Pt4 The Destructions of the First Temple, Second Temple, and Betar in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Taanit 4:5)

This is the fourth and final part of a four-part series. Part 1 is here; Part 2 is here; Part 3 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.

Narrative re Nebuzaraddan (at the time of the Destruction of the First Temple) - Nebuzaraddan found Zechariah’s blood bubbling

וכיון שעלה נבוזראדן לכאן ראה את הדם תוסס.

אמר להן: מה טיבו שלזה?

אמרו לו:

דם

1. פרים

2. וכבשים

3. ואילים

שהיינו מקריבין על גבי המזבח.

When Nebuzaraddan came here and saw the blood bubbling (תוסס),

[Nebuzaraddan] asked them: what is the matter with this?

They told [Nebuzaraddan]:

it is the blood of

1. bulls,

2. sheep,

3. and rams,

which we were sacrificing on the altar.

מיד הביא

1. פרים

2. ואילים

3. וכבשים

ושחטן עליו

—(ואדיין) [ןעדיין]

הדם תוסס.

Immediately [Nebuzaraddan] brought

1. bulls,

2. rams,

3. and sheep

and slaughtered them on it,

but still —

the blood was bubbling.

After false explanations failed, the people confessed it was the blood of a priest, prophet, and judge whom they had killed

וכיון שלא הודו לו --

תליין בגרדון.

אמרו:

הואיל והקדוש ברוך הוא רוצה לתבוע דמו מידינו --

אמרו לו:

דם

1. כהן

2. ונביא

3. ודיין

הוא שהיה מתנבא עלינו [כל מה שאתה עושה לנו].

ועמדנו עליו, והרגנוהו.

Since they did not confess --

[Nebuzaraddan] hung them on gallows¹

They said:

since God wants to ask for his blood from us --

they told [Nebuzaraddan]:

it is the blood of a

1. priest,

2. prophet,

3. and judge

who was prophesying for us [all that you are doing to us.]

We stood up against him, and killed him.

Nebuzaraddan slaughtered 80,000 young priests over the blood, yet it still bubbled; he rebuked God

מיד הביא שמונים אלף פירחי כהונה ושחטן עליו.

ואדיין הדם תוסס.

בההיא שעתא נזף ביה.

אמר ליה:

מה את בעי נובד כל אומתך עלך?!

Immediately [Nebuzaraddan] brought 80,000 young priests and slaughtered them on it,

but the blood was still bubbling.

At this moment [Nebuzaraddan] got angry with [God],

and said to [God]:

do you want to destroy your entire people because of you?!

Divine mercy was aroused and the blood was absorbed - Deuteronomy 4:31

מיד נתמלא הקדוש ברוך הוא רחמים ואמר:

• מה אם זה

  • שהוא בשר ודם

  • ואכזרי

    • נתמלא רחמים על בניי.

• אני

  • שכתוב בי: כי אל רחום יי אלהיך לא ירפך ולא ישחיתך ולא ישכח את ברית אבותיך.

    • על אחת כמה וכמה.

מיד רמז לדם

ונבלע במקומו.

Immediately God was filled with mercy and said,

• if this one [=Nebuzaraddan]

  • who is flesh and blood,

  • and cruel,

    • is filled with mercy for My children,

• I,

  • where it is written about Me (Deuteronomy 4:31): for a compassionate power is God, your God, He will not destroy you nor forget the covenant of your forefathers,

    • not so much more?!

Immediately he indicated to the blood

and it was absorbed on its place.

R’ Yoḥanan - 80,000 young priests fled into First Temple chambers and were burned; only Joshua b. Yehozadak survived - Zechariah 3:2 (#18)

#18

אמר רבי יוחנן:

שמונים אלף פירחי כהונה ברחו להם לתוך קלתותים שלבית המקדש.

וכולהם נשרפו.

ומכולם לא נשתייר אלא יהושע בן יהוצדק הכהן הגדול.

שנאמר:

הלא זה אוד מוצל מאש.

