Pt1 Pride, Idolatry, and the Rejection of Repentance: Talmudic Interpretations of the Wicked Biblical King Jeroboam (Sanhedrin 101b-102a)
This is the first installment of a two-part series. The outline is below.
The Mishnah enumerates three biblical kings and four biblical commoners who have no portion in the World-to-Come. (For a detailed analysis of this Mishnah, refer to my recent piece here.)
The Talmud elaborates on this. In this piece I focus on the discussion regarding Jeroboam (c. late 10th century BCE).
On Jeroboam, see Wikipedia, focusing on the parts that are especially relevant for this sugya:
Jeroboam I [...], frequently cited Jeroboam son of Nebat, was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel following a revolt of the ten tribes against Rehoboam that put an end to the United Monarchy [...]
Jeroboam is often described as doing "evil in the sight of the Lord", and all the rest of the northern kings were also described in the same way [...]
King Solomon made the young Jeroboam a superintendent over his tribesmen in the building of the fortress Millo in Jerusalem and of other public works, and he naturally became conversant with the widespread discontent caused by the extravagances which marked the reign of Solomon.
Influenced by the words of the prophet Ahijah, he began to form conspiracies with the view of becoming king of the ten northern tribes [...]
After Rehoboam rejected their petition [to reduce taxes], ten of the tribes withdrew their allegiance to the house of David and proclaimed Jeroboam their king, forming the northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria).
Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained to form the rump kingdom of Judah, loyal to Rehoboam.
Jeroboam rebuilt and fortified Shechem as the capital of the northern kingdom, and fearing that pilgrimages to the temple in Jerusalem prescribed by the Law might provide an occasion for his people to go back to their old allegiance, he built two state temples with golden calves, one in Bethel and the other in Dan. This act is condemned by an unnamed prophet in 1 Kings 14 [...]
Outline
Interpretation of the Name “Jeroboam”: Conflict and Idolatry
Identification of Nebat, Micah, and Sheba son of Bichri as a Single Figure
Three Biblical Figures Who Misinterpreted Their Prophetic Occurences: Nebat, Ahithophel, and Pharaoh's Astrologers
Jeroboam’s Rise and Punishment: Rewarded for Rebuke, Punished for Public Humiliation of Solomon
A Gesture of Defiance: Removing Phylacteries as a Sign of Disrespect Toward King Solomon
Jeroboam’s Dilemma: Fear of Disloyalty in the Temple Courtyard
Jeroboam's Counsel: Manipulating the Righteous with the Wicked
Jeroboam’s Extreme Measures to Prevent Pilgrimage to Jerusalem
Divine Voice at Jeroboam’s Coronation, Rebuking Israel's Betrayal of David’s Legacy
Jeroboam’s Missed Opportunity: Refusal to Repent Over Pride in Following King David in Garden of Eden
The Passage
Sanhedrin.101b.5 to ibid. 102a.17
Interpretation of the Name “Jeroboam”: Conflict and Idolatry
A baraita interprets the name “Jeroboam”:1
It explains that the name signifies someone who caused conflict either among the Jewish people (causing the schism between the kingdoms of Judea and Israel) or between the people and God (due to his institution of idolatry with golden calves).
He is called "son of Nebat" because he looked2 to assess the situation but failed to see accurately.
ת"ר:
"ירבעם" -- שריבע עם
ד"א: "ירבעם" -- שעשה מריבה בעם
דבר אחר: "ירבעם" -- שעשה מריבה בין ישראל לאביהם שבשמים
"בן נבט" -- בן שניבט ולא ראה
The Sages taught in a baraita:
Jeroboam [Yorovam] is an abbreviation for one who debased the Jewish people [riba am].
Alternatively, Yorovam is an abbreviation for one who engendered strife among the people [meriva ba’am], causing the schism between the kingdoms of Judea and Israel.
Alternatively, Yorovam is an abbreviation for one who engendered strife between the Jewish people [meriva bein ha’am] and their Heavenly Father, as he instituted the worship of the golden calves (I Kings 12:28–31).
He is called son of Nebat because he is the son who looked [nibat] in an effort to assess the situation but did not see the situation accurately.
Identification of Nebat, Micah, and Sheba son of Bichri as a Single Figure
A baraita links three biblical figures—Nebat (Jeroboam’s father), Micah, and Sheba son of Bichri—as in fact the same person.
Nebat "looked but did not see" and believed greatness awaited him, fulfilled only by his son.
Micah was miraculously saved after being crushed in the construction of storage cities, while his actual name was Sheba, son of Bichri.
תנא:
הוא נבט
הוא מיכה
הוא שבע בן בכרי
"נבט" -- שניבט ולא ראה
"מיכה" -- שנתמכמך בבנין
ומה שמו? "שבע בן בכרי" שמו
It is taught in a baraita:
Based on a homiletic interpretation of their names, these three biblical figures are deemed to be the same person.
