Bereshit Rabbah: poor science – Garden of Eden Tree of Life

The Medieval commentary on biblical verses called Bereshit Rabbah includes a    section  on the dimensions of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.

 

15.6  The Lord God grew from the ground […and the tree of life]” – it is taught: [The tree of life is] a tree that spreads out over all the living. Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai said: [The extent of] the tree of life is a walking distance of five hundred years and all the waters of creation branch out from beneath it. Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai: It is not merely that [the extent of] its branches are a walking distance of five hundred years, but even [the extent of] its trunk is a walking distance of five hundred years.

 

 (Sefaria Bereshit Rabbah   at https://www.sefaria.org/Bereshit_Rabbah.15.6?lang=bi  )

  

Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai’s statements re: the dimensions of the Tree of Life are                 not only bizarre but physically impossible.

 

Walking non-stop for 500 years to reach the branch ends of the Tree of Life, and         also having to walk non-stop for 500 years to cover the full  extent of its trunk,            are physical impossibilities.

 
The Earth's circumference is 24,901 miles.[i]

And a person who has trained, can easily walk 20 miles in under 8 hours.[ii]

 

So, if such a person walked just 8 hours a day, she or he would cover in 365 days      7,300 miles.

 

As the surface of the Earth is only 24,901 miles when walking in a straight line, it   would take this trained person just over 3.4 years to circumnavigate the planet.

 

Even if an ordinary, untrained person would walk at a pace of just 10 miles a day,        that would be 3,650 miles a year. And she or he would travel around our planet in        just over 6.8 years.

Even allowing for resting on Shabbat 52 times a years and the maximum of 13 holy   days of the Jewish calendar in the Diaspora (which are 3 more than in Israel), i.e., reducing walking days to just 300 days, the ordinary person at 10 miles a day would traverse the planet in just 8.3 years.

So, the claim that the Tree of Life has branches extending 500 years of walking        means it branches would encircle the planet numerous times; times!

·        at 20 miles a day for 365 days some 147 times

·        at 10 miles a day for 365 days, 73.5 times

·        at 10 miles a day for 360 days a year, 60.2 times

 

In short, the Tree of Life -- as stated by Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai -- would have      numerous layers of tree branches on top of each other, and they and their leaves      would create a canopy that would permanently block all sunlight and kill off all         plant and, thereafter, all animal life.

The equivalent of the dreaded nuclear winter.

As to its trunk requiring 500 years of walking, this is even a far greater impossibility.

If this refers to the tree’s diameter, i.e. the Tree of Life is 500 years of walking wide,    the mathematics are similar to the above.

 

The diameter of the earth is 7,917.5 miles wide.[iii]

So, whether walking at 20 miles a day, or 10 miles a day or 10 miles omitting         Jewish holy days, the Tree of Life’s trunk would be countless times wider than the planet:

·       --    at 20 miles a day for 365 days for 500 years =-3,650,000 miles, the trunk’s                       width would be  some 461 times the diameter of the planet.

·        --   at 10 miles a day for 365 days, some 230 times

·         --   at 10 miles a day for 360 days a year, some 227 times

 

Now if Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai were referring to the tree’s circumference, compared        to the planets circumference, the walking results would be identical to the first calculations above: some 147 times greater, 73.5 times greater or 60.2 times greater.

 
Either way, the Tree of Life’s trunk and roots would have to reach out far into space.      As unlike branches, the trunk cannot overlap itself again and again and again.

 

Both statements re: the Tree of Life, are, therefore, totally bizarre and physical impossibilities.

How he came up with these numbers is never stated. Not even a single bible verse    quote as a ‘source’ or ‘allusion’.

 

Another example of why no one should rely on ancient or medieval rabbinic      statements and claims regarding so-called ‘facts’ relating to the real world.

 

 

FINAL NOTE:

Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai’s very idea of a tree so impossibly huge is perplexing.  

As argued above, there is no way any tree could be as big as needing “walking 500 years”, even without full knowledge that the Earth is round – rather than flat – and       the planet’s exact dimensions: circumference and diameter.

