This is the second part of a three-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.
Question from Araunah’s animals being accepted by David for sacrifice - II Samuel 24:22
תא שמע:
״ויאמר ארונה אל דוד:
יקח ויעל אדני המלך (את) הטוב בעינו
(ואת) [ראה] הבקר לעלה
והמרגים וכלי הבקר לעצים״
Come and hear another objection from a verse:
“And Araunah said to David:
Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good unto him;
behold the cattle for the burnt-offering,
and the threshing instruments1 and the accoutrements of the cattle for the wood” (II Samuel 24:22).
Apparently, David was willing to accept oxen as offerings from a non-Jew.
Rav Naḥman - Araunah’s animals could be accepted because Araunah was a ger toshav, who observed the Noahide prohibition against bestiality
אמר רב נחמן:
ארונה גר תושב היה.
Rav Naḥman says:
Araunah was a ger toshav (=non-Jew who resides in Eretz Yisrael and observes the 7 Noahide mitzvot)
The 7 Noahide mitzvot include the prohibition against engaging in bestiality, and therefore Araunah was not suspected of this practice.
Ulla - The biblical morigim were serrated threshing boards - II Samuel 24:22
מאי מורגים?
אמר עולא:
מטה של טורביל.
Tangentially, the Talmud asks: What is the meaning of the term “morigim,” mentioned in this verse?
Ulla said:
It is a turbil2 bed.
מאי מטה של טורביל?
עיזא דקורקסא דדיישן.
The Talmud asks: What is a turbil bed?
Rav Yosef - The verse in Isaiah validates the fact that morag means a toothed threshing implement - Isaiah 41:15
אמר רב יוסף:
מאי קרא?
Rav Yosef said:
What is the verse
from which the meaning of morigim is derived?
״הנה שמתיך למורג חרוץ חדש
בעל פיפיות
תדוש הרים
ותדק
וגבעות כמץ תשים״.
It is derived from the verse:
“Behold, I have made you a new threshing board [morag]
having sharp teeth (פיפיות);
you shall thresh the mountains,
and pulverize [them],
and shall make the hills as chaff” (Isaiah 41:15).
Question from the sacrifice of the Philistines’ cows after the Ark’s return - I Samuel 6:14
מיתיבי:
״ואת הפרות העלו עלה לה׳״
The Talmud raises an objection to the opinion of R’ Eliezer. After the Philistines returned the Ark of the Covenant to the Israelites upon a cart drawn by cattle, the verse states:
“And they sacrificed the cattle as a burnt-offering unto YHWH” (I Samuel 6:14).
Evidently, the Jews did not hesitate to sacrifice the Philistines’ animals.
That was an exceptional temporary ruling, not ordinary law
הוראת שעה היתה.
The Talmud explains:
There, it was a provisional edict issued in extraordinary circumstances,
and their actions are not representative of the general halakha.
הכי נמי מסתברא,
דאי לא תימא הכי,
עולה נקבה מי איכא?
The Talmud adds: This also stands to reason,
as, if you do not say so, one can raise a further difficulty with this episode:
Is there a female burnt-offering?
Only males may be sacrificed as burnt-offerings. Since the Jews sacrificed the cows as burnt-offerings, it is clear that they were acting unconventionally due to extenuating circumstances.
Rav Adda bar Ahava - A female burnt-offering is permitted on a private altar, as Samuel sacrificed a nursing lamb - I Samuel 7:9
ומאי קושיא?
דלמא בבמת יחיד,
וכדרב אדא בר אהבה,
דאמר רב אדא בר אהבה:
מנין לעולה נקבה שהיא כשרה בבמת יחיד?
שנאמר:
״ויקח שמואל טלה חלב אחד
ויעלהו עולה״.
The Talmud rejects this proof: And what is the difficulty?
In other words, the additional problem with the incident, that the animals were female, which is cited as proof that there were extenuating circumstances, is not in fact difficult at all.
The Talmud elaborates: Perhaps the cows were offered upon a private altar,
and this is in accordance with the opinion of Rav Adda bar Ahava,
as Rav Adda bar Ahava says:
From where is it derived that a female burnt-offering is fit to be sacrificed upon a private altar?
As it is stated:
“And Samuel took a milking lamb,
and sacrificed it [va-ya’alehu] for a burnt-offering unto YHWH” (I Samuel 7:9).
The phrase “milking lamb” indicates that it was a female, and yet Samuel sacrificed it upon a private altar.
