Nakdimon ben Guryon, the Roman Hegemon, and the Water Loan Miracle in the Late Second Temple Period (Taanit 19b-20a)

The story in this sugya blends civic leadership, personal piety, and divine intervention into a miracle-filled drama. At its center is Nakdimon ben Guryon,¹ a wealthy Jerusalemite known for his generosity and influence, who intervenes during a pilgrimage festival (רגל) in the late Second Temple period to provide desperately needed water for the crowds in Jerusalem.

Facing a severe water shortage,² Nakdimon arranges a loan of 12 wells'³ worth of water from a Roman official,⁴ with the promise to repay either in kind or with 12 talents (ככר) of silver (a huge sum). The official agrees and sets a deadline. When the final day arrives and no rain has fallen, the official demands payment three times over the course of the day. Each time, Nakdimon insists the day isn't over.

The narrative then pivots to the Temple, where Nakdimon prays earnestly, asserting that his actions were not for personal glory but for God's honor.⁵ Rain immediately falls, filling and overflowing the cisterns. The Roman, returning from the bathhouse, is stunned but argues that the rain came after sundown—technically voiding the agreement.

Nakdimon prays again. The clouds part, and the sun breaks through, meaning that the day hadn’t ended yet.

A brief epilogue explains Nakdimon's name: originally 'Buni', he was called 'Nakdimon' because the sun (חמה) 'broke through' (נקדרה) for him.

The sugya closes with a related baraita linking Nakdimon to two other figures—Joshua and Moses—for whom the sun was miraculously manipulated. Through three separate midrashic derivations, the Talmud insists that Moses too received such a cosmic sign, aligning him with the same divine endorsement.

The story is both miracle tale and ethical case study: human effort and divine response, legal wrangling and moral clarity, all in service of public good and covenantal loyalty.

Outline

Intro

The Passage - Nakdimon ben Guryon, the Roman Hegemon, and the Water Loan Miracle in the Late Second Temple Period (Taanit 19b-20a)

1. During a pilgrimage festival, there was a water shortage in Jerusalem

2. Nakdimon ben Guryon, a wealthy Jerusalemite, borrowed 12 wells of water from a Roman official, promising to return either the water or 12 talents of silver by a set date.

3. When the deadline arrived with no rain, the official demanded payment three times over the course of the day.

4. The official mocked (לגלג) him for expecting rain so late in the dry season and went to the bathhouse, expecting to collect the silver.

5. Nakdimon entered the Temple to pray

6. Nakdimon’s prayer

7. Rain fell, filling the springs

8. When the two men met, Nakdimon demanded payment for the surplus water

9. Nakdimon prayed again; the clouds dispersed and the sun reappeared

10. The official bemoaned that had the sun not returned, he would have been able to claim the money

11. Nakdimon’s original name was Buni

Appendix - Three people had the sun altered on their behalf: Moses, Joshua, and Nakdimon

1. A baraita lists three figures for whom the sun broke through or stood still at an irregular time: Moses, Joshua, and Nakdimon ben Guryon

2. Nakdimon ben Guryon – Known by tradition; Joshua (Joshua 10:12–13) – The verse explicitly describes the sun standing still during battle

3. Moses – three biblical derivations

   1. R’ Elazar compares the shared phrase “I will begin” (אחל) in Deuteronomy 2:25 (Moses) and Joshua 3:7 to infer that Moses received the same miracles as Joshua

   2. R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani notes a parallel use of “put” (תת) in Deuteronomy 2:25 and Joshua 10:12 to support the same idea

   3. R’ Yoḥanan asserts that the nations’ fear (Deuteronomy 2:25) must have followed a dramatic event—namely, the sun shining unnaturally for Moses

The Passage

Taanit.19b.15-20a.4

During a pilgrimage festival, there was a water shortage in Jerusalem

תנו רבנן:

פעם אחת

עלו כל ישראל לרגל לירושלים,

ולא היה להם מים לשתות.

§ A baraita states:

Once

all the Jewish people ascended for the pilgrimage Festival (רגל) to Jerusalem

and there was not enough water for them to drink.

Nakdimon ben Guryon, a wealthy Jerusalemite, borrowed 12 wells of water from a Roman official, promising to return either the water or 12 talents of silver by a set date.

