Q&A Potpourri #2: Balaam's Language, Og and Nimrod, and Elisha's Oil
Real questions, submitted by actual OU Torah followers, with their real answers. NOTE: For questions of practical halacha, please consult your own rabbi for guidance.
Q. If Balaam heard in his own language and the Torah records God’s words to Balaam in Hebrew, does that mean the Torah is not literally His words?
A. I have no trouble with the idea that the Torah translates foreign conversations into Hebrew. Do you really think that Pharaoh spoke Hebrew with his astrologers? Or that Balaam spoke Hebrew with Balak and his messengers? Clearly this is not the case. Once we have established that the Torah translates foreign conversations, I don't see why this can't include Balaam's prophecies.
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Q. What is the difference between “Elokim” and “Hashem Elokim?” Both names are used in the Torah in Genesis 1 and 2.
A. "Hashem" is the Name of God that reflects His attribute of mercy; "Elokim" is the Name that reflects His attribute of exacting justice. "Hashem Elokim" refers to justice tempered with mercy. In the context of Genesis, it means that the world really should have been created to run according to strict justice, but God knew that that would be too much for us to handle. Accordingly, He created the world to run according to justice tempered with mercy.
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Q. Do you know the ages of Og and Nimrod at the time of their deaths?
A. Thanks for your very interesting question. I haven't seen anything specific on the subject, but I think we can ballpark the numbers.
Nimrod was the grandson of Noah's son Cham. The flood was in the year 1656 from creation and Nimrod became king in 1788, so let's assume that he was born sometime between 1700 and 1750. We don't know for sure when Nimrod died but there is a midrash that places his death at the same time as Avraham's. If you accept that midrash as history, he would have died in the year 2123. This would have made Nimrod around 400, plus or minus 25 years.
We know exactly when Og died: in the year 2487 from creation. The question is, when was he born? Og is generally accepted to be one of the antediluvian giants whose birth is referred to in Genesis 6:4. That verse appears to take place sometime during the first 500 years of Noah's life, which would place Og's birth somewhere between 1056 and 1556 from creation. Accordingly, Og would have been between 931 and 1,431 years old when he died.
As mentioned, these calculations rely upon midrashic understandings of Og's birth and Nimrod's death. One could also ignore these stories and assume that Nimrod and Og had more conventional lifespans but if we ignore these midrashim, then we really have no information to draw conclusions at all.
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(Referring to Elisha’s miracle of oil in II Kings 4:)
Q. Was the oil considered sanctified since it came from Hashem?
A. No more so than, say, an apple or an orange, which also come from Hashem. (The miracle may not be as obvious in those cases but they're miracles nonetheless.)
Rabbi Jack's latest book, Ask Rabbi Jack, is now available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.