Pt2 The Prophet, the Prostitutes, and the Curses Reversed: The Biblical Story of Balaam in Talmudic Interpretation (Sanhedrin 105b-106b)
This is the second and final installment of a two-part series. The first part is here; outline can be found there.
R’ Yoḥanan's Warning: The Peril of Hindering Israel's Redemption
R' Yoḥanan warns that any nation obstructing the Jewish people during their redemption (פדיון) by God will face severe consequences.
He metaphorically compares this obstruction to someone foolishly placing their garment between two lions (לביא ללביאה) while they are mating,1 an act that would undoubtedly result in death.
The metaphor underscores the danger of interfering with divine processes.
א"ר יוחנן:
אוי לה לאומה שתמצא בשעה שהקב"ה עושה פדיון לבניו
מי מטיל כסותו בין לביא ללביאה בשעה שנזקקין זה עם זה?!
R' Yoḥanan says:
Woe unto the nation that will be found hindering the Jewish people at the time when the Holy One, Blessed be He, redeems His children.
Who places his garment between a male lion and a female lion when they are mating? One who does so will certainly die.
Rav's Interpretation of Roman Legion's Attack: Enslavement of Jews Following Initial Killings
This passage refers to a verse in Balaam’s prophecy, Numbers.24.24:
וצים מיד כתים
וענו אשור וענו עבר
Ships come from the quarter of Kittim;
Rav interprets the mention of "ships from Kittim" as a reference to a Roman legion that will attack Assyria.2
Rav interprets the second part of the verse (Assyria and Eber will be afflicted) as saying that before the Romans reach Assyria, they will kill some of the Jewish people. However, from that point onward, they will enslave (משעבדי) the Jews rather than continue killing them.
(במדבר כד, כד) "וצים מיד כתים"
אמר רב: ליבון אספיר
(במדבר כד, כד) "וענו אשור וענו עבר"
עד אשור -- קטלי מיקטל,
מכאן ואילך -- משעבדי שיעבודי
[...]
With regard to the verse: “And ships come from the coast of Kittim” (Numbers 24:24),
Rav says: This is the Roman legion [libbun aspir] that will attack Assyria.
“And they shall afflict Assyria, and they shall afflict Eber” (Numbers 24:24).
Before they reach Assyria they will kill the Jewish people;
from that point forward they will enslave them and not kill them.
[...]
Balaam's Plot: The Dramatic Story of How Prostitutes Led the Jewish Men Astray
Balaam advised Balak on how to lead the Jewish people into sin by exploiting their desire for linen (פשתן) garments.
He suggested setting up enclosures with prostitutes—old women outside and young women3 inside—offering the garments at attractive prices.
As Jewish men shopped, they were invited to sit and drink wine.
After drinking, their inhibitions weakened, and the men propositioned them for sex.4 The women first demanded they worship an idol. The men, reluctant at first, were deceived into thinking the worship was trivial, involving only defecation.5
Eventually, the men succumbed and also denied the Torah.
אמר להם:
אלהיהם של אלו שונא זימה הוא
והם מתאוים לכלי פשתן
בוא ואשיאך עצה:
עשה להן קלעים
והושיב בהן זונות
זקינה מבחוץ, וילדה מבפנים
וימכרו להן כלי פשתן
עשה להן קלעים מהר שלג עד בית הישימות
והושיב בהן זונות
זקינה מבחוץ, וילדה מבפנים
ובשעה שישראל
אוכלין
ושותין
ושמחין
ויוצאין לטייל בשוק
אומרת לו הזקינה: אי אתה מבקש כלי פשתן?
זקינה אומרת לו: בשוה
וילדה אומרת לו: בפחות
שתים ושלש פעמים
ואח"כ אומרת לו:
הרי את כבן בית
שב, ברור לעצמך
וצרצורי של יין עמוני מונח אצלה
ועדיין לא נאסר (יין של עמוני ולא) יין של נכרים
אמרה לו: רצונך שתשתה כוס של יין?
כיון ששתה, בער בו
אמר לה: השמיעי לי
הוציאה יראתה מתוך חיקה
אמרה לו: עבוד לזה
אמר לה: הלא יהודי אני
אמרה לו:
ומה איכפת לך?!
כלום מבקשים ממך אלא פיעור?
[והוא אינו יודע שעבודתה בכך]
ולא עוד, אלא שאיני מנחתך עד שתכפור בתורת משה רבך
שנא' [...]
Balaam said to them:
The God of these Jewish people despises lewdness,
and they desire linen garments, as they have no new garments;
come, and I will give you advice.
Make for them enclosures using wall hangings
and seat prostitutes in them,
with an old woman outside the enclosure and a young woman inside,
and have the women sell them linen garments.
