Prayers for the Government
< Continued from page 1
6) The next episode took place in 39 CE. The emperor Gaius Caligula (37-41CE), who thought he was a god, ordered the Jews to place a golden statue in the Temple. They refused, since it was a clear violation of the second commandment (Exodus 20:4-5). According to Josephus (Wars, II, 10, 4, ed. Simhoni, p. 146) Caligula sent Petronius to get the job done. The Jews engaged in civil disobedience and refused to let him proceed to Jerusalem.
(6) They told him ?that they sacrifice twice a day sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperor and the Roman people?.
Philo reports another aspect of the same story. He headed a delegation to Rome to meet with Caligula as a result of the tensions between the Jews and the Greeks in Alexandria. Isidorus, an enemy of the Jews at court, said that, unlike all other peoples who offer thanksgiving sacrifices to Caligula, the Jews do not. Philo and his companions exclaimed that his was untrue. The Jews had even offered a hecatomb ? a sacrifice of 100 animals ? for the Emperor, and they had burnt the entire animals rather than eating them.
And we did this not once but three times. First, when you became Emperor; second, when you were saved from the same dread disease which afflicted the entire world; and third, when we hoped for your victory over the Germans. ?This is true,? said [Gaius Caligula] in reply, ?but in the name of another god!? (The Delegation to Gaius, parag. 356-357)
Without deciding which report is more accurate, we see here that the Jews offered sacrifices in the Temple for the Roman emperor in 39 CE just as they had for the Syrian and Persian kings before him.
7) In I Timothy (2:1-2), which is ascribed to St. Paul , (7) we find the following passage:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way.
This passage sounds very much like Jeremiah's message to the Jews of Babylon: pray for the rulers, for your prosperity depends upon their prosperity.
8) The most famous passage related to our topic is found in the Mishnah (Avot 3:2; and cf. Avodah Zarah 4a):
Rabbi Hananya the Deputy High Priest says: Pray for the welfare of the Kingdom (=Rome), for were it not for the fear of it, a man would swallow his neighbor alive.
Rabbi Hananya lived at the end of the Second Temple period. He is saying that the Jews should pray for the Roman government for, if not for them, there would be chaos and anarchy in society.
9) The Book of Baruch is an apocryphal book written sometime during the middle or end of the Second Temple period. It purports to contain a letter from the Jews exiled in Babylon to those still living in Jerusalem. The Jews of Babylon send money to Jerusalem
to buy burnt offerings and sin offerings and incense ? and offer them upon the altar of the Lord our God. And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and for the life of Belshazzar his son ? and may God give us strength and enlighten our eyes and may we live in the shadow [=protection] of Nebuchadnezzar?and Belshazzar his son and may we serve them for many years and find favor before them. (Baruch 1:10-12).
Regardless of the exact date, Baruch also believes that Jews must offer sacrifices for the welfare of the non-Jewish kings who rule them.
10) Yoma 69a contains a famous story about Shimon Hazaddik and Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE). The Samaritans, whose Temple was on Mt. Gerizim, asked Alexander to give them our Temple in Jerusalem. Shimon leads a delegation to see Alexander. When they meet, he says: ?Is it possible that a House in which we pray for you and your kingdom that it should not be destroyed, idol worshippers should deceive you to destroy it?!? This story appears in an anonymous baraita , so it probably dates from the tannaitic period (before 220 CE). (8) It too assumes that during the Second Temple period the Jews prayed or offered sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperor.
11) The last ancient passage we shall quote is from Babylon ca. 250 CE. It appears in a fascinating story about Rav Shela who ran into trouble with the authorities (Berakhot 58a). He says to the policemen in Aramaic:
Blessed be the All-Merciful who made the earthy kingdom like the Heavenly Kingdom and he gave you authority and merciful judgment.
