Commentaire sur Les Nombres 21:14

על כן יאמר WHEREFORE IT IS SAID (more lit., about this it will be said) — About this encampment and the miracles that were wrought at it, it will be told בספר מלחמות ה׳ IN THE NARRATIVE (lit., THE BOOK) OF THE WARS OF THE LORD — whenever people narrate the miracles that were wrought for our fathers they will declare את והב.

The simple meaning of [the expression] in the book of the wars of the Eternal²⁵⁹Ibid.: Therefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Eternal. is that there were wise men in those generations who used to write down the history of great wars, for such was [the custom] in all generations. These authors were called moshlim (they that speak in parables),²⁶⁰Further, Verse 27. because they wrote in them [their books] by means of proverbs and figures of speech, and when there were victories which they considered wonderful, they ascribed those wars to G-d, to Whom they are in truth [to be attributed]. Now the victory of Sihon over Moab was marvellous in their eyes,²⁶¹See Psalms 118:23. therefore they wrote it down in a book, speaking of it in figurative language, Eth Vahev b’suphah etc.,²⁶²Verse 14. and writing about it in a proverb — Come ye to Heshbon etc.²⁶³Further, Verse 27. Now the name of one city of those that belonged to Moab was Vahev. And the pouring forth of the brooks²⁶⁴Verse 15. — [this refers to] the slope of the brook, because the streams [of water] flow down continuously from the slopes of Pisgah.²⁶⁵Deuteronomy 4:49. Similarly, in the hill-country, and in the lowland, and in the Arabah, and in ‘the slopes.’²⁶⁶Joshua 10:40. B’suphah,²⁶²Verse 14. [this word is] of [the root] ‘b’suphah’ (in the whirlwind) and in the storm.²⁶⁷Nahum 1:3. Thus when Sihon captured the cities of Moab, those who wrote in parables recorded in the book which they called “the Wars of the Eternal”: Eth Vahev b’suphah [meaning: “The city of Vahev He destroyed in a whirlwind”], or they wrote: “G-d warred against Vahev in a whirlwind.” And the slope of the brooks²⁶⁴Verse 15. which belonged to Arnon, and the downpour of the brooks that inclineth toward the seat of Ar,²⁶⁴Verse 15. and the slope that leaneth upon the border of Moab²⁶⁴Verse 15. — all these the Eternal destroyed in the whirlwind and in the storm,²⁶⁷Nahum 1:3. for Sihon came upon them [the Moabites] suddenly, his horses’ hoofs were counted like flint, and his wheels like a whirlwind.²⁶⁸Isaiah 5:28. Similarly those [who spoke in parables] said: For a fire is gone out from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon etc.²⁶⁹Further, Verse 28. Thus Scripture is bringing a proof from the book of “the Wars [of the Eternal”] that Arnon is on the border of Moab, and was forbidden to Israel [to capture],²⁷⁰Deuteronomy 2:9. whereas the brooks and all the slopes as far as Arnon they were allowed [to take], for Sihon had captured from the king of Moab all his land until Arnon, but not Arnon itself. Thus Arnon remained part of Moab, and constituted its border, as it is written, And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the valley of Arnon, the middle of the valley for a border.²⁷¹Ibid., 3:16. And so also did Jephthah say, and they [the Israelites] pitched on the other side of the Arnon, but they came not within the border of Moab, for Arnon was the border of Moab.²⁷²Judges 11:18.

בספר מלחמות ה' את והב בסופה, [if I understand the author correctly he suggests that the waters of the rock at Massah Umerivah which he described as flowing upstream, anti gravity like, were the reason why Sichon did not attempt to oppose the Israelites at the time when they first entered territory which was under his sovereignty. Ed.] Some of these miraculous events are recorded in what are known as the book of G’d’s wars. Examples of such miracles were what happened here and how these waters described a turn returning to their origin, i.e. the well that originated at Massah and Merivah. The reason why the Torah is so vague about these miracles is out of consideration for Moses and Aaron. The reason for these miracles was only in order to demonstrate to the Israelites what kind of miracles they had not been shown because Moses and Aaron had decided not to speak to the rock at the time. The people only found out in retrospect that the waters which had come forth from that rock were not natural waters, subject to the laws of nature such as the laws of gravity. These waters also did not behave according to the laws of centrifugality, i.e. of instead displaying a tendency of flowing towards the center. This is why these waters ascended with the Jewish people in their journeys through mountainous regions. [I have summarised the author’s commentary on these verses in order for the reader not to lose track of the main thrust of this commentary. Ed.]

על כן יאמר בספר מלחמות השם, wherefore it is said in the book of the Wars of the Lord, etc. Our sages offer two explanations on this verse, one in Kidushin 30 where they interpret the "wars" as referring to the disagreements between scholars about how to interpret the Torah. Such disagreements are called "a war of G'd," as these people are friendly with one another on a personal basis though opposing each other as Torah scholars. This is supposed to be the meaning of the words את והב בסופה. The second explanation is offered in Berachot 54 where the Talmud says that there were two Jews who had been stricken with Tzoraat one of whom was called את and the other והב. They trailed the remainder of the Israelite camp walking behind the main body seeing they were not allowed into the camp proper as מצורעים, people afflicted with this skin eczema. It was they who informed the others of the collision of the mountains situated on either side of the river Arnon.

