[The angel says to Ezra]

For just as the farmer sows many seeds upon the ground and plants a multitude of seedlings, and yet not all that have been sown will come up in due season, and not all that were planted will take root; so also those who have been sown in the world will not all be saved.

Hippocrates, Laws 3

The views of our teachers are as it were seeds. Learning from childhood is analogous to the seeds falling betimes upon the prepared ground.

Antiphon frag. 60 (Diels-Kranz, Fragmente der Vorsokratiker)

As is the seed that is ploughed into the ground, so must one expect the harvest to be, and similarly when good education is ploughed into your persons, its effect lives and burgeons throughout their lives, and neither rain nor drought can destroy it.

Seneca, Epistulae 38.2

Words should be scattered like seed; no matter how small the seed may be, if it once has found favourable ground, it unfolds its strength and from an insignificant thing spreads to its greatest growth.

Quintilian, Institutio oratoria 5.11.24

If you wish to argue that the mind requires cultivation, you would use a comparison drawn from the soil, which if neglected produces thorns and thickets, but if cultivated will bear fruit.

2 Cor 9:6.

"Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly; whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully."

T.Levi 13.6

"Sow good things in your soul and you will find them in your lives; sow evil and you will reap every trouble and tribulation."

1 Cor 15

"Sown in the body; raised in the spirit"

b. Sanh. 90b (R. Meir) = b. Ket. 111b [R. Hiyya ben Joseph]

"You may deduce by a qal wehomer argument from a grain of wheat: if a grain of wheat, which is buried naked, sprouts forth in many robes, how much more so the righteous, who are buried in their raiment''

2. YIELDS ON GRAIN

Herodotus 1.193

Its [Babylonia's] grain is so abundant that it yields for the most part two hundredfold, and even three hundred fold when the harvest is best. The blades of wheat and barley there are easily four fingers broad; and for millet and sesame, will not say, though it is known to me, to what a height they grow; for I am well aware that even what I have said respecting grain is wholly disbelieved by those who have never visited Babylonia.

Columella, De Re Rustica

2.9.1: A iugerum of rich land usually requires four modii of wheat; land of medium quality, five; it calls for nine modii of emmer if the soil is fertile, and ten if it is ordinary.

3.3.4: [C. is speaking of the high yields of vineyards] For we can hardly recall a time when grain crops, throughout at least the greater part of Italy, returned a yield of four for one.

Varro De Agricultura

1.44.1-2: Beans are sowed 4 modii to the iugerum, wheat 5, barley 6, spelt 10, and amount being a little more or less in some localities; more being sowed on rich ground and less on thin. You should therefore note the amount that it usually sowed in the district and follow this practice; for the locality and the type of soil is so important that the same seed in one district yields tenfold and in another fifteenfold — as in some places in Etruria. Around Sybaris in Italy the normal yield is said to be even a hundred to one, and a like yield is reported near Gadara in Syria, and for the district of Byzacium in Africa.

Pliny, Historia Naturalis 18.94-95

The procurator [of Augustus] in the Byzacian plain of north Africa sent to the emperor, though it is hard to credit his story, nearly four hundred shoots (germina, fut. grana?) from a single grain; the letter concerning it is still extant. He likewise sent to Nero also 360 stalks obtained from one grain. At all events the plains of Lentini and other districts in Sicily, and the whole of Andalusia, and particularly Egypt, produced at the rate of a hundredfold.

Gen 26:12

And Isaac sowed in that land [Gerar] and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.

Sib. Or. 3:261-64

[For the Heavenly One gave the earth in common to all and fidelity, and excellent reason in their breasts.] "For these alone the fertile soil yields fruit from one- to 100fold, and the measures of God are produced."

3. ON THE ORDER OF SOWING AND PLOUGHING

Isaiah 28:23-25

Give ear and hear my voice; harken and hear my speech. Does he who ploughs for sowing plough continually? does he continually open and harrow the ground? When he has levelled its surface does he not scatter dill, sow cummin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place and spelt as the border?

Jeremiah 4:3

For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground and sow not among thorns.

Job 4:8

Those who plough iniquity and sow trouble will reap the same.

Columella, De Re Rustica 2.4.2

But fallow land should be so pulverized by much reploughing that is will require no harrowing, or very little after we have put in the seed. For the ancient Romans said that a field was poorly prepared when it had to be harrowed after the crop was in the ground.

Pliny, Historia naturalis 18.180-81

Where the soil is rather dense, as it usually is in Italy, it is better to plough five times before sowing, but in Tuscany nine times.

Jubilees 11.11, 24

Before they could plough in the seed, the ravens picked [the seed] from the surface of the ground . . . And after this manner they made [vessels] above the ground on all the frames of the ploughs, and they sowed and tilled all the land, according as Abraham commanded them, and they no longer feared the birds.

b. Shab. 73a-b

(Mishnah) The primary labours are forty less one: sowing, ploughing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking. . .

(Gemara) ploughing is done first, then let him state ploughing first and then sowing. [But] the Tanna treats of Palestine, where they first sow and then plough.

4. THE KINGDOM AS A CEDAR

Ps 104:12 LXX

[12]By them <the springs> the birds of heaven dwell (kataskhnèsei); they sing among the branches.

Ezek 17:22-24 LXX

Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take [a sprig] from the lofty top of the cedar; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it upon a high mountain; I will hang it on the mountain height of Israel and I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit, and become a great cedar; and under it will rest all kinds of beasts; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will rest (¢napaÚsetai) and its branches will be restored. And all the trees of the plain shall know that I the Lord bring low the high tree, and exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree and make the dry tree green. I the Lord have spoken and will do it.

Ezek 31 LXX

[1]And it happened in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me; [2]Son of man, speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt and to his multitude: To what do you compare yourself in your greatness? [3]Behold a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches and great in its height, and its top in the midst of the clouds. . . [6] In its boughs all the birds of heaven made their nests; under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young; under its shadow dwelt a great nation. [7] And it became beautiful in its greatness because of the fullness of its branches, because its roots went down to much water. [8] There were no cedars in the garden of God such as to rival it. [9] And the firs were not like its boughs, and the plane trees were not like its branches; no tree in the garden of God was like it in its beauty. [10]Because of the fullness of its branches, even the trees of the garden of delight of God were jealous.

[11-14] [God will destroy this tree because of its pride.]

[15]And you, from now on, will no longer be called Asenath, but your name will be “city of refuge” wherefore many nations will take refuge in you and will dwell (kataskênôsousi) under your wings, and many nations will be sheltered (skepasthesontai) because of you, and those who are devoted to the most high God through repentance will be protected with your walls.

5. LEAVEN

[6]And Abraham hurried to the tent to Sarah and said to her: hurry and knead three measures (metra) of meal and make cakes (egkruphias).

[19]So Gideon went into his house and prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes from an ephah [=3 measures] of flour; the meat he put in a basket and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to [the Lord] under the oak and presented them.

[24]And when [Hannah] had weaned [Samuel] she took him up with her along with a three year old bull, and ephah [3 measures] of flour and a skin of wine; and she brought them to the house of the Lord at Shiloh.

[7]They are all adulterers; they are like a heated oven, whose baker ceases to stir the fire, from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.

[6]Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened.

