Pt2 Elisha Narratives in II Kings 2-8, From Failure to Accompany to Failure to Reprove Gently: Jericho’s Youths, Bethel’s Bears, Gehazi, and the Principle of Measured Rejection (Sotah 46b-47a)
This is the second and final part of a two-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.
Part 2
Baraita - Elisha became ill 3 times: for inciting the bears against the children, for pushing Gehazi away with both hands, and the illness from which he died
תנו רבנן,
שלשה חלאין חלה אלישע:
אחד
שגירה דובים בתינוקות,
ואחד
שדחפו לגחזי בשתי ידים,
ואחד
שמת בו
§ A baraita states:
Elisha fell ill three times:
One
was a punishment for inciting the bears to attack the children;
and one
was a punishment for pushing Gehazi away with both hands, without leaving him the option to return;
and one
was the sickness from which he died
Prooftext - II Kings 13:14
שנאמר:
״ואלישע חלה את חליו
אשר ימות בו״.
as an expression of illness is stated three times in the verse about Elisha:
“And Elisha became sick [ḥala] with his illness [ḥolyo]
from which he would die” (II Kings 13:14).
The root ḥet, lamed, heh, which indicates illness, is used twice in this verse, and it is stated once that Elisha will die.
Baraita - One’s left hand should push away while the right draws close
תנו רבנן:
לעולם תהא
שמאל
דוחה
וימין
מקרבת,
A baraita states:
It should always be
the left, weaker, hand
that pushes another away
and the right, stronger, hand
that draws him near.
In other words, even when a student is rebuffed, he should be given the opportunity to return.
This is contrasted with Elisha toward Gehazi and Yehoshua ben Peraḥya toward Jesus, who pushed away with “both hands”
לא כאלישע
שדחפו לגחזי בשתי ידיו,
ולא כיהושע בן פרחיה
שדחפו לישו הנוצרי מתלמידיו בשתי ידיו.
This is not like Elisha,
who pushed Gehazi away with both hands,
and not like Yehoshua ben Peraḥya,
who pushed Jesus the Nazarene, one of his students, away with both hands.
The incident with Elisha - II Kings 5:23, 26
אלישע מאי היא?
דכתיב:
״ויאמר נעמן:
הואל
קח ככרים״,
The Talmud specifies: What was that incident with Elisha?
As it is written:
“And Naaman said:
Pray,
take talents” (II Kings 5:23).
וכתיב:
״ויאמר אליו:
לא לבי הלך
כאשר הפך איש מעל מרכבתו לקראתך?!
העת
לקחת את הכסף
ולקחת בגדים
וזיתים
וכרמים
וצאן
ובקר
ועבדים
ושפחות?!״.
Naaman offered Gehazi payment for the help Elisha had given him, and when the verse recounts Elisha’s words to Gehazi, it is written:
“And he said to him:
Did not my heart go,
when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you?!
Is it a time
to take money,
and to take garments,
and olives,
and vineyards,
and sheep,
and oxen,
and servants,
and female slaves?!” (II Kings 5:26).
Here Elisha criticizes Gehazi for taking the payment.
R’ Yitzḥak - Elisha was studying the laws of the 8 creeping things when he rebuked Gehazi; listing 8 items shows he told Gehazi he was now receiving his (divine) reward for that study - II Kings 5:26–27
ומי שקיל כולי האי?!
כסף ובגדים הוא דשקיל!
אמר רבי יצחק:
באותה שעה
היה אלישע עוסק בשמנה שרצים,
אמר לו:
רשע!
הגיע עת ליטול שכר שמנה שרצים.
The Talmud clarifies the criticism: And did he take all that?!
But it was only money and garments that he took.
R’ Yitzḥak says:
At that time,
Elisha was engaged in the study of the topic of the 8 impure creeping animals.1
He said to Gehazi:
Wicked one!
it is time for you to receive now, in this temporal world, the reward for studying the topic of the 8 impure creeping animals.2
R’ Yoḥanan - Identifies the 4 metzoraim outside the city as Gehazi and his 3 sons - II Kings 7:3
״וצרעת נעמן תדבק בך ובזרעך לעולם״.
״וארבעה אנשים היו מצרעים״,
אמר רבי יוחנן:
זה גחזי ושלשת בניו.
