Sacred Speech: The Languages of Ritual Recitations and the Historical Blessings and Curses at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in Deuteronomy 27 and Joshua 8 (Mishnah Sotah 7:1-5)
Appendices: Bat Kol Announcing Military and Political Events: Yoḥanan the High Priest and Shimon HaTzaddik; Refuting the Samaritans’ Bible “Alterations”
The Mishnah establishes precise rules regarding the language in which various ritual recitations must be performed. While some texts may be recited in any language, others are strictly required to be spoken in Hebrew, a distinction that reflects both legal formalism and theological priorities.
The Mishnah gives two lists: those things that can be recited in any language (including the Shema, Grace after Meals, and certain oaths) and those that must be recited in Hebrew (such as the Priestly Benediction, the king’s Torah reading at Hakhel, and the ritual formulae for first fruits and halitza). The passage then provides scriptural derivations for the recitations for the first-fruits offering and the halitza ceremony.
The Mishnah then discusses at relative length the historical public recitation of blessings and curses at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in Joshua’s time, an event that highlights the ritual function of Hebrew as a sacred and performative language. The Mishnah’s discussion of this ceremony, including the tribal arrangement, the Levites' alternating proclamations, and the inscription of the Torah in seventy languages, further emphasizes the interplay between linguistic exclusivity and universal accessibility in biblical law.
Outline
Intro
The Passage - Sacred Speech: The Languages of Ritual Recitations and the Ceremony of Blessings and Curses at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (Mishnah Sotah 7:1-5)
Ritual Texts Recitable in Any Language: A List of Seven
Ritual Texts That Must Be Recited in Hebrew: A List of Eight
The Historical Blessings and Curses at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in Deuteronomy 27 and Joshua 8
The Location of the Blessings and Curses Ceremony (Deuteronomy 11:30, Genesis 12:6): Arrival at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal; Identification of the Site; Connection to Abraham
The Blessing and Curse Ceremony at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (Joshua 8:33): Tribal Arrangement and Placement of Priests, Levites, and Israelites
The Ritual of Blessings and Curses (Deuteronomy 27:15): Blessings on Mount Gerizim, Curses on Mount Ebal
The Torah's Multilingual Inscription (Deuteronomy 27:8): Altar Construction and Writing in Seventy Languages
Appendix 1 - Bat Kol Announcing Military and Political Events (Sotah 33a = Tosefta 13:5): Yoḥanan the High Priest and Shimon HaTzaddik
Heavenly Announcement of Victory from the Holy of Holies: Yoḥanan the High Priest Hears a Bat Kol; The Message: Victory in Antioch
The Bat Kol and the Death of Caligula: Shimon HaTzaddik's Experience; Confirmation of the Prophecy
Appendix 2 - Refuting the Samaritans’ Bible “Alterations”: Elon Moreh and Shechem (Sotah 33b)
The Passage
Mishnah_Sotah.7.1-5 (= Sotah.32a.5-32b.1)
Ritual Texts Recitable in Any Language: A List of Seven
Certain religious recitations may be performed in any language, namely:
The portion recited for a sota1
Grace after meals (ברכת המזון - Birkat Hamazon)
The oath of testimony (שבועת העדות)
The oath regarding a deposit (שבועת הפיקדון)
אלו נאמרין בכל לשון:
פרשת סוטה,
ווידוי מעשר,
קרית שמע,
ותפלה,
וברכת המזון,
ושבועת העדות,
ושבועת הפיקדון.
These are recited in any language, not specifically Hebrew:
The portion of the warning and the oath administered by the priest to a woman suspected by her husband of having been unfaithful [sota];
and the declaration of tithes, which occurs after the third and the sixth years of the seven-year Sabbatical cycle, when one declares that he has given his tithes appropriately;
Shema;
and the Amida prayer;
and Grace after Meals;
and an oath of testimony, where one takes an oath that he does not have any testimony to provide on a given issue;
and an oath on a deposit, where one takes an oath that he does not have possession of another’s deposit.
