read, with the Geonim in Sha'are Zedek I7a, No. 4, TOp^n^p "my
mate". In the last passage of the Apocalypse referred to above the
remark is made that the world rests upon Leviathan. This shows
the high antiquity of the similar statement found in rabbinic sources;
PRE 9; Konen 26; ' Aseret ha-Dibrot 63; Baraita de-Ma'aseh Bereshit
47 (the whole world, as well as the "Great Sea" which compasses it,
rests on four pillars, and these pillars rest on one of the fins of Levi-
athan); Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 9; Zohar III, 279. Comp. also
the numerous quotations from Kabbalistic writings by Luria on PRE,
loc. cit., as well as Ginzberg, Haggada lei den Kirchenv^ 19, where a
quotation from a New Testament apocrypha is given concerning
the "divos pisces (i. e., Leviathan and his mate) jacentes super aquas
. . . tenentes totam terram". Rather obscure is the statement of
Jerome on Is. 27. 1 that, according to a Judaica Fabula,, the mon-
ster spoken of by the prophet lives under the ground and in the air,
whereas the monsters mentioned in Gen. 1. 21 have their habitation
in the sea. As an explanation of these obscure words of Jerome,
attention should be called to the fact that next to the view mention-
ed above which sees in Leviathan a monster which encircles the whole
earth, there is also another which identifies him with the vault of heaven
to which the signs of the Zodiac are affixed. Comp. the quotation
from PRE by Kimhi on Is., loc. cit.] Kalir, loc. cit. (it has 365 eyes
=days of the year); Kaneh 30c and 32c-32d; Rokeah in the com-
mentary on Yezirah 14c. Comp. also Harkavy N'VnK ^Vn in the He-
brew periodical Ben ' Ammi, January 1887, 27-35. That Leviathan
was not identical with the D'J'JJl mentioned in Gen., loc. cit,) is also
presupposed by the Haggadah which asserts that Leviathan was cre-
ated first (this is based on Job 40. 19, which rather applies to Be-
hemoth; thus the two monsters are taken to be a "pair"; comp.
above), and afterwards the rest of the world. Comp. Ibn Ezra.'s in-
troduction to his commentary on the Pentateuch, and 3VK by
45
128129] The Legends of the Jews
ed. Sulzbach, Job, loc. cit. All these legends concerning Leviathan and
Behemoth point to the fact, which has already been observed by
several authors (comp. especially Gunkel, Schopfung und Chaos, 41-
69), that a good deal of old mythological material has been preserved
in them. Nevertheless one must not look exclusively for Babylon-
ian myths, and one is not warranted to identify, on the basis of Enoch,
loc. cit. y Behemoth and Leviathan with Tiamat and Kingu, respect-
ively, of the Babylonian mythology, since not only the rabbinic sources
but also Job 40 clearly describes Behemoth as a land monster. It
may therefore be said that Behemoth belongs to quite another cycle
of myths, but owing to learned combinations, the pseudepigraphic au-
thors made it the consort of Leviathan, whereas the rabbinic sources
retain the original conception of it as a land monster. The allegor-
ical interpretation of the Leviathan-Behemoth legends originated at
a very early date, and is found not only among the Gnostics (comp.
the Jewish gnostic Apocalypse of Abraham, he. cit.j and Hippolytus
5. 21, on Leviathan as a bad angel in the system of Justinus), but
also in rabbinic sources. Comp. ER 2, 61-62 (partly quoted in note
124); Guide of the Perplexed, III, 23; Kimhi on Is. 27. 1, and partic-
ularly in kabbalistic literature in which Leviathan is identified with
"Evil" which will disappear in Messianic times, when the righteous
as purely spiritual beings like the angels, will enjoy life in paradise.
See Ma'areket 8, 102-103b; Nefesh ha-Hayyim 1, 17; the numerous
passages cited from Zohar by Heilpern, * Erke ha-Kinnuyim, s, t>.
liwb. See also the remark of R. David b. R. Judah he-Hasid in Ski-
tain Mekubbezet on Baba Batra 75a. On Leviathan as the serpent
encircling the world, comp. Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufsatze, 129,
and note 275 on vol. I, p, 394.
128 Hullin 27b; PK 4, 35a; Tan. B. IV, 112 (the feet of the hen
therefore resemble the scales of the fish); Tan. Hukkat 6; BaR 19.
3; Koheleth 7. 23; Konen 26. Philo, De M. Opif. t 20, finds the rela-
tionship between birds and fishes in that these two kinds of animals
swim, the former in the air (v^%iv "to swim" may also be used
for the flight of birds), the latter in the water. On the view of PRK
9 concerning the origin of birds and fishes, comp. Ginsberg, Unbe
kannte Sekte, 114. See further Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 1. 20.
129 The name Ziz is derived from Ps. 50. 11 (IP W), which is
taken by the Haggadah as a proper name, Johann Heinrich Wolf-
ius wrote a monograph on Ziz under the title " Dissertatio d? port-
entosae magnitudinis ave '"i Pr", which appeared in Leipzig, 1683,
46
The Creation of the World [130-139
130 WR 22. 10; Tehillim 80, 363. Comp. further PK 6, 58a;
PR 16, 81a; Tan. Pinehas 12; BaR 21. 18, with regard to Ziz; see
also vol. I, pp. 4-5.
131 Targum on Ps. 50. 1 1, which is very likely based on Baba Batra
73b. Comp. the following note. It is stated in Konen 26 that Ziz
rests its feet on the fins of Leviathan (comp. note 127), and that his
head reaches the throne of glory. On this passage comp. note 139.
132 Baba Batra 73b. Comp, further Ma'asiyyot (Caster's ed-
ition 8), where in the Alexander legend an allusion is made to this axe.
133 WR 22. 10; BR 19. 4.
13 Gittin 31b and Baba Batra 25b. In both of these talmudic
passages the winged f] p is none other than Ziz, as may be seen by
comparing the talmudic statement with that found in the sources
referred to in the preceding note. The commentators, however, take
yi p to be a winged angel; comp. Rashi, ad loc., as well as in his com-
mentary on Job 39. 26.
135 Bekorot 57b and Menahot 66b, as an explanation of Job 39.
13.
136 Targum Job 3. 6, 38. 36, 39. 13. In all these targumic pas-
sages this bird bearing the name K"O Viann "the wild cock" (comp.
"Oil TIP "wild ox", as a name for Behemoth, note 143; it is neverthe-
less doubtful whether the word N*a is to be translated by "wild"
in these cases) is undoubtedly to be identified with Ziz, although in
the legend of Solomon (comp. vol. IV, p. 168 and note 86 appertain-
ing to it) N"Q ^13J"in is employed to describe an entirely different bird.
Comp. note 139.
137 On Sekwi ('W) comp. Targum on Job 38. 36 (according to
Rosh ha-Shanah 26a and Yerushalmi Berakot 9, 13c, it signifies* 'cock") ;
comp. note 139. On '3JT "in "son of the nest", see the following
note.
138 The attempt to explain '33V "Q as Persian must not be taken
seriously; comp. Ginzberg in Jewish Encyclopedia, II, 512 s. v. "Bar
Yokni," where reasons are given for the translation "son of the nest".
The talmudic passages where this gigantic bird is mentioned are: Suk-
kah 5a (bottom); Yoma 80a; Bekorot 57b. Comp. also Menahot
66b and Sifra 1. 14. Comp. Ginzberg in Schwarz- Festschrift, 360.
139 WR 22. 10, where it is explicitly stated that Ziz and Levia-
than belong to the "clean animals" (comp. note 127 with reference
to Leviathan), whereas in 13. 3 and Tehillim 146, 535, it is emphas-
ized, with reference to the use of these animals, that in the time of
47
139] The Legends of the Jews
the Messiah a new Torah will be given which will dispense with the
present dietary laws. Nistarot R. Simeon 8 reads: Behemoth will
be slaughtered, Leviathan (a fish does not require to be killed ritually)
will be torn by Ziz, and the latter slaughtered by Moses. In view
of the description of the contest between Behemoth and Leviathan
(comp. vol. I, p. 28), we should probably read in Nistarot roDTOl
1tarn0 ]mV, "and Behemoth will be slain by Leviathan", i. e. by the
points of his fins, which may be used as instruments for ritual slaughter-
ing; comp. Hullin 1. 2. On the disposal of the three monsters, Levi-
athan, Behemoth, and Ziz, that is, the representatives of the three
animal kingdoms, at the Messianic banquet, see Tehillim 18, 153,
and 23, 202, whence the statement found in later writings (Kad ka-
Kemah, end of letter n, 93a; Levita, Tishbi, s. v. H33V) that the bird
Bar Yokni will be used as food for the pious in Messianic times. No
trace is found in older sources of the identity of this bird with Ziz;
but since o3n (Job 49. 13) is according to Bekorot 57b, the same
as Bar Yokni, and in the opinion of Targum, ad loc. t it is the same as
&m ^Xinn, i. e., Ziz (comp. Targum Ps. 50. 11), it was quite natural
for the later authorities to identify Bar Yokni with Ziz. In most of
the Ziz legends the dependence upon Iranic mythology is evident.
The " heavenly singer and seer 1 ' is naturally the sacred cock of A vesta
(Vendidad 18, 33, seq.); comp. Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufsdtze, 37,
seq.\ Rubin, Kabbala und Agada, 23-25; Ginzberg in Jewish Ency-
clopedia, s. v. "Cock", as well as note 194. Of Iranic origin is also
the conception that the wings of Ziz eclipse the sun. With this should
be compared the sun birds of the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch 6-8
and the Chalkidri in 2 Enoch 15; comp, Bousset, Religion, 568. l Highly
instructive is the following passage in Konen 26, which precedes the
description of the creation of Ziz (comp. note 131): And He created
an Ofan (a kind of angel) on earth, whose head reaches the holy Hayyot
who is the mediator between Israel and their heavenly Father. He
bears the name Sandalfon and fashions out of 'the prayers wreaths
(or crowns) for God's majesty, which ascend upon the head of the
Lord at his uttering the holy name. Whatever is said here concern-
ing Sandalfon is taken from Hagigah 13b (comp. also PR 20, 97a).
The connection, however, between Sandalfon and Ziz can only be
understood when one considers the fact that Ziz was originally tak-
en as the heavenly singer; he is hence identical with Sandalfon.
To quite a different cycle of legends belongs the conception of the
gigantic bird Ziz, which will be eaten by the pious in the world to
come. 48
The Creation of the World [140144
140 Hullin 27b; PRE 11. For a different view see Konen 26,
which reads: He took water, earth, and light, out of which He cre-
ated Behemoth; comp. notes 113 and 128.
1 4 l Baba Batra 74b, where it is said that the male monster was
castrated, and the desire to propagate its kind was taken away from
the female. Konen 26 reads: He created Behemoth of the thou-
sand mountains, as well as the ox who uproots thousand mountains
daily, and both appear daily in paradise to make merry in the pres-
ence of the Lord. That Behemoth is a female monster disagrees
with the view of the older rabbinic sources, as well as that of the
pseudepigraphic writers (comp. notes 117-118, as well as note 127).
Moreover Konen made two monsters out of the two names of the
monster. The older rabbinic sources speak of Behemoth, or fol-
lowing Ps. 50. 10, of "Behemoth upon a thousand hills/' but sometimes
they use "QH TIP or, in Aramaic sources, its equivalent 11 Tin, instead
of Behemoth (comp. e. g. Targ. Ps. loc. tit.) and hence in Konen the fe-
male Behemoth of the thousand mountains (hills) is found alongside
of the ox who uproots thousand mountains daily. Comp. also Kalir
in the Piyyut ]"D'l (end of Lamentations in the Roman Mahzor) who
speaks of the two consorts of Leviathan. Comp. note 127, and on
the sports of the monsters in paradise see note 124.
142 PK 6, 58a; PR 16, 80b, and 194 (here it is also stated that
Leviathan lies on the abyss, which otherwise would flood the e!arth;
since the water of the ocean is salty, he is compelled to raise his fins
whenever he wants to drink, in order that the water of the abyss
should come up); WR 22. 10; BaR 21. 18; Tan. Pinehas 12; PRE 11.
Comp. also Baba Batra 74b. The last-named Midrash understands
Ps. 50. 10 to say that the grass of the thousand mountains grows anew
every night, whereas in the older Midrashim a view is cited, accord-
ing to which the meaning of this verse is that thousand animals graz-
ing on the thousand mountains serve as food for Behemoth. On
Behemoth in the close proximity of paradise, comp. note 127 and Ko-
nen 26. For an allegorical interpretation of this legend, comp. Zohar
I, 18b, 223a (bottom), as well as III, 2l7a, 240b.
14 3 VVR 13. 3; PRE 11. Concerning Behemoth as food for the
pious, comp. further notes 127 and 139. On the prejudice against
attending a theatre, comp. 'Abodah Zarah 10b, where, like Tertul-
lian, De Spectaculis 4, Ps. 1. 1 is said to refer to the pious who keep away
from the theatre and circus.
144 A quotation from a manuscript Midrash in Midbar Kede-
49
I44"~ I 51 The Legends of the Jews
mot "p, No. 12, and Aguddat Aggadot 39. A similar statement
is found MHG I, 95-96 concerning a certain serpent related to
the one which seduced Eve. Comp. also Rashi on Is. 30. 6 and
Herodotus III, 109.
145 Baba Batra 73b; comp. also ibid. 74b, where a view is quoted
which declares the monsters own (Gen, 1. 21) to be KBH ^m, which
is very likely a kind of Re'em.
146 Tehillim 22, 195, where one view is also cited to the effect
that the circumference was about one hundred cubits; comp. vol.
IV, p. 83. On a frightful kind of tiger comp. Hullin 59b; a passage
which was strangely misunderstood by the author of the article "Levi-
athan and Behemoth" in Jewish Encyclopedia, VIII, 39.
147 This species is known as Adne [SadehJ, or more accurately
Idne; the singular is Adan. Comp. the following note.
148 Tan. Introduction 125. Comp. further R. Simeon of Sens on
Kil T ayim 8. 5 and Ma'asehbuch 201; Magcti Abot 35b and 68a (women
who grow on trees) ; Eshkol 24b; the references to non-Jewish writ-
ings (Mas'udi, Ibn Tufail, and Pseudo-Calisthenes) given by Stein-
schneider, Pscudo-Epigraphische Liter atur, 25, and Hebrdische Ueber*
setzungen, 12, 360. On the plant-man comp. further note 150, and
note 89 on vol. I. 360. Kil'ayim 8. 5 speaks of rrwn 'HK (it is plu-
ral of ]1K which occurs frequently in correct manuscripts instead
of cnN), which Yerushalmi, ad loc., 31c, renders in Aramaic by tfS ~D
NTm, *'the man of the mountain" (mtf is also found in the Bible
in the sense of "mountain"). It is undoubtedly a certain species
of ape. The Yerushalmi continues that this species is vulnerable
only in its navel; later authors, however, found in this remark of the
Yerushalmi a reference to the plant-man which is fastened by its
navel to the ground. Comp. Fink, Mon&tsschrift, LI, 173-182; Na-
than, ibid.* 501. Comp. Ginzberg in Sckwarz- Festschrift, 327-333,
who deals at length with the meaning of I'l'ion TTK, which Rashi
identifies with the Werewolf and believes to be referred to in Job
5. 23.
I4 * Tan. Introduction 125.
150 Responsa of R. Meir of Rothenburg (Lemberg edition, No.
160), and through the literary channels, namely, the writings of the
Franco-German scholars of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, who
often discussed the "legal status" of the barnacle-goose, scholars of
other countries became acquainted with this legend, though there
it failed to engage the popular fancy. Christian authors, at the same
50
The Creation of the World [151^154
time, discussed the question whether it was permissible to eat these
birds during Lent. Comp. Geraldus Cambiensis (1154-1189), whose
zeal burned against the rashness of those who indulged in the enjoy-
ment of this bird during the Lent season. It appears, however, that
his zeal was not of much avail, since Duran, in his Magen Abot, 35b,
confirms the persistence of the "rashness and indulgence" of the
Frenchmen of his time, two hundred years after that "zeal for
the observance". Comp. Oppenheim, Monatsschrift, XVIII, 88-93;
Giidemann, Ersiehungswesen II, 117, 213, and III, 129; Steinschneider,
Hebraische Bibliographic V, 116-117; Steinschneider in Gosche's Ar-
chiv III, 8; Ha-Goren IV, 99; Jewish Encyclopedia, s. v. "Barnacle-
goose."
151 BR 19. 5: Shemuel 12, 81; Tan. Introduction 155; 2 Alphabet
of Ben Sira 27a, 28b, 29a-29b; Bereshit Rabbeti cited by Jellinek,
Einleitung to BHM VI, 12, note, 4, The older sources name the '
phoenix 7in, and find in Job 29. 18 a reference to this bird; in the
two last-named sources the immortal bird is called DH^D or Drfc^,
a word of obscure origin which is very likely corrupt. Ben Sira 27a
adds that this bird and its species, after the fall of man, was locked
up in a city to which no one, not even the angel of death, has access.
Here the very old legend concerning I^L is made use of (vol. IV,
pp. 30 and 175). The Church Fathers, as well as the Rabbis, refer
to the phoenix as a proof for the resurrection of the dead. The dis-
crepancies of the sources in the description of the rejuvenation of
the dead represents different dogmatic opinions relating to the doc-
trine of resurrection; comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv.,
52-55; Giidemann, Religionsgeschickte, 55-65. See further note 37
on vol. I, p. 161, and note 67 on vol. I, p. 74. The description of
the rejuvenation of the pious in the world to come, found in Alpha-
betot 107, which was probably made use of in Mahzor Vitry 317,
line 11 (riDIX mi 1 ?' ^713) presupposes the phoenix legend. On the
phoenix legend in patristic literature, comp. the vast collection of
material given by Charles, 2 Enoch 12.
152 Greek Apocalypse of Baruch 6; comp. notes 133-134. On
a similar idea in rabbinic literature, comp. the legend concerning
Ziz vol. I, 29. and notes 134, 139.
153 On this inscription comp. note 106.
154 The etymology of the word "Chalkidri" is very obscure;
comp. Forbes and Charles on 2 Enoch 12. 1; Bousset, Religion, 568.
The latter conjectures that it is to be regarded as an Iranic word.
51
The Legends of the Jews
155 2 Enoch 12 and 15. The ordinary angels have six wings
(Is. 6. 2), but these sun-birds are higher beings, and therefore possess
twelve wings; comp. PRE 13, where the important place of Sammael
in the heavenly hierarchy, before his fall, is characterized by the fact
that he possesses twelve wings.
156 This is only found in Rashi on Hullin 127a.
157 Hagigah (end); Sanhedrin 63b; Hullin 127a (cornp. Rashi,
ad loc., and 'Aruk. s. v. VHD^D), Tan. Wa-Yesheb 3; Sifra 11. 29;
ShR 15. 28. A vast collection of material relating to Salamander in
Jewish literature is given by Low in Krauss' Griechische und Latein-
ische Lehnworter, s. v. TT3D7D. See also Low in Florilegium, in honor
of De Vogue's seventieth birthday 399-406. Comp. further Lewy-
sohn, Zoologie des Talmuds, 227-230; Straschun in Ha-Maggid IX,
No. 14. It is noteworthy that Philo, Quaestiones, Exod. 28, likewise
mentions irvpi'ywes, which could move about in fire without suf-
fering any harm. Philo surely had Salamander and similar creatures
in mind. Hullin and Sifra, lt*c. cit. t likewise speak of creatures in the
plural which live in the fire, that is, Salamander and others. The
statement of Aristotle, Historia Ammalitwi, V, 10, and that of Pliny,
Historic Naturalis, X, 68 and 87, concerning the Salamander essent-
ially agrees with the view of the rabbinic sources. On the use of the
myrtle in the producing of the Salamander (comp. note 156), see Hip-
polytus, Haereses 4. 33. Comp. also the following three notes,
*s 8 Zohar II, 211; Hadassi, Eshkol 24d; Abk&t Rokel 2, 1.
These assertions concerning the clothes of Salamander, slightly dif-
fering from one another, are not found in the talmudic-midrashic
literature, but are, however, known, in non-Jewish writings of the
Middle Ages; comp. Jellinek, Beitr'dge zur Geschichte dcr Kabbala, I,
48, and Grasse, Beitriige zur Literatur und Sage des MittekU^rs^ 81.
159 Sanhedrin 108b, where NlV^y(the reading is doubtful) is
the Semitic name for Salamander. In Tan. Wa-Yiggash 3 n'SDy
"spider" is the correct reading, since according to Aristotle, Historic
Animalium^ V, 19, the size of the Salamander is like that of the house-fly
and the difference between the latter and the spider is not very great.
160 Sanhedrin 63b. Comp. Bacher, 2DMG XXVII, 15, and
vol. IV, p. 226.
161 Abot 5. 6; Sifre D., 355; Midrash Tannaim 219; Pesahim
54a; 2 ARM 37, 95; PRE 19. Comp. further note 99 on vol. I, p.
83.
162 Tosefta Sotah 15. I; Babli 48b; Yerushalmi 9, 20d. It is
52
The Creation of the World [163-168
stated in PR 33, 155a, that the Shamir was also applied to the build-
ing of the temple for the purpose of splitting the rock-like hard wood
(so is 'Dl^l to be translated; comp. Syriac Ntt^J "rocky ground").
163 Tosefta Sotah 15. 1; Babli 48b; Yerushalmi 9, 20d. Comp.
note 166.
Ifi 4 Tehillim 77, 351, which was incorporated in Yalkut II, 182.
Another legend on the procuring of the Shamir is given in vol. IV,
p. 166.
165 Sotah 9. 2 (it is the first temple which is meant here, con-
trary to the view of Tosafot on Zebahirn 54b, caption Q'33K) ; Tosef-
ta 15. 1; Babli 48b; Yerushalmi 9, 20d. In the talmudic-midrashic
sources it is never explicitly stated that the Shamir was a living creat-
ure. Nevertheless, as a matter of fact, the opinion of medieval au-
thors that it was a worm (Rashi Pesahim 54a; Maimonides, comment-
ary on Abot 5. 6; Mahzor Vitry 540 and many others) is undoubt-
edly correct. In Babli Sotah, loc. cit., and PR 38, 153a, the expres-
sion 'Dl ntOD, used in connection with the Shamir, clearly shows
it was the glance of a living being which effected the splitting of wood
and stones. A caper-spurge, to which the non-Jewish sources of
the Middle Ages ascribed the characteristic of the Shamir, is also
known in Jewish literature (WR 32. 4; Koheleth 5. 9); but it is not
identical with the Shamir. The view of the tannaitic sources that
the Shamir was only accessible to man at the time of the building
of the temple, while the caper-spurge could be found in later times,
proves that these two must not be confused with one another. Comp.
Cassel, Shamir, in Denkschriften der Kgl. Akademie der Wissenschaften,
Erfurt, 1854; Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufs&tze, 41, seq.\ Low, Graph-
ische Reguisiten, 181, seq. (he justly refutes Cassel's assertions that
Shamir was a stone); Salzberger, Salomos Tempelbau und Thron,
36-54.
166 Shabbat 28b; Yerushalmi 2, 4d; PR 33, 154d; Koheleth
1, 9. Comp. vol. Ill, p. 164. On the one-horned animal see note
108 on vol. I, p. 98. PR, 155a, states that the wood used by Solomon
(1 Kings 10. 12) was also created with this end in view; it therefore
disappeared as soon as it had fulfilled its purpose.
167 Baba Batra 74a. Comp. Low, Aramaische Fischnamen, No.
19, in Noldeke-Festschrift 550.
168 Tosefta Bekorot 1. 11 and Babli 8a, where instead of p'B^n
of the Tosefta, the Aramaic NQ 1 '33 is used, which Rashi renders by
"sirens'* while ps.-R. Gershon explains it as "seamen". In our text of
53
169-174] The Legends of the Jews
the Talmud nothing is said about a union of the sirens and men, and
It is uncertain whether this statement of Rashi is based on a different
text (oy for 'CD) or whether, influenced by the belief in fays and
naiads, prevalent in the Middle Ages, all through Europe, Rashi
ascribes to the Talmud something which is alien to it. According to
the Tosefta and the Talmud, the dolphins give birth to their children in
the same manner as human beings do. The assertion of Duran, Ma gin
Abot, 68a, concerning the dolphins belongs rather to European folk-
lore, although it pretends to be Jewish. Comp. Lcwysohn, Zfwlogie
des Talmuds, 153-155; Low, Aramaische Fiscknamen, No, 49, in Notdeke-
Festschrift; Grunbaum, Gesammelte A ufsatzc, 101. According to Enoch
19. 2, the women who caused the fall of the angels were transformed
into sirens; comp. Apocalypse of Baruch 10. 8.
169 Comp. vol. I, pp. 26, 28, 30; further note 322 on vol. I,
p. 424.
170 Comp. vol. I, pp. 23-24, concerning the fall of the moon.
But in none of the sources is it mentioned (comp. notes 100, 110-112)
that the light taken from the moon was added to the sun.
171 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 25a and 34a. Perek Shirah (cat
and mouse) very likely alludes to this legend,
172 2 Alphabet of Ben Sirah 25a-25b. The other legend of
the origin of the enmity between the cat and the mouse which is found
in Iggeret Ba'ale Hayyim 2, 6, is derived from Arabic sources, since
these animals are brought into relation with the descendants of Cain
and Abel, whereas according to Jewish and Christian legends Abel
died childless; comp. Index s. v. Abel.
173 The text of 2 Ben Sira does not seem to be in proper form.
17 < 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 26a-26b; see also 34b, where it is
said that Noah stole the hair which he needed for his work, from a
sleeping swine. The story told in this source (25a~34b) concerning
the donkey, which was shocked at having to serve man without any
compensation, practically agrees with the Sicilian legend by Diihn-
hardt, Natursagcn, III, 178. The characteristics of these animals to
scent their excrement and to urinate, as soon as one of them
starts to do it, is explained in the following manner. They
threatened God that they would stop to propagate their species in case
they were not to receive their reward for their work. They received
the following answer: "Ye will receive your reward for your labor
as soon as your urine will flow as a stream big enough to work a mill
and when your excrement will smell as perfume," Hence the donkeys
54
The Creation of the World [175-178
wish to ascertain whether they have fulfilled the conditions under
which a reward was promised to them.
175 As the cause of this, Noah remarks: "The inhabitants
of the city of Ai" (y; 'y=:niy "raven"; "-=rw "dove") will slay
Jair, because he permitted the use of the meat of the raven, but pro-
hibited that of the dove (comp. Sanherdin IGOa, top) in contradic-
tion to the Torah". Comp., however, vol. IV, p. 8 with reference
to the piety and learning of Jair.
1 7 6 This suspicion against Noah is already found in older sources,
comp, note 46 on vol. I, p. 164. See further PRK (Schonblum 's
edition), 32b.
177 This supposed peculiarity of the raven is already mentioned
in Aristotle's Historia Animalium, V, 47, and by many classical authors;
comp. Bochart, Hieroz., Ill, 818, as well as Lewysohn, Zoologie des
Talmuds, 173. According to Barnabas, 10. 8, it is the weasel which
is impregnated through the mouth. This, however, inaccurately re-
produces the statement of Aristeas 165, according to which the Bible
has prohibited the enjoyment of this animal because it is impregnated
through the ears and gives birth through the mouth. This wide-
spread view is also mentioned by Aristotle in De Generatione Ani-
molium, III, 6. 5 who, however, scoffs at it. A statement similar
to that of Barnabas concerning the annual change of sex of the hyena
is found in medieval Jewish writings, but not in the old rabbinic lit-
erature. Concerning the hare (ronN), comp. Ibn Ezra on Lev.
11. 6. Related to this view is the quotation in Pa'aneah, Lev. 12.
2 from PRE (not found in our text) that the stomach of a hare is a cure
for sterility. R. Eleazar, Rim e Haftarot, Naso, explicitly states that
this cure, which the women recommended to Samson's mother, and a-
gainst which the angel warned her (Jud. 13. 7), is due to the pecu-
liarity of this species to change its sex. It is highly probable that
Pa'aneah introduced the quotation with the words "irp^W '"1 'S3, that
is "in the commentary (on the Haftarot) by R. Eleazar (of Worms)";
but the scribe misread the abbreviation 'SI (=2>nS3) as V" 153 * anc *
hence *")Ty^N '"l 'p^isn. For further remarks on the raven, comp. the
following note.
178 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 26b-27a and 34a-35a. The older
sources (Sanhedrin 108b; BR 36. 7; Yerushalmi Ta'anit 1, 64d; Tan.
Noah 12) state that three were punished because they did not ob-
serve the law of abstinence while in the ark /comp. vol. I, p. 166):
Ham, the dog, and the raven. Ham became the ancestor of the black
55
179-187] The Legends of the Jews
(colored) race; the dog remains attached to the body of his mate af-
ter cohabitation; the raven conceives through his mouth. Comp.
further note 46 on vol. I, p. 164, and note 54 on vol. I, p. 166.
179 Ketubot 49b; YVR 19. 1; Shemuel 5, 57; Shir 5. 11.
180 Pesahim 113b.
181 WR 19, Shemuel 5. 57; PRE 21. Comp. vol. I, p. 113.
Makiri on Ps. 147, 286, quotes, from PRE, the statement that she-
bears have no breasts with which to nurse their young, but
God makes the young bears suck their paws, and this sustains them
until they grow up and are able to provide for themselves. Con-
cerning the sucking of paws or fingers, comp. vol. I, p. 189. The
jackals hate their young, and abandon them as the ravens do; they
would even devour them if they could see them. For this reason
God ordained that when the female jackal nurses her young ones,
their faces are covered as if with a veil, so that she cannot see them.
Ekah 4, 144. Comp., on the other hand, Tan. Behukkotai 3 and
Tan. B. Ill, 111, where the opposite view is given to the effect that
these animals are devoted to their young,
182 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 24a (read W for Q'W) and 33b.
Comp. PRE 21, and the quotation from the latter in Makiri on Ps,
147, 286, as well as in Aguddat Aggadot 38, note 4.
183 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 26b. The proverb, "he who is dis-
satisfied, etc." (most likely the word ttV fell out before fcOtttt) is a
variant of the proverb already found in Tosefta Sotah 4. 16 and in
the parallel passages (comp. note 34 on vol. I, p. 78). Sanhedrin
106a reads: The camel looked for horns, and lost his ears which
he had possessed. This is allusion to the fable found in Pend-Nameh
207.
18 4 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 25a (K'-Q is used here in the sense
of the English "strong", "stout")- Comp. Duran, Keshet u-Magen
for the similar Arabic legend concerning Mohammed.
185 BR 19. 1. On the original superior qualities of the serpent,
comp. further vol. I, pp. 71-72.
* 8 * 6 Tehillim 58, 300. On the mole, comp. also Mo'ed Katan
6b, and Yerushalmi I, 80c.
187 The angel of death occurring often in rabbinic literature,
in which he is identified with Satan (Baba Batra 16a), is also well
known in pseudepigraphic literature; comp. the Apocalypse of Bar-
uch 21. 25; Ascension of Isaiah 9. 16. See also note 317 on vol.
I, p. 300. The relationship between Leviathan and the angel of
56
The Creation of the World [188-190
death clearly points to the assumption that the view prevalent
in the Kabbalah concerning the identity of Satan with Leviathan (comp.
note 127) goes back to an ancient tradition. According to a legend
handed down from a different version, there are several angels
of death. Thus PRK 14b (Schonblum's edition) states that there
are six angels of death. Gabriel is in charge of taking away the lives
of young persons; Kazfiel is appointed over kings; Meshabber
over animals; Mashhit over children; Af over the other kinds of men;
Hernah over domestic animals. On the relation of Gabriel to the
angel of death, comp. Ma'aseh Torah 98; Huppat Eliyyahu 6; Zohar
I, 99a.
188 According to ancient sources (comp. note 115), it is the
weasel, which lives on the dry land, and if we want to be accurate,
we ought to read "weasel" instead of "cat" in the text.
189 The heart, according to the Hebrew idiom, signifies the
intellect. The conception that one can acquire the characteristics
of an animal by eating it is well known among all primitive peoples.
190 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 27a-28b and 36a. The text requires
many emendations. 28a, line 8, read: HDn >V HPtf; 28a, line 15:
jfeoVl 1*0!?; 36a, 1. 15: ]1D3 DPI. On the origin of this animal fable,
comp. Ginzberg, Jewish Encyclopedia, II, 680; s. v. "Ben Sira",
Abrahams, Book of Delight, 159, seq. It should be further noted that
although MHG II, 45, Sekel, Exod. 29, Imre No l am and Hadar
on Exod. 7. 14 give different versions of the similar fable found in
Yalkut I, 182 (in the first edition 2n"fD is given as source) concern-
ing the lion, the ass, and the fox, there can be no doubt that the orig-
in of our fable is to be found in that about the ape and the crocodile
(Pantchatantra IV, 1), which has found its way also into the Alpha-
bet of Ben Sira, where, however, it was combined with other elements.
Whether the author of the Alphabet had directly made use of the
Indian- Arabic fable literature, or whether he had adapted fables
known to him from older Jewish writings, is a moot question. The
first alternative, however, is the more likely, since the author knows
a number of animal fables, which are not extant in the older Jewish
literature. Some animal fables are also given in 1 Alphabet 5a-5b
and 7a-7b; but those are found also in the older rabbinic literature,
so that the priority of this source is more than questionable. The
account of the pious son who was compensated by Leviathan because
he had fulfilled his father's last wish (on this motive comp. vol. I,
pp. 118, se$.) is known not only to 1 Alphabet (5a-5b), but is also
57
IQO] The Legends of the Jews
found in Hibbur ha-Ma' asiyyot, fifth commandment, and is very
likely borrowed from there in the Ma 1 asehtnich 194. In these
sources the following stories are welded into one: The story from
1 Alphabet 7a-7b, with the lesson "not to do any good to the wick-
ed, so that one should not suffer from them"; the story given in vol.
IV, pp. 138-141, concerning the man who understood the language
of the animals; as well as the one about the pious son. This, of course,
proves that the sources are quite new. WR 22. 4 and Koheleth 5.
4 must certainly have been made use of by Alphabet and the two other
sources mentioned. The Talmudim, like the Midrashim, contain very
extensive material of animal folk-lore, a very small part of which is
to be found in Lewysohn, Zoologie des Tdmuds (350-358). As to
the post-talmudic period, see Duran, Magen Abot (comp., e. g., 35b-
37b) and Shebet Musar (particularly chapter 22), which contains
vast material on this subject. The following contains material tak-
en from the older sources. The propagation of animals is usually
the result of cohabitation, but there is also spontaneous generation,
i. e., animals springing forth as the result of the putrefaction of ani-
mals or vegetables. Man, fish, and serpent are the only species
whose mates face each other during cohabitation, because they are
the only living creatures to whcon Gocl spoke (Gen. 3. 14; Jonah 2.
11); hence this distinction is conferred upon them; Bekorot 8a; BR
20. 3. Once in seven years God transforms nature, as a result of
which the hornet springs forth from the remains of the horse; bees
from the cattle; the wild boar from the mountain-mouse; the rnul-
tipede from the backbone of the fish; the serpent from the backbone
of the human body which did not formerly bow down at the time
of prayer; Yerushalmi Shabbat 1, 3b. The beginning of this pas-
sage is badly corrupted, part of it, however, may be restored in ac-
cordance with Baba Kamma 16a (bottom) and with the text of R.
Hananel, Baba Kamma loc. tit. One may read, with certainty,
NDDD K'Sttrn. ..fcW'TT IPDDD "Jtf "D^lTD KB N... HIM ^Spn'D ntflDp. It
is questionable whether ttnop and rnn in Yerushalmi and Babli are to
be taken as bramble-bushes. Targum on Is. 34. 13 and Hos, 9. 6
takes these nouns to be certain species of animals, as has been rightly
observed by Duran, Magen Abot, 58b; comp. also Kimhi on the first
passage. Both Yerushalmi and Babli speak in this connection of the
sexual metamorphosis of the hyena (comp. note 177 with respect
to the peculiarity of giving birth through the mouth, comp. Huppat
Eliyyahu 3,' where this is ascribed to the raven), and Babli knows
58
The Creation of the World [190
of a long process of transformations of this animal, which finally be-
comes a demon. Concerning the splendor of the color of this animal,
it is said that it possesses 365 different colors; see BR 7. 4; Tan. Taz-
ria' 2; Tehillim 103, 432. Comp. also Berakot 6a, where this is stated
with reference to the bird Kerum. The serpent is the wicked among
the animals (Bekorot 68a; Yerushalmi Berakot 2, 9a; accordingly
MHG I, 95, yBnn=the serpent), and despite his punishment after
the fall, this animal retained his weakness for the feminine sex; comp.
Shabbat 109a, and note 60 on vol. I, p. 72. A remedy against serpents
is the fumigation of the places frequented by them with the horns
of a hind (this is also found in Pliny, Historic, Naturalis, VIII, 32,
50), which is the "pious one" among the animals. Whenever a drought
occurs, the other animals apply to the hind to pray to God, who will
listen to its prayers on account of its piety. It digs a pit in the ground
into which it sticks its horns, and prays to God for rain. Where-
upon God causes water to come up from the abyss. See Tehillim
25, 187. The attribute "pious" is shared by the hind with the stork
which is called in Hebrew Hasidah, "the pious one", because the
animals of this species are kind to one another; Hullin 63a; Tehillim
104, 144; Philo, De Decalogo, 12, who is very likely dependent upon
Aristotle, Historic, Animalium, 9. 13. Comp. also Hasidim 240-241,
and the passages referred to by the editor, as well as Shebet Musar
25 (end), concerning the family purity of the stork. The heron,
though it is closely related to the stork, is possessed of a different na-
ture; it is a very unkind animal, and its name in Hebrew is therefore
Anafah, "the wrathful one"; Hullin, loc. cit. The stork and the heron
both belong to the family of birds that are distinguished for their
keen sight, so that from Babylon they can see any object in Palestine;
Hullin 63aH53b; PK 29. 18 7b. The ostrich like the heron is also a
cruel bird, which does not even care for its young; Lekah, Lev. 11.
16 (it is very likely based on a reading very different from our texts
of Hullin 64b). On the hyena, jackal, and bear comp. note 181.
The lowest and least developed mind is attributed to the fishes; Philo,
De M. Opif.j 22 (it is very likely based on Plato, Timaeus, 92a),
and this view is connected with the statement that the fishes did not
receive any names from Adam; Tosafot on Hullin 66b; and Pa'aneah,
Lev. 11 (end). Philo, however, Qu&estiones, Gen. 12, makes Adam
name every living thing. Descriptions of fabulous animals are found
in the Hebrew version of the Alexander legend (comp. Levi in Stein-
schneider- Festschrift 145, seq.); Hadassi, Eshkol 24b-24c, and Zel
59
191194] The Legends of the Jews
'Olam, II, 5, se$. The following account by R. Akiba goes back to
an Indian fable. R. Akiba saw once a lion, a dog, and a lizard
(KTYUpplK is akin to Hebrew np3) ; the lion wanted to attack the dog,
but could not carry out his plan out of fear of the lizard (read "HX),
which is the protector of the lion, whereas the dog is the protector
of the lizard. Tehillim 104, 445.
191 Shabbat 77b. The sentence "Whatever, etc. 17 literally a-
grees with that of Aristotle, De Coelo, I, 4: '0 & 0& KO.I %
<pi)<ri$ oi>$& /J&TTJ*' TTotoDcrtv. Many a species of animal was only created
on account of a single specimen to which some special historical
mission was assigned. For instance, the gnat that lives only one
day was destined to cause the death of Titus (it crept through his
nose into his brains); Gittin 56b; 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 24a; BR
10. 7; WR 22. 1; Koheleth 5. 8; Koheleth Z., 104; BaR 18. 22; Tan.
B. IV, 98, seq.-, Tan. Hukkat I; ShR 10. 1. Comp. also Ecclu. 39.
28-34. The emphasis frequently laid on the statement that every-
thing in nature has a mission to perform, so that even the bad may
be applied as a means to attain the good, is directed against the x r iew
of the Persians, according to which all noxious animals are the crea-
tion of the god Ahriman. See Lactantius, Institutiones, 7. 4, who like
the Rabbis emphasized the usefulness of all created things.
192 'Erubin lOOb, where the monogamous life of the dove is
pointed out as a moral lesson which may be derived front nature.
The statement concerning grasshoppers, storks, and frogs are found
in Shebet Musar 22, 70b and 73c, as well as 31, 98a (comp. also note
190), the source or sources of which are not known. On the frog,
comp. Low in Florilegium . . .M. de Vogue , 398, and below, note 194.
A description of the superiority of many animals over man in moral
and physical respects is contained in part 15 of Ben ha-Melck. On
the ant comp. DR 5. 2.
*' 3 Tosefta Yoma 2. 5 and Babli 38a, as well as ShR 17. 1, where
this idea, derived from the Bible (Is. 43. 7 and Prov. 16. 4) T is fully
developed. The creation is the revelation of God's majesty and
splendor in nature; comp. vol. I, p* 3, and note 2 on vol. I, p. 49.
19 * Perek (Pirke) Shirah. On the oldest source where this small
treatise is made use of and on its history, comp. Steinschneider, //>-
brdische Bibliography XIII, 103, 106, and Zunz, Magan, XVIII,
301-302. It is questionable whether, as Steinschneider maintains,
this treatise was influenced by the fable of the contest of animals
which plays an important role in the writings of the Pure Brethren.
60
The Creation of the World [194
The conception that the animals and all created things chant praise
to God is genuinely Jewish, and is not only poetically expressed in
the Bible (Ps. 65. 14, etc. ), but occurs quite frequently in talmudic
and midrashic literature, where the "singing" and praise of the an-
imals and trees are spoken of; comp. Rosh ha-Shanah 8a; Hullin
54b; 'Abodah Zarah 24b; BR 13. 2; Tehillim 104, 442-443 (read ]'
TOiy 'JN; the words jni* TNI are an explanatory gloss), and 148, 538.
That animals chant praise seems quite natural in legends, since they
originally spoke in human language (comp. vol. I, p. 71), and after
the fall of man they were still in possession of languages which many
a wise man understood; Gittin 45a. Comp. also vol. IV, p. 138, se$:
The language of trees was understood not only by R. Johanan
b. Zaccai (Sukkah 28a; Baba Batra 184a; Soferim 16. 9), but also
by the Gaon R. Abraham; comp. 'Aruk, s. v. HD 1, and the parallels
cited by Kohut, as well as Toratan shel Rishonim I, 63. If we fur-
ther find that in Perek Shirah inanimate objects also praise God,
we have to bear in mind that Hippolytus, Haeres., 9, 25 explicitly
states (comp. also 5, 2, where the same assertion is made concern-
ing the gnostic sect of the Naasenians) that according to the Jewish
view, "all things in creation are endowed with sensation, and that
there is nothing inanimate". In mystic literature the angels of ani-
mals, trees, rivers, etc., praise God; comp. Seder Rabba di-Bereshit
7-8; Tosafot on 'Abodah Zarah 17a (bottom); Hullin 7a (bottom).
Comp. notes 102, 105, 112, and Grunbaum, Gesammelte Aufsatze,
340. The Christian legend knows not only of talking animals, trees,
or other inanimate objects like ships, water, pictures, etc. (comp.
Giinter, Christliche Legende. s. v. "Redend"; Acts of Xantippe, 30;
Narrative of Zosismus II), but is also familiar with the chants of
praises of all things, which are divided into twelve classes, and utter
their praise in turn one hour every day. Comp. the Testament of
Adam, and the literature appertaining to it, cited by Bezold, Das
Arabisch-Aethiopische Testamentum Adami in Orientalische Studien,
893-912, and James, The Lost Apocrypha 2-4:. 2 Enoch 2. 5 is a rem-
iniscence of Ps. 150. 6, while the Testament of Abraham 3 speaks
of the human language of the trees; comp. Hagigah 14b. In connection
with the praises enumerated in Perek Shirah the following is to be
noted: On the earth comp. Sanhedrin 37b and 94a ("the prince of
the earth", alluded to in this passage, refers to the angel of the earth;
comp. note 75); on the sea and the water comp. note 53; concerning
the trees see Hagigah 14b. God's visit paid to the pious in paradise,
61 -
194] The Legends of the Jews
with which the song of the cock is to be connected, is frequently men-
tioned in later Midrashim, especially in the mystic literature; comp.
Midrash Shir 42a; midrashic quotation in the anonymous commen-
tary on Song of Songs, published in Stei nsc hneider- Festschrift, Hebrew
section, 55-56, where the song of praise of the trees in paradise is
brought in connection with God's visit; Seder Gan 'Eden 132-133;
Zohar I, 10b, 40b, 72a, 77a-77b, 82b, 92a, 92b, I78b, 218b; II, 46a,
57a, 173b, 175b, 196a; III, 22a, 22b, 23a, 52b, 193a; Zohar Hadash
Bereshit 3, 17b. On the cock as the herald of light, and the one
who admonishes man not to forget to chant praise to God, comp.
the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch 7, and for further details, see Gru'n-
baum, Gesammelte Aufsdtze, 77, seq.-, and Ginzberg in Jewish Ency-
clopedia, s. v. "Cock", and note 39. As to the song of praise of the
vulture, comp. HulHn 63a. Concerning the song of the mouse, comp.
note 171. On the hymn of the frog see vol. IV, pp. 101-102, and Low
Lurchnamen 7 in Florilegium in honor of M. de Vogiie, 398. In con-
nection with the Hebrew name of the first letter of the alphabet,
God is made to say: "I open the tongue and mouth of all men (*]*7N
=nu \ftb nnJDK), so that they shall praise Me daily and recognize
Me as King over the four corners of the earth. Were it not for the
daily hymns and songs of praise, I should not have created the world."
The heavens, the earth, the rivers, the brooks, the mountains, and the
hills, in brief, the entire order of creation, chant hymns to the Creator.
Adam too intoned a hymn to the Lord saying, (comp. vol. I, 83-85):
"It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praise to His
name.** With these words he referred to the songs of praise intoned
by the celestials and terrestrials; Alphabet R. Akiba 12-13.
62
II. ADAM
(pp. 49-101)
1 Abot 5. 1; ARN 31, 90 (second version 36, 90); Rosh ha-Shanah
32a; BR 17. 1; PR 21, 108 (whence Mahzor Vitry 535); PRE 3; Lekah,
Gen. 1.5; Tikkune Zohar 70; the commentators of the Mishnah quoted
by Schechter on 2 ARN. The number 10 (on the significance of
this number comp. Lekah, loc. cit.; Tehillim 5, 19; Ma'aseh Torah
10) is computed in various ways. In Gen. 1. 3-29 the expression
"and God said" occurs only nine times, but the prevalent view is
that the very first beginning of creation likewise resulted from God's
utterance (on the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo comp. Excursus I),
so that there were ten utterances corresponding to the ten acts of
creation. The Gnostic Manoismus also speaks of the ten creations;
comp. Hippolytus, Haeres., 8. 7. The expression "God's word is
an act" occurs frequently in Jewish and Christian writings; comp.
BR 44. 22; Tehillim 107, 461-462; Enoch 14. 17; 2 Enoch 33.4;
Philo, Sacrif, Caini, 18. Comp. further Apocalypse of Baruch 14. 17;
4 Ezra 6. 38; Heb. 11. 3; 2 Peter 3. 5; Clemens Alexandrinus, Hor-
tatio, 4.
2 Tosefta Sanhedrin 8. 7-8; Babli 38a; Yerushalmi 4 (end).
Comp. note 8.
3 Alphabet of R. Akiba 59, whence Rashi borrowed his remark
on Gen. 1. 27. This assertion is found much more frequently in
Christian sources; comp. Theophilus Ant., Ad Autol. t II, 18; Aphra-
ates, 240; Clementine Homilies, II, 52; III, 20; IV, 34 (the last pas-
sage is a quotation from Is. 41. 20); Athenagoras, Legal., 33; Irenaeus,
Haer., 5. 5, 1, and 2. 58 (the hands of God = the Holy Ghost and the
Son); Apocalypse of Ezra (beginning); Tertullian, De Resurrectione, 5;
Adversus Marcionem, 2; ps.-Tertullian, on Gen. 35-40; Origen, Con-
tra Celsum, 4, 37 (the biblical passages referring to this subject, as
Job 10. 8 and Ps. 119. 73, are not to be taken literally, but have a
hidden meaning); Clemens Alexandrinus, Instructor, 1, 3; Emerson, Leg-
ends of Cain (Publications of Modern Languages Association of America,
XXI, 41) shows the continuance of this conception in Christian literature
of the latter part of the Middle Ages. Comp. further Ginzberg, Hag-
4] The Legends of the Jews
gada bei den Kirchenv., 21-22, and 29, note 2. On the occurrence of
this legend in pseudepigraphic literature comp. 4 Ezra 4. 14, and the
Armenian version of the Book of Adam in Preuschen's Adamschrif-
ten t 29, and 2 Enoch 44. 1. In the following passages of the older
literature the expression "the right, the left hand, one, and both hands
of God" must not be taken literally; they only describe the relative
importance of creations. God created the world with one hand, the
temple with both hands (Mekilta Shirah 10, 44a; Mekilta RS. 70);
He created the heavenly beings with His right hand, and the terres-
trial with His left (Menahot 36b; Sifre D., 35; Midrash Tannaim 28;
Mekilta Pasha 17, 21a; Wa-Yosha' 49; see further vol. IV, p. 426).
He created the whole world with one hand, man and the temple with
both (ARN 1, 8; Ketubot 5a; comp. further PRE 7, beginning; Ma-
'amar 'Aseret Melakim 54; Mekilta Bahodesh 6, 69b; Alphabet of
R. Akiba 24-25; Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 1, bottom, and 4, bottom;
note 12 on vol. I, p. 8, the sources with reference to the letters by means
of which God created the world). The statement which emphasizes
the fact that man is the creation of God 's hands is probably directed
against the doctrine of Philo and the Gnostics who maintain that
Adam was partly or wholly created by the angels; comp. note 14.
It is noteworthy that Philo, De Somn., 1, 36, emphatically asserts
that "man was not made by hand, but is the work of invisible nature."
4 ARN 31, 91-92, where parallels are drawn between man and
the world. The comparison between man and the world in both
directions, man as microcosmos and the world as macroanthropos,
is a favorite subject of the Haggadah; comp., e, #., Aggadat 'Olarn
Katan 57-59; Pesikta Hadta 36; Alphabet of R. Akiba 13; Tan. B.
II, 34; Abldr in Yalkut I, 148 and 743; Koheleth and Koheleth 2.
1. 4 (this is the source of Yalkut I, 186; the reference to Tan. in the
editions is erroneous); PR 203a; Targum and Midrash in Eccl. 9. 4
and 12. 2, seg_. Of special interest are, in later literature, the parallels
elaborately drawn between man and the world; see Qrehot Zaddikim
28 (towards the end), and Shebet Musar L Since the conception
of the microcosmos (Hebrew )Bp D^iy occurs for the first time in Tan,
Pekude 3) was already known to the Babylonians (see Winckler,
Babylonische Cultur, 33), there is no necessity to trace the haggadic
conception of the microcosmos to the corresponding philosophical
doctrine of the Greeks. Dependent upon the latter are Philo (De M.
Opif., 28; De Plant. Noe, 19; Moses, 3. 14) and the statement bearing
upon this subject found in the medieval philosophical literature of the
64
Adam [S~6
Jews (comp. Jewish Encyclopedia, s. v. "Microcosmos", and Malter,
Personification of Soul and Body, J.Q.R., N.S., II, 453, seq.). The
doctrine of the later Kabbalah concerning the Adam Kadmon (comp.
Ginzberg, Jewish Encyclopedia, I, 183) partly coincides with the philo-
sophical and partly with the haggadic conception of man as mi-
crocosmos. It is questionable whether 4 Ezra 4. 10 knows of man
as microcosmos; but one may ascribe the acquaintance with this
view to 2 Enoch 30. 8.
5 Derek Erez Z. (end). Comp. the sources in the preceding
note and Rashi on Bekorot 16a.
6 BR 7. 11, 12, 8, 14. 3; Hagigah Ida (on the text of the talmudic
passage comp. Lekah, Gen. 1. 20, according to which angels resemble
man with respect to the fact that they are endowed with speech, but
not in the use of the Hebrew language, as our texts of the Talmud
read; comp. note 58); ARN 37, 109; Shemuel 2, 48; PR 43, I79b;
Aggadat Bereshit 52, 106; Baraita of 32 Middot, No 16; Ma'aseh
Torah 98; Sifre D., 306, 132b (WD "1 rrn -pi); Midrash Tannaim
185-186; Midrash R. Akiba 31; EZ 3, 176. Comp. Schechter on
ARN, loc. cit., and Yalkut II, 831 (end). Man, according to Philo
too, is a "creature" on the boundary-line of the mortal and the im-
mortal; comp. De Fortitud., 3; De M. Opif., 46 and 24. In Lactan-
tius, Institutiones, 2. 13, the conception of man as a creature combining
the heavenly and earthly elements is brought into relation with the
view that he is considered as microcosmos (comp. note 4). This
Church Father, in several passages, calls attention (7. 5, 9; 2. 13)
to the fact "that animals look downward because they are earthly;
man looks upward because he is of heavenly origin." This state-
ment is found not only in Lact^niius, but also in Philo, Noe, 2. 4, and
Quod Deterius Potiori Insidiari Soleat, 29, A midrashic passage quoted
by many medieval authors (Sefer Mizwot Gadol, Introduction to
the positive precepts; Sefer Mizwot Katan, No. 53; Hasidim 478),
and found also in a manuscript of Tan. (Introduction 152 and 154),
reads as follows: Neither the angels nor the animals satisfied God;
the former have no evil inclination (this view is based on BR 48.
11), the latter have no good inclination. The good of the one and
the evil of the other, therefore, are not the result of their free will.
God therefore created man who possesses both the good and evil
inclinations; if he follows evil, he is likened to an animal; if he follows
good, he is higher than an angel (comp. BR 14. 3-4 and the parallel
passages). A similar view on the nature of man is expressed by the
65
7] The Legends of the Jews
Church Fathers; comp. Theophilus, 2, 27, and especially Tertullian,
Adversus Marcioncm, 2, 8, who finds, in agreement with R. Akiba
in BR 21. 5, the superiority of man to the angels in his free will. Here
and there one meets with the view that man was created in the image
and likeness of the angels, not in that of God; comp. BR,loc. cit. t and
ShR 30. 16. This is most likely directed against the Christians,
who interpret Gen. 1. 27 and 5. 1 christologically ; comp. Tertullian,
Adversus Marcionem, 2. 5; De Resurrectione, 6; Adversus Praxean, 12.
There are numerous other explanations of these verses in Genesis; comp.
BR 8. 9, and the parallel passages cited by Thcodor; see further Abot
3. 21 (on this statement of R. Akiba comp. Ginzberg, Jewish Ency-
clopedia, s, v. "Adam Kadmon" and "Akiba", as well as Geiger,
Kebuzzat Ma'amarim, Poznanski's edition, 101-105, and Gin/.berg's
notes, 396); Peletat Soferim, 3-4; Tan. Introduction 154 (read 1D3
TOTW); Lekah, Gen. 1. 27; Guide of tlie Perplexed, I, 1. The con-
ception that man was created in the image of the angels is perhaps
related to the statement made in Jub. 15. 27, according to which
certain classes of angels were created "circumcised"; comp. Tikku-
nim 47. The view expressed in the last-named passage, as well as
in other kabbalistic sources, that only the Jew who observes the law
resembles the image of God or of the angels, finds its counterpart
among the Church Fathers with respect to Christians; comp. Clemens
Alexandrinus, Protrepiicus (end); Clementine Homilies, 11. 4; 16. 19;
17. 7; Origen, De Princ., Ill, 6. 1; Contra Celsum, 7, 63 (where a ra-
tionalistic attitude is adopted). On the question whether animals pos-
sess an evil inclination, comp. 2 ARN 34, 74; BR 14.4; Berakot 60a.
7 Yalkut Reubeni on Gen. 1. 26 (the source is given as Midrash,
but it must be a later one). The older sources (BR 12. 8; WR 9.
9; Tan. B. I, 11; MHG I, 51; Zohar III, 219b, which gives a some-
what mystic interpretation) remark: All things came to being al-
ternately out of heaven and earth, both of which had been created
on the first day. Accordingly the firmament, the creation of the se-
cond day, sprang up from heaven; the plants on the third day from
the earth; the lights on the fourth day emanated from heaven;
the animals on the fifth day arose from the earth. When God was
about to create man, He said: "If I create man of the earth, the
terrestrial creations will be numerically more than the celestial ones;
if I create him of heaven, the result will be the reverse." Hence He
created man 's soul of heaven and his body of earth. Thus was har-
mony established between heaven and earth.
66
Adam [8
8 The view occurring frequently in rabbinic and pseudepigraphic
literature that the world was created for the sake of Israel (BR 1.
4, and the parallels cited by Theodor; see further Batte Midrashot
I, 44; Shir 2. 2 and 7. 3; Tan. B. IV, 5; Tehillim 109, 465; Makiri
on Ps. 47, 262; 4 Ezra 6. 55; Apocalypse of Baruch 14. 17; Assump-
tion of Moses 1. 12; comp. further vol. IV, pp. 399, 407, 415, 424,
as well as the numerous sources cited by Weber, Pal'dstinensisdie
Thcologic), does not owe its origin to national pride, but is closely
connected with the ethical conception of creation. Man was the
purpose of creation, and just as "fhe host will not invite his guest to
the feast, until everything has been prepared . . . ; even so thought
and did the Guide of all things . . . When He wished to invite man
to the feast, He prepared the necessary good things" (Philo, De M.
Opif.j 25; comp. further De Sacrificiis Abelis, 3; De Decalogo, 10).
Practically the same words are used by the Rabbis, Sanhedrin Tosef-
ta 8. 7-9; Babli 38a; Yerushalmi 4 (end). See also Kiddushin 4.
14. Of course, it is not every man that can claim to be the "crown
of creation ". "He who observes the law. . . .and obeys God., .out-
weighs the whole world", observe Philo (De Decalogo, 10) and the Rab-
bis, Sanhedrin 103b. It is not the average man but, to use a modern
expression, the " superman" who was the goal of creation. Hence
the Rabbis remark that the world was created for the sake of Abra-
ham, Moses, David, the Messiah; BR 1. 7; 12. 2 and 9; Sanhedrin
98b; Hullin 89a. To be sure, every man is given the opportunity to
attain to the highest ideal. It is therefore asserted that "every Jew,
that every man may outweigh the whole world"; comp. Sanhedrin
4. 5; ARN 30, 90-91 (VfrOtTO has been added by the editor without
good authority); second version 36, 90. The means whereby man
may attain the goal of his task was given in God 's revelation, in the
Torah. Hence the frequent statement that it is the Torah for whose
sake the world was created; comp. Index, ^. v. "Torah". See further
Assumption of Moses 1. 12, where legem should perhaps be read in-
stead of plebem. Nahmanides, in his Derashah, 1-4, with his deep
insight recognized the relationship that exists between the rabbinic
statement concerning man as the purpose of creation and the asser-
tion of the Rabbis regarding Israel and the Torah as necessary con-
ditions for the existence of the world. His polemic against Ibn Ezra
(Gen .1.1) and Maimonides (Guide of the Perplexed, III, 13), who deny
that man is the purpose of creation, is justified from the talmudic point
of view. The fundamental idea that man is the crown of creation,
67
The Legends of the Jews
and that the Torah was revealed to Israel as the only means where-
by man can perform the task assigned to him, is found in the Bible
(comp. especially Jer. 31. 35 and 33. 25-26; Ps. 8. 6-7; Is. 42. 5-6),
The Church accepted this view, without any modifications, sub-
stituting only the word "Christian" for "Jew". "The Christian
is of greater importance than the whole world", observes Cyprian
(Epistola ad Dotmtum, 1. 14), and Justin Martyr, 2 Apologia, 7, speaks
of "Christians who knew that they were the cause of the preserva-
tion of nature". This statement, with variations, is likewise found
in the letter Ad Diogencm, 7 (towards the end), ascribed to that Church
Father. Comp. further his Apologia, 1. 45, as well as Aristides, A-
pologia, 26, 1. 17 (Syriac text). The attacks on Jewish arrogance
and exclusivcness, in modem theological literature, on account of
this belief, are practically identical with those against which Origen
had to defend the Christians. Similar charges were brought by the
pagan Celsus against the Christians T and Origen refuted them in his
Contra Celsum, 4. 27-31 (he quotes the following from Euripides:
The sun and the moon are slaves of mortal men), and particularly
74-79. Comp. also note 6, which contains quotations from patristic
literature on the view that the Christian alone was made in the image
of God. On the view that the world was created for the sake of man,
see also Justin, Apologia, i. 10; Dialogue, 10; Aristides, Apologia (bot-
tom). See also Lactantius, Institntiones, 1. 11 and 8, 5; Tertullian,
Adversus Marcionem, 2. 3 and 4. Comp. also, Ginzberg, Haggada bei
den Kirckenv., 9-10. The following characteristic remark of the Tal-
mud (Berakot 61b) may be quoted here: The world was created
only for the very pious or for the very wicked, for men like R. Hani-
na b. Dosa (a saint who flourished during the first century C. E.);
or for men like Ahab; this world was created for the latter, the other
for the former.
5 BR 5. 5 (the reading ]ir "1 is also in Mekilta RS 53);
Aguddat Aggadot 21-22; Midrash Jonah 102-103; Zohar II, lOBb.
The view that miracles are primordial creations was later developed
by Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, II, 29, in whose theology
it plays an important part. The following sources have this
remark on miracles: God already performed in this world through
the prophets, a part of the miracles which are to take place in the
world to come: PK 9, 76a; WR 27. 4; Tan, B. Ill, 90, and IV, 4;
Tan. Emor 9; Koheleth 3. 15. Comp. also Tan. Introduction 153.
10 Abkir in Yalkut I, 17; Midrash Shir B; Tan. Pekude 2; 2
68
Adam [11-12
Ben Sira 32b; Pesikta Hadta 38; Aguddat Aggadot 8; comp. Hor-
owitz, ad loc. See further vol. Ill, p. 151; vol. IV, p. 399. On the
idea that God consulted the angels, comp. note 12, and note 3, on
vol. 1, p. 3.
11 Shabbat 88a; DR 8. 5; Ruth R. (beginning); Koheleth 1. 4.
Comp. note 8, and note 202 on vol. Ill, p. 92.
12 BR 8. 3-9; Tan. Introduction 154; Tehillim 1, 23; PR 40,
166b; comp. further Yerushalmi Berakot 9, 12d; Sanhedrin 38b; DR
2. 13, and parallels cited by Theodor on BR 8. 9. The opposition
of the angels to the creation of man is already mentioned in tannait-
ic sources (comp. Tosefta Sotah 6. 5), and is frequently alluded to in
talmudic-midrashic literature; comp. PK 4, 34a; PR 14, 59b; Tan. B.
IV, 110; Tan. Wa-Yera 18 and Hukkat 6; BaR 19. 3; Koheleth 7.
23; Tehillim 8, 73; 2 Ben Sira 32a; see also the following note. This
legend emphasizes the Jewish view as opposed to the Philo-Gnostic
opinion, according to which man was, wholly or partly, created by
the lower powers, not by God Himself; comp. Philo, De M. Opif.,
24; De Confusione Linguarum, 35; De Profug., 14. For the Gnostic doc-
trine see Hippolytus, 7. 16 and 20; Tertullian, De Resurrections, 5, and
De Anima, 23. In opposition to this view, that man was, wholly
or partly, created by the evil or lower powers, the Jewish legend lays
stress upon the fact that the angels had nothing to do with man's
creation, which they tried rather to prevent. A vague reminiscence
of the Gnostic doctrine is the statement found in later sources (Hadar t
Gen. 1. 27) that, when the angels noticed their superiority to the ani-
mal world, they became very proud; hence God commanded them
to make a man, in order to humiliate them by their inability to carry
out His command. Just as Philo, in the passage cited above, found
this theory concerning the angels co-operating in the creation of man
confirmed in the words of Scripture: "Let us make" (Gen., loc.
cit.}, so the Christians believed that these words indicated the co-
operation of the Logos. It is a moot question in Jewish, as well as
in Christian literature, as to how the plural of HPyj is to be under-
stood. BR, loc. tit,, cites not less than six different explanations
of this strange plural (some explain it there as a phtralis majesta<tis) ,
whereas most of the Church Fathers take it Christologically; comp.
Irenaeus, 2. 5; Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 62 (refutes the Jewish view
that God consulted the angels) ; Theophilus, Ad AutoL, 2. 18 ; Theodor-
etus, Gen. 1. 27; Basilius, Hexaemeron, Horn. 9. 6; Christian Sibylline
Oracles, 8, 544. On the assertion of the Midrashim that God, though
69
13] The Legends of the Jews
not in need of any service, took counsel with the angels, in order that
He might serve as an example to man to ask the advice of his fellow-
men, comp. Philo, De Confusions Lingu&rum, 27. See further Ginzberg,
Haggada bei den Kirchewj, I, 19-21, as well as Goldfahn, Justin Martyr
und die Agada, 24-25. The angels whom God consulted were the
Seraphim, God's advisers, according to some; Mercy and Justice, ac-
cording to others; see Sode Raza and Sefer ha-Tagin in Yalkut
Reubeni, Gen. 1. 27; cornp. note 6, on vol. I, p. 4. The statement
that when a man commits a sin the angels accuse him (quoted from
Tan. or Yelammedenu in Makiri on Prov. 3. 18) is probably related
to the view that from the very beginning the angels were not favor-
ably inclined towards man. The view that man 'a own good and
evil deeds are his heavenly defenders and accusers, respectively, oc-
curs already in a tannaitic statement (Shabbat 32a), Comp. the
following note and note 20.
13 Konen 26-27, and Yerahmeel 14-15 (read Boel instead of
Labiel), parts of which only go back to Sanhedrin 38b. Comp. also
vol. Ill, p. 110, and further 2 Ben Sira 32a concerning the terrible
punishment God inflicted on the revolting angels. According to Sode
Raza in Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 1. 27, these angels were thrown down
from heaven on earth, where Adam met them later. It is noteworthy
that in Konen the heads of the heavenly hierarchy are not four or
seven (comp. note 440 on vol. Ill, pp. 231-32, and note 64 on vol.
I, 16), but three. This corresponds to the threefold division of the
cosmos, already found among the Babylonians, into heaven, earth and
water. Michael is therefore said to consist of fire, the heavenly element ;
Gabriel of snow, the primordial substance of which the earth was made
(comp. note 18 on vol. 1, 8). According to others, Michael is of snow,
and Gabriel of fire; comp. Targum Job 25. 2; the numerous references
by Buber on PK 1, 3a and note 63 on vol. I, p, 16, as well as the
Christian pseudepigraphic History of Joseph the Carpenter, 22, which
reads: Michael the prince of the angels (the same title is also found
in 13, wheras in 6 Gabriel bears this title; comp. BR 78. I; Shir 3. 6
and BaR 11. 3, where the phrase is used: Michael and Gabriel,
the princes of the angels; see Dan. 12. 1), and Gabriel the herald of
light. The element out of which the third archangel was made, we
may well assume, is the water beneath the earth, the streams of Be-
lial of the Bible =the waters of death. Comp. also notes 23 and 187 on
vol. I, pp. 10, 40-41, respectively. Since in Babylonian mythology Ner-
gal, the god of the nether-world, has the form of a lion (comp. Jeremias in
70
Adam [14
Roscher's Lexicon der Myihologie, III, 250), !wa!? may be taken to stand
for ^J? "lion" and bto "god", and its transliteration should accord-
ingly be Lebiel. Most likely the name Raphael had originally noth-
ing to do with KH "he healed", but was derived from D'NBI "shades".
In Enoch 22. 1-6 this angel clearly appears as the prince of Hades.
In 20. 2-3 the original text probably read: rWDDn ^KEH !?ln by\
DIN '33 flirm by "And over the Tartarus, Raphael who is in charge
of the departed souls". But the translator took blti&r\ by) to belong
to the preceding sentence. The identification of Lebiel with Raphael
in Konen is therefore a learned explanation of an old tradition. It
is not certain whether Raphael, as the angel of healing, owes his call-
ing to the false explanation of his name (as " healer" we find him in
Tobit and frequently in Jewish and Christian literature; comp., e. g.,
Baba Mezi'a 86b; Origen, De Princ., I, 8. 1), for the development
of the * 'prince of the nether-world" into the "healer" is quite con-
ceivable. Similar developments may be found in many mythological
systems. On the function of the three archangels, it may be observed
that Origen, loc. cit. t considers Michael as the angel of prayer, who
brings man's prayers before God, and Gabriel as the angel of war.
The latter is also the view of the Rabbis, as may be seen from the
statement that Gabriel was the one who annihilated Sennacherib's
camp, destroyed Sodom, and set fire to the temple at Jerusalem (comp.
Index, s. v. "Gabriel"), and is therefore called the severe angel, in
contrast to Michael, "the angel of mercy" ; comp. Ekah 2, 98. The angel
of prayer, according to the Rabbis, is Sandalfon (comp. note 139 on vol.
I, p. 29, and Index, s. i>.), but the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch 11 seems
to agree with Origen. In the Christian pseudepigraphic work the Passing
of Mary, 8, Michael appears as the prince of paradise, which is to be com-
pared with the function of this angel as high priest in the heavenly temple
(comp. Index, 5. v.), which is only another expression for paradise.
Although in Jewish angelology Michael is superior to Gabriel, so that
he alone bears the title "prince" (Hagigah, loc. cit., and Hullin 40a;
comp. further the Jewish tradition given by Jerome on Dan. 8. 10),
one must not fail to note that at least among the Babylonian Jews
Gabriel's prestige almost equals that of his rival Michael. Comp. Ko-
hut, Angelologie, 24-33, whose views require a thorough revision.
Comp. also note 8 on vol. I, p. 5.
*4 Yerahmeel 15. For a similar statement among the Arabs,
comp. Griinbaum, Neue Beitrage, 61-62. According to Konen 27.,
it was Michael, not Gabriel, who brought the dust for Adam's body.
71
15] The Legends of the Jews
The rivalry between these two angels is often met with throughout
Jewish literature; comp. the preceding note and note 8 on vol. I, p. 5.
% s PRE 11; Tan. Pekude 3 (end); Targum Yerushalmi, Gen.
2. 7; Yerahmeel 15-16; Sanhedrin 38a-38b. Comp. further Philo,
De M, Opif,, 51, which reads: But in the foundation of the body
he is like the whole world, since he is made out of the combination
of the same elements as the world, i. e., out of earth, water, air, and
fire, in which each element contributed its part towards the comple-
tion of the composition of material sufficient for this purpose ... to
form this visible image. This view of the Greek philosophers that the
human body consists of the four elements is mentioned by Philo also, De
Decalogo,&; but in De Somn., 1. 3, he is in agreement with the Jewish
sources (comp. Targum Yerushalmi, loc. cti.; MHG I, 73, goes back
to a very late source, which is acquainted with the philosophical doc-
trine of the four elements), and states that Adam's body was formed
out of earth and water. 2 Enoch 30. 8 knows of seven substances
which were employed in the composition of the human body; comp.
Charles, ad. loc., as well ARN 31, 91-92, with reference to the cor-
respondence between the parts of the human body and those of the
earth. The etymology of the name Adam found in the Sibylline
Books III, 24-26, and elsewhere in Christian literature (comp. Schtirer,
Geschichte, 111,290): 'AraroXi? "east", Av<ri$" west", "Ap/cres "north",
and M.<?yiJLf$pia. "south", goes back to 2 Enoch 30. 13. The rab-
binic sources (Sotah 5a; comp. further PRE 12) explain DIN "Adam"
as 1S "dust", D-J "blood", and m "gall". Josephus, Antiqui.,
1, 1. 2, reads: He was called Adam. . . which signifies one who is red P^),
because he was formed out of red earth ... of that which is virgin soil
(rfriro yplp in mishnic Hebrew) and real earth. Concerning this
passage comp. Low, Zeitschrift fur neut, Wissenschaft, XI, 167. A
Christological explanation of the virgin soil is found in the Martyr-
dom of Bartholomew. Just as the first Adam was created out of a
virgin, so was the second. The old mythological conception of " mother-
earth" has also left its traces in the Jewish legends; comp. 4 Ezra 5.
28, and the legend concerning the " pregnancy of the earth with Adarn"
in Aguddat Aggadot 77; comp. also Ecclu. 40. 1. In connection with
the view that the dust for the human body was taken out of the whole
earth, Sanhedrin 38a-38b reads: The soil of Palestine furnished
the material for Adam's head; that of Babylon for his trunk; that of
Akra de-Agma (a town in Babylon, notorious on account of the loose
morals of its inhabitants) for his privates; that of all other countries
72
Adam [16
for his extremities. Parallels to this legend in later Christian and
Arabic writings are cited by Griinbaum, Neue Beitrdge, 55-58 and
62. On the conception that man's existence is only possible as the
result of God's mercy, comp. BR. 8. 4; PR 40, 166b: Tehillim 1, 23,
as well as vol. I, pp. 3-5. On the creation of the world by means
of God's justice and kindness, comp. further the quotations from
Yelammedenu by Sikli, Talmud Torah 6. Tertullian, Adversus Mar-
cionem, 1. 25-26, and 2. 3, emphasizes, as do the Rabbis, the neces-
sity of these attributes of God for the existence of the world and man.
Recanati, Lev. 23. 24, quotes the following from an unknown Mid-
rash: When God betakes Himself to His seat of judgment to judge
the world, Mercy on His right and Justice on His left strive with
one another. Justice says: "Judge the world with exact justice,
and requite the sinners according to their actions"; but Mercy re-
joins: "If Thou, Lord, heedest sins, who shall be able to exist?"
(Ps. 130. 3). Justice then says: "The wicked shall die because of
his sins" (Ezek., 23.8). Whereupon Mercy replies: "I ask not the
death of the wicked" (Ezek. 18. 32 and 23. 11; the citations are not
literal). Justice says: "All this takes place because of the sins
of Jacob" (Micah 1. 5). But Mercy replies: "Not now shall Jacob
be ashamed" (Is. 29. 22). "Then will I also do this unto you"
(Lev. 26. 16), says Justice. "For my own sake will I do it" (Is. 48.
11), replies Mercy. "Since yesterday is the conflagration (i. e. hell)
made ready" (Is. 30. 33), says Justice, and Mercy replies: "Before
the mountains were created . . . and Thou sayest : Return, ye children of
men" (Ps. 90. 2-3). Justice says: "Therefore hath the deep (i. e. hell)
enlarged her desire" (Is. 5. 14), and Mercy replies: "A tree of life
is she (wisdom) to those that lay hold on her" (Prov. 3. 18). "I
will no longer have any mercy" (Hos. 1. 6), says Justice, and mercy
replies: "For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob" (Is. 14. 1). Jus-
tice says: "And some to disgrace and everlasting abhorrence" (Dan.
12. 2), and Mercy replies: "And these to everlasting life" (ibid.).
16 Yerushalmi Nazir 7, 56b; BR 14. 8, PRE 11, 12, and 20; Tehil-
lim 92, 405; EZ 2, 173. In later Midrashim two different legends have
been united, and it is asserted that the dust taken from the various
parts of the earth, out of which Adam's body was formed (comp.
the preceding note) was kneaded at the holy place in Jerusalem. The
older sources (Nazir and BR, loc. a/.), as well as Philo, De M. Opif.,
47 (he took the best of the whole earth), do not know of this com-
bination. Comp. note 137.
73
I7~i8] The Legends of the Jews
*7 BR 8. 1 (on the text comp. Sikli, Talmud Torah, 11, where,
however, rv is to be read for *O'); WR 14. 1; Tan. B. Ill, 32; Tan.
Tazria' 1; Tehillim 139, 529. Comp. also Sanhedrin 38a. In the
sources just quoted, as well as elsewhere (comp. Excursus I) "the
spirit of God", which in the beginning of creation moved on the sur-
face of the waters, was afterwards identified with the spirit (=soul)
of the Messiah. This was probably occasioned by an anti-Christian
tendency (Origen, De Print., I, 3.3, Ephraim I, 8 B, Theodoretus, ad
loc., as well as many other. Church Fathers identify the spirit of God in
Gen. 1. 2 with the Holy Ghost). The Talmud, Hagigah 12a, however,
explains the word nn in this passage as "wind". Comp. Ginzberg,
Haggada, bei den Kirchenv., 14-15, and note 14 on vol. I, p. 8.
18 BR 14. 9; comp. further WR 32. 2; DR 2. 37. The philoso-
phers found here the doctrine of the various powers of the soul, but
there is no doubt that this Haggadah, in its original form, wishes to
express the view of polypsychism, which was prevalent in ancient
times; comp. Toy, Introduction to the History of Religion, 20. These
five souls are, according to the Midrash, blood, wind, breath, the
principle of life (immortal soul?), and the individual soul. One
of these souls leaves the body at the time of sleep (on this " dream-
soul" comp. Toy, ibid., 2, and further Tertullian, De Anima, 43, who
opposes this popular conception of the Christians of his time); see
BR, loc. cit., and 78, 1; WR, loc, ctt., and 4. 8; DZ 5; Berakot 60b
(in a prayer still found in the liturgy); PR 8, 29a, and 31, 143a; Ko-
heleth 10. 20; Ekah 3, 132; Tehillim 11, 102 (here dreams are explained
as the result of the wanderings of the soul during the time the body
is asleep), and 25, 210; ER 2, 8; EZ 15, 199; Tan. Mishpatim 16;
Alphabetot 114-116; Al-Barceloni, 181 (Kaufmann's remark, 342,
is accordingly to be corrected); Zohar I, 53b, 121a, 122a, 169b,
183a, 200a and (probably based on Tehillim 11. 102) III, 119a,
as well as 234b; Mahzor Vitry 78; Pardes 55a; Orehot Hayyim
I, la; Shibbole ha-Leket, 41. In the last-named non-midrashic
sources (comp. Tehillim 57, 307) it is said that the soul, which
at the time when the body is asleep is in God's keeping, does
not wish to return to man again; but Gqd compels it to do so,
saying to it: "I do not wish that man who entrusted his soul to Me
when he went to sleep should be disappointed." Comp. Ginzberg,
Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 23, whose explanation of BR 14. 9, though
accepted by Theodor, ad loc., is erroneous, as may be seen from the
passages quoted above concerning the journey of the soul while the
74
Adam [19-20
body is asleep. In Tehillim 62, 307 rmvi H^iy signifies "breathing."
19 Tan. Pekude 3, where the statement occurs that all souls
are but part of Adam's soul. Comp. Tan. Ki-Tissa 12; ShR 40. 3.
This view which is probably of Christian origin (comp. I Cor. 15. 22,
and Rom. 5. 14, as well as Tertullian, De Anima, 40), plays a great
part in the Kabbalah, which speaks of the sparks of Adam's soul
forming the souls of later generations. A different view is given in
BR 8. 8, where it is said that God consulted the souls of the pious
concerning the creation of man; comp. Excursus I. The abode of
the souls of the unborn, according to Hagigah 12b, is the seventh
heaven (in this passage the souls are differentiated from the spirits;
comp. the preceding note); but according to Tan. Pekude, loc. cit.,
it is in paradise. Yebamot 62a and parallel passages speak of a
P| 13 where the soul of all future generations are preserved. It also
has the additional remark that the Messiah will not come until this
*]1J is emptied. According to the traditional interpretation, *]1J denotes
a promptuary (comp. 'Aruk, s. z>.). See further 2 Enoch 23. 14;
and 58.5 (here an abode of the souls [spirits?] of animals is like-
wise spoken of); Apocalypse of Baruch 23. 5; 4 Ezra 4. 35. Ac-
cording to another view, this *]U is identical with the "curtain" (Tins)
before God's throne (frequently mentioned in the Talmud), on which
all souls are "painted"; comp. 'Aruk, loc. cit.; Zohar II, 96b, and the
quotation, from a work of R. Eleazar of Worms (Rokeah), by R.
Joseph Jabez, at the end of the latter's work Ma* dinar ha-Ahdut.
20 Tan. Pekude 3, and as an independent Midrash entitled Yez-
irat ha-Walad ("creation of the embryo") in Abkat Rokel, whence it
was republished by Jellinek in BHM I, 153-155. The latter scholar
added a second midrashic treatise giving more material about the
physical nature of man and the "creation of the embryo" from Likkute
ha-Pardes 4d-5b, which is partly of the same contents as that of the
first treatise. Yerahmeel 10, 19-23, is identical with Tan., he. cit. As
to particulars, note the following. On the angel Lailah ("night") and
his functions, cornp. Niddah 16b; Sanhedrin 96a; 'Aseret ha-Dibrot 79;
note 98 on Vol. I, p. 232. In Zohar II, lla-llb, it is Gabriel who
is in charge of the soul; comp. also ibid. 96b. That everything is pre-
destined by God, except man's moral freedom, is also found in Ke-
tubot 30a; Apocalypse of Baruch 54. 15. Comp. the references given by
Charles, ad loc., to Josephus and other sources. There is also a state-
ment that a few days before the birth of a male child a heavenly voice
announces: That woman is destined to become his wife, that house
75
20] The Legends of the Jews
or that field will belong to him; comp. Sotah 2a and Mo'ed Katan
18b. On the view that marriages are made in heaven, see further
Yerushalmi Bezah 5, 63a (bottom) ; WR 8. 1 ; BR 68. 4; PK 2, llb-12a;
Tan.Ki-Tissa5;Shemuel5,62, See also Abrahams, J.Q.R. 1 1, 172-177 =
Book of Delight, 172-183. On the predestination of the intellectual and
other traits of man, comp. Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 916 on Job 28.
The differentiation of the sex of the embryo, according to the Kabbalists,
is brought by the angel Sandalfon; comp. Yalkut Reubeni, Lev. 12.
2. The refusal of the soul to enter the embryo is already presupposed
in Abot 4 (end). The two heavenly companions of the soul are nat-
urally the guardian angels of every individual person, who are fre-
quently alluded to in Jewish, as well as in Christian, literature; comp.
Berakot 60b (top); Shabbat 119b; Ta'anit lla; Tan. Wa-Yeze
3; Matthew 18. 10; Hermas Pastor, Visio, V, 6. 2; Clemens Alexand-
rinus, Stromata, 6, 17; Justin Martyr; Dialogue, 5, and 2 Apologia,
5; Athenagoras, Legatio, 10. 20; Visio Pauli, 14; The History of Joseph
the Carpenter, 13. In the Jewish sources (comp. Shabbat and Tan.,
loc. cit.- t ER 18, 100; Tehillim 104, 440) the doctrine of the guardian
angels appears quite early with a rationalistic explanation. In view
of Shabbat loc. cit., Maimom'des, Guide of the Perplexed, III, 23,
is certainly correct in asserting that the ancient Rabbis understood
these guardian angels to represent the good and evil inclinations.
It is interesting that Hermas Pastor, loc. cit., represents practically
the same conception. Directly dependent on Maimonides is Zohar,
I, 144b, 165b, 191a; II, 41b-42a; III, 106a. Here and there the view
is found, both in Jewish and Christian sources, that every man has
only one guardian angel; comp. ER, loc, cit., and Kimha Dabishuna
on the piyyut TIN DHD1NT1 (morning prayer of the Day of Atonement) ;
Visio Pauli, loc. cit. The prevalent opinion, however, is that there
are two guardian angels; cornp. the sources quoted above, and Euse-
bius, 689a, as well as vol. I, p. 95. That the angels who accompany
man testify before God concerning his acts is found not only in Ta-
'anit, loc. cit., but also in 2 Enoch 19.5. Here also belong the remarks
about the angels who come to God to plead for a man if he is good,
and about those who accuse him if his conduct is bad; comp. Tehil-
lim 94, 418; Mishle 11, 70. Hence the statement that man's actions,
his limbs and his soul are his witnesses; comp. Ta'anit, loc. cit. ; ' Aseret
ha-Dibrot 79; Sifre D., 307. Midrash Tannaim 187; Tan. B. I, 21:
When a man is about to die, God appears (the appearance of God
is mentioned also in Sifre N., 103), and says to him: "Write down
76
Adam [20
all thy deeds, because thou art about to die now." The man then
writes everything down, and signs it with his hand. On the last
day of judgment, God will produce these books, and a man's actions
will be shown to him. Comp. also Shabbat 32a, which reads: A man's
good deeds are his Parakletin (' ' defenders ") at the heavenly court. To
the oldest sources, where guardian angels are mentioned, belongs 2 Mac-
cabees 3. 26; Comp. also note 12. According to Niddah 30b, the soul
of the embryo knows and sees everything, and hence the corresponding
statement in 'Aseret ha-Dibrot 79 as well as in the sources cited at
the beginning of note. Comp. further Mishle 2, 49; Tan. B. Ill,
32; WR 14. 8-9. On the relation of this conception to the Platonic
doctrine of anamnesia, comp. Giidemann, Religions geschichtliche Studien,
7, seq., and Joel, Blicke, I, 118-119. The kabbalistic treatment of
this Platonic doctrine appears in Ziyyoni, Hayye Sarah (beginning).
On the idea that every man has a place in paradise or hell after death,
according to his deserts, see Hagigah 15a; 2 Enoch 49; Tehillirn 21,
239; Apocalypse of Baruch 23. 4; comp. especially the elaborate
amplification of Hagigah, loc. tit., in Hasidim 36. The idea that
an angel causes the soul to forget everything, when it enters this world,
is derived from Nidah 39a, where it is emphasized that the heavenly
hosts adjure the embryo with the following words: "Be pious and
not wicked; but when the world regards thee as pious, it shall appear
to thee as though thou art wicked. Know that God is pure, His serv-
ants are pure, and thy soul is pure. If thou keepest it pure, it is well
for thee ; otherwise it will be taken away from thee." On the loud weep-
ing of the dying, comp. note 107 on vol. I, p. 26. Zohar I, 98a (Mid-
rash ha-Ne'elam) and 79a, call the moment of death "the great judg-
ment" for the individual, in which the soul acknowledges everything
it has done during its life. For this point in the older sources comp.
Sifre D., 307; Midrash Tannaim 187; Tan. B. I, 21. The words of
the angel of death are taken almost verbatim from Abot 4 (end). The
motive of refusing to die plays an important part in the legends
concerning Abraham and Moses (comp. Index, s. v. "Abraham",
"Moses"), and is' also found in Christian legends; comp. Louise Dud-
ley, Egyptian Elements in the Legend of the Body and Soul, 151, seq.
The dependence of the Christian on the Jewish legends, and not on
the Egyptian, as Dudley assumes, appears quite clearly from the
passage of Visio Pauli 4, which Dudley, 27, is unable to explain. The
angels who took away the soul of the sinner say to him: "As for
that from which thou depart est, again wilt thou return unto it." This
77
21] The Legends of the Jews
Christian source quotes almost verbatim from Abot lac. tit., though
the words do not fit into the description of death in Visio Pauli.
Almost all men (comp. Index, s. v. "Death by Kiss") die by
the "sword of the angel"; nevertheless the death of the pious
is painless, that of the wicked is painful. Comp. the following pas-
sages where details concerning this point are given: Berakot 8a;
'Abodah Zarah 20b (here two different views are blended into one:
1) the sword of the angel of death; 2) a drop of venom,
bitter as death, from the angel's hand causes death); Tehil-
lim 11, 102-103. In the last passage it is also said that the soul (HD^3)
is removed from the body, whereas the spirit (-wind Pin) remains
at the tip of the nose after death until the corpse becomes putrefied,
whereupon it is removed by the angel Duma into its proper place,
paradise or hell. On the various souls which man possesses, comp.
note 18. The older sources (Yerushalmi Mo'ed Katan 3, 82b;
Tan. Mikkez 4; comp. further Shabbat 152a) maintain that
the soul during the first three days hovers about the dead body, in
the hope that it will be resurrected, and it leaves it mournfully when
putrefaction has set in; comp. John 11, 39, and Bousset, Religion,
341, note 1, as well as Zohar III, 53a, and notes 139140.
21 BR 14. 7; BaR 12. 8; Shir 3. 11; Hullin 60a(on this talmudic
passage comp. Al-Barceloni, 74, and Responsen der Geonim, Harkavy's
edition, 199); Jerome, I, 902; Ephraim, I, 159; comp. Ginzberg,
Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 31-33, with regard to the Christian form
of this view, and note 97. The opinion of the superiority and the
accomplishment of the first "human pair" is only a special appli-
cation of the idea that all primordial creations came out fully developed.
Comp, Seder 'Olam 4, with reference to the heavenly luminaries,
and Sifra 26. 4, with respect to the plant world. Comp. also notes
74 and 100 on vol. I, pp. 19 and 24, respectively. Philo, De U. Opif.
13, 47, 51, also speaks of the excellence of primordial creations, par-
ticularly that of Adam. To many gnostic systems this legend con-
cerning Adam's spiritual and physical excellence is of great import;
comp. Recognitions, I, 47. Shu'aib, Ki-Tissa, 39c, quotes the fol-
lowing from an unknown Midrash: Adam received five crowns:
he was king, prophet, high priest, his countenance shone in heavenly
splendor, and God revealed the Torah to him. Since the word Adam
in Hebrew means "man", the first man is called JHWin DIN and not
infrequently also 'aiznpn DTK; hence in Aramaic HNOlp DIN. Comp.
Sifra 5. 17; BaR 10. 2; BR 20. 11 and note 60.
78
Adam [2223
22 BR 8. 1; 21. 3; 24. 2; Hagigah 12a; PRE 11; ARN 8, 22-23;
PR 23, 115a; Tehillim 139, 529; WR 14. 1 and 18. 2; Tan. B. Ill,
37; Tan. Tazria* 8. Adam's enormously high stature plays an im-
portant part in the views of many gnostic sects, according to whom
Adam was a gigantic monster without any intelligence, and moved
about by creeping. Comp. Irenaeus V, 22. 2; Hippolytus 5. 2 and
8. 16. Allusions to the time when Adam's body was not yet endowed
with intellect are found in many other passages of rabbinic literature;
comp. Sanhedrin 38b; ARN 1, 5 (second version 8), as well as 8, 22;'
PK 23, 150b; PR, loc. cit., and 46, 187b; ShR 40. 3; Tan. B. Ill, 31;
Tan. Shemini 8; Tehillim 92, 403. According to Abkir in Yalkut
I, 34, and readings of manuscripts of Midrash Ruth (comp. Ginzberg,
Hazofeh, IV, 35-36), God created, as the very first act of creation,
the soulless (D712 in all these passages does not mean "lifeless") Adam
and then all the other creatures. Accordingly, Adam, though the
first creation, did not receive his soul before all other creations
had been formed, in order that he should not be considered as
God's assistant in creation; comp. note 61 on vol. I, p. 16. Hence
man is rightfully regarded as the beginning and the end of creation.
2 ARN 8, 22-23, and Epiphanius, Haer. t 1. 4. 4, oppose the view that
Adam was God's first creation; comp., however, vol. I, p. 56, with
reference to Adam's soul which was created on the first day. Philo,
Quaestiones, Gen. 2. 56, asserts that the ideal man was created
on the sixth day, the physical on the seventh. This does not har-
monize with his general view of creation, according to which the for-
mer is of a timeless state (comp., e> g. f Legum Alleg., 2. 4), and it ap-
pears that he tried to fit a Haggadah into his system, but did not suc-
ceed. Freudenthal, Hellenistische Studien, I, 70, and Weinstein, Zur
Genesis der Agada, 52, 79, find, in the utterances of the Haggadah
concerning Adam 's dimensions, which extended over the whole world,
an echo of Philo 's doctrine of the ideal man, the image of the whole
world (De M. Opif., 24, 46, and 51). This assumption is only partly
correct. Both the Rabbis and Philo made use, each in his own way,
of the old myth, according to which the world is a macroanthropos;
comp. note 4. On Adam as a soulless monster among the Arabs,
comp. Griinbaum, Neue Beitrage, 62, seq_. See further Dahnhardt,
Natursagen, I, 242-246.
2 3 PRK (Schonblurh's edition, 16b; Griinhut's edition, 72; Jel-
linek's edition, 97); Sotah lOa (does not know of Zerubbabel's wonder-
ful voice, and has Asa, king of Judah, instead of Ashael; comp. on
79
24-25] The Legends of the Jews
this point vol. IV, p. 73; on Zedekiah see vol. IV, pp. 293-294); PRE
53 (one of the chosen is Josiah, whose nostrils were wonderful); MHG
I, 66; Tan. B. V, 8 (Buber's statement, note 20, is incorrect); Tan.
Wa-Ethanan 1; Yalkut on 1 Kings (end); Al-Barceloni, 30; Zohar
I, 123b; Duran, Milhemet Mizwah, 26. On Zerubbabel comp. note
25 on vol. IV, p. 352; on Adam see Ecclu. 49. 16, which reads: Adam
excelled all creatures in splendor.
2 4 Baba Batra 58a. On Adam's splendor which eclipsed the
sun, comp. PK 4, 36b, 12, lOla; 27, I70a; PR 14, 62a; Koheleth 8.
1; WR 20. 2; Tan. B. Ill, 57; IV, 114; Tan. Ahare 2; Adamschriften,
29; Apology of Sedrack, 7 (along with Adam, Eve's beauty and splen-
dor are mentioned). Comp. also on this point notes 69 and 105.
The following persons are mentioned as ideals of beauty: Eve, Sarah,
Rahab, Abigail, Esther, Abishag (not half as pretty as Sarah, but
not inferior to Eve), Michal, and Jael, among the women. The men
are: Adam, Jacob, Joseph, Saul, Absalom, R. Ishmael, and R. Ab-
bahu. Comp. Baba Batra, loc. cit.\ Baba Mezi'a 84a; Megillah 15a;
PRK (Schonblum's edition, 24a); Sanhedrin 39b; BR 40. 5; Ma'aseh
'Aseret Haruge Malkut 23; Zohar I, 142b; II, 55a; III, 83b; Al-Bar-
celoni, 41 and 45; Philo, De Abrahamo, 19. Comp. further on Adam's
beauty, notes 104 and 105. On Eve's beauty see the Gnostic view
quoted by Irenaeus I, 30, 7. On Sarah's beauty, see note 67 on vol.
1, p. 222.
2 * Berakot lOa; WR4.8; Tehillim 103, 433 (cited in Pugio
Fidei, 554, with considerable variations); Tan. Hayye Sarah 3; DR
2. 37; PRE 34; Zohar I, 125a; Philo, De M. Opif., 23. The latter is
the intermediary between the Stoics, who speak of the relationship
that exists between God and the soul (comp. Diogenes of Babylonia;
PUlodem. De Pfet., Gompertz' edition, 82; Seneca, Ep., 65. 24), and
the Haggadah. Comp. Bergmann in Judaica (in honor of Hermann
Cohen), 151. In the Midrashim mentioned above, as well as else-
where (comp. BR 14. 9) it is asserted that the soul does not sleep
(comp. note 18 on the "dream soul") any more than does God. This
conveys the idea of the immortality of the soul, as sleep (so already
in the Gilgamesh epos) is the likeness of death; Berakot 57b. Comp.
Vol. I, p. 64 (bottom). A doctrine concerning the soul, bor-
rowed from the Stoics, is the one found in Sanhedrin 91 b, accor-
ding to which the soul enters the body at the time of conception.
Comp. Begmann, loc. cit., and vol. I, p. 56. Along with the
view that the soul is something exclusively spiritual, found in the
so
Adam [26
sources cited at the beginning of this note, there is the primitive con-
ception which regards it as a material substance endowed with some
form. The latter view has been preserved in some passages, accord-
ing to which the soul has the form of a bird, and it is perhaps for this
reason that the Talmudim and Midrashim often speak of the flight
of the soul; comp. Yerushalmi Mo'ed Katan 3, 82b; Yerushalmi Ye-
bamot IS, 15c; Ketubot 62b (nmi ms "expired"); BR 93. 8 and 100.
7; WR 18. 1. Comp. further the sources referred to by Malter, J.
Q.R., N.S., II, 476-478. See also Tehillim 11, 102, where it is said
that the soul has the appearance of a D'SJD VjD 3311. This is most
likely influenced by the Greek conception, and this phrase is to be
rendered by "butterfly" (literally, "winged grasshopper"). The
assertion found in Tehillim, loc. tit., that the soul is fastened
to the spine is probably related to the old view, according to which
a part of the spine (comp. note 44 on vol. I, p. 163, and
Index, s. v. "Luz") is indestructible, and will, in the time of
resurrection, furnish* the material out of which the human body
will be quickened. As has been previously stated, the soul enters
the body at the time of conception; but opinions differ as to the
time the two inclinations, the good and the evil, enter it. Accord-
ing to some, the evil inclination enters the body at the time
of conception; according to others, at the time of the formation of
the embryo (i. e., forty days after conception; comp. Berakot 60a;
Menahot 99b; note 97); a third view, which is the most prevalent,
maintains that it enters the body at the time of birth. But the good
inclination does not make its appearance" before the completion
of the thirteenth year (L e., at the time of puberty); comp. ARN
17, 63-64 (second version, 36); Sanhedrin 91b; Yerushalmi Berakot
3, 6d; BR 34. 10; Tan. Bereshit 7 (this is the only passage which states
that the evil inclination enters the body at the tenth year); MHG
I, 108-109; Koheleth 4. 13. Comp. note 14 on vol. I, p. 108.
26 MHG I, 74. Comp. vol. I, p. 66. Koheleth 2. 12 reads:
God took counsel with His court concerning every single limb of man.
Comp. further the quotation from a Midrash by Shu'aib, TaznV 61a,
where it is pointed out that the number of the veins of the human
body corresponds to the days of the solar year. On this number of
the veins, see Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 1. 27. The remark that
the wonderful mechanism of the human body shows God's skill as
well as His solicitude for man occurs frequently in the Haggadah;
comp. Berakot lOa; Niddah 31a; WR 14. 3-4 and 15. 2-3; Tan. B.
81
27-28] The Legends of the Jews
III, 33-34, 35-36; IV, 98; Tan. Tazria' 2-3 and 6, as well as Hukkat
1; BaR 18. 22; Tehillim 103, 431-432, 434; Shemuel 5, 59-60; see
also parallels cited by Buber, and comp. Mekilta RS, 67. Very in-
structive is WR 34. 3, where Hillel, pointing to the duty which man
owes to his body, remarks: The officer in charge of the washing and
cleaning of the king's statues at the theatre and circus is not only
paid a salary, but occupies a high rank among the dignitaries ^of the
kingdom; how much more is man bound to do honor to God's image!
The passages in Recognitiones, 8. 28-33, on the human body are closely
related in many respects to those of the Haggadah. For later litera-
ture one may refer to Shebet Musar /, where the purpose of the various
component parts of the human body is minutely described.
2 7 Seder 'Olam 30 (read TDT? for '03T1 and 3ira for WM; other-
wise the prophets and the sages would be mentioned twice); San-
hedrin 38b; 'Abodah Zarah 5a; BR 24. 2; ShR 40. 2-3; WR 26. 7;
PR 23 (beginning); ARN 31, 91 (second version 8, 22); Tan. B. I,
21, 22; Tan. Ki-Tissa 12 (comp. on this passage Recanati on Gen.
2) and Emor 2; Tehillim 139, 530; Shemuel 24, 120; EZ 6, 183 (here
all that is said in the older sources concerning Adam is transferred
to Moses; comp. vol. Ill, pp. 36, 398, 443) ; Targum Ps. 139. 16. Most
of these sources (comp. also Baba Mezi'a 85b, bottom) speak of a
book which God showed to Adam, in which all future generations are
recorded, and this is the Jewish form of the view prevalent among
the Babylonians (comp. Jeremias, Babylonisches im NT, 69, seq.). At
the same time this legend holds the view that the entire human race
was potentially created in Adam, so that all future generations have
been predestined at the time of the creation of Adam. Comp. note
19. Instead of the book of Adam, there appears in Zohar I, 90b, the
"painted curtain" on which all souls are drawn, and which God showed
him. Comp. note 19.
28 BaR 14. 12; PRE 19; Tehillim 95, 408. There are numer-
ous additions in the following later sources (God and Metatron as
witnesses sign the deed of a gift to David); Bereshit Rabbeti 67-68
in Epstein's Eldad\ Huppat Eliyyahu in Aggadat Bereshit, Intro-
duction 37; Sikli in Hazofeh, III, 11; Yalkut I, 41. Comp. further
Zohar I, 55a, 140a, 168a, 248b; II, 235a; vol. IV, p. 82. The Arabs
also know of the legend (comp. Grunbaum, Neue Beitrage, 63-74),
but they missed the point concerning the "days of the Lord" (comp.
note 72) because of their ignorance of the Bible. According to Ye-
bamot 64b, it was only at the time of David that seventy years were
82
Adam [29-31
fixed as the average age of man. Comp. also Herodotus I, 32, and
Jub. 23. 9. Zohar I, 168a, blended the Adam- David legend with
another, according to which Abraham and Jacob were supposed to
live 180 years, exactly as Isaac, but their deducted years, that is five
of Abraham's, twenty-eight of Jacob's, as well as thirty-seven of
Joseph's (who should have lived, according to his father's blessing, as
long as he), were bestowed on David.
29 BR 18. 4; PK 4, 34a; PR 14, 59b; Tan. B. IV, 110; Tan. Huk-
kat 6; BaR 19. 3; Koheleth 7. 23; PRE 13; Tehillim 8, 73-74; 2 ARN
8, 23. Comp. further note 34. Adam's wisdom is praised in Wis-
dom 10. 1 and by Philo, who also points to the naming of animals,
where Adam's wisdom was displayed. PK 6, 62b, and 21, 144a
(this is the source of Makiri, Is. 42, 128) maintains that the Tetragram-
maton is the name by which Adam called God; comp. also Midrash
Aggada Lev. 11. 4, and Berakot 7b.
30 Lekah, Gen. 2. 19. The older sources (comp. the preceding
note), however, only speak of Adam's wisdom (not of his prophetic
gift), by means of which he succeeded in naming the objects. Never-
theless Adam is known in the older sources as a prophet; comp. Seder
'Olam 21; Septuagint Gen. 2. 20 (against this explanation of nzmn
as prophetic ecstasy, which is also found in Seder 'Olam, comp. BR
16. 5 and 24. 17; Tan. B. I, 22, however, seems to accept the first
view); Philo, Quis Rer. Div. Haer., 52. This view occurs quite fre-
quently in patristic literature; comp. Origen, De Princ., I, 3. 7; Jer-
ome, Gen. 2. 21; Aphraates, 354; Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem,
11; Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata, 1. 21; Clementine Homilies,
3. 18. Comp. further Fabricius, Codex Pseudepigraph,, 6 and 12, as
well as Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 35. Zohar I, 125a,
reads: Every one of the forty-eight prophets (on this number comp.
Index, s. v. "Prophets") received a drop from the water of paradise,
but Adam received as much as all of them together. The metaphor
of the "drops of prophecy" in Zohar is borrowed from Shir 4. 11;
comp. further Al-Barceloni, 130 and note 21.
31 BR 24. 7; Tan. B. I, 4; Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 1. 21-22;
Eusebius, 515c; Augustine, Quaestiones, Exod. 69. According to one
version of the Book of Adam (comp. Adamschriften, 24), it was an
angel who, after the expulsion from paradise, taught Adam smith-
craft, brought the fire-tongs and hammer, and taught him how to
use them. Moreover (ibid., 33), this angel instructed him how to
tame an ox and to train it to work the soil; he also showed him how
83
32-35] The Legends of the Jews
to eat the produce of the ground and to satisfy his hunger with it.
As to rabbinic parallels to these legends, comp. notes 96 and 99, and
further note 91 on vol. I, p. 181. On the Arabic legends concerning
a book of Adam, comp. Grunbaum, Neue Beitrdge, 66. Comp. note
11.
3 2 Berakot 31a; MHG I, 80 (with substantial variations). Comp.
further note 37.
33 ARN 1, 8 (second version 8, 23). For the opposite view con-
cerning the relation of the angels to Adam, comp. vol. I, p. 64 (bot-
tom).
34 Bereshit Rabbeti (its source is Eldad; comp. Epstein, Eldad,
66, #?.) On Satan's twelve wings, comp. PRE 13, which was made
use of by Eldad. See also note 55 on vol. I, p. 133. On the wings of
the angels see Batte Midrashot IV, 5, as well as Kimha Dabishuna on
the Piyyut D'prw '2S'K in the Roman Mahzor for the Day of Atone-
ment. Epstein, loc. cit., as well as Grunbaum, Gesammelte Aufsdtze,
68, seq., and Neue Beitrage, 57, seq_. t rightly assumes that Eldad 's story
of Satan's fall goes back to Mohammedan, and indirectly to Christ-
ian, sources. Incorrect, however, is their view that the legend of
the fall of Satan came to the Jews from the Christians and Mo-
hammedans. For, though it is true that the doctrine of the fall of
the angels, as well as that of Satan, has, at a very early period, been
opposed by the leaders of the Synagogue, the traces of that legend
are nevertheless to be found in rabbinic and pseudepigraphic writ-
ings, and this shows that these ideas were popular among certain
classes of people. Comp. the following note. -In Eldad the legend
about Satan is connected with that of Adam's giving names to the
animals. These two legends were originally independent. The anachro-
nism of Adam's speaking to Eve concerning the naming of the animals,
which is against the explicit statement of Gen. 2.19 22, leads one
to assume that Eldad made use of a Mohammedan source. A mid-
rashic source, in which the names of the various animals were explained
by their characteristics, was made use of by R. Sa'adya Gaon (comp.
his words quoted by R. Bahya, Gen. 2. 19, and Tashlum Abudirham,
75) and Ibn Sabba, Gen., loc. tit. Comp. further MHG I, 79; 7W-
edot Yizhak, Gen., loc. cit.
35 Vita Adae 14-16; Bereshit Rabbeti in Pugio Fidei 563. This
assertion concerning the fall of Satan, whose jealousy brought about
Adam's misfortune, is widely known; comp., e. g., Apocalypse of
Sedrach 5; Questions of Bartholomew; Koran 2. 33. See Bousset,
84
Adam [35
Religion, 386, and Epstein, Eldad, 75, seq. The oldest source, how-
ever, 2 Enoch 29. 4 and 5, which speaks of the fall of Satan, ascribes
it to his jealousy of God. According to this source, Satan thought
that he "would make his throne higher than the clouds of the earth,
and would be equal in rank to God" (comp. Is. 14. 12-14, the ref-
erence to which Charles failed to recognize). It is for this reason
that God cast down him and his angels from the heights. Satan
was flying about continually in the air (on this point see Targum
Job 28. 7, which reads: Sammael who flies like a bird in the air)
above the abyss. According to this source, the fall of Satan and his
hosts occurred at the beginning of creation (on the second day?),
while 31 reads that "Satan wanted to create another world, because
things were subservient to Adam on earth", to rule them and to have
dominion over them. Thus we again have the idea that Satan's
jealousy of Adam brought about his fall. The conception that every-
thing, including the angel world, was created "in order to serve man" is
genuinely Jewish (comp. note 8 and Index s. v. "Angels"), and is empha-
sized by Paul, Hebrews 1. 14. Moreover, it is quite probable that He-
brews 1. 6, goes back to Vita Adae, loc. cit., and, in midrashic fashion,
makes the angels worship the second Adam (= Jesus), instead of
the first. Indeed the sources cited in notes 36 and 37 seem to be
directed against the popular conception that Adam was worshipped
by the angels. A description of the fall of Adam, somewhat similar
to that of 2 Enoch, is found in Alphabetot 93-94, where the text
was shortened by the copyist, because the contents appeared to him
too daring. In the part retained it is said that Satan, on the last
day, will endeavor to renew his rebellion against God, and will pro-
claim that he is of equal rank with God, and that he was God's "part-
ner" (*]mtP) in creation, that God created heaven and he created
hell. Nevertheless the fire of hell will destroy him, and put an end
to his arrogant talk. The words '131 ^3 Vni in our text are the end of
the missing description of the fall of Satan and his angels (|DB> ^N^D
occurs very rarely in rabbinic literature) at the beginning of crea-
tion. In Tehillim 82, 369 (comp. Buber who gives the better text
of Rashi) Satan's fall is alluded to, although, according to Trypho's
observation in Justin Martyr's Dialogue, 124, the Jewish scholars
refused to accept the view that Ps. 82. 7 refers to Satan's fall or to
that of the angels. According to PRE 14 and 27, Satan's fall was
a punishment for his having misled Adam to sin. This appar-
ently corresponds to Revelation 12. 9; whereas according to an-
85
36-38] The Legends of the Jews
other source (ARN 164; comp. vol. II, p. 242), it was a punishment
for his conduct toward Job. Comp. note 10 on vol. I, p. 150. There
is, however, still another view, according to which Satan was wicked
from the very beginning, or, as the Haggadah expresses it, "was
created out of the fire of hell" (comp. vol. II, p. 470). On Satan *s
jealousy of Adarn as the cause for seducing the latter to sin, comp.
vol. I, p. 95; Ginzberg, Haggada bei ben Kirchenv,, 44-45.
3 6 PRE 11; Tan, Pekude 3 (end); MHG I, 56.
37 BR 8. 10; Koheleth 6. 10; Koheleth Z., 107. Comp. also
the sources quoted in the preceding note, as well as Zohar I, 3Sa.
2 Alphabet R. Akiba 59 (whence Yalkut I, 20, on Gen. 2. 19, with-
out giving source) remarks that the angels, noticing Adam's re-
semblance to God, said: "Are there two powers in this world?"
Whereupon God reduced Adam's size, which had formerly filled the
entire universe (comp. note 22) to one thousand cubits; comp.
notes 73 and 33. Hasidim 290 made use of the same source, and has
the addition that the part taken from Adam's body was transformed
into earth, and it is only this part which became inhabited (comp.
vol. I, p. 62), while the rest remained a desert. At this time the ex-
act number of future generations was fixed, which shall not be complete
until the original size of Adam's body (~*]1J; comp. note 19) is res-
tored in those of his descendants. On sleep as a sign of mortality,
comp. note 25. See further 12 Testaments, Reuben 3. 1, and Ginzberg,
Unbekannte Sekte, 243-244.
38 PRE 3. In this as well as in the preceding legend an an-
swer is offered to the question why Eve was not created at the same
time as Adam. BR 17. 4 reads as follows: God foresaw that Adam
would complain against Eve's creation (comp. vol. I, pp. 76-77);
she was therefore not given to him until he asked God for her. Theo-
philus, 2 gives the following reason : If two human beings, Adam and
Eve, had been created at the same time, people- would have declared
that there were two gods. Quite similar is the statement in Mishnah
Sanhedrin 4. 5 and Tosefta 8. 4-5, with reference to the question why
only one man was created; comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kir-
chenv., 25. These rabbinic sources also give ethical reasons why
only one man was created (i. e., one "human pair"): If there were
more than one pair, it would be said that the pious are the descendants
of the first pious pair and the wicked are descendants of the first wick-
ed pair. In order that families should not boast of their ancestors,
all mankind is descended from one pair. Moreover, if thieves and
86
Adam [3940
robbers molest their fellow-men now, how much more obnoxious would
they have been, had they been of different descent. Finally the cre-
ation of only one man exhibits God 's power, who, by means of one
mould, is able to produce various kinds of types. Adam is the pro-
genitor of all mankind, and how different men are from one another!
39 BR 17. 4. According to MHG I, 80-81 and 83, Adam became
conscious of the sexual instinct only when he saw Eve before him.
A different view is given in Yebamot 63a, where it is stated that Adam
had unnatural relations with the animals before Eve was created.
This passage was, at an early period, explained figuratively (comp.
Lekah, Gen. 2. 23). On the question whether sexual intercourse
had taken place before the fall of Adam and Eve or not, comp. note
4 on vol. I, p. 106.
4 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 23a-23b and 33a-33b. The text is
corrupt, and can only partly be restored with certainty (read in 23a,
1. 5: nV "HDK rfnprr nrh "IDK), but its main purport cannot be mis-
understood. On Lilith's abode in Egypt, comp. Tobit 8. 3; Revel-
ation 9. 14; Miiller, Beitrage . . . Tobias, 22. Egypt as the seat of
witchcraft and the home of demons is frequently mentioned in the
Kabbalah; hence the name of 'this country (DnSD) is explained as
the place of oppressors (DH1TD), i. e., demons; comp. Yalkut Reubeni,
Deut, 26. 2. The view that it was the Red Sea in Egypt where Lilith re-
mained is based on the conception that water is the abode of demons ;
comp. the assertion of Aristides, Apologia, 4: Wind ministers to God,
fire to the angels (comp. note 63 on vol. I, p. 16, bottom), and water
to the demons. This accounts for the warning given in Pesahim
112a, with reference to the drinking of the water, in order that one
might not be exposed to injury by the demons found therein. The
conception of Lilith as a wind spirit, now known from Babylonian
sources, was retained by the Jews as late as the thirteenth century;
comp. Parhon, 5. v. h^7. It is, however, true that generally she was
conceived as a " Lamia", so that she was even identified with the
Babylonian Labartu. Comp. Ginzberg's communication to Perles in
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, XVIII, 179-80, and the latter's remark
against Levi (R.E.J. LXVIII, 13), who considers the part ascribed
to Lilith, in Alphabet of Ben Sira and in medieval literature, as a
later development. Comp. further Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufsatze,
94, 100, and vol. Ill, 280; vol. IV, 5. The assertion in Zohar I, 19b
34b, and III, 19a, concerning Lilith as Adam's first wife is based
on Alphabet, loc. cit. But old sources speak already of "the first Eve' \
87
4i~4 2 ] The Legends of the Jews
though they do not identify her with Lilith; comp. BR 22. 7, and Aug-
ustine, Contra Adversarium Legis, 2. 5. See also on this point Ginz-
berg, Haggada lei den Kirchenv., 60, note 3, and more fully note 47
on vol. I, p. 118. The confusing of the Babylonian wind spirit Lilith
with the "Liliths", night spirits, is already found in 'Erubin ISb.
The statement of Hasidim, 354, that these "Liliths" (mW) assemble
under certain trees belongs to German popular beliefs. On Lilith
in the Talmud, comp. Kohut, Angelologie, 86-89, whose statements
are not tenable. Attention should be drawn to the sentence in Shab-
bat 15 la: Whoever sleeps alone in a house (or, whoever sleeps in
an isolated house?) is seized by rrV'!?. This very likely has noth-
ing to do with the she-devil. NIK "seized" is employed in the Tal-
mud only with respect to diseases; when referring to demons, the
form pP3 or pVO is used.
4r MHG I, 83. The proverb "only when, etc." is frequently
quoted in the Talmud; comp., e.g., 'Abodah Zarah 73a, where our
text reads "njn; the reading of MHG, is ^ ("closed tightly", from
-Ijp =ny?) . Philo, QuaestioneS) 1,20, gives more reasons why Eve
was not created at the same time as Adam. One of the reasons is
that woman should not claim equality with man (comp. vol. I, 65).
Concerning Lilith 's insubordination comp. vol. I, p. 65.
42 BR 8.1 and 17.6; Berakot 61a; 'Erubin 18a; WR 14 (beginning);
Tan. B. Ill, 33; Tan. Tazria' 2; Tehillim 139, 529. In all these
sources a second view is cited, according to which Adam was created
as " androgynus ", and was subsequently separated into man and
woman. The relation of this view to that of Plato, Symposium, 189d,
190d, was already noticed by Eusebius, 585c-585d, and in recent times
by Freudenthal, Helknistische Studien, I, 69. Jeremias (Altes Test-
ament im Lichte des Orients, index, s. v., "Androgynes"), however,
has shown that this view is already found among the Babylonians.
The Rabbis were particularly concerned with explaining the con-
tradiction between Gen. 1. 27 and 2. 7, seq.j and since in the first pas-
sage the rather unusual expression i"Qp31 "Of occurs, it was quite nat-
ural for them to take it to denote "androgynus." Philo, De M.
Op-lf., 24, 46, and in many other passages (comp. the references given
by Gfrorer, Philo, I, 267, seq., and 407, #?.) solves this exegetical
difficulty in a philosophic manner. The first account of the creation speaks
of the idea of man, which is incorporeal, hence neither masculine nor
feminine, whereas the second account treats of the material creation
of man, which has a definite form, either man or woman. It is worth
88
Adam [43-45
noticing that in the first passage Philo speaks of the double sex of
the "ideal man", but as of no sex in the second passage. However,
one may easily see that the mythological conception of the "and-
rogynus" is still discernible in his philosophical interpretation. Jus-
tin Martyr, Cohortatio ad Gent., 30, and Clemens Alexandrinus, In-
e structor, 3, follow Philo almost literally in their explanation of the
biblical double account of the creation of man; but the interpret-
ation of Tertullian, Adversus Hermogenem, 26, and of Hippolytus,
Gen, 1. 27, is in agreement with the Baraita 32 Middot, No. 12, ac-
cording to which the Bible first gives a general account, and then a
detailed one. Comp. also BR 17. 4; Philo, Quaestiones, 1. 19. On
the question whether Philo knew of the myth concerning the "and-
rogynus Adam", comp. Bousset, Religion, 406. It is, however, fre-
quently found among the Gnostics; comp. Hippolytus, V, 1 and
3; VI, 1. It is noteworthy that Celsus, in Origen, Contra Cels,, 4.