6. Disposition of the Dead

[Tobit, from Naphthali] I did many acts of charity: I shared my food with the hungry and provide clothes to the naked. If I saw the dead body of a man of my race lying outside the wall of Nineveh, I buried it. I buried all those who fell victims to Sennacherib after his flight from Judaea, when the king of heaven executed judgment on him for all his blasphemies and in his rage killed many Israelites. I stole their bodies and buried them.

The duty of sharing with others was inculcated by our legislator. We must furnish fire, water, food to all who ask for them, point out the road, not leave a corpse unburied, show consideration to declared enemies.

"As between the study of Torah and attending to a meth mizwah, attending a meth mizwah takes precedence . . . As between temple service and attending to a meth mizwah, attending to a meth mizwah takes precedence."

"None of [the sons of Aaron] shall defile himself for the dead among his people, except for his nearest of kin, that is, for mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or full sister who is unmarried and a virgin; nor shall he make himself unclean for any married woman among his father's kin, and so profane himself." including mother, father, son, daughter, brother, virgin sister, but not his wife.

A high priest or a Nazirite may not contact uncleanness because of their [dead] kin, but they may contact uncleanness because of a neglected corpse [meth mizwah]. If they were on a journey and found a neglected corpse, R. Eliezer says: the high priest may contact uncleannness but the Nazarite may not contact uncleanness. [-> S.em. 4:31]

R. Hisda, citing Rab, said: [A priest] if his father was decapitated, must not defile himself for him. For what reason? The text [Lev 21:2] says FOR HIS FATHER meaning when he is whole and not when he is defective. R. Hamnuna said to him: In that cases, suppose [the father] were travelling through the valley of `Araboth [in Babylonia, notorious for robbers] and robbers cut off his head, would you also maintain that [the son] is not able to defile himself for him[1]? -- He replied: You raise the question of a meth mitzwah.[2] Seeing that we consider it his duty [to defile himself under such circumstances] to strangers, how much more so is this true of his father.

But is this considered a meth mitzwah? Has it not been taught: A meth mitzwah is [a corpse] with none to bury him. Were he able to call and others answer him, he is not a meth mitzwah;[3] and here this man has a son.[4] Because they are travelling on the road [alone], it is as though he has none to bury him.

A Nazirite going to slaughter the paschal lamb or circumcise his son, who hears of the death of a near kinsman cannot defile himself. But for a meth mitzwah he must defile himself: "The text [Lev 21] adds, `for his sister' [implying that] for his sister he is forbidden to defile himself, but he may defile himself for a meth mitzwah." [since Lev. does not expressly rule out a neglected corpse].

An ordinary kohen who defiled himself for his near kin may not defile himself for strangers even on the same day.[5] This rule applies only if there are sufficient to carry the bier; but if there are not sufficient to carry the bier and bury him, then he must defile himself.[6] Should he have defiled himself and if other persons come to carry the bier and bury him, he must withdraw to a place of cleanness.

If [a kohen] found a meth mitzwah he must attend to him and bury him. Which is a meth mitzwah? When [he who finds the body] cries out and the inhabitants of the city cannot hear his voice; but if they can hear his voice, it is not a meth mitzwah.[7]

If a High Priest and a Nazarite [found a meth mitzwah], R. Eliezer said that the High Priest should defile himself and not the Nazirite, because the latter must offer a sacrifice on his defilement [Num 6:9-11] whereas the former does not. But the Sages said: The Nazirite should defile himself even if he has to bring a hundred sacrifices, and let not the High Priest defile himself, because the one is consecrated from the womb and the other is not, and the consecration of the one is temporary and that of the other is permanent.

All agreed that [in the case of the High] Priest anointed with oil of anointing,[8] and the [High Priest robed] in many vestments,[9] the latter must defile himself. As between a [High Priest robed] in many vestments and a deputy, who has been anointed, the latter must defile himself. As between a deputy and a memunneh,[10] the latter must defile himself. . . . As between a kohen anointed for war[11] and an ordinary cohen, the latter must defile himself. As between an ordinary kohen and a Levite, the Levite must defile himself. As between a Levite and a lay-Israelite, the latter must defile himself. If however the two [who find the meth mitzwah] are of equal status, the quicker of the two must defile himself and if the two of them are equally quick, then whichever of them wishes to do so should defile himself.

7. STORIES OF TRAVELLERS

[Travel in antiquity, whether by land or by sea, was increasingly common with the advent of the network of paved Roman roads and the clearing of the Mediterranean of pirates by Julius Caesar. It was, nevertheless, fraught with the dangers of unexpected accident, robbery, bad weather, shipwreck and refusal of hospitality. Travellers looked to various deities for protection — Isis and the Dioskuroi for sailors, for example. Many traveller stories were told, illustrating the various difficulties which travellers might encounter. Examine these three stories to determine the way in which each functions.]

Rabbi Eleazar b. Shammua was walking on the rocks by the sea, when he saw a ship which was tossed about in the water suddenly sink with all on board. He noticed a man sitting on a plank of the ship [carried] from wave to wave until he stepped ashore. Being naked he hid himself among the rocks by the sea. It happened to be the time for the Israelites to go up to Jerusalem for the Festival. He said to them, “I belong to the descendants of Esau, your brother; give me a little clothing wherewith to cover my nakedness because the sea stripped me bare and nothing was saved with me.” They retorted, “So may all your people be stripped bare.” He raised his eyes and say R. Eleazar who was walking among them; he exclaimed, “I observe that you are an old and respected man of your people, and you know the respect due to your fellow-creatures. So help me, and give me a garment wherewith to cover my nakedness because the sea stripped me bare.” R. Eleazar b. Shammua was wearing seven robes; he took one off and gave it to him. He also led him to his house, provided him with food and drink, gave him two hundred denarii, drove him fourteen Persian miles and treated him with great honour until he brought him to his home.

Some time later the wicked emperor died and they elected this man king in his stead, and he decreed concerning that province that all the men were to be killed and all the women taken as spoil. They said to R. Eleazar b. Shammua, “Go and intercede for us.” He told them, “You know that this government does nothing without being paid.” They said to him, “Here are four thousand denarii; take them and go and intercede for us.” He took them and went and stood by the gate of the royal palace. He said to the [guards], “Go and tell the king that a Jew is standing at the gate, and wishes to greet the king.” The king ordered him brought in. On seeing him the king descended from his throne and prostrated himself before him. He asked him, “What is my master’s business here, and why has my master troubled to come here?” He replied, “That you should have mercy upon this province and annul this decree.” The king asked him, “Is there any falsehood written in the Torah?” “No,” was the reply. And he said to him, “Is it not written in your Torah, ‘AN AMMONITE OR A MOABITE SHALL NOT ENTER INTO THE ASSEMBLY OF THE LORD’? (Deut 23:4) What is the reason? BECAUSE THEY MET YOU NOT WITH BREAD AND WATER IN THE WAY (Deut 23:5). It is also written, THOU SHALT NOT ABHOR AN EDOMITE, FOR HE IS THY BROTHER (Deut 23:8); am I not a descendant of Esau, your brother, but they did not treat me with kindness! And whoever transgresses the Torah incurs the penalty of death.” R. Eleazar b. Shammua replied to him, “Although they are guilty towards you, forgive them and have mercy on them.” He said to him, “You know that this government does nothing without being paid.” He told him, “I have with me four thousand denarii; take them and have mercy upon the people.” He said to him, “These four thousand denarii are presented to you in exchange for the two hundred you gave me, and the whole province will be spared for your sake in return for the food and drink with which you provided me. Go also into my treasury and take seventy robes of honour in return for the robe you gave me, and go in peace to your people whom I forgive for your sake.” They applied to him the text CAST YOUR BREAD UPON THE WATERS.

