skull

And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull.

And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.

And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.

And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

Then said Annas and Caiaphas: Ye have well said those things which are written in the law of Moses, that no man saw the death of Enoch, and no man hath named the death of Moses. But Jesus spake before Pilate, and we know that we saw him receive buffets and spittings upon his face, and that the soldiers put on him a crown of thorns and that he was scourged and received condemnation from Pilate, and that he was crucified at the place of a skull and two thieves with him, and that they gave him vinegar to drink with gall, and that Longinus the soldier pierced his side with a spear, and that Joseph our honourable father begged his body, and that, as he saith, he rose again, and that ( lit. as) the three teachers say: We saw him taken up into heaven, and that Rabbi Levi spake and testified to the things which were spoken by Rabbi Symeon, and that he said: Behold this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign spoken against. And all the teachers said unto all the people of the Lord: If this hath come to pass from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes, ye shall surely know, O house of Jacob, that it is written: Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree. And another scripture teacheth: The gods which made not the heaven and the earth shall perish. And the priests and the Levites said one to another: If his memorial endure until the Sommos which is called Jobel (i. e. the Jubilee), know ye that he will prevail for ever and raise up for himself a new people. Then the rulers of the synagogue and the priests and the Levites admonished all Israel, saying: Cursed is that man who shall worship that which man’s hand hath made, and cursed is the man who shall worship creatures beside the Creator. And all the people said: Amen, Amen. And all the people sang an hymn unto the Lord and said: Blessed be the Lord who hath given rest unto the people of Israel according to all that he spake. There hath not one word fallen to the ground of all his good saying which he spake unto his servant Moses. The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers: let him not forsake us. And let him not destroy us from turning our heart unto him, from walking in all his ways and keeping his statutes and his judgements which he commanded our fathers. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth in that day. And there shall be one Lord and his name one, even the Lord our King: he shall save us. There is none like unto thee, O Lord. Great art thou, O Lord, and great is thy name. Heal us, O Lord, by thy power, and we shall be healed: save us, Lord, and we shall be saved: for we are thy portion and thine inheritance. And the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, for the Lord hath begun to make us to be his people. And when they had all sung this hymn they departed every man to his house, glorifying God. [For his is the glory, world without end. Amen.] Blessed be the Lord God who hath given rest unto all the people of Israel according as he hath said. And let the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. And they went every man to his house praising God.

Concerning whom we testify that the Lord is he who was crucified by Pontius Pilate and Archelaus between the two thieves, and was buried in a place which is called the place of a skull ( Kranion ). And thither went three women, Mary, she that was kin to Martha, and Mary Magdalene, and took ointments to pour upon the body, weeping and mourning over that which was come to pass. And when they drew near to the sepulchre, they looked in and found not the body.

There were in the same city two women, wives of one man, each having a son ill with fever. The one was called Mary, and her son's name was Cleopas. She rose and took up her son, and went to the Lady Mary, the mother of Jesus, and offering her a beautiful mantle, said: O my Lady Mary, accept this mantle, and for it give me one small bandage. Mary did so, and the mother of Cleopas went away, and made a shirt of it, and put it on her son. So he was cured of his disease; but the son of her rival died. Hence there sprung up hatred between them; and as they did the house-work week about, and as it was the turn of Mary the mother of Cleopas, she heated the oven to bake bread; and going away to bring the lump that she had kneaded, she left her son Cleopas beside the oven. Her rival seeing him alone — and the oven was very hot with the fire blazing under it — seized him and threw him into the oven, and took herself off. Mary coming back, and seeing her son Cleopas lying in the oven laughing, and the oven quite cold, as if no fire had ever come near it, knew that her rival had thrown him into the fire. She drew him out, therefore, and took him to the Lady Mary, and told her of what had happened to him. And she said: Keep silence, and tell nobody of the affair; for I am afraid for you if you divulge it. After this her rival went to the well to draw water; and seeing Cleopas playing beside the well, and nobody near, she seized him and threw him into the well, and went home herself. And some men who had gone to the well for water saw the boy sitting on the surface of the water; and so they went down and drew him out. And they were seized with a great admiration of that boy, and praised God. Then came his mother, and took him up, and went weeping to the Lady Mary, and said: O my lady, see what my rival has done to my son, and how she has thrown him into the well; she will be sure to destroy him some day or other. The Lady Mary said to her: God will avenge you upon her. Thereafter, when her rival went to the well to draw water, her feet got entangled in the rope, and she fell into the well. Some men came to draw her out, but they found her skull fractured and her bones broken. Thus she died a miserable death, and in her came to pass that saying: They have dug a well deep, but have fallen into the pit which they had prepared.

