“They said: We saw that the Lord was with you, and we said: Let there now be an oath between us, between us and you, and we will establish a covenant with you” (Genesis 26:28). “If you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you, and just as we have done only [rak] good with you, and we sent you in peace; you are now the blessed of the Lord” (Genesis 26:29). “They said: We saw” – we have seen your actions and the actions of your fathers.
“Let there now be an oath…if you will do us [no harm…and just as we have done only [rak] good with you]” – rak is restrictive, as they did not perform absolute good with him. In the days of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya, the evil empire27The evil empire is the Roman Empire. decreed that the Temple should be constructed. Papus and Lulyanus set tables from Akko to Antioch, and they provided those ascending from the exile with silver and gold, and all their needs.
The Samaritans went and said: “Let it be known to the king…that [if] this rebellious city is built, and its walls finished, they will not pay minda, belo, or halakh” (Ezra 4:12–13) – minda is property tax, belo is poll tax, and halakh is head tax. He said to them: ‘What can I do, I issued a decree.’ They said to him: ‘Send and say to them: Either move it from its place, or add five cubits to it, or subtract five cubits from it, and they will relent on their own.’
The assembly of Israel were gathered together in the Beit Rimon valley. When those missives arrived, they began weeping. They wanted to rebel against the empire. They said: ‘Let one Sage enter and calm the assembly.’
They said: ‘Let Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya, who is the greatest Torah scholar, enter.’ He entered and expounded: ‘A lion mauled prey and a bone was stuck in its throat. He [the lion] said: Anyone who extracts it, I will give him a reward. An Egyptian heron with a long beak inserted its beak and extracted it.
It said to it [the lion]: Give me my reward. It [the lion] said to it: Go, boast, and say that you entered the mouth of a lion in peace and emerged in peace. So, it is sufficient that we entered into dealings with this nation in peace, and emerged in peace.’ “It was on that day that Isaac's servants came and told him regarding the well that they had dug, and said to him: We have found water” (Genesis 26:32).
“Isaac's servants came” – we do not know whether they found or did not find.28We do not know whether they found a new source of water. From what is written: “They found there a well of fresh water” (Genesis 26:19) – that is, they found fresh water.