Pt3 The Destructions of the First Temple, Second Temple, and Betar in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Taanit 4:5)

This is the third part of a four-part series. Part 1 is here; Part 2 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.

Jerusalem’s councilors exploited travelers by forging property sales

ולמה הדליקה נירות?

שהיו בולווטי ירושלם יושבים באמצע המדינה.

וכדו דהוון חמיי בר נש סליק לירושלם

הוון אמרין ליה:

1. בגין דשמעינן עלך דאת בעי מתעבדה ארכונטס ובולבוטס.

   1. והוא אמר לון: לית בדעתי.

2. בדיל דשמעינן עלך דאת בעי מזבנה אוסייא דילך.

   1. והוא אמר לון: לית בדעתי.

Why did [the people of Betar] light lights?¹

Because the council members² of Jerusalem were dominating the center of the region (מדינה).

When they were seeing a person moving (סליק) to Jerusalem (from the surrounding Judean region)

they would say to him:

1. since we heard about you that you are aspiring to be made judge³ or councillor (בולבוטס);

   1. he would say to them: that is not my intention.

2. Because we heard about you that you intend to sell your property (אוסייא);

   1. he would say to them: that is not my intention.

והוה חבריה אמר ליה:

מה את בעי מן דין?!

כתוב ואנא חתם.

והוה כתיב וחבריה חתם.

His colleague would say to him,

what are you arguing with this one?!

write and I shall sign.

He would write and his colleague would sign.

והוון משלחין אוניתא לבר בייתה

ואמרון ליה:

אין אתא פלניא מיעול לאוסייא דידיה

לא תשבקיניה

דהיא זבינה גבן.

They would send the sale document⁴ to his house companion

and say to him:

if so-and-so comes to enter his property,

do not let him,

because it is sold to us.

... leading victims to curse their own journeys to Jerusalem

וכיון דהוה שמע מינהון כן

הוה אמר:

הלוואי איתבר ריגליה דההוא גברא, ולא סלק לירושלם.

When he heard this from them

He would say:

if only this man’s leg had been broken before he came to Jerusalem.

“They hunted our steps” refers to the obstruction of access to Jerusalem and the doom of the Temple; those who rejoiced at Jerusalem’s fall were also punished - Lamentations 4:18; Proverbs 17:5

הדא הוא דכתיב:

צדו צעדינו

מלכת ברחובותינו.

1. “צדו צעדינו” --

   1. אצדי אורחתיה דההוא בייתא.

2. “קרב קצינו” --

   1. קרב קיציה דההוא ביתא.

3. “מלאו ימינו” --

   1. מלא יומוי דההוא בייתא.

That is what is written (Lamentations 4:18):

they caught our steps --

not to walk in our streets.

1. They caught our steps --

   1. destroy the way to that House (i.e. the Temple),

2. our end is near,

   1. the end of this House is near,

3. our days are fulfilled,

   1. the days of this House are fulfilled.

אוף אינון לא נפקון טבאות:

שמח לאיד --

לא ינקה.

They also did not come out well:

he who enjoys disaster --

will not be acquitted (Proverbs 17:5)

Anecdote re two brothers in Kefar Ḥariba - Two brothers rebelled against the Romans; rejected divine help via citing “may He neither help nor obstruct” - Psalms 60:12 (#15)

#15

[שני אחים הוון בכפר חריבה.

והוון רומים אזלין עליהון ומקטלין לון.

ואמרין: כל סמא דמילתא ניתי כלילא על רישיהון.

אמרין: מבדקינן אוף חד זמן.

[Two brothers were in Kefar Ḥariba;

the Romans went out against them and they would kill them.

They said: the medicine for this is for us to bring a crown⁵ to their heads.

They said: let us try a last time.

מנפקין פגע ביה חד סב.

אמר לון:

ברייכון סעודינכון.

