סנהדרין דף צה

״עניה ענתות״ – עתיד ירמיה בן חלקיה ומתנבא עלה מענתות, דכתיב: ״דברי ירמיהו בן חלקיהו מן הכהנים אשר בענתות בארץ בנימין״.

“Poor [aniyya] Anathoth” (Isaiah 10:30)? Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, is destined to prophesy about Nebuchadnezzar from Anathoth, as it is written: “The statements of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin” (Jeremiah 1:1).

מי דמי? התם ארי, הכא ליש! אמר רבי יוחנן: ששה שמות יש לארי, אלו הן: ארי, כפיר, לביא, ליש, שחל, שחץ. אי הכי, בצרו להו!

The Gemara asks: Are these matters comparable? There, in Jeremiah, Nebuchadnezzar is called ari, as the verse refers to him with the term arye, and here, in Isaiah, Nebuchadnezzar is called laish. The Gemara explains that the verses are not contradictory, as Rabbi Yoḥanan says: There are six Hebrew terms for the lion, and they are: Ari, kefir, lavi, layish, shaḥal, shaḥatz. The Gemara challenges: If it is so that this verse is unrelated to the journeys of Sennacherib, then the places listed in the verse are too few, as there are not ten. The Gemara explains: Averu and Mabara are in fact the names of two separate places.

עברו מעברה תרתי נינהו.

מאי ״עוד היום בנב לעמד״? אמר רב הונא: אותו היום נשתייר מעונה של נוב. אמרי ליה כלדאי: אי אזלת האידנא – יכלת לה,

The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the phrase: “This very day shall he halt at Nov” (Isaiah 10:32)? Rav Huna says: That was the final day that remained from the punishment that the Jewish people received from the sin of Nov (see I Samuel, chapter 22). The astrologers said to Sennacherib: If you go and conquer them now, you will overcome the Jewish people; and if not, you will not overcome the Jewish people. The Gemara relates: He walked and traversed in one day a road upon which one must walk for ten days in order to traverse it.

ואי לא – לא יכלת לה. אורחא דבעא לסגויי בעשרה יומי, סגא בחד יומא.

כי מטו לירושלם, שדו ליה ביסתרקי, עד דסליק ויתיב מעילוי שורא, עד דחזיוה לכולה ירושלם. כי חזייה, איזוטר בעיניה. אמר:

When they arrived in Jerusalem they cast mats [bistarkei] for Sennacherib and piled them high until he ascended and sat above the wall, to the extent that he was able to see the entire city of Jerusalem. When he saw it, it seemed small in his eyes and he said: Is this the city of Jerusalem for which I have disrupted all my camps and for which I have conquered all these countries? Is it smaller and weaker than all the cities of the nations that I have conquered with my might? He went up and shook his head in contempt, and dismissively waved his hand at the Temple Mount that is in Zion and at the courtyard that is in Jerusalem.

הלא דא היא קרתא דירושלם דעלה ארגישית כל משיריתי, ועלה כבשית כל מדינתא? הלא היא זעירא וחלשא מכל כרכי עממיא דכבשית בתקוף ידי? עלה וקם ומניד ברישיה,

מוביל ומייתי בידיה על טור בית מקדשא דבציון ועל עזרתא דבירושלם.

אמרי: נישדי ביה ידא האידנא. אמר להו: תמהיתו, למחר אייתו לי כל חד וחד מינייכו גולמו הרג מיניה. מיד: ״ויהי בלילה ההוא ויצא מלאך ה׳ ויך

His officers said to him: Let us attack now and begin the conquest of Jerusalem. Sennacherib said to them: You are weary. Tomorrow, each and every one of you will bring me a piece of a stone from the wall equivalent in size to the seal [gulmo harag] of a letter, and this will suffice to breach the wall and vanquish the city. The verse recounts that immediately: “And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when men arose in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses” (II Kings 19:35). Rav Pappa says that this is in accordance with the adage that people say: When quarrel lies and is delayed overnight, the quarrel is nullified. Since Jerusalem was not conquered that day, the decree was voided.

