יחזקאל לט-מג: מלחמת גוג ממגוג

§ Apropos Hezekiah, the Gemara cites that which is stated: “That the government may be increased [lemarbe] and of peace there be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it and uphold it through justice and through righteousness, from now and forever; the zeal of the Lord of hosts does perform this” (Isaiah 9:6). Rabbi Tanḥum says that bar Kappara taught in Tzippori: Due to what reason is it that every letter mem in the middle of a word is open and this mem, of the word lemarbe, is closed? In the Masoretic text, the letter mem in the word “lemarbe” is written in the form of a mem that appears at the end of a word, closed on all four sides. This is because the Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to designate King Hezekiah as the Messiah and to designate Sennacherib and Assyria, respectively, as Gog and Magog, all from the prophecy of Ezekiel with regard to the end of days (Ezekiel, chapter 38), and the confrontation between them would culminate in the final redemption.

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: ’Son of man, set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; and I will turn thee about, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed most gorgeously, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords: Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his bands; even many peoples with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou guarded of them.

After many days thou shalt be mustered for service, in the latter years thou shalt come against the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, against the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought forth out of the peoples, and they dwell safely all of them. And thou shalt ascend, thou shalt come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many peoples with thee. .

Thus saith the Lord GOD: It shall come to pass in that day, that things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt devise an evil device; and thou shalt say: I will go up against the land of unwalled villages; I will come upon them that are at quiet, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates; to take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn thy hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people that are gathered out of the nations, that have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the earth. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the magnates thereof, shall say unto thee: Comest thou to take the spoil? hast thou assembled thy company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil?

And when Ga῾al saw the people, he said to Zevul, Behold, there come people down from the tops of the mountains. And Zevul said to him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men. And Ga῾al spoke again and said, See there come people down from the knoll of the land, and another company come along by the oak of Me῾onenim.

(Lev. 19:23:) “When you come into the land and plant.” This text is related (to Eccl. 2:5), “I made gardens and orchards for myself, and in them I planted every kind of fruit tree.” Do not all people plant whatever they want, whatever someone plants in the earth, be it pepper or anything [else. But] if he plants, do [the plants automatically] produce? As no one knows the place of every plant, [i.e.] where to plant it. However, because Solomon was wise, he planted all the species of trees [in their place], as stated (ibid.), “I made gardens and orchards for myself, in which I planted every kind of fruit tree.” What is the meaning of “every kind of fruit tree?” R. Jannay said, “Solomon even planted peppers in the land.” But how did he plant them? It is simply that Solomon was wise and knew the root of the foundation of the world.³¹See Eccl. R. 2:5:1. How? (Ps. 50:2), “Out of Zion God has shined forth as the perfection of beauty.” [This means that] out of Zion has all of the whole world been perfected, as it is taught: Why is it called foundation stone? Because out of it the world was founded.³²See above, Lev. 6:4, and the note there. Now Solomon knew which vein went to Cush and planted peppers on it, and they produced immediately. See what he says (in Eccl. 2:5), “and in them I planted every kind of fruit tree.” Another interpretation (of Eccl. 2:5), “and in them I planted every kind of fruit tree.” Just as a navel is set in the middle of a person, so the Land of Israel is the navel of the world. Thus it is stated (in Ezek. 38:12), “who dwell on the navel of the earth.” And the foundation of the world comes out of it, as stated (Ps. 50:1), “A psalm of Asaph. God, the Lord God spoke and summoned the world from East to West.” How is this known? (Ps. 50:2), “Out of Zion God has shined forth as the perfection of beauty.” The Land of Israel sits at the center of the world; Jerusalem is in the center of the Land of Israel; the sanctuary is in the center of Jerusalem; the Temple building is in the center of the sanctuary; the ark is in the center of the Temple building; and the foundation stone, out of which the world was founded, is before the Temple building.³³Cf. Numb. R. 1:4. Now Solomon, who was wise, determined the roots that went out from [that stone] into the whole world and planted all species of trees in them. He therefore said (in Eccl. 2:5), “I made gardens and orchards for myself.”

Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say unto Gog: Thus saith the Lord GOD: In that day when My people Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the uttermost parts of the north, thou, and many peoples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army; and thou shalt come up against My people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the end of days, and I will bring thee against My land, that the nations may know Me, when I shall be sanctified through thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord GOD: Art thou he of whom I spoke in old time by My servants the prophets of Israel, that prophesied in those days for many years, that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass in that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that My fury shall arise up in My nostrils. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken: Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; so that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep upon the ground, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at My presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD; every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will cause to rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself, and I will make Myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

But there remained two men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad; and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were recorded, but had not gone out unto the Tent; and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said: ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses from his youth up, answered and said: ‘My lord Moses, shut them in.’ And Moses said unto him: ‘Art thou jealous for my sake? would that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His spirit upon them! ’

Apropos Eldad and Medad being prophets, the Gemara asks: And what prophecy did they prophesy? They said: Moses will die, and Joshua will bring the Jewish people into Eretz Yisrael. Abba Ḥanin says in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: They prophesied about the matter of the quail that came afterward (Numbers 11:31–33), saying: Arise quail, arise quail, and then the quail came. Rav Naḥman says: They were prophesying about the matter of Gog and Magog, as it is stated with regard to Gog and Magog: “So says the Lord God: Are you the one of whom I spoke in ancient days, through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years [shanim] that I would bring you against them?” (Ezekiel 38:17). Do not read it as: “Years [shanim]”; rather, read it as: Two [shenayim]. And who are the two prophets who prophesied the same prophecy at the same time? You must say: Eldad and Medad.

