Study Megillah folio 11B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
After mentioning 3 kings who ruled over the world, the Talmud presents a mnemonic for the names of other kings that will be discussed below: Shin, Solomon, i.e., Shlomo; samekh, Sennacherib; dalet, Darius; kaf, Cyrus, i.e., Koresh. The Talmud asks: But is there no other king besides those previo
The Talmud asks: This works out well according to the one who said that Solomon was first a king and then a commoner, never returning to the throne. But according to the one who said that he was first a king and then a commoner, and then afterward he returned again to be a king, what can be said to
The Talmud asks further: But there was Sennacherib, who ruled over the entire world, as it is written: “Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand that YHWH should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” (Isaiah 36:20). The Talmud answers: There
The Talmud continues to ask: But there is Darius, as it is stated: “Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you” (Daniel 6:26). The Talmud answers: There are the 7 provinces over which he did not rule, as it is written: “I
The Talmud raises another question: But there is Cyrus, as it is written: “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: YHWH, God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth” (Ezra 1:2). The Talmud answers: This is not proof that he ruled the world, for there he was merely boasting about himself, al