במחנה אשור מאה שמונים וחמשה אלף וישכימו בבקר והנה כלם פגרים מתים״. אמר רב פפא: היינו דאמרי אינשי: בת דינא – בטל דינא.

״וישבי בנב אשר בילידי הרפה ומשקל קינו שלש מאות משקל נחשת והוא חגור חדשה ויאמר להכות את דוד״. מאי ״וישבי בנוב״? אמר רב יהודה אמר רב:

§ Apropos the massacre of Nov, the Gemara relates: “And Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass; and he was girded with new armor and planned to slay David” (II Samuel 21:16). The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of Ishbibenob? Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: This is a man [ish] who came to punish David over matters of Nov. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to David: Until when will this sin be concealed in your hand without punishment? Through your actions the inhabitants of Nov, the city of priests, were massacred, and through your actions, Doeg the Edomite was banished from the World-to-Come, and through your actions Saul and his three sons were killed.

איש שבא על עסקי נוב. אמר ליה הקדוש ברוך הוא לדוד: עד מתי יהיה עון זה טמון בידך? על ידך נהרגה נוב עיר הכהנים,

ועל ידך נטרד דואג האדומי, ועל ידך נהרגו שאול ושלשת בניו.

רצונך יכלה זרעך, או תמסר ביד אויב? אמר לפניו: רבונו של עולם, מוטב אמסר ביד אויב ולא יכלה זרעי.

God said to David: Your arrival in Nov and your misleading Ahimelech the priest generated the chain of events, and therefore you must be punished. You may choose the punishment. Is it your desire that your descendants will cease to exist or that you will be handed to the enemy? David said before Him: Master of the Universe, it is preferable that I will be handed to the enemy and my descendants will not cease to exist.

יומא חד נפק לשכור בזאי, אתא שטן ואידמי ליה כטביא. פתק ביה גירא ולא מטייה. משכיה עד דאמטייה לארץ פלשתים. כדחזייה ישבי בנוב אמר:

One day David went to hunt with a falcon [liskor bazzai]. Satan came and appeared to him as a deer. He shot an arrow at the deer, and the arrow did not reach it. Satan led David to follow the deer until he reached the land of the Philistines. When Ishbibenob saw David he said: This is that person who killed Goliath, my brother. He bound him, doubled him over, and placed him on the ground, and then he cast him under the beam of an olive press to crush him. A miracle was performed for him, and the earth opened beneath him so he was not crushed by the beam. That is the meaning of that which is written: “You have enlarged my steps beneath me, that my feet did not slip” (Psalms 18:37).

היינו האי דקטליה לגלית אחי. כפתיה, קמטיה, אותביה ושדייה תותי בי סדייא. אתעביד ליה ניסא, מכא ליה ארעא מתותיה. היינו דכתיב: ״תרחיב צעדי תחתי ולא מעדו קרסלי״.

ההוא יומא אפניא דמעלי שבתא הוה. אבישי בן צרויה הוה קא חייף רישיה בארבעא גרבי דמיא. חזינהו כתמי דמא. איכא דאמרי: אתא יונה איטריף קמיה. אמר:

The Gemara relates: That day at dusk on Shabbat eve, Abishai ben Zeruiah shampooed his hair with four jugs of water in preparation for Shabbat. He saw four bloodstains. There are those who say: A dove came and fluttered its wings before him. Abishai said: The congregation of Israel is likened to a dove, as it is stated: “You shall shine as the wings of a dove covered with silver and her pinions with yellow gold” (Psalms 68:14); conclude from it that David, king of Israel, is in a state of distress. He came to David’s house and did not find him. Abishai said that we learned in a mishna (22a): One may not ride on the king’s horse, and one may not sit on his throne, and one may not use his scepter. In a period of danger, what is the halakha? He came and asked in the study hall what the ruling is in that situation. They said to him: In a period of danger one may well do so.