על כן יאמר, concerning these journeys which were in fact a reversal of their previous journeys, while they marched around the territory of Edom for many days (compare Deuteronomy 2,1) until they turned again and encountered the well described in 20,11. At that time, as part of the summary of their experiences in which the people thanked the Lord, they mentioned the miracles at the sea of reeds, as well as the miracle experienced at the river Arnon, as well as the song beginning in verse 17 of our chapter. They now acknowledged gratefully the well for the availability of which they had not previously composed a song of thanksgiving. The reason they had neglected to do so at the time was the fact that in order to have the waters of this well Moses and Aaron had been condemned to die before entering the Holy Land. [our author calls the waters emerging from the rock at this juncture a well, as he presumes that it performed henceforth the same function as had the well of Miriam which had ceased to function after her death. Ed.]

על כן יאמר בספר מלחמות ה', “therefore it is said in the Book of the wars of Hashem.” The verse refers to the encampment and the miracles which took place at that place. The words: “in the Book of the wars of the Lord,” is a separate verse not connected to that which preceded it. It is a reference to a Book in which the Israelites had recorded all the wars G’d fought on behalf of those who revere Him. It is entirely possible that this Book as well as many others were lost in the course of our long history and wanderings. The Book’s first entry may well have been Avraham’s campaign to rescue his nephew Lot (Genesis 14,14-24). It is likely that the "Prophecies of Nathan and Ido" (II Chronicles 9,29) and the "Chronicles of the Jewish kings" (II Kings 15,11) and the "songs and parables of King Solomon" (I Kings 5,12) are further examples of historical records which have been lost in the course of time. This is the view of Ibn Ezra on Kings I 5,12.

Concerning this encampment. Meaning, concerning the miracles performed in this encampment. [The Sifsei Chachamim proceeds to explain the somewhat cryptic language used in the next two verses:] The meaning of בספר ["in the book"] is “In the book of stories.” The meaning of והב ["gave"] is יהב which means “gave.” The meaning of בסופה ["at the reeds"] is “at the Reed Sea.” The meaning of ואת הנחלים ["and the valleys"] is “the miracles of the valleys.” The meaning of ארנון ["Arnon"] is “of Arnon.” The meaning of ואשד is “spillage.” The meaning of ואשד הנחלים is that it is a description of “the valleys of Arnon.” The meaning of אשר נטה ["when it turned…"] is that the Mountain at Ar was uprooted from its place.

VV. 14 u. 15. על כן, darum, weil der Arnon die Grenzscheide zwischen Moab und Emori bildet, wird dessen Lauf auch also בספר מלחמות ד׳ beschrieben!

על כן, “This is why, etc,” in G–d’s records of nations’ wars these changes of borders are recorded, just as we find such changes mentioned in the Book of Chronicles of the Bible.

על כן, “this is why concerning the territories forbidden to the Israelites to conquer or harass, “it is stated in the book documenting the wars of the Lord, etc.” There are numerous books dating back to that period which have become lost in the course of the centuries in which more of the accomplishments of the Israelites in warfare had been preserved, including this war. Also numerous of the poems of King Solomon and his many parables have become lost throughout those centuries, though the people had been aware of their existence at one time. The composite title of these books was 'מלחמות ה, “wars conducted with the approval of the Lord.” We recall that Avigayil had said to David in Samuel I 25,28: כי מלחמות ה' אדוני נלחם, “my lord (David) has fought wars for the sake of the reputation of the Lord.”יאמר, “it is said;” the letter א in this word is vocalised with the vowel patach, (not tzeyre).

את והב — is equivalent to את יהב; just as from the root יעד one may say וָעֵד, so from יהב, "to give” one may say והב: the ו is a root-letter. It means to say: they will relate what (את) He gave (והב) to them (i.e. what boons He gave to them) and how He did many miracles at the Red Sea (בים סוף being the equivalent of בסופה in the text).

את והב, the יהב of the Lord as in Psalms 55,23 השלך על ה' יהבך והוא יכלכלך, “cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you.” Or, as in Kohelet 2,22 מה הוה לאדם מכל עמלו, “what does man have as a result of all his toil?” Our author quotes a few more verses in which the letter י in a word has been supplanted by the letter ו. Basically, he views the word והב as meaning the same as the word יהב.

We prefer to explain this verse according to its plain meaning. The Torah mentioned in verse 13 that the river Arnon formed the boundary between Moav and the Emorite. It follows that Israel owned no part of it. This is the reason the Torah goes on to say that in the book which is open before G'd and which contains records of the various wars describing which nation G'd disinherited and to which nation He granted additional territory, the river Arnon is recorded as the border between Moav and the Emorite. It is also recorded in that book that eventually, i.e. בסופה, this area will become part of the land of Israel. However, the time had not come for this development. The area in question is part of the three tribes Keyni, Kenizi, and Kadmoni whose territory was included in G'd's promise to Abraham at the covenant of the pieces (Genesis 15,19) but whose territory Israel never conquered to this day.

