JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

athyra
According to II Samuel 11:3, Bath-Sheba was the daughter
of Eliam, and according to I Chronicles 3:5, she was the
daughter of Ammiel, who the rabbis of the Talmud (Sanh. 69b)
identify with Eliam son of *Ahithophel the Gilonite (II Sam.
23:34); hence the opinion of early commentators (Kimḥi and
Levi b. Gershom) and several recent scholars that the opposition
of Ahithophel to David during the revolt of Absalom
stemmed from his wish to avenge Uriah’s death. Others believe
that these opinions are unacceptable, because, if indeed Eliam
was the son of the famous Ahithophel, the Bible would not
have failed to mention the fact. It is also difficult to believe that
Ahithophel, if he was the grandfather of Bath-Sheba, would
have taken part in such an action which would undoubtedly
have endangered the position of his granddaughter and her
son in the royal court. On the other hand, there is reason to
suppose that Bath-Sheba was of a family that existed in Jerusalem
before its conquest by David.
[Yehoshua M. Grintz]
In the Aggadah
If she was Ahithophel’s granddaughter, the prophecies
which he believed foretold his own royal destiny, in fact applied
to her (Sanh. 101b). Bath-Sheba was predestined for
David; his sin was that he took her before the appointed time
(Sanh. 107a). She was not guilty of adultery since it was the
custom that soldiers going to war gave their wives bills of
divorce which were to become valid should they fail to return
and Uriah did fall in battle (Ket. 9b). She was a prophet
in that she foresaw that her son would be the wisest of men.
She is numbered among the 22 women of valor (Mid. Hag.
to Gen. 23:1).
Bibliography: Bright, Hist, 181, 188n., 189, 230; de Vaux, Anc
Isr, index; M.Z. Segal, Sifrei Shemu’el (19642), 299, 326–7; S. Yeivin,
Meḥkarim be-Toledot Yisrael ve-Arẓo (1960), 198–207, 230–1; Noth,
Personennamen, 146–7. IN THE AGGADAH: Ginzberg, Legends, 4
(1947), 94–95, 103–4; 6 (1946), 256–7, 264–5.
BATHYRA, place in the toparchy of Batanea (i.e., *Bashan,
east of Golan) founded by Jewish military settlers from Babylonia.
Desirous of defending his borders from attacks by the
neighboring Trachonites, *Herod decided to settle a large
number of Jews in the area of Bathyra with the further intention
that it would serve also as a base for his own military offensives.
Upon learning that *Zamaris, a Jew from Babylon,
had crossed the Euphrates with five hundred horsemen and
was staying near Antioch under the patronage of Saturninus,
the governor of Syria, Herod offered them the territory for
the proposed buffer-zone, promising to rescind all taxes and
tributes. The Babylonians took possession of the land, building
fortresses and a village named Bathyra. The settlers defended
not only the local population from Trachonite brigandage,
but also Jewish pilgrims from Babylonia on their way
to Jerusalem.
The family of Zamaris became a major ally of Herod,
supporting his policies as well as those of the two Agrippas.
Although Bathyra remained their base, members of the family
also resided throughout the neighboring territories. Relatives
of Philip, grandson of Zamaris, were among the prominent
residents of Gamala at the beginning of the Roman War
(66 C.E.). Philip played a vital if somewhat ambiguous part
during that uprising, as well as in the events in Jerusalem on
the eve of the outbreak of the war in 66. It was his task to secure
Batanea from insurrection against Agrippa II and the Romans.
Numerous scholars have made the connection between
Bathyra and the rabbis referred to in the Talmud as “the sons
of *Bathyra,” who held high offices in Jerusalem until they
were superseded by Hillel. However, it is improbable that there
was any connection between the warriors of Bathyra and the
rabbinical “sons of Bathyra.”
Bibliography: Jos., Ant., 17:23ff.; Jos., Life, 46ff., 177ff.; H.
Graetz, in: MGWJ, 1 (1851), 115ff.; Stern, in: Tarbiz, 35 (1965/66), 251–3;
Neusner, Babylonia, 1 (1965), 38ff.
[Isaiah Gafni]
BATHYRA, SONS OF (according to TB; in TJ known as
“Elders of Bathyra”), members of a famous Jewish family who
were prominent from the first century B.C.E. to the second
century C.E. Some scholars conjecture that the family was
named after the city of *Bathyra in northern Transjordan.
It is inferred from talmudic sources that members of this family
were the religious authorities of their time, but that when
Hillel demonstrated his superior knowledge of Torah (on
the question of whether the paschal offering overrides the
Sabbath) “they set him at their head and appointed him nasi
over them” (TJ, Kil. 9:4, 32b; Pes. 66a; BM 85a). As a result
of this abdication they were regarded exemplars of humility;
Judah ha-Nasi said of them “whatever I am bidden I am
prepared to do except what the Elders of Bathyra did for my
ancestor (Hillel), namely abdicating from their high office
in order to elevate him” (TJ, Ket. 12:3, 35a). The talmudic
sources do not specify their names. According to the Jerusalem
Talmud they were nesi’im. In other talmudic sources,
while they were not specifically designated as such, it is implied
that they held the patriarchate before Hillel was appointed.
According to Halevy, the Sons of Bathyra carried
out the functions of the patriarchate when the Sanhedrin was
not functioning (possibly at the beginning of Herod’s rule).
Apparently members of this family exercised influence even
after the destruction of the Temple, when the Sanhedrin was
in Jabneh. Johanan b. Zakkai was said to have consulted the
Sons of Bathyra in regard to certain legal rulings. A number
of tannaim known by this patronymic, e.g., Judah b. Bathyra,
Joshua b. Bathyra, and Simeon b. Bathyra, presumably belonged
to this family.
Bibliography: Halevy, Dorot, 1 pt. 3 (1923), 36–89; 1 pt. 5
(1923), 190–9; Hyman, Toledot, 365ff.; Graetz, in: MGWJ, 1 (1851),
115–20; Klausner, Bayit Sheni, 4 (19502), 56, 143; Neusner, Babylonia,
1 (1965), index, S.V. Bathyrans.
[Zvi Kaplan]
212 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 3