הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, הָאָב זוֹכֶה לַבֵּן, בַּנּוֹי, וּבַכֹּחַ, וּבָעֹשֶׁר, וּבַחָכְמָה, וּבַשָּׁנִים, וּבְמִסְפַּר הַדּוֹרוֹת לְפָנָיו, וְהוּא הַקֵּץ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה מא) קֹרֵא הַדֹּרוֹת מֵרֹאשׁ, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית טו), וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה, וְנֶאֱמַר (שם), וְדוֹר רְבִיעִי יָשׁוּבוּ הֵנָּה:
He [R. Akiva] was wont to say: A father endows his son with beauty, strength, wealth, wisdom, and years [i.e., long life. Because the nature of the son is likely to be similar to that of the father, from the beginning of his creation he is endowed with beauty, strength, wisdom, and years; and wealth is bequeathed him by his father. To me, the Mishnah seems to mean that if a man merits it, his sons come to acquire all of these things], and (he endows him) with the number of generations before him. [Sometimes, the Holy One Blessed be He assures the father that He will grant some favor to his children in the third or fourth generation, and it is the father's merit that secures that favor for his children]; and that is the "ketz" ("ending"). [i.e., that is the meaning of the "ketz" assigned by the Holy One Blessed be He to arrive at a certain time or at a certain generation], as in (Isaiah 41:4): "He calls out the generations from the beginning." Even though it is written (Genesis 15:3): "And they will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years," it is written (afterwards, Ibid. 16): "And the fourth generation will return here." [so that the number of generations, which is "the fourth generation," is the ketz of the "four hundred years" (referred to above).]
Jerusalem Talmud Kiddushin
There, we have stated: “The father bestows on his son beauty, strength, riches, wisdom, and years.” From where beauty? “May Your deeds appear on Your servants, and Your glory on their sons.” Strength, “strong on earth will be his descendants.” Riches, “I was young and became old, but never saw a just man abandoned and his descendants in need of bread.” Wisdom, “you shall teach your sons to argue about them.” Years, “that your and your sons’ days be many.” And just as he inherits five qualities, so he owes him the following five things. He feeds him, he gives him to drink, he clothes him, he puts on his shoes, he leads him. That is what is written: “This should fall on Joab’s head: sufferer from flux and from skin disease, holding the distaff, falling by the sword, and senseless.” Sufferer from flux, weak. From skin disease, abandoned. Holding the distaff, uneducated. Falling by the sword, short lived. Without bread, poor. When Solomon came to kill Joab, he said to him: Your father gave me five sentences; accept them and I can be killed. He accepted them and all of them came to pass on the House of David. Sufferer from flux was Rehabeam: “King Rehabeam with difficulty climbed on his chariot to flee to Jerusalem;” some say, he suffered from flux; some say, he was weak. Suffering from skin disease was Uziahu: “King Uziahu suffered from skin disease until the day of his death.” Holding the distaff was Joash: “They punished Joash.” Rebbi Ismael stated: This teaches that they gave him over to hardened hoodlums who had never known a woman and they raped him the way women are raped. That is what is written: “Israel’s pride will testify against it,” Israel’s pride will be raped in its face. Falling by the sword, this is Josiah, as is written: “The archers shot at king Josia,” and Rebbi Joḥanan said, this teaches that they made his body like a sieve. Rebbi Ismael stated: 300 arrows were shot at the Eternal’s anointed. Without bread, that is Jehoiachin: “And his meal, a permanent meal was given to him,.”
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