אמר:

לא יסעוד ולא [יסמוך] <יכסוף>

הלא אתה אלקים זנחתנו.]

When they went out,

an old man met them and said:

your Maker may support you (ברייכון סעודינכון)

They said,

may He neither help (יסעוד) nor [support] <obstruct>,

did not you, God, neglect us (Psalms 60:12)]⁶

Judean Towns before the Second Temple’s Destruction (70 CE)

Two cedars on the Mount of Olives supported major Second Temple-related commerce: purity shops and bird offerings for all Israel (#16)

#16

שני ארזים היו בהר המשחה.

1. בתחת אחד מהן היו מוכרין ארבע חנויות טהרות.

2. והאחד היו מוציאין ממנו ארבעים סאה גוזלות בכל חודש וחודש.

ומהן היו מספיקין קינים לכל ישראל.

There grew two cedars on the Mount of Olives.

1. Under one of them there were 4 shops selling in purity;

2. from the other they were bringing 40 se’ah of pigeon chicks (גוזלות) every single month

and from there were providing all of Israel with nests⁷

Mount Shimon was highly productive

טור שמעון הוה מפיק תלת מאוון דגרבין דמרקוע לקייטא כל ערובת שובא.

Mount Shimon was producing 200 jugs of fig pieces every Friday.

Divine reason it was destroyed: either because of prostitution or because they played ball

ולמה חרב?

יש אומרים: מפני הזנות.

ויש אומרין: שהיו משחקין בכדור.

Why was it destroyed?

Some say: because of illicit sex⁸

but some say: it was because they were playing ball.

Narrative re Elazar b. Ḥarsom - King’s Mountain had 10,000 towns; Elazar b. Ḥarsom owned 1,000 towns and 1,000 ships, all destroyed

עשרת אלפים עיירות היו בהר המלך.

ולרבי אלעזר בן חרסום אלף מכולם.

וכנגדן אלף ספינות בים.

וכולהם חרבו.

10,000 towns were on King’s Mountain;

R’ Elazar ben Ḥarsom owned 1,000 of them,

and correspondingly 1,000 ships on the Sea.⁹

And all of them were destroyed.

Kabul, Shiḥin, and Magdala of the Dyers were towns who supplied Jerusalem; they were destroyed for quarrel, sorcery, and prostitution respectively

שלש עיירות היה קטמוס שלהן עולה לירושלם בעגלה.

1. כבול

2. ושיחין

3. ומגדל צבעייא.

ושלשתן חרבו.

1. כבול

   1. מפני המחלוקת.

2. שיחין

   1. מפני כשפים.

3. ומגדל

   1. צבעייא מפני הזנות.

Of 3 villages was the qtmos brought to Jerusalem in carts,

1. Kabul,

2. Shiḥin,

3. and Magdala of the dyers

All 3 were destroyed.

1. Kabul

   1. because of quarrel (מחלוקת),

2. Sḥihin

   1. because of sorcery,

3. and Magdala of the Dyers

   1. because of illicit sex.

Three large Judean towns were named for their traits: “evil village” for not hosting travelers, “cress village” for rapid population growth, and “boys’ village” because its women bore boys

שלשה כפרים כל אחד ואחד היה מוציא כפליים כיוצאי מצרים:

1. כפר ביש

2. וכפר שיחלייא

3. וכפר דיכרייא.

1. ולמה הוא קרי לון כפר ביש?

   1. דלא הוון מקבלין לעבורא.

2. ולמה הוא קרי לון כפר שיחלייא?

   1. דהוון מרביין בניהון כאילין תחלוסייא.

3. ולמה הוא קרי לון כפר דיכרייא?

   1. דהוון כל נשיהון ילדן דיכרין.

אי לא הוות חדא מינהון נפקא מן תמן —

לא הוות ילדה נוקבה.

3 villages of which each one was populated by twice the number of those leaving Egypt:¹⁰

1. the evil village,

2. the cress village,

3. and the boys’ village.