For then neither brother pities brother, nor man wife, nor children parents, nor friends friends, nor a slave his master; for he who is the adversary of men shall come up from Tartarus, and shall show men many things. What shall I make of you, Esdras? And will you yet plead with me? And the prophet said: Lord, I shall not cease to plead with You. And God said: Number the flowers of the earth. If you shall be able to number them, you are able also to plead with me. And the prophet said: Lord, I cannot number them. I wear human flesh; but I shall not cease to plead with You. I wish, Lord, to see also the under parts of Tartarus. And God said: Come down and see. And He gave me Michael, and Gabriel, and other thirty-four angels; and I went down eighty-five steps, and they brought me down five hundred steps, and I saw a fiery throne, and an old man sitting upon it; and his judgment was merciless. And I said to the angels: Who is this? And what is his sin? And they said to me: This is Herod, who for a time was a king, and ordered to put to death the children from two years old and under. And I said: Woe to his soul! And again they took me down thirty steps, and I there saw boilings up of fire, and in them there was a multitude of sinners; and I heard their voice, but saw not their forms. And they took me down lower many steps, which I could not measure. And I there saw old men, and fiery pivots turning in their ears. And I said: Who are these? And what is their sin? And they said to me: These are they who would not listen. And they took me down again other five hundred steps, and I there saw the worm that sleeps not, and fire burning up the sinners. And they took me down to the lowest part of destruction, and I saw there the twelve plagues of the abyss. And they took me away to the south, and I saw there a man hanging by the eyelids; and the angels kept scourging him. And I asked: Who is this? And what is his sin? And Michael the commander said to me: This is one who lay with his mother; for having put into practice a small wish, he has been ordered to be hanged. And they took me away to the north, and I saw there a man bound with iron chains. And I asked: Who is this? And he said to me: This is he who said, I am the Son of God, that made stones bread, and water wine. And the prophet said: My lord, let me know what is his form, and I shall tell the race of men, that they may not believe in him. And he said to me: The form of his countenance is like that of a wild beast; his right eye like the star that rises in the morning, and the other without motion; his mouth one cubit; his teeth span long; his fingers like scythes; the track of his feet of two spans; and in his face an inscription, Antichrist. He has been exalted to heaven; he shall go down to Hades. At one time he shall become a child; at another, an old man. And the prophet said: Lord, and how do You permit him, and he deceives the race of men? And God said: Listen, my prophet. He becomes both child and old man, and no one believes him that he is my beloved Son. And after this a trumpet, and the tombs shall be opened, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. Then the adversary, hearing the dreadful threatening, shall be hidden in outer darkness. Then the heaven, and the earth, and the sea shall be destroyed. Then shall I burn the heaven eighty cubits, and the earth eight hundred cubits. And the prophet said: And how has the heaven sinned? And God said: Since...there is evil. And the prophet said: Lord, and the earth, how has it sinned? And God said: Since the adversary, having heard the dreadful threatening, shall be hidden, even on account of this will I melt the earth, and with it the opponent of the race of men. And the prophet said: Have mercy, Lord, upon the race of the Christians. And I saw a woman hanging, and four wild beasts sucking her breasts. And the angels said to me: She grudged to give her milk, but even threw her infants into the rivers. And I saw a dreadful darkness, and a night that had no stars nor moon; nor is there there young or old, nor brother with brother, nor mother with child, nor wife with husband. And I wept, and said: O Lord God, have mercy upon the sinners. And as I said this, there came a cloud and snatched me up, and carried me away again into the heavens. And I saw there many judgments; and I wept bitterly, and said: It is good for a man not to have come out of his mother's womb. And those who were in torment cried out, saying: Since you have come hither, O holy one of God, we have found a little remission. And the prophet said: Blessed are they that weep for their sins. And God said: Hear, O beloved Esdras. As a husbandman casts the seed of the grain into the ground, so also the man casts his seed into the parts of the woman. The first month it is all together; the second it increases in size; the third it gets hair; the fourth it gets nails; the fifth it is turned into milk; and the sixth it is made ready, and receives life; the seventh it is completely furnished; the ninth the barriers of the gate of the woman are opened; and it is born safe and sound into the earth. And the prophet said: Lord, it is good for man not to have been born. Woe to the human race then, when You shall come to judgment! And I said to the Lord: Lord, why have You created man, and delivered him up to judgment? And God said, with a lofty proclamation: I will not by any means have mercy on those who transgress my covenant. And the prophet said: Lord, where is Your goodness? And God said: I have prepared all things for man's sake, and man does not keep my commandments. And the prophet said: Lord, reveal to me the judgments and paradise. And the angels took me away towards the east, and I saw the tree of life. And I saw there Enoch, and Elias, and Moses, and Peter, and Paul, and Luke, and Matthias, and all the righteous, and the patriarchs. And I saw there the keeping of the air within bounds, and the blowing of the winds, and the storehouses of the ice, and the eternal judgments. And I saw there a man hanging by the skull. And they said to me: This man removed landmarks. And I saw there great judgments. And I said to the Lord: O Lord God, and what man, then, who has been born has not sinned? And they took me lower down into Tartarus, and I saw all the sinners lamenting and weeping and mourning bitterly. And I also wept, seeing the race of men thus tormented. Then God says to me: Do you know, Esdras, the names of the angels at the end of the world? Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Gabuthelon, Aker, Arphugitonos, Beburos, Zebuleon.

And Judah hastened and took up a stone from the ground, and with it smote one of them upon the head, and his skull was fractured, and the body also fell from the horse to the ground.

And again he saith, "His sorrow shall return upon his head, and his iniquity upon his forehead" (or, skull).

But a certain prophet, whose name was Micaiah, came to one of the Israelites, and bid him smite him on the head, for by so doing he would please God; but when he would not do so, he foretold to him, that since he disobeyed the commands of God, he should meet with a lion, and be destroyed by him. When that sad accident had befallen the man, the prophet came again to another, and gave him the same injunction; so he smote him, and wounded his skull; upon which he bound up his head, and came to the king, and told him that he had been a soldier of his, and had the custody of one of the prisoners committed to him by an officer, and that the prisoner being run away, he was in danger of losing his own life by the means of that officer, who had threatened him, that if the prisoner escaped he would kill him. And when Ahab had said that he would justly die, he took off the binding about his head, and was known by the king to be Micaiah the prophet, who made use of this artifice as a prelude to his following words; for he said that God would punish him who had suffered Benhadad, a blasphemer against him, to escape punishment; and that he would so bring it about, that he should die by the other's means and his people by the other's army. Upon which Ahab was very angry at the prophet, and gave commandment that he should be put in prison, and there kept; but for himself, he was in confusion at the words of Micaiah, and returned to his own house.