כנסת ישראל ליונה אימתילא, שנאמר ״כנפי יונה נחפה בכסף״. שמע מינה דוד מלכא דישראל בצערא שרי. אתא לביתיה ולא אשכחיה. אמר, תנן:

אין רוכבין על סוסו ואין יושבין על כסאו ואין משתמשין בשרביטו. בשעת הסכנה מאי? אתא שאיל בי מדרשא. אמרו ליה: בשעת הסכנה שפיר דמי.

רכביה לפרדיה וקם ואזל. קפצה ליה ארעא. בהדי דקא מסגי, חזייה לערפה אמיה דהוות נוולא. כי חזיתיה, פסקתה לפילכה, שדתיה עילויה, סברא למקטליה. אמרה ליה: עלם,

He mounted the king’s mule and arose and went to the land of the Philistines. The land miraculously contracted for him and he arrived quickly. As he was progressing he saw Orpah, Ishbibenob’s mother, who was spinning thread with a spindle. When she saw him, she removed her spindle and threw it at him, intending to kill him. After failing to do so, she said to Abishai: Young man, bring me my spindle. He threw the spindle and struck her at the top of her brain and killed her.

אייתי לי פלך! פתקיה בריש מוחה, וקטלה.

כד חזייה ישבי בנוב, אמר: השתא הוו בי תרין וקטלין לי. פתקיה לדוד לעילא, ודץ ליה לרומחיה. אמר: ניפול עלה ונקטל. אמר אבישי שם,

When Ishbibenob saw him, he said: Now they are two, David and Abishai, and they will kill me. He threw David up in the air, and stuck his spear into the ground. He said: Let David fall upon it and die. Abishai recited a sacred name of God and suspended David between heaven and earth so that he would not fall.

אוקמיה לדוד בין שמיא לארעא.

ונימא ליה איהו? אין חבוש מוציא עצמו מבית האסורין.

The Gemara asks: And let David himself recite the name of God and save himself. Why did he need Abishai? The Gemara answers: A prisoner does not release himself from a prison but requires someone else to release him. Similarly, one in danger is incapable of rescuing himself.

אמר ליה: מאי בעית הכא? אמר ליה: הכי אמר לי קודשא בריך הוא, והכי אהדרי ליה. אמר ליה: אפך צלותיך! בר ברך קירא ליזבון, ואת לא תצטער.

Abishai said to David: What do you seek here and why did you fall into Ishbibenob’s hands? David said to him: This is what the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to me, and this is what I responded to Him; the time to submit to my enemy has arrived. Abishai said to him: Reverse your prayer and pray that your descendants will cease to exist rather than that you will be handed to the enemy, in accordance with the adage that people say: Let your son’s son be a poor peddler and sell wax, and you will not suffer. Do not limit your expenses to leave an inheritance for your descendants.

אמר ליה: אי הכי, סייע בהדן. היינו דכתיב: ״ויעזר לו אבישי בן צרויה״. אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: שעזרו בתפלה. אמר אבישי שם ואחתיה.

David said to him: If so, help me. That is the meaning of that which is written: “And Abishai, son of Zeruiah, came to his aid, and smote the Philistine and killed him” (II Samuel 21:17). Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: This means that he came to his aid in prayer. Abishai recited another sacred name of God and caused David to land safely after being suspended between heaven and earth, and they fled.

הוה קא רדיף בתרייהו. כי מטא קובי, אמרי: קום ביה. כי מטא בי תרי, אמרי: בתרי גוריון קטלוה לאריא. אמרי ליה: זיל אשתכח לערפה אימיך בקיברא.

Ishbibenob pursued them, intending to kill them. When they reached the place named Kuvi they said: The name of the place is an abbreviation for the phrase meaning: Stand and battle against him [kum beih]. When they reached a place called Bei Terei, David and Abishai said: With two [bitrei] cubs they killed the lion, meaning they expected to be successful. They said to Ishbibenob: Go find Orpah, your mother, in the grave. When they mentioned his mother’s name to him and told him she died, his strength diminished, and they killed him. The Gemara notes: It is after this that it is written: “Then David’s men took an oath to him saying: You shall not go with us to war anymore and you will not douse the lamp of Israel” (II Samuel 21:17).