1. Why was it called evil village?

   1. Because they did not receive travellers.

2. Why was it called cress village?

   1. Because they were growing children like cress.

3. Why was it called boys’ village?

   1. Because all their women gave birth to boys.

If one of them never left from there [=”Boys’ Village”] —

she would not give birth to a girl.

R’ Yoḥanan - At Gufna, 80 pairs of priestly brothers married 80 pairs of priestly sisters in one night, aside from many others

אמר רבי יוחנן:

שמונים זוגים אחים כהנים נישאו לשמונים זוגות אחיות כהנות בלילה אחד בהדא גופנא.

חוץ מאחים בלא אחיות.

מאחיות בלא אחים.

חוץ מלוים.

חוץ מישראל.

R’ Yoḥanan said:

80 pairs of priestly brothers married 80 pairs of priestly sisters at Gufna in one night,¹¹

not counting brothers but not sisters,

sisters but not brothers,

not counting Levites,

not counting Israel.

R’ Yoḥanan - The town of Magdala of the Dyers had 80 fustian-weaving shops

אמר רבי יוחנן:

שמונים חנויות שלאורגי פלגס היו במגדל צבעייא.

R’ Yoḥanan said,

in Magdala of the Dyers there were 80 establishments of fustian¹²

R’ Ḥiyya b. Abba - Kefar Imra had 80 shops selling pure goods

אמר רבי חייה בר בא:

שמונים חנויות שלמוכרי טהרות היו בכפר אימרא.

R’ Ḥiyya bar Abba said:

80 stores selling in purity were in Kefar Imra.

R’ Yirmeyah citing R’ Ḥiyya b. Abba - Shiḥin had 80 metal shiddot

רבי ירמיה בשם רבי חייה בר בא:

שמונים שידות שלמתכת היו בשיחין.

R’ Yirmeyah in the name of R’ Ḥiyya bar Abba:

80 metal shidda¹³ were in Shiḥin.

R’ Yannai - In his time, there was no shidda

אמר רבי יניי:

שידה לא היתה בימינו.

R’ Yannai said:

in our time was no shidda.

R’ Ze’ira citing Rav Ḥuna - Immer was the smallest priestly division, yet produced 85,000 young priests

רבי זעורה בשם רב חונא:

אימר היא היתה קטנה שבמשמרות.

והיא היתה מוציאה שמונים וחמשה אלף פירחי כהונה.

R’ Ze’ira in the name of Rav Ḥuna:

Immer was the smallest of the watches¹⁴

and it was producing 85,000 young priests.

The First Temple’s Destruction (587 BCE)

R’ Yoḥanan - 80,000 young priests were killed over the blood of Zechariah - II Chronicles 24:20-22 (#17)

#17

(See footnote.)¹⁵

אמר רבי יוחנן:

שמונים אלף פירחי כהונה נהרגו על דמו שלזכריה.

R’ Yoḥanan said:

80,000 young priests were slaughtered for the blood of Zachariah (see II Chronicles 24:20-22)

R’ Yudan asking R’ Aḥa - Zechariah (in the First Temple period) was killed in the priests’ courtyard, not the women’s or Israelites’ courtyard

רבי יודן שאל לרבי אחא:

איכן הרגו את זכריה?

בעזרת הנשים או בעזרת ישראל?

אמר לו:

לא בעזרת ישראל ולא בעזרת הנשים אלא בעזרת הכהנים.

ולא נהגו בדמו לא כדם האיל ולא כדם הצבי.

R’ Yudan asked R’ Aḥa:

where did they kill Zachariah?

In the women’s courtyard or in Israel’s courtyard?

He said to him:

neither in Israel’s courtyard nor in the women’s courtyard but in the priests’ courtyard.

They treated his blood neither as ram’s blood nor as gazelle’s blood.

