Sanhedrin

R. Hanina b. Papa opposed [two verses]: It is written, [I will enter the height of his border;  but elsewhere it is written, [I will enter into] the lodgings of his borders!  — That wicked man said: First will I destroy [His] nether abode [sc. the Temple on earth], and then the upper. R. Joshua b. Levi said: What is meant by Am I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.  How so?  He had heard the prophet declare, Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Ramaliah's son.  R. Joseph said: But for the Targum  of this verse, I would not know its meaning: Because this people have wearied of the Davidic dynasty, which rules them with gentleness like the waters of Shiloah which flow tranquilly, and have set their desire upon Rezin and the son of Ramaliah. R. Johanan said: What is meant by, The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just?  'The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked' refers to Pekah the son of Ramaliah, who ate forty se'ahs of young birds as a [mere] dessert;  'but he blesseth the habitation of the just' applies to Hezekiah, king of Judah, who ate [but] a litra of vegetables for his [entire] meal.)  Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria: and all his glory.  And it is further written, And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck.  Then if so, why was he [Sennacherib] punished? — The prophet prophesied with respect to the Ten Tribes, whereas he set his face against the whole of Jerusalem. [Thereupon] the prophet came and said to him, For the wearied is not for the oppressor.  R. Eleazar b. Berechiah said: [This means], the people that is tired out by [intensive study of] the Torah will not be delivered into the hands of her oppressor. What is meant by, When aforetime the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali did lighten [its burden], but in later times it was made heavy by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilea of the nations?  — It is not as the early generations,  who rejected  the yoke of the Torah; but as for the latter generations  who strengthened  the yoke of the Torah upon themselves and are therefore worthy of having a miracle wrought for them, like those who passed over the [Red] Sea and the Jordan — should he [Sennacherib] repent [of his attack upon Jerusalem], 'tis well; but if not, I will render him the butt of the nations' scorn. After these things, and the truth thereof, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.  Is such a reward meet for such a gift?  But what is meant by, 'After these things and the truth thereof'? — Rabina said: After the Holy One, blessed be He, had anticipated [events] by an oath.  For he reasoned thus: If I say to Hezekiah, 'I will bring Sennacherib and deliver him into thy hands', he will reply, 'I require neither [the ultimate victory over] him nor the [preceding] terror'; therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, forestalled him by swearing that he would bring him, as it is written, the Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart front off their shoulders.  R. Johanan said: The Holy one, blessed be he, said thus: 'Let Sennacherib and his army  come and be a crib for Hezekiah and his army.' And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulders, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the oil.  R. Isaac, the Smith, said: [This means,] the yoke of Sennacherib shall be destroyed on account of the oil of Hezekiah, which burnt in the synagogues and schools. What did he do? — He planted a sword by the door of the schoolhouse and proclaimed, 'He who will not study the Torah will be pierced with the sword.' Search was made from Dan unto Beer Sheba, and no ignoramus was found; from Gabbath  unto Antipris,  and no boy or girl, man or woman was found who was not thoroughly versed in the laws of cleanliness and uncleanliness.  And concerning that generation it is said, And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;  and it is further said, And it shall come to pass on that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns:  though a thousand vines be worth a thousand silverlings, yet shall it be for briers and thorns. And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of a caterpillar.  The prophet said unto Israel: 'Gather your spoil.' Thereupon they questioned him, 'To take it as our own booty, or to divide it?'  'Like the gathering of a caterpillar', replied he: just as caterpillars gather, each one for itself, so take your spoil, each one for himself. 'But', objected they, 'the wealth of the Ten tribes is mixed up therein.' He answered, 'As the watering of pools doth he water it:'  just as pools purify the unclean,  so are the possessions of Israel, which having fallen into the hands of heathens,  become clean [i.e., legitimate]. R. Huna said: That wicked man  made ten marches on that day, as it is written, [i] He is come to Aiath; [ii] he is passed at Migron; [iii] at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages; [iv] they are gone over the passage; [v] they have taken up their lodgings at Geba; [vi] Ramah is afraid; [vii] Gibeah of Saul is fled. [viii] Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim, [ix] cause it to be heard unto Laish, [x] O poor Anathoth. [xi] Madmenah is removed; [xii] the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.  But these are more [than ten]! Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim was said by the prophet to the people of Israel: Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim, thou daughter of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who performed good deeds as the waves  of the sea [in multitude]. Cause it to be heard unto Laish: Fear not this man, but be in dread of the wicked Nebuchadnezzar, who is likened to a lion, as it is written, The Lion [sc. Nebuchadnezzar] is come up from his thicket.  What is meant by