38, observes that Jews as well as Christians consider the account of
the creation of Eve out of Adam's rib to be an allegory. In the earlier
rabbinic literature now extant no such allegory is known; comp.,
in addition to the sources cited at the beginning of this note, ARN
I, 8 (second version 8, 23), as well as 2 Alphabet of R. Akiba 59; Zohar
II, 55a; III,44b. Even Philo does not know such an allegory, and
accordingly Celsus probably refers to oral communications which
were imparted to him by enlightened Jews. Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 2. 21 (comp. further BR 17. 6) remarks: Eve was formed out
of the third rib of the right side.
43 BR 8. 2 (Pin mpID is the contrast of the expression
PfrH which occurs very frequently) and 45. 5; DR 6. 11; Tan. B. I,
172; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 6; 2 ARN 45, 126; MHG I, 83. Comp. vol.
I, p. 60 (bottom), and Griinbaum, Neue Beitrdge, 58-59.
44 BR 18. 3; Berakot 61a; Niddah 45b. In the last passage,
as well as BR 18. 1, a different view is cited, according to which a
man's intelligence matures sooner than that of a woman, since the
former has the opportunity to develop his mind in school, which op-
portunity is denied the latter.
4 * BR 18. 8; 2 ARN 9, 24-25; Kiddushin 2b; Yelammedenu
in 'Aruk, s. v. 1D^. On the three precepts (besides the two mention-
ed in the text, there is a third one in connection with menstruation),
the observance of which is particularly enjoined upon women, comp.
Shabbat 31b-32a; Yerushalmi 2, 5b; Tan. B. I, 28, and III, 53;
Tan. Noah 1 and Mezora* 9. Philo, De Sacr. Abel, et Caini, 32, is
89
46-48] The Legends of the Jews
in agreement with the view of the last-mentioned rabbinic sources,
which speak of Adam as the dough which God kneaded. Concern-
ing the covering of a woman's head, comp. also 2 ARN 42, 117; 1
Timothy 2. 15; 1 Cor. 11.10; Tertullian, De Habitu MuUebri, 1; Ad-
versus Marcionem, 3. 8; De Oratione, 22. The statement made by
Tertullian, in the last-named passage, that the unmarried Jewish wom-
en cover their heads, contradicts the assertions of the Jewish sources,
according to which married women only covered their heads; comp.,
e.g., Ketubot 2. 1; Yebamot 114b. See, however, Nedarim 3. 8;
Sifre N,, 11; Berakot 24a. The idea that the covering of a woman's
head is a punishment for Eve's sin is also found among later Christ-
ian authors; comp. Griinbaum, Neue Beitrdge, 58-59.
46 BR 18. 7; 2 ARN 8, 24; Sanhedrin 39a. On Adam's first
wife comp. note 40, and note 47 on vol. I, p. 118.
47 BR 18. 4 (on the expression J1D P'pn comp. Mekilta Be-
shallah 1, 26b, and Tehillim 106, 456). On Eve's beauty see note
24 and Irenaeus, I, 30, 7. See further Griinbaum, Gesammelte Auf-
sdtze, 79-80. In view of the fact that Eve was taken from Adam's
body, Yebamot 62b and Ephes. 5. 33 say: "One should love his
wife as oneself." The Talmud adds: "And honor even more than
oneself".
48 PRE 12 (-IDN fell out before DN; the correct reading is found
in MHG I, 82, and in the commentary on Job by R. Isaac ha-Kohen
31. 40), essentially based on older sources; comp. BR 18. 1; Shabbat
95a; Yerushalmi 10, 12c; Tan. B. I, 83 and 86; Tan. Wa-Yera 1; Ko-
heleth 7. 2 and 8. 1; Tehillim 25, 213-214; ARN 4, 19 (second ver-
sion 8,22); Kalian Rabbeti 1; ShR 1. 5; Shir 4. 11; WR 12. 2; PK
4, 37a; PR 14, <52a; Baba Batra 75a; Targum Yerushalmi Deut.
34. 6, and the second version, Gen. 35. 9; 2 Alphabet R. Akiba 60
(the description of the splendor of the first wedding is more elaborate
here than in any other source); Baraita 32 Middot, No. 17. In many
of the sources just cited it is mentioned that in the beginning, mid-
dle (not to be taken literally), and conclusion of the Pentateuch ex-
amples are given of God 's loving-kindness which man is to emulate.
God adorned the bride (Eve), visited the sick (Abraham, Gen. 18.
1), and attended to Moses' burial. The etymology of the names of
"man" and " woman", which is ascribed in Sotah 17a to R. Akiba,
was also known to Eusebius; comp. Praeparatio Evang. r 517b. De-
pending on Theodotion, Gen. 2. 23, Origen, Ad Afric., 12, and Jerome,
Gen., loc. tit,, connect ntPN "wife" \vith WW "took"; Vocabitur as-
90
Adam [49~5i
sumptio quia ex viro sumpta est^ says Jerome. Many explanations
are also offered of the name mri "Eve". It might signify fcHfl " ser-
pent", because she was the serpent, i. e. y the seducer of Adam, or
the "speaker" (from Hin " declared"), because she was the only one
besides the serpent who understood the language of the animals
(comp. note 58), and it was from her that Adam learned it; comp.
BR 20, 11, 22. 2, and further 18. 6; Lekah and Imre No' am on Gen.
a. 20, as well as Ha-dar, 11.21 (iY=rflDn lVo, and "DHls: )'30m
|'3'); comp. Baba Batra 16a), and Philo, Quaestiones, 1. 52.
49 Zohar Hadash (beginning of Noah ); Recanati, Gen. 3. 24.
On the Machpelah as the entrance to paradise, comp. Index, s. v.
On the view that all the souls of the dead are presented to Adam,
see vol. I, p. 102. The pillars of paradise are really identical with
the celestial ladder of Konen 28, and are also known in Christian leg-
end; comp. Bonwetsch in the Gottingen Nacrichten, 1900, and James,
Lost Apocrypha, 96 seq. Comp, also note 22 on vol. I, p. 10.
5 Imre No' am and Hadar on Gen. 3. 22. The huge size of the tree
is already alluded to in older sources ; comp. BR 15 . 6 ; YerushalnriBerakot
1.2c;Shir6.9; AggadatShirl, 13and55; Tehilliml,18;ER2,10; 2ARN
43, 119 (below). Comp. further R. Bahya on Gen. 2. 9, who remarks:
The tree of knowledge and the tree of life were both in the centre
of the Garden, for they formed one tree at the bottom, and branched
out into two when they reached a certain height. Philo, think-
ing the literal interpretation of the paradise narrative absurd (De
Plant. Noe 8; comp. also Leg. Alleg., 1. 30), is the only one who ex-
plains it allegorically, but the Rabbis, Josephus, and the pseudepi-
graphic writers (the Books of Enoch, Jub., etc.} take this biblical nar-
rative literally. Not until we reach the Arabic period, when the
philosophic studies influenced Jewish thought, do we find the al-
legorical interpretation of the paradise narrative in rabbinic circles.
See Gabirol in Peletat Soferim, 45, seq. and Maimonides, Guide of
the Perplexed, II, 30. Although the Kabbalah does not deny the
existence of an earthly paradise, it nevertheless interprets the para-
dise account in an allegoric- mystical manner. MHG I, 76, goes
back to a medieval source influenced by philosophical speculations.
A timid attempt at allegorization of the paradise account is already
found in PRE 21.
51 Josephus, Antiqui, y I, 13. The etymologies given by him for
the Hebrew names of these rivers correspond partly to BR 16.
1-4. Comp. further Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 1. 12-13, whose state-
91
5^-55] T he Legends of the Jews
merits (comp. especially his remark on the Euphrates) go back to the
Palestinian Haggadah found in BR loc. cit. Jerome's remarks on
Gen. 2. 12 are based on oral communications from his Pales-
tinian teacher, and not on Josephus. He says: " Fison.. .Gangem
putant"; in the extant midrashic sources Pishon is identified with
the Nile; comp. BR, loc. cit.; Theodor, ad loc., as well as Targum
Yerushalmi, loc. cit., where pHrn is not Indian, but, as Epstein, El-
dad, 33, seq., proves, signifies southern Ethiopia. With respect to
Gen. 15. 18, Dl!?'3 (the Nile) is explained as Dift "small"; in contrast
to the Euphrates, the "great" river, the Nile is the small one; comp.
Pa'aneah and Midrash Aggada on Num. 1. 7. To the cycle of legends
concerning the rivers of paradise, belongs the stream of life, which
plays an important part in the Alexander legend, a stream which,
according to Tamid 32b, flows out of paradise. The view held by
some writers (comp. Friedlaender, Chadhirlegende, 47) that this feature
of the Alexander legend is not Jewish, because the Jewish legend
does not know of the "stream of life, "'is based on an error. "Living
waters" is mentioned in Enoch 17. 4; Revelation 22. 17, and, among
the Gnostics, by Hippolytus, 5. 2, as well as 5. 22. Zimmern, Keil-
inschriften und AT, 524, $eq. t and 562, has pointed out that this view
is found among the Babylonians.
62 BR 13. 9 and the parallels cited by Theodor, as well as Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 2. 6 and Greek Baruch 2. 2. The theories of the
ancient Rabbis concerning rain, clouds, etc., are given by Hirsch-
ensohn, Sheba' Hokmot, 6-8 and 9-11.
53 Hullin 60b.
54 Sifre D., 41; Midrash Tannaim 22; BR 16. 5; PRE 12; 2 ARN
21, 44 (the literal and haggadic meanings of Gen. 2. 15 are found next
to one another); 2 Enoch 30; Theophilus, 2. 19; Ephraim I, 23E; Lac-
tantius, Institutwms, 2. 13; Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 1. 14. A dif-
ferent view is given in ARN 11, 45 (second version, loc* cit.): Adam
was commanded to work in order that his descendants should know
the value of work. Mekilta RS, 107, and (the statement of R, Jose)
ARN, loc. cit. read: Adam died only after he had ceased working;
comp. also Griinbaum, Neue JBeitrdge, 58.
ss Seder 'Olam 5; Sanhedrin 56a; Tosefta 'Abodah Zarah 8,
4, seq., and Babli 64b; Sifre N., Ill; BR 16. 6, 24. 5, 26. 1, and 34.
8; PK 12, lOOb; ShR 30. 9; BaR 14. 12; DR 1. 21 and 2. 25; Shir 1.
2; Koheleth 3. 11; Tehillim 1, 10-11, and 2, 26; Mishle 21, 110; Tan.
B- II, 69; Tan. Yitro 3. Comp. also the interesting passage in Sekel
92
Adam [56-57
1, 108 and Lekah, Gen. 1. 15. In the rabbinic sources these com-
mandments are known as the "seven Noachian commandments"
(besides the six mentioned, the seventh commandment is the one
enjoined upon Noah not to eat the meat of a living animal; comp.
Gen. 9. 4), which, in contrast to the other biblical precepts obligatory
upon Israelites alone, must be accepted by all men. In some passages,
however, thirty Noachian commandments are mentioned, which the
children of Noah accepted, but did not fulfil. The fulfilment of
those will only take place in Messianic times; comp. Yerushalmi
'Abodah Zarah 2, 40c; Hullin 92a; BR 98. 9; Tehillim 2, 26 (read
D'ttfop instead of B>Vtt>) and 31, 177. It is not stated what these thirty
commandments are; comp. R. Bezalel Ronsburg's marginal glosses
on Hullin, loc. cit., and Joel in Graetz-Jubelschrift, 174, note 1. In
Sanhedrin and Tosefta, loc. cit., the opinions of some scholars are cited
which add a few more to the Noachian commandments, as, e. g., the
prohibition of witchcraft; but even with these the number thirty is
not yet reached. Tertullian, Adversus Judaeos, 2, tries to prove that
in the prohibition of fruit enjoined upon Adam the entire decalogue
is contained. A similar statement is found in Zohar I, 36a; comp.
also Griinbaum, Gesammelte Awfsdtze, 177. Anti-Christian is the
remark (BR 16. 5) that Adam received the commandments concern-
ing the observance of the Sabbath and the daily sacrifice. The in-
feriority of the ceremonial laws, as e. g. r the observance of the Sabbath
and the sacrifices, is proved by Christian apologists from the fact
that Adam, the creation of God's own hands, was not enjoined to
observe them.
s 6 Sanhedrin 59b; ARN 1, 5; Zohar I, 38a. The attendance
on the part of the angels caused the jealousy of the serpent (Satan?;
comp. note 35) against Adam; comp. note 60. That Adam was not
permitted to eat meat is asserted by some of the Church Fathers;
comp. Theophilus, 2. 18 (there were no carnivorous animals before
Adam's fall); Novatian, De Cibis Ju&aicis 2. For details see note
56 on vol. I, p. 167.
57 Apocalypse of Moses 15. It seems to follow from BR 19.
5 that Eve alone took care of the animals; comp. Ginzberg, Haggada
bei den Kirchenv., 53-54; see also Imre No' am and Hadar on Gen.
3. 20. In the last two sources the name of Eve is brought into re-
lation with this idea; comp, note 48. On the entertainment of Adam
in paradise by the angels, see the preceding note, and the Revelation
of Ezra (beginning). 2 Enoch 31. 2, on the contrary, reads: I made
93
58-60] The Legends of the Jews
the heavens for him open, that he should perceive the angels sing the
song of triumph.
s 8 Jub. 3. 28; Josephus, Antiqui., I, 1. 4; Philo, Quaestiones,
Gen. 1. 22; the Christian chronologists Syncellus, Cedrenus, and Zo-
naros; comp. Charles on Jub., loc. cit. The older rabbinic literature
does not know of the original language spoken by man and the ani-
mals, and even Lekah, Gen. 3. 1, maintains that only the serpent
spoke Hebrew (i. e., the original speech of man; comp, note 91 on
vol. I, p. 181), whereas the rest of the animals spoke their own lang-
uages, which, however, Adam understood (comp. note 48). This
is also the view of Hasidim 454. On the different languages of ani-
mals see Index, s. v. "Animals, Language of". It may be noted
that Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata, 1. 21, also declares that ani-
mals have a language which they use among themselves. Ration-
alistic explanations of the biblical passages presupposing the lang-
uage of animals (the serpent and Balaam's ass) are found in geonic
literature; comp. Ibn Ezra on Gen. 3, and the responsum of R. Hai
Gaon in Kohelet Shelomoh, 13. Philo, De Conf. Ling., 3, ridicules
the Greek fable concerning the original language of animals, Comp.,
on the other hand, his observations in Quaestiones, 1. 32, where he
concedes the possibility that animals were able to speak before the
fall. Comp. note 113.
59 Apocalypse of Moses 11; for further details concerning this
subject comp. note 113.
* BR 19. 19; Koheleth 1. 18; Shemuel 7, 66; Sanhedrin S9b;
ARN 1, 5 (both versions); Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 1. 32. Comp.
also Jerome on Gen. 3. 1 and Yerushalmi Kiddushin 4, 65c (TH ntPJ7B) ;
Zohar I, 79a and 191. The idea that jealousy caused the serpent's
hatred occurs already in the Septuagint, Gen. 2. 24, and 2 Enoch 31.
3, as well as in John 8. 44, and in the different versions of Vita Adae;
comp. Preuschen, Adamschriften, 27 and 54, as well as note 35, with
regard to jealousy as the cause of Satan's fall. Comp. also note
131. In pseudepigraphic literature (comp. note 116), instead of
the serpent, it is Satan who is the real seducer; comp. Ginzberg,
Haggada lei den Kirchenv., 42-45. In rabbinic literature (Sotah
9b; Sanhedrin 29a; Sifre D., 323) the serpent is described as
'31D"Tpn, which apparently corresponds to #<w 6 ap^ciios of Reve-
lation 20, 2. But the use of ^lQ*rpn with reference to Adam
(comp. note 21) shows that this description of the serpent by
the Rabbis is entirely different from that of Revelation. On the
94
Adam [61-67
bodily similarity of man to the serpent comp. MHG I, 87, where the
observation is made that man can only deceive another who resembles
him. On the serpent as the possessor of gold and silver, comp. vol.
IV, p. 135 (top).
61 PRE 13; BR 19. 3-4; ARN (both versions) 1, 4-5 and 151;
Sanhedrin 29a. Comp. further the sources cited in the preceding
note, as well as Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 1. 33-34, and Josephus, An-
tigui.j I, 1. 4. Lekah, Gen. 3. 1, remarks that God announced this
prohibition respecting the fruit of paradise in the presence of the
serpent, so that he knew everything about it.
62 BR 19. 4. The serpent's slandering of God is frequently
mentioned in the Haggadah; comp. Tan. B. Ill, 47; Tan. Bereshit
8; DR 5. 10; ShR 3. 12; Tehillim 1, 9-10; 2 ARN 1, 6; Apocalypse
of Moses 18; comp. vol. I, p. 96. The view that the creation of the
six days was of a progressive order occurs also in 2 ARN 43, 120;
comp. also Philo, De M. Opif., 21 and 14.
63 ARN 1, 4. In the second version, 1, 5, a view is cited, ac-
cording to which the tree, as the serpent wanted to touch it, exclaim-
ed, saying: "Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let
not the hand of the wicked remove me" (Ps. 36. 12); comp. further
ARN 157, concerning Satan's attempt to enter paradise. See also
vol. I, p. 96, as well as PRE 11, where the two different versions of
ARN are blended together into one.
64 Ibn Sabba, Gen. 3. 6.; very likely dependent upon a lost Mid-
rash.
6 s 2 ARN 1, 6; PRE 11; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 3. 6 (where
after rfcsNl the sentence norn to rfr'im should be read). Comp. the
sources cited in the next note, as well as vol. I, pp. 96-97.
66 BR 19. 5; Tan. Introduction 155; Shemuel 12, 81. Comp.
vol. I, p. 97.
6 7 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 28b, 29a-29b, and 36a (the last pas-
sage reads Dn^D unlike Yerahmeel 48, which associates the name of
the immortal bird with ^on and not its synonym Dn), and Bereshit
Rabbeti in BHM VI, 12 (introduction), where the bird is named
Dn^D. This legend is, of course, only a different version of the wide-
spread phoenix legend; comp. vol. I, p. 32 and note 151 apper-
taining thereto. Besides this bird and its descendants, there
are mentioned in 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 28b eleven persons
(the meaningless onDIN 0M obviously resulted from an incorrect
reading of the abbreviation R"I, which =T0y imi) who en-
95
68] The Legends of the Jews
tered paradise during their life-time. These are: Enoch, Serah
the daughter of Asher, Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, Hiram
the King of Tyre, Eliezer Abraham's servant, Elijah (missing
in the printed text; comp. manuscript reading on 36a), Jabez, Ebed-
melech the Ethiopian, Jonadab the Rechabite as well as his descen-
dants, and of post-biblical times, R. Judah ha-Nasi's slave and R.
Joshua b. Levi. A similar list of immortals is to be found in Derek
Erez Z., 1 (end); PRK (Griinhut's edition, 83); Aguddat Aggadot
(Carmoly's edition, 12), and the sources cited by Tawrogi on Derek
Erez Z. The greatest number of immortals is to be found in Yalkut
II, 367, where Methuselah (this is of Christian origin; comp. note
62 on vol. I, p. 142) and the three sons of Korah are included in the
list. Comp. Index under the names enumerated above as well as s. v,
"Paradise", "Entering Alive", "Moses", "Bithiah", "Hiram", "Ba-
ruch", "Ezra". The men "who were taken up to heaven without tasting
death" (nn'O DJ7C3 IDytt V; comp. BR 21. 5, where this expression
is employed with respect to Elijah, whereas the usual term for the
immortals is "those who entered paradise during their life-time")
are already mentioned in 4 Ezra 6. 26. The following are known
as such in pseudepigraphic literature: Enoch (Books of Enoch), Moses
(Assumption of Moses 106-107); Jeremiah (2 Maccabees 2. 1); Baruch
(Apocalypse of Baruch 77. 2), and Ezra (4 Ezra, end). Comp. Box
on 4 Ezra 6. 26. Nothing is to be found in the Jewish sources con-
cerning the association of these immortals with the Messiah. The
part ascribed in the Midrash (comp., e. g., DR 10. 1 and vol. II,
p. 373, as well as vol. Ill, end) and in the New Testament to Moses
as the forerunner or assistant of the Messiah does not presuppose
Moses 7 immortality, but his resurrection at the very beginning of
the Messianic time. In case 4 Ezra 14. 9 is not a Christian inter-
polation, this passage does not suppose a pre-existing Messiah but
only implies that the Messiah entered paradise alive after having
completed his earthly career, as is explicitly stated in Derek Erez
Z., loc. tit., and parallel passages. In conclusion it may be remarked
that the list of the immortals is found only in late writings (hardly
earlier than the end of the tenth century C. E.), at the time when
Enoch came to be honored again. The older rabbinic literature is
not particularly favorably inclined toward Enoch; comp. note 58 on
vol. I, p. 130. On Elijah as the companion of the Messiah in
paradise, see vol. I, p. 22-23.
68 ARN 1, 6 (read b mN instead of n!? no); PRE 13.
96
Adam [69-70
6 9 PRE 14; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 3. 7 and 21. The older
Haggadah speaks of "garments of light", which the first "pair"
wore before the fall of man, as bestowed upon them by God, in ac-
cordance with Gen. 3. 21, where Tiy ("skin") is explained as though
it were written "TIN ("light"). This verse is said to refer to the state
before the fall; comp. BR 18. 56, as well as 20. 12, and the remarks
of Theodor on these passages. See further Zohar I, 36b (this is the
source of Recanati, quoted by Theodor!), and for details comp.
notes 93 and 104. The later Haggadah retains the legend about
the light which shone on the first "human pair", but explains my
(Gen., loc. cit.) literally; hence the assertion of PRE and Targum
Yerushalmi, loc. cit. Comp. note 123 on vol. I. p. 27.
7 BR 15. 7. The forbidden fruit is identified, respectively,
with the fig, grape, apple of paradise (Etrog), wheat (which grew
on stalks as tall as the cedars of Lebanon), and the nut; comp. BR,
loc. cit. t and 19. 5; Berakot 40a; Sanhedrin 70a; PK 20, 142a; PR 43,
175a; WR 12. 1; BaR 10. 2 and 8; Esther 2, 1; Targum Song of Songs
7. 9 (read, with R. Tam, in Sefer ha-Yashar, 217: ]n fconnN m
py); Greek Apocalypse of Baruch 4. 8; Apocalypse of Abraham 23;
Enoch 32. 4 (which reads: The tree of knowledge is in height like
a fir, and its leaves like those of the carob, and its fruit like the clusters
of a vine); Apocalypse of Moses 21; Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem,
2.2; Methodius, Symposium, 2 ; Origen, Gen. 9. 20; Epiphanius, Haer. 45
(has grapes, according to the view of the Gnostics) ; Moses bar Cepha,
36 E. The oldest and most prevalent view identifies the forbidden
fruit with the grape, which goes back to an old mythological idea
that wine is the beverage of the gods. The fig owes its distinction
to the incident that the first "pair" took hold of the fig leaves after
the fall, and this identification is not only found in rabbinic sources,
but also in the Apocalypse of Moses and in Tertullian, loc. cit. Purely
midrashic is the identification with the wheat which is only found in
rabbinic sources and accepted by Moses bar Cepha. This is based on
the play on the words neon ("wheat") and NDn ("sin"). The identi-
fication with the apple of paradise is due to a similar play on words,
the annK being derived form an "he desired"; comp. Nahmanides on
Lev. 23. 40. The carob likewise owes its distinction to its name which
signifies destruction. "Adam 's apple ", widely known all over Europe
(it is met for the first time in ps.-Tertullian, Gen. 85), is perhaps the
result of the inaccurate rendering of the Hebrew ITIDn, which in the
Bible denotes "apple", but in later literature signifies also the apple
97
The Legends of the Jews
of paradise, i. e., the Ethrog; comp. Shabbat 88a, and the remark of
R. Tarn, loc. cit. The benediction mentioned in geonic sources l&to
na 3^ (comp. Seder R. Amram, Frumkin's edition, II, 406) is based
on the assumption that the tree of knowledge, whose fruit produced
sexual desire, was a nut-tree; comp. note 3 on vol. I, p. 105. Comp.
also ps.-Tertullian, Gen. 86; Commodianus, Instructions, 3, though
he speaks of the palm-tree, which misled Adam, describes, at the same
time, the fruit as the apple. On this point comp. Hippolytus, 6. 22,
who remarks: The palm-tree is the symbol of battle and slaughter
(the gnostic view cited by the same author 7. 1 concerning God as a
seed of fig-tree probably bears a close relation to the fig as the fruit
of the tree of knowledge). Ps.-Matthew 21 and the Passing of Mary
7 speak of the palm of paradise; eomp. further BR 15. 7, where fin ODD
("shoot up as a palm tree") is used in -connection with the forbidden
fruit. On the grape as the forbidden fruit, comp. also vol. I, p. 167;
Sifre D., 323; note 79 on vol I, p. 20. The legend discussed in the
last passage concerning the wine of paradise preserved for the pious
is probably related to the view that the fruit which brought sin into
the world will become "a healing" in the world to come; comp. WR
12 (end), and the Christological form of this legend in the Greek
Apocalypse of Baruch and in Moses bar Cepha, loc. cit. The fig
leaves with which Adam and Eve covered themselves are explained
by Irenaeus III, 23. 5, as a sign of repentance, because they were leaves
which hurt the body. The statement of R. Meir in 'Erubin 18b
(D'JKfi 'nr) has the same meaning. It may further be noted that
in the rabbinic sources mentioned above (comp. also Tan. B.l, 105)
a view is cited according to which Scripture purposely refrains from
mentioning the forbidden fruit, in order that men should not hate
it afterwards for having caused death. On the exact determination
of the tree of life, comp. note 113. See further Grunbaum, Neue
Beitrage, 64-65, and Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 38-42.
71 Yelammedenu in MHG I, 91 and in Yalkut I, 744; Likkutim,
IV, 31b. Comp. note 870 on vol. Ill, p. 417.
72 BR 19. 8; PR 40, 167a; Jub. 4. 30; Justin Martyr, Dialogue,%l\
Irenaeus, V, 22.2; Comp. further Charles on Jub., loc. cit. t and Theodor
on BR 8. 2, as well as the sources cited in note 28. Many reasons are
given why Adam did not die on the day he sinned, as God had threat-
ened. Comp. Symmachus, Jonathan, and Jerome on Gen. 2. 17, as
well as Philo, De M. Opif., 40 (were it not for God's mercy, he would
have died immediately; so also Tan. B. IV, 68; Tan. Mass'e 8; comp.
98
Adam [7378
also PR, loc. cit.}-, De Leg. Aleg., 33; De Profug., 21; Quaestiones, Gen.
1. 16. The view found in the last three passages of Philo that the
sinner, even when- alive, is already regarded as dead, whereas the right-
eous continue to live also after their death (comp. also Wisdom 1.
2 and 16), occurs frequently in rabbinic Haggadah; comp. note 287
on vol. Ill, p. 134; note 54 on vol. I, p. 218, and also Aphraates, 168.
The rationalistic explanation of the prolonged life of the artte-diluvians
(according to some, their years are to be considered as lunar ones)
is orriy met with in medieval Jewish literature; comp., e. g., Mai-
monides, Guide of the Perplexed, II, 47. But Lactantius, Institutions,
2. 13, shows that such attempts are very old.
73 BR 12. 6; and 19. 8; BaR 13. 2; Shir 3. 7; PK 1, Ib; PR 15,
68b; Tan. B. Introduction, 156; Hagigah 12a (comp. Rabbinovicz, ad
loc.*). See details in notes 22, 137 and 37 on Adam's original size, and
further Ginzberg, Haggada lei den Kirchenv., 30-31. On the different
explanations of DVH Ttn 1 ? (Gen. 3. 8) comp. Aquila, Symmachus, and
Theodotion cited by Jerome, ad loc., as well as BR 19. 8 and ps.-
Tertullian Gen. 113.
74 PK 5, 44b; PR 15, 68b; Shir 3. 7; BaR 11. 3; Tan. (introduc-
tion) 156; Shemuel 18,97. Comp. note 113.
75 MHG I, 93 (top) and Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 3. 9. In
these sources it is further stated that when Adam wanted to hide
himself from God, the latter said to him: "Dost thou want to hide
thyself from Me? Can anyone hide himself that I shall not see him?"
(Jer. 23. 24). Comp. note 97.
76 Derek Erez R., 3; Yalkut I, 28; 2 Alphabet of R. Akiba 51.
77 BR 19. 9; PK 15, 119a; Ekah (introduction) 5. This Hag-
gadah endeavors to eliminate the anthropomorphic expression of
Gen. 3. 9, and similar solutions are found in Philo, Quaestiones, Gen.
1. 45; De Decalogo, 3. 17; Justin Martyr, 99; Tertullian, Ad-
versus Marcionem, 2. 24; Theophilus, 2. 26 and 29; Ephraim, 1, 23 C;
Aphraates, 138. Comp. further note 20 on vol. I, p. 110. Another
attempt to explain this anthropomorphism is found in the sources
cited in note 75.
78 Tan. B. Ill, 39; Tan. Tazria' 9. Adam's wickedness and
persistence in sinning are frequently referred to in the Haggadah;
comp. Sanhedrin 38b, where he is declared to have been a heretic
CpD; see also Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, 2. 2: Who will hesitate
to declare that Adam 's great sin was heresy?), and that he denied God.
It is further stated that, like the wicked sinners Esau and Achan (comp.
99
79-83] The Legends of the Jews
Sanhedrin 44a and Tan. B. I, 127), He removed the mark of circum-
cision. Here it is presupposed that Adam was created bearing the
sign of the covenant, as is explicitly stated in ARN 2, 2, and parallel
passages (comp. note 318 on vol. I, p. 306). As to Adam's wicked-
ness, comp. also BR 19. 12; Tan. B. I, 18; PR 7, 26b; BaR 13. 3;
Apocalypse of Moses 21.
79 PRE 14 (complete text is only found in MHG I, 93). Comp.
further PK 17, 130b; Ekah 3, 39; Aggadat Bereshit 61, 125, concern-
ing Adam, Jacob, and the people of Israel, who instead of being grate-
ful for the benefits God had bestowed upon them, complained
about them.
80 BR 17. 4; 2 ARN 8, 23.
81 Tan. B. Ill, 39; Tan. Tazria' 9; MHG I, 93. Zohar Hadash
Bereshit 24a (3. 1). The quotation from Targum by Sabba, 7a,
according to which Gen. 3. 7 should be rendered: And they uttered
grumbling words, is taken from Zohar Hadash. Yelammedenu in
Yalkut I, 47, and Hizkuni, Gen. 3. 16, remark that Eve was punished
because she was still a part of Adam's body when God commanded
him not to eat of the forbidden fruit and decreed death as a penalty.
82 Tan. B. Ill, 39; Tan. Tazria' 9; BR 20. 2; BaR 19. 11; San-
hedrin 29a. Philo, too, attempts to explain why God did not afford
the serpent the opportunity to plead his case; comp. Leg. Alleg.,
21. Philo and the Rabbis also explain why the serpent was first
cursed; comp, Quaestiones, Gen. I. 94 (top); BR 20. 3; Berakot 61a;
Ta'anit 15b; Sifra 10. 6; MHG I, 94 (top); comp. further ARN 1,
7 (below). The Midrash (Tan. B. Ill, 40; Tan. Tazria' 9) lays stress
upon the fact that God's name is not mentioned in the curse pro-
nounced against Adam and Eve, because He did not allow His name
to be associated with evil. On this view which occurs in the Haggadah
as well as in Philo, comp. note 9 on vol. I, p. 5, and note 176 on vol.
II, p. 70.
83 2 ARN 42, 117. Other sources (PRE 14; MHG I, 96; comp.
Ginzberg's note on this point in Ha-Zofeh IV, 31-32) enumerate
nine penalties for each of the three sinners, and one, death, for
all of them. PRE gives the downfall of Sammael and his host as
the first penalty of the serpent, in agreement with the view of this
Midrash, according to which the real seducer was Satan ( = Sammael),
who made use of the serpent; comp. note 116. Tadshe 8 gives six
penalties for the serpent and five each for Adam and Eve. The
leprosy of the serpent is also mentioned in BR 20. 4; Tan. B. II, 53,
100
Adam [8485
as well as III, 42 and 47; Tan. Mezora' 2; ShR 3. 13; ps.-Epiphanius,
Hexaemerotiy 251. The statement made in Tan. that in the last judg-
ment Edom's guardian angel (i, e. Sammael) will be afflicted with
leprosy is partly connected with the identification of the serpent
with Sammael. On the loss of the serpent's feet, comp. the follow-
ing note. On the loss of the serpent's language, see note 58, where
it is shown that rabbinic sources do not know of any primitive ani-
mal language; this is confirmed by the above-mentioned sources,
which speak of the language which only the serpent possessed before
his fall. Among European peoples, however, legends concerning
animals becoming dumb are widespread; comp. Dahnhardt, Natur-
sagen, I, 219-223.
8 4 BR 20. 4-5; ARN 1, 5; Baraita 32 Middot, No. 12; Koheleth
10. 11; Tosefta Sotah 4. 18; Babli 9b. Comp. further note 183 on
vol. I, p. 39. The cutting off of the serpent's feet is also mentioned
(on the erectness of his stature comp. vol. I, p. 71) in Aphraates, 245.
Comp. further Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 961 (Prov. 26), which
practically agrees with BR, loc. cit., and note 124. According to 2
Alphabet R. Akiba 61, God split the tongue of the seirpent as a pun-
ishment for the "evil tongue" he employed. Comp. Griinbaum,
Neue Beitrage, 59-60.
85 'Erubin lOOb; ARN 1, 4 (second version 42, 117; read nocnsno
"shows herself in public"); BR 20. 6-7; Tadshe 7. On the various
views concerning the penalties, comp. Ginzberg's remarks in Ha-
Zofeh, IV, 31-32. In all the sources menstruation is regarded as a
penalty for Eve 's sin, and since sexual desire is considered as the re-
sult of the eating of the forbidden fruit, the Gnostics, as well as the
Kabbalists, maintain that menstruation came to Eve with the enjoyment
of the fruit. Comp. note 3 on vol. I, p. 105; Dahnhardt, Natursagen,
I, 211, is to be corrected accordingly. 2 Enoch 31. 7-8 remarks that
it was only the serpent (here, Satan) and the wicked deeds of man
that were really cursed, "but these (Adam and Eve), whom I had
previously blessed, I did not curse". On this peculiar conception,
comp. note 82 (end), and further note 60 on vol. |I, p. 169, as
well as PRK 3 la (Schonblum's edition), which reads: Three were
cursed, and their curses were beyond any limit, namely, the serpent,
the woman (Eve), and the slave (Canaan). But Adam is not included
among the cursed ones. In all the sources (BR 20. 5 and 95. 1; 2
ARN 42, 117; Tan. B. Ill, 47; Tan. Mezora' 2) it is especially stated
101
86-Q 2 ] The Legends of the Jews
that in the "future" every one shall be cured except the serpent, who
will remain cursed for ever.
* 6 BR 20. 6; Yerushalmi Sotah 8 (beginning); Tehillim 9, 86.
87 ARN 42, 116-117. Quite different is the view of PRE 14
concerning the punishments inflicted on Adam; comp. Ginzberg in Ha-
Zofeh, IV, 31. On the "garments of light ", comp. notes 69 and 93 (with
respect to the " horny skin" mentioned vol. I, p. 74, as well as in the
first passage, comp. Dahnhardt, Natursagen, I, index, s. v. "Mensch";
Orehot Hayyim, I, 68c); on the second punishment comp. Philo, De M.
Opif., 24 and 40. Whether death is the consequence of the sin com-
mitted or not, see note 142. All animals were tame before the fall
of man, and will become tame again in Messianic times; comp. Tan.
B. Ill, 47; Tan. Mezora' 2; BR 20. 5. Comp. further notes 59 and
113. On the curses which were pronounced against Adam, comp.
also vol. I, pp. 97-98, and the notes appertaining to them. According
to 2 ARN 34, 74, the years of man's life have been shortened, but not
those of the animals.
88 BR 5. 9; Yerushalmi Kil'ayim 1, 27b; comp. vol. I, p. 19.
89 Zohar Hadash Bereshit 24b on Gen. 3. 15, where two views
are cited as to how long the curse lasted over the earth; according
to one, it lasted to the birth of Noah (comp. vol. I, pp. 146-147); ac-
cording to another, to the birth of Abraham. The idea that the sun
and the earth are witnesses for and against man, is already found in
the older sources; comp. Sifre D., 306; note 105 on vol. I, p. 25. On
the eclipse of the sun at the time of the fall of man, comp. the account
given in Matthew 27. 45 of the eclipse of the sun at the time of the
crucifixion of Jesus; see further Sukkah 29a and note 113.
90 2 ARN 42, 117; PRE 14; comp. Luria's note, ad loc., and Ginz-
berg in Ha-Zofeh, IV, 31. On vermin as a consequence of the fall
of man, see also BR 5. 9 and 20. 8, as well as the Christian legends;
comp. Dahnhardt, Natursagen, I, 216. Another view declares that
whatever God created has its value; comp. vol. I, p. 42, and the note
appertaining to it. On the origin of the mountains, comp. note 31
on vol. I, pp. 112-113; on the disclosing of the absorbed blood by
the earth, comp. vol. I, p. 112, as well as vol. Ill, pp. 31 and 91.
On the curse of the earth comp. 2 Alphabet R. Akiba, 61.
91 BR 20. 10; ARN 1, 6-7; Pesahim 118a; ER 31, 164.
9 2 Slavonic Apocalypse of Baruch 9 ; the Greek version of the apo-
calypse reads: The moon did not hide at the time of the fall, although
102
Adam [93
it found itself near to Sammael when he seduced Eve. On the eclipse
of the sun during the fall, see vol. I, p. 79 (below).
93 PRE 20; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 3. 21. Against this
later view the older sources maintain that the garments mentioned
in Gen., loc. cit., were given to Adam and Eve by God before the fall, and
that they really were not "garments of skin", but of light; comp, BR
20. 12, citing R. Meir's statement (the explanation given there ]'DH
DJsV is a later rationalistic addition), and note 69. The view that
the garments were made of the skin of Leviathan (Hadar, Da 1 at,
and Hizkuni on Gen., loc. cit., very likely quoted the same source)
wishes to retain Tiy ("skin") in the biblical text, without losing the
"light", since the skin of Leviathan has a shining lustre; comp. vol.
I, pp. 27 and 28, The Church Fathers Irenaeus, III, 23. 5, and Ter-
tullian, De Pudicitia, 9, and De Resurrectione, 7, speak of the celestial
garments of Adam and Eve. Origen, Contra Celsum, 4. 40 (based very
likely on Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 1. 53), remarks: They received
garments of skin at the time of the fall; i. e., bodies, since before the
fall they were spiritual beings. A similar statement is found in Zo-
har I, 36b, which reads: Before the fall they were dressed in gar-
ments of light" ( = m rmro), after the fall in "garments of skin"
(=~ny maro), which were useful only for the body, not for the soul.
A very important part is played by Adam and Eve's "garments of
light" in the various versions of the Vita Adae; comp. Adamschriften,
52-53. However, we must not, without any further proof, connect
the garments of light with the splendor of the light which shone over
Adam before the fall (comp. note 105). But we shall not go astray
if we identify them with the celestial garments of the pious, frequently
mentioned in pseudepigraphic literature, and in early Christian as
well as in kabbalistic writings; comp. Enoch 62. 16; 2 Enoch 22. 8-
10; Ascension of Isaiah 4. 16, and the parallel passages cited by
Charles. See further Zohar II, 150, and the lengthy discourse by
Vital, Sha'are Kedushah (beginning). But also those who assert
that Adam and Eve received their garments from God after the fall
maintain that these clothes were of a superior and unusual kind.
God created these garments at the twilight of the first Friday, hence
it belongs to the primordial creations, on account of which both Adam
and his descendants wore them as priestly garments at the time
of the offering of the sacrifices. Furthermore they were not only
of extraordinary brilliance and splendor, but had also supernatural
qualities; comp. Sifre D., 355; Mekilta Wa-Yassa' 5, 51a; Pesahim
103
94~95] The Legends of the Jews
54b (top); 2 ARN 37, 95 (read myn, with respect to my rVUro); BR
20. 2; Tan. B. I, 17-18 and 33. See further vol. I, pp. 177, 319, and
332. Identifying Adam's priestly garments, which he received after
the fall, with the garment of light, Abkir has the following state-
ment (Yalkut I, 34): God made high-priestly garments for Adam
which were like those of the angels; but when he sinned, God took
them away from him. In 2 ARN 42, 116, it is stated briefly: Adam
wore splendid garments, which were removed from him after the
commission of the sin. That the garments of Adam and Eve be-
longed to the primordial creations is also asserted in Christian sources ;
comp. ps.-Justinian, Quaestiones, . . . ad Orthodoxes, VI, 1293; Jacob
Sarug, cited by Moses bar Cepha, De Paradiso, 84A; comp. further
Thecdoretus, Gen. 3. 27. The latter cannot admit that God killed
certain animals in order to furnish Adam and Eve with clothes.
The same objection to the literal interpretation of my nuro is very
likely the basis of the statement in Sotah 14a and BR 20.12 that the
garments of Adam and Eve were made of wool, or, according to
others, of linen.
94 BR 21. 5-9; Philo, De M. Opff., 60. The cherubim as a
definite group of angels are already mentioned in the Book of Enoch
(comp. Enoch 61. 10; 2 Enoch 19. 6), and are even considered as the
"angels of destruction", for which reason Enoch 20. 7 mentions
them alongside with the serpents, and in ShR 9. 11 they are expli-
citly described as such. Later sources (Pa' amah, Gen. 3. 24 and
Hinnuk, precept 62) insert DH0 instead of n^an OK^B (Rashi on
Gen., loc. cit., employs the latter, more accurate expression), which is
not exactly correct, because the "angels of destruction" are not dev-
ils. The statement of Hadar, Gen., loc. cit., that the cherubim have
the form of steers is perhaps due to the confusion of .D'*"lP =
D'mtP) "oxen" with DHtP "devils'*. However their name is explain-
ed in this source from the Aramaic rro "he ploughed". This view
concerning the form of the cherubim would be very interesting if it
should contain a reminiscence of the winged bulls, Comp. Index,
s. v. "Cherubim".
95 MHG I, 106 (based on two different sources); ER 1 (begin-
ning); Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 3. 24. Comp. also BR 21 (end),
and Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 1, 57. On the flaming sword which
is found in front of paradise, comp. vol. I, p. 174, and the note ap-
pertaining to it, as well as Henat ha-Hewdah 14a. In the last pas-
sage it is said (based on Sa'adya Gaon's remarks in his Polemic
104
Adam [96
against Hiwi, 37.3, where iro^n means the road to paradise) that
God, after Adam's expulsion from paradise, did not cause him to for-
get the way back to paradise; on the contrary, He always made him
look at it, in order that he should ever bear in mind his transgression,
which deprived him of his blissful habitation. The author then
quotes the following narrative from a non-Jewish chronicle. There
was a king in ancient times who wished to ascertain the exact sit-
uation of paradise. He betook himself to a neighboring district,
at the mountain called Lebiah ( "lioness?")- At the top of
this mountain one could hear the sound of swords turning 1 about,
which resounded from the other side of the river. He let some of
his men down by means of poles, but none of them returned. The
author, R. Shet b. Yefet, adds thereupon that this story confirms
the view of those who take the biblical account of paradise literally.
Comp. note 50 concerning the allegorical conception of the descrip-
tion of paradise. The sources quoted in the beginning of this note
belong to the oldest group of rabbinic literature, which makes a ser-
ious attempt to give a figurative explanation of the biblical passages
concerning paradise. The view found in Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
3. 24 that the flaming sword stands for Gehenna is also found in Lac-
tantius, Institutiones, 12. 13. Comp. further Ginzberg, Haggada
bei den Kirchenv., 55-56.
96 Apocalypse of Moses 27-29; Vita Adae 25. 4; Armenian Book
of Adam in Adamschriften, 16. The tree of life is preserved for the
pious in the world to come; Enoch 25. 4; 4 Ezra 7. 52; Revelation 2.
7 and 22. 14. Philo's remark, De M.Opif., 54, seems to be directed
against such a view. To the older rabbinic literature such a view
is quite alien, but is well known to later authors; comp, MHG I, 127,
where, in agreement with Revelation 22. 2, the " wholesome fruit"
(Ezek. 47. 12) is identified with the tree of life. See further Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 3. 24, which, along with the old view, offers also
the later interpretation of this verse. With respect to the spices which
Adam brought from paradise, the following may be noted. Orig-
inally this legend wishes to convey that the various kinds of spices
used in the temple came from paradise, which also furnished wood
for the tabernacle (Shu'aib, end of Terumah). Subsequently, how-
ever, this was connected with another legend, according to which the
civilization of the world goes back to Adam (comp. notes 31-32; Dahn-
hardt, Natursagen, I, index, s. v. "Adam"; Grunbaum, Neue Beitrage,
66), and therefore he had to be the one who brought for mankind,
105
97] The Legends of the Jews
from paradise, the seeds necessary for the cultivation of the soil. Some
rabbinic passages (Tehillim 104, 445; comp. the manuscript reading
quoted by Buber, note 66; the midrashic quotation by Duran, Hofes
Matmonim, 90; 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 21b) speak of thirty kinds
of trees (based on a Persian legend; comp. Bundehesh, Justi's edi-
tion, 37, and Schorr in He-Haluz, VIII, 24), which Adam took with
him from paradise; comp. note 74 on vol. I, p. 19; Low, Aramaiscke
Pflanzennamen, 2, and Ginzberg in Zeitschrift fur Hebraische Bib-
liographie, XI, 126.
97 PK 23, 150b; PR 46, 177b; Sanhedrin 38b; WR 19. 1, Tan.
B. Ill, 31; Tan. Shemini 8; ARN 1, 5, 6, 8 (both versions); Tehil-
lim 92, 403; PRE 11. Although according to the Jewish calendar,
the day follows the night, nevertheless the twelve hours mentioned
in the different versions of the legend are to be understood as a part
of the sixth day (the sources quoted do not correspond, in all details,
to one another; comp. also note 3 on vol. I, p. 105), since nothing
was created at night; comp. BR 12, 14. The Church Fathers like-
wise assert that Adam sinned on the very first day of his creation.
Some of the Christian sources divide this eventful day in a manner
similar to that of the Rabbis, and they even find a Christological
meaning in this division; comp. Irenaeus, V, 22. 2; Victorinus of Pet-
tau, De Fabrica Mundi] Aphraates, 168; Ephraim, 1, 19 C and in Moses
bar Cepha, De Paradiso, 90A; Schatzhohle, 1. Comp. further the passages
cited in Ginzberg's Haggada lei den Kirchenv., 48-49, as well as Malan
in his notes on the book of Adam, 209-210. Quite different is the view
concerning the time of the fall found in Jub. 3. 4, according to which
Adam and Eve, who had both been created outside of paradise (this
is also presupposed in the sources cited at the beginning of the note),
did not enter it simultaneously, that is, Adam entered paradise when
he was forty days old, while Eve did not arrive there until she was
eighty days old, i* e, when Adam was already eighty-seven days of
age (he was seven days older than Eve). They stayed seven days
and forty years in paradise, whence they were expelled on the first
of Tammuz, seventy days after the fall, which took place on the seven-
teenth of lyar. The Melchizedekite fragment (comp. 2 Enoch 90)
seems to be the only source which, like the Book of Jub., speaks of
seven years' sojourn in paradise. Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 1. 25,
observes that the formation of the female embryo (so is this passage
to be understood) takes eighty days, that of the male only forty days.
There can be no doubt that this observation wishes to explain the
106
Adam [98
law of Lev. 12. 4, seq.j as may be seen from Niddah 3. 7. Comp.
vol. I, p. 163, and Roscher, Die Zahl 40, p. 103, seq. The con-
nection of this law with the creation of Adam and Eve is, however,
only found in Jub. This book also differs from the view current
in the later Haggadah with regard to the date of the creation of the
world. Jub. and Philo (De Spec. Leg., 19; Quaestiones, Exod., 1. 1),
as well as some rabbinic authorities of the first century C. E. (Rosh
ha-Shanah lOb), are of the opinion that the world (the same view is
held by the Stoics; comp. Arnim, Stoic. Vet. Fragm., II, 584) was cre-
ated in spring, or, to be more accurate, in the month of Nisan. A
different view prevalent among the later Rabbis is that the world
was created in autumn, in the month of Tishri; comp. Rosh ha-Shanah,
loc. cit., where R. Eliezer (about 100 C. E.) already maintains this
view. The Jewish legend which considers that all first things were
created in a fully developed form (comp. note 21) decided in favor
of the opinion which fixes autumn, the "season of ripeness", as the
time of creation. For the sake of accuracy, the legend maintains
that it was the first day of autumn, the Jewish New Year, on which
Adam was created, the same day on which he was expelled from
paradise. Comp. PK 23, 150b; PR 46, 186b. Ephraim I, 15 A,
and Theodoretus, Exod. 72, assume that the world was created in
Nisan; see Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 31-32. Medieval
authors point out that the letters of the word rPtPN-Q, with which the
account of creation begins, may be re-arranged to read '"itWH 'K, that
is, "on the first day of Tishri "; comp. Pafaneah, Gen. 1. 1.
98 Tan. B. I, 12; BR 11. 9 (DW~ID as a name for the demons
is only found here, and may be explained either as a derivative of
mo "he rebelled", and accordingly, these demons were originally
classed with the rebellious angels, or as derivative of tt~)D "master",
= ""i; comp. below); PR 46, 187b. Another classification of
primordial creations is that of Jub. 3. 2, seq., and (based on it)
Tadshe 6, according to which the number of creations amounted
to twenty-two, corresponding to the number of the letters of the He-
brew alphabet, the number of the books of the Bible (counting Lam-
entations as a part of Jeremiah and Ezra-Nehemiah as one), and the
generations from Adam to Jacob. On the first day the following things
were created: The heavens, earth, water, darkness, wind, abyss,
and light ; on the second day, the firmament ; on the third day, the
gathering of the waters, grass, trees, and paradise (in view of the doc-
trine of the pre-existence of paradise, Tadshe has springs, instead of
107
98] The Legends of the Jews
paradise, as the fourth creation of the third day) ; on the fourth day,
the sun, the moon, the stars; on the fifth day, the sea-monsters, birds,
and worms; on the sixth day, wild and domestic animals, creeping
things, and Adam. Comp. the detailed account of the creations
of each day in vol. I, pp. 8-30, and further Tan. Hayye Sarah 3.
A Haggadah quoted by medieval authors (Pardes 56a; Mahzor Vitry,
108; ShMole ha-Leket, 96; Kimha Dabishuna, on the dirge ray ru'K),
from a Sefer Yezirah (not in ours), endeavors to demonstrate in an
elaborate manner why the world was created in seven days: Each
two days of creation form a pair of witnesses on the unity of God,
the uniqueness of Israel, and the singular sanctity of the Sabbath.
Furthermore, Israel and the Sabbath testify to the unity of God;
God and the Sabbath testify to the uniqueness of Israel; God and
Israel testify to the singular sanctity of the Sabbath. The demons,
in accordance with their origin, are between angels and men. They
have wings like the former, and move about from one end of the earth
to the other, and know what will come to pass; but, like the latter,
they eat and drink, propagate their kind, and die. They also have x
this much in common with angels that they assume any form they
please, and that they can see man without being seen by him. See
Hagigah 16a; Tan. B. I, 12 (there is a statement here also concerning
the sexual relations between men and demons; comp. vol. I, p. 118);
Berakot 6a; PR 6, 24a (the angels can see the demons, but the de-
mons cannot see the angels) ; 2 ARN 37, 109; Kisse we-Ippodromin, 35;
PRK (Schonblum's edition, 15b); Ma'aseh Torah, 98 (where it is said:
They live with one another, like angels, without hatred or envy);
Mahzor Vitry, 507. The assertion that demons do not cast a shadow
(Gittin 60a, and Yerushalmi 6, 48b) is very likely connected with the
conception that the shadow is that soul which reflects the body (comp.
note 18 on polypsychism), and since demons have no bodies, they have
no shadows. On the countless numbers of demons, comp. Berakot
6a; Gittin 68a (riD^y rn&> means: this female demon which is men-
tioned in Eccl. 2. 8, cannot be accurately determined, since there
are so many of them); Tehillim 91, 398. As to the view found in
pseudepigraphic literature, and prevalent among the Church Fathers
(comp. Bousset, Religion, 382, $0g.), according to which the demons
are the descendants of the fallen angels, from their union with the
daughters of man, nothing but a slight trace thereof remains in rab-
binic literature (comp. Index, s. v. "Angels, the Fallen"). The
doctrine connected with this view concerning the demons as seducers
108
Adam [99-100
to idolatry and other transgressions does not occur at all in rabbinic
literature. The view found in Josephus, Bell. Jud., VII, 6. 3, as well
as in Philo, De Gigant., 6-8, and De Somn., 1. 133-136, that demons
are the souls of the wicked reappears again in the Kabbalah (comp.
Zohar III, 70a), where it is borrowed from Christian sources, while
it is entirely unknown to the earlier Rabbis; comp., however, note 88
on vol. I, p. 180. The mortal nature of the demons is also known
to Eusebius, 206, who quotes Plutarch as his authority.
99 Abot 5. 9; Mekilta Wa-Yassa' 5, Sla; Sifre D., 355; Midrash
Tannaim 219; Pesahim 54a; PRE 19 (comp. Luria, ad loc.); PRK
(Schonblum's edition, 40a; Grunhut's edition, 85); 2 ARN 27, 95;
Targum Yerushalmi Num. 22. 18; Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 7. No
two of the sources cited exactly correspond with one another in the
enumeration of the things which lie on the boundary-line between
the primordial things and those developed out of them, comp. Ginz-
berg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv. 50. 'Aknin's assertion, in his com-
mentary on Abot, loc, cit., that these things were created in the twi-
lights of the first six days is untenable. Besides the things enumer-
ated in the text, others 'are also mentioned: The first pair of tongs
(on this point comp. Tosefta 'Erubin, end, and Hagigah I, end, as
well as Adamschriften, 54), without which no other instrument could
be made; Moses' staff; the Shamir; the garments of Adam and Eve
(comp. note 93) ; fire (without which no civilization would have been
possible) comp., however, note 104; the mule (comp. vol. I, p. 424, on the
origin of the mule, and further vol. IV, p. 125) ; the pillars of fire and
of cloud, which moved before Israel in the wilderness, as well as the
clouds of glory which surrounded them (ARN, loc. cit., it is thus to be ex-
plained according to Targum Yerushalmi and Seder Rabba di-Ber-
eshit, loc. cit.}-, the vessel in which the manna has been preserved
in the holy of holies; the demons (comp. the preceding note); the ram
which Abraham sacrificed in place of Isaac. Comp. also note 31,
according to which 3TDD1 aro in the above-mentioned passages
refer perhaps to the use of ' ' writing ' ' and ' ' stylus ' ' , and not to the mater-
ial which was employed for the tables; see Mahzor Vitry, ad loc. ; Rashi
on Pesahim, loc. cit.', Responsa of the Geonim (Harkavy's edition,
11-12); Nahmias, commentary on Abot, loc. cit. See further note
258 on vol. Ill, p. 119; comp. also vol. Ill, pp. 362, 477.
100 Zohar Hadash, Gen. 2. 4, 22a. The conception that the
entire universe chants a continuous song to God is widely known;
comp. Alphabet of R. Akiba 12, and the details given in note 194 on vol.
109
loi] The Legends of the Jews
I, p. 46. On the song of the heavenly bodies on the first Sabbath,
comp. the following note.
101 Seder Rabba di-Bereshit 7-8, where at the end the fol-
lowing reading is to be adopted, with Kimha Dabishuna (on 3m b&
Hixy in the morning prayer of the Day of Atonement): n"DH ~)DK
nn r ^>1 1D1K nn m^ 1 ? Ol^ 1 ?. This Midrash is the source, direct
or indirect, of the statement of the medieval authors concerning
the song chanted by the Sabbath. Comp. Hasidim 126; ha-Mahkim
133; Orehot Hayyim I, 64d-65a; Tola 1 at Jacob (nofcW inn na0P? TID);
Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 2. 3, and in the supplement of this work Shik-
hat Leket (rut? No. 4); Treves' commentary on the Prayer Book
(ratz? -|PK ^N^); ps.-Rashi on BR 14 (end); Bereshit Rabbeti, accord-
ing to the manuscript quotation thereof in Ha-Hoker, II, 1. Many
medieval writers quote from BR, or rather Yerushalmi (comp. Buber
Yerushalayim ha-Bemiyah, note 90, and further Orehot Hayyim I,
36c; Abudirham nmyD'l; Tosafot Ketubot 7b, below; Sefer Mizwot
Gadol, precept 48), the following sentence: On the arrival of the Sab-
bath God said to all created things: "Come and chant a song; a
guest, Sabbath, is come." Comp. also the quotation, from the Mid-
rash, in Or Zarua, 1 II, 18c and 47a; ha-Mahkim, 136: Angels have
six wings, one for each day of the week with which they chant their
song; but they remain silent on the Sabbath, for it is Israel (Sabbath?)
who then chants a hymn to God. On this point comp. Ginzberg,
Geonica, II, 48. All these legends about the songs on the Sabbath,
or rather of the Sabbath (on this conception among the Mohammed-
ans, comp. Goldziher in the Kaufmann-Gedenkbuch, 87) are later de-
velopments of the legend mentioned in note 103. The personifi-
cation of the Sabbath reaches its utmost limits among the Falashas;
comp. Teezaza Sanbat 12b seq., on the angel Sabbath, God's favor-
ite, whom all the other angels adore and to whom they chant a song.
On the various angels who participate in the glorification of God
and the joy of the Sabbath, comp. Tehillim 104, 440, which reads:
There is nothing below which does not have one appointed over it
above, corresponding to it. Recognitions, I, 45, says: When God
created the world, he appointed chiefs over the several creatures,
even over the trees and the mountains, over the fountains and the
rivers, and over all the things He had made. BR 9. 6 reads: There
is not a blade of grass which does not have its star in heaven, urg-
ing it, saying: "Grow." Comp. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed,
II, 10; Zohar (addition from Sitre Otiyyot, I, 15a), where instead of the
110
Adam [102
star (VrD) the reading HJ1DD of TehilHm, loc. eit., is found. Comp.
note 60 on vol. I, p. 137.
102 Jub. 2. 17-20. That the angels rest on the Sabbath is also
mentioned in Tikkunim 48, 86a. Comp., on the contrary, PR 23,
120, which records the witty answer of R. Akiba to Tinaeus Rufus
on the question why God allows the powers of nature to work on the
Sabbath (comp. John 5. 17), when everything rests. That nature,
however, is not exactly the same on the Sabbath as on week-days
may be seen from the state of rest of the river Sambation (comp. In-
dex, s. v.) and from the failure of the necromancers on that day (on
this point comp. also Sanhedrin 65b). In connection with the Sab-
bath rest, rabbinic literature in many places emphasizes the doctrine
that the creation must not be taken as a direct act of God, but as the
word of God. It is further emphasized that even after the comple-
tion of creation God's activity continues in the deeds of the pious,
as well as of the wicked, by means of which they create for themselves
their portions in the world to come. Comp. Mekilta Bahodesh 7,
69b,and Shabbat 104b; Mekilta RS, 109 and 162; Midrash Tannaim
22-23; BR 10. 9 and 11. 5-6, 9; PR 23, 120, and 41, 174a; Tan. Ki-
Tissa 33. The above-mentioned passages contain many expres-
sions about the great significance of the Sabbath (comp. also Tehil-
lim 19, 162, and 92, 201-202). It may be noted, however, that
nowhere in the old rabbinic literature is there to be found a trace
of the mystical conception of the Sabbath occurring in Philo (Moses,
2 [3]. 33), according to which this distinguished day dates not only
since the world was created, but from the time when the heaven and
and all the perceptible universe were still uncreated. It is only in
PRE 3 that the Sabbath is counted among the things which existed
in the thought of God prior to the creation of the world; comp.
Excursus L On the eternal Sabbath in the world to come, see
note 140. The Sabbath must not be understood as a cessation
from the work of creation, but as a creation in itself; everything was
created in six days except rest, which was created on the Sabbath;
hence Scripture speaks of the completion of creation on the Sabbath
(Gen. 2. 2); comp. BR 10. 9, and the parallels cited by Theodor, where
several explanations of the peculiar wording of this biblical verse
are offered, and where it is further stated that the elders who trans-
lated the Torah for Talmai ( Ptolemy) did not give a literal render-
ing of Gen. 2. 2, but translated: "And God completed on the sixth
day." Comp. note 140.
ill
103104] The Legends of the Jews
z 3 PRE 19; Tehillim 92, 404, and 5, 22; PR 46, 187b. The
older sources (BR 22, 13; PK 22, 160b; Tan. B. I, 19; WR 10.
4; Baba Batra 14b; Shir 4.4) know only that Adam composed
Psalm 92 on the glorification of repentance (nJ2>n = rnt2>n, in ac-
cordance with the method of the Haggadah), when he repented of
his sins; comp. vol. I, p. 112. In ARN 1, 7 (whence it was borrowed
by Alphabet R. Akiba 15), on the contrary, it is stated that Adam
and the angels equally shared in the composition of this Psalm, which
they sang in honor of the Sabbath, to the accompaniment of music,
on the first day after the expulsion from paradise, which occurred
In the twilight of the first Sabbath. Comp. also Targum on Ps. 92.
1, and note 101. The statement frequently made in later sources
(comp., however, Sanhedrin 65b and BR 11. 5) that the wick-
ed in hell rest on the Sabbath is closely related to this legend, accord-
to which Adam was delivered from the suffering from hell by the
Sabbath; comp. PR 23, 120a; Tan. Ki-Tissa 33; Seder Gan 'Eden
43; Recanati on Gen. 3. 24; R. Bahya on Exod. 20. 8.
1Q 4 BR 11. 1 and 12. 6 (in both passages jno m is a later gloss,
which is due to a misunderstanding; the difference of opinion of the
scholars quoted there turns about the question whether Adam was
allowed to retain the heavenly light on the first day after the expul-
sion, but not on the question whether he spent a night in paradise or
not; comp. the sources cited in note 97, all of which agree that Adam
left paradise before night); Mekilta RS, 109 (this is the source for BR,
he. cit.: >DK=>Dr); Mekilta Bahodesh 7, 69b; PR 23, H8a-118b and
46, 186b-187a (at the same time the significance of New Year is here
emphasized; comp. note 97); Yerushalmi Berakot 8, 12b; Pesahim
54a; PRE 20; Tehillim 92, 402. In most of the sources the primordial
light is already identified with the splendor of Adam's countenance,
whereas originally a different view had been entertained. The for-
mer belongs to a widespread cosmological speculation, according to
which creation was made possible by the advance of the primordial
light into the darkness of chaos; this is connected with Gen. 1. 3.
Comp. also note 19 on vol. I, p. 9. See also vol. I, pp. 262, 388; vol.
IV, p. 234. This light appears in Philo, De M. Opif., 8 and 18, as
the invisible and ideal, as the image of God's wisdom. On the other
hand, the splendor of Adam's countenance is the concrete expres-
sion of the legend of the divine nature of man before his fall, and, be-
longs to the view concerning the light of the pious in the world to come,
which is prevalent in Jewish, as well as in Christian, eschatology ; comp.
112
Adam [105
Bousset, Religion, 318, for the references to this view in pseudepi-
graphic and ancient rabbinic literature. See further Sifre D., 10;
Midrash Tannaim 6; WR 30. 2; ER 3, 14; Yerushalmi Hagigah 2,
77a (below), where the sentence of Sifre, loc. cit., (niro jntP), appears
in abbreviated form. Comp. also note 93 with regard to the "gar-
ments of light" of Adam and Eve. See further Preuschen, Adam-
schriften, 52, as well as notes 24 and 69. A rationalistic explanation
of Adam's splendor is found in BR, loc. cit., and parallel passages,
where it is said that man's face is brighter on the Sabbath than on
week-days because of the rest and the pleasure he enjoys. Refer-
ence may also be made here to the statement found in the Talmud
(Bezah 16a, and parallel passages) that upon the arrival of the Sab-
bath, man (i. e., the Jew) receives an "additional soul", which stays
with him until the expiration of the Sabbath; comp. Berliner, Jahr-
buck fur jud. Geschichte und Literatur, 1910, 205. The part of Pro-
metheus, which is ascribed to Adam, who, endowed with God-like
wisdom, brought down fire and light (comp. on this point Jellinek, Ein-
leitung to BHM V, 48), is connected with the cycle of legends, in which
the beginnings of culture were traced back to Adam; comp. notes
31 and 99. The stones which he used in bringing down the light are
more accurately described in Tehillim 92, 404; one was the stone of
darkness, the other the stone of dimness; comp. Job 28. 3, and vol.
I, p. 8 (below), with regard to these stones of the abyss. In Orehot
Hayyim I, 68c, the legend of the "horny skin" is connected with the
one which treats of the bringing down of the fire, and states that
Adam brought down the light by means of his finger-nails (comp.
vol. I, p. 74 and note 69).
105 BR 12. 6; Tan. B. I, 13; Tan. Bereshit 6; BaR 13. 12; comp.
further Sifra 26. 4-13; ShR 30. 3. Another version is preserved
in PRK (Schonblum's edition, 43b); Kebod Huppah 19-21; MHG I,
126-130. In these sources twenty-two or twenty-four blessings are
enumerated which God had bestowed on Adam, of which man was
gradually deprived after the fall of Adam and the sins -of the
following generations, and which mankind will receive again in
Messianic times. On account of his sins Adam forfeited the
so-called image of God (. e., the God-like splendor), tall stature,
paradise and the tree of life. The generation of the deluge in
consequence of its sins, lost its gigantic strength, its longevity,
the multitude of children, and peace. The generation of the Tower
of Babel lost the unity of speech, that is, the Hebrew language. The
113
io6] The Legends of the Jews
generation of the sinful cities (Sodom and Gomorrah) lost riches and
fertility of the soil. The generation of the wilderness lost six heav-
enly blessings: the manna, the well which followed them in their
wanderings, the pillars of cloud and fire, the knowledge of the In-
effable Name, and the presence of the Shekinah. With the exile of the
ten tribes real joy passed out of existence. Upon the destruction of
Jerusalem the Davidic dynasty, the dignity of the high priest, the
Holy Spirit, the Jewish courts of justice (Synhedrion), the temple,
and the abundance of the water of Gihon passed away. This stream
used to water Palestine, but Hezekiah stopped up its springs, so that
the heathens should not in their envy take possession of Jerusalem, and
expel Israel therefrom. Comp. the passages cited by Horowitz in Kebod
Huppah, and parallels cited by Schechter on MHG, I, loc. cit. See
further MHG I, 103 (top; this passage, which is closely related to
the sources cited in note 90 concerning the ten curses of Adam, states
that Adam became a "fugitive and a wanderer" after the fall), and
Index, under the twenty-four objects given above. On the fertility
of the soil in Messianic times, comp. note 30 on vol. I, p. 112, and
Yerushalmi Kil'ayim 4, 35c. On the beauty of man in Messia-
nic times, comp. Zohar I, 113b.
106 Vita Adae 1-17. The Slavonic version of this pseudepi-
graph offers essential variants, but they are very likely of Christian
origin, and the same remark applies to the Armenian additions to
the Vita in Preuschen, Adamscliriften, 30 and 41. The description
of Adam 's repentance in Vita is also found in rabbinic sources (PRE 20) .
On the first Sunday after his expulsion from paradise, it is said in this
Midrash (Zohar I, 55b, is based on PRE, and is not an independent
source), Adam betook himself to the waters of the upper Gihon (a
play on the words of the root ]m "he bent down", i. e. t repented,
and pra "the creeper " = " the serpent", comp. BR 16. 4), where he
stayed, without food, up to his neck in the water, for seven weeks
continually, until his body became perforated like a sponge. He then
prayed to God, saying: "Pardon my sins and accept my repentance, so
that all future generations may know that repentance is efficacious,
and that Thou forgivest those who return to Thee." Whereupon
God stretched out His right hand, forgave Adam's sins, and accepted
his repentance. On the rektion of PRE to the Vita, comp. Israel
Levi, R.E.J., XVIII, 86, seq., and his treatise Le Peche Originel,
24, seq.; Epstein in Magazin> XX, 252-253; Grunbaum, Neue Bei-
trdge, 61, seq. All these writers are of the opinion that PRE goes back
114
Adam [106
to the Vita, and this latter work they consider as Christian. Comp.,
on the other hand, Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 51, seq.,
and Jewish Encyclopedia, s. v. "Adam, Book of", as well as Charles,
Pseudepigmphs, 123, seq., with reference to the Jewish character of
the Vita and the independence of PRE from Christian sources. The
following remarks may be made here. Vita reads (6) that Adam
commanded Eve to stand up to her neck in water (usque ad collum),
corresponding to riKWC Ty (PRE, he. cit.). This shows that both
sources go back to the old Halakah (comp. Yoma 87a), according to
which a ritual bath can only purify when it reaches one's neck;
but this does not prove the dependence of PRE on Vita, as is asserted
by Epstein, loc. cit. Vita (10) remarks that Eve's body became like
grass, because of her long stay in the water. This becomes intel-
ligible only when we compare it with the Hebrew of PRE which reads :
nplT ^DD ID 13 ntpyjp iy (the Epstein manuscript and Makiri on Ps.
32, 206, have the correct text, whereas iTOD is the result of a learned
"emendation", based on Ta'anit 22b; Yalkut I, 34, reads uVj, which
is meaningless, and is certainly a corruption of inbo "1DU1, i. e.,
the passage in the Yalkut is shortened from PRE), i. e,, his body be-
came like a sponge (on nplT comp. Low, Pflanzennamen-, Ginzberg,
Geonica, II, 321). The translator of the Vita from the Hebrew did
not understand this rare word, and thought that it meant a "herb"
(like pT). Adam's repentance is alluded to in a statement by R.
Meir (about 150 C. E.), who remarks that Adam was very pious
(Ton has often the meaning of ascetic), and when he saw that death
was decreed against him and the human race, he separated himself
from his wife for one hundred and thirty years, during which time
he was covered with leaves of a fig-tree (they sting the body; comp,
IrenaeusIII,23.5,andnote70). See'Erubin 18b;BR20. 11 and 24.6;
Tan.B. 1,20; BaR14. 12. According to another legend, if Adam hadre-
pented immediately after his fall, he would have been spared the punish-
ment (comp. note 78). But he resolved to repent after he had learned
that God forgave Cain's sin through repentance. Comp. BR 32
(end), and the passages cited in note 28 on vol. I, p. 112. Only Mishle
9, 64, speaks of Eve's repentance. The very old legend (comp. note
265 on vol. I, p. 289) that Adam and Eve shared the same sepulchre
with the three patriarchs presupposes the idea that they had re-
pented of their sins and died as "saints", otherwise it would have
been against the Jewish sentiment to have the "pious" patriarchs
buried together with the sinners; comp. Mishnah Sanhedrin 6. 6;
115
107-108] The Legends of the Jews
Tosefta 9. 9; Tehillim 26, 219 (Abrabanel, Ma'yene ha-Yeshuah, 6. 1,
cites this passage of Midrash Tehillim from the Tosefta, which is due
to the inaccurate quotation in Yalkut II, 704); Sanhedrin 47a. On
a combination of 'Erubin, loc. cit., with PRE, loc. ciL> are based the state-
ments concerning Adam's repentance in Hasidim 23 and Zohar Had-
ash Ruth 97b (nns mom '1). Comp. further Ha-Kaneh, 103d. On
Adam's repentance in Arabic literature, comp. Gru'nbaum, Gesam-
melte Aufsatze, 511, and Neue Beitrage, 65. See also note 138.
107 'Abodah Zarah Sa, where, though it is not explicitly stated,
it is to be understood that Adam noticed the increasing night dur-
ing the time of his repentance; comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei den
Kirchenv., 51-52. Concerning Adam's fear of darkness see further
vol. I, p. 86, and the following note. In Yerushalmi 1, 39c, the term
Calandae (accusative Cal&ndas) is explained as tca\ov " beautiful"
and dies, "day" (comp. Eshkol III, 116, and R. Hananel on Babli
loc. cit.}, and it is remarked that when Adam observed the increasing
day, he exclaimed: "Beautiful day", for his fear of darkness van-
ished on this account. In the same passage a Hebrew etymology
is given of Saturnalia, which is said to mean "hatred and revenge",
namely, of Esau (-Rome) against Israel. It may be worth while
to cite the statement of Yerushalmi that when Adam saw the increas-
ing darkness, he became possessed of fear that the serpent might at-
tack him.
108 { Abodah Zarah 8a; ARN 1, 7. A similar statement is found
in some of the versions of the Adam Book (comp. Preuschen, Adam-
schriften, 30, 541). On this legend and the others related to it, in
which the mythological conception of the serpent (comp. the pre-
ceding note and vol. 1, p. 86) which swallowed the sun is easily rec-
ognisable, comp. Grimbaum, Gesammelte Aufsatze ,130-143. The won-
derful one-horned ox, which Adam offered as a sacrifice is frequently
alluded to. In addition to the passages cited, comp. Shabbat 28b
and Yerushalmi 2, 4d; PR 33, 154a; Koheleth 1. 9; Tehillim 39, 256.
It has absolutely nothing to do with the fabulous ox of the Persians
(gajomarth) with which it is identified by Kohut, Z.D.M.G. XXV,
78. Comp. also note 146 on vol. I, p. 31; ARN, loc.cit., reads further:
The ox which Adam offered, the bullock which Noah offered (upon
leaving the ark), and the ram which Abraham sacrificed (instead of
Isaac) got their horns prior to their hoofs. The idea implied is that
these animals belong to primordial creations, that they came to the
world completely developed (comp. note 21), so that when these ani-
116
Adam [109 no
mals came forth from the earth, they put out their heads first, with
their horns on them.
IQ 9 BR 24. 9; PRE 23 and 31; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 8- 20.
Adam *s house of prayer, alluded to in the Apocalypse of Moses 5 and
Vita Adae 30, is perhaps nothing more than the Christian substitute
for the altar at Jerusalem given in the Jewish original of these writ-
ings. That Adam erected an altar on mount Moriah cannot be con-
sidered strange, since not only was the dust, used for the formation
of his body, taken from the same place (comp. note 16), but it was
also this mountain on which he landed after the expulsion from para-
dise, because the gate of Moriah is found in the proximity of paradise.
Comp. PRE 20; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 3. 23. It is hard to tell
whether the midrashic view of Gen., loc. cit. t according to which Adam
settled in the east of paradise, after his expulsion (comp. Septuagint,
ad loc.', BR 22, 9; Tan. B. V, 16; Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kir-
diem., 55), is connected with Adam's stay in Jerusalem or not. Comp.
Luria on PRE. The statement in 2 Enoch 68. 5 that, after Enoch's
translation, his sons erected an altar in the place called Ahuzan, is
also related to the account of Adam's stay in Jerusalem, where he
erected an altar. That this Ahuzan (i. e. nnnK; comp. the description
of Jerusalem as HIinN in Ezek. 48. 20, seq.) is no other place than Jer-
usalem may be seen from the Melchizedek fragments 3. 35, where
Melchizedek declares that he, "king and priest shall be in the place
Ahuzan, that is to say, in the middle of the earth where Adam was
created". Jerusalem is the centre of the earth (vol. I, p. 12), and
Melchizedek was both king and priest of Jerusalem (vol. I, p.
233). On the connection of the Golgotha legend with this cycle of
legends, comp. note 137. On the idea that paradise is in the prox-
imity of Jerusalem, comp. also the Armenian version of Vita Adae
in Preuschen, Adamschriften, 27, where Jerusalem is designated as the
city of the fallen angels. This is not due, as Preuschen believes,
to an anti-Jewish tendency, but because the holy city is both the
gate of paradise, as well as of Gehenna (see note 55 on vol. I, p. 15, and
Index, $. v. "Gehenna"), where the fallen undergo their punishment.
110 Sefer Raziel (beginning). This book which came down to
us in its present form from the thirteenth century, and is probably the
work of R. Eleazar of Worms, contains, in its many parts, old geonic
mysticism. Another version of the legend how the Book of Raziel was
given to Adam is found in Zohar I, 55b. According to this version, God
caused a book to come to Adam through the angel Raziel (Raz,
117
in] The Legends of the Jews
"secret"; El, " God "), while he was still in paradise, by means of which
he was able to master all the seventy- two kinds of wisdom, as well
as the heavenly mysteries which were unknown even to the angels.
The angel Hadarniel, accordingly, remarked to Adam: "Thou art
in possession of thy Master's treasures, with whose contents not even
the dwellers of heaven are acquainted." After the fall (this is the
only passage in rabbinic literature which speaks of Adam's stay in
paradise for a longer time; comp. note 97), this book disappeared from
Adam's presence, and he received it back from Raphael's hands
only after he had repented (comp. note 106; read jnVin iTS1J "piny,
according to Yerushalmi Shebi'it 9, 39d; BR 79. 6; Koheleth 10. 8;
PK 10, 88b; Tehillim 18, 134; Esther R 1. 9). When Adam died
the book came into the possession of Seth, and afterwards it was
handed over to Noah and Abraham. Comp. also Zohar I, 37b, and
118a. On the different versions of the legend concerning the mys-
terious book of Adam, comp. vol. I, pp. 154-157, and the notes ap-
pertaining to them. It is noteworthy that the older rabbinic literature
knows nothing of such a book belonging to Adam or composed by
him. The statement in Baba Mezi'a 85b (below; comp. the sources
cited in note 27) concerning the book which God had shown to Adam
implies only that God revealed to Adam all the future generations
of mankind and has no reference to a book composed by him or given
to him. It is interesting to note that R. Hai Gaon (about 1000)
never heard of any Adam book; comp. his remarks on Baba Mezi'a,
loc. cit., in Responsa of the Geonim (Harkavy's edition, 103), Mtiller,
Responsen Lehrer des Ostens, No. 31, and Horowitz, Toratan shd
Rishonim II, Nos. 1 and 3 (this passsage has N'rnD instead of the
incorrect N'TO). 2 Enoch 33. 9-10 mentions, together with the Enoch
writings, also those of Adam, Seth, Kainan, Mahalalel, and Jared, which
writings God gave to two angels to take care of. On the statement
of Sefer Raziel that the fear with which Adam had inspired the ani-
mals disappeared after his fall, see note 113. Concerning the as-
sertion made in the same source that widsom abandoned Adam as a
consequence of his having eaten the forbidden fruit, comp. PRK
(Schonblum's edition, 43b), where among the blessings Adam for-
feited as a result of his sin (comp. note 105) f wisdom and knowledge
(PIDDID Hjn) are enumerated. The forbidden fruit gave him human
knowledge and discernment, but he lost true knowledge and God-
like wisdom through it.
111 Vita Adae 30; Apocalypse of Moses 5-6. Here it is pre-
118
A dam [112-113
supposed that In Adam's time illness came only as the immediate fore-
runner of death. Comp. on this point vol. II, p. 131, and vol. IV,
pp. 274-275. In connection with the ante-diluvian generations, BR
26. 5 observes that they spent their lives without suffering any pain
or disease. On Adam's place of prayer see note 109.
112 Vita Adae 31; Apocalypse of Moses 6. In rabbinic sources
illness is not regarded as the direct consequence of the fall, very likely
because it is considered as the beginning of death ; comp. the preceding
note. On the number of diseases comp. note 129.
113 Apocalypse of Moses 9-12; Vita Adae 24-39. The tree
of life is identified in these, as well as in other Jewish and Christian
writings, and also among the Gnostics, with the olive-tree; comp. 2
Enoch 8. 7 and 22. 8, as well as 66. 2; 5 Ezra 2. 12; Evang. Nicod.
18; Descent of Christ 3; Recognitiones, 1.45; Hippolytus 5. 2; Origen,
Contra Celsum, 6. 27, where the words of Celsus certainly go back to
Ophitic writings. As has already been observed in note 70, no definite
determination of the tree of life can be found in rabbinic literature,
nor does it know of the life-giving oil. The resurrection of the
dead, according to the statements found in this literature, will be
brought about through the "dew of light" (Is. 26. 19); comp.
Hagigah 12b; PRE 35 Yerushalmi Berakot 1, 9b; Apocalypse of
Baruch 29. 7 and 73. 2. Comp. further note 12 on vol. IV, p.
197; vol. IV, pp. 333 and 360. In 2 Enoch 25 the view of the
Rabbis is combinded with that of the Apocalyptic writers about
the life-giving oil; hence the following description of this oil: "The
appearance of that oil was more than a great light, and its anointing
was excellent dew." On the "dew of light" among the Gnostics,
comp. Preuschen, Adamschriften, 63. On the tree of life comp. also
Enoch 24. 4, where it is identified with the palm. Comp. also BR
69. 8 and PRE 35, concerning the oil which came down from heaven
for Jacob's sake, with which he anointed the site of Luz, whose in-
habitants live forever; comp. vol. IV, p. 30. In the legend concern-
ing the meeting of Seth ^with the wild beasts the idea implied is that
Adam lost his power over animals through his sin; hence the pious
need not fear them. Moreover, in Messianic times (comp. note 105)
the old relations between men and animals will be restored. Ref-
erence may be made here to the numerous parallels to these views
from rabbinic sources: Sifre N., 1 (end) and Sifre D., 50; Sifra 26.6;
Tosefta Shabbat (end); Babli 151a; Yerushalmi 14, 14b and 14c;
Tosefta Berakot 3. 20; Yerushalmi 5, 9a; Babli 33a; PK 5, 44b; PR
119
114-116] The Legends of the Jews
15, 68b; Shemuel 18, 97; Midrash Shir 29a; Koheleth 5. 10; Aggadat
Bereshit 15, 32; DR 4. 4; 2 ARN 45, 117; Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
3. 15. Comp. further vol. I, p. 71 (end of section); vol. I, pp. 90,
98 (top); vol. II, pp. 204, 221; note 104 on vol. IV, p. 334. Philo, De
M. Opif., 28, observes, with respect to the conditions before the fall:
And all those who were very wild by nature became meek and sub-
missive ... for everything that is mortal He subjected to him. Philo
thus agrees with the Rabbis who do not consider the wildness of ani-
mals as the consequence of the fall of man (as do the pseudepigraphic
writings referred to at the beginning of this note), but is due to the
fact that they cease to be submissive to man. BR 34. 12 reads: The
animals' fear and terror of man came back after the flood, but not
man's dominion over them. The latter came back in the time of
Solomon. While the old rabbinic literature (in agreement with Sibyl-
line Oracles 3, 788, seq_.) maintains that the wildness of the animals
will disappear in Messianic times (basing the view on Lev. 26, 6), the
medieval philosophers do not support this view. Comp. Ginzberg,
Compte Rendu 34:=R.E.J., 68, 148. The instinctive shyness of cer-
tain animals in the presence of a living man (but not of a dead one;
comp. BR, loc* cit., and parallel passages) is ascribed to the fact that
man has his star (i. e. t guardian angel; comp. notes 20 and 101);
see Baba Kamma 2b, 41a, and Meiri J s remarks in Shita Mekubbezet
on the first passage. The view that even wild animals fear and
obey the saints, etc., occurs quite frequently in Jewish as well as
in Christian legends; comp. Giinter, Christliche Legende, index, 5.
v. "Tiere". Comp. Ginzberg, Haggada, bei den Kirchenv., 80-81.
114 Apocalypse of Moses 13; Vita Adae 40-42. On the distri-
bution of the food of the tree of life in the world to come, comp. the
sources cited in note 96. See further Enoch 25. 4-5; 12 Testaments,
Levi 18. 11; Lekah, Gen. 2. 9.
115 Apocalypse of Moses 14; Vita Adae 44. On the number
and names of the sons and daughters of Adam, comp. ps.-Philo (be-
ginning); Josephus, Antigui., I, 2. 3.
116 Apocalypse of Moses 15-30. Vita Adae, which is closely
related to this source, does not contain any details on the fall of Adam,
while, on the other hand, the former, but not the latter, has a des-
cription of the fall of Satan; comp. note 35. It may be remarked here
that PRE 14, which some scholars consider dependent on Vita (comp.
note 106), puts the fall of Satan after the fall of Adam, or more ac-
curately, makes the former a consequence of the latter; but in Vita,
120
Adam [117120
on the other hand, the relation is reversed. The fact that in PRE
Sammael appears as the seducer instead of Satan is, of course, no
variant, since in rabbinic literature these two were regarded as iden-
tical in quite early times. The etymology of Sammael as the "blind
one" (K1D1D), who does not see the pious, is found in the Acts of An-
drew and Matthias (towards the end), as well as in kabbalistic sources.
Comp. 'Erke ha-Kinuyim, s. v. N1D, where =N"D, *nnN N"l3'D*. e.,
Sammael. In Enoch 69. 6 it is the fallen angel Gadriel "who showed
the children of men all the blows of death, and who led Eve astray,
and showed all the weapons of death to the children of men." Ga-
driel very likely stands for Katriel, and is connected with Aramaic
"Itop "he intrigued", "revolted."
117 Apocalypse of Moses 16. "Became a vessel" is a Hebra-
ism =nnai l ? ^D; comp. Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish Fathers, 26;
Ginzberg, Unbekannte Sekte, 39. The view prevalent in this source
that Satan was the real seducer, but employed the cunning serpent
as his servant, represents the transition from the older literal concep-
tion of the biblical report concerning the fall (comp. note 50) to the
allegorical interpretation which identifies the serprent with Satan;
comp., e. g., Revelation 12. 9; note 83, and index, s. v. "Serpent",
and "Dragon". Origen, De Princ., 3. 21, and PRE 13 practically
agree with the harmonizing view of the Apocalypse of Moses, Comp.
note 119.
118 Apocalypse of Moses 17-18. The transformation of Satan,
into an angel is alluded to in 2 Cor. 11. 4. On the serpent's slander-
ous accusations against God, comp. the rabbinic parallels in vol. I,
' pp. 72-73, and notes appertaining thereto.
119 Apocalypse of Moses 19. The three sacred objects by which
she swears certainly belong to the pre-existing things, and when we
consider the fact that the tree of life is the same as paradise (comp.,
e. g., PRK, 43b, where only paradise is mentioned, while MHG I,
126, reads paradise and the tree of life), the view of this writing con-
cerning pre-existing things agrees with that of the Rabbis. Comp.
Excursus I. That the serpent climbed up the tree of knowledge,
and plucked the fruit for Eve is also found in ARN 1 (both versions).
Comp. note 63 and ps.-Tertullian, Adversus Omnes Haereses, 2. On
the view that the serpent injected the evil inclination (=sexual desire)
into Eve, see note 131 and notes 3-4 on vol. I, pp. 105-106.
120 Apocalypse of Moses 20. The haggadic interpretation of
(Gen. 3. 7 and 10) is: "And they became aware that they
121
I2i 128] The Legends of the Jews
were bare of good deeds." This Hebrew idiom occurs frequently
in the Talmud; comp., e. ., Shabbat 14a; Megillah 32a (end). Comp.
BR 19. 6; PRE 14; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 3. 10 (a different inter-
pretation of any, 3. 7); MHG I, 93. Preuschen, Afomschrifien, 54,
note 1, is to be corrected accordingly.
121 Apocalypse of Moses 21. On the withering of the leaves
of all trees, see note 125 and vol. Ill, p. 163; note 50 on vol. II, p. 236.
See further the remarks in note 82 concerning the eclipse of the sun
at the time of the fall. BR 15. 7 states that the trees refused to
give their leaves to the transgressors. Comp. vol. I, p. 75.
122 On the identification of the forbidden fruit with the fig,
comp. note 70.
133 Concerning this function of Michael, comp. note 246 on vol.
I, p. 283.
12 4 The rabbinic sources (BR 20. 4; BaR 14. 12; Tadshe 10;
comp. also the quotation from Yerushalmi in Imre No 1 am, end of
Mishpatim) speak of the heavenly court consisting of seventy-one
members (this number corresponds to that of the Great Synhed-
rion; comp. Sanhedrin 1. 6) which God appointed to judge the ser-
pent. Comp. also note 84.
125 Comp. note 121, and further Yoma 39b, which reads:
The trees of the temple withered when the heathen entered the sanc-
tuary, but they will bloom again in Messianic times. Comp. also
Apocalypse of Moses 38.
126 Apocalypse of Moses 23. That God's residence is under
the tree of life is also stated in 2 Enoch 8. 3. In kabbalistic writings
the same statement is made with regard to the Shekinah; comp.
vol. I, p. 123. God's speech to Adam is almost literally identical
with the one found in rabbinic sources; comp. note 76.
127 Apocalypse of Moses 24. This source appears to count
the ten curses which God pronounced against Adam; comp. vol.
I, p. 79, and the note appertaining to it. On the loss of the dominion
over the animal world, comp. note 113.
I2S Apocalypse of Moses 25. On the text comp. Ginzberg's
remarks in the Jewish Encyclopedia I, 70, where reference is made
to the almost literal parallel passages in BR 20. 7 and Niddah
31b. The text of the Hebrew original very likely read: ynDfiP nypm
wv{? my ppiN vh iDni yawn onion nys :m -psa pon i 1 ? 1 ?
* Kim 'awn -|0'H ^Nl Dysn -JH. The expression rpvb ppt
122
Adam [129-131
is a frequently used euphemism for conjugal relations, but the translat-
or erroneously read yvsb instead of ""^N^. Comp. note 131 (end).
129 Vita Adae 34; Apocalypse of Moses 8. The number of dis-
eases which came upon man in consequence of the fall amounts to
seventy or seventy-two (the rivalry of these two numbers is of f req-
quent occurrence; comp. Index under these numbers) ; comp. Nega'im
1. 4; Sifra 13.4; ER 5.25; midrashic citation by Ibn Sabba 53b on Gen.
43. 16. A sentence employed in amulets reads: "And mayest Thou,
God, protect him against the seventy-two kinds of diseases, which
afBict this world"; comp. Midrash Talpiyyot, s. v. Q^n. See also the
seventy kinds of deaths in Testament of Abraham 20 (longer recension),
and Ginzberg's remarks on it in Jewish Encyclopedia, I, 95. Other views
with regard to the number of diseases are found in Berakot 8a, accord-
ing to which there are 903 kinds of deaths (i. e., diseases which cause
death), and in Baba Mezi'a 107b, where it is said that the bile, when it
is in a diseased condition, may cause 83 kinds of death.
130 Apocalypse of Moses 26. On the expression "vessel of.. . "
comp. note 117. The designation of Satan as dxapioros, literally
"the ugly one", corresponds with his nickname in rabbinic writings,
in which he is known as ^T)3D, "the ugly one"; comp. e. g. Kiddushin
30b. It is hard to say whether we should take it in its literal meaning,
in accordance with the legend which ascribes an ugly form to the angel
of death (who is identical with Satan; comp. vol. I, p. 306), or in a
figurative sense.
131 Apocalypse of Moses 26. A tenfold punishment of the
serpent seems to be presupposed here. Comp. vol. I, pp. 77-78,
where (see also the sources cited in note 83) the ten punishments
are enumerated, in partial agreement with the account given
in the Apocalypse. The first sentence "until the day of judgment"
corresponds with the paraphrase of Gen. 3. 15 in Targum Yeru-
shalmi. This Targum, as well as the Apocalypse, identifies the pun-
ishment decreed against the serpent with that against Satan; comp.
notes 116 and 120. Besides the sources cited in these two notes,
comp. further Enoch 69, 6 (where it is said that the fallen angel Gad-
riel seduced Eve, comp. note 119); 2 Enoch 21.4 (where Satanel, i. e.
Satan, caused the fall), and similarly Wisdom 2.24 (where death is ascrib-
ed to the jealousy of the devil) . The serpent is not mentioned in any of
these three writings. The Apocalypse of Abraham 23 describes Azazel as
being like a serpent in appearance, having hands and feet like a man, and
twelve wings. Here the serpent is identified with Satan (in this
123
132] The Legends of the Jews
pseudepigraph Azazel is employed instead of the latter), not in the
allegorical sense, but it ascribes the form of the serpent to Satan.
As far as this form is concerned, it is almost identical with that
of the serpent in paradise as described in rabbinic sources; cornp.
vol. I, pp. 71-72. Concerning the wings see vol. I, p. 63, as well as
Apocalypse of Moses, loc. cit., which speaks of the wings of the serpent.
The description of Satan in the Greek Baruch 4. 8 is closely related
to the one in the Apocalypse of Abraham. We may thus trace the
development of the conception of the "old serpent"; 1) The serpent
resembled man both in mind and body, before the fall, and being jea-
lous, it resorted to corruption (this is the view of the old rabbinic lit-
erature; comp. note 60). 2) The fall was brought about not by the ser-
pent, but by Satan, who made use of the cunning serpent (Apocalypse of
Moses; PRE). 3) Satan, who had the appearance of a serpent, was the
cause of the fall (Apocalypse of Abraham and Greek Baruch) . 4) Satan,
or some other fallen angel, brought about the fall (Books of Enoch).
5) The view of the allegorists (Philo, Revelation, medieval Jewish
philosophers), according to whom it was the sensual desire which
seduced man. It may be noted further that the sentence /cal Sid roOro
...\6yov a-ov in the Apocalypse of Moses 25 is misplaced; it belongs
to the end of 26, where God says to the serpent that He will put
enmity between him and man, because "I will judge thee according
to thy actions ("jrj"121 bj7, a Hebraism, which the Greek translator
incorrectly rendered by \6yov <r0u), on account of the enmity
which the enemy (= Satan; comp. Sukkah 52a) had injected
into thee. Satan sowed enmity in the heart of the serpent against
man (comp. Apocalypse of Moses 16), and as a punishment for this,
eternal enmity shall reign henceforth between thee and them (i. e.,
Adam and Eve)". Comp. the similar idea in Tosefta Sotah 4. 18;
BR 20. 5; Sotah 9b; ARN 1, 5.
133 Apocalypse of Moses 31-32. This angel is described as
"the angel of mankind", or "the angel of the Lord resembling man
in appearance". The Hebrew very likely read: O'^Kn ]D *rn "]^D
1. e. one of the order of the angels called O'P'K ( = "men"). On this
class of angels comp. Maimonides, Yad ha-Hazakah, Yesode ha-Torah,
2. 7, and Masseket Azilut (beginning); comp. also Mishle 8, 58.
Adam's words ("pray to God..., we do not know when we shall
appear before our Creator, whether He will pour out His wrath
on us, or He will turn to us in mercy") remind one of the last
words of Rabban Johanan b. Zaccai (Berakot 28b; ARN 25, 79).
124
Adam [i33~i37
133 Apocalypse of Moses 33-36. On the eclipse of the heavenly
bodies in God's proximity, comp. vol. I, p. 25, and note 105 appertain-
ing to it. Different is the reading in Vita Adae 26, according to which
the sun, moon, and stars did not shine for seven days as a sign of
mourning for Adam's death. Comp. Sukkah 29a; note 89.
13 4 Apocalypse of Moses 37-39; Vita Adae 46- 47. The bath-
ing of the soul in the stream of fire is most likely of Greek origin (comp.
Fuchs and Wells, ad loc.). But it is also found in the later midrashic
literature and in the Kabbalah; comp. Elleh Ezkerah (end), where
it is said that the souls bathe in the waters of the Shiloah, whereas
according to the Kabbalists (Zohar III, 16b, below; Zohar Hadash,
Balak, 66a,3 'YDN; 'Emek ha-Melek, 117a), all souls must pass through
the river of fire (comp. note 69 on vol. I, p. 17, and Index, s. v.
"Dinur"); the pious are purified in this manner, while the wicked
are judged there. Another view is given in Konen 29, which reads:
The souls of the pious bathe, before entering paradise, in 248 rivers
of balsam a river for each member of the human body.
135 Apocalypse of Moses 40; comp. also 42. In Vita Adae 48
it is Michael and Uriel who inter Adam (Gabriel probably fell out).
The older tradition knows of an hierarchy consisting of three angels
(comp. note 13), and hence only three angels occupy themselves with
the burial of Moses; comp. vol. Ill, p. 472. It may also be noted
that according ~to Zohar III, 88a, three heavenly messengers are pre-
sent at the death-bed of every man. But Zohar II, 256a, on the other
hand, speaks of four. The various texts of the pseudepigraphic writ-
ings cited above also differ from one another respecting the numbers
and the names of the angels who took charge of Adam's burial.
136 Apocalypse of Moses 40 and Vita Adae 48; comp. further
Preuschen, Adamschriften, 45, and Book of Adam 1. 79. The rabbinic
legend knows of a number of facts about the burial of Abel by his
parents (comp. vol. I, p. 113, and note 130 appertaining to it), but
does not seem to be acquainted with the details given in the pseud-
epigraphic works. Jub. 4. 29 states: He (Adam) was the first to
be buried in the ground. This alludes to the legend given in the
Apocalypse of Moses and kindred sources.
137 Apocalypse of Moses 40. Since according to a well-known
Haggadah (see the sources cited in note 16), the dust for the formation
of Adam's body was taken from the place of the altar ih Jerusalem,
the Apocalypse necessarily locates Adam's grave on the site of the
temple of Jerusalem. To be sure, here and in Vita Adae, loc. cit. t
125
137] The Legends of the Jews
the grave is erroneously placed in paradise (M&H? TOV irapafelo-ov), which
must not be taken literally, but should be understood to mean near
Jerusalem. This is due to the fact that according to note 109, Jeru-
salem, or mount Moriah, forms the gate to paradise. This is clearly
stated in the Melchizedek fragment 2. 35-36: In the centre of the
earth, where Adam was created, there shall be his (Melchizedek 's)
grave. . .where Adam buried his son Abel. It is also stated in Zohar
I, 56b, that Adam chose a place for his grave (in accordance with the
rabbinic legend, the cave of Machpelah is here referred to; comp. PR E.
20 and further below) near paradise, where God buried him. All this is
also found in Zohar Hadash, Ruth 97b, beginning KjDim '"1 "ID1,
which gives also the different view that Seth took care of his father 's
burial. Seder 'Otam (beginning) reads: Enoch buried Adam. Comp.
also Yashar, Bereshit lib: And Seth and his sons, Enoch and Meth-
uselah his son buried him Adam. In note 32 on vol. IV, p. 354, an
attempt is made to prove that rabbinic literature also knows of the
legend that the site of the altar is Adam 's grave. The prevalent view
among the Rabbis, however, is that Adam and Eve were buried in
the cave of Machpelah. It is for this reason that Hebron is called
Kiryat Arba',"The City of the Four", because in this city four pious
men (Adam and the three patriarchs) as well as the four mothers
(in other places this designation usually applies to the four wives of
the three patriarchs), that is, Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah, were
buried. Comp. BR 58. 4 and 8 (it is stated here that God had to
roll up Adam's corpse, since even after the fall his height reached a
hundred cubits; comp. also BR 19.8 and Tan. B.I, 13); 'Erubin 53a;
Sotah 13a; Baba Batra 58a; PRE 20 and 36; Jerome on Gen. 23. 2
(comp. also vol. I, pp. 288-289). In the Christian legend of Gol-
gotha Adam's burial-place is identical with the place of the cruci-
fixion of Jesus. This is a Christian adaptation of the Jewish legend,
according to which Adam was created in the centre of the earth, and
was buried in the same place, i. e., in the site of the altar at Jerusalem.
Instead of the site of the altar, the Christian legend introduced the
place of the crucifixion of Jesus (which is the Christian altar). Comp.
Ginzberg, Haggada lei den Kirchenv., 26-30 (some of his remarks
are to be corrected in accordance with the material given here); Preu-
schen, Adamschriften, 45-46. It should also be observed that in rab-
binic sources (comp. the reference given in note 32 on vol. IV, p.
354), where mention is made of the corpse found near the site of the
altar, the word rfrwfcl, "Golgotha", i. e., "skull", is used which ap-
126
Adam [138-139
pears again in Golgotha, the place of the crucifixion of Jesus.
Finally, some other reasons may be given why Apocalypse of Moses
and Vita Adae cannot be said to regard paradise as Adam's burial-
place. According to Apocalypse 37, paradise is located in the third
heaven, where Adam's soul but not his body could be placed. It
is further said that God sealed Adarri 's grave, so that nobody could
approach his remains, This is only intelligible if Adam was buried
outside of paradise, a place accessible to men and beasts. If his
grave were in paradise, there would be no necessity to protect it.
138 Apocalypse of Moses 41-45. The statement that Adam
died six days before Eve is related to the view (comp. note 22) that
Adam's body has been in existence since the first day of creation,
whereas Eve was not created out of his rib until Friday; comp. the
sources cited in note 97. Adam was not only interred by the angels
with great pomp and honor, but God also expressly promised him
resurrection. In this presentation it is presupposed that Adam was
entirely or partly forgiven because of his repentance (comp. vol. I,
pp. 86-89). These views are shared by the rabbinic sources cited
in notes 106 and 142. Now and again we meet in rabbinic literature
with an unfavorable view about Adam. It is said that he was driv-
en out of paradise forever, and will be excluded from it even in the
world to come. Comp. BR 21. 8 and 8, where Tannaim and Am-
oraim differ with respect to Adam's fate in the world to come. The
most prevalent view, however, is favorable to Adam. Comp., in ad-
dition to the sources cited in notes 106 and 142, the association of
Adam and Eve with the three patriarchs and their wives alluded to
in the preceding note. The unfavorable view about Adam is most
likely to be ascribed to the opposition to the exaggerated glorification of
Adam by the Jewish gnostic circles, as reflected e. g. in the Clementine
writings. It is worthy of note that Adam's merits are hardly ever
alluded to in the liturgy (there seems to be but one exception, that
of a later Selihah p'n anno miT^D 43a). Comp. Ha-Zofeh, VI, 325.
139 Apocalypse of Moses 42-43; Vita Adae 50-51. Accord-
ing to Jewish law, mourning is to last for one week (Mo'ed Katan
3. 5, and other passages); but in reality only six full days are observed;
comp. Pesahim 4a, and the parallel passages cited on the margin con-
cerning the rule "A fraction of a day counts as a whole day." A
reminiscence of a three days' mourning is still to be found in Vita
Adae 51 (the Hebrew text read: D^N^ T3~in m'3 'm, i. e. t after
the lapse of three days), and also elsewhere; comp. Ecclu. 38. 17,
127
140-142] The Legends of the Jews
and Ginzberg in Noldeke- Festschrift, 625, as well as Yerushalmi
Mo'ed Katan 3, 82b. Comp. the following note (end).
140 Apocalypse of Moses 43; Vita Adae 51. According to Ya-
shar Bereshit lib, mourning for the dead was first introduced upon
the death of Adam, whereas ER 16, 81, makes the peculiar statement
that the day of Adam's death was celebrated by his descendants
as a festival, that is, they rejoiced that man is mortal, for otherwise
he would not do the will of his heavenly Father. The symbolic des-
cription of the world to come as the "great Sabbath", or as the "day
of the Lord", is of frequent occurrence in Jewish, as well as in old
Christian, literature, in which it is also brought into relation with the
millennium; since the "day of the Lord is a thousand years" (comp.
notes 28 and 72), hence His Sabbath is the seventh thousand. Comp.
Tamid (end; the passage concerning the daily song does not originally
belong to the Mishnah; comp. Ginzberg, Tamid , the Oldest Treatise, 283) ;
Rosh ha-Shanah 31a; ARN" 1, 5; Tehillim 92, 402-403 and 405;
PRE 18; Mekilta Shabbeta 1, 103b; Mekilta RS, 160 (it is stated in
the Mekiltas that the Sabbath offers a foretaste of the life in the
world to come; comp. Berakot 57b); ER 2, 6-7; Sanhedrin 97a;
'Abodah Zarah 9a; Sifra 26. 6; 4 Ezra 8. 30; Barnabas 15. 4;
Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata, 6. 16; Clementine Homilies, 18. 9;
Victorinus, De Fabrica Mundi\ Hippolytus, Dan. 4. According to 2
Enoch 33, the millennium will only take place after the completion
of seven thousand years. This is probably based on some learned
interpretation of Gen. 2. 2, which considered the seventh day as one
of the days of creation; comp. note 102. According to Alphabet R. Ak-
iba 19, the Sabbath of the Lord will take place 6093 years after
creation. Bousset, Religion, 341, understands Apocalypse of Moses,
loc. cit., to say that the soul departs from the body after seven or three
days (comp. 4 Ezra 7. 101, and the rabbinic sources cited in note 20).
It is for this reason that mourning must not last longer than this per-
iod.
141 Tan. B. I, 21, and IV, 124. Comp, also the kabbalistic
sources referred to at the beginning of the following note. In rab-
binic literature frequent mention is made of the book which con-
tains the record of the deeds of men, as well as the witnesses who
appear for or against man in the heavenly court. Comp. Abot 2. 1;
Sifre D., 307; Ta'anit lla; PR 8, 29a. See also the sources cited
in note 20.
142 Tan. B. I, 21, and IV, 124; Zohar I, 54b, 81a, 65b, and 127a;
128
Adam [142
Zohar Hadash, Balak, beginning frON '1 'o, 66a; 'Emek ha-Melek
117a. Comp. also the legend given in vol. I, p. 69, which, in addition
to the sources cited in the note appertaining thereto, is likewise known
to Abkat Rokel II, 1. * Closely related to our legend, especially in
its kabbalistic form, is the one found in both versions of the Testa-
ment of Abraham (13, 11 respectively), concerning Abel, before whom
every soul must appear to be judged. Judgment takes place after
Enoch, the heavenly scribe (this agrees with most of the pseudepigra-
phic sources, whereas in rabbinic writings Elijah is the scribe, or sec-
retary; comp. note 35 on vol. IV, p. 201) fetches, out of the many
books entrusted to the Cherubim, the one relating to the soul in ques-
tion. By means of this book he establishes the record of the soul
during its life-time. The rabbinic form of this legend, at the same
time, expresses the view prevalent among the Rabbis that "no death
occurs without sin". Adam is not responsible for any other death
except his own. Every man could live forever, if he should lead a
sinless life. Comp. Shabbat 55a-56b; 'Arakin 17a; Tehillim 92,
412; Tan. B. IV, 60, and the parallels cited by Buber; Justin Martyr
(he gives this as the view prevalent among the Jews), Dialogue,
95. Comp. Ginzberg, Haggada gei den Kirchenv., 45-47, and Israel
Levi, Le Peche Originel. The legend makes use of this theory, and
accordingly maintains that there are a number of men who (because
they did not sin) have not tasted death, but entered paradise while
yet alive. Comp. note 67. The popularity of this view is proved
by the fact that Recognitiones, 1. 52, also speaks of those that en-
tered paradise because thay were absolutely without guilt. It is true
that rabbinic literature knows also of the opposite view (particularly
represented by 4 Ezra and the Apocalypse of Baruch), according to
which there is "hereditary death", but no "hereditary sin", so that
death is absolutely conceived as a penalty imposed on Adam, which
must be suffered also by the innocent. Comp. Sifre D., 339 ; BR 2 1 . 1 ;
ER 5, 24; Baba Batra 17a. See also Tan. B. I, 17 and vol. II, pp. 259-
260. It should be mentioned that in the Prayer of Manasseh 7, the three
patriarchs are designated as mortals who never sinned. This is, however,
denied in ' Arakin, loc. tit. A third view on the origin of death is that
man was created mortal. Had it not been for the fall, however,
death would not have been so terrible and painful, but a joyful in-
cident in man's career. Comp. EZ 3, 175, where this view is clearly
expressed, and further BR 21. 3 (see the parallels cited by Theodor),
where the expression "man was destined to die" is to be taken in this
129
142] The Legends of the Jews
sense. Wisdom 1. 13 and 2. 23 appears to express opposition to the
theory that man is mortal by his very nature. 2 ARN 34, 74, seems
to be of the view that the fall of man caused an early death; that
is, even if Adam had not sinned, man would not have been immortal,
but he would have lived a much longer period. Similar views are
found in medieval philosophical writings and biblical commentaries;
comp. Nahmanides on Gen. 2. 17, and Bekor Shor on Gen. 3. 23.
Quite singular is the view expressed in BR9. 5 and Baba Batra
75a, which reads: Adam was not deserving of death for his sin,
but God, who had foreseen that there would arise men like Nebu-
chadnezzar and Hiram claiming to be gods (comp. Index, s. v. "Deificat-
ion"), decreed death on the entire human race. According to this idea,
it is not the descendants of Adam who have to atone by death for his
sin, but, on the contrary, it was he who died on their account.
In view of the favorable opinion of Adam expressed in these and
in other passages (comp. notes 106 and 138), it is not surprising
that the legend accords a special place of honor to Adam in
Messianic times. In allusion to Micah 5. 4, it is asserted in the
old rabbinic literature that when the Messiah is about to start
his work of salvation, he will be furnished with a council of fourteen
members to assist him. One half of these members will have the
title of "shepherds", and the other half will be "princes". The
shepherds will be David, as president, and Adam, Seth, Methuselah,
on his right, and Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, on his left. The prin-
ces are: the Messiah as the head, and Samuel, Saul, Jesse, Eli-
jah, Amos, Zephaniah, and Hezekiah (this is more probable than
Zedekiah, as given in some texts). Comp. Sukkah 52b; PRK (Griin-
hut's edition, 78 and 82; Schonblum's edition, 37b and 38; BHM
VI, 150; Shir 8. 10; Sa'adya Gaon, Emunot we-De'ot, 7, 150; BaR
15 (beginning). In the last passage it is said: Opinions differ as
to the identity of the "seven shepherds", or the "eight princes"
who are Messiahs. Nowhere else in rabbinic literature are these
princes called Messiahs. Comp., however, Jerome on Micah, loc. cit. y
who refers to Symmachus, who renders *DD3 ("princes") by xp^roL
("Messiahs"). Jerome, loc. ciL, appears to have known the rabbinic
interpretation to which he gives a Christological coloring: the sev-
en shepherds are the patriarchs and prophets, whereas the eight prin-
ces represent the great men of the New Covenant; comp. Matthew
19. 28; Luke 22. 30; I Cor. 6. 2; Rev. 20. 4; Sibyl. 3. 781-782; 12 Test-
aments, Benjamin 10. 7; ShR 30. 18. Besides the seven shepherds
130
Adam [142
and eight princes of the Messianic times, the Talmud (Sukkah, loc.
cit.) knows of four distinguished personages as Messiahs. These are:
Messiah the son of David; Messiah the son of Joseph; Elijah; the
priest of justice (Melchizedek?). Comp. also BaR, loc. cit., where,
instead of the last, a Messiah appears who is a descendant of Man-
asseh. A fuller discussion of this point is to be found in Ginzberg's
Unbekannte Sekte, 334^352. In Kimhi on Micah, loc. cit., Enoch is
substituted for Adam as one of the seven shepherds. This is rather
a later correction, as the older rabbinic literature does not include
Enoch among the saints; comp. note 59 on vol. I, p. 130.
131
III. THE TEN GENERATIONS
(103-142)
1 Abot 5, 22; ARN 32, 92 (a view is cited here, according to which
some among them were God-fearing, and it was they who prevented
the flood from coming for some time), and the second version 34,
92. The tenth belongs to God; Noah was the tenth after Adam,
and Abraham the tenth after Noah; Tan. B. V, 27. So also Philo,
De Congressu Quaerenda Eniditionis Causa, 17. That these sinful
generations nevertheless lived longer than others has its good rea-
sons: their longevity enabled them to study the movement of the
heavenly bodies, so that they bequeathed their astronomical know-
ledge to later generations (BR. 26. 5; comp. vol. I, p. 121. below,
and Josephus, Antiqui., I, 3). They likewise received, during their
long and care-free life, their reward for their good deeds which was
due to them, so that after their death their punishment was severe;
BR 16. 5. Furthermore, God wished to test these generations;
He therefore granted them long life in order to give them the op-
portunity to show kindness to one another. But they did not stand
the test. The sons were ready to care for their parents, but not
for their grand-parents, and Noah was the only one who was will-
ing to care for his grandfather and all his ancestors; ER 16, 80.
God spoke to no one in this generation until Noah came (BR 34.
5 and Koheleth 7. 19), just as Abraham was the first to whom God
spoke during the ten generations from Noah to him; BR 39, 4; Ko-
heleth loc. cit. This seems to be directed against the view prevalent
in pseudepigraphic writings that Seth, Enoch, Shem, and other
patriarchs were the bearers of God's revelations; comp. Index under
these names; comp. also Luna's note 4 on PRE. 22.
2 BR 28. 4; Hagigah 13b; ARN 31, 93; Shabbat 88b; Koheleth
1. 15 and 4. 3; Tan. Lek 11 and Yitro 9; Tehillim 90, 392, and 105,
449; Aggadat Bereshit 49, 100; Zebahim 116a; ER 2, 9; 6, 33; 13,
61 and 68; 26, 130; Targum (from a manuscript quoted by Levy,
ChaUaisches Wbrterbuch, I, 186) on Job 22. 16. The version found
in some of the sources just cited, according to which the Torah was
132
The Ten Generations [3
written down 974 generations prior to the creation of the world, is
a comparatively recent presentation of this Haggadah, which, in
its original form, has nothing to do with the doctrine of the pre-
existence of the Torah. Comp. note 5 on vol. I, p. 4.
3 PRE 21 (on the text comp. Luria, ad loc., and MHG I, 88-89,
and 105); Shabbat 146a (top; the filth with which the serpent in-
fected Eve clung to the rest of humanity, but was removed from Is-
rael as soon as they received the Torah); Yebamot 103b; 'Abodah
Zarah 22b; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 4. 1 and 5. 3; BR 19, end (on
the text comp. Theodor, ad loc., and Recanate Gen. 3. 13); Zohar
I, 3 la and 54b; III, 117a (the heavenly origin of Cain and Abel
as stated here agrees with the heresies of Archonites in Epiphan-
ius, Haer., 40. 5); Hippolytus, Haer., 5. 21; Irenaeus, I, 30. 7; Epi-
phanius, loc. cit. Comp. further 1 John 3. 12; Augustine, In
Epistolam Joan, ad Parthos, 5; 3, and Quaestiones ex Now Test., Ill,
2282 (Migne's edition). Tertullian, De Patientia, 5, has no bear-
ing on the subject discussed here, and the statement in Ginzberg's
Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 59, is to be corrected accordingly. This
passage of Tertullian is to be translated: Impatience, conceived
of the devil's seed, produced, in the fecundity of malice, anger as
her son. Comp., however, Tertullian, Haer., 2, concerning Abel,
who was born of an ignoble spirit. But independent of the legend
concerning Eve 's sexual intercourse with the serpent is the statement
that the original -sin consisted in this that the serpent 'had awakened
in her a sexual desire. Comp. Apocalypse of Abraham 23; Philo,
De M. Opif., 56; Slavonic Apocalypse of Baruch, 97; WR 14. 5;
Protevang. of James 13. Comp. vol. I, p. 96, and the following note.,
as well as note 131 on vol. I, p. 98. The view that serpents still
have the desire to have intercourse with women, just as the first
serpent felt violent passion for Eve (comp. note 60 on vol. I, p.
72), is found not only in Shabbat llOa, but also in 4 Mace. 18,
where it is stated that the serpent not only sullied the maiden-
hood of Eve but also that of other women. The assertion of the
Gnostics mentioned by Epiphanius in Haer., 26. 5 (idipsum
lignum vitae de menstruis muUerum profluviis inter 'Pretatur) is found
among the Kabbalists, with this difference that the latter connect
it with the tree of knowledge (is the reading rfc fafe in Epipha-
nius a scribal error for TOV 'yw&o-Kewl). Comp. Recanati on Gen. 3.
6. and note 85 on vol. I, p. 78. The latter Kabbalah (comp. the refer-
ence in Yalkut Reubeni on Gen. 4. 1) allegorizes the legend of
133
4-5] The Legends of the Jews
Cain, "the son of Satan"; he was Satan's spiritual son, since Eve
followed his false doctrine. It should also be noted that among
the various etymologies of the word Eve (mn) there is one, accord-
ing to which it means " serpent": she was Adam's serpent; see
BR 21. 11 and 22. 2; note 48 on vol. I, p 69.
4 Vita Adae 18. Comp. the more detailed description of these
events as given in vol. I, pp. 88-89. The Vita, as well as its numerous
Christian versions (comp. Preuschen, Adamschriften, 41; Book of
Adam and Eve 73. 90-91), and the Church Fathers (Jerome, Adv.
Jovinianum, 1. 16; Slavonic Palaea, and others; comp. Ginzberg,
Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 57) presuppose that not only the birth
of the children of Adam and Eve took place after the expulsion
from paradise, but that the first "human pair" lived in paradise
without sexual intercourse. The older Haggadah, as found in Jub.
4. 1 (Cain was born when Adam was seventy, and Abel seven years
later, while the expulsion of Adam from paradise took place after
he had spent his first seven years there) and some utterances of the
Midrash (BR 22. 1 and 2; comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv.,
57-58, as well as Zohar I, 60b-61a, on the pure, spiritual married
life which Adam might have enjoyed in paradise, and the immortal
children that he might have begotten there if he had not sinned)
practically make the same assertion. Later, however, in opposi-
tion to the Christian view which considers married life as a conse-
quence of the original sin (BR, loc. tit., even asserts that the ani-
mal world, following Adam's example, copulated before the fall),
and prefers celibacy to marriage, the prevalent Jewish view was
that the married life of Adam and Eve preceded their fall; BR 18.