In context, Rav Shela may have been saying this tongue-in-cheek. (9) But if he was sincere, Rav Shela's prayer is different than the others we have seen. He is not praying for the government because it's good for the Jews or to prevent chaos. He is thanking God for giving some of His authority to earthly rulers. A well-run earthly kingdom is modeled on the Heavenly Kingdom. Rabbi Professor David Golinkin 6) The next episode took place in 39 CE. The emperor Gaius Caligula (37-41CE), who thought he was a god, ordered the Jews to place a golden statue in the Temple. They refused, since it was a clear violation of the second commandment (Exodus 20:4-5). According to Josephus (Wars, II, 10, 4, ed. Simhoni, p. 146) Caligula sent Petronius to get the job done. The Jews engaged in civil disobedience and refused to let him proceed to Jerusalem. (6) They told him ?that they sacrifice twice a day sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperor and the Roman people?.
Philo reports another aspect of the same story. He headed a delegation to Rome to meet with Caligula as a result of the tensions between the Jews and the Greeks in Alexandria. Isidorus, an enemy of the Jews at court, said that, unlike all other peoples who offer thanksgiving sacrifices to Caligula, the Jews do not. Philo and his companions exclaimed that his was untrue. The Jews had even offered a hecatomb ? a sacrifice of 100 animals ? for the Emperor, and they had burnt the entire animals rather than eating them.
And we did this not once but three times. First, when you became Emperor; second, when you were saved from the same dread disease which afflicted the entire world; and third, when we hoped for your victory over the Germans. ?This is true,? said [Gaius Caligula] in reply, ?but in the name of another god!? (The Delegation to Gaius, parag. 356-357)
Without deciding which report is more accurate, we see here that the Jews offered sacrifices in the Temple for the Roman emperor in 39 CE just as they had for the Syrian and Persian kings before him.
7) In I Timothy (2:1-2), which is ascribed to St. Paul , (7) we find the following passage:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way.
This passage sounds very much like Jeremiah's message to the Jews of Babylon: pray for the rulers, for your prosperity depends upon their prosperity.
8) The most famous passage related to our topic is found in the Mishnah (Avot 3:2; and cf. Avodah Zarah 4a):
Rabbi Hananya the Deputy High Priest says: Pray for the welfare of the Kingdom (=Rome), for were it not for the fear of it, a man would swallow his neighbor alive.
Rabbi Hananya lived at the end of the Second Temple period. He is saying that the Jews should pray for the Roman government for, if not for them, there would be chaos and anarchy in society.
9) The Book of Baruch is an apocryphal book written sometime during the middle or end of the Second Temple period. It purports to contain a letter from the Jews exiled in Babylon to those still living in Jerusalem. The Jews of Babylon send money to Jerusalem
to buy burnt offerings and sin offerings and incense ? and offer them upon the altar of the Lord our God. And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and for the life of Belshazzar his son ? and may God give us strength and enlighten our eyes and may we live in the shadow [=protection] of Nebuchadnezzar?and Belshazzar his son and may we serve them for many years and find favor before them. (Baruch 1:10-12).
Regardless of the exact date, Baruch also believes that Jews must offer sacrifices for the welfare of the non-Jewish kings who rule them.
10) Yoma 69a contains a famous story about Shimon Hazaddik and Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE). The Samaritans, whose Temple was on Mt. Gerizim, asked Alexander to give them our Temple in Jerusalem. Shimon leads a delegation to see Alexander. When they meet, he says: ?Is it possible that a House in which we pray for you and your kingdom that it should not be destroyed, idol worshippers should deceive you to destroy it?!? This story appears in an anonymous baraita , so it probably dates from the tannaitic period (before 220 CE). (8) It too assumes that during the Second Temple period the Jews prayed or offered sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperor.
11) The last ancient passage we shall quote is from Babylon ca. 250 CE. It appears in a fascinating story about Rav Shela who ran into trouble with the authorities (Berakhot 58a). He says to the policemen in Aramaic:
Blessed be the All-Merciful who made the earthy kingdom like the Heavenly Kingdom and he gave you authority and merciful judgment.
In context, Rav Shela may have been saying this tongue-in-cheek. (9) But if he was sincere, Rav Shela's prayer is different than the others we have seen. He is not praying for the government because it's good for the Jews or to prevent chaos. He is thanking God for giving some of His authority to earthly rulers. A well-run earthly kingdom is modeled on the Heavenly Kingdom.