Ritual Texts That Must Be Recited in Hebrew: A List of Eight
Other rituals must be performed specifically in Hebrew,4 namely:
The recitation when bringing first fruits5
The formal statement in the halitza ceremony6
The “blessings and curses”7
The High Priest's “blessing”9
The “king’s section”10
The ritual of the beheaded calf11
The speech given by the anointed war priest12
ואלו נאמרין בלשון הקודש:
מקרא ביכורים,
וחליצה,
ברכות וקללות,
ברכת כהנים,
וברכת כהן גדול,
ופרשת המלך,
ופרשת עגלה ערופה,
ומשוח מלחמה בשעה שמדבר אל העם
[…]
And these are recited only in the sacred tongue, Hebrew:
The recitation of the verses that one recounts when bringing the first fruits to the Temple;
and the recitations which form an element of the ritual through which a yavam frees a yevama of her levirate bonds [ḥalitza];
the blessings and curses that were spoken on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal;
the Priestly Benediction;
and the blessing on the Torah recited by the High Priest on Yom Kippur;
and the portion of the Torah read by the king at the assembly on Sukkot at the conclusion of the Sabbatical Year;
and the portion recited during the ritual of a heifer whose neck is broken, when a person is found killed in an area that is between two cities, and the murderer is unknown;
and the speech of a priest who is anointed for war when he addresses the nation before going out to battle.
[…]
The Historical Blessings and Curses at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in Deuteronomy 27 and Joshua 8
The Mishnah elaborates on the historical blessings and curses at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, as described in the Bible in Deuteronomy 27 and Joshua 8.13
The Location of the Blessings and Curses Ceremony (Deuteronomy 11:30, Genesis 12:6): Arrival at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal; Identification of the Site; Connection to Abraham
When the Jewish people crossed the Jordan River (in the time of Joshua), they arrived at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, located in Samaria near the city of Shechem, near Elon Moreh (אלוני מורה).
The Bible describes their location as being "beyond the Jordan" (עבר הירדן) in the land of the Canaanites, near Gilgal and beside Elon Moreh (Deuteronomy 11:30).
The place name “Elon Moreh" appears in Genesis 12:6 in reference to Abraham's journey to Shechem. Just as it was near Shechem in the Abraham story, it is identified as the same location in the context of the blessings and curses ceremony.
ברכות וקללות כיצד?
כיון שעברו ישראל את הירדן
ובאו אל הר גריזים ואל הר עיבל
שבשומרון,
שבצד שכם,
שבאצל אלוני מורה
שנאמר: ״הלא המה בעבר הירדן וגו׳״,
ולהלן הוא אומר: ״ויעבר אברם בארץ, עד מקום שכם, עד אלון מורה״.
מה אלון מורה האמור להלן — שכם,
אף אלון מורה האמור כאן — שכם.
How did the ceremony of the blessings and curses take place?
When the Jewish people crossed the Jordan River
they came to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal,
which are in Samaria
alongside the city of Shechem,
which is near the oaks of Moreh
as it is stated: “Are they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?” (Deuteronomy 11:30),
and there it states: “And Abram passed through the land, until the place of Shechem, until the oaks of Moreh” (Genesis 12:6).
Just as the oaks of Moreh mentioned there with regard to Abraham are close to Shechem,
so too, the oaks of Moreh mentioned here are close to Shechem.
The Blessing and Curse Ceremony at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (Joshua 8:33): Tribal Arrangement and Placement of Priests, Levites, and Israelites
Six tribes (of the Twelve) ascended Mount Gerizim, and six ascended Mount Ebal.
The priests, Levites, and the Ark stood in the middle between the two mountains. The priests surrounded the Ark (ארון), and the Levites surrounded the priests.
The rest of the Jewish people stood on the mountains, with Elders (זקניו), officers (שטרים), and judges (שפטיו) positioned on either side of the Ark, as described in Joshua 8:33.