The Talmud adds parenthetically that Elisha also said to Gehazi: “And the tzara’at of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your descendants forever” (II Kings 5:27),
and that the verse later states: “Now there were 4 leprous men” (II Kings 7:3),
about whom R’ Yoḥanan says:
This is referring to Gehazi and his 3 sons.
R’ Yoḥanan - Explains that Elisha went to Damascus in order to bring Gehazi back to repentance, but Gehazi refused, citing a maxim learned from Elisha about one who sins and causes the many to sin - II Kings 8:7
״ויבא אלישע דמשק״.
למה הלך?
אמר רבי יוחנן:
שהלך להחזירו לגחזי בתשובה,
ולא חזר.
אמר לו: חזור בך!
אמר לו:
כך מקובלני ממך,
כל מי ש
חטא
והחטיא את הרבים —
אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה
The verse states: “And Elisha came to Damascus” (II Kings 8:7).
The Talmud asks: For what purpose did he go there?
R’ Yoḥanan says:
He went to help Gehazi in repentance,
but Gehazi would not agree to repent from his evil ways.
Elisha said to him: Return from your sins!
Gehazi said to him:
This is the tradition that I received from you:
Whoever
sins
and caused the masses to sin (החטיא את הרבים) —
is not given the opportunity to repent.3
Gehazi’s sins
Using a magnetic stone to suspend Jeroboam’s calf
מאי עבד?
איכא דאמרי:
אבן שואבת תלה לו לחטאת ירבעם,
והעמידו בין שמים לארץ.
The Talmud asks: What did Gehazi do that caused the masses to sin?
There are those who say that he hung a magnetic4 rock on Jeroboam’s calf, the golden calf that Jeroboam established as an idol,5
and used a magnet to pull the calf off the ground so that he suspended it between heaven and earth, i.e., caused it to hover above the ground.
This seemingly miraculous occurrence caused the people to worship it even more devoutly.
Engraving the divine name (=Tetragrammaton) so it “spoke” the first two of the Ten Commandments
ואיכא דאמרי:
שם חקק לה אפומה,
והיתה אומרת:
״אנכי״
ו״לא יהיה לך״.
And there are those who say:
He engraved (חקק) the sacred name on its mouth,
and it would say:
and: “You shall not have other gods” (Exodus 20:2).
The idol would quote the two prohibitions from the Ten Commandments against idol worship, causing people to worship it even more devoutly.
Pushing disciples away from Elisha and limiting access to him
ואיכא דאמרי:
רבנן דחה מקמיה,
דכתיב:
״ויאמרו בני הנביאים אל אלישע:
הנה נא המקום אשר אנחנו ישבים שם לפניך צר ממנו״,
מכלל דעד האידנא —
לא הוה דחיק
[...]
And there are those who say:
Gehazi pushed the rabbis away from coming before him,
preventing them learning from Elisha, as it is written,
after the aforementioned incident: “And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha:
behold this place where we are staying before you is too cramped for us” (II Kings 6:1).
This proves by inference that until that time —
the place was not cramped,
as Gehazi would turn people away.
[...]
R’ Shimon ben Elazar - With respect to the (evil) inclination, a child, and a woman, one should “push with the left and draw close with the right”
תניא,
רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר:
יצר,
תינוק,
ואשה —
תהא
שמאל
דוחה
וימין
מקרבת
It is taught in a baraita that R’ Shimon ben Elazar says:
With regard to the evil inclination (יצר),
to a child,
and to a woman,
the left hand
should reject
and the right hand
should welcome.6
Appendix 1 - The story of R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya and his student Jesus (Sotah 47a)
R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya flight to Alexandria
יהושע בן פרחיה מאי היא —
כדהוה קא קטיל ינאי מלכא לרבנן,
שמעון בן שטח (אטמינהו) [אטמרתיה] אחתיה,
רבי יהושע בן פרחיה אזל ערק לאלכסנדריא של מצרים.
The Talmud returns to the incident in which Yehoshua ben Peraḥya turned away Jesus the Nazarene: What is this incident?
When King Yannai was killing the Sages,
Shimon ben Shataḥ was hidden by his sister, Yannai’s wife,8
while R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya went and fled to Alexandria of Egypt.