 

Whether the Garden of Eden was within the area called Eden or larger than that  area    (as debated in Bereshit Rabba 15:20, there is no doubt it was only  a small spot on our planet: as made clear by the Chumash itself, Gen. 3: 23-24 and the ensuing chapters covering how people and nations spread throughout the Middle East through the story   of the Great Flood (Gen. 6:1 to Gen. 8:19).

 

So, for Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai to even suggest the Tree of Life was so impossibly huge – far larger than the major city of Nineveh with its thousands of inhabitants which was only wide enough for a 3 day walk by Jonah (Jonah, 3:3), is truly baffling.

He does not cite any biblical verse for his claims and is clearly into the realm of    magical thinking.

 

For all my above criticism and that of the previous blog on Bereshit Rabba: poor    science – reproduction, it is important to recognize the phenomenal, encyclopedic knowledge of the entire Tanach and related sources which these Ancient and      Medieval rabbis had.

 

They could effortlessly quote verses from Genesis to 2 Chronicles even though          texts were all hand written scrolls and both costly and rare.  

 

For example, the rabbinic discussions of Bereshit Rabbah 15 section 1 contains verses from Gen. 2:8, Psalms 106: 14, Deut. 3:25 and Isiah 41:19, and section 2 cites in      order: Ezekiel 31:9, 28:13, Gen. 2:10 and Isaiah 51:3.

 

A photographic memory must have been common: to easily dealing with scroll texts written without chapter or verse separation number-labels, and without even periods      to mark the end of a sentence and idea.

 

We today, thanks to Gutenberg and his invention of the printing press c. 1450 CE,[iv]  can readily access inexpensive printed copies of the Tanach in numerous editions.    Easily divided up by chapter numbers, verse numbers, commas and periods.

And thanks to the internet, texts and commentaries are easily searched online, the  Sefaria library being an excellent example.

So one must recognize the extraordinary scholarship and skill, the brilliance and     mental acumen of these Ancient and Medieval rabbis.

 

So, if some of their statements and ideas are ‘odd’ and ‘unrealistic’, it must be remembered they believed all verses of the Tanach were equally Divine and directly      or through allusion, contained all ‘truths’ re the entire world and everything within it.

 

---

[i] https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/57-How-large-is-Earth-#:~:text=Earth's%20circumference%20(the%20distance%20all,24%2C901%20miles%20(40%2C075%20kilometers)

[ii] https://www.verywellfit.com/how-far-can-a-healthy-person-walk-3975556#:~:text=With%20training%2C%20many%20walkers%20can,30%20miles%20in%20a%20day.

[iii] https://www.google.com/search?q=diameter+of+earth+miles&sca_esv=371673003b9a266f&rlz=1C1RAEH_enCA867CA867&ei=Uo7kZrKEFNecptQPp5rNiQ0&oq=diameter+of+the+Earth&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiFWRpYW1ldGVyIG9mIHRoZSBFYXJ0aCoCCAEyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyChAAGLADGNYEGEcyDRAAGIAEGLADGEMYigUyDRAAGIAEGLADGEMYigVInRJQAFgAcAF4AZABAJgBAKABAKoBALgBAcgBAJgCAaACBZgDAIgGAZAGCpIHATGgBwA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

[iv] Johannes Gutenberg | Printing Press, Inventions, Facts, Accomplishments, & Biography | Britannica

Rambam Principle #6 and false prophets

 

Rambam's 6th principle of Judaism is:

אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה שֶׁכָּל דִּבְ֒רֵי נְבִיאִים אֱמֶת:

I believe with complete faith that all the words of the prophets are true.[i]

 

This refers to all the prophet texts in the Tanach: the lengthy prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and also Daniel, and the 12 short or minor prophet works of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.  It might apply to even Jeremiah’s Lamentations.

Deborah who roused the people in  Judges chapter 4, was also a prophetess (Judges 4:4) and so too Hulda (2 Kings 22: 14–20; 2 Chronicles 34:22-28).

Three other females are named as prophets but no prophecy is recorded for them: Miriam, Moses’s sister (Exod. 15:20),  Isaiah’s wife (Isaiah 8:3) and  Noadiah (Nehemiah 6: 14).  As Noadiah was on the side of male prophets all opposed Nehemiah’s rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, she (and these males) may have been ‘false’ prophets.