הלך נקדימון בן גוריון אצל הגמון אחד,

אמר לו:

הלויני שתים עשרה מעיינות מים לעולי רגלים,

ואני אתן לך שתים עשרה עינות מים.

ואם איני נותן לך —

הריני נותן לך שתים עשרה ככר כסף,

וקבע לו זמן.

Nakdimon ben Guryon, one of the wealthy citizens of Jerusalem, went to a certain Roman official [hegemon]

and said to him:

Lend me 12 wells of water for the pilgrims (עולי רגלים),

and I will give back to you 12 wells of water.

And if I do not give them to you,

I will give you 12 talents of silver.

And the official set him a time limit for returning the water.

When the deadline arrived with no rain, the official demanded payment three times over the course of the day.

Each time--morning (שחרית), noontime (צהריים), and afternoon (מנחה)--Nakdimon insisted that there was still time left.

כיון שהגיע הזמן ולא ירדו גשמים,

1. 1. בשחרית שלח לו: שגר לי או מים או מעות שיש לי בידך.

   2. שלח לו: עדיין יש לי זמן, כל היום כולו שלי הוא.

2. 1. בצהריים שלח לו: שגר לי או מים או מעות שיש לי בידך.

   2. שלח לו: עדיין יש לי שהות ביום.

3. 1. במנחה שלח לו: שגר לי מים או מעות שיש לי בידך.

   2. שלח לו: עדיין יש לי שהות ביום.

When the set time arrived and no rain had fallen,

1. 1. in the morning the official sent a message to Nakdimon: Send (שגר) me either the water or the coins that you owe me.

   2. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time, as the entire day is mine.

2. 1. At noontime the official again sent a message to him: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me.

   2. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time left (שהות) in the day.

3. 1. In the afternoon he sent a message to him: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me.

   2. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time left in the day.

The official mocked him for expecting rain so late in the dry season and went to the bathhouse, expecting to collect the silver.

לגלג עליו אותו הגמון,

אמר:

כל השנה כולה לא ירדו גשמים,

ועכשיו ירדו גשמים?!

נכנס לבית המרחץ בשמחה.

That official ridiculed (לגלג) him,

saying:

Throughout the entire year rain has not fallen,.

and now it will rain?!

He entered the bathhouse in a state of joy, anticipating the large sum of money he was about to receive.

Nakdimon entered the Temple to pray

עד שההגמון נכנס בשמחתו לבית המרחץ,

נקדימון נכנס לבית המקדש כשהוא עצוב.

נתעטף,

ועמד בתפלה.

As the official entered the bathhouse in his joy,

Nakdimon entered the Temple in a state of sadness (עצוב).

He wrapped himself (נתעטף) in his prayer shawl

and stood in prayer..

Nakdimon’s prayer

אמר לפניו:

רבונו של עולם!

גלוי וידוע לפניך

שלא לכבודי עשיתי,

ולא לכבוד בית אבא עשיתי,

אלא לכבודך עשיתי,

שיהו מים מצויין לעולי רגלים.

He said before God:

Master of the Universe!

it is revealed and known before You

that I did not act for my own honor,

nor did I act for the honor of my father’s house.

Rather, I acted for Your honor,

so that there should be water for the Festival pilgrims.

Rain fell, filling the springs

מיד:

נתקשרו שמים בעבים,

וירדו גשמים

עד שנתמלאו שתים עשרה מעינות מים

והותירו.

Immediately

the sky became overcast⁶

and rain fell

until the 12 cisterns were filled with water,

and there was even more water, so that they overflowed..

When the two men met, Nakdimon demanded payment for the surplus water

The official conceded that the rain was clearly divine,⁷ but argued that it had come after sunset, voiding the agreement.

עד שיצא הגמון מבית המרחץ,

נקדימון בן גוריון יצא מבית המקדש.

כשפגעו זה בזה,

אמר לו: תן לי דמי מים יותר שיש לי בידך!

אמר לו:

יודע אני שלא הרעיש הקדוש ברוך הוא את עולמו אלא בשבילך,

אלא עדיין יש לי פתחון פה עליך,

שאוציא ממך את מעותיי,

שכבר שקעה חמה,

וגשמים — ברשותי ירדו.

As the hegemon left the bathhouse,

Nakdimon ben Guryon left the Temple.

When they met one another,

Nakdimon said to him: Give me the money you owe me for the extra water you received.

The official said to him:

I know that God has shaken His world and caused rain to fall only for you.