His blood was left uncovered - Leviticus 17:13; Ezekiel 24:7-8

תמן כתיב:

ושפך את דמו

וכסהו בעפר.

ברם הכא:

כי דמה בתוכה היה

על צחיח סלע שמתהו

There is written (Leviticus 17:13):

he shall pour out its blood

and cover it with dust.

But here (Ezekiel 24:7-8):

for its blood was in its midst,

on a bare rock he put it.

כל כך למה?

להעלות חימה

ולנקום נקם

נתתי את דמה על צחיח

סלע בלי הכסות.

Why all this?

To arise rage,

to avenge vengeance,

I put its blood on a bare rock,

without being covered.

Israel committed seven sins that day: killing a priest, prophet, and judge; spilling innocent blood; defiling the courtyard; and doing so on Shabbat and Yom Kippur

שבע עבירות עברו ישראל באותו היום:

1. הרגו כהן

2. ונביא

3. ודיין.

4. ושפכו דם נקי.

5. וטימאו את העזרה.

6. ושבת

7. ויום הכיפורים היה.

7 sins did Israel commit on that day:

1. They killed a priest,

2. prophet,

3. and judge,

4. spilled innocent blood,

5. defiled the Temple courtyard,

6. and it was a Sabbath

7. and Yom Kippur.

Appendix - Nebuzaradan and the Destruction of the First Temple (Sanhedrin 96a-b)

Bavli, Sanhedrin/96a#15 thru 96b#8

״בן יכבד אב״ –

הא דאמרן

The Talmud elaborates: “A son honors his father” —

is referring to that which we stated with regard to Baladan.

(Jeremiah 52:12–13)

״ועבד אדניו״ –

דכתיב:

״ובחדש החמישי

בעשור לחדש

היא שנת תשע עשרה שנה למלך נבוכדנאצר מלך בבל

בא נבוזראדן רב טבחים עמד לפני מלך בבל בירושלם

וישרף את בית ה׳

ואת בית המלך״

“And a servant his master”

is referring to a verse, as it is written:

“And in the 5th month,

on the 10th day of the month,

which was the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia,

came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, who stood before the king of Babylonia, into Jerusalem.

And he burned the House of YHWH,

and the house of the king” (Jeremiah 52:12–13).

(II Kings 25:6)

ומי סליק נבוכד נצר לירושלים?

והכתיב:

״ויעלו אתו אל מלך בבל

רבלתה״

The Talmud asks: And did Nebuchadnezzar ascend to Jerusalem?

But isn’t it written with regard to Zedekiah:

“And they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylonia,

to Riblah” (II Kings 25:6),

ואמר רבי אבהו:

זו אנטוכיא!

and R’ Abbahu says:

This place called Riblah is a reference to Antioch.

Apparently, Nebuchadnezzar was in Antioch, not in Jerusalem.

רב חסדא ורב יצחק בר אבודימי,

• חד אמר:

  • דמות דיוקנו היתה חקוקה לו על מרכבתו,

• וחד אמר:

  • אימה יתירה היתה לו ממנו, ודומה כמי שעומד לפניו

Rav Ḥisda and Rav Yitzḥak bar Avudimi resolved this apparent contradiction:

• One says:

  • An image of Nebuchadnezzar’s likeness was engraved on Nebuzaradan’s chariot, and he regarded that image as though Nebuchadnezzar were actually there.

• And one says:

  • Nebuzaradan was in extreme fear of Nebuchadnezzar, and it was as though Nebuzaradan was always standing before Nebuchadnezzar.

That is an example of the honor of a servant to his master mentioned in the verse.

(Psalms 74:6)

אמר רבא:

טעון תלת מאה כודנייתא נרגא דפרזלא דשליט בפרזלא שדר ליה נבוכדנצר לנבוזראדן.

כולהו בלעתינהו חד דשא דירושלם

שנאמר: ״פתוחיה יחד בכשיל וכילפת יהלמון״.

