Megillah, Daf Kaf Gimmel, Part 2

הני שלשה חמשה ושבעה כנגד מי? פליגי בה רבי יצחק בר נחמני וחד דעמיה, ומנו – רבי שמעון בן פזי, ואמרי לה: רבי שמעון בן פזי וחד דעמיה, ומנו – רבי יצחק בר נחמני, ואמרי לה רבי שמואל בר נחמני. חד אמר: כנגד ברכת כהנים, וחד אמר: כנגד שלשה שומרי הסף, חמשה מרואי פני המלך, שבעה רואי פני המלך.

What do these three, five and seven represent?

This was a dispute between R. Isaac b. Nahmani and one who was with him, and who was he, R. Shimon b. Pazzi, or, according to others, by R. Shimon b. Pazzi and one who was with him, and who was with him, R. Isaac b. Nahmani, or according to others, R. Shmuel b. Nahmani. One said that [these represent] the [number of Hebrew words in the three verses of the] priestly blessings, while the other said "the three keepers of the door" (II Kings 25:18); [the five represent] "five of them that saw the king’s face" (II Kings 25:19) [and the seven] "seven men of them that saw the king’s face" (Esther 1:14).

There is a dispute over what the three readers on Mondays, Thursdays and Shabbat Minhah, the five readers on Yom Tov and the seven readers on Shabbat represent.

One opinion holds that they represent the three priestly blessings (Numbers 6:24-26). The first blessing has three words, the second five words and the seventh seven words. The other opinion holds that they represent various verses in Tanakh.

תני רב יוסף: שלשה חמשה ושבעה: שלשה שומרי הסף, חמשה מרואי פני המלך, שבעה רואי פני המלך.

אמר ליה אביי: עד האידנא מאי טעמא לא פריש לן מר? – אמר ליה: לא הוה ידענא דצריכתו ליה, ומי בעיתו מינאי מילתא ולא אמרי לכו?

R. Joseph taught: Three, five and seven: "three keepers of the door", "five of them that saw the king’s face", and "seven that saw the king’s face".

Abaye said to him: Up until now why did you not explain this to us? He replied: I did not know that you wanted to know. Did you ever ask me anything which I did not tell you?

In this somewhat strange exchange R. Joseph teaches one of the same traditions that we learned above. Abaye asks him why R. Joseph never taught that before, and R. Joseph responds that he never asked.

אמר ליה יעקב מינאה לרב יהודה: הני ששה דיום הכפורים כנגד מי? – אמר ליה: כנגד ששה שעמדו מימינו של עזרא וששה משמאלו, שנאמר +נחמיה ח‘+ ויעמד עזרא הספר על מגדל עץ אשר עשו לדבר ויעמד אצלו מתתיה ושמע ועניה ואוריה וחלקיה ומעשיה על ימינו ומשמאלו פדיה ומישאל ומלכיה וחשם וחשבדנה זכריה משלם. הני שבעה הוו! – היינו זכריה היינו משלם, ואמאי קראו משלם – דמישלם בעובדיה.

Jacob the Min asked R. Judah: What do the six of Yom Kippur represent?

He replied: The six who stood at the right of Ezra and the six who stood at his left, as it says, "And Ezra the scribe stood on a stand of wood which they had made for the purpose, and beside him stood Matatyah, Shema and Aniaah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maasiyah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael and Malchiyah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam" (Nehemiah 8:14).

But these last are seven? Zechariah is the same as Meshullam. And why is he called Meshullam? Because he was perfect [mishlam] in his acts.

The six on Yom Kippur represent the six who stood on Ezra the Scribe’s right and left hand sides when he read the Torah upon renewing the covenant. While it seems that on his left hand there were actually seven, Zechariah and Meshullam are identified as being the same, the latter being a pun on his perfect conduct.

The Jacob identified here is called a "Min." Usually the word means "heretic" but here it is difficult to interpret it as such, for the question does not seem heretical at all. It is possible that the correct reading should be some other word and not "Min."