6; Sanhedrin 38b; PRE 11 (before the fall, but also before their ar-
rival in paradise); ARN 1, 5 (where namta, however, need not nec-
essarily imply married state) and 6. Comp. vol. I, p. 72, and Theodor
on BR, loc. tit., as well as Apocalypse of Baruch 56. 6. The legend
prevalent in the Haggadah, according to which Cain and Abel and
their twin-sisters were born on the day on which their parents had
been created (BR 22.2; Sanhedrin, loc. cit.\ PRE 11; ARN 1, 6),
has no connection with the question whether their birth took place
before or after the fall, since according to the Haggadah, the
stay in paradise lasted only a few hours; comp. vol. I, p. 82.
5 Vita Adae 19-21 (on the "virtutes", powers, virtues, comp.
Ginzberg, Jewish Encyclopedia, I, 179), and its various Christian
versions. Midrash Aggada Gen. 4- 1, on the contrary, emphasizes,
134
The Ten Generations [6 10
the fact that Cain's birth was without pain. This accords with
the view that his birth took place before the fall; comp. the pre-
ceding note.
6 Vita Adae 21, according to which Adiaphotus in Apocalypse
of Moses 1 should be changed to Diaphotus, "full of light". On
Cain's luminous countenance comp. PRE 21 (Eve saw that his count-
enance was heavenly) and Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 4. 1. The
similarity of Cain (]'p) to Kewan (]1'3) "Saturn" may have given
rise to this legend about the shining countenance, particularly if
one considers, on the one hand, the relationship between Cain and
Sammael ( = Satan; comp. vol. I, p. 105), and, on the other hand,
the fact that Saturn represents the star of evil which brings mis-
fortune to Israel. Comp. PR 20, 96a, and 203a, as well as Baraita
de-Mazzalot 27a.
7 Vita Adae 21-22, The name of Cain is also explained
as j'fco, "as nought" (MHG I, 105 very likely dependent on PRE),
as frtip, "the wrathful one" (Wisdom 10. 3), and as rup "who sought to
seize everything" (Philo, Cain 20). Comp. also the preceding note,
as well as notes 6, 8, 20, 41, 53. On the view that Cain was able
to run about immediately after his birth, see vol. I, p. 59, which
has a similar statement with reference to Adam, and see also vol.
I, pp. 152-153, the legend about the ante-diluvian generations, as
well as the legend about Moses in vol. II, p. 264, and vol III, p. 468.
8 Yashar Bereshit 9a; Josephus/-4w&'gtt*., I, 2. 1, which reads:
_ Abel which signifies sorrow, a midrashic explanation which is "based
on the similarity of sound of ^an and toN, "sorrow ". This is already
found in Philo, De Migr. Abrah., 13. Amilabes in Apocalypse of
Moses 1, as a name for Abel, is very likely a corruption of /^Zpil
"the destroyed one". According to some, Cain and Abel were twin
brothers; BR 22. 2 and 3 (comp. Theodor on 205, 5); PRE 21.
9 Vita Adae 22; Apocalypse of Moses 2; comp. Preuschen,
Adamschriften, 42.
10 Theodotion on Gen. 4. 4; Aggadat Shir 6. 40 (this heavenly
fire came dowp. again at the time of Noah's sacrifice when he left
the ark; at the time of the consecration of the Tabernacle when
it consumed Nadab and Abihu; at Manoah's sacrifice; at Solomon's
consecration of the Temple; at Elijah's sacrifice on mount Carmel.
It will come down again when the temple will be erected in Messian-
ic times. Comp. Index, s. v. "Fire, Heavenly"); MHG I, 107;
Yashar Bereshit, 9a; Rashi and Lekah on Gen. 4. 4 (most likely based
135
n~i2] The Legends of the Jews
on an old source; Aphraates, 63; Jerome on Gen., loc. cit.\ Eph-
raim, I, 143 D; Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphura., 1. 3. Comp. Ginz-
berg, Haggada bei den Kirckenv., 62-63; Theodor on BR 22. 6 (p.
209, 4), and note 13. Philo, on Gen. 1, 63, reads: Cain noticed
from the sad mood that came upon him at the time of the sacrifice,
in5tead of the expected sense of joy, that "God did not accept his
sacrifice." On the religious importance of sacrifice in general, comp.
Haserot Witerot in Batte Midrashot I, 33-34; Kad ha-Kemah, Suk-
kah, 16b.
11 PRE 21 (on the text comp. MHG I, 106-107); Targum Yeru-
shalmi Gen. 4. 3; differently in BR 22. 4, where two views concern-
ing the day of the sacrifice are given; according to one it was on
Pentecost, while according to the other, Hanukkah, It may, how-
ever, be noted that both views are based on the supposition that
Abel did not live longer than fifty days, and the difference of opinion is
due to the controversy whether the world (V.e.,Adain and his two sons;
comp. note 97 on vol. I, p. 82, and note 4) had been created in the month
of Tishri or Nisan. According to Tan. Bereshit 9, Cain and Abel
were forty years old at the time they brought their sacrifice;
comp. also Preuschen, Adamschriften, 33 (Cain was thirty, and Abel
forty), and Book of Adam 77 (end), where the age of the brothers
is given as fifteen and twelve, respectively. See also ps. -Philo,
1 (end) : Cain was fifteen years old when he did these things. By
these things are meant his marriage and becoming a father. Ac-
cording to Zohar Hadash, 25a, on Gen. 4. 2, they offered their sac-
rifice on New Year. Comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv.
64 and 71.
12 BR 22. 5; PRE 21 (hence the prohibition against using
flax and wool together: the sacrifice of the wicked Cain should not
be brought in contact with that of the pious Abel; comp. Zohar
III, 87a); Tan. Bereshit 9; Targum Yerushalmi'Gen. 4. 3; Yashar
Bereshit, 9a; Philo, Sacrific, AbeL, 13 (Cain did not offer the first-
born, nor did he do it in proper time) and 20; Ambrose, De Cain,
2. 10; Ephraim, II, 313 E. Comp. further Philo, Confus. Ling.,
25; Josephus, Antiqui I, 2. 1; Hadar, Gen. 4. 3 and 4, as well as Imre
No' am, ad loc., and Midrash Aggada Gen. 4. 2. The Haggadah
endeavors to prove that Cain, through selfishness and lack of fear
of God, had incurred God's displeasure. Zohar Hadash 24a, on
Gen. 4. 2, reads: Cain offered his sacrifice haughtily, Abel with
humility; but the real sacrifice to God is with a contrite spirit; Ps.
136
The Ten Generations [1316
51. 19. Abel's tragic end is to be ascribed to the following circum-
stance. When he brought his sacrifice he looked too much at the
appearance of God, and therefore Moses, profiting by this lesson,
hid his face (Exod. 3. 6), when God appeared to him; Recanate
on Gen. 4. God prefers the persecuted; hence Abel having been
persecuted by Cain, was favored by God, and his sacrifice was gra-
ciously accepted; WR 27. 5; Koheleth 3. 15; Tan. B. Ill, 91; Tan.
Emor9; PK 9, 76a. Here it is presupposed that Cain had been
hostile to his brother even prior to the sacrifice incident, as is de-
scribed in detail in the Book of Adam 76; comp. note 17. On the
basis of the Septuagint on Gen. 4. 7 ("hast thou not sinned if thou
has brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it?"), Philo asserts
that Cain on account of his greed only brought part of his gift to
the altar, whereas Abel sacrificed the whole gift without taking any
of it home; Quaestiones, Gen. 1, 62. The rabbinic sources (BR 22.
5; Yerushalmi Megillah 1, 72b; Zebahim 116a; WR 9. 6; BaR 13.2;
Shir 4. 16; PR 5, 16b) cite two views on the question whether Abel
brought a whole offering or a peace-offering (of this kind of sac-
rifice the one who brings it consumes the greater part).
13 BR 22. 6 (this statement is based on lVfl^==^S^1 "and it
became dark"); comp. Preuschen, Adambucher, 34; ps.-Tertullian,
Gen. 184, and Emerson, Legends of Cain, 848, concerning the smoke
which almost suffocated Cain. The rising of the smoke as a sign
of acceptance, and its descending as a sign of rejection, alluded to
in the old-English legend, quoted by Emerson, is also found in Jew-
ish sources; comp. Tan. Tezawweh 15; Midrash Shir 28b (below).
The blackening of the face is perhaps to be taken as a contrast to
its original heavenly splendor; comp. also Peshitta, ad loc., and note 6.
*4 BR 22. 6; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 4. 7; MHG I, 107 and
109. On the basis of Gen. 4. 7, the Rabbis state that the evil in-
clination is born with man (according to others, at the time of con-
ception), whereas the good inclination does not arrive until the age
of thirteen i. e., when one attains majority; comp. BR 34. 10;
Yerushalmi Berakot 3, 6d; Sanhedrin 91b; ARN 16, 62-64; Koheleth
4. 13; Tehillim 9, 82; MHG I, 107-109. Philo, Con/us. Ling., 22,
asserts, on the contrary, that the good inclination comes at the
time of man's birth. Comp. note 25 on vol. I, p. 60.
15 On this point comp. vol. I, pp. 4 and 5.
16 Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 4. 8, and this is very likely the
source of Lekah and Midrash Aggada, ad loc. Philo, De Migrat.
137
ly] The Legends of the Jews
Air oh-, 13, as well as Quod Detenus Potion Insidiari Soleat 1, 10-11,
and 14, also speaks of Cain's challenging Abel to a dispute, to^con-
vince him, by mere force, using all plausible and possible sophisms.
It may be noted that Philo, like the Targumim, finds this chal-
lenge to a dispute in the worlds of Gen. 4. 8: "Let us go into the
field" (Septuagint, the Samaritan, the Targumim, the Pesh-
itta, and others read or add here: JTWPT fcttfl). Like the Targumim,
Philo, too (in his second book 10 cited above), takes the subject of
the dispute to have been whether everything is to be ascribed to
God (Abel's view), or to man (as maintained by Cain).
* 7 BR 22. 7; PRE 21; Ephiphanius, Haer., 40. 5; Irenaeus,
Haer., 1, 6; Theodoretus, Haer., 1, 11; Schatzhohle, 34; Clementine,
Homilies, 3. 25 (hence he was called Cain, because he was jealous
of his brother on account of his wife; comp. ibid., 26 and 42, concern-
ing the meaning of the name Abel ; see further note 7) ; Book of Adam
76, and comp. Malan, note 44, on the later statements of Christian
and Mohammedan writers concerning the struggle of the brothers
on account of their sister. See also Griinbaum, Neue Beitrage, 68-
70, as well as Ronsch, Buck der Jubilden, 373-374. According to
another version in BR, loc. tit., it was the first Eve about whom
the brothers could not agree; but it is not clear what is meant by
"the first Eve"; comp. Theodor, ad loc., and Ginzberg, Haggada
bei den Kirchenv. 60-61. This passage is somehow related to the
gnostic doctrine concerning the first mother Sophia-Prunicus (comp.
Preuschen, Adamschriften, 60, seq., and 78, seq. It may likewise
be noted here that Jaldabaot-niro *n!?' "the progenitor of shame").
Along with the view that Abel had two twin-sisters, there is also
another which maintains that each of them had one twin-sister
only; a third view states that Cain, but not Abel, had a twin-sister.
Comp. BR 22. 2 and 61. 4; PRE, loc. cit.; Yebamot 62a, and Yeru-
shalmi 11, lid; Sanhedrin 58b, and Yerushalmi 5, 22c, as well as
9, 26d; ARN 1, 6; Sifra 20. 7; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 4. 2 (thus
the passage is to be understood that Cain was born with a twin-
brother, and Abel with a twin-sister; Abel's twin-sister became
Cain's wife; comp, PRE, loc. cit,); Zohar I, 54b and III, 44b. See
further *note 42 concerning the names of this daughter of Adam.
That Abel died in the state of unsoiled chastity is emphasized in
pB.-Matthew 7, which corresponds to the old .Haggadah (Jub. 4.
1 and 8, as well as Sifra, loc. cit.) t which knows only of Cain's wife.
See, however, note 172 on vol. I, p. 37. Some sources '(BR 22. 7;
138
The Ten Generations [1820
Tan. Bereshit 9, and Mishpatim 13; ShR 31. 17; Aggadat Shir 7,
43, and 91-92) ascribe the enmity between the brothers to the cir-
cumstance that they divided the possession of the world in such a
manner that the older brother took the soil, and the younger all
the movable things. This division naturally could not be maintained
for any length of time. Comp. on this point Siegfried, Philo, 150-
151, and Ginzbeg's Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 69. According to
a third view cited in BR, loc. cit. t the subject of their quarrel was
concerning the territory on which the temple would be erected.
18 Yashar Bereshit, 9a (based on old sources; comp. BR 22.
7; Tan. Bereshit 9, and Mishpatim 13; ShR 31. 17; Yerushalmi
Targumim Gen. 4. 8).
19 BR 22. 8; Tan. Breshit 9; Aggadat Shir 7, 43, and 91-92.
Philo, De Migr. Abr., 13, and Quod Deterius Potiori Insidiari Soleat,
11, and 14, as well as one of the versions of Vita Adae (in Preuschen,
Adamschriften, 34-35), reports that Cain knew how to overcome
his brother by cunning. See further Ephraim, I, 41. According
to a Jewish legend, cited by Jerome, Ezek. 27. 18, Cain killed his
brother in Damascus (sanguinem bibens; Jerome, Is. 17; comp.
Philo, Quis...haeres sit, 11), which is undoubtedly the well-known
city in Syria, in the proximity of which primitive man is supposed
to have lived (comp. Amos 1. 5, and Griinbaum, Gesammelte Auf-
satze, 160). It is a whimsical idea of John a Lapide (commentarium
in Genesim) to assume that another Damascus in the neighborhood
of Hebron is meant here. Comp. also the Greek legend about the
founding of Damascus recorded by Stephanus Byzantmus, s. v., ac-
cording to which one of the giants, whose name was Askos was kill-
ed by Hermes on the same place where he flayed him (Darrnaskus
= Aep/xa "Aovcou). Abel hid himself for some time, for he feared
the wicked Cain. The latter, however, searched for him, and told
him what God had said to him (Gen. 4. 6-7), and thereby won his
confidence, and believed that Cain abandoned his wicked life; Hadar,
Gen. 4. 5.
20 BR 22, 8 (three views are given: 1) with a stone; 2) a cane =a
play on the words ]'p and p|3p; comp. vol. I, p. 106, and notes 6-8;
3) he cut Abel's throat with a sword, having seen that Adam slaughtered
one of his sacrifices in this manner); Sanhedrin 37b; Tan. Bereshit 9;
PRE 21; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 4. 8; Yashar Bereshit, 9b (with
the iron part of the plough-share); Zohar I, 54b (bit him with his
teeth to death), and II, 231; Lekah, Gen. 4. 8 (with a club; this is the
139
21-25] The Legends of the Jews
meaning of n 1 ?^, and not sword, as Buber, ad loc,, takes it); Jub.
4. 31; Book of Adam 79 (he first tried to flog him to death with a
stick; comp. Lekah, loc. tit.); Preuschen, Adamschriften, 33. In the
last passage, as in BR, loc. tit., is described how Cain discovered
what kind of blow would kill his brother; comp. note 43. That
Cain did not believe in God's omniscience, and sought to conceal,
by denial, the real facts, is remarked by Josephus, Philo, and the
Midrashim; comp. notes 6 and 24.
21 BR 22. 9; Mishnah Sanhedrin 4. 5, and Babli 48b; ARN
31, 91; 2 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 4. 10; Apocalypse of Moses 40
(here it is stated that the earth did not receive Abel's remains);
comp. further Aggadat Shir 7, 43, and 91, which reads: God showed
Cain the place, where he had killed Abel, where the blood bubbled
(comp. vol. IV, p. 304), and where nothing grows till this day.
In view of this passage and the one of Apocalypse of Moses, loc.
tit., one is justified in taking BR, loc. cit., and Sanhedrin 4. 5 to mean
that the blood remained clinging to the wood and stones without
being absorbed. This, however, is not only against Targum Yeru-
shalmi, Gen. 4. 10, but also against the literal meaning of the Bible;
comp. ps.-Philo, 16D, and notes 23 and 31.
22 Tan. Bereshit 9; BR 22. 10 (two views are given: l)the
curse consisted in that the earth did not yield to Cain; 2)that the
earth lost its former fertility; comp. vol I, pp. 112-113); MHG I,
112 (below; it had a different text of Tan., loc. cit.)\ Sifre N., 161.
23 Yashar Bereshit, 9b. The old sources (Mekilta Shirah 9,
42a; Tehillim 22, 189; Ekah 1, 74) speak only of the receiving of
the blood and not of the remains; comp. note 21. Josephus, An-
tigui., I, 2. 1, and PRE 21 (comp., however, Luria, ad loc.} speak
of hiding the remains in the ground. Ephraim, I, 41, reads: He
hid the remains under the high ears of grain and the earth. By this
is very likely meant that the lower part of the body was hidden
in the earth. and the upper part under the ears.
2 4 Tan. Bereshit 9; MHG I, 113; SUtah Hadaskah (Judah);
Josephus, Antigui., I, 2, 1; Philo, Quaestiones, 1, 69. Comp. also
BR 22. 11; Tan. B. I, 19; DR 8. 1.
25 BR 22. 11. In this passage, as well as in many other Mid-
rashim (comp. the sources cited in the preceding note) and Targum-
im (Onkelos and Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 4. 13), N1PJD is explained
"that it could be forgiven", in agreement with Septuagint, Philo
(Quod Detenus Potiori Insidiari Soleat, 41), Peshitta, and Vulgate.
140
The Ten Generations [2630
Comp. further Sanhedrin lOla and PRE 21; Tan. B. (introduction),
157. In the last passage the interpretation favored by modern
exegetes is also given: "Indeed, very grievous is my sin, that I
can hardly bear it."
26 Tan. B. (introduction), 157, and I, 19; Tan. Bereshit 9;
BR 22. 12-13. On Cain's repentance, which was not sincere, and
therefore his sin not entirely forgiven, see further PK 25, 160a-160b;
PR 47, 188b (repentance removes only half of the punishment de-
creed on account of a sin); Yelammedenu 45; Sanhedrin lOla; WR
10. 5; DR 8. 2; Josephus, Antiqm., I, 2. 1; comp. note 28. On the
arguments of the heavenly court of justice in favor and against Cain,
comp. Yalkut Reubeni and Yalkut David on Gen. 4. 16 (both
are based on the same source, the Sefer ha-Tagin, in manuscript).
2 7 PRE 21; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 4. 15. This is some-
what different from Sefer ha-Tagin in Yalkut Reubeni, ad loc., which
reads: He received the letter B (nine) on his arm (not on his fore-
head; likewise in PRE) as a sign that he will not die before he has
begotten nine descendants (comp. Gen. 4. 17-22). On the sign of
Cain comp. the following note, and further Zohar I, 36b.
28 BR 22. 12-13, where seven different views are given on the
sign of Cain: l)God caused the sun to rise (as a sign that Cain
was not to be slain by animals); 2)He marked him by inflicting
leprosy on him; 3) He gave* him a dog to protect him against ani-
mals; 4) He marked him with a horn on his forehead (as a degrad-
ation of his human form?); 5)He punished Cain as a sign (= warn-
ing) to future murderers; 6) He partly pardoned his sin as a sign
(= example) for future sinners who repent; 7) He allowed him to live
until the flood. Some of these views are also to be found in Tan.
Bereshit 10, where an eighth is given: the Sabbath, the sign between
God and Israel (Exod. 31. 13), came in and saved Cain from death,
as it had formerly done in the case of Adam (comp. vol, I, pp. 85-
86); BaR 7. 5; Yelammedenu 43 (leprosy was inflicted as a punish-
ment upon those who devoted their lives to the acquisition of posses-
sions, as in the case of Cain, Job, and king Uzziah; on this point
see BR 22. 3; Mekilta RS, 92; Tan. Noah 13=Makiri on Is. 6. 50.
Comp. further vol. Ill, p. 214, as well as Ecclus. 10. 13); Preuschen,
Adamschriften, 35 and 43. Comp. note 43.
29 Yerushalmi Targumim and Midrash Aggada on Gen, 4. 16.
Comp. the following note.
30 Tan. B. (introduction), 158; Genizah fragment in the li-
141
31] The Legends of the Jews
brary of Cambridge University, published by Ginzberg in Ha-
Goren IX, 5859 and 66; Shulhan Arba' I, 9d; Shu'aib, Bere-
shit Sd. Oh the wonderful fertility of the earth in Messianic
times, when conditions will be the same as before the fall, comp.
Apocalypse of Baruch 29. 5; the Papias Apocalypse (a conversation
of Jesus) cited by Irenaeus 5. 23 (as a parallel to the statement " And
when one of the saints will take hold of a grape, another will exclaim:
I am a better grape, take me; praise the Lord through me", one may
cite the Haggadah: If some one will try to pick a fig on the Sab-
bath, in the time to come, it will exclaim: "It is Sabbath"; Te-
hillim 73, 335); Enoch 10. 19; Revelation of St. John (beginning);
Visio Pauli 22; Ketubot llla-112a; Sifre D., 317. Comp. further
note 105 on vol. I, p. 86; Index, s. v. "Wine"; Alfred Jeremias, Ba-
bylonisches dm NT., 332-33.
3 1 Tan. Bereshit 10; PRE 21; BR 22. 8 (this is, however, not
found in the manuscripts; comp. Theodor, ad loc.)\ Slavonic Palaea,
52; comp. Ginzberg, Haggada, bei den Kirchenv., 66. In contrast
to the rabbinic legend about the burial of Abel, it is recorded in
Apocalypse of Moses 40, and in the literature dependent on it (Chris-
tian Book of Adam; Preuschen, Adamschriften, 45), that the earth
did not receive Abel's remains until Adam's body was returned
thither; comp. note 21 and vol. I, p. 100. The earth, which originally
consisted of a level surface, became mountainous as a punishment
for having received Abel's blood; Wa-Yosha* 53 (comp. vol. I,
pp. 14, below, 18, and 80, top, for other opinions concerning the
origin of mountains), and the earth will not become level again until
Messianic times; vol. IV, p. 234. The conception that the mount-
ains did not originally belong to the earth's form is prevalent in
legend; comp. Dahnhardt, Natursagen, I, index, s. v. "Gebirge".
See further Mishle 8, 59. Abel is the type of the pious (12 Testa-
ments, Issachar 4. 4), and in the heavenly court he is the one ap-
pointed to judge every soul entering there, and decide whether it
should be punished or rewarded; Testament of Abraham 12-13;
comp. note 142 on vol. I, p. 102. Abel's soul, according to the Kab-
balists, came to the world again in the persons of Jacob and Moses;
comp. the numerous quotations from kabbalistic writings in Yalkut
Reubeni on Gen. 4. 1, seq. Abel 's soul appeared as the accuser against
Cain, until the latter and his seed were destroyed from the face of the
earth; Enoch 22. 7; comp. vol. Ill, p. 101. A combination of two
legends concerning Abel's burial is found in the Slavonic Enoch
142
The Ten Generations [3237
(addition to 4, 91), where it is said that the bird from which Adam
learned to bury the dead was the "jack-daw." On the raven
comp. vol. I, p. 39.
32 On this point comp. vo. I, p. 118. Concerning the dark-
ness which came upon Adam after the fall, comp. note 108 on vol.
I, p. 89.
33 The seven products mentioned in Deut. 8. 8 are here refer-
red to. Comp. Berakot 6. 4.
3 4 Instead of j'0'3 pro read ]'0jn ]nn ]inVl. On the two-
headed Cainites comp. vol. IV, p. 132; Zohar I, 9b, and II, 80a.
In the first passage of Zohar mention is made also of the two mon-
sters Afrira and Kastimon, who were placed as rulers of the abode
of the Cainites, and are the cause that Naamah (Lilith) appears
to men in sleep. The entire passage is rather obscure, but this much
is certain that the Zohar conceives the Cainites as a species of genii,
demons, and monsters. This view is prevalent in the legends of medi-
eval Europe; comp. Emerson, Legends of Cain, 878, as well as the
sources cited in note 36, and further Otot ha-Mashiah, 58 (below).
35 Comp. Greek Baruch III, and vol. I, p. 180 on the part of
the earth near to Gehenna.
3 6 Zohar Hadash Bereshit 8a-8b (instead of 'nb ^DiH read ^3Ni
'333) ; Zohar Ruth, 97b (beginning 'KDim f n TDNl) ; Zohar 1, 9b, 39b-40a,
54b, 157a, and additions to I, 3a-3b; II, 41b, and 80a; III, 9b-10a. For
further details on the monsters, half-men and half-animals, in the
nether- world (to which reference is made in the last passage), comp.
note 34, as well as vol. I, pp. 10-11. On the thirst of the inhabit-
ants of the nether- world, comp. note 135 on vol. Ill, p. 54 and
Dietrich, Nekyia, 97, seg., where reference is made to the prevalent
view concerning the thirst of the dead. Of Greek origin is the con-
ception of the place of "forgetfulness"; comp. Rohde, Psyche, II,
310, and 390-391. See the following note.
37 Zohar (additions) I, 3a-3b; Zohar Hadash Bereshit 8a-8b
and Ruth 97b (beginning 'NDirn '"1 IDNl); Yalkut Reubeni Gen.
3 (end) cites the description of the "seven worlds" from the Zohar,
in the Hebrew language, whereas in our texts of the Zohar it is in
Aramaic. In many details this Hebrew presentation deviates from the
Aramaic. The view that the punishment was inflicted upon Cain in the
seventh generation (i. e., Lamech; comp. vol. I, p. 116) is based on Gen.
4.14, and 24, where DTiyntP is explained in this sense; comp. Onkelos
and Targum Yerushalmi, ad loc.; BR 23, 4 (comp. Theodor, ad loc.);
143
38 4 * The Legends of the Jews
Tan. Bereshit 11; MHG I, 118; Theodoretus, Quaestiones in Gen., 43;
Jerome, ad Damasum, 125 (explicitly in connection with the Lamech
legend), who adds that, according to Jewish tradition, 77 decendants of
Lamech perished at the time of the flood, in fulfilment of the words of
Gen. 4. 24. Comp. Josephus, Antiqui. 1, 2, 2 and note 42. Somewhat
different is the (Jewish?) tradition cited by Ephraim, 1, 43 E, that seven
generations of Cain perished with him, whereas the Midrash speaks only
of the four generations of Cain (corresponding to the four generations
which Abel should have reared) ; comp. Tan., loc. cit. Jerome cites an-
other Jewish tradition, according to which the Bible speaks of the seven
sins, which Cain had to atone for: 1) He did not divide his sacrifice prop-
erly (comp. note 12); 2) he was jealous of his brother; 3) he deceitfully
lured him to death (comp, note 19) ; 4) he killed his brother; 5) he de-
nied this act; 6) he asserted that his sin could not be forgiven (i. e., he
doubted God's mercy?) comp. note 25; 7) he did not repent of his sin
during his long life, which God granted him in order to make amends;
comp. note 26. The Haggadah in 12 Testaments, Benjamin 7. 1-5 on
Gen. 4. 24, is somewhat confused: instead of the seven generations of
the rabbinic sources, this passage has " seven centuries", during which
Cain suffered for his sins so that every century brought its plague
with it until he perished in the flood at the age of 900. That Cain
perished in the flood is also stated in rabbinic sources; BR 22. 12
and 32.5; ShR 31.16 (here it is stated that wherever Cain came he
was driven away by the inhabitants); Koheleth 6. 3; Koheleth Z.
106; Tan. Mishpatim 13 (in an abbreviated form; the hundred sons
of Cain are also alluded to in the three last-named sources). Comp.
43 and Ginzberg's Haggada bei den Kirchenv. 65-69.
38 Midrash Aggadah Gen. 4. 17, according to BR 23. 1 and
Tehillim 9, 85. Comp. further Rashi and Lekah, ad loc.
39 Yashar Bereshit, 9b.
40 Ps.-Philo, 2, where the name of these cities, that of Cain's
wife (Themach=nn "may she be destroyed"; in 35 A, the same
name is- given of Sisera's mother), and those of his three sons (be-
sides Enoch) and two daughters are given. Cain, it is tether re-
corded here, begot Enoch at the age of 15, and died 730 years old.
But Jub. 4. 1-and 31 read: Cain died 930 A. ]VL, which, accord-
ing to the chronology of this book corresponds to the' statement
that Cain lived 860 years; comp. notes 11, 37.
41 Josephus, Antfqui. I, 22. The observation of Josephus that
Cain was the first to introduce weights and measures is based on the
144
The Ten Generations [42
haggadic interpretation of the name ]'p=rop "the measuring rod".
Comp. notes 7, 20 and 53.
42 BR 23. 2. Here Lamech (comp. also vol. I, p. 117) is also
counted among the sinful descendants of Cain, whereas Josephus,
Antigui., I, 2,2, designates him as a prophet who had predicted that
he would have to atone for the murder committed by his fore-
bear Cain. This interpretation of Gen. 4. 24 is closely related to
the Haggadah given by Jerome; comp. note 37. On the wickedness
of the Cainites, comp. vol. I, pp. 121 and 151. The verse Ps. 89.
3, which, according to the rabbinic view, is to be translated: "The
world has been established by love", refers, according to the Hag-
gadah, to God's goodness, who had provided Cain with a sister
whom he could marry. For without God's goodness this is for-
bidden by the law; but this marriage was permitted to Cain in order
to insure the propagation of the human race. Sifra 20. 17; Yeru-
shalmi Yebamot 11, lid; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 5, 22b, and 9, 20d;
Babli 58; PRE 21. On the translation of Ps., loc.cit., see Targum
and Peshitta, as well as ARN 4, 21. Comp. further Aphraates,
455 and Ginzberg, Jewish Encyclopedia, I, 665, note. These sources
presuppose (comp. the polemic against this view in Philo, De Pos-
teritate Caini, 11) that only Cain married his sister (imn KP3 hzn
in Yerushalmi is a later addition based on the legend of the twin-
sisters; comp. note 17), whereas Seth married his niece, Cain's daugh-
ter. The high esteem in which Jub. holds all the patriarchs, from
Adam to Noah (comp., on the other hand, note 1 about the adverse
opinion of the Rabbis), precludes this book from referring to the un-
ion of Seth or his descendants with the wicked Cainites, and hence
it is stated that Seth, Enoch, and Mahalalel married their sisters.
The fictitious names frequently found in this pseudepigraphic work
and in ps.-Philo (particularly the names of the women of ancient
times) are entirely unknown in old rabbinic literature (comp. the ad-
verse comment on such vagaries in Baba Batra 91a, which are re-
garded as a specialty of the heretics, V^D), and are only found in
the writings of the Arabic period (Yashar, and already in PRE),
when the Jews became more familiar with the Christian and Mo-
hammedan pseudepigraphic writings. The three lists of the wives of
the ante-deluvian patriarchs, which we possess in Hebrew sources,
Algazi's Toledot Adam, 2a-2b, Damascus manuscript, published by
Harkavy in Ha-Pisgah I, 58, and Munich manuscript (published by
Perles in his Beitrage zur Geschichte heb . . . Studien, 90), are never-
145
43~44] The Legends of the Jews
theless important for the history of these names, since they enable
us to establish their Hebrew forms, which very often cannot be rec-
ognized from the Greek and Ethiopic transliterations. The fol-
lowing examples will illustrate this point. Adam's oldest daughter,
whose name has been transmitted in no less than twenty-two forms
(comp. Ronsch, Buch der Jubilden, 373; MHG I, 106; Theodor on
3R 22. 2, pages 205-206), is called Azurah in Jub. 4, written miry
in Hebrew, in agreement with Kiddushin 6a, where WI2$7 "my wife"
occurs. In PRE 2 is 11TJ7, "his wife ", an allusion to Gen. 2.18. Noah's
wife is Emzaru in Jub., loc. tit., and jnflDN in Hebrew (this is how
it should be read in Algazi, instead of jniBN; in Munich manuscript
it is abbreviated to S71TO), i. e., "mother of the seed of man". The
theophorous names, as Razuyal ^I02n and Azrial, Wlty, Jub., loc.
cit., and 8. 1 (with Algazi, Sason is to be read instead of Susan; ]W&
not ITO) appear in the Hebrew texts in their original forms m^n
and mty. Later on the termination IT, so frequently employed
in proper names, was substituted by 7K. Noah's mother is
properly called in Dam. MS. 0UN rn (in order not to mistake it to
mean "the daughter of Enosh", the word rw is added; this word,
therefore, must not be emended to nrw, as is done by Marx, Orient.
Liz., IV, 358, on the basis of Baidawi), corresponding to Betenos
in Jub., loc. cit. On the other hand, the names of Noah's daughters-
in-law appear (Jub. 7. 14-16, where Adataneses = KBtt ruTN "prin-
cess of women ") to be badly corrupted in the Hebrew sources. The
names of Jacob's daughters-in-law in Dam. MS. are entirely dif-
ferent from those of Yashar (comp. vol. II, pp. 37-39), and this
source deserves closer investigation. The same source knows also
the name of Ishmael's wife, Gigit (comp., for another view, note 218
on vol. I, p. 269), and the name of the prophet Jonah's wife, who
is called Yoam the daughter of Azen; comp. note 39 on vol. IV, p.
253.
43 On the sign of Cain, comp. note 28.
44 Tan. Bereshit 11 (on the text comp. Yalkut I, 38; MHG I,
118-119; Rashi and Midrash Aggada on Gen. 4, 23-24); Yashar
Bereshit, lOb-lla; BR 23. 4; Jerome, ad Damasum, 125; Ephraim,
I, 26D; Book of Adam 2. 13; Preuschen, Adamschriften, 35-36;
Schatzhohle, 78. Comp. Fabricius, Codex Pseudepigraphicus, 120-
122 (this passage contains the views concerning the death of Cain
found in the works of the chronologists Johan Malala, and Michael
Glycas); Grimbaum, Neue Beitrage, 71-72. According to Jub.
146
The Ten Generations [45
4. 31, Cain met his death in the following manner: his house fell
in over him. Just as he had slain Abel with a stone (comp. note
20), even so was he killed by the stones of the house which fell in.
Aggadat Bereshit 26, 53-54, reads to the same effect. Philo, Quod
Deterius Potiori Insidiari Soleat, 48, seems to explain allegorically a
legend, according to which Cain never died. This may be compared
with the legend about the immortality of the giants; comp. vol.
Ill, p. 269. It would not be surprising if Philo already knew of
the legend that Cain was the son of Satan (comp. note 3) and his
celestial origin would explain his immortality. EZ 2, 174, appears
to be an allusion to an unfamiliar Lamech legend; but perhaps we
ought to read ]'p=m 'SK, and the passage merely implies that
Lamech, who was mourning over the death of his grandfather, was
endowed with long life and other blessings. It is difficult to ascer-
tain what ps. -Philo 2 wishes to record concerning Lamech, since
the text is obscure, and very likely corrupt. Comp. note 37.
45 BR 23. 2-3; Yashar Bereshit, lOb; Yerushalmi Yebamot 6,
7c (on the meaning of the name Zillah comp. Philo, De Posteritate
Caini, 33, whose explanation agrees with Yerushalmi); Yalkut I,
47 (in the Oxford MS. flHD L3"D is given as the source; comp. also
Theodor on BR 22. 3); ps.-Philo, 2 (the sentence et coepit. . .psal-
terii should be read after organorum, and the words et corrumpere
ten am before indigna est deus); Theophilus, II, 30. Opinions differ
concerning Naamah, Tubal-cain 's sister. According to one, this Na-
amah, "the lovely one", was Noah's wife (BR, loc cit\ comp. also
Mishle 31, 111, where it is said that the piety of Noah's wife was like
that of her husband), whereas another view maintains that it was
another Naamah whom Noah married. Naamah, Tubal-cain 's sister,
is further identified with the beautiful woman to whose charms the
angels became victims; comp. MHG I, 118 (this is very likely based
on PRE, as remarked by Schechter); Zohar I, 55a; Zohar Ruth 99a
(beginning nns n'Dm'l); Midrash Aggada Gen. 4. 22. Whatever
has been said in other sources concerning Istehar (comp. vol. I, p.
149) is referred to Naamah in the last passage: she did not consent
to gratify the desire of the fallen angels. But in the kabbalistic
sources cited above (comp. further Zohar III, 76b, as well as Kaneh
103b; for more details see Griinbaum Gesammelte Aufsdtze, 57, seg_.
and 447, as well as Ginzberg's article "Ashmedai" in Jewish En-
cyclopedia) Naamah, the sister of Tubal-cain, is said to be the wife
of Shamdan, from whose union sprang forth Ashmedai (=the devil
147
465] The Legends of the Jews
par excellence), who together with Lilith strangles little children
(comp. vol. I, pp. 65-66), while Naamah, like the latter, fools men
in their dreams. On Naamah the musician, and the influence of
her sensual music which corrupted humanity, comp. further Yeru-
shalmi Targumim Gen. 4. 22; Grubaum, New Beitrage, 72-74; note
14 on vol. I, p. 152.
46 BR 23. 4; Tan. Bereshit 11; BaR 14, 2; 'Erubin Igb; Tan.
B. I, 20. The justification of Adam's celibacy in the text is taken
from the last passage (this statement presupposes that Abel scarcely
lived a few months; comp. note 11), whereas in 'Erubin his celi-
bacy appears to be as an atonement for his sin, and it is also pre-
supposed that the first two sons were born before the fall, or at
least begotten before that occurrence. Comp. note 4.
47 'Erubin 18b (]'W "spectres", as fc Apocalypse of Baruch
10. 8); Tan. B. I, 20; BR 20. 11 and 24. 6. Only the last mentioned
source contains the assertion that Eve likewise became the mother
of spirits through her union with male spirits; see Zohar I, 54b, and
III, 76b, where it is said that even now the propagation of this species
is continued by virtue of the union of men with spirits in their sleep.
Comp. note 45. It is possible that this conception of the origin of
spirits (evil ones? comp., however, BR 20. 11) is intended to oppose
the assertion of the Persians that the redeemer "Saoshyant" will
spring up from the seed of Zarathustra that went to the ground.
Comp. Bund. 32. 8, 9 and Yt. 13. 62.
48 Concerning this number of languages comp. note 72 on vol.
I, p. 173.
49 Ma'aseh-Buch 143, 40a-40b and the Hebrew from a MS.
collection of legends, published in R.E.J., XXXIII, 239, seg_. The
long-winded biography of R. Haninah, or, as the Hebrew version
reads, R. Johanan, in this source is identical with the narrative found
in Arabian Nights concerning the gratitude of three animals (the
fish, the dog, and the raven) towards their human benefactor. This
narrative, as is well known, is based on an animal fable found in
Pantschatantra. On the acquisition of language through swallow-
ing its written characters see Bet Nekot ha-Halakah 1,58, and Gold-
ziher in Berliner- Festschrift, 150.
BR 23. 4r-5; PK 5, 43b; PR 15, 67b; Ruth R. 4, 12; Makiri, Prov.
14.28. Ruth Z. 55; Tan. B. I, 20. In allusion to the words of
Scripture ^ ntP (Gen. 4. 25), the name TW is interpreted as "plant"
); Aggadat Bereshit (MS. additions), 37. Is the legend con-
US
The Ten Generations [Si"~53
cefning Seth and the branch of the tree of life in various compilations
of the. Vita Adae (comp. Preuschen, Adamschriften, 41 and 46) related
to this interpretation of the name? The name Seth is also connected
with n'P "foundation": he became the foundation of mankind;
BaR 14. 12; MHG I, 119; Lekah and Midrash Aggada on Gen. 4. 2.
s 1 ARN 2, 12; Tan. Noah 5; Tan. B. I, 32; Tehillim 9, 84.
Comp. note 318 on vol. I, p. 306.
52 PRE 2. Hardly anything is known in the older rabbinic
literature of the glorification of Seth, which has prevailed for some
time, as may be seen from the existence of a gnostic sect, the Seth-
iani, who identified him with the Messiah (comp. Preuschen, Adam-
schriften, 48-51; Fabricius, Codex Pseudepigraphicus, 141, 143, 145).
Certain traces of this glorification have been retained by Josephus,
Antigui. 1, 2, 3, and in the apocryphal and pseudepigraphic litera-
ture '(Ecclu. 49. 16; Jub. 19. 24; Enoch 85. 8-9; 2 Enoch 33. 10.
See also index, 5. v. "Seth, Descendants of"). Only in kabbalistic
writings has this view, supposedly favored by BR 23. 5 and PRE
22, attained importance. Hence, for instance, it is asserted that the
soul of Seth entered into Moses and will again reappear in the
Messiah. The account by Syncellus, 1. 16-17 concerning the tran-
slation of Seth to the angels, who instructed him about the fall of
the angels, the fall of man, the deluge, and the advent of the Mes-
siah, seems to go back to an apocryphal book of Seth (very likely
of Jewish origin). Comp. note .1 and the following note.
53 Josephus, Antigui., I, 2. 3. On the astronomic studies of
the ante-diluvian generations comp. also BR 26. 5. The chron-
ologists Suidas (s. v, S??0), Michael Glycas, Annales 228-233, and
Johannes Malala 1. 151, Joel, Chrono graphic,, p. 3, know not only
to report about Seth's astronomical knowledge but also about his
invention of the Hebrew characters, as well as the division of time
into weeks, months and years. He received his knowledge from
the angel Uriel who came to him (Syncellus 1. 16-17, on the other
hand, speaks of Seth's stay among the angels), and revealed to him
this knowledge, as he subsequently did to Enoch. The legend con-
cerning the two tablets, which Seth and his children respectively
made, reads differently in Vita Adae 50. 1-3. For a detailed dis-
cussion concerning this legend, see Ginzberg's Hebrew essay ^"QD
B>N *?& (reprinted from Ha-Goren VIII, 35-51), which also contains
a discussion on the conception about the conflagration of the world
mentioned by Philo (Moses, 2. 36, Mangey's edition, 175) and the
149
54] The Legends of the Jews
Rabbis. See also Bousset, Zeitschrift fur NT. Wissenschaft, 1902.
It should also be noted here that Josippon 2. 8 (which was bor-
rowed by Yashar Bereshit, lOa, below) considers these tablets as
the work of Seth's grandchild Kenan. Josippon knows also to re-
port that these tablets with their Hebrew characters could still be
seen on some island in India in the time of Alexander the Great.
It is further maintained that in that place there is a city, full of all
kinds of treasures, which Kenan had founded but which no one can
enter, because he rendered it inaccessible by means of astronomical
and astrological knowledge and witchcraft. Kenan's bewitched town
appears to be based on Arabic sources. Kenan is already described
in Jub. 8. 3 (comp. the references to the chronologists by Charles)
as a master of great wisdom (comp. note 41 on |'p rDp, which also
signifies "writing stylus"). This, however, refers to Kenan the son
of Arpachshad who is known to Jub. as well as to Septuagint, but
not to the masoretic text. Aggadat Bereshit (introduction) 37,
on the other hand says of Kenan that through him his generation
came in possession of evil drp=n;]p "possessed"; comp. note 7),
since he induced them to worship idols. His son Mahalalel, on the
contrary, repented of his sins, and returned to God, whom he
praised (Wn) and extolled. On Mahalalel comp. Jub. 19. 4 (one
of the seven pious men of the pre-Abrahamic times: Adam, Seth,
Enosh, Mahalalel, Enoch, Noah, and Shem) and 2 Enoch 33. 10,
which mentions the books composed by Adam, Seth, Enosh,
Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, and Enoch. These books were guarded
by the angels Arukh and Parukh. Comp. Yerahmeel 24. 7, and
the parallel passages cited by Gaster, where Tubal-Cain is described
as the one who had made the tablets.
54 Yerahmeel 23. 6, and in a somewhat abbreviated form in
Hadar, Gen. 4.26. Comp. also PRE 45, with respect to the golden
calf: Sammael roared out of the mouth of the calf in order to mis-
lead Israel. The origin of idolatry occupied the minds of the Greeks,
and the Jewish- Alexandrian schools accepted, with some modifi-
cations, the theory of Euhemerus, according to which its origin was
due to the worship of dead heroes, Through the Jewish writers
this theory reached the Church Fathers; comp. Wisdom 14. 12-13;
Clementine Homilies 9. 5 (which reads: This is the beginning of
idolatry: When Nimrod, later known as Zoroaster, was struck by
lightning, the masses perceived in it a special distinction, and there-
fore erected a temple on his grave. Whereupon the princes of var-
150
The Ten Generations [54
ious countries laid claim to similar glory ;' comp. note 85 on vol. I,
p. 178); Jerome on Ezek. 23. 12 and Hos. 2. 10 (Ninus, after a vic-
torious struggle against Zoroaster, placed his father Belus among the
gods). Comp. further the sources cited in Griinbaum, Gesammelte
Aufsdtze, 198-199. The statement frequently found among Church
Fathers that the demons and the fallen angels, respectively, seduced
men to idolatry (comp. e. g. Minucius Felix, Octav., 26. 7; Justin
Martyr, Apologia, 2. 15; Clementine Recognitiones, 4. 13-15; Ta-
tian, Or. Ad Graecos, 3; Athenagoras, Legat. Pro Christianis 24;
Lactantius, Institutions, 2. 16), and taught them the making of
images and statues, goes back to pseudepigraphic writings of the
Jews (comp. e. g. Enoch 66. 6 and 99. 7; Jub. 11. 4) but is entirely
unknown to the older rabbinic literature. This view is only found
in later writings (comp. e. g. the legend in 'Aseret ha-Dibrot 71)
and especially in the Kabbalah. Comp. Griinbaum, Gesammelte
Aufsdtze, 93. The beginning of idolatry, according to the older
rabbinic sources, based on their interpretation of Gen. 4. 26, took
place in the time of Enosh (hence his name is "sickly", i. e., man-
kind became ill in his time; Aggadat Bereshit, introduction, 37;
Yashar Bereshit, lOa); Sifre D., 43; Shabbat 118b; WR 23. 3; Me-
kilta Bahodesh 6, 67b; Midrash Tannaim 20 and 195; BR 2. 3;
5. 1 and 5; 23. 7; Tan. B. I, 52, and IV, 24; Tan. Noah 18 and Yitro
16; Tehillim 1, 11; 88, 380; Yerushalmi Targumim and Onkelos
on Gen. 4. 26 (on the reading of Onkelos comp. Berliner, ad loc.).
Jerome, ad loc., knows of the rabbinic interpretation of this verse
(Gen., loc. cit.,) together with that of Septuagint, Aquila, and Pesh-
itta with which Ecclu. 49. 16 is in agreement. See also Philo, De
Abrahamo, 2, and De Praemiis, 2 (end), where Enosh is considered
as the type of the pious. Comp. also Theodoretus, Quaestiones in
Gen., 247, who takes Seth as the subject of *?rnn. It is noteworthy
that the passages cited above, as well as other passages (comp. Ekah,
introduction, 24, 26; PR 42, 178b and 193a), speak of the wicked
generation of Enosh, but not of the wicked Enosh. Maimonides,
however (Yad htf-Hazakah 'Abodat Kokabim 1. 1) observes (very
likely on the basis of older sources; comp. Hekalot 6, 173, and Shab-
bat loc. cit. : PUfcO) that Enosh himself was an idolater. In Baraita 32
Middot (Yalkut I, 47; comp. note 45) it is explicitly stated that at
the time of Enosh images and immorality were introduced by the
descendants of Cain. Corrip. vol. II, p. 260, and vol. Ill, p. 374.
Comp. note 56 (end).
151
5S~56] The Legends of the Jews
ss BR 23. 6-7; Baraita 32 Middot (in Yalkut I, 47) reads:
As soon as this generation committed three sins (idolatry, murder,
and incest; comp. the end of the preceding note), three visitations
came upon them: the ocean flooded a third part of the earth; there
arose mountains, valleys, and rocky ground, whereas prior to that
everything had been smooth and even (comp. notes 29, 30); man's
stature was shortened. In Messianic times everything will regain
its former position. The overflowing of the ocean in the time of
Enosh is frequently alluded to; comp. Mekilta Bahodesh 6, 67b;
Sifre D., 43; Midrash Tannaim 20 and 195; BR 5. 6; Shekalim
6, 50a; Tan. B. I, 52, and IV, 24; Tan. Noah 18 and Yitro 16; Te-
hillim 88, 300. On the transformation of men into apes comp.
vol. I, p. 180, and the notes appertaining to it; Enoch 19. 2 (the
women who seduced the angels were transformed into sirens) ; Koran
2. 60 and 7. 174.
s 6 Hekalot 6, 172; Hakam ha-Razin in Yalkut Reubeni 25b-
25c; Ziyyoni, Gen. 4. 26. On the view that the Shekinah dwells
under the tree of life comp. vol. I, p. 97. On the withdrawal of the
Shekinah from the earth to heaven see vol. II, p. 260. Those who
came near the Shekinah remained safe from vermin; comp. vol.
Ill, p. 472, and IV, p. 242. On the opposition of the angels to the
creation of man, see vol. I, pp. 53-54 and note 15 on vol. I, p. 152. On
the subjugation of the heavenly bodies through the power of magic,
comp. Tan. Bereshit 12 (read I'TIID instead of VTl) ; MHG 1, 131 ; note
15 on vol. I, p. 152. The two fallen angels bear the names of Uzza and
Azzael, Azza and Azzael, Shemhazai and Azazel. The identity of Azzael
with Azazel does not require any proof; but it has not hitherto been
noticed that Uzza or Azza were originally the same as Shemhazai.
Since nearly all the names of angels are theophorous (this was al-
ready noticed by the old Midrashim; comp. PK 12, 108b, and the
parallel passage cited by Buber, which reads: The name of God
is combined with every angle), Uzza and Azza are therefore to be
taken as abbreviated forms of Jehouzza and Jehoazza (comp. the
name IITTJ? or JTTp in the Bible; on the abbreviation of theophorous
names, particularly those containing the particles 1JT and IT, comp.
note 42). This abbreviation is due to the fact that it was not con-
sidered proper to combine the names liT and JT with the fallen an-
gels. Another way of avoiding this combination was the substitu-
tion of DB> "the Name" for IJT 1 . Hence the name Shemhazai, which
differs only slightly from Jehouzai (J7 and n are often interchanged),
152
The Ten Generations [57
goes back to 'ryDP^ryiiT. On the ascending of the Shekinah amid
the sounding of the trumpets, comp. Hanok, 114, and vol. II, 306.
On Enosh as the originator of idolatry, see Zohar I, 56a, where,
however, Helakot, loc. cit., and Maimonides, Yad ha-Hazakah, l Abo-
dat Kokabim 1.1, were very likely made use of. Comp. also Lu-
ria's note 4 on PRE. 22 and note 45 (end).
5 7 Enoch 6-8, where two different sources were probably com-
bined into one, since twenty archangels are enumerated in 6, whereas
8 has only ten (in our texts nine only are given, owing to the fact
that one name fell out), and it is well known that the number of
the members of the heavenly court is differently given in the dif-
ferent sources, as twenty, ten, and seven, respectively; comp. vol.
I, p. 140, where, according to the Hebrew book of Enoch 176, the
twenty archangels are enumerated. Comp. further Index, 5. v.
"Archangels". On the names of the angels in this part of Enoch
(see the vast material given by Charles 17), the following may be
noted: Artakifa=*l s pn KjnN; Ramiel^N'DSn (occurs also in the
Hebrew book of Enoch, loc. tit., as the "angel of thunder"); Tamiel
=^NDinn, " angel of the deep "; Danel is a Greek scribal error, Aam^X
for Aami7X=AaXet7}X V^ 1 ? "angel of the night", as in the He-
brew Enoch, loc. cit.\ Batarrel stands for Matarel, 7NHBD in the
Hebrew Enoch, "angel of rain"; Zakiel is in Hebrew Enoch bwpr
"angel of storms", and similarly in- the magic text published by
Stube, Mdish-babylonische Zaubertexte 26. Satarel occurs in Bera-
kot 57b as the name of a person. As the name of an angel it signifies
"angel of hidden things", L e., the secrets of nature. It may, how-
ever, be remarked that "IfiDy, "Venus", appears in Jewish texts as
an angel (comp. Montgomery, Aramaic Incantation Texts, index,
s. v.). Accordingly Satarel may stand for i?fcnnDy. The fall of the
angels plays an important part in Jewish folk-lore, as well as in Jew-
ish theology, and the following summary of the development of
this belief may therefore not be out of place. In connection with
Gen. 6. 1-4 we 1 find in Enoch (in addition to the passages cited above,
comp. Charles' index, s. v. "Angels", as well as Bousset, Religion,
328, seq., and 560, jeg.) a legend concerning the angels who in the
time of Jared (on the play of the word TV "descended", comp.
Jub. 4. 15 and Midrash Aggada Gen. 5, 18, as well as Aggadat Ber-
eshit, introduction 37, not in reference to the angels, but the genera-
tion which "sank low") rebelled against God and descended from
heaven to earth where they were degraded (2 Peter 2. 4 reads: "cast
153
57] The Legends of the Jews
them down", which is a midrashic interpretation of D^'SJl, Gen.
6. 4, deriving it from the Hifil and not from the Kal. This inter-
pretation is also known, along with others, to BR 27. 7. Comp.
also Aggadat Bereshit, Introduction 39, where it is connected with
Vs, according to which it means "the distinguished"), because
they had sexual intercourse with the daughters of man. These
fallen angels are the originators of all evil; through them witch-
craft, astrology, and idolatry came down to man. They themselves
were judged by God, and in accordance with His judgment, are
awaiting punishment in the infernal regions at the end of time.
But their descendants do mischief as spirits and demons all the time;
they entice man to idolatry, immorality, and all kinds of sins (comp.
note 54, and Bousset, index, 5. v. "Daemonen"), and lure them on
to their destruction. Jub. 4. 15, 22, and 5. 1, also speaks of the sex-
ual intercourse between the angels and the daughters of man, and
likewise ascribes the origin of evil to the demons (comp. especially
10. 1, seq.), the descendants of these sinful unions; but no mention
is made of any rebellion of the angels in this pseudepigraphic work.
On the contrary, it is stated there that these angels were sent by
God to the earth (4. 14), "that they should instruct the children
of men and that they should do justice and uprightness on earth",
but having been lured by the beauty of women, they fell victims
to them. The same view is to be found also in Apocalypse of Bar-
uch 66. 11-15. Still more striking is the agreement between Jub.
and the elaborated legend concerning the fall of the angels in the
Clementine Homilies, 8. 11-15. This was also known to Commod-
ianus, Instmctiones 3. On the fall of the angels comp. also vol. I,
pp. 148, 149, and note 10 appertaining thereto. In 2 Enoch 18 the
fall of the angels at the time of Jared seems to be taken as a con-
tinuation of the original rebellion of Satan and his hosts (comp.
on this point vol. I, pp. 14, 18, 53-54, 62-64, and the notes appertain-
ing thereto, especially note 34 on the last passage), and this may be
compared with Enoch 18. 15-16, where the rebellion of the stars (=an-
gels) at the beginning of creation is spoken of. The literal inter-
pretation of Gen. 6. 1-4 is found not only in the above-mentioned
pseudepigraphic works, but also in the Septuagint (on the correct
reading of this text comp. Frankel, Ueber den Einfluss, 46-47, and
Vorstudien 67. See also Dillmann in commentary on Gen., ad loc.);
Philo, De Gigant., 2; Josephus, Antigui., I, 3. 1; Aquila and Peshitta,
ad loc.] 2 Peter 2. 4; Jude 6. The older Church Fathers follow this
154
The Ten Generations [57
view, and make use of it in their explanations of the existence of
evil in this world (comp. above and note 54); see e. g., Justin Mar-
tyr, Apologia, 11, 5, and Dialogue, 79; Clementine, Homilies, 8. 11,
seq.- t Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata 5, 1, 10; Tertullian, De
Virgin. 7 and De Idol. 9; Lactantius, Institutions, 2, 15. The
first attempt at a different interpretation of this Gen. passage
is found in 12 Testaments, Reuben 5. 6. Here the intercourse
of the angels with the women is described in the following
words: "They (the angels) transformed themselves into the
shape of men, and appeared to them when they (the women)
were with their husbands. And the women, lusting in their minds
after their forms, gave birth to giants." The giants, therefore,
are not the physical descendants of the angels, but for their size
they are indebted to their mothers whose imaginations were filled
with the beauty and tallness of the angels (on their high stature,
see vol. Ill, p. 268; hence in the Testaments: "for the watch-
ers appeared to them as reaching even unto heaven"; this is in
agreement with the explanation given by the Rabbis of the name
D'pay as inDlpnnDITI I'pMyDP; comp. Sotah 34b; BR 26. 7, and many
of the parallel passages cited by Theodor, ad loc.). The same view
is also explicitly stated in Kallah 2, 8a, and the obscure passage
in Tan. B. I, 26, is very likely to be explained accordingly. BR
27. 7 is a rationalistic interpretation (comp. Theodor, ad loc.) of
this verse. While the literal meaning of "the sons of God" is still
adherred to in the 12 Testaments, Reuben, loc. tit., as well as in the
12 Testaments, Naphtali, 3. 5, Philo interprets this phrase to sig-
nify "virtuous men", and "the daughters of man" as "wicked
and corrupted women" (Quaestiones in Gen., 1, 92). In the author-
itative writings of the Synagogue great stress is laid on the fact that
Scripture does not know of any sexual intercourse between angels
and women. "The sons of God " is declared to signify "distinguished
men", particularly the ante-diluvian generations, who enjoyed hap-
py and long lives, like the angels. See Sifre N., 86; Sifre Z., 194;
BR 27.2-5; Symmachus, Onkelos, and Targum Yerushalmi on Gen.
6. 2 and 4; Trypho, as quoted by Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 79, The
first Christian author who discarded the literal interpretation of
"the sons of God" was Julius Africanus (according to a quotation by
Cyncellus, I, 34; comp. Charles, Jub., 4.15;Origen, Contra Celsum, 4.
31, a contemporary of Africanus, knows that D'n^N may mean "judge ",
but does not assign this signification to hti, in Gen. 6. 2), who lived
155
58] The Legends of the Jews
one hundred years later than Trypho and R. Simon (comp. BR,
loc. cit.). These two Rabbis expressed themselves most decisively
against the myth of the angels' intercourse with the women. On
the interpretation of the "sons of God "as the descendants of Seth,
met with among the later Church Fathers, comp. note 14 on vol.
I, p. 152. On the traces of the myth of the fallen angels in the
non-authoritative writings of the Synagogue, comp, vol. I, pp. 148-
150, and note 10 appertaining thereto. The designation of Adam
as "the son of God" in Luke 3. 38 (in a genealogical sense) shows
that already in the early days of Christianity the conception of the
incarnation of a God-like being was not confined to Christ. The
rabbinic sources (Tan. B. V, 77; BaR 16. 24 and parallel passages)
find in Ps. 82. 6-7 the contrast expressed between "the sons of the
Most High" and Adam.
58 Enoch 12-16; Jub, 4, 17-23. Numerous legends are extant in
the first mentioned pseudepigraphic work, as well as in 2 Efroch
and in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, concerning the per-
on of Enoch. He is the inventor of all sciences and knowledge; he
has intercourse with angels in heaven, and is finally translated
into paradise or heaven where he dwells and performs the func-
tion of heavenly scribe or secretary. All these legends left no
trace in the authoritative rabbinic sources, but are well known
to the Church Fathers (comp. the numerous references in Schtirer,
Geschichte, III, 284-286, to which many more may be added; see,
e. g,, Recognit-iones, 4. 13), and other Christian writers of ancient
and medieval times; comp. e. g., Visio Pauli 20, and extracts from
Christian literature by Fabricius, Codex Pseudepigr&pUcus, 106-
223. In the entire Tannaitic literature and in both Talmudim no
mention is made of Enoch. This name, however, is found two or
three times in the older Midrashim (PK 23, 155a=WR 29. 22; BR
25. 1), but without the glory conferred on it by pseudepigraphic
and Christian literature. It is stated in BR, loc. cit., that Enoch
was not translated, as the heretics (Christians or Jewish- Christians)
assert, but that he died like any other human being. He even died be-
fore his time, because he had not been of a steadfast character,
and God preferred that he should die young while he was yet right-
eous. Comp. also Koheleth 7. 15. But even pre-Christian authors
like Wisdom 15. 11, and especially Philo, Quaestiones in Gen., 1,
82-86, as well as De Abrahamo, 3, and De Praemiis, 3, not only de-
ny the translation of Enoch, but know to report that he was or-
156
The Ten Generations [59
iginally a sinner, but subseqeuently followed the right path. The
remark in PK, loc. cit., concerning Enoch as the seventh since
Adam who pleased God (like everything else "that was seventh")
is almost literally found in Enoch 93. 3 and Jude 14. But all the
Midfash wants to say is that Enoch was better than the six pre-
vious patriarchs and this is no particular merit; comp. note 1. The
superiority of Abraham 's piety to that of Enoch and Noah is empha-
sized in an old source from which Lekah on Gen. 5. 24 is an extract
(it is another version of the Haggadah recorded in BR 30. 10; Tan.
B. I, 81). Septuagint on Gen. 5. 24 is very likely to be understood
to mean that Enoch was translated to heaven, which is stated also
in Ecclu. 44. 16 and 49. 14 (QMS in this verse stands in some rela-
tion to its use in later mystic literature, where the designation of
Enoch-Metatron as D'Osn "HP, "angel of the face", occurs frequently),
as well as by Josephus, Antigui., I. 3. 4, and Hebrews 11. 5. Hence
Enoch and Elijah are the only two "witnesses" (comp. Revelation
11. 3) in Christian legends, because they were the only two that did
not die (see the material collected by Bousset, Antichrist, index,
5. v. "Zeugen"). In Ascension of Isaiah 9. 9, Isaiah sees Enoch
in the seventh heaven, the residence of the righteous since the time
of Adam. In view of the fact that no distinction is made here
between Enoch and the other pious men it may be assumed that
according to this apocryphal work Enoch came to heaven after his
death. This would be in agreement with the official doctrine of
the Synagogue (comp. above, and Onkelos Gen. 5. 24). Jub. 4.
23 and Enoch 70. 3-4 explicitly state that paradise was the abode
of Enoch (comp. also Preuschen, Adamschriften, 37-38). This is
also the opinion of later rabbinic writings. See further on this
point note 61. The difference of opinion concerning Enoch's abode
after his translation corresponds to that about Elijah; comp. note
32 on vol. IV, p. 200. MHG I, 123, quotes the following from a
supposedly tannaitic source (the introductory formula is fcOKn):
Three men ascended to heaven to perform service (i> e. t they served
as angels, m#n 'DN^b);, they are: Enoch, Mokes, and Elijah. This
statement is followed by a* remark that all the pious, after their
death, are transformed 'into angels. This is certainly a later addi-
tion. - On Moses comp. -vol. Ill, p. 473, and on Elijah see vol. IV,
p. 201.
59 Yashar Bereshit, lla-13a, and thence it was incorporated
in BHM IV, 129-132. No real parallels are found in the older pseud-
157
60] The Legends of the Jews
epigraphic and rabbinic literature to this description of the activity
and translation of Enoch, (the fiery horse, of course, goes back to
2 Kings 2. 11), although the books of Enoch, Jub., and other writ-
ings (comp. the preceding note) know to report a good deal about
Enoch's piety and wisdom. He is mentioned as the father of astron-
omy and calendation also in PRE 8, where it is stated that Noah
received instruction from him after his translation (Luria, ad loc.,
is to be corrected accordingly). 'See also Midrash Aggada Gen.
5. 24; Eupolemus, 419. In the source of Yashar mention was very
likely made also of Enoch's temporary stay with the angels con-
cerning which the books of Enoch speak in detail. The idea that
Enoch's countenance was awe-inspiring, and could cause death,
is probably related to 2 Enoch 27. 38, whose Enoch legends Yashar
employs also elsewhere; comp. vol. I, pp, 136-137, and the following
note. The view that Enoch solemnly buried Adam goes back to
Seder 'Olam 1 and Baba Batra 12 Ib, whereas according to another
legend, it was Seth who attended to his father's funeral. Comp.
vol. I, pp. 99-100.
60 An extract from Slavonic (~2) Enoch. The Ethiopic book of
Enoch, though it is older than the Slavonic, is not of a uniform char-
acter. It consists of a series of revelations which were made to
Enoch during the time of his wanderings through heaven and earth
and his intercourse with the angels. These revelations, varied in
their contents, embracing the laws of nature, as well as the history
of the kingdom of God, were entered into this book by Enoch to
teach mankind. Six quotations from "the book of Enoch" are
found in Zohar (I, 37b; 72b; II, 55a; III, 240a; 248b; 253b); but,
as may be seen from the nature of their contents, they were taken
from a much later kabbalistic book, which has nothing in common -
with the pseudepigraphic work bearing that name. Comp. further
Kaneh 19b and 107a (this passage is identical with Zohar I, 37b,
where mD3 is to be deleted) concerning "the book of Enoch pre-
served in heaven, which no eye can see." On the other rabbinic
books of Enoch, comp. the following note. Some parallels to the
Slavonic Enoch from rabbinic and other sources may be mentioned
here. Enoch had three sons (1. 10); so Yashar Bereshit, lib. The
statement about the two hundred angels, which guide the stars (4. 1),
is related to the corresponding number of rebellious angels in Enoch
6. 5; the stars had already revolted at the beginning of creation;
Enoch 18. 15, comp. note 57. On the oil and the tree of life (6; 8-
158
The Ten Generations [60
7;- 22. 8; 56. 2), comp. note 113 on vol. I, p. 93. The description of
the fallen angels reads (7. 3): Who obeyed not the commandments of
God, etc. This is found literally in Zadokite Fragments, 2. The tree
of life as God's residence (8. 3) is also met with in rabbinic sources;
comp. vol. I, p. 23. Similarly the view that this tree covers the
entire paradise (7. 4) is also found in Perek Gan 'Eden, where,
as in this pseudepigraghic work (7. 5), the four streams, of
honey, wine, milk, and oil are mentioned; comp. vol. I, p. 20,
and note appertaining thereto. The hell-fire burns and freezes
(10. 2); so also in Seder Rabba di-Bereshit, 17. Concerning the
chariot on which the sun is riding, and on the angels which accom-
pany it, comp. the parallels in vol. I, pp. 24-25. The phoenixes
and Chalkadri (more accurately, Chalkydri x^^Spa, "brazen
serpents") on the chariot of the sun (13) are unknown in rabbinic
literature; but on the view that the singing of celestial beings causes
the birds to sing their morning songs (15), comp. vol. I, pp. 44-45,
and the note appertaining thereto. That there are angels, who,
unlike the Cherubim, possess twelve wings (12. 1), is also stated in
PRE 13. The seven hosts of angels who arrange the course of the
heavenly bodies and guide the universe (19. 1, seq.) are met with
in Jewish magic texts as seven archangels; comp. Stube, Jiidisch-
labylonische Zaulertexte, 22, where )'3>nD means "setting in motion",
and not "transforming", as Stube translates. The idea that there
is "an angel over each single blade of grass" (19.4) occurs also in
rabbinic writings; comp. BR 10. 6 (Mazzal= angel; comp. Tehillim
104, 440, which reads: Everything has an angel in charge of it.
See further Zohar II, 80b and 171b; III, 86a, and note 101 on
vol. I, p. 85). The division of the angels into ten groups
(20. 1) is very often referred to in rabbinic literature; comp.
note 64 on vol. I, p. 16 (below). Michael, the chief captain
(22. 6), is based directly on Dan. 12. 1, whence also the title
of the archangel in Hullin 40a, whereas Tosefta 2. 18 reads
^1"nn K32 "IP. Instead of VretU, the angel who becomes Enoch's
teacher (22. 12), read Uriel, in accordance with Enoch 10. 1. The
remark (24. 1): "Sit thoii on my left hand with Gabriel" proves
the antiquity of the view, found in rabbinic writings (PRE 4; comp.
further note 440 on vol. Ill, 231-232), concerning Gabriel's posi-
tion on the left. The "song of triumph" of the angels, mentioned
in 31. 2 and 42. 4, is perhaps due to a misunderstanding which goes
back to an erroneous translation of ,1TO TP ("eternal song") as
159
60] The Legends of the Jews
"song of triumph", comp. the similar phrase, Bnpa "jnemp D'lTO
in the Amidah. The statement (33. 4) u My word is reality"
literally corresponds to BR 44. 22; comp. note 2 on vol. I, p.
49. The names of the two angels (33. 6) are perhaps com-
posed of NW and Ny~lK with Wt; the angel of heaven and the
angel of earth were charged to accompany him on his journey
from earth to heaven and back. The angels who watch over the
book of Enoch, Oriokh and Mariokh (33. 11) have no connection
whatsoever with the fallen angels Harut and Marut of the Arabic
legend (supposedly Persian; comp. Bousset, Religion, 560); they
rather seem to be theophorous names with V and IT, or similar ab-
breviations of the first part of the Tetragrammaton. Thus I 1 TIN
means "God is light" (comp. JTTIK, ^m) and mo signifies "God
is master". In order to avoid the pronunciation of God's name,
people said "iok" instead of "io" (to this very day Jews say D'p/K
instead of D'n!?). The parable about the appearance before a prince
(38. 8) is found almost literally in Berakot 28b and ARN 25, 79,
where it is ascribed to the dying Rabban Johanan B. Zaccai (comp.
also note 132 on vol. I, page 99). The fact that Enoch finds Adam and
Eve, as well as his other ancestors, in the lower world (41. 1 and 42.
5) has nothing to do with the Christian doctrine (not the Jewish,
as Charles asserts) of the damnation of mankind until the advent
of the Messiah. It merely wishes to say that Enoch's ancestors
were there as a punishment for their sins. This author, on the other
hand, admits the possibility of absolute sinlessness (45. 2). On
the view that God formed Adam with His own hands (44. 1), comp.
vol. I, p. 49. On the rejection of the oath (49.11), see the rabbinic
parallels in Ginzberg, Unbekannte Sekte, 130-132. On the protest
against the belief in the intercession of the dead (53. 1), comp. vol.
IV, p. 39, and note 19 appertaining to it. Concerning the attitude
of the Synagogue on this important point it is not uninteresting to
note the following words of the first paitan of the Snyagogue, Jose
b. Jose. This paitan, after enumerating the pious men of the Bible
and describing the reward they received from God, who always
accepted their prayers, observes: "0 God, I trust in Thee, and not
in the distinguished pious men; for they are in the grave, but Thy name
is everlasting" (Zikronot in the Ashkenazic Mahzor). ^The great
reverence for the pious, especially for those of biblical times, has not
gone so far as to make them intercessors between God and Israel.
In his prayers the Jew knows only his God, and thinks of no inter-
160
The Ten Generations [60
cessors among the angels or the pious.' On the transformation
of Enoch from man to angel (see 22.9-10; 37; 56) comp. the preceding
note, as well as vol. I, p. 140. With respect to the reward and pun-
ishment of. animals (mentioned in 55. 5), comp. 4 Ezra 7. 66, and
Index, 5. v., "Animals". The Halakah that animals must be bound
at the time of slaughter (59. 3) is not altogether new; comp. Tamid
4. 1, and Shabbat 54a, with respect to the temple sacrifices (where,
however, binding in the manner perscribed in this pseudepigraphic
work is prohibited); with regard to other animals, see Eldad,
XLIV and Ginzberg, Tamid, the Oldest Treatise, 206. The parting
scene (64 and 67) is related to the one given in Yashar (comp.
vol. I, pp. 129-130). The view that the entire creation was
for the sake of man (65. 3) is also frequently mentioned in rabbinic
sources; comp. vol. I, p. 49. It is questionable whether the words
"and God set him before His face" (67. 2) are related to the usual
designation found in geonic mysticism of Metatron-Enoch (comp.
the following note) as the "prince of the face", or not, since in this
pseudepigraphic book the phrase "to be found in God's presence"
is of frequent occurrence; comp. 21. 1; 22. 6; 52.4. The assertion
that Enoch was translated to heaven on the anniversary of the day
and the hour on which he was born (28) goes back to a view pre-
valent in rabbinic writings that the pious die on their birthday.
Comp. Tosefta Sotah 11. 7-8; Babli 13b; Kiddushin' 38a; Seder
'Olam 10, according to the reading of the older authors (see Ratner,
note 12). The statement that it was the sixth of Sivan on which
Enoch was born, and later translated, certainly proves that by this
author this day was considered the day of the Revelation (comp.
Seder 'Olam 5; Tosefta 'Arakin 1. 9, and the detailed discussion apper-
taining to it in Shabbat 86a-88a). In other words, this author re-
gards Pentecost as the Festival of Revelation, a view with which we
meet for the first time in the rabbinic sources of the middle of the
second century of the common era. It may be remarked that the
text is not quite in order, since if Enoch (68) reached heaven on
the first of Sivan (one text reads Nisan; comp. also 1, 2 where the
first month Nisan), remained there for sixty days, and after a
stay of thirty days on earth was translated for ever, his translation
must have taken place in Elul (as in the case of Moses; comp. vol.
Ill, p. 339). The number of books composed by Enpch (68) is
given as 366, which is very likely to be corrected to 365 as it is con-
nected with the 365 years of Enoch's life; -comp., however, Liber
161
61] The Legends of the Jews
Johanms Apocryphus, 890 (in a passage, where our pseudepigraphlc
work is made use of, the number of books given is 66). Ezra, to
whom, in 4 Ezra, Enoch's part is ascribed, wrote seventy books;
comp.vol. IV,p.358. Bythe place Achuzan (68. 5; also written Aruzan;
comp, the Melchizedek fragment in the appendix to the Slavonic
Enoch, 88) Jerusalem is to be understood as may be seen from the
above-mentioned fragment 91, which reads as follows: vHe (Mel-
chizedek) shall be priest and king in the place Achuzan,/ that is to
say, in the middle of the earth where Adam was created; there shall
at last be his grave. Since Melchizedek was king of Jerusalem
(vol. I, p. 233), and the dust of the forming of Adam's body was
taken from the site of the altar at Jerusalem (vol. I, pp. 55, 101),
there cannot be any doubt about the identification of Achuzan.
Moreover, Jerusalem- is said to be the centre of the earth (vol. I,
p. 12). The only difficult question is about the etymology of the
word|Achuzan;)comp. note 109 on vol. I, p. 89. It is perhaps to be
emended to Ara\ma, sfoce the site of the altar at Jerusalem belonged
to Arauna the Jebusite; comp. Index, j. v. This is, of course, no
proof that this pseudepigraphic work had a Hebrew original; still
less would it prove that it is of Palestinian origin, although both
assumptions appear probable. These two - questions, it is hoped,
will be discussed more fully in some other connection.
61 Hekalot 6, 170-171 (abbreviated in Sefer Hanok, 114-
116). The seventy names (on nw 3*2ff, Hanok, p. 116, comp. Al-
phabet R. Akiba ed. Wertheimer, p. 13) of Metatron, which are very
important for the history of mysticism, are given in Sha'ar ha-
Heshek. To the Metatron-Enoch literature belong also both ver-
sions of Alphabet of R. Akiba, as well as the different Hekalot books.
The oldest source assuming the identity of JEnoch and Metatron
(to this still enigmatic name of the angel, which occurs very fre-
quently in the Talmud, the Syriac Vmn'SK 1D0, Myoi, k^iBp^vioi
is closely related) is Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 5. 24, where the text,
however, has certainly not been pre*erved in its original form, as
may be seen from TnnN, "was carried away." Comp. 2 Targum
Yerushalmi, ad loc. On the Enoch-Metratron cycle of legends,
comp. especially the numerous extracts from the older kabbalis-
tic literature in Yalkut Reubeni Gen. 5. 24; Kanah, 106d (Midrash
Aggada, Gen., loc. cit., is based on this passage or on an older source
from which both borrowed independently). See further Jellinek,
Einleitung to BHM II, 30-32; IV, 41-43, as well as Theodor on
162
The Ten Generations [61
BR 25. 1. It is questionable whether in BaR 12. 12 Metatron is
identical with Enoch, or not. The designation of Metatron here
as the "youth" is independent of this identification; comp. Tosafot
on Yebamot 16b and Hullin 60a. The relation of the Metatron-
Enoch legend cycle to the legends found in the pseudepigraphic
books of Enoch is not quite clear. There can be no doubt that there
exists no literary relationship between the so-called rabbinic books
of Enoch (the term "rabbinic" is here employed in absence of a
better name; as a matter of fact the "Rabbis" were opposed to
this literature) and with pseudepigraphic literature bearing the
same name. This is quite obvious to any one familiar with both
literatures. Yet as has been pointed out in the preceding note many
conceptions are common to both, as, for instance, Enoch's trans-
formation into an angel (mentioned in 2 Enoch and in Hekalot)
on his entrance into heaven. This, however, proves only that, des-
pite the fact that the leaders of the Synagogue had no high respect
for Enoch (comp. note 58, where reference is likewise made to Wis-
dom and Philo; hence this need not necessarily be ascribed to anti-
Christian tendencies), the older esteem of Enoch was not only re-
tained in popular circles, but it was even enlarged until it reached
its highest pinnacle in the identification of Enoch with Metatron,
The Babylonian Nebo, the heavenly scribe, gave Enoch to the Pales-
tinian, Metatron to the Babylonian Jews, and nothing could be more
natural than the final combination of Enoch-Metatron. It is quite
probable that a number of other elements were added to this com-
bination, as, for instance, Philonian speculations on the Logos, and
possibly also Christological conceptions; it is thus extremely difficult
to separate it in its original component parts. Between the "of-
ficial" depreciation of Enoch and his apotheosis in popular-mys-
tical literature, some of the rabbinic sources have retained a middle
course, and basing their views on the literal interpretation of Gen.
5. 24, maintain that Enoch belonged to those few (various numbers
are given: seven, nine, ten, thirteen) who entered paradise dur-
ing their life-time; comp. Derek Erez Zuta (end); PRK, 83; 2
Alphabet of Ben Sira 38; Yalkut I, 42, and (two sources) Ezek.,
367; Aggudat Aggadot (Carmoly) 12; Kimhion2 Kings 2. 1. Comp.
on these "immortals" note 67 and note 307 on vol. I, pp. 74 and
297 respectively. None of the sources just cited can be desig-
nated with certainty as old. It is true that Derek Erez Zuta
is old (comp. Ginzberg in Jewish Encyclopedia, IV, 528-529),
163
61] The Legends of the Jews
but it is doubtful whether the original text counted Enoch
among the "immortals"; comp. Tawrogi, ad loc., and further
Mahzor Vitry, 721, whose author does not seem to have had the
passage about the immortals in his text of Derek Erez Zuta. The
view, however, that Enoch's abode is in paradise is old (comp.
note 58), and is frequently found in Christian legends; comp. Irenaeus
2. 66 (Enoch is said to have taught the disciples of the apostles);
the Gospel of Nicodemus 9 (Latin version), etc. In Christian legends
it is stated that Enoch and Elijah will also die at the end of time
(it is even said that the anti-Christ will kill them^ see History of
Joseph the Carpenter 31-32 (as " immortals " are mentioned here:
Shila and Tabitha); Nicodemus, loc, ctt,; Revelation ' of John (be-
ginning). In. Midrash Alphabetot, 89a, it is stated that before the
creation of the new world, everything, even the most high angels,
will disappear, so that God's unity will be -seen by -all. Comp. also
Tertullian, Adversus Hermog>, 34,,and Sanhedrin, 92a~92b. On the
twenty angels enumerated in Hekalot 175, (Sammael, the head of
all the Satans, is described as "the greatest of all the angels"; read
*3t6a instead of nvs^jD; comp., however, Seder Ruhot, 179, where
Satan is distinguished from Sammael, "the prince of Rome"; see
also DR 11. 9, which reads: SamWel, the head of all the Satans),
comp. note 57, It is noteworthy that these angels are exclusively
in charge of natural phenomena and heavenly bodies. Further-
more, it is strange that Michael is not mentioned among them, and
that all the stars are assigned to the charge of one angel. On the
other hand, an old tradition states (Al-Barceloni, 247) that each one
of the seven planets has its own angel as follows; the sun has Ra-
phael; Venus, Aniel; Mercury, Michael; the moon, Gabriel; Sat-
urn, Kafziel; Jupiter, Zadfciel; Mars, Sammael. These seven planets
and their seven angels, it is further said, correspond to the seven
hours (? Read, perhaps, Q'HE? "princes"" or DTTIPO "attendants");
these are: f Kewan, Nebo, Shamsha, Bel (instead of h^ read /^3),
Sin, Belti, and O'HN. The last-named must not be changed into
*0"lK, Hermes, since this text contains the chief gods of the Baby-
lonian Pantheon." On the functions of the seven planets, comp.
Shabbat 156a; Baraita de-Mazzalot, 27-28; Pick, Assyrisches wid
Talmudisches, 17-19. Al-Barceloni J s words are: DUD1D DH
U3 I'D mjJP 'T JIMS D^iy "HID' D'^PlJD Tiyz l^N Q"^ ^"Si
1DH7D HDH DON^O T CH1DD 7 Drf 1 ?}?! O'lK 'tbz (read
164
The Ten Generations [6263
62 Yashar Bereshit, 13a, where it is said that the sinf illness of
the generation of the flood did not begin before the end of Meth-
uselah's life. The Melchizedek fragment 1-2 in appendix to 2
Enoch states that Methuselah was installed as ruler and leader
after his father's translation, and that man's apostasy did not take
place till after his death, as God had previously told him. The
election of Methuselah had been announced through a clear sign
that it was acceptable to God; for while he was praying, the altar
shook, and a knife leaped into Methuselah's hand in the presence
of all the people. The Jewish legend (comp. the following note)
about Methuselah's wonderful sword is, of course, not to be dis-
sociated from this "knife", and is closely related to the name Methu- .
selah, since rh may mean both "he sent" and "sword". Is the
statement made in an anonymous Midrash (cited in Yalkut II, 367,
Ezek. 27) that Methuselah is one of those whom death did not des-
troy (in addition to him, there are: Enoch; Eliezer, Abraham's
servant; Hiram, king of Tyre; Ebed-melech; Bithiah, Pharaoh's
daughter; Serah, Asher's daughter; the three sons of Korah; Elijah;
the Messiah, and R. Joshua b. Levi, cornp. preceding note and note 67
on vol. I, p. 74), connected with the etymology given by Philo (De Pos-
ierit. Caini, 13) "sending away of death" (=nn!n0D nn}? It is more
probable, however, that we have here a reminiscence of a Christian
legend. According to the chronology of the Septuagint with regard to
the ante-diluvian patriarchs, Methuselah was still alive at the time of
the flood. Now, since according to the Bible he was not among the
inmates of the ark, the only solution of the difficulty was that he
was taken away from this world to live in paradise at least for some
time. Comp. Jerome, Gen. 5; Fabricius, Codex Pseudepigraphicus,
224-227; Shahhelet, 93b.
6 3 Yerahmeel 23. 1-4; Sifte Kohen, Bereshit (end) and Noah, 4d.
A Genizah fragment in the library of Cambridge University containing
this legend in detailed form was published by Ginzberg, Ha-Goren IX,
66-68. Comp. also Vital, Likkute Torab, Bereshit (end), about Methu-
selah's sword. See further Yalkut David on Gen. 12. 1, who cites Sifte
Kohen, as authority for the statement that Abraham came in possession
of this sword, with which he conquered the kings, and further that Esau
thus received it, as heirloom, from Isaac, since he was the first-born.
This sword passed to Jacob when he purchased the birth-right.
This is not found in Sifte Kohen, but something similar occurs in
other sources. Comp. voh I, p. 321, and further the quotation
165
64] The Legends of the Jews
from MS. in Midbar Kedemot, s. v. rAwino. Agrimus is identical
with Angro-Mainyu, also called Ahriman, the lord of Daeves, of
the Persians. Comp. Ginzberg, Ha-Goren, loc. cit. 59-61.
64 Yerahmeel 23. 5-6; Midrash Aggada, Gen. 5. 25; an anony-
mous Midrash in Yalkut I, 42 (in later edition Abkir is given as
the source); Aggadat Bereshit (introduction), 38; Sikli, who cites
Huppat Eliyyahu as the source in his MS. work Yalkut Talmud Torah
(comp. Poznanski, Ha-Zofeh III, 11-12, and Ginzberg, ibid., IV,
28; the latter refers to Sabba, Bereshit, 9a, who is 'acquainted with
a similar legend). Comp. further Kad ha-Kemah s. v. ^3K, 12a-13a,
who made use of the same source as Sikli, and not the one of the
Yalkut. 11 the sources state that the flood; was postponed for a
week in order to allow the people to mourn for a week for the "right-
eous Methuselah"; cornp. Tosefta Sotah 10. 3, and the passages
cited in note 20 on vol. I, p. 154. Of the ante-diluvian patriarchs,
Jared and Methuselah lived the longest, because both of them were
very modest and humble, as their names indicate: Jared ==" he
who condescended", and Methuselah = " he who is humble (ntP),
even as though he were dead" (np). The shortest lives were those
of Enoch and Lamech, because they bore the same names as the
wicked descendants of Cain; Hasidim 247. The later Kabbalists
(comp. Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 5. 22, end of 27a) assert that Enoch
was a shoe-maker who praised God with every stitch he made. I
venture to suggest that instead of Enoch, Methuselah should be
read, as this is very likely based on the fact that the numerical value
of "pin p rkwfiQ corresponds to the value of the words "IS in IVn Kin
D'^Jtta "he made shoes". Attention is to be called to the fact that
rh& in mishnaic Hebrew means skin ; comp, also note 62. Maimonides,
Guide of the Perplexed* II, 39, speaks of Methuselah and his court of
justice; Maimonides' source is not known.
166
IV, NOAH
(pp. 143-181)
1 Light at the birth of heroes is a favorite motive of legend;
comp. vol. II, p. 264, and the note appertaining to it. Shu'aib,
Noah 4d, reports the same incident concerning Noah. See note 3.
2 On the speech of new-born babes, comp. vol. II, p. 264, and
vol. Ill, p. 464. In the Melchizedek fragments it is stated that
Melchizedek, immediately after his birth, spoke with his lips, and
blessed the Lord; comp. note 16.
3 On the idea that light is a sign of heavenly origin, comp.
vol. I, pp. 105, 106. See also note 1.
4 Enoch 106-107. While in this pseudepigraphic work it is
Methuselah who learns everything about the future and imparts
the knowledge thereof to his son, in rabbinic sources it is Lamech,
Noah 's father, who, as a prophet at the time of the birth of his son,
foresaw that his son was destined for great things; comp. Da 1 at
and Hadar on Gen. 5. 29, and Sabba, Bereshit, 9b; Ephraim, I, 47.
Whether Lamech to whom a pseudepigraphic work is ascribed (comp.
Schiirer, Geschichte, III, 358) is Lamech the father of Noah, or his
name-sake, the descendant of Cain, is doubtful; comp. Josephus,
Antiqui., I, 22, where this Cainite is credited with the gift of prophecy
and comp. also BR 23. 2; comp. note 6. It is an old tradition that
Noah was a prophet; Seder 'Olam 21 ; Philo, Quis..,Haeres Sit, 52. Comp.
further his remarks in Quaestiones, Gen. 1,87, with reference to the nam-
ing of Noah by his father, according to which, the patriarchs (i. e., the
ante-diluvians) prophesied sometimes. Philo agrees on this point
with Jub., according to whose author (8. 18), not only Noah, but
also Adam, Seth, Enosh, Mahalalel, Enoch, and Shem were prophets,
as may be inferred from 19. 24. Comp. Ginzberg, Unbekante Sekte,
296-297. On the meaning of the name Noah, comp. the following
note.
5 Aggadat Bereshit (introduction) 38; Yalkut I, 42, quoting
an unknown Midrash (later editions give Abkir as source, but this
is not found in the first edition) ; Sikli in his MS. work Yalkut Tal-
167
6] The Legends of ike Jews
mud Torah (comp. Ginsberg's note In Ha-Zofeh IV, 28-29) quotes
this legend from Huppat Eliyyahu; Da 1 at oii Gen. 5. 29; Vital,
Likkute Torah, Bereshit (end) . The last author adds that at the time of
Noah's birth, the magic sword of Methuselah (comp. vol. I, p. 141 and
note 63 appertaining therteo), with which he destroyed demons and evil
spirits, lost its power. That is the reason why Methuselah feared the
power of witchcraft. According to Yashar Bereshit, 13b, Methuselah
named his grandson Noah, because the earth was appeased, while Lamech
called him Menahem, "a consolation", as stated in the Bible, loc.
tit. The explanation of the name Noah as given in the Bible did
not satisfy the later readers, since UDnr, "he will console us", could
only apply to Dn3D or a similar name. BR 25. 2 gives no less than
five explanations of the name Noah. He was called a he that caused
rest"; 1) because it was in his time that the rebellion of animals
against man came to an end; 2) because the earth then enjoyed rest
from the waters of the sea (vol. I, p. 147); 3) because the heavenly
bodies rested during the time of the flood ; comp. note 41 ; 4) because the
ark was at rest. According to others, this name signifies " the pleasant
one" (rnrn rD) because his sacrifice was pleasant to God. Some of
these explanations are also found in pseudepigraphic and patristic
literature; comp. Enoch 106. 18 (the Ethiopic version reads: Call
his name Noah, for he shall be left to you, thus connecting m with
!T:n "left behind", while the Latin version reads: Qui Interpre-
tatur reguies quid requiem praestabit in Arcam, and accordingly
connects ru with ITJn "caused one to find rest"), and 107. 3, which
reads: Noah, for he will comfort the earth after all the destruction;
Philo, Aleg., 3. 24; De Abrakamo, 5; Quaestiones in Gen. 1, 87; 2,
245; Theophilus, 3. 19; Ephraim, I, 47 F; Jerome, Gen. 5. 29. Comp.
also Tan. Bereshit 11. The translation of the Septuagint, SiavaTrafarct
i7juas does not render lionr but W3 1 ; comp. BR, loc. cit. 2 (he should
have called him 13rP3'). See Ginzberg, Haggada lei den Kirchenv.,
73-74, and vol. I, p. 16.
6 Tan. Bereshit 11 (this implies that Lamech was no prophet,
1)ut had good reasons to call his son 'comforter'; comp. note 4;
BR 25. 2; Abkir in Yalkut I, 42). The last-named Midrash is in-
troduced in Pa'aneah, Gen. 5.29, as a source for the legend that un-
til Noah the hand of human beings consisted of one piece, the fingers
not having been separated from one another. Seeing the new form
of Noah's hand, his father Lamech concluded that henceforth men
would have to till the ground, for which they would need flexible
168
Noah [710
fingers. Before this time they did not cultivate the ground, and
therefore they did not need such fingers. For the legend itself,
without Abkir as its source, see Tosafot and R, Asher, in Hadar
on Gen. loc. cit., who cite R. Judah Hasid as their authority. See also
Zohar I, 38a and 58a-58b. The curse on the earth after Adam's
fall lasted till his death, which took place not long before the
birth of Noah; Hadar (Pesikta de-R. Eliezer is cited as source; but
neither Pirke R. Eliezer, nor Pesikta R. Tobiah b. Eliezer has it)
and Da' at on Gen., loc. cit. On those born with the sign of the
Abrahamic covenant on them, see note 318 on. vol. I, p. 306.
7 BR25.2. On the dominion of man over the animal kingdom,
comp. vol. I, pp. 71, 94, and notes appertaining to them. Con-
cetning the overflowing of the sea, comp. vol. I, p. 123. On the
ten famines see vol. I, p. 221, as well as Yashar Bereshit, 13a.
8 Yashar Bereshit, 13a. Comp. note 62 on vol. I, p. 141.
9 Enoch 9-10. Comp. further 67-69 for the exact description
of the sins of the angels. On the angels mentioned in the last pas-
sage the following is to be remarked. Yikon=pp'K, CIKOVLOV, image,
and is employed in the sense of the Hebrew 70S "idol", a name
properly applied to the ring-leader of the rebellious angels. Peneme
is, as has already been noticed by others, 'D^>, and it should
be added that in Tan. B. I, 17, and BR 21.1, '33 is the name of an
angel. Kasbiel is practically the same as Kaspiel, and is derived from
*]BO "sorcery"; hence it is the name of "the chief of the oath".
10 An unknown Midrash in Yalkut I, p. 44 (in later editions
the source is given as Abkir, but not in the first edition); Aggadat
Bereshit (introduction) 38; Pugio Fidel, 837-838, whose text is
more correct than that of Yalkut. The episode of the woman who
was transformed into a star is found, with some variations (she
caused the angels to give her wings, with which she flew up to the
heavenly throne, in order to seek shelter with God, who rewarded
her for her constancy by transforming her into the star Virgo), in
Hadar, Gen. 6. 2 and 28. 13' (also in BHM V, 156, with the erroneous
reference to the source). This passage also adds that both of these
angels had to remain behind on earth, because they had given away
their wings to the virgin, and only reached heaven by means of
Jacob 's ladder. According to this version of the legend, it is assumed
that, though the angels had entertained evil thoughts, they never
carried them out, otherwise their return to heaven would hardly
have been conceivable. Accordingly the Midrash found in Yalkut,
169
lo] The Legends of the Jews
Pugio Fidei, and Yerahmeel 25, concerning the fall of the angels, is
composed of different sources. Concerning the old legend about
the angels opposing the creation of man, comp. vol. I, pp. 52-54.
See also Hekalot VI, 172, where it is said that Uzza and Azzael,
during the sinful generation of the flood, called attention to the fact
that their opposition to man's creation was justified (the text is
not entirely in order; the expression !?non Da nawtf Mil orP33D *h
clearly proves that this passage was borrowed from an Ascension
of Moses; comp. vol. Ill, pp. 109-110). Whereupon (this is to be
added) these angels descended on earth in order to prove that they
were by far superior to man. This motive for the descent of the
angels is rather old, since it is already found in the Clementine Homi-
lies, 8. 11-12; comp. further ER 29, 162; EZ 25, 49 (the fallen an-
gels are: Azza, Uzzi, and Azzael. This is surely the combination of
a double reading, as we find the pair Azza and Azzael next to Uzza
and Azzael; comp. note 56 on vol. I, p. 124); PR 34, 159a; DR
(end). The transformation of the chaste virgin into a star is rather
a later legend, and is hardly of Jewish origin, as may be seen from
her foreign name Istehar. The account that Metatron, as God's
messenger, was sent to the fallen angels is a later version of the part
ascribed to Michael (in Enoch 10. 11-12). This corresponds to
the angelology of the Babylonian Talmud, which transfers to Meta-
tron all the functions that had formerly been ascribed to Michael.
Hiwwa and Hiyya, the sons of the fallen angels, are directly bor-
rowed from Niddah 61a, where Shemhazai 's son is called Ahiah.
Hence also the remark in Pugio Fidei, loc, cit. (where the names
are written K"H and n"n) that these were the ancestors of Sihon
and Og (comp. vol. Ill, p. 340). Although the Talmud knows only
of a son of Shemhazai, but not of one of Azazel, the dependence
of those works on the Talmud is obvious. In opposition to this
statement, that Shemhazai suspended himself between heaven and
earth as a sign of repentance (one foot on the ground, and the head
in heaven), it is affirmed in DR (end) that these fallen angels have
been suspended by God between heaven and earth as a punishment.
This has been amplified in later sources, which assert that these
angels were fastened to the "mountains of darkness" by chains,
and they teach witchcraft to those who seek them. Comp. Aggadat
Bereshit (introduction) 39; Zohar 1,96 and 126a; III, 208a and 221a;
Zohar Ruth, 99a (beginning JTDrn '"l); 'Emek ha-Melek, 107c. Comp.
further EZ 25, 19, as well as Enoch 7. 3. Azazel as the seducer
170
'Noah [n
to sensuality is not only found in Enoch 8. 1, but also in Yoma 67b,
where also the ceremony of the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement
is explained on the basis of this legend. It may, however, be noted
that neither in this talmudic passage nor in Niddah 6 la, where Shem-
hazai is mentioned, is he or Azazel designated as a fallen angel. An-
other legend has it that Azazel was originally an angel, and once on
the day of Atonement he accused Israel before God, saying: "Why
hast Thou mercy on them when they provoke Thee? Thou shouldst
rather destroy them." And God replied: "If thou wouldst be
among them (men), thou wouldst also sin." Azazel then requested
to be tested. When, with God's permission, he descended on earth,
the evil inclination overcame him and he fell a victim to Na'amah
(comp. the following note), a very beautiful woman. Thereupon
God said: "Since he sinned and cannot return to heaven, he should
remain in the desert until the end of time, so that he should close
the mouths of the accusers; for they will be warned by his fate, and
will be silent." On the Day of Atonement, therefore, the scapegoat
is sent to the desert, the dwelling-place of Azazel, in order to remind
the accusers of his fate. Imre No* am, Ahare Mot (end). Comp.
also Yoma 20a, and PRE 46, with respect to the silencing of Satan
"the accuser" on the Day of Atonement. Imre No'am gives the source
of this legend in a very vague manner (rnjpD niro), and the text is
somewhat obscure. The accusation of Israel by Azazel is certainly
to be understood to mean that, in the beginning of creation, he was
the one to oppose the forgiving of Israel's sins on the Day of Atone-
ment as foreseen in the Torah. The view given in Zohar I, 23a, 25a,
and 37a, concerning the fall of Azza and Azzael goes back to a source
identical with the one found in Aggadat Bereshit (introduction)
38. This source is Huppat Eliyyahu, which is explicitly named by
Sikli in his MS. work, Yalkut Talmud Torah (comp. Ginzberg's note
in Ha-Zofeh, IV, 29-30). Besides the passages referred to in this
note and in the two that follow, there is hardly any other passage
in rabbinic literature dealing with the fall of the angels. On the
whole question of the fallen angels comp. Grunbaum, Gesammelte
Aufsdtze, 59-61, 63-66, 75-70, 442-448; see also note 57 on vol.
I, p. 125. Comp. also note 35 on vol. I, p. 64.
11 PRE according to reading of Nahmanides on Gen. 4. 2;
comp. MHG I, 118; Zohar I, 155a; Zohar Ruth, 99a (beginning
riDD rrDTO "I); Aggadat Bereshit (introduction) 38. See further note
45 on vol. I, p. 118; Imre No'am, Ahare Mot (end); Kanah 105b;
171
12-14] The Legends of the Jews
Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufsatee, 58 and 447, Na' amah, Noah's
wife, was the daughter of Enoch, and is not to be confounded
with the sinner bearing the same name, the daughter of the Cainite
Lamech; Yashar Noah, 14b. Comp. note 42 on vol. I, p. 116.
12 PRE 22; Zohar I, 58a; Zohar Hadash Ruth, 99a (beginning
JVDTO '")), which has the addition that they could not return to heaven
because they had been absent for more than a week. A passage
which literally corresponds with one in PRE is that in Ketab Tamim
61, cited from Tosefta Sanhedrin. This is very likely based on an
error, for our text of the Tosefta has no trace of this passage. More-
over, in view of the strong opposition of the authoritative rabbinic
sources to the doctrine of the fall of the angels (comp. note 57
on vol. I, p. 125) any reference to this doctrine in the Tosefta
is quite inconceivable. Aggadat Bereshit (introduction) 38, asserts
that the angels, after their intercourse with the daughters of man,
wished to return to heaven, but God said: "Ye have become de-
filed, and ye cannot become pure again." Similar words occur also
in Clementine Homilies, 8. 13. Comp. further Kallah 3, 8a.
13 BR 26, 7 (on the text comp. Hadar, Deut, 2. 20); DR 1.
24; Tan. B. V, 6. On the tallness of the giants, comp. Enoch 7.
2; Zadokite Fragment, 2. See further vol. Ill, pp. 268-269
and 340; Clementine Homilies, 8. IS. Josephus, Antiqui., V, 23,
like his contemporary Rabban Johanan b. Zaccai (Tan., loc. cit.},
undertakes to prove, from the skeletons found in the caves, the extra-
ordinary tallness of the giants. The number of giants who perished
in the flood, a\s given in the Greek Baruch 4. 10, amounts to 409,000.
14 Yerahmeel 24. 10-12. On the identification (supposed in
this passage) of "the sons of God" with the descendants of Seth,
and that of "the daughters of man 1 ' with the generation of Cain (the
last idea occurs also in PRE 22), comp. note 45 on vol. I, p. 118, and
Gaster, ad loc., as well as Ginzberg's Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 75-76;
Zohar Hadash Bereshit (end); Hadar, Gen. 6. 2. The description
of the gradual fall of the descendants of Seth, given by Yerahmeel,
essentially agrees with the Evangel of Seth (Preuschen, Adamschriften,
37-38 and 82, seg_.}. On Damascus as the place where Abel is .sup-
posed to have been slain, comp. note 19 on vol. I, p. 109. According to
another view, "the sons of God" are the descendants of Cain. They
were? called so because their ancestor Cain (comp. vol. I, p. 105) was
of heavenly origin. After they had mingled with the descendants of
Seth, they begot children who possessed the physical strength and
172
Noah tiS~i7
beauty of the Cainites, but also their demoralized nature; Aggadat
Bereshit (introduction) 38-39 (comp. Ginzberg's note on this passage
in Ha-Zofeh IV, 29-30); Zohar I, 37; Kanah 102d and 107a. See
further Hasidim 455, and Kozari II, 14.
15 Tan. Bereshit 12. The care-free and happy life which the
ante-diluvian generations enjoyed, is frequently alluded to in the
Haggadah, in order to show that the excess of good things has its bad
consequences for mankind; Tosefta Sotah 3. 6; Mekilta Shirah 2, 35b;
Sifre D., 43; Mekilta RS, 58; Midrash Tannaim 36; Sanhedrin 108a;
BR 26. 5; 28. 6-7; BaR 9. 14; PK 27, 169b-170a; EZ, 10, 190. Comp.
Clementine Homilies, 8. 15, where it is said that God had given manna
to the ante-diluvian giants, "suited to their various tastes 1 ' (comp. vol.
Ill, p. 44), so that they should not be eager to eat meat. See also
note 19. On the subjugation of the heavenly bodies by means of
witchcraft, comp. EZ, 25, 49, and vol. I, p. 124.
16 BR 36. 1; WR 5. 1 (the expression -J'D'K 1 ? T^a is also found
in' Koheleth 2. 20, and the Hebrew -JDN3 pTO occurs in PR 14, 56b);
Aggadat Bereshit 10, 24; PRE 22 (only this passage has the statement
that they begot six children at one time; see note 4 on vol. II, p.
245) ; comp. the sources cited in the preceding note, and Griinbaum,
Gesammelte Aufsatze, 86. The crowing of the cock drives the demons
away; comp. Yoma 2 la. The well-known legend that heroes speak
immediately after their birth (comp. note 2) is here transferred to
the entire race of the ante-diluvians.
17 BR 26. 5; Yerushalmi Sotah 1, I7a; BaR 9. 33; Tan. Bereshit
12; WR 23. 9; Tan. B. I, 16 and 23-24. In some of these sources
the immoral life of this wicked generation is minutely described, and
it is furthermore remarked that they exhibited their shamelessness
by appearing naked in public; comp. PRE 22; EZ 10, 190. See fur-
ther, Singer, Buck der Jubilaen, 82, note 1, where the talmudic passages
concerning the prohibition of uncovering the body are given , comp . f urth er
note 67. That unchastity was the cause of the deluge (as well as the de-
struction of the sinful cities; comp. vol. I, p. 253) is maintained by 2 Enoch
34, which with regard to some details agrees with the Midrashim.
In Jub. 7. 21 three sins are recorded: immorality, idolatry (unclean-
ness =mr mmy nNDltD), and violence as the causes of the flood.
Similarly BR 31. 6. Comp. PRK, 69; Halakot Gedolot (Hildes-
heimer's edition, 588; five sins caused the flood); ER 15, 74 (eight
sins); Shu'aib, Noah, 5a (the trespassing of the seven Noachite com~
173
1 8-1 9] The Legends of the Jews
mandments); ShR 30. 13. See further notes 36 and 32; vol. Ill, p.
381; vol. IV, p. 369; Index, .s. v. "Immoral Life/'
I& BR 31. 3-5; Sanhedrin 108a; Koheleth 1. 13; Tan. Noah 4;
Wehizhir I, 92. Comp. vol. I, p. 245, the description of the sins of
the Sodomites.
J 9 Sanhedrin 108a-108b (the measures against fire and water,
of which they boasted, are mentioned, but the meaning of the words
used in the description is obscure); BR 30. 7; Tan. Noah 5; Tan.
B. I, 25 (God could have saved Noah without the ark; but its construc-
tion was to serve as a warning to the sinners to arouse them to re-
pentance); Aggadat Bereshit 1, 2; Koheleth 9. 14; Koheleth Z., 125;
PRE 22 and 23 (here it is stated that the construction of the ark
took fifty-two years); Yashar Noah, 14a-14b, where Methuselah and
Noah are said to have endeavored to induce the sinners to repent.
The 120 years are of course inferred from Gen. 6. 3, which these sources
as well as others (Sifre N., 43, end; Midrash Tannaim 39; Mekilta
Shirah 5, 38b; Mekilta RS, 32; EZ 2, 174; ER 16, 80; Onkelos and
Yerushalmi Targumim on Gen., loc. tit.) understand to say that God
made this time an allowance to the sinners in order that they should
repent and that Noah should exert his influence as an admonisher
and preacher. This conception is also prevalent in ancient Christian
literature; comp. Aphraates, 138; Origen, Contra Celsum, III, 41; ps.-
Tertullian, 3, 30; Julius Africanus (cited by Syncellus, 21); Ephraim,
I, 47 E-F; Christian- Palestinian Homilies in Anecdota Oxon. t Semitic
Series I, part IX, 56; Methodius, Symposium; Ewangel of Seth (in Preu-
schen, Adamschriften, 39) ; Jerome, Gen., loc. cit. Some Church Fathers
like Origen, ps.-TertulHan, and Julius Africanus, speak of a 100 years,
during which the ark was constructed. This is not an inaccuracy,
but, as was explicitly stated by Africanus, it wishes to convey that
the word of God (Gen., loc. cit.) reached the wicked generation
when the youngest of them was twenty years old (this is to be explain-
ed in accordance with note 69 on vol. I, p. 326), and to these the op-
portunity of 100 years for repentance was extended. The reason
for this view is to be found in the chronological difficulty which Gen.,
loc, cit.j offers; comp. Rashi, ad loc. Zohar I, 62, speaks of 300 years
during which Noah was active as a preacher for repentance. On
Noah 's preaching for repentance, comp. further Clemens "First Epistle/'
7. 6; Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata, 1, 21; Visio PauU, 50 (the
construction of the ark lasted 100 years); Theophilus, 3. 19; 1 Peter
3. 20. Comp. also Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 77-78. The
174
Noah [20
view that Gen., loc. tit., wishes to say that henceforth the duration
of a man's life will not be longer than 120 years is given by Philo,
Quaestiones, Gen., 1, 91; Josephus, Antiqui., I, 32; Lactantius, In-
stitutiones, 2. 14-15. This is also the view of later rabbinic writers;
comp. Ibn Ezra, ad loc. On the changes of the course of the sun, comp.
Ascension of Isaiah 4. 5; Enoch 80. 4-5, where this and similar miracles
as preparations for the last day are mentioned. Shabbat 156b (top)
reads: God causes the planet Jupiter to appear in the east instead
of in the west in order to teach Abraham not to attach any import-
ance to astronomy. Comp. Steinschneider, Hebraische Bibliographic,
XVIII, 61-62, concerning similar statements in Arabic literature. On
the additional week, after the lapse of the period of respite, during
which he was granted the anticipation of the enjoymnent of paradise,
comp. Yerushalmi Targumim on Gen. 7. 4 and 10; Tosefta Sotah
10. 3-5; ARN 32, 92; Ephraim, I, 5. 2 E, and the sources cited in the
following note and note 15.
20 Tosefta Sotah 10. 3-5; ARN 32, 92-93; Sanhedrin 108b (on
the text comp. Lekah, Gen. 6. 3, where the reading seems to be ]nrn3
instead of pBDn, according to which it is said that the death of the
pious has the atoning power to avert impending misfortunes for some
time; comp., however, Lekah, Gen. 7. 4) ; BR 3, 6 (in the week of mourn-
ing for Methuselah God caused the primordial light to shine) and
32. 7; Yerushalmi Mo'ed Katan 3, 82c; Tehillim 26, 220 (God did
not wish Methuselah to die at the same time as the sinners) ; Yashar
Noah, 14a-14b (compiled from different sources. First it is said
that Noah and Methuselah were the only pious persons left one hundred
and twenty years before the flood; then it is asserted that the pious
people died five years before the flood; finally it is remarked that
Lamech, Noah's father, died about the same time, but that he fol-
lowed the path of his father and son whole-heartedly; on Lamech
comp. note 64 on vol. I, p. 142, and note 4). Comp. also Philo, Quaes-
tiones, 2. 13, who, together with the explanation given in rabbinic
sources concerning the seven days of respite to induce the sinners
to repent, mentions the view that the last week before the destruction
of the world corresponds to the first week of the creation, in order
to show that both came from God. The same explanation is found
in Lekah, Gen. 7. 4. The last week is regarded as a week of "mourn-
ing" for the men destroyed in the flood; BR 27 (end) and 32. 7; Mo'ed
Katan, loc. cit.; Tan. B. I, 30, and III, 21; 'Tan. Shemini 1; ER 31,
162. God, of course, knows everything beforehand; when Scripture
175
21] The Legends of the Jews
says (Gen. 6. 6) that He repented because He had created man, it
merely implies that He repented in the same manner as a father
rejoices at the birth of a son, although he knows that sooner or later
he must die; for joy, as well as mourning, has its time. Comp. on
this point BR and Tan., loc. cit.\ Philo, Quaestiones, ad loc.\ Quod
Deus sit immutabilisi 5; Clementine Homilies, 3. 39. See further
Sukkah 52b, and PRK, 19b, concerning four and six things, respect-
ively, of which God repented of having created them; they are: The
evil inclination, idolatry, the generation of the flood, the Chaldeans,
the Ishmaelites, and Israel's captivity in Babylon. It should be ob-
served that, with the exception of ARN, loc. cit. (upon which Yashar,
loc. cit.,is dependent), which makes mention of the pious and the right-
eous of the antediluvian generations, the other sources know only of
the pious Methuselah. Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, II, 39,
cites the following expressions, from unknown sources: "The court
of justice presided by Methuselah" and "the house of learning of
Methuselah". He rightly remarks that these terms mean persons who
taught their contemporaries, and endeavored to guide them in God's
ways. Comp. notes 1 and 64 on vol. I, pp. 105 and 142, respectively.
21 BR 31. 13 and 32. 11. On the plan of the ark comp. further
BR 31. 11; Sanhedrin 108b; PRE 23; Targum Yerushalmi Gen 6.
14-15; Philo, Moses, 2. 11; Josephus, Antigui., I, 3. 2. It is
to be noted that the two last-named authors speak of the four stories
of the ark. The question as to how the different stories were divided
according to the various species of animals is very exhaustively treated,
and the sources differ greatly from one another as to the details; comp.
also ps.-Hippolytus, 2~3. The construction of the ark was so dif-
ficult, that the "ark itself took part in the act"; BR 31. 11. Comp.
Evangel of Seth 39, which reads: And when he had built the ark,
the axe, the hammer, and the wood exclaimed: "Behold, there will
come a flood which will destroy the earth." Concerning the question
how room could be found in the ark for so large a number of animals
and food for them all, comp. Origen, Contra Celsum, 4. 41, and the Mel-
chizedek fragment 5, where the view is expressed that the cubit men-
tioned in the Bible, with regard to the measurements of the ark,
is different from the ordinary one. It is further added that "ac-
cording to this number the Jews keep this measure of the ark of Noah,
as the Lord said to him, and so they made each measure and each
rule, even up to the present time." On this point comp. BR 30. 10
with reference to J'p'a'n P1DN "the ark cubit".
176
Noah [22-25
22 This legend was published by Ginzberg in Ha-Goren, IX,
38-41, from a compilation of legends in a MS, of the library of the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America. On the attempt of the
angels to worship Adam, comp. vol. I, p. 64.
23 Sefer Noah, 150-160, of which three recensions are extant.
According to one, Noah received, after the flood, a medical book from
the archangel Raphael (vol. I, pp. 173-174); according to the second
Adam, after the fall, received a book from Raziel, out of which all
mysteries could be ascertained (vol. I, pp. 90-93), and it is this book
from which Enoch derived his wisdom; later Noah received it from
the angel Raphael, in order to be able to erect the ark. The third
recension does not seem to know of any connection between Noah's
book, which Raziel had handed over to him before the flood, and the
book given by this angel to Adam who later transmitted it to
Enoch. Based on the legend recorded in vol. Ill, p. 119, this
recension adds that the sapphire on which the book was engraved
gave the light necessary for the inmates of the ark (comp. vol. I, p.
162, below). See Jellinek, EMeitung to BHM, III, 30-33. The se-
cond recension was made use of in Zohar I, 37b and 58b, and perhaps
also 72b. 2 Enoch 33. 12 also seems to speak of the book of Enoch
which was revealed by the angels to Noah and his descendants. In
Enoch 10. 1-3 it is Uriel who informs Noah beforehand of the coming
of the flood, and who advised him about the erection of the ark; but
67. 2 states that the angels erected it; comp. 89. 1 and BR 31. 11.
Comp. also Zohar Hadash Terumah beginning of last paragraph.
2 4 PRE 23; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 5. 20; Philo, Moses, 2.
12; BR 32. 8; Tan. Noah 12; Zebahim 116a; Ephraim, I, 52 C-D;
Augustine, Civitas Dei, 15. 27; Theodoretus, Quaestiones in Gen. 18
(comp. on this passage Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kircheni)., 8Q-81);
Evangel of Seth 39. In all these sources it is emphasized that the
animals of their own accord, by God's command (according to PRE
and Targum Yerushalmi, loc. cit., they were assembled by the an-
gels), came to the ark. Comp. also the following note.
25 Yashar Noah, 15a-16a, apparently based on old sources;
comp. BR 31. 13 (whenever the male ran after the female,
Noah took the pair into the ark; if the female ran after the
male, they were excluded from it) and 32. 8; Tan. B. I, 36; Tan.
Noah 7, On the 121 years, during which Noah preached for
repentance, see note 19. It should be observed that Josephus, An-
tigui., I, 3. 1, also knows of Noah's activity as a preacher. He, how-
177
26-28] The Legends of the Jews
ever, adds (this occurs nowhere else) that when Noah realized that
he failed in his efforts, he emigrated to another country. By this he
probably wishes to explain how the ark came to the ridge of Ararat
in Armenia (comp. note 47), though Noah, like all ante-diluvian
patriarchs, had lived in Palestine. On the eclipse of the sun during
the flood comp. Philo, De Abrahamo, 8, and vol. I, p. 162 (below).
On the attempt of the sinners to enter the ark by force, comp. also
Evangel of Seth, 39; Shu'aib, Noah, 5b; Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
7. 16; PRE 23; Aggadat Bereshit 4, 10; Yalkut I, 57 (the first part
perhaps from Abkir). With respect to the animals which were in-
cluded in the ark, comp. also note 32.
26 Sanhedrin 108b; Rosh ha-Shanah 12a; Zebahim 113b; Yeru-
shalmi Sanhedrin 10, 29b; WR 7. 6; Koheleth 9. 4; PRE 22; Yelam-
medenu in Yalkut II, 508, on Is. 64. 1 (according to this passage,
punishment by fire came upon the generation of the flood because
of the robberies they had practised; comp. also Jerome, on Is. loc.cit.,
who reproduces this tradition somewhat inaccurately); Hashkem 15a;
Tan. B. Ill, 13; Tan. Zaw 2; Tehillim 11, 100; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 7. 10; Aggadat Bereshit 4. 10. On the sexual dissipation of
this generation (onanism, sodomy, and other abominations), comp
the sources cited in note 17, as well as BR 26. 4-5, 30. 2, and 32. 7;
Zohar I, 62a and 66a. See further note 39. The punishment by
fire during the flood is connected with the conception of the world-
conflagration which then took place for the first time; comp. Ginz-
berg, B>K hv ^13D, 19=Ha-Goren IX, 51.
2 ? Tan. B. I, 35-36; Tan. Noah 7; Aggadat Bereshit 4, 10; Ma-
kiri, Nahum 10; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 7. 12.
28 BR 28. 9 and 30. 9 ("the one-eyed is regarded among the
blind as keen-sighted"; Noah was the pious one when all others were
sinners); Sanhedrin 108a; Tan. B. I, 31-32; Tan. Noah 5; Philo, De
Abrahamo, 7 (also Philo J s haggadic remark that "the generation of
Noah" stands for his pious deeds, and that Noah is called "man"
in Scripture on account of his piety, is found in rabbinic literature;
comp. BR 30. 6-7; Tan. B. I, 29; Tan. Noah 2; 'see further the ut-
terance of the Rabbis which is frequently quoted and usually mis-
understood: Israel is called "man" DIN, but not the other nations;
Yebamot 61a, and parallel passages; comp. notes 6, 8 on vol. I,
P- 50); Jerome, Gen. 5. 9. Midrash Tannaim 226 asserts that Noah
survived only on account of the merits of Moses (the latter lived 120
years, as announced to Noah; comp. Gen. 6: 3). Had Noah perished,
178 ,
Noah [29-30
there would have been no Moses. Comp., on the other hand, ibid.