He is called Nebat,
he is called Micah,
and he is called Sheba, son of Bichri.
Nebat, who looked [nibat] but did not see, believed that he was destined for greatness, and that was achieved only by his son.
Micah, who was crushed [nitmakhmekh] in the building of the storage cities of Pithom and Raamses, was miraculously saved.
And what is his actual name? His name is Sheba, son of Bichri.
Three Biblical Figures Who Misinterpreted Their Prophetic Occurences and Visions: Nebat, Ahithophel, and Pharaoh's Astrologers
A baraita teaches that three biblical figures—Nebat (Jeroboam’s father, discussed also in earlier section, above), Ahithophel,3 and the astrologers4 of the Pharaoh of the Book of Exodus —misinterpreted prophetic occurences, mistakenly thinking they indicated power for themselves or their people in the short-term, when they really indicated something much farther into the future:
Nebat (Jeroboam’s father) saw fire emerging from his penis5 and assumed it meant he would become king, but it actually signified that his descendant, Jeroboam, would rule.
Ahithophel saw glowing (זרחה) tzara’at on his penis and believed it meant he would rule, but it actually signified that his granddaughter Bathsheba, who would be the mother of King Solomon.
Pharaoh’s astrologers saw that Israel’s savior would suffer from water. Pharaoh interpreted this as a need to drown Israelite sons, hoping to prevent Israel's redemption. However, the astrological fate actually referred to Moses being barred from entering Israel due to his actions (hitting the rock) at the waters of Meribah.
Each figure failed to understand the true meaning behind their prophetic occurences, leading to misjudgments about their fates or legacies.
תנו רבנן:
שלשה ניבטו ולא ראו, ואלו הן:
נבט
ואחיתופל
ואיצטגניני פרעה
נבט --
ראה אש שיוצאת מאמתו
הוא סבר, איהו מליך
ולא היא, ירבעם הוא דנפק מיניה
אחיתופל --
ראה צרעת שזרחה לו על אמתו
הוא סבר, איהו מלך
ולא היא, בת שבע בתו הוא, דנפקא מינה שלמה
איצטגניני פרעה --
דאמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא:
מאי דכתיב (במדבר כ, יג):
"המה מי מריבה"
המה שראו איצטגניני פרעה וטעו
ראו שמושיען של ישראל במים הוא לוקה
אמר (שמות א, כב):
"כל הבן הילוד היאורה תשליכוהו"
והן לא ידעו שעל עסקי מי מריבה לוקה
[...]
The Sages taught in a baraita:
Three looked but did not see and as a result were mistaken in their prognostications. And these are they:
Nebat,
and Ahithophel,
and the astrologers of Pharaoh.
The Gemara elaborates:
Nebat —
saw fire that emerges from his penis.
He thought that it meant that he would rule.
But that is not so. It meant that it would be Jeroboam who would emerge from him and rule.
Ahithophel —
saw leprosy that glowed on his penis
and he thought that he would rule.
But it is not so. Instead from Bathsheba his daughter, i.e., his son’s daughter, came Solomon the king.
The astrologers of Pharaoh —
saw and were mistaken, as R' Ḥama, son of R' Ḥanina, says:
What is the meaning of that which is written: “These are the waters of contention” (Numbers 20:13)?
These are the waters that the astrologers of Pharaoh saw, and they erred concerning them.
As they saw in the stars that the savior of Israel would be stricken by water,
Pharaoh said:
“Every son that is born you shall cast into the river” (Exodus 1:22), assuming that any potential savior would be drowned.
And they did not know that it was over matters involving the waters of Meribah that Moses would be stricken and would not be allowed to enter Eretz Yisrael.
[...]
Yorov’am in the original Hebrew.
For interpretations of names in the Talmud that involve wordplay, as well as the the talmudic trope of the identification of multiple biblical figures as a single character (see following section), refer to my piece on my Academia page.
ניבט - nibat. Presumably, this specificaly means a prophetic vision. A prophetic occurence of Jeroboam’s father —Nebat — is discussed in the next section.
Counselor of King David; notably, one of the four biblical “commoners" listed in the Mishnah as having no share in the world to come, see my previous piece on the Mishnah that this Talmudic sugya is elaborating on (cited at the beginning of this piece).
אמתו - literally: “his forearm”, a common talmudic euphemism for penis. For example, see the line in Niddah.13a.8 (which I quote here):
תניא,
רבי אליעזר אומר:
כל האוחז באמתו ומשתין,
כאילו מביא מבול לעולם
taught in a baraita that
R’ Eliezer says:
With regard to anyone who holds his penis (אמתו) and urinates,
it is considered as though he is bringing a Flood (מבול) to the world,