On today’s daf, the Gemara continues its discussion of whether the land of Israel was divided according to those who left Egypt or those who actually entered the land. As we saw yesterday, a beraita taught that two groups forfeited their right to inherit land in Israel: the spies who, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, gave a negative report about the land; and those who joined Korach in rebelling against Moses.
On today’s daf, the Gemara asks how this conclusion was reached:
From where is this matter derived? Ulla said: It is as the verse states: “But Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, lived of those men that went to spy out the land” (Numbers 14:38). What does “lived” mean? If we say literally that they lived, but another verse states: “And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun.” (Numbers 26:65) Rather, what does “lived” mean? That they lived in (the other spies’) portion.
Ulla identifies a redundancy. Having already stated in Numbers 14:38 that Joshua and Caleb were the only two spies to survive, why did the Torah reiterate it in Numbers 25:65? Seemingly, this is to teach us that they lived in the inheritance of the other spies who perished.
The Gemara goes on to analyze the teaching about Korach and his fellow protestors:
(The beraita teaches that) the protesters and the assembly of Korach did not possess a portion of the land of Israel. But isn’t it taught: Spies, protesters and the assembly of Korach, Joshua and Caleb took their portions?
Yesterday’s beraita states that Korach and his assembly simply “did not possess a portion,” which Rashbam says means that the areas that would have gone to them were divided evenly among the rest of the people. But another beraita states that the portions that would have gone to Korach, his allies and the other spies went entirely to Joshua and Caleb.
The Gemara replies:
It is not difficult: One sage juxtaposes the protesters to the spies, and one sage does not juxtapose the protesters to the spies.
The earlier beraita, which claims that Korach and the protestors received no inheritance to begin with, believes these cases are not learned from one another. But the beraita stating that Joshua and Caleb inherited the portion of Korach’s assembly derives its position from a textual juxtaposition of the spies and the complainers. The Gemara then quotes a third beraita to demonstrate where these two case are juxtaposed in the text:
As it is taught: “Our father died in the wilderness,” this is referring to Zelophehad. “And he was not among the assembly,” this is referring to the assembly of spies. “That gathered themselves together against the Lord,” these are the protesters. “In the assembly of Korach,” this is in accordance with its straightforward meaning.
In the Book of Numbers, when the daughters of Zelophehad explain why they’re entitled to their father’s inheritance, they explicitly note that he was not part of the assembly of Korach (which is how we derive that this group didn’t inherit the land). The beraita draws on the superfluity of their language to insist that they were marking their father as separate from the spies, Korach’s immediate assembly, and the protestors, all of whom are grouped together as people who have no inheritance in the land.
The tannaim disagree as to whether this constitutes an explicit juxtaposition. If it does, then the ruling about each group should be identical: Since we know that Joshua and Caleb inherited the land of the other spies, they should also inherit the land of Korach’s assembly. If it doesn’t constitute a juxtaposition, there’s no need to align these rulings. This is the assumption of yesterday’s beraita, which seemingly thinks that while it might be logical for Joshua and Caleb to inherit the land of the other spies, it makes far less sense that they in particular would inherit all the land that might have gone to Korach’s rebellious assembly.
Read all of Bava Batra 118 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on October 21, 2024. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
Help us keep Jewish knowledge accessible to millions of people around the world.
Your donation to My Jewish Learning fuels endless journeys of Jewish discovery. With your help, My Jewish Learning can continue to provide nonstop opportunities for learning, connection and growth.