Abba Tahnah the pious was entering his city on the Sabbath eve at dusk with a bundle slung over his shoulder, when he met a man afflicted with boils lying at the cross-roads. The latter said to him, “Rabbi, do me an act of charity and carry me into the city.” He remarked, “If I abandon my bundle, from where will I and my support itself? But if I abandon this afflicted man, I will forfeit my life!” What did he do? He allowed the Good inclination (yetser) to master the Evil inclination and carried the afflicted man into the city. He then returned for his bundle and entered at sunset. Everybody was astonished and exclaimed, “Is this Abba Tahnah the pious!” He too felt uneasy in his heart and said, “Do you think perhaps I desecrated the Sabbath?” At that time the Holy One, blessed be he, caused the sun to shine, as it is written, “BUT UNTO YOU THAT FEAR MY NAME SHALL THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ARISE” (Mal 3:20). He again felt uneasy and said, “Do you think that my reward has not been received?” A Bath Qol went forth and said to him, GO YOUR WAY, EAT YOUR BREAD WITH JOY, AND DRINK YOUR WINE WITH A MERRY HEART, FOR GOD HAS ALREADY ACCEPTED YOUR WORKS, your reward has been received.

Once a panther carelessly fell into a pit. The country people saw her there. Some of them brought clubs, others piled stones on her; still others felt sorry for her, as being likely to die, though no one harmed her, and these tossed bread to her that she might keep herself alive. Night came on and the men went home unconcerned, thinking that they would find her dead on the following day. But the panther, having recruited her failing strength, with a quick leap freed herself from the pit and hastened to her lair at a swift pace. After a few days she sallied forth again, slaughtered the sheep, killed the shepherds themselves, and laid everything waste in the exercise of her violent and savage fury. Hereupon even those who had spared the beast began to be afraid for themselves; they made no complaint about lost property but only begged for their lives. But she said to them, “I remember who attacked me with stones and who gave me bread. As for you, cease to be afraid; I return as an enemy only to those who injured me.”

[Jupiter descended from Mount Olympus disguised in human form to see first hand the impiety of humankind. He approached the territory of the Arcadian king at evening, and gave a sign that a god had come. The common folk began to worship Jupiter. Lycaon at first mocked their prayers and then decided to find out whether the stranger was mortal or not. He planned to kill the stranger while sleeping, and also served up a murdered Molossian for dinner. Not deceived, Jupiter brought down the house and its household gods with a thunderbolt. The king fled, struck dumb, and was transformed into a wolf-like human.]

[Athena, fleeing from Juno and having just delivered her two children, reached the borders of Lycia. Weary and drained from her flight, she stopped by a lake to rest. When she tried to drink from the water, the peasants forbade her. She asked them, “Why do you deny me water? The enjoyment of water is a common right. Nature has not made the sun private to any, nor the air, nor soft water. . . These children too, let them touch your hearts, who from by bosom stretch out their little arms.” The peasants persisted and drove her away, and soiled the pool with their feet and hands and stirred up the mud. Angered, Athena stretched up her hands to heaven:]

“Live then forever in that pool.” It fell out as the goddess prayed. It is their delight to live in water; not to plunge their bodies quite beneath the enveloping pool, now to thrust forth their heads, now to swim upon the surface. Often they sit upon the sedgy bank and often leap back into the cool lake. But even now, as of old, they exercise their foul tongues in quarrel, and all shameless, though they may be under water, even under the water they try to utter maledictions. Now also their voices are hoarse, their inflated throats swell up, and their constant quarrelling distends their wide jaws; their shoulders meet their heads, the necks seem to have disappeared. Their backs are green; their bellies white; and as new-made frogs they leap in the muddy pool.

8. INVITATIONS TO DINE

Neilos invites you to dine at the banquet of Lord Sarapis in the Sarapeum, the 10th (of the month), from the 9th hour.

Chairemon invites you to dine at the banquet of Lord Sarapis in the Sarapeum, tomorrow, which is the 15th (of the month), from the 9th hour.

Dionysius invites you to dine on (the occasion of) the wedding of his own children, in the Ischurium, tomorrow, which is the 30th, from the 9th hour.

Diogenes invites you to dine on (the occasion of) the first birthday of his daughter, in the Sarapeum, tomorrow, which is Pachon 6, from the 8th hour.

Ktesidaimon invites you to dine on (the occasion of) the wedding of his daughter, at (his own) home, on the 16th on the intercalary days, from the 9th hour.

Sarapous invites you to dine on festival of Isis, in (his own) house, tomorrow, which is the 29th, from the 9th hour.

The interpreter invites you to dine in the (temple of) Demeter, today, which is the 8th, from the 7th hour.

9. THE FEAST

[When you go forth to war] "Then the officers shall speak to the people saying, "What man is there that has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. And what man is there that has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit. And what man is there that has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house lest he die in battle and another man take her."

R. Eleazar told a parable of a king who prepared a great banquet and charges his steward: ``Invite me merchants, but do not invite artisans.'' Thereupon the steward said: My lord king, so abundant is your banquet that the merchants will not be able to eat it all, unless the artisans are part of the company.'' Even so, David said: ACCORDING TO THY MERCY REMEMBER ME FOR YOUR GOODNESS' SAKE, O LORD, as is said, THE LORD IS GOOD TO ALL (Ps 145.9).

R. Jose bar H.anina told a parable of a king who prepared a banquet and invited guests. The fourth hour passed and the guests did not come. The fifth and sixth hours passed and still the guests did not come. By evening the guest began to arrive. The king said to them: I am beholden to you. Had you not come, I would have had to throw the whole banquet to my dogs.'' Even so, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the righteous: I consider this a great favor on your part, for I created My world because of you; and were it not for you, all the goodness which I have prepared for the future, of which it is said O HOW ABUNDANT IS THY GOODNESS, WHICH YOU HAVE LAID UP FOR THEM THAT FEAR YOU (Ps 31:20), to whom could I give it?

J. Neusner, The Talmud of the Land of Israel: A Preliminary Translation and Explanation, vol. 20: Hagigah and Moed Qatan (Chicago & London: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1986) 57 (cf. y. Sanh. 6:6)

[V.A]He who says Simeon b. Shatah[13] was patriarch finds support in the following incident about Ashqelon.

[B]There were two hold men in Ashqelon who would eat together, drink together and study Torah together. One of them died and he was not properly mourned.

[C]But when Bar Maayan, the village tax collector, died, the whole town took time off to mourn him.

[D]The surviving holy man began to weep saying, “Woe, for the enemies of Israel [a euphemism for Israel itself] will have no merit.”

[E][The deceased holy man] appeared to him in a dream, and said to him, “Do not despise the sons of your Lord. This one did one sin, and the other did one good deed, and it went well for [the latter on earth, so while on earth I was punished for my one sin, he was rewarded for his one good deed].”

[G]Heaven forfend! He committed no culpable act in his entire life. But one time he put on the phylactery of the head before that of the hand [which was an error].

[H]Now what was the meritorious deed that Bar Maayan, the village tax collector, had done?