But still Josephus and those with him, although they fell down dead one upon another by the darts and stones which the engines threw upon them, yet did not they desert the wall, but fell upon those who managed the ram, under the protection of the hurdles, with fire, and iron weapons, and stones; and these could do little or nothing, but fell themselves perpetually, while they were seen by those whom they could not see, for the light of their own flame shone about them, and made them a most visible mark to the enemy, as they were in the day time, while the engines could not be seen at a great distance, and so what was thrown at them was hard to be avoided; for the force with which these engines threw stones and darts made them hurt several at a time, and the violent noise of the stones that were cast by the engines was so great, that they carried away the pinnacles of the wall, and broke off the corners of the towers; for no body of men could be so strong as not to be overthrown to the last rank by the largeness of the stones. And any one may learn the force of the engines by what happened this very night; for as one of those that stood round about Josephus was near the wall, his head was carried away by such a stone, and his skull was flung as far as three furlongs. In the day time also, a woman with child had her belly so violently struck, as she was just come out of her house, that the infant was carried to the distance of half a furlong, so great was the force of that engine. The noise of the instruments themselves was very terrible, the sound of the darts and stones that were thrown by them was so also; of the same sort was that noise the dead bodies made, when they were dashed against the wall; and indeed dreadful was the clamor which these things raised in the women within the city, which was echoed back at the same time by the cries of such as were slain; while the whole space of ground whereon they fought ran with blood, and the wall might have been ascended over by the bodies of the dead carcasses; the mountains also contributed to increase the noise by their echoes; nor was there on that night any thing of terror wanting that could either affect the hearing or the sight: yet did a great part of those that fought so hard for Jotapata fall manfully, as were a great part of them wounded. However, the morning watch was come ere the wall yielded to the machines employed against it, though it had been battered without intermission. However, those within covered their bodies with their armor, and raised works over against that part which was thrown down, before those machines were laid by which the Romans were to ascend into the city.

Into forty thousand superior worlds the brightness of the skull of His head is extended, and from the light of this brightness the just shall receive four hundred worlds in the world to come.

Within His skull exist daily thirteen thousand myriads of worlds, which draw their existence from Him, and by Him are upheld.

AND from that skull distilleth a dew upon Him which is external, and filleth His head daily.

THE whiteness of this skull shineth in thirteen carved out sides: in four sides from one portion; in four sides from the part of His countenance; and in four sides from another part of the periphery; and in one above the skull, as if this last might be called the supernal side.

THE whiteness of this skull shineth in thirteen carved out sides: in four sides from one portion; in four sides from the part of His countenance; and in four sides from another part of the periphery; and in one above the skull, as if this last might be called the supernal side.

And from that skull issueth a certain white shining emanation, towards the skull of Microprosopus, for the purpose of fashioning His head; and thence towards the other inferior skulls, which are innumerable.

And from that skull issueth a certain white shining emanation, towards the skull of Microprosopus, for the purpose of fashioning His head; and thence towards the other inferior skulls, which are innumerable.

And all the skulls reflect this shining whiteness towards the Ancient of Days, when they are numbered out of their mingled confusion. And by reason of this there existeth herein an opening towards the skull below, when they proceed to numeration.

IN the hollow of the skull is the aérial membrane of the supreme hidden Wisdom, which is nowhere disclosed; and it is not found, and it is not opened.

THIS is the tradition. From the skull of His head hang down a thousand thousand myriads; seven thousand and five hundred curling hairs, white and pure, like as wool when it is pure; which have not been mingled confusedly together lest inordinate disorder should be shown in His conformation; but all are in order, so that no one lock may go beyond another lock, nor one hair before another.

And in all the hairs is a fountain, which issueth from the hidden brain behind the wall of the skull.

And each curl radiateth and hangeth down arranged in beautiful form, and adorned with ornament, and they enshroud the skull.

But the curls of the hair are disposed on each side of the skull.

Thirteen curls of hair exist on the one side and on the other of the skull; (they are) about His face, and through them commenceth the division of the hair.

THE forehead of His skull is the acceptation of acceptations, whereunto is opposed the acceptation of Microprosopus, like as it is written, Exod. xxviii. 38: “And it shall be upon His forehead alway for acceptation,” &c.

And that forehead is called RTzVN, Ratzon, Will-power, because it is the ruler of the whole head and of the skull, which is covered by four hundred and twenty worlds.

And the spark subsisted, and waited until the pure air went forth which involved it around; and an ultimate extension having been made, He produced a certain hard skull (bounded) on four sides.

And therefore is that skull expanded in its sides; and that air is the most concealed attribute of the Ancient of Days.

In the spirit which is hidden in that skull there are expanded fire on the one side and air on the other. And the subtle air is whirled about it from this side, and the subtle fire is whirled about it from that side.

And rigour or judgment is found therefrom; and therefore it is called the hard skull.

Within that skull are nine thousand myriads of worlds, which receive the influx from it, and are at peace above it.

In that skull distilleth the dew from the White Head, which is ever filled therewith; and from that dew are the dead raised unto life.

This skull shineth in two colours toward this side and toward that.

And from that subtle air, from the skull, there are expanded in His countenance one hundred and fifty myriads of worlds; and therefore is He called Zauir Aphin (or Anpin), Microprosopus, the Lesser Countenance.

And from that skull there is a place of exit in one place unto those which are below; and they reflect His light towards the Ancient of Days, when they ascend in numeration beneath the wand.

Therefore is His skull cleft beneath, when (the inferiors) ascend in numeration, and from this cleavage a reflection of light ariseth toward the Ancient of Days.

IN the cavities of the skull three hollow places are found, wherein is located the brain.