62, whereat is said that the idolatrous nations existed only on the
merits of Noah. In the Talmud, as well as in the Midrashim cited
above, another view is also given to the effect that Noah, despite
the wickedness that prevailed in his days, was a pious man. Had
he lived in a better generation, he would have certainly been right-
eous, BR 29. 4 and Tan., loc. cit., in contrast to Midrash Tannaim
62 and Jub. 4. 19, maintain that God was gracious to Noah for the
sake of his descendants, i. e., for the sake of the later patriarchs,
prophets, and other pious men; comp. BR 30. 10, where the su-
periority of Abraham to Noah is emphasized. For the opposite
view see Tan. B. I, 32. Noah's sons (including Ham) are similarly
mentioned as pious men; Tan. B. I, 31 and Tan. Noah 2; 4 Ezra 3.
11; Clemens' First Epistle, 7. 6; comp-, on the other hand, Jub., loc.
cit., and Aggadat Bereshit 10, 24. The title pHS applied to Noah
(Gen. 6. 9) signifies one who gives alms, because he cared for all the
living during the time of the flood; Tan. B. I, -31; Tan. Noah 5; Yelam-
medenu quoted by Recanati on Gen., loc. cit. Comp. Alphabet of Ben
Sira 13a; Gerson, Justine Martyr er und die Agada, 46-47. See also
the following note.
29 BR 32. 6; an anonymous Midrash quoted by Shu'aib, Noah,
4b. Comp. Matthew 24. 38 concerning the lack of faith of this gen-
eration, which remained obstinate until the coming of the flood. Ac-
cording to PRE 23 and Alphabet of Ben Sira 12b~13a, Noah, on
the contrary, spent a whole week in the ark before the flood came.
According to the prevalent Haggadah (BR 32. 8; comp. vol. Ill, pp.
444r-445) Noah entered the ark in full day-light, in the presence of
his wicked surroundings, in order to show that because of his faith
in God he feared no one. This expresses a rather favorable view of
Noah. On Noah's wife, whose good deeds equalled those of her
husband, comp. BR 23. 3; Yashar Noah, 14b; Mishle 31, 111; Tobit
4. 12, where Noah is mentioned along with the three patriarchs, who
married their kin. This remark wishes to convey that Noah d'id
not marry any of the Cainitish women. According to Jub. 4. 33,
Noah 's wife was called Amzara, jnr DN (in the Evangel of Seth 39,
she is called Noamzara=jnr ayj), and was the daughter of Bakiel,
his father's brother. Comp. note 42 on vol. I, p. 116 and note 11.
30 Tan. B. I, 25-26; Yashar Noah, 14a-14b, where Japheth is
said to be the oldest, Ham the second, and Shem the youngest. In
the older sources there is a difference of opinin whether Japheth or
179
31-32] The Legends of the Jews
Shem was the first-born. The following authorities consider Shem
the oldest: Jub. 3. 33; PRE 8; Origen, Gen. 12, lOd; Augustine,
Civitas Dei, 16. 11; Clementine Recognitiones, 30; Cyprian Epistolae,
62,3. But most of the Rabbis consider Japheth to have been the oldest
and Shem the youngest; Midrash Tannaim 73; Sanhedrin 69b; BR
26. 3; 36. 7; 37. 7; BaR 4. 8; Tan. B. I, 142; Targum Yerushalmi,
Gen. 10. 21. With this view agree Septuagint, Gen., loc. tit., and
Philo, Quaestiones in Gen., 2, 79. Comp. MHG I, 142 and 176; Aph-
raates, 234; see also the following note.
31 BR 26. 2; BaR 14. 12; Tehillim 1, 11-12. These sources
assume that Noah had been married long before he begot children,
whereas the sources mentioned in the preceding note (comp, also
Evangel of Seth 39, where it is said that he was compelled by an
angel to marry against his will and that he preferred celibacy; this
is a Christianization of the old Jewish legend) assert that he married
late in life.
5 2 Sanhedrin 108a, 108b (with the exception of "Tushlami",
the animals gave up their previous manner of living after the flood) ;
Tan. B. I, 36 and 45; Tan. Noah 12; BR 28. 8-9 (even the earth be-
came untrue to its nature, so that when wheat was sown there grew
darnel instead); Yashar Bereshit (end); 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 35b-
36a; Jub. 5. 2. Since it was man who set a bad example to the ani-
mals, he was the one to be destroyed first in the flood; Tosefta Sotah
4. 11; Sifre N., 18; Sifre Z., 25; BR 50. 8; BaR 9. 18. Comp. on this
idea vol. II, p. 353. The corruption of the animal world readily ex-
plains its destruction in the flood. Another explanation is that the
whole world was created for the sake of man (vol. I, p. 49), and when
man, with the exception of Noah and his family, was destroyed,
the animal world was no longer entitled to exist. Those animals
which were saved were spared for the sake of Noah and his descend-
ants. Comp. BR 28. 6 (this passage gives the interesting view that
the animals allured man to the eating of meat; hence they were des-
troyed because they were instrumental in causing sin; comp. Clem-
entine Homilies, 8. 15); MHG I, 132-134, 151, 158-159 (where various
old sources are cited, all of which express the same idea that the
existence of the animal world depends on the existence of man);
Philo, Qiiaesticmes in Gen., I, 94, and 2, 9, With regard to the ani-
mals which were found worthy of entering the ark, the following
statement is made in Sanhedrin, loc. tit., and Zebahim 116a: Noah
caused the animals to pass in front of the ark, and those which
180 f
Noah [33-37
remained firmly rooted in the ground (intfl^lp is thus to be understood)
were admitted into the ark.
33 PRE 23, where the sum total of the animals is given. The
text is not quite correct; comp. Luria, note 10, and Shua'ib, 5a-5b,
who quotes, from PRE, the sentence, found in Hullin 65b, concerning
the numberless kinds of birds. The unclean animals mentioned in
Gen. 7. 2 are described in the negative (rmntfl N7 ~Mfy, and not pos-
itive (n^DtO), though the latter is the shorter way. Hence it is inferred
that one must be careful not to use improper language; Pesahim 3a;
PR 14, 57b, and the parallel passages cited by Friedmann.
34 BR 31. 13 (according to one view, the young of the Reem
were in the ark) ; comp. also Shu'aib, 5a (below, which also has the state-
ment that all the animals, which were intended for the ark, were born
shortly before they entered there); Zebahim 113b; Sanhedrin 108b,
according to the reading of some MSS. (comp. Rabinowicz, note 2),
and MHG I, 150, note 53. Concerning the Reem see Index, s. v.
A less fabulous description of this animal is found in Lekah, Num.
23. 22: its size is larger than that of a camel, its horns, which are
as sharp as a sword, are five cubits long, so that no animal can resist
it.
35 PRE 23; Targum Yerushalmi Deut. 2. 11 and 3. 10 (a more
detailed description of this legend, taken from the Targum, is found
in Yalkut Reubeni on Gen. 7. 22); Zebahim 113b. In the last pas-
sage it is further remarked that the giants, who had not been carried
off by the waters on account of their size, perished from the heat
(concerning this point see vol. I, p. 159). The Reem and Og had
such gigantic strength that the heat had no effect upon them. Dif-
ferent is the version of this legend in MHG I, 159: The men of the
generation of the flood were fifteen cubits high, and they tried to save
themselves on the lofty mountains when the flood broke forth (comp.,
however, Yoma 76a and BR 32. 11), for which reason God caused
the waters to rise fifteen cubits over the high places. Comp. also
Tan. B. I, 36; Tan. Noah 7; Aggadat Bereshit 4, 10. On Og comp.
also note 54, and vol. Ill, pp. 340, 343.
36 Tehillim 6, 68-69 (instead of jpriD read nano "stipulating").
Comp. also PR 24, 125b, and EZ 3, 175, which reads: God created
everything with the exception of falsehood and deceit, which man
invented. See further ps.-Tertullian, Adversus Omnes Haereses, 2.
37 Sanhedrin 108b; MHG I, 160. Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 7. 14,
cites, from Sode Raza, the statement that Noah took care of the wild
181
38-39! The Legends of the Jews
animals, Shem of the domestic, Ham of the birds, and Japheth of
the reptiles. The sources cited above assume that Noah took with
him food for each species of animals, the kind of food fit for each one;
but, on the other hand, some authorities (BR 31. 14; Tan. B. I, 29 and
37-38; Tan. Noah 2 and 9; Augustine, Civitas Dei, 15. 27) assert that
the dried fig served as food for both man and beast. That all the
animals of the ark became tame, so that Noah walked on snakes and
scorpions without being injured, is asserted in Tehillim 91,400, and also
in MHG 1, 158 (comp. Schechter, note 25), whereas Tan. B. 1, 38, states
that Noah was struck by a lion, which made him lame for the rest of his
life, because he once gave him food at a late hour. In the numerous
parallels to this legend (BR 30. 6, and the sources cited in note 51)
it is stated that Noah's encounter with the lion occurred on leav-
ing the ark. On the many hardships, which Noah and his family under-
went in the ark on account of the animals for which they cared,
see note 223 on vol. I, pp. 270-271. On the animal Urshana (the
writing is doubtful), comp. Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufsatze, 23 and
162-163, as well as Giidemann, ReligionsgeschichtUche Studien, 55, seq.
The word is most likely of Persian origin, but it must not be identi-
fied with the phoenix, though both of them are considered among the
immortals; comp. also Lewysohn, Zoologie des Talmuds, 224, 337,
and 353, who misread the word '"W "bran", as '1? "fruit".
38 Yashar Noah, 16a; see also ibid., 16b, where Noah's prayer, at
the opening of the window of the ark, is given. Comp. further Tehillim
29, 233, which reads: God heard the prayer of the inmates of the
ark. According to BR 32. 11, and the parallels cited by Theodor,
Noah suffered very much from the cold, while the same source, 9,
and Tehillim 1, 11, state that the ark, despite the mass of water,
rested quietly "as a ship in port". Comp. also BR 33. 7, concern-
ing the eleven cubits of the depth of the ark. Zohar I, 68a-68b and
69a, states that Noah by hiding in the ark escaped the angel of death.
39 PRE 23. Just as the wicked generation indulged in unnat-
ural sexual passions, even so was their punishment unnatural: The
female waters rose from the abyss, and united themselves with the
male waters which came from above; BR 32. 7. Comp. also note
42. The view that the flood was brought . about by the union of
the male and female waters is found also in Enoch 54. 8-9, and goes
back, as has already been remarked by others, to the Babylonian
conception of Apsu and Tiamat. < Comp. Yerushalmi Berakot
9, 14a; Yerushalmi Ta'anit 1, 64b, Babli 6b; Tosefta 1. 4; Tehillim
182
Noah [4O"~"43
42, 267; PRE 5; Koheleth Z., 87. Comp. further the designation
of the rain-drops and water bubbles as bridegroom and bride (Ta'anit
6b), and the explanation of this designation by Al-Fasi in his res-
ponsum cited by Abudrahim, Berakot 8 (end). See also Tan. B.
I, 24 (n0K T3 DTO DirVy la) which likewise alludes to the female
waters.
4 Berakot 58b-59a; Rosh ha-Shanah llb-12a; MHG I, 156-
157; Ma'yan Gannim, 125-126. The last source speaks of the theft
committed by HDO "Pleiades" in carrying off two children or stars
of W*y "The Great Bear". Comp. Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufsdtze,
65-66.
4 * BR 25. 2, 31.11, 33. 3, and 34. 11 (with reference to this legend
concerning the name of Noah, comp. note 5); Sanhedrin 108b; PRE
23; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 6. 16 (the glistening precious stone
was fetched by Noah from the river Pishon, at God's behest; this
is inferred from Gen. 2. 11-12); an anonymous Midrash in Yalkut
I, 57; MHG I, 158. Comp. also vol. I, p. 157; vol. IV, pp. 24 and
249.
42 BR 32. 5 and 33, 7, Comp. note 45, particularly concerning
the chronology of the time of the flood. The forty days of punish-
ment are brought into connection with the forty days of Moses' stay
on Sinai ; they did not obey the Torah, which Moses learned in forty
days, hence they were destroyed in forty days. The other explana-
tion of the forty days as given in the text (the author is the
Amora R. Johanan; comp. Shemuel 20, 106) is also known to Philo,
Quaestiones in Gen., 2. 14, and Ephraim, I, 149E. Comp. note 97
on vol. I, p. 82. The tendency to find some relationship between
the punishment inflicted on the wicked generation and the sins they
committed is to be noticed in several passages of the Midrashim;
comp. vol. I, p. 159, and note 39, where various reasons are assigned
why they were punished with water. In all these Haggadot the idea
of "measure for measure" is noticeable; comp. Sifre N., 43; Mid-
rash Tannaim 36; Mekilta Shirah 2, 35b; Mekilta RS, 58; Tosefta
Sotah 3. 9; Sanhedrin 108a; BR 32. 7; Tan. Beshallah 12; MHG I,
150-151. Opinions differ as to whether fish were among the ani-
mals which perished, or not; according to one view, punishment
was not inflicted on them; according to another, Noah brought a
number of fish into the ark, whence many of them escaped to the
ocean; Zebahim 113b; Sanhedrin 108a; BR 32 (end).
43 BR 22. 12 and 32. 5; ShR 31. 16; Koheleth 6. 3; Koheleth
183
44~45] The Legends of the Jews
2., 106. Comp. further particulars on the death of Cain in note 44
on vol. I, p. 117.
44 BR 28. 3; Tan. B. I, 19. A further illustration of the power
of the masses of the waters is given in BR, loc. cit.-, mill-stones were
entirely' dissolved (this is also mentioned in BR 30. 8; WR 31. 1;
Shir 4. 1), and so did the "almond bone" of the human body, which
is otherwise never destroyed, so that it forms a nucleus for the new
body in the time of resurrection (comp. Index, s. v. "Luz"). This
legend wishes to convey^ that the generation of the flood will not be
resurrected, as is explicitly stated in Sanhedrin -10. 3; Tosefta 13.
6; Babli 108a; Yerushalmi 10, 29b; Seder 'Olam 4; BR 26. 6; WR
4. 1; Tehillim 1, 12; ARN 32, 93. The source just cited differs
as to whether these sinners will be completely destroyed, or will suffer
eternal damnation; comp. also Zohar I, 69. The remark concerning
Adam '$ remains is probably an ti- Christian, since in the Christian
versions of the Book of Adam (Book of Adam and Eve 3. 6, seq,;
Schatzhohle, passim ; Preuschen, A damschrifien, 2 6 ; ps.~Hippolytus, 2-3)
the removal of Adam's body from the "Cave of Treasures" into the
ark plays a great parti In this- source the corpse is made to speak.
Yerushalmi Nazir 7, 56b, remarks that after 120 years Adam's re-
mains were destroyed, so that only a spoonful of decayed matter
was left. The same fate awaits every human being. Comp., on
the other hand, Shabbat 152b, where it is asserted that the remains
of the pious, particularly those who were never jealous, will endure
in their perfect state, and will be turned into dust only shortly before
their resurrection. The remains of all those who perished in the
flood were carried down by the waters into the lowland of Babylon,
where the soil was manured with those bodies; Shabbat 113b; Ze-
bahim 113a.
45 Seder 'Olam 4 (a different view is also quoted here, accord-
ing to which the second month in which the flood broke out was lyar,
and by this calculation the entire chronology is to begin with the spring,
and with this latter view Philo, Quaestiones, 2, 17, 45, and 47 agrees;
see also Jub., where the year commences with Nisan); Rosh ha-
Shanah llb-12a; BR 33. 7; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 7. 11 and 8.
4h5, 13; PRE 32; Josephus, Antigui., I, 3. 3. Corap. also note 97 on
vol. I, p. 82. Just as the flood lasted twelve months, even so does,
according to R. Akiba ('Eduyyot 2. 10; numerous parallel passages
are cited by Theodor, BR 28, 9, 1), the punishment of the sinners in
Gehenna last twelve months.
184
Noah [4647
46 Sanhedrin 108; BR 33. 5 (God bade Noah to receive the
raven into the ark once more, because the bird was destined, on an-
other occasion, to bring food for Elijah; comp. 1 Kings 18. 6); 2 Al-
phabet of Ben Sira 26-27 (which contains many additions; comp.
vol. I, pp. 38-39); PRK 32b, For particulars concerning the raven
see vol. I, pp. 166. Philo, Quaestiones t 2, 35, observes that the
raven is a bird able to foresee the future (a similar statement about
the raven is to be found in Gittin 45a, where, however, the same quality
is also ascribed to the dove), and that is the reason why Noah sent
him. Comp. also Zohar Hadash Noah, 28b-29a, where, among other
things, it is said that Noah, by sending the raven, wished to indicate
that God appeared cruel to mankind, even as this bird is cruel to his
children (comp. vol. I. p. 39). Although it was very impious of Noah
to think of God in this manner, he was not punished for it, for "a
man is not held responsible for what he does, if he is driven to it by
suffering." This adage is taken from Baba Batra 16b. Towards the
end of the flood God's wrath was turned into mercy, and He remembered
Noah's good deeds, who had cared for the animals for a whole year;
He also thought of the clean animals which Noah had with him; BR
33. 3 (see the parallels cited by Theodor); Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
8. 1. BR /. c.: The wicked change God's mercy into severity,
while the pious change this severity into mercy. Hence the name
i"* in Gen. 6. 5 and D'n^K in 8. 11, since the Tetragrammaton
stands for God's mercy and D'rfrtt for His severity. Philo,
QuaestioneS) 2, 28, in agreement with Targum Yerushalmi and Tan.
B. I, 36-37, understands rm as "the spirit of God", i. e., His mercy.
Comp. Ginzberg in Ha-Zofeh, IV, 39; Targum Ps. 29. 10 and note
6 on vol. I, p. 4.
47 PRE 23 (he who sends a message by an unclean person is
the same as though he sent it through a fool; he who sends it by
a clean person is as though he sent it by a faithful servant) ; BR 33.
6; WR 31 (end); Shir 1. 15 and 4. 1; Sanhedrin 108b; Zebahim 113a;
'Erubin 18b; Mishle 31, 109; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 8. 11; MHG
I, 163; Evangel of Seth 40 (the statement made here that the raven
did not return is in agreement with Septuagint and Vulgate on Gen.
8. 7, which have the reading at? K^l; comp. Grunbaum, Neve Beitrage,
82-83); Codex Naz., Ill, 72; Ephraim (Lagarde 80, 22.). That the
dove found an olive-tree on the mount of Olives is to be explained
by the fact that the flood did not reach the Holy Land, although the
vapors of the hot water caused destruction also there (comp. vol.
185
48-50] The Legends of the Jews
I, p. 159). See ps.-Philo, 8D; Zebahim, loc. cit, and the four Mid-
rashim mentioned at the beginning of this note. Comp. further Yoma
67a (KD^y vktt) and vol. Ill, p. 63. According to those who think
that the Holy Land was also visited by the flood, the olive-leaf came
from paradise, whose gates opened themselves to the dove; BR,WR,
and Shir, loc. cit.
4 8 BR 39. 3; Koheleth 10, 4; Tan. B. I, 41; Aggadat Bereshit
7, 17-18. Of the hot springs which broke out at the time of the flood,
three remained (in Palestine) open; Sanhedrin 108a; BR 33. 4; MHG
I, 162. On the other traces of the flood comp. Zohar I, 63, and vol.
IV, 156. On the place where the ark rested, comp. Josephus, Antiqui.,
I, 3, 5-6; BR 33. 4; Onkelos and Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 8. 4. See
further the literature cited by Dillmann in his commentary, ad, loc.
Reference may also be made to the following passages: Jub. 5. 28
(Lubar, one of the mountains of Ararat, is the same as in Sefer Noah,
155, beginning; for other sources dependent on Jub., comp. Ronsch,
Buck der JuUlaen, index, 5. v. "Lubar"); Epiphanius, Haer., I, 1.
4, and the sources cited by Malan in his notes on the Book of Adam
239 and 241-242. It is noteworthy that the rabbinic sources (be-
sides the sources quoted above, comp. also Onkelos Gen., loc. cit.;
Abba Gorion 37; Tosefta-Targum 2 Kings 19. 37), with unusual
accord, describe Kardu (Korduene in Armenia) as the mountain
on which the ark rested, just as Berosus (Richter's edition, 56), in
his account of the flood, makes Xisuthros come out of his ship in
Korduene. Comp. also Julius Africanus, as quoted by Syncellus,
1,21.
49 Zohar Hadash Noah, 29a; Zohar I (supplement), 4a and 68a;
Sabba, Noah, lOd. Comp. further vol. Ill, p. 427, concerning Noah's
selfishness, who was anxious for his own safety, for which he prayed
to God (MHG I, 154), but did not trouble himself about all the
other people when God revealed to him their approaching doom.
While in the ark, however, Noah constantly prayed to God; comp.
note 38. See further Tan. B. I, 42; Tan. Noah 9; Aggadat Bere-
shit 7, 18; PRE 23.
50 BR 25. 2. On the signification of this name comp. note 5.
The anthropomorphic expression "and God smelled the sweet savour"
(Gen. 8. 21), against which the Clementine Homilies, 3. 39, strongly
expressed themselves, is explained in BR 34. 9 to mean that God
had accepted Noah's sacrifice mercifully for the sake of his pious
descendants, Abraham, the three youths in the fiery furnace, as well
186
Noah [51-52
as many martyrs in the time of religious persecutions (in the time
of Hadrian), who were ready to sacrifice their lives for the sancti-
fication of God 's name.
51 BR 30. 6 and 36. 4; PK27, 168a; WR 20. 1; Koheleth 9.
2; Koheleth Z. 119; Tan. B. I, 38, and V, 7; Tan. Noah 9 and Wa-
Ethanan 1. According to some of these sources, it was when leaving
tha ark that Noah was hurt by the lion; this assumes that during their
stay in the ark all the animals were tame; comp. note 37, and further
Book of Adam 3. 11. In 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 29b and 35b-36a
it is the eagle and the raven who, after leaving the ark, set an example
of immorality and murder. It was the raven who advised the ani-
mals not to obey Noah's command to lead a monogamous life, and
it was the eagle who was the first to slay a bird. At first even the
rest of the birds tried to punish the eagle (God only enabled it to
escape by means of its high flight), but gradually they got accustomed
to it. On Shem, the priest, comp. note 102 on vol. I, p. 233. In Zohar
Hadash Noah, 29b, it is said that God appointed Shem priest as a re-
ward for his devotion to the study of the Torah, in which he first in-
structed his brother Japheth and subsequently Abraham. The lat-
ter then prayed to God that He should cause His Shekinah to rest
in "the house of Shem" (i. e., Jerusalem), and this request was granted
to him. The knowledge of the Torah was directly transmitted to
Shem by Enoch, who had received it from Seth, to whom Adam had
imparted it. After the flood God decided that it would be better
for man to observe a few important precepts of the Torah rather than
possess the whole of it and neglect it on account of the vast number
of the precepts. Whereupon He assigned to them seven Noachite
laws, and waited for the advent of Abraham to observe the entire
Torah. According to another view, Noah and his family forgot the
Torah during the time of the flood because of their sufferings. After
the flood God revealed to him the seven precepts. Comp. note 55
on vol. I, p. 71.
52 BR 26. 1 and 34. 9; Tan. B. II, 127; Tan. Wa-Yakhel 6; ShR
50. 2; Tehillim 1, 11; PRE 23 and 31 (concerning the number of the
sacrifices comp. Luria's note 70 on the first passage); Targum Yer-
ushalmi Gen. 8. 20 and 22. 9; Ephraim I, 1486. Jub. 6. 1, se%. t con-
nects this sacrifice of Noah, and the covenant appertaining to it which
God made with him on this occasion, with the feast of Pentecost,
and makes them both take place in the month of Siwan; comp.
187
53~~54l The Legends of the Jews
note 60 on vol. I, p. 137, Mount Lubar is designated as the site of
the altar (comp. note 48).
53 BR 34. 12 (the complete dominion of man over the animals
was not established until the time of Solomon; comp. note 113 on vol.
1, p. 94 ); Midrash Aggada, Gen, 9. 2 (read nw 01001); MHG I,
168. Noah did not wish to leave the ark, since the earth had no
people at all. On account of this God said to him: "Be fruitful
and multiply on earth". But Noah and his family were not inclined
to comply with this command, for they feared another flood. They
were finally calmed only when God promised him never to destroy the
earth again; MHG 1, 165 (comp. Schechter, note 20) ; BR 34. 6; Sanhed-
rin 108b (this is how on $b DrPflinDlWDi> is to be explained; comp.,Pa-
'aneah and Hadar on Gen. 8. 19; differently Midrash Aggada, ad loc^
according to which 'ns2& indicates that only the young of the ani-
mals, which were born in the ark, left it, but not those which entered
it; comp. the midrashic quotation in Shu'aib, 56); Zohar Hadash
Noah, 28b; Midrash Aggada 8, 18.
54 Sanhedrin 108b; BR 31. 12, 34. 7, and 36. 7; Yerushalmi
Ta'anit 1, 64d; Tan. B. I, 42-43; Tan. Noah 11 and 12; PRE 23;
an unknown Midrash in Yalkut II, 960 (end); it is related to, but
not identical with PK29, 189a; an unknown Midrash in Da' at, Gen. 7. 7;
ER31, 162; MHG 1, 165 (comp. Schechter, note 18) ; Philo, QuaesMones,
2, 49; Aristeas 35; Origen, Gen. Sekcla, 7. 19; Ephraim, I, 150 C
and 54 B; Book of Adam 3. 11; Evangel of Seth 40; ps.-Hippolytus,
2-3 and 4. On the statement, found in Book of Adam 3. 8, that the
women had quarters in the western and the men in the eastern side of the
ark, comp. vol. I, pp. 94-95. On the underlying idea of this legend express-
ed in the saying " the individual should participate in the suffering of the
community' 1 , comp. note 190 on vol. II, p. 77, and vol. Ill, p. 61. Re-
garding the three sinners, Ham, the dog, and the raven, the following
may be noted. Shemhazael (sic!) shortly before the flood had inter-
course with the wife of Ham, who, in order to protect his wife, tres-
passed the commandment of abstinence in the ark, and claimed the
bastards Sihon and Og as his own children (comp. Index, s. p.); Yal-
kut Reubeni, Gen, 7. 7, and R. Bahya, Hukkat (end), who cites
this legend in an abbreviated form. The dog followed Ham's bad
example secretly (as a punishment the male remains attached to
the body of the female after copulation). Finally the raven followed
this example openly, and called upon the other animals to violate
Noah's prohibition. See 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 35b. Different is
183
Noah [55-56
the reading ibid., 26b-27a, and in the older sources cited at the beginn-
ing of this note. Comp. also MHG I, 162 (end). On the punishment
of the raven, comp. vol. I, pp. 38-39, and on that of the dog, note
178 on vol. I, p. 39.
6 5 BR 35. 2 (pDD in MS. 3 cited by Theodor means "going through"
= " studying"; comp. am and fcTOD); Yerushalmi Berakot 9, 13d;
Ketubot 77b; PR 10, 87b; Tehillim 36, 252. On the question whether
God's oath (comp. Shebu'ot 36a; MHG I, 172, and the sources cited
by Schechter, on the sevenfold oath not to destroy the world), not to
bring a flood again, precludes His destruction of the world by other
means, or not, see Ginzberg, tPM hw ^UD 14, sec[., where all the mat-
erial bearing on this subject, found in ancient literature, has been
collected. See further Philo, Quaestiones, 2. 63. The rainbow is a
sign to the effect that God laid aside His weapon, the bow, with which
He had destroyed the world during the flood: it was stretched at
that time, but never again; Lekah, Gen. 9. 16, undoubtedly based
on older sources; comp. the Midrash in MHG I, 172, where refer-
ence is made to Hab. 3. 9 concerning the bow as God's weapon. A
different view is given in BR 35. 3, where the rainbow is conceived
as the reflection of God's majesty. On the basis of an old tannaitic
tradition (comp. vol. I, p. 83), according to which the rainbow, which
first became visible in Noah's days, belonged to the primordial cre-
ations, we meet, in the old sources, the rationalistic explanation of
Gen. 9. 12. This explanation takes this verse to mean that during
the time of the flood, on account of the uninterrupted pour of rain,
no rainbow was seen, since it is only visible in clear weather; cornp.
Sa'adya Gaon, quoted by Kimhi, ad loc., who bases his view on BR,
though our text of that Midrash contains nothing to that effect. See
further MHG I, 173. Philo, Quaestiones, 2, 64, opposes the view
which considers the rainbow as God's weapon.
5 6 BR 36. 6 and 34. 13-14 (in the first passage the view is also
cited, according to which animals are not punished); Sanhedrin 57a-
57b; MHG I, 171; Onkelos and Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 9. 6". Comp.
also DR 2. 25. On the seven Noachite laws, comp. note 51 and note
55 on vol. I, p. 71. On the reward and punishment of the animals,
comp. Slavonic Enoch 58, and Ginzberg's Compte Rendu, 34. Some
authorities contest the view that Adam was forbidden to eat meat;
comp. BR 16 (end); Tan. B. I, 30; Tan. Shemini 8 (middle). The
Church Fathers also differ on the point whether Adam was per-
mitted to eat meat or not; comp. Justin Martyr, Dialogs, 20; The-
189
57~S9l The Legends of the Jews
odoretus, Gen. 9. 3, and 29; Aphraates, 310. Comp. also note 56 on vol.
I, p. 71. Justin Martyr and Aphraates, loc.ctt., as well as Clemens
Alexandrinus, Stromata, 2. 1, oppose the Jewish dietary laws on the
basis of Gen. 3. 3, and we have the answer to this in the Tanhuma,
loc. oil, as well as in Tehillim 146, 535, in the sentence that a son of
Noah (i, e., a non-Jew) was permitted to eat all kinds of meat; but
on mount Sinai God gave laws and precepts to Israel, which restrict-
ed the enjoyment of meat, in order to grant them reward for the ob-
servance thereof.
57 BR 36. 3 (on other men to whom agriculture caused injury,
comp. note 28 on vol. I, p. 112); Tan. B. I, 46 (in the Tanhuma the des-
ignation "a man of the soil" is considered by some as a sign of honor;
similarly Philo, De Agricultura, 1); Tan. Noah 13; PRE 23; Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 9. 20. That the grapes came from paradise is men-
tioned only in the two last sources; the opposite view is found in
BR, loc. cit.\ Tan. B. I, 48; Tan. Noah 15, which reads: Noah took
along with him all the possible plants for the future cultivation of
the ground, among them the seeds of the vine. Cornp. note 59.
* 8 Tan. Noah 18; Tan, B. I, 48; BR 36. 3-4; PRE 23; Abkir
in Yalkut I, 61 (this passage speaks of the sheep, the lion, and the
pig only), and in a MS. quoted by Epstein, Ha-Eshkol } II, 205; Shu-
'aib, Noah 5d(is probably based on a more correct text of Tan., and
has the sheep, lion, ape, and pig); Midrash Aggada, Gen. 9. 21 (agrees
with Shu'aib). Hadar, Gen., loc. tit., quotes a somewhat different
version of the legend, according to which the animals are: the pig,
he-goat, sheep, and ape. In Shalshelet, 92b, it is the he-goat which became
drunk on wild grapes. Whereupon Noah tried to plant grapes, and
he washed the roots with the blood of a lion, pig, sheep, and ape.
On the views of the old sources concerning wine, comp. 'Erubin 65a;
Ketubot 65a; Sanhedrin 70a; BR 36. 4; Tan. B. I, 58, 50-51, and
III, 24-26; Tan. Shemini 11; WR 12. 1; Mishle 23, 95-96. While
intoxication is said in these sources to be the cause of all sins, and
the ruin of individuals, as well as nations, and therefore severely con-
demned, the moderate enjoyment of the vine is not only permitted,
but also recommended. Similar views on the use and misuse of wine
are found in Greek Baruch 4.
59 Sanhedrin 70a; Greek Baruch 4. 8; Apocalypse of Abraham
23; Enoch 32. 4. Comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 38-
45, aad note 70 on vol. I, 75. Origen, Gen. 9. 20, maintains that
Noah's vine was the offshoot of the tree of knowledge, and this view
190
Noah [60-6 1
see,ms to be shared by PRE 23 and Targum Yerushalmi, loc. cit. (comp.
note 57). The whole earth is either watered from paradise or Ge-
henna (from their streams) ; where good wine grows, the soil is watered
from paradise; but where bad wine grows, the soil is watered from
Gehenna; BHM V, 67.
60 BR 36. 4-5 and 7; Tan. B. I, 49; Tan. Noah 15; PRE 23;
Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 9. 24-25; Midrash Haserot 50 (while in-
toxicated he ventured to have intercourse with his wife, which he
would not have done if he were sober, owing to the fact that the lion
had hurt him and rendered him incapable of conjugal relations; comp.
BR, loc. cit., and vol.1, pp. 165-166; but differently in BR 25. 1,
where the evil that had befallen Noah is declared to have been
the punishment for his refusal, after leaving the ark, to resume con-
jugal relations which had been interrupted during his stay there; comp.
note 53 and BR, loc. cit., where, according to one view, this abstinence
of Noah is highly commended) ; Sanhedrin 70a (according to one view
Ham committed sodomy); Clementine Recognitions, 1. 30; Theophilus,
3.19; Book of Adam 3. 13. The emphasis laid in Jewish sources on the fact
that Ham prevented his father from begetting a fourth son seems to
be directed against the view found in the Book of Adam, loc. cit., and
in other Christian writings, according to which Noah begot several
sons after leaving the ark; comp. Griinbaum, Neue Beitrage, 86-87.
In the above-mentioned rabbinic sources, as well as in patristic lit-
erature (Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 139; Ephraim, I, 56 F, 57 A and B;
Theodoretus and Origen, Gen., loc. cit.), opinions differ as to whether
the fault was entirely Ham's (yet he, having been blessed, could not
be cursed; comp. note 85 on vol. I, 78) or whether Canaan, Ham's
son, had a share in it; comp. the following note. Noah learned
of the disgrace perpetrated on him by his son through a dream;
Targum Yerushalmi, loc. cit. According to others (Shu'aib, Noah,
5b, quoting a Midrash, perhaps BR 37. 7: ^>lD>rr 133), Noah took
it for granted that only his immoral son could have committed this
act (comp. vol. I, p. 166). On the interpretation of BR 36. 4 that
"tent" is a metaphor for wife (TON^n^riN), comp. Mo'ed Katan
15b and BR 39. 16. A favorite metaphor for wife is house, comp.
e. g. Shabbat 118b; Yoma 13a.
61 BR 36. 7; Tan. B. I, 49; Tan. Noah 15. PRE 23 goes even
a step further and asserts, in agreement with some of the Church
Fathers (comp. the preceding note, and Ginzberg, Haggada bei den
Kirchenv., 8-^-87), that it was really Canaan who committed , this
191
62-66] The Legends of the Jews
disgraceful act (the castration of Noah); Ham, however, divulged
the secret. Sforno, Gen, 9. 25, quotes a similar version from Ber-
osus the Chaldean. Comp. also Philo (De Ebrietati, 2, 7, and 10;
Quaestiones, 2, 65, 70, 77), who, in agreement with the Rabbis, makes
Canaan participate in his father's disgraceful deed, and is also ac-
quainted with the haggadic interpretation of BR 36. 2 and 7 concern-
ing Gen. 9. 18 and 24 (Ham and Canaan, because they are both
equally base in character, are designated as father and son; hence
]DpH signifies "the debased"). It is probable that similar state-
ments of the Church Fathers go back, directly or indirectly, to Philo.
62 Pesahim 113b. PRK (Schonblum's edition, 15b and 19a)
has: Love sleep, and hate work, as a part of the Testament of
Canaan; comp. also Pesahim 40b, below, as well as Kiddushin 49b,
concerning the indolence of slaves; see note 292 on vol. II, p. 115.
63 BR 36. 6 (they walked with their eyes closed); Tan. B. I,
48-50 (even after they had covered their father, they did not turn
round); Tan. Noah 15. Comp. note 59 on vol. IV, p. 269, concern-
ing the "death by fire" to which the army of Senacherib was doomed.
Shem is already praised in Ecclu. 49. 16, and the rabbinic legend
which identifies him with Melchizedek (comp. vol.1, p. 233, and MHG
I, 187) does not only praise his piety, but considers him a-prophet,
who had in vain admonished the nations for 400 years about their
wickedness. But he received his reward, for God blessed him with
Abraham as his descendant; ER 20, 114; 24, 126-127; 28, 141-142;
EZ 2, 174. The "house of study" and "court of justice" of Shem
and Eber are frequently mentioned in the talmudic and midrashic
literature; comp., e. ., BR 63. 10, 85. 12; Makkot 23b, etc. That
Eber was a prophet is already found in Seder 'Olam 1 (comp. Rat-
ner, ad Ice.). See vol. Ill, pp. 355-356.
6 4 MHG I, 177-178; BR 26. 3. Comp. vol. I, pp. 375 and 414,
concerning the combining of God's name with that of a person.
6s BR 36. 8; Tan. B. I, 50; Tan. Noah 15; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 9. 27; Jerome on Gen., loc. cit. (who naturally conceives it in
a Christian sense), and Irenaeus, Haer., Ill, 5. 3. The Church Fathers
follow the old versions (including Onkelos), which translate HS" 1 ''stretch-
ing- out " ; this is perhaps the view of the Midrashim just cited. Comp.
the following note.
66 Yoma 9b; PR 35, 160a; BR 36. 8; comp. further Onkelos,
ad loc.] Jub. 7. 12; Philo, De Ebrietati, 13. The last-named author
wavers between the explanation which takes Japheth to be the sub-
192
Noah [6770
ject of pe>% and that which refers this verb to God. The view that
the Shekinah was absent from the second temple is widespread; comp.
note 341 on vol. Ill, p. 161, and note 36 on vol. IV, p. 355. Very
popular is the interpretation that Noah's blessing contains the pro-
phecy concerning the translation of the Scriptures into Greek: "The
beauty of Japheth, the Greek translation, will be used in the tents
of Shem, the houses of study of the Jews"; Megillah 9b; Yerushalmi
1, 71b; BR, loc.cit.', DR 1. 1. Wise sayings of Shem are given in Ben
ha-Melek 21, according to Arabic sources.
67 Jub. 7. 13-39. Concerning Noah's daughters-in-law, comp.
note 42 on vol. I, p. 116; ps.-Hippolytus, 2; in Sibyll. 3. 826 the Sibyl
describes herself as one of them. Verse 20 of Jub. is perhaps an
inaccurate translation of the Hebrew original, whose text may have
read: DB?n rO~Q hy] !Tnj7 '1^3 hy pn hy OTrnm "And he command-
ed them to mete out justice, not to commit incest, and not to blas-
pheme God"; comp. Sanhedrin 56b, where these are included among
the seven Noachian precepts. On ITIHJ? *fo (literally "uncovering the
nakedness" = incest or unchastity), see the dictionaries on the Talmud,
5. y.; comp. note 17.
68 Jub. 8. 10-30, where the possessions of each of the sons of
Noah are described in detail. The parallels to this legend of Jub.
(some are directly borrowed from it) in Christian literature are given
by Charles, ad loc. Comp. further Clementine Recognitiones, 1. 30;
Ephraim, I, 153 C. This legend is entirely unknown in rabbinic sources
(PRE 24 does not belong here; comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei den
Kirchenv., 88), but Sibyll. 3. 114 seems to have made use of Jub.,
loc. cit.\ comp. note 71. On Jerusalem, or rather the site of the altar,
as the centre of the earth, comp. vol. I, p. 12, and the Melchizedek
fragment 3. On Palestine as the rightful possession of Israel, the
descendants of Shem, comp. note 73.
69 Seder 'Ola-m 1; BR 37. 7, where one view is given, according
to which at the birth of Peleg (comp. Jub. 8. 8) the earth was divided
and his father therefore gave him a name alluding to this event.
Concerning Eber, comp. also note 63 and Jerome, Gen. 10. 25.
70 Yashar Noah, I7a. A different view is given in BR 6. 4
and 37. 7, according to which Joktan signifies "the modest one".
As a reward for his modesty he became the progenitor of thirteen
tribes. However, many of his descendants lived in great poverty.
The inhabitants of Hazarmaveth lived only on herbs, and wore clothes
made of paper, and daily awaited death; BR 37. 8.
193
71-72] The Legends of the Jews
71 Jub. 9. 14-15; Midrash Aggada Gen. 12, 6. Comp. note
73 and vol. Ill, p. 368.
72 MHG I, 182, from an unknown source. The text is corrupt
in several places, and it is therefore only possible to restore some of
the names to their original form. Instead of D"D On"N read D"X 'N;
for 'pisp read 'pTflp " Cappadocian " ; and probably instead of m*
read 'TO "Tyrian". Less probable is the emendation of ^Spfl to
7'JE> "Phenician", whereas 'Dim for 'Dim "Roman" (this is the
usual orthography in Syriac) is very likely only a printer's error. It
is very strange that "Jebusite" is ascribed to the Japhethic and Per-
sian to the Hamitic system of* writing, particularly in view of Gen.
10. 16. It is unknown what '3WD13 is; it seems to be Persian. Ac-
cordingly we may say with certainty that the systems of writing
known to this source are: Roman, Cappadocian, Greek, and Median,
which were employed by the Japhethites; the Hamites employed the
Persian, Agogian, African, Syrian, and Phenician writings; whereas
the Semites used Egyptian, Libnian (comp. Sanhedrin 21b: iro
HWD^), Assyrian, Hebrew", and Chaldean. On the biblical table of
nations in rabbinic literature comp. Krauss, Monatsschrift, XXXIX,
1-11 and 49-63; Schiirer, Geschichte, II, 406, note 42, as well as Ginz-
berg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv. , 90. The number of nations or ' ' tongues' '
(niDIN and niJlty 1 ? are used synonymously in this connection) is given
in the source employed in MHG, as seventy-two. This agrees with
Hippolytus 10. 26; Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata, 1. 26 and other
Christian authors; comp. Schiirer, loc. cit. Other rabbinic sources us-
ually speak of the "seventy nations of the world"; comp. vol. I, p.
314; vol. II, p, 214; vol. Ill, pp. 97, 161, 351, 371, 493; vol. IV, pp. 6,
247, 360. 382, 391. See further ER 15, 76; 19, 111, 126; 31, 156;
EZ 15, 175 (uses, with one exception on p. Ill, jltf 1 ? and rww!? instead
of niDlK); DR 4. 9; Shir 1. 2 (end); Targum Song of Songs 1. 2 and 9;
Midrash Tannaim 190; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 11. 7 and Deut.
32. 9; PRE 24; Midrash le-Hanukkah 135 (second version, 141);
Sukkah 55b; PK 30, 194a, and 31, 195b; Tan. B. IV, 156; Tan. Pine-
has 16; BaR 21, 24; Shir 4. 1; Tehillim 109, 465, and 9, 84. In the
last-named passage a more detailed account of this number is given,
in which it is asserted that the descendants of Japheth enumerated
in the Bible are 14, those of Ham are 30 (with the omission of the
Philistines who are designated in 10. 14 as a mixed people), and those
of Shem are 26. The total is thus seventy. Different is the reading
in Baraita 32 Middot in Yalkut I, 61, on Gen. 9. 18, and similarly
194 >
Noah [73
Ephraim I, 51 J (comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 91-92),
according to which Japheth and Ham, and even the Philistines are
included in the number, but Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, and Eber
are excluded. The descendants of Noah thus amount to seventy.
With the exception of the last-mentioned four, all of them were wick-
ed; hence these four, who were pious men, were not included. The
number 72 is very likely based on the assumption that Asshur named
in 10. 11 must not be identified with the person bearing the same
name mentioned in 10. 22. On the basis of Song of Songs 6. 8,
some authorities speak of 140 nations (comp. Sifre, D., 311; Midrash
Tannaim, loc. cits, Shir 6. 8; Midrash Shir 43b; BaR 9. 14 and 14.
10. Comp. further vol. Ill, 205 and 209), of whom sixty have their
own languages and scripts, while the remaining eighty only have
languages but not scripts. MHG I, 178-179 contains an unknown
Midrash which endeavors to prove that these sixty nations are in
accordance with the table of nations of Gen., where ten names are those
of individuals (this is, however, done in a very forced way), while the re-
maining eighty sprang up later, as, for instance, the descendants of Ketu-
rah, the Ishmaelitic tribes, etc. Comp. also vol. I, p. 314, according to
which the number of seventy nations was only completed by including
Israel and Edom. It is possible that originally the seventy-two nations
stood for the seventy descendants of Noah and these two. Aggadat Ber-
eshit 14, 32, reads: Isaiah and Obadiah (the first is one of the great-
est of the prophets, and the second the least important) uttered their
prophecies in seventy-one languages. If we should include the Phil-
istines in the table of nations, we would have 71 nations and languages.
Comp. de Rossi, Meor 'Enayim, 455, who refers to 72 languages in
Augustine, Civitas Dei, 16. 3 and 11. Comp. Steinschneider, Z.D.M.
G., IV, 145-170, and LVII, 474, seq.-, Krauss in Z.A.T.W., XIX, 1-4,
and XX, 38-43; Poznanski, ibid., XXV, 301-308. Comp. also the
following note.
73 MHG I, 179-180, quoting an unknown source. This, like
the Haggadah referred to in the preceding note concerning the num-
ber seventy of Noah's descendants, is based on Deut. 32. 5. The
one passage refers "the number of the sons of Israel "in this verse to the
family of Jacob at the time of entering Egypt, which according to Gen.
46. 27, was 70, while the other refers it to the twelve sons of Jacob. The
source of MHG is unknown. Itfis probably a tannaitic Midrash of
which traces may be found in Sifre D., 39; Batte Midrashot 1, 4 (but
there mention is made of the division of the entire earth into twelve parts,
195
74~75l The Legends of the Jews
and not of Palestine ; comp. note 33 on vol. I, p. 1 1) ; RShBM and Hadar
on Deut., loc. cit. In the last-named source it is explicitly stated that
twelve Canaanitish tribes had charge of the Holy Land prior to the
time of Israel's settlement; but the Canaanites never owned it, for
"whatever the slave possesses belongs- to his master", and Canaan
was made the slave of Shem, the progenitor of Israel. This is to serve
as a rejoinder to the complaint against Israel for having despoiled the
Canaanites of their possessions. Another Haggadah goes even fur-
ther, and asserts that Canaan was tke unlawful possessor of Pales-
tine; comp. vol. I, pp. 219-220. The Torah, observes a widespread
Haggadah (BR 1. 2 and parallels cited by Theodor), begins with the
creation of the world, and not with the legal sections, in order that
Israel should be able to retort to the accusation of the nations. The -
latter would assert that the Isrealites were robbers, who despoiled
the inhabitants of Palestine of their possessions. But Israel replies:
"The world and everything therein belongs to God who created it.
When He wished, He gave it to you; when He willed otherwise, He
took it away from you and gave it to us." Comp. Sanhedrin 91a.
74 Sefer Noah, 155 (it is really the first chapter of the Asaf book;
comp. Venetianer, Asaf Juddus, Budapest, 1915. XXXVIII Jahres-
bericht der Landes-Rabbinerschule) , apparently in agreement with Jub.
10. 114; comp. also Clementine Homilies, 7. 18-19, concerning the
instructions which the angels gave to the demons (the souls of the
giants who perished in the flood) after the flood. In the Zadokite
Fragment 16. 5, too, Satan is called Mastemah, or to be accurate,
"the angel Mastemah."
7 5 Sefer Noah, 155-156. The legend cited by many authors of the
Middle Ages concerning the sages who sought to acquire, in India,
certain plants of paradise, but perished miserably in their attempt,
goes back, directly or indirectly, to the Asaf book (comp. the pre-
ceding note). See Nahmanides, Torat ha- Adam 30 (Sha'ar ha-Ge-
mul), 102a, who refers to the book of healing of the old Greeks and
to the Jew Asaf; Shu'aib, Bereshit, 3a,and Haazinu, 119a; Recanati,
Gen. 3. 24; Ziyyoni, Lev. 18. 21. R Makir, Abkat Rokel, 2. 1 (end),
narrates the story of the attempt of the sages in a way which sug-
gests, as his source, a different version of the Asaf book. This R.
Makir is not, as Venetianer, p. 36 (of the book referred to in the pre-
ceding note) maintains, identical with the scholar bearing the same
name who flourished at Narbonne about the 'beginning of the ninth
century. The author of Abkat Rokel not only quotes Rashi (1. 2)
196
Noah [76
and Bahir (2. 1), but he also made use of the Zohar, from which
book (comp. note 4 on vol. II, p. 5) his explanation of the title Zad-
dik ("the just") given to Joseph is taken, Accordingly the tradition
which considers this R. Makir as a pupil of R. Jacob b. Asher is well
founded, at least in so far as it fixes the time. An entirely different
version of the origin of the books of healing is found in TShBZ, No.
445. The stay in the ark brought many diseases upon Noah and his
family, apart from the discomfort qaused by the bad odor of the spirits,
demons,. and Liliths. After the flood an angel took one of Noah's
sons (i. e. t Shem) to paradise, where he revealed to him all kinds of
remedies, which the latter wrote down in a book. This is the book
of healing which Hezekiah (comp. vol. IV, p. 277) made use of. The
motive of the legend concerning Noah 's book of healing is to establish
the fact that all wisdom originated with the Jews, and that the phil-
osophers and the physicians of the Greeks have no claim to orig-
inality; comp. vol. IV, p. 97, respecting Socrates, the disciple of Ahi-
tophel, and the widespread legend of the relationship of Plato and
Aristotle to Jeremiah and other Jewish sages, from whom they re-
ceived their wisdom. Shu'aib, Reeh, 107c, knows to record that
Pythagoras (he is described as a small and ugly person) originally
came from Haran. The legend wishes thereby to convey that he
imported his wisdom (the gift of foreseeing the future is also ascribed
to him) from the Hebrews, whose original seat was in Haran. On
Kangar the son of Ur,- see Graetz, Monatsschrift, VIII, 150-152,
who correctly suggests the reading Kantar, who enjoyed a great repu-
tation among the Sabeans (comp. Chwolson, Szabier, II, 514). Comp.
note 95 on vol. I, p. 81. A mystical "book of Shem" is mentioned
in geonic times; comp. Graetz, loc. cit,, 150.
76 Ps.-Philo, 5 A, 6 D-8D. Comp. also 3 (below) and 4 (top;
the leader of the Japhethites is called Thanat and Theneth; perhaps
"pyn?), and Yerahmeel 28-29-, who had a considerably better text of
ps.-Philo before him than the printed one. But not even his text
was entirely free from errors. The dependence of Yerahmeel on the
Latin text of ps.-Philo becomes strikingly apparent from the names
of the twelve pious men whose Hebrew names Yerahmeel did not
recognize in every case. These were, as ps.-Philo clearly asserts,
relatives of Joktan, and, with the exception of Abraham, Nachor,
Lot, and Reu, correspond to the names given in Gen. 10. 26-29,
whose Latin forms (Esar = ^n in m/0*IXTl; Tenute and Zaba are Latin
corruptions f or Evila and Uzal=b"in and!?n, respectively; comp. ps.-
197
77] The Legends of the Jews
Philo, 4D) Yerahmeel reproduces. As to the legend given in ps.-
Philo, we have in it one of the oldest forms of a widespread legend
concerning the rescue of Abraham from death by fire (comp. vol.
I, pp. 201 and 216-217, as well as the notes appertaining thereto),
which is brought in relation with the erection of the Tower of Babel,
just as the rabbinic sources would have it that Abraham tried to
dissuade the wicked generation of the Tower from their enterprise
(Tan. B. I, 99-100; PRE 24; BR 38. 6). The puzzling remark oc-
curring in ps -Philo, 8C, that the place where Abraham was saved
from the fire was called, in the Chaldean language, Deli, "quod in-
terpretatur deus", is very likely a haggadic interpretation of Ur (read
Uri instead of Deli); comp. Eupolemus, 418d, where instead of bib-
lical Ur, the form Uria is given which is most likely a corruption of
Ura=nm, "the light of God' 1 ; comp. Baba Batra 25a and see
further Jub. 11. 3. The depravity of mankind, according to Jub.
II. 2, seq.j began in the time of Serug, who is designated as an
idolater, whereas ps.-Philo, 5 A, excludes him and his household
from the general demoralization. Comp. vol. I, pp. 185-186.
77 Pesahim 94b, in an utterance of Rabban Johanan b. Zaccai's,
who, connecting the name Nimrod with "n "rebelled", maintains
that it signifies "he who caused man to revolt against God". BR
37. 2-4; Megillah lla; TehilHm 105, 449; Esther R. 1.1; Philo, De
Gigant.i 15 (he employs almost the same words as Rabban Johanan,
his younger contemporary, in explaining the name Nimrod), and
Quaestiones, 82 (here Nimrod is connected with 1DD "spotted", hence:
"nomen.. . interpretatus Aethiope 1 '); ps.-Philo, 4C ("ipse initiavit
esse superbus ante dominum"). Comp. also the sources cited in the
following notes 78-88, concerning the wickedness of Nimrod, as well
as Yerushalmi Targumim on Gen. 10.8. Another view given in a source
which was made use of by Targum Yerushalmi 10. 11 (but not by
2 Targum Yerushafmi), states that Nimrod emigrated to Assyria
because he refused to participate in the building of the tower. For
this he was rewarded by God, and received four cities as an addition
to his dominions, corresponding to the number of cities which he owned
in Babylon, and which he abandoned in his emigration. A similar
Haggadah is found in Ephraim, I, 15A, who states that Nimrod fought
for the sake of God, against the generation o f the building of the Tower.
Ephraim also mentions another view, according to which, he betook
himself to hunting in order to provide food for the builders of the Tower.
Comp. BR 37. 4, and Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 88-89,
19S
Noah [78-82
as well as note 34 on vol. I, p. 201. In Yashar Noah, 17b-18a,
also two different sources are found; according to one Nimrod
went (comp. ibid. 17. concerning the explanation of the name Ninv
rod: because man at the time of his birth rebelled against God)
hunting in order to prepare sacrifices for the altar he erected to
God. But afterwards we read that he was instrumental in causing
man to forsake God. Midrash Aggada Gen. 10. 8, asserts that
Nimrod was the first who ate meat.
? 8 Yashar Noah 17a. On these garments, comp. PRE 24
(this is the source of Yashar); Pesahim 44b; notes 39 and 89 on
vol. I, pp. 319 and 332 respectively. Comp. the following note.
7 9 PRE 24; Midrash 'Aseret Melakim, 38-39; Zohar I, 73b and 142b;
Sabba, Toledot, 28a; R. Bahya, Gen. 3. 21 (from Adam they came
down to Cain, and after his death Nimrod took possession of them);
Hadar and Da 1 at on Gen. 25. 32 and 27. 15. These splendid gar-
ments which Adam and Eve received at the time of leaving
paradise were made of the skin of the female Leviathan (comp. vol.
I, p. 27); Hadar and Da 1 at on Gen. 3. 21. Comp. BR 20. 12; Tan.
B. I, 18, and Abkir in Yalkut I, 44, concerning these garments of Ad-
am which served to the former generations as priestly garments.
Comp. the preceeding note.
80 Yashar Noah, 17b; Zohar I, 73b-74a.
81 PRE 24. According to ps.-Philo, 5A, Nimrod was only
the chief of the Hamites, whereas the Japhethites and Semites had
their own chiefs; comp. vol. I, p. 175 (top).
82 Yashar Noah, 17b~18a; comp. also 23a concerning Nimrod r s
war enterprises and the founding of the cities; see further vol. I, p.
229, about the identity of Nimrod with Amraphel. On the Hag-
gadah concerning the rulers of the world, a number of versions are
extant. PRE 11 reads: God, at the time of the creation of the world
was the first ruler; then Nimrod, Joseph, Solomon, Ahab, Nebuchad-
nezzar, Cyrus, Alexander of Macedon, the Messiah, and at the end of
time God, who was the first ruler, will also be the last. Maamar
'Aseret Melakim, 54r-55, and Ma'asiyyot (ed. Gaster, beginning) go
back directly to this source; both of these books are to be used for
a correct text of PRE. A version of this legend closely related to
that found in PRE is that of Midrash 'Aseret Melakim, 38-55, whereas
2 Targum Yerushalmi 1. 1, which has (instead of Joseph, Solomon,
Ahab, Cyrus, and Alexander) the following names: Pharaoh king of
Egypt (either the one who ruled in the land in the time of Joseph
199
83] The Legends of the Jews
or the Pharaoh of the Exodus), Israel, Ahasuerus, Greece, and Rome.
At the end of this verse Targum has a second version, according to
which there were only four rulers over the world, two Jews (Solomon
and Ahab), and two non-Jews (Nebuchadnezzar and Ahasuerus). This
is apparently based on Megillah lla, according to the modifi-
cation of the talmudic statement in Panim Aherim, 56. Esther R.
1. 1 cites David, Solomon, Ahab, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, and Darius
as the rulers of the world. To this list are probably to be added
the first, as well as the last two names mentioned in PRE, in order
to complete the number ten. 'Aktan, 12 gives the following rulers:
Nimrod, Pharaoh, Solomon, Ahab, Nebuchadnezzar, Ahasuerus, Cy-
rus, Alexander, Vespasian, Adarshan. Comp: vol. Ill, pp. 146, 355;
vol. TV,' pp. 125, 186, 333, 407-. See further Otot ha-Mashmh, 50
(on the expression nS'D 1 ? HS'DJD see Megillah, loc. tit.), and 59;
on Edom's (- Rome's) dominion of the world shortly before
the advent of the Messiah for the duration of nine months. Comp.
Sanhedrin 98b, top.
8 * Yashar Noah, 18a and 23a. Comp. note 77 for the older
sources concerning Nimrod, "the one who seduced men to evil".
Recognitiones, I, 30 and 4. 28-29, asserts that Nimrod whom the
Greeks call Ninus, after whom Nineveh is named, taught the Per-
sians to worship fire. For this purpose he made use -of magic, since
otherwise he could not lead men astray from God to whom they were
naturally devoted. However, the first sorcerer was Ham, who was
later called Zoroaster (=" living star", in Greek) by his' worshippers.
He was called so because by magical manipulation of a demon he tried
to draw sparks from a star, and was burned. The foolish crowd,
instead of discerning God's punishment in Ham's death, believed to
have perceived a particular significance in his death by fire, and
began to worship him as a living star (Zoroaster). Having been re-
duced to ashes, Zoroaster was worshipped by the Persians as the
celestial fire: In Clementine Homilies, 9. 4-6, Nimrod is identified
with Zoroaster, and is designated as the one "who chose, giant-like,
to devise things in opposition to God, and who, after his death by
fire, was worshipped by the ignorant populace. This was the be-
ginning of the worship of idols. Subsequent rulers demanded sim-
ilar adoration to that which was accorded to Nimrod." On hero-
worship as the source of idolatry, comp. note 54 on vol. I, p. 123.
The view that Nimrod was one of those who claimed to be gods is
frequently found in rabbinic literature; comp. the following three
200
Noah [84-88
notes, and vol. I, p. 191. On the worship of fire In connection with
Nimrod in the different versions of the Abraham legends, see BR
38. 13, and the parallel passages cited by Theodor, as well as Index,
s. v, "Fire". On Ninus= Nimrod, comp. note 88.
84 Josephus, Antiqui., I, 4. 1-2.
8 s BR 37. 2; Pesahim 94b (top).
86 Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 10. 9; 2 Targum Yerushalmi
states that Nimrod demanded of the people to abandon Shem f s teach-
ing and to follow his own (]H in this place is used in its Arabic sense,
and means "religion").
87 MHG I, 188; Ma'asiyyot (Caster's edition, 2). This legend
is only a somewhat different version of Hiram's "heavenly seat";
comp. vol. IV, p. 335, and the note appertaining to it. See further
vol. II, p. 347, concerning the deification of Pharaoh, as well as
Ma'asiyyot (Caster's edition, 6), and MHG II, 57. The legend
found in the Christian Book of Adam 3. 23 and 25 about Nimrod
as a god is based on Clementine writings (comp. note 83). When
the old rabbinic literature speaks of Nimrod 's rebellion against
God (comp. BR 42 [41]. 4, and the parallels cited by Theodor), it
primarily refers to his activity as the originator of the building of
the tower; comp. the following note. On Nimrod =Amraphel, comp.
vol. I, p. 229. It may be remarked here that Augustine, Cimtas
Dei, 26. 17, identifies Amraphel with Ninus. This presupposes the
identity of Nimrod with AmrapheL Comp. note 83. See also
Eusebius, 484d, and Yerahmeel .32.
88 Yashar Noah, 20b-21a, based on older sources. That Nim-
rod was the instigator of the building of the tower, see Hullin 89a;
1 Abodah Zarah 53b (where the tower is called "the house of Nimrod") ;
Pesahim 94b; 'Erubin 53a; BR 23. 7, 26. 4, and 42. 4; PRE 34; Jose-
phus, Antiqui,, I, 4. 2. Instead of Nimrod some sources (BR 38.
8; Tan. B. I, 53; Tan. Noah 1) speak of other Hamites, such as Cush
(but according to BR 42. 4, this is only another name for Nimrod;
see further Philo, Quaestiones, 2. 82), Put, Mizraim, and Canaan,
who were the builders of the tower. These men are also meant by
Lactantius, Institutiones, 2. 15, when he declares that the Hamites
were the first idolaters. The three parties among the builders of
the tower are already referred to in Sanhedrin 109a; Tan. Noah "18;
Alphabet R. Akiba, 46-47 (where two contradictory views of the Tal-
mud are combined into one); Tehillim 1, 12. In these, as in other
haggadic passages, the reasons for building the tower are alleged to
201
88] The Legends of the Jews
have been the revolt against God and the attempt to prevent a second
deluge; comp, BR 38. 1, 5, 7 (the midrashic interpretation of DlpD
occurs also in Origen, Contra Celsum, 5. 30), and 8; Mekilta Mishpatim
20, lOla; Tan. B. I, 55; Josephus, AntiquL, I, 4. 2. Comp. particu-
larly the detailed description of this wicked plan in Tan. B. I, 100
(on Abraham's attempt to prevent them from sinning, and the curse
he pronounced against them when he failed in his effort, comp. BR,
loc. cit., 6; PRE 24; Tehillim 1, 12; 'Aseret ha-Dibrot, second com-
mandment), and Yerushalmi Targumim on Gen. 11. 4. In ER 15,
74, eight sins (comp. Index, s. v. "Sins, Eight") are enumerated,
which caused the destruction of this generation. The view given
in Hellenistic literature that the building of the tower was a revolt
of the giants against God (ps,-Eupolemus; comp. Freudenthal,
Hellenistische Studien, I, 92-93;- Philo, Confus. Ling., 2) is closely
related to this Haggadah and it is most instructive that as late as
the ninth century this view was still championed by Hiwi Al-Balkhij
according to whom the builders of the tower were the Nefilim; comp,
Davidson, Saadia's Polemic against Hiwi al-Balkhi, 54-56. In the
Bible the name Babylon is associated with the building of the tower.
The Haggadah goes a step further, and also finds in the name of the
place Shinar (2 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 11.2 identifies it with Pon-
tus) some reference to wicked Babylon; comp. Yerushalmi Berakot
4, 7b; Shabbat 113b; BR 37. 4; Ekah (introduction) 23; Koheleth 12.
7. The oldest haggadic interpretation of Shinar is the one found in
Jub. 10. 26, where, in "agreement 1 with rabbinic sources, Shinar is
connected with ~\yi "emptied" (not Babel, as Charles wrongly in-
terprets it), and hence the explantion: "And they called its name
Overthrow." That the place was called Shinar in the Bible before
the destruction of the tower, offers no difficulty to the Haggadah,
since "God knew beforehand what would happen afterwards >f ;
comp. BR 42. 7. In the 43 years (Jub. 10. 21), during which they
were occupied with the building, they succeeded in erecting the tower,
but not the city which they undertook to build; BR 38. 8. The tower
was of extraordinary dimensions, particularly its height; comp. Jub.,
loc. cit.; Greek Baruch 3; BR, loc. cit.; Tan. B. I, 54; Tan. Noah 1;
ER 21, 118; PRE 24 (this is the source of Yashar which, to be sure,
does not state that the height was 70 miles, as maintained by PRE,
but takes it to have been ten thousand; one year's journey is, ac-
cording to Pesahim 94a, about 10,950 miles); 'Aseret ha-Dibrot (se-
cond commandment), which was incorporated in Midrash Abraham
202
Noah [88
46. The last-named source also speaks of the seventy stairs (so is
m7yD to be understood, and not " steps' 1 ) in the east, for the pur-
pose of ascending, and seventy stairs in the west, for the purpose of
descending, that is, one stair for each nation (comp, note 91), be-
cause all the seventy nations participated in this enterprise under
the direction of a thousand kings; Targum EccL 7. 28. When one
considers the extraordinary dimensions, one marvels at the rapid
progress of the building. God caused the enterprise to prosper, in
order to be able to mock later at the builders all the more. First
the building was erected, and then He caused it to be destroyed,
Tan. B. I, 55; BR 38. 8. But they would never have succeeded in
their undertaking, were it not for the fact that they found the books
of wisdom of the ante-diluvian generations in the valley of Shinar,
which had been carried thither by the flood (comp. note 44), and
from which they derived their knowledge for the erection of the
tower; comp. Zohar I, 76a, bottom. Respecting the books of wis^
dom comp. Berosus, 56, 39, who also states that after the flood Xis-
uthros found the ante-diluvian books at Sippara (Babylon). Each
one of the builders of the tower engraved his name on a brick, of which
they made use (this is a midrashic interpretation of DE> 1& nB$Jl, 'Gen.
II. 4); ps.-Philo, 6 D, and hence Yerahmeel 29. 2. Comp. vol. Ill,
p. 56 (bottom). The passage in the text concerning the pregnant
women is from the Greek Baruch 3 (that they wished to bore a hole
in the heavens is found in Sanhedrin 109b); comp. vol. II, p. 372,
about Rachel the daughter of Shuthelah. The story about the blood-
stained arrows (Yashar, loc. ciL) occurs also in the Titus legend,
Gittin 56b. The rest of the account in Yashar occurs literally in the
older sources, Sanhedrin 109a; Tehillim 1, 12; PRE 24; Targum Yeru-
shalmi Gen. 11. 7-8; Tan. Noah 18; BR 38. 10 (on the thirty nations
which perished, after the flood, on account of their sins, comp. also
Tan. B. I, 123, where it is likewise remarked that Abraham was made
the father of thirty nations, in order to compensate for the loss of
these thirty nations); Yelammedenu in 'Aruk, s. v. *pa; 'Aseret ha-
Dibrot (second commandment) ; Ma'aseh Abraham, 46; Greek Bar-
uch 2 and 3; ps.-Philo, 8C. In the last-named passage, however,
"mutavit eorum effigies" refers to the various complexions and feat-
ures of the races of mankind, and not to their transformations into
apes and monsters, as maintained by the rabbinic sources and Bar-
uch. On transformation into apes as a punishment see vol. I, p.
123. The German mystics (comp. Ziyyoni, end of Noah) identify
203
89-9*] The Legends of the Jews
the woodmen, werewolves and similar monsters, known in German
folk-lore, with the builders of the tower (their descendants?), and
further maintain that they were Japhethites, who were punished in
this manner; comp. also note 34 on vol. I, p. 114. Midrash Aggada,
Gen. 11. 8, remarks that when the tower fell, some of the people found
inside were thrown into the water, others into the forest, while still
others into the desert; the first became water-sprites, the second apes,
and the third demons.
89 Sanhedrin 109a (on the text, comp. MHG I, 186); BR.
38. 11.
9 BR 38. 6; ARN 12, 52; MHG I, 186; comp. against this view,
Josephus, AntiquL, I, 4. 1, who considers that the sin of this nation
consisted in their disobeying God's repeated demand to spread out
into colonies. This commandment of God was for their own bene-
fit, so that there should not be any strife between them in case they
were to settle on a small tract of land. Comp. ER 31, 158. In many
rabbinic passages the great prosperity enjoyed by this generation is
dwelt upon. This brought about their ruin, as had formerly hap-
pened to the generation of the flood (comp. note 15); Tosefta Sotah
3. 10; Mekilta Shiran 2, 35b; Mekilta RS 58; Sifre D. 43; Midrash
Tannaim 36-37. Sanhedrin 10. 3 and Tosefta 13. 7 maintain that
this generation forfeited its share in the world to come; but, on the other
hand, it will be punished on the final day of judgment. Comp. note 44.
That the tower was overthrown by means of a violent wind is asserted
in many of the oldest sources; Sibyll, 3. 101; Jub. 10. 26; Mekilta Be-
shallah 4, 3 Ob (God's judgment on the generation of the flood and
later on the sinful cities was executed by means of storms) ; Theophilus,
2. 31. This judgment was carried out after the men refused the
opportunity offered to them by God to repent; BR 38. 9; Mekilta
Shirah 5, 38b; Tan. B. I, 56; Noah, 18. Cdmp also Tertullian, Ad-
versus Marcionem, 2. 25.
91 PRE 24; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 11. 8. and Deut. 32. 8-9;
Zawwaat Naphtali (end; second version, 12-14); 'Aseret ha-Dibrot
65; comp. vol. II., pp. 214-215. See further Midrash Tannaim
190-191. In the last passage the distribution of the nations between
God, whom Israel chose, and the angels, whom the Gentiles chose,
is said to have taken place at the time of the revelation at Sinai. This
passage, however, reads like a learned reflection on the popular no-
tion of the distribution of the nations by lot between God and the
angels. With this learned presentation agree DR 2. 34 and Pkah 3, 133,
204
Noah [gi
where the entire legend is so changed that it can scarcely be recognized.
The official rabbinic writings contest the conception that Deut. 4. 19 ad-
mits the justification of the worship of the heavenly bodies and the angels
by the Gentiles. It is maintained that later on the sages who translated
the Bible into Greek permitted themselves a very free rendering of Deut.
loc. cit. t in order to obviate any misunderstanding; comp. Mekilta Shirah
14, 16c; Yerushalmi Megillah 1, 7ld, and Babli 9a; Soferim 5; Tan.
Shemot (end). Comp. further the remarks of Trypho in Justin Mar-
tyr, Dialogue, 55 and 121, as well as 'Abodah Zarah 55a, It is true
that "the angels of the nations" are mentioned several times
in authoritative sources; but this must not be understood to mean
that the nations were placed under the care of the angels, whereas
Israel is God 's portion in accordance with the statement of the pseud-
epigraphic works (Jub. 15. 31-32; Enoch 88 and 90. 22; comp. fur-
ther Septuagint Deut. 32. 8-9) and the widespread view (besides the
sources cited at the beginning of this note, it is frequently to be met
with in the kabbalistic literature ; comp. also Clementine Recognitiones,
2. 42 and 8. 50, where the distribution among the angels is set for
the same time as that given in the rabbinic Haggadah) in popular
Jewish literature. It rather wishes to convey that as each individual
person has his own guardian angel (comp. Index 5-. .) so a ^ so eac ^
nation, including Israel whose "guardian angels are Michael and
Gabriel, or according to some, Michael and Metatron; comp. Index
under these names, as well as l Erke ha~Jinnuyim, s. v. piBBB;
see vol. I, p. 385. The authoritative view-point of the Synagogue is
emphasized by Sa'adya against the popular conception championed by
his opponent Hiwi al-Balkhi; comp. Davidson, Saudia's Polemic against
Hiwi al-Balhhi 58. The presence of the angels at the time of the de-
struction, of the tower is also referred to in Jub. 10. 23 and this view is
based on the use of the plural (rma) in Gen. 11.7. Comp. BR 38. 9, and
the remarks of Theodor, ad loc. That Hebrew was the original language
of mankind until the time of the confusion of languages, and "that Eber
was the only one who retained it, is a widespread view; comp. BR 18.
4 (abnyn araa signifies: God made use of this language at the time
of the creation of the world which came into being when He uttered
His word), 31. 8, and 42.8; PRE 24 (here it is said that each angel
brought a language and a script for his respective nation) and 26;
Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 11. 1 and 8; Tan. B. I, 56; Jub. 12. 25-26
("tongue of creation" =o!?l$?n fcTOJ 130 in BR 18. 4 ) . This view
is also assumed explicitly or tacitly in patristic literature; comp.
5205
pi] The Legends of the Jews
Charles on Jub., loc. tit., See further Clementine Recognitions , 1.
30; Origen, Con. Cels., 5. 30; Zohar I, 75; Shu'aib, Noah (end), which
reads: All the languages therefore contain some Hebrew words. On
the view current among some Jews and Christians to the effect that
Aramaic was the primitive speech, comp. Charles on Jub. 3.28; Griin-
baum, Neue Beitrage, 63, and Ginzberg, Haggada, bei den Kirchenv.,
91-93. On the descent of God to the earth, comp. vol. Ill, p. 93,
and note 206 appertaining thereto.
06
V. ABRAHAM
(pp. 183-308)
1 Abot 5, 3; ARN 32 (36 of the second version). The number
ten is obtained by including Noah, who, at the same time, is the tenth
after Adam; comp. vol. I, 105. According to a quotation from an
unknown midrashic source, mankind, up to the appearance of Abra-
ham, was poor in good deeds; comp. Poznanski, Kommentar zu
EzeMel von Eleazar aus Beaugency, Einleitung, 228. In a passage
found in an old liturgy Abraham is described as one whom God chose
out of twenty generations (beginning with Adam); see Hemdah
Genuzah, 161, and Warnheim, Kebuzat Hakamim, 107.
2 BR 12. 9; Tan. B. I, 11 and 62; Tehillim 104, 444. Despite
the statement found in tannaitic sources that the three patriarchs
were of equal rank (Mekilta, beginning; Tosefta Keritot, at the end;
BR 1. 15), in the legends Abraham is regarded as the favorite, and
ranks above his son and grandson; comp. the numerous statements
exalting him; Yelammedenu cited in Yalkut, Joshua 15 (God had
performed all the miracles for Israel on account of the merits of Abra-
ham); Abot 6. 10; EZ 9. 187 and 17, 20, as well as 25,45-46; ShR
28. 1; Berakot 7b; Tan. Toledot 4; WR 31. 4; Shir 7. 6. At the same
time, however, there are passages in which the view is expressed that
Jacob was the most prominent of the patriarchs; comp. note 35 on
vol. I, 317, and also Beer, Leben Abrahams, p. 87ff.
3 Ps.-Philo 4D. Serug's mother is called Milcah in this pseud-
epigraphical work (comp. Genesis 11. 26); in Jub. 11. 7 she is named
Ora.
4 Already in 2 Chron. 20.7 Abraham is styled the friend of God;
but in post-biblical Hebrew literature the adjective T"V not 3mK is
employed; the former word is probably preferred on account of
Jeremiah 11.15, 'TT 1 ? ilD, which is. taken as an allusion to Abraham.
Comp. Menahot 53b; Tosefta Berakot 7. 13 (see Tosafot on Menahot
53b and Shabbat 137b); Sifre N. 115 and D. 352; Mekilta Bo 18, 22a
("pmK DJTQN in Mekilta Shirah 10, 44a, is obviously a quotation
from an old liturgy; see morning prayer, Baer's edition, 45); Ekah,
207
5-6] The Legends of the Jews
Introduction, 24, 26; ER, introduction, 80, and 24, 127. This appel-
lation occurs also in the Hellenistic and pseudepigraphic writings
as well as in Christian literature; comp. Jub. 21. 15, 20; 4 Ezra 3.
14; Prayer of Azariah 12; Philo, De Abrahamo, 17; I, 401 (as a quo-
tation from Gen. 18. 17 Targum Yerushalmi 'Dm Drmtf); James
2.23; Clemens, Instructor, III. 2; Stromata II. 5; Clemens, First Epistle,
10. 1, One is therefore inclined to read in Sibyll. II. 245: Abraham
the great friend of the Most High and the great Moses; comp., how-
ever, Origen, Princip., Ill, 2.5, where Moses is styled the friend of
God; see also ARN 43, 121 (second version), where five bear
the title of friend of God (VT): Abraham, Israel, Benjamin, Sol-
omon, and Jerusalem; to a similar number is applied the title "be-
loved of God" (DWIN): Abraham, Jacob, Israel, Solomon, and
Jerusalem. In the Ethiopic Mota Muse, Moses bears the title of
friend of God; but among the Arabs (already in the Koran 4. 124)
this title is exclusively applied to Abraham; comp. Beer, Leben Abra-
hams, notes 427, 431, and 950; Grunbaum, Neue Beitrage, pp.118,
121; Malter, Monatsschrift 51, 713; Ginzberg, Unbekannte Sekte, 14-
15. See also Gedulat Mosheh 3b ('"' mnN nD).
5 Jub. 11. 1-14. The beginning of the monarchy dates from
Nimrod (comp. vol. I, 176-177), hence not long after the birth of
Abraham. The name Serug is taken to be a contraction of -"ID and
3D turned away, that is, from God. Comp. Ps. 14. 3 and 53. 4.
According to ps.-Philo 4A, Serug and his sons were God-fearing,
despite the wickedness of their generation. The meaning ascribed
to the name Terah in Jub. is obscure, and is probably connected
with the Aramic """in was emaciated-. For other explanations see
Charles, Jub., ad loc., and Ba'er, op. cit., 95-96.
6 Baba Batra 9 la, which is the source for Yashar Noah, 18a
and Yerahmeel 27, 7; but the Palestinian Midrash PRE seems to be
independent of the Babli passage, which does not have the statement that
she died in Haran. The name is written fc&nOK, 'N^nDN (the variant
'*&H'N given by Rabbinowicz, Variae Lectiones to Baba Batra, loc.
tit., is of no value); it is uncertain whether the first part of the name
is ND'N (mother") or KT1DN (servant)-, the first explanation seems more
probable. Comp. Beer, Leben Abrahams., 96, 97: Giidemann, Re-
ligions gescUchttiche Studien, 41-49, where additional literature is cited ;
Kohler, Testament of Job, 288. The explanation of this- name as
well as its relation to Greek *A/jdA0ia is quite obscure; it is probably
of Babylonian origin, like the name 103 "O (possibly nna, i. e. } Bar-
208
Abraham [713
nabas, the son of Nebo; comp. 133 p, Tosefta Pesahim 2.20, and
Rabbinowicz, Variae Lectiones, Pes. 57a as well as Yashar, loc. cit.}.
Some other names are assigned to Abraham's mother and grand-
father in Jub. 11. 14.
7 For further details concerning the appearance of Abraham's
star, comp. vol.1, p. 207, and note 48. On the source of the following
legends see note 34.
8 The story of the slaughter of innocent children is modelled
after the story of Moses, and is not influenced by the New Testament
story about the birth of Jesus.
9 Pregnancy becomes outwardly noticeable after the third month ;
comp. Tosefta Niddah 1. 7; BR 85. 10; comp. note 88 on vol. II, p. 34.
10 The same is described as MN^lp (but the manuscript reads
), which seems to be Spanish. Grtinbaum, Neue Beitrdge, 128,
compares it with the Italian calcinaccio, that is, a hardening of the
belly.
11 Comp. vol. I, p. 178.
1 2 In consequence of an inaccurate translation of the Arabic word
Wadi, which signifies both brook and valley, the word "1HJ (stream)
instead of ^PIJ (valley) occurs a few times in the printed text as well
as in the manuscript of this legend. This supposition is attested
by the words iron HD IHK mj7D (27, line 10), since it is impossible that
a cave should be in a river. The legend speaks below of a spring
whose water Abraham used; but no mention is made of a stream;
comp. also 27, line 16 irtirT nrV rifcOP which is hardly possible, while
7TOn HT7 would suit admirably.
13 PRE 26 reads: When Abraham was born, Nimrod's cour-
tiers wanted to put him to death; so he was kept in a hiding-place
beneath the ground for thirteen years, during which time n he did not
see the sun nor the moon. A different account of Abraham's youth
is given in Yashar; comp. vol. I, p. 209. Still another version of
this story is found in 2 'Aseret ha-Dibrot 2; Ma'as.,G. 3; Ma'aseh Abra-
ham, Horowitz edition, 43. According to the latter sources, Abra-
ham lived in a cave for three years. Comp. Nedarim 32a; BR 30.
8; BaR 18. 21; Shir 5. 16^ PR 21, 105a; Tan. Lek 3 and Behar 1;
Tan. B. I, 60; III, 105; Esther R 2. 5. In almost all of these passages
two views are given, one that Abraham had recognized his Creator
at the age of three, the other that this took place in Abraham J s forty-
eighth year (Maimonides, Yad, 'Abodah Zarah, 1. 3, seems to have
read "forty", which is perhaps based on Pirke Abot 5, at the end).
209
14-17] The Legends of the Jews
A statement in Rokeah (Hasidut, Zakuyyot 'Arum), which is appar-
ently derived from an unknown version of the Sefer Yezirah, main-
tains that Abraham, at the age of forty-eight, was moved by the
deeds of the generation of the Tower of Babel to reflect on God and
the universe. He first studied three years by himself, afterwards,
by the command of God, he was taught by Shem, until he became
so wise that he composed the Sefer Yezirah. Then God appeared
unto him, took him unto Himself, kissed him, called him His friend,
and made a covenant with him and his descendants forever. A
similar statement is quoted by Judah b. Barzillai (in his commentary
on the Sefer Yezirah, 268) from an old text of the Sefer Yezirah,
*4 In the Abraham legend in BHM II, 118, we read that two
spouts (read mn^D instead of niai^n) sprang up, one flowing with
honey, the other with milk.
15 Comp. above, note 12. Other heroes, too, like Abraham,
are supposed to have been able to walk, talk, and think in their in-
fancy. See Index under "Cain", "Noah", and "Moses". Such "wonder
children' 1 are also known in the Christian legends, and unusual pre-
cocity is ascribed to Jesus and others; comp. Giinter, Christliche
Legende, 134 seq,
1 6 That Abraham discovered the true faith by meditating on
nature we are told in so early a source as the Apocalypse of Abra-
ham (comp. vol. I, pp. ~2 12-2 13), and about six versions of this legend
are extant. Comp. BR 38. 13; 2 'Asererha-Dibrot 2; Ma'aseh Abra-
ham (Hor. edition, 43-44); Ma'aseh Abraham (BHM II, 118); Yashar
Noah, 20a-20b; Ma 1 as. G. 3, 4; MHG I, 189. The oldest form seems
to be that of BR, where we are told that Abraham, by observing
how one~ element subdues another, becomes convinced of the error
of worshipping the elements. But even this form is not the or-
iginal one, as can be seen by comparing it with the statement of R.
Judah (about ISO C.E.) in Baba Batra 10a,and Koheleth 7.26. Benfey,
Pantschatantra, I, 376, 377, attempts to trace this legend to a kindred
Indian fable. This is, however, not likely, as the 1 Jewish sources
recording this legend are extremely old. Recognitiones, 7, as well
as Aristides, 3-6, seems to have known it, and it is quite probable
that Josephus (Antiqui* I, 7. 1) gives a rationalistic interpretation
of it. - >
17 Comp. above, note 15, and Ginzberg in Jewish Encyclopedia,
II, 608A.
210
Abraham [1827
18 Fabulous numbers of a similar character are also found else-
where; comp. vol. IV, p. 267.
19 The verb HDH is here used, as sometimes in biblical Hebrew,
in the sense of "being horror-struck'*, whereas in mishnic Hebrew
it denotes "was astonished, marvelled."
30 No mention is made in this legend of the place where Abra-
ham and Nimrod were until now; comp. Eupolemus in Eusebius,
Praep. Evang., IX, I7,418d, who gives "Camarinu, a city also known
as Una" as Abraham's birthplace. Uria is the biblical Ur, which
the Talmud (Baba Batra 9 la) identifies with a Babylonian locality
in talmudic times (the text of that passage is in a bad condition;
but WTO is very likely the name borne by that place; see Rabbin o-
wicz, Variae Lectiones) ; this name is likewise found in Arabic sources,
Istahri M., 54; Maras II, 519. According to the Talmud, Abraham
was kept prisoner by Nimrod for ten years, first in NTID and then
in mp or HID; Beer, Leben Abrahams, notes 5 and 108.
21 For a similar legend, comp. vol. IV, p. 348.
22 As may be seen from p. 28, 1.2 from below, where the gates
of Babylon are spoken of, the reference is to the city, not the land
of Babylon; nJHQ instead of TJ7 is very frequently found in works
which were influenced by Arabic; this use of n3'"fD is also found in the
Bible; comp. Ginzberg, Geonica, I, p. 26.
23 Despite the agreement of the manuscripts with the printed
text, the reading 'DSJ? for -jDSy (p. 29, 1. 2. from below) is presupposed
here; the latter can hardly be correct.
34 That idols fall to the ground at the command of the right-
eous is frequently recorded in Jewish as well as in Christian legends;
comp. ps -Matthew 23; Gospel of the Saviour's Infancy 10; vol. IV,
p. 165.
25 For Abraham's native town, comp. above, note 20.
26 The episode relating to the age of the idols as compared to
that of the purchaser is excerpted from ER 5. 27 (it was taken over
verbatim in Yerahmeel, 71-72; Zohar I, 77; this was overlooked by
Caster, ad Ive.) and in the text it is interwoven in the account of Ma' aseh
Abraham', other versions of this episode occur in BR 38. 13; Ma 1 as.
G. 3; MHG 1, 188; EZ 25, 47-48. Comp. also vol. I, p. 210 and Philo,
De Decalogo, 14. 192.
27 I read V^y D (p. 32, line 4) instead if rry ~QP. According
to Baba Kama 8. 1, the correct reading of this passage is; IT FIK y^p
211
28-34] The Legends of the Jews
r:y KttD v!?n "OP. The printed text as well as the manuscript, which
offers some variants, is corrupt, as vbn is repeated.
38 The imprisonment of Abraham is already mentioned in the
Talmud (comp. above, note 20) and PRE 25 ; according to these sources
the imprisonment lasted ten years.
2 9 Christian legends, too, frequently tell of angels bringing food
and drink to needy saints; comp. Protevangelium of James 8. 1. Des-
pite the manuscript, H:D instead of TH (p. 32, 1. 22) is to be read,
as may be seen from the word rra which follows,
30 There is a similar incident in the Moses legend; cornp. vol.
II, p. 282.
31 According to the manuscript, man N7 is to be read instead
of HMD U'K of the printed edition (p. 34, line 16).
33 The text is somewhat obscure. Abraham, fastened to the
catapult, prays to God, and the angels intercede in his behalf; then
follows the scene in which Abraham's mother takes part; and then
come the words: "And when it came to pass, that they threw him
into the catapult"/ &wb should probably be read instead of 1W1.
The entire passage would then become quite clear.
33 Literally: May cooling and comfort be granted to My servant
Abraham; this is a literal translation of Koran 21. 69, as has already
been observed by Griinbaum, Neue Beitrdge, 129. In the old sources
(Pesahim, 118a; BR 44. 13; ShR 8. 5; DR 2. 29; Shir 1. 12; Tan.
B. II, 100 = Introduction 144; Tan. Tezawweh 12; Tehillim 119. 48)
It is stated that Gabriel (according to some, Michael) hastened to
come to Abraham's assistance, but God checked the angel, and He
Himself delivered Abraham. But according to one view given in BR
it was Michael who delivered Abraham. In Mcfaseh Abraham (Hor-
owitz's edition) the latter part of the text is corrupt, as two conflicting
versions of Abraham's deliverance are given. The text may be
emended in accordance with 2 'Aseret ha-Dibrot 2, by adding the
sentence which fell out through homoioteleuton.
34 Ma'aseh Abraham, published by Jellinek in BHM, I, 25-34;
this edition, which is rather inaccurate, is taken from Shebet Musar
of Elijah ha-Kohen who used a Constantinople edition of this Mid-
rash; comp. Porges, Zeitschrift fur hebraische Bibliographic, X. ,159,
and Ginzberg, ibid., IX, p. 125. I cannot state with certainty
whether the MS. of this Midrash, found in the library of the Jewish
Theological Seminary of America (No. 33 Steinschneider), goes back
to the Constantinople edition or not, as only Elijah ha-Kohen's ed-
212
Abraham [3536
ition is accessible to me. The MS. text differs from that given
in Shebet Musar, but is not always superior to it. As was already
remarked by Jellinek, op. cit., Einleitung, 16, and Griinbaum, Neue
B eitrage, 130, se%., this Midrash is a translation from the Arabic. This
supposition may be proved by the phrase T2Dn "ION (- ^KpVtf ^Np)
which is of frequent occurrence, and many other Arabisms. The au-
thor of the original, however, was a Jew, and not a Mohammedan,
since parallels from rabbinic literature might be given to a great part of
this booklet. Some of these parallels have already been pointed out
in the preceding notes (see, e. g., note 9). It may be further observed
that the scene in the furnace is most likely a reminiscence of the Hag-
gadah concerning the three youths in the furnace; comp. vol. IV, pp.
328-330, and the notes referring to them. Attention is drawn to the
following details: The light at the birth of Abraham (p. 188) has its
parallel in the birth of Moses and other heroes (comp. vol. II, p. 262).
Gabriel appears to Abraham to show him a well of water which he
needed for an ablution before praying ; this is genuinely Jewish and not
Mohammedan, as has been maintained by many; comp. Ginzberg,
Unbekannte Sekte, 112. The appearance of Satan in human form
(pp. 192 and 200) is frequently met with in Jewish legends; comp.
note 226. The dark cloud, which separated Abraham from his
enemies (p. 192), naturally goes back to Exodus 14. 19; comp. also
vol. I, p. 420. The description of God as "He who sees but cannot
be seen" (p. 199), though found in the Koran (6.100), is of frequent
occurrence in rabbinic literature; comp., e. g., Yerushalmi Peah 21b
(towards the end); Hagigah 5b; Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 4. 2; 2
Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 22. 14; Sibyll., Prooemium 8, and 4. 12.
Recently an Arabic text closely related to that of the Ma'aseh Abraham
has been published in R.E.J., LXIX, 86 seq. LXX, 36, seq., by
Shapira who claims Kob al-Ahbar as the author of this Abraham
legend.
35 The building of the tower, a veritable rebellion against God
(comp. vol.1, p. 179), took place ten years after the death of Noah; comp.
Seder 'Olam I.
s6 - This is a midrashic explanation of Gen. 10. 11; comp. BR
37. 4; ER 20, 114; EZ 24, 45. Targum Yerushalmi, Gen., loc.
cit., takes 1108 to refer to Assyria, and accordingly maintains that
Nimrod emigrated to Assyria, because he did not want to participate
in the building of the tower; God rewarded him for this pious act. In
view of the fact that Targum Yerushalmi, in a preceding verse, des-
213
The Legends of the Jews
cribed Nimrod as a very wicked man, the sentence n*Hn. - .'JD M7T
is very likely to be regarded as a later insertion, based on the above
mentioned Midrashim, and refers not to Nimrod but to Asshur.
Comp., however, Ginzberg, Haggada lei den Kirchenv., I, 88-89, as
well as Targum Yerushalmi, ad loc. (-n0K*ronirW Asshur!), and
PR 34, 156a. Comp. note 77 on vol. I, p. 177.
37 Comp. vol. I, p. 200, and note 34.
3 8 Iscah (Gen, 11. 29) is taken as another name for Sarah,
who was so called on account of her prophetic gift (from rW=rDD
to look); comp. Josephus, Antigui. I, 6. 5.; Sanhedrin 69a; Megillah
14a; Seder 'Olam 21; Jerome, Quaestiones, ad loc.; Ephraim I, 59E.
39 Tehillim 118, 484; Hallel 107. The text of the first-named
source is very corrupt (Buber misunderstood it entirely) ; nor is the
second quite correct. A good text of Tehillim is found in Sikli's
Talmud Torah; comp. Hazofeh III, 18, and Ginzberg, ibid., IV, 32.
Comp. also Yalkut I, 77, where the correct reading is found at the
beginning and at the end of the quotations from Tehillim: twice l^ron
pn ^V. According to these sources, Haran was the younger brother
of Abraham, and this is in agreement with the prevalent view of
the Haggadah (comp. Seder 'Olam II; BR 38. 14; Sanhedrin 69b),
which maintains that Abraham was one year older than Nahor, who
was one year .older than Haran; the latter, at the age of eight, begot
Sarah. Yashar Noah, l7a and 18a, regards Nahor and Haran as
twin-brothers who were much older than Abraham. BaR 4. 8 seems
to agree with the latter view. The death of Haran, as a punishment
for his vacillation, is already mentioned in BR 38. 13.
40 Recognitiones, I, 31 (a Midrash on Gen. 11. 28) gives the
explanation that Haran 's death was a punishment for an "incestu-
ous crime". This legend makes Haran suffer for the crime of his
son Lot, or presupposes that the latter only followed in the footsteps
of "his father. The Midrashim (MHG I, 191; Ma' as. G. 5; Yelam-
medenu, according to the extract published by Ginzberg in Hazofeh,
IV, 32, from Sikli's Talmud Torah; Zohar I, 77b; Lekah Gen. loc. cit.)
explain Haran 's premature death (Abel was killed by his brother,
and his death cannot be regarded as a precedent to that of 'Haran
who died by the hand of God) in different ways. He was punished
for not being steadfast in his religion; comp. the preceding note;
Yashar Noah, 25b; Targum Yerushalmi Gen., loc cit. People be-
lieved that Abraham was delivered from the fire by means of Haran 's
witch-craft or on account of the latter's piety and his premature death
214
Abraham [4145
proved that they were wrong; comp. Yelammedenu, loc. ciL\ Zohar,
he. cit.; Targum Yerushalmi, loc. cit. Haran attempted to extinguish
the flames into which Abraham was cast, and thereby lost his life;
comp, Lekah Gen. loc. cit. Jub. 12. 12 narrates that Abraham burned
all the idols of his father; when Haran attempted to rescue them,
he was himself consumed by the flames; comp. also Ephraim, I, 156D-
15 7 A, who very likely borrowed this legend from Jub. According to
the Apocalypse of Abraham 8, Terah and his entire household were
burned by a fire which came down from heaven as a punishment for
their idolatry, which they did not renounce in spite of Abraham's
exhortations to mend their ways. Yerahmeel 35. 1 reads: The Chal-
deans came to immerse both Haran and Abraham in fire, for it was
their custom to immerse theif" children in fire, as some mothers im-
merse their babies in water. Gaster refers to Comestor, Gen. 41,
who has the same statement. Comp. also ps.-Philo 5A, where it
is said that shortly before Abraham's birth mothers began to throw
their children into the fire. Jerome, Quaestiones, 11. 28, says: Haran
was burned because he refused to worship fire which the Chaldeans
regarded as their god; Abraham, however, was saved by God. Bar-
Hebraeus' statement concerning Haran (Historia Dynastiarum, 13)
is directly borrowed from Ephraim, loc. cit., which goes back to
Jub., loc. cit., and Charles on Jub. is to be corrected accordingly. Comp.
note 76 on vol. I, p. 176.
4 1 Yashar Noah, 27a. Ogi so in editio princeps, but in later
editions it was corrupted to '31J7 is no one else but Og, who, already
in old sources, is identified with Eliezer, while Yashar considers Ogi
and Eliezer as companions. Comp. Index, s. v. "Og" and vol. Ill, p.
344.
42 BR 40. 14; PR 43, 181a; Tan. Lek 12; Shir 1. 3; ARN 12,
53, and second version 26, 54; Onkelos and the Yerushalmi Targumim
Gen. 15. 5; Sifre D. 32; Midrash Tannaim 25; BaR. 14. 11.
43 Tan. Shemot, at the beginning.
4 4 vSee the references given in note 38, to which is to be added
Shu'aib, Hayye Sarah, lOd, who quotes an unknown midrashic source:
Sarah who is also called Iscah, on account of her prophetic gift, fore-
saw Israel's history, and prayed to God to assist them in their trib-
ulations.
45 Yashar Noah, 27b~28a. Anoko (IplJK) is very likely iden-
tical with the poet-philosopher PpTN, mentioned in Musare ha-Pi~
losofim (Loewenthal's edition 3, 4); the latter is none other than Ib-
215
46-48] The Legends of the Jews
icus (n was misread as 3) who is famous in Greek legends. The com-
paratively favorable opinion of Terah agrees with ER 5. 27, 28, where
it is related that Terah left his native country in the north because its
inhabitants were idolatrous; comp. note 47. This view is also found in
Augustine's Civil. Dei, 17. 13; but a different opinion prevails in rabbinic
sources. Comp. notes 50, 54 and end of 119. On Abraham's mis-
sionary activity, comp. the references given in notes 42 and 61, as
well as Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 296, on Jer. 17, and Zohar I,
79a. On the identity of Nimrod with Amraphel and on his death
by the hand of Esau, alluded to in this legend, see note 85, as well
as vol. I, pp. 229, 318, 319, and the notes referring to them.
4 6 ER 5. 28. On the coins struck by Abraham, comp. Baba
Kamma 97b and BR 12. 11. In the latter passage mention is also
made of the coins struck by Joshua (a steer on the obverse and an
antelope on the reverse), by David (a shepherd's crook, a bag, and
a tower), and by Mordecai (a sack, ashes, and a golden crown). On
Abraham as king, see Josephus, Antiqui. I, 7. 2, who quotes Nicolaus
of Damascus to the effect that Abraham was king of Damascus,
in the neighborhood of which there is a place called "The Habitation
of Abraham." Comp. also BR 55. 1; BaR 15. 4; DR 3. 33; Tan.
B. IV, 52; Tan. Beha'aloteka 9; Kohelet 2. 14. Philo, De NoWit.
5, says: Abraham is designated as king (Genesis 23. 6), not because
of the external circumstances, for he was really a private individual,
but on account of the greatness of his soul, as he was possessed of a
kingly mind. The Rabbis similarly remark that scholars are called
kings; comp. Gittin 62a. See vol.' I, p. 232, where it is related that
Abraham declined the royal throne offered to him by the nations.
47 Comp. note 114. MHG I, 188, adds that Terah decided to
go to Palestine before God had instructed Abraham to do so; comp.
note 45.
48 Yashar Noah, 18a-19a; Ma'aseh Abraham, ed. Horowitz, 43;
Ma'aseh. Abraham in BHM, II, 18; 2 'Aseret ha-Dibrot, 2; Ma' as.
G. 2, 3; MHG I, 188; see also the references given in note 13. The
proverbial phrase of p. 208, line 9, is already found ia Sifre N., 95. Ya-
shar and 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 22b recast the form of this phrase,
and this rather shows the poor taste of these writings. Baraita
di-Masseket Niddah 23 reads: In olden times children were brought
up by their grandparents. When Abraham was four years old,
his father Terah entrusted him to the care of Nahor, who attempted
to teach him to worship idols; but in vain, for Abraham was
216
Abraham [49
destined to devote himself to the service of God. Comp. Jub. 15.
8, where the wickedness of Abraham's grandfather is spoken of; comp.
also note 5.
49 Apocalypse of Abraham 1-7. On the text comp. Ginzberg,
in Jewish Encyclopedia, I, 91, seq. On Marumath ( n ?1 I ??= r irnJ"tf?),
see ZDMG 66, 590; Zucheus is very likely to be derived from nr was
magnificent, KlTir splendid, magnificent (Syriac). Similarly Joauv (var-
iants: Joavon, Juav, and Jav; comp. Bonwetsch, ad loc.) is connected
with Hebrew 'B' beauty, and has nothing to do with Gnostic Jao ( =
IT; comp. Irenaeus, Haer. I, 30; 4. 5). In Sefer ha-Tappuah the
name of the idol that was chiseled by Terah was D'JK', which is des-
cribed as the moon god (Juno?), to whom children were sacrificed.
On the last point comp. note 40. Instead of "was rooted in the earth"
(p. 212, line 12) the text reads: "was uprooted from the earth ", which
gives no satisfactory sense, and is very likely due to a faulty trans-
lation of the Hebrew iznip which signifies both rooted and uprooted.
The description which the Apocalypse gives of Abraham's discovery
of God's existence and of his making the belief in idols appear ri-
diculous is very closely related to the midrashic legends dealing with
the same incident (comp. vol. I, p. 189, se$., and the notes referring
to them, especially note 16) and in Jub. 11. 16-12. 21. In the last-
mentioned source we are told that Abraham, while yet a child (see
above, note 13), became convinced of the wickedness of idolatry, and
in order not to be forced to worship idols, he left his father at the early
age (comp. PRE 26) of fourteen. It was then that, at Abraham's
command, the ravens (comp. vol . I, p. 186; this is only found in Jub. and
in Ephraim; comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv. 97, 98) ceased
to despoil the earth. He also invented an instrument, by which the
seeds were made safe against the ravens. After that he began to
preach to his father and brothers about the wickedness of idolatry.
Terah admitted that Abraham's arguments were sound, but at the
same time admonished him to keep quiet, in order not to arouse the
hostility of the people against himself. His brothers, however, be-
came enraged against Abraham on account of his free speech. And
in the night when Abraham threw his father's idols into the fire, Har-
an his brother (comp. note 40) attempted to rescue them, and thus
lost his life. Whereupon Terah left the land of the Chaldeans, to
settle in Palestine (comp. note 47), and on his way he stopped for some
time in Haran. It is noteworthy that in all the sources (comp. the
references given in notes 16 and 108) stress is laid upon the fact
217
50-53] The Legends of the Jews
that Abraham came to know God through his own reasoning about
the universe and its ruler who must necessarily exist. BaR 14. 2
(comp. also PR 33, 150) enumerates three men who acquired the know-
ledge of God "by themselves". They are: Abraham, Job, Hez-
ekiah, and the fourth will be the Messiah. This Haggadah probably
wishes to call attention to the fact that although these pious men
lived during a godless age, they did not succumb to the influence of
their surroundings. Bonwetsch, Apocalypse Abrahams, 49-53, Charles,
in his notes on Jub., he. cit. t and Ginzberg, Haggada lei den Kirchenv.,
95-98, give many references to Christian sources where Abra-
ham legends of Jewish origin are made use of. On Moham-
medan parallels to these legends, see Grunbaum, Neue Beitrage, 90
seq.
50 Yashar Noah, 23b-26b. The incident concerning the big-
gest idol with the hatchet in its hand (p. 215) is very frequently re-
ferred to in the Midrashim; comp, BR 38. 13, and the numerous par-
allels given by Theodor , ad. he. ; EZ 25. 47-48. Abraham, who, as a
vendor of idols, nearly ruined his father's business (comp. vol. I, pp.
195-196) was made a priest by Terah. When, however, the
idols refused to partake of the food offered to them, Abraham
broke them in pieces, which he burned. Brought before Nimrod,
Abraham asked him to change the course of the sun as a proof of his
divinity, and this request not having been granted, he declared him
an impostor. Nimrod ordered Terah to pronounce sentence upon
Abraham, and death by fire was the verdict. In this legend Abra-
ham is represented as a breaker of idols not as an iconoclast, while
in the later legend he is both and this is an attempt to combine -two
different Abraham legends. On Terah comp. notes 45, 47, 54, and
end of 114. comp. also note 76 on vol. I, p. 76.
5 r Yashar Noah, 27a. The continuation of this narrative is giv-
en in the first two paragraphs of vol. I, p. 203.
52 Pirke Abot 5, 2; Jub. 19. 8. Opinions differ as to the events
in Abraham's life which are to be considered as the temptations;
comp. PRE 26; ARN 34, 94-95 (second version, 37, 94; here the
Nimrod legend is disregarded!); Tehillim 18, 153, and 95, 420;
for full details see Schechter's notes on ARN, loc. cit.\ comp. further
Ecclesiasticus 44. 20, I Maccabees 1. 52 is very likely dependent upon
the last-named source. In 12 Testaments, Joseph 1. 7, it was Joseph
who was tempted with ten temptations.
53 MHG I, 201-202. partly after BR 39. 7; Philo, De Abrahamo,
218
A braham [5460
14, also dwells on the great sacrifice made by Abraham in leaving
his native country at the command of God.
54 BR 39. 7 and 11. The opinion prevailing in rabbinic sources
is that Gen. 12, seq., refers to Abraham's emigration from Haran
where he left his father. It is true that according to the Bible (Gen.
11.23), Terah died prior to Abraham's departure; but this statement
of Scripture is taken figuratively, for the wicked are regarded as
dead, even while they are yet alive; comp. BR, loc.cit., and the parallels
given by Theodor. See also Tan. B., II, 69; Tan. Yitro 1; MHG
1, 527; Midrash Tannaim, 101; Mekilta RS, 127; note 72 on vol. I,
76. Acts 7.5 understands Scripture to speak of Abraham's emigration
from the land of the Chaldeans, and this view is shared by Ibn Ezra,
ad loc r , comp. note 114. Jub. 12.16 agrees with the rabbinic view, but
remarks that Terah remained in Haran until Abraham had found a
desirable residence in Palestine. Syncellus 1, 176, 18, seq., accepts
the rabbinic view in all its details.
ss BR 39. 11; MHG I, 202-203; Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 12.
2, seq., is dependent on BR, loc* tit. Comp. also Theodor, ad loc.
Philo, De Somniis, 28, says: The wise and virtuous is not only a bless-
ing to himself, but is also beneficial to all men, etc. Comp. also Philo,
De Migratione Abrahami, 19.
s fi Pesahim 117b; BR 39. 11; Tan. B. I, 62; Tan. Lek 4; BaR
11. 2. The legend refers to the fact that the first benediction of the
'Amidah concludes with the words: "Blessed art Thou, Lord, the
Shield of Abraham."
57 MHG, I, p. 204, excerpted, perhaps, form Yelammedenu; comp.
Sabba, Wayyera, 32a. Against the Christological interpretation of
Gen. 12. 3 (see Galatians 3. 8) comp. the explanation of "p in BR
39. 12 and MHG, 1,203. Shu'aib, Lek, 6b, quotes from an unknown
Midrash a lengthy explanation of Gen. 12. 2. 3, according to which
Abraham received three crowns; the crown of the Torah, the crown
of priesthood, and the crown of kingdom (comp. Pirke Abot 4. 17,
and parallel passages). Israel inherited them later from him.
58 BR 39. 10; comp. note 230.
59 MHG, I, 202. Ziyyoni, Gen. 12. 7, on the other hand, main-
tains that God revealed Himself unto Abraham in the Holy Land
for the first time; comp. Mekilta at the beginning; Mo'ed Katan 25a,
Index 5. t>., ( " Revelation".
60 BR 39. 8. In, the extract from Yelammedenu published by
Ginzberg; in Hazofeh, IV, p. 33, it is stated that the inhabitants of Haran
219
6i-68] The Legends of the Jews
were very wicked, despite Abraham 's preaching and exhortations; where-
upon God commanded him to depart from the sinners and go to Pal-
estine.
61 BR 39. 15, 16; Sanhedrin 44b; MHG I, 213. On the mission-
ary activity of Abraham, comp. above, notes 42 and 43. To the ref-
erences given in those two notes the following are to be added: Zohar
III, 168a; II, 147b and 198a; ARN 33, 94. Abraham is contrasted
with David: The former was first for love and then for justice, while
the latter was the reverse.
62 Jub. 10. 29-34. Midrash Aggada I, 27, and Rashi on Gen.
11. 6 quote a similar statement from a midrashic source; comp. note
73 on vol. I, p. 173.
63 BR 41. 5; comp. note 228.
6 4 BR 25. 3 and 40. 3; Ruth R. 1. 1; Shemuel 28; Targum
Ruth 1. 1. In all these sources, except in the first-named, it is stated
that the second famine occurred in the time of Lemech (the father
of Noah; comp. vol. I, pp. 146, 147, and the notes referring to them),
while in BR it is at first assumed that the second famine took place
in Abraham's time (Dm3K 'D'n'n is the reading in MS K!), and then
a dissenting opinion is cited, according to which: 'K "jD 1 ? 'D'a 'K
"QN 'D S 3. The commentators, whom Theodor follows, take the first
passage to mean that two famines took place in Abraham's days. This
interpretation is, however, unlikely. Probably '1 stands for 'jtP and
accordingly the second statement is an explanation of the first.
PRE 26 maintains that the very first famine occurred in the time
of Abraham; comp. also Tan. Lek 5.
6 5 PRE 26; BR 40. 2; MHG I, 207; comp. Schechter's
notes on the last-named source.
66 Josephus, Antiqui. I, 8. 1, and Zohar I, 81b. In the latter
passage Abraham is blamed for travelling to Egypt, and Israel's ser-
vitude in that country is said to be a punishment for that sin. Nah-
manides on Gen. 12. 10 is of the opinion that Abraham's sin consisted
in his lack of trust in God; for, out of fear of the inhabitants he did
not acknowledge Sarah as his wife. In Baba Kamma 60b Abraham
is praised for his going to Egypt, and on the strength of this action
of his the rule is given: When a famine is in a city, move quickly
away therefrom.
67 Tan. Lek 5; Yashar Lek, 31a; Zohar I, 81b; comp. also Baba
Batra 16a; Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 12. 11.
68 Tan. Lek, 5; BR40. 5; Tan. B I, 65-66; Zohar I, 82b; Yashar,
220
Abraham [69-77
Lek 31b. The sensuality of the Egyptians is frequently referred to
in Jewish literature; comp. Sifra Kedoshim (end); Yerushalmi Sotah
I (p. 17a); WR 23. 7 and 25. 7; Zohar I, 117a. On Sarah's beauty
and its relation to that of Eve, see vol. I, p. 60. and the note apper-
taning thereto, as well as note 78.
69 BR 40. 15; Tan. B. I, 66; Tan. Lek 5.
70 Josephus, Antigui, I, 8. 1.
71 Yashar Lek, 31b.
72 Tan. Lek 5; Tan. B. I, 66.
73 Yashar Lek, 32a. Philo, De Abrahamo, 19, likewise mentions
that Sarah prayed to God to save her from Pharaoh; the old Midrash-
im, too, refer to this incident; comp. BR 41. 2; Tan. B I, 66; Tan.
Lek, 5. On Philo 's remark that Sarah was the most beautiful of
her sex, comp. above, note 68.
7 4 PRE 26; Yashar Lek, 32a, 32b; BR 45. 1; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 26, 1. Ephraim I, 65, says that Hagar was given to Abraham
by Pharaoh ; comp. Ginzberg, Haggada by den Kirchenv., 108; Grunbaum,
Neiie Beitrage, 102, refers to similar statements concerning Hagar
in Mohammedan writings. The expression nTTO 3B1D (BR) is also
found in Sanhedrin 99b with reference to Timna. On Goshen comp.
vol. II, pp. 122, 123, and note 325 referring to them, as well as MHG I,
208.
75 BR 40. 2 and 52. 13; Tan. B. I, 66-67; Tan. Lek, 5; Zohar
I, 82a. Pharaoh deserved his punishment because, though he was
informed by Sarah of the true facts, he did not keep back from his sin-
ful intentions; BR, loc. cit. MHG I, 207, on the other hand, main-
tains that the Egyptians would rather commit murder than adultery.
Philo, De Abrahamo, 19, remarks that the Egyptians were punished
for not having protested against Pharaoh's actions. Comp. below
note 290 on vol. I, p. 403.
76 PRE 26. In Zohar I, 82a, and III, 52, many more parallels
are pointed out between Pharaoh 's punishment and that of the Egyp-
tians "in the night of redemption." The view that many important
events in the history of the patriarchs and that of Israel took place
during the first night of Passover is very old (comp. Index, s. v. "Nisan,
Fifteenth of") and is a favorite topic with the paitanim; comp. e. g.
Yannai's (about 600) piyyut D'D'JI nn TK in the liturgy of the Great
Sabbath in the Ashkenazic Mahzor. Comp. also ShR 18. 12 and BaR
20. 12. Comp. note 170.
77 Josephus, Antiqui, I, 8. 1. Similar statements in the writ-
221
78-81] The Legends of the Jews
ings of the Church Fathers are either directly derived from Josephus
or are based on oral communications made to them by Jews; comp.
Jerome and Theodoretus, Gen. 12. 17, as well as Ginzberg, Haggada lei
den Kirchenv., 100.
? 8 Seder 'Olam I; Jub. 13. 11. The duration of Abraham's
sojourn in Egypt is given as five years; but Artapanus (Eusebius,
Praep. Evang,, 9. 18, 420b), states that Abraham stayed twenty
years in that country.
79 BR 41. 3; 'Arakin 16b. This explanation of VyDB 1 ? accords
with Septuagint and Vulgate, though Jerome on Gen. 13. 3 rejects
It. See Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 101.
80 Josephus, Antiqui., I, 8. 2; Artapanus (see above, note 78).
The Kabbalists, on the contrary, maintain that Abraham learned witch- t
craft from the Egyptians, as ''one appreciates the benefit of light after
having been in darkness". See 'Emek ha-Melek, 135c; Maggid, Lek 7b,
and comp. note 313. In ' Abodah Zarah 14b it is stated, on the authority
of an old tradition, that Abraham composed a book on the laws con-
cerning idolatry containing four hundred chapters, while the Mish-
nah tractate dealing with the same subject consists only of five chap-
ters. Sotah 46b reads: Pharaoh . accompanied Abraham four steps
(comp. the same phrase in Sanhedrin 96a) and for this kind act the
Egyptians were the masters of Israel for four hundred years. PK 7,
65b contains a view concerning Pharaoh's relation to Sarah which
differs from the one expressed in the legend given in our text. Ac-
cording to that source, when Sarah arrived in Egypt, she was impressed
into service as a handmaid, and was made to work like "a donkey
in a mill". Buber attempted to emend the text of this Midrash,
but there is absolutely no need for corrections. The expression UTD
D'!T"17 corresponds exactly to the English expression "like a horse in
a mill", except that in Hebrew the donkey takes the place of the horse.
Comp. also PR 17, 80c.
81 Yashar Lek, 29b-31a, which was incorporated in BHM VI,
121-123. A slightly different version of this legend was published from
a MS. (R. Joseph Kimhi's commentary on the Pentateuch is given
as its source) by Berliner (Hoffmann Festschrift, 283-285), who was
evidently unaware that he was dealing with a well-known legend.
Kaufmann, R.E.J., XVI, 144-146, and Levi, ibid., XVIII, 130-131,
called attention to the fact that al-Biruni (Sachau's edition, p. 280)
has the same story, except that Haman takes the place of Rakyon,
and in all likelihood this legend is of Arabic origin. Beer, Leben Abra-
222
Abraham [82-85
hams, note 223, connects Rakyon with Naracho, the name ascribed
to this Pharaoh by Malala, Chronologic, 71; but this identification
seems rather far-fetched. On other names supposed to have been
borne by this Pharaoh, comp. Beer, loc. cit. See further Theophilus
2. 31, who, in agreement with Yashar, maintains that this ruler of
Egypt was the first to assume the title of Pharaoh. Comp. also note
430 on vol. II, p. 169.
82 BR 41. 5-16; PR 3, 9b-10a; Yerushalmi Targumim Gen.
13. 7; Yashar Lek, 32b. The claim of the Canaanites to Palestine is
here recognized as legitimate; see a different view in vol. I, p. 220, and
comp. also p. 173. Shu'aib Lek, 7a, quotes the following passage
from Yerushalmi (not found in our edition): " Strangers profit when
brothers quarrel"; the quarrel between Abraham and Lot (not only
between their servants alone; comp. loc. cit.) caused the Holy Land
to remain in the possession of strangers. Comp. also Astruc, Midreshe ha-
Tor ah 15, who used a similar source to that of Shu'aib. On Lot comp.
note 171 ; on the comparison of Israel to sand see BaR 2. 13. The four
kingdoms, i. e., Assyria-Babylon, Media-Persia, Macedonia-Greece,
Rome, are very often spoken of by the Rabbis ; comp. the very instructive
study^by Senior Sachs, Shire ha-Shirim, 70, seq., and Epstein, Mi-Kadmo-
niyyot, 31-35. Later the fourth kingdom was a designation of Edom
and Ishmael, i. e. t Christianity and Islam; comp. Tehillim 6. 59. The
four diasporas among the eight kingdoms are: 1) Babylon-Chaldea,
2) Media- Persia, 3) Macedonia-Greece, 4) Edom ( = Rome) and Ish-
mael (= Arabia). Differently in Mekilta RS 118 (not tannaitic) ; BR 85.
8 (six kingdoms); Hallel 101; Midrash Aggada I, 20 and 155; Hadar
37a, where six, seven, and eight kingdoms are referred to.
83 Zohar I, 108a; very likely dependent on an earlier source.
84 MHG I, 215-216; very likely the same source made use of
in Zohar I, 86, but not identical with BR 41. 3, where it is said that
the war against Abraham was in truth a war against God. Comp.
PR, 196b; Kallah 3, 7a, and Beer, Leben Abrahams, note 251.
85 Yashar Noah, 29a, and Lek, 33a. The identification of Am-
raphael with Nimrod is already found in old sources; comp. 'Erubin
53a; BR 41. 1; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 14. 1; Tan. Lek 6; PR 33,
15 la. These passages give several etymologies of the name Amraphel.
On Amraphel = Nimrod, see also note 82 on vol. I, p. 178. Augustine,
Civit. Dei, 16. 17, .identifies Amraphel with Ninus who is supposed
to have been the grandson of Nimrod; comp. Yerahmeel 32. 3 and
faster, ad loc.
