Tafsiran yang Mengutip untuk Ulangan 33:23

The banner of the camp of Dan, Asher, Naphtali to the north. From there gold comes, and all three of them were wealthy, as it is said From Asher comes rich food (Genesis 49:20), and it is written Naphtali is satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of the Lord (Deuteronomy 33:23), which makes one wealthy. And the tribe of Dan made golden calves because of the abundance of gold that was bestowed upon them, and therefore they were the gatherer for all the camps. And this acquisition is the least valuable of all, therefore it says about them they shall travel last and the faces of all were turned toward the Divine Presence in the middle, for all are equally good when they are used for the sake of Heaven. And Judah is the head of a banner because he is king and is called a lion’s whelp. Therefore, it is his role to go at the front in battle, and similarly Dan is a lion’s whelp. He went at the rear because the main battle is at the front and the rear, and Reuben the firstborn is the head of a banner, and similarly Ephraim is the head of a banner because Joseph is the firstborn.

KEIDMAH MIZRACHAH’ (ON THE EAST SIDE EASTWARD).²¹¹Further, 27:13. — At this point Ramban begins to explain the significance of the Hebrew terms for “east, west etc.,” which are mentioned in connection with the arrangement of the boards. The word kedem (east) is not found in connection with the boards, as the Tabernacle on that side had only a curtain. Hence Ramban chose a verse from the following chapter which mentions kedem, and then he will revert to the theme of the boards, and explain the terms negbah, teimanah (the south side, southward) mentioned here in the following Verse 18. The reason for this expression is that the Sacred Language calls the east kedem, just as it is said, And ye shall measure without the city for the side of ‘keidmah’ (east) two thousand cubits,²¹²Numbers 35:5. and calls the west achor (back), just as it is said, Behold, I go ‘kedem’ (forward), but He is not there, v’achor (and backward), but I cannot perceive Him.²¹³Job 23:8. Similarly: As far as ‘ha’achron’ (the hinder) sea,²¹⁴Deuteronomy 34:2. which means the western sea. Both [kedem and achor] are borrowed terms, as the Sacred Language adopts these substitute forms from the standpoint of a person who turns to the light of the sun [thus calling the east panim, “face,” because his face is turned eastward to the rising sun, and the west achor, “back,” because his back is then to the west]. Similarly it says, and they went l’achor (backward) and not ‘l’panim’ (forward).²¹⁵Jeremiah 7:24. According to Ramban the sense of the verse is: they went away from the light [the word of G-d] and did not go towards it. And the south is called negev (dry, parched) because the land is dried up on account of the heat. At times Scripture mentions the borrowed term and then explains it by name. Thus it says keidmah, a term which is borrowed, and explains it by saying mizrachah (eastward),²¹¹Further, 27:13. — At this point Ramban begins to explain the significance of the Hebrew terms for “east, west etc.,” which are mentioned in connection with the arrangement of the boards. The word kedem (east) is not found in connection with the boards, as the Tabernacle on that side had only a curtain. Hence Ramban chose a verse from the following chapter which mentions kedem, and then he will revert to the theme of the boards, and explain the terms negbah, teimanah (the south side, southward) mentioned here in the following Verse 18. which is the name itself. Similarly, it says negbah, which is the borrowed name, and explains it by its proper name — teimanah (southward).²¹⁶Verse 18 (here in Chapter 26 before us). See above Note 211. And the west is called by the substitute name yam [which also means “sea”] because the language adopted it from the standpoint of the people living in the Land of Israel to whom the Great Sea is on the west. The north on the other hand has no by-name, and is so called tzaphon [which means “hidden”] because the sun never appears on that side. The south is called darom, just as it is said, The wind goeth toward ‘darom’ (the south), and turneth about into the north.²¹⁷Ecclesiastes 1:6. It is really a double word [dor rum — “it abides in the height,” a reference to the sun that always reaches its greatest height on that side], with one letter reish missing because of the combination of two similar letters: dor rum, which means that the sun [always] moves at its highest point on that side. The south is also called yamin [which means “right”] and the north is called smol [meaning “left”] with reference to a man who turns eastward [to face the light of the rising sun, in which case his right hand is to the south, and his left to the north], as I have mentioned.
The secret of these names is known from the mystic speculations on the Chariot on high [i.e. the vision of Ezekiel of the Divine Chariot]. Likewise, [the secret of] the name for the west which is yam (sea) is known from that which the Rabbis have said:²¹⁸Baba Bathra 25a. “The Divine Glory is in the west,” for the yam alludes to “the wisdom of Solomon,” just as the Rabbis have said in the Midrash:²¹⁹The exact source is unknown to me. See, however, in my Hebrew commentary p. 468, Note 52 for a similar thought in Yerushalmi Shekalim VI, 1. “Yam always signifies Torah, as it is said, and broader than ‘yam’ (the sea).”²²⁰Job 11:9. I intend to mention this in the section of V’zoth Habrachah²²¹Deuteronomy 33:1. on the verse, possess thou ‘yam’ (the sea) and the south,²²²Ibid., Verse 23. if my Creator will bless me to reach there.

NAPHTALI IS A HIND SENT FORTH. It was a custom among the rulers of countries to send hinds to one another, and this was the manner in which it was done: Hinds which were born in the territory of the king of the north country would be raised in the palaces of the king of the south country. They would attach a written message to its horns, and it would run speedily and return to its original habitat, and in this way the king of the north country would be apprised of the news. This is the meaning of the phrase, He giveth goodly words, meaning that he is a dispatched hind sent who bears good tidings.
This practice is known, and it is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud, in Tractate Shevi’ith:²⁰⁶9:2. “They said,²⁰⁷In our Jerusalem Talmud the text reads: “The officers said to him.” The story told there is about Diocletian, the emperor who oppressed the people of a certain city with heavy taxes. When the people threatened to leave the place the officers said to Diocletian: “If they go they will return, for it is in the nature of people to return to their birthplace. And if you wish to prove it, etc.” ‘If they go they will return, and if you wish to prove it, bring deer and send them to a land far away, and in the end they will return.’ He did so. He brought deer and covered their horns with silver²⁰⁸So that they would be recognized upon their return. and sent them to Africa, and at the end of thirteen years they returned to their place.” That is, they freed them after thirteen years, and they returned at once. The analogy is that Naphtali is satisfied with favor, and full²⁰⁹Deuteronomy 33:23. with all good things, and from him tidings will come forth to all Israel that his land has produced fruits abundantly, even as our Rabbis have mentioned concerning the fruits of Gennesareth.²¹⁰Berachoth 44a. The fruits of Genessar (a district around the Sea of Kinnereth) were considered more nourishing than bread, so that if one eats them together with bread he recites the Benediction over the fruits, as they are the main food.

the way of the sea [Those dwelling by the Sea of Tiberias] (Kinnereth): that is the land of Naphtali, concerning whom it was said (Deut. 33:23): “The sea and the southland you shall inherit.”