Also we have learned that in the three hollow places of the skull the brain is contained.

Out of the first cavity proceedeth a certain fountain of the brain in four directions, and it goeth forth from the skull, in whose cavity are contained those thirty-two paths which are the spirits of wisdom.

WE have learned that from the skull of His head (i.e., of Microprosopus) hang one thousand times a thousand myriad myriads of locks of black hair, and they are intertwined together each to the other, and they are mingled together.

For from the fountain of one cavity of the skull proceedeth the hair, and it becomes curls upon curls (formed), from the fountains proceeding from that cavity.

And therefore are those locks so curling, and all the progeny of them is produced from the three cavities of the brain of the skull.

THE forehead of the skull is the inspection of inspection, and it is not uncovered, except in that time when it is necessary to visit sinners for the purpose of examining their deeds.

(Assuredly) “there are three (forms of the) brain in Microprosopus, and they are found in the three cavities of the skull of His head.

“Until they can make openings in the skull, and the fountains can flow down beneath the locks, those strong fountains flow forth in separate directions, and in separate ways.

“For we see that in Him three forms of the brain are found in the three cavities (of the skull), which shine forth from the hidden and concealed brain.

And if thou shalt say: “Also these are found (symbolized) in the three cavities of the skull.”

THE skull of the White Head hath not beginning, but its end is the convexity of its joining together, which is extended, and shineth.

And from this convexity of the joining together of this White Skull daily distilleth a dew into Microprosopus, into that place which is called Heaven; and in that very place shall the dead be raised to life in the time to come.

He, the Most Holy Ancient One, is hidden and concealed, and in that Skull is the Supernal Wisdom concealed, who is found and who is not found.

One (path) which shineth in the midst of the hairs going forth from the Skull, is that path by whose light the just are led into the world to come.

Wherefore do they hang behind? For the purpose of establishing the Inferior Yod. (Otherwise, assuredly from the Skull, from the Forehead, from the Eyes, do they depend. And the Yod Maternal dependeth towards the Inferior Yod.)

AND when both can be conjoined and bound together mutually (i.e., the Father and the Mother), there proceedeth thenceforth a certain hard Skull.

Into this skull (of Microprosopus) distilleth the dew from the White Head (of Macroprosopus), and covereth it.

And from this dew of this Skull is the manna prepared for the just in the world to come.

Nine thousand myriads of worlds receive influence from and are upheld by that GVLGLThA, Golgeltha, Skull.

In the hollow of the Skull (of Microprosopus) shine three lights. And although thou canst call them three, yet notwithstanding are there four, as we have before said.

After that these are united together after a certain manner they shine, and go forth into the Three Cavities of the Skull.

From the skull of the Head (of Microprosopus) depend all those chiefs and leaders (otherwise, all those thousands and tens of thousands), and also from the locks of the hair.

And hence all the regions which proceed from the Three Cavities of the Skull are mingled mutually together, as well pure as impure, and all those accents and mysteries are as well hidden as manifest.

And since all the Brains have a secret connection with the ears of Tetragrammaton, in the same way as they shine in the crown of the Head, and enter into the hollow places of the Skull.

The forehead of the Skull (of Microprosopus) is the forehead for visiting sinners (otherwise, for rooting out sinners).

It commenceth from the beginning of the skull, and it is extended throughout the whole body, through the breast, and through the arms, and through all the other parts.

Unto His back adhereth closely a Ray of most vehement Splendour, and it flameth forth and formeth a certain skull, concealed on every side.

But they all come from the supernal head of the Male skull, from that portion of the supernal brain wherein they reside.

And Shem took the body of Adam and Melchisedek, and went forth by night from among his people, and behold, the Angel of the Lord, who was going before them, appeared unto them. And their journey was very speedy, because the Angel of the Lord strengthened them until they arrived at that place. And when they arrived at Gaghtlta (Golgotha), which is the centre of the earth, the Angel of the Lord showed Shem the place [for the body of Adam]. And when Shem had deposited the body of our father Adam upon that place, the four quarters [of the earth] separated themselves from each other, and the earth opened itself in the form of a cross, and Shem and Melchisedek deposited the body of Adam there (i.e. in the cavity).. And as soon as they had laid it therein, the four quarters [of the earth] drew quickly together, and enclosed the body of our father Adam, and the door of the created world was shut fast. And that place was called “ Karkaphta ”’ (i.e. ‘‘ Skull”), because the head of all the children of men was deposited there. And it was called “‘ Gaghilta,” because it was round [like the head], and “ Resiphta” (i.e. a troddendown thing), because the head of the accursed serpent, that is to Say, Satan, was crushed there, and “ Gefifta’’ (Gabbatha), because all the nations were to be gathered together to it.

Adam’s skull laid. After God had formed Adam outside Paradise, He brought him in as a king, and made him king over all the creatures, and commanded him to give a name to each of them. God did not gather together unto Adam all cattle, nor (all) that swim in the sea, nor (all) the birds of the air, that he might give them names; but he received dominion and power over them to make use of them as he pleased, and to give them names, as a master to his slaves. And when God had brought him into Paradise, He commanded him to till it and to guard it. Why did God say ‘to till it and to guard it ’? — for Paradise needed no guarding, and was adorned with fruit of all kinds, and there was none to injure it — unless it were to exhort him to keep His commandments, and to till it that he might not become a lover of idleness. Because Adam had not seen his own formation, and was not acquainted with the power of his Maker, it was necessary that, when Eve was taken from him in his own likeness, he should perceive his Maker, and should acknowledge that He who made Eve also made him, and that they two were bound to be obedient to Him.

