Deuteronómio 3:12 Midrash: Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Midrash Tanchuma & Bereshit Rabbah

Another interpretation (of Deut. 3:23): I BESOUGHT <THE LORD>. This text is related (to Is. 30:19): INDEED, O PEOPLE IN ZION, INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM, [YOU SHALL SURELY WEEP NO MORE. <HE WILL SURELY SHOW YOU COMPASSION (rt.: HNN)>…. ] What is written above on the matter (in Deut. 3:12)?¹⁵Tanh., Deut. 2:4. <…> AND ITS CITIES I GAVE {TO THE CHILDREN OF REUBEN AND TO THE CHILDREN OF GAD} [TO THE REUBENITES AND TO THE GADITES]. Moses taught <all> who come into the world that one should not say that, whereas he is dangerously ill, has made a will,¹⁶Gk.: diatheke. and divided all that he has. He should not say that, whereas he has made a will, he will no longer pray. Rather he should pray, because the Holy One does not disqualify the prayer of [any] creature. See here. Moses made a will, as stated (in Deut. 23:12): < … > AND ITS CITIES I GAVE TO THE REUBENITES AND TO THE GADITES [….: (vs. 14:) JAIR BEN MANASSEH <RECEIVED>…. (vs. 15:)TO MACHIR I GAVE GILEAD. (vs. 16:) AND TO THE REUBENITES AND THE GADITES I GAVE [….: (vs. 18:) THEN I CHARGED YOU AT THAT TIME, SAYING [….] (vs. 21:) I ALSO CHARGED JOSHUA [AT THAT TIME], SAYING: [Ergo, <Moses made> a will. Lest you say: He ceased and did not pray, the text reads (in vs. 23) I BESOUGHT THE LORD.]

Another interpretation (of Deut. 3:23), “I besought [the Lord].” This text is related (to Is. 30:19), “Indeed, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall surely weep no more, He will surely show you compassion (rt.: hnn)]….” What is written above the matter (in Deut. 3:12)? “And its cities I gave to the Reubenites [and to the Gadites].” Moses taught [all] who come into the world that one should not say that, whereas he is dangerously ill, has made a will¹³Gk.: diatheke. and divided all that he has; he should not say that whereas he has made a will, he will no longer pray. Rather he should pray, because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not disqualify the prayer of [any] creature. See here. Moses made a will, as stated (in Deut. 23:12-21), “and its cities I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites [….] Yair ben Manasseh received […]. To Machir I gave Gilead. And to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave […]. Then I charged you at that time, saying [...]. I also charged Joshua at that time], saying.” Ergo, [Moses made] a will. Lest you say, “He ceased and did not pray,” the text reads (in Deut. 3:23) “I besought the Lord.” (Deut. 3:23:) “I besought the Lord.” For what? That he should enter the land. This text is related (to Ps. 61:2), “Hear my song of prayer, O God”; (Ps. 55:2) “Do not hide yourself from my beseeching.” He said to him, “What do you want.” He said to him (in vs. 3) “From the end of the earth (which can also be read as land), I call unto You when my heart is faint.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in Deut. 3:26), “Enough from you; do not [ever speak unto Me on this matter] again.” Moses said to him, “Master of the universe, You addressed me as, ‘My servant Moses,’ as stated (in Numb. 12:7), ‘Not so with My servant ('eved) Moses.’ I am a servant ('eved), and Leviathan is a servant ('eved). I act the suppliant before You, and he acts the suppliant before You, as stated (in Job 40:27), ‘Will he make many supplications unto you?’ The supplication of Leviathan You hear; for You have made a covenant with him and sustain him, as stated (in Job 40:28), ‘Will he make a covenant with You for You to take him as Your servant ('eved) forever?’¹⁴The standard translation of You here is that it referring to Job and not to God. But the midrash understands it otherwise. Now I am Your servant ('eved), You have said to me (in Exod. 34:10), ‘I hereby make a covenant….’ But You have not carried it out. Instead you have said to me (in Deut. 32:50), ‘And you shall die on the mountain that you [are ascending]….’ And not only that, but you have written in the Torah and said (in Exod. 21:5), ‘But if the slave ('eved) says, “I love [my master],”’ yet I loved You, and Your Torah and Your children, ‘I will not go away a free person,’ I do not wish to die. (Exod. 21:6:) ‘Then his master shall bring him [before God] …, and he shall serve him forever.’ But You have not carried it out with me. So now please, (Ps. 61:2) ‘Hear my song of prayer, O God’; (Ps. 55:2) ‘Do not hide yourself from my beseeching.’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, (Deut. 3:26) “’Enough from you!’ The litigant against you has already made a decision over you that you and all creatures like you are to die. When the first Adam ate from the tree, he caused death for all.”

“The refugee came and told Abram the Hebrew, and he was dwelling in the plains of Mamre the Emorite, brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner, and they were allies of Abram” (Genesis 14:13).
“The refugee came” – Reish Lakish in the name of bar Kappara: This is Og; he is the “refugee.” Why is he called Og? Because he came and found Abram sitting and engaging in the mitzva of baking [unleavened] loaves [ugot] [for Passover].⁷¹See Exodus 12:39. His intentions [in informing Abraham] were not to act for the sake of Heaven. Rather, he said: ‘This Abraham is a zealot. If I say to him now: Your nephew has been taken captive, he will go out to war and be killed, and I will take his wife Sarai.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘By your life, you will receive reward for your strides that you walked [to travel to Abraham], in that you will live long in the world.⁷²He was ultimately killed by Moses, centuries later (Numbers 21:35). But because you thought to kill that righteous man, by your life, you will see thousands upon thousands and tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of his descendants, and the end of that man⁷³You, Og. will be only to fall into their hand,’ as it is stated [by Moses]: “The Lord said to me: Do not fear him, as [I have delivered him]…into your hand” (Deuteronomy 3:2).
“And told Abram the Hebrew [Ivri]” – Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda says: The entire world was on one side and he was on the other side [ever].⁷⁴In an ideological sense. Rabbi Neḥemya said: Because he was among the descendants of Ever. The Rabbis say: It is because he is from the other side [ever] of the river,⁷⁵Abraham came to the land of Israel from the other (eastern) side of the Euphrates. and he spoke the Hebrew [Ivri] language.
“He was dwelling in elonei Mamre” – Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda said: [This means] in the plains of Mamre. Rabbi Neḥemya said: In the palace of Mamre. According to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, it is a place whose name is Mamre. According to the opinion of Rabbi Neḥemya, it is a person whose name was Mamre. And why was he called Mamre? Rabbi Azarya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda in the name of Rabbi Simon: It is because he was brazen-faced regarding Abraham.⁷⁶He was bold in his support of Abraham, as the Midrash goes on to relate. When the Holy One blessed be He told Abraham to circumcise himself, he went and consulted with his three friends.⁷⁷Listed in Genesis 14:24. Aner said to him: ‘You are already one hundred years old and you are going to bring pain upon yourself?’ Eshkol said to him: ‘What, are you going to put an end to yourself in the midst of your enemies?’⁷⁸People will say that you have castrated yourself. Mamre said to him: ‘[This is] your God who stood by you [during your ordeal] in the fiery furnace, and during [your war with] the kings, and during the famine, and in this matter that He has said to you, to circumcise yourself, you do not heed Him?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘You gave him counsel to circumcise himself; by your life, I will not appear to him in Aner’s palace, nor in Eshkol’s palace, but only in your palace.’ That is what is written: “The Lord appeared to him in the palace of Mamre” (Genesis 18:1).