Commento su Numeri 13:29

עמלק יושב וגו׳ THE AMALEKITES ABIDE [IN THE LAND OF THE SOUTH] — Because they had already been “burnt” by Amalek, the spies mentioned him first in order to terrify them (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 9).

They also said, Amalek dwelleth in the land of the south⁵⁹Verse 29. by which they intended to allege that there was no direction from which they could enter the Land, as all [its inhabitants] are strong men, for Amalek dwells in the south, and the Canaanite in the west and in the east, and the Amorite in the mountains.⁵⁹Verse 29. Thus they reported that which they had been sent [to find out], in such a way as to discourage the people’s confidence by means of allusion [and not openly], because they were afraid of Moses and Aaron. Thus they gave an answer to all that Moses commanded them [to ascertain], except for his statement [that they were to see] whether they are few or many,⁵⁵Verse 18. to which they gave no reply at all, nor did they report back [whether it is] good.⁵⁶Verse 19. This is because they intended to tell the people afterwards by way of an evil report, it is a Land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof,⁶⁰Verse 32. [thus implying] that its people are few but very strong. Now the people understood their intention and so all the congregation which was present began to murmur, this being the sense of the expression, And Caleb stilled the people,⁶¹Verse 30. for he silenced them and said, We should go up at once, for we are well able to overcome it,⁶¹Verse 30. meaning: “It is true that the people are strong, but we shall be stronger than them and their fortified cities.” Therefore Caleb said lah [“it” — we are well able to overcome ‘it,’ the word ‘it’ referring to the Land, and including the people and their fortifications]. Then the spies spoke up again, explaining their words clearly, and said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we,⁶²Verse 31. meaning: “Even if the people came out unto us into the field⁶³II Samuel 11:23. we are not able to contest them in battle, and we surely cannot capture any of their great and fortified cities.” For the meaning of the expression to go up ‘against the people’ is similar to [what Goliath said]: choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me,⁶⁴I Samuel 17:8. which is an expression for those fighting in battle formation.

עמלק יושב בארץ הנגב, “Amalek lives in the southern part of the land.” Although this nation was not at risk from invasion by the Israelites, the spies added this comment to illustrate that invading the land from any direction would pose insurmountable obstacles. They began to indirectly shake the confidence of the people, as at this moment they still were afraid to confront Moses directly. They answered on all the points Moses had asked them to report except if the population was large or small. They also did not give a direct answer to Moses’ question if the land was טובה, “good,” as they intended to mention later that the land consumed its inhabitants, planning to frighten the people who even if they were to conquer the land, would not survive in it for long. Their approach to the subject was: there are not too many people there, but the ones that are there are overpoweringly strong. The people understood what the spies were hinting at, and began to complain about the whole prospect they were facing. This is why Calev intervened with his attempt to silence the majority as we read in verse 30:

Because they had been burned by Amalek. Even though it was true that they dwelled there, as it is written “the Amaleki and the Cana’ani dwell in the valley…” (Bamidbar 14:25). Rashi infers this because the Torah writes “go up by the mountain” (v. 17) and it was the Emori and the Chiti who dwelled there. Thus, since the Emori and Chiti dwelled in the mountain, while Amalek dwelled in the valley, they should not have mentioned Amalek first. Rather it was “to frighten them…”

V. 29. עמלק וגו׳, es ist damit das ganze Land skizziert. Amalek im Süden, Chitti usw. Bewohner des die Mitte des Landes von Nord gegen Süden durchziehenden Libanongebirges, das Gestade des Meeres und des Jardens sind die Abdachungen gegen West und Ost. Amaleks Schwert hatten sie bereits empfunden. Es gehörte nicht zu den Bewohnern des Landes. Allein sie befanden sich in seiner Nähe und konnten seinen Überfall beim Eroberungsversuch zu fürchten haben.

עמלק יושב בארץ הנגב, “the Amalekites reside in the southern region of that land.” The spies implied that before asking about the fierceness of the inhabitants of that land further north, they should first ask about the Amalekites who live near the southern border, the area slated for invasion first. This was the same Amalek whom their fathers had not been able to completely defeat when they had just come out of Egypt.

ועל ידי הירדן AND BY THE יד OF THE JORDAN — יד means what it literally implies: beside the Jordan. They meant: the Canaanites live on the bank of the Jordan and therefore you will be unable to cross it.

והאמורי יושב בהר, “and the Emorites dwell in the mountainous regions. The Canaanites dwell along the shores of the Sea, as well as along the river Jordan. They meant that there was no unpopulated region through which to enter this land.