"And after this the servitors seal them one to the other with all the seals which the rulers have given them. [And] they seal the day on which they have taken up their abode in the womb of the woman,--they seal [it] on the left hand of the plasm; and they seal the day on which they have completed the body, on the right hand; and they seal the day on which the rulers have handed it over to them, on the middle of the skull of the body of the plasm; and they seal the day on which the soul hath come forth out of the rulers, they seal it on the [left of] the skull of the plasm; and they seal the day on which they kneaded the members and separated them for a soul, they seal it on the right of the skull of the plasm; and the day on which they have bound the counterfeiting spirit to it [the soul], they seal on the back of the skull of the plasm; and the day on which the rulers have breathed the power into the body, they seal on the brain which is in the midst of the head of the plasm and also on the inside [? the heart] of the plasm; and the number of years which the soul will spend in the body, they seal on the forehead which is on the plasm. And so they seal all those seals on the plasm. I will tell you the names of all these seals at the expansion of the universe; and after the expansion of the universe I will tell you wherefor all hath come to pass. And, if ye could understand it, I am that mystery.

"And after this the servitors seal them one to the other with all the seals which the rulers have given them. [And] they seal the day on which they have taken up their abode in the womb of the woman,--they seal [it] on the left hand of the plasm; and they seal the day on which they have completed the body, on the right hand; and they seal the day on which the rulers have handed it over to them, on the middle of the skull of the body of the plasm; and they seal the day on which the soul hath come forth out of the rulers, they seal it on the [left of] the skull of the plasm; and they seal the day on which they kneaded the members and separated them for a soul, they seal it on the right of the skull of the plasm; and the day on which they have bound the counterfeiting spirit to it [the soul], they seal on the back of the skull of the plasm; and the day on which the rulers have breathed the power into the body, they seal on the brain which is in the midst of the head of the plasm and also on the inside [? the heart] of the plasm; and the number of years which the soul will spend in the body, they seal on the forehead which is on the plasm. And so they seal all those seals on the plasm. I will tell you the names of all these seals at the expansion of the universe; and after the expansion of the universe I will tell you wherefor all hath come to pass. And, if ye could understand it, I am that mystery.

"And after this the servitors seal them one to the other with all the seals which the rulers have given them. [And] they seal the day on which they have taken up their abode in the womb of the woman,--they seal [it] on the left hand of the plasm; and they seal the day on which they have completed the body, on the right hand; and they seal the day on which the rulers have handed it over to them, on the middle of the skull of the body of the plasm; and they seal the day on which the soul hath come forth out of the rulers, they seal it on the [left of] the skull of the plasm; and they seal the day on which they kneaded the members and separated them for a soul, they seal it on the right of the skull of the plasm; and the day on which they have bound the counterfeiting spirit to it [the soul], they seal on the back of the skull of the plasm; and the day on which the rulers have breathed the power into the body, they seal on the brain which is in the midst of the head of the plasm and also on the inside [? the heart] of the plasm; and the number of years which the soul will spend in the body, they seal on the forehead which is on the plasm. And so they seal all those seals on the plasm. I will tell you the names of all these seals at the expansion of the universe; and after the expansion of the universe I will tell you wherefor all hath come to pass. And, if ye could understand it, I am that mystery.

"And after this the servitors seal them one to the other with all the seals which the rulers have given them. [And] they seal the day on which they have taken up their abode in the womb of the woman,--they seal [it] on the left hand of the plasm; and they seal the day on which they have completed the body, on the right hand; and they seal the day on which the rulers have handed it over to them, on the middle of the skull of the body of the plasm; and they seal the day on which the soul hath come forth out of the rulers, they seal it on the [left of] the skull of the plasm; and they seal the day on which they kneaded the members and separated them for a soul, they seal it on the right of the skull of the plasm; and the day on which they have bound the counterfeiting spirit to it [the soul], they seal on the back of the skull of the plasm; and the day on which the rulers have breathed the power into the body, they seal on the brain which is in the midst of the head of the plasm and also on the inside [? the heart] of the plasm; and the number of years which the soul will spend in the body, they seal on the forehead which is on the plasm. And so they seal all those seals on the plasm. I will tell you the names of all these seals at the expansion of the universe; and after the expansion of the universe I will tell you wherefor all hath come to pass. And, if ye could understand it, I am that mystery.

For which types of defilement must the nazirite shave? For [defilement contracted from] a corpse, or an olive’s bulk of [the flesh of] a corpse, or an olive’s bulk of corpse ooze, or a ladleful of corpse-mould; Or the spinal column, or the skull, or any limb [severed] from a corpse, or any limb [severed] from a living body that is still properly covered with flesh, or a half-kav of bones, or a half-log of blood. Whether [the defilement was contracted] from contact with them, from carrying them, or from overshadowing them. For [defilement contracted from] a barley-grain’s bulk of bone, whether by contact or carrying. On account of these, a nazirite must shave and be sprinkled on the third and seventh days, and such [defilement] annuls the previously served period, and he does not begin to count a new [naziriteship] until he has become clean and brought his sacrifices.

If one steals the sacred vessel called a “kasvah” (Numbers 4:7), or cursed by the name of an idol, or has sexual relations with an Aramean (non-Jewish) woman, he is punished by zealots. If a priest performed the temple service while impure, his fellow priests do not bring him to the court, but rather the young priests take him out into the courtyard and split his skull with clubs. A layman who performed the service in the Temple: Rabbi Akiva says: “He is strangled.” But the Sages say: “[His death is] at the hands of heaven.”

Moreover he saw a skull floating on the face of the water. He said to it: because you drowned others, they drowned you. And in the end, they that drowned you will be drowned.