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak - Although the word describing Samuel’s sacrifice is read as grammatical masculine, it is written in a grammatical feminine form (supporting the permissibility of a female burnt-offering on a private altar) - I Samuel 7:9
״ויעלהו״ —
זכר משמע!
The Talmud raises a difficulty:
But the word va-ya’alehu is masculine,
which means that the lamb was a male.
אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק:
״ויעלה״ כתיב.
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak says:
Although the word is read in the masculine, it is written in the feminine form, va-ya’alah,
which teaches that even a female lamb may be sacrificed on a private altar.
R’ Yoḥanan - A female animal under 3 years old becomes barren when sexually penetrated, while one aged 3 or older does not (therefore non-Jews refrain from bestiality with younger animals)
רבי יוחנן אמר:
גבול יש לה:
פחותה מבת שלש שנים —
נעקרת,
בת שלש שנים —
אינה נעקרת.
§ After concluding its discussion of the opinion of R’ Eliezer, the Talmud cites another resolution of the contradiction between the Mishnah and the baraita.
R’ Yoḥanan says:
There is a clear demarcation in the case of an animal with whom a man engaged in bestiality:
If she is less than 3 years old,
she becomes barren as a result of penetration,
but if she is already 3 years old,
she does not become barren.
Although non-Jews are generally suspected of engaging in bestiality, the baraita rules that an animal that is less than 3 years old may be used as an offering because a non-Jew will refrain from engaging in bestiality with an animal that will become infertile as a result of his actions.
איתיביה כל הני תיובתא,
שני להו:
פחותה מבת שלש שנים.
תא שמע:
״ואת הפרות העלו עלה לה׳״ —
בפחותה מבת שלש שנים.
They raised all of those refutations from the aforementioned verses which indicate that animals purchased from non-Jews may be brought as offerings,
and he answered them by claiming that the animals being offered were less than 3 years old.
The Talmud reexamines one of the objections.
Come and hear,
as the verse states: “And they sacrificed the cattle as a burnt-offering unto YHWH” (I Samuel 6:14).
R’ Yoḥanan explained that although in that incident the cattle had been owned by Philistines, they were less than 3 years old, and it was therefore presumed that the Philistines had not engaged in bestiality with them.
Rav Huna b. Natan - Rejects R’ Yoḥanan’s explanation: the Philistine cows had calves, yet cows under 3 years old cannot have given birth - I Samuel 6:10
מתקיף לה רב הונא בריה דרב נתן:
אם כן,
היינו ״ואת בניהם כלו בבית״ —
פחותה מבת שלש שנים?
The Talmud cites a refutation of R’ Yoḥanan’s answer:
Rav Huna, son of R’ Natan, objects to this:
If so,
then this is also true with regard to the verse: “And they took two nursing cows and tied them to the cart and shut up their calves at home” (I Samuel 6:10).
According to R’ Yoḥanan, the verse is necessarily referring to cows that are less than 3 years old.
Baraita - A cow or donkey purchased before age 3 is certainly assumed not to have previously given birth; after age 3, that is uncertain
ופחותה מבת שלש שנים מי קא ילדה?
והתניא:
פרה וחמור מבת שלש —
ודאי לכהן,
מכאן ואילך —
ספק.
And can a cow that is less than 3 years old give birth?
But isn’t it taught in a baraita:
With regard to a cow or a donkey purchased from a non-Jew when they were less than 3 years old,
the first of their offspring born after the purchase is certainly reserved for the priest, who is entitled to the firstborn of a cow or donkey owned by a Jew.
From this point forward, i.e., if they were older than 3 years at the time of the sale,
it is uncertain whether or not the offspring is the firstborn.
This indicates that an animal does not bear offspring within the first 3 years of its life. Since the cows in the verse had already given birth, they could not have been less than 3 years old, as R’ Yoḥanan claimed.
אלא מחוורתא כדשנין מעיקרא.
The Talmud concludes:
Rather, it is clear as we initially answered,
i.e., R’ Yoḥanan’s suggestion is rejected, and the actions in that verse were due to a provisional edict.
R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Meir - “yisharna” means that the Philistine cows sang a song - I Samuel 6:12
״וישרנה הפרות בדרך
על דרך בית שמש וגו׳״,
§ The Talmud further analyzes the episode involving the cows sent by the Philistines. The verse states:
“And the cattle took the straight [va-yisharna] way,
on the way to Beit Shemesh;
they went along the highway, lowing as they went” (I Samuel 6:12).