[I]Heaven forfend! He never did a meritorious deed in his life. But one time he made a banquet for the councillors of his town, but they did not come. He said, “Let the poor come and eat the food, so that it did not go to waste.”

[J]There are those who say that he was travelling along the road with a loaf of bread under his arm, and it fell. A poor man went and took it, and the tax collector said nothing to him so as not to embarrass him.

[K]After a few days the holy man saw his fellow [in a dream] walking among gardens, orchards and fountains of water. He saw Bar Maayan the village tax collector with his tongue hanging out by a river. He wanted to reach the river but could not reach it.

2. THE PRECIOUS SONS OF ZION (4:2). In what did their precious character consist? When a man of one of the other Palestinian towns married a woman of Jerusalem he gave her her weight in gold; and when a Jerusalemite married a woman from another town he received his weight in gold. Another explanation of their precious character: When a man [of Jerusalem] married a woman of superior status to his own, he made the tables [arranged for the wedding feast] more costly than his expenditure [on his domestic furnishings], and when she was of inferior status he made his expenditure [on his domestic furnishings] more costly than the tables [arranged for the wedding feast].

Another explanation of their precious character: None of them would attend a banquet unless he was invited twice.

3. It happened that a Jerusalemite once gave a dinner and instructed one of his household, “Go and bring me my friend Kamza”; but he went and invited Bar Kamza who was his enemy. The latter entered and sat among the invited. When the host came in and saw him among the guests, he said to him, “You are my enemy and yet you sit in my house! Get up and leave my house!” He answered, “Do not put me to shame, and I will pay you the cost of what I eat.” He said to him, “You will not recline at the meal.” He said to him, “Do not put me to shame, and I will sit without eating or drinking anything”; but he replied, “You will not recline at the meal!”

[Bar Kamza was finally expelled and complained to the Roman governor that his sacrificial animals were not being offered. Bar Kamza made the animals blemished, and when the governor discovered that his animals were not sacrificed, he destroyed the temple.]

4. . . . Another explanation of their precious character: None of them ever made a claim which he could not justify. R. Simeon b. Gamaliel said, “There was a fine custom in Jerusalem whereby [at the commencement of a meal] a cloth was spread over the door [as an intimation that the meal was in progress] and so long as this was spread guests entered; but when it was removed, [no wayfarers entered.][14]

R. Eliezer said: Repent one day before your death. His disciples asked him: How can a person know the day of his death? He answered them: Since he may die tomorrow, it is all the more necessary to repent today; thus all through his life he will be found in a state of penitence. Moreover, Solomon in his wisdom has said: LET YOUR GARMENTS BE ALWAYS WHITE, AND LET NOT OIL BE LACKING ON YOUR HEAD. [Qoh 9:8] R. Johanan b. Zakkai said, “Does Scripture speak literally about garments? But how many white garments do the Gentiles have! And if Scripture literally speaks of good oil, how much good oil do the Gentiles have! But Scripture speaks only of the performance of the commandments, good deeds, and the study of Torah.”

Said Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai[15], “It is like a king who invited his servants to the banquet and did not name the exact time. The wise among them came and sat at the door of the palace, saying ‘Does the king’s palace lack for anything?’ But the fools went about their own business saying, ‘Was there ever a banquet without a set hour?’ All of a sudden, the king summoned them to his presence. The wise ones appeared all dressed and cleaned up for the occasion, while the fools appeared in their dirt. The king rejoiced to see the wise ones and was angered at the appearance of the fools, and said, ‘Those who have dressed themselves for the banquet, let them sit and eat and drink, while the ones who are unprepared may stand by and look at them’“

10. VINEYARD WORKERS

Just now, too, the temple had been completed. The people therefore saw that the workmen, numbering over 18,000, were out of work and would be deprived of pay, for they earned their living by working on the temple. Moreover, owing to their fear of the Romans, they did not want to have any money that was kept on deposit. Hence, out of regard for the workmen and choosing to expend their treasures on them -- for if anyone worked for but one hour of the day, he at once received his pay for this[16] --, they urged the king to raise the height of the east portico. . . . [Agrippa] refused this request, but he did not veto the paving of the city with white stone.

When a king hires good labourers who perform their work well and he pays them their wage -- what praise does he merit? When is he worthy of praise? When he hires incompetent workers who do not do their work properly and yet he pays them their full wage.''

When R. Bun b. R. Hiyya[18] died, R. Zera went in and delivered a funeral oration over him on the present verse, SWEET IS THE SLEEP OF A LABOURING MAN [5:11]. To whom was R. Bun b. R. Hiyya like? to a king who possessed a vineyard and hired many labourers to work it. Among them was one labourer far more skilled in his work than the rest; so what did the king do? He took him by the hand and walked with him up and down. Towards evening the labourers came to receive their wages and this labourer came with them, and he gave him the full amount. The others began to grumble, saying, “We toiled all day, whereas this man toiled only for two hours, and yet the king has given him his full wage.” The king said to them, “What cause have you for grumbling? This man in two hours did more good work that you in a whole day.” Similarly R. Bun b. R. Hiyya learned in twenty eight years more Torah than an eminent scholar could learn in a hundred years.

How do the righteous come [into the world?] Through love, because they uphold the world through their good deeds. How do they depart —also through love. R. Simeon ben Eleazar [ca. 190] told a parable. To what may the matter be compared? To a king who hired two labourers. The first worked all day and received one denarius. The second worled only one hour and yet also received one denarius. Which one was more beloved? Not the one who worked one hour and received a denarius! Thus Moses our teacher served Israel 120 years and Samuel [served them] only 52 years. Nevertheless, both are equal before the Omnipresent. As it is said, THEN THE LORD SAID TO ME, THOUGH MOSES AND SAMUEL STOOD BEFORE ME [Jer 15:1] and thus he said MOSES AND AARON WERE AMONG HIS PRIESTS [Ps 99:6]; concerning thme and others like them He says SWEET IS THE SLEEP OF THE LABOURER WHETHER HE EATS LITTLE OR MUCH [Qoh 5:12].

“And I will have regard for you” (Lev 26:9). They tell a parable: to what may the matter be compared? To a king who hired many labourers. One labourer was there who had done work for the king many days. The labourers came to take their wages and that labourer was among them. The king said to that labourer, “I will have regard for you.” These many labourers have done little work and therefore I will pay them a minimum wage. But you have a great reward which I will add up for you in the future.” Thus Israel seeks their reward in the present world from before the Omnipresent. The nations of the world likewise seek their reward from before Him. But the Omnipresent says to Israel, “My children, I will have regard for you. These nations of the world have done only a little work for me, and I will give them a minor recompense. But you have a great reward which I will add up for you in the future.” As it was said, “ I will have regard for you” (Lev 26:9).

11. BIBLICAL TEXTS RELATING TO VINEYARDS AND ORCHARDS

1 I will sing for my beloved; a song of the beloved concerning my (MT: his) vineyard. The beloved had a vineyard on a hill in a fertile place.

2 And I (MT: he) set a fence around it (MT: -) and cleared it and planted a vineyard, and build a pile (of stones) and a tower in the middle of it, and I dug a pit (for a wine press). And I waited for it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns (MT: wild grapes).

23 When you come into the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden; three years it shall be forbidden to you, it must not be eaten. ²⁴ And in the fourth year all their fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat of their fruit, that they may yield more richly for you: I am the Lord your God.