And the following [defects] do not render cattle terefah: If the windpipe was pierced, or cracked [lengthwise]. To what extent may it be deficient? Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: up to an Italian issar. If the skull was cracked but the membrane of the brain was not pierced; If the heart was pierced but not as far as its cavity; If the spine was broken but the cord was not severed; If the liver was removed but an olive's size of it remained. If the omasum or the third stomach were pierced at their juncture; If the spleen was removed, or the kidneys, or the lower jaw-bone or the womb. If [the lung] was shrunken up by an act of Heaven. If an animal was stripped of its hide: Rabbi Meir declares it valid, but the rabbis declare it invalid.

These things defile by overshadowing: a corpse, an olive-sized [portion of flesh] of a corpse, an olive-sized [portion] of nezel, a ladleful of corpse-mold, the spine or the skull, [a] full limb of a corpse, or [a full] limb [severed] from a living person with the appropriate amount of flesh, a quarter [of a kav] of bones from the structural majority or numerical majority, and the structural majority or numerical majority [of the bones] of a corpse even though they do not amount to a quarter [of a kab]; [all these] are unclean. How many [bones] form the numerical majority? One hundred and twenty-five.

The following defile by contact and carriage but not by overshadowing: A bone of barleycorn size, Earth from a foreign country, A bet peras, A limb of a corpse, or a limb [severed] from a living person which has no longer its appropriate flesh, A spine or a skull which is deficient. How much is [considered] a deficiency in the spine? Bet Shammai say: two vertebrae, But Bet Hillel say: even one vertebra. And in the skull? Bet Shammai say: [the size of a] hole [made] by a drill, But Bet Hillel say: as much as would be taken from a living person and he would die. Of what drill did they speak? Of the small one [used] by physicians, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: of the large one in the Temple-chamber.

The following defile by contact and carriage but not by overshadowing: A bone of barleycorn size, Earth from a foreign country, A bet peras, A limb of a corpse, or a limb [severed] from a living person which has no longer its appropriate flesh, A spine or a skull which is deficient. How much is [considered] a deficiency in the spine? Bet Shammai say: two vertebrae, But Bet Hillel say: even one vertebra. And in the skull? Bet Shammai say: [the size of a] hole [made] by a drill, But Bet Hillel say: as much as would be taken from a living person and he would die. Of what drill did they speak? Of the small one [used] by physicians, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: of the large one in the Temple-chamber.

A backbone or a skull [made up from the bones] of two corpses, A quarter [of a log] of blood from two corpses, A quarter [of a kav] of bones from two corpses, A limb of a corpse from two corpses, And a limb [severed] from a living person, [such a limb being made up] from two persons, Rabbi Akiva declares [the all] unclean But the sages declare them clean.

For an olive-sized portion of a corpse, an opening [in the room in which it is found] of one handbreadth [square], and for a [whole] corpse, an opening of four handbreadths [square, is enough] to prevent the uncleanness from [spreading to the other] openings; But for allowing the uncleanness to go out, an opening of one handbreadth [square is enough]. [A portion] greater than the size of an olive is as a [whole] corpse. Rabbi Yose says: [only] the spine and the skull are as a [whole] corpse.

So we find that Rebbi Aqiba disagreed with the Sages and did not act upon his opinion. As we have stated there (Mishnah Ahilot 2:6): “Spine and skull from two dead bodies, a limb composed of limbs of two dead bodies, limbs taken from two living persons, Rebbi Aqiba declares them to be impure and the Sages declare them to be pure.” We have stated: “It happened that they brought a chest full of bones from Kefar Tabi to Lod and deposited it in the open air [the courtyard] of the synagogue. Theodoros the physician entered and with him all physicians. Theodoros declared that there was no complete spine from one dead person and no complete skull from one dead person. They said: Since we have here some who declare this pure and others who declare it impure, let us vote upon it. They started with Rebbi Aqiba and he declared it to be pure. They said: Since you had declared it impure, but now you vote for it to be pure, it is pure.”

So we find that Rebbi Aqiba disagreed with the Sages and did not act upon his opinion. As we have stated there (Mishnah Ahilot 2:6): “Spine and skull from two dead bodies, a limb composed of limbs of two dead bodies, limbs taken from two living persons, Rebbi Aqiba declares them to be impure and the Sages declare them to be pure.” We have stated: “It happened that they brought a chest full of bones from Kefar Tabi to Lod and deposited it in the open air [the courtyard] of the synagogue. Theodoros the physician entered and with him all physicians. Theodoros declared that there was no complete spine from one dead person and no complete skull from one dead person. They said: Since we have here some who declare this pure and others who declare it impure, let us vote upon it. They started with Rebbi Aqiba and he declared it to be pure. They said: Since you had declared it impure, but now you vote for it to be pure, it is pure.”

From where about marks? Rebbi Berekhiah, Rebbi Jacob the son of the daughter of Jacob, in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran. Rebbi Yose said it in the name of Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran. Rebbi Ḥizqiah, Rebbi Uziel the son of Rebbi Onias from Hauran in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran (Lev. 13:45): “impure, impure, he shall call out;” the impurity itself has to call out and say to you: go away! Rebbi Hila in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman (Ez. 39:15): “The emissaries shall crisscross the land; if one sees a bone of a human he builds a sign near it.” [A bone,] from here that one makes signs for bones. A human, from here that one makes signs for spine and skull. He builds, from here that one makes signs on fixed stones. If you say on loose ones, it would move and make other places impure. Near it, on a place of purity. A sign, from here the marks.