The prophet Samuel has 2 volumes bearing his name and the prophet Elijah and his disciple Elisha appear in the books of Kings: (1 Kings ch. 17-19 and ch.21:17-29, and  2 Kings 2-13 for Elisha).

Micaiah the son of Imlah prophesized before Ahab of Israel (1 Kings 22:8-28) and he prophesized contrary to the unanimous prophecy of some 400 others (1 Kings 22:6).  For this, he was slapped in the face by a leader of the opposing prophets, Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah (1 Kings 22: 24) and imprisoned on Ahab’s orders (1 Kings 22: 26-27).

There are also two (2) unnamed prophets who gave prophecies to King Ahab of Israel (1 Kings 20: 13- 14; 35-43).  And Obadiah, Ahab’s royal servant , hid and fed 100 (unnamed) prophets of God the Eternal when Queen Jezebel sought to eradicate all of God’s true prophets (1 Kings 18:4).

According to 2 Chronicles 25:15-16, God also sent a number of prophets over the years to warn the people and rulers of Judah and Jerusalem to abandon their pagan worship and return to God the Eternal – but without success.  They were ignored and “mocked” (2 Chronicles 25:16).

Consequently, the number of these prophets whose entire books or individual prophetic words have been preserved in the Tanach are twenty-four (24).

And, of course, there is Moses himself who wrote down the Chumash  and spoke with God the Eternal ‘face to face’ (Exod. 33:11): i.e., not through dreams like all others before and after him.

יא  וְדִבֶּר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה פָּנִים אֶל-פָּנִים, כַּאֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר אִישׁ אֶל-רֵעֵהוּ;

11 And the LORD spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.

Hence, Rambam’s principle #7:

אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה שֶׁנְּ֒בוּאַת משֶׁה רַבֵּֽנוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם הָיְ֒תָה אֲמִתִּית וְשֶׁהוּא הָיָה אָב לַנְּ֒בִיאִים לַקּוֹדְ֒מִים לְפָנָיו וְלַבָּאִים אַחֲרָיו:

 

 

I believe with complete faith that the prophecy of our teacher, Moses, may he rest in peace, was true, and that he was the father of all prophets, —of those who preceded him, and of those who followed him.

 

 

False Prophets

Most of the time, these prophets of God the Eternal warned leaders against taking certain actions, but their Divine warnings were ignored.

Why?

Because they were in competition with many false prophets: prophets of other gods or fakes, lying in the name of God the Eternal: all hoping for royal rewards.

Elijah’s contest at Mount Carmel was against the 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18: 19-46).

Micaiah the son of Imlah was confronted by Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah and almost 400 other who prophesized the opposite of Michaiah’s  Divine message. And it would seem for the text that Zedekiah claimed to be a prophet of God the Eternal (1 kings 22: 24, 2 Chron. 18:10). How many of the approximately 400 other prophets similarly claimed to be God the Eternal’s prophets is unclear,  but most if not all others were surely prophets of Baal or other gods worshipped in the Kingdom of Israel during Ahab’s reign. (1 Kings 22: 4-5, 12)

Here is the parallel, later account in 2 Chronicles ch. 18:

א  וַיְהִי לִיהוֹשָׁפָט עֹשֶׁר וְכָבוֹד, לָרֹב; וַיִּתְחַתֵּן, לְאַחְאָב.	1 Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance; and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage.
ב  וַיֵּרֶד לְקֵץ שָׁנִים אֶל-אַחְאָב, לְשֹׁמְרוֹן, וַיִּזְבַּח-לוֹ אַחְאָב צֹאן וּבָקָר לָרֹב, וְלָעָם אֲשֶׁר עִמּוֹ; וַיְסִיתֵהוּ, לַעֲלוֹת אֶל-רָמֹת גִּלְעָד.	2 And after a lapse of years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead.
ג  וַיֹּאמֶר אַחְאָב מֶלֶךְ-יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶל-יְהוֹשָׁפָט מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה, הֲתֵלֵךְ עִמִּי, רָמֹת גִּלְעָד; וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ, כָּמוֹנִי כָמוֹךָ וּכְעַמְּךָ עַמִּי--וְעִמְּךָ, בַּמִּלְחָמָה.	3 And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah: 'Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead?' And he answered him: 'I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war.'
ד  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹשָׁפָט, אֶל-מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל:  דְּרָשׁ-נָא כַיּוֹם, אֶת-דְּבַר יְהוָה.	4 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel: 'Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD today.'
ה  וַיִּקְבֹּץ מֶלֶךְ-יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת-הַנְּבִאִים, אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת אִישׁ, וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם הֲנֵלֵךְ אֶל-רָמֹת גִּלְעָד לַמִּלְחָמָה, אִם-אֶחְדָּל; וַיֹּאמְרוּ עֲלֵה, וְיִתֵּן הָאֱלֹהִים בְּיַד הַמֶּלֶךְ.	5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said unto them: 'Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?' And they said: 'Go up; for God will deliver it into the hand of the king.'
ו  וַיֹּאמֶר, יְהוֹשָׁפָט, הַאֵין פֹּה נָבִיא לַיהוָה, עוֹד; וְנִדְרְשָׁה, מֵאֹתוֹ.	6 But Jehoshaphat said: 'Is there not here besides a prophet of the LORD, that we might inquire of him?'
ז  וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ-יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל-יְהוֹשָׁפָט עוֹד אִישׁ-אֶחָד לִדְרוֹשׁ אֶת-יְהוָה מֵאֹתוֹ וַאֲנִי שְׂנֵאתִיהוּ, כִּי-אֵינֶנּוּ מִתְנַבֵּא עָלַי לְטוֹבָה כִּי כָל-יָמָיו לְרָעָה--הוּא, מִיכָיְהוּ בֶן-יִמְלָא; וַיֹּאמֶר, יְהוֹשָׁפָט, אַל-יֹאמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ, כֵּן.	7 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat: 'There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him; for he never prophesieth good concerning me, but always evil; the same is Micaiah the son of Imla.' And Jehoshaphat said: 'Let not the king say so.'
ח  וַיִּקְרָא מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶל-סָרִיס אֶחָד; וַיֹּאמֶר, מַהֵר מיכהו מִיכָיְהוּ בֶן-יִמְלָא.	8 Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said: 'Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.'
ט  וּמֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוֹשָׁפָט מֶלֶךְ-יְהוּדָה יוֹשְׁבִים אִישׁ עַל-כִּסְאוֹ מְלֻבָּשִׁים בְּגָדִים, וְיֹשְׁבִים בְּגֹרֶן--פֶּתַח, שַׁעַר שֹׁמְרוֹן; וְכָל-הַנְּבִיאִים--מִתְנַבְּאִים, לִפְנֵיהֶם.	9 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, and they sat in a threshing-floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
י  וַיַּעַשׂ לוֹ צִדְקִיָּהוּ בֶן-כְּנַעֲנָה, קַרְנֵי בַרְזֶל; וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה-אָמַר יְהוָה, בְּאֵלֶּה תְּנַגַּח אֶת-אֲרָם עַד-כַּלּוֹתָם.	10 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said: 'Thus saith the LORD: With these shalt thou gore the Arameans, until they be consumed.'
יא  וְכָל-הַנְּבִאִים--נִבְּאִים כֵּן, לֵאמֹר:  עֲלֵה רָמֹת גִּלְעָד, וְהַצְלַח, וְנָתַן יְהוָה, בְּיַד הַמֶּלֶךְ.	11 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying: 'Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper; for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.'
יב  וְהַמַּלְאָךְ אֲשֶׁר-הָלַךְ לִקְרֹא לְמִיכָיְהוּ, דִּבֶּר אֵלָיו לֵאמֹר, הִנֵּה דִּבְרֵי הַנְּבִאִים פֶּה-אֶחָד טוֹב, אֶל-הַמֶּלֶךְ; וִיהִי-נָא דְבָרְךָ כְּאַחַד מֵהֶם, וְדִבַּרְתָּ טּוֹב.	12 And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying: 'Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.'
יג  וַיֹּאמֶר, מִיכָיְהוּ:  חַי-יְהוָה--כִּי אֶת-אֲשֶׁר-יֹאמַר אֱלֹהַי, אֹתוֹ אֲדַבֵּר.	13 And Micaiah said: 'As the LORD liveth, what my God saith, that will I speak.'