Shimon ben Shataḥ’s letter to R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya
כי הוה שלמא,
שלח ליה שמעון בן שטח:
מני ירושלים עיר הקודש
לך אלכסנדריא של מצרים:
אחותי!
בעלי שרוי בתוכך,
ואני יושבת שוממה!
אמר: שמע מינה הוה ליה שלמא.
When peace was made between Yannai and the Sages, Shimon ben Shataḥ sent him the following letter:
From myself, Jerusalem the holy city,
to you, Alexandria of Egypt.
My sister!
my husband dwells within you,
and I am sitting desolate.
R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said: I can learn from it that there is peace, and I can return.
R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya at the inn
כי אתא,
אקלע לההוא אושפיזא,
קם קמייהו ביקרא שפיר,
עבדי ליה יקרא טובא,
יתיב וקא משתבח:
כמה נאה אכסניא זו!
When he came back to Eretz Yisrael, R’ Yehoshua arrived at a certain inn.9
The innkeeper stood before him, honoring (יקרא) him considerably (שפיר),
and overall they accorded him great honor.
R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then sat and was praising (משתבח) them by saying:
How beautiful is this inn!10
Jesus’ faux pas and consequent excommunication
אמר ליה ישו הנוצרי:
רבי!
עיניה טרוטות.
אמר ליה:
רשע!
בכך אתה עוסק?!
אפיק ארבע מאה שפורי ושמתיה.
Jesus the Nazarene, one of his students, said to him:
My teacher!
but the eyes of the innkeeper’s wife are narrow11
R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said to him:
Wicked one!
is this what you are engaged in, gazing at women?!
He brought out 400 shofarot and excommunicated him.12
the misinterpreted hand-gesture during Shema
כל יומא אתא לקמיה
ולא קבליה.
יומא חד הוה קרי קרית שמע,
אתא לקמיה.
הוה בדעתיה לקבוליה,
אחוי ליה בידיה,
סבר מדחא דחי ליה,
אזל זקף לבינתא
פלחא.
Every day Jesus would come before him,
but he would not accept his wish to return.
One day,
R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya was reciting Shema when Jesus came before him.
He intended to accept him on this occasion,
so he signaled (אחוי) to him with his hand to wait.
Jesus thought he was rejecting (מדחא) him entirely.
He therefore went and stood up a brick (לבינתא)
and worshipped it (פלחא) as an idol.
Jesus’ response: R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya taught him the principle that one who sins and causes others to sin is barred from repentance
אמר ליה:
חזור בך!
אמר ליה:
כך מקובלני ממך,
כל החוטא ומחטיא את הרבים —
אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה.
R’ Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said to him:
Return from your sins!
Jesus said to him:
This is the tradition that I received from you:
Anyone who sins and causes the masses to sin --
is not given the opportunity to repent.
Jesus’ sorcery, sins, and causing others to sin
דאמר מר:
ישו הנוצרי
כישף
והסית
והדיח
והחטיא את ישראל
The Talmud explains how he caused the masses to sin: For the Master said:
Jesus the Nazarene
performed sorcery (כישף),
and he incited13 the masses,
and subverted the masses,
and caused the Jewish people to sin.
Appendix 2 - Homiletic Readings Organized by Biblical Verse (Kings)
II Kings 2:19 — “Behold, the situation of the city is pleasant… but the water is bad”
R. Ḥanin
Question: How can the city be “pleasant” if the water is bad and causes miscarriage?
Reading: “Pleasant” refers not to objective conditions but to the affection people have for their own place. → “The grace of a place is upon its inhabitants.”
R. Yoḥanan
Expands the principle: There are three forms of “grace” that make people overlook faults:
The grace of a place on its inhabitants.
The grace of a woman on her husband.
The grace of a purchased item on its buyer.
II Kings 2:23 — “And he went up from there to Bethel… young lads came out”
R. Yoḥanan citing R. Meir
Moral reading (not linguistic): Had the people of Jericho accompanied Elisha, the incident with the youths would never have happened. The taunt “Go up, baldhead” is read as: → “Go up (get out), because you have ‘made the place bald’ (bereft) for us”—you ruined our livelihood by healing Jericho’s waters.
R. Elazar — meaning of “נְעָרִים קְטַנִּים”
“נְעָרִים” (lads) = מְנוּעָרִים — “emptied” of mitzvot.
