Megillah

. (Mnemonic: Sh'S'D'K’)1 But are there no more? Is there not Solomon? — He did not retain his kingdom [till his death]. This is a sufficient answer for the one who holds that he was first a king and then a subject.2 But for the one who holds that he was first a king, then a subject, and then a king again, what can we reply? — Solomon was in a different category, because he ruled over the denizens of the upper world3 as well as of the lower, as it says, And Solomon sat upon the throne of the Lord.4 But was there not Sennacherib, as it is written, Who are they among all the gods of these countries that have delivered their country out of my hand.5 — There was Jerusalem which he had not subdued. But was there not Darius, as it is written, Then king Darius wrote unto all the peoples, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth, Peace be multiplied unto you?6 — There were the seven over which he did not rule, as it is written, It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps.7 But there was Cyrus, of whom it is written, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdom of the earth hath the Lord given me?8 — There he was merely indulging in a boast. In those days, when the king sat [on his throne].9 [How can this be] seeing that it says just afterwards, in the third year of his reign? — Raba said: What is meant by ‘when he sat’? After he began to feel secure. He reasoned thus: ‘Belshazar calculated and made a mistake; l have calculated and made no mistake’ — What is the meaning of this? — It is written, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon I will remember you,10 and it is written, That He would accomplish for the desolations of Jerusalem seventy years.11 He reckoned forty-five years of Nebuchadnezzar and twenty-three of Evilmerodach and two of his own, making seventy in all. He then brought out the vessels of the Temple and used them. And how do we know that Nebuchadnezzar reigned forty-five years? — As a Master has said: ‘They went into exile in the seventh year and they went into exile in the eighth year; they went into exile in the eighteenth year and they went into exile in the nineteenth year’ — [That is to say], in the seventh year after the subjection of Jehoiakim12 they underwent the exile of Jeconiah, this being the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar.13 In the eighteenth year from the subjection of Jehoiakim14 they underwent the exile of Zedekiah, this being the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar,15 as a Master has said, In the first year [of his reign] he [Nebuchadnezzar] overthrew Nineveh; in the second year he conquered Jehoiakim16 and it is written, And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month in the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach King of Babylon, in the year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him forth out of prison.17 Eight and thirty-seven make forty-five of Nebuchadnezzar. The twenty-three of Evilmerodach we know from tradition. These with two of his own18 make seventy. He [Belshazar] said to himself, Now of a surety they will not be redeemed. So he brought out the vessels of the Temple and used them. Hence it was that Daniel said to him, but thou hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee.19 It is further written, In that night Belshazar the Chaldean king was slain,20 and it is written, And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.21 He [Ahasuerus] said: He calculated and made a mistake,22 I will calculate and make no mistake. Is it written, ‘seventy years for the kingdom of Babylon?’23 It is written, seventy years for Babylon. What is meant by Babylon? The exile of Babylon — How many years [is this reckoning] less [than the other]? Eight.24 So in place of them he inserted one of Belshazar,25 five of Darius and Cyrus,26 and two of his own, which made seventy — When he saw that seventy had been completed and they were not redeemed, he brought out the vessels of the Temple and used them — Then the Satan came and danced among them and slew Vashti. But he reckoned correctly? — He also made a mistake, since he ought to have reckoned from the destruction of Jerusalem.27 Granted all this, how many years are short? Eleven. How long did he reign? Fourteen.28 Consequently in the fourteenth year of his reign he ought to have rebuilt the Temple. Why then is it written, Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem?29 — Raba replied: The years were not full ones.30 captive: in the seventh year etc. him in the eighth year of his reign. rebellion for three years. (This is based on Daniel I, 1. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem, etc. which is interpreted to mean, the third year of his rebellion. V. Rashi.) In the same year he was deposed and Jeconiah went into exile, and as this was the eighth of Nebuchadnezzar (v. supra), his subjection must have commenced in the second or third year of Nebuchadnezzar. permission for the building of the Temple. On what authority they are supposed to have reigned five years is not clear. of Esther (v. Esth. IX, 29) is supposed to have been sent out in the next. Nebuchadnezzar and Evilmerodach, so that the seventy years were really not completed till the second year of Darius II.