And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; and I will turn thee about and lead thee on, and will cause thee to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel; and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the peoples that are with thee; I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort and to the beasts of the field, to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell safely in the isles; and they shall know that I am the LORD. And My holy name will I make known in the midst of My people Israel; neither will I suffer My holy name to be profaned any more; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

Behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord GOD; This is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and use them as fuel, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand-staves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years; so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests, for they shall make fires of the weapons; and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place fit for burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop them that pass through; and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it the valley of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them, and it shall be to them a renown; in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. And they shall set apart men of continual employment, that shall pass through the land to bury with them that pass through those that remain upon the face of the land, to cleanse it; after the end of seven months shall they search. And when they that pass through shall pass through the land, and any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.

And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD: Speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field: Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to My feast that I do prepare for you, even a great feast, upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. The flesh of the mighty shall ye eat, and the blood of the princes of the earth shall ye drink; rams, lambs, and goats, bullocks, fatlings of Bashan are they all of them. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of My feast which I have prepared for you. And ye shall be filled at My table with horses and horsemen, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD. And I will set My glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see My judgment that I have executed, and My hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day and forward. And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they broke faith with Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions did I unto them; and I hid My face from them.

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have compassion upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. And they shall bear their shame, and all their breach of faith which they have committed against Me, when they shall dwell safely in their land, and none shall make them afraid; when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies’lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them unto their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there; neither will I hide My face any more from them; for I have poured out My spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.’

Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said in the name of bar Kappara: Anyone who fulfills the obligation to eat three meals on Shabbat is rescued from three punishments: From the pangs of the Messiah, i.e., the suffering that precedes the advent of Messiah, and from the judgment of Gehenna, and from the war of Gog and Magog. The Gemara derives that one is rescued from the pangs of Messiah by means of a verbal analogy. It is written here, with regard to Shabbat, day: “Eat it today” (Exodus 16:25). And it is written there, with regard to Messiah, day: “Behold, I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of God” (Malachi 3:23). The Gemara derives that one is rescued from the judgment of Gehenna by means of a verbal analogy. It is written here, with regard to Shabbat, day, as cited above. And it is written there, day: “That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and blackness, a day of cloud and thick fog” (Zephaniah 1:15), which is interpreted as referring to the punishment of Gehenna. The Gemara derives that one is rescued from the war of Gog and Magog by means of a verbal analogy. It is written here, with regard to Shabbat, day. And it is written there, with regard to the War of Gog and Magog, day: “And it shall be on that day, on the day that Gog arrives on the land of Israel” (Ezekiel 38:18).

Our Sages have said that there is no difference between This World and the Days of the Messiah except (our) subservience to the kingdoms of the world alone. From the plain meaning of the words of the prophets we understand that at the beginning of the days of the Messiah there will be the War of Gog and Magog. Before the War of Gog and Magog, a prophet will arise to correct Israel and prepare their hearts¹³⁷I.e. Direct them to G-d., as it says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah” (Malachi 3:23). He will not come to make the pure impure, nor purify the impure, nor disqualify people who are presumed to have legitimate lineage¹³⁸Or, family pedigree., nor qualify those who are disqualified. He will only come to bring peace to the world¹³⁹Between Israel and the other nations., as it says, “And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers on the children” (Malachi 3:24). Some of the Sages say that Elijah will come¹⁴⁰Either to announce his coming or “authorize rabbis” (for the Sanhedrin?). before the coming of the Messiah. But regarding all these matters and similar, no one knows how it will be until it will be. For these matters were unclear to the Prophets. Even the Sages themselves did not have a Tradition regarding these matters and only could attempt to understand the verses. Thus, there were disagreements in these matters. Nevertheless, neither the order that these events will occur nor their details are fundamental to the religion. Thus, a person must never busy himself with the Aggadohs and not dwell on the Midrashim regarding these matters or similar issues. He must not make them dogma¹⁴¹Or, the essence, a tenet.. For these do not result in either love (for G-d) nor fear (of sin). Similarly, one should not calculate the Ends¹⁴²Of a) the Exile, and b) when the Messiah will come.. Our Sages have said that the spirit of those who calculate the Ends will expire¹⁴³I.e. They will die.. Rather, one is to (simply) wait and believe in the principle¹⁴⁴And not contemplate the details. of this matter, as we have explained.