מאי ״וישרנה״?
אמר רבי יוחנן, משום רבי מאיר:
שאמרו שירה.
The Talmud asks: What is the meaning of the word va-yisharna?
R’ Yoḥanan says in the name of R’ Meir:
It means that they recited a song [shira].
Rav Zutra bar Toviyya citing Rav - “yisharna” means that the cows turned their faces toward the Ark and sang - I Samuel 6:12
ורב זוטרא בר טוביה, אמר רב:
שישרו פניהם כנגד ארון
ואמרו שירה.
And Rav Zutra bar Toviyya says that Rav says:
It means that they straightened [yishru] their faces so that they were opposite the Ark
and recited a song.
R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Meir - The cows sang the Song at the Sea - Exodus 15:1
ומאי שירה אמרו?
אמר רבי יוחנן, משום רבי מאיר:
״אז ישיר משה ובני ישראל״,
The Talmud asks: And what song did they recite?
R’ Yoḥanan says in the name of R’ Meir:
They recited the song that follows the verse: “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto YHWH” (Exodus 15:1).
R’ Yoḥanan - The cows sang Isaiah’s hymn beginning “Give thanks to YHWH, proclaim His name” - Isaiah 12:4
ורבי יוחנן דידיה אמר:
״ואמרתם ביום ההוא:
הודו לה׳
קראו בשמו וגו׳״.
And R’ Yoḥanan himself says that
it was: “And on that day shall you say:
Give thanks unto YHWH,
proclaim His name,
declare His doings among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted” (Isaiah 12:4).
R’ Shimon ben Lakish - The cows sang Psalm 98
ורבי שמעון בן לקיש אמר:
מזמורא יתמא,
And R’ Shimon ben Lakish says that
it was an orphaned psalm,
i.e., a psalm whose author and the event to which it makes reference are not specified.
״מזמור
שירו לה׳ שיר חדש
כי נפלאות עשה
הושיעה לו ימינו, וזרוע קדשו״.
The psalm begins with:
“A Psalm.
O sing unto YHWH a new song,
for He has done marvelous things;
His right hand, and His holy arm, have wrought salvation for Him” (Psalms 98:1).
R’ Elazar - The cows sang Psalm 99
רבי אלעזר אמר:
״ה׳ מלך, ירגזו עמים״.
R’ Elazar says that
it was the psalm beginning with: “YHWH reigns; let the peoples tremble” (Psalms 99:1).
R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani - The cows sang Psalm 93
רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר:
״ה׳ מלך, גאות לבש״.
R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani says that
it was the Psalm beginning: “YHWH reigns; He is clothed in majesty” (Psalms 93:1).
R’ Yitzḥak Nappaḥa - The cows sang a non-biblical hymn praising the Ark as acacia wood adorned with gold and containing the Torah
רבי יצחק נפחא אמר:
״רוני רוני השיטה,
התנופפי ברוב הדרך,
המחושקת בריקמי זהב,
המהוללה בדביר ארמון,
ומפוארה בעדי עדיים״.
R’ Yitzḥak Nappaḥa says:5
Ascend (התנופפי) in all your glory;
Overlaid (מחושקת) with golden embroidery,
exalted (מהוללה) by the book [devir] of the palace,
and magnificent (מפוארה) with jewels.
Rav Ashi’s Alternative version of R’ Yitzḥak’s statement - hymn was sung by Israel when the Ark set out in the wilderness - Numbers 10:35
רב אשי מתני לה להא דרבי יצחק, אהא:
״ויהי בנסע הארן
ויאמר משה:
קומה ה׳״,
Rav Ashi teaches this statement of R’ Yitzḥak in relation to this verse:
“And it came to pass, when the Ark set forward (ויהי בנסע הארן)
that Moses said:
Rise up, O YHWH,
and let Your enemies be scattered” (Numbers 10:35).7
ישראל מאי אמרו?
אמר רבי יצחק:
״רוני רוני השיטה״ וכו׳.
The Talmud asks: What did the Jewish people recite at this juncture?
R’ Yitzḥak says that they recited:
Sing, sing, acacia,
etc.
טורביל - from Latin and Greek.
On this word, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “טוּרְבִּיל”:
(tribulum, τρίβολος [tribolos])
only in מִטָּה של טורביל threshing sledge (couch) consisting of a wooden platform studded underneath with sharp pieces of flint or with iron teeth.
