Pt2 Wicked Kings of Judah: Talmudic Insights into Idolatry and Atrocities by Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon, and Jehoiakim (Sanhedrin 103b)

This is the second and final installment of a two-part series. The first part is here, the outline can be found there.

Religious Corruption: Ahaz, Manasseh, and Amon

Ahaz nullified Temple service and forbade Torah study. 

Manasseh removed (קדר) God’s name (אזכרות) from texts and demolished the Temple altar. 

Amon burned Torah scrolls and offered a gecko (שממית) on the altar.

Ahaz permitted incest (ערוה), a decree Manasseh exploited to have sex with his sister. 

Amon had sex with his mother to openly defy God, asserting his actions were driven by a desire to provoke (להכעיס) rather than any personal pleasure.

[אחז -- 

1. בטל את העבודה] 

2. וחתם את התורה, 

שנאמר (ישעיהו ח, טז): 

"צור תעודה, 

חתום תורה בלמודי"

מנשה -- 

1. קדר את האזכרות, 

2. והרס את המזבח 

אמון -- 

1. [שרף את התורה], 

2. והעלה שממית על גבי המזבח 

אחז -- 

1. התיר את הערוה

אמון --

1. בא על אמו

שנאמר (דברי הימים ב לג, כג): 

"כי הוא אמון הרבה אשמה 

רבי יוחנן ור"א: 

חד אמר: ששרף את התורה 

וחד אמר: שבא על אמו 

אמרה לו אמו: כלום יש לך הנאה ממקום שיצאת ממנו?! 

א"ל: כלום אני עושה אלא להכעיס את בוראי?!

Ahaz:

1. nullified the Temple service

2. and sealed the Torah, prohibiting its study, 

as it is stated: 

“Bind up the testimony,  seal the Torah among my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). 

Manasseh:

1. excised the mentions of God’s names from sacred books

2. and destroyed the altar. 

Amon:

1. burned the Torah

2. and sacrificed a gecko, an impure creeping animal, upon the altar. 

Ahaz:

1. permitted engaging in sexual intercourse with forbidden relatives, and announced that marriage between those relatives is permitted. 

Manasseh:

1. exploited that pronouncement and engaged in sexual intercourse with his sister.

Amon:

1. engaged in sexual intercourse with his mother, 

as it is stated: 

“But Amon increased his guilt” (II Chronicles 33:23), indicating that he performed a greater and more disgraceful transgression than anyone else. 

R' Yoḥanan and R' Elazar disagreed about his transgression; 

one says that he burned the Torah, 

and one says that he engaged in sexual intercourse with his mother. 

His mother said to him: Do you have any pleasure by engaging in intercourse from the place from which you emerged?!

He said to her: I am doing this only to express insolence to my Creator, not for my pleasure.

Jehoiakim’s Insolence Against God

When Jehoiakim ascended the throne, he scorned God, claiming his predecessors lacked the audacity to truly anger (לארגוזי) Him. 

Boasting that they had no need for God’s light,¹ as they possessed “parvayim” (פרויים) gold that shone brightly, he suggested God could withdraw His light. 

When questioned about God’s ownership of silver and gold (as per Haggai 2:8), Jehoiakim retorted that God had already granted the earth to mankind (Psalms 115:16). 

כי אתא יהויקים, אמר: 

קמאי לא ידעי לארגוזי 

כלום אנו צריכין אלא לאורו?!

יש לנו זהב פרויים, שאנו משתמשין בו, יטול אורו! 

אמרו לו: 

והלא כסף וזהב שלו הוא?! 

שנאמר (חגי ב, ח): 

"לי הכסף ולי הזהב 

נאם ה' צבאות"

אמר להם: 

כבר נתנו לנו 

שנאמר (תהלים קטו, טז): 

"השמים שמים לה' 

והארץ נתן לבני האדם"

When Jehoiakim came along and reigned, he said:

My predecessors did not know how to express insolence to God.

Do we need God even for his light?!

Since we have parvayim gold that we use that shines, let God take His light from the world.

They said to him:

Aren’t the silver and the gold His?!

as it is stated:

“The silver is mine and the gold is mine

says the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:8)?

Jehoiakim said to them:

He has already given it to us,

as it is stated:

“The heavens are the heavens of the Lord,

but the earth He has given to the children of men” (Psalms 115:16).

Jehoiakim's Tattooed Name of a Deity on His Penis: Either Name of a Pagan Deity, or of God

The Talmud interprets the phrase “and that which was found on him” from II Chronicles 36:8 regarding King Jehoiakim's actions. 

R' Yoḥanan and R' Elazar both interpret this to mean that Jehoiakim engraved (חקק) the name of a deity on his penis (אמתו), but provide differing views re what name it was: one opinion holds that it was the name of a pagan deity,² while the other suggests it was the name of God.³

[...]

כתיב ביה (דברי הימים ב לו, ח): 

"ויתר דברי יהויקים ותועבותיו אשר עשה 

והנמצא עליו"

מאי "והנמצא עליו"? 

רבי יוחנן ור"א:

חד אמר: שחקק שם עבודת כוכבים על אמתו 

וחד אמר: שחקק שם שמים על אמתו

[...] 

it is written concerning him: 

“And the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and his abominations that he did, 

and that which was found on him” (II Chronicles 36:8). 

The Gemara explains: What is the meaning of the phrase “and that which was found on him”? 

R' Yoḥanan and R' Elazar disagree; 

one says that he etched the name of idols on his penis due to his devotion to them, 

and one says that he etched the name of Heaven on his penis in a display of contempt.

1. The Talmud quotes this as a rhetorical question by Jehoiakim:

כלום אנו צריכין אלא לאורו?!

"Do we need anything other than (אלא ל) His light?!"

Steinsaltz incorrectly translates this as:

Do we need God even for his light?!

2. עבודה זרה - literally: “idolatry”.

(The printed edition has עבודת כוכבים, likely due to the censor.)

3. שם שמים - literally: “the Name of Heaven”, a common talmudic term used to refer to God.

Presumably, he did this as an act of disrespect.