מדרש על במדבר 21:23

And in the thirty-ninth year of the Israelites’ going out of Egypt, the Lord provoked the heart ‎of Sihon, king of the Amorites, to go forth and fight against the children of Moab. And Sihon ‎sent messengers to Beor the son of Janeus, the son of Balaam, counselor to the king of Egypt, ‎and unto Balaam his son, to curse Moab, that it might be delivered into the hands of Sihon. ‎And Beor and Balaam his son came, and they cursed Moab, and the Lord delivered the children ‎of Moab into the hands of Sihon; and Sihon slew the king of Moab, and he took all the cities of ‎Moab, including Heshbon which was one of the cities of Moab, and he placed his princes and ‎officers over Heshbon. Therefore they that spoke in proverbs, Beor and his son Balaam, speak ‎in these words, saying: Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared. Woe to ‎thee, Moab, thou art undone, O people of Chemosh! Behold it is written in the book of the ‎law of God. And Sihon gave many presents unto Beor and his son Balaam, and they returned ‎to their home. And at that time all the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of ‎Moab, and they went around the wilderness of Edom, and they came into the wilderness of ‎Zin on the first month of the fortieth year after their going out of Egypt; and Israel abode there ‎in Kadesh, and there Miriam died, and she was buried in that place. Then Moses sent ‎messengers unto Hadad, king of Edom, saying: Let me pass, I pray thee, through thy country; ‎we will not pass through the fields or through the vine yards, neither will we drink of the ‎waters of the wells; we will go by the king's highway. And Edom said unto him: Thou shalt not ‎pass by me; and Edom went forth against Israel with a numerous host, but the children of ‎Israel removed from Edom without fighting with them.‎ And the children of Israel journeyed from Kadesh and they came to Mount Hor.

Then the Lord said unto Moses: Tell unto Aaron thy brother that he must die here, for he shall ‎not enter the land which I have sworn to give unto the children of Israel. And Aaron went up ‎the mountain of Hor according to the word of the Lord, in the fortieth year in the fifth month, ‎on the first day of the month, and Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years of age ‎when he died on Mount Hor. And the children of Israel journeyed from Mount Hor and ‎encamped in Oboth, and they journeyed from Oboth and encamped in Ije-haabarim, on the ‎border of Moab. And Moses sent unto Moab, saying: Let us journey through thy land to our ‎place; but Moab would not suffer Israel to journey through his land, and the children of Israel ‎journeyed from the border of Moab, and they came to the other side of Arnon, the border of ‎Moab between Moab and the Amorites, and they encamped on the border of the Amorites in ‎the wilderness of Kidemoth. And the children of Israel sent messengers unto Sihon, king of ‎the Amorites, saying: Let us pass through thy land, we shall not turn into the fields and into the ‎vineyards, but we shall go over the king's high way. But Sihon would not suffer the children of ‎Israel to pass, and he assembled all the people of the Amorites, and he went forth to fight ‎against Israel. And the Lord delivered Sihon into the hands of the children of Israel, and they ‎smote Sihon and all his people at the edge of the sword.‎

29 (Numb. 20:17) “Please let us pass through your land.”⁸⁹As Buber suggests in note 370, the citation is probably a misreading for Numb. 20:22: LET ME PASS THROUGH YOUR LAND. This alternate reading better fits the context. As he had sent to inform the king of Edom that he would do no damage to him, so did he send to this one. (Deut. 2:28) “You shall sell me food for money, and water with money….”: It is customary for water to be given gratis, but I am giving payment for it. (Numb. 21:22) “We will go by the king's highway [until we have passed through your territory]”: But in another place it is written (in Deut. 2:29), “until I have crossed [the Jordan].” To what is the matter comparable? To one guarding a vine or fig tree. When someone comes and says, “Let me pass through here, so that I may gather grapes from the vineyard,” he says to him, “It is only because of you that I am sitting on guard, and you would come to gather [the grapes]?” So it was with Sihon. He received wages from all the kings of Canaan; and they would bring taxes up to him, for he would crown them. Moreover he and Og were considered the equivalent of them all, since it is stated (in Ps. 136:19-20), “Sihon, king of the Amorites…; and Og, king of Bashan, and all the royalty of Canaan.” Israel said to [Sihon], “Let us pass through your land⁹⁰“Let us pass through your land” is similar but not quite equal to either Numb. 20:17 or Numb. 21:22. to conquer the kings.” He said to them, “I am sitting here to guard them from you.” (Numb. 21:23) “So Sihon did not allow Israel to cross on his territory; instead Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel”: The Holy One, blessed be He, only did this to deliver him into their hand without trouble. As it is written (in Numb. 21:34 = Deut. 3:2), “to Sihon, king of the Amorites who dwelt in Heshbon (i.e., with calculation).”⁹¹The stress on the Holy One acting with fore-thought was suggested by the words, IN HESHBON, which can also be translated WITH CALCULATION. If Heshbon had been full of mosquitos, no mortal could have conquered it; and if Sihon had been in a valley, no mortal could have overpowered him. And it goes without saying [that it could not be conquered], since he was a warrior and dwelt in a fortified city. [Ergo,] (in Numb. 21:34 = Deut. 3:2), “who dwelt in Heshbon.” If he and his troops⁹²Gk.: ochloi. had dwelt [scattered about] in his towns, Israel would have worn themselves out to prevail against him and conquer each and every town. Instead the Holy One, blessed be He, gathered them together so as to deliver them into their hand without trouble. And so it said (in Deut. 2:31), “See I have begun to give Sihon [and his land] over to you.” They killed all his warriors who had come out against them. Then they returned for the women and infants without exertion. It is therefore written (in Numb. 21:23,25), “Sihon gathered all his people together […]. And Israel took all of these cites.”