§ The Talmud proceeds to discuss the role of Nebuzaradan in the destruction of the Temple.

Rava says:

Nebuchadnezzar sent to Nebuzaradan 300 mules laden with iron axes that cut iron.

All of them were incapacitated in the attempt to breach one gate of Jerusalem,

as it is stated: “And now they pound its carved work together with hatchet and with hammers” (Psalms 74:6).

בעי למיהדר,

אמר: מסתפינא דלא ליעבדו בי כי היכי דעבדו בסנחריב.

Nebuzaradan sought to return to Babylonia

and said: I am afraid. I want to ensure that they will not do to me just as they did to Sennacherib, whose downfall was in Jerusalem.

נפקא קלא ואמר:

״שוור בר שוור,

נבוזראדן,

שוור

דמטא זימנא דמקדשא חריב

והיכלא מיקלי״

A Divine Voice emerged and said:

Leaper (שוור - “one who jumps"), son of a leaper!

Nebuzaradan!

take the leap!

as the time has arrived for the Temple to be destroyed

and the Sanctuary to burn.

(Psalms 74:5)

פש ליה חד נרגא.

אתא מחייה בקופא,

ואיפתח,

שנאמר:

״יודע כמביא למעלה בסבך עץ קרדמות״.

One ax remained for him to use.

He went and struck the gate with the dull end of the ax

and it opened,

as it is stated:

“He became known as the wielder of axes upward in a thicket of trees” (Psalms 74:5).

At the appropriate time the gate was breached as though the ax were cutting trees.

(Lamentations 1:15)

הוה קטיל ואזל,

עד דמטא להיכלא.

אדליק ביה נורא

He was proceeding and killing

until he reached the Sanctuary.

When he reached the Sanctuary, he ignited a fire in it.

גבה היכלא.

דרכו ביה מן שמיא,

שנאמר: ״גת דרך ה׳ לבתולת בת יהודה״

The Sanctuary rose, seeking to enter Heaven so that it would not burn.

They trod upon it from Heaven and returned it to its place,

as it is stated: “YHWH has trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress” (Lamentations 1:15).

(Isaiah 47:2)

קא זיחא דעתיה.

נפקא בת קלא ואמרה ליה:

1. עמא קטילא קטלת,

2. היכלא קליא קלית,

3. קימחא טחינא טחינת

Nebuzaradan became haughty, taking pride in his conquest.

A bat kol emerged and said to him:

Your haughtiness is unwarranted, as

1. you killed a nation that was already dead,

2. you burned a Sanctuary that was already burned,

3. and you ground flour that was already ground

שנאמר:

״קחי רחים וטחני קמח

גלי צמתך

חשפי שבל

גלי שוק

עברי נהרות״.

״חטים״ לא נאמר,

אלא ״קמח״

as it is stated with regard to Babylonia:

“Take millstones and grind flour;

uncover your locks,

tuck up the train,

uncover the leg,

pass over rivers” (Isaiah 47:2).

It was not stated: “Grind wheat,”

but “grind flour,”

indicating that all the destruction had already been wrought by God, and the role played by the enemy was insignificant.

(II Chronicles 24:20–22)

חזא דמיה דזכריה דהוה קא רתח

When he reached the Sanctuary, he saw the blood of Zechariah the priest boiling.

It had not calmed since he was killed in the Temple (see II Chronicles 24:20–22).

אמר להו: מאי האי?

אמרו ליה: דם זבחים הוא דאישתפיך.

אמר להו: אייתי ואנסי אי מדמו

Nebuzaradan said to the priests there: What is this?

They said to him: It is the blood of offerings that was spilled.

Nebuzaradan said to them: Bring animals and I will test to determine if the blood of the animals is similar to the blood that is boiling.

כסי ולא אידמו.

אמר להו:

גלו לי,

ואי לא —

סריקנא לכו לבשרייכו במסריקא דפרזלא

He slaughtered the animals and their blood was not similar to the boiling blood.

