The Wicked Doeg and His Relationship With David in 1 Samuel 21-22 and in Psalms (Sanhedrin 106b)

See Wikipedia, “Doeg the Edomite”:

Doeg (Hebrew: דֹּאֵג Dō’ēg) was an Edomite, chief herdsman to Saul, King of Israel.

He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible book of First Samuel, chapters 21 and 22, where he is depicted as an antagonist of David responsible for the deaths of a large number of priests.

And see ibid., section “In Rabbinical literature”:

Doeg is the subject of many rabbinical legends, the origins of which are to be found in part in Psalm 52.

Though he died at the early age of 34 years, he is regarded by the rabbis as the greatest scholar of his time, a strong description being supposedly applied to him because he made every one with whom he disputed “blush”.

He could bring forward 300 different questions with reference to one single ritual case.

The sugya’s extensive intertextual use of Psalms shows the rabbis’ method of reinterpreting Psalms--traditionally understood as David’s own poetry--as referencing known stories from his life.¹

Outline

Intro

The Wicked Doeg and His Relationship With David in 1 Samuel 21-22 and in Psalms (Sanhedrin 106b)

1. R’ Yoḥanan - Etymology of the name ‘Doeg’--God initially worried Doeg might become evil; after he did, God expressed woe - I Samuel 22:9, 22:18

2. R’ Yitzḥak - God critiques Doeg: despite Torah knowledge, he boasts of evil instead of relying on God’s mercy - Psalms 52:3

3. R’ Yitzḥak - God questions Doeg’s right to speak Torah while violating its ethics--murder, slander - Psalms 50:16

4. R’ Ami - Doeg’s Torah was superficial, not internalized - Psalms 50:16

5. R’ Yitzḥak - The righteous initially feared Doeg but later laughed at his downfall - Psalms 52:8

6. R’ Yitzḥak - David asked God to make Doeg forget his Torah; God agreed - Job 20:15

7. R’ Yitzḥak - David requested from God that Doeg not enter the World-to-Come - Psalms 52:7

   1. … or be remembered in Torah study; or have sons who are rabbis - Psalms 52:7

8. R’ Yitzḥak - Doeg could count all letters and derive many laws; he taught 300 rulings on a floating cupboard - Isaiah 33:18

9. R’ Yehuda HaNasi - Doeg and Ahithophel raised 400 halachic dilemmas regarding “floating cupboards”

10. R’ Ami - Doeg forgot his Torah knowledge at the end of his life - Proverbs 5:23

11. Rav Ashi - Doeg became a metzora at the end of his life - Psalms 73:27

12. R’ Yoḥanan - 3 destructive angels punished Doeg--forgetting his Torah knowledge, soul destruction, and scattering of ashes

13. R’ Yoḥanan - Doeg and Ahithophel lived in different eras and never met

14. R’ Yoḥanan - they only reached age 34/35; prooftext cites premature death of violent, deceitful men - Psalms 55:24

15. R’ Yoḥanan - David reclassified Ahithophel over time: teacher → colleague → student - Psalms 55:14–15; 41:10

Appendix - the interpretations in the sugya, organized in the order of Biblical verses