(Numb. 21:21:) THEN ISRAEL SENT MESSENGERS <UNTO SIHON, KING OF THE AMORITES>. All the words of Torah are necessary to each other, for what one covers over the other opens up.²⁰¹Tanh., Numb. 6:23; Numb. R. 19:28. It is stated here (in Numb. 21:21): THEN ISRAEL SENT MESSENGERS, while in another place <Scripture> ascribes the sending to Moses. [Thus it is stated] (in Deut. 2:26): THEN I SENT MESSENGERS FROM THE DESERT OF KEDEMOTH <UNTO KING SIHON OF HESHBON WITH WORDS OF PEACE>. <Both verses are necessary> to teach you that the head of a generation is surely equivalent to the whole generation. (Numb. 20:17:) PLEASE LET US PASS THROUGH YOUR LAND.²⁰²As Buber suggests in note 370, the citation is probably a misreading for Numb. 20:22: LET ME PASS THROUGH YOUR LAND. This alternate reading better fits the context and also agrees with the parallel in Numb. R. 19:29; however, the parallel in Tanh., Numb. 6:23 agrees with the Buber text as written. As he had sent to inform the king of Edom <that he would do no damage, so did he send to this one>²⁰³The bracketed words come from the parallel in Numb. 19:19 and are necessary for the sense of the argument. (in Deut. 2:28): YOU SHALL SELL ME FOOD FOR MONEY…. It is customary for water to be given gratis, but I am giving payment for it. (Numb. 21:22:) WE WILL GO BY THE KING's HIGHWAY [UNTIL WE HAVE PASSED THROUGH YOUR TERRITORY]. In another place it is written (in Deut. 2:29): UNTIL HAVE CROSSED THE JORDAN. <The matter> is comparable to one guarding a vine or fig tree. When someone comes and says: Let me pass through here, so that I may gather grapes from the vineyard, he says to him: It is only because of you that I am sitting on guard. So would you come to gather the grapes? So it was with Sihon. He received wages from all the kings of Canaan; and they would bring taxes up to him, for he had made them kings. Moreover he and Og were considered the equivalent of them all, since it is stated (in Ps. 136:19–20): SIHON, KING OF THE AMORITES …; AND OG, KING OF BASHAN. Israel said to <Sihon>: Let us pass through your land²⁰⁴“Let us pass through your land” is similar but not quite equal to either Numb. 20:17 or Numb. 21:22. to conquer the kings. He said to them: I am sitting here to guard them from you. (Numb. 21:23:) SO SIHON DID NOT ALLOW ISRAEL TO CROSS ON HIS TERRITORY. INSTEAD SIHON GATHERED ALL HIS PEOPLE TOGETHER AND WENT OUT AGAINST ISRAEL. The Holy One acted with forethought to deliver him into their hand without trouble. It is written (in Numb. 21:34 = Deut. 3:2): TO KING SIHON OF THE AMORITES WHO DWELT IN HESHBON (i.e., WITH CALCULATION).²⁰⁵The stress on the Holy One acting with fore-thought was suggested by the words, IN HESHBON, which can also be translated WITH CALCULATION. If Heshbon had been full of mosquitos, no mortal could have prevailed against it; and it goes without saying that he was a warrior and dwelt in a fortified city. If he and his troops²⁰⁶Gk.: ochloi. had dwelt < scattered about> in his towns, Israel would have worn themselves out to prevail against him and conquer each and every town. Instead the Holy One gathered them together so as to deliver them into their hand without [trouble. And so it said (in Deut. 2:31): SEE I HAVE BEGUN TO GIVE SIHON <AND HIS LAND> OVER TO YOU. They killed all his warriors who had come out against them. Then they returned for the women and infants without] exertion. It is therefore written (in Numb. 21:23): INSTEAD SIHON GATHERED ALL HIS PEOPLE TOGETHER.