Forty-Eight Prophets and the Man of Ramathaim

Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 76:8

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim" (1 Samuel 1:1). Our Rabbis taught: Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied to Israel, and they neither subtracted from nor added to what is written in the Torah even a single letter, except for the reading of the Scroll [of Esther]. But were there not more? Is it not written, "Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim" (1 Samuel 1:1), and Rabbi Abbahu said: he was one of two hundred Zophim [watchmen/seers] who prophesied to Israel? Indeed there were many, as it was taught: "Many prophets prophesied to Israel, as many as those who came out of Egypt," and some say twice as many as those who came out of Egypt. A prophecy that was needed for [future] generations was written down; a prophecy that was not needed for generations was not written down. Rabbi Samuel bar Nachmani says: [he was] a man who came from two heights [Ramathaim] that face and see one another. Rabbi Chanan said: a man who comes from people who stand at the height of the world. And who are these? The sons of Korah, as it is said, "But the sons of Korah did not die" (Numbers 26:11). And it was taught in the name of our master: a place was fortified for them in Gehinnom, and they stood upon it and sang a song.

Themes

ProphecyRighteousSamuel

Continue Reading

Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends (Landa, 1919)Rashi Foretells a Conqueror Will Reign Three DaysGodfrey de Bouillon had sworn an oath that would not let him sleep. He would not rest, he told his men, until he had wiped the children of Israel from the earthYalkut Shimoni on NachWho Calls Himself a Servant and Whom the Holy One Calls a ServantThe book of Joshua opens with God's announcement that "Moses My servant is dead," and the sages heard in that single word, servant, a quiet ledger of how heavenYalkut Shimoni on NachThose Who Speak and Set Aside the Man of RamathaimThis is a brief cross-reference, the kind of marginal note that holds the great collection together. The Yalkut gathers teachings from across the rabbinic libra2 EnochHow Light And Darkness Were Created2 Enoch turns to How Light And Darkness Were Created. Before anything we can see existed, there were only invisible things. Then God, in His infinite wisdom, deLife of Adam and EveSatanael Refuses to Bow Before AdamSatanael refused to bow. The Life of Adam and Eve imagines the scene on the sixth day of creation. God has formed Adam, breathed life into him, and placed him b1 EnochEnoch's Vision Of GodEnoch, as we learn from 1 Enoch, wasn't just any man. He was righteous, a figure of immense importance in Jewish tradition. And he was granted something extraor