The colleagues in the name of Rebbi Abba bar Zavda: Anything inside of the lips one heals on the Sabbath. Rebbi Ze‘ira objected, did we not state: “One whose teeth are aching may not sip vinegar,”? Is this not inside from the lips? [Rebbi Ze‘ira] did not say so, but Rebbi Ze‘ira in the name of Rebbi Abba bar Zavda: Anything inside a body cavity one heals on the Sabbath. Rebbi Ze‘ira, Rebbi Abba bar Zuṭra, Rebbi Ḥanina in the name of Rebbi: One treats the bone of the skull on the Sabbath. Rebbi Ḥiyya the Mede, Rebbi Jona, Rebbi Ze‘ira, Rebbi Abba bar Zuṭra, Rebbi Ḥanina in the name of Rebbi: One treats glands of the throat on the Sabbath. Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: One treats an infected eye on the Sabbath. There, they say in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Tops of hands and feet are a danger. Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Red color is dangerous. Rebbi Abin said, one removes the sting of a scorpion on the Sabbath. Rav said, wine for exterior treatment of the eye is permitted, inside the eye it is forbidden. Samuel said, tasteless spittle is forbidden for the eye on the Sabbath From this you infer for lichen. The rabbis of Caesarea said, ranula is dangerous. Rebbi Ḥizqiah from Acco in the name of the rabbis of Caesarea: spider sickness is dangerous. Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac: gangrene is dangerous. Rebbi Jeremiah said, one can put sour dough on it on Passover. A boil is permitted. Rebbi Yose said, the Mishnah says this: “A small needle to remove a thorn.” Otherwise, what is the difference between a thorn and a boil? Darkening of the eye, they asked Rebbi Jeremiah. He told them, is not Rebbi Abba available for you? They asked Rebbi Abba who permitted. He told them, also I am permitting it.

They wanted to say, in the rabbi’s opinion it is not clear; in Rabban Gamliel’s opinion it is clear. Rebbi Jeremiah said in the name of Rebbi Samuel: They estimated to say, up to the place where it can be placed on the top of the head. For how many is there space? Two. Then even on weekdays? Rebbi Ḥaggai said, if he wants to put there, he puts. Rebbi Zeriqa said, Rav Hamnuna explained to me, up to the place where the baby’s brain is soft. There we have stated: “About a chicken which was stoned in Jerusalem because it had killed a person.” It saw that the skull of the baby was soft; it went and picked it.

Some Tannaïm state: One intercalates the year because of impurity. Some Tannaïm state: One does not intercalate the year because of impurity. He who says, one does not intercalate, how does he uphold: for they ate the Passover contrary to what is written? They intercalated in Nisan but only Adar can be intercalated. This follows what Rebbi Simon bar Zavdi said: they found the skull of Ornan the Yebusite under the altar.

From where about marks? Rebbi Berekhiah, Rebbi Jacob the son of the daughter of Jacob, in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran. Rebbi Yose said it, Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran. Rebbi Ḥizqiah, Rebbi Uziel the son of Rebbi Onias from Hauran in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran: impure, impure, he shall call out; the impurity itself has to call out and say to you: go away! Rebbi Hila in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: The emissaries shall crisscross the land; if one sees a bone of a human he builds a sign near it. {A bone}, from here that one makes signs for bones. A human, from here that one makes signs for spine and skull. He builds, from here that one makes signs on fixed stones. If you say on loose ones, it would move and make other places impure. Near it, on a place of purity. A sign, from here the marks.

Rebbi Ze`ira, Rav Ḥananel in the name of Rav: Its sewing is practice of Moses from Sinai. Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac: the knots of Tefillin are practice of Moses from Sinai. A Tefillin strip of Rebbi Jeremiah broke; he asked Rebbi Abba bar Mamal who said to him, and you stall tie them, even simple tying. Rebbi Ze`ira’s wall of the strip broke. He asked Rav Huna and Rav Qatina, and they permitted him. It broke a second time and they permitted him, not from what they had learned. Rebbi Abba the son of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: The practice is that he who sews must leave space on top and bottom so it should not tear. They hit him on the skull, if it is practice why “should not tear”? And if “should not tear” why practice? It is practice of Moses from Sinai that one write on leather, and write with ink, and rule with a ruler, and ties with hair, and patches with a patch, and glues with glue, and sews with sinews. As he sews, he has to sew this stitch. One needs to leave between line and line the width of a line, between word and word the width of a letter, between letter and letter something, between column and column a thumb-width. If he made the end of the column equal to its beginning he disqualified it. One must leave on the top of the scroll {a margin of} two finger-breadths and at the bottom three. Rebbi says, in the Torah at the top three and at the bottom a hand-breadth. Between book and book one has to leave four lines empty, in the Twelve Prophets three. One has to end in the middle of a column and start in its middle; but for a Prophet he ends at the bottom and starts at the top; but for the Twelve Prophets it is forbidden. One makes no sheet less than three columns and none more than eight. That you are saying, at the start. But at the end even a little; and for parchment the Sages did not give any size.

From where about marks? Rebbi Berekhiah, Rebbi Jacob the son of the daughter of Jacob, in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran. Rebbi Yose said it, Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran. Rebbi Ḥizqiah, Rebbi Uziel the son of Rebbi Onias from Hauran in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran: impure, impure, he shall call out; the impurity itself has to call out and say to you: go away! Rebbi Hila in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: The emissaries shall crisscross the land; if one sees a bone of a human he builds a sign near it A bone, from here that one makes signs for bones. A human, from here that one makes signs for spine and skull. He builds, from here that one makes signs on fixed stones. If you say on loose ones, it would move and make other places impure. Near it, on a place of purity. A sign, from here the marks. If one found a single marked stone, even though one should not keep it so, if somebody forms a tent over it he is impure; I say a marked corpse was under it. If there were two, he who forms a tent over any one of them is pure; between them he is impure. If between them was a ploughed strip they are single stones, between them the area is pure and around them impure. It was stated: “One does not mark flesh, for perhaps it will decompose.” Rebbi Justus bar Shunem asked before Rebbi Mana: Will that not cause pure food to be retroactively made impure? He said to him, it is better that these should become unusable for a limited time than that {the place} become unusable forever.