ששה שבטים עלו לראש הר גריזים
וששה שבטים עלו לראש הר עיבל,
והכהנים
והלוים
והארון
עומדים למטה באמצע.
הכהנים -- מקיפין את הארון,
והלוים -- את הכהנים,
וכל ישראל -- מכאן ומכאן,
שנאמר:
״וכל ישראל
וזקניו
ושטרים
ושפטיו
עומדים מזה ומזה לארון וגו׳״
6 tribes ascended to the top of Mount Gerizim
and 6 tribes ascended to the top of Mount Ebal,
and the priests
and the Levites
and the Ark
were standing at the bottom in the middle, between the two mountains.
The priests -- were surrounding the Ark
and the Levites -- were surrounding the priests,
and all the rest of the Jewish people -- were standing on the mountains on this side and on that side,
as it is stated:
“And all Israel,
and their elders
and officers,
and their judges,
stood on this side of the Ark and on that side before the priests the Levites that bore the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH” (Joshua 8:33).
The Ritual of Blessings and Curses (Deuteronomy 27:15): Blessings on Mount Gerizim, Curses on Mount Ebal
The Levites first turned to Mount Gerizim and pronounced a blessing: “Blessed be the man who does not make a graven (פסל) or molten image (מסכה)”. Both groups standing on the mountains responded with Amen (אמן).
The Levites then turned to Mount Ebal and proclaimed the corresponding curse: ‘Cursed be the man who makes a graven or molten image”. Again, both groups answered Amen.
This pattern continued as they recited all the blessings and curses, alternating between the two mountains.
הפכו פניהם כלפי הר גריזים, ופתחו בברכה:
״ברוך האיש אשר לא יעשה פסל ומסכה״,
ואלו ואלו עונין ״אמן״.
הפכו פניהם כלפי הר עיבל, ופתחו בקללה:
״ארור האיש אשר יעשה פסל ומסכה״,
ואלו ואלו עונין ״אמן״,
עד שגומרין ברכות וקללות
The Levites then turned to face Mount Gerizim and opened with the blessing:
Blessed be the man who does not make a graven or molten image (see Deuteronomy 27:15),
and these people and those people, i.e., the two groups standing on either mountain, answered: Amen.
Then they turned to face Mount Ebal and opened with the curse:
“Cursed be the man who makes a graven or molten image” (Deuteronomy 27:15),
and these people and those people answered: Amen.
They continued in this manner until they completed reciting all of the blessings and curses.
The Torah's Multilingual Inscription (Deuteronomy 27:8): Altar Construction and Writing in Seventy Languages
Afterward, the people brought stones as commanded in the Torah, built an altar, and covered it with plaster.
They inscribed all the words of the Torah on the altar in seventy languages, as derived from the verse: “And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law clearly elucidated” (Deuteronomy 27:8), interpreted to mean it was meant to be understood universally.
They spent the night (לנו) there.
(I cite this section in a previous piece of mine.)
ואחר כך הביאו את האבנים,
ובנו את המזבח,
וסדוהו בסיד,
וכתבו עליו את כל דברי התורה בשבעים לשון.
שנאמר: ״באר היטב״.
ובאו ולנו במקומן.
And afterward they brought the stones as commanded in the Torah,
and they built the altar
and plastered it with plaster,
and they wrote on it all of the words of the Torah in seventy languages,
as it is stated: “And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law clearly elucidated” (Deuteronomy 27:8), indicating that it was to be written in every language.
And they then took the stones from there and came to Gilgal and slept in their lodging place.
Appendix 1 - Bat Kol Announcing Military and Political Events (Sotah 33a = Tosefta 13:5): Yoḥanan the High Priest and Shimon HaTzaddik
תניא:
taught in a baraita (Tosefta 13:5):
Heavenly Announcement of Victory from the Holy of Holies: Yoḥanan the High Priest Hears a Bat Kol; The Message: Victory in Antioch
Yoḥanan the High Priest (יוחנן כהן גדול - c. 1st century BCE) heard a bat kol (Divine Voice) emanating from the Temple’s Holy of Holies, delivering a prophetic message.
