In the Old Testament, Sheba was a Benjaminite leader who revolted against King David, recounted in 2 Samuel.
In the Old Testament, Sheba was a Benjaminite leader who revolted against King David, recounted in 2 Samuel.
Sheba was a son of Bichri, of the family of Becher, the son of Benjamin, and thus of the tribe of King Saul.
When David returned to Jerusalem after the defeat of Absalom, strife arose between the ten tribes and the Tribe of Judah, because the latter took the lead in bringing back the king. Sheba took advantage of this state of things, and raised the standard of revolt, proclaiming, "We have no part in David." With his followers he proceeded northward. David seeing it necessary to check this revolt, ordered Amasa to summon the army. When Amasa delayed his task, David appointed Abishai and Joab to take the gibborim ("mighty men") and the body-guard and such troops as he could gather, and pursue Sheba. Joab took the opportunity to kill Amasa. Then Joab and Abishai arrived at the city of Abel-beth-maachah, where they knew Sheba to be hiding. They besieged the city. An unnamed wise woman from the city convinced Joab not to destroy Abel Beth-Maacah, because the people did not want Sheba hiding there. She told the people of the city to kill Sheba, and his head was thrown over the wall to Joab.
In Tosefta Terumot 7:19, the rabbis debate whether it was proper under Jewish law to give up Sheba in order to save the city from Joab's army. Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai said giving up Sheba is forbidden. Rabbi Judah bar Ilai said the wise woman acted properly because Joab had the city surrounded. Everyone in the city would be killed including Sheba so it was better to give up Sheba and save everyone else. [1]
This story served as the source for the subsequent halachic discussion whether it is permissible for a group or community to save itself by sacrificing an individual. The Tosefta establishes the principle that we may not save a community by sacrificing an individual, unless the original demand was for a specified individual. R. Shimon b. Lakish adds the condition that the specified individual be deserving of death because of a crime he committed. [2] This view has been codified by Maimonides in his code of Jewish Law. [3]
Sanhedrin 101b identified Sheba with two other men:
"A Tanna taught: Nebat, Micah, and Sheba the son of Bichri are one and the same." The three interpreted signs and portents to mean that they would reign. "Three beheld but did not see." [4]
The Book of Samuel is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books that constitute a theological history of the Israelites and that aim to explain God's law for Israel under the guidance of the prophets.
Judah ha-Nasi or Judah I, known simply as Rebbi or Rabbi, was a second-century rabbi and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He lived from approximately 135 to 217 CE. He was a key leader of the Jewish community in Roman-occupied Judea after the Bar Kokhba revolt.
The Tosefta is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the Tannaim.
Amasa (עמשא) or Amessai is a person mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. His mother was Abigail, a sister of King David. Hence, Amasa was a nephew of David, and cousin of Joab, David's military commander, as well as a cousin of Absalom, David's son. David calls him "my bone and my flesh". Amasa's father was Jether who was also called Ithra.
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders, appointed to sit as a tribunal in every city in the ancient Land of Israel.
Jesse or Yishai is a figure described in the Bible as the father of David, who became the king of the Israelites. His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse". The role as both father of King David and ancestor of Jesus has been used in various depictions in art, e.g. as the Tree of Jesse or in hymns like "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming."
Tannaim were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 210 years. It came after the period of the Zugot ("pairs"), and was immediately followed by the period of the Amoraim ("interpreters").
Rabbinic Judaism, also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Rabbanite Judaism, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. Rabbinic Judaism has its roots in the Pharisaic school of Second Temple Judaism, and is based on the belief that Moses at Mount Sinai received both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah from God. The Oral Torah, transmitted orally, explains the Written Torah. At first, it was forbidden to write down the Oral Torah, but after the destruction of the Second Temple, it was decided to write it down in the form of the Talmud and other rabbinic texts for the sake of preservation.
Rabbi Tarfon or Tarphon, a Kohen, was a member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the destruction of the Second Temple and the fall of Betar.
Horayot is a tractate in Seder Nezikin in the Talmud. In the Mishnah, this is the tenth and last tractate in Nezikin, the ninth tractate in the Babylonian Talmud, and the eighth in the Jerusalem Talmud. It consists of three chapters in the Mishnah and two in the Tosefta. The tractate mainly discusses laws pertaining to erroneous rulings by a Jewish court, as well as unwitting actions performed by leading authorities of the Jewish people, and the sacrificial offerings that might be brought as a consequence of these actions. The conclusion of the tractate (12a-13b) deals with the prioritization of korbanot in the temple and explores the question of how to quantify human life in emergencies.
Shofetim or Shoftim is the 48th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the Book of Deuteronomy. It comprises Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9. The parashah provides a constitution—a basic societal structure—for the Israelites. The parashah sets out rules for judges, kings, Levites, prophets, cities of refuge, witnesses, war, and unsolved murders.
V'Zot HaBerachah, VeZos HaBerachah, VeZot Haberakha, V'Zeis Habrocho, V'Zaus Haberocho, V'Zois Haberuchu, Wazoth Habborocho, or Zos Habrocho is the 54th and final weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the 11th and last in the Book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12. The parashah sets out the farewell Blessing of Moses for the 12 Tribes of Israel and concludes with the death of Moses.
Allusions in rabbinic literature to the Biblical character Joab, the nephew of King David and commander of his army, contain various expansions, elaborations and inferences beyond what is presented in the text of the Bible itself.
Martyrdom in Judaism is one of the main examples of Jews doing a kiddush Hashem, a Hebrew term which means "sanctification of [the] name". An example of this is public self-sacrifice in accordance with Jewish practice and identity, with the possibility of being killed for no other reason than being Jewish. There are specific conditions in Jewish law that deal with the details of self-sacrifice, be it willing or unwilling.
Shim’on ben Menasya was a Jewish rabbi who lived in the late 2nd-early 3rd centuries.
Abishai was a military leader under the biblical King David. He was the eldest son of David's sister Zeruiah. According to Josephus his father was called Suri. The meaning of his name is "Father of a gift". He was the brother of Joab and Asahel.
According to 2 Samuel, the Battle of the Wood of Ephraim was a military conflict between the rebel forces of the formerly exiled Israelite prince Absalom against the royal forces of his father King David during a short-lived revolt.
2 Samuel 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Second Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the second part of Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter contains the account of David's reign in Jerusalem. This is within a section comprising 2 Samuel 9–20 and continued to 1 Kings 1–2 which deal with the power struggles among David's sons to succeed David's throne until 'the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon'.
2 Samuel 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Second Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the second part of Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter contains the account of David's reign in Jerusalem. This is within a section comprising 2 Samuel 9–20 and continued to 1 Kings 1–2 which deal with the power struggles among David's sons to succeed David's throne until 'the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon'.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