223
86-95] The Legends of the Jews
86 Bahya Gen. 14. 5, whose remarks are based on lost midrashic
sources. On the meaning of the proper names occurring in Gen.
14, and the attempt of Jewish and Christian authors to identify them,
see BR 41. 6; Kallah 3. 7a; Beer, Leben Abrahams, 248; Ginzberg, Hag-
gada bei den Kirchenv., 101-103.
8 ? BR 41. 5-7; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 14. 2, seq.; Jerome,
Quaestiones, 14. 2-7.
88 MHG I, 216; Zohar I, 86b; comp. note 84. The statement
in Zohar that Lot looked like Abraham is very likely based on BR
14. 6.
89 BR. 41. 7-8; DR. 1. 25; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 14.13.
90 PRE 27, where it is also stated that "the escaped" in Ezekiel
33. 21 likewise refers to the archangel Michael. Another legend
identifies "the escaped", who brought Abraham the report about Lot's
capture, with Og. Comp. vol. Ill, p. 343. On the designation of
Abraham as "the Hebrew", comp. BR 41.8; Lekah 2, 144; comp. also
note 31 on vol. I, p. 181.
91 Tan. B. I, 72; Tan. Lek 13; Aggadat Bereshit 13, 28. Jo-
sephus, Antigui., 1, 10. 1, says: Abraham undertook the war on account
of his friendship with his neighbors, the inhabitants of Sodom, and
in behalf of Lot. Comp. Zohar I, 112b.
92 Nedarim 32a and BR 42. 2 two originally different explan-
ations of V3^n (Gen. 14. 14). PRE 27 says: His three disciples
(=Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre).
93 Tan. B I, 73; Tan. Lek 13; Aggadat Bereshit 13. 29; BR 42.
2; Nedarim 32a; Yelammedenu in supplement to Yalkut ( = BHM
VI, 79); PK 8, 70a (below); PR 18, 91b; WR 28.4; BaR 18. 21; PRE
27; Targum Yerushalmi. Gen. 14. 14; Tehillim 110, 466; ER 5. 28.
Philo, De Abrahamo, 39, speaks of the three hundred warriors, all
of whom were born in the house of Abraham (he had no other ser-
vants than these) and with whom, despite^ their small number, he
undertook the compaign, trusting that God would help him. Follow-
ing the method of the Jewish legend which, on the basis of the nu-
merical value of the name Eliezer (-iry^K^SlS), identifies the three
hundred and eighteen with this pious servant of Abraham, the Chris-
tian legend maintains that in these warriors there is an allusion to
Jesus, the numerical value of whose name is three hundred and eighteen ;
see Barnabas, 9. 8, and Clemens, Stromata, 6. 11.
94 PRE 17; comp. above, note 76,
95 BR 42. 3; Tehillim 110, 466. Jewish tradition takes Ps. 110
224
A braham [96 1 02
to refer to Abraham (another view makes it refer to Hezekiah; comp.
note 69 on vol. IV, p. 272), and hence the statement that Abraham,
in order to be protected, was placed at the right hand of God (Tan.
B. I, 74; Aggadat Bereshit 13. 29; Sanhedrin 108b; Tan. Lek 13).
96 Sanhedrin 108b; Ta'anit 21a; BR 42. 3; Tan. B. I, 76; Tan.
Lek 15; comp. vol. IV, p. 203.
97 Tan. B. I, 73-74. Tan. Lek 13; BR 42. 3; Sanhedrin 96a;
PRE 27; Aggadat Bereshit 13. 29; Soferim 20; PR, 196b. The Test-
ament of Abraham also presupposes that Abraham was a giant;
comp. the extract from this source on vol. I, p. 304.
98 BR 42. 3; Shabbat 196b (God moved, for Abraham's sake,
the star Jupiter from the west to the east); Sanhedrin 96a (on the
angel Lailah, comp. note 20 on vol. I, p. 59) ; ER 5. 28. WR 1. 4 seems
to be of the opinion that Abraham 's victory was due to the direct
intervention of God and not to the help of the angels. Zohar I, 86a,
is very likely based on WR. Reminiscences of long-forgotten legends
and myths which bring Abraham in some relation with the sun, are
to be found in Tehillim 1. 5; PR 20, 96b and Baba Batra 16b.
99 BR 42. 4-5; comp. ER 25. 128; Tan. B. I, 74, and see also
note 46.
100 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 14. 20; BR 43. 9; Tan. B. I 74;
Tan. Lek 13. Abraham was the first to declare God "the possessor
of heaven and earth "; comp. Berakot 7a and EZ 25, 45.
101 BR 43. 9; Lekah I, 66, and II, 279, with the additional re-
mark that this law, promulgated by Abraham and Moses, had become
obsolete in later times, and was restored in its full force by David;
comp. I Sam. 30. 22-25.
102 Tan. B.*I, 75, 76; Tan. Lek 15. The identity of Melchizedek
with Shem is presupposed in many Jewish and Christian sources;
comp. Nedarim 32b (in a statement by a teacher who flourished
about 100); BR 26. 4 and the parallel passages given by Theodor;
Tehillim 76, 340; PRE 8 and 27; Yelammedenu quoted in Yalkut
Nahum (here D^B>= perfect, free from any blemish); Midrash Ag-
gada I, 23 (read ]TQ wytf, "he appointed him priest "); Targum
Yerushalmi, Gen. 14. 18. Zohar Hadash Noah, 29b (from there in
Gabai's 'Abodat ha-Kodesh II, 31, where the source is not given.
On the study of Abraham in the Academy of Shem-Melchizedek men-
tioned in this source, comp. note 13), tells us that Shem received the
name Melchizedek from Gob! when He appointed him priest; comp. note
51 on vol. I, 166. The Church Fathers Jerome, Quaestiones, 14. 18,
225
The Legends of the Jews
Ephraim I, 61 E and 79D as, well as Epiphanius, Haer., 55. 6, speak
of Shern- Melchizedek. The last- mentioned Church Father attributes
this identification to the Samaritans, whereas "the Jews declare Mel-
chizedek to have been the son of a prostitute/* Later Christian
authors somewhat modified the rabbinic view concerning Melchi-
zedek and considered him a descendant of Shern. This latter view is
shared by Mohammedan writers. Comp. Beer, Leben Abrahams, note
300; Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 103-105; Friedlaender, Chad-
Mr Legende, 258, seq. On the gnostic legends concerning Melchizedek,
see the gnostic fragment published by Murfil-Charles as supplement
to their edition of the Slavonic Enoch, 85-93. That the mysteri-
ous personality of Melchizedek occupied the fancy of the people
at very early times may be seen from the 12 Testaments which, in
its pre-Christian parts (Levi 17. 7), speaks of him in the highest
terms of praise. The identity of Salem, Melchizedek's city, with
Jerusalem, presupposed in the rabbinic sources enumerated above, is
known also to Josephus, Wars, VI, 10; Theophilus 2. 3 (his depend-
ence on Josephus may be proved by the phrase "the first priest"
which he copied from Josephus); Clemens, Stromata, 1. 5; Jerome,
Epistola ad Evargium, 73. Comp. also Thomsen, Loci Sancti I, 10.
On the etymological explanation of the name Jerusalem and Salem
see note 253. The Samaritans identify Salem with Shechem; comp.
Eupolemus 9. 17 (p. 419) and Freudenthal, Hellenistische Studien,
I, pp. 85 and 87. The remark in ARN 2. 2, that Shem-Melchizedek
was born with the sign of the Abrahamic covenant on him is directed
against the Christian polemics concerning circumcision. Comp.
Note 318.
103 BR 43. 6, 7, and the parallel passages given by Theodor;
BaR 4. 8.
104 Nedarim 32b; WR 25. 6. This Haggadah is very likely di-
rected against the Christians who took Melchizedek to be a type of
Jesus, the everlasting priest; comp. Hebrews 7. 1-3 and especially
Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 33 'and 96.
I0 -s ER25, 128.
106 Sotah I7a; BR 43. 9; Tan. B. I, 75; Tan. Lek 13. The Mid-
rashim mentioned differ from the Talmud with regard to the nature
of the two commandments which Israel received as a reward for Abra-
ham 's good deed. Sotah, loc. cit.\ Hullin 88b; BaR 4. 8 mention two
commandments which Israel Deceived as a reward for Abraham's
226
Abraham [107110
humility in saying to God: "And I am but dust and ashes." Comp.
Gen. 18. 27.
107 BR 44. 4-5; comp. Yelammedenu in supplement to Yalkut
( = BHM, VI, 79) and note 102. According to another view given
in BR, God revealed Himself to Abraham (the first revelation ever
granted to a human being; comp, MHG I, 324) long after the war
against the kings. The Midrashim (BR, loc. cit.\ Yelammedenu,
loc. cit.', MHG, I, 225, 226) find in the words "thy reward is very
great" (Gen. 15. 1) a hint of the reward which Abraham and his des-
cendants are to receive in the world to come.
108 BR 44 8 _ 12; Tehillim 2, 10, and 21, 179; 2 ARN 43, 122;
Aggadat Shir 1. 5. The statement that God commanded Abraham
not to rely on astrology is very frequently met with in rabbinic lit-
erature. Comp. Shabbat 150a; Nedarim 32a; Tan. Shofetim 11; PR
43, 179a; ShR 38. 6; BaR 2. 12; Aggadat Bereshit 28, 58, and 37,
73; see further Yoma 88b and Baba Batra 16a, as well as Philo, Abra-
ham, 15 (in paraphrasing Gen. 15. 5 the expression rYir^LJS'ND NX
found in the rabbinic sources mentioned above is employed here al-
most literally), De Nobilitate, 5 and Quis rer. 'divin. haeres sit, 20;
Jub. 12. 16. PR 11, 45, and BaR 2. 14 explain Gen. 15. 5 in a different
manner from that of the sources referred to, and in contrast to BR
it is stated in DR 2. 7 that Abraham prayed 'to God to give him chil-
dren.
109 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 15. 6; Mekilta Beshallah 6, 33b;
Tan. Beshallah 10; Tan. B. II, 59; Shir 4. 8. Comp. next note. A-
gainst the Christian doctrine of justification by faith alone (Romans
4. 3) Zohar III, 148a, and Nahmanides on Gen. 15. 6 explain this
verse as follows: And Abraham considered it as an act of grace.
1 1 BR 44. 14. Owing to the uncertainty of the meaning of the
word nB^PD, Gen. 15. 9 (comp. R.E.J., 31, 176, and Monatsschrift,
41, 109) the Targumim and Midrashim differ as to the number of
sacrifices brought on this occasion by Abraham; comp. Onkelos and
Targum Yerushalmi, ad loc., as well as BR, loc. cit.; WR 3. 3; PRE
28. Opinions also differ with regard to the question whether or not
lack of trust in God is implied in Abraham's words: "Whereby shall
I know that I shall inherit it?" (Gen. 15. 8). The Church Fathers
agree with the view favorable to Abraham given in our text in ac
cordance with BR. Comp. Origen and Theodoretus, ad loc., as well
as Ephraim I, 64B-C, and Augustine, Civitas Dei, 16. 24. The Church
Fathers are perhaps directly dependent on Philo, Quis rer. divin. haeres
227
IH-II2] The Legends of the Jews
sit, 20, who remarks that he Abraham trusted God, but wished to
know in what manner the promise made to him would be fulfilled.
A somewhat different view is expressed by Philo in his Quaestiones,
Gen. 2. 2. The view prevalent among the Rabbis is that Abraham
is greatly to be blamed for his lack of trust in God. They even go fur-
ther and assert that Israel's servitude in Egypt is the punishment
for Abraham's sinful words; comp. Nedarim 32a; Tan. B. Ill, 79;
Tan. Kedoshim 13; ER 13, 65, and EZ 2, 174; ShR 5. 22 and 30. 16;
WR 11. 5; PRE 48; PR 47, 190a; Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 819,
on Psalm 78. Jerome, Is. 43. 27, accepts this view which, as may
be seen from Yelammedenu, was known to the Tannaim. Shu'aib,
Wa-Yesheb, 21, quotes an unknown Midrash to the effect that Abra-
ham committed three sins: He emigrated from Palestine at the
time of the famine (comp. note 66); he exposed Sarah to a great moral
danger by stating that she was his sister; he further showed lack of
trust in God by saying: "Whereby shall I know, etc." Comp. also
vol. II, pp. 226 and 338, as well as vol. Ill, pp. 19, 89, and 480.
111 Megillah 31b; Ta'anit 27b; WR 7. 3; PK 6, 60b; somewhat
different in Berakot 17a, where fasts take the place of sacrifices;
Tan. Zaw 14 (additions) ; Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 382 on Ezekiel
43 (almost identical with Tan. loc. tit.) and 321 on Jeremiah 33. Al-
Barceloni, 159, quotes the following passage from the Midrash: God
said to Abraham: Make thy children occupy themselves with the
study of the Torah which will give them light in this world and in
the world to come. Comp. also Zohar I, lOOa. All these passages
are a defence of Judaism against the attacks of the Christian pol-
emical writers who maintain that after the destruction of the temple,
Israel is no longer in possession of the means of atonement. The
judge, who, in a controversy with a Jewish scholar, insisted that
after the destruction of the temple Israel 's sins can no longer be for-
given (second Yelammedenu passage) was undoubtedly a Christian.
Comp. also Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 97, to whose polemics the remark
in BaR 14. 4 (prayers take the place of sacrifice) seems to be a direct
answer. See further Menahot HOa and PK 15, according to the
reading of Makiri Malachi 1. II. Rabban Johanan b. Zaccai, with-
out any polemical or apologetical bias, remarks: We have something
that secures atonement as much as the temple service, and this is
loving-kindness (ARN 4, 21; Ma* as. G., 133).
112 BR 44. 14-22; PRE 28 (on the text comp. Tosafot Gen.
15. 10 seq.); Targum Yerushalmi Gen., loc. cit. In John 8. 56
Abraham [113-114
and Acts 7. 7 it is presupposed that the course of Israel's history was
revealed to Abraham on this occasion. Comp. also note 114.
113 MHG I, 240, very likely from a version of PRE different
from ours. Sa'adya Gaon was acquainted with a source similar to
or identical with the one quoted in MHG; comp. Ginzberg's remarks
in Geiger's Kebuzat Maamarim (edited by Poznanski), 414, and Dav-
idson, Saadia's Polemic against Hiwi, 64. The reviving of animals
is also mentioned in another Abraham legend (Testament of Abraham
A 6) and in Christian legends, comp. e. g. Acts of Pilate 2 (MS. C.).
In midrashic fashion this legend in MHG is derived from 3t2H (Gen.
15. 11), which is read as if its object were D'*US, hence "and he made
them fly." Another explanation of this word is "and he made them
repent"; comp. BR, loc. cit^ 15, and Ephraim I, 64 B-C.
114 BR 44. 21 and 49. 2; Mekilta ba-Hodesh 9, 71b; ShR 51.7;
Tan. B. II, 130; Tan. Pekude 5 and 8; PK 5, 42b; PR 15, 67a; Tehil-
lim 38, 254, and 52, 286; Targumim Yerushalmi Gen. 15. 17; Midrash
Tannaim 84; Zohar III, 299; Hadar, 6b; Apocalypse of Baruch 4. 4,
God showed Abraham the paradise at night between the pieces of
the slain animals. 4 Ezra 3. 15 says: Thou revealedst to him Abra-
hamthe end of the times secretly by night; comp. note 112. On
the explanation of the "smoking furnace" as Gehenna comp.
Revelation 9. 2; 4 Ezra 7. 3; 12 Testaments, Joseph 2. 2 (but,
perhaps, a false rendering of Hebrew mjn DH0K "a foolish woman"
as rnjD 0K * 'burning fire"); Kiddushin 40a and 81b. Philo, Quaes-
tiones, Gen. 3. 15, sees in the smoking furnace the heavenly fire which
came down to consume the sacrifices. In agreement with the Rabbis
Theodoretus, ad loc., considers the flaming torch an allusion to the
revelation on Sinai. The most detailed description of the vision at
the "covenant between the pieces" is that of the Apocalypse of Abra-
ham, the main part of which (11-32) is a Midrash on Gen. 15.
9-14, with pronounced gnostic features. The archangel Jaoel ( =
^KliT, the chief of the Seraphim in Masseket Azilut 21) leads Abraham
to the highest heaven and shows him the glory of God reigning there.
Clad in the garment of glory (comp. note 93 on vol. I, p. 80), Abraham
becomes like "one of the glorified beings and takes part in the song of
praise chanted by them in heaven to God." After Abraham has been
shown the heavens and all that they contain, the angel Jaoel points out
to him, from the heights of the heavens, the stars and the entire earth
(similarly BR 44. 12 and parallel passages given by Theodor) with
all that it contains, the abyss with its tortures (that is Gehenna),
229
US] The Legends of the Jews
paradise with the joys of the pious, as well as the leviathan and its
abode. At the same time the angel reveals to Abraham the course of
human history in the present aeon (comp. BR 44. 22, where two views
are given; according to one, God showed him only this world, while
according to the other also the world to come was shown to him; comp.
Ginzberg, Journal of B'ibL Soc., 1922 p. 133) from the fall of Adam to
the advent of the Messiah. Peculiar to this book is the interpretation
that the smoking furnace refers to Azazel Satan, who attempted to
lead Abraham astray. From chapter 12 we infer that this interpret-
ation is partly based on the explanation that D^7 (Gen. 15. 11) means
" counsellor "(=seducer), and accordingly, it may be safely assumed
that this pseudepigraph is of Semitic Hebrew or Aramaic origin.
Comp. Ginzberg in Jewish Encyclopedia, s.v. Abraham, Apocalypse of.
On the 400 years of the Egyptian servitude, comp. II, p. 318, and note
124 referring to it. On Terah comp. BR 39. 7 (he died as a sinner),
30. 4, and 38. 12; Tan. B. II, 9; Tan. Shemot 18; ShR 2. 6; Ruth R.
(end); Zohar I, 77b and 78b; Midrash Aggada 2. 6; Bahya on Gen.
11. 32; see further notes 45, 47, and 54, as well as vol. II, p. 314;
vol. IV, pp. 264 and 281. On Ishmael, comp. sources referred to in
connection with Terah, and further 2 ARN 27, 54; Baba Batra 16b;
ER 13, 65 (Friedmann's explanation of this passage is faulty, as may
be seen from EZ 2, 174, which passage makes it quite clear as to what is
meant by the honor shown by Ishmael to his father) ; comp. also Hashkem,
3a-4a, where, in contrast to the views of the older sources (comp.
Schechter on ARN, ad loc.), it is maintained that pious children
sometimes save their wicked parents from Gehenna.
115 According to Seder 'Olam and BR 39. 7 (see the parallel
passages given by Ratner and Theodor), God made this covenant with
Abraham when the latter was seventy years old. He then returned
from Palestine to Haran, where he remained for five years until he
settled permanently in the Holy Land. The war with the kings took
place in the year when he returned to Palestine, and ten years later
he married Hagar. The Apocalypse of Abraham is also of the opinion
that the "covenant between the pieces" took place at the very be-
ginning of Abraham's career, when he separated himself from his
kinsfolk. Nedarim 32a,- BR 44. 5, and in many other sources (comp.
those referred to in note 102) give a different view, according to which
this covenant took place after the war against the kings; this latter
opinion, based on the order in which the events are narrated in the
Bible, is also shared by Jub. 13. 17-14. 1. The covenant took place
230
Abraham [116120
on the first night of Passover; see PRE 28; Panim Aherim, 74; PR,
196b (Friedmann's explanation, ad loc,, is untenable, as the parallel
passages, just quoted, show); but according to Jub. 14. 1, it was
on the new moon of the third month, i. e. Si wan, the month in which
the revelation at Sinai occurred. Comp. note 76.
116 Yebamot, Tosefta 8. 4; Yerushalmi 6, 7c, and Babli 64a;
BR 45. 2-3. The Haggadah assigns a number of causes for "the
sterility of the mothers." The most favored explanation is that God
in His love tried the pious fathers, in order that they, in their suf-
fering, should pray to Him for help. Comp. BR 45. 4; Shir 2. 14;
Tan. Toledot 9 and Wa-Yeze 7; Yebamot 64a; ER 18, 99. In
later mysticism the doctrine that God "desires" the prayers of the
pious plays an important part; this conception, however, is very old;
comp. Hullin 60b. According to ER, loc. cit., Abraham and Sarah
were married for 75 years before the birth of Isaac; comp. also the
preceding note.
117 MHG I, 241, 242. Here also we have the statement
that a childless woman is able to tell whether she or her husband is
the cause of sterility, and accordingly Sarah knew that Abraham
would beget children with another wife. In BR 45. 2 the sentence
"Dl yap was entirely misunderstood and therefore corrupted in the
editions and MSS.; it is to be translated: I know that it is my fault
that we have no issue and not as they say: She the childless woman
needs only a cup of meon (meum athamaticum) to be cured, ynp
or perhaps $mp is the masculine of biblical njnp; comp. the phrase
D'"lpy hv DID very often found in rabbinic literature. That meon is
a cure for barrenness does not seem to be known to any other source.
According to BR 25. 1, Sarah 's barrenness was due to pathological
defects she had no womb.
118 BR 45. 6; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 16. 3.
" BR 45. 2; Yashar Lek, 34a; Yerushalmi Targumim Gen.
16. 3. On Hagar, the daughter of Pharaoh, comp. above, note 74.
The statement of Targum Yerushalmi that Nimrod was the father of
this Pharaoh is not found elsewhere, and, on account of its strangeness,
2 Targum Yerushalmi saw it advisable to modify it. We ought,
perhaps, to read "Q^l or "D^Vl, i. e., Eliezer who is said to have been
a slave (son?) of Nimrod; comp. above, note 41. On the piety of
Hagar see also BR 61. 4 and Philo, De Abrahamo, 42.
120 BR 45. 2-4; Yashar Lek, 34a. Philo, De Abrahamo, 43, quotes
the view of "thorough exegetes", according to which Abraham ab-
231
I2II22] The Legends of the Jews
stained from having any conjugal relations with Hagar as soon as
she became pregnant; this was due to his natural abstemiousness
and to his respect for Sarah. The statement rTD'J? raiiwnn n'3D
that Hagar became pregnant on the bridal night (BR 45. 4), very likely
implies this view. Comp. also vol. I, p. 298, where it is stated that
Abraham remarried Hagar after Sarah's death. Comp. MHG. I, 244.
121 Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 16. 5 (comp. note 119); a dif-
ferent view is given in Yashar Lek, 34, according to which Sarah
blamed Abraham for not having specified, when praying to God for
children, that the children should be the offspring of his marriage with
her. Had the prayer been formulated in this manner, God would have
granted it.
122 BR 45. 5-8. On the expression rnnam D"bn employed here,
comp. 'Erubin 27b and parallel passages on margin, as well as Kid-
dushin 22b. According to these sources, only slaves attend on a
person in the bath-room, and Sarah, by making Hagar attend on her
while bathing, wanted to show her that she was still a bondwoman;
comp. also Mishle 26. 99. Opinions differ as to the number of angels
that appeared to Hagar; comp. BR 45. 7 (five or four) and 'Arakin
17b (only three). On the pious who received their names from God,
comp. Mekilta Bo 16, 19; BR, loc. cU.\ PRE 32; Pirke Rabbenu ha-
Kadosh, ed. Grunhut 35; Tan. B. I, 21, 22; Yerushalmi Berakot,
I, 4a. The name of Isaac was never changed, because it had
been given by God, whereas the names of his father and son (Jacob-
Israel) were changed. With regard to Abraham, it is maintained
that it is unlawful to call him by his original name, Abram; comp.
Berakot, loc. tit., and Babli 12b; another view is offered by Philo,
De Mut. Nomin, 13, 14. The Haggadah has a good deal to tell us
about the meaning of the names Abram and Abraham and about
the reason for changing the former into the latter. Abram means
"The father of Aram", whereas Abraham denotes "The father of
nations", i. e. t Ab (ON) = father, and Ham (]lDn = Dn, while "1 is disre-
garded) =" nations". Comp. Berakot, Tosefta 1. 13, and Babli 13a;
Shabbat 105a (each letter of the name Abram is explained); BR 46. 7.
Many explanations of the change, of the names Abram and Sarai are
given by Philo, De Abrahamo, 18; De Mut. Norn., 8, 9; Cherubim, 2; De
GiganL 14, 15; Quaestiories, Gen., ad loc. The change of names brought
about a change in the fortunes of Abraham and Sarah: it had been
decreed that Abram should have no offspring, but this did not apply
to Abraham. Comp. Rosh ha-Shanah 16b (this is explained ration-
232
Abraham [123-126
alistically by Maimonides, Yad, Teshubah, 2. 4); BR 4. 10 and the
numerous parallel passages given by Theodor. A different view is
found in Mekilta Yitro I, 57a, and Mekilta RS, 85, where it is stated
that the lengthening of a name is a mark of honor, while its shortening
is a sign of degradation. Abraham, "the father of nations", is really
the father of proselytes; comp. Matthew 3. 9; Yerushalmi Bikkurim
I, 64a; see also Ginzberg, Unbekannte Sekte, note 3 on page 124. The
numerical value of the word Abraham (orrDN = 248) corresponds to
the number of the members of the human body; by being circumcised
he became master of his entire body, and from that time on he was
called Abraham (Nedarim 32b).
123 BR 46. 3; Tan. B. I, 80; Tan. Lek 19.
12 4 BR 41 [42]. 8; Tan. Wa-Yera 3; Aggadat Bereshit 19. 39;
Huppat Eliyyahu, 15; comp. Ginzberg in Hazofeh, IV, 31. Mamre was
rewarded for giving Abraham pious advice, as it was in Mamre's field
that God appeared to Abraham (Gen. 18. 1). The legend sees no
difficulty in the fact that Abraham consulted men concerning the
fulfilling of a command given by God; but to later authorities it was
incomprehensible that Abraham could for a moment hesitate in com-
plying with a divine order, and they therefore attempted to invest
this legend with a meaning which is entirely foreign to it ; comp. Hadar
and Da' at on Gen. 18. 1; and see also Zohar I, 98b.
125 BR 22. 8 and 48. 9; PRE 28; see also Sifre D., 339.
126 p RE 28. In the older sources the thirteenth or fifteenth of
Nisan is the day on which Abraham's circumcision took place; comp.
BR 48. 12 and the parallel passages given by Theodor, as well as Beer,
Leben Abrahams, note 361. According to PRE, loc. cit. (comp. Luria,
ad loc.), the operation was performed by Shem; but another view has
it that Abraham circumcised himself with the assistance of God;
comp. Tan. B. 1 ,80; Aggadat Bereshit 16, 35; and, as a later addition,
BR 49. 2. Al-Barceloni, 58, quotes the last view from Yerushalmi
(Palestinian Midrash?). According to Tan. Lek 17, the foreskin was
removed by the bite of a scorpion. When giving Abraham the com-
mand of circumcision, God only hinted at the part of the body on
which it should be performed; Abraham, however, on the basis of
logical reasoning, drew the correct conclusion. Comp. BR 46. 4;
Tan. B. 81; Tan. Lek 18, and see also Tosefta Shabbat 15. 9 and Bab,
li 108a; WR 25. 6. Hadasi's quotation (Eshkol, No. 82, 36a), from
a Midrash, concerning that point is not found in the extant midrashic
literature, and is perhaps a Karaitic fabrication. Opinions differ as
233
127-136] The Legends of the Jews
to whether Abraham, along with the command of circumcision, re-
ceived also that of njT"iS (the uncovering of the corona) or not. Comp.
BR 46. 12 and parallel sources given by Theodor; but in Yebamot
71b it is stated that nyns was first introduced by Joshua.
12 7 PRE 29; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 18. 1; Tan. Wa-Yera 2;
Baba Mezi'a 86b.
128 Tan. B. I, 85; Tan. Wa-Yera 2; Aggadat Bereshit 19; Tan.
B, I, 84.
12 9 Baba Mezi'a 86b; BR 48. 8; Tan. B. I, 85; Tan. Wa-Yera 3;
PRE 29.
130 Baba Mezi'a 86b; BR 48. 8, 9. Abraham feared lest travel-
lers should no longer make use of his hospitality because he had sep-
arated himself from the rest of the world through the sign of the cove-
nant.
131 Tan. Wa-Yera 2 and Ki-Tissa 15; Tan. B. I, 86 and 177,
BR 48. 1; ShR 41. 4; Aggadat Bereshit 19. 39; Tehillim 18, 156. An
allusion to this legend is to be found in the remark of Yerushalmi
Rosh ha-Shanah I, 57a, (top): God said: I was the first to observe
the command of standing up before an old man (Lev. 19. 32); the
old man is Abraham. Comp. also PR 15, 72a. In PRE 29 it is said
that as long as Abraham was uncircumcised he was unable to stand
erect in the presence of the divine Glory; comp. note 43 on vol. IV,
p. 146.
132 Baba Mezi'a 86b; BR 50. 2; Yerushalmi Targumim Gen.
18. 2. Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 56, also refers to this Haggadah;
comp. also Kallah 6, 13b. Josephus, Antiqiii., I, 11. 2, speaks of
the three angels who appeared to Abraham, but he does not give
their names.
133 BR 48. 9; comp. vol. I, p. 270.
13 4 Shabbat 127a. MHO I, 267, quotes the following passage
from an unknown Midrash: He who receives his fellow-man kindly
is regarded as though he had received the Shekinah, and accordingly
in Mekilta Yitro I, 59a, we ought to read TVnn with MS, instead of
tfEOn of the editions. The Church Fathers quote an almost identical
proverb from the Bible! Comp. Tertullian, D& Oratione, 26.
1 * 6 BR 48. 9-10; DE. 4; Philo, De Abrahamo, 22 and 25.
136 Baba Mezi'a 86b, with the additional remark that because
Abraham suspected the strangers in this manner, his descendants,
the Ishmaelites (=the Arabs), as a punishment, practice this kind of
234
Abraham [137-141
idolatry. BR 48. 9: One of the angels appeared disguised as a Sara-
cen, the second as a Nabatean, and the third as an Arab.
137 Zohar I, 102b, and thence by Sabba, Wa-Yera, 18b, with-
out giving his source. The tamarisk of Abraham (Gen. 21. 33) came
to him from paradise; see Ba'al ha-Turim, Gen. 9. 20. The oak (?)
of Abraham formed a subject for popular fancy as early as the time
of Josephus (comp. Bell. IV, 9. 7, and Antigui. 1. 10), the belief hav-
ing been prevalent that it was created at the beginning of the world.
Yerahmeel 35. 5 quotes from Josippon that the oak of Abraham in
the plain of Mamre existed until the reign of Theodosius, when it
withered. Yet even then whoever took of its wood did not experience
illness until the day of his death. Comp. also Jepp, Jerusalem und
das heilige Land, I, 611-622, as well as Palestine Exploration Fund
(Quarterly Statement, 1899, 39, 40).
138 Baba Mezi'a 87a; Nedarim 21b; Tan. Wa-Yera 4; ARN 13,
57. In these Midrashim, as well as in BR 48. 10, it is shown in
detail how God's kind acts towards Abraham's descendants cor-
responded exactly to Abraham's kind acts towards the three travel-
lers. "Measure for measure" (comp. note 44 on vol. I, p. 163, and
vol. II, p. 341 seq.) is God's guiding rule for reward and punishment;
comp. 2 ARN 23, 47; ER 12, 59, 60, and Tosefta Sotah 4 (end).
139 Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 18. 5; comp. I, 271.
'4 Baba Mezi'a 86b; BR 48. 12-14; ARN 13, 57; Tan. Wa-
Yera 4. Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 4. 10, likewise dwells upon the
lavish hospitality of Abraham, who, though possessing many slaves,
prepared the meal himself for his guests. The old sources admit
that, though Abraham observed the Torah before it had been revealed
(comp. note 275), he nevertheless served meat and milk to the travel-
lers, despite the later prohibition of this kind of food. Later, when
the angels protested against the presentation of the Torah to Israel,
requesting God to give it to them, (comp. vol. Ill, pp. 109-114, and
note 248 appertaining to them) they had to admit that as Abraham 's
guests they partook of the forbidden food. Comp. PR 25, 128a-128b;
Tehillim 8. 75. Later authorities maintain, on the contrary, that
Abraham, in strict conformity to the commandments of the Torah,
served first milk and then meat; comp. Da' at and Sekel Tob on Gen.
18. 8. Ziyyoni, Exod. 24. 21, quotes from the Midrash a statement
bearing upon this point which is not found in the extant midrashic
literature; comp. also Yashar Wa-Yera, 35b.
141 BR48. 13; ARN 13, 57.
235
142-147] The Legends of the Jews
142 Baba Mezi'a 87a; BR 48. 14; PRE 26; Tan. Wa-Yera 13.
The defilement of the bread was caused by Sarah (comp. Gen. 18. 12)
who busied herself with the kneading of the dough. Astruc (Mid-
reslie ha-Torah, 25) quotes from an unknown Midrash the statement
that instead of the fresh bread prepared by Sarah stale bread was
served. On the uncomplimentary remark about the niggardliness of
women, see also vol. IV, p. 242.
143 Baba Mezi'a 86b; BR 48. 11 and 14 (paraphrased in MHG
I, 269); Josephus, Antiqui, I, 11. 2; Philo, De Abrahamo, 23; Targum
Yerushalmi, Gen. 18. 8; Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 57; Theodoretus, Gen.
loc. tit., and many other Church Fathers. Comp. Ginzberg, Haggadah
bei den Kirchenv. 108. The old view was that angels may sometimes par-
take of food, and that they subsist on manna; comp. R. Akiba's explana-
tion (Yoma 75b) of Ps. 78. 85, which agrees with the Septuagint, where
D'Tn DnV is rendered by SLPTOV byyfrw, Tobit 12. 19 (comp. Miil-
ler, Beitrage, ad loc.)\ ER 12, 59 and the legends, vol. Ill, p. 142 and
vol. IV, p. 147, as well as Zohar I, 102a, 104a, and 144a. Sa'adya
in his Polemic against Hiwi 70, is very severe on those who maintain
that angels partake of food. The omission of the visit of the angels
is Jub. is very likely due to the strong anthropomorphic coloring of
the biblical narrative in Gen. 18. 1-10. In many rabbinic passages the
statement occurs that the angels subsist on the glory of the Shekinah;
comp. PK 6, 57a (also with regard to Moses during his stay in heaven,
18, 173b); PR 16, 80a; Tan. Pinehas 12; BaR 21. 16. The last-men-
tioned source 10. 5 reads: The angels who visited Abraham partook
of the food offered to them; but not the one who visited Manoah.
Koran 11. 73 gives a clumsy representation of the view prevalent
in Jewish sources concerning these three angels.
144 MHG I, 272; Da' at and Ziyyoni Gen. 18. 8; comp. also
the extract from Testament of Abraham, given in vol. I, p. 303, where
it is likewise said that a fire devoured the food ; this view is very likely
shared by Sa'adya in the passages quoted in the preceding note. Jud.
13. 16 probably gave rise to this view; comp. preceding note towards
the end.
I4 * BR 48. 19.
146 Baba Mezi'a 87a; with reference to the dots over 1^ (Gen.
18. 9), comp. BR 48. 15, and the numerous parallel passages given
by Theodor.
147 Baba Mezi'a 86b (comp. note 132); MHG I, 274; Tan. B.
I, 107; Tan. Wa-Yera 13; PR 6, 24b, and the numerous parallel pas-
236
Abraham [148155
sages given by Friedmann, ad loc. The angel's promise to return
(Gen. 18. 10) refers to his presence at the 'Akedah; see Pardes 22d.
J 4 8 BR 48. 16; Yerushalmi Targumim, Gen. 18. 10.
J 49 Tan. Shofetim 18; comp. also BR 48. 17.
Z 5 BR 48. 17. These words were spoken by God Himself,
and not by the angels who know not the thoughts of man; see Sekel
Tob 27. Zohar I, lOlb limits the knowledge of angels still more,
and from this point of view explains the question of the angels about
Sarah; comp. Gen. 198. 9. See also the sources referred to in note
146.
1 51 MHG I, 276; a different view is given by Philo, Quaestiones,
Gen. 4. 17: Abraham rejoiced over the good tidings (he thus renders
plW, Gen. 17. 17), whereas Sarah laughed at them because she did
not believe them. As a punishment for her lack of faith in the mes-
sage brought by the angels concerning the birth of Isaac, her death
was caused by the message that Isaac was sacrificed by his father
(comp. vol. I, p. 287) ; see Hasidim, 80. Women are disqualified from
appearing in court as witnesses (Baba Kamma 1. 3; Josephus, An-
tiqui., IV, 8. 15; Evangel of Nicodemus 7), because they are of a men-
dacious nature, for even one of the best of them, Sarah, attempted
to tell an untruth; see Yelammedenu in supplement to Yalkut=BHM
VI, 80 and MHG I, 276.
'52 BR 48. 18; Sifre N. 42; Yerushalmi Peah 1, 16a; Yebamot
65b; WR 9. 9; BaR 11. 7; Tan. B. Ill, 6. 18; Tan. Zaw 7 and Shof-
etim 18; Perek ha-Shalom.
153 MHG I, 276; comp. Schechter, ad loc.
15 4 BR 50. 2; Baba Mezi'a 86b; Tan. B. I, 96. An angel attends
to one task only, and accordingly three angels had to be sent: Mi-
chael to bring the glad tidings of Isaac's birth, Gabriel to destroy
the sinful cities, and Raphael to save Lot. Philo, De Abrahamo, 28, is
acquainted with a similar Haggadah; comp vol. I, p. 241, and the
sources referred to in note 132.
Z S5 Yashar Wa-Yera, 35b-38a; the last paragraph, concern-
ing the riches and misery of the inhabitants of the sinful cities, re-
produces the statement found in the older sources. Comp. Tosefta
Sotah 3. 12; Sifre D., 43; Mekilta Shirah 2, 35b; Mekilta RS 58; San-
hedrin 109a; WR 4 and 5. 2; PK 27, 170, and 19, 187b; MHG I, 282;
PRE 25. With the exception of the story about Hedor, which is
probably of Arabic origin, Yashar hardly added anything new on this
subject to the material contained in the older sources mentioned
237
156159] The Legends of the Jews
above (comp. especially Sanhedrin 109a, 109b). On the wickedness
of the Sodomites, see also ER 15, 74 and 21, 158; ARN 26, 106; BR
49. 5; Tan. Wa-Yera 7; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 10, 29c (top); ShR
30. 19; Zohar I, 105b. The story about the bed of Procrustes in Ya-
shar is directly taken from Sanhedrin, loc. cit. The register of the
sins of the generation of the flood given in vol. I, p. 153 is mainly the
same as that of the Sodomites. Attention is to be called to the fact
that the expression "in the way of the Sodomites", frequently found
in rabbinic literature, is employed to describe a high degree of par-
simony and niggardliness; comp. e. g., Pirke Abot 5. 10 and in a legal
maxim, Ketubot 103a. Rather strange, therefore, is the statement
(Tosefta Shabbat 7, end) that Lot settled among the Sodomites be-
cause they were cheerful and kind people. Philo, De Abrahamo, 27 re-
marks: The land of Sodom was full of innumerable crimes, particu-
larly those which are the result of licentiousness and intemperance.
On the licentiousness of the Amorites, see 12 Testaments, Judah 12. 2.
156 Sanhedrin 109a, 109b; the other stories about the Sod-
omites, found in that passage, are given here in accordance with Yashar,
see preceding note.
15 7 Yashar Wa-Yera, 39a-39a, based on Sanhedrin 109a; BR
49. 6; PRE 25; Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 18. 21; Midrash Aggada
I, 42, 43; MHG I, 284. Bahya, Gen., loc. cit., quotes from the
" Midrash", the statement found in Sanhedrin, loc. cit.
r s 8 MHG I, 28; comp. vol. II, p. 280 and vol. IV, p. 240.
159 Tan. B. I, 88-89 (here several reasons are given why God
revealed to Abraham the impending destruction of the sinful cities);
BR 49. 2; Tan. Wa-Yera 5; Aggadat Bereshit 21. 43. Shu'aib, Wa-
Yera, 8c, quotes the following passage from an unknown Midrash:
God did not punish Adam until a heavenly court consisting of seventy
members had condemned him (comp. note 124 on vol. 1,97), and sim-
ilarly a heavenly court consisting of sixty myriads of angels, assisted
by Abraham, was to decide the case of the Sodomites. The angels mar-
velled at the distinction of Abraham, whose single opinion was regarded
as equal in weight to that of the myriads of angels combined. God
thereupon assembled an equal number of Jewish souls (sixty myriads
of Jews left Egypt, and accordingly this is the standard number rep-
resenting Israel), and the Sodomites were tried by equal numbers
of angels and human souls. Shu'aib's quotation is derived from a
tabbalistic source Zohar I, 104b-105a goes back to Tan. and BR,
238
Abraham [160-167
loc. cit. On the participation of the angels in the trial of the Sodo-
mites, comp. note 61.
160 BR 39. 6 and 49. 9; PK 19, 139; here also Abraham is desig-
nated as "the merciful of the three fathers"; comp. note 61 and note
22 on vol. II, p. 256,
161 Tan. B. I, 91-93; Tan. Wa-Yera 8 and Ki-Tissa 17; BR
49. 9; Aggadat Bereshit 22. 4-46. These sources give several expla-
nations of rfr^n (Gen. 18. 5); comp. also Sifre D., 311 and vol. Ill,
p. 280.
162 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 18. 24; Rashi, Lekah, and Mid-
rash Aggada, Gen. loc. cit. (very likely depending upon an unknown
midrashic source); BR 49.13, nD'30 HD; ps.-Rashi, ad loc.
l6 * BR 49. 11.
164 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 18. 31, and comp. Theodor on
BR 49. 12. According to a widespread Haggadah, there is no gen-
eration in the history of the world without at least thirty pious men,
like Abraham, otherwise the world would be destroyed. See BR 38.
2 and 49. 3; Yerushalmi 'Abodah Zarah 2, 40c; Hullin 92a; PK 10,
88a; Tan. Wa-Yera 13 and Mikkez 6; Tehillim 5, 52 and 92, 409, below
(here only three pious men); Shemuel I, 44; BaR 10. 5 (thirty-one).
Shir 1. 3 speaks of the one pious person produced by the Gentiles
every year. Jellinek, Introduction to BHM V., 46, compares the
last-mentioned passage with Matthew 33. 15. Yoma 38b has the
statement that the world exists on account of one godly person.
165 BR 49. 13 (HDVD '-D is paraphrased in Targum Yerushalmi
18. 32 by ]'arn 'jnai). On Lot comp. below, note 171.
166 Tan. B. I, 92, 93; Tan. Wa-Yera 8; BR 49.14. These pas-
sages dwell upon the fact that the Shekinah did not depart from Abra-
ham until he had finished his prayer for the sinners; comp. also ARN"
32 (second version 40, 111). In BR 49. 7 and many parallel passages
(see Theodor) it is stated that originally the text of Gen. 18. 22 read:
"And the Lord stood before Abraham", i.e., God waited for Abraham
until he had accompanied his guests.
16 7 BR 49. 6; Tan. Wa-Yera 10. Gen. 18. 21 is accordingly
explained to mean: I shall give them an opportunity to repent, and
I shall destroy them if they do not repent. This explanation of the
biblical verse is also given by Aphraates, 293 (comp. further Clementine
Homilies, 3.39); whereas Philo, Quaestiones, Gen., 15.24, remarks that
with these words Scripture teaches us never to judge without a thorough
239
168-172] The Legends of the Jews
examination. Comp. a similar remark of the Rabbis in vol. I, p.
53; see further Mekilta Shirah 5, 38b-39a, and Tan. Beshallah 15.
168 Tan. B. I, 93; Tan. Wa-Yera 9; vol. I, p. 153 and note 17
appertaining thereto. The punishment for certain kinds of immo-
rality is by fire, according to Lev. 20. 14 and 21. 9. Comp. note
26 on vol. I, p. 159.
l6 * BR 50. 1; Tan. B. I, 98.
J 7 Tan. B. I, 93 and 98; BR 50. 3. Yelammedenu in Yalkut
II, 723 on Ps. 85 reads: As the wicked commit their evil deeds in
the darkness of the night, even so they receive their punishment at
night. This is attested by the punishment of the Sodomites, the
Egyptians, Haman, and Belshazzar. Co nip. a similar remark (later,
however, it was interpreted in a different manner; see above, note
76) in BaR 20. 12; BR 50. 23; Yerushalmi Rosh ha-Shanah I, 57a;
PR 40, 167b; Tehillim 9. 87; MHG I, 287. In all these sources, with
the exception of the first, attention is drawn to the fact that Israel
is always judged by God during the day, whereas the Gentiles are tried
at night. Philo, Quaestiones, 4. 30, agrees with the Rabbis in referring
the night, or, as he accurately writes, the evening, spoken of in Gen.
19. 1, to the darkness of the judgment upon the sinners. Abrabanel,
Ma'yene ha-Yeshu'ah, 7. 11, quotes Yelammedenu, loc. cit., but very
likely from Yalkut, and not independently.
I ? 1 PRE 25 (pn 1 ? is an old scribal error for rrn*&); MHG I,
288; BR 50. 4. The views of the various sources concerning Lot
differ widely from one another. He is generally described as las-
civious, ungrateful towards Abraham and is accused, among other
things, of having been a usurer. Comp. BR 40. 7, 51. 6-10, and 52.
2; Nazir 23a; PR 3, 9b-10a, where he is called "wicked Lot"; Tan.
Wa-Yera 12; Aggadat Bereshit 25. 50; Yelammedenu in Yalkut I,
785 (Mattot); Zohar I, 84a and 79a. In the last passage Abraham's
kindness toward Lot is ascribed to the fact that Abraham foresaw
by his prophetic gift that Lot was destined to become the ancestor
through Ruth the Moabitish woman of David. The first Alphabet of
Ben Sira, 4d, on the other hand, speaks of Lot as a " perfect and pious
man". This must not be regarded, with Epstein (Mi-Kadmoniyyot
Ha-Yehudim, 12) as ridiculing the view of the Haggadah, but as an
old tradition, Comp. II Peter 2, 7; Visio Pauli, 27 and 49, as well
as ps.-Tertullian, Sodoma, 41.
172 BR 50. 4; Baba Mezi'a 87a; Tan. Wa-Yera 11; Origen, Gen.
19. 3; Philo, De Abrahamo, 22, and Quaestiones, Gen. 4, 33, 34. Lekah
240
Abraham [173180
Gen., loc. cit., states that the angels came suddenly like lightning
upon Lot, whereas Abraham discerned their arrival from afar.
J 73 Tan. B. I, 98; BR 50. 6; MHG I, 289.
174 BR 51. 5 and 50. 4 read: Because Lot's wife sinned in
connection with salt, she became a pillar of salt.
175 BR 50. 3-7; comp. note 168. The names of the judges
given in BR 50. 3 are different from those in Sanhedrin 109b and
Yashar. Comp. vol. I, pp. 246-247, and PRE, 25.
176 Tan. Wa-Yera 12. PRE 25, on the contrary, is of the opin-
ion that Lot was willing to expose himself and his family to any danger
rather than leave his guests to their fate. Here also it is stated that
the presence of the guests in the house was betrayed by a lad who
saw them enter.
177 BR 50. 9; PRE 25 (comp. Luria, ad loc.)', Jerome, on Gen.,
19. 14. Ephraim, I, 135, on the contrary, agrees with Josephus,
Antiqui t I, 11 that Lot only -had two betrothed daughters whose
fiances perished in Sodom; comp. vol. I, pp. 350, 351.
178 BR 50. 9; MHG I, 290, 291.
I7 * Tan. B. I, 93 and 99; BR 50. 2 and 11, as well as 51. 4 (comp.
Theodor on the two last-named passages); MHG 1, 290: Eighteen
thousand destroying angels, under the leadership of Kemuel (comp.
Ma'ayan Hokmah, 58), came down and destroyed the sinful cities in a
moment. In numerous midrashic passages it is stated that the punish-
ment was executed by God and His court of justice; comp. BR 51. 2
and the dozen of parallel passages given by Theodor, ad loc. Here also
the rule is formulated that wherever the expression '"'D^D "from the
Lord" is employed in the Bible it refers to God and His court of justice.
Sifre Z. 51, 52, on the other hand, explicitly states that God Himself
executed punishment upon the generation of the deluge, the builders
of the tower of Babel, the inhabitants of the sinful cities, the Egyptians,
the Amorites, and Sennacherib. Philo, partly in agreement with the
first view, maintains that the punishment of the Sodomites did not
come directly from God. On this point, comp. vol. I, p. 5 and note
9 appertaining thereto. The punishment to be executed on the
fourth kingdom ( = Rome) will be identical with the one inflicted
on Sodom; Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 440, on Is. 34; Tan. B. II, 30.
180 p RE 25, which has been incorporated in Yashar Wa-Yera,
39 (in these passages Lot's wife is called my Idit?). Luke 17.32 (the fol-
lowing verse is found verbatim, Tamid 32a) seems also to assume that
Lot's wife was troubled about her relatives, and Clemens Alexandrinus,
241
181-184] The Legends of the Jews
Exhortatio, 94, states this view quite explicitly. Philo, De Abrahamo, 27,
and 2 Moses, 10; Josephus, Antigui., I, 11. 4, and Wars, IV, 8. 4; Wis-
dom 10. 6, 7; Irenaeus Haer. IV, 31; ps.-Tertullian, Sodoma, 160-
170 (the Church Fathers very likely derived their information on
this point from oral communications made to them by Jews) also
mention the fact that one might still see to-day the pillar of salt
into which Lot's wife turned. Comp. also Berakot 54a and 54b (a
tannaitic source) on the benediction to be pronounced on seeing Lot 's
wife (Maimonides in his Yad ignores this statement); see also Mid-
rash Esther in Yalkut I, 256, end. Salt must not be used in per-
forming certain religious ceremonies, since it was the cause of
death in the case of Lot's wife; comp. 'Aruk, s. v. 'D; Way-Ye-
kullu 16b.
381 BR 50. 11; PR 3, lOa; Aggadat Bereshit 25, 50.
182 Shabbat lOa. Like the other sinful cities, Zoar was also
destroyed when the measure of its wickedness became full; Sekel
Tob 1. 38. Here also on the authority of an old source, etymological
explanations of the names of the sinful cities are given.
18 3 BR 50. 12.
184 Mishnah Sanhedrin 10. 3 (according to one view, they were
destroyed for ever, and their inhabitants will therefore receive neither
reward nor punishment on the day of judgment); comp. Ginzberg,
Mabbulshel Esh 17;- Sanhedrin 10; Babli 109a; Yerushalmi 10, 29c; To-
sefta 13. 8; ARN 36, 106, and 12, 52; WR 4. 1. Comp. also Matthew
10. 15 and 11. 24. Comp. further notes 44, 90 on vol. p. 163,
180 respectively. For the restoration of the sinful cities see Tan. B.
1, 99, as well as Tosefta Sukkah 3. 9, where the "healing" of the sea
of Sodom is spoken of. 4 Ezra 5. 6 seems to allude to this legend.
Hippolytus, Haer., 2. 175, mentions the salutary quality of the waters
of the sea of Sodom. This idea is very likely connected with the
legend about Miriam's well which is supposed to be hidden in the
sea; see vol. Ill, p. 54. Shabbat 67a, on the contrary, speaks of the
destroying angels "dwelling at Sodom", that is, hovering over the
sea of Sodom. Comp., however, Rashi, ad. loc. The poisonous qual-
ity of the "salt of Sodom" is often mentioned in the Talmud; see
the lexica, s. v. JTDHD n^D. On the fruit of Sodom, comp. Wisdom
10. 7; Josephus, Wars, 4, 8. 4; BR 51. 4. On the relation of the well
of Shittim to that of Sodom comp. voL III, p. 382, and Ginzberg,
Haggada lei den Kirchenv., I, 110.
242
Abraham [185190
185 Berakot 26b. Comp. vol. IV, p. 361 and note 58 apper-
taining thereto.
186 Ekah 1. 74.
l8 ? BR51. 6.
188 Nazir 23a; BR 51. 8, as well as vol. Ill, p. 6. Comp. also
Theodor, ad. loc. The Messiah is not only a descendant of David
who was the offspring of Ruth the Moabitish woman, but also the
descendant of Solomon and his wife Naamah the Ammonite; Ber-
eshit Rabbeti in Pugio Fidei, 714 ( = Epstein 77); Maimonides' Com-
mentary on Mishnah Sanhedrin 10. (article 12); Tan. B. I, 40;
Origen, Contra Celsum, 4. 43. Concerning Lot and his daughters the
following is to be noted. Lot's daughters believed that the entire world,
together with all the inhabitants were destroyed, and that the con-
tinuation of the human race depended on them; they therefore de-
cided to bear children to their father; BR 51. 8; PR 42. 176a;
Aggadat Bereshit 25, 51; Josephus, Antiqui, 1 ,11. 4; Philo, Quaestiones,
4. 56; The Church Fathers Ephraim and Jerome, ad. loc.; comp. Ginz-
berg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 110, 111. In the cave of Adullam
(Yashar, Wa-Yera, 39a) Lot 's daughter found the wine with which they
made their father drunk. God caused the wine to be put in that place
in order that they should succeed in their plan; Mekilta Shirah 2,
36a; Sifre D., 43; BR 51. 8. Although Lot was not aware of what
he was doing, he is regarded as of a lascivious nature; for if he were
continent, he would have taken care not to become drunk a second time
after he found out what had happened to him with his older daughter
on account of his drunkenness; Nazir 23a; Sifre N., 69; BR 51. 8 and
the numerous parallel passages given by Theodor, ad. loc. Comp.
also Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 111-112. Lot is a warning
example to men to avoid being alone with women, lest the latter
should entice them to sin, as did Lot's daughters; Yelammedenu in
Rimze Haftarot, Shelah. Hasidim, 461, and Hadar, 7b, quote, from
unknown Midrashim, several statements concerning Lot's daughters;
comp. also vol. Ill, pp. 351-352., 40^-406.
l8 * BR 55. 1-4; PR 43, 176b; Aggadat Bereshit 25. 49, 50. Ac-
cording to Yashar Wa-Yera, 39a, Lot settled "on the other side of
the Jordan", that is, in the country which was later inhabited by the
Moabites and Ammonites.
190 Yashar Wa-Yera, 39a, 40a, partly after PR 42, I76b; comp.
also below, note 202.
243
191-202] The Legends of the Jews
191 Tan. B. I, 101; PRE 26; MHG I, 298: The angel Michael
or Gabriel came with a drawn sword to kill Abimelech.
192 BR 52. 6; PR 42, 176b; Tan. B. I, p. 101. The Rabbis en-
tertained a very high opinion of Abimelech, whereas they utterly
condemn Pharaoh, though the Bible tells the identical story of both
these kings. Besides the sources, quoted above, which speak favor-
ably of Abimelech, comp. MHG I, 299, where it is said that he was
better than his nation; Tehillim 34, 246, and PRE 21 state that he
desired to beget pious children and therefore wished to marry the
pious Sarah.
19 3 Baba Kamma 92a; PRE 26.
I9 < BR 52. 7, 8; Tan. B. I, 101.
193 MHG I, 300: We may well assume that he who is God-
fearing will not sin, but he who is not God-fearing will not restrain
himself from sin. Accordingly, Abraham was justified in his appre-
hension, though the inhabitants of Gerar were not particularly ad-
dicted to licentiousness; comp. MHG, loc. cit., and the different view
in Lekah, Gen. 20. 11.
196 BR 52. 11; Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 22. 13; see also Yeru-
shalmi Megillah I, 71d.
197 PRE 27, where the text is not quite complete, as may be
seen from MHG I, 301.
198 BR 52. 12 (comp. Theodor, ad loc.)-, Tan. B. I, p. 102; Ag-
gadat Bereshit 25. 52-53; MHG I, 301, where several explanations
are given of Gen. 20. 16 (mND is derived from Targum Yerushalmi,
ad loc.) ; Lekah, ad loc., where the words nrDUl ^D are taken to be the
names of a slave and a bondwoman I
199 MHG I, 302, partly after Mishnah Baba Kamma 8. 7 and
Tosefta 9. 29: The injured one should pray to God to forgive the
injurer, even if he is not asked to do so. Thus did our father Abra-
ham, who prayed for Abimelech; comp. DE 4; and also vol. Ill,
p. 336.
200 PRE 27; MHG I, 303.
201 BR 52. 13; comp. Theodor, ad loc.
202 PR 42, 177a: Also the other women at the court of Abi-
melech became pregnant and gave birth to sons. The sickness with
which Abimelech and his subjects were afflicted consisted in the clos-
ing up of all apertures in the bodies of man and beast (Baba Kamma
92a; BR 52. 13; PR, he. tit., and 178a; Aggadat Bereshit 27, 57; a dif-
ferent view is found in Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 20. 18), so that
244
Abraham [203205
no female was able to give birth to a child. The king is to his country
what the heart is to the human body, when the heart is sick the entire
body suffers, even so when the king sins, all his subjects suffer; MHG
I, 300, and see also the similar saying in Ein anonymer Kommentar
zum Hohen Liede, in the Steinschneider- Festschrift, 55.
2 3 PR 42, 177a-178a; Tan. B. I, 103-107; Tan. Wa^Yera 13-
17; Aggadat Bereshit 28. 57-58; comp. also Baba Kamma 92b; PR
38, 165a, where attention is called to the fact that Abraham's wife was
cured of her sterility as a reward for his prayer to God in behalf of
Abimelech's wives who were unable to give birth to children; see also
the preceding note. At the same time Sarah was rewarded for her
trust in God; BR 53. 3. Conflicting views are given in rabbinic sources
concerning the date of Isaac's birth (according to Jub. 16. 13 he was
born the fifteenth of Si wan), and these differences are due to the com-
petition between the months of Nisan and Tishri for the highest place
in the Jewish legend; comp. Rosh ha-Shanah lOb, lla, and the quota-
tion from the Midrashim given in Tosafot, ad loc. (caption !?),
as well as BR 43. 6 (here it is stated that Isaac was born at noon)
and the numerous passages given by Theodor, ad loc. The attempts
made to harmonize this point (the date of the visit of the angels,
as well as that of another important event in the history of Abra-
ham, depends upon this question) are in vain, as -has already been
noted by Shu' aib, Wa-Yera, 9b. Comp. also Hadar, 7c (the word TID^m
is incorrect, as no such statement occurs in the Talmud!); Minhat
Yehudah and Tosafot, Gen. 18. 10, 11, and 21. 1. At Isaac's birth
all creation rejoiced, the earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, etc.,
because had not Isaac been born, the world would have ceased to
exist; Tan. Toledot 2. Philo, De Pmemiis et Poenis, 4 and 5, likewise
explains the name Isaac as "joy". The heavenly light at the birth
of heroes is a favorite theme in legends; comp. vol. I, p. 188; note 1 on
vol. I, p. 145, as well as note 256 on vol. I, p. 388, and vol. Ill, p.
264. Comp. also PK 22, 146a.
2 4 Tan. Toledot 1; BR 53. 6 and 84. 8; Baba Mezi'a 87a; Tan.
B. I, 176, which is the source of Makiri, Tehiliim, 311, (61); Yelam-
medenu in Yalkut, II, 141, on 2 Samuel 3; MHG I, 304; Zohar I, 135a.
Comp. also vol. IV, p. 118.
205 BR 46. 2. Abraham received the commandment of cir-
cumcision in his old age in order that "the door should not be closed
in the face of the proselytes", who otherwise might have refused to
submit to the performance of this operation in advanced age; Me-
245
206-215] The Legends of the Jews
kilta Nezikin 18, 95; BR, loc. cit., and parallel passages given by Theo-
dor.
206 p R 29 (on the text, comp. Eshkol II, 131, and Luria, ad
loc.)', Lekah, ad loc., I, 94 (quotation from PRE?); DR 1. 25.
207 Yashar Wa-Yera, 40b; BR 53. 10; see note 210.
208 Baba Mezi'a 87a; PK22, 146b: The people said Isaac was
Hagar's son; Hallel 92; BR 53. 9; Tan. B. I. 107; Tan. Toledot 3;
PRE 52. The last-named passage adds that this was the second of
the seven miracles, that were "visible to all", which occurred in the
course of history, the first miracle being the delivery of Abraham
from the fiery furnace. Lekah, ad loc., I, 94, states that Sarah suckled
a hundred babies on that occasion.
209 BR 53. 9. Comp. the Antoninus legend in BHM VI, 131.
210 BR 53. 10; DR 1. 25; Kohelet 7. 2.
3ri BR 53. 11; Sifre D., 31; Tosefta Sotah 6. 6. These sources
quote a dissenting opinion, according to which Sarah noticed that
Ishmael caught locusts and sacrificed them to the idols (that is to
say, he was imitating adults, his locusts being "toy sacrifices"; comp.
Shabbat 9. 6 end, but see also vol. IV, p. 154) ; according to another
view Ishmael even committed adultery and murder. Jerome, Gen.
21. 9, is acquainted with these two haggadic views, whereas the Yeru-
shalmi Targumim speak only of Ishmael's idolatry. Comp. PR, 193b;
PRE 30 (this is the source of Yashar Wa-Yera, 40b); Aggadat Ber-
eshit 37, 73-74, and 61, 122. The legend about Ishmael persecuting
Isaac is found also in Galatians 4. 26; comp. also first Alphabet of
Ben Sira 3b; DR 4. 5; Tan. Shemot 1; Josephus, Antigui. 1. 12, 3.
212 Philo, Quaestiones. Gen. 100.
21 ' BR 53. 11.
314 PRE 30. In Jub. 16. 17, seq., it is stated, with reference
to Gen. 22, 12, that God informed Abraham that only Isaac's pro-
geny (that is, Jacob and his descendants) would be his true seed ; comp.
Nedarim 3. 11 and DR 4. 5. Jub. 17. 4 gives the following reasons
for Ishmael's banishment: Sarah saw that Abraham rejoiced at
Ishmael's playing and dancing, and she became jealous.
2I * BR 53. 13; PRE 30; ShR 3. 2; Tan. Wa-Yeze 5; Tehillim
5. 55; Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 21. 15-16. On the unbrotherly
actions of the Ishmaelites against the Jews, comp. vol. IV, p.
315. The statement that God treats man according to his deserts
at each moment is very frequently found in Jewish literature;
comp. (besides the sources given at the beginning of this note) Rosh
246
Abraham [216222
ha-Shanah 16b; Yerushalmi I, 57d; 4 Ezra 7. 132. Comp. Ginzberg,
Compte Rendu des Melanges Is. Lewy, 23-24 (=R.E.J. t 67, 137-138);
see also MHG I, 309, as well as vol. II, 317. In Christian sources
this statement is attributed to Jesus; comp. Ginzberg loc. cit.
216 PRE 30; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 21. 16; MHG I, 309;
Midrash Aggada, ad loc., I, 48: She worshipped a brick; this is very
likely a reminiscence of the worship of the Ka'bah in Mecca; comp.,
however, 'Abodah Zarah 46a. According to Targum Yerushalmi, loc.
cit., Ishmael's fear was a punishment for his and his mother's idol-
atry (PRE knows only of Hagar's idolatry, and this is in agreement
with the singular ynm of verse 14) ; at the same time this fear brought
them both back to God.
217 BR 53. 14. The proverb " Throw the stick, etc," is very
frequently quoted; comp. Theodor, ad loc. The sources differ as to
Ishmael's age at the time of his banishment from his father's house;
see BR 53. 13 and the sources given by Theodor, ad loc., as well as
Lekah I, 95, and Yashar Wa-Yera, 40b; comp. also note 211.
218 Yashar Wa-Yera, 41a, 41b, which is very likely based on
PRE 30, though our text of that Midrash does not contain this epi-
sode. The names of Ishmael's two wives are given in PRE, loc. cit.,
as Aisha (KBPJ7; HD'y and HPHy are corruptions) and Fatima (KQ'BS).
This is the source for Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 21. 21. These names
were borne by Mohammed's wife and a daughter, respectively;
comp. Noldeke in Geiger's Judische Zeitschrift, V, 313, and Luria,
ad loc.
219 Yashar Wa-Yera, 42a. On the chronology of these events
comp. BR 54. 6 and the parallel passages given by Theodor. Phichol,
Gen. 21. 22, is taken by some to be the title of the first grandee of
the land, "whose -mouth directs everything " =^3 'D; comp. BR 54. 2.
220 BR 54. 2-5; Shu'aib's quotation (Wa-Yera, 9a) from an
unknown Midrash; comp. Toledot Yizhak, ad loc., 25c. On the ris-
ing of the water comp. vol. I, pp. 293 and 354; vol. II, p. 291; vol.
Ill, p. 53.
221 MHG I, 312. On the Noachian commandments, comp.
vol. I, pp. 70-71, and the notes appertaining to them.
222 BR 54. 4; PK 10, 85a; Shemuel 12. 80-81; ER 7. 45. From
Abraham to Moses there are seven generations, and accordingly Gen.
15. 16 can only refer to the four generations who were born in Egypt.
Another explanation of the Gen. verse is that the generations of the
247
223228] The Legends of the Jews
Amorites are meant; comp. MHG I, 238; RSBM and Bekor Shor,
ad loc.
223 Yashar Wa-Yera, 42b. In its main features this description
of Abraham's hospitality follows ARN 7, 33-34, 163-164 where
Job is the hero. Comp. vol. II, p. 229. It is true that ARN calls
attention to the fact that Abraham by far surpassed Job, the latter
having been hospitable to those who came to him, while the former
went to the highways to look for strangers on whom to bestow his
hospitality. A short description of Abraham's hospitality is also
found in BR 54. 6; Sotah lOa; Tehillim 37, 252-253, and 110, 465;
Berakot 58b; Kad ha-Kemah, Orehim, 5a (BmD=ARN, loc. cit,, and
s DW)T=Bahir; Sabba, Toledot 27c also quotes this passage from
Bahir with the introductory formula 'D^TTS) ; comp. note 133. Even
to-day in the vernacular of the Jews of Eastern Europe a house with
many doors is described as a "house with Avrohom Ovinu's (Father
Abraham's) doors". Comp also the following two notes and Neweh
Shalom, 48-49.
224 Tan. Lek, 12; Tosafot (pJP) on Sotah lOb, quoting a source
similar to, but not identical with, Tan. The prayer taught by Abra-
ham (instead of mp"T2 we should very likely read ni(?sn, parallel to
rVD"Q) is identical with the first benediction of Grace after Meals;
comp. Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 667, on Ps. 24. The great merit
of the fathers consists in their lovingkindness (np*T3); comp. EZ I,
169, and Aggadat Shir 3. 22, seq.
225 BR 54. 6. The Haggadot about Abraham's hospitality are
introduced in connection with the word Wtf (Gen. 21. 33), which is
said to stand for n^D food, PITO drink and iTl^ escort, provided
by Abraham. In BR loc. cit., the statement, based upon the literal
meaning of ^ which is "tamarisk", is found that the middle bar
in the midst of the boards of the tabernacle (Exod. 26. 28) was made
out of this tamarisk. Comp. note 344 on vol. Ill, p. 164, and above,
note 137.
226 Zohar I, lOa-llb. On the great feast prepared by Abraham
on Isaac 's birthday, see vol. I, pp. 262, 263. Satan disguised as a beg-
gar is a favorite subject of Jewish legends; comp. Kiddushin 8 la; vol.
II, p. 232; vol. IV, pp. 227, 228; note 34.
227 Yashar Wa-Yera, 43b, where the diction is modelled after
Job 1. 6, seg_.
228 Yashar Wa-Yera 43b, based on old sources; comp. BR 55.
4; Sanhedrin 89b. In the last-named passage, as well as in Yashar,
248
Abraham [229234
the accuser is Satan, while in BR the angels appear as accusers. In
Jub. 18. 6 Mastema (=Satan) is the accuser. Comp. also the un-
known Midrash in Yalkut I, 96, and Epstein in Ha-Eshkol VI, 201.
229 Yashar Wa-Yera, 43b-44a, based on BR 55. 4; Sanhedrin
89b, and Tan. B. I, 108, as well as Tan. Wa-Yera 18 and Targum
Yerushalmi, Gen. 22.2. Great emphasis is laid in the sources on
the fact that although Isaac, at the time of the 'Akedah, was no lon-
ger a lad, but a grown-up man (different views are given as to his
exact age; comp. Seder 'Olam I; BR 55. 5, and parallel passages cited
by Theodor), yet he willingly submitted to his father's wish. In
the 'Akedah legends two currents are to be distinguished; according
to one, Abraham is the hero, while in the other Isaac is glorified. In
the oldest reference to the 'Akedah in the liturgy (Zikronot in the
Musaf for New Year) it is Isaac to whom credit is given, whereas
medieval paitanim in their 'Akedahs sing Abraham's praises.
230 BR 55. 7; Sanhedrin 89b; Tan. B., I, 11; Tan. Wa-Yera
22; PRE 31; PR 40, 169b and 193b. Philo, De Abrahamo, 32, and Jo-
sephus, Antiqui. I, 13. 1, likewise introduce the 'Akedah with a des-
cription of Isaac's virtues on account of which he was very dear to
his father, and yet Abraham did not hesitate to bring him as a sacrifice
to God as soon as he was commanded to do so.
231 PR 40, 170a; A different view is given in BR 55. 7; comp.
vol. I, pp. 233, 234, and the notes appertaining to them.
232 Yashar Wa-Yera, 44a, 44b. Comp. the unknown Midrash
in Yalkut I, 98. The old sources (comp. references in notes 15 and
758 on vol. Ill, 12 and 371, as well as Tan. Wa-Yera 22), dwell upon
the speed with which Abraham, in his zeal to obey God's command,
proceeded to carry It out.
233 PRE 31; Yashar Wa-Yera, 44b; Wa-Yosha', 37; comp. be-
low, note 236.
234 Yashar Wa-Yera, 44b-45a, based on old sources; comp. San-
hedrin 89b; BR 56. 4; Tan. B. I, 114; Tan. Wa-Yera 22; PR 40,
I70b; Wa-Yosha', 36-37; the unknown Midrash in Yalkut I, 98. In
BR the tempter is Sammael, which is only a different name for
Satan; comp. above, note 228. In BR 56. 4 it is stated that Abraham
hid Isaac in a casket that Satan should not lay hands upon him and,
by causing injury to his body, render him unfit for a sacrifice, which
according to the law must be without blemish. MHG I, 315, gives
the scene of the temptation by Satan in accordance with an unknown
midrashic source; comp. also Neweh Shalom, 59-60. In Sanhedrin and
249
235-241] The Legends of the Jews
MHG, loc. cit., it is related that Satan, having failed to sway either
Abraham or Isaac, said to the former: "I have heard a voice from
behind the curtain (see Index, $. v. "Curtain, Heavenly") proclaiming
that a sheep, not Isaac, will be sacrificed." But even these words
had no effect upon Abraham, who remarked: "It is the punishment
of the mendacious not to be believed even when he tells the truth. >r
2 3 s Wa-Yosha' 36; a somewhat different version is found in Yashar
Wa-Yera, 46b. Comp. also the unknown Midrash in Yalkut I, 98;
and 99.
236 Yashar Wa-Yera, 45a-45b, based on old sources; comp.
BR 56. 2; PK 27, 170b; WR 20. 2; Kohelet 9. 7; Tan. B. I, 113,
and III, 58; Tan. Wa-Yera 23 and Ahare 2; PR 40, I70b; PRE 21;
Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 22. 4; Aggadat Bereshit 31. 63. Comp.
also Philo, De Somniis 11. Jub. 18. 4a reads: He made his com-
panions abide at a well. According to a widespread Haggadah they
remained at a mile's distance from the holy mountain; comp. Tan.
B. I, 113 and 183; II, 15; III, 9 and 14, as well as the numerous par-
allel passages cited by Theodor to BR 53. 13; see further Berakot
63b; Sekel 61, and Mahzor Vitry, 110.
237 BR 56. 2 and the sources referred to in the preceding note.
Comp. also Theodor, ad loc., and vol. II, p. 348.
238 Yashar Wa-Yera, 45. The Midrashim contain numerous
explanations of the word HZ) (Gen. 22. 5); comp. BR 56. 2; Tan. B.
I, 113; Targum Yerushalmi, Gen., loc. tit.; Aggadat Shir 1. 5 (this
is the source of Al-Barceloni, 57); Tan. Wa-Yehi 7; BR 43. 8; MHG
I, 320.
2 39 BR 56. 2; Tan. B. I, 113; Tan. Wa-Yera 23; PR 40, 170b;
Mo'ed Katan 18a; Ephraim I, 77B. 2 ARN 43, 118 (and from there
in Midrash Aggada 1. 51), enumerates the "unconscious prophecies".
John, 11. 51, and Herodotus III, 153, show that this conception is
widespread.
240 Yashar Wa-Yera, 45b (read >in instead of nn), based on old
sources; comp. BR 56. 3-4; Tan. Wa-Yera 23; PR 40, 170b; Targum-
im Yerushalmi Gen. 22. 8; PRE 31. The explanation of nn' (Gen.,
loc. cit.) in the sense of "in the same spirit", given in the above-men-
tioned sources, is also found in ps.-Philo, 41A. Comp. Josephus,
Antigui. I, 32. 1; MHG I, 321; vol. IV, p. 44.
2 4* Yashar Wa~Yera,45b; NeweJi Shalom, 50; Wa-Yosha<37; Tan.
Wa-Yera 23. According to BR 56. 4; PR 40, 170; ER28,138; EZ 2,174,
Isaac did not participate in the erection of the altar. See also below.
250
Abraham [242-243
24* Wa-Yosha' 37-38 (text, 38, 2, is to be emended and read
); PRE 31; Neweh Shalom 50-51; Yashar Wa-Yera, 46a (the
expression pHD! ISID mn is an Arabism); Tan. Wa-Yera 23; Yeru-
shalmi Targumim, Gen. 22. 9; see also the quotations from an un-
known Midrash given in MHG I, 521-522, and Mahzor Vitry 330.
The weeping of the angels is already referred to in the old sources;
comp. BR 56. 6 (on nnn. See Targum and Peshitta, Isa. 38. 7, which
connect this word with Syriac fc'n; hence the expression n'T3 K'n rcrn
becomes intelligible); PR 40, I7la; PRE 31; Aggadat Bereshit 31,
61-62; MHG I, 322 (here it is Metatron who pleads for Isaac's life,
and it is he who is sent to restrain Abraham from slaying Isaac);
Zohar I, 120b. Comp. also vol. IV, pp. 306 and 308, as well as 426.
That the bluntness of his knife prevented Abraham from carrying out
his intention, is alluded to also in BR 56. 7; Tan. Wa-Yera 23 (here
Satan knocks the knife out of Abraham's hand; but, perhaps, "JK^DH
is to be read instead of pn); MHG I, 322. See also the following
note. Isaac's resignation to God 's will is also praised in 4 Maccabees
16. 20, whereas in 13. 12 and 14. 20 it is Abraham who is the hero
of the 'Akedah. See note 299; comp. ps.-Philo 18C and note 240.
The binding of Isaac by Abraham was in conformity with the law,
which prescribes the binding of a sacrifice before it is slaughtered;
comp. Shabbat 54a; 2 Enoch 59; Eldad 44. See also Ginzberg in
Journal for Jewish Lore and Philosophy, I, 206. It is to be noted in
this connection that Abraham observed all the sacrificial ceremonies
while preparing to offer up Isaac. Comp. MHG I, 322; PRE 31;
Hullin 16a. The repetition of Abraham 's name by the angel is explained
by Philo, De Abrahamo, 32, in the same manner as in PR and Wa-Yosha',
loc. cit., whereas BR 56. 7 and the parallel passages cited by Theodor
consider it an expression of endearment. See also Jub. 18. 10.
243 PRE 31; MHG I, 323; Wa-Yosha' 38; unknown midrashic
sources in ShMole ha-Leket, No. 18 (TefillaK), 17-18; Al-Barceloni,
125, based on PRE, loc. tit., but with the additional remark that Isaac
gave up his life at the appearance of the Shekinah. In BR 65. 9 Isaac 's
blindness is explained in a similar manner; comp. Hebrews 11. 19,
and below, note 255. With regard to the oath taken by God, Philo,
Legum Allegor. 71, remarks: The mere words of God are.... laws
and institutions .... It is proper to say that all the words of God are
oaths confirmed by the accomplishment of the acts to which they
relate. Whether Hebrews 6. 13 is to be traced directly to Philo is
doubtful. "The word of God is an act" is a favorite phrase with the
251
244-248] The Legends of the Jews
Rabbis; comp. BR 44. 22; Tehillim 107, 462. See also Philo, Quaes-
tiones, Gen., 4. 170; note 1 on vol. I, p. 49.
2 *4 PR 40, I71b; MHG I, 323; Tan. B. IV, 72.
a 45 Yashar Wa-Yera, 46b, based on old sources; comp. BR 56.
9 and parallel passages cited by Theodor, ad loc., as well as PRE 26
and unknown Midrash in Yalkut I, 101. iniPS? DV3 in Yashar is not
to be taken literally; comp. note 99 on vol. I, p. 83, and Zohar I, 120b.
According to another view, it was the bell-wether of Abraham's
flocks that was sacrificed instead of Isaac. Abraham had called this
pet animal Isaac, and it was therefore quite appropriate that Isaac,
the ram, should take the place of the real Isaac; comp. MHG I, 323-
324, and Neweh Shalom, 51, with the additional remark that Gabriel
had brought the ram to the altar.
2 4<5 PRE 31. On the trumpet at the advent of the Messiah,
see vol. IV, p. 234, and note 116 appertaining thereto. Bahya on Exod.
19. 13, and Caro, Toledot Yizhak on Gen. 22. 13 (the latter is based on
the former) state that the ram came to life again after it was sacrificed
and burned to ashes. On the resurrection of animals, comp. vol. I,
p. 236, and notes 113, 317.
*47 Tan. B. I, 114, and IV, 72; Tan. Wa-Yera 23 and Shelah
14; PR 40, 171a; BaR 17. 2; comp. also BR 56. 7 and 57. 14, as well
as Sifre D., 313. In the sources herewith mentioned it is stated that
God promised Abraham not to tempt either him or Isaac in the future.
The temptations and sufferings intended for Abraham were accord-
ingly assigned to Job. The haggadic interpretation of WE as 'flVT
("I made thee known") is already found in Jub. 18. 1, as well as in
Peshitta and Vulgate Gen. 22. 12.
2 4 8 Tan. B. I, 115; Tan. Wa-Yera 23; Yerushalmi Ta'anit
2, 65d; PK 23, 154b; WR 29. 10; MHG I, 325-326; an unknown mid-
rashic source in Hadar, 8a; PR 40, 171b. Comp. also BR56. 9, Yer-
ushalmi Targumim, Gen. 22. 14. Nispahim, 47, reads: God for-
gives Israel's sins on New Year on account of the merit of Abraham
who was willing to be burned in the furnace of fire by Nimrod in order
to sanctify God 's name. On the basis of the Haggadot which connect
the ceremony of the blowing of the ram's horn on New Year with the
ram sacrificed in lieu of Isaac, the view arose that the 'Akedah took
place on that day. A different opinion, favored by the Kabbalists,
maintains that this event occurred on the Day of Atonement. See
Ginzberg in Ha-Zofeh, III, 186-188. Now and again one meets with
252
Abraham [249-254
the view that the 'Akedah took place in Nisan; comp. ShR 15. 11,
and see further note 126.
2 49 BR 56. 10; Sifre D., 352; PRE 31; Targum Yerushalmi
22 .15; comp. note 251. According to PRE 23, Abraham performed the
rite of circumcision on his body at the site of the temple; see further
note 283. In remembrance of the sacrifice of Isaac, God commanded
that two sacrifices should be brought daily; ER 56. 36; WR 2. 11.
250 BR 56. 7; Yerushalmi Ta'anit 2, 65d; PK 23, 154b; PR 40,
171b.
3 ** PR 31; Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 22. 9. The altar des-
troyed by the flood was rebuilt by Noah, but later demolished by
the builders of the Tower; MHG I, 321.
252 MHG I, 325; comp. the following note.
25 3 BR 56. 10; Tehillim 76, 341-342; see note 102. The ety-
mological remark of Lactantius, Institutiones, 4. 10, to the effect
that Jerusalem was called after Solomon, is not based, as is generally
assumed, on the Greek lepdv* but on the Hebrew noW [n]E>1T. i.
e. "the possession of Solomon." Theophilus 2. 31 remarks: Mel-
chizedek changed the name of the city from Salem to Jerusalem, Nu-
merous are the etymologies given of the name Moriah, the Temple
mount (2 Chron. 3. 1), which according to Jewish tradition, accepted
by the Church, is identical with the place where Abraham was com-
manded to sacrifice Isaac; comp. BR 55. 7; Yerushalmi Berakot 4, 8c;
Ta'anit lOa; Berakot 62b ; Shir 4. 4; Tan. B. 1, 112; PR 40, 169b-170a;
Tehillim 30, 233; Targumim, Aquila, Symmachus, and Septuagint,
Gen. 22. 2. Peshitta stands alone with its rendering of Moriah by
Amorite '(miD=miDN) and yet the Syriac Fathers Ephraim (I, 100,
17c) and Aphraates (400) maintain that the 'Akedah took place on
the holy mount of Jerusalem; see Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv.,
113-114. Jerome, on Gen., loc. cit., gives two etymologies of Moriah
which agree with those of BR, loc. cit t Josephus, Antigui., I, 13, 2,
knows of the identity of Moriah with the Temple mount, but gives
no etymological explanation of the meaning of Moriah. See also
the unknown Midrash in Yalkut I, 100.
3 54 BR 56. 1. According to the reading of MHG I, 327, Isaac
did not return with his father, but by himself, "in the stillness of
the night, in order that his miraculous escape from death should not
be the cause of provoking the evil eye/' A different view is found in
253
255] The Legends of the Jews
Midrash Aggada I, 54, and Targum Yerushalmi 22. 19. The angels
alluded to in the last source probably belong to another legend; comp.
the following note*
255 MHG I, 327. The purpose of Isaac's stay in paradise was
to be cured from the injury inflicted by his father before the angel
stopped him from completing the sacrifice; comp. the passage from
an unknown Midrash Hadar, lOb; Mirihat Yehudah, 13b (on Gen. 25.
27); Pa'aneah Raza, Gen. 24. 64; Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 22. 2 (the
reference to R. Bahya covers only the sentence 'Dl jniNmp); Shu-
'aib, Hayye Sarah, lib. Skibbote ha-Leket, No. 18 (Tefillah) 17-18,
quotes an unknown Midrash to the effect that Isaac was burned to
ashes, and then brought back to life. The old sources, however,
explicitly state that God forbade Abraham to cause even the slightest
injury to Isaac; for Abraham had intended to bleed him a little, in
order thus to show his willingness to offer to God his most precious
possession dearest to his heart; comp. BR 56. 7, and parallel passages
cited by Theodor. It is therefore very strange that Mekilta RS
4 speaks of Isaac's blood brought as a sacrifice. See, however,
ps.-Philo 18c: And for the blood of him Isaac did I choose this
people; comp. note 243. Yalkut David on Gen. 27. 27 quotes the Zohar
with reference to Isaac's stay in paradise, but nothing of this kind occurs
in the latter, and there can be no doubt that Yalkut Reubeni is to be
read instead of Zohar, as the supposed quotation from the Zohar is
actually 'found, word for word, in Yalkut Reubeni, loc. dt. For fur-
ther details on this point see below, note 301, and note 92 on vol. I,
p. 334. Neweh Shalom remarks: While Isaac was lying on the altar
bound as a sacrifice, the angel of death took his stand opposite him,
and said: "As soon as Abraham lays his hand on Isaac, and slays
him, I shall take his Isaac's soul." But when he saw that all the
angels were pleading for Isaac's life (comp. vol. I, p. 281), he remarked:
"This man has no enemy, and I will therefore do him no harm."-
Abraham was enjoined to carry out the commandment of the ' Akedah
three days after it was given (Gen. 22. 4), in order that it should not
be said that he fulfilled God's will while in a state of excitement and
perturbation; BR 55. 6; Tan. B. I, 113; Tan. Wa-Yera 22; PR 40,
170a-170b; Aggadat Bereshit 31, 63-64; Ephraim I, 76E. The dif-
fuse comments of Philo on the 'Akedah, which he explains as a protest
against the sacrificing of children, show that Alexandrian Judaism,
no less than Palestinian, attached great importance to this episode
in the lives of the patriarchs. The site of the Temple mount was orig-
254
Abraham [256-259
inally a plain, but was "elevated" at the moment it was designated
as the place for the 'Akedah; Tan. Wa-Yera 22; Yalkut I, 100,
256 Yashar Wa-Yera, 46b-47a, based on old sources; Tan. Wa-
Yera 23 and Ahare 2; PRE 32; PK 26, 170b; WR 20. 2; Kohelet 9.
7; Tan. B. IV, 53; Midrash Aggada I, 52 and 55; MHG I, 237. Comp.
also Wa-Yosha' 26, and Neweh Shalom, 51-52. Sarah died in the
month of Heshwan, i e., shortly after the 'Akedah, which took place
in the previous month (see note 248); Esther R 3. 7; Abba Gorion
25. The sound of the blowing of the Shofar on New Year is brought
in relation with the sound emitted by Sarah at the moment of her
demise; see Ginzberg, Hazofeh, III, 186-188. The words of resigna-
tion put into Sarah's mouth are modelled after the Zidduk ha-Din
(comp. Baer, Siddur, 586), and the same remark applies to similar
sentences in vol. II, p. 27, and vol. Ill, p. 451.
257 MHG I, 346, based upon an unknown source; BR 58. 6.
2 * 8 BR 58. 1; MHG I, 333-334. Shu'aib, Hayye Sarah, lla,
quotes the following unknown Haggadah: Sarah really lived only
thirty-seven years from the birth of Isaac to her death for the years
she spent as a barren woman cannot be regarded as life. The same
authority, Wa-Yehi, 22d, quotes a similar Haggadah concerning Jacob,
who is said to have lived only thirty-four years, the space of time
his favorite son Joseph stayed with him. Hadar, 8a (Tosafot and
RASh), and Da 1 at, lOc-lOd, could hardly have been made use of by
Shu'aib.
259 MHG I, 346-347; on the eulogy spoken by Abraham upon
Sarah, see ibid, 341. In the word niTJn 1 ?! ("and to weep for her",
Gen. 23. 2) the letter 3 is small according to the Masorah; this indi-
cates tht Abraham did not weep very much for Sarah's death; so
Hadar and Ba'al ha-Turim, ad loc., whereas Leket MidmsUm 21 gives
a different explanation of the smallness of this letter. It is note-
worthy that Philo, DeAbrahamo, 44 (comp. also, Quaestiones, Gen. 4. 73)
concludes from the biblical narrative of the death of Sarah that Abra-
ham mourned for her a short time only, as immoderate mourning is
not fitting for the wise who should not feel sorry when restoring to
God the deposit entrusted to them. This last remark of Philo is often
met with in Jewish writings; comp. ARN 14, 59; Mishle 31, 108; Tan.
Bereshit 7; see also Wisdom 15. 8, 16. Sarah died during Abraham's
lifetime, her great piety notwithstanding, because she accused her hus-
band of being unfair to her (Gen. 16. 5); by her premature death it
was proved that her accusations were unfounded; Rosh ha-Shanah
255
260-266] The Legends of the Jews
16b; Baba Kamma 93b; comp. above, note 151. Sijte Kohen on Gen.
23. 2 quotes, from an unknown Midrash, the following legend about
Sarah's death: Satan appeared to her and asked her whether she
knew where Isaac was. "He went with his father to be instructed
in the laws of sacrifices", was her reply. "No", rejoined Satan, "he
himself is the sacrifice/' She betook herself to the three giants, Ahi-
man, Sheshai, and Talmai (comp. vol. Ill, p. 268), and asked them to
look into the distance, far, far away, and see if they could not discern
an old man accompanied by two lads. They obeyed and informed
her that they saw an old man with a knife in his hand and next to
him a youth bound as a sacrifice. She was so terrified that her soul
flew out of her body. A similar legend is found in the unknown
midrashic source given in Yalkut I, 98.
260 MHG I, 347; Jub. 18. 3-4; comp. also 2ARN 45, 124;
WR 3, 7; vol. II, p. 339. With reference to these words of Abraham,
Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 4. 74, remarks: The pious feel like strangers
in this world, they are at home in the other world only. See the
identical words of the Midrash cited in vol. II, p. 122. In BR 58.
6, on the other hand, Abraham is made to say to the children of Heth:
"If I wish, I shall claim the rights of the owner, since God promised
this land."
261 MHG I, 348; comp. also BR 58. 6, and the passage,
from an unknown Midrash, cited in Makiri, Proverbs 30, 88a.
262 BR 57. 7. This is very likely a haggadic interpretation of
'33 b (Gen. 23. 12), which is explained in the sense of in the presence
of.
263 PRE 20. The Cave of Machpelah being a double cave
hence its name n^SDD "double" hid all the more Adam's body
which was buried in the inner cave; comp. 'Erubin 53a and Philo,
Quaestiones, Gen., 3. 80. Abraham, knowing that at the time of
the resurrection of the dead those buried in the Cave of Machpelah
would rise first, wished to be buried there; comp. the passage,, from an
unknown Midrash, cited in Yad Yosef on Gen. 23. 9 and Abkat Rokel
II, 5. See further details concerning the Cave of Machpelah in vol.
I, pp. 69 and 101, as well as vol. II, p. 191, and note 7 appertaining
thereto.
26 < Zohar Ruth I, 97b.
265 PRE 26; Zohar Ruth I, 97c; Zohar I, 127a-128a. Concern-
ing the light shining over R. Akiba's grave, see Mishle 9. 62.
266 BR 58. 7; ShR 31. 17. Ephron, however, was not aware
256
Abraham [267270
of the great treasure in his possession, as the light of the Cave of Mach-
pelah was invisible to him; Sabba, Hayye Sarah, 24a.
267 BR 58. 7; PK 11, 95a-95b; ShR 31. 17; Tan. B. I, 103-104
and V, 20; Tan. Wa-Yera 4, Behar 1, and Reeh 10; comp. also MHG
I, 349-350; Mekilta Yitro l,57b; Mekilta RS, 85; Baba Mezi'a 87a;
ARN 13,57; Yerushalmi Kiddushin I, 59d; Onkelos and Yerushalmi Tar-
gumim, Gen. 23. 16. The Haggadah in the afore-mentioned sources
finds in the defective spelling of the name psy (Gen. loc. cit.) an in-
dication that the bearer of the name was morally " defective"; the
same idea is maintained by Jerome, ad loc. The source of MHG is
none of the Midrashim just quoted. As a reward for Abraham's hu-
mility, who twice bowed down before the children of Heth, the nations
will bow down twice before Israel (that is, they will become Israel 's
subjects), once during the reign of Solomon and then again in the days
of the Messiah; MHG I, 349, where a new source is introduced with
the words HNTI fcU; comp. Schechter,c^ /0c.,and see above, note 262.
268 Yashar Hayye Sarah, 47a-48b, where the names of the wit-
nessess on the bill of sale are also given; comp. vol. IV, p. 92. As
a reward for the kindness shown to Abraham by the inhabitants
of Hebron, this city remained in their possession for forty-seven years
longer than they were entitled to it. The Jews took it from them forty
years after the exodus from Egypt, whereas Zoan, that had been
founded seven years later than Hebron (Num. 13. 22), was destroyed
at the time of the exodus; Sifra 18. 2, 85c; MHG I, 347-348. The
inhabitants of Hebron, who, in order to show the last honor to Sarah,
closed their places of business, did not die before they participated'
thirty-eight years later, in the funeral ceremonies for Abraham; BR
58. 7 and 62. 3. Shem and Eber, who were present at Sarah's as
well as at Abraham J s burial, took care that the latter should be interred
next to the former; BR, loc. cit.
269 Zohar I, 128a-128b. Instead of fat it is best to read ^X,
though the former reading can be defended.
270 Yashar Hayye Sarah, 48a; comp. above, note 56. Not long
before Sarah's death Abraham lost his father Terah; BR 58. 5-6,
where it is said: At the time of Sarah's death Abraham saw the
angel of death draw his sword against him. The purport of this re-
mark probably is that at this time some of Abraham's relatives met
their death; comp, Mo'ed Katan 27b, below. Zohar I, 125a, maintains
that Sarah died by a kiss from God, and not by the hand of the angel
of death. Comp. Index, s. v. "Kiss from God".
257
271274] The Legends of the Jews
2 7 J Tan. Hayye Sarah, 4; Tan. B. I, 118; Aggadat Bereshit 34,
67-69; MHG I, 352-353. The Midrashim give in this connection a
homiletic comment on the last chapter of Prov., which they refer to
Sarah, the ideal of the "woman of valor". MHG I, 334-339, and
likewise Mishle 31 find in this chapter the praise of the twenty-two
"women of valor": Noah's wife, Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Rachel,
Bithiah (the foster-mother of Moses), Jochebed, Miriam, Hannah,
Jael, the widow of Zarephath, Naomi, Rahab, Bath-Sheba, Michal,
Hazlelponith (Samson's mother), Elisheba (Aaron's wife), Serah
(Asher's daughter), the wife of the prophet Obadiah, the Shunam-
mite, Ruth, and Esther. Sarah, however, is the most prominent of
these twenty-two "women of valor", and hence she is the only
woman whose age, at her death, is given in Scripture.
272 Baba Mezi'a 87a; Sanhedrin 107b; BR 65. 9; Tan, B. I,
118 and 128; Tan. Hayye Sarah 1, and Toledot 6; Aggadat Bereshit
34, 69; PRE 52 (with the additional remark that this was one of the
seven great miracles); Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 874, on Ps. 115;
Hadar, 9a, quoting an unknown midrashic source. Comp. also Tan.
B. 1, 47, which reads: Abraham was the first to show signs of old age,
to lavish hospitality, to suffer pain, and to distribute, in his lifetime,
his possessions among his children. On the last point see Gen. 25, 6.
Abraham said to God: "If Thou hadst made known to the generation
of the flood what pain is, they would never have rebelled against Thee."
Whereupon God replied: "Thou shalt be the first to experience
suffering." And Isaac became very ill at his very birth. To celebrate
his son's recovery from the " first illness" (caused by the circumcision?)
Abraham made the great feast mentioned in Scripture (Gen. 21. 8;
comp. note 206 and vol. I, p. 262). See note 74 on vol. I, p. 329.
On the Arabic version of the legend of the first illness, see Griinbaum,
New Beitrage, 118.
2 73 Tan. Hayye Sarah 4; Baba Batra 16b; BR 59. 6-7; Tosefta
Kiddushin 5. 17-21; comp. also Theodor, BR, ad loc., and MHG I,
353-354. According to one view given in the sources just mentioned,
the great blessing bestowed upon Abraham consisted in his having
no daughter, while in the same passage the opposite view is recorded
to the effect that Abraham was blessed with a daughter whose name
was Bakkol ("with all things"). Comp. also Philo, De AbraJiamo, 7;
Yerushaftni Sotah 5, 20c, and Berakot 9, 14b, as well as vol. II, p.
149; vol. Ill, p. 206; vol. IV, p. 103.
2 7 4 BR 59. 5, where Ps. 24 is referred by the Psalmist to Abraham
258
Abraham [275276
who is the pattern for the picture of the righteous. God said to
Abraham: "Thou occupiest thyself with showing loving-kindness
to mankind, and art thus doing the same work as I. I shall there-
fore clothe thee with the same garments with which I am clad when
appearing to the prophets" (comp. Dan. 7.9); BR 58. 9; MHG I, 362;
Mishle 16, 38; Tan. Hayye 4; Aggadat Bereshit 32, 68.
2 ?s BR 59. 2, as well as 64. 3 and 95. 3; Tan. B. I, 58, 71, 211;
III, 105; Tan. Lek 1 and 11, Behar 1; Aggadat Bereshit 13, 28; Te-
hillim I, 13 and 122; Yoma 28b; Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 932, on
Prov. 3. Comp. also Tosefta Kiddushin (end); ARN 33, 94 (second
version 7,21); Al-Barceloni 58-59. The Book of Jubilees sees its main
task in furnishing the proof that the patriarchs from Adam
to Jacob observed the laws that were subsequently revealed
to Moses. But even this pseudepigraph has to admit that
the Fathers did not observe all the laws of the Mosaic Code, and
accordingly the revelation must be regarded as having taken place
gradually. Comp. 33. 16, which passage was entirely misunderstood
by Charles, ad loc., as it has nothing to do with the Pauline doctrine,
Romans 4. 15, but represents the thoroughly Jewish conception of
a gradual revelation of the law. See on this point Jub. 36. 20 and
the references to rabbinic writings below. Philo, De Abrahamo, 8. 46,
seems also to be of the opinion that Gen. 26. 5 refers to the laws of the
Torah which Abraham observed before the revelation on Sinai. In con-
trast to this view of the Haggadists concerning Abraham's observance of
the Torah, we meet with statements by authoritative Tannaim and
Amoralm to the effect that Abraham only observed the seven No-
achian precepts, as well as circumcision which, towards the end of
his life, he was commanded to perform. Comp. Hullin 7. 7; Yoma
28b; see also the very thorough study of Chajes in his Toral Nebi-
'im, 24-28b. In accordance with this view, Gen., loc. cit. t is explained
by many rabbinic commentators to refer exclusively to the ethico-
moral laws of the Torah; comp. Lekah, Nahmanides, and Ibn Ezra,
ad loc.
2 7 $ BR 59. 8; Tan. B. I, 120. The identity of the servant men-
tioned in Gen. 24. 2 with Eliezer is presupposed in many places in
rabbinic literature; comp. Ta'anit 4a; WR 37. 4; Targum Yeru-
shalmi, Gen. loc,, cil. t and many other passages in the Talmudim and
Midrashim. At the same time when the signs of old age were clearly
visible in Abraham (comp. p. 291), Eliezer's appearance was also
changed; MHG I, 355.
259
277-288] The Legends of the Jews
277 Yoma 28b reads: Abraham was the head of an academy,
and Eliezer "filled the cups" for the whole world with his master's
wisdom. On jpr in the sense of "elder", i. e. scholar, comp. Sifra 19.
32, 91a; Kiddushin 32b; Philo, De Abrahamo, 46, as well as De Sobrietate,
4, and Quaestiones, Gen., VI, 4, 85.
278 Yashar Hayye, 48b.
279 BR57. 3.
280 MHG I, 327-328; comp. Schechter, ad loc.
281 BR 59. 8; MHG I, 356.
282 BR 59. 9 and 60. 2; WR 17. 5 read: Eliezer belonged to
the accursed race (a Canaanite); yet he was blessed by God
on account of his faithful service to the pious, i. e., Abraham.
283 MHG I, 356-357. Here also we meet with the obscure state-
ment: If thou takest him Isaac there to Haran the dominion
will return to its old place. The meaning of this passage is that if
Isaac leaves the Holy Land, his descendants will surrender their
dominion over the world to the Elamites; comp. vol. IV, pp. 368-369.
284 BR 59. 10; comp. below, note 286. The idea of taking an
oath by the sign of the covenant is also found in Ephraim I, 78b, and
Jerome, Gen. 24. 2; Philo, Qtiaestiones, Gen. loc. cit. t says: He made him
Eliezer take the oath by the genital organ (?) to indicate that he
Abraham was endeavoring to secure a wife for his son for the
purpose of begetting children and not in order to enjoy carnal
pleasures.
285 Yashar Hayye, 48b; Hadar, 9c. He took with him ten of
the very prominent of Abraham's slaves, in order that he should have
the necessary quorum for the nuptial benedictions; comp. PRE 16.
286 BR59. 10; PRE 16.
287 BR 59. 11; Sanhedrin 95a; Hullin 91b; Tan. B. I, 150; Tan.
Wa-Yera 3; PRE 16; Pirke RHK, 16a and 26a; MHG I, 367. The
Babylonian sources know of three men only (Eliezer, Jacob, and
Abishai; comp. Index, 5. v.), for whose sake such a miracle was per-
formed, whereas the Palestinian passages count Abraham as the fourth
fortunate person for whose sake this miracle occurred in the night of the
war against the kings. In medieval Jewish legends, the miracle of
-|Tin nrsp (that is, the shrinking of the road, not the jumping) Is
a favorite subject. Christian sources, too, narrate similar incidents;
comp. ps.-MattheWj 22, and Giinter, Christliche Legends, 104. Griin-
baum, Neue Beitrage, refers to Mohammedan parallels.
288 Josephus, Antiqui.t I, 16. 1. BR 59. 2 reads: It is possible
260
Abraham [289294
to ascertain the character of women from the barking of the dogs.
Baba Kamma 60b shows that this statement Is to be taken literally,
and not, as Theodor, ad loc., explains it, rationalistically. Concern-
ing the well to which the pious repair on entering a new place, comp.
Lekah, Gen. 24. 11, and MHG I, 352. PRE 26 (complete text in MHG
I, 458) reads: It is a good omen to meet young girls on entering
a place. According to Zohar I, 132a, the well at which Eliezer stop-
ped was the well of Miriam.
289 BR 60. 3; WR 37. 4; Ta'anit 4a; Hullin 95b; Pirke RHK,
32b.
290 Josephus, Antigui., I, 16. 2; Philo, De Posteritate Caini, 44.
On Bethuel as king comp. PRE 16 and BaR 14. 11. The remark in
Lekah, Gen. 24. 16 very likely goes back to PRE. The contrast be-
tween Rebekah and the daughters of the Gentiles, who, though vir-
gins, do not keep away from men entirely, is pointed out in BR 60.
5; Yerushalmi Ketubot I, 25b; Tehillim 125, 506. See also below,
note 294. Rebekah was a very beautiful maiden, and surpassed
Abishag in beauty; MHG I, 360.
291 BR 60. 5-6; MHG I, 362. In the latter passage attention is
called to the fact that Eliezer did not give the presents to Rebekah
before he had found out that she belonged to Abraham's kindred,
since the marriage was to be accomplished by these very presents;
comp. Schechter, ad loc., note 48.
292 An unknown midrashic source in Yalkut I, 109, and a sim-
ilar statement in MHG I, 364. Abkir in Yalkut, loc. cit., reads: E-
liezer noticed by Laban's running that he intended to attack him;
whereupon the former pronounced the "Name", and he and the camels
were lifted up in the air so that Laban was unable to attack him.
293 BR 60. 7-8; ARN 8, 38 reads: Even Abraham's camels
did not enter a place where there were idols; Aggadat Bereshit 67,
133; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 24. 31. The name Laban ("white")
is declared to be antiphrastic, the bearer of it being the "blackest
of the black"; comp. BR, loc. cit.; Shemuel I, 45; Ruth R 3. 1; and
comp. also MHG I, 363-364, where several etymologies of the name
Laban are given.
294 An unknown midrashic source in Yalkut I, 109; MHG I,
366 and 370; Midrash Aggada I, 59; Sekel, 81; Lekah, Targum Yeru-
shalmi, and Rashi on Gen. 24. 33 and 55. Bethuel, who was the king
of this place, introduced the jus primae noctis; comp. Herodotus IV,
168. His subjects declared themselves ready to submit to this out-
261
295-299] The Legends of the Jews
rage on condition that the king's own daughters should not be exempt
from it. Now it was on that very day, when Eliezer arrived in Haran,
that Rebekah was to be deflowered by her father (she had just reached
the age of three years and one day; comp. Niddah 5. 3), and to spare
her this humiliation God caused the death of Bethuel. See Yalkut
loc. cit. ; Hadar 9a, 9b (he was called Bethuel as an allusion to Bet-
ulah "virgin"!); Da'at Gen. 24. 55; Soferim (end); BR 60. 12.
29 * MHG I, 366; PRE 16; BR 59. 11; Tan. B. I, 145; Aggadat
Bereshit45 3 92. Eliezer 's first words were: "I am Abraham's ser-
vant" (Gen. 24.34). These words are in more than one respect,
characteristic of the man. "One should not wait till his shortcom-
ings are found out by others, but should rather state them himself/*
is the very wise rule which guided Eliezer. He did not wait till Abra-
ham 's relatives ascertained everything concerning himself, but in-
troduced himself to them as "Abraham's servant." Comp. BR 60.
9; Baba Kamma 92b. At the same time Eliezer was devoted to his
master to such an extent that he considered it an honor to be the slave
of Abraham rather tham to be a free man; Hasidini 85; Zohar I, 103
and 146b. Eliezer 's personality, as well as his adroit address, made
a powerful impression on Abraham 's relatives, who relinquished their
evil intentions against him; MHG I, 366, The Torah devotes more
space to Eliezer 's narrative than to som^ of the very important laws;
from this it may be inferred that th* history of the patriarchs is of
extremely great moment; BR 60. 8.
296 BR 60. 9-12.
2 97 PRE 16. BR 60. 12 reads: They hinted to Rebekah to re-
fuse Eliezer 's request; she, however, said: " I will go with him even
against your wish". From the scriptural words, "the thing pro-
ceedeth from the Lord" (Gen. 24. 50) the Rabbis infer that "mar-
riages are made in heaven"; comp. Mo'ed Katan 18b; Tobit 6. 18.
Comp. Abrahams in /. Q. R. II, 172, seq., and note 20 on vol. I, p. 59.
298 BR 60. 13; Shir 2. 14; MHG I, 370. According to PRE 16,
the words uttered by Rebekah 's relatives at her departure were the
nuptial benedictions On the presents given by Eliezer to Rebekah
and her relatives, comp. BR 60. 11; Tan. B. I, 145; Aggadat Bereshit
45, 92.
299 PRE 16; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 24. 61; MHG I, 371.
His speed on his return journey was due to the fact that it would have
been unpleasant for Rebekah to spend the night in the company of
a slave. But even then Isaac's suspicion of slaves was so deep-rooted
262
Abraham [300303
that he did not come near Rebekah until he had convinced himself
that she was a virgin. Comp. the sources quoted above and the
opposite view given in MHG I, 366. See also below, note 301.
300 BR 60. 14-15; Mekilta be-Shallah 2, 28b; Mekilta RS,45;
Berakot 26a; 'Abodah Zarah 7b; Yerushalmi Berakot 4, 7a; Tan. Hayye
5 and Mikkez 9; Tan. B. I, 196; BaR 2. 1; Tehillim 55, 292, and 102,
430; Mishle 12, 93; Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 4, 140, and Quod Detenus
Potiori Insidiari Soleat, 9; Onkelos, Targum Yerushalmi, and Jerome
on Gen. 24. 63; Ephraim I, 173. Comp. also Tehillim 90, 394, and
MHG I, 372. The place where Isaac used to pray was near paradise,
so that its fragrance might reach him, and is identical with the field
which Abraham bought from Ephron; Zohar II, 39b. Comp. vol.
I, pp. 289 and 334, and the notes appertaining to them.
301 An unknown midrashic source in Yalkut I, 109. The in-
jury was of such a nature as to make Isaac suspect Eliezer of having
done violence to his bride. The angel Gabriel, however, with ir-
refutable evidence in his hands, convinced Isaac that his suspicions
were unjustified. To compensate Eliezer for the wrong done to
him by Isaac, God permitted him to enter paradise during his life
(comp. note 307); he changed places with Isaac, who shortly before
that had left paradise where he had stayed for some time; Yalkut,
loc, cit. See also note 255. Variants of this legend are found inHadar,
9a (the birds watched over the blood which Rebekah had lost on ac-
count of her injury, and thereby enabled Eliezer to convince Isaac of
his innocence; as a reward for their good deed, a law was promulgated
commanding to cover the blood of birds; comp. Lev. 17. 13); Da 1 at,
Gen. 24. 5; Pa'aneah Raza 34, 65; Shu'aib, Hayye, lie; Lekah 24.
66 (in a rather abridged form); Orehot Hayyim II T 39b; Midrash Ag-
gada I, 60. Several of the sources herewith mentioned state in this
connection that the dwellers of paradise walk on their heads (comp.
vol. IV, p. '70), and this peculiarity Isaac retained on his leaving para-
dise. When Rebekah saw him walk in this strange manner, she ex-
claimed: "What man is this that walketh?" (Gen. 24. 65). See also
Minhat Yekudah, Gen. 24. 64, and Ginzberg, Compte Rendu ties
Melanges Israel Lewy, 26.
302 BR 60. 16; Onkelos and Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 24. 67.
Sarah's tent was not given by Abraham to any of his concubines; but,
as the tent of the mistress, it remained unoccupied until Isaac married
Rebekah; Zohar I, 133b; Hasidim, 294.
303 PRE 32; MHG I, 373, where mention is also made of the
263
304309] The Legends of the Jews
miraculous light shining in Rebekah's tent. See the sources quoted
in the preceding note. On Isaac's studies in the "Shem academy",
comp. the sources mentioned in note 255, as well as Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 24. 62, and Yashar, Hayye 48.
304 Zohar I, 133a. Sarah appeared to Isaac after her death in
the tent formerly occupied by her; Zohar I, 33b, which is very likely
the source of Shu'aib, Hayye, lie. Comp. Ketubot 103a for the
similar story about Rabbenu Hakkadosh.
305 PRE 16, where he is identified with Og; comp. vol. Ill, p.
344, and Index, s. n.
306 BR 60. 7; WR 17. 5. In both places Eliezer is described
as Canaan, which may mean a Canaanite; it may also imply that
his identity with Canaan the son of Ham is assumed. In 2 Alphabet
of Ben Sira 28b Eliezer is declared to have been the son of Ham.
307 Derek Erez Zuta (end); 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 28b; see
Index, s. v. "Paradise, Entering Alive". Eliezer "the pious" is
also found in Yelammedenu quoted in Yalkut, Supplement =BHM
VI, 79.
308 BR 60. 14 and 16. According to BR, the meaning of Beer-
lahai-roi is The well where she Hagar said to the Living One God:
"Look at my misery." On the explanation of the name of this place
see Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 24. 64; Tan. B. I, 123; Tan. Hayye 8.
BR, loc. tit., quotes Abraham's case in support of the rule that a
widower with mature children should first marry them off and then,
if he wishes, get married himself.
309 BR 61. 4; Tan. B. I, 123; Tan. Hayye 8; Yerushalmi Tar-
gumim Gen. 25. 1; PRE 30. These sources contain explanations con-
cerning the name Keturah, all of which are based on the assumption
that it is another name for Hagar. Jerome, Gen. 25. 1, knows of the
identification of Keturah with Hagar, but does not explain the former
name. The opposite view that Keturah was Abraham's third wife
is also found in the sources herewith quoted. On Hagar 's piety see
above, note 237, and Yelammedenu in Supplement to Yalkut (=BHM
VI, 79). The etymology of Keturah connecting it with miEDp incense
given by Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 4, 147, occurs also in the rabbinic
sources quoted above. Medieval authorities are at pains to explain
the strange phenomenon that the offspring of this pious couple, whose
marriage took place at the direct command of God (BR, loc. cit.), was
Ishmael and the other sons of Hagar- Keturah, the progenitors of many
wicked nations. See on this point the 'very interesting discussion
264
Abraham [310-314
in Hasidim, 294^295. Yalkut Reubeni Gen. 26. 2, 36c, quotes
a Midrash to the effect that Abraham married three wives, daughters
(=descendants) of the three sons of Noah: Sarah the daughter
of Shem, Keturah the daughter of Japheth, and Hagar the daughter
of Ham. That Hagar was an Egyptian (=a daughter of Ham) is
mentioned in Scripture.
3 10 BR 61. 5 and Tehillim 92, 411-412 find in the names of Ke-
turah 's sons proof for their idolatry and wickedness. On the names
of Gen. 25. 3, seq. t see also Onkelos, Targum Yerushalmi and Imre
No 1 am, ad loc., as well as MHG I, 383. Comp. Schechter, ad loc.
311 BR 61. 7, and, with additions and amplifications, in MHG
I, 378-379, as well as in Bereshit Rabbeti, 78. In the two last-named
sources it is said that Abraham had admonished his sons by Keturah
never to come near Isaac and his descendants (as any nation ruling
over them will be punished in Gehenna) until the advent of the Messiah.
When Solomon became king, the inhabitants of Sheba, the descendants
of Sheba the son of Keturah (comp. Gen. 25. 3), thought that he was
the promised Messiah, and came to pay him homage ( rob>0 in 1 Kings
9. 1 is read as roV# kingdom; see note 20 on vol. II, p. 233). But when
they realized their mistake, they returned to their country, where
they will remain till the advent of the Messiah. Comp. also R.
Joseph Kara, I Kings x. 1. Is this in any way connected with the
Christian story of the worship of the infant Jesus by the Magi?
312 Soferim (end). In this legend some traces of the Alexander
legend and reminiscences of the Chinese Wall are discernible. Comp.
Beer, Leben Abrahams, note 919, and Muller, ad loc. On the text of
Soferim, comp. Yalkut Reubeni, Hayye (end).
313 Sanhedrin 9 la and, with many embellishments, Zohar I,
133b, 223a-223b (here they are identified with the children of the
east, the renown of whose wisdom is referred to in 1 Kings 5. 10);
Ziyyoni and Recanati, Hayye (end). Al-Barceloni, 158, says: Abra-
ham gave the esoteric books which he possessed (that is, the books on
magic) to the children of the concubines, but the Torah he reserved
for Isaac. The same statement is also found in Zohar I, lOOb. Comp.
note 80, and Index, s. v. "Balaam".
314 Josephus, Antigui., I, 15. 1, citing an extract from a work
by Alexander Polyhistor, which is a curious blending of pagan my-
thology with Jewish legend. See Freudenthal, Hellenistische Studien,
130-136 and 215. In this connection mention is to be made of a leg-
265
The Legends of the Jews
end which declared the Spartans and Lacedaemonians to be the des-
cendants of Abraham; comp. 1 Maccabees 12. 10 and 21, as well as
14. 20; 2 Maccabees 5. 9. The Midrash quoted in note 309 maintains
that Keturah was a daughter of Japheth, and since Japheth is said,
Gen. 10. 2, to have been the ancestor of the Greeks (comp, also BR 36.
8, and the parallel passages cited by Theodor, on the beauty of Japheth
=the Greek language), the descendants of Abraham from Keturah
were, on their maternal side, Japhethites, i. ., Greeks. Comp.
also BR 37. 1, and parallel passages where the sons of Japheth are
"the uncles" of Israel.
3 l 5 Yashar Wa-Yera, 42bHr3a. Already in the old sources Kemuel
is identified with Balaam, or rather with his father Beor (comp.
BR 57, end, and parallel passages cited by Theodor); hence Pethor,
Balaam's city (Num. 22. 5) is said to have been founded by a son of
Kemuel.
316 BR 61. 6 and 39. 11; PK 31, 198b-199a; Tan. B. I, 63, IV,
33, and V, 53; Tan. Lek 4, Naso 9, and Ha-Berakah 5; BaR 11. 2;
DR 11. 1; Tehillim 1. 6. In all these sources emphasis is laid upon
the fact that before Abraham God Himself blessed the meritorious;
but with the advent of Abraham He conferred upon him the power
of bestowing blessings. Abraham, however, did not care to bless the
sons of the concubines, knowing that their descendants would be
wicked. He even refrained from blessing Isaac on account of Esau,
who, as Isaac's son, would have to come in for his proper share in
the blessings bestowed on his father. According to another view, Isaac
received the blessings from Abraham when he was on the point of
dying, and God confirmed them shortly afterwards. The sources
cited above contain also the statement, according to which, Abraham,
when on the point of dying, invested Isaac with the right of
primogeniture which carried with it the possession of the burial
place Machpelah. To obviate disputes among his children, he drew
up a document to that effect; comp. vol. I, p. 343, and vol. Ill, p. 453.
317 Extract from the two versions (A, B) of the Testament of
Abraham. On the Jewish character of this work comp. Ginzberg,
Jewish Encyclopedia, I, 93-96. A few additional remarks on this
pseudepigraphon may be given here. The idea of trees speaking with
a human voice (B 3) occurs also in the legend recorded in vol. IV, p.
164; see also the Steinschneider- Festschrift, 148. The changing of tears
into pearls (3) is also found in rabbinic legends (see vol. JV, p. 84).
A heavenly fire consumed the food offered to the angel (A 4) ; for
266
Abraham [318
rabbinic parallel sources see above, note 144. The goat eaten by
Abraham was brought back to life (A 4); a similar statement is found
in rabbinic sources (see above, notes, 113 and 246). In this pseudepi-
graphon Abraham is described as a giant (B 9), and this is in agreement
with the view of the Rabbis (comp. above, note 97). A parallel to
the beautiful legend contrasting God's mercy \vrth man's short-sighted-
ness (A 10, B 12), is found in the Moses legend, vol. Ill, pp. 115-116.
Grimm's tale about Peter and the smith is certainly based upon the
legend in the Testament of Abraham. The episode about the frag-
rant herbs of paradise, mentioned in the Roumanian version of this
pseudepigraph (10), which Abraham strewed over his house, becomes
intelligible only if we take it in connection with the Jewish Mach-
pelah legend; comp. notes 264 and 300. The old sources have compar-
atively little to tell of Abraham 's funeral and the mourning over him.
On the day of Abraham's death, the chiefs of all the nations mourned
for him, saying: Woe to the world that lost its leader, and woe to the
ship that lost her steersman (Baba Batra 91a-91b; MHG I, 381).
