Study Avodah Zarah folio 24B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
יתרו לאחר מתן תורה הוה, מאי איכא למימר? אלא, יתרו מישראל זבן.
the incident involving Yitro was after the giving of the Torah, what is there to say? How could they accept offerings from him? Rather, it must be that Yitro purchased the animals from a Jew.
תא שמע: ״ויאמר שאול מעמלקי הביאום אשר חמל העם על מיטב הצאן והבקר (המשנים והכרים ועל כל הצאן) למען זבח לה׳ אלהיך״! מאי ״מיטב״? דמי מיטב.
The Talmud further states: Come and hear another objection from a verse: “And Saul said: They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the flock and of the herd, to sacrifice to YHWH your God” (I Samuel 15:15). The verse states explicitly that the Israelites intended to sacrifice animals previously owned by non-Jews. The Talmud explains: What is the meaning of the phrase: “The best”? This is referring to the monetary value of the best livestock. The intention was not to sacrifice the animals themselves, but to sell them and use the proceeds of the sale to purchase other animals to sacrifice as offerings.
ומאי שנא מיטב? כי היכי דליקפץ עליהו זבינא.
The Talmud inquires: And what is different about the best animals? If the animals were sold for their value, why sell those animals in particular, rather than several inferior-quality animals? The Talmud explains that they did so in order that buyers would jump at the opportunity to buy superior-quality livestock. In other words, it is easier to sell one superior-quality animal than several inferior-quality ones.
תא שמע: ״ויאמר ארונה אל דוד יקח ויעל אדני המלך (את) הטוב בעינו (ואת) [ראה] הבקר לעלה והמרגים וכלי הבקר לעצים״! אמר רב נחמן: ארונה גר תושב היה.
Come and hear another objection from a verse: “And Araunah said to David: Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him; behold the cattle for the burnt-offering, and the threshing instruments [morigim] and the accoutrements of the cattle for the wood” (II Samuel 24:22). Apparently, David was willing to accept oxen as offerings from a non-Jew. Rav Naḥman says: Araunah was a non-Jew who resided in Eretz Yisrael and observed the 7 Noahide mitzvot [ger toshav]. The 7 Noahide mitzvot include the prohibition against engaging in bestiality, and therefore Araunah was not suspected of this practice.
Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.