Nebuzaradan said to the priests:

Reveal the source of that blood to me,

and if not —

I will comb your flesh with an iron comb.

אמרו ליה:

האי כהן ונביא הוא,

דאינבי להו לישראל בחורבנא דירושלם,

וקטלוה

The priests said to Nebuzaradan:

This blood is the blood of a priest and a prophet

who prophesied for the Jewish people with regard to the destruction of Jerusalem

and whom they killed.

אמר להו: אנא מפייסנא ליה.

1. אייתי רבנן,

   1. קטיל עילויה,

   2. ולא נח.

2. אייתי דרדקי דבי רב,

   1. קטיל עילויה,

   2. ולא נח.

3. אייתי פרחי כהונה,

   1. קטיל עילויה,

   2. ולא נח.

4. עד די קטל עילויה תשעין וארבעה ריבוא,

   1. ולא נח

He said to the priests: I will pacify the blood so the boiling will stop.

1. He brought the rabbis

   1. and killed them over the blood

   2. and its boiling did not cease.

2. He brought schoolchildren

   1. and killed them over the blood

   2. and its boiling did not cease.

3. He brought young priests

   1. and killed them over the blood

   2. and its boiling did not cease.

4. He continued killing until he killed 940,000 people over the blood,

   1. and its boiling did not cease.

קרב לגביה,

אמר:

זכריה, זכריה,

טובים שבהן איבדתים.

ניחא לך דאיקטלינהו לכולהו?!

מיד נח

Nebuzaradan approached the blood and said:

Zechariah! Zechariah!

the worthy among them I killed on your behalf.

Is it satisfactory for you that I kill them all?!

Immediately the boiling ceased.

1. When the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. This is in continuation to the previous section, at the end of last installment, section “Divine reason why Betar was destroyed: because its people lit lights after the Second Temple’s destruction, rejoicing over Jerusalem’s fall“.

2. בולווטי - from Greek.

On this word, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “בּוּלֶבְטֵס”:

(incorrectly: … טוס)

masculine

(βουλευτής [bouleutēs], see בולבוטס)

senator, councilman.

• Bereishit Rabbah 76 - “this one is rich נעבדיניה בליוטוס (Yalkut Daniel 1064 בולטוס, correct accordingly) let us make him a senator” (to ruin him, see ארכונטוס).

• Kohelet Rabbah beginning: בלווטוס (correct accordingly);

• Shir HaShirim Rabbah beginning: בוליוטוס.

• Sifrei Devarim 309:1 בליוסטוס, בלאיוסטוס;

• Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 942:38 בליוסטוס, correct accordingly

Plural: בּוּלֶוְוטִין, בּוּלֶבְטֵי, טַיָּיא …, טַיָּיה …

• Yerushalmi Ḥagigah 2, 77d bottom of page

• Eichah Rabbah 2.

• Ibid. - לאיבדא (לע׳) בוליוטין, read לאיעבדא בוליוטיס; see אַרְכוֹנְטוֹס.

• Jerusalem Talmud Peah 1:1:45 - בולווטיה דציפורין - “the council of Sepphoris”

• Vayikra Rabbah 11:7 - אלו הבוליותוס (read … טין).

• Yerushalmi Shabbat 12, 13c bottom of page;

• Jerusalem Talmud Horayot 3:5:16 - בולווטייא - family heads entitled to seats in the Boule of Sepphoris.

And see also ibid., entry “בּוּלְבּוּטֵיס”:

(corruption of βουλευτής [bouleutēs]) senator.

• Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 4:5:14 - ארכינטס וב׳ (correct accordingly) - “archont or senator”; see בּוּלֶבְטֵס.

Plural: בּוּלְבּוּטֵי.

