Persia, Rome and the Four Kingdoms Motif in the Babylonian Talmud

Abstract

Apocalypses and the classical rabbinic literature are usually treated as two distinct genres with little overlap.1 While the rabbis would surely have been aware of the former, as many apocalyptic works are contemporaneous to them, the near absence of direct reference to apocalypses in their own compositions affirms their fundamentally rejectionist position with regard to this genre as a whole. The four kingdoms apocalyptic prophecy from the book of Daniel was nevertheless an important thematic construct for the rabbis. Yet, even with respect to such an apocalyptic text as this, as we shall be reminded, the rabbis have only a limited appetite. This paper will deal with the relation between Rome and Persia as perceived by the rabbis in light of this four kingdoms motif, focusing on the Babylonian rabbis and examining, in particular, a debate found in the Babylonian Talmud on whether or not Rome would ultimately subdue Persia. The four kingdoms structure plays a major role in numerous rabbinic homilies, being linked to additional verses and subjects. For example, it is applied in the Mekhilta to non-kosher animals. In this tradition, the camel is Babylonia; the hare is Media; the rabbit is Greece and the boar is Rome. Or, alternatively, associations with the covenant of Abram are made via Gen 15:12, “As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram and a great dark dread descended upon him.” This verse is interpreted such that “dread” refers to the