6) The next episode took place in 39 CE. The emperor Gaius Caligula (37-41CE), who thought he was a god, ordered the Jews to place a golden statue in the Temple. They refused, since it was a clear violation of the second commandment (Exodus 20:4-5). According to Josephus (Wars, II, 10, 4, ed. Simhoni, p. 146) Caligula sent Petronius to get the job done. The Jews engaged in civil disobedience and refused to let him proceed to Jerusalem.
(6) They told him ?that they sacrifice twice a day sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperor and the Roman people?.
Philo reports another aspect of the same story. He headed a delegation to Rome to meet with Caligula as a result of the tensions between the Jews and the Greeks in Alexandria. Isidorus, an enemy of the Jews at court, said that, unlike all other peoples who offer thanksgiving sacrifices to Caligula, the Jews do not. Philo and his companions exclaimed that his was untrue. The Jews had even offered a hecatomb ? a sacrifice of 100 animals ? for the Emperor, and they had burnt the entire animals rather than eating them.
And we did this not once but three times. First, when you became Emperor; second, when you were saved from the same dread disease which afflicted the entire world; and third, when we hoped for your victory over the Germans. ?This is true,? said [Gaius Caligula] in reply, ?but in the name of another god!? (The Delegation to Gaius, parag. 356-357)
Without deciding which report is more accurate, we see here that the Jews offered sacrifices in the Temple for the Roman emperor in 39 CE just as they had for the Syrian and Persian kings before him.
7) In I Timothy (2:1-2), which is ascribed to St. Paul , (7) we find the following passage:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way.
This passage sounds very much like Jeremiah's message to the Jews of Babylon: pray for the rulers, for your prosperity depends upon their prosperity.
8) The most famous passage related to our topic is found in the Mishnah (Avot 3:2; and cf. Avodah Zarah 4a):
Rabbi Hananya the Deputy High Priest says: Pray for the welfare of the Kingdom (=Rome), for were it not for the fear of it, a man would swallow his neighbor alive.
Rabbi Hananya lived at the end of the Second Temple period. He is saying that the Jews should pray for the Roman government for, if not for them, there would be chaos and anarchy in society.
9) The Book of Baruch is an apocryphal book written sometime during the middle or end of the Second Temple period. It purports to contain a letter from the Jews exiled in Babylon to those still living in Jerusalem. The Jews of Babylon send money to Jerusalem
to buy burnt offerings and sin offerings and incense ? and offer them upon the altar of the Lord our God. And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and for the life of Belshazzar his son ? and may God give us strength and enlighten our eyes and may we live in the shadow [=protection] of Nebuchadnezzar?and Belshazzar his son and may we serve them for many years and find favor before them. (Baruch 1:10-12).
Regardless of the exact date, Baruch also believes that Jews must offer sacrifices for the welfare of the non-Jewish kings who rule them.
10) Yoma 69a contains a famous story about Shimon Hazaddik and Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE). The Samaritans, whose Temple was on Mt. Gerizim, asked Alexander to give them our Temple in Jerusalem. Shimon leads a delegation to see Alexander. When they meet, he says: ?Is it possible that a House in which we pray for you and your kingdom that it should not be destroyed, idol worshippers should deceive you to destroy it?!? This story appears in an anonymous baraita , so it probably dates from the tannaitic period (before 220 CE). (8) It too assumes that during the Second Temple period the Jews prayed or offered sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperor.
11) The last ancient passage we shall quote is from Babylon ca. 250 CE. It appears in a fascinating story about Rav Shela who ran into trouble with the authorities (Berakhot 58a). He says to the policemen in Aramaic:
Blessed be the All-Merciful who made the earthy kingdom like the Heavenly Kingdom and he gave you authority and merciful judgment.
