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Our daf recalls on the day Sancheriv approached the cities surrounding Yerushalayim, his sorcerers told him that this day was the last day that he would be able to conquer Yerushalayim. They urged him to attack the city that day to take advantage of his last opportunity.
Rav Huna explains that the day was the last day that Shaul ha'Melech's sin of killing the Kohanim of the city of Nov was still potent and could affect the outcome of the war. Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: A man who came (to kill David) on account of Nov. For the Holy One, Blessed be He, had said to David, “How long will this sin (that since he took refuge in Nov, Shaul had the Kohanim killed) be hidden in your hand?
Through you, Nov, the city of Kohanim, was massacred (for they assisted you in your escape); through you, Doeg the Edomite was banished from the World to Come (for it was he who advised Shaul to kill the Kohanim); and through you, Shaul and his three sons were slain (by the Philistines).
We explore the city of Nob and its reception and mistaken identity in Pseudo-Philo.