R’ Yoḥanan said:

80,000 young priests fled into the hollows of the Temple,

and all of them were burned.

Of all of them only Joshua ben Jehozadak the High Priest was left,

as it is said (Zechariah 3:2):

is he not a wooden poker saved from fire?²

R’ Yoḥanan - 80,000 young priests fled to Nebuchadnezzar’s army and then to Ishmaelites, who fed them salted fish and killed them by giving them inflated waterskins (#19)

#19

אמר רבי יוחנן:

שמונים אלף פירחי כהונה (בקעו) [ברחו] לתוך חיילותיו שלנבוכד נצר.

והלכו להן אצל ישמעאלים.

אמרון לון: הבו לן נישתי דאנן צהיי.

R’ Yoḥanan said:

80,000 young priests (broke through) [fled to] Nebuchadnezzar’s armies and went to the Ishmaelites³

They said to [the Arabs]: give us to drink for we are thirsty.

הביאו לפניהן מיני מלוחים ונודות נפוחות.

אמרון לון: אכלון ואתון שתיי.

וכיון דהוה חד מינהון שרי זיקא ויהיב ליה גו פומיה.

הוה רוחא נפק והוה חנק ליה.

[the Arabs] brought before them salted fish and inflated waterskins.

[the Arabs] said to them: eat and then you can drink.

When one of them opened the waterskin and put it into his mouth,

the wind came out and suffocated him.

Isaiah’s “massa be-Arav” is read as a prophecy about Israelite refugees among Arabs; their suffering is linked to failure to observe commandments - Isaiah 21:13-15

הדא הוא דכתיב:

משא בערב --

מטול רב בערבייא.

That is what is written:

load (משא) in Arabia (Isaiah 21:13)

a large load (מטול) on Arabia.

ביער בערב תלינו --

מי נתונים ביער הלבנון

In a forest in Arabia they will stay,

those that should have been in the forest of Lebanon,

בערב תלינו --

אלא אורחות דדנים.

כן אורחהון דבני דודייא עבדין.

in Arabia they will stay --

But the ways of Dedanians,

that is the way the Dedanians act.

Ishmael - Genesis 21:19

ישמעאל שצמא

לא לקראת צמא התיו מים.

ויפקח אלהים את עיניה

ותרא באר מים.

When Ishmael was thirsty,

did they not bring water towards the thirsty?

God opened her eyes

and she saw a water cistern (Genesis 21:19)

לא מן טיבותכון אתון לגביכון.

כי מפני חרבות נדדו --

מפני חרב נטושה.

Not voluntarily they came to you,

for they fled from swords.

From the unfettered (נטושה) sword,

Sabbatical years - Exodus 23:11

שלא רצו לשמר את שמיטיהם.

כמה דאת אמר:

והשביעית תשמטנה ונטשתה.

because they did not want to keep their Sabbaticals,

as you are saying (Exodus 23:11):

and the 7th [year] unfetter (תשמטנה) and abandon.

Sabbath - Nehemiah 13:15

ומפני קשת דרוכה --

שלא רצו לשמר שבתותיהם.

כמה דאת אמר:

בימים ההמה ראיתי ביהודה דורכים גיתות בשבת.

And because of cocked bows,

because they did not want to keep their Sabbaths,

as you are saying (Nehemiah 13:15):

in these days I saw in Yehuda people pressing wine-presses on the Sabbath.

Torah study - Numbers 21:14

ומפני כובד מלחמה --

שלא רצו להלחם במלחמתה שלתורה.

[כמה דאת אמר:]

על כן יאמר בספר מלחמות יי.

And because of the difficulty of war,

they did not want to engage in the war of Torah,⁴

[as you are saying (Numbers 21:14):]

therefore it was said in the book of the wars of YHWH.

Judea before and after the Second Temple’s Destruction (70 CE)

R’ Yoḥanan - From Gibbethon to Antipatris there were 60,000 towns; the smallest was Bet Shemesh - I Samuel 6:19 (#20)

#20

(See footnote.)⁵

אמר רבי יוחנן:

מגבת ועד אנטיפריס ששים ריבוא עיירות היו.