Avodah Zarah 24b:5 (Arukh and Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 122 טרבן);
Menachot 22a Manuscript Munich (printed edition: טרבל), see דַּיְשָׁאָה.
On this implement, see Wikipedia, “Threshing board“:
A threshing board, also known as “threshing sledge,” is an obsolete agricultural implement used to separate cereals from their straw; that is, to thresh.
It is a thick board, made with a variety of slats, with a shape between rectangular and trapezoidal, with the frontal part somewhat narrower and curved upward (like a sled or sledge) and whose bottom is covered with lithic flakes or razor-like metal blades.
And see ibid., section “Classical Greece and Rome“:
During the early history of Greece and Rome the threshing board was not used. Only after the development of commerce (with occurred in the 5th and 4th centuries in Greece and 2nd and 1st centuries in Rome) and the subsequent transmission of information from the near east that it became widely used.
According to V.V. Struve, who cites, in part, verses of The Iliad, the Greeks of the 8th century BCE threshed cereals by trampling them with oxen […]
In Rome, the threshing board had only economic significance, without the religious symbolism it took on in the Hebrew Bible. The treatises of agriculture written by Roman experts as Cato, Varro, Columella and Pliny the Elder […] touch the topic of threshing.
קורקסא - kurkesa.
On this word (and the coordinate term), see Jastrow (modernized), entry “קוּרְקְסָא”:
Aramaic same.
*עיזא דק׳ ‘a goat with hooks’, name of a threshing sledge (see טוּרְבֵּיל).
Menachot 22a:5 (Manuscript Rome: 1 קורפסא, 2 קורקסאי, see Rabbinowicz, ‘Dikdukei Sofrim’ there, note 100);
Zevachim 116b:13 קוּרְקְסֵי Manuscript Munich (printed edition: קרקשא, Rashi קורקשא).
Plural: קוּרְקְסַיָּא, קוּרְקְסֵי, קוּרְקוֹס׳,
Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 9:4:4 אין אתין … ק׳ דאפותיקיא דידי (ed. Krot. קי׳; Arukh קר׳) if all the camels of Arabia came together, they could not carry the clasps (bolts) of my treasuries.
Jerusalem Talmud Peah 3:7:5 top אשכח … על קַרְקְסוֹי found a snake wound around his locks;
Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 404:4 קוּרְקוֹסוֹי;
Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 222:8 קירקוסיי (correct accordingly).
דיישן. Cognate with Hebrew דש - “thresh, tread, trample”.
On this word, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “דַּיְשָׁאָה”:
(the preceding word) thresher.
Plural: דַּיְשָׁאֵי.
Zevachim 116b:10 [read:] דדיישין ביה ד׳ (Manuscript Munich: דדישי דִּישְׁתָּאֵי) with which the threshers thresh;
Menachot 22a:5 דדשו בה דִּשְׁתָּאֵי;
Avodah Zarah 24b (קורקסא) דדיישן printed edition (Manuscript Munich: דדייש׳ ביה דַּשְׁיָתָא);
Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 122 (קורקשא) דדְיָישָׁא, see the preceding word
Steinsaltz explains:
They did not recite a verse found in the Bible, but rather, the following song […]
The song alludes to the Ark of the Covenant, which was made of acacia wood and covered with gold. The expression “book of the palace” is a reference to the Torah scroll that was placed in the Ark.
On original poetry in the Talmud, see my previous pieces.
רוני - feminine singular imperative - “rejoice,” “sing out.” The feminine form is used throughout, and refers to the acacia ( השיטה). Doubled feminine imperative is the standard prophetic-vocative gesture: עורי עורי (Isa 51:9; Judg 5:12), רני ושמחי (Zech 2:14), קומי רני (Lam 2:19).
Form. Five cola of three words each. Colon 1-2 are imperatives, cola 3-5 are ה־ + feminine participle, and all four of cola 2-5 close with a ב־ phrase (ברוב / בריקמי / בדביר / בעדי). Terminal ־ָה assonance across השיטה / המהוללה / מפוארה.
On this verse, compare my “ ‘Sacred and Defiles the Hands’: The Canonical Status of the Biblical Books of Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs (Mishnah Yadayim 3:5)“, section “A page from a Bible scroll with at least 85 letters imparts impurity to the hands“, where I summarize:
A page from a Bible scroll (ספר / מגלה) with at least 85 letters—equivalent to the the short biblical section in Numbers 10:35-36—imparts impurity to the hands.
And see my note there.