I Samuel

1. I Sam. 22:9 & 22:18 — Variant spelling of “Doeg / Doyeig” (R’ Yoḥanan)

Isaiah

1. Isa. 33:18 — “Where is he who counts… who weighs… who counts towers?” (R’ Yitzḥak)

2. Psalms

3. Ps. 50:16 — “To the wicked God says: What have you to do to declare My statutes?” (R’ Yitzḥak)

4. Ps. 50:16 — “And My covenant upon your lips” (R’ Ami)

5. Ps. 52:3 — “Why boast of evil, mighty man?” (R’ Yitzḥak)

6. Ps. 52:7 — “God shall likewise destroy you forever” (R’ Yitzḥak)

7. Ps. 52:7 — “He shall pluck you away… uproot you from the land of the living” (R’ Yitzḥak)

8. Ps. 52:8 — “The righteous shall see and fear, and laugh at him” (R’ Yitzḥak)

9. Ps. 55:14–15; 41:10 — David’s shifting labels for Ahithophel (R’ Yoḥanan)

10. Ps. 55:24 — “Bloody and deceitful men shall not live half their days” (R’ Yoḥanan)

11. Ps. 73:27 — “You destroy all who stray from You” (Rav Ashi)

Job

1. Job 20:15 — “He has swallowed wealth and will vomit it” (R’ Yitzḥak)

Proverbs

1. Prov. 5:23 — “He shall die for want of instruction” (R’ Ami)

The Passage

Sanhedrin.106b.4-107a.1

R’ Yoḥanan - Etymology of the name ‘Doeg’—God initially worried Doeg might become evil; after he did, God expressed woe - I Samuel 22:9, 22:18

• כתיב

  • ״דואג״,

• וכתיב

  • ״דוייג״.

אמר רבי יוחנן:

בתחילה --

יושב הקדוש ברוך הוא ודואג,

שמא יצא זה לתרבות רעה.

לאחר שיצא --

אמר: ווי שיצא זה!

• § It is written in one verse:

  • “Doeg the Edomite” (I Samuel 22:9),

• and it is written in another verse:

  • “And the king said to Doyeig” (I Samuel 22:18).

R’ Yoḥanan says in explaining the discrepancy:

• Initially --

  • God sat and was concerned [doeg] that perhaps this person would emerge to undertake an evil path.

• After he emerged on that path --

  • God said: Alas [vai], that person has emerged to undertake an evil path.

R’ Yitzḥak - God critiques Doeg: despite Torah knowledge, he boasts of evil instead of relying on God’s mercy - Psalms 52:3

אמר רבי יצחק:

מאי דכתיב:

״מה תתהלל ברעה הגבור

חסד אל כל היום״?

אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא לדואג:

לא גבור בתורה אתה?!

מה תתהלל ברעה?!

לא חסד אל נטוי עליך כל היום?!

R’ Yitzḥak says:

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“Why boast of your evil mighty one?

The mercy of God endures continually” (Psalms 52:3)?

God said to Doeg:

Aren’t you mighty in Torah?!

Why do you boast of evil?!

Isn’t God’s mercy extended over you continually when you engage in His Torah?!

R’ Yitzḥak - God questions Doeg’s right to speak Torah while violating its ethics--murder, slander - Psalms 50:16

ואמר רבי יצחק:

מאי דכתיב

״ולרשע אמר אלהים:

מה לך לספר חקי״?

אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא לדואג הרשע:

מה לך לספר חקי?!

כשאתה מגיע

1. לפרשת מרצחים

2. ופרשת מספרי לשון הרע,

מה אתה דורש בהם?!

And R’ Yitzḥak says:

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“But to the wicked, God says:

What have you to do to declare My statutes, and that you have taken My covenant in your mouth” (Psalms 50:16)?

God said to Doeg the wicked:

Why do you speak of My statutes and My Torah?!

When you reach

1. the Torah portion (פרשת) of murderers²

2. and the Torah portion of lashon hara,

how do you teach them?! You have violated both.

R’ Ami - Doeg’s Torah was superficial, not internalized - Psalms 50:16

״ותשא בריתי עלי פיך״.

אמר רבי אמי:

אין תורתו של דואג אלא משפה ולחוץ.

With regard to the end of that verse: “And that you have taken My covenant in your mouth” (Psalms 50:16),

R’ Ami says:

Doeg’s Torah is only insincere lip service,

I.e. it is in his mouth but not in his heart. He does not have a profound understanding of the Torah and does not commit himself to the performance of its mitzvot.

R’ Yitzḥak - The righteous initially feared Doeg but later laughed at his downfall - Psalms 52:8

ואמר רבי יצחק:

מאי דכתיב:

״ויראו צדיקים וייראו

ועליו ישחקו״?

• בתחילה --

  • ייראו,

• ולבסוף --

  • ישחקו.

And R’ Yitzḥak says:

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“And the righteous shall see, and fear,

and shall laugh at him” (Psalms 52:8)?

