AZARIAH

AZARIAH (early fourth century c.e.), Palestinian amora. He is believed to have been the pupil of R. *Mana, in whose name he transmitted halakhot (e.g., tj, Shab. 7:1, 9b). Some scholars have identified him with the amora Ezra, but erroneously, since they flourished in different generations. Azariah is often quoted in the aggadah of the Palestinian Talmud and even more often in midrashic literature where he transmits aggadot in the names of R. *A?a (Gen. R. 39:6), R. *Joshua b. Levi (Gen. R. 15:7), and Yudan b. Simeon (Gen. R. 39:8).

Azariah himself was a prolific and versatile aggadist. He explains the verse "As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons" (Song 2:3): As the apple ripens only in the month of Sivan, so Israel emitted a sweet fragrance in the month of Sivan (i.e., at the giving of the Torah at Sinai); and as there are 50 days between the budding and the ripening of its fruit, so did Israel take 50 days between the Exodus and the giving of the Torah (Song R., to 2:3). In the word ?????? (eshel, "tamarisk"), which Abraham planted at Beer-Sheba (Geb. 21:33), Azariah sees an allusion to the three duties of hospitality toward guests, who must be provided with food (????????; akhilah), drink (?????????; shetiyyah), and escort (???????, levayah; Mid. Ps. 110:1, ed. Buber, 465, n. 4). The reading "lodging" (??????; linah) for the last does not appear in ancient texts.

bibliography:

Bacher, Pal Amor; Hyman, Toledot, 980.