• Gittin 36b sq. (explaining פרוסבול) - פרוס בולי ובוטי (probably a Babylonian corruption of בולי בולבוטי πρὸς βουλῇ βουλευτῶν [pros boulē bouleutōn]) “before the council of senators”

• Gittin 37a (as if two words) - בולי ובו׳ וכ׳ - “boule are the rich, bute (as if from בטט, play on עבט) the poor (broken ones)”

And see Wikipedia, “Boule (ancient Greece)“:

In cities of ancient Greece, the boule (Ancient Greek: βουλή; pl.: boulai, βουλαί) was a council (βουλευταί, bouleutai) appointed to run daily affairs of the city.

Originally a council of nobles advising a king, boulai evolved according to the constitution of the city: In oligarchies boule positions might have been hereditary, while in democracies members were typically chosen by lot and served for one year.

Little is known about the workings of many boulai, except in the case of Athens, for which extensive material has survived.

3. ארכונטס - from Greek.

On this word, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “אַרְכוֹנְטוֹס”:

(ἄρχων [archōn], -οντος [ontos]) archont, city-magistrate, prefect.

• Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 4:5:14

• Eichah Rabbah 2; Eichah Rabbah 4:18.

• Bereishit Rabbah 76 - ארכוננוס (correct accordingly). [The office of a city mayor or senator in the Roman days was often ruinous to its occupants; see Smith, ‘Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities’ under the word Senatus.]

And see also ibid., entry “אַרְכָן I”:

(ארך, an adaptation of ἄρχων [archōn]) elder, magistrate.

• Bava Batra 164b:9 - a letter of divorce dated בשנת פלוני א׳ (Variant עַרְכָן, עַרְכָאן see Rabbinowicz, ‘Dikdukei Sofrim’ there, note 3 sq.; compare עַרְכִי) - “in the year when [X] was magistrate”; see דּוּגִין.

Plural: אַרְכוֹנוֹת.

• Shir HaShirim Rabbah 7:9.

Aramaic אַרְכוֹן, אַרְכוֹנָא.

And see also ibid., entry “אַרְכוֹן”:

Aramaic

(= Hebrew: אַרְכָן q. see)

ruler, elder

• Targum of I Chronicles 11:2 (Hebrew text: נגיד).

• Aramaic Targum to Job 21:28 (Hebrew text: נדיב);

• and frequently.

• Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 5:1:18 - עבר א׳ - “an elder passed by”

Plural: אַרְכוֹנִין.

• Targum of II Chronicles 11:11;

• and elsewhere.

• Jerusalem Talmud Peah 8:6:5 (defective sentence); [Hebrew plural: אַרְכוֹנוֹת, see ארְכָן).

And see Wikipedia, “Archon“:

Archon (Greek: ἄρχων, romanized: árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, árchontes) is a Greek word that means “ruler”, frequently used as the title of a specific public office.

It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, meaning “to be first, to rule” (see also ἀρχή “beginning, origin”), derived from the same root as words such as monarch and hierarchy.

And see a discussion of this term in the Bavli, in my “Archons and Angles: A Talmudic Sugya on Greek Words (Bava Batra 164b)“.

4. אוניתא - from Greek ὠνή [ōnḗ], as noted by Guggenheimer (f. 303). See Wiktionary, “ὦνος [ônos]“: “price (cost required to gain possession of something)“.

On this word, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “אוֹנִיתָא”:

Aramaic, equivalent to Hebrew אוֹנָה

title of possession, deed.

• Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 4:5:14 - והוו משלחין אוניתא וכ׳ - “they would send the (forged) deed of sale to the steward”

• Eichah Rabbah 2 (correct accordingly).

5. כלילא - or: “destruction”. Regardless, this line clearly means “to fight/rebel” against the Romans.

6. The sentiment, citing the same verse, as earlier, see Part 2, section “Before battle, Ben Koziba asked God neither to assist nor obstruct him - Psalms 60:12“, and see my note there.

7. קינים - for Temple bird sacrifices.

