Rashi, on Lam 2:10

“Jod. The ancients of the daughter of Sion sit upon the ground, they have held their peace: they have sprinkled their heads with dust, they are girded with haircloth, the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.”

“sit on the ground, etc. [This is to be understood] according to its apparent meaning. But the Midrash Aggadah (Lam. Rabbah) states: Nebuchadnezzar caused them to sit on the ground when Zedekiah rebelled against him and transgressed his oath. He came and stationed himself in Daphne of Antioch, and sent for the Sanhedrin, and they came toward him. He recognized that they were men of imposing appearance and sat them down in golden chairs. He said to them, “Recite your Torah for me chapter by chapter and translate it for me.” As soon as they reached the chapter dealing with vows, he said to them, “What if he wishes to retract, can he retract?” They said to him, “Let him go to a sage, and he will absolve him of it.” He said to them, “If so, you absolved Zedekiah of his oath.” He gave the order, and they pushed them off [their seats] and sat them on the ground. They then tied the hair of their heads to the tails of horses and dragged them.”

Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.