Healthy Bones, Biblical Giants, and The (Literal) Decline (in Height) of the Generations: The Grave Observations of Abba Shaul (Niddah 24b-25a)
Effect of eating and drinking on the bones, based on skeletons; The massive skeletons of the Biblical Og and Absalom; The (Literal) Decline (in Height) of the Generations, Over Seven Generations
Outline
Effect of eating and drinking on the bones, based on skeletons
The massive skeleton of the Biblical Og
The massive skeleton of the Biblical Absalom
The (Literal) Decline (in Height) of the Generations, Over Seven Generations
The Passage
Effect of eating and drinking on the bones, based on skeletons
The passage begins with Abba Shaul (a 4th generation tanna), who was a gravedigger, discussing the effects of alcohol consumption on the human body, based on his observations of corpses.
He notes that
those who drink excessive undiluted wine (see my recent piece, that the classical Greeks would always dilute their wine) have bones that appear burnt,
those who consume too much diluted wine have black bones,
and those who drink a moderate amount have bones that are healthy and full of marrow.
The same pattern applies to eating habits.
תניא, אבא שאול אומר:
קובר מתים הייתי,
והייתי מסתכל בעצמות של מתים,
השותה יין חי -- עצמותיו שרופין
מזוג -- עצמותיו סכויין
כראוי -- עצמותיו משוחין
וכל מי ששתייתו מרובה מאכילתו -- עצמותיו שרופין
אכילתו מרובה משתייתו -- עצמותיו סכויין
כראוי -- עצמותיו משוחין
With regard to the effect of drinking wine on a person’s body, it is taught in a baraita that Abba Shaul says:
I used to be a gravedigger,
and I would observe the bones of corpses.
I discovered that
the bones of one who drinks too much undiluted wine during his lifetime look burnt,
the bones of one who drinks too much diluted wine are black,
and the bones of one who drinks the appropriate amount of wine are fat, i.e., full of marrow.
And furthermore, I discovered that the bones of anyone who drinks much more than he eats look burnt,
the bones of one who eats much more than he drinks are black,
and the bones of one who eats and drinks appropriate amounts are fat.
The massive skeleton of the Biblical Og
Abba Shaul also shares an extraordinary experience from his time as a gravedigger. He tells the story of chasing a deer and inadvertently entering a massive thigh bone (קולית), which he ran inside for three parasangs (פרסאות - a historical Iranian unit of walking distance), without reaching its end.
When he shared this with the Sages, they assert that it was the thigh bone of Og, king of Bashan, a biblical giant.
תניא, אבא שאול אומר, ואיתימא רבי יוחנן:
קובר מתים הייתי,
פעם אחת רצתי אחר צבי
ונכנסתי בקולית של מת
ורצתי אחריו שלש פרסאות
וצבי לא הגעתי
וקולית לא כלתה
כשחזרתי לאחורי
אמרו לי: של עוג מלך הבשן היתה
It is taught in a baraita that Abba Shaul says the following, and some say that R' Yoḥanan said it:
I used to be a gravedigger.
Once I ran after a deer,
and I entered the thighbone of a corpse;
and it was so large that I ran after the deer for three parasangs inside the thighbone,
and I did not reach the deer,
And the thighbone did not end.
When I came back and related this to the Sages,
they said to me: It was evidently the thighbone of Og, king of Bashan.
The massive skeleton of the Biblical Absalom
In another instance, Abba Shaul fell into an eye socket of a corpse, which was so large that he stood in it up to his nose. The Sages believed this to be the eye of Absalom son of King David, another biblical figure known for his stature.
תניא אבא שאול אומר:
קובר מתים הייתי,
פעם אחת נפתחה מערה תחתי
ועמדתי בגלגל עינו של מת עד חוטמי
כשחזרתי לאחורי, אמרו: עין של אבשלום היתה
It is likewise taught in a baraita that Abba Shaul says:
I used to be a gravedigger.
Once a burial cave opened up underneath where I was standing,
and I found myself standing in the eye socket of a corpse until my nose.
When I came back and told this to the Sages, they said to me: It was evidently the eye of Absalom.
The (Literal) Decline (in Height) of the Generations, Over Seven Generations
The narrative continues to emphasize Abba Shaul's size (stressing that he was not a “nannos” - midget - ננס)1 and the remarkable height of subsequent generations, illustrating a lineage of exceptionally tall scholars.
Each succeeding sage, from R' Tarfon to Adda the attendant (אדא דיילא), is described as reaching only up to the shoulder of their predecessor, highlighting each prominent sage’s extraordinary stature, and the decline in this height over time.
This series culminates with the governor (פרשתבינא) of Pumbedita, who, despite being very tall, only reaches half the height of Adda, with everyone else reaching only to the governor's loins.
These are the 10 entities listed, in order of their height (chronologicaly spanning from ~100 CE to ~300 CE, from Abba Shaul — a 3rd/4th generation tanna — to Rav Yehuda — a 2nd generation amora in Babylonia):
Abba Shaul (3rd/4th generation tanna)
R' Tarfon (3rd generation tanna)
R' Meir (4th generation tanna)
R' Yehuda HaNasi (5th generation tanna)
R' Ḥiyya (a transitional 1st generation amora in Eretz Yisrael)
Rav (1st generation amora in Babylonia. He was R’ Hiyya’s nephew, see my earlier piece)
Rav Yehuda (2nd generation amora in Babylonia)
Adda the attendant (אדא דיילא - Rav Yehuda’s attendant)
The governor of Pumbedita
Everyone else (כולי עלמא)
ושמא תאמר אבא שאול ננס הוה
אבא שאול ארוך בדורו הוה, ורבי טרפון מגיע לכתפו
ור' טרפון ארוך בדורו הוה, ור"מ מגיע לכתפו
רבי מאיר ארוך בדורו הוה, ורבי מגיע לכתפו
רבי ארוך בדורו הוה, ורבי חייא מגיע לכתפו
ורבי חייא ארוך בדורו הוה, ורב מגיע לכתפו
רב ארוך בדורו הוה, ורב יהודה מגיע לכתפו
ורב יהודה ארוך בדורו הוה, ואדא דיילא מגיע לכתפו
פרשתבינא דפומבדיתא קאי ליה לאדא דיילא עד פלגיה
וכולי עלמא קאי לפרשתבינא דפומבדיתא עד חרציה
And lest you say that Abba Shaul was a midget, and therefore he was capable of standing in an eye socket until his nose,
Abba Shaul was the tallest person in his generation. And R' Tarfon reached only his shoulder,
and R' Tarfon was the tallest person in his generation. And R' Meir reached only the shoulder of R' Tarfon,
and R' Meir was the tallest person in his generation. And R' Yehuda HaNasi reached only the shoulder of R' Meir,
and R' Yehuda HaNasi was the tallest person in his generation, And R' Ḥiyya reached only the shoulder of R' Yehuda HaNasi,
and R' Ḥiyya was the tallest person in his generation. And Rav reached only the shoulder of R' Ḥiyya,
and Rav was the tallest person in his generation. And Rav Yehuda reached only the shoulder of Rav,
and Rav Yehuda was the tallest person in his generation. And Adda the attendant [dayyala] reached only the shoulder of Rav Yehuda,
and when the governor [parashtevina] of Pumbedita would stand next to Adda the attendant, he would reach only half of his height.
And when everyone else in the world would stand next to the governor of Pumbedita, they would reach only his loins [ḥartzeih].