Comentario sobre Deuteronómio 2:9

ואל תתגר בם וגו׳ AND DO NOT CONTEND WITH THEM [IN WAR] — As regards Moab He forbade them (the Israelites) only war against them, but they may frighten them, appearing before them when equipped for war; therefore it is written, (Numbers 22:3) "And Moab was afraid because of the people", because they took plunder and loot from them. But about the children of Ammon it is said, (v. 19) “Do not contend with them" — no provocation of any kind, — as a reward for the modesty shown by their ancestress, Lot's younger daughter, who did not publicly divulge regarding her father's conduct, as his elder daughter did, who called her son's name “Moab" (i.e. born of the father) (Bava Kamma 38b; see Rashi on Genesis 19:37).

The only thing He forbid them, etc., war. The verse should only have said, “Do not intimidate them.” Why is, “with war,” needed? For note that regarding the descendants of Ammon it only says below (v. 19), “Do not intimidate them.” Therefore Rashi answers: The only thing He forbids, etc.

V. 9. ואל תתגר בם מלחמה, und rege dich nicht an wider sie zum Kriege, כי לא אתן (siehe zu V. 5).

אל תצר את מואב, “do not harass Moav.” G–d had to warn the Israelites not to harass Amon, Moav and Seir, as they thought that they were legally entitled to inherit the lands of those nations. Seir appears under the heading of Chivvi in numerous places, and it was one of the tribes that G–d had told Avraham in Genesis chapter 15 that his descendants would inherit. This is why the Torah wrote in verse 12 of our chapter that originally the lands occupied at that time were inhabited by a tribe known as Chorim, and that the Edomites, i.e. Seir, had dispossessed the original owners, and did not occupy it legally, so that it was not included in what G–d had spoken about to Avraham in Genesis chapter 15. The ”Chivvi” was not a separate nation among the seventy nations that we read about after G–d destroyed the Tower and mixed up the languages, but a sub-species, such as there were five such among the Midianites, each with a king of their own. Also Ammon and Moav occupied land previously owned by the Re-faim,”(verse 11) so that although the soil was part of what is known to us as “Palestine,” that section was not included in what G–d had promised to Avraham as lands his descendants would inherit in chapter 15. The Moabites themselves had referred to these people as Eymim, i.e. not ethnically part of them. Some of these “names,” were merely acquired names describing how others related to them, i.e. Eymim” are people that inspire Eymah, fear, in those who encounter them. Most of these “nations” were extraordinarily powerful human specimens not only physically but also mentally. This is why they were compared to Anakim, “giants.” G–d did not have to warn the Israelites not to harass the Canaanite tribes who dwelt on their original land, not having engaged in wars of expansion.

ויאמר ה' אלי: אל תצא את מואב, “the Lord said to me: do not harass Moav!” He addressed me in the singular mode, but meant for this commandment to include the whole nation. The reason for this command was because Moses was going to be buried in the territory of Moav. G-d issued instructions not to harass in one way or another, three nations, Seir, Edom, and Moav. Their territories were not to be violated. (B’chor shor) We know that the territory of Seir was not to be violated as this nation was also known by the name of Chivi, as mentioned in Genesis 36,2: אהליבמה בת ענה בת צבעון החוי. One could argue that this Chivi was one of the seven nations that G-d had promised to the Israelites. In order to forestall such claim, the Torah added in our chapter in verse 12: that the Chorim used to dwell in that region originally, but they had been supplanted by the descendants of Esau who had wiped out that population just as the Israelites wiped out the Canaanite nations when they received the Holy Land fromG-d. We are to realise that basically that land belonged to the Chorim. They were not part of the seven Canaanite tribes. The reason they were called חוי, as explained in the Talmud tractate Shabbat folio 85, is that the original inhabitants the Chori, were able through their sense of smell to determine which kind of soil was most suitable to plant what kind of crop on. The Chivi, on the other hand, were able to taste the soil and determine what to grow on that particular soil. Moav, their land had originally been called the land of the Refaim, (Verse 11) and it is possible that it had been given to Avraham as stated in Genesis 15,20, so that the Israelites had a certain right to claim it as their ancestral land. The Moabites used to call the previous inhabitants of that land: Eymim. Apparently, that was their original name, and they were not identical with the Refaim given to Avraham, so that the Israelites had absolutely no prior claim to that land. Ammon. The land occupied by the Ammonites were also part of the Refaim, (verse 20) In order that no one should be able to claim it as belonging to or designated for Israel, Moses tells us what the names of the original inhabitants used to be, such as Zamzumim. They are not to be confused with the Refaim given to Avraham. A different approach: The Israelites were specifically warned not to enter into any hostilities with these three nations, although they had been included in G-d’s promise to Avraham’s descendants in chapter 15 in the Book of Genesis. The peoples referred to as: Keyni, K’nizi, and Kadmoni, are simply different names for the people more commonly known as: Ammon, Moav and Edom. By using the expression: ונשמרתם מאד, “be extremely careful no to, etc.,” Moses impresses the seriousness of the sin to contravene this warning. The Israelites did not need to be warned concerning any other nations in that region, as they had never for a moment entertained any hostile designs against them, their lands not having been promised to Avraham. Rashi comments that the promise to Avraham of the lands of the last three nations mentioned in the covenant between the pieces in Genesis chapter 15, was not meant to be fulfilled until the coming of the Messiah.

ער is the name of the district.

But they were permitted to terrify them, etc. I.e., the Jewish People were permitted to terrify the Moabites.

נתתי את ער ירושה, “for I have given it to the descendants of Lot as an ancestral land.”

Do not intimidate them in any way, etc. Because [regarding the people of Ammon,] it is not written “With war.”

Who named her son Moav. I.e., מאב (from father), which clearly indicates [her] immoral conduct.

The name of the country. For if ער means the same as עיר (city), then the verse should mention the name of the city.