• Initially --

  • they will fear Doeg due to his success,

• and ultimately --

  • they will laugh when they witness his downfall.

R’ Yitzḥak - David asked God to make Doeg forget his Torah; God agreed - Job 20:15

ואמר רבי יצחק:

מאי דכתיב

״חיל בלע

ויקאנו מבטנו

יורישנו אל״?

And R’ Yitzḥak says:

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“He has swallowed riches

and he shall vomit them again;

God shall cast them out of his belly” (Job 20:15)?

1. אמר דוד לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא: רבונו של עולם! ימות דואג!

   1. אמר לו: ״חיל בלע ויקיאנו״.

2. אמר לפניו: ״מבטנו יורישנו אל״!

1. David said before God: God! Doeg shall die.

   1. God said to him: “He has swallowed riches, and he shall vomit them again.” He is filled with Torah and wisdom; wait until he forgets what he has learned.

2. David said before Him: “God shall cast them out of his belly.” God can remove his Torah knowledge from him before he will forget it on his own.

R’ Yitzḥak - David requested from God that Doeg not enter the World-to-Come - Psalms 52:7

ואמר רבי יצחק:

מאי דכתיב ״גם אל יתצך לנצח״?

אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא לדוד: ניתי דואג לעלמא דאתי.

אמר לפניו: ״גם אל יתצך לנצח״.

And R’ Yitzḥak says:

What is the meaning of that which is written: “God shall likewise destroy you forever” (Psalms 52:7)?

God said to David: Let Doeg enter the World-to-Come.

David said before Him: “God shall likewise destroy you forever,” i.e., let Doeg not have eternal life in the World-to-Come.³

… or be remembered in Torah study; or have sons who are rabbis - Psalms 52:7

מאי דכתיב:

״יחתך

ויסחך מאהל

ושרשך מארץ חיים

סלה״?

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“He shall pluck you away,

and pluck you from your tent,

and root you out from the land of the living.

Selah” (Psalms 52:7) ?

1. אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא: לימרו שמעתא בי מדרשא משמיה.

   1. אמר לפניו: ״יחתך ויסחך מאהל״.

2. ליהוי ליה בנין רבנן

   1. ״ושרשך מארץ חיים סלה״.

1. God said to David: At least let them state a halakha in the study hall in his name.

   1. David said before Him: “He shall pluck you away, and pluck you from your tent,” i.e., let him be completely removed from the tents of Torah.

2. God said to him: Let him have sons who are rabbis.

   1. David said: “And root you out from the land of the living. Selah,” i.e., let Doeg be entirely uprooted.

R’ Yitzḥak - Doeg could count all letters and derive many laws; he taught 300 rulings on a floating cupboard - Isaiah 33:18

ואמר רבי יצחק:

מאי דכתיב:

״איה ספר

איה שקל

איה ספר את המגדלים״?

And R’ Yitzḥak says:

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“Where is he that counts;

where is he that weighs;

where is he that counts the towers [migdalim]” (Isaiah 33:18)?

1. ״איה ספר״ –

   1. כל אותיות שבתורה,

2. ״איה שקל״ –

   1. ששוקל כל קלים וחמורים שבתורה,

3. ״איה ספר את המגדלים״ –

   1. שהיה סופר שלש מאות הלכות פסוקות במגדל הפורח באויר.

1. “Where is he that counts”

   1. all the letters of the Torah?

2. “Where is he that weighs”

   1. who considers all the elements of a fortiori inferences (קלים וחמורים) in the Torah?

3. “Where is he who counts the towers”

   1. This is Doeg, who would count 300 halakhic conclusions (הלכות פסוקות) with regard to the purity of a cupboard [migdal] that floats in the air [avir].

R’ Yehuda HaNasi - Doeg and Ahithophel raised 400 halachic dilemmas regarding “floating cupboards”

אמר רבי:

ארבע מאה בעיי בעו דואג ואחיתופל במגדל הפורח באויר,

(ולא איפשט להו חד).

[...]

R’ Yehuda HaNasi says:

Doeg and Ahithophel raised 400 dilemmas with regard to the purity of a cupboard that floats in the air,

and they did not resolve even one,

an indication of their great knowledge.