כי אדכרו ליה שמא דאימיה, כחש חיליה וקטלוה. היינו דכתיב: ״אז נשבעו אנשי דוד לו לאמר לא תצא עוד אתנו למלחמה ולא תכבה את נר ישראל״.

תנו רבנן: שלשה קפצה להם הארץ – אליעזר עבד אברהם, ויעקב אבינו, ואבישי בן צרויה. אבישי בן צרויה – הא דאמרן. אליעזר עבד אברהם – דכתיב:

§ The Sages taught in a baraita with regard to land contracting to shorten a journey: For three individuals the land contracted, and each one miraculously reached his destination quickly: Eliezer, servant of Abraham, and Jacob our forefather, and Abishai, son of Zeruiah. The Gemara elaborates: The case of Abishai, son of Zeruiah, is that which we said. The case of Eliezer, servant of Abraham, is as it is written: “And I came that day to the well” (Genesis 24:42). His intention was to say to the members of Rebecca’s family that on that day he left Canaan and on the same day he arrived, to underscore the miraculous nature of his undertaking on behalf of Abraham. The case of Jacob our forefather

״ואבא היום אל העין״, למימרא דההוא יומא נפק. יעקב אבינו -

דכתיב: ״ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה״, וכתיב: ״ויפגע במקום וילן שם כי בא השמש״. כי מטא לחרן אמר: אפשר עברתי על מקום שהתפללו בו אבותי

is as it is written: “And Jacob departed from Beersheba and went to Haran” (Genesis 28:10), and it is written thereafter, ostensibly after he arrived in Haran: “And he encountered [vayyifga] the place, and he slept there, for the sun had set” (Genesis 28:11). This means that when Jacob arrived at Haran, he said: Is it possible that I bypassed a place where my forefathers prayed and I did not pray there? He sought to return to Beit El. Once he contemplated in his mind to return, the land contracted for him, and immediately: “And he encountered the place,” indicating that he arrived there unexpectedly, sooner than he would have arrived without a miracle.

ואני לא התפללתי בו? בעי למיהדר. כיון דהרהר בדעתיה למיהדר, קפצה ליה ארעא. מיד – ״ויפגע במקום״.

דבר אחר: אין פגיעה אלא תפלה, שנאמר: ״ואתה אל תתפלל בעד העם הזה ואל תשא בעדם רנה ותפלה ואל תפגע בי״.

Alternatively, encounter means nothing other than prayer, as it is stated: “And you, do not pray on behalf of this nation, and do not raise on their behalf song and prayer, and do not encounter [tifga] Me, for I do not hear you” (Jeremiah 7:16).

״וילן שם כי בא השמש״. בתר דצלי בעי למיהדר, אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא: צדיק זה בא לבית מלוני, יפטר בלא לינה? מיד בא השמש. והיינו דכתיב:

It is written: “And he slept there because the sun had set” (Genesis 28:11). After Jacob prayed and he sought to return to his travels, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: This righteous man came to My inn. Will I allow him to take leave without sleeping here? Immediately the sun set, not at the proper time, and that is the meaning of that which is written with regard to Jacob: “And the sun shone for him when he passed Penuel” (Genesis 32:32). The Gemara asks: And did the sun shine only for him? But didn’t the sun shine for the entire world? Rather, Rabbi Yitzḥak says: The sun that set not at the proper time exclusively for him shone not at the proper time exclusively for him in order to rectify the disparity created by the premature sunset.

״ויזרח לו השמש״. וכי לו בלבד זרחה? והלא לכל העולם כולו זרחה! אלא אמר רבי יצחק: שמש שבאה בעבורו, זרחה בעבורו.