יד  וַיָּבֹא, אֶל-הַמֶּלֶךְ, וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵלָיו מִיכָה הֲנֵלֵךְ אֶל-רָמֹת גִּלְעָד לַמִּלְחָמָה, אִם-אֶחְדָּל; וַיֹּאמֶר עֲלוּ וְהַצְלִיחוּ, וְיִנָּתְנוּ בְּיֶדְכֶם.	14 And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him: 'Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?' And he said: 'Go ye up, and prosper; and they shall be delivered into your hand.'
טו  וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הַמֶּלֶךְ, עַד-כַּמֶּה פְעָמִים אֲנִי מַשְׁבִּיעֶךָ:  אֲשֶׁר לֹא-תְדַבֵּר אֵלַי, רַק-אֱמֶת--בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה.	15 And the king said to him: 'How many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak unto me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD.'
טז  וַיֹּאמֶר, רָאִיתִי אֶת-כָּל-יִשְׂרָאֵל נְפוֹצִים עַל-הֶהָרִים--כַּצֹּאן, אֲשֶׁר אֵין-לָהֶן רֹעֶה; וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה לֹא-אֲדֹנִים לָאֵלֶּה, יָשׁוּבוּ אִישׁ-לְבֵיתוֹ בְּשָׁלוֹם.	16 And he said: 'I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd; and the LORD said: These have no master, let them return every man to his house in peace.'
יז  וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ-יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶל-יְהוֹשָׁפָט:  הֲלֹא אָמַרְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ, לֹא-יִתְנַבֵּא עָלַי טוֹב כִּי אִם-לְרָע.	17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: 'Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?'
יח  וַיֹּאמֶר, לָכֵן שִׁמְעוּ דְבַר-יְהוָה:  רָאִיתִי אֶת-יְהוָה, יוֹשֵׁב עַל-כִּסְאוֹ, וְכָל-צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם עֹמְדִים, עַל-יְמִינוֹ וּשְׂמֹאלוֹ.	18 And he said: 'Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting upon His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and on His left.
יט  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה, מִי יְפַתֶּה אֶת-אַחְאָב מֶלֶךְ-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיַעַל, וְיִפֹּל בְּרָמוֹת גִּלְעָד; וַיֹּאמֶר--זֶה אֹמֵר כָּכָה, וְזֶה אֹמֵר כָּכָה.	19 And the LORD said: who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spoke saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.
כ  וַיֵּצֵא הָרוּחַ, וַיַּעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה, וַיֹּאמֶר, אֲנִי אֲפַתֶּנּוּ:  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלָיו, בַּמָּה.	20 And there came forth the spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said: I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him: Wherewith?
כא  וַיֹּאמֶר, אֵצֵא וְהָיִיתִי לְרוּחַ שֶׁקֶר, בְּפִי, כָּל-נְבִיאָיו; וַיֹּאמֶר, תְּפַתֶּה וְגַם-תּוּכָל--צֵא, וַעֲשֵׂה-כֵן.	21 And he said: I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said: Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also; go forth, and do so.
כב  וְעַתָּה, הִנֵּה נָתַן יְהוָה רוּחַ שֶׁקֶר, בְּפִי, נְבִיאֶיךָ אֵלֶּה; וַיהוָה, דִּבֶּר עָלֶיךָ רָעָה.	22 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets; and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.'
כג  וַיִּגַּשׁ צִדְקִיָּהוּ בֶן-כְּנַעֲנָה, וַיַּךְ אֶת-מִיכָיְהוּ עַל-הַלֶּחִי; וַיֹּאמֶר, אֵי זֶה הַדֶּרֶךְ עָבַר רוּחַ-יְהוָה מֵאִתִּי--לְדַבֵּר אֹתָךְ.	23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said: 'Which way went the spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?'
כד  וַיֹּאמֶר מִיכָיְהוּ, הִנְּךָ רֹאֶה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, אֲשֶׁר תָּבוֹא חֶדֶר בְּחֶדֶר, לְהֵחָבֵא.	24 And Micaiah said: 'Behold, thou shalt see on that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.'
כה  וַיֹּאמֶר, מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל, קְחוּ אֶת-מִיכָיְהוּ, וַהֲשִׁיבֻהוּ אֶל-אָמוֹן שַׂר-הָעִיר--וְאֶל-יוֹאָשׁ, בֶּן-הַמֶּלֶךְ.	25 And the king of Israel said: 'Take ye Micaiah; and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;
כו  וַאֲמַרְתֶּם, כֹּה אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ, שִׂימוּ זֶה, בֵּית הַכֶּלֶא; וְהַאֲכִלֻהוּ לֶחֶם לַחַץ, וּמַיִם לַחַץ, עַד, שׁוּבִי בְשָׁלוֹם.	26 and say: Thus saith the king: Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with scant bread and with scant water, until I return in peace.'
כז  וַיֹּאמֶר מִיכָיְהוּ--אִם-שׁוֹב תָּשׁוּב בְּשָׁלוֹם, לֹא-דִבֶּר יְהוָה בִּי; וַיֹּאמֶר, שִׁמְעוּ עַמִּים כֻּלָּם.	27 And Micaiah said: 'If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me.' And he said: 'Hear, ye peoples, all of you.'