The voice announced as follows, in Aramaic: “The youth (טליא) who went to wage (לאגחא) battle (קרבא) in Antioch (אנטוכיא) have been victorious”.14
יוחנן כהן גדול שמע בת קול מבית קדש הקדשים
שהוא אומר:
נצחו טליא דאזלו לאגחא קרבא לאנטוכיא.
Yoḥanan the High Priest heard a Divine Voice emerging from the House of the Holy of Holies
that was saying:
The youth who went to wage war in Antokhya have been victorious.
The Bat Kol and the Death of Caligula: Shimon HaTzaddik's Experience; Confirmation of the Prophecy
A similar story is told about Shimon HaTzaddik (c. 3rd century BCE): He heard a bat kol emerging from the Holy of Holies announcing in Aramaic that a planned decree against the Temple was annulled: “The thing (עבידתא - i.e. decree) that the enemy (שנאה) intended to bring against the Temple (היכלא) is annulled (בטילת)”.
The voice also declared that Caligula15 had died and his decrees (גזירותיו) canceled (בטלו).
People recorded the time when the bat kol was heard and later confirmed that it coincided (כיוונו) exactly with Caligula’s death.
ושוב מעשה בשמעון הצדיק
ששמע בת קול מבית קדש הקדשים
שהוא אומר:
בטילת עבידתא דאמר שנאה לאייתאה על היכלא
ונהרג גסקלגס
ובטלו גזירותיו.
וכתבו אותה שעה,
וכיוונו.
And there was another incident involving Shimon HaTzaddik,
who heard a Divine Voice emerging from the House of the Holy of Holies
that was saying:
The decree that the enemy intended to bring against the Temple is annulled,
and Gaskalgas, Caligula, has been killed
and his decrees have been voided.
And people wrote down that time that the Divine Voice was heard, and later found that it matched exactly the moment that Caligula was killed.
Appendix 2 - Refuting the Samaritans’ Bible “Alterations”: Elon Moreh and Shechem (Sotah 33b)
R' Elazar ben Yosei states that he “proved the falsehood (זייפתי) of the books (ספרי - i.e. their version of the Bible) of the Samaritans (כותיים)”. He confronted the Samaritans, accusing them of forging (זייפתם) their Bible (by making additions).
The Samaritans claimed that "Elon Moreh" refers to Shechem, a conclusion that R' Elazar also accepted.
R' Elazar pointed out that Jews derive this identification through a verbal analogy (גזרה שוה) between verses, asking rhetorically: “how did you derive it?!”16
תניא,
אמר רבי אלעזר ברבי יוסי:
בדבר זה זייפתי ספרי כותיים.
אמרתי להם:
זייפתם תורתכם, ולא העליתם בידכם כלום.
שאתם אומרים: אלוני מורה שכם,
אף אנו מודים ש: אלוני מורה שכם.
אנו -- למדנוה בגזרה שוה,
אתם -- במה למדתום?!
[...]
It is taught in a baraita that R' Elazar, son of R' Yosei, said:
In this matter, I proved the falsehood of the books of the Samaritans.
I said to them:
You forged your Torah by making additions to it, and you have not gained anything from it,
as, you say that the oaks of Moreh is referring to Shechem,
and we too concede that the oaks of Moreh is referring to Shechem.
However, we derived this by means of a verbal analogy between verses.
You, who do not use verbal analogies, how did you derive it?!
[...]
סוטה - a woman suspected of adultery, as part of the Ordeal of bitter water.
ווידוי מעשר - after the 3rd and 6th years of the shmita (sabbatical) cycle.
