Pt3 Talmudic Jewish Geography: The Boundaries of Babylonia, Lineage Purity, and the Cities of the Ten Lost Tribes (Kiddushin 71b-72a)

This is the third and final part of a three-part series. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, the outline for the series can be found at the beginning of Part 1.

‘Three Ribs in the Bear’s Mouth’ (Daniel 7:5): Regions of Frequent Power Shifts Between the Persian and Roman Empires—Ḥillazon, Hadiab, and Nusaybin

The Talmud connects the places mentioned in the previous sections to a vision in Daniel 7:5 of a bear with "three ribs (עלעין) in its mouth," which R' Yoḥanan interprets as symbolizing Ḥillazon, Hadiab, and Nusaybin (נציבין)—regions frequently shifting control between the Persian and Roman empires.¹

״ותלת עלעין בפמה בין שנה״.

אמר רבי יוחנן: זו

1. חלזון,

2. הדייב,

3. ונציבין,

שפעמים בולעתן ופעמים פולטתן.

[...]

In connection to the aforementioned places, the Gemara analyzes the following verse, describing a vision of a bear-like animal: “And it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth” (Daniel 7:5).

R' Yoḥanan says: This is

1. Ḥillazon,

2. Hadyav,

3. and Netzivin,

which the Persian government sometimes swallows and sometimes discharges. In other words, control over these places passed from the Persians to the Romans and back again several times.

[...]

Six Prophetic Insights by R' Yehuda HaNasi on Babylonian Places and Events: Homanya, Masgariya, Birka, Birta d’Satya, Akra d’Agma, and the Births of Adda bar Ahava and Rav Yehuda

As R' Yehuda HaNasi was on his deathbed, he made prophetic statements about various locations in Babylonia:

1. Homanya (הומניא): A place in Babylonia where all the residents are descendants of Ammon.

2. Masgariya (מסגריא): A place in Babylonia where all the residents are mamzerim (illegitimate).

3. Birka (בירקא): A place in Babylonia where two brothers wife-swap.²

4. Birta d’Satya:³ A place in Babylonia where “Today (היום), they strayed (סרו) from God (המקום)”. The Talmud clarifies the story: After trapping fish on Shabbat, the people were excommunicated (שמתינהו) by R' Aḥai son of R' Yoshiya (רבי אחי ברבי יאשיה), and subsequently apostatized.⁴

5. Akra d’Agma:⁵ A place in Babylonia where Adda bar Ahava was circumcised on this day.⁶

6. Birth of Rav Yehuda: Rav Yehuda was born in Babylonia on the same day.⁷

כי הוה ניחא נפשיה דרבי, אמר:

1. הומניא איכא בבבל – כולה עמונאי היא.

2. מסגריא איכא בבבל – כולה דממזירי היא.

3. בירקא איכא בבבל – שני אחים יש [בה] שמחליפים נשותיהם זה לזה.

4. בירתא דסטיא איכא בבבל – היום, סרו מאחרי המקום,

   1. דאקפי פירא בכוורי בשבתא, ואזיל וצדו בהו בשבתא, ושמתינהו רבי אחי ברבי יאשיה, ואישתמוד.

5. אקרא דאגמא איכא בבבל – אדא בר אהבה יש בה, היום יושב בחיקו של אברהם.

6. היום נולד רב יהודה בבבל.

When R' Yehuda HaNasi was dying, he said prophetically:

1. There is a place called Homanya in Babylonia, and all its people are the sons of Ammon.

2. There is a place called Masgariya in Babylonia, and all its people are mamzerim.

3. There is a place called Bireka in Babylonia, and there are two brothers there who exchange wives with each other, and their children are therefore mamzerim.

4. There is a place called Bireta DeSatya in Babylonia. Today they turned away from the Omnipresent.

   1. What did they do? A ditch with fish overflowed, and they went and trapped the fish on Shabbat. R' Aḥai, son of R' Yoshiya, excommunicated them, and they all became apostates.

5. There is a place called Akra DeAgma in Babylonia. There is a man named Adda bar Ahava there. Today he is sitting in the lap of Abraham our forefather, since he has just been circumcised.

6. He added: Today Rav Yehuda was born in Babylonia.

Appendix #1 - Table Summarizing Some Identified Toponyms

Appendix #2a - Bear-Like Persians and Other Cultural Metaphors: Perspectives on Nations, Magi, and Babylonian Torah scholars (Kiddushin 72a, sections #9-10)

Kiddushin.72a.9-10

This passage discusses interpretations of Daniel 7:5, which describes a beast likened to a bear.

Rav Yosef identifies this beast as symbolizing Persians, attributing to them bear-like qualities: they consume abundantly, are corpulent (מסורבלין), hairy, and restless (constantly on the move).

