Pt2 Talmudic Jewish Geography: The Boundaries of Babylonia, Lineage Purity, and the Cities of the Ten Lost Tribes (Kiddushin 71b-72a)
This is the second part of a three-part series. Part 1 is here, the outline can be found there.
The Glory of Lineage: Regions and Towns of Distinction in Babylonia (Sea District, Shunya, Guvya, Tzitzora, and Borsippa)
This section discusses the lineage and reputation of various regions and towns in Babylonia:
Ḥaveil Yamma1 is described by Rami bar Abba as the "glory (תכילתא) of Babylonia" in terms of lineage. Within Ḥaveil Yamma, Shunya (שוניא) and Guvya (גוביא) are recognized as particularly distinguished.
Ravina adds Tzitzora (ציצורא) to this list of prestigious towns.
A supporting baraita cites Ḥanan ben Pineḥas (חנן בן פנחס), who similarly praises Ḥaveil Yamma, including Shunya, Guvya, and Tzitzora.
Rav Pappa qualifies these claims, asserting that “nowadays” (האידנא), Samaritans (כותאי) have assimilated into these communities (thereby rendering their lineage problematic). However, the Talmud rejects Rav Pappa's assertion, stating: "This is not so. Rather, he wanted to marry one of their women, and they would not give [her] to him."2
Rav Pappa identifies Ḥaveil Yamma as “Euphrates of Bursi”.3
אמר רמי בר אבא:
חביל ימא – תכילתא דבבל.
שוניא וגוביא – תכילתא דחביל ימא.
רבינא אמר: אף ציצורא.
תניא נמי הכי,
חנן בן פנחס אומר:
חביל ימא – תכילתא דבבל,
שוניא וגוביא וציצורא – תכילתא דחביל ימא.
אמר רב פפא: והאידנא איערבי בהו כותאי.
ולא היא, איתתא הוא דבעא מינייהו, ולא יהבו ליה.
מאי חביל ימא?
אמר רב פפא: זו פרת דבורסי.
Rami bar Abba said:
The province of Ḥaveil Yamma is the glory of Babylonia with regard to lineage;
Shunya and Guvya are the glory of Ḥaveil Yamma.
Ravina said: The town of Tzitzora is also like Shunya and Guvya.
This is also taught in a baraita:
Ḥanan ben Pineḥas says:
Ḥaveil Yamma is the glory of Babylonia;
Shunya and Guvya and Tzitzora are the glory of Ḥaveil Yamma.
Rav Pappa says: And nowadays, Samaritans have assimilated with them, and their lineage is problematic.
The Gemara comments: And that is not so. Rather, one Samaritan requested to marry a woman from them and they would not give her to him, which led to the rumor that Samaritans had assimilated with them.
The Gemara asks: What is this region called Ḥaveil Yamma?
Rav Pappa said: This is the area near the Euphrates adjacent to Bursi.
"Between the Rivers" (Upper Mesopotamia): Shot Mishot
The Talmud discusses a man who stated that he was from a place called Shot Mishot (שוט מישוט).
R' Yitzḥak Nappaḥa clarified that Shot Mishot is located in the area known as “Between the Rivers”.4
The Talmud questioned the halakhic relevance of this information, and Abaye, citing R' Ḥama bar Ukva (רבי חמא בר עוקבא) in the name of R' Yosei son of R' Ḥanina, explained that the area known as “Between the Rivers” is considered like Babylonia5 concerning lineage.
The Talmud then sought to define the precise boundaries of this region.
R' Yoḥanan identified this area as northward from Ihi Dekira6 but limited it to the crossing at Gizma.
The Talmud questions: But didn’t R' Yoḥanan say (quoted earlier) that the boundary extends until the crossing at Gizma (i.e. but no further)?!
Abaye resolves the contradiction by stating that a narrow strip (רצועה) of the boundary extends beyond Ihi Dekira.
ההוא גברא דאמר להו: אנא מן שוט מישוט,
עמד רבי יצחק נפחא על רגליו ואמר: שוט מישוט בין הנהרות עומדת.
וכי בין הנהרות עומדת, מאי הוי?
אמר אביי, אמר רבי חמא בר עוקבא, אמר רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא:
בין הנהרות הרי היא כגולה ליוחסין.
והיכא קיימא?
אמר רבי יוחנן: מאיהי דקירא ולעיל.
והא אמר רבי יוחנן: עד מעברתא דגיזמא?!
אמר אביי: רצועה נפקא.
The Gemara relates:
There was a certain man who said to the Sages: I am from a place called Shot Mishot.
R' Yitzḥak Nappaḥa stood on his feet and said: Shot Mishot is located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
The Gemara asks: And if it is located between the rivers, what of it? What halakha is this relevant for?
