Raisings of the dead were attributed to some rabbis.
Leviticus Rabbah 10 (111D): “Take Aaron and his sons with him” (Lev
8:2). This is also what “Save those who are carried away to death, and stop it
when the people stumble to slaughter!” (Prov 24:11) means. Antoninus came to
Rabbi; he met him as he sat there and his students were before him. Antoninus
said to him, “Are they the ones you speak so boastfully about?” He answered,
“Yes אִין! The smallest among them can raise the
dead.” After a few days a servant of Antoninus became sick to death. Antoninus
sent Rabbi word, “Send me one of your students so that he may make this dead
man live again for me!” He sent him one of his students; some say that it was
R. Simeon b. Halapta (ca. 190). The latter went and found the servant stretched
out. He said to him, “Why do you lie stretched out while your master stands on
his feet?” Immediately he moved and stood up. ‖ Babylonian Talmud ʿAbodah Zarah
10B: Antoninus had a subterranean pathway that led from his house to the house
of Rabbi. Every day he took two servants; he killed the one at the door of
Rabbi’s house, and the other he killed at the door of his own house; he said to
Rabbi, “At the time when I come, no one should be found at your house (so that
the meetings might remain secret).” One day he met R. Hanina b. Hama (ca. 225)
at his house. Then Antoninus said, “Did I not tell you, ‘At the time when I
come, no one should be found at your house?’ ” Rabbi answered, “This is no
man בר
אינש (literally: son of a man).”
He said, “(Then) tell the servant who lies at your door to rise and come.” R.
Hanina b. Hama went and found him dead. Then he said, “How should I do it? If I
go and tell him that he is dead, one should not bring a message of misfortune;
if I leave him and go away, we would disparage the government.” Then he pled
for mercy for him and made him alive ואחייה
and sent him in. Then Antoninus said, “I know well that the least who is in
your midst makes the dead alive מחיה מתים;
all the same, at the time when I come, no one should be found in your house.” ‖
Babylonian Talmud Megillah 7B: Raba († 352) said, “One is obligated to get
intoxicated on Purim until he cannot differentiate between, ‘Cursed be Haman!’
and ‘Blessed be Mordecai!’ ” Rabbah († 330) and R. Zeira celebrated the
Purim meal together. Rabbah became intoxicated and slaughtered R. Zeira. On the
next day he pled for mercy and made him alive (again) ואחייה. One year later, he said to him, “May the Lord come so that we
may celebrate the Purim meal together.” He answered him, “A miracle does not
happen all the time!” (Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, A
Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Midrash, ed. Jacob N.
Cerone, 4 vols. [trans. Andrew Bowden and Joseph Longarino; Bellingham, Wash.:
Lexham Press, 2022], 1:630)
11:44 A: The dead man came out.
On raising the dead by the rabbis, see § Matt 10:8 A. Here, we should
mention b. B. Qam. 117A: R. Yohanan († 279) saw that Rab Kahana’s lips were
locked apart. He thought he was laughing at him. His mind was weakened (by
anger), and the soul (of Rab Kahana) was at rest (due of the punishing gaze of
R. Yohanan). The next day, he said to the rabbis, “Did you see what the
Babylonian (Rab Kahana) did?” They answered him, “This is his way (but he did
not laugh).” So he went into the burial cave (of Rab Kahana). He saw that a
serpent surrounded them. He said to it, “Serpent, serpent, open the door
(according to the Munich manuscript), so that the teacher may enter to his
pupil! It did not open (did not permit entry). He said, “So that his colleague
may enter.” It did not open. “So that the student may enter to see the
teacher!” Then it opened up for him. R. Yohanan prayed for mercy and
resurrected him. He said to him, “If I had known that the lord was like this,
my mind would not have been weakened. Now, may the lord come to us again!” He
answered him, “If you can ask that I may not die, I will come. But if not, I will
not come. The hour has passed, and so it is.” He awakened him, raised him up,
questioned him about all the doubts he had, and he (Rab Kahana) explained them
to him. (Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, A Commentary on
the New Testament from the Talmud and Midrash, ed. Jacob N. Cerone, 4 vols.
[trans. Andrew Bowden and Joseph Longarino; Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press,
2022], 2:626)