[...]

R’ Ami - Doeg forgot his Torah knowledge at the end of his life - Proverbs 5:23

אמר רבי אמי:

לא מת דואג עד ששכח תלמודו,

שנאמר:

״הוא ימות באין מוסר

וברב אולתו ישגה״.

R’ Ami says:

Doeg died only when he forgot what he learned,

as it is stated:

“He shall die for want of instruction,

and in his folly he shall go astray” (Proverbs 5:23).

Rav Ashi - Doeg became a metzora at the end of his life - Psalms 73:27

רב אשי אמר:

נצטרע,

שנאמר:

״הצמתה כל זונה ממך״.

[...]

Rav Ashi says:

He was afflicted with tzara’at⁴ before his death,

as it is stated:

“Those that go far from You shall perish;

You destroy [hitzmatta] all those who go astray from You” (Psalms 73:27).

[...]

R’ Yoḥanan - 3 destructive angels punished Doeg--forgetting his Torah knowledge, soul destruction, and scattering of ashes

אמר רבי יוחנן:

שלשה מלאכי חבלה נזדמנו לו לדואג:

1. אחד ששכח תלמודו,

2. ואחד ששרף נשמתו,

3. ואחד שפיזר עפרו בבתי כנסיות ובבתי מדרשות.

R’ Yoḥanan says:

Three angels of destruction (חבלה) encountered Doeg:

1. One who caused him to forget his Torah knowledge,

2. one who burned his soul,

3. and one who dispersed the ashes⁵ of his soul in synagogues and in study halls to be trampled beneath the feet of the righteous.

R’ Yoḥanan - Doeg and Ahithophel lived in different eras and never met

אמר רבי יוחנן:

1. דואג

2. ואחיתופל

לא ראו זה את זה.

1. דואג --

   1. בימי שאול,

2. ואחיתופל --

   1. בימי דוד.

R’ Yoḥanan says:

1. Doeg

2. and Ahithophel

did not see one another, as both died at a young age.

1. Doeg --

   1. lived in the days of Saul,

2. and Ahithophel --

   1. lived in the days of David, toward the end of David’s life.

R’ Yoḥanan - they only reached age 34 or 35; Baraita cites prooftext re premature death of violent, deceitful men - Psalms 55:24

ואמר רבי יוחנן:

דואג ואחיתופל לא חצו ימיהם.

תניא נמי הכי:

״אנשי דמים ומרמה לא יחצו ימיהם״.

• כל שנותיו של דואג לא היו אלא שלשים וארבע,

• ושל אחיתופל אינן אלא שלשים ושלש.

And R’ Yoḥanan says:

Doeg and Ahithophel did not reach half of their allotted days, as they died before the age of 35, half of the standard lifetime mentioned in the verse: “The days of our years are 70 years” (Psalms 90:10).

This is also taught in a baraita:

“Bloody and deceitful men shall not live half their days” (Psalms 55:24);

• all the years of Doeg were only 34

• and the years of Ahithophel were only 33

R’ Yoḥanan - David reclassified Ahithophel over time: teacher → colleague → student - Psalms 55:14–15; 41:10

(See footnote.)⁶

ואמר רבי יוחנן:

1. בתחלה קרא דוד לאחיתופל “רבו”,

2. ולבסוף קראו “חבירו”,

3. ולבסוף קראו “תלמידו”

And R’ Yoḥanan says:

1. Initially, David called Ahithophel “his teacher”,

2. and eventually, he called him “his colleague”,⁷

3. and ultimately, he called him “his student”.

1. בתחלה קראו “רבו” –

   1. 1. ״ואתה אנוש כערכי

      2. אלופי, ומידעי״.

2. ולבסוף קראו “חברו” –

   1. 1. ״אשר יחדו נמתיק סוד

      2. בבית אלהים נהלך ברגש״.

3. ולבסוף קראו “תלמידו” –

   1. 1. ״גם איש שלומי

      2. אשר בטחתי בו

      3. אוכל לחמי

      4. הגדיל עלי עקב״.

