And, says Rabbi Yochanan, the halachah is according to his ruling, because Scripture says: "God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem." But may it not mean the language of Gomer and Magog, who are also the sons of Japheth? Rabbi Cheyah explained, It means the prettiest, n', of the languages of Japheth shall dwell in the tents of Shem. Meguillah, fol. 9, col. 2.

CHAPTER X.

VERSE 2.

The sons of Japheth, Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, etc.

Whence do we know, that the Persians are the descendants of Japheth? It is written: "The sons of Japheth, Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.' Gomer is Germania, Magog is Candia, Madai (should be Media) is Macedonia, Javan is what its name implies (Ionia, Greece). . . . . and Tiras is Persia. Yoma, fol. 10, col. 1.

SYNOPTICAL NOTES.

PERSIA, MEDIA, GOG AND MAGOG, AND GREEK.

1. Rabbi Akiva said: For three things do I like the Medes: They cut meat only upon a table; they kiss only the hand; and hold their deliberations only in the field. Rav Ada bar Ahavah, asked for Scripture support for the last habit, and quoted (Ge. xxxi. 4): • And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field." Berachoth, fol. 8, col. 2.

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4. "And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear." (Da. vii. 5.) That represents the Persians, who eat and drink like bears, gain flesh like bears, grow their hair like bears, and are restless like bears. Meguillah, fol. 11, col. 1.

6. Rav Ammi, whenever he saw a Persian horseman, used to say: Here is a restless bear. Rabbi said to Laive: Show me Persians. He replied: They are like the hosts of the house of David. Show me Chavrin (a people related to the Persians). They are like malignant demons. Show me Ishmaelites. They are like the satyrs in the closets. Show me the disciples of the wise in Babylon. They are like the ministering angels. Kiddushin, fol. 72, col. i.

7. Why is the Persian an improper kingdom? Because it has no letters, nor a language of its own. (!) Guittin, fol. 80, col. 1.

9. The kingdom of Persia lasted, during the existence of the Temple, 34 years; the kingdom of Greece, 180 years; the Hasmonean dynasty, 103; the Herodian, 103. Avodah-zarah, fol. 9, col. 1.

T. N. According to this calculation, the entire duration of the second Temple was 420 years, i.e., ten years longer than that of Solomon's Temple, which is all, say the Rabbis, that is implied in Hag. ii. 9. Whereas, reckoning from the issue of the decree of Cyrus for its rebuilding in 536, it lasted about 600 years, or some 21 years less, if its commencement is dated from the seventh year of Darius Hystaspes, when it was completed. The real chronology is as follows: Persian domination during the existence of the Temple, 203 years; Greek, 169; Hasmonean, 125; Herodian, up to the birth of our Lord, 40. The Rabbis, in fact, taking Da. xi. 1-3 for their guide, in their utter ignorance of history, close the Persian dominion with the reign of Xerxes; though even thus far they are wrong in the duration assigned to it. The correction of this palpable error is of essential importance, for the interpretation of Daniel's prediction, respecting the seventy weeks.

10. Rav Chanan ben Tachlepha reported (from Babylon) to Rav Joseph (in Palestine): I met a man, who had a roll in his hand, written in the Assyrian characters, but in the sacred tongue. I asked him: Where hast thou got it? He replied: I had enlisted in the armies of Persia, and I found it among the treasures of Persia. In it was written: The world will come to an end in the year 4291, from the creation of the world (circa 287 A.D.). Some of these years will be noted for wars among the sea monsters, and others for the wars of Gog and Magog, and the rest will be the days of the Messiah; though the Holy One, blessed be He! only renews the world after 7000 years. Sanhedrin, fol. 97, col. 2.

11. The prevalence of moral evil, in a man's house, is harder to bear than the wars of Gog and Magog. Berachoth, fol. 7, col. 2.

13.

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Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth." (Is. xliii. 19.) Rav Yoseph explained this verse, with reference to the wars of Gog and Magog. A traveller, who encounters a wolf and escapes unhurt, is never weary of recounting his deliverance from the wolf, till he is attacked by a lion, and escapes again. He now talks only of his encounter with the lion, till he is assailed by a serpent, when the latter deliverance becomes the theme of his conversation. So it is with Israel; the last troubles make them forget those that have passed. Berachoth, fol. 13, col. 1.

