The Bat Kol & Emperor Caligula

The assasination of Emperor Gaius Caligula (12-41 CE) is found in three Talmudic sources: Talmud Bavli (Sota 33a), Talmud Yerushalmi (Sota 9:13), and the Tosefta (Sota 13). In each source, the death of the Roman emperor is made known (via a Bat Kol) to the Shimon HaTzaddik (Simon the Just), the High Priest in Jerusalem. The only problem is that Shimon HaTzaddik lived around three hundred years prior during the reign of Alexander the Great (died 323 BCE). The question is which one of these names is from the original story (the High Priest or the Emperor) and which was mistakenly added. (See some other sources which also address this problem at the end of the sheet.)

It would seem likely that the main purpose of the story is the relief that came following the death of Gaius Caligula. Which leaves the name of the High Priest to be the victim of a mixup. But a three hundred year mixup seems a bit of a stretch. Instead, it is possible that the change on priest name was intentional. According to Josephus (Antiquitates, xix. 6, §2.), the High Priest in 41 CE was Simon Cantheras (שמעון קנתירס), also known as Simon son of Boethus (שמעון בן ביתוס). We see that while the first name is the same, it is still odd that the mixup would involve a different priest from three hundred years prior. So the reason for the mixup could be explained that Simon Cantheras was a Boethusian (or a Sadducee) and the Talmudic writers would not have wanted to say that a Boethusian/Sadducee priest was privileged to hear a divine voice (Bat Kol). So they replaced the name with Shimon HaTzaddik.

Note: This historical mixup seems to have escaped the early commentaries. For example, Rashi on Sotah seems to assume that the Emperor is Greek (as that is when Shimon HaTzaddik lived). Further confusion could be the result of an abbreviation of Gaius Caligula's name from גַּייֻס גוליקס (Yerushalmi) to גסקלגס (in the Bavli and Tosefta). The Bavli/Tosefta version should be seen as two words (גס קלגס) with the letters of the second word appearing to be jumbled (it should read גס גלקס).

Alternatively, the identity of Shimon HaTzaddik is the stable identity and the Bavli/Tosefta versions which state גסקלגס is a reference to Seleucus (Seleucus I Nicator) who was one of the successors of Alexander the Great. But there are problems with this approach: The names do not match very well (סקילוס vs גסקלגס) and therefore supposes scribal error in any case. The Yerushalmi version (גַּייֻס גוליקס) would be at even greater odds with the Bavli. Finally, Selecus is not known to have a strong opposition against the Jews.

This source below makes note of various textual differences between the Talmudic sources and notes the central historical problem as well (although the solution presented above is not offered here).

This source identifies several additional sources with textual differences and notes the likely connection to the Roman Caligula.