{"id":78510,"date":"2020-08-07T17:35:40","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T14:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=78510"},"modified":"2020-08-09T08:29:46","modified_gmt":"2020-08-09T05:29:46","slug":"the-death-of-sardanapalus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-death-of-sardanapalus\/","title":{"rendered":"The Death of Sardanapalus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Describing the military preparations that preceded the actual battle over Nineveh, Nahum wrote:<\/span><\/p>\n

His warriors\u2019 shields are painted red, and the soldiers are clothed in crimson; the chariots are like flaming torches (<\/span>peladot<\/span><\/em>), on the day they are made ready, the [arrows of] cypress wood are poisoned. The chariots dash about frenzied in the fields, they rush through the meadows, they appear like torches (<\/span>lapidim<\/span><\/em>),* they race like streaks of lightning. (4-5)<\/span><\/p>\n

While Rashi, Eliezer of Beaugency, and Radak identified the warriors as the Babylonian attackers, Kara identified them as the Assyrian defenders. It is Malbim\u2019s commentary, however, that adds a significant, yet idiosyncratic touch. Agreeing in principle with Kara, he wrote:<\/span><\/p>\n

Now he returned to tell of the first destruction of Nineveh in detail. Initially, King Sardanapalus trusted in his many warriors to win a victory to the extent that their shields were painted red\u2014a sign that they would mercilessly spill much blood. The soldiers, too, wore red uniforms\u2014dyed with the blood of worms to symbolize killing and blood. The chariots that were prepared for battle were fired up with torches to give the appearance of brand new, and the spears, made of cypress wood, were anointed with deadly poison.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sardanapalus is the name given by some ancient Greek authors to the last king of Assyria (who, in reality, was Ashur-uballit II). This identification was popularized throughout Europe in the 19<\/span>th<\/span> century through art (a painting by Delacroix), music (Berlioz and Liszt), and literature (Coleridge, Thoreau, and Dickens). Malbim, albeit a staunch and uncompromising defender of Orthodoxy, would appear to have acquired this knowledge by virtue of his wide acquaintance with secular literature. Indeed, it is striking that his interpretation of Lev. 19:18: \u201cLove [for] thy neighbor as [for] thyself,\u201d makes explicit reference to Kant\u2019s formula of Universal Law.<\/span><\/p>\n

*While this translation assumes that <\/span>peladot<\/span><\/em> is a metathesis (alphabetic rearrangement) of <\/span>lapidim<\/span><\/em>, both meaning torches, it is noteworthy that the former is also the source for the modern Hebrew word for steel: <\/span>peladah<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Eug\u00e8ne Delacroix: Death of Sardanapalus, 1827 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":78511,"id":78511,"title":"nah2-death of sardanapolus","filename":"nah2-death-of-sardanapolus.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/nah2-death-of-sardanapolus.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-death-of-sardanapalus\/nah2-death-of-sardanapolus\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"nah2-death-of-sardanapolus","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":78510,"date":"2020-08-07 14:35:27","modified":"2020-08-07 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