Yashar Toledot, 50b, reads: All the land of Canaan, men, women,
and children, mourned a whole year (corresponding to the year of
mourning customary among Jews; comp. Semahot 10; Mo'ed Katan
22b) for Abraham. They knew that he was pious toward God and
kind to men, and that it was on account of his merits that God re-
frained from destroying them for the sins of the inhabitants of the
earth. At Abraham's funeral Isaac was the chief mourner, and not
his elder brother Ishmael, who willingly yielded all the honors to
Isaac, in recognition of his piety and of the fact that he had been
his father's favorite child. At the same time, it is recorded, that dur-
ing Abraham's lifetime Ishmael repented of his evil ways (comp.,
however, Index, s. v, "Ishmael"), and when he died, deeply mourned
by Isaac (Yashar Toledot, 44b), he entered paradise as a good and
pious man; comp. Baba Batra 16b; BR 67. 3; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 25. 8.
3 18 'Erubin 19a; BR 68. 7; Tan. B. I, 82; Tan. Lek 20 and Taz-
ria' 5; MHG I, 251-252; EZ 25, 46; ShR 19. 4; Tehillim 1, 2, and 6,
58; Ekah 1, 56; Menahot 53b; Tan. quoted by Makiri, Prov. 31. 21;
Yelammedenu in Ma 1 aseh Rokeah, 52; Zohar I, 8a (here it is Duma,
the door-keeper of Gehenna, who takes the place of Abraham) ; Al-
Barceloni, 58-59 and 141. In rabbinic literature the designation mostly
employed for circumcision is the "covenant" (ma) or the "covenant
of Abraham" (DrTQN hv ima); see the lexica of Levy, Kohut, and
267
3i8] The Legends of the Jews
Jastrow, s. v. nna. Its description as the holy covenant is only found in
Maccabees 1. 15 and 63, as well as in the old formula of the benediction
on circumcision (Tosefta Berakot 6. 13; Shabbat 173b; Siddur, 582).
Comp. also Zadokite Fragments, p. 12, line 11, and the remarks on
this passage by Ginzberg, Unbekannte Sekte, p. 111. The desig-
nation of a Jew as a son of the covenant, found in Zadokite Fragments,
loc. tit., as well as in the very ancient Mishnah Baba Kamma 1. 2-3,
makes it very probable that this religious ceremony was regarded by
the people as having a sacramental, or at least a semi-sacramental
character. Hence the great prominence given to this ceremony in
rabbinic literature; comp. especially Nedarim, Mishnah 3. 11, To-
sefta 2. 4-7, Babli 31b-32a, and Yerushalmi 38b; Mekilta Yitro 1,
58a; Yelammedenu, in Yalkut II, 321, on Jer. 33, and in Supple-
ment to Yalkut (=BHM VI, 79). The great importance of this
ceremony may also be seen from the fact that it supersedes the Sab-
bath; comp. Shabbat 19. 5 and Jub. 15. 14. Charles, ad loc., en-
tirely misunderstands this Mishnah, and does not seem to know
that to this very day circumcision is performed on the eighth day even
if it be the Sabbath. A haggadic description of a dispute as to pre-
cedence between circumcision and Sabbath, and of the final victory
of the former, is found in Yelammedenu, loc. tit. The phrase "to be
in Abraham's bosom", found in the New Testament, and sporadically
also in rabbinic literature (e. g., Kiddushin 72b; Ekah 1. 85), has,
however, nothing to do with the conception of the sacramental char-
acter of circumcision. The pious are gathered to their fathers (4
Maccabees 12. 17; BHM V, 50), and, accordingly, "to be in Abraham's
bosom" is abridged from the complete expression "to be in the bosom
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," the three patriarchs. In reply to the
attacks on circumcision by the Church Fathers, who especially dwell
upon the fact that the "pious" before Abraham had not been circum-
cised (Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 19 and 33; Tertullian, Adv. Marc., 5.
9, and Adv. Jud., 4; it is to be observed that if this argument against
circumcision were valid, it would apply with equal cogency to bap-
tism; comp. Tertullian, De Baptismo, 13), the Jewish legend asserts
that Adam, Seth, and Melchizedek were born with the sign of the
covenant upon them. See ARN 1, 12, and parallel passages cited
by Schechter, as well as BR 11. 6 and 46. 3. This statement was
subsequently misunderstood, and in the Midrashim these three pre-
Abrahamic patriarchs share this distinction with other pious men who
lived after Abraham. In Jub. 15. 27 it is stated of certain angels of
268
Abraham [319320
a lower rank that "they were created circumcised." A similar state-
ment occurs in the kabbalistic literature; comp. Tikkunim 47. The
old rabbinic sources are not concerned about the rational explanation
of the ceremony of circumcision. BR 66. 3 and parallel passages
recorded by Theodor remark that nature does not produce anything
quite ready for use, but expects man to improve upon its creations.
This applies also to a man's body which becomes perfect after its
natural state has been improved upon by circumcision. A somewhat
different explanation is given in Tan. B. Ill, 35, which is the source
of Sa'adya in his Polemic against Hiwi t 62. Philo, very likely for
apologetic motives, gives several reasons for circumcision (De Spec.
Legib., at the beginning, and Quaestiones, Gen. 3, 47-48), some of which
are also found in the works of medieval philosophers; comp., e. g. t
Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, III. 49. The rabbinic authors of
the middle ages quote many a Haggadah concerning circumcision
from the Midrashim which are not found in the literature that is still
extant. Comp. Menorat ha-Maor, III, 3, 1, 1; Kad ha-Kemah, Millah.
See also Yalkut Hadash, s. v. "Millah," and Glassberg, Zikron Berit,
passim.
3*9 'Emek ha-Melek, 14a-14b; Reischer, Sha'are YerusJialayim,
10.8 In this and in the following legend the beadle is the hero.
320 Reischer, SJia' are YerusJialayim, 10.9.
269
VL JACOB
(pp. 309-424)
1 Tan. Shemot 1; Tan. B. I, 128; Aggadat Bereshit 40, 79; ShR
1.1. It is also said that through Isaac these virtues came to Jacob,
and through him to Joseph; comp. MHG II, 4, and note 204 on vol.
I, p. 262.
2 MHG I, 387; comp. also ibid., 388, and Sifre D,, 312, as well
as BR 63. 2, and the sources cited in note 1.
3 MHG I, 388; comp. note 229 on vol. I, p. 274, and note 303
on vol. I ? 297. Isaac's age at the time of the 'Akedah is variously
given as thirty-seven or twenty-six, comp. sources cited in note 229
on vol. I, p. 274.
4 MHG I, 388-389. According to another view she married at
the age of three; comp. the sources cited by Schechter, ad loc.\ Seder
'Olam 1; BR 57. 1, and parallel passages cited by Theodor; Yashar
Hayye Sarah, 49a; MHG I, 770-771. She died at the age of one
hundred and thirty-three; according to another view, she died at the
age of one hundred and forty-four, or according to others at that of
one hundred and forty-three. Comp. MHG (last-cited passage)
and Midrash Aggada I, 62-63.
5 BR 63. 4, WR 23. 1; Shir 2. 2. In view of the similarity be-
tween >D~IN "Aramean" and '01 "deceiver", these sources remark
with reference to Gen. 25. 20 that Rebekah came from a people of
deceivers. Shu'aib, Toledot, 13a, understands this to mean that not
only Laban, but also his sister Rebekah and her sons Jacob and Esau
were not free from cunning and deceit; comp. Gen. 27. 6 and 40, as
well as 30. 38.
6 MHG I, 389.
7 PRE 22, in accordance with Gen. 25. 20, 26. The statement
of Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 25. 21 that Rebekah was without a child
for twenty-two years of her married life is very strange. Comp. Ha-
Zofeh, III, 136-138, and Hadar, Gen. 25. 27. Comp. also Midrash
Aggada I, 63, and Tosafot, Yebamot 64a (beginning ^l^ 1 ?).
8 Yashar Toledot, 50a-50b r partly following PRE 32. Ye-
270
Jacob [g 16
bamot 64a states that the childless marriage was due to both of them
and not to Rebekah alone. The same view occurs also in Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 25. 21, and Zohar I, 137b. See also the sources
cited in note 10. Isaac's prayer was accompanied by a sacrifice on
mount Moriah; PRE 32; Targum Yerushalmi, loc. cit. According
to Zohar I, 13 7a, he brought a burnt-offering. The older sources,
however, speak only of Isaac 'sprayer and the later Haggadah is based
upon the combination of the interpretation of "ir^n given in BR 63. 5
with that of Sanhedrin 103a. On the reason of the sterility of the
"mothers" see MHG I, 390, and the sources cited in note 116 on vol.
I, p. 237.
9 BR 63. 5; Shemuel 6, 64; Ruth R., 4. 12; Zohar I, 137b.
A different view is found in MHG I, 389.
IO Yebamot 64a-64b. MHG I, 390, on the contrary, main-
tains that Rebekah 's prayer was as efficacious as that of Isaac.
11 Yashar Toledot, 50b. Comp. PRE 32, and Luria's remarks,
ad loc.
12 BR 62. 6.
13 BR 67. 6. The dispute of the brothers m their mother's womb
is a favorite topic in the legends; comp. Tan. B. V, 36; Tan. Ki-
Teze 4; Tehillim 58, 300; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 25. 22; PRE 32;
Zohar I, 13 7b and 138b. Luke 1. 41 may be cited as a parallel to it.
"God 'makes known the future actions of the pious, as well as of the
wicked, while they are still in their "mother's womb"; MHG I, 390-
391; Tehillim 58, 299; Yoma. 82a-83a. 'See also the following note.
14 EZ 19, 26-27; Da 1 at, Gen. 43. 14. Ziyyoni, Gen. 25. 22,
connects this legend with the one given in vol. I, pp. 57-58, about
the creation of man.
15 Abkir in Yalkut I, 110. The statement of Jub. 25. 17 that
Jacob's guardian angel is mightier than Esau's is very likely based
on the assumption that Jacob's (= Israel's) guardian angel is Michael,
while Esau's (Rome's) is Sammael. Comp. Index, s. v. "Michael"
and "Sammael". Rebekah, who, as a prophetess (all the mothers
were endowed with the gift of prophecy; comp. the sources cited in
note 77), foresaw that in the future the Romans, the descendants of
Esau, will slay the great Jewish scholars (comp. vol. I, p. 21 and note
85), prayed to God not to destroy all the scholars; MHG I, 391, and,
in abridged form, Nur al-Zulm, 95. See also MHG I, 396.
16 MHG I, 390-391. The injury Esau caused to his mother
consisted in tearing her womb, as a consequence of which she never
271
1719] The Legends of the Jews
bore any more children, though she was destined to be the "mother
of twelve tribes"; PK 3, 23a-23b; PR 13, 48a; Tan, B. V, 36; Tan.
Ki-Teze 4; BR 63. 6. A different view is found in Tan. B. IV, 221,
and Aggadat Bereshit 72, 141.
17 Yashar Toledot, 50. 6; Pa'aneah, Gen. 25. 22, maintains, on
the contrary, that she did not go to Abraham in her distress, for she
did not want to sadden his heart. This is in agreement with sources
cited in the following note, which do not mention Abraham. The
reference to Nimrod's mother occurs only in the midrashic fragment
published by Ginzberg, Geonica, II, 326. Comp. also MHG I, 392.
18 Tehillim 9, 83-84, and, with essential variants, MHG I, 392-
393; partly also in BR 64. 6-7. Comp. further Yerushalmi Targumim
Gen. 25. 22; Yelammedenu in supplement to Yalkut 16=BHM VI,
80; Zohar I, 137b; Ephraim, I, 61D; Theodoretus on Gen., loc. cit.;
Jerome, Gen. 14. 18. Rebekah received the revelation through Shem
or another medium, since, with the exception of Sarah, no woman
was ever found worthy to receive a divine communication directly;
Yerushalmi Sotah 7, 21b, BR, loc. cit.\ Tehillim, loc. cit., and parallel
passages. Comp,, however, note 15.
19 BR 63. 7; Tehillim 9, 84; Yelammedenu in Supplement to
Yalkut, 16=BHM VI, 80. The use of the names Edom, Seir, Esau,
and similar ones, to describe Rome is very old, and was probably coined
at the time of Herod, whose designation "the Idumean" was applied
to his masters, the Romans. When Rome adopted Christianity, the
same appellations were transferred to the Christians and Christianity.
See the very interesting collection of material in Zunz, Synagogak
Poesie, 437-452, and LitemturgescUchte der synagogalen Poesie, 620. In
the Amoraic portions of the talmudic and midrashic literature the
use of Edom for Rome is met with quite frequently; comp., e. g. t BR
9. 13-14; 10. 7; 63. 9 (the Haggadah concerning Edom-Rome occurs
also in MHG I, 396, with which version 4 Ezra 6. 9-10 is closely re-
lated) ; 83. 4, The appellation of Edom for Rome is rarely found in
tannaitic sources; comp., however, Midrash Tannaim 72 and Me-
kilta Amalek 2, 56a, where several Tannaim, who flourished about
100 C. E,, in speaking of Rome, use the designation of Amalek for It.
Early Christian authorities likewise apply these biblical appellatives
to Rome; comp. e. ., Jerome, Is. 21. 2, who, in agreement with R.
Meir (Yerushalmi Ta'anit 1, 64a), explains the prophecies about Duma
and Seir to refer to Rome. Accordingly the use of Edom for Rome
in Peshitta, Ps. 12. 9, does not prove, as Duval, R.E.J., XIV, 50,
272
Jacob [2026
maintains, its Jewish origin. Comp. also Abrabanel, MasknM Ye-
shu'ah, 18. 3, and Sa'adya's Polemic against Hiwi, 76. Sa'adya, as
a man with an independent mind, rejects the tradition that the Romans
are descendants of Edom. See also vol. II, p. 158. On the descen-
dants of Esau as rulers of Rome, comp. vol. II, p. 159, se& where Kit-
tin^ Rome.,
20 MHG I, 394. Comp. also the passages in BR and 4 Ezra
referred to in the preceding note.
21 BR 63. 7; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 25. 23; MHG I, 393. In
the last-named passage attention is called to the ambiguous phrase-
ology in the verse of Gen., loc. cit, which may also be translated: "And
to the elder shall be servant the younger".
22 BR 63. 8; MHG I, 391, which reads: Jacob should have been
born first, but Esau threatened him that if Jacob did not grant him
precedence he would kill their mother. Comp. note 16. Similarly BR,
loc. cit., emphasizes the fact that, though Jacob was born last, he was
conceived first.
23 Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 25. 25. Comp. also BR 63. 7 and
note 28.
24 BR 63. 8; MHG I, 395. See also the quotation, from an
unknown Midrash, in Yalkut Reubeni, Gen., loc. cit.\ Pa'aneah, Gen.,
loc. cit.-, Hasidim 71.
25 Hadar, Da' at, and Shu'aib (the last named gives a wrong source)
on Gen. 25. 25. The designation of Esau as the " uncircumcised one",
in Tan. B. I, 158, does not belong here, but refers to the widespread
legend that Esau removed the sign of the covenant by means of an
operation (epispasm); comp. Tan. B. I, 127; BR 63. 13; PRE 29 (on
the text see Eshkol II, 132, according to which read 10JTI, IPjn Spy !?);
Ruth R. (introduction); Epiphanius, De Mens. et Pond., 16; ER 29,
125-126. But in the last-named Midrash it is not Esau, as in all
the other sources, but his children, who, after Isaac's death, "des-
pised" the Abrahamic covenant. This legend about Esau's rejection
of circumcision is very likely of an anti- Christian nature (comp. note
19 and note 318 on vol. I, p. 306), though it possibly reflects the feel-
ing of the Jew during the Hadrianic persecutions. Comp., however,
Philo, 2 Moses, 43.
26 ARN 2, 2; Tehillim 9, 84; Tan. B. I, 32; Tan. Noah 5. The
other men distinguished in this way are: Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah,
Shem, Terah, Joseph, Moses, Balaam, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jere-
miah, and Zerubbabel. Comp. note 318 on vol. I, p. 306. PRE
273
27~35] The Legends of the Jews
24, on the other hand, speaks of the circumcision performed by Isaac
on Jacob.
27 Ziyyoni, Gen. 25. 25.
28 The interpretation of the name Esau occurs in Targum Yeru-
shalmi Gen. 25. 25; Yashar Toledot, 50b, and, with some variants,
Hadar, ad loc. For other interpretations of the names of Esau, Edom,
and Seir see BR 63. 8; Lekah, ad loc.; MHG I, 396. Comp. also Rashi,
ad loc. The interpretation of the name Jacob occurs in Tan. Shemot
4, where the name Isaac is explained in a similar way. BR, loc. cit.,
emphasizes the fact that it was God Himself who gave Jacob his name.
On the men distinguished in this manner see note 122 on vol. I, p.
239; comp. also BaR 18. 21; Neweh Shalom, 76; Lekah 1. 121.
29 BR 63. 9; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 25. 27; Yashar Toledot,
53b; PRE 32. Comp. also Berakot 16a, where it is said that Scrip-
ture sometimes uses the word "tent" as a metaphor for "house of
study". The Bet ha-Midrash of Shem and Eber is also alluded to in
BR 94. 8; Shir 6. 2; Koheleth 5. 11. Comp. further ER 5, 29 and
32, where, in addition to the industry with which Jacob devoted him-
self to his studies, his uprightness is spoken of. See also Tan. B. I,
125, 134, 167, 206, as well as note 34.
3 MHG I, 397.
31 BR 63. 10; Tan. Toledot 7; Yelammedenu in Nur al-Zulm,
96; Leket Midrashim 6a (a quotation from a supposed Midrash on
Job); PK, 199a; MHG I, 397. In the last named passage it is said
that Isaac knew the real character of his elder son, but hoped by love
and kindness, to influence him to mend his ways. The same state-
ment occurs also in Shu'aib, Toledot, 12d. *
32 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 27. 31. Comp. note 100.
33 BR63. 10.
34 Jub. 19. 16-30. See also ibid. 14, which reads: And Jacob
learned to write. Comp. note 29. MHG I, 397, in citing BR 63.
9, reads: Dn~QN !?0 WHD 1V31. This reading must have been known
to Yashar Toledot, 5 la, where it is explicitly stated that Abraham
instructed Jacob in the ways of the Lord. On the seven pious men
who preceded Abraham, i. *.: Adam, Seth, Enoch, Mahalalel, Enoch,
Noah, and Shem, referred to in Jub., loc. cit. y comp. note 28 on vol.
I, p. 11.
3 * WR 36. 4; Tan. Toledot 4; Shemot 4; Aggadat Bereshit
64, 130. This Haggadah is based on Is. 31. 22; but in Sanhedrin 19b
this verse is differently interpreted. Abraham should have been the
274
Jacob [35
father of the twelve tribes, but Jacob took his place to save him the
trouble of rearing children. WR, loc. cit. t states that mankind, in-
cluding Abraham, was created for the merits of Jacob. Jacob's su-
periority over Abraham is expressed in many other statements of the
Haggadah. It is for Jacob's merits that the Jordan became dry,
that Israel might be able to enter the Holy Land; BR 76. 5. It was
he who was the chosen one among the Fathers; ibid. 1. For Jacob's
sake Israel was redeemed from Egyptian bondage, and will be re-
deemed by the Messiah; Haserot 2b; BR 75. 13. God loves Israel
on account of Jacob; Lekah, Exod. 20. 19. It is for his sake that
He makes His Shekinah dwell in Israel; Shir 7. 6. The Torah would
have been revealed to Jacob, were it not for the fact that his descen-
dants were not numerous enough in his life-time; an unknown Midrash
quoted by Shu'aib, Shemini 'Azeret, 126b, and Yitro, 32b. When
Israel suffers or commits a sin, it is Jacob who feels it more than the
other patriarchs, and accordingly his joy will be the greatest when
the future redemption comes; Tehillim 14, 115; PR 41, I74b. The con-
flicting view, which accords to Abraham the highest rank among the
Fathers, is also given in most of the sources cited above. One may
safely assert that the older Haggadah (universalistic) favors Abraham,
the younger one (nationalistic) Jacob. This later view reached its highest
state of development in the Kabbalah; comp., e. g., Zohar I, 86b; II, 23a.
The man in the moon has Jacob's face; Kanah lOb; TShBZ, 220.
Comp. note 102 on vol. I, p. 25, and note 6 on vol. IV, p. 4. Clemens
Alexandrinus, Stromata 1. 15, speaks of the face of the Sibyl in the
moon. Origen, in Joan. 2. 25, and in Gen. 3. 9, quotes, from the
lost Jewish pseudepigraphic work, the Prayer of Joseph, the follow-
ing remarkable words of Jacob concerning himself. He describes him-
self as an "angel of God, the first servant in God 's presence", whereas
the angel who wrestled with him is the third in rank. The statement
that Jacob never died, which the Amoraim vainly attempted to ex-
plain (comp. Ta'anit 5b, according to which the embalming and bury-
ing of Jacob were docetic; see Rashi, ad loc., and note 39 on vol. Ill,
p. 22), originally belonged to a legend, which, like the pseudepigraphic
work mentioned above, considered Jacob to have been an angel.
In this legend the patriarch Jacob is confounded with the Semitic
god Jacobel mentioned in an Egyptian inscription. Many an angel
is nothing more than a degraded god. On Jacob 's face in the heavenly
throne, Merkabah, comp. note 134. The third patriarch (sometimes
with the honorary designation "the pious"; comp. BaR 14. 12 =
275
36-38] The Legends of the Jews
Tadshe 10) is usually called Jacob in rabbinic literature, and not by his
later name Israel, whereas Abraham is never called Abram ; comp. Be-
rakot 13a and note 122 on vol. I, p. 239. When Israel is used as the name
of the patriarch, and not of the nation, the word K3D, "the old", is
added; comp. BR 70. 2, 68. 11, 73. 2, 77. 1, and in many more places.
With regard to the orthography of the name 3pJT, the remark is found
that the Bible spells the name plene aipy only in five passages, and
in an equal number of places IT^K is spelled defectively instead of
irtb. Jacob took one letter from Elijah and attached it to his own
name, as a pledge that the prophet will not fail to be the harbinger
of the gladsome tidings of the future redemption; Haserot 22. Jub.
19. 25 (comp. also Charles, ad he.) shows that the glorification of
Jacob is of very high antiquity.
3 6 Jub. 22. 1-23. 7, On the dream of Abraham, described in
Jub., loc. cit. } comp. note 317 (end). On the point dwelt upon in Jub.,
loc. cit., that with the death of Abraham the age of man was cut short
and disease began to trouble the human race, comp. Zadokite Frag-
ments, 10. 8-10 and note 272 on vol. I, p. 291, as well as note 357 on
vol. II, p. 131. Yebamot 64b maintains that the cutting short
of the age of man took place in the days of David.
37 Bab'a Batra 16b; Tehillim 9, 83. A somewhat different view
occurs in the Palestinian sources, BR 63. 12; PK 3, 22b; PR
12, 74 (this passage contains the addition that Esau was fifteen years
old at the time of Abraham's death; this was adopted by Yashar
Toledot, 50b); Tan. B. V, 35; Tan. Shemot 1 (from Baba Batra, loc.
cit.) and Ki-Teze 4; Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 25. 29 and 34; an
unknown midrashic source in Shu'aib, Toledot, 13b; MHG I, 399
and 401.
38 Yashar Toledot, 51b-52a. According to Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 25. 25 and PRE 32 (the complete text is found in Yalkut I,
110, and Nur al-Zulm, 95), Esau killed also Nimrod 's son Enoch,
or rather Hiwwar ( = "the leper"); comp. Aggadat Bereshit 19, 37
(here it is stated that Abraham killed Nimrod) ; PRE 24; Tan. B. I,
125; BR 65. 16 and 63. 13. Esau owed -to Jacob his victory over
Nimrod. Esau and Nimrod had been engaged in a bitter feud for
a long time, and finally resolved to leave the decision to a duel. Jacob,
knowing that Nimrod was invulnerable as long as he was clad in Adam 's
garments (comp. notes 78-80 on vol. I, p. 177, and the following note),
advised his brother not to enter into combat before his adversary had
removed his magic garments. Whereupon Esau put those garments
276
Jacob [39-47
on stealthily, and killed Nimrod in the duel; Hadar and Da 1 at on
Gen. 25. 29-32.
39 BR 63. 13. Comp. the preceding note.
40 MHG I, 398.
4 1 Baba Batra 16b; BR 63. 14; PRE 35. Jerome, Epist. 39. 3 also
mentions the custom in use among the Jews of his time to serve lentils
for the mourner's meal. Comp. also Leket Midrashim 2b; Zohar I,
139a-139b; Hadar, Gen. 25. 30; Tan. B, I, 125-126.
42 PR 12, 47b-48a; a somewhat different text from that of the
edition is found in Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 25. 32.
4 3 MHG I, 399-400. Comp. also EZ 19, 26-27, where the sale
of the birthright by Esau to Jacob is explained as the renunciation
by the former of his share in the world to come in favor of the latter,
while retaining this world for himself. Comp. also Tan. B. I, 126,
and Sekel, 100.
44 BR 63. 13. On the priestly functions of the first-born in
pre-Mosaic times, comp. vol. I, p. 332; vol. Ill, pp. 93, 211, and 226.
Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 4, 127, and Hasidim 446, maintain that
Jacob 's intention in buying the birthright from his brother was to take
away fron him the means to lead a dissipated and voluptuous life.
In the last-named source it is stated that Jacob, after the consumma-
tion of the deal, was ready to return the birthright to Esau, provided
he would become a pious and God-fearing man. Comp. Lekah, Gen.
25. 31, and the preceding note.
45 Lekah, Gen. 25. 31, based on an unknown Midrash. Be-
sides lentils, Jacob gave Esau some red wine; MHG I, 399, and BR
63. 12. In the last-named passage, as well as in many others, stress
is laid on the gluttony of Esau, who asked Jacob to fill him with
food; Tan. B. I, 126 (mm has been misunderstood by Buber and
others; it means "a bowl"); PK 6, 59a (=Yalkut II, 950, on Prov.
13, where Yelammedenu is erroneously given as source); PR 16, 82a;
BaR 21. 20; Tan. Pinehas 13.
46 Lekah, Gen. 25. 34, based on an unknown midrashic source.
The use of mnr and DTIK to describe a certain coin (= gulden) in this
source betrays its late age. The pot of lentils was, accordingly, not
the real price for the birthright, but is to be understood as the handsel
given by Jacob to Esau; Hadar and Midrah Aggada, Gen. 2<5. 25.
4 7 Sekel and ImreNo'am, Gen. 25. 26. Comp. vol. I, p. 141,
and note 63 appertaining thereto; see further vol. Ill, p. 411, and
note 853 appertaining thereto, as well as Index, s.v. "David, Sword of".
277
4 8 ~55] The Legends of the Jews
4 s MHG I, 400-401; BR 63. 14. That Esau denied the existence
of God, comp. note 37. Da' at, Gen. 25. 27, quotes Yerushalmi (not
in our text) to the effect that Esau started on his impious mode of
life two years prior to Abraham 's death. Out of respect for his grand-
father, however, he hid his wickedness from the eyes of man. But
as soon as Abraham died, he threw his mask off. Comp. note 37
on voL I, p. 318.
49 Midrash Aggada Gen, 25. 33, and similarly Philo, De Special.
Leg., ii, 2; ii, 241, with reference to Gen. 31, 53. Comp. Ginzberg,
Unbekannte Sekte, 130-131 (note).
50 Yashar Toledot, 53a-53b, based on old sources; comp. vol.
I, pp. 393 and 417.
51 Midrash ha Ne'elam (end of paragraphs '"ll fcTi), 36d. Comp.
further vol. I, p. 399 and vol. IV, p. 418, and note 126. One often
meets with the statement that Esau's descendants (Romans, or rather
Christians) received the dominion over the world as a reward for the
filial affection Esau showed towards his father Isaac; see, e. g., DR 1.1;
DZ. 23; and in many other places. Hasidim 341 reads: Esau went
hunting . . . , exposing himself thereby to great dangers, that he should be
able to provide his father with game. His reward consists in his
children's dominion over the world. Mishle 30. 107 says: Esau
received the dominion (over the* world) for the merits of Abraham,
As to the question whether Jacob's dealing with Esau was entirely
justified, see Hasidim 446, which is the source for Da' at and Hadar
on Gen. 25. 33. Comp. vol. I, p. 320, and note 43.
s 2 MHG I, 401 (Vna=relatives, compatriots); Tan. Toledot 9.
The famine occurred immediately after the death of Abraham, and
was much more grievous than the one which forced him to emigrate
to Egypt; Sekel, Gen. 26. 1.
53 BR 64. 3; Tan. B. I, 128 and 168; MHG I, 401; Sekel, Gen.
24. 6; Ha-Hoker I, 344. The land of the Philistines is a part of the
Holy Land; comp. Da' at, Hadar, and Shu'aib on Exod. 14, 16; Hasidim
269. See also vol. I, p. 348.
54 MHG I, 403.
55 Aggadat Bereshit 26. 10; Yashar, Toledot, 52b. With regard
to the difference in the attitude of the Philistines towards Abraham
and Isaac, Bereshit Rabbeti (Magazin XV, 98) quotes, as an explan-
ation, the proverb "He who was bitten by a snake fears a snakelike
rope", and the fable of the lion and the fox. Comp. Epstein, ad loc.
278
Jacob [56-63
On Ablmelech the king of the Philistines, comp. vol. I, pp. 290-291,
and Lekah, Gen. 25. 1.
s 6 Yashar, Toledot, 52b; MHG I, 403; Philo, Gen. 4, 188; BR
64. 5; Midrash Aggada, Lekah, Hadar, and Da 1 at on Gen. 26. 8. Ac-
cording to Zohar I, 140b, and III, 113b, Abimelech found out by
means of astrology the true relation between Isaac and Rebekah.
57 Onkelos and Yerushalmi Targumim on Gen. 26. The ren-
dering of "iriK by "the most prominent one" is frequently found in
the Talmud; comp. e. g. Megillah 28a (ascribed to R. Akiba's teacher);
Hullin 28a. Comp. also Yashar, Toledot, 53a, and the dissenting
view of 2 Targum Yerushalmi, which paraphrases nriN by N^B p in
"a young man."
s 8 MHG I, 404.
59 Yashar, Toledot, 53a. Comp. also BR 64. 7.
60 PK 11, 98a; PR 25, 127b; Tan. B. V, 24; Tan. Reeh 14. PRE
33, EZ. 1. 170, and Targumim Yerushalmi, Gen. 26. 12, find in this
verse an indication that Isaac was very wealthy, as the large
quantity of grain which he is said to have possessed represented
only the tenth part of his yearly income, the tithes which he gave
away. Jub. 13. 25 and 32. 8 ascribes the introduction of the priestly
tithe to Abraham and Jacob. Comp. also BR 64. 6 and Mishle 30, 105.
61 BR 64- 6; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 26. 2. Comp. also vol.
IV, p. 360, 1. 3 (from below), where "Israel" is a printer's error for
"Isaac".
62 MHG I, 407-408, and the parallel passages cited by Schech-
ter. Haserot 14 is the source for the remarks in MHG about Isaac's
filial piety and modesty. R. Bahya, Gen. 26. 18, cites the same re-
mark from Sa'adya Gaon's commentary on the Pentateuch. Philo,
Quaestiones, Gen. 4, 194, likewise dwells on Isaac 's extraordinary filial
piety. The masoretic note in MHG about the biblical places, where
the expression ^131 ^n is used, is found also in Aggadat Esther 9. 9.
Comp. also note 122 vol. I, p. 239, and note 35.
63 PRE 35, in accordance with the correct text in MHG 1,408.
On the number of wells which Isaac dug, and their symbolic signi-
ficance, comp. BR 64. 8. Septuagint, on Gen. 26. 32 reads V, whereas
the masoretic text has 1^. But the reading of the Septuagint is found
also in rabbinic sources; comp. Midrash Tannaim 73, and Ginzberg's
remarks on it in Geiger's Kebuzzat Maamarim, 411. The fourth well
is identified with the well of Miriam; comp. vol. Ill, p. 52, and vol.
I, p. 324.
279
64-69] The Legends of the Jews
64 MHG I, 408. Comp. the sources quoted in note 61.
65 BR 64. 9. Lekah, Gen, 26. 26, identifies Abimelech, the
king of Gerar at the time of Isaac, with the king of that name in Abra-
ham 's days. A different view is given in Yashar Toledot, 53a. See
MHG I, 409 (ifD); note 53, and note 270 on vol. I, 290-291.
66 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 26. 20 and 28. The Philistines
came to Isaac imploring him to intercede in their behalf; he willingly
granted their request; Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 26. 27; comp.
also Sifre D., 38. Isaac moved out of Gerar because "change of place
brings about change of luck"; MHG I, 408-409, and Midrash Aggada
Gen. 26. 22. A similar remark occurs in Rosh ha-Shanah 16b, with
reference to Abraham's emigration to Palestine. Here also the dif-
ferent view is cited to the effect that only emigration to Palestine
may change one's luck. Comp. also note 122 on vol. I, p. 239 with
regard to change of names.
67 MHG I, 410-411. On the covenant between Isaac and the
Philistines, comp. vol. IV, pp. 93-94. On the meaning of the name
Beer-sheba see vol, I, p. 270, as well as the sources cited in note 63.
Characteristic of the wickedness of the Philistines are the words of
Abimelech, who spoke of adultery as of a peccadilo (Gen. 26. 10:
ByiDD "as a trifle"), whereas pious people, on the other hand, belittle
their good deeds, but consider their failings as grave sins; MHG I,
404. See also ER 25, 128-129. After Abraham's death, Isaac said
to himself: "Woe unto me! How will God deal with me now that
my father is dead, and I have no good deeds like his to my credit?"
God in His mercy thereupon appeared to Isaac.
68 MHG I, 409. Here it is also stated that it was not on account
of egotistical motives that Isaac exerted himself in digging the wells.
Wherever the pious people take up their abode, they are anxious
to provide the people of the neighborhood with water.
69 Shabbat 89b; PRK, 33a and 37b. This legend is given in
the form of an interpretation of Is. 63. 16, where Abraham and Jacob
are mentioned, but not Isaac. The "first" and "third" patriarchs
deserted their descendants, but not Isaac, who pleaded for them with
God. A different view occurs in BR 67. 7 (see also the statement
of Raba in Shabbat, loc. tit.}, which maintains, on the contrary, that
the prophet, Isaiah, loc. cit., did not mention Isaac among "the Fathers",
because he did not act as a father of Israel, when he bestowed the
power of the sword on Esau (=Rome). Shir 8. 10 (this is the source
Rashi, Sukkah 52b, had in mind, not Yalkut, as given in margin)
280
Jacob [7074
reads: Isaac went to the gates of Gehenna to his children. This hints
at our legend; but it cannot be ascertained with which form thereof
it was acquainted, whether with the one of the Talmud, or with that
of PRK. Ginzberg, Uribekannte Sekte, 64, calls attention to the fact
that in this legend twenty is taken to be the age of majority, in ac-
cordance with a view which prevailed in early times. The reduction
of the four hundred years of the Egyptian servitude to two hundred
and ten (comp. vol. II, p. 318, note 124) is likewise due to the
merits of Isaac, who, in exchange of this, had to submit to a reduction
in the numerical value of his name. He should have been called Yis-
hak (pntP 1 ), but with the exception of one place (Jer. 33. 26), he is
called Yizhak (pn2T), and the difference between V and 2 amounts
to two hundred and ten, corresponding to the years of the Egyptian
servitude. See Hadar, Imre No 1 am, and Pa'aneah on Exod. 6. 1;
Midrash Aggada, Exod. 4. 24, and Gen. 21. 1; Shu'aib, Wa-Yiggash
2 la; Yalkut Reubeni, Exod. t. 1 (here it is given as a quotation from
D'O'n '"131 tm; but the statement may be doubted). Comp. also
Batte Midrashot, III, 28.
7 Yerushalmi Sotah 5, 20d.
7* Yashar, Toledot 43a-43b.
72 Jub. 25. 1-23. Manifestly Rebekah is assumed to have been
a prophetess. This is in agreement with Seder 'Olam 21, and par-
allel passages cited by Ratner, note 25, that the "fathers" and "mo-
thers" were endowed with the prophetic spirit. Comp.,' however,
note 18.
73 Tan. Toledot 8; MHG I, 411-412. On the idolatry of Esau's
wives, comp. BR 65. 4 (here Rebekah is described as the daughter
of an idolatrous priest); Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 26. 35; Aggadat
Bereshit 41, 83 (Esau himself burned incense to the idols); Abkir in
Yalkut I, 114; Yalkut II, 956 on Prov. 17. 25; MHG I, 411 (n'J). See
also the following note.
74 BR 65. 4-10, which also gives the different view to the effect
that Isaac's blindness was caused by his looking at the Shekinah at
the time of the 'Akedah. Comp. note 248 on vol. I, p. 282; PRE 32;
Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 27. 1; DR 11. 3; an unknown midrashic
source quoted in Yalkut I, 101 Clpjn). See also vol. IV. p. 361,
note 58. The looking at the wicked causes blindness, and Isaac looked
too often at Esau; Megillah 28a. This passage gives also another
view, according to which Isaac's blindness was a consequence of the
curse called down by Abimelech upon Sarah's children (a haggadic
281
75-8 1] The Legends of the Jews
interpretation of the "covering of the eyes"; Gen. 20. 16); for even
the curse of an ordinary person sometimes takes effect. The evil
ways of the children cause the parents to age prematurely, as may
be seen from what happened to Isaac, Eli, and Samuel. The wicked-
ness of one T s child or disciple brings blindness to the father or master,
respectively, as is proved by the blindness of Isaac and Ahijah the
Shilonite. See Aggadat Bereshit 41, 83; Tan. Hayye Sarah 2 and Ki-
Teze 4; PK 3, 23a; Tan. B. V, 35 ; Shemuel 8, 72; BR, loc. tit. Comp.
vol. IV, p. 180, note 6. There is also another view which maintains
that Isaac's blindness was his punishment for preferring the wicked
Esau to the God-fearing Jacob. Besides this bodily punishment, he
was also punished spiritually by losing the prophetic spirit; BR, loc. cit\
Tan. B. I, 30; Tan. Toledot 8; MHG I, 417; Batte Midrashot, IV, 14.
Some, however, maintain that Isaac had prayed to God to send
bodily ailments upon men, that they might atone for their sins, and
his blindness was the first case of disease which came upon men.
See BR, loc. ciL, and vol. I, p. 292, note 272.
75 MHG I, 516; BR 65. 8; Tan. Toledot 8; Philo, Gen. 4, 196.
The last passage adds that Isaac regained his sight after Jacob re-
ceived the blessing from him. Philo (198) also remarks that Isaac
knew very well the true character of his two sons; he nevertheless
wished to bless the wicked Esau, in the hope that this distinction would
induce him to mend his ways, whereas there was no need to offer
Jacob any inducement to do good. The same view occurs in rabbinic
sources; comp. note 31 and vol. I, 339, note 106.
76 BR 65. 12; Lekah Gen. 17. 2. Differently in MHG I, 418.
77 Tan. B. I, 130; MHG I, 418 CD). It is difficult to harmonize
this view with the high praise bestowed by the Haggadah upon Esau
for his filial piety; comp. note 51. On the seven holy places, comp.
also vol. I, p. 270. On the seven abominations (Prov, 6. 15), see BR
65. 11; WR 16. 1.
78 BR 65. 4 and 13; Tan. Toledot 8. Another view finds in
the different kinds of weapons mentioned by Isaac (Gen. 27. 3) an
allusion to the "four kingdoms", which ruled the world by the might
of the sword. See BR, loc. cit., and Tan. B. I, 131.
79 PRE 36; Targum Yerushalmi 27. 1; ShR 15. 11; Zohar I,
142a. Comp. also vol. I, p. 224, note 76,
80 BR 65. 13; Koheleth 5. 10.
81 BR 67. 9; Tan. Toledot 11; Tan. B. I, 131; Targ-umYerushalmi
Gen. 27. 5; Tan. Toledot 10. On Rebekah as a prophetess see note
282
Jacob [8291
72, and Index, 5. v. "Prophetesses'*. A different view is found in
Lekah, ad loc., and MHG I, 421, which, on the contrary, remark:
Women are eaves-droppers, as may be seen from Rebekah's action.
Comp, vol. I, p. 66.
82 Philo, Quaestiones, Gen. 200.
83 PRE 36; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 27. 6. On the first day
of Passover the quantity of dew is fixed for the ensuing year, and
on the last day of Tabernacles (Shemini 'Azeret) the quantity of rain;
comp. Mishnah Rosh ha-Shanah 1. 2; Ta'anit 1. 1-2, and Luria, PRE t
ad loc.
84 Lekah and Midrash Aggada on Gen. 27. 8.
85 PRE 36; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 37. 11.
86 BR 65. 15. Comp. also MHG I, 424 (3*0).
87 PRE 36; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 27. 9. By l^m, in PRE,
reference is made to Tosefta Pesahim 5. 3, according to which a'D^BD
(Gen., loc. cit.) is to be taken as a festival sacrifice. Comp. Targum
Yerushalmi, ad loc.
88 BR 65. 14; WR 21. 11 and 27. 9; Tan. Toledot 10 and Emor
12; PR 47, I9la. Goats' skins were used for the tabernacle in re-
membrance of Jacob who obtained the blessings by means of goats'
skins; Shir 2. 4.
89 Tan. B. I, 133 (read: 11D3 HW. . .DiN 1 ?) and 181; BaR 4. 8;
Aggadat Bereshit 43, 85-86. Comp. notes 39, 44, as well as vol.
I, p. 177, notes 78-80. Jerome, Gen. 27. 16, also mentions the Jew-
ish tradition according to which the choicest garments were the
priestly garments worn by the first-born who performed the priestly
service before Aaron's time. That Isaac, though the first-born of
his mother (and inasmuch as Ishmael was the son of a bondwoman,
the former was the first legitimate child of his father), did not act
as priest himself, is due to the circumstance that his blindness dis-
qualified him from the priesthood. Cornp. Josephus, AntiquL, I, 18.
9 BR 65. 16-17; DR I. 15; PR 23, 124a; MHG I, 424-425.
9 1 Tan. B. I, 131; BR 65. 18. The Haggadah would not admit
that Jacob uttered an unqualified untruth, especially as his answer
to Rebekah's suggestion was: To tell a lie is as great a sin as to wor-
ship idols (BR, loc. cit., and Sanhedrin 92a). Accordingly, Gen. 27.
19 is explained in such a way, that Jacob's words, though somewhat
ambiguous, do not express an untruth. The construction of the He-
brew sentence admits of such an explanation without difficulty. Jub.
26. 13 goes still further, and makes Jacob answer his father: "I am
283
92-97] The Legends of the Jews
thy son." Similarly with regard to verse 24, it is remarked that
Jacob's answer was: "I" (=It is I), and not "I am Esau." Coinp.
Lekah and Rashi, ad loc.
92 BR 65. 19-23; Tan. B. 1, 131-132 and 134-135 (comp. ibid. 165,
where the episode with the angel is given in connection with Jacob's
terror at meeting Esau on his return from Mesopotamia) ; Tan. Toledot
11 ; Ephraim, I, 77D. On the assistance rendered by the two archangels,
Michael and Gabriel, comp. also BR 63. 14, where it is said that they
drew up the bill of sale, transferring the birthright from Esau to Jacob.
On the fragrance from paradise, and how Isaac recognized it, see
vol. I, p. 286, note 255, and vol. I, p. 297, note 300, as well as vol. IV,
p. 205, note 54. According to Tan. B. I, 145, the bodies of the pious
emit a celestial fragrance like that of paradise (comp. vol. Ill, p.
5), while according to another view the paradise fragrance which
Isaac discerned came from Jacob 's garments which originally belonged
to Adam who had worn them in paradise; comp. vol. I, p. 332. The
statement Tan. B. I, 141, that God caused the garments to emit a
fragrance like the aromatic perfume of the incense used in the temple
is a later modification of the Haggadah in BR 65. 23, and Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 27. 27.
93 Tan. B. I, 135; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 27. 35 (with the
addition that the wine given by the archangel to Isaac was of the
kind created at the very beginning of the world for the use of the
pious in the world to come, and which is "preserved in its grapes",
= "lDltfn 1", till that time; comp. note 79 on vol. I, p. 20). A similar
Haggadah is found in Shu'aib, Toledot, 12c, and Shir, 52b. A badly
mutilated form of this legend occurs in a Pahlevi writing. Comp.
R.E.J., XVIII, 13-14.
94 Zohar Shir 1. 2. On joy as the necessary condition for the
manifestation of the holy spirit, comp. Shabbat 30b; vol. II, p. 116,
note 294.
95 MHG I, 430; PRE 32, and comp. Luria, ad loc. The mid-
rashic literature contains many interpretations of the " blessing n , all
of which are based on the assumption that it is nothing but a pro-
phecy of Israel's history. See BR 66. 1-4; Tan. B. I, 133-134; Ag-
gadat Bereshit 42, 86-87.
96 BR 66. 4; Tan. B. I, 136; MHG I, 430; Yerushalmi Targumim
Gen. 27. 29; Aggadat Bereshit 42, 87.
97 BR 75. 8; MHG I, 438. In Rebekah's blessing an allusion
284
Jacob [98-102
is found to the legend (vol. I, p. 333) that Michael and Gabriel came
to Jacob's assistance; comp. also note 92.
98 PRE 32; comp. Index, s. v. ''Dew, Celestial."
99 Tan. B. I, 136; Tan. Toledot 11; BR 66. 5; Hadar and Da'at
on Gen. 27. 30, cite the Haggadah that Michael and Gabriel came
to Jacob 's assistance at the moment of Esau 's arrival. Comp. notes
92 and 97 as well as Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 27. 30.
100 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 27. 31. PRE 32, according to the
reading in MHG I, 431, maintains, on the contrary, that Esau finally
succeeded in catching a hart; comp. also Tan. Toledot 11, and Tan.
B. I, 131. The sentence cited by Ginsburger (Targum, ad loc.) from
PRE cannot be the source of Targum. The Karaite Hadassi, Eshkol,
No. 362, 133a, quotes the following from the Midrash: Esau was in the
habit of serving his father meat of animals not slaughtered according
to the law, and on one occasion, when he failed to catch any game, he
prepared a ragofit out of the flesh of young dogs and hares, and put
it before Isaac. But no sooner did Isaac touch the plate than the
dogs began to bark, and he became frightened as narrated in the
Bible, Gen. 27. 33. The Karaite Mordecai b. Nissim, 65, likewise
mentions this legend, but he cannot be cited as an independent au-
thority for this, since he undoubtedly made use of Eshkol. It is not
improbable that the Karaites, in their attempt to ridicule the Rab-
banites, exaggerated the statement of Targum Yerushalmi, loc. cit.,
though the barking of dead dogs is not impossible in legend; comp.
vol. I, p. 236, note 113. See also vol. I, pp.*329-330, with regard
to Esau's preparation of the food according to the law, in contrast
to the view ascribed to the Rabbis by the Karaites.
101 BR 65. 18 and 67. 1-4; Tan. B. I, 141-143; Tan. Toledot
11-13; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 27. 33. Great terror took hold of
Isaac at the time of the 'Akedah, when God opened the heavens
and Isaac beheld the "chambers of the Merkabah"-, Tan. B. I, 141.
Comp. also the quotation from the Pesikta in Da'at, on Gen. 27. 1 (not
found in our texts), as well as Zohar I, 143a, 144a. With regard to the
suspicion against Rebekah, see note 81. Jacob who caused fright
and terror to his father was punished "measure for measure", and
terror seized hold of him at the report of Joseph's death. See Zohar
I, 144b.
102 Lekah Gen. 27. 36. '23 is taken to be identical with tal-
mudic 'Dp "so".
285
103109] The Legends of the Jews
103 BR 67. 5; Tan. B. I, 143. Comp. also Megillah 6a and PRE
39 (end), as well as Mishle 26, 100, and Tehillim 10, 95.
104 Tan. B. I, 143-144 and III, 79; Sanhedrin lOlb (where
n^EO "argument", is to be read, with MHG I, 113, 433, and not
nWyn "accusation", as our texts have it. See Ginzberg, Rand-
glossen zum hebrdischen Ben Sira, 7. 7 and 14); PRK ed. G. 52, where
n:m is to be explained in accordance with vol. Ill, p. 58, note 10. On
the tears shed by Esau, comp. ER 13, 65 (two tears), and 19, 114;
2 ARN 48, 130; Tehillim 80, 362; Tan. Kedoshim 15; Sekel 100; vol.
IV, p. 418. Philo, Gen. 4, 233, reads: Isaac mistook Esau's tears
to be tears of repentance, and he blessed him, believing that he had
forsaken his evil ways.
105 BR 67. 6. Comp. also Onkelos and Yerushalmi Targumim Gen.
27. 40, as well as Jub. 26. 31. In the last-named source this bibilical
verse is rendered as follows: And it shall come to pass when thou
becomest great (3"in instead of Tin?) and dost shake off his yoke from
thy neck, thou wilt sin a grievous sin unto death, and thy seed will
be uprooted from under the heaven. " Grievous sin" is a haggadic
rendering of iVy np"lS1, which is explained in accordance with this
mishnic use of *?y P" 1 " 13 "to cast off the heavenly yoke", while the
other haggadic interpretation connects "by with ^1J? "young child";
hence the paraphrase "and thy seed", etc. On ^iy or hy "child",
comp. Ginzberg 's note in Geiger,. Kebuzsat Maamarim, 384.
106 Tan. B. I, 134 and 135; Aggadat Bereshit 42, 86-87. See
also note 75.
10 7 Yashar, Toledot, 53a-53b. Comp. notes 71 and 73.
108 BR 75. 9; WR 27. 11; Tan. B. Ill, 95; Tan. Emor 13; ER
3, 12; PK 9, 78b-79a; Tehillim 2, 24; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 27.
41. See also note 118.
109 BR 67. 8-10. On Rebekah as a prophetess comp. note 81.
Commenting on the words of Scripture "And Esau said in his heart"
(Gen. 27. 41), the Midrash remarks: The pious are masters of their
hearts ( = passions), the wicked are slaves to their hearts. See BR,
loc, tit.; Tehillim 14, 112. Esau was a consummate master of deceit-
fulness: he not only played the r61e of a loving son, while he was
anxiously awaiting his father's death (comp. Tehillim loc. cit.), but he
also pretended to be a loving brother, in order that Jacob should not
take any precautions against his murderous plans; Mishle 26, 99,
and comp. vol. II, p. 7, note 11. According to Jub. 27. 1, Esau's
evil designs were revealed to Rebekah in a dream. It is difficult to
286
Jacob [110121
harmonize this view with the description, given ibid. 26. 35, of the
open hostility between the brothers.
110 Jub. 27. 5.
111 Sotah 13a. Comp. vol. II, p. 154. Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
27. 45 explains these words of Rebekah differently.
112 Jub. 27. 7. Similarly in Tan. B. I, 145=Aggadat Bereshit
45, 91.
113 BR 67. 11; nJDDTO nsnia, as a result of her incessant weep-
ing which made her wipe her nose continually. The paraphrasing of
ntfN (Gen. 27. 46) by a "wicked wife" is found not only in Targum
Yerushalmi, ad loc., but also in Jub. 27. 8. Leket Midrashim 22a
reads: Rebekah saw, in her prophetic vision, that Titus would des-
troy the temple which will be a hundred cubits high (a haggadic ex-
planation of the masoretic note on Gen. loc. cit. that a small p is to
be written in VECp) .
IJ 4 Yashar, Toledot, 54b-55a. Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 28, 3
reads: May the Lord give thee many possessions, and make twelve
tribes issue from thee, and mayest thou be found meritorious to pro-
duce Synedrions consisting of seventy members, corresponding to the
number of the nations of the earth.
" BR 67. 12.
116 MHG I, 437-438. Comp. vol. I, p. 299. On the number
of the blessings, see Tan. B. I, 136, and sources quoted in note 95.
I3[ 7 BR 75. 8. Comp. vol. I, pp. 335-336. See further Index,
s. v. "Dominions."
118 MHG I, 440; Aggadat Bereshit 2, 6, and 46, 95-96; Tehil-
lim 14, 112; Nur al-Zulm, 87. Comp. also BR 67. 8, and note 108.
Hadar on Gen. 27. 42 quotes, from an unknown midrashic source, the
statement that God had revealed to Shem Esau's evil designs; and
the prophet informed the latter that his secrets were known to him.
119 BR 67. 8. Comp. the preceding note.
120 MHG I, 440, where ^NJ?W r\m is to be read. A somewhat
different version is found in Nur al-Zulm, 87, which reads: When
Esau saw that Ishmael was unwilling to carry out his plans, he re-
fused to marry Mahalath, who had been betrothed to him, and the
marriage took place only after her father's death. See also Seder
'Olam 2 and Megillah 17a, where it is stated that Ishmael died after
the betrothal, but before the -marriage of his daughter.
121 BR 67. 13. Here, as well as in the sources cited in the fol-
lowing note, Mahalath is identified with Basemath mentioned in Gen.
287
122124] The Legends of the Jews
36. 3. This view is also shared by Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 28. 9.
Philo, Gen. 4, 245, in agreement with BR, calls attention to the word
*7P (Gen. 28. 9), which indicates that Esau did not separate himself
from his Canaanitish wives, as his parents had hoped. In BR DEni 1 ?
is perhaps to be read instead of T'anrk, and the Midrash wants to
say that at first Esau had intended to divorce his Canaanitish wives,
but changed his mind. The difference between Esau and Jacob be-
came evident to everybody, when the former married the ungodly
daughter of Ishmael, while the latter married the pious daughters
of Laban; Yelammedenu in Supplement to Yalkut 18 = BHM VI, 181;
Lekah, Gen. 28. 9. Comp. the following note.
122 Yerushalmi Bikkurim 3, 6Sd; Shemuel 17, 95 and in abridged
form BR 67. 13. In all these sources the identity of Mahalath with
Basemath is presupposed. See the preceding note. Like this third
wife of Easau, his two first ones also had double names: Oholibamah-
Judith, and Adah-Basemath. Accordingly, there is no contradic-
tion between Gen. 26. 34 and 36. 3. Comp. Lekah, Gen. 26. 46, and
Rashi, Gen. 36. 2. These two authorities, though agreeing on this
point, differ in their explanations of the meaning of the names, and
show thereby that they made use of different sources. Comp. also
ps.-Philo, 9, top.
123 Jub. 27. 13-18. On the expression "my sister ", used by
Isaac in his address to Rebekah, see Charles, ad loc. He errs, however,
in maintaining that the use of "brother" in the sense of "fellow-be-
liever" (comp. 1 Corinth. 9. 5) is unknown in rabbinic literature. See
Baba Kamma 88a: rima TF1K. Comp. also MHG I, 341.
12 4 Yashar Toledot, 55a-55b, where mirr instead of ]y& is to
be read, since Shechem is not at the end of the Holy Land. A similar
legend was known to Rashi; see his remarks on Gen. 19. 11. The
statement of Berliner, ad loc., that R. Judah Gedaliah, in his Ot Emet,
37a, quotes this legend from BR is based on a misunderstanding;
comp. the following note, and riote 156. The older Midrashim cite
two views: according to one, Isaac, though a very rich man, sent his
son away empty-handed, and God was wroth with him on this ac-
count. But the other view maintains that Jacob left his parental
home laden with wealth. On his way to Laban, however, he was
attacked by Esau, who robbed him of everything he had with him.
See BR 68. 2 (1113 "bare life", instead of im; comp. the use of the
adverb Nina "only" in Talmud); Tan. B. I, 145-146; Aggadat Ber-
eshit 45, 92-93, and 67, 136. Isaac, according to the first view, was
288
Jacob [125-131
punished for his lack of paternal love. The Shekinah deserted him,
and did not return to him until the day of his death; Tan., Aggadat
Bereshit, loc. cit.; Makiri, Ps. 121, 234. On this desertion of the holy
spirit ( = Shekinah), comp. vol. I, p. 329.
125 Tan. B. I, 145; Aggadat Bereshit 45, 93; quotation, from a
Midrash in MS. by Azulai, Midbar Kedcmot ', 3; Bereshit Rabbeti,
cited by Epstein in Mikkadmoniyyot, 107-108, and in Magazin, XV,
73; R. Judah Gedaliah, Ot Emet, 37 (not from BR,but from Bereshit
Rabbeti); Makiri, Ps. 121, 233-234. Yelammedenu in Supplement to
Yalkut 19 ( = BHM VI, 81), speaks of the dividing of the Jordan .for
Jacob on his return home. On "Baarus" or "Baaras", see note 189.
126 MHG I, 442-443; BR 68. 2 and 9; Tan. B. I, 145; Aggadat
Bereshit 45, 93.
127 MHG I, 443. This passage also remarks: After having
taken leave from his parents, Jacob betook himself to Eber, in whose
house he remained hidden for fourteen years, and then proceeded to
Laban. These fourteen years he spent in the study of the Torah
under the guidance of Eber. See BR 68. 5; Tan. B. I, 145; Index,
s. v. "Shem and Eber".
128 BR 68. 5 and 7; Tan. B. I, 151. In these sources Philistia
is not considered as part of the Holy Land. On the different view
see note 53.
12 * Tan. B. I, 147, and IV 161; Tan. Wa-Yehi 6 and Mass'e
1; Berakot 64a; Aggadat Bereshit 46, 95-96.
*3o PRE 35; BR 68. 10. Comp. also the sources cited in the
following note, all of which presuppose that Jacob spent the night on
mount Moriah. On the spring which followed him, comp. vol. II,
291, and vol. Ill, p. 52. The rendering of JHJD'l by "and he prayed"
in the Midrashim just cited is of tannaitic origin; comp. Mekilta Be-
shallah 2, 28a, and Mekilta RS, 45. This interpretation of yiS'l
caused the word Dlp^a, which follows it, to be taken to refer to God,
in accordance with the frequent use of DIpD "the Place' 1 (r OTTOS
by Philo) as a name of God. See Mahzor Vitry 500, and Duran,
Magen Abot, II, 19. These two authorities quote Sifre to the effect
that God is called "the Place". A statement of this kind is not found
in our texts of the Sifre; but comp. Midrash Tannaim 222, where the
text is very likely to be completed according to Tehillim 90, 390-391.
On the meaning of mpD, comp. Dalman, Worte Jesu, s. v., and Landau,
Die Synonymafur Gott, p. 30, seq,
X31 BR 68. 10; Sanhedrin 95b; Koheleth 3. 14; Yerushalmi Tar-
289
132134] The Legends of the Jews
gumim, Gen. 28. 10. According to a frequently quoted statement
(BaR 20. 12; Tan. B, IV, 137; Tan. Baiak 11; Aggadat Bereshit 67,
71), God reveals Himself to Jews by day, and to Gentiles by night.
Comp. note 221.
132 Tan. B. I, 145; comp. also note 168.
J 33 BR 68. 11; Tan. B. (introduction), 123-124, and I, 146;
Shir 1. 16; PRE 35; Tehillim 91, 399; YerushaJmi Targumim Gen.
28. 10; Hullin 91b; see also BR 24, 5; ER 5, 29; Tan. B. I, 181; note
127. On the twelve tribes as a fixed order of nature, vol. II, pp. 30-31.
*34 BR 73. 12-14; Tan. B. I, 149-150; Sifre N., 119; Tehillim
78, 347; Lekah, Gen. 28. 12-13; MHG I, 449-451 (several interpreta-
tions of the vision of the ladder are given in this passage) ; Yerushalmi
Targumim and Yalkut Reubeni on Gen. 28. 12. The angels took
leave from Jacob at the time of his departure from the Holy Land,
since each land has its own guardian angels, and the angels of Pal-
estine could not accompany him to any other country; comp. note
230. According to one view given in BR, loc. cit. t the angels ascend-
ing to heaven on the ladder were the two angels who visited Lot,
and who, till this memorable night, were excluded from heaven as a
punishment for their boastful words: "For we will destroy this place"
(Gen. 19. 13), as though the destruction of Sodom was their own work,
and not the carrying out of the mission entrusted to them by God.
As a further humiliation they had to make use of the ladder for their
ascension; comp. Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 19. 1. The idea that Jacob's
countenance is in the Merkabah is often referred to in rabbinic lit-
erature. Comp. (in addition to the sources cited at the beginning of
this note) BR 78. 3 and 82. 2; Hullin 91a; BaR 4, 1; Tan. B. IV, 19;
Tan. Bemidbar 19; Alphabet of R, Akiba 40 ( f D) and second version
62 (p'^n); BHM V, 63. The acquaintance of the Mohammedans
with this legend has been pointed out by Goldziher. Jacob is the
ideal man, and hence it is his countenance which represents the
human race (comp, Ezek. 1. 10) on the divine throne. Joel, Blicke
in die ReligionsgescMchte, I, 117, gives an interesting parallel to
this conception from Lobeck, Aglaophamos, 909. The angels from
the very beginning praised' God with the words (comp. 1 Chron. 16.
36) "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel." When Adam was
created, they asked God: "Is this the man whose God we proclaim
Thee to be?" "No", replied God, "he is a thief: he partook of
the forbidden fruit." When Noah was born, they repeated this ques-
tion, and they received the answer: "No; he is a drunkard." At
290
Jacob [135-140
the birth of Abraham the angels again addressed this question, and the
answer was: " No; he is only a proselyte." At the birth of Isaac they
came again with the same question, and the reply was : " No ; he loves him
whom I hate" (Esau; comp. Mai. 1.3). But when Jacob was born, and
the angels again addressed their question to God, He replied: "Yes;
he is the one." See Tan. B. Ill, 72-73; Tan. Kedoshim 2; Aggadat
Bereshit 61, 126. Comp. also Tan. Shofetim 15, and Makiri, Ps.
2, 16. Yelammedenu in Sikli's Talmud Torah reads: While Jacob
was asleep the angels scrutinized him to ascertain whether he was
the one on whose account they praised the Lord, as the God of Israel;
comp. Poznanski in Ha-Zofeh, III, 19, and Ginzberg's note, ibid.,
IV, 32. According to the version of this legend in Hullin 91a, BR
63. 12, and MHG I, 452, the angels intended to attack Jacob in his
sleep, but God came to his rescue. The legend about the man in the
moon, who is identified with Jacob, is perhaps connected with the
old legend concerning Jacob 's countenance in the divine throne. Comp.
Sabba, Wa-Yeze, 31a, and Index, 5. v. "Man in the Moon". Philo,
De Somniis, 24, sees in Jacob's ladder the picture of man's fate: the
one ascends and the other descends. A similar metaphor is used by
the Rabbis who speak of the "revolving wheel"; comp. Tan. B. IV,
161; Tan. Mekilta 6; PK 2, 12a; WR 8. 1, and in many other passages.
See also Bontwetsch, in the Gottingen Nachrichten, 1900, p. 76, seq.,
and James, Lost Apocrypha 96, seq.
I3 * PK 23, 150b~151a; WR 29. 2; PRE 35; Tan. Wa-Yeze 2;
Tebillim 78, 347; ShR 32. 7.
136 BR 68. 12. Comp. also the sources cited in note 134, as
well as Midrash ha-Ne'elam on Gen. 28. 12.
137 Midrash ha-Ne'elam Wa-Yeze (end), which has the ad-
ditional remark that Jacob thereby noticed that he was in a holy
place. God announced to him that the Shekinah would only dwell in
the Holy Land, and reveal itself only to his descendants. Comp.
note 215.
138 BR- 69. 4-5; Hullin 91a. Comp. PR 11, 45b, and vol. I,
p. 229; note 82.
139 Shabbat 118a. The passage implies that this was granted
to Jacob as a reward for his observance of the Sabbath. Comp. BR
69. 6 and note 280.
140 BR 69. 7; Sifre D., 352. In PR 33, 153a, it is said that Ja-
cob's fear was due to the fact that he was not addressed by God in the
same manner as his fathers, in speaking to whom God used the word
291
141-147] The Legends of the Jews
Anoki ("I am")- His fear, however, was soon allayed, when God
used the same word in addressing him. Comp. Gen. 28. 13 and 15.
Josephus, Antigui., I, 19. 1, remarks: Jacob spent the night in the
open, as he did not care to lodge with the Canaanites whom he hated.
141 PRE 35, which is the source of Rashi, Gen. 28. 18. The
old sources (comp. vol. I, p. 12, notes 38 and 39) maintain that the
Eben Shetiyyah is the "foundation stone" with which the formation
of the earth began. Comp. Zohar I, 231, and Luria, PRE, he. tit.
The conception that the terrestrial sanctuary is placed opposite the
celestial one is widespread, and occurs in very old sources. Comp.
Mekilta Shirah 10, 43b; Yerushalmi Berakot 4, 8a; Ta'anit 16a; BR
55. 7; Shir 3. 10 and 4. 4; PR 40, 170a; Tan. B. I, 112; Tan. Pekude
1 and 2; MHG I, 454; Tehillim 30, 233. The distance from the ter-
restrial sanctuary to the celestial is only eighteen miles; BR 69. 7.
It is to be observed that the Palestinian sources contrast the terres-
trial with the celestial sanctuary, while in Babli (comp., e. g., Ta'anit,
loc. tit.) the opposites are terrestrial and celestial Jerusalem. Ac-
cordingly Tan. Pekude 2 is a Babylonian source, while Tan. Pekude
1 is a Palestinian one. On the heavenly Jerusalem in pseudepigraphic
literature, comp. the references cited by Box, 4 Ezra, 198-199.
142 Targum Yerushalmi Exod. 28. 30; Targum Koheleth 3. 11;
Toledot Yeshu. Comp. Krauss, Leben Jesu, 189, and Landauer,
Noldeke- Festschrift (Orientalische Studieri), 506. The legend which
speaks of the name of the Messiah as engraved on a jewel (comp.
vol. I, p. 3) presupposes the idea that God's name was engraved on
the Eben Shetiyyafa
14 3 PRE 35; BR 69. 6 and 70. 1-4.
144 BR 70. 7; Tan. V, 24; comp. also note 60. The "ten days
of penitence" were granted to Israel as a reward for the tithes which
Jacob set aside; Sabba, Wa-Yishlah, 46b, based on an unknown
midrashic source. The quotation from the "Midrash" in Da 1 at and
Hadar on Genl 28. 22 to the effect that Jacob was the first to give
tithes from his income (in the halakic literature the phrase used
is D'SDD "ityyD; in 'this source it is )lD lB>yD) is not found in the ex-
tant midrashic literature. Comp. note 63.
145 BR 70. 4. Comp. vol. I, pp. 380-381.
146 MHG I, 456.
147 BR 70. 4. These are the three cardinal sins; comp. Ginz-
berg, Unbekannte Sekte, 23. In view of the fact that "slandering
one's fellow-man is as grievous a sin as worshipping idols" (Yerush-
292
Jacob [148-156
almi Peah 1, 16b, and parallel passages on the margin), the state-
ment is found that Jacob prayed to God to guard him against slander-
ing his fellow-men; BR, loc. cit.
J 4 8 PRE 35; Targum Yerushalmi 28. 10 (in 1 Yerushalmi this
is erroneously described as the fifth miracle; but the correct reading
is found in 2 Yerushalmi). On the "jumping", or more correctly,
"contracting of the earth", comp. vol. I, p. 294, note 287. A some-
what different version of the third miracle is found in Sanhedrin 95b;
Hullin 91b; comp. the sources given in notes 130-131.
J 49 MHG I, 457;, comp. Schechter, ad loc. The "blessing of the
water" is found, in abridged form, in BR 70. 19 and Targum Yerush-
almi Gen. 28. 22 and 31. 22. The talkativeness of young women is
also alluded to by Josephus, Antiqui., I, 19. 4. This author adds that
the shepherds told Jacob of Laban 's prominent social position.
Comp. BR 70. 11.
160 BR 70. 11. Lekah, Gen. 29, 7, dwells on the duty of great
men to correct the evil ways of their fellow-men, and not say: "It
is none of our affairs".
1 5 1 PRE 36; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 29. 10, and 2 Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 28. 10. Laban was blessed with sons only after
Jacob's arrival; BR 73. 12, and thence in Rashi, Gen. 30. 27. See
vol. Ill, p. 373.
152 PRE 32 (the text of the editions is to be supplemented by
the reading of Ketab Tamim, 88). Comp. also note 98. On Jacob's
gigantic strength, see vol. I, pp. 374 and 412, as well as vol. II, p. 137.
153 Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 28. 22 and 31. 22; PRE 36.
Comp. note 149, as well as vol. I, p. 270, 295 and vol. II, p, 291.
PRK, 26a, points out that for Jacob the water rose to the top, whereas
for Moses it only rose high enough to be drawn. This is the source
for MHG I, 459.
15 4 PRE 36; Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 27. 22. Comp. note
152.
155 BR 70. 13. Rebekah, on a similar occasion, ran to her
mother who was still alive; but Rachel's mother was dead; BR,
loc. cit., and 60. 7. Josephus, contrary to the words of Scripture
(Gen. 24. 50; comp. Septuagint), maintains that Rebekah's father was
dead, and this was the reason why she ran to her mother to report
Eliezer's arrival.
j s 6 MHG I, 460-461; Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 28. 20. According
to Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 29. 3, Laban ran to meet Jacob, because
293
The Legends of the Jews
the report had reached him (through Rachel?) of his relative's gi-
gantic strength and piety, On Jacob being robbed of his possessions
by Eliphaz, see vol. I, 345-346 and 379.
IS ? Yalkut Reubeni (citing Galya Raza) on Gen. 29. 15. The
interpretation of rqipj (Gen., loc. tit.) as n3j7J is also found in Zohar
I, 160b.
158 BR 70. 14. From the perfect vmjn (Gen. 29. 15) is in-
ferred there that for a short time Laban had Jacob work for low
wages. This short time, however, was sufficient for Jacob to find
out Rachel's excellent character; Imre No' am, Gen. 29. 15.
159 Megillah 13a (on the text comp. Rabbinovicz, ad loc., and
MHG I, 463-464). The sign consisted in Rachel's touching Jacob's
right toe, right thumb, and right lobe; Azulai, Hesed le- Abraham
II, 6.
160 BR 70. 17-18. On Jacob's age at his marriage, see Seder
'Olarn 2, and parallels cited by Ratner.
161 BR 68. 4.
162 BR 65. 1-3 ("J^n is here a euphemism for sexual intercourse).
The designation of Esau (=Rome) as "swine" is very common in
rabbinic literature, and occurs in so old a source as Enoch 89. 12.
Originally it was not intended as an expression of contempt, but was
coined with reference to the standard of the Roman legion stationed
in Palestine, which had as its emblem a boar, a wild swine, and
hence the designation of Rome as 1JPD TNI "the boar out of the
wood". See R.E.J., XLVII, 178; Epstein, Mikkadmoniyyot, 35; Blau,
Masoretische Untersuchungen, 55-56. Comp. also WR 13. 5; Tehil-
lim 80. 363; ARN 34, 100. In the time to come Esau will wrap him-
self in a praying-shawl (=Talit), and will attempt to take his seat
among the pious; but God will drag him away from his seat, and ex-
pel him from the company of the pious. See Yerushalmi Nedarim
3, 38a. A favorite topic of the Haggadah is Rome's deceit and guile.
I<5 3 Tan. B. I, 152-153 and 157; Tan. Wa-Yeze 4; BR 70. 16
and 71. 2; Baba Batra 125a; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 29. 17; Zohar
I, 223a, and II, 29b.
164 BR 70. 19. See also Tan. B. I, 152; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 29. 12; MHG I, 463 (where UN 1 ? KH must be read instead of NH
^rn of the editions and MSS.). For the obscure J'W (BR, loc. tit.)
MHG has ]H3D "deceivers", which makes good sense. The in-
habitants of Haran tried to allay Jacob's fear that a trick might be
played on him, and they told him that they were not deceivers like
294
Jacob [165-168
himself. Comp., however, Sifra 20. 23, 93b, where the immoral life
of the Canaanites is contrasted with the chastity of the "dwellers in
the east", by which the east-Arameans are very likely meant. Ac-
cording to BR, loc. cit.j this seems to allude to the modesty of the Har-
anites. In BR 70. 12 and PK 3, 43a, "the sons of the east", praised
for their modesty, are the Persians" and Medes, as may be seen from
the parallel passage in Berakot 8b. Yashar Wa-Yeze, 57a-57b, is
an amplification of BR 70. 14.
Ig 5 Jub. 28. 4.
166 BR 70. 19; Yerushalmi Mo'ed Katan 1, 80d; Jub. 28. 8.
The statement of Joseph us, Antiqui, 1, 19. 7, that Jacob married Rachel
after having served seven years is due to a misunderstanding of the
Hebrew yntP (Gen. 29. 27), which means "septinate" and "week".
On the basis of Gen. 29. 26, Jub., loc. cit., states that it is forbidden
to give a younger daughter in marriage before the elder one. Laban
and the Haranites, as authorities on Jewish law, are rather strange
figures.
167 BR 74. 13; PRE 36; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 29. 24 and
29. Josephus, Antiqui., I, 19. 8, likewise points out that Bilhah and
Zilpah were not bondwomen. According to the 12 Testaments, Naph-
tali 1. 9, these two handmaids were the daughters of Rotheus, a brother
of Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, a God-fearing man belonging to the family
of Abraham. That Bilhah and Zilpah were sisters is also stated in Jub.
28. 9. The tendency of Jewish legend is to make all the tribes related
to Abraham, on their paternal as well as their maternal side, and
hence the statement that Rotheus was of the family of Abraham.
Pa'aneah, Gen. 27. 2, maintains that after the death of Rachel (and
Leah?) Jacob made Bilhah and Zilpah legitimate wives. Comp. vol. I,
415. The old rabbinic literature has no difficulty in explaining Jacob's
marrying two sisters. The laws of the Torah became binding only
after the revelation on Sinai; comp. vol. I, p. 292, note 275. The
later authorities and especially the Kabbalists, on the other hand,
developed many a theory to explain this marriage of Jacob. Comp.
e, g. Recanati, Lev. 18. 6. Out of respect for Jacob the Torah, in
dealing with prohibited marriages, does not mention the punishment
for marrying two sisters; R. Bahya, Lev. 20. 21.
168 Tan. B. I, 151-152; Aggadat Bereshit 48, 97-98. Accord-
ing to BR 71. 2, Leah was hated by Jacob because she deceived her,
sister. See also Yelammedenu in Yalkut, II, 394, on Is. 3, and MHG
I, 466, as well as 468.
295
169-177] The Legends of the Jews
l6 * BR 71. 2. See also vol. I, p. 359.
170 pRg 3 6; BR 84. 21 and 82. 2. The last-named source con-
tains the addition that Benjamin had two twin-sisters; comp. vol. II,
pp. 37-39. On the difference of the ages of Jacob's sons, and on the
meaning of their names, see vol. II, pp. 187-188, notes 1 and 4.
171 MHG I, 468^69 and 192. The old Midrashim make no
mention of Leah's sterility.
173 Berakot 7b; MHG I, 469, which reads: My father-in-law's
first-born is a robber and a thief; my first-born is very scrupulous
in his actions, and is careful not to touch other people's property.
Comp. note 190.
17 3 BR 61. 4; MHG I, 469, and Sabba, Wa-Yeze, 35d, seem
to have read py DP in BR.
174 DR, according to the reading of Rashi, Gen. 29. 34, but
not found in our texts. A similar Haggadah occurs also in MHG I,
469, whose source is probably Bereshit Rabbeti; see Schechter, ad
loc., and comp. further vol. I, p. 298, note 312, as well as vol. I, p. 387
and Zohar II, 19a. In MHG, loc.cit., the name Levi is associated
with r\]h ft borrowed", as well as nf? "accompanied". Comp. the
similar etymologies in Jub 31. 16; BR 71. 4; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 29. 34.
I7 * Berakot 7b; BR 71. 4; Tan. Wa-Yeze 9. Targum Yerush-
almi Gen. 29. 30 reads: She called him Judah, "Thanks unto God",
because he was destined to become the ancestor of the royal house of
David, and further because from him will come forth David who will
compose "songs of thanks" ( = psalms of thanksgiving) unto the
Lord. Comp. BR, loc.dt,\ Tan. Wa-Yeze 6; Shemuel 28. 130; note
4 on vol. II, p. 188.
176 BR 71. 6; Aggadat Bereshit 51, 103-104. Comp. also the
preceding note. Women are of a jealous disposition, and Rachel
shared this weakness with her sex; BR 18. 2, and parallel passages
cited by Theodor. According to ER 18, 99, Rachel was married four--
teen years before she bore a child; comp. vol. II, p. 187, note 1.
177 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 30. 1-2, which essentially follows
Tan. B. I, 156, and BR 71. 6; but these Midrashim do not say that
Rachel asked Jacob to pray unto God for her. Aggadat Bereshit
51, 104, reads: "If thou so desirest, I shall certainly bear children,
just as thou hast made the sheep bring forth their young." Comp.
also the midrashic quotation in Sabba, Wa-Yeze, 34a. On the "four
296
Jacob [178-189
that may be regarded as though they were dead", comp. vol. II, p.
327, note 142, and vol. Ill, pp. 190, 259.
178 BR 71. 7; Aggadat Bereshit 51, 104, which has the additional
remark that Rachel was very anxious to become a mother because
she had a presentiment of her premature death.
179 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 30. 5. Lekah, Gen. 30. 4, reads:
From the word rwb "to wife'* we are to infer that Jacob took her
as his legitimate wife. BR 45. 3 has the same haggadic interpretation
of fwh with regard to its use in connection with Hagar. Comp.
note 167.
180 Tan. B. I, 156; BR 71. 8. From the beginning of the third
century C. E. till about the end of the ninth, Tiberias situated in
Naphtali (comp. Megillah 6a and Yerushalmi 1, 70a) was the centre
of Jewish learning in Palestine. Comp. BR 98. 17, with regard to
the interpretation of the blessing given by Jacob to Naphtali. Other
etymologies of the name Naphtali are found in BR 71. 8 and Tan.,
loc. cit., as well as in MHG I, 472.
181 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 30. 8, with reference to Jud. 4. 6.
182 MHG I, 473. On the relationship of Jacob's wives to one
another, comp. note 167.
l8 s BR 71. 8, according to the reading of Rashi, Gen. 30. 11.
Hasidim 480 has several explanations of the name Gad, ( = 131), one
of which is to the effect that it signifies "deception", as well as "gar-
ment". Leah put her garment on Zilpah, and in this manner de-
ceived Jacob who thought that he was in the company of the mistress
and not of the handmaid. For other etymologies of this name see
Lekah, Gen. 30. 11. The opinion that the prophet Elijah belonged to
the tribe of Gad is widespread; see vol. II, p. 145; vol. Ill, p. 462,
and Index, s. v. "Elijah".
184 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 30. 11.
18 s A midrashic quotation by Rashi, Gen. 30. 11. See Berliner,
ad loc., and vol. I, p. 306, note 318. BR 71. 18 and other sources
(comp. note 183) also derive Gad from TTI "he cut"; but the cutting
does not refer to circumcision.
186 MHG I, 473-474. Comp. note 183.
187 Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 30. 13, following BR 71. 10.
188 BR 72. 1 and 5. See note 194, and vol. II, pp. 201-202.
189 An unknown midrashic source in Midrash Aggada Gen.
49. 14, and, in abridged form, 30. 14. In the last passage tf'nm means
"And it the donkey pulled it (the mandrake) out", and must not
297
190-193] The Legends of the Jews
be emended, as is done by Kaufmann, Monatsschrift, XXXIX, 139.
The same story is cited also by Sabba, Wa-Yeze, 34a, and Toledot
YizJiak (is it based on Sabba?), Gen. 30. 14. In Nur al- Zulm, 124,
it is the dog, not the ass, which uprooted the mandrake, and this
agrees with what Josephus, Bell. Jud., vii, 6. 3, says about the plant
Baaras, which is very likely identical with the mandrake. The ex-
pression Nrm:T *?$? tnp (Yerushalmi 'Erubin 10, 26c) clearly shows
that the mandrake, like the Baaras of Josephus, was used in expelling
demons* The anonymous commentator on Yerushalmi seems to un-
derstand the Talmud to refer to the charm used in uprooting the
mandrake, which otherwise might cause death. But this could hard-
ly be expressed by hy fcrip. It is very likely that the Aramaic name
for the mandrake KmtT "the chaser" describes it as a plant which
chases demons away. The relation between the mandrake and the
plant Adam "which kills anybody who comes near it" (comp. vol.
I, pp. 31-32, note 148) is not quite clear. Frazer, Folk-Lore in the
Old Testament, II, 372-397, deals at great length and in a very inter-
esting manner with the mandrake in folk-lore. The spot, where,
according to Josephus, this plant of miraculous properties grew, is
undoubtedly identical with Baaras, the place where Jacob, by a
hair-breadth, escaped death at the hands of Esau; comp. vol. I, pp.
347-348. The name Baaras, given to this plant by Josephus, is
perhaps to be explained as an abridgment of "the mandrake of Baara"
myo '1 NTJnn'. Comp. note 193, and vol. II, p. 204, note 11.
Baara is the Grecized form for my; comp. Yerushalmi Shabbat
3, 6a.
190 BR 72. 2-4. Lekah, Gen. 30. 14, calls attention to the fact
that, though Reuben was only ten years old at that time, he never-
theless knew what the law permits, and what it prohibits.
191 BR 99. 10; Nidah 31a, and thence in MHG I, 741 (==BR
98. 12, where read D*13 rr 1 ? TlDri; but comp. note 193); Targum Yerush-
almi Gen. 30. 16; MHG I, 473. Geiger's statement, Keluzzat Ma-
amarim, 142, that the old Rabbis read "TOn instead of -non (Gen.
49. 4), and hence the legend about the braying of the ass, is untenable,
as shown by Ginzberg in Supplement to Geiger, op. cit.
192 BR72. 5.
193 Nidah 3 la. Comp. also 'Erubin lOOb. Jacob's ass walked
up to Leah's tent without having been led there by its master; Has-
erot in Batte Midrashot, III, 5; comp. also note 191; TO-D 1 ? "lion
"the ass by itself" is a play on D13 TlDn (Gen. 49. 14). Yerushalmi
298
Jacob [194-202
Sotah 3, 19a, and BR 72. 5, commenting on Kin (Gen. 30. 16), remark
that this word refers to God, who alone was witness to Leah's pure
motive in making Jacob stop with her. DR 7. 11 on the other
hand, maintains with reference to fcC?m (Gen., loc. cit.) that Leah
was a "gad-about". In BR 18. 2, and parallels cited by Theodor, it is
Dinah who is described by this expression. The substitution of the
ass for the dog in the mandrake legend (comp. note 189) by some
rabbinic authorities is due to a midrashic interpretation of 013 "lion
(Gen. 49. 14).
194 BR 72. 5; Shir 7. 4. On the compact between Zebulun and
Issachar comp. vol. II, p. 144.
195 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 30. 20. Different etymologies of
the name Zebulun are found in BR 72. 6 and MHG I, 476.
196 Berakot 60a; Tan. B. I, 157; Tan. Wa-Yeze 8; Targum
Yerushalmi 30. 12; Yerushalmi Berakot 9, 14a-14b; Tehillim 55, 292;
MHG I, 479 (f 1 ?); PRE 35.
19 7 MHG I, 478-479 and 480 (a'D); Tehillim 55, 292; BR 73.
1 and 4. Comp. also Rosh ha-Shanah lla.
198 MHG I, 480-481, and comp. Schechter, ad loc. See also
vol. I, p. 238, where it is said that Hagar declared that Sarah's ster-
ility was a punishment for her impious life.
199 BR 73. 3; Tan. B. I, 158 (which reads: Rachel feared that
her father would take her away from Jacob and give her to Esau) ;
Tehillim 55, 292; Aggadat Bereshit 51, 105; MHG I, 481.
200 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 30. 23. This Haggadah is based
on the use of ns*in (Gen., loc. cit., and Joshua 5. 9). See also MHG
I, 481, which reads rh~\y N^N nsin f.
201 Tan. B. I, 158; BR 61. 4; Yerushalmi Berakot 9, 146. Ac-
cording to Yelammedenu 20 ( = BHM VI, 81), Rachel prophesied
that Joseph would be the ancestor of the (Ephraimitic) Messiah,
who would arise at the end of days (D^iy hw 131 "TIN p is to be under-
stood in this manner). Comp. also BR 73. 5-6 for several other pro-
phecies found in Rachel's words of Gen. 30. 24. The etymology
given there of the name Joseph (rpirp) as ''the increase by the
Lord" occurs also in Philo, De Joseph o, 6.
202 MHG I, 481. That Rachel' bore children was a miracle,
as she was sterile by nature, and this miracle was granted to her as
a reward for her kindness to Leah, whom she saved from being put
to shame by Jacob, who would have detected the fraud played on
him by Laban, had not Rachel divulged to her sister the sign agreed
299
203-214] The Legends of the Jews
upon by her and Jacob by which he would recognize her on the nup-
tial night. See BR 73. 4; Baba Batra 123a; Tan. B. I, 154; Tan.
Wa-Yeze 6. Comp. vol I, p. 357; vol. IV, pp. 310, 390.
2 3 BR 73. 6; Tan. B. I, 154 and 164; Bata Batra 123a; Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 30. 25; and in many other places. Comp. vol. Ill,
pp. 57-58 and 223. This Haggadah is described as an old tradition
(miDD).
2 o * Yashar Wa-Yeze, 57b-58a, and Hayye Sarah, 49a, where
Deborah is declared to have been the daughter of Uz, the son of Abra-
ham 's brother Nahor. Comp. the sources quoted in note 300.
205 Tan. B. I, 161, and thence in Midrash Aggada and Targum
Yerushalmi, Gen. 30. 27. Comp. also the extract from Galya Raza
in Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 29. 17, and note 157.
206 PRE 26. Comp. note 151.
2 7 BR 73. 12; BaR 20. 19; Tan. B. IV, 142; Tan. Balak 12;
MHG I, 485 (with the additional remark that the same thing hap-
pened to Jethro who had only daughters until the arrival of
Moses into his house, when he was blessed with sons). On the bless-
ing which the pious bring to those whom they visit, comp. Sifre D.,
38; Berakot 42a; BR 73. 8; MHG I, 485-486; Zohar I, 161a. Comp.
also note 151.
208 MHG I, 486. Laban's words (Gen. 30. 34) are taken to
mean: O that thou mayest keep thy word!
z 9 BR 73. 9-10 and 74. 3; Tan. B. I, 161; Tan. Wa-Yeze 11.
The legend would not admit any trickery on the part of Jacob, and
his cunning manipulations are turned into direct intervention of the
angels. See Lekah, Gen. 30. 39 and Or Zarua' I, 227, No. 769.
210 Tan. B. I, 161; Yashar Wa-Yeze, 58a-58b.
211 Tehillim 8, 78. Similarly Tan. B. I, 161; Tan. Wa-Yeze
11; BR 73. 10; MHG I, 487 (3'D). Comp. note 209.
212 MHG I, 490.
213 MHG I, 488 (I'D). Jacob made his cattle graze far away
from cultivated land (comp. Gen. 30. 36), in order to avoid doing dam-
age to the soil; MHG I, 487. Comp. also Baba Kamma 7. 7.
2 '4 BR 73. 11; Koheleth 9. 11; Tan. B. I, 161-162. The fe-
cundity of Messianic times refers to that of human beings, as may
be seen from Mekilta Bahodesh 2, 63a, where it is said that in the time
to come the number of children of each and every Jew will be equal
to the number of Jews at the time of the exodus from Egypt. See
also vol. II, p. 230,* note 10.
300
Jacob [215-220
215 MHG I, 489; BR 74. 1; Tan. B. I, 160; PRE 26. See also
Mekilta Bo (NniTns), Ib, which reads: When Israel entered into the
Holy Land, all the other countries were excluded from being used as
places of divine revelations. BR, loc. tit., remarks that possessions
acquired outside the Holy Land bring no blessings. Similarly Pes-
ahim 50b; comp. note 274. See also note 137 and Index, s. v.
"Holy Land".
216 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 31. 4. The fleet messenger Naph-
tali (comp. Gen. 49. 21) is often spoken of in Jewish legend; comp.
vol. I., pp. 408-401; voL II, pp. 25, 108-109, 154, 209; vol. Ill, p. 206.
21 7 Berakot 8b; BR 74. 2; PR 4. 34a (BR is to be emended ac-
cording to this text); Tan. B. IV, 110; Tan. Hukkat 6; Koheleth
7. 23; PRK (Grunhut's edition, 50 and 41, 1"5, where )W1S "pK is
to be read in accordance with Ketubot 48a. Among other pecu-
liarities and customs of the Persians and the "children of the east"
mention 'is also made of the fact that they do not kiss on the mouth.
Comp., however, Herodotus I, 134, where the opposite is asserted.
Comp. note 164.
218 Yashar Wa-Yeze, 58b-59a (based on PRE 26, where, how-
ever, our texts read HN01D rm D2> "the name of an impure spirit",
instead of DPH "the Ineffable Name of God" of Yaehar); Tan. Wa-
Yeze 12; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 31. 19; Lekah, Gen. 31. 34. Of
the two descriptions of the Teraphim by Ziyyoni, Wa-Yeze (end),
one is taken from PRE and the other from Lekah. His etymological
explanation of this word (as connected with talmudic nSTin "shame",
" decay "=nEO) is found in 'Aruk, s. v. See also Rashi, 1 Sam. 19.
13 and 2 Kings 23. 24. Rachel 's motive in stealing Laban 's idols
was a laudable one; she said: Should I depart and leave the old man
with his idolatry? See BR 74. 5; Tan. loc. cit.; Theodoretus, Gen.
31. 19, Comp. also Zohar I, 169b. On 00 = the impure spirit,
see note- 313 on vol. I, 298.
2I * Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 31. 21-22. Comp. ARN 9, 27,
as well as notes 153, 205, 207.
220 p RE 35. Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 21. 24. It is a wide-
spread view that Laban had intended to destroy Jacob and his family,
root and branch. See Passover Haggadah beginning ID 1 ?! NX; Mid-
rash Tannaim 172; Onkelos and Targum Yerushalmi Deut. 26. 5;
Sifre D., 301; MHG I, 491. The angel restrained Laban from carry-
ing out his plan of destruction, and admonished him, at the same time,
not to have any dealings with Jacob whatsoever, not even to be kind
301
221-227] The Legends of the Jews
to him, for "the kindness shown by the wicked causes pain to the
pious"; Yebamot 103b, with reference to Gen. 31. 24. Laban feared
not only the angel but also Esau, who might, in case of injury to Jacob,
appear as "the avenger of blood" against him. See Aggadat Ber-
eshit 108, note 2, and 125, note 5. Although Rachel had taken the
Teraphim with her, Laban succeeded in getting another set, which
revealed to him Jacob's escape; Yashar, Wa-Yeze 59a. According
to Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 31. 21-22, Laban noticed the absence
of Jacob by the lack of water; comp. note 354.
221 BR 74. 6-7. On the night as the time of divine revelations,
see the sources cited in note 131, to which are to be added: WR 1. 13;
Leket Midrashim, 6a and 20b; Zohar III, 113a and 200a.
222 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 31. 23.
223 MHG I, 491-492. The power of which Laban boasted is
the power of witchcraft, which he might have used against Jacob;
Sabba, Wa-Yeze, 42c, and Ki-Tabo, 152c; Zohar I, 167b and 166a.
Laban was a famous sorcerer (his grandson Balaam was by far his
inferior), and Jacob was justified in pointing out to Esau (comp.
Gen. 32. 5) that even this master of witchcraft could not prevail
against him. See Zohar I, 167a.
22 4 BR 74. 8-11; PRE 36; Tan. Wa-Yeze 13; Aggadat Bereshit
51, 105; PK 14, 116b; Koheleth 10. 5; Shemuel 22 (end). The view
that even an unintentional curse or blessing takes effect is shared by
the Talmud; see Mo'ed Katan 18a and Makkot lla, which read: A
compact is closed with the 'lips, i. e., the spoken word is effective,
be it a curse or a blessing. The account of Jacob's escape from Laban
and of their meeting is -given by Josephus, Antigui., I, 20. 9-11, with
many embellishments. Jacob's excuse for his escape was that God
implanted in every human heart the love of his native country, and
Rachel's motive in stealing the Teraphim was to pacify her father
by returning them to him, should he succeed in overtaking Jacob.
The theft remained undiscovered for some time, because Laban
did not think it possible that a woman in menstruation (comp. Gen.
31. 35) would dare to touch the Teraphim. On the effect of the spo-
ken word, be it a curse or a blessing, comp. note 74.
22 * Tan. Wa-Yishlah 4; BR 74. 13; PRE 36. Comp. vol. IV,
p. 93.
226 BR 74. 13-14; PRE 26; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 31. 46;
Yoma 77a-77b; MHG I, 495.
22 ? BR 94. 5 (Rashi, Gen. 31. 42, seems to have had a fuller text
302
Jacob [228-238
before nim); Tan. Toledot 7; Tehillim 16, 120; comp. note 304. Tan.
Wa-Yeze renders V3N HPIED (Gen. 31. 53) by "the life of his father",
which agrees with Philo, Special. Leg., 2. 3. See Ginzberg, Unbe-
kannte Sekte, 130-131 (note) and Hadar, Gen., loc. cit. Lekah, ad. loc.,
reads: He swore by the fear which seized Isaac at the 'Akedah,
when he had given up his spirit and come to life again only by means
of the dew of life. See note 101; vol. I, p. 282, and note 243 apper-
taining thereto. Lekah is very likely the source for Zohar I, 60a
228 BR 74. 16 (with the additional remark that, as a punish-
ment for Laban's evil designs against Jacob, robbers broke into his
house, during his absence, and took his possessions away with them).
Similarly also Yelammedenu 21=HBM VI, 81.
229 Yashar Wa-Yeze, 59a-59b, where inVtINI is to be explained
in accordance with 1IT3H PTl ~TO, Wa-Yishlah, 60b. There is a num-
ber of different views concerning the relationship between Laban and
Balaam: Laban is declared to be identical with Balaam, to have been
Balaam's father, grandfather (Beor, Laban's son m Yashar is iden-
tical with Balaam's father), and uncle. See Sanhedrin 105a; BR
57. 4, and the parallel passages cited by Theodor, as well as Hadar
and Da' at on Gen. 31. 52, and Exod. 1. 10; Mahzor Vitry 547; Zohar
I, 166b.
230 Tan.B. I, 163 and 178-179; Tan. Wa-Yishlah 3 and Mish-
patim (end); Aggadat Bereshit 53, 109.
231 BR 74. 17 and 76. 10; Shir 7.1.
232 Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 32. 3; Tan. Wa-Yishlah 3.
233 Yashar Wa-Yeze (end) and Wa-Yishlah (beginning), 59b-60b.
On the honor which Jacob owed Esau as the elder brother, comp.
the midrashic quotation in Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 32. 4, and Ketubot
103a.
23 4 MHG I, 501-502. On the view that Abraham's descendants
are to pay off the debt, comp. vol. I, p. 356; vol. Ill, pp. 55 and 315.
The statement about Jacob's strict conformity with the Torah dur-
ing the stay with Laban is found also in Lekah, Gen. 32. 5, but in
a version somewhat different from the one in MHG and Rashi, ad loc.
23 * BR 75. 5 and 11; Tan. B. I 161.
23 6 MHG I, 503. Jacob 's message to Esau, as given by Josephus,
Antiqui., I, 20. 1, also differs from the biblical account.
23 7 Yashar Wa-Yishlah, 60b.
238 BR 75. 12 (and, with slight variations, 7); MHG I, 503
303
[239-246 The Legends of the Jews
(where nyPH is a faulty reading of the abbreviation 'n=400, and hence
the discrepancy in the number); Tan. B. I, 161.
2 39 BR 75. 7; Tan. B. I, 161; Zohar I, 167b.
240 BR 76. 1-2. On the fear of the pious to forfeit, through
sin, the blessings promised to them, comp. the parallel passages cited
on margin, and vol. I, pp. 352-353. Maimonides, Shemonah Perakim,
7, remarks: Even the patriarchs and prophets were not entirely free
from human failings, as the fear of Jacob shows. Shu'aib, Wa-Yishlah,
16c, quotes a midrashic statement to the effect that Jacob contrasted
his own conduct toward his father with that of Esau, and was compelled
to admit his shortcomings. He caused his father to fear and tremble
(comp. Gen. 27. 33, and note 101), whereas Esau never failed, in the
slightest degree, in the honor and consideration due to Isaac. Jacob
therefore thought that God might prefer Esau to himself. Comp. also
Zohar I, 166a; MHG I, 503.
2 4I MHG I, 504.
242 Tan. B. I, 162; Koheleth 9. 18.
2 43 BR 75. 9 and 13, as well as 76. 4-6; Yashar Wa-Yishlah,
60b-61a (gives a different version of Jacob's prayer, but at the same
time makes use of BR). See also Tan. B. I, 162; Makiri, Ps. 20, 140,
141, and note 35.
244 Yashar Wa-Yishlah, 61a-61b, which amplifies the legend con-
cerning the angels who attacked Esau at night, found in BR 78. 11;
Tan. B. I, 162; and in abridged form, BR 75. 10. See note 265. Da-
mesek, the son of Eliezer, owes his existence to the phrase iryVN ptPDI
(Gen. 15. 2). On Alinus comp. note 290 with reference to Eblaen
of which Alinus seems to be a variant.
245 BR 76. 3 and 8; Josephus, Antiqui., I, 20. 1. The numerical
relation of the male to the female animals varies with the different
species, because the more active an animal is/the less its sexual desire,
and the same applies to man. See Yerushalmi Ketubot 5, 30b;
BR 76. 7; Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 112. Comp. note 274. Jacob
first separated the tithes from the animals before sending them to
Esau; see Rashi and Lekah, Gen. 33. 14. Comp. note 251.
246 PRE 37; Tan. B. I, 161; Tan. Wa-Yishlah 3; BR 75.5. A
different view is given in BR 76. 2-3 and 11, where Jacob is severely
censured for calling Esau "my lord", and it is added that as a pun-
ishment for that, Jacob's descendants established their kingdom eight
generations later than Esau's descendants (comp. Gen. 36. 31). More-
over, the latter were granted dominion over the world, whereas the for-
304
Jacob 247-248]
mer have to wait for the dominion in the world to come. See BR
75. 11; PRE, loc. cit.\ 1 Alphabet of Ben Sira 6b.
247 BR 77. 2-3; Shir 3. 5. These sources add that it was Esau's
guardian angel (comp. the following note and note 273) who, at the
command of God, undertook to wrestle with Jacob. God said to the
angel: "Jacob has five charms to protect him: his own merits and
those of his parents and grandparents; now measure thy strength
against his." The angel tried, and soon discovered that Jacob was
no match for him. The words put into Jacob's mouth ("this night
no enchantment prevails") wish to convey that, although ordinarily
the darkness of the night is very propitious for such and similar op-
erations (comp. Index, s. v. " Night", and Fraser, Folk-Lore in the Old
Testament, II, 411), Jacob was not afraid of the angel's machinations.
Hullin 9 la points out that the pious take great care not to lose
or squander their possessions; hence Jacob, after having forded the
river with all his belongings, returned to fetch a small pot which he
had forgotten on the other side of the Jabbok.
248 Abkir in Yalkut I, 132; according to this source, the angel
appeared to make Jacob bold for his meeting with Esau. See also
Zerubbabel (Jellinek's edition, 5. 5), which reads: "I am Met-
atron, the angel who wrestled with Jacob at the ford of Jabbok," while
in Wertheimer 's edition plT "liyDl TIpnNJ is corrupted to l^yn 'DprrNP
"in^n. Since in many sources Metatron is identical with Michael
(comp. Index, 5. v. "Metatron"), it follows that, according to this
passage, the angel who wrestled with Jacob was sent to his assistance.
In Wertheimer 's edition (versions 1 and 2) this angel described him-
self as Metatron = Michael, i.e., as the guardian angel of Israel. The
antiquity of this view which identifies this angel with Michael, or
rather Metatron, may be inferred from the statement of the Church
Fathers, according to whom this angel was the Holy Ghost, or Jesus;
comp. e. g., Clemens Alexandrinus, Instructor, 1. 7. It has already
been observed that Christian authors often transferred to Jesus,
or rather the Holy Ghost, those functions which in Jewish legends
are ascribed to Michael. It should be noted here that Abkir in its
present form consists of three different parts, which are introduced
by: l)pB-ID'-|; 2)an1N 0'; 3)T = nryV '"I 1K, in Gabai. Comp. fur-
ther below. Michael was appointed the guardian angel of Israel
on the day of his visit to Abraham to announce to him the birth of
Isaac; see Ziyyoni, Mishpatim (end), quoting Galya Raza, and comp.
note 91 on vol. I, p. 181, as well as the following note. The angel
805
The Legends of the Jews
was in a hurry, as he had to be present at the morning song of the
celestial beings; comp. BR 78. 1-2; Hullin 91b-92a; Shir 3. 5; comp.
vol. I, pp. 17-18. A fragment of a legend, according to which several
angels fought against Jacob, is found in Yelammedenu quoted in Yal-
kut II, 758 on Ps. 39; comp. also vol. II, p. 8; note 199. On the view
that the powers of the angels vanished in the presence of God, comp.
Philo, De Somniis, 1. 13. For a correct text of Abkir comp. Yalkut
Reubeni, Gen. 32. 25, and Gabai, 'Abodat ha-Kodesh, 3. 7, who quotes
a considerable portion of this Abkir passage from Sode Raze. It is
to be observed that towards the end 0K im ITO is to be read. The
identity of this angel with Michael is also found in Tan. B. I, 165;
comp. the following note.
2 4 9 BR 78, 2. The name of the angel is not given here, and
the question is left open whether it was Michael or Gabriel. But
inasmuch as Gabriel is one of the two angels who were punished for
divulging a heavenly secret (comp. vol. I, pp. 241 and 350-351), which
punishment is given as an excuse by the angel for his reluctance to
fulfil Jacob *s wish, it follows that only Michael is meant here. Ac-
cording to BR, loc. cit., as well as the sources cited in the preceding
note, the angel finally fulfilled Jacob's wish, for otherwise he would
not have been in heaven in time to chant the praise of God. Opposed
to this view is the one in PRE 37, according to which the angel had
to chant his hymn on earth, and when the angels heard him sing,
they knew that Jacob prevented him from returning to heaven. Comp.
also ps.-Philo, 18A, who likewise maintains that it was the heavenly
band-master who wrestled with Jacob. Jacob had adjured the angel
not to move without his permission; but he doubted whether his ad-
juring was effective as he did not know the name of the angel ; hence
he was anxious to learn his name; comp. Ziyyoni, Gen. 32. 27.
250 Abkir in Yalkut 1, 132. This legend assumes that the wrest-
ling between Jacob and the angel took place in heaven; comp. also
vol. I, pp, 388-389.
2 5* PRE 27; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 32. 25. There can be
no doubt that according to this view it was Michael who wrestled with
Jacob, in order to remind him of his promise concerning the tithes.
This view is also shared by Ephraim, I, 181 B, who also knows the
other explanation given in note 248 for the appearance of the angel.
According to one view, Jacob, in separating the tithes of his sons,
started with the youngest of them (in the eyes of the Lord the small
are more precious than the great; Yelammedenu 16 = BHM VI, 80),
306
Jacob [252-253
and therefore Levi was the tenth. See Jub. 32. 3; Sifre D., 355 (for
the explanation of this passage see Briill, Jahrbucher, IV, 130, and
Epstein, Mikkadmowiyyot, 97-98); Midrash Tannaim 220; PRE,loc. cit.
(the reason given here for starting from the youngest is not clear);
Da'at and Hadar on Gen. 28. 22. Tan. is given as a source in Hadar,
whereas Da'at refers to BR as its authority. But neither of these
two Midrashim has this Haggadah. See Epstein, Mosheh ha-Darshan,
16; vol. II, p. 134, note 364. On Levi being taken into heaven,
see vol. I, 363 and II, 194. On Jacob as the first to set aside the tithes,
comp. notes 144 and 245.
252 Zohar III, 45a (based on Tan. B. I, 127, or a source related
to Tan.).
253 PRE 47. The mystics of the geonic period speak of a heavenly
being (JTn), named Israel, on whose forehead this name is engraved.
The function of this angel is to call the hosts of angels to chant God 's
praise. He addresses them with these words: "Bless ye the Lord
who is to be blessed." Whereupon they praise God, saying: "Blessed
is the Lord who is to be blessed for ever and ever." See Hekalot
4, 29; Zohar II, 4b; Baer's Siddur, 126. Raziel, 6b, makes the
assumption probable that this heavenly being was identified with
the " Jacob 's countenance " in the throne of glory; comp. notes 35 and
134. The Haggadah knows of a number of explanations of the name
Israel: It stands for hto riK~l 0'K "the man who saw God" (angel?);
comp. ER 27, 138-139; Philo, Conf. Ling., 16 and 20; Migrat. Abr.,
18, 36, 39 (end); Quis Rer. Div. Haeres Sit, 15; De Cong. Quaer. Emd.
Causa, 10; De Profugis, 25 and 38; Mut. nominum, 12; De Somniis,
2. 4, 6, 26; De Sacrificiis Abelis, 36; De Abrahamo, 12; De pmemiis et
poenis t 8, From Philo, in whose writings this etymology occurs very fre-
quently, besides in the passages just cited, it was taken over by the
Church Fathers; comp. Siegfried, Philo, Index, s. v. "Israel". In
Philo's opinion "the man who saw God" is identical with the Logos,
hence Israel = Christ in the writings of the Church Fathers. See
Justin Martyr, Dialogue, 75; Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata, 2. 5;
Cyril, De Trinit., 19. Comp. note 428. The name Israel is also
explained as "trying to sing instead of the angels" ( = V+12> 1 '), or
"joyful like the angels at the time of their singing"; see Tan. B. I,
127, and Haserot in Batte Midrashot, III, 4. As to Jacob's singing
instead of the angels, comp. BR 78. 2. Other etymologies are: "the
remnant of God" ^N"IBP=!?K 1KB?), or "he who walks straight with
the Lord" (^1*=V "WP); Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 232. 29, and comp.
307
2^262] The Legends of the Jews
note 273. Similar to the last etymology is the one given by Nah-
manides, Deut. 2. 10 of Jeshurun, which signifies "one who walks
straight", in contrast to Jacob, "he who walks crookedly". Comp.
Nestle, Zdtschrijtj. Alt. Wiss., XXXII, 17-20.
2 $4 MHG I, 513.
2S * BR 68, 10; Tan. B. I, 168; Huliin 9lb; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 32. 32. Comp. vol. I, pp. 349-350.
256 Zohar I, 203b, which, in the main, is based on Abkir in Yal-
kut I, 132. Comp. also BR 78. 5.
25 7 Huliin 90a. Comp. vol. I, p. 354.
2 * 8 Tan. Wa-Yishlah 4; Tehillim 102, 468-469. The angels have
no joints; they are formed of one piece. Hence when the angel no-
ticed Jacob's gigantic strength he touched him on the hip to convince
himself whether he is a human being or an angel, and this touch
caused injury to Jacob. See PRE 36; Huliin 9la; BR 88. 6; comp.
also vol I, p. 5, note 9.
259 Zohar I 203b; MHG I, 513-514; Hadar, Da' at, and Pa'aneah
on Gen. 32. 33, which are dependent on Hasidim, 91. In the old
sources two views are mentioned with regard to the meaning of <( the
sons of Israel" (Gen., lac. tit.). According to one, it refers to the
Jewish people; but the other view maintains that it alludes to Jacob's
twelve sons. See Huliin 7. 6. "A scholar must not go out at night
by himself", and had not Jacob disregarded this rule, nothing would
have happened to him at the ford of Jabbok; see Huliin 91a and Zohar
III, 55a. The evil spirits are envious of scholars, and try to attack
them at night; comp. Berakot 54b.
260 BR 78. 7-8; PK 19, 139a, which reads: He made his people
put on white garments which concealed weapons beneath. He tried
three means: 1) prayer; 2) appeasing Esau with gifts; 3 )preparing
for war. Comp. vol. I, p. 381.
261 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 33. 2.
262 BR 78. 10; PK 12, 49b; MHG I, 517, which reads: At this
time Rachel was pregnant with Benjamin, and Joseph, fearing lest Esau
should look at her and she become frightened, placed himself in front of
his mother to conceal her. ' ' Haughtiness is more frequently found among
low people than among nobles ", as may be seen from the varied attitudes
of Jacob's children towards Esau. Rachel and Leah bowed themselves
before Esau, and their children followed their example. The two
handmaids did the same; but their children said: "We are the sons
of Jacob, and hence nobler than our mothers, and it is not seemly
308
Jacob [263-273
for us to bow down before Esau"; Shu' aib, Wa-Yishlah, 16a. Comp.,
however, note 926 on vol. Ill, p. 458.
263 BR 78. 9, and parallel passages cited by Theodor; Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 33. 4; Zohar I, l7lb (the legend about Esau's long
teeth is an adaptation of the Og legend, Berakot 54b). Abkir ac-
cording to a MS. published by Epstein in Ha-Eshkol, VI, 206.
Zohar I, I72a, quotes also the opposite view, according to which,
Esau, on meeting Jacob, after many years of separation, was over-
come by a true feeling of love for his brother; Yashar Wa-Yishlah,
62b, is very likely the source of Zohar. Comp. also MHG I, 517*
and PRE 37.
26 4 Tan. Wa-Yishlah 4; MHG I, 516-517; Zohar I, I7b. Comp.
the preceding note.
265 BR 75. 10 (the exact number of angels is given here) and 78.
11; Tan. B. I, 165; Tan. Wa-Yishlah 3. Comp. note 244.
266 Yelammedenu 22=BHM VI, 81; BR 75. 4; Tan. B. I, 163;
Tan. Wa-Yishlah 3. These messengers consisted of the angels who
came with Jacob from Haran, and of those who arrived from the Holy
Land to meet him. Comp. note 230.
267 PRE 37. This was a punishment for delaying to set aside
the tithes of his possessions for God. Comp. vol. I, p. 387.
2 * 8 Tan. B. I, 169.
26 * Hadar, Gen. 32. 14.
2 ? Lekah, Gen. 32. 16; MHG I, 507. A dissenting view is found
in Ba'al ha-Turim, Gen., loc cit., according to which Jacob sent to
Esau only such animals as were, on account of their bodily injuries
and imperfections, unfit for sacrificial purposes; comp. 'Abodah Zarah
1. 6, and Ginzberg, Unbekannte Sekte, 108-109. On animals refus-
ing to serve impious masters, comp. vol. IV, p. 198.
2 7 1 BR 78. 12. Esau stands for the Roman officials (comp. note 19)
of whom Pesahim 118b says: They stretch forth their hands for
gifts; yet do not keep their promises.
*72 Sotah 41b; MHG I, 518.
2 ?3 BR 78. 3. As to the identity of this angel, comp. notes
247, 248, 259. On the basis of BR the mystics but found already
in Tan. Wa-Yishlah 8 call this angel Sammael, since he is the guar-
dian angel of Rome, i.e., Esau. See Zohar I, 146a r and the numerous
references to Zohar in Yalkut Reubeni, Gen. 32. 25-33; Imre No'am,
Gen. 32. 25 (here the reading is bwbD instead of 7NDD). The passage
in Zohar II, 41b, where the angel is identified with Gabriel (comp.
309
273] The Legends of the Jews
note 284) is taken from Ra'ya Mehemena, and does not belong to
Zohar. The angel, disguised as Esau, appeared to Jacob, and said
to him: Thou art an impostor; thou didst say to our father: "I am
Esau thy first-born." Jacob excused himself by pointing out that
when he acquired the birthright he became Esau's rightful successor.
Thereupon the angel said: "Thy name shall not be called any more
Jacob, the impostor, but Israel, the remnant of God (comp. note 253),
of whom it is said: The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor
speak lies" (Zephaniah 3. 13). See Yalkut Reubeni Gen. 32. 29, who
gives, as his source, PRE ; but it is not found in our texts of this Mid-
rash, nor is it likely that this passage ever formed a genuine part of
PRE, since according to this source, the angel with whom Jacob
wrestled was Michael (comp. note 251), while an angel disguised
as Esau may be assumed to have been Sammael, Esau's guardian
angel; comp. note 247. A description of Jacob's encounter with the
angel, entirely different from that of the rabbinic sources, is quoted
by Origen, In Joanem, 2. 31, from the Jewish pseudepigraphic work
the Prayer of Joseph. It reads: I am Jacob and Israel, am angel
of God, a ruling spirit., .called Jacob by men and Israel by God; a
man seeing God (comp. note 253), because I am the first-born of every
creature whom 'He caused to live. When I was coming from Mes-
opotamia of Syria (=D'"im D"l), Uriel, the angel of God, came forth
and said: I have come down to the earth, and made my dwelling
among men, and I am called Jacob by name. He was wroth with me,
and wrestled with me saying that his name and the name of Him who
is before every angel (the name ^K is attached to every name of every
angel; comp. PK 12, 108b, and parallel passages; hence we ought to
read " after " instead of "before") should be before my name. I told
him his name, and how great he was among the sons of God (=*'J3
D'H^N) : Art thou not Uriel, the eighth from me, and I am Israel and
archangel of the power of the Lord and a chief captain among the
sons of God? Am I not Israel, the first minister in the sight of God?
Do I not invoke my God by the inextinguishable name? For the
expression "inextinguishable- name", comp. the Hebrew phrase nw
]'pnD3 p'fcW which is frequently used in the Talmud (comp., e. g., She-
bu'ot 35a) to describe the divine names like D'H^N V 'IP "', in con-
trast to His attributes as',DBK "pK-JKH, etc. Comp. notes 35, 134,
253, and see further note 146 on vol. II, p. 328, on the encounter of
Uriel (originally the angel of Hades; comp. however, note 13 in
vol. I, p. 54, and Ginsberg, Unbekannte Sekte, 35-37 and 245) with
310
Jacob [274-275
Moses. Jacob in that memorable night at the ford of Jabbok in-
tended to flee from Esau, and as a punishment for this lack of trust
in God (comp. note 240) he was injured by the angel; Hadar, Gen.
32. 19.
374 Tan. B. I, 168. On the possessions acquired outside the
Holy Land, comp. note 215. On the acquisition of the Machpelah
comp. vol. I, pp. 321 and 417. 1 Alphabet of Ben Sira fto) reads:
God took it ill of Jacob, who, in his fear, gave gifts to Esau (comp. note
240), and was ready to follow his brother. He commanded him to
separate himself from Esau, and as a punishment for his lack of faith
in God, as evidenced by the gifts to Esau, all his cattle perished, with
the exception of one little lamb, which was so precious to Jacob that
he made a hut for it (comp. Gen. 33. 17), wherein to spend the night.
Among the animals given by Jacob to Esau the male camel is not men-
tioned (comp. Gen. 32. 16, which reads: Thirty milch-camels and
their colts), because it does not copulate with the female in the pres-
ence of others, and therefore Scripture omits to mention that a male
camel was sent with the females. See Yerushalmi Ketubot 5,30b;
BR 76. 7. The same remark is made by Justin Martyr, Dialogue,
112, but was misunderstood by his commentators. Comp. note 245.
275 Abkir in Yalkut I, 133. For p'JDl (so in first edition; in
recent editions it is jro/Dl) read ]"*6l or DB?D. Bet Gubrin is already
identified with Seir in old sources; comp. BR 67. 6. According to
a talmudic legend, God will slay the Yezer ha-Ra', "the evil inclination",
on the day of judgment (Sukkah 52a and ER 4, 20). Since the Yezer
ha-Ra' is identical with Sammael, the angel of Edom (Sotah lOa;
Makkot 12a; comp. Rashi, ad loc., and Lampronti, Pahad Yizhak,
s. v. m*yC3 84c), the purport of this Abkir legend is that evil and sin
will be abolished in the world to come. In Enoch 55. 4 it is
the Messiah who judges Azazel and, his campanions, and this view
is shared by 12 Testaments, Levi 18. 2, where it is said that
the Messiah will bind Belior. Matthew 12. 29 and Luke 10. 19
agree with this view, while in Revelation 20. 2-3 this rdle is as-
signed to an agnel. In Abkir, it is Elijah, an- old competitor of the
Messiah (comp. Ginzberg, Uribekannte Sekte, 342, seq.), who with the
assistance of God, will destroy the prince of Edom, i. e., Satan. The
account of the struggle between leviathan and the angels, ending in
the slaughtering of the monster by God Himself, so often alluded to
in haggadic writings (comp. vol. I, p. 28, and the note 127 appertaining
thereto), is another form of the legend about God's final victory over
311
276277 The Legends of the Jews
evil, which is here represented by the leviathan in accordance with the
old mythological terminology; comp. Jeremias, Babylonisches im Neuen
Testamente, 44. The seizure by the hair is perhaps an allusion to
Seir, "the hairy one" (comp. Josephus, Antigui., 1,20. 3, and MHG
I, 395-396). See, however, vol. Ill, p. 29. In kabbalistic litera-
ture Sammael, the angel of Esau, has the form of a goat, and therefore
he chose Seir (=Sair) as "his people; comp. "Nahmanides, Lev.
