Nachum Ish Gamzu

Nachum Ish Gamzu (Hebrew: נחום איש גמזו) was a Tanna of the 2nd generation (1st century).

Name

Nachum Ish Gamzu's name is described in the Talmud as having grown colloquially from Nachum's tendency to react to misfortune with unyielding optimism, in each case uttering a phrase that became famously attached to him: "gam zu le-tovah," meaning, "this, too, is for the best." The two words "gam zu" ("גמ זו", meaning "this too") were combined into the single-word nickname "Gamzu" ("גמזו"), with "Ish Gamzu" then meaning "The Gamzu Man".

Nathan ben Jehiel alternatively describes, in his Aruk, Nachum's surname being "Ish Gimzo", or "the man from Gimzo," based on the fact that there was a town named Gimzo in Israel at the time. This interpretation is less commonly used, possibly due to its existence in a work by a sole author outside the Talmud, whereas the Ish Gamzu explanation above exists within the Talmud itself, a more primary and respected text.

There are references in the Talmud to a Nechemiah ha`Imsoni, who has been proposed as possibly being the same person as Nachum Ish Gamzu.

Nahum

Nahum (/ˈneɪ.əm/ or /ˈneɪhəm/; Hebrew: נַחוּם Naḥūm‎) was a minor prophet whose prophecy is recorded in the Hebrew Bible. His book comes in chronological order between Micah and Habakkuk in the Bible. He wrote about the end of the Assyrian Empire, and its capital city, Nineveh, in a vivid poetic style.

Life

Little is known about Nahum's personal history. His name means "comforter," and he was from the town of Alqosh, (Nah 1:1) which scholars have attempted to identify with several cities, including the modern Alqosh of Assyria and Capharnaum of northern Galilee. He was a very nationalistic Hebrew, however, and lived amongst the Elkoshites in peace. Nahum, called "the Elkoshite," is the seventh in order of the minor prophets.

Works

Nahum's writings could be taken as prophecy or as history. One account suggests that his writings are a prophecy written in about 615 BC, just before the downfall of Assyria, while another account suggests that he wrote this passage as liturgy just after its downfall in 612 BC.

Nahum (disambiguation)

Nahum may refer to:

See also

Gimzo

Gimzo (Hebrew: גִּמְזוֹ) is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located between Lod and Modi'in, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In 2006, it had a population of 812.

Geography

The moshav is on the outskirts of the Ben Shemen forest, on the major crossroad of Route 1 and Route 443, major arteries leading to Jerusalem, about six kilometers south-east of Lod, in the western plains at the foot of the Judean Mountains.

History

Gimzo was first mentioned in the Bible in the approximate period of 740 BC, when the Philistines conquered the area from the hands of King Ahaz of Israel. In the verse Chronicles II 28:18 the Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and they settled there.

The name Gimzo is thought to derive from the fruit of the sycamore tree known as "Gomez" which was abundant in this area, based on the biblical verse Chronicles II 1:15; "The king made silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the lowland." In the period of the second Temple, the great sage Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says: "A sign of mountains is "milin", a sign of valleys is palm trees, a sign of rivers is cane, and a sign of the plains is Sycamore trees, and whereas there is no proof of this, we remember the words: And he made cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the lowland" (Tosephta Shviit:87:6). Moshav Gimzo was the home of the sage (the Ta'ana) Nachum (Rabbi Akiva's teacher), who was wont to say "It is all for the best" which translates to "Gam-zo le-tova", a word play on the name of his home at "Gam-zo".