Considering Reb Nocham of Chernobyl, the opinion quoted by the sdei chemed, and the Shtefaneshter Rebbe said someone could come back from the dead(this is far after the Rambam) I would strongly disagree that WE decided to change the Rambam. These sources clearly show that it was thought possible even after the Rambam. I’ve already pointed out that the way many of u read the Rambam seems redundant. The Rebbe told us that the Rambam is btachlus hadiuk. The fact that Rambam could have just written “if he’s unsuccessful” and u would know dead or killed, raises a question why he decided to redundantly point them out for a few more sentences. Alternatively he could have just said dead and u would know killed was included because he already mentioned bar kochba. Also just say “all the kings of Israel that died” why say “all the kosher and complete kings of Israel that died” what does rambam wish to bring out with that. I’ve heard a few different pshats and they all seem pretty reasonable. I’m not trying to necessarily prove it IS pshat but there are a few options out there.
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