Abaye said that R' Ḥama bar Ukva says that R' Yosei, son of R' Ḥanina, says:
The area between the rivers is like the exile, meaning Pumbedita, with regard to lineage.
The Gemara inquires: And where is the area between the rivers located for the purpose of this halakha?
R' Yoḥanan said: From Ihi Dekira and upward, i.e., northward.
The Gemara asks: But doesn’t R' Yoḥanan say: Until the crossing at Gizma but no further?!
Abaye said: A strip extends from that region past Ihi Dekira.
Lineage and Exile: Locations Linked to the Assyrian Exile of the (Lost) Ten Tribes
Part 1: The Status of Nahavand
The Talmud discusses the lineage status of Jews from Nahavand and its neighboring towns, a region associated with the Assyrian exile of the Ten (Lost) Tribes (c. late 8th century BCE).
Rav Ika bar Avin (רב איקא בר אבין) quotes Rav Ḥananel (רב חננאל), who quotes Rav, stating that the lineage of Nahavand7 is like that of Babylonia8—presumed unflawed.
However, Abaye challenges this ruling, suspecting Rav Ika’s motives, as a yevama from that area had fallen before him for levirate marriage.9
Rav Ika denies personal bias, affirming that he was merely transmitting Rav Ḥananel’s ruling. When consulted, Rav Ḥananel confirmed the statement, citing it in the name of Rav.
אמר רב איקא בר אבין אמר רב חננאל אמר רב:
חלזון ניהוונד הרי היא כגולה ליוחסין.
אמר להו אביי: לא תציתו ליה, יבמה היא דנפלה ליה התם.
אמר ליה: אטו דידי היא?! דרב חננאל היא!
אזול שיילוה לרב חננאל,
אמר להו: הכי אמר רב: חלזון ניהוונד הרי היא כגולה ליוחסין.
Rav Ika bar Avin says that Rav Ḥananel says that Rav says:
Ḥillazon Nihavnad is like the exile with regard to lineage.
Abaye said to them: Do not listen to Rav Ika bar Avin about this, as it was a yevama who fell before him from there to perform levirate marriage, and he said that its lineage was unflawed because he wished to marry her.
Rav Ika bar Avin said to him: Is that to say that this halakha is mine?! It is Rav Ḥananel’s, and it is not reasonable to say that I was influenced by my own interests in stating it.
They went and asked Rav Ḥananel.
He said to them: Rav said as follows: Ḥillazon Nihavnad is like the exile with regard to lineage.
Part 2: The Cities of the (Lost) Ten Tribes: Ḥillazon; Hadiab; Ginzak; Ḥamadan; and Nahavand
The Talmud notes that this view contradicts R' Abba bar Kahana, who interprets biblical references to the exile of the Ten (Lost) Tribes as indicating flawed lineage due to their assimilation with non-Jews.
This applies to the following places: Ḥillazon (חלזון), Hadiab (הדייב), Ginzak (גינזק), Ḥamadan (חמדן), and Nahavand.
ופליגא דרבי אבא בר כהנא.
דאמר רבי אבא בר כהנא:
מאי דכתיב: ״וינחם בחלח, ובחבור, נהר גוזן, וערי מדי״,
חלח – זו חלזון,
חבור – זו הדייב,
נהר גוזן – זו גינזק,
ערי מדי –
זו חמדן וחברותיה,
ואמרי לה: זו נהוונד וחברותיה.
The Gemara comments: And this disagrees with the statement of R' Abba bar Kahana,
as R' Abba bar Kahana says:
What is the meaning of that which is written with regard to the exile of the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel: “And he put them in Halah, and in Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes” (II Kings 18:11)?
Halah is Ḥillazon;
Habor is Hadyav;
the river of Gozan is Ginzak;
the cities of the Medes
are Ḥamadan and its neighboring towns,
and some say: This is Nihavnad and its neighboring towns.
Since the ten tribes assimilated with the gentiles, the lineage of Jews from those places is flawed, unlike that which was taught before.
Part 3: The Surrounding Towns of Nahavand: Mushekhei, Ḥosekei, and Rumekei
The discussion extends to identifying the surrounding towns10 of Nahavand, with Shmuel listing Mushekhei (מושכי), Ḥosekei (חוסקי), and Rumekei (רומקי).
R’ Yoḥanan states that all three of them have problematic (לפסול) lineage.
The Talmud questions this, citing the statement quoted also earlier11 by R’ Ḥiyya bar Avin in the name of Shmuel, who states that Mushekanei (מושכני) is the same as Babylonia (גולה) in regards to lineage.
The Talmud resolves this by saying that Mushekhei (מושכי) and Mushekanei (מושכני) are not synonymous, and refer to distinct cities.
מאי חברותיה?
אמר שמואל:
כרך מושכי,
חוסקי,
ורומקי.
אמר רבי יוחנן: וכולם לפסול.