ומנלן דכלה זרעיה דדוד? דכתיב: ״ועתליה אם אחזיהו ראתה כי מת בנה ותקם ותאבד את כל זרע הממלכה״. והא אשתייר ליה יואש? התם נמי אשתייר אביתר, דכתיב:

Apropos David’s prayer that his descendants cease, the Gemara asks: And from where do we derive that David’s descendants ceased to exist? It is derived from a verse, as it is stated: “And Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, and she arose and destroyed all the royal descendants” (II Kings 11:1). The Gemara asks: But didn’t Joash remain alive, and therefore, not all of David’s descendants ceased to exist? The Gemara answers: There too, in the massacre in Nov, Abiathar, one of the priests, remained alive, as it is written: “And one of the sons of Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped” (I Samuel 22:20). Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Were it not for the fact that Abiathar remained alive for Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, there would have been no remnant or refugee remaining from the descendants of David.

״וימלט בן אחד לאחימלך בן אחטוב ושמו אביתר״. אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: אלמלא לא נשתייר אביתר לאחימלך בן אחיטוב, לא נשתייר מזרעו של דוד שריד ופליט.

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: בא עליהם סנחריב הרשע בארבעים וחמשה אלף איש בני מלכים, יושבים בקרונות של זהב, ועמהן שגלונות וזונות, ובשמנים אלף גבורים לבושי שריון קליפה,

§ Apropos Sennacherib, Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Sennacherib the wicked came upon them with forty-five thousand men, sons of kings, sitting in carriages of gold, and with them were consorts and prostitutes, and with eighty thousand warriors each wearing a coat of mail, and with sixty thousand sword-bearers running before him, and the rest were cavalry. And likewise, when the four kings came upon Abraham to wage war in the land of Canaan (see Genesis, chapter 14), they brought forces of that magnitude. And likewise, forces of that magnitude are destined to come with Gog and Magog in the ultimate war.

ובששים אלף אחוזי חרב רצים לפניו, והשאר פרשים. וכן באו על אברהם, וכן עתידין לבוא עם גוג ומגוג.

במתניתא תנא: אורך מחנהו ארבע מאות פרסה, רחב צואר סוסיו ארבעים פרסה. סך מחנהו מאתים וששים ריבוא אלפים חסר חד. בעי אביי: חסר חד ריבויא,

It was taught in a baraita: The length of the camp of Sennacherib was four hundred parasangs and the width of the necks of his horses side by side was forty parasangs. The total number of soldiers in his camp was 260 ten thousands, i.e., 2,600,000, minus one. Abaye asks: Is the tanna saying minus one unit of ten thousand, or minus one unit of one thousand, or minus one unit of one hundred or minus one? The Gemara concludes: The question shall stand unresolved.

או חסר חד אלפא, או חסר מאה, או חסר חד? תיקו.

תנא: ראשונים עברו בשחי, שנאמר: ״וחלף ביהודה שטף ועבר״. אמצעיים עברו בקומה, שנאמר: ״עד צואר יגיע״. אחרונים העלו עפר ברגליהם ולא מצאו מים בנהר לשתות,

It was taught: The first set of soldiers in the army of Sennacherib crossed by swimming across the Jordan, as it is stated: “And he shall sweep through Judea; he shall overflow and pass” (Isaiah 8:8). Since the water level diminished with their crossing, the middle group of soldiers passed while standing upright, as it is stated: “It shall reach even the neck” (Isaiah 8:8). The last soldiers already kicked up dust with their feet, and they did not find water in the river to drink, and they had no water until they brought water from another place and drank it, as it is stated: “I dug and drank water” (Isaiah 37:25).

עד שהביאו מים ממקום אחר ושתו, שנאמר: ״אני קרתי ושתיתי מים וגו׳״.

והכתיב: ״ויצא מלאך ה׳ ויכה במחנה אשור מאה ושמונים וחמשה אלף, וישכימו בבקר והנה כלם פגרים מתים״? אמר רבי אבהו: הללו ראשי גייסות הן.

The Gemara asks: But isn’t it written: “Then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses” (Isaiah 37:36)? Apparently, there were many fewer soldiers than the number listed in the baraita. Rabbi Abbahu says: These listed here are regiment leaders, who commanded numerous soldiers.

