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Abarbanel on I Kings

Sefaria · Tanakh > Rishonim on Tanakh > Abarbanel > Prophets · 23 sections

1. Introduction.1

   1. Said Isaac the son of Liadi, a prince and a great one in Israel, Don Judah Abarbanel, from the stock of Jesse the Beth-lehemi, from the seed of David the officer and commander of the nation, from the scattered and divided nation, the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Spain.

2. Introduction.2

   2. Behold what chanced upon me in the course of writing the interpretation of the books (i.e. Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) the opposite of the fate of Hiel of the House of Eli (I Kings 16:34) who rebuilt Jericho’s foundations with his eldest and with his youngest, he hung the doors. In the early days (which were better than these), I was silent about my guards in the Kingdom of Portugal, the land of my birth, addressed my mouth to G-d to interpret these four volumes for I had seen there the interpretations were sparse. The debts of the king and his officers wove a yoke upon my neck that I could not meet, until the hand of G-d meddled with me. The King of Portugal thought me his enemy for ?I was not violent? and he stood, planted at my right like an enemy to attack me without cause and to seize all I owned, enduring wealth and success and ??? but that I fled to the Kingdom of Castilla like before the deadly sword. When I came there, I was like a strange in the land, a guest searching for a place to rest. I understood that G-d was telling me to complete my ???? and I interpreted the three first volumes, Joshua, for G-d had delivered me and saved me from the sword of Pharaoh, and Judges for G-d judged on Earth to decide my cases, and fight my fights with a violent thief and Samuel, for from G-d I have been answered. All this was in the beginning of the year 244 of the sixth millennium of Creation.

