Commentaire sur Les Nombres 32:6

האחיכם SHALL YOUR BRETHREN — This denotes a question. (i.e., the ה prefixed is the interrogative particle).

?האחיכם יבאו למלחמה; Did you really think that your brethren are going to war in order to make conquests

<b<span>ויאמר משה…האחיכם יבואו למלחמה…ולמה תניאון, Moses said: "are your brethren going to go into battle, …and why do you turn away the heart, etc.?" Moses understood full well all that the tribes of Gad and Reuven had in mind with their words, in accordance with what we have explained. However, he advanced counter arguments. Moses addressed the argument that the lands really belonged to G'd to do with as He saw fit, and that the other tribes had not established a claim to these lands. He also responded to the argument that in the future too G'd would do the fighting so that their participation was irrelevant. He told them that it was quite true that G'd would do the fighting, but the army of the Israelites had to be present and prepared to do battle. He did not say האחיכם ילחמו, "are your brethren to do battle?," but he said האחיכם יבאו למלחמה, "are your brethren going to be present in order to do battle?" He could not understand that these two tribes were not willing to be present at the time when the Israelites would conquer the West Bank. Moses accused the two tribes of contradicting themselves as they were well aware that even though G'd had done the fighting which resulted in the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og, nonetheless it had involved the soldiers in great fatigue. The same would occur in the future. By what right did they think they could shirk their duty to undergo this fatigue also? They were behaving like parasites collecting the reward for the fatigue suffered by the other tribes. This is why he asked them: ואתם תשבו פה? "and you are going to sit here?