Zevachim

that he [subsequently] cut it away,1 [surely] ‘unhewn [whole] stones’ are prescribed!2 — They placed a plank there, and then removed it.3 For if you will not say thus, when R. Kahana said: The horns4 were hollow, for it is written, And they shall be filled like the basins, like the horns of the altar,5 here too [you may object that] the Divine Law prescribed ‘whole stones’?6 But [you must answer] that something was [first] placed there7 and then removed; so here too, planks were [first] placed there and then removed. Raba lectured: What is meant by the verse, [And he asked and said: ‘Where are Samuel and David?’] And one said: ‘Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah’:8 What connection then has Naioth with Ramah? It means, however, that they sat at Ramah and were engaged with the glory [beauty] of the world.9 Said they, It is written, Then shalt thou arise, and ascend unto the place [which the Lord thy God shall choose]:10 this teaches that the Temple was higher than the whole of Eretz Israel,11 while Eretz Israel is higher than all other countries. They did not know where that place was. Thereupon they brought the Book of Joshua.12 In the case of all [tribal territories] it is written, ‘And the border went down’ ‘and the border went up’ ‘and the border passed along’,13 whereas in reference to the tribe of Benjamin ‘and it went up’ is written, but not ‘and it went down’.14 Said they: This proves that this is its site. They intended building it at the well of Etam, which is raised, but [then] they said: Let us build it slightly lower,15 as it is written, And He dwelleth between his shoulders.16 Alternatively,17 there was a tradition that the Sanhedrin18 should have its locale in Judah's portion, while the Divine Presence19 was to be in Benjamin's portion. If then we build it in the highest spot,20 [said they,] there will be a considerable distance between them. Better then that we build it slightly lower, as it is written: ‘And He dwelleth between his shoulders’. And for this Doeg the Edomite envied David,21 as it is written, Because envy on account of Thy house hath eaten me up.22 And it is written, Lord, remember unto David all his affliction; how he swore unto the Lord, and vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob: ‘Surely I will not come into the tent of my house, nor go up into the bed that is spread for me; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids; until I find out a place for the Lord, a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob. Lo, we heard of it as being in Ephrath; we found it in the field of the forest.’23 ‘In Ephrath’ means in the Book of Joshua,24 who [Joshua] was descended from Ephraim. ‘In the field of the forest’ alludes to [the territory of] Benjamin, as it is written, Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth.25 26 MISHNAH. THE PEACE-OFFERINGS OF THE CONGREGATION AND THE GUILT-OFFERINGS (THESE ARE THE GUILT-OFFERINGS: THE GUILT-OFFERING FOR ROBBERY;27 FOR TRESPASS;28 FOR A BETROTHED BONDMAID;29 A NAZIRITE'S GUILT-OFFERING;30 A LEPER'S GUILT-OFFERING;31 AND THE GUILT-OFFERING OF SUSPENSE)32 ARE SLAUGHTERED IN THE NORTH, AND THEIR BLOOD IS RECEIVED IN A SERVICE VESSEL IN THE NORTH, AND THEIR BLOOD REQUIRES TWO SPRINKLINGS, WHICH CONSTITUTE FOUR. AND THEY ARE EATEN WITHIN THE HANGINGS,33 BY MALE PRIESTS, PREPARED IN ANY MANNER, A DAY AND A NIGHT, UNTIL MIDNIGHT. etc. were poured in, these strips would be left empty; subsequently they were removed. site. constituted Benjamin's boundary. Now, the boundaries of other tribes as they proceeded south from the well of Etam are described as going down, whereas the boundary of Benjamin as it proceeded to the well of Etam is described as going up. Hence the well of Etam must have been the highest spot of all. Rashi identifies the well of Etam with ‘the waters of Nephtoah’ (ibid. XVIII, 15.) V. also J.E. art. ‘Etam’. Temple court.