Sanhedrin 19b

סנהדרין י״ט ע״ב

Learn Sanhedrin 19b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Sanhedrin 19b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The rules of a מלך, how דוד married מירב and מיכל, raising and teaching another's child as if he were your own, and the self-control of פלטי בן ליש

Overview

The amud opens at the end of the story of שמעון בן שטח and the king. The judges were too afraid to stand up to the king, they were punished, and from then on חכמים ruled that a king does not judge and is not judged. The גמרא then explains how ר' יהודה can let a king do חליצה even though a king may not give up his honor: a מצוה is different. On marrying a king's widow, the חכמים answer ר' יהודה that דוד received שאול's daughters, מירב and מיכל, not שאול's widows. That raises a question: how could דוד marry two sisters? רבי יוסי says he married מיכל only after מירב died. רבי יהושע בן קרחה says the betrothal to מירב was a mistake, because it was made with a debt, and the גמרא explains the argument between שאול and דוד about a loan plus a פרוטה. The two views then read the פסוק about 'the five sons of מיכל' differently, which leads to the lesson that raising an orphan or teaching someone's child תורה is like giving birth to him. The amud ends by praising פלטי בן ליש, who never touched מיכל, and by ranking his self-control above that of בועז and יוסף.

Opening lines

The steps (44)

1. StatementThe judges stay silent and are punished
2. ConclusionThe rule that came out of the story: a king does not judge and is not judged
3. ChallengeHow can a king do חליצה if he may not give up his honor?
4. ResolutionA מצוה is different
5. RejectionThe חכמים reject ר' יהודה's proof about the king's wives
6. QuestionWho were those women? מירב and מיכל
7. QuestionHow could דוד marry two sisters?
8. Responseרבי יוסי: דוד married מיכל after מירב died
9. Responseרבי יהושע בן קרחה: the betrothal to מירב was a mistake
10. QuestionHow does the verse prove the betrothal to מירב was mistaken?
11. Responseרב פפא: 'מיכל is my wife' implies 'not מירב'
12. QuestionWhat made the betrothal to מירב a mistake?
13. ResponseThe reward for killing גלית was a loan
14. Statementמירב goes to עדריאל, and דוד betroths מיכל
15. Statementשאול and דוד disagree about a loan plus a פרוטה
16. ResponseA second explanation: the argument is about what the foreskins were worth
17. QuestionHow does רבי יוסי read 'Give me my wife מיכל'?
18. Responseרבי יוסי often explained פסוקים that seem to clash
19. ChallengeWas מיכל given to עדריאל or to פלטי?
20. ResolutionThe פסוק compares מירב's marriage to מיכל's: both were forbidden
21. ChallengeHow does רבי יהושע בן קרחה explain the five sons of מיכל?
22. Resolutionמירב gave birth and מיכל raised them
23. StatementRaising an orphan is like giving birth to him
24. StatementA memory aid for the coming proofs
25. Proofרבי חנינא's proof: a son born to נעמי
26. Proofרבי יוחנן's פסוק: the sons of בתיה and who מרד is
27. Proofיוכבד gave birth and בתיה raised him
28. Proofרבי אלעזר's proof: the children of יעקב and יוסף
29. ProofTeaching a friend's son תורה is like giving birth to him
30. QuestionHow did יעקב redeem אברהם?
31. Responseרב יהודה: יעקב spared אברהם the hardship of raising children
32. ProofThe end of the פסוק: יעקב will not be ashamed before his father or grandfather
33. QuestionWhy does the same man have two names: פלטי and פלטיאל?
34. Responseרבי יוחנן: God saved him from sin
35. Statementפלטי placed a sword between himself and מיכל
36. ChallengeBut the פסוק calls him 'her husband'
37. ResolutionHe acted like a husband to her
38. ChallengeThen why was he crying?
39. ResolutionHe cried over the מצוה he was losing
40. Proof'Until בחורים': both stayed like unmarried young people
41. StatementRanking the self-control of three great men
42. ProofA פסוק about בועז proves the first comparison
43. QuestionWhat does ויילפת mean?
44. Responseרב explains ויילפת: בועז felt strong desire and still held back