ספר מלחמת ד׳, ähnlich dem ספר הישר (Josua 10, 13 und Sam. II. 1, 18) beweist, dass zu Mosche Zeiten literarische Tätigkeit im Volke nicht gefehlt, dass vielmehr geisterfüllte Männer, es sind dies wohl die מושלים des V. 27, die erlebten Großtaten für Mit- und Nachwelt besangen und aufzeichneten, beweist aber zugleich, dass das heilige Gottesbuch der תורה nicht aus solchen Aufzeichnungen entstanden, sonst hätte der vermeintliche Kompilator seine Quellen auch sonst genannt, wie er sie hier nicht verschwiegen. Vielmehr dürfte eben durch dieses dem Gottesbuche einverleibte Zitat aus dem ספר מלחמות ד׳ auch den in diesem Buche enthaltenen Aufzeichnungen ein zu beachtender Wert in der Nation haben erteilt werden sollen. את והב בסופה וגו׳ unserem der Epigonen Verständnis entziehen sich die Data dieses Zitats. והב und סופה scheinen geographische Örtlichkeiten zu bezeichnen, an welche sich Erinnerungen großer Erlebnisse knüpfen, wie denn auch Berachot 54 a מעברות נחלי ארנון die Übergänge der Arnonbäche neben מעברות הים und מעברות הירדן als Örtlichkeiten überliefert sind, deren Anblick zu der ברכה ladet: הנחלים ארנון .כרוך שעשה נסים לאבותינו במקום הזה beschreibt wohl den Arnon als aus mehreren Bächen entstanden, daher ja auch V. 15 אשד אשד .הנחלים lautverwandt mit חסד ,חשד (siehe zu Wajikra 20, 17).

את והב בסופה, “the word: “vahav, “ is one word, the letter ו at the beginning is not a conjunctive or prefix. It is similar to Genesis 45,1, where Joseph reveals his true identity to his brothers and we read: בהתודע יוסף, “when Joseph revealed himself.” That word should really have been ואתודע. Here too, the correct word should have been אתיהב למלך מואב בסופה וסערה, meaning that the King of Moav had been defeated by Sichon in battle when he lost this part of his land right up to the banks of the river Arnon.

את והב בסופה, “vahav” is the name of a location at the extreme end of the territory of Moav, a place that the Israelites had crossed and where miracles had been performed for them similar to the ones at the sea of reeds. Compare a reference to this in what Balak told Bileam about the location at that time of the Israelites’ camp. (Numbers22,5.)

ואת הנחלים ארנון AND THE VALLEYS AT ARNON — Just as they relate the miracles at the Red Sea, so there should be related, too, the miracles at the valleys of Arnon, for here, also, great miracles were wrought (Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 20). And what were those miracles? (the reply is given in the next passage).

The word והב may have either of two meanings. 1) It is an expression of love, אהבה, i.e. that G'd loves to give these lands to Israel also but not at that time. 2) It is an expression denoting נתינה, giving, granting. We find this expression in that sense [aramaic, Ed.] in Daniel 2,23 "You have granted me wisdom." This is not the only time that the Torah employs aramaic words. Some other examples are Genesis 21,7 מי מלל; another example is Deut. 33,2 ואתא מרבבות קדש.

Nach Raschi und ת׳׳א wäre והב Substantiv von יהב geben, gewähren, wie ולד, ועדvon יעד ,ילד und סופה wiese auf ים סוף hin, und man hätte zu übersetzen: das am Schilf Gewährte, das auch bei den den Arnon bildenden Bächen, d. h. die am Schilfmeer erlebten Wunder wiederholten sich an den den Arnon bildenden Bächen.

The Torah continues ואת הנחלים, "and the brooks, etc.," to further describe in detail the borders of Moav which are recorded in the book in which G'd records the various wars. In the future all the tributaries of Arnon will become part of the land of Israel as well as the tributaries which are close to the seat of Or.

ער ,אשד הנחלים אשר נטה לשבת ער ist eine moabitische Stadt (V. 28), אשד הנחלים dies ist der Arnon, der eben durch den Zusammenfluss der Bäche sich bildet; nachdem er sich gebildet, macht er eine Krümmung und in dem von dieser Krümmung eingeschlossenen Gebiete liegt die Stadt Or. Er biegt also seinen graden Lauf ab, לשבת ער damit Or dort angelegt werden konnte. ישב wird ja von den Städten selbst gebraucht: לא תשב לנצח von Babylon (Jes.13, 20), פרזות תשב ירושלם (Secharja 2, 8) und sonst. נטה לשבת ער: er neigte ab, für Ors Wohnen. ונשען לגבול מואב: von da an fließt er längs der Grenze Moabs.