הקטנה שבהן היא היתה בית שמש.

דכתיב בה:

ויך באנשי בית שמש

כי ראו בארון יי וגו׳.

ואילו מרוח אחת היו.

אין את מבצע לה קניי —

לא נסייה.

R’ Yoḥanan said:

from Gabbath⁶ to Antipatris⁷ there were 60,000 villages.

The smallest among them was Bet Shemesh,

about which is written (I Samuel 6:19):

He smote of the men of Bet Shemesh,

for they looked at the Ark of YHWH, etc.

These were in one direction.

If you execute this with reeds —

it will not carry it.

R’ Ḥanina - The Land of Israel “contracted” miraculously (explaining how so many towns fit in that area)

אמר רבי חנינה:

קפצה לה ארץ ישראל.

R’ Ḥanina said:

the Land of Israel folded its fist.

R’ Ze’ira - The Land of Israel is “insolent” for still producing fruit after such destruction (#21)

#21

אמר רבי זעירה:

בוא וראה מה חציפה היא ארץ ישראל

שהיא עושה פירות.

R’ Ze’ira said:

come and see how insolent (חציפה) is the Land of Israel,

that it yields fruit.

The land produces fruit either because it is fertilized or because its soil is turned over

מפני מה היא עושה פירות?

תרין אמורין:

חד אמר: מפני שמזבלין אותה.

וחורנה אמר: מפני שהופכין את עפרה.

Why does it yield fruit?

Two Amoraim:

One said: because one fertilizes (מזבלין) it.

The other one said: because one turns its earth over.

Anecdote - In the valley of Arbel, a farmer dug up burning soil that burned his seed

עובדא הוה בחד דהוה קאים זרע בהדא בקעת ארבל.

וכבש ידיה ונפק עפרה יקידא ואוקיד זרעא.

It happened that a person was sowing in the valley of Arbel

when he dug down with his hand and brought up burning dust which burned the seeds.

R’ Yose - For 52 years no bird flew in the Land of Israel - Jeremiah 9:9 (#22)

#22

(See footnote.)⁸

תני:

רבי יוסי אומר:

חמשים ושתים שנה לא נראה עוף טס בארץ ישראל.

It was stated:

R’ Yose says:

for 52 years no bird was flying in the Land of Israel.

מה טעם?

מעוף ועד בהמה נדדו הלכו.

What is the reason?

From the bird <of the sky> to the domesticated animal,

they moved, they went away (Jeremiah 9:9)

R’ Ḥanina - Forty years before the Babylonian exile, date palms were planted in Babylonia so Israel would desire sweetness, which trains the tongue for Torah

אמר רבי חנינה:

קודם לארבעים שנה עד שלא גלו ישראל לבבל --

נטעו תמרים בבבל.

על ידי שיהו להוטים אחר מתיקה.

שהיא מרגלת את הלשון לתורה.

R’ Ḥanina said:

40 years before Israel was exiled to Babylonia --

they planted date palms in Babylonia,⁹

so they should be ardent (להוטים) after sweets

since this accustoms the tongue to Torah.

R’ Ḥanina b. Abbahu - 700 kosher fish species, 800 kosher locust species, and countless birds went into exile with Israel to Babylonia

אמר רבי חנינה בריה דרבי אבהו:

1. שבע מאות מיני דגים טהורים

2. ושמונה מאות מיני חגבים טהורים

3. ולעוף אין מספר

כולהם גלו עם ישראל לבבל.

R’ Ḥanina the son of R’ Abbahu said:

1. 700 kinds of pure fish

2. and 800 kinds of pure locusts

3. and innumerable birds

all were exiled with Israel to Babylonia;

All returned except the shibuta fish

וכשחזרו --

כולהם חזרו עמהן

חוץ מן הדג הנקרא שיבוטא.

and when they returned --

all of them returned,

except the fish called turbot (שיבוטא).