12. EVIL STEWARDS

“For the Lord’s portion is his people” (Deut 32:9) A parable. To a king who owned a field and rented it to tenants. These tenants began to steal from it. Then he took it away from them and rented it to their children. But they turned out to be more wicked than the first tenants. Therefore he took it away from them and rented it to their children’s children but they still were more wicked than the first tenants. A son was then born to the king. The king said to the tenants, “Get out of my [field]. I will not allow you to stay in it — give me my portion so that I will be able to make it known [as mine]. Thus when our father Abraham came into the world, dross issued forth from him — Ishmael and the sons of Keturah. When Isaac came into the world, dross issued forth from him also — Esau and the myriads of Edomites who were more wicked than the first ones. Finally Jacob came and dross did not issue forth from him for all his sons were honest. As it is said, “Jacob was an [honest] man, dwelling in tents” (Gen 25:27). From when does the Omnipresent make known his portion? From Jacob as it is said, “For the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage” (Deut 32:9). Further he says, “For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself” (Ps 135:4).

13. LAWS OF ADVERSE POSSESSION

3.1 Title by usucaption to houses, cisterns, trenches, vaults, dovecotes, bath-houses, olive groves, irrigated fields, and slaves and anything that brings constant gain, is secured by occupation during three completed years; title by usucaption to unirrigated fields [is secured by occupation during] three years and they need not be completed. R. Ishmael says: Three months during the first year and three months during the last year and twelve months during the middle year, which makes eighteen months. R. Akiba says: One month during the first year and one month during the last year and twelve months during the middle year, which makes fourteen months. R. Ishmael says: This applies only to a sown field; but with tree plantations, as soon as a man has brought in his [grape harvest] and garnered his olives and gathered in his [fig] harvest, this counts for three years.

3.2 Three countries are to be distinguished in what concerns usucaption: Judaea, beyond Jordan and Galilee. If the owner was in Judaea and another took possession in Galilee; or if he was in Galilee and another took possession in Judaea, such usucaption is not valid: he must be with him together in the same country. R. Judah said: They have prescribed a limit of three years only that if the owner was in Spain and another took possession during one year, they could make it known to the owner during the next year and he could return in the third year.

3.3 Usucaption without an alleged right of possession does not count as valid usucaption. This is one said, “What are you doing in my domain?” and the other said, “Nobody ever said anything to me” such usucaption is not valid. But if he answered, “You sold it to me” or “you gave it to me as a gift” or “your father sold it to me” or “your father gave it to me as a gift” such usucaption is valid. If a man held possession [during 3 years] by virtue of inheritance he does not need to allege any right of possession. Craftsmen, jointholders, tenants, and guardians cannot secure title by usucaption. A husband cannot secure title by usucaption against his wife, nor a wife against her husband, nor a father against his son, nor a son against his father. This applies to one that claims the property by usucaption; but when the property was given as a gift, or when brothers shared a property, or when one claimed title by usucaption to the property of a proselyte <who died without heirs> then if the claimant has shut in, walled up, or broken down anything at all, the title is valid.

Published: Gerald M. Browne, Michigan Papyri (P. Mich. XII), American Studies in Papyrology 14 (Toronto: A. M. Hakkert, 1975) 24-27.

[This appears to be a rough draft of the contract. The scribe is uncertain of how many lessors and lessees are involved and has left the papyrus unfinished.]

® [. . .] of the Arsinoite Nome, Patynis, son of Harpaesis, about sixty four years old, of medium height, black-skinned, long face [. . .] with a scar on the left cheek acknowledges to Orseus, son of Phasos, farmer, Persian of the Epigone, about thirty five years old, with a scar on the right knee, that he has leased to him from the coming thirteenth year of Tiberias Caesar Augustus the catoecic allotment which belongs to Patynis himself, and which consists of seven aroura stated to be in the Tkanabis district, seven arouras of land or however many there are, on the basis of half-shares, free from public charges, for the cultivation of wheat, (the rent being) in entirety forty artabae of wheat measured by the four-choinix measure of the granary of Julia Augusta and the children of Germanicus Caesar,[20] Caesares, all the expenses devolving upon {both of them}, which {he} will pay (sic) in the month of Pauni, free from rushes, coarse grass, and all dirt, with the Egyptian reed cut. The right of execution rests with {both of them} or with their representatives of {both of them} and on all his property as if in accordance with a legal decision. The lease is guaranteed by Patynis on the above-mentioned terms {both} (sic) from public charges.

Published: Roger S. Bagnall and Naphthali Lewis, Columbia Papyri VII: Fourth Century Documents from Karanis, American Studies in Papyrology 20 (Missoula: Scholars Press, 1979) No. 179 (pp. 194-96).

®In the third consulate of our lords Constantius and Maximianus,[21] most noble Caesars. To Aurelia Thermoutharion, daughter of Sextus, a legionary, who is acting without a guardian by virtue of the ius liberorum,[22] from Aurelius Isidoros, son of Ptolemaeus and Herois, from the village of Karanis. I wish to lease from you in partnership on the basis of half-shares the two arouras[23] or however many there may be, of an olive grove belonging to you in the vicinity of the same village of Karanis, for five years (reckoning) from the fruits of the current sixteenth, fifteenth, and eighth year,[24] which mature in the coming year, it being my obligation to give from my portion each year one artaba of olives by the four-choinix dromos measure. And it shall not be permissible for me to abandon the lease within the term in any way, and I shall accomplish all the yearly chores, gathering and removal of dry, dead branches, pruning, harrowing, the harvesting being my responsibility as the lessee, and I shall do both ploughing and irrigating, and we shall divide the harvest in half-shares, all public charges resting on you, the owner; and on the expiration of this term I will surrender (paradôsô) the olive grove having had [. . .] as I also received it, if you agree to make the lease. And when the formal question was put to me, I made acknowledgment.

I, Aurelia Thermoutharion, have made the lease on half-shares, as stated above. I Aurelius Mikkalos, have written on her behalf, since she is illiterate. Year 16-15-8 of our lords Diocletian and Maximian, Augusti, and Constantius and Maximianus, the most noble Caesars, Mecheir 10.[25]

Published: C. H. Roberts and E. G. Turner, Catalogue of the Greek and Latin Papyri in the John Rylands Library (Manchester: Manchester Univ. Press, 1952) 4:38-45.

® In the first year of the reign of Ptolemy and Ptolemy the brother and Cleopatra, children of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, gods Epiphaneis, the priest at Alexandria of Alexander and the gods Soteres and the gods Adelphi and the gods Euergetae and the gods Philopatores and the gods Epiphaneis and the gods Philometores, the athlophorus of Bernice Euergetis, the canephorus of Arsinoe Philadelphus, the priestess of Arsinoe Philopater, being those in office at Alexandria, on the 9th of the month of Xandikos, 9th Phaophi, at Philadelphia in the Arsinoite nome. Nicomachus son of Ph[. . .]ades of Halicarnassus, successor to his father’s holding, has leased to Apollonius son of Apollonius, Persian of the Epigone, the somewhat sandy vineyard situated near the same Philadelphia, being of 6 arourae or such as it may be, belonging to Crates, son of Pheidimus of Arsinoe in Lycia, tachtomistus of the Pamphylians in their command, for the first year for a rent of two-thirds of all the fruit and produce that grow in this vineyard; viz., when all fruits have been turned into wine and deductions made for the apomoira due to the Treasury, wages for the treaders, hire of a winepress and a contribution (in the month of the vintage?) of a half kados to the agricultural guild, the must remaining shall be divided into three portions, of which Nicomachus shall take two and Apollonius one. Each shall provide jars for himself and as required for the apomoira according to the proportions of his lease, and each shall carry down the jars for himself to the winepress, and carry up the must for himself, while the apomoira [. . .]