However, I still maintain a claim against you,

by which I can legally take my coins from you,

as you did not pay me on the agreed date, for the sun had already set,

and therefore the rain fell onto my property..

Nakdimon prayed again; the clouds dispersed and the sun reappeared

חזר ונכנס לבית המקדש,

נתעטף ועמד בתפלה,

ואמר לפניו:

רבונו של עולם!

הודע שיש לך אהובים בעולמך!

מיד:

נתפזרו העבים

וזרחה החמה.

Nakdimon went back and entered the Temple,

wrapped himself in his prayer shawl, and stood in prayer.

He said before God:

Master of the Universe!

let it be known that You have beloved ones in Your world.

Immediately,

the clouds scattered

and the sun shined.

The official bemoaned that had the sun not returned, he would have been able to claim the money

באותה שעה אמר לו אותו הגמון:

אילו לא נקדרה החמה,

היה לי פתחון פה עליך

שאוציא ממך מעותיי.

At that time, the hegemon said to him:

If the sun had not broken through the clouds,

I would have had a claim against you,

by which I could have taken my coins from you.

Nakdimon’s original name was Buni

He was called "Nakdimon" because the sun "broke through"⁸ for him.

תנא:

לא נקדימון שמו,

אלא בוני שמו,

ולמה נקרא שמו נקדימון?

שנקדרה חמה בעבורו.

A Sage taught:

Nakdimon was not his real name;

rather his name was Buni.

And why was he called Nakdimon?

Because the sun broke through [nikdera] for him.

Appendix - Three people had the sun altered on their behalf: Moses, Joshua, and Nakdimon

Taanit.20a.5-8

A baraita lists three figures for whom the sun broke through or stood still at an irregular time: Moses, Joshua, and Nakdimon ben Guryon

תנו רבנן:

שלשה נקדמה להם חמה בעבורן:

1. משה,

2. ויהושע,

3. ונקדימון בן גוריון.

A baraita states:

With regard to three people, the sun broke through (נקדמה) and shone at an irregular time for their sake:

1. Moses,

2. Joshua,

3. and Nakdimon ben Guryon.

Nakdimon ben Guryon – Known by tradition; Joshua (Joshua 10:12-13) – The verse explicitly describes the sun standing still during battle

בשלמא נקדימון בן גוריון —

גמרא.

יהושע נמי --

קרא,

דכתיב: ״וידם השמש

וירח עמד וגו׳״.

The Talmud asks: Granted, the case of Nakdimon ben Guryon --

is known by the aforementioned tradition.

The case of Joshua too --

is derived from a verse,

as it is written: “And the sun stood still,

and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies” (Joshua 10:13).

Moses – three biblical derivations

אלא משה מנלן?

However, from where do we derive that the sun shined in a supernatural way for Moses?

R’ Elazar compares the shared phrase “I will begin” (אחל) in Deuteronomy 2:25 (Moses) and Joshua 3:7 to infer that Moses received the same miracles as Joshua

אמר רבי אלעזר:

אתיא ״אחל״ ״אחל״ --

• כתיב הכא:

  • ״אחל תת פחדך״,

• וכתיב התם:

  • ״אחל גדלך״.

R' Elazar said:

It is derived by verbal analogy between “I will begin” (אחל) and “I will begin”:

• Here, with regard to Moses, it is written:

  • “This day I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon the peoples that are under all the whole heaven” (Deuteronomy 2:25).

• And there, with regard to Joshua, it is written:

  • “On this day I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you” (Joshua 3:7).

The repeated use of the phrase “I will begin” indicates that all the miracles performed for Joshua were also performed for Moses.

R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani notes a parallel use of “put” (תת) in Deuteronomy 2:25 and Joshua 10:12 to support the same idea

רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר:

אתיא ״תת״ ״תת״ --

• כתיב הכא:

  • ״אחל תת פחדך״,

• וכתיב התם:

  • ״ביום תת ה׳ את האמרי״.

R' Shmuel bar Naḥmani said:

The fact that the sun stood still for Moses is derived by a different verbal analogy, between the terms “put” (תת) and “put”:

• Here, with regard to Moses, it is written:

  • “I will begin to put the dread of you” (Deuteronomy 2:25).

• And there, with regard to Joshua, is it written:

  • “Then Joshua spoke to YHWH, on the day when YHWH put the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: Sun, stand still upon Gibeon, and you, moon, in the valley of Aijalon” (Joshua 10:12).