קסלקא דעתא: מושכי היינו מושכני.
והאמר רבי חייא בר אבין אמר שמואל: מושכני הרי היא כגולה ליוחסין!
אלא מושכי לחוד, ומושכני לחוד.
The Gemara asks: What are the neighboring towns of Nihavnad?
Shmuel said:
The city of Mushekhei,
Ḥosekei,
and Rumekei.
R' Yoḥanan says: And all of these are the same with regard to flawed lineage.
It was assumed that Mushekhei is the same as Mushekanei.
The Gemara therefore asks: But doesn’t R' Ḥiyya bar Avin say that Shmuel says: Mushekanei is like the exile with regard to lineage?!
Rather, it must be that Mushekhei is discrete, and Mushekanei is discrete.
Steinsaltz explains: this rumor stemmed from a Samaritan who wanted to marry a woman from one of these towns, but they refused, making the claim unfounded.
In my opinion, a more likely interpretation is that Rav Pappa (the pronoun “he” is ambiguous) wanted to marry a woman from one of these towns, but they refused, and out of bitterness said that these towns now have problematic lineage.
בין הנהרות.
See Oppenheimer, p. 53, that the discussion here is about Upper Mesopotamia, known today as “Al-Jazira” (literally: “the island”).
See Al-Jazira (caliphal province) - Wikipedia:
Al-Jazira [...] was a province of the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, spanning at minimum most of Upper Mesopotamia (al-Jazira proper) [...]
The Jazira proper spanned the northern part of the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (Upper Mesopotamia), as well as adjacent areas and cities lying north and east of the upper Tigris, the areas around the Great and Little Zab rivers, and the strip of territory off the western banks of the Euphrates.
Compare also Wikipedia, “Beth Nahrain”:
Beth Nahrain (Syriac: […] Bêṯ Nahrīn, […]); lit. 'home of the (two) rivers' is the name for the region known as Mesopotamia in the Syriac language. Geographically, it refers to the areas between and surrounding the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (as well as their tributaries). The Aramaic name also refers to the area around the rivers, not only literally between the rivers.
This area roughly encompasses almost all of present-day Iraq, parts of southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, and, more recently, northeastern Syria.
The Assyrians are considered to be indigenous inhabitants of Beth Nahrain.
"Nahrainean" or "Nahrainian" is the anglicized name for "Nahrāyā" (Syriac: […]), which is the Aramaic equivalent of "Mesopotamian" [...]
The Aramaic name has been attested since the adoption of Old Aramaic as the lingua franca of the Neo Assyrian Empire in the 8th century BCE, but the Greek name Mesopotamia was first coined in the 2nd century BCE by the historian Polybius during the Seleucid period and introduced the misnomer that Beth Nahrain strictly referred to the "land between the rivers" rather than the "land of the rivers".
The name Bayn al-Nahrayn found in Arabic ([…] "between the two rivers") is a near literal translation of the word Mesopotamia […] A more accurate Syriac variant is the name Bêṯ Nahrawwāṯā (Syriac: […] "home of the rivers").
And see Wikipedia, Mesopotamia :
The regional toponym Mesopotamia ([…] Ancient Greek: Μεσοποταμία '[land] between rivers'; Arabic: […] Bayn an-Nahrayn; […] Syriac: […] Beth Nahrain "(land) between the (two) rivers") comes from the ancient Greek root words μέσος (mesos, 'middle') and ποταμός (potamos, 'river') and translates to '(land) between rivers', likely being a calque of the older Aramaic term, with the Aramaic term itself likely being a calque of the Akkadian birit narim.
It is used throughout the Greek Septuagint (c. 250 BC) to translate the Hebrew and Aramaic equivalent Naharaim.
גולה - meaning, a technical term referring specifically to Jewish Babylonia (or possibly even more specifically to the city of Pumbedita, as stated elsewhere in the Talmud), as previously in Part 1, section “Upper Tigris (North-eastern border)“:
מושכני הרי היא כגולה ליוחסין
Mushekanei is like the Exile with regard to lineage
See my appendix; and see Oppenheimer, that “Ḥillazon” here is a scribal error.
גולה - meaning, Babylonia, as previously.
See a similar story and suspicion of Rav Pappa’s statement and motives, in the earlier section, and my note there.
On amoraic sages making halachic statements suspected as being motivated by their personal interests and biases, see my piece at my Academia page, “Deception”. Notably, this suspicion is found a number of times in the Talmud about Rav Pappa in particular.
חברותיה – literally: "her friends." The term "friends" is in the feminine plural form (=חברות), reflecting the grammatical gender of the Hebrew word for "city," which is feminine. This grammatical gender also explains the use of "her" in "her friends."
In Part 1, section “Upper Tigris (North-eastern border): Ukbara and Awana; or Mushekanei“.