R’ Ḥuna b. Yosef - Fish went into exile and returned through the deep (tehom)

ודגים היאך גלו?

רבי חונה בר יוסף אמר:

דרך התהום גלו

ודרך התהום חזרו.

How did fish migrate?

R’ Ḥuna (bar Joseph) <in the name of Rav Yosef>said:

they went into exile through the abyss (תהום)

and returned through the abyss.

R’ Yoḥanan - One who sees Palmyra’s downfall is fortunate, because it helped destroy both Temples: 80,000 archers in the First Destruction and 8,000 in the Second (#23)

#23

(See footnote.)¹⁰

אמר רבי יוחנן:

אשרי מי שהוא רואה במפלתה שלתדמור.

שהיא היתה שותפת

1. בחרבן הבית הראשון

2. ובחרבן הבית השיני.

1. בחרבן הראשון

   1. העמידה שמונים אלף קשטים.

2. ובחרבן השיני

   1. העמידה שמונת אלפים קשטים.

R’ Yoḥanan said:

happy is he who sees the downfall of Palmyra (תדמור),

for it was partner in

1. the destruction of the First Temple

2. and the destruction of the Second Temple.

1. In the First destruction

   1. it put up 80,000 archers (קשטים)

2. and in the second destruction

   1. 8,000 archers.

“And the city was ploughed over.” (#24)

#24

[Tineas] Rufus ploughed over the Second Temple

חרש רופוס שחיק עצמות את ההיכל.

“And the city was ploughed over.”

[Tineas] Rufus, may his bones be ground, ploughed over the Temple.

1. גרדון - likely from Latin, see my quote from Hebrew Wiktionary later.

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

(גרד, compare Targum Jonathan on Judges 8:6 under the word גְּרַד; compare סָרַק)

place of torture and execution, (Roman) executioner’s scaffold, gallows.

• Shabbat 32a:6 - העולה לגרדום לידון - “he who ascends the scaffold to be punished”

• Mishnah Avodah Zarah 1:7 - בסילקי גרדום וכ׳ - “a basilica, a scaffold etc.”, interpreted in Avodah Zarah 16b:14 - בסילקי של גרדום - “a basilica for tortures, executions etc., i.e. a basilica for holding court”

• Pesikta Shimu, p. 118b - תלאו בגרדון - “ordered him to be suspended on the gallows (for torture)”

• Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 4:5:17 - תְּלָיָין בגרדון (compare Gittin 57b, and elsewhere. מסריקנא וכ׳).

• Tosefta Keilim Metsia 10, end - והגרדין טהור ed. Zuckermandel (ed. ברדין; correct accordingly) - “the torturer’s block is not affected by levitical impurity”

On the etymology of this word, see Hebrew Wiktionary, “גרדום“, section “Etymology”, my translation:

From Latin: gradus — “step” or “level.”

In fact, the word was translated into Hebrew from the Latin word gradum, which is the accusative form of gradus.

Regardless, this gradom/gradon (“scaffold, gallows, execution frame“) is likely referring to crucifixion, which was the standard public execution for lower-status rebels in Ancient Rome (even though this ostensibly refers to First Temple Babylonian destruction).

Compare also my note in a previous installment (Part 2), on section “Hadrian fenced an 18-by-18-mil vineyard with the corpses of Betar’s dead and left them unburied, until a later emperor allowed burial“.

And see also my note in “Pt2 Thief-Catching, Corpulence, and Virility: Stories of R’ Elazar ben Shimon and R’ Yishmael ben Yosei (Bava Metzia 83b-84a)“, on section “R’ Elazar ben Shimon and the Laundryman: A Tale of Moral Judgment, Regret, and Divine Validation“.

2. On Joshua the High Priest, compare the Bavli, in my “Roasted in Nebuchadnezzar’s Furnace: The Fall of Two Minor False Prophets and Joshua the High Priest, based on Jeremiah 29 and Zechariah 3 (Sanhedrin 93a)“.

3. ישמעאלים - i.e. Arabs.

