Midras Ayub 34:19: Bamidbar Rabbah, Midrash Tanchuma & Aggadat Bereshit

Another matter: “Then Israel sang” (Numbers 21:17) – this is one of three matters⁸⁵The third matter relates to the vanquishing of Siḥon, which is first mentioned in Numbers 21:21–24. that Moses said before the Holy One blessed be He, and He said to him: You have taught Me. He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, from where do Israel know what they have done?⁸⁶Namely, from where could they have known that the golden calf was a sin. Did they not grow in Egypt, and all of Egypt are idolaters. When You gave the Torah, You did not give it to them, and they were not standing there, as it is stated: “The people stood at a distance” (Exodus 20:18), and You gave it only to me, as it is stated: “To Moses, He said: Ascend to the Lord” (Exodus 24:1). When You gave the commandments, You did not give them to them. You did not say: “I am the Lord your God [eloheikhem],”⁸⁷“Your” in the plural. but rather: “I am the Lord your God [elohekha]” (Exodus 20:2).⁸⁸“Your” in the singular. You said it to me. Did I, perhaps, sin?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘As you live, you have spoken well. You have taught Me. From now on I will speak with the expression: “I am the Lord your God [eloheikhem].”’
The second, when the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Reckoning the iniquity of the fathers upon children” (Exodus 34:7). Moses said: ‘Master of the universe, how many wicked men begot righteous men? Shall they be taking from the iniquities of their fathers? Teraḥ worshipped idols, and Abraham his son was righteous. Likewise, Hezekiah was righteous, and Aḥaz his father was wicked. Likewise, Yoshiya was righteous, and Amon his father was wicked. Is it appropriate for the righteous to be stricken for the iniquity of their fathers?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘You have taught Me. As you live, I am voiding My words and fulfilling your words,’ as it is stated: “Fathers shall not be put to death for children, and children shall not be put to death for fathers” (Deuteronomy 24:16) – ‘and as you live, I will write them in your name,’ as it is stated: “As it is written in the book of the Torah of Moses that the Lord commanded, [saying: Fathers will not be put to death for children, and children will not be put to death for fathers]” (II Kings 14:6).
The third, when the Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Wage war with Siḥon even if he does not seek to wage with you; you provoke war with him,’ as it is stated: “Rise, and travel, and cross the Arnon ravine; [see, I have placed Siḥon king of Ḥeshbon, the Emorite, and his land in your hand; begin taking possession, and provoke war with him]” (Deuteronomy 2:24). But Moses did not do so; rather, what is written: “I sent messengers” (Deuteronomy 2:26). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: As you live, I am voiding My words and fulfilling your words, as it is stated: “When you approach a city to wage war against it, you shall call to it for peace” (Deuteronomy 20:10). When Siḥon did not accept, the Holy One blessed be He toppled him before them, as it is stated: “We smote him” (Deuteronomy 2:33).
Moreover, even those who concealed themselves in the caves to kill them, the Holy One blessed be He intimated to the mountain and it crushed them, as it is stated: “You broke the heads of crocodiles on the waters. [You] crushed the heads of leviathan” (Psalms 74:13–14). The folk proverb says: If you gave bread to a child, inform his mother. The Holy One blessed be He said: How will Israel know the good that I performed on their behalf? What did He do? He distanced the mountains from one another, and the streams in the ravines washed them out,⁸⁹The streams washed the remains out of the caves where they were located. as it is stated: “The outpouring of the ravines” (Numbers 21:15). Israel was passing and reciting song: “Then Israel sang” (Numbers 21:17). Israel said: ‘It is incumbent upon You to perform miracles on our behalf, and it is incumbent upon us to bless and laud Your name.’ “Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people, Selah” (Psalms 3:9).
It was due to the water that the decree was issued against Moses, and he is not mentioned in the song. Moses said: Master of the universe, after all the miracles that You performed on their behalf, will I die at their hand? From the wilderness You gave them the Torah, as it is stated: “From the wilderness to Matana” (Numbers 21:18).⁹⁰Matana means gift, referring here to the Torah. And it became their heritage [naḥalu] under my guidance, as it is stated: “And from Matana to Naḥaliel” (Numbers 21:19) – God became their heritage [naḥalu El]. And once it became their heritage, You decreed death upon me,” as it is stated: “From Naḥaliel to Bamot” (Numbers 21:19) – from the ravine [naḥal] came [ba] death [mot]. “And from Bamot to the canyon that is in the field of Moav” (Numbers 21:20), as it is stated: “He buried him in the canyon in the land of Moav” (Deuteronomy 34:6). Job said: “Who does not show favor to princes and does not prefer the wealthy over the poor, as they are all His handiwork” (Job 34:19).