3. Introduction.3

   And in the ninth year, [that] of He who scatters [mazreh, alluding to Jeremiah 31:10, which has a numerical equivalent of that year] Israel: The king of Spain conquered the entire kingdom of Grenada and Grenada the great city of many people, the princess among the states [alluding to Lamentations 1:1]. And in his power and the haughtiness of his heart, his spirit changed and incurred guilt, ascribing his might to his god [alluding to Habakkuk 1:11]. And Esau said in his heart [alluding to Genesis 27:41], “How will I find favor to my god, who girded me with might [alluding to Psalms 18:33]? With what shall I begin towards my master, he gave this city into my hands? Should it not be in bringing the people walking in the dark, the lost sheep, Israel, under his wings and to bring back the wild daughter to his his religion and to his faith? Or [otherwise] to send them away from before me to another land, that they should never return to my land and be established in front of my eyes.” Therefore the command and decree of the king [alluding to Esther 4:3] went out like the decree of Medea and Persia, and the herald proclaimed in a loud voice, “You are commanded [alluding to Daniel 3:4], all you families of the House of Israel, when you pass through the water [to be baptized], you shall pray and bow to the god of the nations, so you shall eat the bounty of the land like us today and you will settle in the land and trade in it [alluding to Genesis 34:10]. But if you refuse and rebel and not utter the name of my god and you do not bring prayers to my god, get up and get out from amidst my people, from the lands of Spain, Sicily, Majorca, and Sardinia, which are under my power. And in three months, there will not be a footprint of someone called by the name Jacob and referred to by the name Israel in all the states of my kingdom!” When I was there in the courtyard of the kings’s house, I became weary with calling out; my throat dried up [alluding to Psalms 69:4]. I spoke with the king twice and three times; with my mouth did I beseech him, saying, “Will the king save [us]? Why are you doing this to your servants? Increase greatly the dowry and the gift upon us [alluding to Genesis 34:12], gold and silver and everything that each man from the house of Israel has he will give to his land.” I called my friends, the king’s confidantes, to request [help] for my people. And princes take counsel together [alluding to Psalms 2:2] to speak to the king with great force, to reverse the decrees of anger and fury and the plan that he had thought against the Jews to destroy them [alluding to Esther 9:25]. He was like a deaf viper that stops its ears [alluding to Psalms 58:5]; he responded to no one. And the queen stood at his right to mislead him; she swayed him with her eloquence [alluding to Proverbs 7:21], to fulfill his plan from start to finish. We exerted ourselves and did not rest, I had no repose, no quiet, no rest, yet trouble came [alluding to Job 3:26]. And the people heard this evil thing, and they mourned, and in every place to which the command and the decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews [alluding to Esther 4:3]. And there was a great harsh and overcoming trembling. the likes of which had not been seen since the day of Judah’s exile from its soil to foreign soil. But everyone said to one another, “Let us be strong for the sake of our religion and for the sake of our God’s Torah, against the voice of the curser and the blasphemer, from the enemy and the avenger. If he will let us live, we shall live, and if he kills us, we shall die. We shall not profane our covenant, nor shall we let our hearts go backward. We will walk in the name of the Lord, our God. And they went with no strength, 300,000 people on foot, I being among them, from youths to the elderly, babies and women in one day [alluding to Esther 3:13] from all of the states of the king. They walked to where the wind took them, and their King went out before them, and the Lord was in front of them. One shall say, “I am the Lord’s,” another shall mark his arm “of the Lord” [alluding to Isaiah 44:5]. Some of them went to the kingdom of Portugal and to the kingdom of Narbonne, which were close to them. But behold, it was distress and darkness and outspread thick darkness [alluding to Isaiah 8:22]. And they were met with frequent and bad distress [alluding to Psalms 71:20], wreck and ruin, famine and the sword [alluding to Isaiah 51:19]. And there were some of them who made a road through the sea and a path through mighty waters [alluding to Isaiah 43:16]. But the hand of the Lord was also upon them to confound them and to destroy them. Since many of the children of the forsaken one [alluding to Isaiah 54:1] were sold as slaves and maidservants [alluding to Esther 7:4] in all the provinces of the nations. And many drowned in the Red Sea, they sank like lead in the majestic waters [alluding to Exodus 15:10). And some also were put through fire and water – since ships burnt down, and the great fire of the Lord consumed them [alluding to Numbers 11:1]. The end of the matter is that not a man was spared from His difficult judgments, some for the sword, some for captivity, and the Lord [also] placed pestilence upon them. And they became a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth [alluding to Deuteronomy 28:25) until they were wholly swept away by terrors [alluding to Psalms 73:19]. And only a few of the many remained. And it is like the statement of our ancestors: Lo, we perish; we are lost, all of us lost! (Numbers 17:27). May the name of the Lord be blessed. I have also chosen their way, the way of the ship in the heart of the seas. And I am amidst the exile, I have come with all of my household, the children are my children, the sheep are my sheep [alluding to Genesis 31:43], here in the praised city of Naples, whose kings are kings of kindness. This year, the year of you have been sojourners [gerim, alluding to Exodus 22:20, which has a numerical equivalent of that year], I spoke to my heart, “That which I have vowed will I fulfill, to write a commentary on the book of Kings, which I have not done until now.” Also because it is a time to act for the Lord, to remember the destruction of our holy and splendorous Temple and the exiles that have come over our people that are written in this book, and as I will explain, with the grace of God. Behold, if so, Hiel the Bethelite, in building Jericho, laid its foundations with his first-born and set its gates in place with his youngest [alluding to I Kings 16:34] – I am a man who has seen my poverty in the youngest of the exiles, and the expulsion that came over me, and that was my personal exile that I had from the Kingdom of Portugal. I then made the foundation and began the commentary on these four books. And in the most senior of the exiles and the saddest of them, which is this bitter hasty expulsion and this great and terrible persecution, which devoured us and discomfited us [alluding to Jeremiah 51:34] and expelled us from having a share in Spain [alluding to I Samuel 26:19] that both ears of anyone who hears about it will tingle [alluding to I Samuel 3:11], I have put the gates of the commentary of this book in place and have completed it. And I have seen fit to begin this book with two general and comprehensive prefaces about its stories.

4. Introduction.4

   The first introduction in the matters of the kings memorialized in this book and it appropriate that we discuss ten topics: The first topic is the ??? according to their dates. For of the kings mentioned in these books, only a few ruled the whole nations: Shual, David, and Solomon who reigned over all the tribes united. You will see that all three were Men of Valor, G-d fearing and Men of Truth. As I explained in the Book of Samuel that the reigns summed to 100 years, keep this memory aid to hand (Kings 1, 20:31) "Magnanimous kings are they" for 'Melchi' adds to 100. These kings were unique in reigning over all the tribes without divisions because once the kingdom was divided in the days of Rechavem and Yeravam. King Rechavam and all the progeny of House of David ruled over the tribes of Yehuda and Binyamin, majority of the tribe of Levi and the fraction of the tribe of Shimon whose patrimony was amid the patrimony of the sons of Yehuda. You will see in their stories, which of them walked in peace and wealth along the path of their father, David and which among them ?betrayed? G-d and went wayward to serve other gods. The length of the reign of the Kings of Judah, good and bad, was 393 years. A hint to this (Proverbs 15:3) "The eyes of G-d observe both bad and good, since the words 'raim and tovim' sum to 393 [translator's note: the gemateria is 392 +1 for the phrase]

5. Introduction.5

   The Kings of All Jews:

6. Introduction.6

   Shaul the son of Kish according to what I have explained in the book of Shumel from the years of his reign, he became king in 2864 years from the Creation of the World and the days of his kingship were 20 years. In his days, Pinchas was the High Priest and Shumel the Seer was the Prophet.