R’ Yoḥanan asserts that the nations’ fear (רגזו וחלו - Deuteronomy 2:25) must have followed a dramatic event—namely, the sun shining unnaturally for Moses

רבי יוחנן אמר:

אתיא מגופיה דקרא:

״אשר ישמעון שמעך

ורגזו

וחלו מפניך״,

אימתי רגזו וחלו מפניך?

בשעה שנקדמה לו חמה למשה.

R' Yoḥanan said:

This idea is derived from the verse itself, as it says with regard to Moses:

“This day I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon the peoples that are under all the whole heaven, who, when they hear the report of you,

shall tremble (רגזו),

and be in anguish (חלו) due to you” (Deuteronomy 2:25).

When did the nations of the world tremble and when were they in anguish due to you?

When the sun broke through for Moses.

1. Lived in early 1st century CE; see my previous piece for stories about Nakdimon’s daughter, especially after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE: ““Gathering Barley from Arabs' Animals' Dung": The Dramatic Fall from Grace of Nakdimon ben Guryon’s Daughter (Ketubot 66b-67a)“.

2. The whole tractate Ta’anit is devoted to fasts for drought. See my “Mishnah Tractate Ta'anit: Featuring Reader-Friendly Formatting and Summaries“.

Compare the related miracle story about Ḥoni the Circle-Drawer (חוני המעגל), that also relates to “rain-making”, and appears in the Mishnah, ibid., section “Story of the Miraculous Rain Prayers of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel“ (p. 24-26).

And compare also the constellation of stories surrounding Nuhunya the Well-Digger (נחוניא חופר שיחין), that are similarly related to providing water to pilgrims in late Second Temple Jerusalem.

And see my three-part series on an extended sugya later in the tractate: “From Desperation to Downpour: Talmudic Stories of Rainmaking (Taanit 24a-b)”, final part here.

3. מעיינות - “springs”.

4. A ‘hegemon’, from Greek, meaning “governor, ruler“. This term is relatively common in Talmudic literature; see for example my piece “Roman Hegemon and Divine Judgement: R’ Eliezer’s Heresy Trial and a Teaching Attributed to Jesus on Using a Prostitute's Earnings to Fund a Temple Bathroom (Avodah Zarah 16b-17a)“.

5. His exact statement is formulaic, and appears a number of times in the Talmud:

אמר לפניו:

רבונו של עולם!

גלוי וידוע לפניך

שלא לכבודי עשיתי,

ולא לכבוד בית אבא עשיתי,

אלא לכבודך עשיתי,

He said before God:

Master of the Universe!

it is revealed and known before You

that I did not act for my own honor,

nor did I act for the honor of my father’s house.

See, for example, Megillah.3a.4-6:

ואמר רבי ירמיה

ואיתימא: רבי חייא בר אבא:

תרגום של תורה —

אונקלוס הגר אמרו

מפי רבי אליעזר ורבי יהושע.

תרגום של נביאים —

יונתן בן עוזיאל אמרו

מפי חגי זכריה ומלאכי,

§ The Talmud cites another ruling of R' Yirmeya or R' Ḥiyya bar Abba.

R' Yirmeya said,

and some say that it was R' Ḥiyya bar Abba who said:

The Aramaic translation of the Torah used in the synagogues

was composed by Onkelos the convert

based on the teachings of R' Eliezer and R' Yehoshua.

The Aramaic translation of the Prophets

was composed by Yonatan ben Uzziel

based on a tradition going back to the last prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

ונזדעזעה ארץ ישראל ארבע מאות פרסה על ארבע מאות פרסה.

יצתה בת קול ואמרה:

מי הוא זה שגילה סתריי לבני אדם?!

עמד יונתן בן עוזיאל על רגליו ואמר:

אני הוא שגליתי סתריך לבני אדם,

גלוי וידוע לפניך

שלא לכבודי עשיתי,

ולא לכבוד בית אבא,

אלא לכבודך עשיתי,

שלא ירבו מחלוקת בישראל.

The Talmud relates that when Yonatan ben Uzziel wrote his translation, Eretz Yisrael quaked over an area of 400 parasangs [parsa] by 400 parasangs,

and a bat kol emerged and said:

Who is this who has revealed My secrets to mankind?!