 

The passage is somewhat elliptical as it mentions the kings sitting on their thrones only at midpoint, though this must have come chronologically first.

As the passages states, King Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, sat on thrones awaiting the prophetic advice as one prophet after another came before them (1 kings 22:10, 2 Chronicles 18: 9) with a Yes or No answer.

And the final count was 400 to 1.  Micaiah, the real prophet of God the Eternal, being the 1.

For his Divine truth-telling Micaiah was imprisoned.

 

And as for Elijah, who won over the 450 prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel, the text notes his prophecies beforehand were unwelcome to King Ahab.

1 Kings 18:

יז  וַיְהִי כִּרְאוֹת אַחְאָב, אֶת-אֵלִיָּהוּ; וַיֹּאמֶר אַחְאָב אֵלָיו, הַאַתָּה זֶה עֹכֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל.	17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him: 'Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?'
יח  וַיֹּאמֶר, לֹא עָכַרְתִּי אֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל, כִּי אִם-אַתָּה, וּבֵית אָבִיךָ--בַּעֲזָבְכֶם אֶת-מִצְוֺת יְהוָה, וַתֵּלֶךְ אַחֲרֵי הַבְּעָלִים.	18 And he answered: 'I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed the Baalim.

And Elijah’s reward for his success at Mount Carmel was having to flee to Judah and the southern   desert as Queen Jezebel ordered his death (1 Kings 19:2 -4).

 

So too with the real prophet Jeremiah who prophesized in the (sole remaining) southern Kingdom of Judah when he warned the court of King Zedekiah not to believe the words of the other – false – prophets who advised Zedekiah to rebel against the Chaldeans/Babylonians and rely on Egypt.

King Zedekiah was not faithful to God the Eternal and worshipped pagan gods (2 Chronicles 12). He ignored the warnings of Jeremiah (2 Chronicles 36: 12),  listening instead to the many pagan prophets.

And for his Divine truth-telling Jeremiah was accused by the royal princes of collaborating and promoting the Chaldean/Babylonian enemy, and thrown into a dungeon.

Only thanks to King Zedekiah’s leniency was he relocated to a lesser jail – and survived.

