Commento su Deuteronomio 2:20

ארץ רפאים תחשב IT (AMMON) ALSO WAS ACCOUNTED A LAND OF REPHAIM. — It also is accounted a land of Rephaim because the Rephaim formerly dwelt in it, but yet it is not that land which I gave to Abraham.

TEICHASHEIV’ (ACCOUNTED). The land of Ammon, too, is considered part of the land of Rephaim; in other words, it is included within it. Similarly, from the Shihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the border of Ekron northward ‘teichasheiv’ (is accounted) to the Canaanites.¹⁷⁴Joshua 13:3. So also, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin; for Beeroth also ‘teichasheiv’ (is accounted) to Benjamin.¹⁷⁵II Samuel 4:2. It is possible that such is also the meaning of the expression written above [with reference to Moab], these also are ‘yeichashvu’ Rephaim,¹⁷⁶Above, Verse 11. Scripture stating that the Emim who formerly dwelled there¹⁷⁷See ibid., Verse 10. are also “accounted”¹⁷⁸In Verse 10 above Ramban explained yeichashvu as an expression of importance and esteem. Here Ramban explains it as “accounted” [to the Rephaim]. Rephaim since they were part of them, and they were as the Anakim,¹⁷⁶Above, Verse 11. and therefore they [the Moabites] called them ‘Emim’¹⁷⁶Above, Verse 11. [because their “dread,” like that of the Anakim (giants) lay upon the people]. This is the correct interpretation.
Thus the land of Rephaim was very large, and from it, Moab and Ammon took their lands. The balance remained for the Rephaim themselves, for Og, who dwelled in Ashtaroth, was of them, as is stated, and they smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim.¹⁵⁵Ibid., Verse 5. And in the Book of Joshua it is written, and cut down a space for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim.¹⁷⁹Joshua 17:15. Therefore, Scripture says of the border of Moab and Ammon that it is “accounted to the Rephaim,” [still calling them “Rephaim,” the name by which they were originally known]. The Moabites and the Ammonites were the ones that changed [the name of the Rephaim] to other names: [the Moabites calling them] Emim and [the Ammonites calling them] Zamzummim.

ארץ רפאים תחשב אף היא, there can be no question that the Ammonites had no legal right to dispossess these people; the only reason why they succeeded in doing so was because it was G’d’s will.

ארץ רפאים תחשב אף היא, it is also considered the land of the Rephaim, etc. Rashi says that the reason this land was called the land of the Rephaim was that the Rephaim used to live there at one time; however, this is not the land of the Rephaim G'd had promised to Abraham at the time. I cannot see what forces Rashi to arrive at this conclusion. Where did G'd ever say that these Rephaim were not included in the ones whose land G'd promised to Abraham? On the contrary, whenever Rephaim are mentioned it includes all the people known as Rephaim. I have seen that Rashi supports his theory by saying that his source is the wording of verse ההוא יקרא ארץ רפאים (Deut.3,13). The fact that the Torah stresses there "this is the land called the land of the Rephaim," suggests that only that part of the Bashan was the land G'd had promised to Abraham under the heading of "the land of the Rephaim." The extra word ההוא means that any other land in which the Rephaim lived at different times was not considered as "their land" (compare Rashi in Chulin 60). I am not persuaded by this proof. Why do we have to assume that the word ההוא in Deut 3,13 is meant to exclude other lands occupied by the people known as the Rephaim? Maybe the word is only meant to exclude the district called Argov seeing it is not called "land of the Rephaim?" Logic would dictate that the word ההוא is meant to indicate precisely what the Torah refers to, not something the Torah wants to exclude. After the Torah had told us that the Rephaim used to live in the land occcupied by the Bney Ammon and the Moabites (the descendants of Lot) at that time, the Torah mentions that these lands were really included in what G'd had promised to Abraham at the time. Furthermore, the word ההוא was not intended to restrict except to tell us that at the time Moses spoke these lands were no longer popularly known as the lands of the Rephaim but as the lands of Sichon and Og rather than as the lands of Bney Ammon and Moav. In fact, even at the time when G'd made the promise to Abraham these cities were not known as lands of the Rephaim as G'd had temporarily designated these cities as the inheritance of the descendants of Lot. Rashi (2,5) himself explains that Abraham who had been promised these lands by G'd, turned them over to Lot (temporarily) who went to Egypt with him becaus he did not reveal the secret of the husband-wife relationship between Abraham and Sarah.

