Commento su Deuteronomio 1:26

ותמרו — This is an expression denoting setting oneself in opposition: ye opposed yourselves to His words.

ולא אביתם לעלות, for at that point you revealed your original sinful approach, i.e. that your motivation had not been to select the best part of the country for yourselves at this time, as I had thought, based on what you had said. Your purpose in the mission had been to determine if it was possible to conquer this land, something that revealed that you did not believe G’d’s promise to you. As a result of your lack of belief you accepted what the spies told you when they said that these people are too strong, and you refused to ascend to this land.

ולא אביתם לעלות, "and you did not want to ascend (to the land of Canaan)." Even though ten spies testified, as will be mentioned shortly where Moses describes the ten as demoralising the whole people, conquest of the land of Canaan had never been made subject to the Israelites' prowess or otherwise. It was a gift from G'd as we explained in detail on Numbers 13,2 based on the words "which I (the Lord) am about to give to you." G'd Himself was going to dispossess the Canaanites as mentioned in verse 29, i.e. "He will wage war on your behalf." None of these words represent a contradiction to the report of the spies describing the cities of Canaan and their inhabitants as exceedingly powerful. Nachmanides' objections are quite unfounded, therefore. [The author assumes that we are all familiar with the commentary by Nachmanides who questioned how one could fault the people for believing 10 spies rather than 2 spies. Ed.]

V. 26. אבה .ולא אביתם וגו׳ ותמרו: sich dem Willen eines andern fügen (siehe Schmot 10, 27 und Dewarim 18, 8 u. f.). מרה: dem Willen eines andern entgegen sein (siehe Bereschit 26, 35). המרה: jemandem zuwider handeln.