HALAKHAH: “The decree of seven”, sandal and soap. “The decree of thirty,” mending, and pressing, and shaving. What is pressing? New pressed woolen garments, and pressed white linen garments. Rebbi Ḥelbo, Rav Ḥuna in the name of Rav: If his eighth day fell on a Sabbath, he shaves on Friday. How is this possible? Explain it if he had been dragged away by a wild animal and they gave up hope to look after him. It was stated thus: When do you start to count for somebody who was dragged away by a wild animal? When they gave up hope to look after him. If they found separate limbs of him one counts when his head and most of his body had been found. Rebbi Jehudah says, spine and skull form the majority. Rebbi Abun said, explain it that the cover plate was laid Friday evening at the start of darkness. How is this possible? Rebbi Aḥa said, explain it if it was closed by a Gentile. Some wanted to say that he received a current notice on the Sabbath.

There, they say: The prophet Haggai asked two questions; one they answered correctly and one incorrectly. “Assume a man carries holy meat in the corner of his garment.” The corner is of primary impurity, the holy meat of second degree, bread and soup of third degree, wine, oil, and food of the fourth. Does there exist a fourth degree of impurity for sanctified food? “The Cohanim answered, and said: No.” They did not answer correctly, since there is a fourth degree of impurity for sanctified food. “Ḥaggai said, if a person impure by the impurity of the dead would touch all of these, would they be impure?” If the corner would be impure by the impurity of the dead and touched these. Would it be impure? “The Cohanim answered and said, it would be impure.” They answered correctly. But Rebbi Jeremiah, Rebbi Ḥiyya said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: He asked them before they decided about fourth degree [impurity] for sanctified food. Then why did he curse them? As a person who looks for a pretext against his neighbor. What difference does it make for the House? Is that not what he said: “What they are sacrificing there is impure”? That is what Rebbi Simon bar Zavdi said, they found the skull of Oman the Jebusite under the altar.

Rebbi Tanḥuma, Rebbi Phineas, in the name of Rebbi Levi: He asked them about the fifth degree of sanctified food. “Assume a man carries holy meat in the corner of his garment.” The corner is of primary impurity, the holy meat of second degree, bread and soup third, wine and oil fourth, and the food of the fifth degree. Does there exist fifth degree impurity for sanctified food? “The Cohanim answered, and said: No.” They did answer correctly, since there is no fifth degree impurity for sanctified food. Then why did he curse them? As a person who looks for a pretext against his neighbor. What difference does it make for the House? Is that not what Rebbi Simon bar Zavdi said, they found the skull of Ornan the Jebusite under the altar.

From where about marks? Rebbi Berekhiah, Rebbi Jacob the son of the daughter of Jacob, in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran. Rebbi Yose said it in the name of Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran. Rebbi Ḥizqiah, Rebbi Uziel the son of Rebbi Onias from Hauran in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran (Lev. 13:45): “impure, impure, he shall call out;” the impurity itself has to call out and say to you: go away! Rebbi Hila in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman (Ez. 39:15): “The emissaries shall crisscross the land; if one sees a bone”, from here that one makes markers for bones. A human, from here that one makes markers for spine and skull. He builds, from here that one makes markers on fixed stones. If you say on loose stones, it would move and make other places impure. Near it, on a place of purity. A marker, from here the marks.

It was stated: “One does not intercalate for a year because of impurity; Rebbi Jehudah says, one does, since we find that Hezekia intercalated because of impurity, as it was said: ‘For most of the people, etc.’ Rebbi Simeon said, even though they intercalated in Nisan, only Adar was intercalated. Rebbi Simeon ben Jehudah said in the name of Rebbi Simeon, Hezekia forced the multitude to celebrate the Second Passover.” Some Tannaïm state: One intercalates for the year because of impurity. Some Tannaïm state: One does not intercalate. He who says, one does not intercalate, from the following: “For they ate the pesaḥ not as it was written.” How does the one who says one does intercalate, explain “for they ate the pesaḥ”? They intercalated in Nisan but only Adar was intercalated. This follows what Rebbi Simon bar Zavdi said, they found the skull of Oman the Jebusite under the altar.

MISHNAH: The nazir shaves for the following impurities: For a corpse, for flesh in the volume of an olive of a corpse, and for the volume of an olive of decayed matter from a corpse, and for a spoonful of decay, for the spine and for the skull, for a limb from a corpse or a limb from the living on which there is sufficient flesh, for half a qab of bones, and for half a log of blood, if they are touched, or carried, or under a tent. Also for a bone in the volume of a barley grain if it is touched, or carried, (or under a tent.) For these, the nazir shaves, he sprinkles on the third and seventh [days], he disregards the preceding days and starts to count only after he purifies himself and brings all his sacrifices.

Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar said, it was formulated following Rebbi Simeon, as it was stated: The spine and the skull are impure even if crushed, even disconnected, because the grave unites them as “a human in a tent”.

Some Tannaïm state: One intercalates because of impurity. Some Tannaïm state: One does not intercalate. He who says, one does not intercalate, from the following: for they ate the Passover contrary to what is written. How does the one who says one does not intercalate, explain contrary to what is written? They intercalated in Nisan but one intercalates only in Adar. This follows what Rebbi Simon bar Zavdi said: they found the skull of Ornan the Yebusite under the altar.