ארץ רפאים תחשב גם הוא, as the land of the Refaim which G’d had promised to Avraham at the covenant between the pieces. (Genesis 15,20) Even though these Refaim had been dispossessed; if the descendants of Lot could dispossess the Refaim of old, it would certainly not be a problem for the Jewish people to dispossess people who had come by this land not by ancestral right but by conquest.

ארץ רפאים תחשב, “it is considered the land of the Refa-im;” for this was also land originally owned by the Refai-im.

V. 20. ארץ רפאים וגו׳ (siehe zu Verse 10 — 12). Auch Verse 20 — 23 sind erläuternde Einschaltungen von Mosche beim Niederschreiben seiner Anrede an das Volk. Erst V. 24 wird diese fortgesetzt. ומזמים von זמם, der Bezeichnung einer geistigen Tätigkeit, die meist in schlimmem Sinne genommen wird, auf etwas Schlimmes sinnen. זמזמים daher: tückische Leute, die ihre ungeheure Kraft in den Dienst ihrer schlimmen Absichten stellen (siehe zu Bereschit 11, 6).

ארץ רפאים תחשב אף היא, “that land was also considered as land of the Refaim.” It was considered “as if,” but in fact was not. They were really Zamzumim, because they were always implicated in a war or in the planning of a war.

תחשב, although it is considered as “the land of the Refaim, it is not officially called thus, but is part of the Kingdom of Og the king of Bashan. This is spelled out in detail in 3,13. In that verse the Refaim referred to are the ones mentioned by G’d to Avraham in Genesis 15. This is why the Israelites inherited these lands.

ןהמעמונים יקראו להם זמזומים, “but the Ammonites called those people Samzumim.” This word is related to Psalms 140,9 זממו אל תפק, “do not let their plan succeed.” The doubling of the letter ז here reinforces the original meaning, i.e. that these people being so numerous and powerful cannot be denied anything they desire. The word תחשב here needs to be understood in conjunction with the name of Sichon’s capital חשבון, which already included the land of the original Refa-im. It may also be possible to explain the line רפאים תחשבו that the people in that land now are considered like the giants of ancient times, i.e. the אימים, a race which caused fear in all the neighbouring countries. The land occupied by the Refa-im was very large for after the Ammonites had captured some of that land, Og the King of the Emorite in Bashan was a giant dating back to these ancient times, something described in greater detail in Genesis chapter 14 where the defeat of the Refa-im at Ashtarot Karnayim has been documented. This is the reason why our verses describe the lands of Ammon and Moav as having originally been owned and inhabited by the Refai-im.

When we keep these points in mind we can understand why the Torah writes יקרא when speaking of the lands of Sichon and Og, whereas when speaking of the lands of the Rephaim the Torah wrote יחשב. Seeing the whole Jewish people remembered that Sichon and Og had lived in those lands the expression יקרא, "is called" (3,13) was quite appropriate. On the other hand, when the Torah speaks of lands whom no one remembered as having been populated by the Rephaim of old, the term תחשב "was considered" (2,19), is more appropriate. I am convinced that whenever the Torah mentions that a certain piece of land was called "the land of the Rephaim," the intention is to tell us that this piece of land was included in what G'd promised to Abraham at the time he mentioned the Rephaim. According to the words of the Sifri which I have quoted in Mattot that the lands of Sichon and Og claimed by the tribes of Reuven and Gad were not the lands which had been promised to Abraham by G'd at the time of the covenant between the pieces, it makes sense that the Torah wrote in Deut. 3.13 ההוא יקרא ארץ רפאים, "that is the land known as the land of the Rephaim." The Torah means to say: "this is what truly deserves to be called the lands of the Rephaim, and not some other lands such as the one of Sichon and Og which has popularly been known as the land of the Rephaim." Please read what else I have to say on the subject in connection with 3,13.