Jeremiah 37

ד  וְיִרְמְיָהוּ, בָּא וְיֹצֵא בְּתוֹךְ הָעָם; וְלֹא-נָתְנוּ אֹתוֹ, בֵּית הכליא הַכְּלוּא.	4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison.
ה  וְחֵיל פַּרְעֹה, יָצָא מִמִּצְרָיִם; וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ הַכַּשְׂדִּים הַצָּרִים עַל-יְרוּשָׁלִַם, אֶת-שִׁמְעָם, וַיֵּעָלוּ, מֵעַל יְרוּשָׁלִָם.	5 And Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they broke up from Jerusalem.
ו  וַיְהִי, דְּבַר-יְהוָה, אֶל-יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא, לֵאמֹר.	6 Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying:
ז  כֹּה-אָמַר יְהוָה, אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, כֹּה תֹאמְרוּ אֶל-מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה, הַשֹּׁלֵחַ אֶתְכֶם אֵלַי לְדָרְשֵׁנִי:  הִנֵּה חֵיל פַּרְעֹה, הַיֹּצֵא לָכֶם לְעֶזְרָה, שָׁב לְאַרְצוֹ, מִצְרָיִם.	7 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto Me to inquire of Me: Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
ח  וְשָׁבוּ, הַכַּשְׂדִּים, וְנִלְחֲמוּ, עַל-הָעִיר הַזֹּאת; וּלְכָדֻהָ, וּשְׂרָפֻהָ בָאֵשׁ.	8 And the Chaldeans shall return, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire.
ט  כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה, אַל-תַּשִּׁאוּ נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם לֵאמֹר, הָלֹךְ יֵלְכוּ מֵעָלֵינוּ, הַכַּשְׂדִּים:  כִּי-לֹא, יֵלֵכוּ.	9 Thus saith the LORD: Deceive not yourselves, saying: The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us; for they shall not depart.
י  כִּי אִם-הִכִּיתֶם כָּל-חֵיל כַּשְׂדִּים, הַנִּלְחָמִים אִתְּכֶם, וְנִשְׁאֲרוּ-בָם, אֲנָשִׁים מְדֻקָּרִים--אִישׁ בְּאָהֳלוֹ יָקוּמוּ, וְשָׂרְפוּ אֶת-הָעִיר הַזֹּאת בָּאֵשׁ.	10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.'
יא  וְהָיָה, בְּהֵעָלוֹת חֵיל הַכַּשְׂדִּים, מֵעַל, יְרוּשָׁלִָם--מִפְּנֵי, חֵיל פַּרְעֹה.	11 And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
יב  וַיֵּצֵא יִרְמְיָהוּ מִירוּשָׁלִַם, לָלֶכֶת אֶרֶץ בִּנְיָמִן, לַחֲלִק מִשָּׁם, בְּתוֹךְ הָעָם.	12 then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive his portion there, in the midst of the people.
יג  וַיְהִי-הוּא בְּשַׁעַר בִּנְיָמִן, וְשָׁם בַּעַל פְּקִדֻת, וּשְׁמוֹ יִרְאִיָּיה, בֶּן-שֶׁלֶמְיָה בֶּן-חֲנַנְיָה; וַיִּתְפֹּשׂ אֶת-יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא, לֵאמֹר, אֶל-הַכַּשְׂדִּים, אַתָּה נֹפֵל.	13 And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 'Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.'
יד  וַיֹּאמֶר יִרְמְיָהוּ שֶׁקֶר, אֵינֶנִּי נֹפֵל עַל-הַכַּשְׂדִּים--וְלֹא שָׁמַע, אֵלָיו; וַיִּתְפֹּשׂ יִרְאִיָּיה בְּיִרְמְיָהוּ, וַיְבִאֵהוּ אֶל-הַשָּׂרִים.	14 Then said Jeremiah: 'It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans'; but he hearkened not to him; so Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.
טו  וַיִּקְצְפוּ הַשָּׂרִים עַל-יִרְמְיָהוּ, וְהִכּוּ אֹתוֹ; וְנָתְנוּ אוֹתוֹ בֵּית הָאֵסוּר, בֵּית יְהוֹנָתָן הַסֹּפֵר--כִּי-אֹתוֹ עָשׂוּ, לְבֵית הַכֶּלֶא.	15 And the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison.
טז  כִּי בָא יִרְמְיָהוּ אֶל-בֵּית הַבּוֹר, וְאֶל-הַחֲנֻיוֹת; וַיֵּשֶׁב-שָׁם יִרְמְיָהוּ, יָמִים רַבִּים.	16 When Jeremiah was come into the dungeon-house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
יז  וַיִּשְׁלַח הַמֶּלֶךְ צִדְקִיָּהוּ וַיִּקָּחֵהוּ, וַיִּשְׁאָלֵהוּ הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּבֵיתוֹ בַּסֵּתֶר, וַיֹּאמֶר, הֲיֵשׁ דָּבָר מֵאֵת יְהוָה; וַיֹּאמֶר יִרְמְיָהוּ, יֵשׁ, וַיֹּאמֶר, בְּיַד מֶלֶךְ-בָּבֶל תִּנָּתֵן.	17 then Zedekiah the king sent, and fetched him; and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said: 'Is there any word from the LORD?' And Jeremiah said: 'There is.' He said also: 'Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.'
יח  וַיֹּאמֶר יִרְמְיָהוּ, אֶל-הַמֶּלֶךְ צִדְקִיָּהוּ:  מֶה חָטָאתִי לְךָ וְלַעֲבָדֶיךָ וְלָעָם הַזֶּה, כִּי-נְתַתֶּם אוֹתִי אֶל-בֵּית הַכֶּלֶא.	18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah: 'Wherein have I sinned against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?
יט  ואיו וְאַיֵּה, נְבִיאֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר-נִבְּאוּ לָכֶם, לֵאמֹר:  לֹא-יָבֹא מֶלֶךְ-בָּבֶל עֲלֵיכֶם, וְעַל הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת.	19 Where now are your prophets that prophesied unto you, saying: The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
כ  וְעַתָּה, שְׁמַע-נָא אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ:  תִּפָּל-נָא תְחִנָּתִי, לְפָנֶיךָ, וְאַל-תְּשִׁבֵנִי בֵּית יְהוֹנָתָן הַסֹּפֵר, וְלֹא אָמוּת שָׁם.	20 And now hear, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be presented before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.'
כא  וַיְצַוֶּה הַמֶּלֶךְ צִדְקִיָּהוּ, וַיַּפְקִדוּ אֶת-יִרְמְיָהוּ בַּחֲצַר הַמַּטָּרָה, וְנָתֹן לוֹ כִכַּר-לֶחֶם לַיּוֹם מִחוּץ הָאֹפִים, עַד-תֹּם כָּל-הַלֶּחֶם מִן-הָעִיר; וַיֵּשֶׁב יִרְמְיָהוּ, בַּחֲצַר הַמַּטָּרָה.	21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard, and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

