Hot answers tagged melachim-kings-book-of
10
Not a complete answer, but here's what the Talmud (Sanhedrin 22A) says (Rashi brought in נrackets):
אמר רב שמן בר אבא בוא וראה כמה קשין גירושין שהרי דוד המלך התירו לו לייחד [עם אבישג ואע"פ שנאסר ייחוד של פנויה] ולא התירו לו לגרש [אחת מי"ח וישאנה]
R' Shaman bar Aba said: Come and See how harsh divorce is. They gave permission to King David to be ...
9
It's approximating π, as is clear from the g'mara (Eruvin 14:1).
The problem is that that g'mara seems to be saying that it's a pretty precise approximation, and we know it's not. (Tosafos there raise this question and offer no answer.)
But to answer your question, whether it's an approximation of π or a miracle, it's the former.
8
If Eliyahu is Pinchas and Pinchas is a Cohen how was he in the Room when he did Revival of the Dead?
The Gemara (Niddah 70b) records "three nonsensical questions" (שלשה דברי בורות) that the Alexandrians asked R' Yehoshua. One of them was, "Would the son of the woman from Shunem [who was revived by Elisha, II Kings ch. 4] cause impurity?" He replied, "A dead person causes impurity, not a living one."
The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l analyzed this question and ...
8
Only three of his children are named in Tanach: his successor Rechavam, and two daughters named Tafath and Basemath, who married two of Shlomo's officials (I Kings 4:11,15).
R. Chaim Dov Rabinowitz (Daas Soferim) comments that it seems likely that Shlomo had 100 children or less (which would of course mean that most of his wives were childless), since in ...
7
Wikipedia has a set of answers in their article on Approximations of pi. That links to a terrific article on rabbinic approximations of π by Boaz Tsaban and David Garber. Tsaban and Garber summarize as follows (pp. 10-11):
The rational-religious approach of Maimonides holds that, since we cannot know the exact values, the Bible tells us that we do ...
7
As mentioned here, different spellings of names that refer to the same person are not uncommon in Tanach. Deeper, esoteric meanings are associated with the changing of spellings. As a general rule, therefore, you will not find commentators of the p'shat approach that will address these spelling changes.
In this case , the most famous answer is that of the ...
5
If Eliyahu is Pinchas and Pinchas is a Cohen how was he in the Room when he did Revival of the Dead?
In :בבא מציעא דף קיד Tosafot comments on "אמר ליה לאו כהן". He says:
אמר ליה לאו כהן (אתה) - תימה לר"י היאך החיה בנה של האלמנה כיון שכהן היה דכתיב (מלכים א יז) ויתמודד על הילד וגו' ויש לומר שהיה ברור לו שיחייהו לכך היה מותר משום פיקוח נפש
Tosafot raises the question of how Eliyahu could bring the child of the widow back to life if he was a Cohen? The ...
5
In verse (Melachim 2:8), King David tells Shlomo:
וְהִנֵּה עִמְּךָ שִׁמְעִי בֶן-גֵּרָא בֶן-הַיְמִינִי, מִבַּחֻרִים
In the Zohar Mishpatim (דף קז עמוד ב):
כתיב והנה עמך שמעי בן גרא, מאי והנה עמך, זמין הוא עמך תדיר, רבו הוה, ... אבל שמעי דא דאשתכח עמיה תדיר, אמר והנה עמך.
Translation - the Zohar learns from the verse "with you" to mean that he ...
5
Rambam, The Laws of Kings and Wars, 3:8 (Chabad.org)
Anyone who rebels against a king of Israel may be executed by the king…
Shaul was considered righteous since he believed he was putting down a rebellion.
The king may only execute people by decapitation. ……However, he may not confiscate property. If he does, it is considered theft.
This is ...
4
I think you are referring to the (re)discovery of the Torah scroll by Chilkiyahu the High Priest in the time of Yoshiyahu (Josiah?) (mentioned in Kings II chap. 22, and Chronicles II chap. 34), in the course of renovations to the Temple. (If I'm mistaken, please cite a source).
You are quite correct that there were many copies of the Torah. This particular ...
4
Both RaDaK and Malbim understand that David was not telling Shelomo to execute Shime'i outright, but each saw it to be done differently:
RaDak writes( on MelakhimI 2:8):
ירד לקראתי -
שאמחול לו ונשבעתי לו שלא אמיתנו, אף על פי שנשבעתי לו שלא אמיתנו, חייב מיתה הוא, ולשמור שבועתי לא תמיתנו, עד שתמצא לו עלה ועון וסבב אתה הדבר שיבא לידי עון, שיהיה לך דין ...
4
The GR"A points out the following:
The word circumference (kav) is spelled קוה but pronounced קו. The gematria of the former is 111 and the latter is 106. The ratio of 111 to 106, multiplied by the approximation of 3, gives you:
(111 / 106) * 3 = 3.1415
Perhaps pi to five digits is a better approximation than 3?
4
The Malbim Melachim B, 4:29 deal with this. He explains that Elisha Hanavi thought the boy just fainted (because Hashem didn't tell him through prophecy), so he so called "loaded" Gechazi with the adequate powers and thought that Gechazi would be able to use Elsiha's "stick" and cure the boy. From pasuk 32, as explained by the Malbim, we see that Elisha ...
4
If Eliyahu is Pinchas and Pinchas is a Cohen how was he in the Room when he did Revival of the Dead?
Perhaps Eliyahu is not Pinchas. However, Chazal are trying to indicate that there is a similarity in the personality and perfection of both of them. Eliyahu exemplifies a quality of Pinchas.
The Ibn Ezra says explicitly that Eliyahu is not Pinchas in Sefer Bamidbar, Pasrshas Pinchas, Perek 25, Verse 13:
ומלת אחריו - לאות שמת ואינו אליהו כלל וכבר ...
3
From the Pesukim it seems as though Elisha' was going to travel with the mother to keep her calm and sent Geḥazi ahead to heal the boy because he could travel faster alone (hence, in part, the admonition not to speak with anyone; it would slow him down and take his focus off of his mission - the other part is likely that, regardless of speed, I would think, ...
2
I once heard a fascinating answer in the name of Rav Shimon Schwab: The Gemara in Shabbat (86) says that through battling one's yetzer hara, one becomes warmed up. David, however, says R' Schwab, had no Yetzer Hara ("velibi challal bekirbi") so he became cold since there was nothing to battle. Thus, the only way to re-warm him would be to arouse his yetzer ...
2
Rashi gives the clue. In verse 29, Gechazi is instructed not to speak to anyone on the way. If Gechazi would answer their questions by saying that he was going to revive the dead this would not be to the honour of the mitzvah. But Gechazi did tell everyone his mission. The Radak says it clearly that because Gechazi wanted to cheapen the miracle, it did not ...
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