Balak made for them enclosures using wall hangings from the snow mountain, the Ḥermon, until Beit HaYeshimot,
and he sat prostitutes in them,
with an old woman outside and a young woman on the inside.
And at the time when Jewish people were
eating
and drinking
and were glad
and going out to stroll in the marketplace,
the old woman would say to a Jew: Aren’t you seeking linen garments?
He would enter the enclosure and ask the price, the old woman would quote him a price equal to its value,
and the young woman would quote him a price less than its value.
That scenario would repeat itself two or three times.
And thereafter she would say to him:
You are like a member of our household,
sit and choose for yourself the merchandise that you want.
And a jug of Ammonite wine was placed near her,
and neither Ammonite wine nor gentile wine had been prohibited yet for Jews.
She said to him: Is it your wish to drink a cup of wine?
Once he drank the wine, his evil inclination burned within him.
He then said to her: Submit to me and engage in intercourse with me.
She then removed the idol that she worshipped from her lap and said to him: Worship this.
He said to her: Am I not Jewish?! I am therefore forbidden from engaging in idol worship.
She said to him:
And what is your concern?!
We are asking you to do nothing more than defecate in its presence.
But he does not know that its worship is conducted in that manner.
Once he did so, she said to him: Moreover, I will not leave you until you deny the Torah of Moses your teacher,
as it is stated: [...]
Tannaitic Interpretations of Shittim and Rephidim: Place Names or Symbolic Allusions?
The passage contrasts three interpretations of R' Eliezer and R' Yehoshua on two biblical verses. In two of the three, R' Eliezer states that that just happened to be the name, while R' Yehoshua interprets the name homiletically, using word play.6
For Numbers 25:1, R' Eliezer explains "Shittim" as simply the name of a place, while R' Yehoshua interprets it as an allusion to the Israelites engaging in “foolishness, madness” (שטות), meaning, sinful behavior like idolatry and prostitution.
Regarding Numbers 25:2, on the word “ותקראן ”, R' Eliezer interprets that naked women encountered the Israelites, leading them astray, while R' Yehoshua states that all the Israelite men ejaculated.7
Similarly, for the name "Rephidim" (Exodus 19:2), R' Eliezer says it is just a place name, while R' Yehoshua sees it as an allusion to the Israelites neglecting Torah study, as "rifyon" (feebleness) reflects a lack of dedication.
(במדבר כה, א) "וישב ישראל בשטים"
ר"א אומר: שטים שמה
רבי יהושע אומר: שנתעסקו בדברי שטות
"ותקראן לעם לזבחי אלהיהן"
רבי אלעזר אומר: ערומות פגעו בהן
רבי יהושע אומר: שנעשו כולן בעלי קריין
מאי לשון "רפידים"?
רבי אליעזר אומר: רפידים שמה
רבי יהושע אומר: שריפו עצמן מדברי תורה
שנאמר [...]
With regard to the verse: “And Israel dwelt in Shittim” (Numbers 25:1),
R' Eliezer says: Shittim is the name of the place.
R' Yehoshua says: It is an allusion to the fact that they were engaged in matters of nonsense [shetut], i.e., prostitution and idol worship.
With regard to the verse: “And they called [vatikrena] the people to the offerings of their gods” (Numbers 25:2),
R' Eliezer says: Naked women encountered them.
R' Yehoshua says: They all became those who experienced a seminal emission [kerayin] resulting from the lust that they experienced.
Apropos the homiletic interpretation of the names of places, the Gemara asks: What is the connotation of the term Rephidim (see Exodus 19:2)?
R' Eliezer says: Rephidim is the name of the place.
R' Yehoshua says: It is an allusion to the fact that they enfeebled [rippu] themselves with regard to engaging in matters of Torah, as it is stated: [...]
Heretic Questions R’ Ḥanina on Balaam’s Age at Death, Aligns With “The Notebook of Balaam”
A heretic approached R' Ḥanina, asking if he knew how old Balaam was when he died. R' Ḥanina responded that it is not explicitly stated in the Bible, but it can be inferred from the verse “Bloody and deceitful men shall not live half their days” (Psalms 55:24), from which one can derive that Balaam was around 33 or 34 years old, which is less than half the typical lifespan of 70 years.
The heretic agreed and added that he had seen “The Notebook8 of Balaam”, where it was written that “Balaam the Lame (חגירא)”, was 32 years old when “Pinehas the Bandit”9 killed him.
א"ל ההוא מינא לר' חנינא: מי שמיע לך בלעם בר כמה הוה?