8. זנות - possibly referring to prostitution.

9. On this, compare the Bavli, in my “Extreme Poverty, Wealth, and Attractiveness as No Excuse Not to Study Torah: The Examples of Hillel, Elazar ben Ḥarsum, and Joseph (Yoma 35b)“, especially section “Elazar ben Ḥarsum: The Wealthy Torah Wanderer“:

אמרו עליו על רבי אלעזר בן חרסום

שהניח לו אביו

• אלף עיירות ביבשה,

• וכנגדן אלף ספינות בים

They said about R’ Elazar ben Ḥarsum

that his father left him an inheritance of

• 1,000 villages on land,

• and corresponding to them, 1,000 ships at sea.

10. =600,000 x 2 = 1.2 million.

See the parallel Bavli passage in my “The Destruction of “King’s Mountain” (‘Tur Malka’): A Story of Custom, Rebellion, and Massacre (Gittin 57a)“, section “Three cities there had population of 1.2 million: Kefar Bish, Kefar Shiḥalayim, and Kefar Dikhrayya; etymologies of the city names“.

11. See the parallel Bavli passage in my “Abundance in Ancient Israel: Talmudic Accounts of Extraordinary Fruits and Families (Berakhot 44a)“, section “80 pairs of priestly brothers married to 80 pairs of priestly sisters in Gufnit“, and see my note there on this place.

12. אורגי פלגס.

The word פלגס is Greek, on this word, see On this word, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “פִּינוֹלֵס”:

(φαινόλης, φαιλόνης [phainolēs, phailonēs] S. = pænula) a travelling cloak, pænula.

• Treatise Tsitsith (ed. Kirchh. p. 22) - פילגס (correct accordingly;

• Sifrei Devarim 234 - תכלא;

• Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 933 תיכלא, probably to be read: פִּינוּלָא).

• Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 10:8:12 - מהו להתיר בפלונס (not ם …) - “is it permitted to act as judge in absolving from vows wrapped in a pænula (in place of a Tallith)?”

• Jerusalem Talmud Chagigah 1:8:6 top פלנים (correct accordingly).

Plural: פִּינוֹלִין, פִּילוֹנִין.

• Eichah Rabbah 2 - מוכרי פילינין Arukh (ed. Kohelet פילינון, correct accordingly; printed edition: מוכרי טהרות) - “sellers of pænulæ”

• Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 4:5:16 - אורגי פלגס (correct accordingly) - “weavers of material for pænulæ”

• Tosefta Keilim Batra 5:11 - פמליאות, פימ׳ (Rabbi S. to Mishnah Kelim 28:8 פמילאות) read: פִּינוֹלָאוֹת.

And see Wikipedia, “Paenula“:

The paenula or casula was a cloak worn by the Romans, akin to the poncho (i.e., a large piece of material with a hole for the head to go through, hanging in ample folds round the body)

13. שידות.

On this word, see my note in “Pt1 Solomon, Ashmedai, and the Shamir: Demonology, Temple-Building, and the Reversal of Royal Power (Gittin 68a-b)“, on section ““Sharim/sharot,” “human pleasures,” and “shidda/shiddot” - Babylon reads shidda/shiddot as male/female demons; Eretz Yisrael reads it as “carriages” - Ecclesiastes 2:8“.

14. משמרות - priestly divisions. In general, see the Bavli’s discussion, including on Immer, in my “The Temple’s Priestly and Non-Priestly Divisions: Their Formation, Function, and Revival From Moses to the Second Temple (Taanit 27a-b)“, and see my intro there.

15. Compare the parallel in the Bavli in tractate Sanhedrin; I discuss the end of that in my “From Foes to Faithful: The Conversions of Israel’s Historical Biblical Enemies and their Descendants (Sanhedrin 96b)“, section “Nebuzaradan’s Transformation: Witnessing the Miraculous and Embracing Judaism“.