1. Initially, David called Ahithophel “his teacher”,

   1. as it is stated:

      1. “But it was you, a man my equal,

      2. my master [alufi], and my familiar friend” (Psalms 55:14);

      3. a teacher is known as aluf as he trains [me’alef ] his students.

2. And eventually, he called him “his colleague”,

   1. as it is stated:

      1. “We took sweet counsel together,

      2. and walked to the house of God with the throng” (Psalms 55:15);

      3. the term together indicates that they were equals.

3. And ultimately, he called him his student,

   1. as it is stated:

      1. “Even my own familiar friend,

      2. in whom I trusted,

      3. who did eat of my bread,

      4. has lifted his heel against me” (Psalms 41:10).

      5. Bread is a metaphor for Torah knowledge.

Appendix - the interpretations in the sugya, organized in the order of Biblical verses

I Samuel

I Sam. 22:9 & 22:18 — Variant spelling of “Doeg / Doyeig” (R’ Yoḥanan)

The two spellings teach that:

• Initially, God worried (“doeg”) that Doeg might turn evil.

• After he did, God proclaimed “woe” (“vai”) over his evil actions.

Isaiah

Isa. 33:18 — “Where is he who counts… who weighs… who counts towers?” (R’ Yitzḥak)

• “He who counts” = Doeg, able to enumerate all letters of the Torah.

• “He who weighs” = His mastery of kal va-ḥomer reasoning.

• “He who counts towers” = His ability to produce 300 halakhic rulings on the purity of a “floating cupboard.”

Psalms

Ps. 50:16 — “To the wicked God says: What have you to do to declare My statutes?” (R’ Yitzḥak)

God challenges Doeg: How can he teach laws about murder or slander when he violates them?

Ps. 50:16 — “And My covenant upon your lips” (R’ Ami)

Doeg’s Torah was mere lip service, not internalized.

Ps. 52:3 — “Why boast of evil, mighty man?” (R’ Yitzḥak)

God rebukes Doeg: Despite Torah greatness, he boasts in wrongdoing instead of trusting God’s constant mercy.

Ps. 52:7 — “God shall likewise destroy you forever” (R’ Yitzḥak)

David asks that Doeg be excluded from the World-to-Come.

Ps. 52:7 — “He shall pluck you away… uproot you from the land of the living” (R’ Yitzḥak)

David requests:

• No remembrance in Torah transmission.

• No scholarly descendants.

• Total erasure from “the tents of Torah.”

Ps. 52:8 — “The righteous shall see and fear, and laugh at him” (R’ Yitzḥak)

Initially the righteous feared Doeg’s success, but ultimately laughed at his downfall.

Ps. 55:14–15; 41:10 — David’s shifting labels for Ahithophel (R’ Yoḥanan)

Teacher → Colleague → Student, illustrated by three verses describing evolving relationship and betrayal.

Ps. 55:24 — “Bloody and deceitful men shall not live half their days” (R’ Yoḥanan)

Proof that Doeg (34) and Ahithophel (33) died prematurely.

Ps. 73:27 — “You destroy all who stray from You” (Rav Ashi)

Interpreted to mean Doeg became a metzora.

Job

Job 20:15 — “He has swallowed wealth and will vomit it” (R’ Yitzḥak)

• David requests Doeg’s death;

• God says Doeg must first forget his Torah (“vomit” his learning);

• David asks God to actively remove that Torah from Doeg.

Proverbs

Prov. 5:23 — “He shall die for want of instruction” (R’ Ami)

• Doeg died only after forgetting his learning, fulfilling the verse.

1. Compare the similar theme (general lines in Psalms homiletically interpreted as referring to specific episodes in David’s life) in my recent two-part series, on the sugya a page after this one: “David and the Sin of Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11-12 and in Psalms (Sanhedrin 107a)“, final part here, and see my note there on this.

The verses in Psalms that are interpreted here are primarily those relating to the wicked (a major theme in Psalms in general), and seeing them as referring to Doeg.

The main rabbis cited in our sugya are R’ Yitzḥak (cited 4 times in a row) and R’ Yoḥanan (cited 5 times, included 4 times in a row).