אמר רב אשי: דיקא נמי, דכתיב ״במשמניו רזון״ – בשמינים דאית בהו. אמר רבינא: דיקא נמי, דכתיב ״וישלח ה׳ מלאך ויכחד כל גבור

Rav Ashi says: It is also precise in the formulation of the verse, as it is written: “Therefore shall the Master, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness” (Isaiah 10:16), indicating that it was the fat, i.e., significant, among them who were afflicted. Ravina says: The language is also precise in the formulation of another verse, as it is written: “And the Lord sent an angel, who obliterated the mighty men-at-arms and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned shamefacedly to his own land. And when he came into the house of his God, his own offspring slew him there with a sword” (II Chronicles 32:21). The Gemara affirms: Conclude from it that the leaders of the regiment were the ones killed.

חיל ונגיד ושר במחנה וגו׳ ויבא בית אלהיו ומיציאי מעיו שם הפילהו בחרב״. שמע מינה.

במה הכם? רבי אליעזר אומר: ביד הכם, שנאמר: ״וירא ישראל את היד הגדלה״. היד שעתידה ליפרע מסנחריב. רבי יהושע אומר: באצבע הכם, שנאמר:

The Gemara asks: With what did the angel strike them? Rabbi Eliezer says: He struck them by hand, as it is stated: “And Israel saw the great hand” (Exodus 14:31), where the term for hand, yad, is preceded by the definite article ha, indicating that this was the hand that was destined to exact retribution from Sennacherib. Rabbi Yehoshua says: He struck them with His finger, as it is stated: “And the sorcerers said to Pharaoh: This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:15), indicating that it is the finger that was destined to exact retribution from Sennacherib. Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, says that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Gabriel: Is your scythe honed? Gabriel said before Him: Master of the Universe, it is standing honed from the six days of Creation, as it is stated: “For they have fled from the swords, from the honed sword” (Isaiah 21:15).

״ויאמרו החרטמים אל פרעה אצבע אלהים היא״. היא אצבע שעתידה ליפרע מסנחריב. רבי אליעזר בנו של רבי יוסי הגלילי אומר:

אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא לגבריאל: מגלך נטושה? אמר לפניו: רבונו של עולם, נטושה ועומדת מששת ימי בראשית, שנאמר: ״[מפני חרב נטושה מפני קשת דרוכה מפני

כובד מלחמה] (וגו)״.

רבי שמעון בן יוחי אומר: אותו הפרק זמן בישול פירות היה. אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא לגבריאל: כשאתה יוצא לבשל פירות, הזקק להם, שנאמר:

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: That period was the season of the ripening of the fruit. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Gabriel: When you emerge to ripen the fruits, attend to the army of Assyria and destroy them, as it is stated: “As often as it passes through, it shall take you; for morning by morning shall it pass through, by day and by night; and the mere understanding of the report shall bring terror” (Isaiah 28:19), indicating that Gabriel was to kill them while engaged in another activity. Rav Pappa says that this is in accordance with the adage that people say: While on your path, appear before your enemy and afflict him.

״מדי עברו יקח אתכם כי בבקר בבקר יעבר ביום ובלילה והיה רק זועה הבין שמועה וגו׳״. אמר רב פפא: היינו דאמרי אינשי, אגב אורחך, לבעל דבבך אישתמע.

ויש אומרים: בחוטמן נשף בהן ומתו, שנאמר: ״וגם נשף בהם ויבשו״. רבי ירמיה בר אבא אמר: כפיים ספק להם ומתו, שנאמר:

And there are those who say: The angel blew into the soldiers of the Assyrian army through their noses and they died, as it is stated: “When he blows upon them, and they wither” (Isaiah 40:24). Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba says: The angel clapped his hands to them and they died, as it is stated: “I will also strike My hands together and I will assuage My anger” (Ezekiel 21:22). Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa says: He revealed ears for them and they were able to hear the songs of praise from the mouths of the celestial creatures drawing the chariot of God, and they died, as it is stated: “From Your exaltation the nations were scattered” (Isaiah 33:3), indicating that their death was caused by the revelation of God’s greatness.