[ . . . ] monthly wages are to be paid at his own expense by Apollonius from the time stated until the termination of the lease, as is best for the land and the vine; Apollonius is to prune the vine moderately and exactly, to attend properly to the dressing of the young vines, to keep the ground of the property clear of weedy growth and rush and reed and quake grass and kinaios reed and all other tangle of roots except for the dry ground inside the cross trench, and is to maintain the cross trenches dug and clean and the property fenced; he is to clear out the drains and fence the conduit facing the [. . .] and lead it through for the watering; and when the lease has expired, he is to deliver the ground of this property in clean condition and the cross trenches clean, as it presently stated. If he fails to deliver it or to perform each of the tasks at the proper time, or if he abandon the lease, he is to pay the assessed wage with 50 percent surcharge for every task he fails to perform, and a fine of two silver talents for any damage that may be due at the time of his abandoning the lease. Apollonius is to shift 50 rows of vines to the uncultivated ground at his own expense and to transplant in the same year at the proper (time) [. . .]

Published: B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1896--.

®To Aurelius Serenus also called Sarapion son of Agathinus and Taposirias, of the illustrious and most illustrious city of Oxyrhynchus, from the Aurelii Ctistus son of Rufus and Dionysia and his son Ptolemaeus, whose mother is Tauris, both of the illustrious and most illustrious city of Oxyrhynchus, and Peloius, son of Heracleus and Tapontheus, of the village of Tanais.

We voluntarily undertake to lease for one year more from Hathur I of the present 6th year all the vine-tending operations in the vineyard owned by you in the area of the village of Tanais and the adjoining reed-plantation, whatever be the acreage of each, we, the party of Aurelius Ctistus, undertaking half and I, Peloius the remaining half, which operations are, concerning the vineyard, plucking of reeds, collection and transport of them, proper pruning, making into bundles and binding, stripping and transport of leaves and throwing them outside the mud walls, layering as many vine-shoots as are necessary, digging, scooping hollows round the vines and trenching, you, the landlord, being responsible for the arrangement of the reeds and we for assisting you in the work, we being responsible for the remaining operations after those mentioned, namely, breaking up the ground, picking off shoots, keeping the vines well tended, giving space for the growths, cutting back, needful things of foliage; and concerning the reed-plantation, the bisection of each of the two watering and continual weeding; and further, we agree to assist you in the vineyard and the reed plantation in superintending the asses which bring earth, in order that the earth may be thrown in the proper places, and we will perform the testing of the jars intended for the wine, in the open air shed, and plaster them, and move the wine, and strain it from one jar to another, and watch over them as long as they are stored in the open-air shed, the wage for all the aforesaid operations being 4500 silver drachmae, 10 artabae of wheat, and 4 jars of wine at the vat, which wages we are to receive in instalments according to the progress of the operations. And we likewise undertake to lease for one year the produce of all the date-palms and fruit trees which are in the old vineyard, for which we will pay as a special rent 1½ artabae of fresh dates, 1½ artabae of pressed dates, 1½ artabae of walnut-dates, ½ artaba of black olives, 500 selected peaches, 15 citrons, 400 summer figs before the inundation, 500 winter figs, 4 large white fat melons. Moreover we will in consideration of the above wages likewise plough the adjoining fruit garden to the south of the vineyard, and will do the watering, weeding, and all the other seasonal operations, only the arrangement of reeds in it and the strewing of earth being left to you, the landlord, the rent being secured against all risks. If our undertaking is guaranteed to us, we will perform all the seasonal operations of the vineyard and fruit garden and reed plantation at the proper times and to your satisfaction, your agents keeping check on everything, and we will pay the special rent at the required time (tù dšonti kairù) without delay, and at the end of the period we will deliver the objects of the lease under cultivation, well cared for by our operations, and free from rushes, weeks, and all coarse grass, you having the right of execution upon us, who are mutual securities for the payment of rent, as is fitting. This undertaking is valid, and in answer to the formal question we have given our consent. The 6th year of Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Probus Persicus Maximus Gothicus Maximus Pius Felix Augustus, Choiak 25.

(A Declaration follows along with the statement of the notary who wrote the document [the signatores being illiterate]).

15. LOAN CONTRACTS

Published: F. Preisigke, F. Bilabel and E. Kiessling, ed., Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Ägypten (Berlin and Leipzig: Walter de Gruyter, 1913-1917; Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1934--) Nr. 7341 = V. A. Tcherikover and A. Fuks, ed., Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum, 3 vols. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957064) No. 411 (2:179-81).

® In the thirty third year of the rule of Caesar (Augustus), son of god on the 17th of Audnaios, 17th of Hathyr,[26] in Philadelphia of the district of Herakleides of the Arsinoite nome. Herakles, son of Herakles lent to Sambathion son of Dionysios, Persian of the Epigone,[27] six artabae of barley of the brand of Hermophantos, including the added half (hêmiolia),[28] which he received from his as soon as this contract was completed. And the borrower shall repay this loan, six artabae of barley, to Herakles or his representatives in the month of Pauni,[29] of the present thirty-third year of Caesar, paying it back in fresh, unadulterated barley of the brand of Hermophantos, according to the fourth scale of measures of the merchants (of Philadelphia), with fair measure and strickle, returning it to the village granary, paying the granary fee himself.

If he does not pay it back according to the contract, the borrower shall forthwith pay to Herakles for each artaba its value in money, three drachmae or whatever is the highest price in the market, and Herakles and his representative shall have the right of execution on the borrower and all his property, as if judgment had been given in the case. The contract is valid. Witnesses.

Thirty third year of Caesar. Hathyr 17 by Ammonios in charge of the grapheion at Philadelphia.

Sambathion, son of Dionysius, Persian of the Epigone. I have received from Herakles the son of Herakles the loan, six artabae of barley of the brand of Hermophantos, including the added half, according to the fourth scale of measure of the merchants of Philadelphia, deposited in the granary, paying the granary fee myself. I shall repay these in the month of Pauni of the present 33rd year of Caesar, as has been written above. Kastor, son of Kallistratos wrote this on his behalf, since he says he does not know how to write. . .

Published: Pierre Benoit, J. T. Milik and R. de Vaux, ed., Les Grottes de Murabba’at, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (of Jordan) 2 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961) No. 18 (pp. 100-104).

® [yea]r 10 of Nero Caesar [. . .] at Siwaya,[30] Absolom son of Hanin of Siwaya has declared in my presence that he has borrowed from me, Zakariah, son of Yohanan, son of H[. . .], resident of Keslon, (the sum of) 20 denarii, [which] I Absolom [will re]pay [on the . . . of the month of . . . And if] I do not discharge (the debt) in this term, I will pay you (the money) with (the interest) of a fifth part and (until the time) it is repaid in full, even if it is in a sabbatical year. And if I do not do it, I will indemnify to you all my possessions and you will have the right of execution over all that I acquire.