“קְטַנִּים” (young) = “small in faith,” lacking trust that they would find new livelihood after Elisha’s healing.
Baraita
They were actually grown youth, but they debased themselves like little children.
Rav Yosef’s challenge and resolution
Could “נְעָרִים קְטַנִּים” mean from the town of Ne’oran (as “נערה קטנה” in II Kings 5:2 is read)?
Resolution: No — because in our verse their city is already specified Jericho), so the double-term must describe their qualities, not their origin.
II Kings 2:24 — “He turned, saw them, and cursed them…” and the two bears
What did Elisha “see”? — Four readings
Rav: He literally fixed his gaze on them (a destructive “setting of the eyes”).
Baraita — R. Shimon b. Gamliel: General principle: Whenever sages “set their eyes” on someone, the result is death or poverty.
Shmuel: He saw that all their mothers conceived them on Yom Kippur (ie. from forbidden sex).
R. Yitzḥak Nappaḥa: He saw they had “blorit” hair—a pagan style.
R. Yoḥanan: He saw they possessed no “moisture of mitzva” whatsoever.
R. Elazar (expanding R. Yoḥanan): Not only they, but also their descendants to the end of generations would be devoid of mitzvot.
Two miracles or one? — Rav and Shmuel
One miracle: The forest already existed; only bears were created.
Miracle within a miracle: Neither forest nor bears had existed.
Purpose of the forest
Bears will not attack in the open. The forest was needed to enable the attack.
R. Ḥanina — Why 42 children?
Parallel with Balak’s 42 offerings (Numbers 23–24). The 42 deaths correspond to his 42 sacrifices.
II Kings 5:2 — “A young minor girl (na‘ara ketana)” (side discussion)
R. Pedat
Resolves the double term “נערה קטנה”: → “A minor girl from the town of Ne’oran.” (Used only to show why this reading does not apply to II Kings 2:23.)
II Kings 5:23–27 — Gehazi and Naaman’s gifts
R. Yitzḥak
Why does Elisha list eight items (silver, garments, olive trees, vineyards, sheep, cattle, slaves, maidservants)?
Because Elisha had been studying the laws of eight creeping creatures, and he tells Gehazi:
→ These eight items represent the misdirected reward he is now receiving for that Torah.
II Kings 6:1 — “The place is too narrow for us”
Interpretive reading (anonymous tradition)
This verse implies that previously the place was not cramped — because Gehazi had driven students away from accessing Elisha. Only after Gehazi’s removal do students gather in such numbers that the place becomes crowded.
II Kings 7:3 — “Four men who were metzoraim”
R. Yoḥanan
Identified as Gehazi and his three sons, fulfilling Elisha’s curse (see above).
II Kings 8:7 — “Elisha came to Damascus”
R. Yoḥanan
This verse is read as indicating that Elisha went specifically to bring Gehazi back to repentance.
Gehazi refused, citing Elisha’s own teaching: “He who sins and causes the many to sin is not afforded the opportunity to repent.”
II Kings 13:14 — “Elisha became ill with the illness from which he would die”
Baraita
The triple mention of illness = Elisha suffered three illnesses, each tied to a moral failing:
For inciting the bears.
For pushing Gehazi away with both hands.
The final illness from which he died.
שמנה שרצים - “Eight sheratzim”.
See Wikipedia (at that link):
[T]he eight sheratzim (Hebrew שמונה שרצים), typically translated as the “eight creeping things“, are animals described in Leviticus 11:29–30, which have special laws in regard to ritual impurity and Shabbat.
See especially the Mishnah in Shabbat.14.1 (=Shabbat.107a.5):
שמנה שרצים האמורים בתורה —
הצדן
והחובל בהן
חייב
With regard to any of the 8 creeping animals (שרצים) mentioned in the Torah —
one who traps them (צדן)
or wounds (חובל) them on Shabbat —
is liable.
The Torah states: “The following shall be impure for you among the creeping animals that swarm upon the earth: The weasel, and the mouse, and the dab lizard of every variety; and the gecko, and the land-crocodile, and the lizard, and the skink, and the chameleon” (Leviticus 11:29–30).