In context, Rav Shela may have been saying this tongue-in-cheek. (9) But if he was sincere, Rav Shela's prayer is different than the others we have seen. He is not praying for the government because it's good for the Jews or to prevent chaos. He is thanking God for giving some of His authority to earthly rulers. A well-run earthly kingdom is modeled on the Heavenly Kingdom. Rabbi Professor David Golinkin 6) The next episode took place in 39 CE. The emperor Gaius Caligula (37-41CE), who thought he was a god, ordered the Jews to place a golden statue in the Temple. They refused, since it was a clear violation of the second commandment (Exodus 20:4-5). According to Josephus (Wars, II, 10, 4, ed. Simhoni, p. 146) Caligula sent Petronius to get the job done. The Jews engaged in civil disobedience and refused to let him proceed to Jerusalem. (6) They told him ?that they sacrifice twice a day sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperor and the Roman people?.
Philo reports another aspect of the same story. He headed a delegation to Rome to meet with Caligula as a result of the tensions between the Jews and the Greeks in Alexandria. Isidorus, an enemy of the Jews at court, said that, unlike all other peoples who offer thanksgiving sacrifices to Caligula, the Jews do not. Philo and his companions exclaimed that his was untrue. The Jews had even offered a hecatomb ? a sacrifice of 100 animals ? for the Emperor, and they had burnt the entire animals rather than eating them.
And we did this not once but three times. First, when you became Emperor; second, when you were saved from the same dread disease which afflicted the entire world; and third, when we hoped for your victory over the Germans. ?This is true,? said [Gaius Caligula] in reply, ?but in the name of another god!? (The Delegation to Gaius, parag. 356-357)
Without deciding which report is more accurate, we see here that the Jews offered sacrifices in the Temple for the Roman emperor in 39 CE just as they had for the Syrian and Persian kings before him.
7) In I Timothy (2:1-2), which is ascribed to St. Paul , (7) we find the following passage:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way.
This passage sounds very much like Jeremiah's message to the Jews of Babylon: pray for the rulers, for your prosperity depends upon their prosperity.
8) The most famous passage related to our topic is found in the Mishnah (Avot 3:2; and cf. Avodah Zarah 4a):
Rabbi Hananya the Deputy High Priest says: Pray for the welfare of the Kingdom (=Rome), for were it not for the fear of it, a man would swallow his neighbor alive.
Rabbi Hananya lived at the end of the Second Temple period. He is saying that the Jews should pray for the Roman government for, if not for them, there would be chaos and anarchy in society.
9) The Book of Baruch is an apocryphal book written sometime during the middle or end of the Second Temple period. It purports to contain a letter from the Jews exiled in Babylon to those still living in Jerusalem. The Jews of Babylon send money to Jerusalem
to buy burnt offerings and sin offerings and incense ? and offer them upon the altar of the Lord our God. And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and for the life of Belshazzar his son ? and may God give us strength and enlighten our eyes and may we live in the shadow [=protection] of Nebuchadnezzar?and Belshazzar his son and may we serve them for many years and find favor before them. (Baruch 1:10-12).
Regardless of the exact date, Baruch also believes that Jews must offer sacrifices for the welfare of the non-Jewish kings who rule them.
10) Yoma 69a contains a famous story about Shimon Hazaddik and Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE). The Samaritans, whose Temple was on Mt. Gerizim, asked Alexander to give them our Temple in Jerusalem. Shimon leads a delegation to see Alexander. When they meet, he says: ?Is it possible that a House in which we pray for you and your kingdom that it should not be destroyed, idol worshippers should deceive you to destroy it?!? This story appears in an anonymous baraita , so it probably dates from the tannaitic period (before 220 CE). (8) It too assumes that during the Second Temple period the Jews prayed or offered sacrifices for the welfare of the Emperor.
11) The last ancient passage we shall quote is from Babylon ca. 250 CE. It appears in a fascinating story about Rav Shela who ran into trouble with the authorities (Berakhot 58a). He says to the policemen in Aramaic:
Blessed be the All-Merciful who made the earthy kingdom like the Heavenly Kingdom and he gave you authority and merciful judgment.
In context, Rav Shela may have been saying this tongue-in-cheek. (9) But if he was sincere, Rav Shela's prayer is different than the others we have seen. He is not praying for the government because it's good for the Jews or to prevent chaos. He is thanking God for giving some of His authority to earthly rulers. A well-run earthly kingdom is modeled on the Heavenly Kingdom.
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