It’s worth noting that the name “Doeg” appears elsewhere in the Talmud as a name for a figure in the Second Temple era, see my appendix here, “Appendix 1 - Child Cannibalism in Classical Jewish Sources“, section “Talmudic Story (Yoma 38b)“, where I summarize:

The Talmud also mentions such an event in Yoma.38b.4-5, at the time of the Roman siege of Jerusalem that culminated with the Desctrucion of the Second Temple in 70 CE, where it’s connected with the prophecy in Lamentations.

The incident is with a child named “Doeg, son of Joseph“ (Doeg is a biblical name, meaning “worry”) . In the late Second Temple era Doeg ben Yosef’s father died, leaving him to be raised by his mother.

2. See Exodus 21 (laws of killing - intentional and unintentional) and Numbers 35 (the laws of the (rotzeach) and the cities of refuge).

3. See my “Barred from the Afterlife: Heretics, Biblical Sinners, and Groups Denied a Share in the World-to-Come (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1-4)“, section “Three Biblical Kings and Four Biblical Commoners Who Have No Share in the World-to-Come“, where I summarize:

The four commoners (הדיוטות) are:

1. Balaam (a non-Israelite prophet and diviner who tried to curse the Jews in Moses’ time)

2. Doeg (an Edomite, chief herdsman to Saul; second half of 11th century BCE)

3. Ahithophel (a counselor of King David; 1000 BCE)

4. Gehazi (A servant of the prophet Elisha; first half of 9th century BCE)

Our sugya, as well as all the other aggadic sugyot in this chapter, is riffing off of that Mishnah, as an extended “commentary”.

4. נצטרע.

The same thing is said about David himself in the sugya ibid. (cited in the first footnote), see my “Pt2 David and the Sin of Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11-12 and in Psalms (Sanhedrin 107a)“, section “Rav Yehuda citing Rav - David suffered 6 months of tzara’at, separation from Shekhina and the Sanhedrin - Psalms 51:9, 51:14, 119:79“.

In general, tzara’at is the quintessential disease caused by divine punishment, stemming from the Bible.

For another example, see my “Talmudic Interpretations of the Book of Esther: Esther 1:10-14 (Megillah 12b)“, section “Vashti’s Defiance (Esther 1:12): Stricken with Tzara’at or Given a Tail by the Angel Gabriel, Rendering Her Unwilling to Appear“.

For an unusual instance of the symbolism of tzara’at (which is also especially grotesque), see my “Pt1 Pride, Idolatry, and the Rejection of Repentance: Talmudic Interpretations of the Wicked Biblical King Jeroboam (Sanhedrin 101b-102a)“, section “Three Biblical Figures Who Misinterpreted Their Prophetic Occurrences and Visions: Nebat, Ahithophel, and Pharaoh’s Astrologers“, where I summarize:

Ahithophel saw glowing (זרחה) tzara’at on his penis and believed it meant he would rule, but it actually signified that his granddaughter Bathsheba would be the mother of King Solomon.

5. פיזר עפרו.

Compare the similar description of Titus’ posthumous punishment, in my appendix here, “Appendix 1 - Onkelos Consults Judaism’s Historical Enemies: Seeking Advice from the Dead Titus, Balaam, and Jesus on Judaism and Conversion (Gittin 56b-57a)“, section “Titus describes his endless punishment“:

אמר ליה: דיניה דההוא גברא במאי?

אמר ליה:

במאי דפסיק אנפשיה –

כל יומא מכנשי ליה לקיטמיה

ודייני ליה,

וקלו ליה

ומבדרו [ליה] אשב ימי.

Onkelos said to him: What is the punishment of that man, a euphemism for Titus himself, in the next world?

Titus said to him:

That which he decreed against himself, as he undergoes the following:

Every day his ashes are gathered,

and they judge him,

and they burn him,

and they scatter (מבדרו) him over the 7 seas.

6. On this standard tripartite rabbinic hierarchy in Talmudic literature, see my note on the relevant Mishnah section in tractate Avot.

7. חבירו - literally: “friend”.