״וגם אני אכה כפי אל כפי והנחתי חמתי״. רבי יצחק נפחא אמר: אזנים גלה להם ושמעו שירה מפי חיות ומתו, שנאמר: ״מרוממתך נפצו גוים״.

וכמה נשתייר מהם? רב אמר: עשרה, שנאמר: ״ושאר עץ יערו מספר יהיו ונער יכתבם״. כמה נער יכול לכתוב? עשרה. ושמואל אמר: תשעה, שנאמר:

And how many of the soldiers remained alive? Rav says: Ten soldiers, as it is stated: “And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them” (Isaiah 10:19). And what number can a child easily write? It is the number ten, represented by the letter yod, which is the smallest letter. And Shmuel says: Nine remained, as it is stated: “And gleanings shall be left of him, as in the beating of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the branches of a fruitful tree” (Isaiah 17:6). Four and five total nine.

״ונשאר בו עוללת כנקף זית שנים שלשה גרגרים בראש אמיר ארבעה חמשה בסעפיה״.

רבי יהושע בן לוי אמר: ארבעה עשר, שנאמר ״שנים שלשה [וכו׳] ארבעה וחמשה״. רבי יוחנן אמר: חמשה – סנחריב ושני בניו, נבוכדנצר ונבוזראדן. נבוזראדן – גמרא.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: Fourteen remained, as it is stated: “Two or three…four or five,” which total fourteen. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Five remained: Sennacherib, and his two sons, and Nebuchadnezzar, and Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard. The fact that Nebuzaradan was among them is learned through tradition. Nebuchadnezzar was among them, as it is written that Nebuchadnezzar said when he saw an angel with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: “And the appearance of the fourth is like that of an angel” (Daniel 3:25). And if he had not seen the angel that smote Sennacherib’s army, from where would he have known that the fourth person looked like an angel? Sennacherib and his two sons were among them, as it is written later in their regard: “And it came to pass as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god that Adrammelech and Sarezer, his sons, smote him with the sword” (II Kings 19:37). Evidently, the three of them survived.

נבוכדנצר – דכתיב: ״ורוה די רביעאה דמה לבר אלהין״, ואי לאו דחזייה מנא הוה ידע? סנחריב ושני בניו – דכתיב: ״ויהי הוא משתחוה בית נסרך אלהיו ואדרמלך

ושראצר בניו הכהו בחרב״.

אמר רבי אבהו: אלמלא מקרא כתוב, אי אפשר לאמרו, דכתיב: ״ביום ההוא יגלח ה׳ בתער השכירה בעברי נהר במלך אשור את הראש ושער הרגלים וגם את הזקן תספה״.

§ Rabbi Abbahu says: Were the following verse not written, it would have been impossible to say it, since it appears to be a desecration of the name of God, as it is written: “On that day shall the Lord shave with a hired razor in the parts beyond the river the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the legs, and it shall also sweep away the beard” (Isaiah 7:20). The blasphemous indication is that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will Himself shave Sennacherib.

אתא קודשא בריך הוא, ואדמי ליה כגברא סבא. אמר ליה: כי אזלת לגבי מלכי מזרח ומערב דאייתיתינהו לבנייהו וקטלתינהו, מאי אמרת להו? אמר ליה:

Rather, this is the incident depicted in the verse: The Holy One, Blessed be He, came and appeared to Sennacherib as an old man. God said to him: When you go to the kings of the east and the west whose children you brought and killed, what will you say to them? Sennacherib said to the Holy One, Blessed be He: That man, referring to himself, also sits overcome with the same fear, as I do not know what to say to them. Sennacherib said to the Holy One, Blessed be He: What should we do? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: Go

ההוא גברא בההוא פחדא נמי יתיב. אמר ליה: היכי נעביד? אמר ליה: זיל