The Philistines, the Plague of Mice, and Scripture's Mingled Words

"And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout… 'Woe unto us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods?'" (1 Samuel 4:8). Up to here spoke the worthy ones among them; but the wicked ones among them said, "These are the Gods that smote, etc." (ibid.). They said: He brought ten plagues upon the sea, and the rest of the plagues He spent upon His people in the wilderness; they said, He has no plague left from now on. [Said the Holy One:] By your lives, I will bring upon you a plague that has never been seen and never been, as it is written, "And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Ashdodites, and He smote them with hemorrhoids" (1 Samuel 5:6). How so? A man would be sitting with a hemorrhoid, and a mouse would come up from the deep and pull out his entrails, and go down again to the deep. This is what is written, "And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Ashdodites, and He set them, etc." They went back and made themselves benches. The mouse would say to the bench: I am the messenger of Him who spoke and the world came to be, and you are His creature — give honor to the One who created you. And the bench would split, and the mouse would come up from the deep, and pull out his entrails, and go down again to the deep. This is what is written, "And the hand of the Lord was heavy, etc." The whole section is mingled words (eruvei devarim): what this one said, the other did not say, and what the other said, this one did not say. And likewise: "And Judah acknowledged them, and said, 'She is more righteous than I'" (Genesis 38:26), and the Holy One, blessed be He, writes concerning him, "and he knew her again no more" — that once he knew that she was his daughter-in-law, "he knew her again no more" (ibid.) — and so the whole section. And likewise: "We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, etc." (Numbers 13:27) — up to here spoke Caleb; the whole section is mingled words: what this one said, the other did not say, and what the other said, this one did not say. And likewise: "But now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all; we have nought save this manna to look to. And the manna was as coriander seed" (Numbers 11:6–7). You might suppose [it is one speaker]; [know that] what this one said, the other did not say. What does it say? "But now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all" (ibid. 11:6) — and the Holy One, blessed be He, conciliates all who come into the world and says to them: Come and see over what My children murmur against Me, "And the manna was as coriander seed, etc." (ibid. 11:7). The whole section is mingled words: what this one said, the other did not say. And likewise: "Why is his chariot so long in coming?" (Judges 5:28) — up to here spoke the mother of Sisera; "why tarry the wheels of his chariots?" (ibid.) — up to here spoke his wife; "the wise among her princesses answer her" (ibid. 5:29) — up to here spoke her daughters-in-law; "Have they not found, are they not dividing the spoil?" (ibid. 5:30) — the words that the mother of Sisera spoke were revealed to Deborah by the Holy Spirit, and Deborah sent word to her: Wait no longer for your son Sisera from now on, "so let all thine enemies perish, O Lord" (ibid. 5:31). And likewise: "Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, etc.… Did Hezekiah king of Judah put him to death?" (Jeremiah 26:18–19) — up to here spoke the worthy ones among them; but the wicked ones said, "And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah, etc.… And when the king Jehoiakim, with all his mighty men… heard… and the king Jehoiakim sent men into Egypt… and they fetched forth Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him unto the king" (ibid. 26:20–23). They said: Just as Uriah prophesied, so did Jeremiah prophesy; and just as Uriah was slain, so was Jeremiah to be slain. "Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, etc." (ibid. 26:24). The whole section is mingled words: what this one said, the other did not say, and what the other said, this one did not say. And likewise: "Set me as a seal upon thine arm, etc." (Song of Songs 8:6). "Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm" — up to here spoke the Assembly of Israel; "for love is strong as death, jealousy is cruel as the grave" (ibid.) — up to here spoke the nations of the world; and the Holy Spirit says, "the coals thereof are coals of fire, a most vehement flame, etc." (ibid.). Behold, the whole section is mingled words: what this one said, the other did not say.