Based on the verses in Deuteronomy.26.12-13:
כי תכלה לעשר את־כל־מעשר תבואתך
בשנה השלישת, שנת המעשר
ונתתה
ללוי
לגר
ליתום
ולאלמנה
ואכלו בשעריך ושבעו
ואמרת לפני יהוה אלהיך:
בערתי הקדש מן־הבית
וגם נתתיו
ללוי
ולגר
ליתום
ולאלמנה
ככל־מצותך אשר צויתני
לא־עברתי ממצותיך, ולא שכחתי
[…]
When you have set aside in full the tenth part of your yield—
in the 3rd year, the year of the tithe—
and have given it
to the Levite,
the temporary resident (גר)
the orphan (יתום)
and the widow,
that they may eat their fill in your settlements,
you shall declare before YHWH your God:
“I have cleared out (בערתי) the consecrated portion (קדש) from the house;
and I have given it
to the Levite,
the temporary resident,
the orphan,
and the widow,
just as You commanded me;
I have neither transgressed nor neglected any of Your commandments
[…]
תפלה - understood to mean specifically the Amidah / Shemoneh Esreh.
לשון הקודש - Lashon Hakodesh - literally: “the Holy Tongue”.
מקרא ביכורים - “reading of bikkurim”.
Elaborated on later in the Mishnah chapter, Mishnah_Sotah.7.3:
מקרא בכורים כיצד?
(דברים כו) וענית ואמרת לפני ה' אלהיך,
ולהלן הוא אומר: (שם כז) וענו הלוים ואמרו,
מה עניה האמורה להלן — בלשון הקדש,
אף כאן — בלשון הקדש:
How is it derived that the recitation when bringing the first fruits is recited specifically in Hebrew?
When the Torah discusses this mitzva it states: “And you shall speak and say before YHWH your God” (Deuteronomy 26:5),
and below, in the discussion of the blessings and curses, it states: “And the Levites shall speak and say” (Deuteronomy 27:14).
Just as there, the Levites speak in the sacred tongue,
so too here, the recitation is in the sacred tongue.
For levirate release.
Elaborated on later in the Mishnah chapter, Mishnah_Sotah.7.4:
חליצה כיצד?
״וענתה ואמרה״,
ולהלן הוא אומר: ״וענו הלוים ואמרו״
מה להלן בלשון הקודש —
אף כאן בלשון הקודש
רבי יהודה אומר:
״וענתה ואמרה ככה״ —
עד שתאמר בלשון הזה.
How is it derived that the recitation at a ḥalitza ceremony must be in Hebrew?
The verse in the Torah portion discussing ḥalitza states: “And she shall speak and say” (Deuteronomy 25:9),
and below it states: “And the Levites shall speak and say” (Deuteronomy 27:14).
Just as there, the Levites speak in the sacred tongue,
so too here, the recitation is in the sacred tongue.
ברכות וקללות - pronounced at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal; discussed at length in the second half of this Mishnah.
ברכת כהנים.
Elaborated on later in the Mishnah chapter, Mishnah_Sotah.7.6
ברכת כהנים כיצד?
[…]
How is the Priestly Benediction recited?
[…]
ברכת כהן גדול - i.e. his Torah reading on Yom Kippur.
Elaborated on later in the Mishnah chapter, Mishnah_Sotah.7.7:
ברכות כהן גדול כיצד?
[…]
How are the blessings of the High Priest recited on Yom Kippur?
[…]
פרשת המלך - the reading of the Torah at the Hakhel gathering.
Elaborated on later in the Mishnah chapter, Mishnah_Sotah.7.8:
פרשת המלך כיצד?
מוצאי יום טוב הראשון של חג,
בשמיני
במוצאי שביעית,
[…]
How is the portion of the Torah that is read by the king recited at the assembly, when all the Jewish people would assemble?
At the conclusion of the 1st day of the festival (חג - i.e. Sukkot),
on the 8th,
after the conclusion (מוצאי) of the Sabbatical Year (שביעית, i.e. shmita),
[…]
עגלה ערופה - ‘egla arufa’.