Published: Pierre Benoit, J. T. Milik and R. de Vaux, ed., Les Grottes de Murabba’at, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (of Jordan) 2 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961) No. 114 (pp. 240-243).

® During the consulship [of L. Alfidius Herennianus? and] Statilius Sev[erus[31]. . . on Pane]mos 18 (? 28?)[32] [. . .] Jerusalem [. . .]avia[nus?..] of Legio 1[0 Fretensis[33]. . .]nius Saturn[inus. . .gree]tings.

I acknowledge that I [have received] from you [. . .] of the currency of Tyre [. . .] which is (equivalent to) twelve staters and two denarii,[34] which I will repay on the eve of the first calends of September, the nearest (i.e., this year), without contest. But if I do not repay it in the appointed term, I will pay you the interest (established) by edict[35] until I repay or until the whole debt is exacted in full. You or any other (agent) from you or working on your behalf who presents this receipt is to have the right of execution from me and on all my belongings and whatever I might acquire [. . .] validly [. . .]

Published: Roger S. Bagnall and Naphthali Lewis, Columbia Papyri VII: Fourth Century Documents from Karanis, American Studies in Papyrology 20 (Missoula: Scholars Press, 1979) No. 176 (pp. 186-188).

® Aurelia Tamaleis, daughter of Hatres and Tapaesis, from the village of Karanis, about thirty years old, with a scar on the wrist of the right hand, acknowledges that she has received and has had measured out to her from Eutropios, son of Archias, inhabitant of the city of the Arsinoites, through his agent Poeris, 38½ artabae of wheat including the added half,[36] which she, the acknowledging party, is of necessity to repay without delay on the appointed day in the month of Pauni of the present year from the crop of the 14th indiction,[37] using the four-choinix measure, in quantity fresh from the harvest, free from dirt, unadulterated, and in good condition, and that upon a request for payment (after default), Eutropios is to have the right of execution upon the acknowledging party and all her possessions as in accordance with a legal decision, and upon formal interrogation she acknowledges (the above).

I, Aurelia Tamaleis, have received the thirty eight and one-half artabae of wheat, and I will repay them on the proper day as aforesaid. I Chaireas wrote for her because she is illiterate.

® [Aurelius] Serapion, [son of Patas and] Tanouphis, [from] the village of Karanis, about fifty years old, with a scar on his left hand, acknowledges to Antonius Sarapammon, former strategos, (acting) through his agent Heras, that he, the acknowledging party, has had measured out to him and has received 8 artabae of wheat in kind from him, which he, the acknowledging party, is under obligation to repay without delay in the month of Pauni of the 16th indiction, in the aforesaid village, using the four-choinix measure, in quantity fresh and from the harvest, clean, unadulterated, and in good condition, and that upon a request for payment (after default), he is to have the right of execution both upon the acknowledging party and all his possessions, just as in accordance with a legal decision, and upon formal interrogation he acknowledges (the above).

In the consulate of Flavius Constantius and Valerius Maximus, the most illustrious prefects, Choiak 23.[39]

I, Aurelius Sarapion, son of Paras and Tanouphis, have received the eight artabae <of seven metra each>[40] and I will repay them on the proper day as aforesaid. I Aurelius Didymos, son of Sotas, wrote for him too because he is illiterate.

16. TREASURE TROVE STORIES

Another interpretation: “the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed” (14:5). They said: Because of them good has come upon us. R. Jose Hagalili said: A Parable, to what can this be compared? To a man to whom there has fallen as an inheritance a bet-kor of land which he sold for a trifle. The buyer, however, went and opened up the wells in it, and planted gardens, trees and orchards in it. The seller, seeing this, began to choke because he had sold his inheritance for a trifle. Thus it happened to the Egyptians who let go without realizing what they let go. Of them it is stated in the traditional sacred writings: Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates” etc. (Song of Songs 4:13). Another interpretation: R. Simeon b. Yochai said: A parable, to what may this be compared? To a man to whom there had fallen as an inheritance a residence in a far off country which he sold for a trifle. The buyer, however, went and discovered in it hidden treasures and stores of silver and of gold, of precious stones and pearls. The seller, seeing this, began to choke -- thus also did the Egyptians, who let go without realizing what they had let go. For it is written: “And they said, ‘What is this we have done that we have let Israel go. . .” (Exod 14:5).

R. Simeon b. Yochai taught: [The Egyptians were] like a man who inherited a piece of ground used as a dunghill. Being an indolent man, he when and sold it for a trifling sum. The purchaser went right to work. He began digging it up, and found a treasure, there out of which he built for himself a fine palace, and he began going about in public followed by a retinue of servants -- all out of the treasure he found in it. When the seller saw it he was ready to choke, and he exclaimed, ‘Alas, what have I thrown away’. Thus when Israel were in Egypt they were set to work at bricks and mortar, and they were despised in the eyes of the Egyptians. But when the Egyptians saw them encamped under their standards by the sea in military array, they were deeply mortified and exclaimed, ‘Alas, what have we sent forth from our land’. As it says, “When Pharaoh let the people go. . .” (Exod 13:17).

Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, trans. F. C. Conybeare; Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1912) 1:219-21.

[Apollonius is asked to decide a lawsuit.] “I admit,” said the king, “that I am perplexed; and that is why I want your advice. For one man has sold to another land, in which there lay a treasure as yet undiscovered, and some time afterwards the land, being broken up, revealed a certain chest, which the person who sold the land says belongs to him rather than to the other, for that he would never have sold the land if he had known beforehand that he had a fortune on it. But the purchaser claims that he acquired everything that he found in the land, which thenceforth was his. And both contentions are just; and I shall seem ridiculous if I order them to share the gold between them, for any old woman could settle the matter in that way.”

Apollonius thereupon replied, “The fact that they are quarrelling about gold shows that these two men are no philosophers; and you will, in my opinion, give the best verdict if you bear in mind that the gods attach the first importance and have the most care for those who live a life of philosophy together with moral excellence, and only pay secondary attention to those who have committed no faults and were never yet found unjust. Now they entrust to philosophers the task of rightly discerning things divine and human as they should be discerned, but to those who merely are of good character they give enough to live upon, so that they may never be rendered unjust by actual lack of the necessaries of life. It seems to me, O king, right to weigh these men in the balance, as it were, and to examine their respective lives; for I cannot believe that the gods would deprive the one even of his land, unless he had been a bad man, or that they would, on the other hand, bestow on the other even what was under the ground unless he had been better than the man who sold it.

The two claimants came back the next day, and the seller was convicted of being a ruffian who had neglected the sacrifices, which it was his bounden duty to sacrifice to the gods on that land; but the other was found to be a decent man and a most devout worshipper of the gods. Accordingly the opinion of Apollonius prevailed, and the better of the two men quitted the court as one on whom the gods had bestowed this benefit.

Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, trans. F. C. Conybeare; Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1912) 2:132-35.

[A certain man wished to find a treasure and implored Apollonius. The man was poor, with four daughters, each requiring a dowry. Once the dowries are assigned, the man will be penniless.]

Then Apollonius took compassion on him and said, “We will provide for you, myself and Mother Earth, for I hear that you are sacrificing to her.” With these words he conducted the man into the suburbs, as if he were going to buy from fruit, and there he saw an estate planted with olive trees, and being delighted with the trees, for they were very good ones and well grown, and there was also a little garden in the place, in which he say bee hives and flowers, he went on into the garden as if he had some important business to examine, and then, having put up a prayer to Pandora, he returned to the city.