16. 8. Accordingly, the hair of Edom's angel is perhaps the same thing as
the wool of the goat, and in this connection mention may be made of
the Mohammedan legend (Buhari, III, 379; comp. Griinbaum, Gesam-
melte Aufsatze, 117), which has it that the angel of death (= Sammael;
comp. Index, s. v.) assumes the form of a ram. The account of the
flight to Bozrah as given in Abkir is based on Makkot 12a. Abkir quotes
R. Aha as authority, because in the Talmud a remark bearing upon
this subject is attributed to this Amora; the text reads: The angel
of Edom in fleeing to Bozrah will commit three errors: he will think
that Bozrah is a city of refuge, confusing it with Bezer (Deut, 4. 43) ; he
will think that the cities of refuge grant protection to murderers
(whereas only those who killed someone unwittingly may find refuge
there); he will erroneously assume that an angel may seek refuge in
these cities, but this law applies only to men; R. Aha adds: he will
commit one other error: he will think that a city of refuge grants pro-
tection to a Gentile, whereas a Jew only may seek refuge there. Comp.
Rabbinowiez ad loc. See also PRK 30a, which reads: Three things
will be removed from the world before the advent of the Messiah : - Seir,
the Ye#er ha-Ra', and the wicked kingdom (i.e. Rome). Comp.
further the following note.
276 BR 78. 14 (the truthful Jacob could not have possibly lied to
Esau; comp. note 91); DR 1. 20; Tan. B. II, 92; Tan. Terumah
9; MHG I, 518. In all these sources the subject of the conversation
between the two brothers is taken to have been the division of the two
worlds : the older brother took this world and the younger * the future.
Comp. note 14. There is also anotner view to the effect that Jacob
told his brother a diplomatic lie, which, under certain circumstances,
is not only permitted but even 'commanded; comp. 'Abodah Zarah
25a; Yerushalmi 2, 40c; MHG I, 519. Yerushalmi is perhaps the source
of MHG; comp. Yalkut II, 124, which quotes the statement of R. Nathan
occurring in MHG from "i'y0 a 'B '0T. Comp. also Targum Yer.
and Sekel on Gen. 33. 16.
277 Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 33. 17 (where perhaps "eighteen
312
Jacob [278-285
months" should be read instead of a "twelve", in. accordance with
Seder 'Olam 2; BR 78, 16; Megillah I7a).
2 78 Tan. B. I, 169. Comp. also BR 78. 16 and note 274. The
four hundred men gradually slipped away from Esau, as they feared
to remain in the proximity of Jacob, and as a reward for their respect
to Jacob an equal number of their descendants were saved when David
massacred the Amalekites (1 Sam. 30. 17; the Amalekites and the
inhabitants of Seir are regarded as the same people); BR 78. 15.
279 BR 79. 5; Shabbat 33b; Tan. B. I 168; Targum Yerushalmi
and Jerome on Gen. 33. 16. The latter, however, combines this hag-
gadic interpretation of oVtf as "in perfect condition" with that found
in the Septuagint and Jub.30. 1, according to which thv is the name of
a place near Shechem. Comp, note 102 on vol. I, p. 233.
280 BR 80. 6-7. A similar statement occurs in Shabbat 33b
that Jacob established bath-houses, market-places, and a mint for
the inhabitants of Shechem. In Shabbat 118b f BR 11. 7, and PR
23, 120b, attention is called to the fact that the Bible speaks of the
obsevance of the Sabbath by Jacob, but not by Abraham; comp.
note 139.
281 MHG I, 522. It is very likely that this is the parcel of ground
spoken of in John 4. 5 and 12. Cornp. BR 80. 7.
2 8 2 BR 80. 7-8 ; MHG I, 522-523. As to Jacob being called God,
See Sifre D., 355; Midrash Tannaim 221; BR 77. 1, Comp. also Ginz-
berg's remarks in Geiger, Kebuzzat Maamarim, 393, as well as the
quotation from the Prayer of Joseph in notes 35 and 273, against which
the statement in BR and MHG is perhaps directed. Zohar I, 138a,
maintains that God Himself appointed Jacob to be the lord of all
earthly things.
283 2 ARN 3, 14; Koheleth 10. 8.
284 PRE 28, and, with some embellishments, Yashar Wa-Yishlah,
63a-63b, where it is pointed out that Dinah went in company of
the other female members of Jacob 's household, and not by herself.
Josephus, Antigui., I, 21. 1, says that Dinah went to the feast of the
Shechemites,
28 s Tan. B. I, 171-172; Tan. Wa-Yishlah 5-7; BR 80.1 (nu-
merous parallel passages are cited by Theodor) and 80. 1. In all
these passages the biblical saying "as the mother so the daughter"
(Ezek. 16. 44) is applied to Dinah and Leah, both of whom liked to
go out to be " looked upon"; comp. note 193. The interpretation of
313
286-291] The Legends of the Jews
is old, though not in reference to Gen. 34. 1. Comp.
Sanhedrin 4b.
286 Lekah Gen. 34. 4, and comp. Buber, ad loc. According to
the chronology of Seder 'Olam 2, Dinah was very young at the time
when Jacob arrived in Shechem.
28 7 BR 80. 5; Koheleth 10. 8; Yoma 77b. Comp. also MHG I,
524, where '}, occurring four times in Gen. 34.2, is explained as ']
"woe"; comp. the similar Haggadah in reference to Gen. 9. 20, seq.,
in Sanhedrin 70a.
288 BR 80. 4 and 73. 9. On Dinah, the wife of Job, comp. note
3 on vol. II, p. 225. According to some (comp. note 25), Esau was
not better than Job, for the former, too, was not circumcised. See
also vol. I, pp. 411-412, where another sin of Jacob is given as the
cause for his misfortune with Dinah.
2 8 9 Yashar Wa-Yishlah, 63b-69a. The old rabbinic sources give
no particulars about the war against Shechem; they merely narrate
that Jacob's sons, "relying on the strength of the old man", undertook
to war against the heathens. Jacob, though opposed to offensive wars,
could not but come to the assistance of his sons, and girded with his
sword, he stood at the gates of Shechem to repel the attacks of the
enemy. See BR 80. 10 and 97. 6; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 48. 22.
According to another view, the piety and prayers of Jacob warded
off the threatening danger of an attack by the Amorites; comp. Baba
Batra 123a; BR 97. 6; Aggadat Shir 3. 8, 33; 2 Targum Yerushalmi
Gen., loc. tit. Yashar combined these^ two views: at first the threa-
tening danger was warded off by Jacob's prayer; later, however, a
fierce war broke out between the sons of Jacob and the Amorites.
Comp. vol. I, pp. 408-411, and note 292.
290 12 Testaments, Levi 6. 9. Eblaen is perhaps to be explained
as being due to a misreading of the Hebrew original, where the text
read my "his slave" (=Eliezer) or vny "his slaves". On the slaves
brought up in Abraham's house, comp. note 93 on vol. I, p. 231. For
another justification of the killing of the Shechemites, see note 9 on
vol. II, p. 198.
2 9 1 Midrash published by Schechter from a MS. in Semitic Studies
(in memory of Kohut), 489-492. The text is not free from errors,
and a few emendations may be given here. 490, line 19: read prnnn;
ibid., below: niyp yB>fi miiT Dn^l; 491, line 2; IIP 1 npfcOl; ibid., below:
1N0 or nizton 1K0. On Judah : 's gnashing his teeth with a
314
Jacob [292
frightful noise, see vol. II, p. 106, and on the fleet-footed Naphtali
vol. I, pp. 371 and 410, as well as vol. II, p. 25. Comp. the following
note.
2 92 Midrash Wa-Yissa'u, in Yalkut I, 132 (from there it is re-
printed by Jellinek in BHM II, 1-5, who, it is to be regretted, did not
make use of the first edition of the Yalkut, and hence his text contains
numerous errors). Yashar Wa-Yishlah, 70b-79b, embellished and am-
plified the narrative of Wa-Yissa'u, but had no other source for his
verbose account of the war. Yerahmeel 36 agrees almost literally
with Wa-Yissa'u, whereas Jub. 24. 4-9 and 12 Testament, Judah, con-
tain only fragments of this legend. It is generally assumed that
this legend has preserved many a reminiscence of the events of the
Maccabean wars. This is quite likely; but one must not forget that
the fabulist is only slightly interested in history. On the relation of
Wa-Yissa'u to Jub. and Testaments the following may be stated.
Instead of "Tixn in Yashar and Testaments, Wa-Yissa'u has "IDPI.
This arouses the suspicion that the latter in its present form is
a translation of a Greek or Latin text, which had no adequate
transliteration of Hebrew S. Sartan, "the great and strong fortress",
is undoubtedly identical with the "tower of Straton", the old name
of Caesarea, the conquest of which by the Maccabees is almost the
only historical event of the Maccabean period known to the old rab-
binic sources. Comp. Megillat Ta'anit 3 (beginning), and Megillah
6a. The orthography "[BID instead of ]3"1DD is not at all unusual ;comp.,
e. g., KtnDN for KD-ICODN "Strata", and see further Krauss, Lehnworter,
s. v. ]Bn. A play on words (]cnD is the Aramaic word for "cancer")
may have been intended. Instead of Gaash, Wa-Yissa*u has 0yia,
which is rather strange, as the use of 1 to indicate a Kamez gadol is
uncommon, and besides this the current vocalization of this word is
tttttt and not tpyj. It is very doubtful whether Maani Sakir in Jub.
is to be emended to Shakir Maani, since Wa-Yissa' u has TDtP ruriB
(ed. Jellinek 2; in the first edition of Yalkut 3 and 3, are hardly dis-
tinguishable), which can scarcely be rendered by Camp Shakir. Isidao
of Jub. is very likely identical with niTr in Wa-Yissa'u, which is to
be emended lo niTr, i. e., 1TIK Tr "the curse villain". 1D1DS is,
of course, the same as talmudic KD'DB or ND'DIB, and the name of the
place pnjns (fortified by Jonathan the Maccabee; 1 Maccabees 9. 50)
is given by the legend to a person. On the text of Wa-Yissa'u
the following details may be noted: 1. 11 (in Jellinek) read
(he could throw two spears at once); ibid, the first edition has
315
293-295] The Legends of the Jews
HIT 1 ? perhaps=rvn'V VlS'l; 1. 21 read HITS ^3, and comp. 2 Sam. 23.
21; 1. 24 read ^y irom, and comp. Yashar, 72a, line 3; 2. 6 -itf/p is better
than -ira; 2. 14 '131 l"Qttn is an adaptation from Esther 9. 9, and this
mosaic style is strong evidence of the lateness of this compilation;
2. 10; the first edition reads n^J?l *pD, and comp. Baba Kamma 20a
p^D yiD; 2. 17 ntPnDl is hardly possible; ibid. Yashar misread n^n as
nVn. -The medieval authors had, besides Wa-Yissa'u, other sources
dealing with the wars of the sons of Jacob. Nahmanides, Gen. 34.
13, and R. Bahya, Gen. 36. 6, quote, from the "Book of the Wars of
the Sons of Jacob" (R. Bahya 's text is to be emended in accordance
with Nahmanides, whom he very likely copies: 3pJT *J3 mon'i'D "1SD3),
the legend that the Shechemites engaged in three great wars with the
sons of Jacob, and if it were not for Jacob 's valor, his sons would have
perished. Zunz, GottesdienstUche Vortrdge, 145, identifies "the Book
of the Wars, etc." with Wa-Yissa'u; but the quotation by Nahmanides
and R. Bahya from the Sefer Milhamot is not found in Wa-Yissa'u,
and therefore these two books are not identical. Hadar, Gen. 48. 22,
quotes, from Sefer Milhamot Bene Ya'akob (the same as referred to
by Nahmanides and R. Bahya?), the following account: The She-
chemites (not Amorites as in Wa-Yissa'u) assembled to war against
Jacob and his sons, but were vanquished. And on this occasion Naph-
tali the swift runner (comp. note 216 and Index, s. v. " Naphtali ") carried
Judah on his shoulders to the battle array (that is how this obscure pass-
age is to be understood), who, assisted by his father and brothers, an-
nihilated the enemy. When later the sons of Jacob belittled the
assistance rendered them by their father, maintaining that he was
too old to be of any value as a warrior, he convinced them of their
error by his great feats of valor. The Sefer Milhamot referred to by
Sabba, Wa-Yishlah, 46b, is very likely identical with Wa-Yissa'u, as
his quotation from the former book agrees with the beginning of the
latter. On the other hand, it is safe to assume that Tan. B. Introduct-
ion 127, does not go back to Wa-Yissa'u. Comp. notes 297 and 317.
293 WR 37. 1; Tan. Wa-Yishlah 8; Tan. B. I, 173, 174; BR 81.
2. Rachel's death which occurred about this time is also attributed
(in the above mentioned sources) to this sin of Jacob. On the en-
counter with the angel as a consequence of Jacob's delay in fulfilling
his vow, comp. vol. I, 387. See also vol. Ill, p. 90 (top).
a9 < Tan. B. I, 174; WR 37. 1; Tan. Wa-Yishlah 8; BR 81. 2.
295 Jub.3L2. The ear-rings, which were worn by the Shechemites,
316
Jacob [296-301
and which, after the defeat of the latter, came into the possession of
Jacob's sons, were adorned with pictures of idols; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 35. 4, which is very likely based on BR 81.3. Comp. also Zohar
I,173a.
296 Yerushalmi 'Abodah Zarah 5, 44d; BR 81. 3. Comp. also
Julius Africanus in Syncellus, Chron. 107, al. 86. Comp. note 298, and
note 5 on vol. IV, p. 22.
297 MHG I, 531. This passage also has the additional remark
that this display of gigantic strength struck terror in the hearts of
the Amorites, so that they gave up their intentions of undertaking
a war against Jacob and his sons. On the war planned by the Amorites
against Jacob, comp. note 289 and BR 82. 4. In the last-named passage
it is said that the Amorites assembled for war at Hazor, and that is
the reason why this city was later destroyed by Joshua (comp. Josh.
11. 13), who carried out the order given to him by Moses in accor-
dance with the divine command. Midrash Aggada, Gen. 25. 2,
reads: God caused the ground under the feet of the army assembled
against Jacob to open as deep as the abyss, and a fire divided the
heathen from Jacob and his sons, so that they were forced to abandon
their plans. On Hazor comp. note 293.
298 Hullin 6a, and comp. Midrash quoted by Tosafot, ad loc.,
(beginning PN"Q), which is not identical with any of the Midrashim
cited in note 296. See also Radar, Gen. 31. 4. On the pillar comp.
Lekah, Gen. 35. 14;
299 Jub. 31. 3-32, and 32. 4-29. It is said there that Jacob
erected this altar on the first of the seventh month (*'. e., on Rosh
ha-Shanah), and offered sacrifices during eight successive days, from
the fifteenth to the twenty-second (i.e., eight days of Tabernacles).
Also in rabbinic sources it is said that Jacob celebrated this festival
and, according to some authorities, he was the originator thereof. See
Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 35. 14, and Abudrahim, Musaf Rosh ha-
Shanah (end). The last-named authority refers to Gen. 33. 17, where
it is said that Jacob erected "booths".
3 Yashar Wa-Yeze, 57b-58a, and Wa-Yishlah, 69a. The similar
Haggadah quoted in Rashi and Lekah on Gen. 35. 8 goes back to R.
Moses ha-Darshan. Comp. Epstein, R. Mosheh ha-Darshan, 16.
See also MHG I, 532, and note 204.
301 Da* at, Hadar, and Pa'aneah on Gen. 35. 8 from a Midrash
on Jud. 4. 5. Jub. 32. 30, reads: Jacob called Deborah's burial-place
"the river of Deborah", and the oak, under which the grave was,
317
302-307] The Legends of the Jews
"the oak of the mourners of Deborah." The text is hardly correct;
one cannot understand why a burial-place should be called a river.
It is very likely that we have here a mistranslation of the Hebrew
original, which read mm Vra "the valley of Deborah". But owing
to the different meanings of the word bra the translator rendered it
by "river". Comp. note 12 on vol. I, p. 188.
3 2 PK 3, 23b-24a; PR 12, 48b; Tan. B. I, 176, and V, 36; Tan.
Ki-Teze 4; BR 81. 5 and 82. 1; Koheleth 7. 2; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 35. 8; Yashar, Wa-Yishlah, 69a-69b. Contrary to this view_of
the old rabbinic sources, Yashar, in agreement with Jub. 35. 27, main-
tains that Rebekah died before Deborah. Comp. also Josephus,
Antiqui., I, 22. 1, which reads: Rebekah died before Jacob returned
home. Rebekah 's age at the time of her death was 158, according
to Jub., but 133, according to Yashar. See also the unknown mid-
rashic source in MHG I, 770. In the Tanhumas and Pesiktas, loc.
ctt., Deborah is described as Jacob 's nurse, which is not to be emended
to the nurse of Rebekah (to make it agree with Gen. 35. 8), These
Midrashim understand the expression np:n nprp Gen I. c. to mean
"the nurse whom Rebekah employed for her children."
3 s MHG I, 533; comp. Schechter, ad loc., and note 215. Con-
trary to the view of MHG, Tan. B. IV, 19, and Tan. Bemidbar
19 which state that God and His "family" (= court) appeared to Jacob
at Beth-el, BR 82. 4 explicitly states that it was only an angel who
appeared to Jacob at Beth-el on his return from Mesopotamia. On
the parallels between the history of Abraham and that of Jacob, see
MHG I, 534-536, and parallel passages cited by Schechter, as well
as Makiri, Ps. 61. 311, whose source is not Yelammedenu, as Buber
maintains, but Tan. B. I, 176.
s o 4 BR 82. 2-4; Tan. B.I, 176. On the joining of the name of God
to those of the three partiarchs, comp. vol. II, pp. 225, 305, and 320;
vol. IV, p. 424. See also the lengthy discussion on this point in
Ginzberg, Unbekannte Sekte, 295, note 2. See also Philo, MuL Nomin.,
2, which reads: The Lord God of three natures (of instruction, of
holiness, and of the practice of justice) of which Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob are recorded as the symbols. The same thought is expressed
more elaborately in De Somniis, 1. 27. Comp, note 227.
3s Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 35. 14. Comp. 299.
3<> 6 BR 78. 16.
37 Seder 'Clam 2. This passage also states that Leah, the
twin-sister of Rachel, died at the age of forty-four. Comp. Ratner,
318
Jacob [308-312
ad loc., and MHG I, 538-539. According to Yashar, Wa-Yishlah,
69b, Rachel died at the age of forty-five at the same time when her
father Laban died, as a punishment for breaking the covenant he had
made with Jacob.
308 12 Testaments, Benjamin 1; Lekah, Gen. 35. 18. Yashar
Wa-Yishlah, 69b, and Rashi, Gen. loc. ciL> explain the name Benjamin
as "son of the south". Jacob's youngest son was so called because
he was the only one of his children who was born in the south,
Palestine, whereas all the others were born in the north (Mesopotamia).
Jub. 32. 33 states that Benjamin was born at night. This is very
likely a midrashic explanation of Benjamin as "son of days" (=p
D'D'), which is taken to stand antiphrastically. Comp. Philo, Mut.
Nomin., 15, who likewise connects this name with D'JD 1 ' "days". The
etymology of this name in BR 80. 11 is obscure. See also vol. Ill,
p. 222 (top).
309 BR 82. 8, which states that each of the other sons of Jacob
was born, with one twin-sister, Benjamin with two. Comp. note 170.
Baba Batra 123a objects to the idea of "twin-sisters", and admits it
only in the case of Dinah. See, however, Jub. 33. 22, which reads:
Dinah the only daughter of Jacob.
310 BR 82. 10. Comp. vol. II, p. 135, and vol, IV, p, 310.
Jacob buried Rachel immediately after she died, and did not take
her body to the family burial-place, because it is not proper to trans-
port the corpses of women, especially those who died during child-
birth. See Yerushalmi Mo'ed Katan 3, end and Babli 27b-28a; Res-
ponsum by R. Hai Gaon in Sha'are Simhah II, 73. Comp. also R.
Bahya, Gen. 35. 19, and Lekah, 35. 8. Each of Jacob's sons took a
stone and put it on the grave and these twelve stones make up Rachel f s
tomb; Lekah 35, 20.
311 Targum Yerushalmi, Lekah, and Jerome on Gen. 35. 21.
Comp, also Targum Yerushalmi, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and Kimhi on Micah
4. 8.
3 12 BR 98. 4; Tan. B. I, 218; Shabbat 55b (the "confusion caused
to the Shekinah" spoken of in this passage is to be explained in accor-
dance with the haggadah about the Shekinah dwelling with husband
and wife, if their union is holy; comp. vol. I, pp. 68-69). See
also Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 35. 22; Yashar Wa-Yishlah, 69b;
SUtah Hadashah, 2 (after Leah's death Jacob placed Bilhah upon the
couch of his deceased wife, i. e. t made her his principal wife); Hadar,
Gen. 35. 22. Reuben sought, by some manipulation, (the same as
319
313-316] Th e Legends of the Jews
mentioned in Gittin 57a; comp. also note 130 and 340 on vol. II,
56 and 127 respectively), to throw suspicion on Bilhah's purity, in
order to separate her from his father. Jacob, however, found out
that he had no cause to suspect her. See also Zohar I, 175b and I76a.
The pseudepigraphic writers make no attempt to exculpate Reuben;
comp. vol. II, pp. 190-191, and note 382 on vol. II, p. 141.
3*3 Sifre D., 355; Midrash Tannaim 220.
3*4 BR 84, 19; PK 25, 159b; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 37. 29.
Comp. note 60 on vol. II, p. 24, and note 40 on vol. II, p. 13.
315 Jub. 36. 1-8. Comp. the following note.
3 16 PRE 38; MHG I, 541; Yashar Wa-Yishlah, 92a-93a (it seems
to have made use of Jub. 36. 1-8, which legend was blended with that
of the rabbinic sources); Makiri, Prov. 28, 78a-79a. Esau made his
choice at the advice of Ishmael (PRE), or Nebajoth (Yashar). God
rewarded Esau for departing from Jacob, and gave him one hundred
cities in Seir; PRE, loc. cit., and ER 13, 65. This is very likely
midrashic Haggadah on OTJ? (Gen. 36. 43), which is explained as
Ty "city", and 'D-HNO "hundred". Cornp. Menahot 43b, below
and Sanhedrin 7a: *3H HKD JITO. One feels inclined to assume
that PRE is dependent upon ER, as the latter is extremely fond of
the number one hundred; comp. 10, 54; 18, 106 and 107; 19, 113; 22, 121;
23, 124; EZ 9, 189. According to this Midrash, Esau withdrew to
Seir only for a time, until Jacob and his descendants have paid the
"debt of Abraham" by serving the Egyptians; comp. MHG I, 542 and
551, as well as notes 156, 234, and notes 138 on vol. Ill, p. 55. Zohar
I, 177a, and Lekah, Gen. 25. 29, maintain (on the basis of Baba Batra
16b) that at the burial of Isaac, Esau did not recognize Jacob's su-
periority, but claimed his birthright, and thus broke his oath with
which he confirmed the sale of his rights to Jacob. There are three
legends which attempt to explain Israel's exclusive right to the Holy
Land and the cave of Machpelah. One dwells upon the fact that
Esau, in selling his birthright to Jacob, renounced his claim to these
two possessions (comp. vol. I, pp. 320-321); the second maintains
that Jacob, on his return from Mesopotamia, acquired all claims from
his brother; comp. vol. I, pp. 392-393, and the notes appertaining there-
to, as well as Yelammedenu in Sikli (published by Poznanski, from a MS.,
in Ha-Zofeh, III, 20), where it is stated that on this occasion the brothers
drew up an agreement to abide by the wish of Isaac as expressed in
his blessings, to wit, that Jacob should inherit the world to come and
Esau this world. The third legend justifies Israeli claim to Palestine
320
Jacob [317
on the ground that Esau, in emigrating to Seir, gave up his right to
the land of his fathers; comp. the sources cited at the beginning of
this note, as well as BR 82. 13 and 84. 1 ; Koheleth 9,18; Yelammedenu
in Sikli, loc. dt.\ Wa-Yissa'u (end). Comp. the following note.
3 J 7 Wa-Yissa'u in Yalkut I, 132=Jellinek in BHM III, 1, seq.
Comp. note 292. Later additions to the original contents of Wa-Yissa'u,
dealing exclusively with the war, are the introductory parts which
were taken over verbatim from BR 82. 13, and the passages intro-
duced by DHJD1K En (taken from Sotah 13a), as well as the sentence
explaining Joseph J s absence from the war. The text is far from fault-
less, and the following emendations may be recorded here. 4, 9 (in
Jellinek's reprint) read ^DM; 5, 15 nnnyl as in 18 (where the first
edition has correctly tel) and as demanded by the context; 5, 20 read
feflJI HDn^D 1 ? ma criDiy 'iVi pwn. Yerahmeel, 37, literally agrees
with the text of Wa-Yissa'u in Yalkut, whereas Jub. 37 and 38 has a
different version of the account of the war against Esau, only a fragment
of which has been preserved in 12 Testaments, Judah 9. In contrast
to Jub. 37. 9 and 38, where Adoram is described as an Aramean, he
is correctly called the Edomite in Wa-Yissa'u, since this legendary
figure owes his existence to the Edomite city Adorah (in Wa-Yissa'u
corrupted to pHN), where Esau was buried. The faulty text of Jub.
is due to misreading WN as 'D"m. In accordance with Testament
of Judah, where the assault on the emeny's citadel by Judah is
the most important event in this war (it is very likely modelled upon
the war against the Amorites; comp. vol. I, pp. 409-411), the passage
in Wa-Yissa'u 4, 16, is to be translated: Judah entered the rampart
(=V>n; see note 292), and took the iron tower by storm. The con-
versation between Jacob and Esau is given in the text in accordance
with Jub., loc. cit., which, it seems, is in need of emendation. Read:
"Neither the children of men, nor the beasts of the field keep, etc.",
instead of "swear an oath". The Hebrew original probably had
D'PaNn ID'p 1 V, which the author employed in the sense of "keep
an oath", as in classical Hebrew; but the translator took this phrase
in the sense used in Aramaic and later Hebrew, and hence rendered
it by "swear". The statement of Sabba, Wa-Yishlah, 45a, that the
Midrash describing the wars between Jacob and Esau (the D of monton
shows that rnon^D is not the title of the book; comp. note 292),
speaks of a sudden attack by the latter on the former, very likely
refers to Wa-Yissa'u. In view of the fact that Sabba himself ad-
mits that he quotes from memory, the difference between his text
321
318-322] The Legends of the Jews
and that of Wa-Yissa'u (as, e. ., Vl3D in Sabba instead of HT3 in
Wa-Yissa'u) may be disregarded. Brull, Jakrbucher, IX, 8, note 3,
is to be corrected accordingly. For another legend about Esau 's death,
see Sotah 13a, and vol. II, 154. A later hand added this account to
the original composition of Wa-Yissa'u. That this section did not
form part of the original may be seen from the introductory words
. r . t . ,.
Tan. B. I, 108; DR 2. 20; MHG I, 524. Wa-Yissa u (end)
is accordingly to be emended to pW instead of apjr. On Eliphaz
comp. further vol. I, pp. 346 and 356, as well as vol. Ill, p. 63. Ha-
sidim 19 reads: Jacob had a Bet ha-Midrash which was attended even
by the sons of Esau. This is perhaps based on Wa-Yissa'u (end),
where, according to our text, Eliphaz is considered a pupil of Jacob.
Comp. the following note.
3*9 Tan. B. I, 104 and 166; Aggadat Bereshit 55, 110-114; Tan.
B. I, 108. See also Makiri, Obadiah (end), and Ma'yan Gannim
4. 1,'both of whom very likely made use of Aggadat Bereshit,
and not of an unknown Midrash on Job, as maintained by Wert-
heimer, Leket Midrashim, 5. The identity of Job's friend Eliphaz
with Esau 's son bearing the same name is maintained also by Jerome,
Gen. 36. 10. Comp. notes 31-32 on vol. II, p. 236. BR 82.
12 (see also MHG 1,54), on the contrary, asserts that Eliphaz was
very wicked and had unchaste relations with his father's wife, who
bore him children.
3 20 Sanhedrin 99b; MHG I, 542; Yashar, Wa-Yishlah, 70a. BR
80. 14, on the contrary, says: As a reward for the honor which Esau
paid to his father, he was so highly esteemed by his contemporaries
that princesses considered it a great honor to become related to his
house by marriage. From this one may infer the great respect en-
joyed by Jacob who was by far his brother's superior. Comp. BaR
14. 10; note 138 on vol. Ill, p. 55.
3 21 Yashar Wa-Yishlah, 70a. Similarly Zohar I, 188a-188b,
reads: Anah met demons in the desert, the place where evil spirits
dwell.
s 22 Yerushalmi Berakot 8, 12b; BR 80. 15; Pesahim 54a. Zohar I,
188b, combines this view on D'BTT (Gen. 36. 24) with the one given in
the preceding note. Jerome, Gen. /. c., offers three explanations of
D'D'n communicated to him by his Jewish masters. According to one,
it refers to the mules which Eliphaz produced by crossing the horse
with the ass, or rather by* observing- these animals mating with one
322
Jacob [323-326
another. The other explanation considers D^DTl to be identical with
D'DH "wells of water". The third view refers it to the hot springs
(D^DH) which he found. Onkelos and Lekah on Gen. /. c., take D'D'n
in the sense of D^DNn "the awful beings'* (comp. Hullin 6a), and
Ephraim, I, 105 E, shares this view, whereas Targum Yerushalmi, ad
loc., agrees with Pesahim, loc. cit. This talmudic reference records
also another opinion, according to which Adam crossed the horse
with the ass. The Haggadah finds in the names of Esau and his
descendants and in those of their dwelling-places hints at their wicked
and impious mode of life. See BR 82 .4; PRE 38 (this is the source
of Rashi, Gen. 36. 43), and in amplified form, Sekel 1, 207-212 (based
on an unknown midrashic source). Comp. also Tan. Wa-Yesheb 1;
Shabbat 85a, and MHG I, 542, where it is stated that the inhabitants
of Seir were great experts in agriculture.
323 BR 83. 1-2; MHG I, 546 and 547-548. On foreigners as
kings of Edom (Rome), see also Hullin 56b; ShR 37. 1; BaR 14. 10
(Bela, Jobab, and Husham were the only Edomites, while the other
kings were foreigners); vol. II, p. 156. Just as the Romans (Edomites)
had no kings of their own, even so they had to borrow their language
and script from other nations; comp. 'Abodah Zarah lOa; Yerushalmi
Megillah 1. 7lc; Esther 1. 22; Targum 1 Chron. 1. 43; Targum Yer-
ushalmi Gen. 36. 32; Krauss, Lehnworter, s. v. pin.
32 4 Targum 1 Chron. 1. 43; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 36. 32.
Comp. also Monatsschrift, XLIV, 35, as well as Ginzberg, Haggadah
bei den Kirchenv., 123. According to BaR 14. 10 Bela is a surname
of Esau; comp. the preceding note.
325 BR 83. 3. On the view that Job = Jobab, comp. note 3 on
vol. II, p. 225.
326 MHG I, 548.
323
I. JOSEPH
Vol. II
(pp. 1-184)
1 BR 84. 2-4; MHG I, 552-553. On the conception that the
life of the pious is a pilgrimage, see Tan. B. I, 179; Aggadat Bereshit
57, 117; notes 327, 260 on vol. I, p. 280. Concerning Abraham's
proselytizing activity, see vol. I, p. 219. On Isaac's activity in this
direction, see R. Bahya on Gen. 26. 15.
3 Seder 'Olam 2. During this short period, however, his life was
very happy (Josephus, Antigm., II, 2. 1), especially from the moment
Esau emigrated from the Holy Land (Tan. B. I, 178; MHG I, 541-
542), so that Jacob could live at his father's place in Hebron (MHG
I, 553-554), and discharge his filial duties, which he had been
compelled to neglect for twenty-two years; see Seder 'Olam, loc. tit.
* BR 84. 5 and 87. 8; Mekilta Beshallah 3, 29b; Mekilta RS
48 (an entire sentence, which fell out through a homoioteleuton, is to
be restored in accordance with the text of our Mekilta, loc. cit.} ; Tan.
Wa-Yesheb 9; Pekude 11; Naso 30; Tan. B. I, 179 and 188, as well as
206, and IV, 45; Tehillim 114, 475, and 20, 175 (which reads: The
final redemption will take place on account of the merits of Joseph;
see also MHG I, 544); Yelammedenu in 'Aruk, s. v. ]pr; Zohar I,
180a, 182b, and 222a; II, 49a and 230b; III, 214a; 12 Testaments,
Joseph 18 (according to Jub. 21, 9, it was Levi and Judah, not Joseph,
who resembled their father most closely in appearance); Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 36. 2-3. Comp. also the following three notes.
In 12 Testaments, Benjamin 12, Joseph is designated as "the good
and pious one" (the reading "the beautiful one" lacks support),
and this is in agreement with the rabbinic and pseudepigraphic
sources which frequently give Joseph the title pH^rr "the pious
one". Comp. Yoma 35b; ARN 16, 63 and 160; PRE 38 ( = 12
Testaments, Zebulun 3); BR 93. 7, 11, as well as 95. 4; ER
16, 83; 4 Maccabees 2. 2 (which has "the virtuous Joseph",
undoubtedly representing p'-IS, though it is not its literal tran-
slation); Ascension of Isaiah 4 (end); Shir 6. 12; Koheleth 19. 15; an
unknown Midrash quoted in MHG I, 580 (r), 582 (B"), 590, (top)
324
Joseph [46
and 602. There can be no doubt that this title was conferred
on Joseph on account of his virtuous victory over the wiles of his
master's wife, as expressly stated in 4 Maccabees, loc. cit. Hence
the statement of the Kabbalists that he who keeps himself sexually
clean deserves the title p'"T2 like Joseph; comp. Abkat Rokel 2. 2 and
Zohar I, 59b. In the kabbalistic literature Joseph is hardly ever
mentioned without this title; comp., e. g., Zohar I, 59b, 7lb, 85a,
153b, 158a, 189b, 194b, 204a, 206b, 207a, 208a, 246b; II, 23a, 258a;
III, 14a, 26a, 189a, 242b. In later books, owing to the influence of
this literature, this title of Joseph is of frequent occurrence, and it is
interesting to note that sometimes later recensions of liturgic com-
positions read p'"T2TI *]DV, whereas the old sources of the very same
pieces only have *|DV without any epithet; comp. e. g., the prayer
tbty hv um in Berakot 55b and Makiri, Prov. 24. 17, where all man-
uscripts and editions read *]DT only, whereas the prayer-books (pin)
have pHsn *]DV. Attention Is also to be called to the fact that the lit-
urgic composition nDPNl V^N which is of geonic times speaks of *|DT
and not of p'tsn *|DV. Griinbaum, Gesammelte Aufsatze r 545, and
Schapiro, Haggadische Elements, 36, are to be corrected accordingly.
Some of the M idrashim explain pHX as "one who practises charity", HpTX,
and remark that only Joseph and Noah bore that name of distinction
because both of them provided man and beast with food in the time
of famine and distress ; comp. Tan. B. I, 31 ; Tan. Noah 3 ; Yelammedenu
in Recanati, Wa-Yesheb; Zohar I, 208a. The title TDn Is very rarely
conferred upon Joseph; comp. Abba Gorion 2, and parallel passages
cited by Buber. This passage reads: Joseph the first of the O'TDn.
See also Shemuel 5, 63 (the correct text is to be found in MHG I,
589); Yelammedenu in Yalkut I, 744 (2" 3); MHG I, 579. The Mus-
lim writers, following Jewish custom, give Joseph the title al-Ziddikj
but ignorant of Hebrew, they explain it in accordance with the Arabic
meaning of p"TX as "truthful one". Comp. Excurs. II; Joseph. The
use of the epithet pH^n after Joseph's name is by far more fre-
quent among Arabic-speaking Jews than among other Jews; comp.,
e. g., Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, II, 34 and 48, as well as
III, 46. On the reason of this epithet see also Lekah, Gen. 45. 15.
4 BR 84. 6; BaR 14. 5; Tan. B. I, 179; Tan, Wa-Yesheb 1 (end)
and Mikkez 3; MHG I, 554-555. Comp. vol. IV, p. 201 (top).
5 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 37. 2. Comp. notes 3 and 6.
6 MHG I, 553; Yelammedenu 24-25(=BHM VI, 82), with the
additional remark that he studied under the guidance of Jacob and
325
7-17] The Legends of the Jews
Isaac; Philo, De Josepho, 1; Josephus, AntiquL, II, 2. 1; Zohar III, 207.
On the view that the life of a shepherd is the proper preparation for
a ruler, comp. vol. II, pp. 300-301.
? MHG I, 555; Yelammedenu 25 ( = BHM VI, 82), which reads:
The sons of the handmaids were treated by the other sons of Jacob
with contempt, but Joseph offered his services to them as though
he were their slave. Comp. the sources quoted m the following
8BR 84. 7; Yerushalmi Peah I, 15d-16a; Tan. B. I, 180; Tan.
Wa-Yesheb 7. See the following note.
9 12 Testaments, Gad 2. The rabbinic sources cited in the two
preceding notes, on the contrary, are of the opinion that the relation
between Joseph and the sons of the handmaids were very friendly,
whereas the relations between the "sons of the ladies", on the one
hand, and the sons of the handmaids and Joseph, on the other, were
strained. PRE 28 and Targum Yerushalmi Gea. 37. 2 share the
view of 12 Testaments.
10 Zohar I, 216b.
11 BR 84. 8-10; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 4; Aggadat Bereshit 60, 123-
124; comp. also R. Bahya, Gen. 37. 3, who very likely made use of
Aggadat Bereshit. According to the view of later authors, Joseph 's
coat was the holy tunic of the priest; comp. Keli Yakar, Gen., he.
ciL The frankness of Joseph's brethren may be taken as a contrast
to Esau's cunning in concealing his feelings towards Jacob; comp.
note 109 on vol. I, p. 342. Philo, De Josepho, 2, likewise remarks: The
virtuous man loves and hates openly; hidden hatred is evidence
of fear. But he maintains that Joseph's brethern acted like cowards,
and tried to conceal their enmity. See also Palkera, Ha-Mebakkesh,
I7a. On the dividing of the Red Sea, comp. vol. II, p. 3 (below),
and vol. Ill, p. 201.
12 Lekah Gen. 36. 6; MHG I, 559.
J 3 MHG I, 560; BR 84. 10. Comp. also Josephus, Antiqui.,
11,2.2.
14 Josephus, Antigui., II, 2. 3.
15 BR 67. 10 and 84. 11; MHG I, 560. Comp. the following
note.
16 MHG I, 560; comp. Dan. 12. 3, and Yerushalmi Nedarim
3, 38a. Josephus, Antiqui., II, 2. 3, gives a somewhat different in-
terpretation of the dream.
17 BR 84. 11-12. Similarly Philo, De Josepho, 2, and Josephus,
326
Joseph [18-29
Antiqui., II, 1. 3, assert that Jacob was convinced of the truth of
the dream, but for the sake of peace, in order not to arouse the envy
of his other sons, he rebuked Joseph for telling his dreams. Berakot
55a-55b reads: A dream may be partly fulfilled, but never in its
entirety, as may be seen from Joseph who dreamed that his mother
would appear before him, and yet she had already been dead.
Comp. notes 18 and 20.
18 Lekah Gen. 37. 10, according to which VPIN ^Nl is to be trans-
lated "in the presence of his brethren". The same view is expressed
by Josephus, Antigui., II, 2. 3. Comp. preceding note as well as
note 20.
J 9 BR84. 11.
20 Lekah, Gen. 37. 11. Comp. notes 17 and 18.
21 BR 84. 13; Sifre N., 69; Mishle 26. 99; ARN 34, 10; second
version 37, 99. In all these sources, with the exception of the last-
named, the dots on DN in Gen. 37. 12 indicate that it is to be read as
DIT1K (they went to enjoy themselves), whereas according to ARN,
loc. tit., these dots draw attention to the fact that the sons of Jacob
drove the flock to the pasture for their own pleasure, to enjoy the
meat of the fattened animals. Comp. vol. II, p. 6. Accordingly
there is no need to emend the text of ARN. See Theodor, BR, ad
loc. and Blau, Masoretische Untersuchungen, 23-25.
22 Yashar Wa-Yesheb 80b; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 37. 13;
similarly Josephus, Antiqui., II, 2. 4.
23 BR 84. 13; Tan. B. I, 183; comp. Hasidim 233 and note 442
appertaining to it. Philo, De Josepbo, 2, reads: Jacob sent his sons away
for a time, retaining only Joseph with him, as the suffering of the soul
is cured only by time; and when he thought that the ill-feeling of his
sons against Joseph had subsided, he sent the latter to inquire after
their welfare.
2 4 Hullin 91b. Comp. vol. II, pp. 99, 115, as well as vol. IV,
p. 137; See also notes 254 and 292.
25 MHG I,' 562. On unconscious prophecies see note 239 on vol.
I, p. 277.
26 BR 84. 13 and 86. 1-2; Tan. B. I, 183 and 185, as well as
188; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 4; Sotah lib; Shabbat 89b; Aggadat Bereshit
69, 122-123; Tehillim 115, 450. Comp. note 32.
2 7 Sanhedrin 102a; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 2.
28 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 80b.
29 PRE 38; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 37. 15; Tan. B. I, 183,
327
30-41] The Legends of the Jews
163; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 2; Hadar, ad loc. (which reads: Raphael);
BR 84. 14 (three angels). Comp. also MHG I, 562. Philo, Quod
Deteriiis Potiori Insidiari Soleat, 7, seems to have known the Haggadah
about the angel meeting Joseph, and in his rationalistic manner
changed the angel for the soul; comp. Zohar I, 184a. The name
Dothan (rotn) in Gen. 37. 17 refers to the angel, who is thus desig-
nated because he observes the law (m) of God. Comp. Tan., loc.cit.
30 PRE38.
31 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 37. 17. Comp. notes 22 and 26,
as well as Targum Yerushalmi 14.
32 PRE38.
33 BR 84. 14; Tan. B. I, 183. These Midrashim take pirriD
(Gen. 37. 18) as qualifying ITOn 1 ?, i. e., to kill him while he was still
far off by setting dogs on him. According to some authorities, they
drew lots to decide upon the mode of killing him. Comp. Aggadat
Bereshit 60, 23; R. Bahya on Gen. 37. 3; Mishle 1, 45.
34 12 Testaments, Zebulun 2. According to a widespread view
in rabbinic literature (comp. note 41), it was Simeon and Levi who
advised to put Joseph to death, and if not for Reuben and Judah
they would have killed him. In the 12 Testaments Levi is idealized
as a prophet and priest, and therefore the rdle of a bloodthirsty plotter
had to be taken away from him and assigned to another brother (comp.
note 41). Gad and Dan (12 Testaments, Gad 2 and Dan 1) are the
competitors for this unenviable r61e of the villain. As to the dry
pit, comp. note 63 on vol. I, p. 324.
3* BR84. 15.
36 Josephus, Antiqui., II, 3. 1-3. Reuben hoped to enable
Joseph to escape during the night; Josephus, loc. cit., and PRE 38.
On the conception that to cause one's death is not as grievous a sin
as to commit murder, see vol. II, p. 251, as well as the Halakah in
Baba Kamma 24b.
3 7 Lekah Gen. 37. 30; comp. Zohar I, 185a-185b, which is very
likely the source of Sabba, Wa-Yesheb, 48a.
38 MHG I, 562-563 and the parallel passages cited by Schechter,
as well as ARN 45, 125.
39 BR 84. 15; Shemuel 9, 75; Makkot lOa.
4 PK 25, 159b; MHG I, 563. For another version of this Hag-
gadah see note 314 on vol. I, p. 416.
4* BR 84. 16; Tan. B. I, 184; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 2; Yashar Wa-
Yesheb, 81a; Shabbat 22a; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 38. 27. Josephus,
328
Joseph [4250
Antigui., II, 3. 2, asserts that Reuben himself threw Joseph into the
pit, but with the intention of saving him; comp. note 36. It is to
be observed that although both Simeon and Levi are described as
the plotters against Joseph's life (BR 99. 10; Tan. B. I, 183; Tan.
Wa-Yesheb 9; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 37. 19), yet it is only Simeon
who is declared to have thrown him into the pit in all the sources
mentioned above, with the exception of Mishle I, 44, where Levi
is said to have been Simeon's accomplice in this undertaking also.
In view of the remark of note 34, it is possible that Mishle has pre-
served the original form of this legend, while the other sources attempted
to exonerate Levi, with the result that in the Testaments (comp. note
34) and Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 42. 24 there is not the faintest allusion
to Levi's enmity towards Joseph. Philo, De Josepho, 30, likewise puts
the entire blame on Simeon.
42 Tan. B. I, 184, whence it was incorporated in Yalkut I, 142.
43 BR 84. 16, which is followed by Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
37. 3. T'SD Tins is a paraphrase of D'Dfl, which accordingly is not
to be translated "a coat of many colors", but "an upper garment
in which figures are woven," in accordance with mishnaic j'DBDfl ;
comp. Nega'im 11. 6.
44 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 81a. Comp. notes 33 and 34.
45 12 Testaments, Zebulun 4.
46 PR 10, 40b; Tan. Ki-Tissa 2. Against this view which praises
Judah's interference is directed the statement of R. Meir in Sanhed-
rin 6b, blaming Judah for his half-hearted stand, for he could have
saved Joseph from slavery just as he saved him from death. See
also Tosefta Berakot 4. 18 and 1 Alphabet of Ben Sira 13a, as well as
note 388 on vol. Ill, p. 195.
47 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 81b. Comp. the following note.
48 PRE 38; BR 84. 17; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 2. Against this view
comp. vol. II, p. 217, according to which Judah sold Joseph without
the knowledge of his brethren.
4 9 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 81b-82a. As to Simeon's terrible voice
see vol. II, pp. 86 and 106, as well as vol. IV, p. 35. That Simeon is
here the spokesman of his brethren is to be explained in accordance
with notes 34 and 41.
50 Tehillim 10, 93. The great sin of the sons of Jacob was never
forgiven, so that each generation of Israelites has to bear its share
of suffering as an atonement. The death of the "ten martyrs" (comp.
Index, s. v.) especially was a partial payment of this debt. These
329
5i~59] The Legends of the Jews
great men suffered for the crime of the ten sons of Jacob. Comp. Mishle
1, 45; Elleh Ezkerah 64; Midrash Shir 3a-3b; Kaftor wa-Ferah, 412.
See further BR 84. 17; note 62 and note 14 on vol. II, p. 216.
* Tan.Wa-Yesheb2; PRE 38 (the text of the editions is very
likely incomplete; comp. Da 1 at and Hadar, Gen. 37. 2); MHG I,
564; 'Asarah Haruge Malkut 20. On the text of the last-named source
see Da 1 at and Hadar, loc. cit. According to the reading of the last-
mentioned sources, the angel changed Joseph's sallow and sickly com-
plexion into a rosy and ruddy one, and that is the reason why the
brethren asked a higher price for him. The Midianites added a pair
of shoes for each one of them. The shoes as part of the price (comp.
Amos 2. 6) are also mentioned in 12 Testaments, Zebulun 4, and in
Targum Yerushalmi Gen., loc. cit. Comp. the sources cited in the
following note.
52 'Asarah Haruge Malkut 20, whence it was borrowed by Da 1 at,
Hadar, and Imre No 1 am on Gen. 38. 22-23. In Hadar and Imre
No 1 am Raphael (comp. vol. II, p. 10 and note 28) is substituted for
Gabriel. This is due to the fact that the former is the angel of healing
(comp. Index, 5. v.) t and is thus more likely to have been the one to
bring about an improvement in Joseph's health. Comp. the previous
note. Schapiro, Haggadische Elemenle, 27, is to be corrected accord-
ingly. The view that the shoes were an addition to the price proper
removes the contradiction between Gen. 37. 28 and Amos 2. 6. Comp.
previous note.
53 Yerushalmi Shekalim 2, 46d; PK 1, 19b-20a; BR 84. 18;
Tan. Ki-tissa 10; comp. MHG I, 564, and vol. Ill, p. 148.
54 12 Testaments, Zebulun 3; comp. notes 51, 52. He who
refuses to enter into a levirate marriage shows that he is lacking in
brotherly love, and hence the ceremony of taking off the shoes brands
him as one who is like Joseph's brethren.
5 s Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 82b. Concerning the various masters who
possessed Joseph, see note 99.
56 Tosefta Berakot 4. 16; BR 84. 17.
57 Midrash Shir 3a. Comp. vol. IV, p. 242, and the following
note.
5 8 Aggadat Shir 1, 12, where the general assertion is made that by
the odor of the dead bones one may distinguish between the pious and
the wicked, between Jew and Gentile, between man and woman.
Comp. note 92 on vol. I, p. 334, and note 2 on vol. Ill, p. 5.
59 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 82b-84a and S5b-86a. The author was
330
Joseph [6065
perhaps acquainted with the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.
Comp. vol. II, pp. 34-42 and 220-221.
60 BR 84. 19; PK 25, 159a-159b; Mishle 1, 45; Targum Yeru-
shalmi Gen. 37. 29. Reuben is very often referred to in the Haggadah
of the earliest Tannaim and the latest Amoraim as the type of the
"penitent"; comp. the sources cited in the notes on vol. I, p. 416;
vol. II, pp. 36, 131, 141, 190; vol. Ill, pp. 199, 220, 223, 232, 462;
vol. IV, p. 360. Comp. also Schechter, Zadokite Fragments, 27,
note 66. Charles, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Introduction, 15,
note 1, is accordingly in error when he maintains that the old rabbinic
literature does not know of the "penitent Reuben", and the conclusion
he draws from this assumption is quite untenable. Comp. Ginzberg
in Journal of Bill. Lit., XLI, 119.
61 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 84a-84b, partly following older sources;
comp. BR 86. 14, and vol. II, pp. 30, 205. Issachar, as the ancestor
of the "tribe of the wise" (comp. note 391), gives a wise counsel.
62 MHG I, 565; BR 84. 19; Lekah and Targum Yerushalmi on
Gen. 37. 31. Zohar I, 185b adds: Just as Jacob deceived his father
by means of a young goat, even so was he deceived by means of a
young goat. Comp. notes 65, 87-88 and note 88 on vol. I, p. 332.
As to the gravity of the sin, comp. note 50.
63 12 Testaments, Zebulun 4.
64 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 84a-85a, which in many points resembles
the description given by Philo, De Josepho, 3. The lamentation on Jo-
seph closes with the acknowledgment of God's justice V"TTI pvt. Comp.
vol. I, p. 286 and note 256 appertaining to it. Joseph's coat, soiled
with blood and dust (comp. Philo, loc. cit.\ Yashar 84b; Da 1 at and
Hadar on Gen., 37. 31), was brought to Jacob. According to Yashar
the coat was brought by the swift messenger Naphtali (comp. note
216, on vol. I, p. 371) ; but the older sources maintain that it was Judah
(BR 84. 8 and 95. 2; Tan. B. I, 209; BaR 13. 14; Aggadat Bereshit
60, 124), and that lots were drawn to decide who should bring the
message to their father. Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 37. 25 agrees
with the older sources, but in 37. 32 it states that the sons of the bond-
women brought the sad news to their father.
65 Jub. 34. 14-19; comp. note 62. According to the views of
the Rabbis, Bilhah survived Jacob; see vol. II, p. 167. Dinah is
mentioned in Gen. 46. 15 among the members of Jacob's family who
emigrated to Egypt many years after Joseph had been sold into slavery,
Comp. note 96.
331
66-74] The Legends of the Jews
66 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 85a-85b. This legend seems to be of
Arabic origin, since in genuinely Jewish legends animals do not
talk.
67 Soferim 21; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 37. 33. The latter
source made use of BR 84. 19, but changed the unconscious prophecy
of the Midrash into a conscious one. On the number 12 in Jewish
legends, comp. Zunz, Liter aturgeschichte, 601-602, and see further ER
II, 29-30; Tan. B. I, 181 and 222; MHG II, 4.
68 PRE 38; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 2; MHG I, 564. Comp. notes 66,
198, and 370.
69 BR 84. 21; comp. Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 85a, where Isaac's
mourning for Joseph is spoken of. Different views have been ex-
pressed with regard to Jacob's daughters mentioned in Gen. 37. 35.
According to one opinion, the daughters-in-law are meant by the
word "daughters", but another view maintains that this word refers
to the twin-sisters of the twelve sons; comp. the sources cited in note
170 on vol. I, p. 362. Yashar, loc. cit., has may nun, the daughters
of his slaves, instead of vrm. On Isaac "the prophet" comp. note
78 on vol. I, p. 330.
7 Tan. B. I, 180 and 221. BR 24. 5, Shir 15. 6, and Aggadat
Bereshit 72, 141-142, dwell upon the fact that the existence of the twelve
tribes is a part of the plan of creation. Were it not for his sin, Adam
would have been the father of the twelve tribes. See also notes 67
and 428.
71 Rashi on Gen. 37. 35, which is based upon an unknown mid-
rashic source somewhat similar to Tan. B. I, 204 and Tan. Wa-Yiggash
9; but neither of these two is Rashi 's source. Comp. note 320.
72 BR 84. 20; Megillah 17a. Comp. note 2 and note 240 on
vol. I, p. 381.
7 3 BR 84. 20; Esther 4. 1.
7 < Tan. B. I, 181, 183, 209; BR 85. 3; DR 7. 4; Tan. 'Ekeb 6;
ShR 42. 3; Aggadat Bereshit 60, 123-124; Sotah 13b; Tan. Ki-Tissa
22 ; Zohar I, 186a. In all these sources Judah is blamed for two things:
First for his failure to complete the good deed he began, since he might
have restored Joseph to his father after he saved him from death
and not sold him into slavery (comp. vol. II, p. 37). Secondly, for
having delivered Joseph's coat to his father with the words "Discern
now whether it is thy son's coat or not" (Gen. 37. 23). Judah 's
punishment for these deceitful words correspond to his sin: Tamar
said to him: "Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, etc." (ibid. 38.
332
Joseph [75-80
25). Comp. notes 46, 64. That Judah was the leader of his brethren
is also found in Philo, De Josepho, 32. On the basis of the Haggadah
in the Midrashim just quoted, Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 38. 1 para-
phrases TV! by "And he became poor"; comp. Yerushalmi Peah
1, 19a, and WR 34. 13, for the explanation of D'THD in Is. 58. 7. Comp.
note 95.
75 12 Testaments, Judah 9, 8, and 11 (verses 1-2 in the last
passage ought to be transferred to 8. 2). On Judah 's marriage see
also vol. II, pp, 37 and 199.
7 6 MHG I, 569-570. Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 38. 3 dwells up-
on the fact that Judah did not marry his wife before converting her
to Judaism. Comp. note 96.
77 BR 85. 1; Tan. B. I, 182; Aggadat Bereshit 63, 128.
7 8 BR 85. 4; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 38. 3; MHG I, 570.
79 12 Testaments, Judah 10. The Bible does not specify the
nature of Er's sin; but the Rabbis maintain that he committed the
same sin as Onan; see Yerushalmi Ketubot 7, 31 ("is? = rr$D) ; BR
85. 4; Yebamot 34b; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 38. 7; Tan. Wa-Yesheb
90b. It is possible that in the Hebrew original of the Testaments the
same view was expressed. Comp. Excursus II; Judah. On the expres-
sion 1'iraiD mm O^BUD m and nun Bnin used in BR to describe onan-
ism (severely condemned in rabbinic sources; comp., e. g., Niddah 13a),
see MHG I, 570; PRE 21 (beginning); Shir 4. 13. While 12 Testa-
ments, loc. tit., and Jub. 41. 1 describe Tamar as the daughter of
Aram, the rabbinic sources declare Shem to have been her father.
It is true that Shem was the father of Aram (Gen. 10. 21), and there
would be no difficulty in taking " father " in the sense of "grand-
father". Moreover in view of the fact that Shem is by far more fa-
mous than his son Aram, the reason for describing Tamar as the daughter
of Shem is quite obvious. Nevertheless the context in which the
Rabbis speak of Tamar as Shem's daughter (comp. vol. II, p.
35) shows clearly that they were of the opinion that she was his daughter
and not his grand-daughter; comp. BR 85. 10; Tan. B. 1, 187; Aggadat
Bereshit 63, 129; Ruth R (end); Targum Yerushalmi,^. tit. Only
Yashar, loc. tit., considers Tamar to have been a grand-daughter
of Shem by his first-born son Elam. Comp. Excursus II; Judah.
For the etymological explanations of the name Tamar, see Lekah
and Sekel on Gen. 38. 6.
80 BR 85. 4; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 38. 4; MHG I, 570.
333
8 1 86] The Legends of the Jews
81 12 Testaments, Judah 10-11. In Sotah 13b and in the sources
cited in note 74 the death of Judah *s wife and children is declared
to have been his punishment for having sold Joseph into slavery.
For he was mainly responsible for this sin; comp. vol. II, pp. 31-32.
Many etymological explanations are given of the name Shelah, see
BR 85. 4; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 38. 5; MHG 1,570. With re-
gard to S'oa (Gen. 38. 5) an opinion is quoted according to which
it is not a name of a place but a noun derived from the root 3D; this
verse is thus to be translated: "And she stopped bearing children
after the birth of this one"; see BR, loc. cit., where two explanations
of m:n are combined into one; Targum Yerushalmi and MHGJoc. cit.
8 2 BR 85. 6-9; Sotah; lOa-lOb; Yer. Ketubot 13 (beginning) ; MHG
I, 569 ('3); Zohar I, 188a-188b. According to Seder 'Olam 2, the
difference in age between Er and Onan was only one year; they married
at the age of seven, and died a year after their marriage. Philo, De
Virtutibus, De Nobilitate, 6, gives an idealized picture of Tamar, "who
was reared in the house of idolaters, but became converted to the belief
in one God, and by the purity of her life she acquired nobility for her
descendants." He further adds that although Tamar was of the
race of the Palestinian Syrians (not Canaanitish I) , she was never-
theless a free woman; her parents, too, were free people, yea, probably
distinguished persons. On the view that Tamar was a convert to
Judaism from idolatry, see note 76 and Sotah lOa, where she is
described as a proselyte. For a different opinion comp. note 79.
*3 MHG I, 572.
8 4 Sotah lOa, as a haggadic interpretation of D'ry nnsn (Gen.
38. 14), which is explained to mean: The gate to which the eyes
of all are turned. For other haggadic interpretations of these words
comp. Yerushalmi Sotah 1. 16d-17a; BR 85. 7; Tan. B. I, 186-187;
Shemuel 6, 67; MHG I, 573 (VS); Targum Yerushalmi, ad loc. See
also note 86.
85 Megillah lOb; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 38. 15 BR 85. 8 and
Tan. I, 187 warn against following Judah's example and refraining,
out of excessive prudery, from looking at one's female relatives. If
Judah had not been too modest, the shocking incident with Tamar
would never have happened.
86 BR 85. 7, and the sources referred to in note 84. Tan. B. I,
187, has Michael instead of the "angel of love", of the other sources.
On the text of Tan. see Hadar, Gen. 38. 15. When Moses ascended
into heaven, " the great prince " Michael met him, with the intention
334
Joseph [8790
of consuming him with the breath of his mouth, and said unto him:
"What hast thou, that art born of woman, to do here in the place
of the holy ones (=angels)?" Moses rejoined: "And who art thou,
and what is thy rank?" "I am as important as Judah the son of
Jacob", replied Michael. From this it may be inferred that Judah
was a very pious and holy man. He betook himself to Tamar only
after he had been compelled to do so by an angel; Tan. B. (Introduction)
128-129; read >"W instead of T by.
8 ? BR 85. 9; 12 Testaments, Judah 15. 3, and in abridged form
12. 4. Shu'aib, Wa-Yesheb, l8d, quotes, from an unknown Midrash,
a different explanation of the three pledges. Just as Jacob deceived
Jiis father by means of a young goat (comp. note 62), even so did
Tamar deceive Judah by means of a young goat; BR, loc. cit. Comp.
note 74.
88 Tan. B. I, 187; BR 85. 10; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 38. 24.
Comp. note 79, and the following note.
89 Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 38. 25-26; Sotah lOb, which reads:
Sammael hid the pledges, so that Tamar J s innocence should not be
proved thereby; but Gabriel ( = Michael in Palestinian sources; comp.
Index, j. v.) brought them back. See also Tan. B., Introduction, 127
(here also Gabriel is mentioned; but this passage is not based on the
Talmud) ; Makkot 23b, where it is stated that Shem was the presiding
judge, and accordingly in Tan. B. I, 187 D$ should be read and not
0$; BR 85. 1 (here the Holy One, blessed be He, JYnprr, takes the
place of the angel); Koheleth 10. 16; Tehillim 72, 325; Shemuel 14,
91. In the last-named five sources the additional remark is found to
the effect that on this occasion, as well as at the time when Samuel
asserted his incorruptibility and disinterestedness (1 Sam. 12. 3, seq.),
and when Solomon pronounced his judgment on the dispute of the
two mothers (1 Kings 3. 24, se^.), a heavenly voice was heard to cor-
roborate the statement made by the mortals. Tan. B. I, 187-188,
and Aggadat Bereshit 17, 35, remark that the "three youths" were
saved from death in the furnace as a reward for the pious deed of their
ancestor Judah, who had saved three lives from death by fire: Ta-
mar and her two sons. Comp. also MHG I, 577-578.
5> Sifre D., 348; Midrash Tannaim 214; Tan. B. I, 188. Comp.
note 60, and vol. Ill, p. 455. As a reward for his frank confession
of his sin, Judah was granted royal dignity; Tosefta Berakot 4. 17;
335
Legends of the Jews
Mekilta Beshallah 5, 31b, and parallel passages cited by Friedmann;
ShR 30. 19. ,0,1.
9 J BR 85. 9; Tan. B. I, 188, which remarks: They were kings
like their father; MHG I, 574.
9 2 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 38. 29, and somewhat different in
BR 85. 19, where the name Perez (=p*>) is taken to be an allusion
to the Messiah, who is called "the breaker" (comp. Micah 2. 13),
and who is a descendant of Perez, the son of Judah. See also Lekah
Gen, loc. tit., and MHG I, 579, which reads: Perez, he who broke
through his mother 's womb.
s>3 MHG I, 579; Lekah Gen. 38. 29. Comp. also Targum Yeru-
shalmi Gen., loc. cit., which remarks: Zerah, the shining (=the scar-
let) thread.
*4 MHG I, 336-337. The source of MHG is Mishle, but not
of our editions.
95 BR 85. 2-3 and the sources cited in note 74. To exonerate
Judah of the sin of having married a Canaanitish woman, it was nec-
essary to explain *ayw (Gen. 38. 2) as "merchant"; comp. BR, loc.
cit., and Pesahim 50a, as well as Onkelos and Targum Yerushalmi,
ad \oc. For a different view see vol. II, p. 32, and notes 75-77. The
name 'Met is only found in Yashar, Wa-Yesheb, 89b; comp. also
Sekel, ad loc., 226. On Hiram = Hirah see note 105 on vol. IV, p.
336. Concerning the wives of Jacob's sons; comp. note 69, and vol.
I, p. 362.
9 6 BR 80. 11; MHG I, 682; Yashar Wa-Yishlah, 60b and 89b.
The older sources would not admit that any one of Jacob's sons
married a Canaanitish woman (comp. the preceding note), and this
gave rise to the view that 1TJJ7M (Gen. 46. 10) refers to Dinah, whereas
Yashar in an uncritical manner makes Simeon marry Dinah, and, as
his second wife, the Canaanitish woman Bunah. As to the name
mm, comp. 1 Chron. 2. 25; but there it is the name of a man, and it is
quite possible that in Yashar it is the Latin bona; comp. vol. I, p.
400 (top). On the basis of the statement in BR, loc. tit., that Dinah's
body was brought from Egypt to Palestine, the medieval authors
maintain that her grave is at Arbel; see Shu'aib, Wa-Yishlah, 16a,
and Wa-Yehi, 24a, as well as Seder la-Dor ot, 2198. Comp. note 65.
97 PRE 38, which is the source of Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
41. 45 and 46. 20; Abkir in Yalkut I, 146; Judah b. Barzillai 63 (the
source is not given); Soferim (end). A somewhat different version
of this legend is found in Hadar and Da 1 at on Gen. 41. 45 (only these
336
Joseph [98-101
sources give the episode about Asenath handing over her amulet to
Joseph), as well as R. Bahya, ad loc. Hadar, Gen. 34. 1, however,
literally agrees with PRE, and mDa l at loc. tit. (Tosafot) , reference is
made to this passage of Hadar with the word WHsnD. For a third
version of the Asenath legend comp. vol. II, pp. 139, 170, as well as
note 188. The very elaborate Asenath legend found in Syriac, though
undoubtedly of Jewish origin, differs in many essential points from
the rabbinic version of this legend. An eagle (not an angel ; in PRE
it is Michael) brings the babe from Palestine, and places her on the
altar of an Egyptian temple, where she is found by the priest Poti-
phar who, being childless, adopts her. See Oppenheim, Fabula Jos-
ephi et Asenathae, Berlin 1886, 4-5. Abu'1-Rabi', in Pemshim le-
Rashi, on Gen, 46. 10, gives an abridged form of this Syriac legend,
as he "found it in the words of our masters"; comp. Perles, R.E.J.
21, 254, and 12, 87-92, as well as in Magyar Zsido Ssemle 8, 294.
The old Midrashim take Asenath to have been the real daughter of
Potiphar; see note 109.
8 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 80a-90b. It is to be noted that of all
the sons of Jacob, only Reuben, Simeon, and Judah took Canaanitish
' wives. The Bible (Gen. 35. 2 and 46. 10) is the authority for this
statement of Yashar with regard to Simeon and Judah; but it is dif-
ficult to give the reason for assuming that Reuben married an un-
desirable woman except that it is likely that the two younger brothers
followed the example of the oldest one. Comp. note 96 which has
some remarks concerning Simeon's second wife. According to Jub.
44. 13 Simeon's Canaanitish wife came from Zephath; comp. Judges
1. 17. On Benjamin marrying at the age of eighteen, see Abot 6. 2
(does not belong to the Mishnah) and Kiddushin 39a (top).
* 9 12 Testaments, Joseph 11-16. On the text and the rabbinic
parallels to this description of the life of Joseph, see Excursus II., Joseph.
100 BR 86. 3, where several explanations are given why the same
man is called Potiphar as Joseph's master (Gen. 39. 1), and Potiphera
as his father-in-law (ibid. 41. 50). The identity of Potiphar with
Potiphera is also assumed in Jub. 40. 10; 12 Testaments, Joseph 18.
3; Origen and Jerome on Gen. 37. 36. See the following note.
101 Sotah 13b; BR 86. 3; Tan. B. I, 185; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 39. 1; MHG I, 579 (this passage is abridged in Shemuel 5, 63);
Jerome on Gen. 37. 36. The question how the eunuch Potiphar could
be the father-in-law of Joseph has already attracted the attention of
Philo; see De Allegor., 84. The rabbinic Haggadah offers two answers
337
IO2 107] The Legends of the Jews
to this question: 1) Asenath was Potiphar J s adopted daughter (comp,
note 97); 2) she was born before he was made a eunuch by an angel
as a punishment for his evil intentions towards Joseph. Comp. the
sources quoted at the beginning of this note, as well as R. Bahya,
Gen. 41. 45. Tehillim 105, 451, states: As soon as Joseph became
powerful, he put Potiphar in prison for life. Was this a punishment
for his evil intentions towards Joseph?
102 Tan. Wa-Yesheb 8; Tan. B. I, 186; BR 86. 4-5. Comp.
also Tan. B. IV, 44; Tan. Naso 30; BaR 14. 3. In the last-named
three sources it is stated that Joseph 's master said to him: " I should
like to see your God." Whereupon Joseph replied: "Thou canst not
look straight at the sun; how canst thou expect to see God?" The
proof for the invisibility of God from the impossibility to stare at
the sun is very likely 'taken from Hullin 60a (=Abkir in Yalkut I,
396), where it is quoted as the answer of R. Joshua to a Roman em-
peror (Hadrian); it is already found in Xenophon's Memor. IV, 3.
14. Jewish and Christian apologists often mention this proof; comp.
Giidemann, Religions geschiditliche Studien, 117. To the references
given by him the following are to be added: Philo, De Abrahamo, 16;
Mangey I, 12. Theophilus, 1. 2; Origen, Con. Cels. 6. 66. Comp.
Marmorstein in Debir, I, 123 and Ginzberg in Ha-Goren, IX, 62.
Schapiro, Haggadische Elemente, 76, misunderstood the Mldrashim,
and speaks of Joseph's attempt to convert the king of Egypt. Comp,
note 195.
10 3 BR 86. 6; ShR 1. 32; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 39. 6. On
the euphemistic expression "to eat bread" for "to have sexual inter-
course", see Shabbat 62b and Ketubot 13a.
10 4 MHG I, 581; BR 86. 5. Comp. also Berakot 42a; BR 86.
6; Zohar I, 189.
105 Josephus, Antiqui., II, 4. 1. Philo, De Josepho, 8, likewise re-
marks that in Potiphar's house Joseph was given the opportunity to ac-
quire the knowledge necessary for a statesman; for the management of
a house is the management of a state in miniature.
106 BR 87. 3-4; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 8; MHG I, 583. Lekah,
Lam. 1, 67, reads in Ekah 1. 71: '131 Dn:flD3...*]Dr IS; but this read-
ing is certainly untenable.
107 BR 87. 4. 12 Testaments, Joseph 3, speaks of the ten temp-
tations which Joseph withstood; comp. vol. I, p. 217. The wish of
the pious to prove their piety under temptations is also mentioned
with regard to David; see vol. IV. p. 104.
338
Joseph [108-118
108 BR 85. 2 (87. 4 is very likely to be explained accordingly);
MHG I, 596. In these sources Asenath is considered as Potiphar's
real daughter, and not as his adopted child; comp. note 97.
I0 <> BR85. 1.
110 12 Testaments, Joseph 3-7. On the text of this passage and
on the rabbinic parallels to this description of Joseph's steadfastness,
see Excursus II; Joseph.
111 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 86b. In the older Haggadah the wife
of Joseph's master is nameless. But Philo, Leg. Alleg., 84. 7, speaks
of Pentophoe, the wife of Pharaoh's chief cook. The description
of Potiphar as Pharaoh's chief cook is in accordance with the trans-
lation of trman IP (Gen. 39. 1) in the Septuagint and Jub. 34. 11.
Of course, the author of the Hebrew original of Jub. quoted Gen.,
loc. cit., literally, and there is no means to ascertain in what sense he
took it. Zohar III, 2 13b, maintains that at first Joseph pretended not
to understand the Egyptian language, in order that he might be spared
the passionate words of the infatuated woman. After a while he
could no longer feign ignorance of the language. When she saw that
her words were of no avail, she attempted to use force.
112 Yoma 35b; comp. also BR 87. 9; ARN 16, 63; MHG I, 591;
Tan. Wa-Yesheb 9. Concerning the daily change of garments and
the threats, see also Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 86b-89a. This source clearly
shows that Yoma, loc. cit., speaks of changing Joseph's garments,
not those of the woman; comp. Rabbinowicz, ad loc.
113 BR 87. 5. The name Zulaika (of Persian origin) is only
found in Yashar; comp. note 111. As to the intention of Potiphar's
wife to kill him, see vol. II, pp. 46, 183. On the view that the night
is the time for divine revelations see note 221 on vol. I, p. 373.
1 * 4 MHG I, 586 (not from BR), and similarly Philo, De Josepho, 9.
115 BR 87. 4; Ruth R. 3. 9. The indecent language used by
Potiphar's wife is contrasted with the modest words of Ruth. Comp,
Ruth 3. 9.
116 Tan. Wa-Yesheb 8, and, in a more elaborate form, Philo,
De JosepHo, 9.
IJ 7 MHG I, 584. Comp. the passages referred to by Schechter,
ad loc., and ER 26, 131.
1 I 8 Yashar 3BH 87a-87b. The episode with the oranges (more ac-
curate citrons DWnN) is also found in Tan. Wa-Yesheb 5, where It
is introduced with the formula "our masters say' 1 (irnm HDN), which
indicates that an old source was made use of. MHG I, 590, has
119-130] The Legends of the Jews
"bread and meat" instead of oranges, and is not directly based on
Tan. Yerahmeel 91 and Sikli in the manuscript of his Talmud Torah
quote Tan. See Ginzberg's remarks (badly corrupted by the printer)
in Ha-Zofeh, IV, 34-35. Whether Yashar made use of the Koran 12.
30-33 is doubtful; the Jewish origin of the legend as given in Tan.
is beyond dispute. The feigned illness of Potiphar's wife is already
mentioned in 12 Testaments, Joseph 7. See also Mahzor Vitry, 342,
whose source is neither Yashar nor Tan.
119 Tan. Wa-Yesheb 8, and reference is made to this passage in
4 Aruk, s. v. mfc>. In BR 87. 9 it is said that the shackles were used
on Joseph during his imprisonment by his master.
1 2 Yashar Wa-Yesheb 88a, which essentially follows older sources ;
comp. BR 87. 7; Sotah 36b; PR 6, 23a; Shir 1. 1.
121 Sotah 36b; Yerushalmi Horayot 2, 46d; BR 87. 7 and 98.
20; Shemuel 5, 63; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 9; Abkir in YalkutI, 145, and
146; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 49. 24.
122 MHG I, 589, and Abkir in Yalkut I, 146. See also 2 Al-
phabet of Ben Sira 22b, and note 237 on vol I, p. 279.
12 3 MHG I, 588-589.
324 According to Luria on PRE 39, note 21, Eben Shetiyyah is
here used as a metaphor for the likeness of Rachel. But this inter-
pretation seems to be very far-fetched.
125 Abkir in Yalkut I, 145, and comp. citation from an unknown
Midrash in Tosafot p(P Sotah 36b.
126 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 88a-88b. This passage does not record
the inner struggle in Joseph's soul between passion and virtue,
to which the old sources refer; comp. the references in note 121. But
even in these sources another view is quoted, according to which
Joseph was not swayed by passion for a moment.
128 Yashar Wa-Yesheb 88b. According to BaR 14. 6 (119a-119b)
and Josephus, Antiqui., II, 4. 4, she threatened Joseph that if he did
not gratify her desire, she would charge him with a terrible crime be-
fore his master, who would certainly kill him for it.
129 Abkir in Yalkut I, 146, and in a somewhat different form in
MHG I, 590. Comp. also Mahzor Vitry, 342.
130 Yashar Wa-Yesheb 88b. Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 39. 14
and 20 gives a detailed description of the wicked woman's intrigues,
by means of which she expected to prove Joseph's guilt. He was, how-
ever, defended by the Egyptian priest, who exposed the trick she
340
Joseph [131-141
attempted to play on him. See Sekel 240; note 340, as well as note
312 on vol. I, p. 415.
131 Abkir in Yalkut I, 146.
132 Josephus, Antiqui., II, 4. 5. It is stated by Josephus, ibid.,
II, 4. 3, that Potiphar's wife feigned illness, and remained home on
a festive day when all the people rejoiced in public festivities. This
is in accordance with the view of the Rabbis; see vol. II, p. 53 (top),
and note 120.
133 BR 87. 9. Potiphar intended to kill Joseph whom he be-
lieved to be guilty, but his wife prevented him from doing so, and
advised him to imprison him, giving as a reason the monetary loss
they would sustain by the death of the slave. In truth, however,
she hoped that Joseph in prison would be more tractable than Joseph
at large; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 9; comp. also note 135.
13 4 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 88a-89a. Instead of nay.. .nay the
context demands "H^TD.. .T^. See also note 189. The speaking of
babies is a favorite subject in Jewish and Christian legends; comp.
Gtinter, Die Christliche Legende, 89; see also 4 Ezra 7. 21, which reads:
And one-year old children shall speak with their voices. As to the
establishing of Joseph's innocence, see notes 130 and 340.
13 s BaR 87. 9; MHG I, 591; Lekah, Gen. 39. 20.
136 Tan. B. I, 180; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 7. Comp. note 8. Joseph
was the cause that his father and brethren should rend their garments
(Gen. 37. 34), and his punishment was that the rending of his garment
was the cause of his imprisonment; see the unknown Midrash in
Shu'aib, Wa-Yesheb, 22a. The view which holds Joseph responsible
(partly at least) for the crime committed by his brethren against
him is old; comp. vol. II, pp. 5-6, where it is stated that Joseph's
tale-bearing caused the hatred against him.
137 WR 23. 10; Sotah 36b; Tehillim 81. 368; Targum Ps. 81 .6.
On the changes of names by adding or taking away letters, see Index
s. v. "Abigail", "Abraham", "Ephron", "Jonadab", and "Joshua".
138 Tan. Wa-Yesheb 9; comp. notes 129, 133, and 134. As to
the machinations of Potiphar's wife against the prisoner Joseph,
see also 12 Testaments, Joseph 9.
13 BR 87. 10; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 9; Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 89a-89b.
Comp. notes 112 and 119.
Z 4 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, lOb; comp. 12 Testaments, Joseph 9.
^ BR 87. 10; MHG I, 595. Comp. Mattenot Kehunnah and
Einhorn, BR, ad loc.
341
142-155] The Legends of the Jews
142 0nkelos and Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 39. 21-23; Josephus,
Antigui.j II, 5. 1. Philo, De Josepho, 16, dwells upon Joseph's kindness
and wisdom > by means of which he succeeded in making the criminals
lead a better life, without using punishments and fines. See also BR
87. 10.
i^s BR 87. 1-2; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 40.1 (which reads: Poison
was found in the beverages and food served to the king), Comp.
vol. IV, p. 391. R. Bahya, Da'at and Hadar on Gen. 40. 1 and 21
maintain (they undoubtedly follow midrashic sources) that the guilt of
the chief baker was greater than that of the chief butler, as the fly might
have fallen into the king' s cup, while it was served, whereas the pebble
in the bread was obviousely due to the gross negligence of the baker.
Comp. note 152.
J 44 BR 88. 3; Megillah 13b; Esther R 2. 21; Lekah Gen. 40. 4,
*45 MHG I, 594-595. Perhaps nnrtM is to be read instead of
inntttt, and the Midrash thus speaks of the years which Joseph spent
in prison; comp. note 155. Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 91a; Lekah and Rashi
on Gen. 40. 4 maintain that the two officers were imprisoned for one
year; comp. Ketubot 57b, which reads: ru D'D 1 and hence D'Q*
(Gen., loc. tit,} is as much as a year.
*< 6 BR 88. 4; Berakot 55b.
X 47 Lekah Gen. 40. 4-6. We ought to read iPfcna IDI^H "with
confusion in his head", instead of IPfcVQ IQ'frn of the editions.
148 BR 88. 4; comp. note 173.
* MHG I, 595.
150 BR 88. 5-6; Hullin 92a; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 40. 20.
According to Josephus, Antiqui., II, 5. 2, Joseph saw a great omen
in the dream of the vine, because wine banishes care and conciliates
men.
151 Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 91bl According to old sources (BR 88.
6; Targumim on Gen. 40. 20; Yerushalmi 'Abodah Zarah 1, 39c) DT
nyis n mVn in Gen., loc. cit., means Pharaoh's birthday. Yashar
takes this expression to mean "when a child was born unto Pharaoh".
152 Lekah Gen. 40* 21. As to the reason for this decision, see
note 143.
153 Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 40. 22; Sekel 298.
15 4 BR 89. 2-3; Tan. B. I, 189-190; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 9; Te-
hillim 105, 451; MHG I, 594-595 and 598-599, as well as 610; Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 40. 14, 23; Yashar Wa-Yesheb, 91b.
16 6 BR 88. 7. Philo, De Josepho, 19, likewise remarks that God did
342
Joseph [156-171
not wish to bring about Joseph's freedom by the hand of man. Jose-
phus, Antiqui., II, 5. 1, emphasizes the fact that Joseph, trusting in
God and in Him only, did not care to defend himself against the ac-
cusation of Poitphar's wife. As to the "making of knots" (BR, loc.
*cit.), see Goldziher, Berliner- Festschrift, 152. Comp. also Tan. B. I,
190.
156 MHG I? 601-v602; BR 87. 7 and 89. 1; comp. note 154.
**7 Tan. H. I, 190; BR 89. 4; MHG I, 617-618.
x * 8 BR89. 5;Berakot55b.
*** MHG I, 611 and 618 (n* 1 ?).
160 Tan. B. I, 190; MHG I, 618; comp. BR 18. 4 and Zohar I,
194a.
161 MHG I, 618.
162 BR89. 6.
163 Yashar Mikkez, 94a-94b. It is obvious that Dan. 2. 1, seq.,
is the model for this legend. Comp. Excursus II, Joseph. A vague
reminiscence of the close political relations between Egypt and
Palestine in pre-Israelitish times is discernible in this legend. As to
other references to these relations in the legendary literature, see
Ginzberg's remarks in Eine Unbekannte Sekte, 339.
Ifi 4 BR98. 7.
165 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 41. 10, which is based on older
sources. Comp. note 144.
166 Yashar Mikkez, 94b-95a.
l6 ? BR 89. 7; BaR 14. 16 (19b).
168 Yashar Mikkez, 95a.
169 BR 89. 9; Zohar I, 194b. As to Joseph's raiment given to
him by the angel, comp. note 52. According to old sources, Joseph
left the prison on New Year. Comp. Rosh ha-Shanah lla; Tehillim
81, 368; Targum Ps. 81. 6. Joseph's joy at regaining his freedom
was, however, incomplete, as at that time the death of his grandfather
Isaac took place; Seder 'Olam 2; MHG I, 609; Demetrius 9. 12 (424c).
The last-named authority maintains that Joseph spent thirteen years
in prison, but according to the Rabbis, only twelve years; comp. note
243.
X 7 Yashar Mikkez, 95a.
17 l Josephus, Antiqui., II, 5. 5; Philo, De Josepho, 20, remarks that
as soon as Pharaoh looked at Joseph he immediately perceived him
to be not only a free and noble man, but also a wise one, who would
be able to interpret the dream.
343
172-185] The Legends of the Jews
172 MHG I, 625; Josephus, Antiqui., II, 5. 4, which reads: The
vague recollection \yhich Pharaoh had retained of the interpretation
was sufficient to convince him that his "wise men" were deceiving
him. This is evidently the meaning of Josephus, and MHG is to
be explained accordingly. *
173 MHG I, 625; Tan. Mikkez 3; BR 89. 9. Comp. note 148.
I7 Tan. Mikkez 3; Yelammedenu 26=BHMi VI, 82; Zohar
1, 196a.
I7 $ MHG I, 611.
176 An unknown midrashic source in Sabba, Mikkez, 51b, where
a lengthy exposition is given on the impropriety of connecting God
with evil; comp. MHG I, 612, and note 9 on vol. I, p. 5.
177 BR 89. 9; Baraita of 32 Middot, 10; MHG I, 625-626;
comp. note 411,
178 Yashar Mikkez, 95b-96b.
I7 ,9 BR90. 1.
180 Yashar Mikkez, 96b. As to the wisdom of Joseph's counsel
to Pharaoh, see citation from an unknown Midrash in Sabba, Mikkez,
51c.
181 MHG I, 626; Sotah 36b. Pharaoh's councillors said unto
him: "Is it possible that a slave should become king?" When Joseph,
notwithstanding their opposition, became ruler of Egypt, he im-
prisoned them until the arrival of his brethren who established the
nobility of his descent; Tehillim 105, 451. Comp. the following note
as well as notes 171 and 285.
182 Yashar Mikkez, 96b-97a, which is, in the main, based on
old sources; see Sotah 36b, where the angel, nameless in Yashar, appears
as Gabriel. Comp. vol. IV, p. 360, and Sotah 33a; PK 4, 34b; PR
14, 60a; Tan. B. IV, 111; Tan. Hukkat 6; BaR 14. 5 and 19. 3; Kohel-
eth 7. 23; Yelammedenu in Yalkut II, 831 on Ps. 41 (Yelammedenu
is given as the source in the first edition only); MHG I, 626-627;
Zohar III, 213b. Comp. notes 137 and 415.
l8 ' BR 90. 3; WR 23. 9; BaR 14. 6 (119b); Tan. Bereshit 12
and Mikkez 3; Zohar 1, 19b; an unknown midrashic source in Mahzor
Vitry, 333. That Joseph reached his high position as a reward for
his virtuous life is also stated in Maccabees 2. 53; Wisdom 10. 14;
12 Testaments, Joseph 10.
184 Yashar Mikkez, 97a . DnxD refers here, as is often the case
in this work, to the capital city of Egypt, and not to the country.
185 MHG I, 628-629; BR 98. 18; BaR 1. 6 (119b); PRE 39.
344
Joseph [186-195
On the view that Joseph and his descendants are proof against the
evil eye, see Berakot 30a and the parallel passages cited on the mar-
gin. Comp. vol. II, p. 38 and note 97.
186 Yashar Mikkez, 97a-97b. For a similar description of a
festive procession see vol. IV, p. 439.
187 BR 90. 4. For other explanations of this name, see Da' at,
Hadar, and Toledot Yizhak on Gen. 41. 45. Pa'aneah, ad loc., em-
ploys the system of Notarikon thirty times, by which he finds the
history of Pharaoh's dream and Joseph's interpretation in the name
Zaphenath Paaneah. The author displays great ingenuity in some
of these Notarika. The explanation of this name given by Origen
and Jerome, ad loc., is on the whole identical with that found in BR,
loc. cit. y in Targumim, and Josephus, Antigui., II, 6. 1. Philo, Mitt.
Nomin., 15, takes this name to mean "a mouth judging in an answer ".
188 Midrash Aggada, Gen. 41. 45. Concerning the Asenath legend
see note 97,
189 Abkir in Yalkut I, 146 and, in an abridged form, Origen on
Gen. 41. 45. Comp. note 134.
190 Ta'anit lla. Comp. ER 20, 112 and 25, 120; EZ I, 167,
and 15, 198. Ben ha-Melek, 12 (following a Mohammedan legend?),
writes: It is said that Joseph used to eat so little during the years
of famine, that he was always hungry. The people said to him: "O
thou, on whom God has conferred wisdom, why art thou hungry,
while storehouses filled with grain are at our disposal?" He answered:
"I fear that, if I am satisfied, I might forget the hungry." Comp.
Ta'anit, loc. cit., and note 250, as well as 54 on vol, I, p. 166,
191 Yashar Mikkez, 98a-98b.
192 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 41.47. Comp. also BR 90. 5,
where two explanations of D'^Dp^ (Gen., loc. cit.) are given, both of
which, however, are obscure.
193 BR 90. 5; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 41. 48; Yashar Mikkez,
98b. Comp. the following note.
1 >4 Yashar Mikkez, 98b-99a. It is very likely based on PRE
39, where it is said that only the grain preserved by Joseph did not
rot it remained in a perfect condition as long as he lived whereas
all the other grain rotted as soon as the seven years of famine began.
195 MHG I, 631. The blessings taught to the Egyptians con-
sisted of Ps. 136. 25, which forms part of the grace after meal; comp.
vol. I, p. 271, and note 224 appertaining to it. The suddenness of
the famine is also referred to in BR 90. 6 and Josephus, Antigui., II,
345
196-198] The Legends of the Jews
6. 1. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt in Joseph's time, is the one who
later oppressed the Jews (comp. note 429), and it is this Pharaoh of
whom MHG says that he later became arrogant. The Mohammedan
legend speaks of two Pharaohs in Joseph's time: the first became
converted to the true religion of Joseph, while the second remained
an infidel; comp. Schapiro, Haggadische Elemente, 75-76. On p. 76
Schapiro erroneously maintains that this legend is found in rabbinic
literature. Comp. note 102.
x 6 BR 91. 5 and 90. 6; Tan. Mikkez 7; MHG I, 631. Comp.
also Yelammedenu (in Yalkut II, 285 on Jer. 11, no source is
indicated, but 'Aruk s. ., pTtip quotes it from Yelammedenu).
It says: The Egyptians introduced circumcision amongst them in
Joseph's time, but later abandoned it.
197 BR 90. 6; Yashar Mikkez, 99a. Philo, De Josepho, 27, main-
tains that, on the contrary, the famine spread like a plague from country
to country, until the entire world had become affected by it. BR 89.
4 remarks that the famine caused scabies among the men. Comp.
Josephus, Antiqui., II, 6. 1.
J 98 BR 91. 1 and 6; Tan. B. I, 192-194; Tan. Mikkez 5; Aggadat
Bereshit, 69, 136-138; MHG I, 632, 635. Philo, De Josepho, 32, also re-
marks that Jacob had a vague presentiment of Joseph's stay in Egypt.
On the idea that a joyful mood is necessary for a prophet, see note
294. In contrast to the view of the Midrashim just quoted, Tan, B.I,
192 (comp. also ibid. 188) maintains that Jacob and his sons, who
were great prophets, were abandoned by the prophetic spirit, in order
that they should not think that they were able to foresee everything
and thus become proud. In BR 91. 6; MHG I, 635, and in many
other places the statement is made that Jacob sent his sons to Egypt
that they, the descendants of Abraham, should begin the Egyptian
servitude, which, as announced to their ancestor, was to last four
hundred years. Comp. Lekah Gen. 42. 1. When suffering is inflicted
on the pious, they attribute it to their sins; and hence when the famine
broke out Jacob saw in it a punishment for having held on to Esau 's
heel at the time of their birth. Indeed it was this very sin with which
the angel charged him before God, saying: "In his womb he took
his brother by the heel" (Hosea 12. 4); see Yelammedenu in Yalkut
II, 758, on Ps. 49. To his sons who were greatly agitated by the
fear of the famine, Jacob said thus: "God always assists the pious
in the time of famine; so He did in the time of my fathers Abraham
and Isaac, and so will He do unto me.' 1
346
Joseph [199211
** 9 Ta'anit lOb.
200 MHG I, 635; Yelammedenu (?) in Yalkut I, 148. In the
first edition P TD"I 1HD 1 ? 1 does not refer to what follows, but to the sup-
plement of Yalkut, where paragraph 17 contains a quotation from
Yelammedenu bearing upon the same biblical verse as the one on
which Yalkut comments.
201 BR 91. 6; Tan. B. I, 193-194 and 195; Tan. Mikkez 8; Yashar
Mikkez 99b; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 42. 5; MHG I, 635; Yelam-
medenu in Yalkut I, 148. Comp. preceding note.
202 Yashar Mikkez, 99a-100a (in the main, it follows older
sources; comp. BR 91. 4 and 6); Koheleth 9. 15; Tan. Mikkez 8; Tan.
B. I, 194, 202; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 42. 6. See also Josephus,
Antig_ui., II, 6. 2.
2 3 BR91.4.
2 4 Yashar Mikkez, lOOa-lOOb (following BR 91. 6 and the
other sources cited in note 202). As to DH^D in the sense of the cap-
ital of Egypt, see note 184.
205 Yebamot 88a and parallel passages cited on the margin; BR
91. 7; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 42. 8. Comp. also Yashar Mikkez,
lOOb; Josephus, Antiqui., II, 6. 1; vol. II, p. 112.
206 Yelammedenu 28 = BHM VI, 84 and in a very elaborate
form, Aggadat Bereshit 72, 142-143. The source of Ba l al ha-Turim,
Gen. 42. 6, is very likely Yelammedenu, though he states that it was the
angel Gabriel who incited Joseph against his brethren. Comp. note 29.
20 7 BR 91. 6; Tan. Mikkez 8; Yashar Mikkez, lOOb.
208 BR 91 g-y an( j see sources referred to in the preceding
note.
209 Yashar Mikkez, lOOb-lOla, mainly following older sources.
See BR 91. 6; Tan. Mikkez 8; Tan. B. I, 194 and 203. Comp. also
citation from Yelammedenu in 'Aruk, s. v. ]hp 4. The idea that
disreputable houses are hiding-places for spies is in accordance with
Josh. 2. 1.
210 BR 91. 7; Tan. B. I, 203. A different view is found in ER
26, 131, and BaR 14. 6 (119a), according to which Joseph kept his
oath, though he did not take it by God, but by the life of Pharaoh.
Comp. Mekilta Beshallah (KniTns) 24d, which is very likely the source
of BaR.
211 Yashar Mikkez lOla, following BR 91. 6; Tan. Mikkez 8.
Sabba, Mikkez, 53a, quotes the following from an unknown Midrash:
They did not accept Joseph's proposal to send one of them to Canaan
347
2i222i] The Legends of the Jews
for Benjamin, for they feared lest their families should die of hunger,
since it was impossible for one person to take with him the grain needed
for so many families.
212 BR 91. 7; comp. also Targum Yerushalmi 41. 1; Esther R.
5. 3; Tehillim 22, 182-183.
21 3 MHG I, 637-638.
2J 4 BR 91. 8; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 42. 23.
3I * MHG I, 639; BR 91. 1 and 99. 7. Comp. notes 34 and 41.
216 Abkir in Yalkut I, 148. On the view that Levi possessed
wisdom, prophecy, and priesthood, see vol. I, p. 175, and vol. Ill,
p. 364. Levi is glorified not only in Jub. and the Testaments of the
Twelve Patriarchs, but also in rabbinic literature; comp. Sifre Z., 109;
PK I, Ib, and the numerous parallel passages cited by Buber, as well
as the sources referred to in notes 174 and 251 on vol. I, pp. 363, 387.
2I ? BR 91. 7; Tan Wa-Yiggash 4; Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
42. 24. Comp. notes 34 and 42.
218 BR 91. 7; Tan. Wa-Yiggash 4; Yashar Mikkez, lOlb; Abkir
in Yalkut I, 148. Comp. note 275.
319 Tan. Wa-Yiggash 4; Abkir in Yalkut I, 148; Yashar Mik-
kez, lOlb; BR 91. 7. Comp. vol. II, pp. 104-105, 110.
220 BR 91. 8; Tan. B. I, 184; Lekah, Gen. 42. 8; Zohar I, 198b
and 200b. Comp. also BR 91. 7 and 92. 4; MHG I, 639. Joseph us,
Antiqui,, II, 6. 6, seems to have been acquainted with a similar Hag-
gadah.
2 2 r Yashar Mikkez, 101b-102a; MHG 1, 640, and comp. Schechter,
ad, loc.\ Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 42. 27 and 2 Targum Yerushalmi
42. 36; Zohar I, 200b. How it came about that it was just Levi
and no other of the brethren who made the discovery is explained
in three different ways. In his excitement over the separation from
his favorite brother Simeon he forgot to take provender for the road
so that it was necessary for him to open the sack intended to be used
at home, and thus he found the money; see the unknown Midrash
in Sabba, Mikkez, 53a. That he should not be suspected of theft,
he immediately communicated his find to his brethren; MHG I,
640. Other authorities say that Levi, who was very pious (comp.
note 216), was the first to give food to his donkey, for according to the
law, before partaking of food, one must first feed the animals entrusted
to one's care (comp. Berakot 40a). In opening the sack he found
the money. See the unknown midrashic source in Shu'aib, Mikkez,
19d. The third explanation is that Levi took with him the sack of
348
Joseph [222233
his favorite brother Simeon who was detained by Joseph in Egypt,
and in order to alleviate the burden of his donkey, his brethren took
his own provender for the road. He accordingly had to open the sack
intended to be used at home. See Hadar, 2 Ob. They had intended
to search all the sacks, for they suspected trickery, but fearing that
the Egyptians were persecuting them, they made haste and reached
their country in a very short time; Philo r De Josepho, 21.
2 2 2 MHG 1, 640; BR 91. 9; Philo, De Josepho, 30.
22 3 Aggadat Bereshit 72. 142; MHG I, 640. Comp. vol. II, pp.
30-31.
22 4 2 ARN 40, 112. "Satan appears as the accuser of men
when they are in danger", and in consequence of his accusations they
frequently die. Accordingly Jacob feared to expose Benjamin to
the danger of travel; Yerushalmi Shabbat 2, 5b, and parallel passages
cited on the margin. Jacob had all the more reason to fear the dan-
gers of travel, as it was on the road that Rachel died, and it was away
from home that Joseph disappeared and Simeon was taken captive;
Yerushalmi Shabbat 6, 8c, and parallel passages cited on the margin.
Man can protect himself against all illness except against cold and
heat, which mostly attack one while travelling, and Jacob feared to
expose Benjamin to dangers of this kind; Ketubot 30a.
225 MHG I, 641; BR 91. 9; Tan. Mikkez 8.
226 Yashar Mikkez, 102a-102b; Tan. Mikkez 8,
22 7 Yashar Mikkez, 102b.
228 BR 91. 10; PK 17, 131a; Ekah 3. 35; Aggadat Bereshit 45,
130. The last-named source contrasts Jacob's impatience in time of
distress with Abraham's complete resignation to God's will.
229 BR 91. 10; Tan. B. I, 203; Tan. Mikkez 8; Philo, De Josepho,
32. Comp, Brody's remark in Berliner's Rashi, 23.
2 3 Yashar Mikkez, 102b-103a.
2 3 * BR 91. 10-11. "To be unable to satisfy a child 's demand for
food is worse than to be at the gate of death"; Jacob could brave
many calamities, but not the children's cry for bread, and he was
forced to permit Benjamin to go to Egypt; MHG I, 646. Comp.
vol. II, p. 89 (top).
2 3 2 Tan. B. I, 202-203; Tan. Mikkez 10; BR 92. 1-2; MHG
I, 644 and 646. Many more explanations are given in these passages
why on this occasion Jacob addressed God as Shaddai ( = "He who
exclaimed: Enough"). Comp. note 43 on vol. I, p. 13.
2 33 BR 92. 3; Tan. B. I, 203; Aggadat Bereshit 73, 142; MHG I,
349
234~ 2 4] The Legends of the Jews
648 (N* 1 ?) and 649. Comp. also Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 43. 14;
2 ARN 43, 118; Neweh Shalom, 42; Midrash Aggada, Gen. 22. 5. On
unconscious prophecies see note 239, on vol. I, p. 279.
23 4 Yashar Mikkez, 103a-104a. The text is to be read '3 03
i:yOB> instead of ijyoP >3 DJ7, and DJ?n *inN stands here, in accordance
with note 56 on vol. I, p. 322, for *jV "king". The assertion made
by Grunbaum, Gesammelte Aufsdtze, 532, that this letter is modelled
after an Arabic original is without the slightest foundation. The
designation of Joseph as king is not borrowed from Arabic legends,
as Grunbaum maintains, but is of frequent occurrence in the rabbinic
literature of the pre- Arabic period; see, e. g., BR 91. 10 and 107. 19;
ShR 1. 7; DR 2. 33 and 4, 7; BaR 14. 5 and 6; WR 16. 2; 2 ARN 10,
26 (comp. Schechter, note 11). Sifre D., 334, and Josephus, An-
tiqui., II, 7. 3, show the high antiquity of the view which considers
Joseph as king of Egypt. In some passages Joseph is described to
have been the ruler of the whole world, " cosmocrater " ; see Batte
Midrashot III, 11 (a fragment of Yelammedenu?); PR 3, lOb; comp.
also WR, loc. tit., and Aggadat Bereshit 66, 132. The allusions,
in this letter, to the wars of the sons of Jacob against the Amorites
undoubtedly presuppose the legend given in vol. I, p. 408, which is
unknown to the Arabs. The departure of Jacob's sons with great
weeping is also described by Josephus, Antigui., II, 6. 5.
235 Tan. Mikkez 10. For a different view see notes 3, 244.
236 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 48. 16; Tan. B. I, 197 and 202.
Comp. notes 214.
23 ? Hullin 91a; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 43. 16; ER 26, 131.
338 BR 92, 4; BaR 14. 2; Tan. B. IV, 43; Tan. Naso 28; ER
36, 131; Mekilta Beshallah (KniTOS), 24b. Aphraates, 28, on the
contrary, writes: Joseph proved his piety in resisting the sinful
temptations (of Potiphar's wife), but not in the observance of the
Sabbath, which had not yet been commanded at the time. It is
rather strange that Schapiro, Haggadische Elemente, 78, misunderstood
the explicit words of this Church Father. Comp. vol. II, p. 201, and
vol. Ill, p. 183, as well as note 280, on vol. I, pp. 394r-395. As to the
discourteous way in which Joseph's servants dealt with his brethren,
comp. 12 Testaments, Zebulun, 3. 7=voL II, p. 18.
23 MHG I, 649, 817. Comp. Hullin 91a. They feared not
the Egyptians, but the consequences of their crime against Joseph;
see citation from an unknown Midrash in Sabba, Mikkez, 53c.
3 4 BR 92. 4. As to Simeon, comp. vol. II, p. 87, and note 220
350
Joseph [241-252
appertaining to it. On the merits of the fathers which came to the
aid of Joseph's sons, see BR 34. 12; Tehillim 27, 228; citation from
an unknown Midrash in Sabba, Mikkez, 53c.
241 Yashar Mikkez, 104a.
242 BR 92. 5. Even to-day it is customary among Jews to
hint at death, but not to announce it directly; see Shulhan 'Aruk,
Yoreh De'ah, 402. 12.
243 MHG I, 609; comp. note 169,
244 Yashar Mikkez, 104a. Benjamin bore a close resemblance
to Rachel his mother (comp. vol. I, p. 94, and note 235), and looking
at him, Joseph could not refrain from thinking of their dead mother;
he wept, for "only tears extinguish the burning coals of the heart";
Tan. B. I, 197; Lekah and Sekel, Gen. 43. 30; Zohar I, 202b.
24 * BR 74. 10 and 92. 5.
246 Tan. B. I, 180; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 2; comp. sources referred
to in notes 8 and 237.
247 Onkelos and Targum Yerushalmi, Gen. 43. 32.
248 BR 92. 5; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 4; Mishle I, 45; Targum Yeru-
shalmi Gen. 42. 33.
24 Yashar Mikkez, 104a-104b, which follows the sources re-
ferred to in the preceding note, Jub. 42. 23 reads: Benjamin re-
ceived seven times as much as his brethren. Comp. also Demet-
rius, 9. 12, 425.
260 BR 92. 5 and 98. 20; Shabbat 139a; Mishle I, 46; Yashar rp&,
104b; 12 Testaments, Joseph 3. 5. Philo dwells upon the frugality
of the meal, as Joseph would not indulge in dainties while others were
suffering hunger. Comp. Ta'anit lla and note 190.
2 s* Tan. Wa-Yiggash 4; BR 94. 8; Sotah 37b; Tan. B. I, 206-
207; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 47. 21; Yalkut I, 150; MHG I, 683-
684; Yashar Mikkez, 104b; Zohar I, 153b-154a. Comp. note 279,
as well as note 6 on vol. II, p. 189. Joseph was destined to be the
father of twelve sons, but as a punishment for having permitted for
a moment illicit passion to enter his heart (comp. vol. II, pp. 53-54,
and note 121), he begot only two sons, while his brother Benjamin
was blessed with ten. See Sotah, loc. tit.
252 Yashar Mikkez, 104b-105a. That Joseph tried to ascer-
tain the feelings of his half-brethren towards Rachel's children is also
stated in Jub. 42. 25 and by Philo, De Josepho, 39, as well as by Josephus,
Antigui., II, 6. 7. Comp. also the citation from an unknown midrashic
source in Sabba, Mikkez, 53, which reads: Benjamin did not betray
351
The Legends of the Jews
his brethren's secret, and did not tell Jacob that they sold Joseph
into slavery; Tehillim 15, 118, and comp, note 370.
253 12 Testaments, Benjamin 2; an unknown midrashic source
quoted by Sabba, Wa-Yiggash, 54d. Comp. Excursus II; Benjamin
and vol.11, pp. 220-221.
254 MHG I, 651; comp. Schechter, ,ad loc., and note 24. Sabba,
Mikkez, 53b, quotes, from an unknown Midrash, several explanations
of -ipa (Gen. 44. 3).
2*5 Tan. B. I, 197-198; Tan. Mikkez 10; MHG I, 625. As to
the distance from the city, comp. Yalkut I, 150 (in the first edition
no source is given; but later editions have PVFD), according to which
they were still a mile from the city. This is based on an old inter-
pretation of Ip'mn (Gen. 44.4). Comp. note 236 on vol. I, p. 279.
2 56 BR 102. 8; Tan. B. I, 198; Tan. Mikkez 10; MHG I, 653;
Yahsar Mikkez, 105a. For a somewhat different description comp. Tan.
B. Introduction, 130-131. Philo, De Josepho, 38, and Josephus, An-
tiqui., II, 6. 7, likewise dwell upon the cleverness with which the search
was carried out without exciting the suspicion that the searchers knew
where the cup was. Philo, however, adds that when it was found in
Benjamin's sack, his brethren did not for a moment doubt his innocence,
being convinced that the finding of the cup was the result of a conspiracy.
According to Egyptian law, no one beside the king and the viceroy
was permitted to use a silver cup, and therefore the stealing of the
silver cup was a much greater crime than ordinary theft. See Sabba,
Mikkez, 53d. Comp. notes 263 and 268.
3 57 Tehillim 10, 93-94; Aggadat Esther 40; BR 92. 8; Tan. Mik-
kez 10; Tan. B. I, 198, and introduction 131. The last-named passage
reads: Happy are the righteous who are punished for their sins dur-
ing their lifetime; woe to the wicked who receive their punishment
after their death.
258 BR 92. 8; MHG I, 654, where Dysn is to be read instead of
iron. Comp. Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 44. 3.
25 * Tan. B. I, 198; Tan. Mikkez 10; Aggadat Bereshit 74, 146.
Comp. MHG I, 653, and note 256.
260 BR92. 8.
261 Tan. B. I, 198; Tan. Mikkez 10. This is the only occasion
on which Joseph's dream was fulfilled in its entirety, since on the two
other similar occasions there were only ten brethren; on the first occas-
ion Benjamin was absent, and on the second Simeon (and he had dream-
ed of eleven stars!).
352
Joseph [262-274
262 Yashar Mikkez, 105a; Tan. B. I, 198; Tan. Mikkez 10.
263 BR 92. 9 (here Judah confesses his sin with Tamar, Reuben
his sin with Bilhah, and all the brothers their unjustified war against
Schechem); Tan. B. I, 198; Tan. Mikkez 10; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 44. 15; Aggadat Bereshit 74, 147; MHG I, 654-655. As to the
question whether Benjamin was suspected of theft by his brethren,
see notes 256 and 270.
2(5 Tan. B. I, 198; Tan. Mikkez 10. On the proverb about
the rope and the bucket, see note 274.
2fi s BR 92. 9; Yalkut I, 150 end of Mikkez (did Yalkut have
a different reading in BR?); MHG I, 656; citation from an unknown
Midrash in Sabba, Mikkez, 54a, which reads: The brethren wanted
to abandon Benjamin to his fate, though he protested his innocence
by the life of his father and the captivity of Joseph (imp), but Judah
admonished them to hold together. As to the expression rTTiSTiD "iya
in BR, loc. cit., comp. Nehem. 5. 13. See Tan. Wa-Yiggash 1 (end).
266 Yashar Mikkez (end) and Wa-Yiggash (beginning).
267 BR 93. 6. Here, as in the two Tanhumas (beginning of Wa-
Yiggash) and MHG I, 659, Judah is highly praised for his sense of
duty which prompted him to do his utmost in behalf of Benjamin,
because he had "guaranteed" to his father to bring his youngest
son back safely. See also Tan. B. Introduction, 131 and 146, a well as
I, 209; MHG I, 661-662.
268 Tan. B. I, 205; MHG I, 663; BR 93. 6. Josephus, Antigui.,
II, 6. 8, puts a grand oration in Judah 's mouth, which, however, has
nothing in common with Judah 's address as found in the Haggadah.
Strangely enough Josephus speaks of the crime alleged to have been
committed by Benjamin as one punishable by death, whereas accord-
ing to the Jewish law theft is not a capital offence. Comp., however,
note 256. On THno in Tan., loc. cit., comp. Kiddushin lla (top).
2(5 9 BR 93. 6; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 44. 18.
270 MHG I, 663 (here Judah accuses Joseph of having first
put money in their sacks, and then the cup in Benjamin's sack); Tan.
B. I, 205; Tan. Wa-Yiggash 5; BR 93. 6. Comp. note 263.
271 BR 93. 6 and 8. Comp. the following note. On Manasseh
see vol. II, pp. 87 and 106.
272 Tan. B. I, 295; Tan. Wa-Yiggash 5; BR 93. 6.
273 BR 93. 2; Zohar I, 206a; MHG I, 661 (3"')-
27 < Tan. Wa-Yiggash 4 and 5; MHG I, 660; comp. Schechter,
note 9. The application of the proverb concerning the rope and the
353
The Legends of the Jews
bucket is that Judah might say to his father that one and the same
fate overtook Benjamin and Joseph. Comp. note 264.
3 7S BR 93. 7; Yalkut II, 897, on Job 4. 10 (in the first edition
the reference to the source, *pDl DVN ^TlDl before D'Bnn N3BO, is not
in parentheses as in the later editions) ; Tan. B. Introduction, 131. On
Judah 's terrible voice see vol. I, p. 406; vol. II, pp. 16, 86 (in the last
passage it is Simeon who has a terrible voice), 107, 112. As to the
stamping upon the ground (Tan., loc. tit., read 1BJD), see vol. Ill,
p. 268.
276 Tan. B. I, 131; Hadar, Gen. 44, 18, which has some variants.
277 BR 93. 6; Tan. B. Introduction, 131; MHG, 664-665; Tan.
Wa-Yiggash 3; Hadar, Gen. 44. 18, which has the additional remark
that the hair above Judah's breast had the peculiarity to kill anybody
touching it. As to the strength of people being in their hair, comp.
Frazer, Folk-Lore in the Old Testament, II, 484, se%.
278 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, 107a-108a, which in the main follows
Abkir in Yalkut I, 150, and BR 93. 8, whereas Hadar, Gen. 44. 18
(read 132D' instead of KDy) is directly based on Yashar. As to the
part played by Manasseh, see Tan. B., Introduction, 131, which reads:
During the dispute between Judah and Joseph, Manasseh attempted
to pacify the former; but as soon as he noticed that the hair on Judah's
breast became hot (comp. vol II, p. 107, and preceding note), he
cried to his father: "We are all dead men!" Comp. MHG I, 665,
and vol II, pp. 87, 104. As to the dependence of Yashar on Abkir,
it should be noticed that the first part of the dialogue between Judah
and Joseph in Yashar is mainly based upon Abkir, although BR 93.
8 is also made use of. 2 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 44. 18, according
to the editions, is entirely based upon BR, loc. cit.*, but a manuscript
in the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America gives the
dialogue between Judah and Joseph in accordance with Abkir and
Yashar. As to Naphtali's swiftness, see note 216 on vol. I, p. 371.
279 Tan. B. I, 206-207. A different view is quoted in vol.
II, p. 97, and note 251, according to which Joseph made himself known
to Benjamin at their first meeting.
280 Tan. B. Introduction, 131-132; Hadar, Gen. 44. 20; comp.
MHG I, 665 (I'D). BaR 13. 18 likewise dwells upon the exceptional
piety of Jacob's sons who committed only one sin, the selling of
Joseph into slavery.
281 Tan. Wa-Yiggash 5; BR 93. 8; Tan. B. Introduction, 132.
This legend (concerning Judah's terrible voice) and the one given in vol.
354
Joseph [282-289
II, p. 106, are doublets. Joseph ordered the Egyptians to withdraw be-
fore he made himself known to his brethren, to spare the latter the
shame of being exposed as abductors. Out of consideration for their
feelings, he did not utter the words "I am Joseph your brother, whom
ye sold into Egypt" (Gen. 45. 4) in the presence of Benjamin, who
thus never learned what his brethren had done Joseph. Comp. Philo,
De Josepho, 40; citation from an unknown Midrash by Sabba, Wa-Yig-
gash, 54d; the same(?) Midrash in Hadar and Da' at, Gen. 45. 4;
comp. also Yashar Wa-Yiggash, 108b (below), and note 370. In view
of the fact that -the brethren did not recognize Joseph (comp. vol.
II, p. 82), he could only establish his identity by addressing them
in Hebrew (Jub. 43. 15; BR 93. 10; Tan. Wa-Yiggash, loc> cit.\ Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 45. 12) and by showing them that he had the Abra-
hamic covenant on his body; BR 93. 8; Tan. Wa-Yiggash 5; Targum
Yerushalmi Gen. 45. 4. Josephus, Antiqui., II, 6, 10, puts a lengthy
oration in Joseph's mouth, by means of which he accomplished his
reconciliation with his brethren. The Midrash likewise records Joseph 's
conciliatory words. Comp. vol. II. p. 112-113.
282 MHG I, 670; comp. Schechter, note 6; see also vol. II, p.
168.
28 3 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 45. 15.
28 4 BR 93. 12; Megillah 16b; Targum Yerushalmi Gen, 45. 14;
Zohar I, 209b.
286 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, 109a. Pharaoh was in such a fear of
Jacob's sons, that when he heard of the dispute between Judah and
Joseph, he told the latter to comply with the wish of the Hebrews or
leave Egypt; Yashar Wa-Yiggash, 108a. Pharaoh's delight with
the final outcome was very great, for the appearance of Joseph's
brethren confirmed the latter 's claim to noble descent. Joseph had
maintained his claim all the time, but the nobles of the realm mocked
hirn, saying: "Look at the slave, ruling over Egypt." See citation,
from an unknown Midrash, by Bekor Shor and Sabba on Gen. 45 16.
Comp. note 181.
286 MHG I, 671.
28 1 Tan. B. Introduction 132.
288 Megillah 16b; MHG I, 671. The three hundred Shekels
which Benjamin received from Joseph had, like the other presents,
a symbolic meaning; see R. Bahya, Da 1 at and Hadar on Gen. 45. 22,
as well as Tan. B. Introduction 132-133.
289 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, 109a, where it is said that although
355
290-295] The Legends of the Jews
all the brethren received'' royal garments", only Benjamin's garments
were beautifully embroidered. As a further mark of distinction,
Benjamin received three hundred Shekels, while the brethren were
only given one hundred each.
290 BR 94. 3. According to Egyptian law, it was not permitted
to export wagons or animals, but on this occasion Pharaoh suspended
the law; Lekah, Shu'aib, and Sabba on Gen. 45. 19.
291 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, 109a-109b. Concerning Dinah comp.
note 65. Lekah Gen. 45. 23 maintains that Benjamin remained
with Joseph; hence Gen. 45. 23 speaks of only ten donkeys which
Joseph sent to Canaan, one for each brother.
292 Ta'anit lOb; BR 94. 2 (he admonished them to continue
to study the Torah while travelling); PRK 57 (Griinhut's edition),
where the second precept reads: "Love one another". Comp. vol.
I, p. 169; Targum Yerushalmi and Lekah on Gen. 45. 24, which reads:
Do not quarrel as to who is responsible for my having been sold into
slavery, in order that your fellow-travellers should not be angry with
you. Comp. note 24.
29 3 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, 109b-110a; MHG I, 672; Hadar, Gen.
45. 26, which is based upon a source independent of the first two.
Hadar, loc. cit., states that Esau greatly rejoiced when the report of
Joseph's death had reached him (he knew that the house of Joseph
was destined to destroy the house of Esau; comp. vol. I,p. 369), and
therefore when this report turned out to be false, Jacob hastened to
inform his brother that his joy was groundless, for Joseph was still
alive. The brethren excommunicated Asher when they heard that
his daughter informed Jacob that Joseph was still alive. They said:
A child speaks in the street about the things its parents speak of at
home (Sukkah 56b); hence Asher must have betrayed their secret
about the selling of Joseph. According to the agreement they entered
upon at the time of the sale, excommunication was the punishment
for betraying this secret; Hadar, Deut. 33. 24. Comp. vol. II, p. 30.
294 PRE 37; Onkelos and Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 45. 27 (see,
however, Targum Yerushalmi 43. 14); Tehillim 24, 204; MHG I,
672-673; Tan. Wa-Yesheb 2; 1 Alphabet of Ben Sira 13a; Zohar I,
180b and 216b. Comp. further Shabbat 30b; Pesahim 117a; ARN
30, 90; vol. II, pp. 80 and 136, as well as note 548 on vol. Ill, p. 282.
295 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, HOa. That Serah"did not taste death"
is very likely presupposed in such old sources as BR 94. 9; PK 10,
86a-87a; 2ARN 38, 103; but explicitly it is stated in later sources
356
Joseph [296-307
only. Besides Yashar, he. cit., see also 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 28b,
which is perhaps the source of Yashar; Derek Erez Zuta 1 (end);
Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 46. 17. See also Ratner, Seder 'Olam 1,
note 50, and 9, note 19; Index, 5. v. "Paradise, Entering Alive Into".
296 BR 94. 3 and 95. 3; ARN 30. 90. The "heifer whose neck
is broken" is brought to atone for the sin of those who neglected to
accompany the wayfarer (Sotah 46b), and hence the last conversation
of Jacob with Joseph, while the latter started on his journey to his
brethren was about the kindness one is to show to the wayfarer; comp.
Da' at, Radar, Pa'aneah, and Shu'aib on Gen. 45. 27, as well as Tan.
B. Introduction, 132 and 145. That the last conversation between
Jacob and Joseph consisted of a halakic discussion is already stated in
Yerushalmi Berakot 5, 8d, according to the reading of Eshkol I, 23.
297 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 45. 28. As to Jacob's wars against
these kings, comp. vol. I, pp. 408, seq.
298 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, HOa.
299 MHG I, 675; comp. the following note.
300 PRE 39; Josephus, Antiqui. t II, 7. 2; Lekah, Gen. 46. 3;
MGH I, 676 ("I) and 713-714.