This ceremony is biblical, see Wikipedia, “Shofetim (parashah)“, section “Seventh reading—Deuteronomy 20:10–21:9“:
[…] if, in the land, they found the body of a murder victim lying in the open, and they could not determine the killer, then the elders and judges were to measure the distances from the corpse to the nearby towns.
The elders of the nearest town were to take a heifer that had never worked down to an ever-flowing wadi and break its neck.
The priests were to come forward, and all the elders were to wash their hands over the heifer.
[…] the elders were to declare that their hands did not shed the blood nor their eyes see it, and they were to ask God to absolve the Israelites, and not let guilt for the blood of the innocent remain among them, and God would absolve them of bloodguilt.
Elaborated on later in the Mishnah tractate, Mishnah_Sotah.9.1-8:
עגלה ערופה —
בלשון הקדש,
שנאמר (דברים כא):
“כי ימצא חלל באדמה וגו
ויצאו זקניך ושפטיך”
[…]
In certain cases of unsolved murder, the Torah prescribes a ritual performed with a heifer whose neck is broken —
During the course of this ritual, the judges say a confession in the sacred tongue, Hebrew,
as it is stated in the verse:
“If one be found slain in the land which YHWH your God has given you to possess it, lying in the field, and it is not known who has smitten him;
then your Elders and your judges shall come forth” (Deuteronomy 21:1–2).
[…]
And see the conclusion of that Mishnah section, in my “Pt1 The End of an Era: The Mishnah on Societal Decline and the Discontinuation of Rituals (Mishnah Sotah 9:9-15)“, section “Nullification of Biblical Rituals: Impact of Widespread Murder and Adultery in Late Second Temple Period“:
משרבו הרצחנים —
בטלה עגלה ערופה
The mishna further states: From the time when murderers proliferated —
the ritual of the heifer whose neck is broken was nullified (בטלה - “ceased”)
משוח מלחמה - before battle.
Elaborated on later in the Mishnah tractate, Mishnah_Sotah.8.1:
משוח מלחמה —
בשעה שמדבר אל העם,
בלשון הקדש היה מדבר,
שנאמר (דברים כ):
והיה כקרבכם אל המלחמה ונגש הכהן” —
זה כהן משוח מלחמה,
ודבר אל העם” —
בלשון הקדש.
[…]
With regard to the priest who was anointed for war —
at the time that he would speak to the nation,
he would speak to them in the sacred tongue, Hebrew,
as it is stated:
“And it shall be, when you draw near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people” (Deuteronomy 20:2) —
This priest identified in the verse is the priest anointed for war, the priest who is inaugurated specifically to serve this function.
“And speak to the people” —
he addresses them in the sacred tongue, Hebrew.
This is based on biblical verse from that same Torah section ibid., see Wikipedia, “Shofetim (parashah)“, section “Sixth reading—Deuteronomy 19:14–20:9“:
[…] before the Israelites joined battle, the priest was to tell the troops not to fear, for God would accompany them.
See Wikipedia, “Ki Tavo“, sections “Fourth reading—Deuteronomy 27:1–10“ and “Fifth reading—Deuteronomy 27:11–28:6“:
[…] Moses and the elders charged the people that as soon as they had crossed the Jordan River, they were to set up large stones on Mount Ebal, coat them with plaster, and inscribe on them all the words of the Torah.
There they were also to build an altar to God made of stones on which no iron tool had struck, and they were to offer on it offerings to God and rejoice […]
Moses charged the people that after they had crossed the Jordan, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin were to stand on Mount Gerizim when the blessings were spoken, and the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphthali were to stand on Mount Ebal when the curses were spoken.
The Levites were then to loudly curse anyone who: made a sculptured image; insulted father or mother; moved a fellow countryman's landmark; misdirected a blind person; subverted the rights of the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow; lay with his father's wife; lay with any beast; lay with his sister; lay with his mother-in-law; struck down his fellow countryman in secret; accepted a bribe in a murder case; or otherwise would not observe the commandments; and for each curse all the people were to say, "Amen."