15. The Gentiles, observing the rising prosperity of Israel, in the days of the Messiah, will force themselves as proselytes upon the Jews, though none are received, by the latter, in the time of their greatness. The professing proselytes will appear with the phylacteries on their heads and arms, the fringes on their garments, and the Scripture amulets will be seen on the door posts of their houses. But noticing the martial array of Gog and Magog, they will ask them: Wherefore have you come? Against the Lord and His Anointed," will be the reply; as it is said (Ps. ii. 1): "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing." At once every proselyte will tear off the phylacteries, etc.; as it is said (Ps. ii. 3): Let us break their bands asunder." But the Holy One, blessed be He! shall sit and laugh at them; as it is said (Ps. ii. 4): "He that sitteth in the

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heavens shall laugh." (See page 12, T. N. e.) Avodah-zarah, fol. 3, col. 2.

T. N. Modern Jews of the rationalistic school, deny the Messianic import of this psalm; and making allowance for poetic licence, apply it entirely and exclusively to David. The reaction from the forced hermeneutics of Rabbinism is natural; but none the less to be regretted.

16. Bar Capara expounded at Sepphoris: Why is the word nas, "the increase,' written with a closed (final) Mem? (Is. ix. 6; A. V. 7.) The Holy One, blessed be He! wished to make Hezekiah the Messiah, and Sennacherib Gog and Magog. But the Attribute of Judgment pleaded against it, and said: David the king of Israel repeated so many songs and praises, and Thou hast not made him the Messiah; and yet Thou art thinking of making Hezekiah the Messiah, for whose sake so many miracles have been performed; and who, nevertheless, has not repeated one song of praise! So that counsel was closed (relinquished, and hence the closed Mem). Sanhedrin, fol. 94, col. 1.

T. N. Whether the first copyist wrote purposely a final Mem in the middle of the word, need not, and of course, cannot, be ascertained. But what deserves notice is its existence, together with many other minutiæ, in the third century, and the extreme vigilance of the scribes, in the preservation of the Scripture text.

17. On the day when Jeroboam introduced the two golden calves, one in Bethel, and the other in Dan, the first hut was erected in Grecian Italy. (See page 43, Note 45.) Shabbath, fol. 56, col. 2.

18. Nicanor was one of the Greek Governors (eparchi), who used to lift up his hand every day against Judah and Jerusalem, and exclaim: When will they fall into my hands, that I may trample them under foot! But when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed over the Greeks, they cut off his thumbs and great toes, and suspending them over the gates of Jerusalem, they said: Let vengeance be taken of the mouth, that talked proudly, and of the hands, that were lifted up over Jerusalem. Taanith, fol. 18, col. 2.

19. What is kartasim? (It is reckoned, in the preceding Mishnah, among the heathen festivals, when Jews are forbidden to have any dealings with Gentiles, during their continuance, and three days previously.) Rav Yehudah said in the name of Shemuel: It is the anniversary of the seizure of the kingdom by Rome (κpaтos). But is it not said in a certain place: The Kartasim, and the day, on which Rome seized the kingdom? Rav Yoseph replied: There were two seizures, one in the days of queen Cleopatra, and the other in the days of the Greeks. Thus on Rav Demi's arrival in Babylon, he related, that the Romans had fought thirty-two battles with the Greeks, and that the latter proved invincible, till the Romans formed an alliance with Israel, with the stipulation, that when the Romans had the appointment of the commanding generals, that of the governors (eparchi) should rest with the Jews, and vice versa. On the conclusion of the treaty, the Romans said to the Greeks: Let us stop this war, and settle our differences by negotiation. Which, demanded they, should,

by right, yield the priority to the other, the pearl, or the precious stone? The pearl, was the reply. And which, asked the Romans again, is inferior to the other, a precious stone, or a brilliant? A precious stone, replied the Greeks. And which is superior to the other, a brilliant, or the Book of the Law? The Book of the Law, answered the Greeks. Well, then, said the Romans, the Book of the Law is on our side; for we are in alliance with Israel. The Greeks acknowledged themselves defeated, and for twenty-six years, the Romans observed the compact with Israel faithfully, and then they began to oppress them likewise. The Roman policy was dictated by two texts of Scripture. They formed the alliance, because their ancestor, Esau, had said to Jacob (Ge. xxxiii. 12): "Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee." And they violated its conditions, because Jacob had replied (verse 14): "Let my Lord, I pray thee, pass on before his servant." Avodah-zarah, fol. 8, col. 2. 20. There, in the north-east (of the Temple), did the Hasmonean House hide away the stones of the altar, which the men of Greece had defiled. Avodah-zarah, fol. 52, col. 2.