301 Jub. 44. 2-4. Here it is also stated that Jacob celebrated
the Feast of Weeks on the fifteenth of the third month; whereupon,
on the following day, God appeared to him.
3 2 BR 94. 45.
303 MHG I, 675; BR 57. 7, and comp. Theodor, ad loc.
304 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 46. 3.
305 PRE 29 (which reads: Also at the time of the Exodus the
Shekinah brought up the number of Israel to six hundred thousand
souls); Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 46. 4. Concerning the conception
that the Shekinah goes with Israel into exile, see note 4 on vol. II, p.
188; on the number seventy which is used in connection with Jacob's
family, comp. note 321. Sabba, Wa-Yiggash, 56b, gives a text of
PRE different from the one found in the editions; comp. also R. Bahya
on Exod. 12. 37, and Zohar II, 16.
306 MHG I, 676 and 713-714. Comp. BR 94. 6 and vol. II,
p. 117, and note 300 appertaining to it.
307 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, HOa-llOb; Philo, De Josepho, 42. Yalkut
Reubeni Gen. 45. 28, which is very likely based on Abkir (comp.
Midrash Talpiyyot, 5-. v. *]Dr) writes: Jacob apprehended that Joseph
living in the midst of the sensual Egyptians, had lost his purity, and
357
308-319] The Legends of the Jews
therefore wished to see his face, as Jacob possessed the faculty of
telling a man's character by looking at him.
3 8 BR 94. 4. Here, as well as in Yerushalmi Pesahim 4, 30d,
it is stated that as late as in the fourth century C. E. the grove of
cedars at Magdala was considered holy, the people believing that
these cedars were planted (by the patriarchs) for the purpose of
being used for the tabernacle. Comp. vol. II, p. 164.
3 9 MHG 1,676 and 700; Koheleth R. and Z. 9. 11; Hadar and
Da 1 at on Gen. 46. 5. For an other view comp. the sources referred
to in note 290 on vol. II, p. 114 (about the burning of the wagons
by Judah) and Sekel 286. EZ 2, 175 reads: God bestowed His
blessings on Jacob's sons as a reward for the filial piety shown toward
their father.
310 BR 95. 1-5; Tan. B. I, 209-211; Tan. Wa-Yiggash 9 and
11; Yelammedenu in 'Aruk, s. v. n2C. On the idea that Jacob was
the head of an academy for the study of the Torah, see note 318 on vol.
I, p. 421 Targum Yerushalmi has three translations of min 1 ? (Gen.
46. 28): 1) to show the way; 2) to conquer the inhabitants (from Syriac
"in to war against some one?) ; 3) to establish a dwelling-place. The last
translation is in agreement with BR, loc. cit., and Onkelos, whereas
Jub, 44. 9 read perhaps mfc*-fr* Septuagint, Samaritan, and Peshitta
read niK^n 1 ?.
311 MHG I, 688. Were it not for the tribe of Judah, Israel,
persecuted by the Egyptians, would have returned to Egypt (comp.
Ill, pp. 21-22), and accordingly it is said here that on account of the
descendants of Judah, Israel was led forth from Egypt.
3 12 MHG I, 688-689; Mekilta Beshallah 1, 27a; Mekilta RS,
48; BR 55. 8. The sources referred to in notes 285 and 428 say that
the appearance of Joseph's brethren proved the falsehood of the rumor
about his being a slave.
3*3 Tan. Wa-Yiggash 7; PRE 39,
31 4 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, HOb.
315 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 46. 29. Comp. note 429.
3 J 6 MHG 1, 689,where W pis to be taken in the sense of "suddenly,"
3*7 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, UOb-llla.
318 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 46. 29. Comp. note 315.
319 R. Yehudai Gaon in Geonic Responsa (Lyck edition, No.
45, p. 19) ; Rashi and Midrash Aggada Gen. 46. 29. A different version
is found in Kallah 8b, which reads: Jacob did not kiss Joseph be-
35S
Joseph [320-325
cause he feared lest the latter 's beauty had caused the Egyptian women
to lead him astray. Comp. notes 121 and 307, as well as note 14 on
vol. Ill, p. 349.
3 20 Tan. B. I, 209; Tan. Wa-Yiggash 9; Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 46. 30. Comp. note 71.
321 BR 94. 9; PK 10, 86b-87a; Baba Batra 123a; Targum Yer-
ushalmi Gen. 46. 27; PRE 39; Shemuel 32, 146; MHG I, 676; Jub.
44. 12-33; Josephus, Antigui., II, 7. 4. In these sources the seventy
souls of which Jacob's household consisted are differently counted:
1) Jacob and sixty-nine of his descendants make seventy; 2) Jochebed
was born just when they were about to enter Egypt; 3) the Shekinah
which accompanied Jacob into Egypt is to be included in the number
seventy (comp. note 305); 4) Serah the daughter of Asher was the
seventieth, but she is not counted among Jacob's family, either be-
cause she was only an adopted child (comp. vol. II, p. 39) or because
she was one of those who never "tasted death" (cornp. vol. II, p.
116); 5) the seventieth soul was a son of Dan whose name is not given
in the Bible. Comp. note 6 on vol. II, p. 189. Comp. also Tehillim
105, 449, which reads: God counts Himself among the pious.
3" MHG I, 682; Tan. B. II, 3; Tan. Shemot 3; MHG II, 5;
Lekah Exod. 1. 1.
3'3 Seder 'Olam 2; MHG I, 682. Comp note 82, and note 39
on vol. I, p. 202.
3*4 Baba Kamma 92a; BR 95. 4; Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
47. 2. According to the Talmud and Targum, the weak among
the twelve sons were Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher; whereas
according to BR, they were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, and
Benjamin. Comp. Sifre D., 354.
3*5 MHG I, 641; comp. Yalkut Reubeni Wa-Yiggash (end),
and note 74 on vol. I, p, 223. The following is quoted by Reubeni
from Tan.: When Pharaoh learned of Joseph's descent, he feared
lest the latter now reconciled to his brethren should return with them
to his country. In order to keep him in Egypt he promised him the
same kind of treatment as his ancestor Abraham had received at
the hands of the Egyptians. This passage is not found in our texts
of Tan., but Sabba, Wa-Yiggash, 55c, had it in his copy of that Mid-
rash, The aversion of the Egyptians towards shepherds is given by
Demetrius 9. 11 (422d) as a reason why Joseph, before the arrival
of his brethren, had not sent for them and his father to come and
359
326-330] The Legends of the Jews
settle in Egpyt. For another explanation why Joseph did not inform
his family of his whereabouts, see notes 360 and 370.
336 MHG I, 692; Sifre D., 128; Passover Haggadah, caption
3 2 ? MHG I, 692-693; DR 1. 25. Like Og, Pharaoh, king of
Egypt at the time of Joseph, also knew Abraham by sight, and like
him he mistook the grandchild for the grandfather; Lekah Gen. 45.
1 and 47. 8. According to others, Pharaoh as a young prince spent
some time at the court of Abimelech, where he made the acquaintance
of Isaac. The resemblance between the latter and Jacob was so great
that subsequently Pharaoh mistook the son for the father; Imre No'-
am, Gen, 47. 8. On the idea that life on earth is merely a temporary
sojourn, see note 1, and note 260 on vol. I, p. 280; comp. also Philo, De
Confusions Linguarum, 17; Lekah Gen. 10. 2 and 7. 9, as well as Tan.
B. I, 179; MHG I, 402 ( f p) and 453 (*r). On Og see vol.1, p. 263,
and vol. Ill, p. 305.
328 Tan. B. Introduction 132; Da 1 at and Hadar on Gen. 47. 8-9,
as well as Shu'aib and Midrash Aggada, ibid. 47. 28. Comp.
also Aggadat Bereshit 61, 125, and note 228.
3 2 * MHG I, 692; Tan. B. IV, 39; Tan. Naso 26; BaR 12. 2;
Aggadat Bereshit 42. 85, which contains the variant that no sooner
had Jacob blessed Pharaoh (j^m lawinBOl is not to be taken literally)
than a messenger appeared and informed the king of the inundation
of the Nile; comp. Jub. 45. 9-10 and note 177 on vol. II, p. 70.
Shu'aib, Gen. 47. 28, cites an unknown Midrash to the effect that all
the years that Jacob dwelt in Egypt no sickness afflicted that country;
no person even suffered from toothache; no miscarriage occurred
(comp. BR 96, end; Baba Mezi'a 85a, with regard to the time of Rab-
bi Judah ha-Nasi). Conscious of the blessings he brought to Egypt,
Jacob feared at his death-bed that the Egyptians would not permit
his body to be removed from their country; comp. vol. II, p. 129 (top).
330 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, lllb. Philo, De Josepko, 42, remarks:
Pharaoh was so greatly impressed by Jacob, that he treated him as
though the latter had been his father and not his subject. At the same
time he appointed Jacob's sons as chief shepherds. The Egyptians who
were animal worshippers paid great respect to those in whose care
the animals were entrusted, and Joseph therefore arranged it so that
his brethren should be appointed "rulers over the cattle" of Pharaoh;
Zohar II, 250b-251a. Comp. Imre No 1 am, Gen. 46. 34, and note
325.
360
Joseph [331-339
331 12 Testaments, Benjamin 3. Comp. vol. II, p. 221.
33* MHG I, 693-694; Lekah Gen, 47. 12. Just as Joseph re-
ceived the title "the God-fearing one" on account of his charity and
loving-kindness, even so Abraham, Job, and Obadiah received this
title for the same reason; Tan. B. Ill, 9, and IV, 157; Tan. Wa-Yikra
7 and Matot 1. 2 ARN 10. 26 (comp. Schechter, note 11) has Jonah
instead of Obadiah, whereas BaR 22. 1 mentions only three, Abraham,
Joseph, and Job, on whom this title was conferred.
33 3 Tan. Mikkez 7. In Tan. B. I, 188, it is stated: Joseph
was a scholar and a prophet, as well as the supporter of his brethren.
Comp. Aggadat Shir 1, 26, and Josephus, Antigui,, II, 6. 1. Joseph
took such great care of his brethren and their families, that each and
every one of them was entered on the list of the king's pensioners.
When, after Joseph's death, the descendants of Jacob began to in-
crease rapidly, the Egyptians felt that the pensioning of such a vast
multitude was too heavy a burden. Unmindful of their obligations,
they withdrew their support of Jacob 's descendants altogether. Lekah
Gen. 47. 12 and Deut. 26. 5.
334 MHG I, 694. As to the explanation of n^m (Gen. 47. 13)
given there, see Sa'adya Gaon in Kimhi, Shorashim, s. v. nn*7.
33 s Yashar Wa-Yiggash, lllb. For further details concerning
the treasure, see vol. Ill, pp. 11 and 286, as well as the notes apper-
taining to these passages. God had promised Abraham that his des-
cendants would go forth from Egypt with great substance (comp. Gen.
15. 14). In order that this promise should be fulfilled God caused
all the wealth of the earth to flow into Egypt. Zohar I, 196, which
is very likely the source of Yalkut Reubeni, 15. 14, where inr is to
be read instead of emo. Comp. Reubeni, Gen. 41. 46.
33 fi Pesahim 119a; Sahnedrin HOa; Lekah Gen. 46. 49, whose
source is not the Talmud.
337 Yashar Wa-Yiggash, lllb.
33 g Pesahim 1 19a (on rbw comp. Harkavy, Responsen der Geonim,
No. 398, p. 213, according to which it means an empty threshing-floor)
and 87a; Mekilta Amalek, 53b; Mekilta RS, 169. Comp. vol. IV,
pp. 182, 184, and 276.
339 MHG I, 695. Joseph is described by Artapanus, 9. 23
(429d), as a reformer of the taxation of the soil. The same author
also narrates that Joseph was the inventor of measures, on account
of which he was beloved by the Egyptians. Comp. also Josephus,
Antiqui,., II, 7. 7.
361
340-345] T k e Legends of the Jews
34 Targum Yerushalmi, Hadar, Da 1 at, Midrash Aggada, Pa'aneah,
and Shu'aib on Gen. 47. 22, as well as Da' at on Deut. 32. 12 and Yashar
Wa-Yesheb 89b. According to Philo, De Josepho, 10, the proof of Jo-
seph's innocence consisted in the fact that his garment and not that of
the woman was torn; for if he had used force against her, he would
have torn her garment; but she, having attacked him, tore his
garment. In the Koran 12. 26-28 it is stated that a slave belonging
to Potiphar's household proved Joseph's innocence by the fact that
the garment was torn in the back instead of the front. As to the
other trick which Potiphar's wife tried to play against Joseph and
as to the discovery thereof, see the sources referred to in note 130, as
well as Imre No 1 am, Gen. 47. 22, which follows Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 39, 14. Gomp. note 312 on vol. I, p. 415.
341 MHG I, 696 (where irQ'B3 "as his reputation" is to be read
instead of irniDD); Baraita 32 Middot according to the reading of
MHG I, introduction, XIX. An explanation of Joseph's ordinance
that a fifth of the produce of the land should belong to Pharaoh is
given in Lekah Gen. 47. 24.
34 2 Hullin 60b; Tan. B. I, 186; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 47.21.
343 MHG I, 695. Comp. Yadayim 4. 4, and Berakot 28a.
344 MHG I, 701-702; Lekah, Shu'aib (gives 0TIO as source),
and Da' at, Gen. 48. 1; Zohar I, 180a and 216b. As to the happiness
of the pious during the last years of their life, comp. Tan. B. V, 18;
Tan. Ekeb 3; Aggadat Bereshit 40, 121-122; comp. note 2.
345 BR 96. 5; Tan. B. I, 213-214; Tan. Wa-Yehi 3; MHG I,
709-711. On the signs of approaching death, see Zohar I, 217b, and
227a. On Israel as the "lamb for atonement", see Tan. B. IV, 20;
BaR 4. 5; Ekah 1, 73 (below). Jacob's fear that he would "be
made an idol" is also mentioned in the sources referred to in note 329;
comp. further vol. IV, pp. 71, 328 (top). Ziyyoni, Beshallah (be-
ginning), maintains that Jacob and Joseph wished to have their bodies
removed from Egypt in order that they should not be desecrated by
the Egyptians, whereas according to Tehillim 24. 19, the reason for
Jacob's last wish was that the pious are loath to have their last rest
among the wicked ; comp. note 2 1 on vol. IV, p. 246. As to the superiority
of the Holy Land to all other countries at the time of resurrection,
see Apocalypse of Baruch 29. 2, 40. 2, and 71. 1; 4 Ezra 13. 48-49;
Midrash Tannaim 58 (this is very likely the source of Kaftor wa-Ferah
138); Mishle 17, 84; Ruth Z., 1. 47; Alphabet of R. Akiba 31 ('&);
Ketubot Ilia; Yerushalmi Kirayim 9, 32c; Abkat Rokel 2,4; Zohar
862
Joseph [346-351
I, 113b-114a, 128b-129a, 136b-137a. The statement in the kabbal-
istic sources mentioned above that the resurrection of the dead of
the Holy Land will take place forty years earlier than that of the dead
of other countries is based directly or indirectly upon Midrash Tan-
naim, loc. cit. See Ginzberg's remarks in J.Q.R., XVI, 447, note 1.
In connection with the widespread view that the reign of the Messiah
will last forty years (comp. Sanhedrin 99a and Tehillim 90, 393),
this statement very likely implies the doctrine that the messianic
kingdom will be confined to the Holy Land, whose dead will therefore
be resurrected forty years before the general resurrection takes place
when the Lord Himself will be King and Ruler. Zohar I, 13 7a, and
II, 28b, in speaking of the resurrection of the dead, refers to a very
small bone in the human body which is indestructible and will form
the nucleus of the new body at the time of resurrection. There
can be no doubt that this bone mentioned in the Zohar is identical
with the "almond-shaped" bone Luz, concerning which see BR 30.
7; WR 18. 1; Koheleth 12, 5. Comp. Index, s. v. "Luz". Hyrtl,
Das Arabische und Hebraische in der Anatomie, 165, draws attention
to the fact that old German anatomists called this bone "Jew-bone";
comp. also Low, Pflanzennamen, 375. The Luz legend came from
the Jews to the Arabs; comp. Jewish Encyclopedia, 8, s.v. "Luz".
346 Nazir 65a; MHG I, 711.
.347 MHG I, 708-709. As to the idea that Jacob was "the goal
of creation" and the deliverer "of Abraham from the fiery furnace",
see note 35 on vol. I, p. 317.
348 Megillah 16b. According to this view, IITO 1 ! (Gen. 47. 31)
is to be translated "and he bowed down to Joseph", whereas others
are of the opinion that it means: "And he prostrated himself before
God". Comp. the sources referred to in notes 354-355. Yelam-
medenu 30 ( = BHM VI, 83, and MHG I, 709) says: Jacob told Joseph
that it was his duty to fulfil the word of God: "And Joseph shall
put his hand upon thine eyes."
349 pRE 39.
35 MHG I, 711.
35* Yelammedenu 29 (=BHM VI, 83, and MHG I, 358 and 711,
'!?). This midrashic passage may also mean that Joseph as "a free
man" did not at first want to affirm his promise by an oath;
but subsequently consented to act in the same manner as Eliezer
had done to Abraham. Comp. note 349.
363
352-362] The Legends of the Jews
352 Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 47. 30. Comp. Pesahim 51b and
Semahot 12.
353 Hadar and Da' at, Gen. 47. 30.
354 Sifre D., 31; Midrash Tannaim 24; MHG I, 711. Comp.
Shabbat 12b and Nedarim 40a, in accordance with which Tan. Wa-
Yehi 3 (end), MHG I, 712 (r), and Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 47.
30 are to be explained.
ass MHG I, 711; comp. note 383. Lekah, Gen. 47. 31, gives two
explanations of irwi (Gen. 47. 12) : (1) Jacob thanked God for having
given him a son like Joseph; comp. Heb. 11. 21; (2) Jacob bowed to
Joseph because he wished to fulfil the latter's dream in which it was
revealed to him (Gen. 37. 9-10) that his father would bow down to
him; comp. note 348.
356 Sifre D., 31; Midrash Tannaim 24. In accordance with these
sources, MHG I., 711, is to be read HD^ TOD nrTO; comp. the use of
this phrase in the prayer before retiring to bed at night (V'fljon ronn),
Berakot 60a and Siddur (Baer's edition, 573). See also note 383.
As to Reuben's penitence see note 60.
357 BR 45. 9. This sickness was the fourth great miracle since
the creation of man; for until Jacob's time people died suddenly,
without having been warned by illness of their impending death: they
sneered and fell dead. Hence the custom to bestow the blessing ' ' Unto
life" upon a person who sneezes; see PRE 52; note 272 on vol. I, p.
291, and note 20 on vol. IV, p. 246. In old sources (comp., e. g, t
Tosefta Shabbat 7. 5 and Babli Berakot 53a) the blessing used is NSHD,
or in Aramic KniDN "Unto health".
358 MHG I? 7 12; Yelammedenu 31 (BHM VI, 83) and in
'Anik, s. v. ws and mi.
359 Yelammedenu 32 (BHM VI, 83); MHG I, 714. Comp.
the following note,
360 PR 3, lOb; Yelammedenu 32, where, plfcTI must be read
instead of ]'D^a. As to Joseph's silence about the fact that his
brethren sold him into slavery, see note 370. The source of Hadar
and Da 1 at, Gen. 48. 1, is PR, which has also another opinion that
Joseph heard of his father's illness from Bilhah who nursed him, or
from Benjamin who was constantly with his father. Comp. Sifre
D., 352. See also Tan. Wa-Yehi 6; MHG I, 714 and 715-716 (here
it is Manasseh who studied under Jacob) ; Sekel 306.
361 MHG I, 713-714. Comp. Schechter, ad loc., and note 306.
362 MHG I, 716; Yelammedenu 33 ( = BHM VI, 83). This is
S64
Joseph [363-374
very likely the source of Hadar, Da' at, and Sekel on Gen. 48. 2. Comp.
note 348.
363 PR 3, lla, and the other view 12a, line 7.
36 4 MHG I, 716. As to the tithe of Jacob's sons, see note 250
on vol. I, p. 387
365 MHG I, 717.
366 PR 3, llb-12a; MHG I, 717 (below) and 718-720; Yelam-
medenu 33-34 ( = BHM VI, 83; read hy "J^n 1 ?) where it is also stated
that the holy spirit had abandoned Jacob during the time that he
grieved for Joseph (comp. note 294); Tan. Wa-Yehi 6; Zohar I, 207b;
Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 48. 9; Aggadat Bereshit 5, 12. As to Rachel's
burial place, see note 310 on vol I, p. 415, and Lekah Gen. 48. 7.
367 PR 3, 12a-12b; MHG I, 720-721, in accordance with which
PR is to be emended to read I 1 ?:? =lbonD] "asked in a foolish way";
Aggadat Bereshit 5, 11-13, the text of which suggests that ^inn in
MHG, 721 means "according to the way of a spy", i. e., "I betray
a secret to you" Very likely however **?) "in is to be read. Philo,
De JosepHo, 6, likewise mentions that it was the prophetic spirit which
revealed to Jacob that in the future Ephraim would be superior to
Manasseh.
368 PR 3, 12 (as to the text, see Ketab Tamim, 88); Aggadat
Bereshit 5, 12; BR 97. 4; Tan. Wa-Yehi 6.
369 BR97. 4.
370 PR 3, 12b. The Haggadah often refers to Joseph's no-
bility of character as shown by the fact that he did not tell anyone
that his brethren sold him into slavery. His desire to keep this matter
secret went so far that he did not attempt, after he had risen to a high
position in Egypt, to communicate with his father, fearing lest he
should have to explain his presence in Egypt and thus betray his breth-
ren; see Philo, De Josepho, 41; Hasidim 479-480; Imre No 1 am, Gen. 41.
16, and the sources referred to in notes 99, 281, 360, 442, as well as
vol. II, p. 221. Comp. also note 68.
371 BR 97. 4-5; MHG I, 717 (top) and 722-723; Tan. Wa-Yehi
6; PR 3, 12b; Targum Yerushalmi and Lekah on Gen. 48. 20.
372 Aggadat Bereshit 80, 155; Shitah Hadashah 1.
373 BR 97. 3. Comp. Aggadat Bereshit 5, 13, and note 371.
Jacob's guardian angel is Michael; comp. Zerubbabel 10; Sekel 309
and 318, as well a Index, s. v. "Michael".
3 74 MHG I, 723, where many other explanations are given of
365
375-383] The Legends of the Jews
the blessing yb UYl (Gen. 48. 16) bestowed by Jacob upon his two
grandchildren. Comp. also the following note.
375 BR 97. 3; Tan. Wa-Yehi 6 (the Ephraimites pronounced
"Sibboleth" instead of "Shibboleth"; comp. Jud. 12. 6); Lekah and
Targum Yerushalmi on Gen. 48. 16. Comp. note 50 on vol. II, p.
269.
37<s wR 2. 3; Shernuel 1, 45. Ephraim received this distinction,
as well as many others, as a reward for his humility; God exalts those
who humble themselves; BR 6. 4; PR 3, 12b; MHG I, 720-721. The
last-named source gives further instances of the reward for humility:
Joktan, who became the father of thirteen sons (comp. note 70 on
vol. I, p. 172), and David, who was exalted above all other rulers.
The more luxuriant the vine the lower are its branches; the greater
the man the deeper his humility, MHG, loc. cit., and comp. Schechter
note 31.
377 BR 97. 9; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 48. 22; Baba-Batra
123a. On Jacob's war against the Shechemites, see vol. I, pp .403-4 11
and notes 289-292 appertaining to them. Concerning Adam's gar-
ments see notes 78-80 on vol. I, p. 177.
3 ? 8 Sabba, Wa-Yehi, 59c. On Dinah and Asenath see vol. II,
p. 38.
379 Da' at and Hadar, Gen. 30. 29-30. Comp. vol. I, pp. 318-
319, and preceding note.
380 BR 97. 6. Comp. vol. II, p. 330.
381 BR 97. 1; MHG I, 721; Shitah Hadashah I, Tan. Wa-Yehi
8; Aggadat Bereshit 82, 158.
382 BR 98. 1-3; Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 49. 1-2; Tan. Wa-
Yehi 8; Aggadat Bereshit 81, 157, and 83, 163. In all these sources
it is presupposed that Jacob did not act rightly in attempting to re^
veal divine mysteries to his sons without having first obtained per-
mission from God; comp. the following note. Shu'aib, Wa-Yehi, 22d,
quotes an unknown Midrash to the effect that the word frnp'l (Gen.
47. 29 and 49. 1), if explained according to the hermeneutical rule
of Notarikon, contains the statement that Jacob revealed to Joseph
the teachings of wisdom and the great mystery of the messianic age.
383 Sifre D., 32; Midrash Tannaim 24; BR 98. 3; Pesahim 56a;
Tan. Wa-Yehi 8; Shitah Hadashah 1; DR 2. 6, where it is also stated
that Moses learned the response "Praised be the name, etc." by lis-
tening to the angels. Comp. also Mahkim 111 (which gives a somewhat
different version of the origin of this prayer of the angels) ; Aggadat
366
Joseph [384-388
Bereshit 81, 157; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 48. 2; WR 36. 5; Tehillim
31, 239-240. Comp. notes 239-240. Several medieval authors quote
the following from an unknown Midrash: God called Jacob's at-
tention to the fact that the names of the twelve tribes contain neither
the letters 'CD'n (=DH "sin") nor '2'p ( = srp "end"); the tribes are
free from sin, but the knowledge of the "end" shall not be revealed
to them. See Da 1 at, Hadar, Pa'aneah, Shu'aib on Gen. 48. 1; R.
Bahya, Gen. 47. 28; Abudrahim, Shema' ; Zohar III, 188b. Sanhedrin
97b very strongly condemns those who occupy themselves with as-
certaining the end of time, and the Rabbis speak of the "end" as a
mystery which has not been revealed to man or angel; Sanhedrin
99a; Tehillim 9. 81; Pesahim 54b. Comp. Mark 13. 32.
384 BR 98.4 and 99. 6; Tan. B. I, 218; Tan. Wa-Yehi 9; Aggadat
Bereshit 82, 158-159; Shitah Hadashah 2; Targumim Gen. 49. 3-4;
MHG I, 731-734. Concerning Moses and Reuben see vol. Ill, pp.
196 and 455.
385 Sabba, Wa-Yehi, 60a, quoting an unknown Midrash. Comp.
BR 98. 4 nonVon 'Spyr l^N and the following note.
386 Abkir in Yalkut I, 157, and MHG I, 732; comp. BR 82.
11; MHG I, 539-540; Sabba, as in preceding note, who very likely
had before him a fuller text of Abkir.
3*7 BR 98. 5 and 99. 7; Shitah Hadashah 2; Tan. B. I, 218-219;
Tan. Wa-Yehi 9-10; Aggadat Bereshit 82, 159-160; Targumim Gen.
49. 5-7. The Church Fathers Tertullian, Adversus Marcion., 3, 18, and
Adversus Judaios, 10 and Hippolytus on Gen. 49. 5 likewise mention
the tradition that the Pharisees and Scribes belonged to the tribes of
Simeon and Levi; comp note 5 on vol. II, p. 194. PR 7, 28a-28b,
dwells upon the fact that the three oldest sons of Jacob received his
blessings like the other brethren, though he severely censured them
for their sins. As to the meaning of DiTni-DD (Gen. 49. 5) see also,
besides the sources mentioned at the beginning of this note, PRE
38 and Yelammedenu in 'Aruk s. D. "DD 3.
388 Tan. Wa-Yehi 10; Targumim 49. 8-12; MHG I, 735-739
(based on different sources); Yelammedenu 35 (=BHM VI, 84, and
'Aruk, s. v. DD 5). The Haggadah finds in the blessing of Judah
not only praise for his valiant and gallant spirit displayed at Tamar's
trial and at the time when Joseph 's life was threatened by his brethren
(comp. notes 46 and 90), but also a prophecy about his prominent
descendants, the Judean kings, and particularly the Messiah. The
Church accepted the messianic interpretations of the blessing; comp.
367
389-392] The Legends of the Jews
e. g., Hippolytus, De Anti-Christo, 9, seq..', De Consummatione Mundi,
18, and the reference to the patristic literature given by A. Poznanski,
Schiloh, passim. Next to the Messiah it is David whose life history
is found in the blessing of Judah; see the interesting passage quoted
by Sabba, Wa-Yehi, 62a (top), from an unknown Midrash.
389 BR 99. 9 and 72. 5r Tan. Wa-Yehi 11; Aggadat Bereshit
82, 161; Shitah Hadashah 11; WR 25. 2; Batte Midrashot III, 26-
27. Comp. note 391 and note 194 on vol. I, p. 367,
Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 49. 13; BR 98. 11.
a* 1 Tan Wa-Yehi 11; BR 98. 12 and 99. 10; Shitah Hadashah
11; Aggadat Bereshit 82, 161. Issachar as "the tribe of scholars"
is very frequently referred to in the Haggadah; comp., e. ., vol. I, p.
367; vol. II, pp. 25 and 188; vol. Ill, pp. 170, 193, 197, 221, 223,
237, 460, 462. Comp. also note 61. This legend is very likely based
upon 1 Chron. 12. 33, where among those who came to David mention
is made of the children of Issachar, '"men that had understanding
of the times, to know what Israel ought to do"; comp. Targum, ad loc.,
and Megillah 12b, where with reference to Esther 1. 13 it is stated that
"those that have understanding of the times" describes the scholars
0331) who are well-versed in astronomy and understand how to fix
the calendar. However, as there seems to be no trace of this le-
gend in tannaitic sources, the following hypothesis may be suggested :
During the amoraic period Tiberias was the main seat of Jewish learn-
ing in Palestine, and inasmuch as this city was located in the terri-
tory of the tribe of Issachar (comp. Sanhedrin 12a; Shitah, loc. tit.,
and Megillah 6a on its identity with biblical np"")), it was quite natural
that this tribe should share in the glory of its metropolis. In support
of this assumption one may quote Shir 8.J 2, which reads: The tribe
of Issachar studies in the house of learning situated in its territory
(i. e., Tiberias); Naphtali does more than this: it wanders to foreign
houses of learning, and hence its reward is greater. Comp. the sources
referred to in note 389, and note 194 on vol. I, p. 367.
39* BR 98. 14 and 99. 11; Tan. Wa-Yehi 12; Shitah Hadashah
11, where it is stated that the Messiah was a Danite on his maternal
side; this view is very likely related to the one found in early Christian
authors about the Danite descent of the anti-Christ; comp. Irenaeus,
V, 30, Hippolytus, De Consum. Mundi 19, and Bousset, Antichrist,
Index, 5. v. "Dan"; Yelammedenu 36 (^=BHM VI, 84; read Kin n?
J1BW -p- 'pEW); Aggadat Bereshit 82, 161 (read jnaa instead of
); Targumim Gen. 49. 16-18.
368
Joseph [393-400
393 BR 99. 11; Tan. Wa-Yehi 12; Yelammedenu 37. Comp.
note 183 on vol. I, p. 365. Others find in the blessing of Gad a prophecy
concerning the activity of the Gadites as the vanguard of Israel, armed
to conquer the Holy Land; comp. BR 98. 15; MHG I, 744; Shitah
Hadashah 2; Targumim Gen. 49. 19.
394 BR 99. 12; Tan. Wa-Yehi 13; ER 9, 52. For other in-
terpretations of the blessing of Asher see BR 98. 16; Shitah Hadashah
11; Targumim Gen. 49. 20.
305 BR 98. 17 and 99. 12; Tan. Wa-Yehi 13. Numerous other
interpretations of the blessing of Naphtali are found in MHG I, 745-
746, as well as in Hadar, Da* at, and Targumim on Gen. 49. 2. Comp.
the following three notes.
39 6 MHG I, 745; BR 98. 17. In the second passage as well as
in many others (Aggadat Bereshit 82, 162; Shitah Hadashah 11;
comp. especially the unknown Midrash quoted by Sabba, Wa-Yehi,
63a), the scholarship of Naphtali (i, e., of the tribe of this name) is
praised. Comp. note 391.
397 MHG I, 746-747; BaR 14. 11; Sabba, Wa-Yehi, 63a;
ER 9, 51, and 11, 59. As to Naphtali 's extraordinary swiftness,
comp. note 216 on vol. I, p. 371, as well as vol. II, p. 154; vol. Ill,
pp. 171, 237-238; vol. IV, p. 161 (transferred to the descendants of
Naphtali); Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 49. 21.
398 Sabba and Targum Yerushalmi on Gen. 49. 21, whereas in
Targum Yerushalmi Num. 27. 46 it is Serah the daughter of Asher
who brings the glad tidings to Jacob. In the quotation by the glos-
sator of Pa'aneah on Num., loc. cit., from Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
49. 20, to the effect that Asher was the happy messenger, Asher is
very likely to be emended to "Serah the daughter of Asher". Comp.
vol. II, pp. 115-116, and notes 293-295.
39 *> BR 98. 18-20; Shitah Hadashah 2; Yerushalmi Targumim
Gen. 49. 22-26; comp. Sabba, Wa-Yehi, 63c, and note 184.
400 Midrash Aggada, Gen. 49. 23, and comp. Targumim on
this verse. That Sarah's likeness hung in Pharaoh's bedroom is stated
in Zohar II, 30a. As to the objection raised against Joseph that he
was a slave, comp. vol. II, p. 72. Kimhi on Gen., loc.dt., likewise
refers to this verse concerning Potiphar's enmity toward Joseph. Ben
ha-Melek 6 reads: A man once said to Joseph: "I love thee very much";
to which Joseph replied: "Love caused me great suffering; my fa-
ther's love brought upon me my brethren's hatred which resulted
369
401-413] The Legends of the Jews
in my being sold as a slave; the love of Potiphar's wife for me lodged
me in prison."
01 BR 99. 3; Tan. B. I, 219-220; Tan. Wa-Yehi 14; Shitah
Hadashah 2; Aggadat Bereshit 82, 162; Targum Yerushalmi Gen.
49. 27; MHG I, 751. The interpretation of Gen. 49. 27, found in
12 Testaments, Benjamin 11, and Hippolytus, ad loc. t according to
which the "wolf* refers to the Benjamite Saul ( = Paul), is a Chris-
tianized form of the Jewish Haggadah which takes the "wolf" as a
symbol of Saul, the first king of Israel. Testaments, loc. at., finds
in the blessing of Benjamin a hint that the temple would be erected
in his territory; comp. vol. Ill, p. 458.
4 2 BR 99. 2; Tan. B. I, 219-220; Tan. Wa-Yehi 14; Shitah
Hadashah 2. On Joseph as the adversary of Esau, see vol. I, p. 364;
vol. Ill, pp. 57-58.
43 Tan. B. I, 221; Tan. Wa-Yehi 16; BR 99. 4; DR 13. 8; PR
7, 28b. Comp. note 387.
44 BR 100. 2.
4 s Tan. B. IV, 11; Tan. Bemidbar 12; BaR 2. 8; Yashar Wa-
Yehi, 112a-112b; a somewhat different version is found in BaR
5. 2. See also Hasidim 383 and Nahmanides, Gen. 48. 2. The pas-
sage in the Tanhumas escaped Nahmanides, for they explicitly state
that, in. accordance with Jacob's last will, none of his grandchildren
was alllowed to touch his bier, because their mothers (or the mothers
of some of them) were Canaanitish women. In Tan. B. IV, 11, DD2
is to be read instead of Dm. Comp. note 98.
4 6 Yashar Wa-Yehi, 112b. ER 18, 104, reads: Jacob admon-
ished Joseph to be proud of his virtue, since God gives man knowledge
and wisdom to be used only for the sanctification of His holy name,
i. e., to resist temptations,
47 BR 100. 1.
4 8 Baba Batra 16a-l7a. Comp. note 276-, on vol. I, 292, and
note 35 on p. 317.
40 9 Yerushalmi Targumim Gen, 50. 1.
4 10 Yashar Wa-Yehi, 112b-113a.
411 Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 50. 3; Zohar I, 294. Comp.
note 177.
4 12 BR 100. 3. Comp. vol. II, pp. 148-149. On Joseph's
premature death see note 430.
4*3 Unknown Midrash quoted by Sabba, Wa-Yehi, 104a; BR 100.
6; Aggadat Esther 70. On the view that Pharaoh subsequently be-
370
Joseph [414-422
came king of Nineveh, see vol. Ill, p. 29, and note 34 on vol. IV, p.
250. The Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea were brought to burial
as a reward for their participation in the last honor paid to Jacob;
PRE 39 (this is the source of R. Bahya, Exod. 15. 12) ; comp., however,
the opposite view about the end of the Egyptians, vol. Ill, p. 31.
R. Bahya, in his work Kad ha-Kemah, hzx 2, 16a, gives (following
old sources?) a description of the nine divisions of which the cortege
of Jacob's funeral consisted.
414 BR 100. 4; MHG I, 761, where DTISP rf?-l3 could hardly
mean "friseuse"; comp. 'Aruk, s. v. ^13, and vol. IV, p. 287.
41 5 Sotah 36b. Comp. vol. II, pp. 72-73. Midrash Aggada, Gen.
50. 2, is based on a combination of Sotah, loc, cit., with Yashar Mikkez,
95a~95b.
416 Yashar Wa-Yehi, 113a. Comp. note 413.
417 Tan. B. IV, 11, and the sources referred to in note 405, as
well as Da 1 at and Hadar, Gen. 50. 12. The number of Jacob's des-
cendants at the time of his death amounted to sixty myriads; BR
79. 1.
418 Yashar Wa-Yehi, 113a-113b. Comp. also vol. II, p. 147.
4I * Yerushalmi Sotah 1, 17c; BR 100. 5.
420 Sotah 13a; Tan. B. I, 222; Tan. Wa-Yehi 17.
421 Yerushalmi Sotah 1, 17b; BR 100. 6; PK 10, 85a; Tan. B.
I, 222; Tan. Wa-Yehi, 17.
422 Sotah 13a; PRE 39; Yerushalmi Targumim Gen, 42. 21 and
50. 12; Yashar Wa-Yehi, 113b-114b (here this legend is given in
a very elaborate form). As to the acquisition of the Machpelah
by Jacob, see vol. I, p. 321, and note 50 appertaining to it. For an-
other legend about the death of Esau comp. vol. I, pp. 418-419, giv-
en in accordance with Jub. 38. Closely related to the legend found
in Jub. is the one given in Tehillim 18, 159-160, which reads: Jacob
all alone occupied himself with the burial of his father; his sons with-
drew themselves for a while, so that, unrestrained by the gaze of others,
he might give himself up entirely to his grief for Isaac. At this very
moment Esau sneaked into the Cave of Machpelah with the intention
of killing Jacob whose life he had spared all the years their father
Isaac was alive. Judah, however, noticed the attempt made by Esau
upon Jacob, ,and killed his wicked uncle from behind. The reason
that he killed him in this -way was because Judah could not bring him-
self to kill Esau while facing him. The resemblance between the
twin brothers Esau and Jacob was so great, that looking at one was
371
4 2 3~~4 2 5] The Legends of the Jews
as much as looking at the other, and Judah would never have been
able to kill Esau while looking at his face which was the very image
of Jacob's. That Jacob's sons refrained from killing their uncle on
account of his close resemblance to their father is also stated in Jub.,
loc. tit. Sifre D. f 348, and Midrash Tannaim 214, as well as Yerushalmi
Ketubot 1, 25c, seem to presuppose the legend found in Tehillim;
Hadar, Gen. 49. 8, is directly based on this Midrash. In quoting
the other legend about Esau's death, found in Sotah, loc. cit., Hadar
wrongly gives pVrn as source instead of Njpora. Another inaccuracy
in Hadar, Gen. 49, 33, is nm instead of NsVlp of the Talmud.
4 23 PRE 39; Comp. 103 on vol. I, p. 339. As to the order in
which the graves of the patriarchs and their wives were arranged,
comp. Yerushalmi Ta'anit 4, <58a, and Zohar III, 164a. As long as
Jacob dwelt in Canaan a celestial light shone in the Cave of Mach-
pelah, and as often as Jacob entered it the fragrance of paradise per-
vaded it. All these ceased the moment Jacob left Canaan for Egypt,
and did not return until Jacob's dead body was brought back to his
native land; Zohar I, 250b. Comp. vol. I, p. 289.
4*4 Yashar Wa-Yehi 114b-117b, and Shemot, 118b~119b. That
only Esau's rump was buried is already stated in PRE 39. On the
foreign kings whom Esau's children appointed over themselves, see
note 323 on vol. I, p. 424. The description of the night of Zepho
from Egyptian bondage to Africa and his great deeds in that country
is very likely taken from Josippon 2, and it is possible that Yashar
had before him a fuller text of this pseudepigraphic work which con-
tained also the details given in it about the wars between the sons
of Esau and Joseph and his brethren. Yerahmeel 50. 4, seg_. r is taken
verbatim from Josippon, The reading Agnias is not certain, and
perhaps Angias is to be read. Comp. the following note.
425 Yashar Shemot, 120a-125b, partly based on Josippon 2-3.
Kittim is, of course, identical with Italy, as is explicitly stated in
Josippon 1, and the point of this legend is the explanation of the old
tradition about the identity of Rome with Edom (comp. note 19
on vol. I, p. 314) by making Zepho, the grandson of Easu-Edorn, the
first king of Italy. Sikli in the manuscript of his Talmud Torah
(comp. Poznanski in Ha-Zofeh, III, 21) quotes, from Yelammedenu,
the following legend: Zepho established the kingdom of Rome (or
perhaps, founded the city of Rome), but was killed by Tiranus the
king of EHsha in the war which was waged between these two countries.
When Esau heard of the tragic end of his grandson, he left Palestine,
Joseph [426-429
and betook himself to his son Eliphaz, who had settled down with
his son Zepho at Rome, that he might comfort him in his bereavement.
Tiranus (it is the Greek rvpavvos "ruler") is, of course, identical
with the king of Benevento, bearing the same name, mentioned in
Josippon and Yashar. As to the centaur killed by Zepho, see vol.
I, p. 423, where a similar incident is narrated of another descendant
of Esau. On Zepho as king of Rome see Abarbanel, Mashmia' Yesh-
uah, 7. 18.
426 Yashar Shemot, 121a-121b, 127a, 128a, 131a-131b, 136b, 137a,
141a, and Joshua, 157a-157b. On the war between the Moabites
and the Midianites see vol. Ill, p. 354. It is noteworthy that in the des-
cription of the wars between Carthage and Rome the defeat of Han-
nibal and his tragic end is ignored. The chief enemy of Rome is
accorded in Jewish legend a better fate than was granted him in his-
tory.
42 7 BR 100. 8; Tan. Wa-Yehi 17, and Zaw 9; Tan. B. II, 2,
and III, 18; Yerushalmi Targumim, Lekah, and Rashi on Gen. 50.
15-20.
428 BR 100. 9; PK 16, 126b; Megillah 17b. Comp. vol. II,
pp. 30-3 land 113.
42 9 Yashar Wa-Yehi, 116b-117a; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 50.
23, where pma is not to be emended to p'S"), but explained in ac-
cordance with Tehillim 35, 248; hence Targum takes '3*13 (Gen., loc.
cit.) to refer to the holding of the child on the knees during the per-
formance of circumcision. On the view that Pharaoh is the title
borne by all the Egyptian kings, see vol. I, p. 227, as well as Lekah,
RSBM, Ibn Ezra, Pa'aneah, Shu'aib (giving Midrash as his source)
on Gen. 41. 10; Zohar II, 19b; Imre No' am, Balak (end). Several
of these authorities refer to the use of Abimelech among the Philis-
tines, Hiram among the Phenicians, Melchizedek among the Cana-
anites, and Agag among the Amalekites, as parallel to this employment
of Pharaoh. As to the question whether Joseph bore the title king
or not, see note 234, as well as vol. II, p. 178. According to PRE
11 (this is the source of Yalkut Reubeni, Exod. 1. 8), Joseph governed
Egypt forty years as viceroy and the same number of years as king.
Comp. also note 195. As to Joseph 's premature death and the reason
thereof, see Berakot 55a; PK 28, 184a, and parallel passages cited by
Buber ; 2 ARN 22, 46. In the last-named passage Solomon and Joshua
are quoted as further examples of the truth that dominion buries him
that exercises it. In Pesahim 87b attention is drawn to the fact
373
430"~43 2 1 The Legends of the Jews
that the activity of some of the prophets extended over the lifetime
of four kings; "the rulers" died at a comparatively youthful age,
while the prophets lived on to a very old age. It is to be noticed
that in Berakot, loc. cit., Joseph's premature death is attributed to
the haughtiness displayed by him as a ruler, and the same view is
maintained in BaR 13. 3, where mention is made of an additional
punishment of Joseph: the standard of his descendants did not bear
his name but that of his son Ephraim. In opposition to this view,
2 ARN, loc. cit., does not blame Joseph, but sees in his premature
death the natural consequence of the cares and worries which he had
in common with many other kings and rulers.
4 3 PRE 39 (comp. Luria, ad loc., and Hadar, Gen. 44. 31);
BR 100. '3. Comp. notes 315 and 412. Hasidim 328 reads: El-
isha declined the gifts offered to him by Naaman, and was rewarded
by remaining the leader of Israel for many years; Joseph accepted
Pharaoh's presents, and for this he died before his time. As a pun-
ishment for not having protested against the designation of Jacob
as "thy servant" (comp. Gen. 43. 28), Scripture speaks of the corpse
of Joseph (Gen. 50. 25) while he was yet alive; comp. Sotah 13a,
431 Sotah 2a. A Jewish sage was asked: "What is God oc-
cupied with since the creation of the world?" He answered: "He
makes matches." PR 1, llb-12a, and parallel passages. Comp. note
297 on vol. I, p. 296.
432 The Prayer of Asenath. Almost all scholars agree upon the
Jewish origin of this pseudepigraphic work (comp. Schiirer, Geschichte,
fourth edition, III, 399-400) and in view of the etymology it gives
of the name Asenath, "a city of refuge" (comp. Syriac text, 32, I. 11),
one is inclined to assume a Semitic (Hebrew or Aramaic) original
of this Prayer, as this etymology clearly alludes to the similarity of
and roon. In Hebrew pn means "was strong", and in Aramaic
means "strength", as well as "a fortified place", "citadel."
There are, however, not many parallels to this story in rabbinic lit-
erature. The legend about the bees bringing honey from paradise
to Asenath is closely related to the widespread view that the manna
was heavenly food prepared by the angels in the third heaven, where,
according to an old conception, paradise is situated; comp. Index,
s. v. "Manna" and "Paradise". The honey in the Asenath legend
stands for manna, which, according to Exod. 16. 31, tasted "like wafers
made with honey." The enmity of the sons of the handmaids, par-
ticularly of Dan, toward Joseph is also alluded to in the rabbinic
374
Joseph [433-437
Haggadah and in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs; comp.
vol. II, pp. 6, 207, seq., and 216, seq. The glorification of Levi in the
Asenath legend likewise agrees with the view of the Rabbis, Jub.,
and the 12 Testaments concerning Jacob's third son; comp. Index,
s. v. Jacob's gigantic strength is often referred to in rabbinic liter-
ature; comp., e. g., PR 3, 12b; Tan. Wa-Yehi 6; BR 84. 3. Comp. also
notes 151-152 on vol. I, p. 354. It is noteworthy that in the Asenath
legend the strength of Jacob 's arms (a midrashic Haggadah of Gen.
49. 24, where VHT is taken to refer to the following 3p$T) is dwelled
upon in agreement with Tan., loc. tit., which states that Jacob's arms
were like the pillars supporting the bath-house of Tiberias. As to
Joseph being "king of Egypt", see notes 234 and 429, On the rab-
binic legends concerning Dinah, comp. note 97.
433 Mekilta Beshallah (Knrtns), 24b; Mekilta RS, 39-40; Tan.
Beshallah 2; PK 10, 94b-95a; ShR 20 (end); MHG I, 770 (following
Mekilta RS?), where, by including the first human pair, "four fathers
and four mothers" are spoken of. Comp. note 7 on vol. II, p. 191.
434 MHG I, 769-770; PRE 48; Targum Yerushalmi Gen. 50.
25, which remarks: Two redeemers will appear, Moses and Aaron,
corresponding to the words "TpS' *TpS with which the redemption was
promised; comp. vol. II, pp. 139 (below), and 330.
435 MHG I, 770; comp. the sources cited in the preceding note.
PR 12, 49b, and Tan. Ki-Teze 10 remark: Joseph showed by his
last words that he believed in the resurrection of the dead. An un-
known Midrash quoted by Shu'aib, Gen. (end), explains "TpS 1 "TpS
(Gen. 50. 25) to mean: He will remember you in the present world,
and He will remember you in the future world.
436 12 Testamets, Joseph 1, 10-11, 17-18, and 20. Accord-
ing to the view of the Rabbis, Bilhah survived Jacob (comp. vol. II,
p. 167), whereas Jub. 34. 16 states that she, as well as Dinah, died
in Palestine many years before Jacob, and was buried over "against
the tomb of Rachel"; the Testaments followed Jub.; comp. also note
65.
437 Mekilta Beshallah (NnrrnS), 24b; Tosefta Sotah 4. 7; Tan.
Beshallah 2. The statement of Exod. 13. 19, according to this Hag-
gadah, is not to be understood to mean that nobody in Israel, except
Moses, thought of taking care of Joseph's remains, but, on the con-
trary, all the Israelites, mindful of their duty toward Joseph, thought
to honor him best by allowing their great leader Moses to take charge
of the body of their dead leader. Similarly, when Israel subsequently
375
438 442] The Legends of the Jews
entered the Holy Land, the descendants of Joseph did not think that
the burial of their ancestor concerned only them, but saw to it that
the entire nation participated in it; Tosefta, loc. cit.\ Mekilta RS,
40; Sotah 13b. Comp. vol. Ill, pp. 5-6.
438 Mekilta Beshallah (KniTnS), 24a-24b; Mekilta RS, 24, where
it is stated that the Egyptians had sunk the coffin in the Nile, so that
its waters should be abundant; Tan. Beshallah 2; ShR 20. 19; PK
10, 85b-86a; DR 11. 7; Sotah, Tosefta 4. 7, and Babli 13a; Targum
Yerushalmi Exod. 13. 19; Petirat Mosheh 115; Zohar II, 46a, where
it is stated that Joseph 's brethren sank their brother 's coffin in the
Nile in order to prevent the Egyptians from worshipping his body;
comp. note 345; Perek R. Yoshiyyahu 113; Sabba, Wa-Yehi (end),
where ins) is either a misprint or lapsus calami instead of ^3 ; MHG
I, 771-772. As to the sinking of the coffins of the kings by the Baby-
lonians, see Strabo, 16. 11. Arrian, Alexander's Campaigns, 7. 2;
Friedrich Delitzsch, Das Land ohne Heimkehr, 12. Most of the
above Midrashim contain the dissenting view that Joseph "was
buried in the royal palace". In Mekilta, loc. cit., read, with Oxford
MS., I'V'Ca'Sp instead of j^nap, which is undoubtedly a corruption;
see Krauss, Lehnworter, s. v. Comp. vol. II, p. 194, as well as vol.
Ill, pp. 5 and 122.
459 MHG I, 772. Comp. the discussion of this legend in note
266 on vol. Ill, p. 122; see further vol. Ill, p. 5.
440 Mekilta Beshallah (NnrrnB), 24a; Mekilta RS 39; Sotah 13a;
DR 11. 7; ShR 20. 7; Petirat Mosheh 112. Comp. the sources cited
in note 438.
441 ShR 20. 19,
442 Mekilta Beshallah (Knrrnfl), 24b; Mekilta RS, 39, containing
essential variants (as to the expression nr Q^p, see Baba Kamma 17a);
Tan. B. IV, 45; Tan. Naso 30; PR 22, 112a-112b; Yerushalmi Berakot
1, 4c; ER 26, 131. Moses took Joseph's bones and wrapt them up
in a sheep's skin, upon which "the Name of God' 1 was written; the
dead bones and the skin then came to life again, and assuming the
form of a sheep, it followed the camp of Israel during their wander-
ings through the wilderness; Hadar, Exod. 13. 19. As to Joseph's
virtues enumerated in the text, comp. notes 23, 113, 210, 238, 270,
as well as vol. Ill, pp. 82 and 202. Philo, De Josepho, 43, reads: Jo-
seph stored up all the silver and gold he had received for the grain
sold by him in the king's treasury, without appropriating a drachma
for himself; comp. vol. II, p. 125.
376
Joseph [443-444
443 Sotah 13b; BR 85. 3, which contains the dissenting view that
Joseph himself expressed the wish to be buried in Hebron; DR 8.
4; ShR 20. 19; Mekilta Beshallah (KTOTOS), 24b; Tan. Ekeb 6. All
the Israelites took part in the last honors paid to Joseph, to atone
for the sins of their ancestors, who had sold him into slavery; Hasidim
222. Comp. note 437.
444 MHG I, 772. The difference in the pious when they are
alive and dead is that in the latter state they lack the faculty of speech,
but they nevertheless do not cease to praise their Creator; PR 2, 5b,
and 12, 47a; Tehillim 30, 234; DR 11. 7. These passages as well as
many others (comp., e. g., Ketubot 104a) speak of the three divi-
sions of merciful angels who meet the righteous on their entering
into the other world, and of the three divisions of the angels of des-
truction who seize the wicked as soon as they die. A similar view
is also found in 12 Testaments, Asher 6, whereas according to PR
44, 184a, man's guardian angels meet him at the time of his death ;^
comp. note 20 on vol. I, p. 59, and Index, s. v. " Guardian Angel' 1 .
Visio Pauli 14 is in agreement with this view. Zohar Hadash, Lek
Leka, heading ywi maintains that Michael and Gabriel, at the head
of the angels who guard the gates of Paradise, meet the pious and lead
them into paradise. As soon as a righteous person dies, God says to
the three patriarchs: "Go and offer the righteous a heavenly welcome."
They, however, refuse, saying: "It is not for parents to pay respect
to their children; but it is the duty of children to pay respect to par-
ents." God thereupon addresses Jacob, saying: "Thou who didst
suffer so much in bringing up thy children, go thou and meet thy
righteous child, and I shall accompany thee". Zohar I, 97a; comp.
also 123b and 125b; note 49 on vol. I, p. 70.
377
II. THE SONS OF JACOB
Vol. II, (pp. 185-222)
1 ShR 1. 1-3; Tan. Shemot 1; MHG II, 3-4. In contrast to
Jacob who was a stern father to his children, Abraham and Isaac
were indulgent, with the result that they subsequently suffered for
their attitude. Ishmael, the son of Abraham, and Esau, the son of
Isaac, would have been different men if their fathers had been less
indulgent.
2 MHG I, 681-682, and II, 5, where the filial devotion and
chastity of Jacob's sons are particularly praised. On the desig-
nation of Jacob's twelve sons as " fathers", see Tosefta Ma'aser She-
ni (end), where it is also stated that all that God did for Israel was
on account of these twelve sons (comp. Index, s. v. " Fathers, Merits
of")- A similar statement is also found in PR 4, 13a and 14a, with
the additional remark that the creation of the world was brought
about through the merits of "the twelve tribes." See further vol. IV,
p. 158, "The Seven Patriarchs"; Sifre N., 11, where rTDN can only
refer to Israel's great men in post-biblical times. Comp. the full
discussion of the question, whether JTQK "fathers" refers exclusively
to the three patriarchs, in Ginzberg's Uribekannte Sekte, 295-297.
3 Sifra 26. 45 and 42. In the second passage mention is made
of the covenant with the "mothers" (the rabbis usually speak of the
four mothers, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah; comp. Index, s. v.
Mothers). The old liturgy contains no reference to the covenant with
the tribes or to the covenant with the mothers, and even in the later
liturgy these covenants are rarely alluded to. R. Gershon B. Judah
(about 1000) is, it seems, the oldest paitan who, in his Selihah ma, "Or
for Ne'ilah in the Ashkenazic ritual, speaks of the covenants made with
the fathers, mothers, and tribes.
4 ShR 1. 5; Tan. Shemot 3; Tan. B. II, 3; MHG I, 681. For
other explanations of these names see BaR 14. 10 and BR 81. 3; Sekel
290; vol. I, p. 362. Philo, De Somniis, 2. 3, is very likely the old-
est authority to explain these names independently of the Bible; comp.
also Philo, De Mutatione Nominum, 16. In this connection men-
378
Sons of Jacob [5-8
tion should be made of the haggadic etymology of the name Yehudi
("Jew"), which is explained as "one who proclaims God's unity"
(HIIT = 'TI1T from in 1 ); Panim Aherim 82; comp. also Apostolic Con-
stitutions II , 60. The Haggadah is interested not only in the names of the
twelve tribes but also in. the dates of their birth and death; comp.
Seder 'Olam 2; PRE 26; Tadshe 8; Lekah, Gen. 19. 31; Algazi, Tol-
edot Adam; Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, I, 2192; Jub. 28. 11-12; 12
Testaments, passim.
5 MHG I, 683; BaR 13. 16. On Issachar as the tribe of schol-
ars, see note 391 on vol. II, p. 144. The description of the tribe of
Issachar as mathematicians in Yerushalmi Targumim Gen. 46. 13-
14, goes back to 1 Chron. 12. 33; comp. the full discussion of this point
in the note referred to.
6 Sabba, Wa-Yiggash, 56c, quoting an unknown Midrash. As to
Aaron's activity in Egypt and his crusade against the idolatrous He-
brews, see vol. II, pp. 259 and 283, and vol. Ill, p. 457. With the
exception of the three tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, all the
others were addicted to idolatry, and for this reason the genealogical
tables of these three tribes only are given in Scripture (Exod. 6. 14,
seq.); Shir 4. 7. The legend about the Benjamin tribe is an attempt
to harmonize Gen. 46. 21 with Num. 26. 28, seq. A similar solution
is already found in Jub. 44. 33-34 (Charles misunderstood this pas-
sage entirely), where it is stated that five of Jacob's descendants
disappeared in Egypt without leaving any trace; they are neverthe-
less counted among "the seventy souls" who entered Egypt with
Jacob. The sentence concerning the sons of Judah in Jub., loc. cit. t
is either a later addition or is to be taken parenthetically. For
another solution of the apparent contradiction between, Gen. loc. tit.,
and Num., loc. cit. t see vol. Ill, p. 333. On the pious Naphtalites,
see note 391 on vol. II, p. 144, and note 396 on vol. II, p. 146. The
difficult '33 (Gen. 46. 23) is explained in the following way: Dan
had only one son ; but this son had so many children that he was called
"heath-rush " QWJ, because his children were as numerous as the heath-
rushes; Baba Batra 143b; BR 94. 9 (here the variant p is given);
Targum Yerushalmi Gen., loc. cit. (as to plSJDN see Targum Yer-
ushalmi Gen. 25. 3); ShR 32. 140. Charles, Jub. 44. 28, quotes the
Rabbis to the effect that Dan had numerous children; but the Rab-
bis maintain the opposite view,
7 12 Testaments, Reuben 1-6; comp. Excursus II, Reuben.
8 12 Testaments, Simeon 1-5 and 8; comp. Excursus II, Simeon.
379
g 18] The Legends of the Jews
9 12 Testaments, Levi 1-2, 5-8, 11-12; comp. Excursus II, Levi.
10 12 Testaments, Judah 1-2, 12-14, 16. As to the gigantic
strength of Jacob, see vol. I, pp. 404, se%., and 419, seq., as well as
vol. II, pp. 106, seq., and 108, seq. Comp. Excursus II, Judah.
11 12 Testaments, Issachar 1-7.
12 12 Testaments, Zebulun 1, 5-8. On Zebulun as the mariner
see vol. Ill, p. 237. Comp. Excursus II, Zebulun.
13 12 Testaments, Dan 1-6. As to Dan's hatred of Joseph, see vol.
II, p. 176. Comp. Excursus II.
x * 12 Testaments, Naphtali 1-2 and Zawwaat NaphtalL Comp.
Excursus II, Naphtali.
15 12 Testaments, Gad 1-2, 5-8. Comp. Excursus II, Gad.
16 12 Testaments, Asher 1-8. It is the only Testament which
exclusively consists of parenetic material without the slightest ad-
mixture of legend.
17 It is very likely that either Adam or Methuselah is to be
added. Comp. Excursus II.
18 12 Testaments, Benjamin 1-7, 10, and 12.
380
III. JOB
Vol. II, (pp. 223-242)
1 DR 2. 4; comp. note 4.
2 ARN 43. 121. Eighteen characters designated by God as "His
servants" are enumerated: Abraham, Jacob, Israel, the Messiah, Mo-
ses, Joshua, Caleb, David, Isaiah, Eliakim (Is. 22.2), Job, Daniel, Han-
aniah, Mishael, Azariah, Nebuchadnezzar, Zerubbabel, and the angels.
The expression "servant of God", employed in addressing a person,
which is found in medieval rabbinic literature, is due to Arabic in-
fluence. Accordingly the occurrence of this phrase in Zawwaat Naph-
tali is additional proof that this book is of recent date.
3 Baba Batra 15a-15b, where the following views concerning Job's
time are given: l)He was a contemporary of Moses, and lived in
Palestine when the spies visited that country; 2) he was born when
the Israelites entered Egypt, and died when the Exodus took place;
3) he lived during the period of the Judges; 4) he was a contempo-
rary of Solomon; 5) of Nebuchadnezzar; 6) of Ahasuerus; 7) he
was among those who returned from Babylon to Palestine and founded
a college at Tiberias. Baba Batra, loc. cit., further states that ac-
cording to the view of most scholars, Job was a Jew, since he was
endowed with the gift of prophecy, which during the period that
followed the death of Moses was exclusively in the possession of Is-
rael (comp. vol. Ill, p. 355). The rationalistic view that Job is not
a historical but a fictitious character is likewise recorded in the Talmud,
loc. cit.; comp. however, the responsum of R. Hai Gaon, cited by
Shu'aib, Debarim, lOOb, which reads: \>mh *h* -Q3 ^ rrn & 1V
"the purpose of Job's life was to serve as an example". Comp. fur-
ther Masnut, 3. For other references to Job in older rabbinic sources,
see Seder 'Olam 3; Mekilta RS, 27; Yerushalmi Sotah 5, 20c; BR
57. 4, and the parallel passages cited by Theodor. In connection
with the view given in BR, loc. cit., according to which Job was a
contemporary of Abraham, Vital, Likkute Torah (at the beginning of
Job) and Shalshelet ha- Kabbalah 13a, state that Uz, Abraham 's nephew,
died without issue, whereupon Buz married Uz's wife, and Job was
881
4] The Legends of the Jews
the offspring of this union. Comp. Yelammedenu in Yalkut I, 766.
On the view that Job was identical with Jobab, comp. notes 13-14,
and note 325 on vol. I, p. 424. On Dinah see note 35. Comp.
further on Job. vol. II, pp. 250, 254, 296, 308, 319, 344, 356, as
well as vol. Ill, pp. 17, 267, and notes 51, 52. The monument of the
Arabic general Ayyub in Constantinople was later considered as that
of Job; see Straschun, Ha-Maggid, IX, 13 and 'Inyane Shabbetai
Zebi 17 (ed. Freimann). With regard to the divergent and contra-
dictory views concerning Job's time and nationality, it may be safely
stated that the old legend considered him a contemporary of the patri-
archs and placed him in friendly relations towards them (comp. vol. I,
p. 326). The late Haggadah, on the other hand, could not allow that a
man of the kindness and piety of Job should be a non-Jew, and therefore
made him a Jew; comp. Baba Batra 15a-15b, and the following note. Or-
igen, Contra Celsum 6. 43, basing his assumption on the addition of
the Septuagint to Job, maintains that Job lived long before Moses
(comp. vol. I, p. 326), whereas Methodius (quoted by Photius,
Bibliotheca VII) and Ephraim (beginning of Job) assert that Moses
was the author of the book of Job, which view is found in Babli and
Yerushalmi, loc, cit.; Comp. note 14, end. It should be noted that
also Targum on Job (comp. 3. 18; 4. 7; 5. 17; 14. 18; 15. 10, 20, 29),
like the old Haggadah, found in this book a great many things which
point to the lives of the patriarchs. Comp. Schwartz, Tikwat Enosh;
Wiernikowski, Das Buck Hiob nachder., .rabbinischen Aggada (Frank-
furt, 1893).
4 PR 47, 190b-191a. The text is not quite correct; read in
191a, 1. 20: Dl; 21 DITnK ]D nn ^TTI ^; 1. 24 *un fcOp vhl nifcTID.
On God as the God of the fathers, see vol. I, p. 414; vol. II, pp. 305
and 320. On the words carelessly uttered by Abraham, comp. note
110 on vol. I, p. 325. On Adam as the creation of God's own hand,
see vol. I, p. 50. On the angels remaining outside the holy of holies, see
vol. Ill, pp. 210 and 216, The contrast between the patriarchs and Job
is also shown by the fact that the latter only served God out of fear
(Sotah 5. 5 cites this view as that of Rabban Johanan b. Zaccai, where-
as a later authority considers Job to have loved God; see further So-
tah 3 la; Yerushalmi 5, 20c; ARN 45, 124; Zohar II, 33b), while Abraham
served Him out of love. On the inferiority of Job to the patriarchs,
see also DR 2. 4; Tehillim 26. 16; Aggadat Bereshit 9, 26. See also
Semahot 8, where emphasis is laid on Job's lack of patience and on
his audacity to argue with God. Comp. the following note.
382
Job [S-12
5 BR 49. 9; Tan. B. I, 99; Tan. Wa-Yera 5. Job was better
than the generation of the Tower of Babel, but not as good as Abra-
ham. The latter stood firm in ten temptations, the former not even
in one. See Rashi's midrashic quotation (probably a later addition)
and Masnut on Job. 1. 3.
6 Baba Batra 16a-16b. A view is also recorded here which
defends Job against disbelief. On the hair-sac comp. Tan. B. Ill,
35; WR 15. 3; Haserot, No. 30; 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 24 (here like-
wise is found the observation on rain-drops; comp. 2 Enoch 40. 8).
BR 4. 4 reads: Sometimes God reveals Himself to man in his hair, as
in the case of Job. Comp. ShR 3. 6; PR 47, 190a; Niddah 52a; Matt.
10. 30, which reads: The very hairs of your head are all numbered.
On the gazelle comp. Shemuel 9, 73.
7 Ben ha-Melek we-ha-Nazir, 12.
8 ShR 31. 12; this shows, however, how weak Job was; for al-
though he himself asked that bodily suffering be inflicted on him,
he murmured against God when he was tested.
9 Baba Batra 15b~16a. PK 7, 65b-66a; PR 17, 88b; WR 17.
4; Ruth R 1. 5; Koheleth 9. 11. See also the midrashic citations in
Makiri, Amos 9. 13, and by R. Isaac ha-Kohen on Job 1. 14; comp.
Leket Midrashim 4b. At harvest time the clouds used to hang over Job's
fields, so that the grain suffered neither from moisture nor from ex-
treme heat; Tan. B. I, 133. Whenever anyone received even a small
coin from Job, it became a blessing unto him; Baba Batra, loc,
dt.\ Pesahim 112a; BR 39. 11.
10 Testament of Job 3. The following parallels from rabbinic
literature are to be recorded: Tan. B. I, 161-162 (concerning Jacob's
herds and dogs); the description, of Job's hospitality and benevolence
is only a duplicate of the Abraham legend; comp. vol. I, pp. 270-271.
ARN 7, 33-34 (second version 14, 33), points out Abraham's super-
iority to Job: the latter befriended only those needy who came to
him for help, whereas the former took great pains to seek out those
who were in need of help; moreover, Abraham gave delicacies and
luxuries to the poor who had never been used to such things. Comp.
further ARN 163-164. Tan. B. V, 25, emphasizes the fact that
Job had strictly observed the agricultural laws, and was therefore
astonished when he was reduced to poverty.
11 Midrash quoted by Masnut, Job 29. 13, whence it was in-
corporated in Leket Midrashim, 6b-7a.
12 PR 33, 149b-150a; comp. further the midrashic quotation
383
13-15] The Legends of the Jews
in Leket Midrashim, 7b-8a. Job's prayer was pure because his es-
tate was free from ill-gotten gain; ShR 22 (at the end).
13 Testament of Job 1. Abraham, Job, Hezekiah (all of whom
lived in a wicked environment), recognized God of their own accord;
and in the days to come the Messiah will do the same; BaR 14. 2.
On the identity of Job with Jobab, comp. the following note,
J 4 Aristeas (in Eusebius, Praep. Evang., 9. 25, 430d~431) is
very likely the oldest source which identifies Job with Jobab (son of
Zerah, son of Reuel, son of Esau), although it is quite probable that
the Septuagint knew of this identification. The corresponding ob-
servation found in some manuscripts of the Septuagint as a post-
script of the book of Job goes back to Aristeas; comp. the thorough
investigation of this subject by Freudenthal, Hellenistische Studien,
136-141. This scholar, however, has overlooked the fact that in the
older rabbinic literature Eliphaz, Job's friend, is identified with the
son of Esau, bearing the same name; comp. vol. I, pp. 421-422. The
Targum fragment published by Luzzatto (^""IP nnJN, 741), where
this identification occurs, is,' in its present form, most likely of
a late date. Hence Ginzberg's remarks in Haggada bei den
Kirchenv., 123, are to be corrected accordingly. In Targum IDn =
fraVlV and hence 'VlVl frtt"jn K"U=Zerah, the second son of Tamar.
Testament of Job 1 is corrupt. For in this verse Job says: "I am of the
sons (descendants?) of Esau; my brother is Nahor ",and this is impossible.
Either "my father" is to be read instead of "my brother" (on the view
that Job is the same as Uz, the son of Nahor, see note 3), and the words
"of the sons of Esau" are a gloss from the postscript of Septuagint, or
"Zerah" should be read in the place of Nahor. On the view that
Job is the same as Uz (Gen. 22, 21) comp. Tan. B. IV, 73 (which is the
source of Rashi on Job 1.1; on Rashi's remark that ply =ny, see BR
57. 4), and the quotation from a Midrash in Leket Midrashim, 4a, where
Uz=Edom in alluding to Lam. 4. 21. On the assertions of the Church
Fathers Origen, Horn, in Ezech. IV (Job, qui temporibus patriarcharum
et Moses vixisse...), Jerome, Gen. /. c. (Hus, de cuius stirpe Job
descendit), and Aphraates, 215 (Job lived two hundred and ten years);
comp. Ginzberg, Haggada bei den Kirchenv., 123-124, and note 3.
15 Testament of Job 1-2. The fame promised to Job is perhaps
related to the legend cited in vol. II, p. 225, that God wishes to connect
His name with that of Job. Satan as a beggar occurs frequently in
Jewish legends, comp. note 226 on vol. I, p. 272. The Kabbalists
observe that Satan would have had no power over Job, had the latter
384
Job [1621
brought, instead of burnt-offerings, sacrifices in which "the other
side" (Satan = the material world) also had a share; comp. Yalkut
Reubeni, Lev. 1. 3. WR 7. 3 reads: Burnt-offerings atone for sin-
ful thoughts, and Job was not sure whether his sons, who as princes
frequently made feasts (according to others the feasts mentioned in
Scripture refer to their weddings), did not sin in their hearts. On
Job's love of God, comp. note 4. On the expressions rntzn hM and
mtzn ]ro with respect to the power which Satan asked and received
from God, comp. Baba Batra 16a; ARN, 164 (in the Job story);
midrashic quotation in Leket Midrashim, 46. Comp. also Targum
on Job 1. 12.
16 Baba Batra 16a; comp. note 260 on vol. I, p. 288, and note 39.
17 ARN, 164 (-j^D^-j 1 ? HO); but it is decidedly a recent ad-
dition.
18 Targum on Job 1. 6, which is very likely the source of this
assertion met with in medieval authors, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, R. Joseph
Karo, Masnut, ad loc., R. Nissim Gaon in Hasidim, 31; Sekel 26;
Zohar II, 32b; III, 231; Leket Midrashim, 4b. Comp. Ginzberg's
note on this point in Ha-Zofeh, III, p. 187.
19 Testament of Job 4. The Merciful One seizes not first upon
the souls; first He destroyed Job's wealth, before He put his children
to death; WR 17. 4, and the other sources cited in note 9.
20 Targum on Job 1. 15 (on the text comp. Masnut, ad loc.).
The kingdom of Lilith is called nnor ("Zmargad") in our text; comp.
Krauss, Lehnwortwer, s. v. t where the literature appertaining to it
is recorded. The queen of Sheba is also known as a female demon
among the Arabs, and in a very old source she is considered as a great
witch; comp. note 55 on vol. IV, p. 152.
2 J The midrashic source made use of by R. Isaac ha-Kohen reads:
"Behold, how long God withheld the punishment decreed over Job.
For three years Job lived undisturbed in the village Karnaim but when
his sons sinned the queen of Sheba raided them and took their posses-
sions away". The distance from Sheba to Palestine is a very great one,
according to some it would take no less than seven years to traverse
it (comp, vol. IV, pp. 144-145) and hence the statement that at least
three years must have passed between the issuing of the heavenly
decree and its execution. The queen of Sheba started on her march
against Job immediately on the passing of the decree and arrived three
years later to execute it. The Church Fathers as well as Mohammedan
writers speak likewise of Karnaim as the abode of Job; comp. Schlatter,
385
2228] The Legends of the Jews
Verkanntes Griechisch 55; Klein, Barajta 34 Priesterabteilungen
81 seq. and Apt, Die Hiolerzahlung in der arab. Literatur 2b.
(Arabic text). Another local legend seems to have claimed "Magdala
of the Dyers" as the abode of Job and accordingly we have the harmoniz-
ing statement in the Midrasnim cited at the beginning of this note that
the sons of Job marched from Karnaim through the entire valley of
the Jordan (afa&v = |1^3 comp. Schlatter, loc. cit.) to "Magdala of the
Dyers" where death overtook them.
22 Testament of Job 4; Persia stands for Chaldea; comp. Job
L 17.
2 3 Baba Batra 16a.
24 Testament of Job 4, On three occasions God sent forth a
hurricane: When the house of Job collapsed over his children; when
Jonah was found in the ship; when God revealed Himself to Elijah
on mount Horeb; Yerushalmi Berakot 9, 13c; BR 24. 4; WR 15. 1;
Koheleth 6. 1.
2 5 Midrashic quotation by R. Isaac ha-Kohen 2.8 ; Leket Midrashim,
5a; Testament of Job 5. Comp. further R. Isaac, 19. 21a, which reads:
There are not such sufferings as those of Job; God afflicted him with not
lest than fifty plagues (ShR 23. 9, and Baba Batra 116b), among which
were seven different kinds of boils; Tan. B. Ill, 80; Tan. Kedoshim 15.
26 Testament of Job 5; ARN, 164, Visio Pauli 49 states that
Job's wounds were at first of the size of a grain of wheat, but on the
third day they grew to the size of an ass's hoof. This statement is
followed by the obscure sentence: " worms moreover which fell four
digits in length." This amounts to the same as the statement in
Testament of Job and ARN.
27 Midrash quoted by R. Isaac ha-Kohen on Job 2. 9; Leket
Midrashim 5a (the text is not quite correct; read: HD^I i&feti p >D
njttn n Vnp 1 ?- -pH^l pr "P moK). Job, who, despite his sufferings
wished to continue his former benevolent deeds, proposed to his
friends to care for the poor; but they did not believe that he would
remain steadfast in his piety; Leket, loc. cit. Other interpretations of
the words of Job's wife (Job 2. 9) are: She advised him to blaspheme
God, so that the heavenly punishment of death should immediately
come down upon him, and he would be rid of his sufferings. Confess
thy sins to God, and do not entertain any hope that He will relieve
thee of thy suffering. Comp. Masnut, ad loc. and the following two
notes.
28 Midrash quoted by Masnut on Job 2. 10; comp. Mekilta
Job [29-33
Bahodesh 10, 72b; Sifre D., 32; Midrash Tannaim 26; BR 19, 12,
where it is assumed that Job's wife also led a pious life, so that her
husband asked her to continue to live in the same manner.
29 Testament of Job 5-6. The greatest sacrifice a wife could
make to support her husband was to sell her hair; comp. Yerushalmi"
Shabbat 6, 7a.
3 Baba Batra 16a, where another view is cited to the effect (comp.
Rashi) that pictures had been engraved on trees. See, however, Tar-
gum on Job 2. 11, which reads: When Job's friends saw that the
trees in the garden had withered, that the meat which they ate was
transformed into raw meat, and that the wine which they drank was
turned into blood, they realized that a misfortune had befallen Job.
In accordance with this remark we may well assume (against Rashi)
that the Talmud, loc. cit., refers to the withering of the wreaths and
trees and not to the pictures on the trees.
31 Tan. B. I, 166 (comp. vol. I, pp. 42 1-42 2) ;Targum Yerushalmi
Gen. 36. 12. This identification, however, was most likely known to
the Septuagint, according to which Job's friends were kings, i. e. } princes
of Edom; comp. notes 3 and 14.
32 Yelammedenu-in Yalkut I, 766; Yashar Wa-Yera, 42b; Sekel
70; Targurn on Job 32. 32; comp. notes 3 and 14, and vol. Ill, p. 356.
In old sources Elihu is identified with Isaac (vol. I, p: 326) or Bal-
aam (comp. note 33), and in Zohar II, 166a, he is described as a des-
cendant (son? comp. Ezek. 1. 1) of Ezekiel, although the different view
of Targum was known to this source.
33 Testament of Job 7-9. Although his friends came from
different places, they all met at the same time, at the gate of the town
in which Job resided; Baba Batra 16b. Those who visit a house
of mourning should not speak until the mourners have spoken first.
Job 's friends acted according to this rule, and kept silence until he
had spoken; Mo'ed Katan 28b. Comp. further Yerushalmi 3, 82d,
and ARN 37, 111-112. As long as the friendship' between Job and
his companions was unimpaired, Satan had no power over the for-
mer; but when jealousy and strife set in among them, he accomplished
his task. As soon as the old friendship was re-established, God re-
stored Job to his pristine greatness; PR 38, 167a; Aggadat Bereshit
28, 57; midrashic quotation by Masnut on Job 30. 1, which throws
some light on the story told in the Testament of Job. The idea that
man, since he does not know himself, cannot fathom God's acts occurs
frequently in Jewish literature; comp. Wisdom 9. 15-16; Philo, De Mi-
387
34~37J The Legends of the Jews
gratione Abrahami, 24; De Somniis, 1. 10 and 36; Judith 8. 14; 4 Ezra
4. 10 (this, as is shown by the parallels, has nothing to do with the
view of man as a microcosm as maintained by Gunkel; the original
Hebrew text of 4 Ezra very likely read *]y D ll ?n3n DnDT=quae
tuasunt tecum coadulescentia) ; Sanhedrin 39a; Ibn Ezra, Yesod Mora
1, 16b. In contrast to the description of Job's poverty as given in
Testament of Job, some rabbinic sources assert that he had to endure
indescribable bodily pain, but no poverty (comp. notes 24-26); see
Baba Batra 117a and ShR 31. 21. Quite different, however, is the
view of Tan. B, III, 8, and Tan. Kedoshim 15. The idea that El-
ihu is the instrument of Satan is to be compared with the view of
R. Akiba, according to which Balaam is identical with Elihu; comp.
Yerushalmi Sotah 5, 20d. See further note 38, where mention is
made of the reward of only three friends of Job.
34 Testament of Job 7; Visio Pauli, 49. These sources have
thirty years, but according to the rabbinic view only one year; Eduy-
yot 2. 10. Comp. note 27 on vol. Ill, p. 17.
35 Testament of Job 1, 10-11. An additional gift bestowed by
God is more than the original possession; Job was seventy years old,
and God granted him an additional term of life with double that num-
ber of years, so that he lived two hundred and ten years. BR 41.
4; DR 1. 31; comp. note 3 and the sources cited there (see also Eph-
raim on Job 42. 16) concerning Job's age and fortune; see further
Testament of Job 12. At the appointed time, when his afflictions
came to an end, Job arose from his seat and shook off the dust, as a
cock rises from the dunghill; Tehillim 103, 344; Midrash in Makiri,
Ps. 146, 281. On the expression Bnnroi ("and he became a new man ")
employed in Tehillim, comp. Tan. Noah 5 on the three men (Noah,
Daniel, and Job) who lived to see a new world; comp. also BR 30.
8 (see also the parallel passages cited by Theodor) and Tan. B. I,
180. On Dinah comp. vol. I, p. 396, and the sources from Babli,
Yerushalmi, and BR cited in note 3; see further Targuni on Job 2. 10.
36 2 ARN 2, 9; comp. Ginzberg, Unbekannte Sekte, 184. Al-
though Job's contemporaries led a licentious life, he was so chaste
that he never looked at an unmarried woman; Baba Batra 15a and
16a (but Abraham was still more chaste than he, for he never even took
notice of the charms of his own wife; comp. vol. I, p. 222); Tan. B. I,
170; ARN, loc. cit., and the first version 2, 13.
37 Testament of Job 11-12. It is further remarked that these
magic girdles insured Job's immediate recovery (comp. note 35). The
388
Job [38-39
names of the three daughters are explained in Baba Batra 16b and
Targum on Job 42. 14. Jemimah means "beautiful as the day";
Keziah means "exquisite as the aromatic cassia"; Keren ha-Puch
means "splendid as Saffron", or (so Targum) "as the diamond"
(-|1B =1313). The Septuagint renders Keren ha-Puch by "Horn of
Amalthea" (the goat, of Greek mythology, which nursed young Zeus);
this is based on the identification of "Puch" in the Talmud with a
(fabulous?) species of the antelope. It is quite uncertain whether
this Amalthea is in any way connected with Amthelai, Abraham's
mother (comp. note 6 on vol. I, p. 186).
38 Koheleth 7. 2; comp. note 33 (end). Heaven has compas-
sion on him who is merciful to his neighbor; when Job prayed to God
in behalf of his friends, God had mercy on him; PR 38, 165a; Tan.
B. I, 104; comp. note 33. According to a remark by R. Akiba, when
Job repented, he was rewarded by God because of the pious deeds
he had done in former years, prior to his affliction; Koheleth 7. 8;
Ruth R 3. 13; Yerushalmi Hagigah 2, 77a (here it is niXD instead of
TJSWri). The views of the Rabbis concerning Job's piety prior to his
affliction differ greatly from one another (comp. note 3). R. Johan-
an, who takes Job to have been a Jewish sage, entertains the most
favorable opinion of him, observing that Scripture spoke more highly
of Job than of Abraham; Baba Batra 15b; comp., BR 30. 8. But
all agree that Job was found wanting when tested by suffering. It
is even said by R. Johanan that some of Job 's words are so blasphe-
mous that, if they were not written in the Bible, one would not be
permitted to utter them; Baba Batra 16a; comp. further Leket Mid-
rashim, 5a; Baba Batra, loc. tit., where Job is severely criticised by
Raba who remarks: "Job's mouth ought to have been filled with
dust on account of the offensive words he uttered against God".
The revelations which God granted to Job showed that he was un-
reasonable in finding fault with God's administration of justice; they
proved how little he understood the mysteries of nature or the mean-
ing of the ruling of God's wisdom in the history of mankind; Mid-
rash in Makiri on Ps. 146, 281, and the midrashic source quoted by
R. Isaac ha-Kohen on Job 11. 7; comp. Leket Midrashim 6b. In
the Testament of Job, on the other hand, Job is presented in a different
light; he is glorified for his steadfastness and piety during the time
of his suffering. This conception is quite unknown in the older rab-
binic literature; Comp. the following note.
39 ARN, 164. The Job legend given in this passage is directly
389
391 The Legends of the Jews
or indirectly influenced by the Testament of Job (use was made of
Arabic sources which tell many things about Job and which are
familiar with the contents of the Testament of Job; comp. Griinbaum,
Neue Beitrdge, 262-271; Apt, Die Hioberzahlung in der arab. Lit,
passim.)} hence it forms a contrast to the Rabbis (comp, the
preceding note) in maintaining that Job was steadfast. The
vermin which infested Job's body are mentioned only here and
in the Testament. In contrast to ARN, the Talmud speaks of Satan
in complimentary terms, and maintains that his desire to test Job
was prompted by good motives, for he feared lest God should prefer
Job to Abraham, and he therefore endeavored to test Job's moral
strength; Baba Batra 16a. The cantillation of the books of Job,
Proverbs, and Psalms is the same because their authors experienced
a similar fate. Job was humiliated, but was afterwards restored to
glory; even so were David (see note 96 on vol. IV, p. 104) and Solomon
who was dethroned for a time (vol. IV, pp. 169^ stfg.), but later be-
came king again; Shir (Griinhut's edition, 9a) which was made use
of by Masnut on Job 3. 1. Job resembles David also in other res-
pects, for both of them, as well as Jeremiah at a later period, cursed
the day of their birth, although their motives were different: Job
on account of his sufferings (Job 3. 3); Jeremiah on account of the
misfortunes brought upon Israel in his days (Ter. 20. 14); David on
account of the sinfulness of man (Ps. 51. 7); Makiri, Ps. 51. 281. ARN
likewise mentions that the angels set forth a prayer to God (this is the
signification of rhsn "KPp; comp. TSDH *Wp in Yerushalmi Yoma
1, 38b; the translation "tied a magic knot of the Tephillin before
God", Kohler, Testament of Job, 290, cannot be taken seriously) in
behalf of Job ; whereupon God took mercy on him. The magic girdle
mentioned in the Testament of Job is the special application of the
motive "heavenly gifts" frequently employed in legends (comp. Giin-
ter, Legends des Abendlarides, s. v. "Himmelgabe"), which appears
here as a girdle in allusion to Job 40. 7.
390
IV. MOSES
VoL II, (pp. 243-375)
1 BR 96. 1; comp. commentaries, ad loc.
2 Seder 'Olam 3. According to Shir 4. 7 and BaR 13. 8, Reuben
died first, then Simeon, then Levi, and them Judah. Comp. the sources
referred to in note 4 on vol. II, p. 188; see also vol. II, p. 330.
3 Yashar Shemot, 118a, and 122a-122b; ShR 1. 4; Tan. B. II,
3; Tan. Shemot 3; MHG II, 6, which reads: When Joseph died, his
brethren considered themselves as though they were all dead, be-
cause at his death they lost their honored position among the
Egyptians; Zohar II, 16b. Comp. also Tosefta Sotah 10. 10, which
states: As long as Joseph lived his brethren enjoyed a pleasant life.
According to a widespread tradition among the Kabbalists, Joseph,
Moses, and David died on a Sabbath towards evening; comp., e. g.,
Zohar II, 156a.
4 BR 79. 1; this is very likely the source of Midrash Aggada,
Gen. 24. 34. The fecundity of the Hebrew women was quite
miraculous: they bore as many as six and twelve (according to some,
even as many as sixty or seventy) children at one time; Mekilta Bo
12. 13a, and Beshallah (NnrTHE)) 24a; PK 10, 85b; ShR 1. 5 (on D'tPirD
see note 6 on vol. II, p. 189); Tan. B. II, 4; Tan. Shemot 5 and Pekude
9 (the number six hundred thousand is to be explained according to
Shir 1. 15; comp. note 56); Aggadat Bereshit 5. 11; MHG II, 6, where
it is also stated that they were of heroic valor; comp. also Shir 1. 16;
Mekilta Bahodesh 2, 63a; Shabbat 30b (below).
5 Yashar Shemot, 112b and 125a-125b. Comp. vol. II, pp. 163-
164, 169, 178. For other reasons why the Egyptians changed from
friends of the Hebrews into enemies, see vol. II, p. 259, and vol. Ill,
p. 9.
6 Yashar Shemot, 125b-127a, partly based on older sources;
comp. vol. II, pp. 360-361 and 336. On the idea that Balaam was
the one who advised the enslavement of Israel, see vol. Ill, p. 363,
and vol. II, pp. 254-255. The tribe of Levi, mindful of the fact that
they were destined to be the servants of God in the temple, refused
391
7-13] The Legends of the Jews
to serve Pharaoh, who did not press them, for he knew that Jacob
exempted them from carrying his bier (comp. vol. II, p. 147), and even
the wicked king feared to force to work those whom Jacob had ex-
empted; Hadar, Da 1 at, and Imre No' am on Exod. 1. 13. On Malul
=Maror, see note 36.
7 Sotah lla; ShR 1. 10-11; Mekilta RS, 31. As to the king him-
self participating in the building, see the inscription of Nabopolas-
sar in R. F. Harper's Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, 131-133,
where this king, in describing the restoration of Esagila and Ezida,
writes: I arrayed myself in my gown, the robe of my royalty. Bricks
and mortar I carried on my back, a dupshikku of gold and silver
I wore; and Nebuchadrezzar the first-born.. .1 caused to carry mortar
.. .with my workmen. As to men performing the work of women,
and vice versa, see Herodotus, II, 35. Philo, Moses, 1. 7, maintains
that many of the Hebrews died because they were unable to stand
the hardships imposed upon them; their corpses were thrown out
beyond the boundary (of Egypt), and nobody was allowed to cover
them with earth. This is very likely to be understood to mean that
the Egyptians granted to the Hebrews no respite from their work to
enable them to bury their dead. On the cities built by the Hebrews,
see Septuagint and Targumim on Exod. 1. 11.
8 ShR 1. 12; PR, addition, 197b; Koheleth 2.23; BR 27. 2 (comp.
Theodor, ad loc.); Tan. Wa-Yeze 9; Philo, Moses, 1. 7; Abkir in Yalkut
I, 153=MHG II, 8.
9 ER 7, 44; ShR 5. 21; Wa-Yosha' 45, which reads: Every
Hebrew was compelled to make six hundred bricks daily. Tehillim
119, 497; PRE 48; Sanhedrin Ilia; Mekilta RS, 170. Comp. vol.
II, pp. 299, 337, and 372, as well as vol. IV, p. 49.
10 PRE 48; comp. vol. II, p. 367; .vol. Ill, p. 13.
11 ShR 1. 8; MHG II, 8. Comp. note 4.
12 Yashar Shemot, 124a-124b, which is based on older sources;
comp. note 21, and note 32 on vol. II, p. 236. Yalkut Reubeni,
Exod. 1. 10, quotes an unknown Midrash to the effect that the agi-
tation against the Jews was due to the fact that the Egyptians at
that time apprehended an attack upon them by the kings of Canaan,
and feared lest the Hebrews should support the enemies of Egypt.
As to the historical events reflected in this legend, see Ginzberg,
Unbekannte Settle, pp. 338-339 and Index s. v. "Historical Remi-
niscence."
13 ShR 1. 14. Comp. note 36 on vol. II, p. 12.
392
Moses [1421
J 4 ShR 1. 18; ps.-Philo, 10 (top). As to the sensuality of the
Egyptians, see ER 7, 40, and vol. I, p. 222.
** ShR 1. 13-14; ER 7, 43; Sotah lib. As to the different po-
sitions of the male child from the female at the time of birth, see BR
17. 7, and parallel passages cited by Theodor. Comp. note 17.
16 Sotah lib; ShR 1. 15; Yashar Shemot, 12 7b.
17 ShR 1. 15. The identification of Shiphrah and Puah with
Jochebed and Miriam, respectively, is already found in old sources;
comp. Sifre N., 78; Sotah lib, which gives also the dissenting view
that Puah is identical with Elisheba, the wife of Aaron and the daughter-
in-law of Jochebed; Shemuel 18, 113; Koheleth 7. 1. As to the mean-
ing of the names of the midwives, see the sources cited above, and
Philo, Quis Rer. Divin. Haeres Sit, 26. The last-mentioned authority
maintains that in Hebrew Shiphrah signifies "a bird" and Puah "red".
Philo confused ms V with HISS and nyiS with HKIfl (in mishnic He-
brew nWID "woad" is employed to describe the reddish or rather
bluish dye obtained from the leaves of the "woad"), for which blun-
ders the inaccurate pronunciation of Hebrew by the Alexandrians is
partly responsible. Philo speaks of these two women as "midwives
of the Egyptians", agreeing on this point with some of the Rabbis
who are of the opinion that Jochebed and Shiphrah were not Jewish
women; see Tadshe 21 (end), where they are declared to have been
proselytes; Imre No'am t Exod. 1. 15. See also Josephus, Antigui.,
11,9.2.
18 Sotah lib; ShR 1. 16, which draws attention to Jacob's bless-
ings, where several of his sons are compared to animals.
** Sotah llb-12a; ShR 1. 17; Tan. B. I, 152; comp. further 1
Chron. 2. 18; vol. II, pp. 70-71, vol. IV, p. 78. The view that Mir-
iam was the ancestress of David (and hence of the Messiah) is already
found in Sifre N., 78; comp. also Yerushalmi Targumim on Exod. 1.
21. The Christian legend that Jesus is a descendant of the priestly
family is very likely connected with this view of the Rabbis; see Julius
Africanus, Epistle to Aristides, 1,
20 Sotah lib. Comp. vol. Ill, p. 154.
21 Yashar Shemot, 128a-130b; Dibre ha-Yamim 1; MHG II,
12, where HP stands inaccurately for rfrtD, Aramaic fc^B "kid" and
" young child". The older sources (Josephus, Antiqui,, II, 9. 2; Sotah
12a-12b; Tan. B. II, 122; Tan. Wa-Yakhel 4; ShR 1. 18) maintain
that the astrologers announced to Pharaoh the exact day upon which
the redeemer of Israel would be born; but they could not tell whether
393
22-27] The Legends of the Jews
he would be a Hebrew or an Egyptian. Pharaoh therefore commanded
that all the male children, Hebrew as well as Egyptian, born on that
day should be thrown into the river. The Egyptians, however, did
not submit to the king's command, protesting that the redeemer of
Israel would certainly not be an Egyptian ; and thus only the Hebrew
male children were thrown into the river; comp. note 56. On the
three counsellors, see Sotah lla, where, however, it is Pharaoh him-
self who advised the throwing of the children into the river; comp.
the following note. According to ShR 27. 3 and 6, Pharaoh's coun-
sellors at that time were Balaam, Jethro, and Amalek. On Job see
vol. II, pp. 250-251, 296; on Jethro comp. vol. II, p. 296. Accord-
ing to Zohar II, 33a, it was Job who advised the enslavement of the
Hebrews, to save them from complete annihilation planned against
them by Pharaoh. The sufferings subsequently inflicted upon Job had
the purpose to make him realize the acuteness of pain and the troubles
he had caused to Israel. It is very likely that Yashar is the source
of Zohar, loc. dL
22 Sotah lla; ShR 1. 18 and* 2. 1; Shir 2. 15; Aggadat Bereshit
1, 2, God swore unto Noah never again to destroy the world by water
or fire, but this oath applied only to the destruction of the entire
world and not to parts thereof; comp. vol. I, p. 250-251, and note
55 on vol. I, p. 166.
2 3 Shir 2. 15; ER 7. 43; Mishle 19, 86; ShR 22. 1; Lekah Exod.
1. 2. Philo, Vita Mosis, 1. 3, also speaks of the search for the Hebrew
children in all hiding-places. Pharaoh who was informed of the ap-
proaching birth of the redeemer of Israel (see note 21), ordered to
take a census of all the pregnant women of the Hebrews, and as soon
as the time of their confinement arrived, the male children were seized
and killed; Midrash Shir 25b-26a; MHG II, 12; Haggadat Teman 36.
2 4 Josephus, AntiquL, II, 9. 2.
25 Yashar Shemot, 130a (based on older sources; see Sotah lib;
ER 7, 42; PRE 42).
26 Josephus Antiqui., II, 9. 2.
27 Mekilta RS, 3; Sotah 12a; ShR 1. 13, where pin^D 0fcn is
the same as nnn hm in Talmud; see Pesahim 70b, and Biichler, The
Political ....Leaders of the Jewish Community of Sepphoris, 9; PR 43,
180a-180b; BaR 13. 20; Koheleth 9. 17; MHG II, 12-13; Dibre ha-
Yamim 2. Another version of this legend is given by ps.Philo,
lOc, according to which the leaders of the people ordered all Israel
to stop propagating the race; but Amram, trusting in God, the Savior
Moses [28-32
and Redeemer of Israel, objected to the command of the leaders,
and finally succeeded in making them repeal the prohibition against
the propagation of the race. Comp. note 37.
28 Sifre N., 67; ShR 1. 8; Josephus, Antiqui., II, 9. 3, which
reads: Amram, one of the nobler sort of the Hebrews. Comp. note
409 on vol. Ill, p. 211.
2 * Sotah lla; ShR 1. 8; Tan. B. II, 4; Tan. Shemot 5. As to
the dissenting view which maintains that Pharaoh the persecutor of
the Hebrews is not identical with the king of Egypt at the time of
Joseph, see note 5. Josephus, Antigm., II, 9. 1, agrees with the latter
view, and dates the anti-Israelitish policy of the Egyptians from the
coming into power of a new dynasty. This author remarks that
the Egyptians who were indolent and effeminate envied the industrious
and successful Hebrews. Tan., loc. cit., says that the theatres and
circuses were filled with the Hebrews, and this caused envy and enmity.
"Ingratitude is as grave a sin as idolatry"; Pharaoh began with the
one and ended with the other. He pretended that he did not know
of any service rendered by Joseph to. Egypt (comp. Exod. 1. 8), and
subsequently said: "I -know not the Lord" (ibid. 5. 2); MHG II,
7; ShR and Tanhumas, loc. cit.
3 Baba Batra 17a; Targum on Ruth (end); Ma'ase Torah 94,
where Benjamin is counted among the distinguished persons. On
Amram 's piety comp. also Tan. B. IV, 16, where it is said that Israel
was redeemed from Egypt on acount of the merits of Amram and
his wife Jochebed. The latter, however, was not the equal of her
husband, as shown by her exposing the infant Moses to danger;
\VR 2. 1 and Koheleth 7. 28. Comp. note 46, end. Philo, Vita Mosis,
1,2, describes this couple as the noblest of their time. See also Zohar
II, 19; Sifre Z., 109; vol. II, p. 323; vol. IV, p. 158.
3* PK 1, Ib; PR 5, 18b; BaR 12. 6 and 13. 2; BR 19. 7; Shir
5. 1; Tan. Pekude 6 and Naso 16; Tan. B. IV, 24, and III, 110; Te-
hillim 75, 338; Hallel 101; comp. vol. Ill, p. 185. The Hellenistic
writers, as well as the Rabbis, call attention to the fact that Moses
was the seventh generation from Abraham; comp. Demetrius 10,
29, 438d; Philo, Vita Mosis, 1. 2; Josephus, Antiqui., II, 9. 6; PK 23,
154b-155a, and the parallel passages cited by Buber. Comp. note 17 on
vol. II, p. 222, and Index, s. v. "Seven".
s 2 MHG II, 8, A similar legend is found in Hadar, Da'at, and
Imre No' am on Exod. 1. 13, according to which the entire tribe of
395
33-40] The Legends of the Jews
Levi was too wise to be deceived by Pharaoh. See also ShR 1, 11
and 5. 18; Tan. Ki-Teze 9; comp. note 9.
33 12 Testaments, Levi 12. Levi had two wives, from one he
begot Kehath and from the other Jochebed. In view of the fact
that before the revelation on mount Sinai only maternal relationships
were taken into consideration, the marriage of Amram and Jochebed
was in accordance with the law; see Sahnhedrin 58b; Onkelos and
Lekah Exod. 6. 20; vol. Ill, p. 253. The name of Jochebed 's mother
was Otah; Hadar and Da 1 at on Num. 26. 59.
34 MHG II, 11 (based on a midrashic work on Prov., but not
found in Midrash Mishle) and 13; comp. note 30 towards the end.
35 MHG II, 11 (read PW1 instead of PIDDI), where it is also stated
that the same miracle happened to the two spies who lodged at
the house of Rahab; comp. vol. IV, p. 5.
* 6 Yashar Shemot, 128a; Dibre ha-Yamim 2 (read -p^n DiUDl
TIN 11 ?). The etymology of the name Miriam is found in old sources;
comp. Seder 'Olam 3; PR 5, 50a; see also the etymological explana-
tions given of the names Merari and Malol in vol. II, pp. 197 and
248. The etymology of Aaron )nn as standing for"jTin HN "woe to
this pregnancy" is also found in 12 Testaments, Levi 17, Jochebed 's
age at the time of her marriage was, according to old sources, one
hundred and thirty years; see Sotah 12a; ShR 1. 19; Baba Batra 12a;
comp. note 38 and vol. Ill, p. 200.
37 Sotah 12a; Mekilta RS, 3; PR 43, 180b, and the sources re-
ferred to in note 27. Amram married "for the sake of heaven", and
God swore that the issue of this union will carry the scroll of the Torah
in their arms; ER 29, 157; EZ 3, 177; Nispahim 9. Maimonides,
Yad ha-Hazakah, Melakim 9. 1, following an unknown source, writes:
God revealed several laws to Amram.
38 Sotah 12a; Baba Batra 120a; ShR 1. 19. Comp. vol. Ill,
pp. 200, 393, and 436.
39 Josephus, Antigui., II, 9. 3-4.
40 Ps.-Philo, 10-11, from which it was incorporated in Yerah-
meel 42. 8. The description of the man clothed in fine linen is, of
course, taken from Ezekiel 10. 2, and according to the view of the
Rabbis, he is identical with Gabriel; comp. Tan. B. Ill, 84. Zohar
II, 19a, maintains that it was Gabriel who brought Amram and Jo-
chebed together after they had been separated; comp. vol. II, p. 262
(below) with reference to the angels participating in the celebration
396
Moses [4145
of Amram's second wedding with Jochebed. On Miriam's prophecy
see vol. II, p. 265.
41 Sotah 12a; ShR 1. 20; Josephus, Antiqui., II, 9. 4.
42 Mekilta RS, 71; Sotah 12a; ShR 1. 20; Yashar Shemot, 130b;
Zohar II, lib. The primordial light, which God had hidden shortly
after its creation (vol. I, pp. 8-9), shone upon Moses during the first
three months of his life; it was withdrawn from him as soon as Phar-
aoh's daughter took him to her house; it came back to him when he
ascended on mount Sinai, and remained with him till the end of his
life. It was by means of this light that he was able to survey the
whole of Palestine in the twinkling of an eye (vol. Ill, p. 442) ; Zohar II,
lib; comp. also Kad ha-Kemah, Hanukkah, lla. On the appearing
of celestial lights at the birth of heroes, see note I, on vol. I, p. 145.
43 DR 11. 9, 120b; comp. vol. Ill, p. 468. Philo, Vita Mosis, 1. 3,
remarks: The boy, immediately after his birth, showed a noble ap-
pearance different from that of an ordinary child. On the speaking
of babes, comp. Index, s. v. " Babes, Speaking of".
44 Mekilta RS, 3; Sotah 12b; Targum Yerushalmi on Exod. 2. 2;
Yashar Shemot, 130b; Dibre ha-Yamim 2; MHG II, 13 (all prophets
are seven-month children); ShR 1. 20. The last-named source, as
well as Mekilta RS and Talmud, maintain that Jochebed had been
pregnant for three months at the time of her separation from Amram
(comp. vol. II, pp.258, 262); but the Egyptians could not notice her
condition. The same view is also found in ps.-Philo, lOd, where
the text needs to be emended. The statement in MHG that Moses
was born on the seventh of Adar is based on an old tradition; comp.
Seder 'Olam 10, and the numerous parallel passages cited by Ratner.
In all these sources it is remarked that Moses' death also took place
on the seventh of Adar, in accordance with the rule that the righteous
die on the day of the anniversary of their birth; comp. note 60 on
vol. I, p. 137. Hippolytus, on Deut. 33. 11, gives the seventh of lyyar
as the day of Moses's death; but in view of the statement of the Rab-
bis, lyyar is perhaps to be emended to Adar. MHG is the only
source for the legend that Jochebed was pregnant with Moses for only
six months and two days. Kaftor wa-Ferah, XL VII, 640, reads:
Moses, the light of the world, was born in the year two thousand
and sixty-eight (A. M.), on Tuesday the sixth of Adar; the new moon of
this Adar was Thursday, one hour and twenty-two parts of an
hour. Comp. notes 3 and 23.
45 Josephus, Antigui., II, 9. 4.
897
4648] The Legends of the Jews
< 6 Sotah 12a-13a; ShR 1. 21-22; Mishle 14, 74-75, and 31, 111;
BaR 13. 20; Mekilta Shirah 10, 44a; Mekilta RS, 71. Clemens Alex-
andrinus, Stromata, 1, 22, gives a similar description of the ark.
In Talmud, loc. cit. (ShR is a literal quotation from it), two views
are cited conerning the meaning of *]1D (Exod. 2. 3). According to
one, it is the same as *]1D D 1 "Red Sea", while according to the other,
it signifies "swamp". Jochebed did not endanger the life of the in-
fant Moses, as she abandoned him only for a short time, so that the
Egyptian astrologers (comp. vol. II, p. 268) may be misled in believ-
ing that the promised redeemer of Israel found his grave in the water.
The astrologers sometimes have visions of future happenings, but
they never "see clearly"; ShR, loc. cit. This tendency to exonerate
Jochebed of the crime of exposing her child to danger is also notice-
able in the tragedian Ezekiel, 475, and Josephus, Antiqni., II, 9. 4,
who state that Moses' mother placed Miriam near the water to see
"whether the ark would be carried away' 1 . For the other view,
blaming Jochebed for this act, see note 30.
47 Sotah 12b; ShR 1. 24. The answer given by God to the angels
is also mentioned, in a somewhat different form, by Josephus, A ntqui.
II, 9. 4. Sotah, loc. cit., quotes an opinion that Moses was put into
the river on the sixth day of Siwan, the day of the revelation of the
Torah on mount Sinai; comp. MHG II, 13.
48 Targum Yerushalmi Exod. 2. 5 (in the source cited by Gins-
burger there is nothing bearing upon this legend) ; PRE 48. Yashar
Shemot, 130b-131a, Dibre ha-Yamim 3, and Ephraim on Exod, loc
cit., speak of an unusual heat which God sent upon Egypt, and thus
the princess was compelled to go to bathe in the Nile. The name
Thermutis is only found in Josephus, Antiqui., II, 9. 5, and Jub. 47,
as well as in later, mostly Christian, sources dependent on these two
authorities; see Ronsch, Das Buck der Jubilden, 265. In rabbinic
literature the name of Moses' foster-mother is Bithiah; see note
60. Sibyll. 3, 253, speaks of the queen who saved Moses from death
by drowning; this is not to be taken literally, as proved by Josephus
who makes Miriam address the woman who delivered Moses from
death as queen, though he himself explicitly states that she was the
daughter, not the wife, of the king. Artapanus 9, 27, 432, calls
Pharaoh's daughter Merois and her husband Chenephes, king of
Memphis. She adopted Moses because she was childless; this view
is also found in Philo, Vita Mosis, 1. 4, and Josephus, op. cit., 7. Philo
adds that she was the only child of Pharaoh and very much loved by
398
Moses [49-56
him; on account of her childlessness she was always depressed and
sad. In an attack of melancholy, Pharaoh's daughter, accustomed to
indoor life, left her house to seek solace for her aching heart in God's
free nature. She betook herself to the river where she found the
infant Moses. Comp. note 226.
49 Sotah 12b; ShR 1. 23; comp. Lekah, Exod. 2. 10.
50 Josephus, Antiqui., II, 9. 5; Philo, Vita Mosis, 1. 3. On the
beauty of Moses see vol. II, pp. 271, 285, 322.
51 Sotah 12b; ShR 1. 24. The view that the Hebrews only were
circumcised, but not the Egyptians, so that the infant was easily rec-
ognized as a Hebrew child, is shared also by Ephraim, I, 178c, and
Theodoretus on Exod. 2. 6, whereas Aphraates, 210, rejects it on the
ground that Joseph introduced the ceremony of circumcision among
the Egyptians. The last statement is also found in rabbinic literature
but with the modification that the Egyptians abandoned this rite
after Joseph's death; comp. note 196 on vol. II, p. 79. According
to a widespread legend, Moses was born with the sign of the covenant
on his body (comp. Sotah 12a; ShR 1. 20; DR 11. 9; comp. note 318
on vol. I, p. 306). PRE 48, on the contrary, dwells upon the fact
that the parents of Moses circumcised him on the eighth day after his
birth. As to the infant's refusal to take milk from the breast of an
Egyptian woman, comp. vol. II, p. 264, according to which he did
not take any milk, not even from the breast of his own mother. This
Haggadah takes inp^m (Exod. 2. 9) in the applied sense: the
woman was called to nurse him "and not to give him the breast".
In the fuller form of the suffix inp^l, instead of Ip'ani, the Haggadah
finds support for this view. Comp. the following note.
52 Josephus, Antigui.j II, 9. 5, who remarks also that Miriam
acted as though she had come that way by chance. The same ob-
servation is made by the Rabbis, Sotah 12b and ShR 1. 24.
53 Sotah 12b; ShR 1. 25; MHG II, 14, with the addition that
Jochebed pretended to fear to take charge of the child, and she con-
sented to do it only after she had been assured by the princess that
there was no reason to apprehend any unpleasant consequences.
5 4 Yashar Shemot, 131; Dibre ha-Yamim 3.
55 ShR 1. 25.
5 6 Sotah 12b; ShR 1. 18 and 24; Sanhedrin lOlb; Shir 2. 15;
BR 97. 3; Koheleth 1. 4; MHG II, 12. Opinions differ as to the
time during which this edict was in force. Sotah limits it to one
day, ShR 1. 18 to ten or twelve months, Jub. 47. 2 to seven months,
399
57] The Legends of the Jews
and PRE 48 to 'three and a half years. If the last view, which is
difficult to explain, is disregarded (comp. Luria, ad loc.), the differ-
ence of opinion among the other sources is easily understood. The
edict against the Hebrew male children was due to the information
Pharaoh had received from the astrologers concerning the approach-
ing birth of the redeemer of the Hebrews (comp. note 21). Accord-
ing to the Talmud, they were mistaken in believing that the night
on which they saw their vision was the night of the conception, and
hence they counted seven months from that time. In this they erred,
for Jochebed had already at that time been pregnant for three months
(comp. note 44), so that on the day when the edict was put into ex-
ecution Moses was already three months old. ShR is of the opinion
that the edict was put into force immediately after the astrologers
informed Pharaoh of the impending danger, on the very night when
Jochebed conceived, and was continued to be applied until they in-
formed him that the danger had passed, that is, when Moses was
thrown into the river and they believed him drowned; hence the edict
lasted for ten months (this supposes that Moses was born after seven
months of pregnancy; comp. note 44), or twelve months (if he was
born after the regular time of pregnancy). The text of Jub. is cer-
tainly corrupt, since it flatly contradicts the statement of Scripture
that Jochebed put Moses in the river when he was three months
old, and accordingly the edict must have lasted some time after his
birth. It is quite likely that the Hebrew original of this work read
U roV0n "TO DVn "ry, but the Greek translator misread rnVe>n as
rr&U, and the seven months are to be counted from the third month
of Jochebed J s pregnancy until Moses was three months old; comp.
ps.-Philo, 10D, and BR 85, 10, where it is stated that the pregnancy
of a woman becomes noticeable at the end of the third month. On
the number of children thrown into the water; see note 4.
57 Yashar Shemot, 131a; WR 1. 3; Dibre ha-Yamim 3 (the text
is corrupt); PRE 48; Megillah 13a; Targum on 1 Chron. 4. 18; comp.
also Lekah Exod. 2. 10 and the piyyut (geonic?) D'Jfc&D isapnn for
the Day of Rejoicing of the Law according to the Ashkenazic ritual.
In the last source Moses has two additional names: Nathaniel ( =
Nethanel) and Tobiah; this is due to a peculiar interpretation of WR,
where, according to the context, the three names comprising the word
Abi are to be counted double, and hence Moses had ten names includ-
ing the name by which he is generally known ; but the paitan considered
Abi as the inseparable part of the name, and in order to secure ten
400
Moses [58-64
names for the prophet, he was obliged to add two names. Ps.-Philo,
11 A, states that Jochebed named her son Melkiel (Wl&D), and Clemens
Alexandrinus, Stromata, 1. 21, agrees with this.
58 DR 11. 9. Comp. vol. Ill, pp. 468-469, and vol. II p. 264.
s MHG II 14; Lekah, Exod. 2. 10. The Haggadah attempts
to answer the question why the baby was called HE>D "the drawer",
instead of 'WD "the drawn". Philo, Vita Mosis, 1. 4, and similarly
Josephus, Antiqui., 11, 9. 5, as well as Contra Apionem, 1. 31, derive
the name Moses from the Egyptian Moy "water". The similarity
between the names Moses and Musaeus is responsible for the identi-
fication of the lawgiver of the Hebrews v/ith Musaeus the Greek sage
found in syncretistic writings; comp. e. g., Artapanus, 434. See note
69.
60 WR 1. 3; Megillah 13a, and in many other passages of rab-
binic literature (comp. Index, s. v. "Bithiah"). The daughter of Phar-
aoh with the name Bithiah, mentioned in 1 Chron. 4. 8, is taken to
be the foster-mother of Moses, and this view seems to have been
known to Eusebius. On Caleb see vol. II, pp. 253 and 287.
61 Mishle 31, 111; 2 Alphabet of Ben Sira 28b; Derek Erez Zuta
1 (end); comp. Index, s. v. "Paradise, Entering Alive Into ". Accord-
ing to Artapanus, 433c, Moses ' foster-mother died before he had fled
from Egypt.
62 Artapanus, 432; Philo, Vita Mosis, 1. 3 ; this opinion is very likely
shared by Ezekiel, the tragedian, 458b. Comp. Hebrews 12. 23, and
vol. II, p. 282 (top).
63 Tan. Shemot 8; ShR 1. 26. Comp. the following note as well
as note 50.
64 Josephus, Antiqui., II, 9. 6-7. Philo, Vita Mosis, 1. 5, and ShR
1. 26 also dwell upon the precocity of the infant Moses. The state-
ment of ShR that he remained for twenty-four months with his mother
is to be explained in accordance with Tosefta Nedarim 2. 1 and Ke-
tubot 60a, where the time of nursing is fixed at twenty-four months.
Josephus accordingly says that Moses began to display his extraor-
dinary faculties in his third year, i. e., after he was taken from his
nurse Jochebed and brought to the royal house. Comp., however,
note 50. On the beauty and charm of Moses see notes 50 and 63,
as well as Ecclesiasticus 44. 22-45. 1. It is a prominent feature of
legend to paint the infancy and youth of their heroes in glowing colors;
comp. e. g. t Luke 3. 52, and the numerous Christian legends about
the infant Jesus. See Acts 8. 20 and notes 42-43.
401
65-67] The Legends of the Jews
05 Yashar Shemot 131b-132b, and, in abridged form, Dibre ha-
Yamim 3-4. In ShR 1. 26 it is Jethro who advised the test with the
burning coal. As to the age of Moses at this occurrence, see vol.
Ill, p. 469 (top). The name Alfar'anit seems to be Arabic, the fem-
inine of Pharaoh; but comp. Syncellus, I, 227: OtpnovQis KO! 1) <f>apty.
Tertullian, Ad Nat., 3. 8, and Apologia, 16, maintains that Faria is
the same as Isis. Josephus, Antigui., II, 9. 7, does not know of the
test with the burning coals, but is acquainted with the legend that
Moses, while still a small child, threw the crown down from Pharaoh's
head and stamped on it with his feet. The sacred scribe (astrologers,
in rabbinic sources), who had forseen the birth of Moses and warned
Pharaoh of the danger that threatened him insisted that the child
be put to death. In a similar strain is the version of the legend in Tan.
Shemot 8 and ShR, he. ciL, whereas in Yashar, Balaam takes the place
of the sacred scribe. On the Arabic version of this legend see Grim-
baum, Neue Beitrage, 155-160. On an old Slavonic translation of
this section of Yashar, see Bonwetsch, Die Masessage. Comp. also
Hamilton in Zeitschrift-f. Romanische Philologie, XXXVI, 129-159.
66 Josephus, Antigui., II, 9. 7.
6 7 Philo, Vita Mosis, 1. 5-7, who gives a very elaborate description
of the course of studies of the youthful Moses. Among other things
he remarks that Moses received instruction in the wisdom of the
Greeks, Egyptians, and the neighboring nations. A similar des-
cription is found in Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata, 1. 23, which is
very likely taken from Philo. What Moses borrowed as a youth he
repaid with considerable interest as an adult mature in years. The
benefits derived by the nations, directly or indirectly, from Moses'
wisdom by far outweighed those he had received from them. Moses,
"the first sage", taught the Hebrews the art of writing, and the Phe*
nicians, who subsequently learned it from them, taught it in turn
to the Greeks; Eupolemus, 43 Ic. Numa, the king of the Romans,
following the precepts of Moses, prohibited his people to represent
the deity in human or animal form; yea, even the great Plato, to quote
the Pythagorean Numenius, what was he, "but Moses speaking In
Attic Greek"; Clemens Alexandrinus, Stromata, 1. 15; Eusebius,
Praep. Evang*, 410-411. The strangest expression of these syncre-
tistic tendencies is found in the life of Moses by Artapanus, 432,
seq. According to this author, Moses, or as he calls him, Moyses
(comp. note 59), is identical with Musaeus of the Greek legend, which
erroneously styles him the disciple of Orpheus, whereas he was his
402
Moses [68
master. Philosophy, medicine, the invention of numerous instruments,
utensils, and weapons, the hieroglyphic char 
