eem,
was dictated by high moral considerations. It seemed right that the
transgressor should feel the weight of his sin in the suffering that
followed, and that the edge of judgment should not be dulled by a too
easy access to anodyne applications. The reason for stopping the
aqueduct of Gihon is given in 2 Chron. xxxii. 3, 4. The inhabitants of
Jerusalem did the very same thing when the Crusaders besieged the city,
A.D. 1099. Rashi tries to explain why this stratagem was not commended;
the reason he gives is that Hezekiah ought to have trusted God, who had
said (2 Kings xix. 34), "I will defend the city."

Six things are said of the horse:--It is wanton, it delights in the
strife of war, it is high-spirited, it despises sleep, it eats much and
it voids little. There are some that say it would fain kill its own
master.

Ibid., fol. 113, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that there are six sorts of fire:--(1.) Fire that
eats but drinks not, i.e., common fire; (2.) fire that drinks but does
not eat, i.e., a fever; (3.) fire that eats and drinks, i.e., Elijah, as
it is written (1 Kings xviii. 38), "And licked up the water that was in
the trench;" (4.) fire that burns up moist things as soon as dry, i.e.,
the fire on the altar; (5.) fire that counteracts other fire, i.e., like
that of Gabriel; (6.) fire that consumes fire, for the Master has said
(Sanhed., fol. 38, col. 2), "God stretched out His finger among the
angels and consumed them," i.e., by His own essential fire.

_Yoma_, fol. 21, col. 2.

For six months David was afflicted with leprosy; for it is said (Ps. li.
7), "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be
whiter than snow." At that time the Shechinah departed from him; for it
is said (Ps. li. 12), "Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation;" and
the Sanhedrin kept aloof from him, for it is said (Ps. cxix. 79), "Let
those that fear thee turn unto me." That this ailment lasted six months
is proved from 1 Kings ii. 11, where it is said, "And the days that
David reigned over Israel were forty years; seven years he reigned in
Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem;" whereas in 2
Sam. v. 5, it is said, "In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and
six months." The reason why these six months are omitted in Kings is
because during that period he was afflicted with leprosy.

_Sanhedrin_, fol. 107, col. 1.

The tables of stone were six ells long, six broad, and three thick