7. Introduction.7

   David the son of Yishai in the year 2884 to the Creation of the World, and his reign was 40 years. In his days, Avitar was the High Priest and the prophets of his time were Shumel the Seer, Gad the 'Chozeh' and Natan the Prophet.

8. Introduction.8

   Sholmo, his son, became king in the year 2924 to the Creation of the World and his reign was for 40 years, like his father. In his days, Tzdok was the High Priest and the prophets: Natan the Prophet, Achiyah the Shiloni, and Edo the 'Chozeh'.

9. Introduction.9

   The Kings of Judah:

10. Introduction.10

    Rechavam the son of Shlomo became king in the year 2964 to the Creation of the World and his reign was 17 years. In his days, Achimatz was the High Priest and the prophets were Shamayah the Prophet and Edo the Visionary.

11. Introduction.11

    Aviyah, his son, reigned in the year 2981 from Creation, for three years. In his days Azariah was High Priest and Edo the Prophet.

12. Introduction.12

    Asa, his son, reigned in the year 2984 to Creation for 41 years. In his days, Johoram was High Priest, Azariah the son of Oded and Chanani the Seer and Yehu the son of Chanani were the prophets.

13. Introduction.13

    Jehosaphat, his son reigned in the yar 3520 of Creation for 25 years. In his days, Jehochaz was High Priest and Ovadiah and Jechiziel the son of Zechairahu from the children of Asaf and Michahu the son of Yimla and Jehu the son of Channani were prophets.

14. Introduction.14

    Jehoram his son reigned in the year 3050 from Creation for 8 years. In his days Jehoyada was High Priest and Elijah the prophet.

15. Introduction.15

    Achizahu his son reigned in the year 3058 from Creation and ruled in Jerusalem one year. In his days Jehoshua was High Priest and Elisha the Prophet.

16. Introduction.16

    Atalia the mother of Achizyahu seized the kingdom in the year 3950 of Creation and destroyed the royal descendants and reigned 6 years. In her days, Yehoyahu, her father-in-law, was the High Priest and Elisha the Problem. Her reign overlapped the reign of Yoash.

17. Introduction.17

    Yoash the son of Achizahu, reigned in the year 3560 of Creation for 40 years. In his days, Yehoyahda. Afterwards Pediah was the high priest and Zechariah the son of Yehoyahda was High Priest and Prophet.

18. Introduction.18

    Amatzia, his son, reigned in the years 3105 from Creation and ruled 29 years. In his days, Tzedikahu was high priest, Amutz the brother of Amazyahu , the father of Isaiah the Prophet.

19. Introduction.19

    Uzziah his son, reigned in the year 3134 of Creation. He ruled 16 years and in his days, Joel was High Priest and Hosea, Amos, and Isaiah were prophets.

20. Introduction.20

    Yotam his son reigned in the 3186 of Creation. He ruled 16 years and in his days, Joel was High Priest, and Hoshea, Amos, Isaiah and Micah were the ministers of the prophets

21. Introduction.21

    Ahaz, his son, reigned in the year 3202 years from Creation, and ruled 16 years like his father. In his days Uriahu was High Priest and Hoshea, Amos, Isaiah, Oded and Micah with prophets.

22. _.1.1.1

    The first topic retells how David made Shlomo his son king during his life because of the matter of Adoniyahu and what he [ David] commanded him [Shlomo] before his death and the matters of his burial. The beginning of the topic “and the King David was old…” and ends with “and Adoniyah the son of Chagit came to Bat Sheva…” and now I have asked six question as is my way.

23. _.1.1.2

    The first question is what I asked in the general introduction that I wrote to the Book of Joshua, namely why does this book begin with the affairs of David in his old age and his commands to Solomon before his death? These would more appropriately recounted in the Book of Samuel which is dedicated to David’s history and would be completed with his death and begin the Book of Kings with Solomon and his recounting. Why is it fit to discuss in this place?

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