Then he proceeded to the owner of the field, who had amassed a fortune in the most unrighteous manner, by informing against the estates of Phoenicians, and said, “For how much did you purchase such and such an estate, and how much labour have your spent on it?” The man replied that he had bought the estate a year ago for the sum of 15,000 drachmae, but that as yet he had spent no labour on it. Whereupon Apollonius persuaded him to sell it to him for 20,000 drachmae which he did, esteeming the 5,000 to be a great windfall. Now the man who wanted to find the treasure did not in the least understand the gift that was made to him, indeed he hardly considered it a fair bargain for himself, and all the worse a bargain because, whereas he might have kept the 20,000 drachmae that he had in hand, he now reflected that the estate which he purchased for the sum might suffer from frost and hailstorms and from other influences ruinous to the crops. But when he found a jar almost at once in the field containing 3,000 darics, close by the bee hive in the little garden, and when he got a very large yield from the olive trees, when everywhere else crops had failed, he began to hymn the praises of the sage, and his house was crowded with suitors for the hands of his daughters, urging their suits upon him.

17. BUILDERS

R. Elisha b. Abuyah said: A man who has good deeds to his credit and has also studied much Torah, to what is he like? To one who builds [a structure and lays] stones below [for the foundation] and bricks above, so that however much water may collect at the side it will not wash it away. But the man who has no good deeds to his credit, though he has studied Torah, to what is he like? To one who builds [a structure and lays] bricks first [for the foundation] and then stones above, so that even if only a little water collects it once undermines it.

18. SAINTS AND OTHERS

I thank you, O Lord my God, that you have given me my lot with those who sit in the Beth ha-Midrash, and not those who sit at the street-corners; for I am early to work, and they are early to work; I am early to work on the words of Torah, and they are early to work on things of no moment. I weary myself and they weary themselves. I weary myself and profit thereby, while they weary themselves to no profit. I run and they run. I run towards the life of the Age to come, and they run towards the pit of destruction.

I praise you, O Lord, that you have not allowed my lot to fall among the worthless community, nor assigned me a part in the circle of the secret ones [i.e., scheming persons].

R. Judah said: One must utter three prayers every day: Praised (be the Lord) that He did not make me a Gentile, for all the Gentiles are as nothing before him (Isa 40:17); praised be He, that he did not make be a woman, for woman is not under obligation to fulfil the Law; praised be He, that he did not make me an uneducated man, for the uneducated man is not cautious to avoid sin.

[1] R. Hamnuna rightly assumes that R. Hisda would not deny this.

[2] A corpse whose burial is a religious duty: the duty is upon anyone who discovers it, even if a Nazirite or a High Priest

[3] i.e., if he has relatives to bury him.

[4] i.e., who could arrange for others to bury his father.

[5] cf. b. Nazir 42b.

[6] Then it is a case of a meth mizwah.

[7] .b. Yeb. 89b; b. Nazir 43b.

[8] All high priests beginning with Aaron, but ending with Josiah.

[9] The second temple H.P. was not anointed but distinguished by vestments.

[10] Superintendent of the temple - Segan. b.Sanh. 19a.

[11] Deut 20:2; m. Sotah 8.1.

[12] Ovid (43 BCE — 18 CE) was born into an wealthy equestrian family, was banished by Augustus in 7 CE, just after he had completed Metamorphoses, an attempt to link all stories from classical mythology.

[13] Simon b. Shatah was a pre-Tannaitic master, i.e. from the period 200 B.C. — 10 C.E.

[14] See parallel traditions in b. B.B. 93b; t. B.B. 4.8.

[15] Qoh. Rab. ascribes a slightly longer version of the parable to Judah ha-Nasi.

[16] Deut 24:15: In the same day you shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down on it.''

[17] See R. M. Johnston, “The Study of Rabbinic Parables: Some Preliminary Observations,” SBLASP 10 (1976) 337-57.

[18] Ca. 300 CE.

[19] Editions of papyri and inscriptions employ the following sigla: [.] = lacuna; ( ) = editorial explanation; < > = editorial correction; { } scribal error. ® indicates the recto (horizontal fibre) side; ¯ indicates the verso (vertical fibre) side.

[20] Julia Augusta (39 BCE - 14 CE), daughter of Augustus and second wife of Tiberius. Germanicus (15 BCE - 19 CE), adoptive son of Tiberius and father of Gaius (Caligula).

[21] I.e., 300 CE.

[22] Under Roman Law a women who had borne three children (if free) or four (if freed) could act in legal matters without a (male) guardian. Claudius extended this privilege to women ship owners without children.

[23] I.e., about 36 trees.

[24] In the late third and early fourth centuries, there were four rulers, two in the East and two in the west: Diocletian <Augustus>: 284-305 (East); Maximian <Augustus> 285-310 (West); Maximin <Caesar>: 293-305 <Augustus> 305-308 (East); Constantius <Caesar> 293-305 <Augustus> 305-306 (West).

[25] Mecheir is the sixth month of the Egyptian year (December/January).

[26] Hathyr is the 3d month (Oct/Nov) of the Egyptian year. Hathyr 17 = Nov 13. Audnaios is the name of the corresponding month in the Macedonian calendar.

[27] “Persian of the Epigone” is a terms appearing frequently in Egyptian papyri and designating apparently indigent persons granted loans on rather harsh terms. See CPJ 1:51.

[28] I.e., the actual loan was 4 artabae, but 6 had to be repaid. Interest was included in the face value of the loan.

[29] Pauni (May/June) is the tenth month of the Egyptian calendar.

[30] The location is unknown.

[31] Consuls of the year 171. The dating is by the Roman consular method.

[32] Panemos is the ninth month of the Macedonian calendar (March/April).

[33] Legio X Fretensis was one of the legions commanded by Vespasian and Titus during the Jewish War, and was the occupation force in Judaea after 70 CE.

[34] This is equivalent to 50 denarii or 50 drachmae.

[35] Probably 12%.

[36] See above n. 16. A loan of 38½ artabae (including the added half) would amount to about 25½ artabae, or seed grain for 25.2 arourae (15.8 acres). This would support about 10 adults.

[37] Indiction 14 = 325/26; the harvest would be in April/May of 326.

[38] The first month of the Egyptian year (August/September). Paulinus and Iulianus were consuls for the year 325.

[39] I.e., 327 CE; Choiak 23 = 20 December.

[40] I.e., he borrows 8 x 28 choinikes and has to repay 8 x 40 choinikes, about 40% interest.

[41] See R. Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1963).

[42] These are found in abundance in Proverbs, Sirach and other wisdom literature.

[43] Prophetic sayings always presuppose some special insight on the part of the speaker.

[44] C. H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom (London: Nisbet, 1961) 5.

[45] Bultmann, History of the Synoptic Tradition, 188-92.

[46] Adolf Jülicher, Die Gleichnisreden Jesu (2 vols.; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1910²; repr. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1976) 1:93.

[47] Ibid., 97.

[48] Mekhilta is the earliest extant rabbinic commentary on Exodus. This particular parable is ascribed to R. Meir, ca. 140-65 CE. Biblical quotations are given in capital letters.

1. METAPHORS OF SOWING (AND REAPING)