The Talmud recounts that when R' Ami saw a Persian riding, he would remark: “This is a moving (ניידא) bear”.

In a separate dialogue, R' Yehuda HaNasi asks Levi to describe various groups, to which Levi responds that:

1. Persians are compared to the armies (חיילות) of the House of David.

2. Magi (Ḥabbarin - Persian priests) are likened to Destructive Angels.⁸

3. Ishmaelites⁹ are described as resembling demons¹⁰ of an outhouse (בית הכסא).

4. Babylonian Torah scholars are exalted, being compared to Ministering Angels (מלאכי השרת).

״וארו חיוה אחרי תנינה דמיה לדב״.

תני רב יוסף:

אלו פרסיים,

1. שאוכלין ושותין כדוב,

2. ומסורבלין כדוב,

3. ומגדלין שער כדוב,

4. ואין להם מנוחה כדוב.

רבי אמי, כי הוה חזי פרסא דרכיב, אמר: היינו דובא ניידא.

אמר ליה רבי ללוי:

1. הראני פרסיים. אמר ליה: דומים לחיילות של בית דוד.

2. הראני חברין. דומין למלאכי חבלה.

3. הראני ישמעאלים. דומין לשעירים של בית הכסא.

4. הראני תלמידי חכמים שבבבל. דומים למלאכי השרת.

The first part of that verse stated: “And behold a second beast, similar to a bear” (Daniel 7:5).

Rav Yosef taught:

These are Persians,

1. who eat and drink copious amounts like a bear,

2. and are corpulent like a bear,

3. and grow hair like a bear,

4. and have no rest like a bear, which is constantly on the move from one place to another.

When R' Ami saw a Persian riding, he would say: This is a bear on the move.

R' Yehuda HaNasi said to Levi:

1. Show me Persians, i.e., describe a typical Persian to me. Levi said to him: They are similar to the legions of the house of David.

2. R' Yehuda HaNasi said: Show me Ḥabbarin, Persian priests. Levi said to him: They are similar to angels of destruction.

3. R' Yehuda HaNasi said: Show me Ishmaelites. Levi said to him: They are similar to demons of an outhouse.

4. R' Yehuda HaNasi said: Show me Torah scholars of Babylonia. Levi said to him: They are similar to ministering angels.

Appendix #2b - Continuity of Righteous Leaders: The Principle of Succession Among Sages (Kiddushin 72b, section # 2)

Kiddushin.72b.2

The Talmud comments on a broader principle: the continuity of righteous leaders. It notes that:

1. When R' Akiva died (c. early 2nd century CE), R' Yehuda HaNasi was born

2. When R' Yehuda HaNasi died, Rav Yehuda was born (as mentioned in the previous section, quoted in the main piece)

3. When Rav Yehuda died, Rava was born

4. When Rava died, Rav Ashi was born

This demonstrates that a righteous person does not depart until another equally righteous individual arises, as derived from Ecclesiastes 1:5.

This principle is paralleled in the transition from the biblical Eli to Samuel, as Samuel was already prophesying before Eli's demise, as indicated in I Samuel 3:3.

דאמר מר:

1. כשמת רבי עקיבא, נולד רבי.

2. כשמת רבי, נולד רב יהודה.

3. כשמת רב יהודה, נולד רבא.

4. כשמת רבא, נולד רב אשי.

ללמדך, שאין צדיק נפטר מן העולם, עד שנברא צדיק כמותו,

שנאמר: ״וזרח השמש, ובא השמש״.

עד שלא כבתה שמשו של עלי, זרחה שמשו של שמואל הרמתי,

שנאמר: ״ונר אלהים טרם יכבה, ושמואל שוכב וגו׳״.

The Gemara comments:

As the Master said:

1. While R' Akiva was dying, R' Yehuda HaNasi was born;

2. while R' Yehuda HaNasi was dying, Rav Yehuda was born;

3. while Rav Yehuda was dying, Rava was born;

4. while Rava was dying, Rav Ashi was born.

This teaches you that a righteous person does not leave the world before an equally righteous person is created,

as it is stated: “The sun also rises and the sun also sets” (Ecclesiastes 1:5).

The same applies to earlier generations: Before Eli’s sun had gone out, Samuel the Ramathite’s sun was already rising,

as it is stated: “And the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying in the Temple of the Lord” (I Samuel 3:3), which teaches that Samuel was already prophesying in the days of Eli.

1. Broader analysis:

Context in the Book of Daniel

• The Bear in Daniel 7:5: The vision describes four beasts, symbolizing successive empires, with the bear as the third beast.

• Three Ribs: These are generally understood as symbols of conquest or territorial subjugation. While their exact identity is ambiguous, they represent regions consumed or controlled by the empire.