In

21. The Post-Mishnic Rabbis have recorded: How did they anoint kings? In the shape of a crown (w). And the priests? the shape of a Ke (). What is a Ke? Rav Menashe bar Gada replied Like a Greek koph. Horayoth, fol. 12, col. 1.

22. The Post-Mishnic Rabbis have recorded: When the Hasmonean kings waged war with each other, Hyrcanus was outside Jerusalem, and Aristobulus within. Every day they within let down denars from the wall, in a box, by means of a chain, and received, in return, the lambs for the daily sacrifices. There happened to be an old man in the city, who was familiar with the wisdom of the Greeks, and who suggested to the besieger's in the Greek language, that as long as the Temple services were kept up, the city could not be taken. The next day, when the denars were let down, they received a swine in return. The animal had reached half way up the wall, when it seized the stones with its hoofs. A shock was then felt throughout the land of Israel, to the extent of 400 miles; and at that time they said: Cursed be the man, who shall rear swine, and who shall teach his son the wisdom of the Greeks. Mat. viii. 30. (See page 31, Note 18.) Soteh, fol. 49. col. 2.

23. He that cuts his hair (komi, кoμŋ) in front, and not behind, imitates the ways of the Amorites. Avtulus ben Reuben was permitted to do so, because he had frequent intercourse with the government. The house of Rabbon Gamliel were permitted to study the wisdom of the Greeks, because they had frequent intercourse with the government. Bava-kama, fol. 83, col. 1.

VERSE 9.

Wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter, etc.

SYNOPTICAL NOTES.

NIMROD, HUNTING, AND THE LIKE.

1. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zachai said: The following rebuke was given by the daughter (echo) of a voice to that wicked man (Nebuchadnezzar), when he said (Is. xiv. 14): "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High:" Thou wicked man, son of a wicked man, descendant of Nimrod the wicked, who, by his rule, stirred up the whole world in rebellion against Me! (at the tower of Babel) what are the years of man? Three score years and ten; or, by reason of strength, eighty years. the firmament is 500 years' journey, so is the thickness of the firmament itself; and such is the distance from one firmament to the other! "Surely thou shalt rather be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit" (verse 15). Psachim, fol. 94, col. 2.

2.

From the earth to

When wicked Nimrod cast Abraham into the fiery furnace, the angel Gabriel asked permission to neutralise the effects of the fire. But the Holy One, blessed be He! replied: I am the Only One in My world, and so is he in his; it, therefore, behoves Me only to save him. But as the Holy One, blessed be He! stints no one's reward, He added: Thou shalt have the privilege of saving three of his descendants from fire. (See chap. xvi. ver. 7, Note 36.) Psachim, fol. 118, col. 1.

4. A hunter, who captures a lion on the Sabbath, is not guilty of desecrating the day of rest, unless he has secured the animal in a cage; for the capture is not completed till then. Shabbath, fol. 106, col. 2. Rashi.

5. Hunters and fishermen, who have captured animals forbidden as food to Jews, may sell them to Gentiles. Psachim, fol. 23, col. 1.

7. Cattle, fowls, and fish, found in traps, or nets, on annual festivals, which had been laid the day before, may not be killed for food, unless they were also caught on the preceding day. Baitza, fol. 24, col. 1.

8. Moles and rats may be hunted for in the usual way, on annual festivals, in fields and orchards. Ant holes also may be destroyed. In what way? Rabbon Shimon ben Gamliel says: The earth of one hole should be put into another, and the ants will destroy each other. Moed-katon, fol. 6, col. 2. Maimonides, Hilchoth Yom-tob, Sec. 8, Halachah 19.

For

9. The Sabbath may be broken, when life is in danger. instance: If a man sees a child fall into the sea, let him at once spread out a net and save it, and the sooner he does it, without waiting for permission, the better. Yoma, fol. 84, col. 2.

10. Wild quadrupeds, fowls, and fish, caught in traps, if appropriated by others than the owners of the traps, it is robbery; not so much in the light of the written Law, as by the enactment of the Rabbis, who made it such for the sake of peace. Guittin, fol. 59, col. 2.

12. A hunter may be believed when he says: I have it from