א"ל:
מיכתב לא כתיב
אלא מדכתיב (תהלים נה, כד) "אנשי דמים ומרמה לא יחצו ימיהם"
בר תלתין ותלת שנין או בר תלתין וארבע
א"ל:
שפיר קאמרת
לדידי חזי לי פנקסיה דבלעם
והוה כתיב ביה:
בר תלתין ותלת שנין בלעם חגירא
כד קטיל יתיה פנחס ליסטאה
A certain heretic said to R' Ḥanina: Have you heard how old Balaam was when he died?
R' Ḥanina said to him:
It is not written explicitly in the Torah.
But from the fact that it is written: “Bloody and deceitful men shall not live half their days” (Psalms 55:24),
this indicates that he was thirty-three or thirty-four years old, less than half the standard seventy-year lifespan.
The heretic said to him:
You have spoken well,
I myself saw the notebook of Balaam
and it was written therein:
Balaam the lame was thirty-two years old
when Pinehas the highwayman killed him.
Mar son of Ravina: Limit Negative Homiletic Interpretations—Except for Balaam
Mar son of Ravina advised his son not to engage in excessive negative homiletic interpretations about those listed as not having a share in the World-to-Come, except in the case of Balaam, the wicked.
For Balaam, any negative traits that can be found should be interpreted and emphasized, as his wickedness justifies such treatment.
א"ל מר בריה דרבינא לבריה:
בכולהו לא תפיש למדרש
לבר מבלעם הרשע
דכמה דמשכחת ביה, דרוש ביה
Mar, son of Ravina, said to his son:
With regard to all of those enumerated as not having a share in the World-to-Come, do not extensively interpret verses homiletically in order to denigrate them,
except with regard to Balaam the wicked,
as any negative element that you discover in his regard, continue to interpret homiletically concerning him, as it is appropriate to attribute wickedness to one so wicked.
נזקקין - for another example of the usage of this verb for animal mating, see my recent piece here.
=Asshur, which later came to refer to the area of modern Syria.
ילדה - literally: “a girl”.
פיעור; alternatively: “revealing [the anus]”.
For another example of a story of this purported form of idol worship to Pe’or (בעל פעור), see my piece here, story of Sabbeta ben Alas / Ilem (Sanhedrin 64a).
And see Hebrew Wikipedia here:
And compare Wikipedia, “Numbers 31“ > “Israelite–Moabite fraternisation at Peor (Numbers 25:1–9)“.
For talmudic homiletic word play on place names, see my piece at my Academia page, for an extensive list of other examples: ““Why Was He Called Thus?”: An Anthology of Talmudic Passages Relating to Explanations of Biblical Names, Unification of Ostensibly Separate Biblical Personalities, and Etymologies of Biblical Words“.
פנקסיה - from Greek pinax.
See Wikipedia, “Pinax“:
In daily life pinax might equally denote a wax-covered writing tablet.
For the quoting of lost apocryphal works in the Talmud, compare the passage quoting “the Book of Adam”, quoted in a my piece here:
לדידי חזי לי סיפרא דאדם הראשון,
וכתיב ביה: […]
I myself saw the book of Adam the first man, which contains the genealogy of the human race,
and it is written in it: […]
And another passage re the scroll written “scroll (מגילה) written in Ashurit (אשורית) script and in the sacred tongue (לשון קדש) [Hebrew]” on when Messiah will come, Sanhedrin.97b.3:
שלח ליה רב חנן בר תחליפא לרב יוסף
מצאתי אדם אחד, ובידו מגילה אחת, כתובה אשורית ולשון קדש
אמרתי לו: זו מניין לך
אמר לי: לחיילות של רומי נשכרתי, ובין גינזי רומי מצאתיה
וכתוב בה:
לאחר ד' אלפים ומאתים ותשעים ואחד שנה לבריאתו של עולם
העולם יתום
מהן מלחמות תנינים
מהן מלחמות גוג ומגוג
ושאר ימות המשיח
ואין הקב"ה מחדש את עולמו אלא לאחר שבעת אלפים שנה
Rav Ḥanan bar Taḥlifa sent a message to Rav Yosef:
I found one man, and in his hand there was one scroll (מגילה) written in Ashurit script and in the sacred tongue, Hebrew.
I said to him: From where did this scroll come into your possession?
He said to me: I was hired to serve in the Roman army (חיילות - auxiliary) and I found the scroll among the Roman archives (גינזי). It was clear that the scroll was written by Jews, not Romans. [E.B. from the fact that it was written in Hebrew]
And it is written in the scroll:
After 4,291 years have elapsed from the creation of the world ( לבריאתו של עולם),
the world will end;
during those years there will be the wars of the sea monsters (מלחמות תנינים) between the leviathan and the animals,
and among those years there will be the wars of Gog and Magog
and the remaining years of the messianic period. Then the world will be destroyed.
And the Holy One, Blessed be He, will renew His world only after the passage of seven thousand years.