(Numb. 21:17:) “Then Israel sang.” For what reason is Moses not mentioned there?¹³⁶Numb. R. 19:26. For the reason that he was being punished because of the waters; and no person praises¹³⁷Rt.: QLS. Cf.: Gk.: kalos. his executioner.¹³⁸Lat.: speculator (“examiner” or “overseer”). And why is the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, not mentioned there? The matter is comparable to a governor who made a banquet for the king. The king said, “Will my friend so-and-so be there?” They told him, “No.” He said, “[Then] I also am not going there.” Also here the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Inasmuch as Moses is not mentioned, I also will not be mentioned there.” (Numb. 21:18:) “The well that the princes dug.” Was it dug there? It is simply that it was given through the merit of the ancestors who were called princes. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 105:41-42), “He opened a rock, and water gushed out […]. For he remembered His holy promise and His servant Abraham.” (Numb. 21:18, cont.:) “That the nobles of the people dug with the scepter, even with their own staffs.” The princes were standing by it, and each and every one drew [the water] with his own staff for his own tribe and for his own family. And the space between the [four] standards was filled with a [flow of] water that was gathering strength. A woman who had to go to her companion from one standard to [another] standard went by ship, as stated (in Ps. 105:41), “they traveled the river by tsiyyot.”¹³⁹A more traditional translation would be: IT FLOWED THROUGH THE WILDERNESS LIKE A RIVER. Now tsiyyot (here understood as the plural of tsi) can only denote a ship, since it is stated (in Is. 33:21), “nor shall a stately ship (tsi) pass by.” Now the waters flowed outside the camp and embraced a great strip of land. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 23:3) “He leads me in paths (literally, circles) of righteousness.” In addition, [the encircling waters] would cause endless varieties of green herbage and trees to grow, as stated (in Ps. 23:2), “[He makes me lie down] in green pastures; [He leads me beside still waters].” All those the days that Israel was in the desert they used it (i.e., the well). Therefore, they rendered praise for it [with the song ending] (in Numb. 21:18), “the well that the princes dug.” (Numb. 21:18, cont.:) “From Midbar (literally, desert) to Mattanah,” [so stated] because in the desert [the well] was given (nittenah) them to use as a gift (mattanah). Another interpretation: Why was [the well] given in the desert? Because if it had been given to them in the land, the tribe in whose border it was given would have argued and said, “I have a prior claim to it.” For that reason it was given in the desert where all would have an equal claim to it. And for what other reason was it given in the desert? Just as a desert is neither sown nor cultivated, so is the one who receives the words of Torah. They remove from him the yoke of the government and the yoke of earning a living. Just as a desert does not grow arnona;¹⁴⁰The Latin word generally denotes, as it probably does here, a tax on farm goods paid in kind; but the word also occurs in a broader sense denoting agricultural products generally. so are children of Torah (i.e., Torah scholars) free [from it] in this world.¹⁴¹I.e., by accepting the yoke of Torah, such scholars are exempt from government taxes and the need to earn a living. See Numb. R. 19:26. Another interpretation [of why it was given] in the desert: Who is the one who fulfills the Torah? One who uses himself like the desert, [i.e.,] whoever makes himself like a desert and removes himself from everything [that might distract him]. (Numb. 21:19:) “From Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth.” These three places correspond to the three courts in Jerusalem that would explicate the Torah to all of Israel: (Ibid.) “From Mattanah to Nahaliel,” these refer to the Sanhedrin on the Temple Mount; (ibid., cont.) “from Nahaliel to Bamoth,” these refer to the Sanhedrin¹⁴²Gk.: synhedrion. in the [Temple] court beside the altar; (Numb. 21:20) “From Bamoth to the valley that is in the Plain of Moab.” These refer to the Sanhedrin, when it was in the chamber of hewn stones, which was in the region of that woman who came from the Plain of Moab (i.e., Ruth), of whom it is stated (in Ruth 2:6), “She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the Plains of Moab.” (Numb. 21:20, cont.:) “[At the Summit of Pisgah,] which is visible on the surface of wilderness (yeshimon);”¹⁴³Yeshimon may be a place name, Jeshimon. for from there (she’misham) Torah goes forth into the world. Another interpretation (of these verses, centering on Numb. 21:19) “From Mattanah to Nahaliel”: Moses said, “Master of the world, after all of the miracles that You did for them, I am to die from them? He gave them the Torah from the desert (midbar), [as stated] (in Numb. 21:18), ‘From Midbar to Mattanah (literally, gift).’ And through me, they inherited (nahalu) it, as stated (in Numb. 21:19) ‘From Mattanah to Nahaliel.’ And from when they inherited it, You decreed death upon me [since] (Numb. 21:19, cont.), ‘from Nahaliel to Bamoth,’ [meaning] death came (ba mavet).” (Numb. 21:20) “From Bamoth to the valley that is in the Plain of Moab…,” that is burial, as stated (in Deut. 34:6), “He buried him in the valley in the Land of Moab.” This is related to what Job said (to Job 34:19), “He is not partial to princes; the noble are not preferred to the wretched; for all of them are the work of His hands.”(Numb. 21:20, cont.:) “[At the Summit of Pisgah,] which is visible on the surface of wilderness (yeshimon).” This is in reference to the well which accompanied them until it was hidden in the Sea of Tiberias.¹⁴⁴See above, Lev. 7:7; Numb. 1:2; 6:35, 47-49; and the notes there; also yKil. 2:4 or 3 (32cd); yKet. 12:3 (35b); Lev. R. 22:4; Eccl. R. 5:8-9:5; cf. Shab. 35b, according to which the well is visible from Mount Carmel; similarly M. Ps. 24:6, according to which the well is visible from Mount Nebo. And one standing on the surface of the wilderness sees something in the midst of the sea about the size of the mouth of an oven; and that is the well, which is visible on the surface of the wilderness.

[2] Another interpretation: "And Eli was very old. You will find in everyone who is written as old, there is no "very" except here, and Eli was very old, and he was ninety-eight years old. As it says, "who shows no partiality to princes" (Job 34:19). It is likened to a peasant (explained by Peretz) who took a stone and threw it into the king's pantry. The king said, "Hang him by the neck!" Similarly, the sons of Eli did more than enough to anger God, as it is said, "And their sin was very great before the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:17). God said, "Even though Eli is very old," as it is said, "And Eli was very old" (1 Samuel 2:22)."