For other examples of Ishmaelites as referring to Arabs, compare for example in my “Pt2 The Evil Inclination (‘Yetzer HaRa’) and Human Moral Struggle (Sukkah 52a-b)“, section “Rav Ḥana bar Aḥa citing Rav’s School - God regrets 4 creations: exile, Chaldeans, Ishmaelites (=Arabs), and the evil inclination“.

4. מלחמתה של תורה - a common metaphorical Talmudic expression.

See another instance, for example, in my “Isaiah’s Eighteen Curses and Categories of Torah and Torah Scholars: An Allegorical Reading of Isaiah 3:1-7 (Chagigah 14a)“, section “The list in Isaiah 3:1–4 is read allegorically: each “support” removed from Jerusalem (in 6th century BCE) represents a lost category of Torah mastery“, list item #6:

״ואיש מלחמה״ —

זה שיודע לישא וליתן במלחמתה של תורה

“And man of war” --

this is one who knows how to engage (לישא וליתן) in the war of Torah (מלחמתה של תורה)

5. Compare the parallel Bavli, in my “The Destruction of “King’s Mountain” (‘Tur Malka’): A Story of Custom, Rebellion, and Massacre (Gittin 57a)“, section “Ravin citing R’ Yoḥanan - Population Traditions -- 600,000 cities in Tur Malka (Lamentations 2:2)“ and on, where I summarize:

R’ Yoḥanan interprets “YHWH has swallowed up... all the habitations of Jacob” (Lamentations 2:2) as referring to the Hasmonean King Yannai’s 600,000 cities (עיירות) in Tur Malka [roughly speaking: Judean Hills].

Rav Yehuda citing Rav Asi - Each of the 600,000 cities had a population of 600,000

Three cities there had population of 1.2 million: Kefar Bish, Kefar Shiḥalayim, and Kefar Dikhrayya; etymologies of the city names

Ulla disputes the population claim, asserting the land couldn’t hold even 600,000 reeds.

A heretic accuses the rabbis of lying.

R’ Ḥanina responds that Israel is called “a land of deer” (Jeremiah 3:19), which expands when settled and contracts when desolate, like deer hide shrinking after skinning.

6. גבת.

On this place, see see Jastrow (modernized), entry “גַּבַּת”:

Gabbath, later name for Biblical Gibbethon, in the territory of Daniel

[Compare as to change of Biblical names Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 1:1:6]

• Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 4:5:20;

• Ruth Rabbah introduction (פתיחתא);

• Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:16:3 - מגבת ועד אנטיפרס וכ׳ - “between Gabbath and Antipatris there were sixty myriads of townships”

• Yerushalmi Megillah see above מגבות;

• Eichah Rabbah 2:4 - מגיבתון.

7. אנטיפריס.

On this place, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “אַנְטִיפַּטְרִיס”:

Antipatris, a town north-north-west of Jerusalem, founded by Herod the Great and named after his father.

• Mishnah Gittin 7:7 (Gittin 76a:20) (the second ט frequently dropped).

• Yerushalmi Bava Metzia 7, end, 11c.

• Yerushalmi Taanit 4, 69b top … פריס;

• and frequently.

• Tosefta Gittin 7 (Tosefta Gittin 5:9 אנטיפרוס, פטרוס …, (correct accordingly)

8. Compare the parallel discussion in Bavli, in my “Why Are Babylonian Birds Fat? Eretz Yisrael Amoraim Probe the Seemingly Superior Babylonia (Shabbat 145b)“, especially section “R’ Yehuda - Judean animals and birds were exiled for 52 years - Jeremiah 9:9“, where I summarize:

A baraita adds that even Judean animals were exiled: the word ‘behema’ ( בהמה) is numerical value (גימטריא - ‘gematria’) 52, symbolizing a 52-year desolation when no animals were present (Jeremiah 9:9).

9. Babylonia was known for its date palms in Talmudic times. See, for example, Pesachim/87b#23:

עולא אמר:

כדי שיאכלו תמרים ויעסקו בתורה

Ulla said:

Israel was exiled to Babylonia in order to enable them to eat the dates that grow there plentifully, which gave them strength and allowed them to engage in Torah study.