ושאר שקצים ורמשים —
החובל בהן פטור
With regard to other abominations and crawling things (שקצים ורמשים) —
one who wounds them is exempt.
Ed. Steinsaltz explains:
This is why the verse lists 8 items.
Referring to the goods rhetorically listed by Elisha to Gehazi in II Kings 5:26, quoted in the previous section (“The incident with Elisha - II Kings 5:23, 26“), see my numbering there.
This line is found in the Mishnah in Avot, see my “Pt2 Aggadic Lists of Ten, Seven, Four, and Two Items in Tractate Avot Chapter 5 (Avot 5:1-19)“, section “Influence - 2 outcomes - One who benefits the public is protected from sin (Moses - Deut. 33:21); one who causes others to sin is denied repentance (Jeroboam - I Kings 15:30) (5:18)“:
וכל המחטיא את הרבים --
אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה
[…]
ירבעם --
חטא והחטיא את הרבים,
חטא הרבים תלוי בו,
שנאמר (מלכים א טו)
על חטאות ירבעם (בן נבט)
אשר חטא ואשר החטיא את ישראל
Whoever causes the multitudes to sin,
they do not give him the ability to repent.
[…]
Jeroboam —
sinned and caused the multitudes to sin,
[therefore] the sin of the multitudes is hung on him,
as it is said,
“For the sins of Jeroboam
which he sinned, and which he caused Israel to sin [thereby]” (I Kings 15:30).
שואבת - literally: “pulling, drawing”.
It’s not certain that the Talmud means here that this was literally a magnet; the intention here is likely that magic and/or divine names were used to levitate the cows.
On the use of divine names to levitate something, compare my “Pt2 R’ Yehoshua ben Ḥananya’s Riddle Contest With the Athenian Philosophers (Bekhorot 8b-9a)“, section “5 - Athenian Challenge: Build a house in midair; R’ Yehoshua’s Response: He levitates (via the Tetragrammaton) and tells them to bring bricks up to him“, and the note there.
And notice that the same idiom for is used there (and in the other passage that I cite there), to refer to levitating: “hanging between heaven and earth”.
See my discussion of this in a footnote in “Clans Who Brought Wood to the Second Temple in Secret: Stories of Subterfuge Under Foreign Religious Persecution (Taanit 28a)“, on section “A foreign royal decree forbade the bringing of wood for the altar and first fruits to Jerusalem“, where I write:
The idea that Jeroboam place guards to prevent pilgrimage is based on I Kings 12:26–33, where Jeroboam reasons that continued pilgrimage to Jerusalem will cause Israel to return to Rehoboam; he therefore sets up golden calves in Bethel and Dan and tells the people: “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.”
See the summary at Wikipedia, “1 Kings 12“, section “State worship in Bethel and Dan (12:25–33)“.
And see also the Talmud ibid., section “Moral Evaluation - The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing,” referring to these loyal families, while “the name of the wicked shall rot” applies to Jeroboam who obstructed proper worship - Proverbs 10:7“.
Ed. Steinsaltz explains:
If one pushes too forcefully, the damage might be irreversible.
Meaning, one has to act with sensitivity towards them, and not be too aggressive, as being too aggressive can backfire and be counterproductive.
Compare the Talmud Yerushalmi’s version of this story, in my “From Alexandria to Ashkelon: Talmudic Stories About Yehuda ben Tabbai, Shimon ben Shetah, and Hasidim (Jerusalem Talmud Chagigah 2:2, #5-6) - Pt1“, section “Part #1 - Yehuda ben Tabbai in Alexandria“, where I summarize:
In this Talmudic tale, the people of Jerusalem seek to appoint Yehuda ben Tabbai as Patriarch (Nasi) but he flees to Alexandria, a major Roman city in Egypt, evading the position. Subsequently, the community of Jerusalem sends a poignant message to Alexandria, likening themselves to a sorrowful betrothed waiting for their partner. Moved by this message, Yehuda decides to return to Jerusalem.
While preparing to leave on a ship, Yehuda reminisces about a hospitable woman (מרתה דביתא) from their host city. When he inquires about her well-being, his student mentions that she had an injured eye. Yehuda rebukes the student sharply for his comments, accusing him of improper conduct: firstly, for wrongly suspecting Yehuda’s intentions in his inquiry about the woman, suggesting a concern for her physical appearance rather than her welfare; and secondly, for inappropriately observing the woman so closely as to notice her injury. Disturbed by this exchange, Yehuda departs (or the student departs, it’s unclear), taking offense. (The Talmud Bavli has this story happening with R’ Yehoshua ben Perahia and Jesus.)