Yonatan ben Uzziel stood up on his feet and said:

I am the one who has revealed Your secrets to mankind through my translation.

However, it is revealed and known to You

that I did this not for my own honor,

and not for the honor of the house of my father,

but rather it was for Your honor that I did this,

so that discord (מחלוקת) not increase among the Jewish people.

In the absence of an accepted translation, people will disagree about the meaning of obscure verses, but with a translation, the meaning will be clear.

6. נתקשרו שמים בעבים - literally: “the sky became ‘tied with clouds’ ”, and idiom meaning “became overcast”.

7. “God has shaken (הרעיש) His world [and caused rain to fall] only for you”.

8. נקדרה.

Ed. Steinsaltz translates: “ the sun ‘broke through’ [nikdera] for him”.

Jastrow (modernized):

נקד - sense #1 (compare קדד)

“to sting, point, puncture, break through”

• Yerushalmi Ketubot 2:26b bottom of page - לבי נוקדיני - “my conscience stings me (I am afraid that I may have sinned)”

• Yerushalmi Yevamot 10:11a top - נוקריני - (correct accordingly)

• Gittin 56a (play on נ̇ק̇ד̇ימון) שנקדה לו חמה בעבורו - “for his sake did the sun break through again (after being obscured)”

• Yalkut Deuteronomy 809

• Taanit 20a - Manuscript Munich: (ed. שנקדרה).

• Ibid. - אילו לא נ׳ החמה - Manuscript Munich: (ed. נקדרה).

• [Ibid. - שלשה נקדה - Manuscript Munich: (ed. נקדמה, read, as Avodah Zarah 25a: עמדה.]

And see Hebrew Wiktionary, “נָקַד“, section ““, my translation:

Etymology

The word appears only in this context, as an interpretation of the name Nakdimon ben Gurion […]

Some Talmud manuscripts there read ‘nikdema’ (נקדמה) […]

Some manuscripts read nikdera (נקדרה), implying the opposite meaning – kadar (קדר) in Biblical Hebrew means 'darkened'.

And see Hebrew Wiktionary, “קָדַר ב“, my translation:

Cut and removed; cut an object in its middle and removed a portion of it.

• 'He gouges it with a knife like a chimney' (Babylonian Talmud, Zevachim 65a)

Cut a written page with the intent to remove part of the writing.

• 'Menashe gouged out (קדר) the divine names and destroyed the altar' (Sanhedrin 103b - E.B.: quoted in my piece here, section “Religious Corruption: Ahaz, Manasseh, and Amon“)

• 'R. Yose says: On weekdays, one gouges out the divine names and stores them, and burns the rest' (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 116a)

Etymology

A consonant shift from the root ד.ק.ר (to stab/pierce).

Additional Information

In the word mekardin in the mountains (Eruvin), R. Shimshon bar Tzemach wrote that it is a mistaken form derived from the root kadar - meaning 'to bore/pierce' – making it a double consonantal shift.

The Arukh's version sometimes relates kdd (קדד) to gdd (גדד), as in tractate Chullin.

See an appearance of this word in my piece “Jehoiakim's Arrogance: Rejecting the Warnings of Lamentations and Burning Its Names of God (Lamentations 1:1-5; Moed Katan 26a)“, section “Lamentations (1:5), and Jehoiakim's Defiance: Destroying God's Name and Ignoring the Obligation to Mourn“:

מיד:

קדר כל אזכרות שבה,

ושרפן באש.

Immediately,

he cut out (קדר) all the names of God from the book

and burned them in fire.

And see Jastrow (modernized):

קדר I,

(קדד)

(compare כדר, גדר, גדד)

“to cut around, perforate, cut out”

• Shabbat 116a

• Yerushalmi ibid. 16:15c bottom of page - קודר - (Arukh - קודד), see אזכרה

• Sanhedrin 103b - מנשה ק׳ וכ׳ - (Arukh - קדר) - “Manasseh cut the divine names out (of the Scriptures)”

• Kiddushin 22b - קודד ויורד וכ׳ - Arukh (ed. דוקד והולך) - “one must bore (through the slave’s ear) until the door is reached”

• Hullin 77a - כל שהרופא קודרו - (Arukh a.Manuscript Munich: correct. קודדו, see Rabbinowicz, 'Dikdukei Sofrim' there, note) “such flesh as the physician cuts out”