10. Compare the parallel Bavli passage, in Yevamot/16b#5:

• חד אמר:

  • תריסר אלפי גברי ושיתא אלפי קשתויי,

• וחד אמר:

  • תריסר אלפי גברי, ומנייהו שיתא אלפי קשתויי

The Talmud elaborates:

• One of them said that

  • 12,000 men and 6,000 archers (קשתויי) came from Tarmod (=Palmyra),

• and the other one said that

  • there were 12,000 men, of whom 6,000 were archers.

בשעה שנכנסו גוים להיכל,

הכל נפנו על כסף וזהב,

והם נפנו על בנות ירושלים

When the non-Jews entered the Sanctuary during the conquest of Jerusalem,

they all turned to plunder the silver and the gold they saw there,

but the warriors of Tarmod turned to the daughters of Jerusalem (to rape them),

שנאמר:

״נשים בציון ענו

בתולות בערי יהודה״.

as it is stated:

“They have raped the women in Zion,

the maidens in the cities of Judah” (Lamentations 5:11).

And ibid., Yevamot/17a#5:

יתיב רב יוסף אחוריה דרב כהנא,

ויתיב רב כהנא קמיה דרב יהודה

ויתיב וקאמר:

עתידין ישראל דעבדי יומא טבא כי חרבה תרמוד

§ The Talmud relates:

Rav Yosef sat behind Rav Kahana,

and Rav Kahana sat before Rav Yehuda,

and he sat and he said this tradition:

In the messianic future, the Jews will establish a Festival day when Tarmod (=Palmyra) is destroyed.

For more instances of this place in Talmudic literature, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “תַּדְמוֹר”:

(Biblical Hebrew תַּדְמֹר)

Tadmor (Tarmod) = Palmyra, in an oasis of the Syrian desert.

• Targum Jonathan on I Kings 9:18; II Chronicles 8:4 (ed. Lagarde: תדמר).

• Jerusalem Talmud Yevamot 1:6:5

• Jerusalem Talmud Kiddushin 4:6:3 - גירי ת׳ - “proselytes from Tadmor”

• Niddah 56b:35 - מקבלין גרים מתר׳ - “we may admit proselytes from Tarmod”

• Yevamot 16b:1.

• Yevamot 17a:8 - פסולי דת׳ - “those of blemished descent from Tadmor”

• Yevamot 17a:5 - היינו ת׳ היינו תַּמּוֹד - “Tarmod and Tammod are the same”

• Yevamot 17a:5 - משאול לת׳ - “from hell to Tadmor”, see גַּנְדַּר I.

• Bereishit Rabbah 56:11 (referring to Genesis 22:17) - זו ת׳ אשריו … של ת׳ וכ׳ - “ ‘the gate of its enemies’, that is Tadmor; happy he who sees the downfall of Tadmor, which was a partner etc.”, see שׁוּתָּף;

• Yerushalmi Taanit 4, 69b - תר׳;

• Eichah Rabbah 2:4;

• Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 102:2;

• and elsewhere.

Denominative verb: Hebrew:תַּדְמוּרִי, תַּרְמוּדִי; plural: תַּדְמוּרִים, תַּדְמוּרִיִּים, תַּדְמוּרִיִּין, תַּרְמוּדִ׳.

• Yerushalmi Yevamot see above;

• Bavli Yevamot 16a.

• Shabbat 31a:2;

• Avot D’Rabbi Natan 15:2;

• and elsewhere.

Feminine: תַּדְמוּרִית.

• Tosefta Nazir 4:10 ed. Zuckermandel (Variant תודמרית, correct accordingly).

Aramaic תַּדְמוּרָאָה, תַּרְמוּדָ׳; plural: תַּדְמוּרָאֵי, תַּרְמוּדָ׳.

• Shabbat 21b - תרמוד׳ - “Palmyreans, dealers in kindling material”