Referring to Salome Alexandra. She’s mentioned elsewhere in the Talmud and rabbinic literature by name, see Hebrew Wikipedia, “שלומציון המלכה“, section “שלומציון בספרות חז”ל“.
And see Sotah.22b.6:
אמר לה ינאי מלכא לדביתיה:
אל תתיראי מן הפרושין,
ולא ממי שאינן פרושין,
אלא מן הצבועין שדומין לפרושין,
שמעשיהן כמעשה זמרי
ומבקשין שכר כפנחס
The Talmud relates:
King Yannai said to his wife before he died:
Do not be afraid of the Pharisees [perushin],
and neither should you fear from those who are not Pharisees, i.e., the Sadducees;
rather, beware of the hypocrites (צבועין) who appear like Pharisees,
אושפיזא - from Latin hospice.
אכסניא - from Greek xenia. Can also be translated here as “hospitality”; i.e. “how great is this hospitality!”. Jesus misunderstood the xenia as referring to the actual hostess.
terutot.
On this word, to describe a woman’s eyes, see also in my “Ugly Wives and Spiteful Husbands: Talmudic Farce in a Misogynistic Key (Nedarim 66a-b)“, section “A (comical) listing of the wife’s ugliness - a List of 10 items“.
And see also the same word used to describe a problem with the eyes, in my “Hillel vs. the Heckler: A Friday Afternoon Challenge to Hillel’s Composure and Physical Anthropology in the Talmud (Shabbat 31a)“, section “Why Do the Residents of Tadmor Have Bleary Eyes? Due to Living in Sandy Terrain“, and see notes and appendix there.
שמתיה.
On the use of shofar blasts as a ritual act to excommunicate, see my “From Admonishment to Excommunication: The Talmudic Laws of Ostracism (Moed Katan 16a-b) - Pt.2“, section “Story #1 - “a certain Butcher” disrespecting Rav Tuvi bar Mattana“, where I summarize:
The Talmudic story recounts a situation involving an unnamed butcher who disrespected Rav Tuvi bar Mattana (a 3rd generation Babylonian amora). As a result, Abaye and Rava, acting as judges, decided to ostracize (shamta - שמתא) the butcher. After some time, the butcher sought to make amends with Rav Tuvi, prompting a legal and ethical dilemma regarding the lifting of his ostracism.
Abaye, uncertain about whether to release the butcher from ostracism before the typical thirty-day period was up, consulted with Rav Idi bar Avin. Rav Idi recalled a teaching from Shmuel, which stated that a shofar blast, used both to initiate and dissolve an ostracism, could end the ostracism early. This seemed like a potential solution to enable the Sages to access the butcher’s shop for meat, which they desired.
And compare the same trope of 1,000 shofar blasts for excommunication, in my “Explosive Endings: Two Talmudic Tales of Supernaturally Killing Via Explosion (Shabbat 30b and Moed Katan 17a-b)“, section “Story of Excommunicating and supernaturally killing a violent person (Moed Katan 17a-b)“, where I summarize:
This story involves an unnamed violent person (אלמא) harassing a Torah scholar. The scholar sought Rav Yosef’s advice, who instructed him to excommunicate the aggressor.
Fearful of further harassment, Rav Yosef suggested a supernatural method:
Put the written ostracism in a jug.
Place the jug in a cemetery
Sound 1,000 shofar blasts over the course of 40 days.
The scholar executed this method, the jug burst, and the violent man died.
הסית.
This is the typical technical term used for inciting others to idolatry. Typically collocated, as here, with the term הדיח.
See Wikipedia, “Maisit“:
The Torah distinguishes two types of enticers to idolatry: mesit (Hebrew: מסית) (Deut. 13:7) is a Jew who seduces an individual to idolatry, while a madiach (מדיח) (Deut. 13:14) is someone who publicly entices many into idolatry.
An enticer to idolatry may be both.
Enticement to idolatry in Judaism is a capital offence under [halacha].