 

Again, a political, royal decision based on the prophecies of the many, and endorsed by the King’s royal court.

Again, ‘majority rules’.

And so Jerusalem fell and the Babylonian Exile began – and the Holy Temple was burned to the ground.

Jeremiah’s Lamentations is its soulful dirge.

 

CONCLUSION

Rambam’s Principal #6: affirming the truthfulness of the prophets of God the Eternal as recorded in the Tanach, is an important central belief.  They were God the Eternal’s real messengers and we are to study and learn from their messages: as they applied to then, as they apply to now and to the future. 

But ‘on the ground’ and in the ‘real world’ of their times, there were many other ‘prophets’ who advised kings differently.

And kings, as mere mortals, trusted and relied too often on ‘majority rules’ for divine advice.  Especially when it was only one vote against many other prophets.

They were messengers and messages of the few against the many, and voices opposed to the preferences of the king of the day and his Yes-men.

 

The words of Ahab resonate then and now.

ז  וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ-יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל-יְהוֹשָׁפָט עוֹד אִישׁ-אֶחָד לִדְרוֹשׁ אֶת-יְהוָה מֵאֹתוֹ וַאֲנִי שְׂנֵאתִיהוּ, כִּי-אֵינֶנּוּ מִתְנַבֵּא עָלַי לְטוֹבָה כִּי כָל-יָמָיו לְרָעָה--הוּא, מִיכָיְהוּ בֶן-יִמְלָא;

7 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat: 'There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him; for he never prophesieth good concerning me, but always evil; the same is Micaiah the son of Imla.

 

Rulers like ‘Yes-men’, prophets and advisors who tell them what they want to hear.

Real prophets of God the Eternal nearly always came across as unsupportive contrarians.

That is why so often their words from God the Eternal were rejected.

 

We should do better.

We should honour and study the words of our prophets – as Rambam states.

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[i] Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Post Service, Thirteen Principles 7 with Connections (sefaria.org)