Interpretation by R' Yoḥanan

• Ḥillazon, Hadiab, and Nusaybin: These regions were significant during the late Second Temple and Talmudic periods, lying at the borderlands of the Roman and Sasanian Persian empires. Their frequent change of control aligns with the image of instability and conflict suggested by the bear devouring its "ribs."

Historical Background of the Regions

• Hadiab (Adiabene): A client kingdom of the Parthians and later part of the Sasanian Empire, Hadiab was a center of Jewish life, known for its royal conversion to Judaism under Queen Helena and her son Monobaz.

• Nusaybin (Nisibis): A key strategic city, Nusaybin shifted hands multiple times between the Roman and Persian empires.

On Hadiab (Adiabene), and its Queen Helena and her son Monobaz,, see for example my piece “Honorable Innovations and Selfish Secrets: Contributions and Criticisms in Second Temple Service (Mishnah Yoma 3:10-11)”, sections “King Munbaz - gold handles for Yom Kippur vessels”, and “Queen Helene - gold chandelier for the Sanctuary entrance; golden tablet with the Torah portion of Sota”.

2. And hence their children are mamzerim.

For another discussion of wife-swapping in the Talmud, see my piece here, section “R’ Meir: Human Differences as Safeguards Against Wife-Swapping, Identity Theft, and Property Theft”.

3. בירתא דסטיא - “Citadel of the Strayers” (?). This fits the subsequent prophecy: “Today they strayed (סרו) from God”.

4. אישתמוד; presumably, they converted to one of the other major religions of the area: Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Mandeism, or Manichianism.

5. אקרא דאגמא - “Citadel of the Lake” (?).

6. Described in literary terms as “sitting in the lap of Abraham” - יושב בחיקו של אברהם. Abraham is associated with circumcision, since he was the first to be commanded by God to be circumcised, according to the Bible.

This place—Akra d’Agma—is mentioned as the place from which Adam’s buttocks were created, see my piece here, section “The Dust Used to Create Adam: From the Whole World for His Body, Babylonia for His Torso, Eretz Yisrael for His Head, and Akra De’Agma for His Buttocks”, and see my footnote there.

This place is likely related to the some of the places that Rabba bar Naḥmani fled to to escape from the Persian authorities, quoted in my piece “Pt1 Sage on the Run: The Fleeing and Death of Rabba bar Naḥmani (Bava Metzia 86a)”, section “The Chase”:

ערק ואזל

מפומבדיתא לאקרא,

מאקרא לאגמא,

[...]

[Rabba bar Naḥmani] fled and went

from Pumbedita to Akra (אקרא),

from Akra to Agma (אגמא)

[...]

7. Broader analysis:

Structure and Form

The passage is organized as a series of declarative statements, each tied to a location in Babylonia. These statements shift between descriptions of communal moral failings, individual transgressions, and singular, redemptive figures. The sequence alternates between collective and individual focus, creating a layered tapestry of moral and historical commentary.

Each location introduces a thematic vignette, many of them a wordplay on the place name:

1. Homanya: Generalizes the population as descendants of Ammonites.

2. Masgariya: Accuses the population of being entirely descended from mamzerim (illegitimate offspring).

3. Birka: Highlights immoral behavior involving marital infidelity.

4. Birta d’Satya: Describes a communal “straying” from God and a transgression on Shabbat, leading to excommunication.

5. Akra d’Agma: Presents a contrast: the mention of Adda bar Ahava as having just been circumcised.

6. The conclusion shifts from critique to celebration, marking the birth of Rav Yehuda as a hopeful moment.

This structured progression reflects a deliberate literary design: a movement from general condemnation of Babylonian communities to individual righteousness and renewal.

Themes and Motifs

1. Moral Decay and Redemption
   The passage underscores the moral failings of various Babylonian locales. By naming specific sins and transgressions (e.g., lineage issues, marital improprieties, desecration of Shabbat), it paints a grim picture of societal collapse. However, the inclusion of a righteous figure (Adda bar Ahava) and the birth of Rav Yehuda suggests a counterbalance, emphasizing the potential for moral renewal and continuity.

2. Geographic Morality
   The locations in Babylonia are not just geographic markers but symbols of collective identity and behavior. This aligns with the talmudic tendency to moralize geography, using places to signify spiritual or ethical qualities. The mention of Babylonia here might reflect an ambivalence or critique on the part of Eretz Yisrael’s R’ Yehuda Hanasi of Jewish life in the diaspora.

8. מלאכי חבלה - this category of angels is also mentioned in a recent piece of mine, see here, section “Agrat bat Maḥalat and Successive Sages’ Banishment of Demons to the Outskirts of Towns”, and my footnote there.

9. ישמעאלים; i.e. Arabs.

10. שעירים - literally: “goats”.