Sanhedrin

OR A PROPHET WHO TRANSGRESSES HIS OWN WORDS. E.g., Iddo the prophet, as instanced by the following verses, [i] For so it was charged me by the word of the Lord [saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest].  [ii] And he [the self-styled prophet] said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art [and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house that he may eat bread, and drink water].'  [iii] So he went back with him; [iv] And when he was gone, a lion met him [by the way, and slew him]. A tanna recited before R. Hisda; He who suppresses his prophecy is flogged. To which he retorted, 'One who eats dates out of a sieve is flogged!'  Who then warned him?  Abaye answered; His fellow prophets, Whence do they know? — Said Abaye; For it is written, Surely the Lord will do nothing but that he revealeth his secret [unto his servants the prophets].  But perhaps they [sc. the Heavenly Court] repented thereof?  — Had they repented, all prophets would have been informed. But in the case of Jonah they did repent, yet Jonah himself was not informed! — Jonah was originally told that Nineveh would be turned, but did not know whether for good or for evil. HE WHO DISREGARDS THE WORDS OF A PROPHET. But how does he know [that he is a true prophet], that he should be punished? — If he gives him a sign. But Micah did not give a sign, yet he [i.e., his colleague] was punished!  — If he was well established [as a prophet], it is different. For should you not admit this, how could Isaac listen to Abraham at Mount Moriah,  or the people hearken to Elijah at Mount Carmel and sacrifice without [the Temple]?  Hence the case, where the prophet is well established is different. And it came to pass after these words, that God did tempt Abraham.  What is meant by 'after'? — R. Johanan said on the authority of R. Jose b. Zimra: After 'the words of Satan, as it is written, And the child grew, and was weaned: [and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned].  Thereupon Satan said to the Almighty; 'Sovereign of the Universe! To this old man Thou didst graciously vouchsafe the fruit of the womb at the age of a hundred, yet of all that banquet which he prepared, he did not have one turtle-dove or pigeon to sacrifice before thee! Hath he done aught but in honour of his son!' Replied He, 'Yet were I to say to him, "Sacrifice thy son before Me", he would do so without hesitation.' Straightway, God did tempt Abraham … And he said, Take, I pray thee [na]  thy son.  R. Simeon b. Abba said; 'na' can only denote entreaty. This may be compared to a king of flesh and blood who was confronted by many wars, which he won by the aid of a great warrior. Subsequently he was faced with a severe battle. Thereupon he said to him, 'I pray thee, assist me in battle, that people may not say, there was no reality in the earlier ones.' So also did the Holy One, blessed be He, say unto Abraham, 'I have tested thee with many trials and thou didst withstand all. Now, be firm, for My sake in this trial, that men may not say, there was no reality in the earlier ones. Thy son. [But] I have two sons! Thine only one. Each is the only one of his mother! Whom thou lovest. I love them both! Isaac! And why all this [circumlocution]?  — That his mind should not reel [under the sudden shock]. On the way Satan came towards him and said to him. 'If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? … Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest.'  He replied, 'I will walk in mine integrity.'  'But', said [Satan] to him, 'should not thy fear be thy confidence?  'Remember', he retorted, 'I pray thee, whoever perished, being innocent?'  Seeing that he would not listen to him, he said to him , 'Now' a thing was secretly brought to me:  thus have I heard from behind the Curtain.  "the lamb, for a burnt-offering  but not Isaac for a burnt-offering."25 He replied, 'It is the penalty of a liar, that should he even tell the truth, he is not listened to.' R. Levi said [in explanation of 'after these words']; After Ishmael's words to Isaac. Ishmael said to Isaac: 'I am more virtuous  than thee in good deeds, for thou wast circumcised at eight days, [and so couldst not prevent it], but I at thirteen years'. 'On account of one limb wouldst thou incense me!' he replied: 'Were the Holy One, blessed be He, to say unto me, Sacrifice thyself before Me, I would obey', Straightway, God did tempt Abraham. Our Rabbis taught; A prophet who seduced [people to idolatry] is stoned; R. Simeon said; He is strangled. The seducers of a seduced city are stoned; R. Simeon said: They are strangled. 'A prophet who seduced is stoned'. What is the reason of the Rabbis? — Similarity of law is learnt from the employment of 'seduction' here and in the case of a mesith:  just as there execution is by stoning, so here too. But R. Simeon maintained: [Simple] death is provided for in this case,  and by every unspecified death sentence in the Torah strangulation is meant. 'The seducers of a seduced city are executed by stoning'. What is the reason of the Rabbis? — Similarity of law is learnt from the employment of 'seduction' here and in the case of either a mesith or a prophet who seduced.  But R. Simeon maintained: similarity of law is learned from the employment of 'seduction' here and in the case of a prophet who seduced.  But let us rather deduce it from mesith?  — An analogy is drawn between two who incite a multitude, and not between one who incites a multitude and another who seduces an individual.  On the contrary, should not an analogy be drawn between two laymen, rather than between a layman and a prophet? — R Simeon maintains, since he seduced, no man is more of a layman than he. R. Hisda said: