לזכות ידי"נ הרה"ג ר' מאיר זאב שטיינמץ שליט"א
The Rambam writes [Melachim 1/3]:
אין מעמידין מלך בתחילה אלא על פי בית דין של שבעים זקנים ועל פי נביא כיהושע שמינהו משה רבינו ובית דינו וכשאול ודוד שמינם שמואל הרמתי ובית דינו:
A king may be appointed at first only by a court of 70 elders, together with a prophet, as Yehoshua was appointed by Moshe and his court, and as Shaul and Dovid, were appointed by Shmuel of Ramah and his court.
Asked the Minchas Chinuch that from the Rambam it seems that Yehoshua was a king [because he proves that you need a Navi to appoint a king from Yehoshua's appointment by Moshe]. Where does it say that Yehoshua was a king?? Not in any pasuk. And if he was king - why don't we find that he was anointed??
But if you search you can find sources that Yehoshua was king:
- The gemara in Yoma [73b] says that only a king may ask the אורים ותומים and derives this from the pasuk that says ולפני אלעזר הכהן יעמוד referring to Yehoshua who is a king standing before the Kohen Gadol.
So we have a source that Yehoshua was king.
- Another source: Sanhedrin 49. There is says that anyone who rebels against the king dies. The proof text refers to Yehoshua as king: כל איש אשר ימרה את פיך ... יומת.
- Yet another - רשב"ם בב"ב ע"ה. ד"ה אוי לאותה בושה writes שהרי יהושע היה מלך.
- Not enough? Rambam Hil. Sanhedrin 18 writes that Yehoshua killed Achan as king.
On the other hand, the Kesef Mishna [Melachim 1/10] asks why Shaul was anointed when מלכי ישראל are not anointed? He answered that he was anointed because he was the first מלך ישראל.
What about Yehoshua?? He came before Shaul?? It must be that Yehoshua wasn't a king. We also have numerous sources that indicate the MOSHE was a king [Zevachim 102 and more], so how could Shaul be considered the first?
In Breishis Rabba the Medrash comments on the pasuk in Divrei Hayomim 5 where it says that Shaul waged war against the הגראים, that really it was Yehoshua and he is called שאול because the kingship was שאולה בידו - borrowed. What does THAT mean and why specifically in the context of this war is his kingship called שאול?
Vayikra Rabba 26/7 - Shaul is again called the first king. What about Moshe and Yehoshua?
As for the question of the MC that if Yehoshua was king [as the Rambam implies in Melachim 1/3] then why wasn't he anointed - according to the Kesef Mishna who says that we only anoint מלכי בית דוד and Shaul was anointed with שמן אפרסמון and not שמן המשחה we have no question why Yehoshua wasn't anointed because it wasn't necessary. But this Kesef Mishna is very difficult because the Rambam writes [1/7] that Shaul was anointed בשמן המשחה, so why wasn't Yehoshua?? We also don't find that Moshe was anointed???
STAY TUNED AND BLI NEDER GOOD THINGS TO COME!!!:-)