And see Wikipedia, “Joshua 8“, section “The covenant renewal at Mount Ebal (8:30–35)“:
The taking of Ai (and the implied defeat of Bethel as well) marks an important point in the conquest, that the ceremony reported here could be performed following the instruction in the Book of Deuteronomy, that 'on the day that you cross over the Jordan', the people should setup large stones on Mount Ebal, cover them with plaster, and write 'all the words of this law' on them, then to erect an altar for sacrifice (Deuteronomy 27:2–8), and solemnly reaffirm the covenant with God (Deuteronomy 27:11–26).
On the story in the previous chapter in Joshua, and the Talmudic elaboration of it, see my series “The Confession, Punishment, and Atonement of Achan in Joshua 7 (Sanhedrin 43b-44b)“, final part here.
נצחו.
This account likely refers to the Hasmonean period, c. 130 BCE, when Jewish forces, under leaders such as John Hyrcanus (Yoḥanan the High Priest), engaged in military campaigns against the Seleucid Empire.
Antioch (Antokhya) was a major center of Seleucid rule.
גסקלגס - “Gaskalgas” .
Generally identified as the Roman emperor Caligula, who reigned 37–41 CE; see discussion at Hebrew Wikipeida: שמעון הצדיק, section “ביטול גזירת הצלם”.
Caligula attempted to install a statue of himself in the Jerusalem Temple, an act that provoked widespread Jewish resistance. His assassination in 41 CE by members of his own guard ended the threat.
The Talmudic account reflects Jewish relief at his death and frames it as divinely announced by a bat kol.
I.e since the Samaritans reject the use of verbal analogies, he questioned how they arrived at the same conclusion, exposing the inconsistency in their interpretative method.
Historical Context:
R' Elazar ben Yosei was a Tanna of the late 2nd century CE, active in the generation following the Bar Kokhba Revolt. His era was marked by Jewish-Samaritan tensions, especially in matters of religious texts and biblical interpretation. The Samaritans were a distinct ethnoreligious group that accepted only the Pentateuch as their scripture, rejecting the rest of the Jewish biblical canon and rabbinic tradition.
The Samaritan Torah differs from the Masoretic Text (the standard Jewish version of the Hebrew Bible) in thousands of instances, some minor and others significant. One major category of differences involves the location of sacred sites. The Samaritans venerated Mount Gerizim as the chosen place of divine worship, while Jews held Jerusalem's Temple Mount as central. Many textual changes in the Samaritan Torah appear to support their theological positions.
Textual Controversy: Samaritan "Forgeries":
R' Elazar's accusation that the Samaritans “forged” their Torah likely refers to instances where they altered the biblical text to align with their theological beliefs. The word זייפתי (meaning “I proved the falsehood of”) suggests that he engaged in textual criticism, comparing versions and identifying discrepancies that he deemed deliberate falsifications.
One well-known Samaritan textual alteration relevant to this context is in Deuteronomy 27:4, where the Jewish text names Mount Ebal as the site for an altar, while the Samaritan version replaces it with Mount Gerizim, aligning with their central place of worship. While this specific case is not mentioned in R' Elazar’s discussion, it exemplifies the kind of textual disputes between the groups.
The Case of "Elon Moreh" and Shechem:
The discussion centers on the identification of Elon Moreh, mentioned in Genesis 12:6, with Shechem. The Samaritans and the rabbis both reached the same conclusion: Elon Moreh refers to Shechem. However, they arrived at this identification through different means.
The rabbinic method relies on a verbal analogy (גזרה שוה), a key hermeneutical principle in which identical or similar words appearing in different biblical passages are used to interpret each other.
The Samaritans, however, reject this method. They followed a strict literalist approach and did not accept the rabbinic system of deriving laws and interpretations through midrashic principles.
R' Elazar ben Yosei, therefore, challenged them: If you reject verbal analogies, how did you arrive at the same conclusion? This exposed an inconsistency in their interpretative framework. If they derived it through some alternative method, he implicitly argued, then they were not being true to their stated principles.