Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Commentary for Numbers 32:24

בְּנֽוּ־לָכֶ֤ם עָרִים֙ לְטַפְּכֶ֔ם וּגְדֵרֹ֖ת לְצֹנַאֲכֶ֑ם וְהַיֹּצֵ֥א מִפִּיכֶ֖ם תַּעֲשֽׂוּ׃

Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.’

Rashi on Numbers

לצנאכם FOR YOUR SHEEP — This word is from the noun form which is found in (Psalms 8:8): “Sheep (צנה) and oxen, all of them”, where, too, there is no א intervening between the נ and the צ. The א which here comes after the נ is in place of the ה of צנה (and לצנאכם is not the same form as לצאנכם with an inversion of the א and נ). I learned this from the work of R. Moses the Preacher.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy

Or HaChaim on Numbers

והיוצא מפיכם תעשו, "and do that which your mouths have uttered." Moses wanted them to understand that the permission he had granted for these tribes to build cities for their women and children etc., was not absolute but was conditional on their fulfilling the part of full participation with the other tribes in their conquest of the land of Canaan. It is also possible that Moses referred to the gratuitous offer by the two tribes to stay with the main body not only for seven years but for fourteen years until they had all been settled provided they were allowed to build fortified cities for their families. This is why he added the letter ו before the word והיוצא מפיכם, "and what your mouths have uttered." Having made an undertaking which Moses had not asked of them, they were to be held to it as it had been entirely voluntary. Moses made it plain that as far as his own conditions were concerned he had only obligated them to remain with the main body for seven years. Anything over and beyond that were conditions they had imposed upon themselves.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy

Siftei Chakhamim

Conjugated from צנה. Rashi was answering the question: Why is the [letter] nun punctuated with a patach, surely throughout Scripture it is punctuated with a sheva.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy

Rav Hirsch on Torah

Available for Premium members only

Rashi on Numbers

Available for Premium members only

Siftei Chakhamim

Available for Premium members only

Rav Hirsch on Torah

Available for Premium members only

Siftei Chakhamim

Available for Premium members only
Previous VerseFull ChapterNext Verse