כִּֽי־מֻלִ֣ים הָי֔וּ כָּל־הָעָ֖ם הַיֹּֽצְאִ֑ים וְכָל־הָ֠עָם הַיִּלֹּדִ֨ים בַּמִּדְבָּ֥ר בַּדֶּ֛רֶךְ בְּצֵאתָ֥ם מִמִּצְרַ֖יִם לֹא־מָֽלוּ׃
Toute cette population affranchie avait subi la circoncision; mais tous ceux qui naquirent dans le désert, pendant la traversée, après la sortie d’Égypte, on ne les avait point circoncis.
Ibn Ezra
cut off a verb in the passive [nif‘al] form, probably an ‘ayin-vav verb (like “established” [Psalms 101:7]), derived from the word “circumcised” [Joshua 5:5]. Quite possibly, though, it is a peh-nun verb in the active [qal] form, derived from the word “circumcise” [Genesis 17:11]. The nun would disappear and be replaced by a doubling of the second consonant of the root (as in “swear” [Numbers 30:3]); Scripture has omitted the implied subject of the sentence — the boy’s father, or the Court.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וישלח את נערי בני ישראל, “He sent the youths of the Children of Israel, etc.” These were the firstborn. The reason the Torah refers to them as נערי, “youths of,” is that they were ritually pure, ready to perform sacrificial service. They had never committed a sin, had not had sexual intercourse with a woman. This is what our sages said in Berachot 43 when they described that in the future these בחורי ישראל, “young men of the Jewish people,” who had never committed any sin would exude a fragrance like that of the Lebanon. They based this on Hoseah 14,7: “His beauty shall be like the olive tree’s, his fragrance like that of the Lebanon.” With the bringing of this sacrifice the covenant signifying the giving of the Torah was concluded. There were three separate occasions when the Israelites were committed through conclusion of a covenant.
One was circumcision; the second was immersion in a ritual bath; the third is the offering of a communal sacrifice. The circumcision occurred prior to the Exodus from Egypt. All of them had first been circumcised as we know from the fact that they could not eat the Passover unless they had been circumcised. We also have a specific verse in Joshua 5,5 stating that all the Israelite males who had departed from Egypt had been circumcised.
Immersion in a ritual bath was part of the process of sanctification commanded by G’d in 19,10. The offering of a communal sacrifice is what is referred to in our verse. When someone wishes to convert to Judaism he must fulfill all these three rituals. This is based on the Torah comparing natural-born Jews to newly converted Jews when it wrote in Numbers 15,15 ככם כגר, “one teaching for you as well as for the proselyte.” The Jewish court is obligated to administer and supervise circumcision and ritual bath of the converts. When the Temple will be rebuilt, each convert will then offer his sacrifice to complete the procedure of his conversion (Maimonides Hilchot Issurey Biah 13,5).
Our sages in Yevamot 47 state that prior to circumcision and ritual bath the proselyte receives instruction in some of the laws of the Torah, especially those dealing with the various tithes imposed by the Torah on the Jewish farmer. One also makes such a proselyte familiar with the penalties he incurs for violating laws of the Torah. The reason is that the mixed multitude who joined the Jewish people as converts at the time of the Exodus were the ones who initiated the sin of the golden calf. They were also the cause of the death of 14,000 Israelites on the occasion when the people had demanded meat after expressing their dissatisfaction with the manna diet (Numbers 11,4). The Torah had described the instigators of that affair as האספסוף, ‘the collection of rabble.” The Talmud Yevamot 43 adds that the absorption of proselytes is a very difficult task for Israel, as difficult to stomach as ספחת, psoriasis, as we know from Isaiah 14,1 ונספחו על בית ישראל, “and strangers shall join them and cleave to the House of Yaakov.” The reason that these proselytes are so hard to absorb is that their inexperience with Jewish laws and customs produces the result that Jews learn from their customs instead of vice versa.
One was circumcision; the second was immersion in a ritual bath; the third is the offering of a communal sacrifice. The circumcision occurred prior to the Exodus from Egypt. All of them had first been circumcised as we know from the fact that they could not eat the Passover unless they had been circumcised. We also have a specific verse in Joshua 5,5 stating that all the Israelite males who had departed from Egypt had been circumcised.
Immersion in a ritual bath was part of the process of sanctification commanded by G’d in 19,10. The offering of a communal sacrifice is what is referred to in our verse. When someone wishes to convert to Judaism he must fulfill all these three rituals. This is based on the Torah comparing natural-born Jews to newly converted Jews when it wrote in Numbers 15,15 ככם כגר, “one teaching for you as well as for the proselyte.” The Jewish court is obligated to administer and supervise circumcision and ritual bath of the converts. When the Temple will be rebuilt, each convert will then offer his sacrifice to complete the procedure of his conversion (Maimonides Hilchot Issurey Biah 13,5).
Our sages in Yevamot 47 state that prior to circumcision and ritual bath the proselyte receives instruction in some of the laws of the Torah, especially those dealing with the various tithes imposed by the Torah on the Jewish farmer. One also makes such a proselyte familiar with the penalties he incurs for violating laws of the Torah. The reason is that the mixed multitude who joined the Jewish people as converts at the time of the Exodus were the ones who initiated the sin of the golden calf. They were also the cause of the death of 14,000 Israelites on the occasion when the people had demanded meat after expressing their dissatisfaction with the manna diet (Numbers 11,4). The Torah had described the instigators of that affair as האספסוף, ‘the collection of rabble.” The Talmud Yevamot 43 adds that the absorption of proselytes is a very difficult task for Israel, as difficult to stomach as ספחת, psoriasis, as we know from Isaiah 14,1 ונספחו על בית ישראל, “and strangers shall join them and cleave to the House of Yaakov.” The reason that these proselytes are so hard to absorb is that their inexperience with Jewish laws and customs produces the result that Jews learn from their customs instead of vice versa.
Ibn Ezra
וְהַזּוּרֶה And that which is crushed. It is an irregular form; the Segol under ר is substituted for Kamez, as in ולנה and it shall remain (Zec. 5:4.) זורה is participle passive; comp. מולים circumcised (Jos. 5:5); סוגה set about (Songs 7:2). As to its meaning comp. ויזר and he pressed7A.V., And thrust together. (Jud. 6:38). If one presses the egg, the cockatrice breaks through and comes out. אפעה Viper. Comp. 30:6
Siftei Chakhamim
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לנוס (the passive participle) has the same meaning as לַנָּס (the active participle), just as, (Micha 2:8) "שובי מלחמה”, which means “those who have returned from battle”; and so, too, (Zephaniah 3:18) “those who are removed far (נוני) from the appointed season”; (Joshua 5:5): “for they were circumcised men (מולים)”. Now just as you say שוב in reference to one who has already returned, and מול in reference to one who is already circumcised, so you can say לנוס in reference to one who has already fled. It calls him נוס (the passive participle), as much as to say “one who was made to flee”; — But you say that לנוס means “to flee” (the infinitive) explaining it thus: “ye shall take no ransom for one who ought to flee”, in order to free him from exile (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 160:12), then I do not know how it can be said: “ye shall take no ransom … so that he should return to dwell in the land”, for you see, he has not yet fled, so from where shall he return?