신명기 10:6의 주석

ובני ישראל נסעו מבארת בני יעקן מוסרה AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL JOURNEYED FROM BEEROTH OF THE CHILDREN OF JAAKAN TO MOSERA — What has this matter to do with what has been related here? Further: Did they indeed journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera; did they not come from Mosera to Beeroth of the children of Jaakan, as it is said, (Numbers 33:31) “And they journeyed from Moseroth, [and they encamped in Bene Jaakan]”? And further: it states here, “There (at Mosera) did Aaron die”. But did he not die at Mount Hor? Go and count and you will find that there are eight stations from Mosera to Mount Hor! — But really this also is part of the reproof offered by Moses. In effect he said, “This, also, ye did: when Aaron died on Mount Hor at the end of forty years and the clouds of Divine Glory departed, ye feared war with the king of Arad and you appointed a leader that ye might return to Egypt, and ye turned backwards eight stages unto Bene Jaakan and hence to Mosera. There the sons of Levi fought with you, and they slew some of you, and you some of them, until they forced you back on the road along which you had retreated. From there (Mosera) ye returned to Gudgodah, — that is identical with Hor Hagidgod (Numbers 33:32).

AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL JOURNEYED FROM BEEROTH-BENE-YAAKAN TO MOSERAH. “Why does this matter belong here? Furthermore, did they indeed journey from Beeroth-bene-yaakan to Moserah; did they not come from Moserah to Bene-yaakan, as it is said, And they journeyed from Moseroth, and pitched in Bene-yaakan?¹⁸⁸Numbers 33:31. And further, here it is said, there [in Moserah] Aaron died; but did he not die in Mount Hor?¹⁸⁹Ibid., Verse 39. Go and count and you will find that there are eight journeys from Moseroth to Mount Hor!¹⁹⁰Ibid., Verses 31-37: Moseroth, Bene-yaakan, Hor-hagidgad, Jotbah, Abronah, Etzion-geber, Kadesh, Mount Hor. But really this is also part of the reproof [spoken by Moses, saying in effect]: ‘This also you did; When Aaron died in Mount Hor at the end of forty years [after the exodus] and the clouds of Divine Glory departed, you feared war with the king of Arad¹⁹¹Ibid., 21:1. and you appointed a leader to return to Egypt and you turned backwards eight journeys until Bene-yaakan and from there [you continued] to Moserah [as stated here]. There the children of Levi fought you and slew some of you, and you [slew] some of them, until they forced you back the road [along which you had retreated]. From there [Moserah] you returned to Gudgod¹⁹²Verse 7 here: From thence [Moserah] they journeyed unto Gudgod, and from Gudgod etc. which is identical with Hor-hagidgad,¹⁹³Numbers 33:32: And they journeyed from Hor-hagidgad, and pitched in Jotbah. Hence Gudgod is identical with Hor-hagidgad. and from Gudgod to Moserah.¹⁹⁴“To Moserah.” This is not found in our texts of Rashi. Instead our text reads, “And from Gudgod ‘etc’” (Verse 7). Ramban’s text of Rashi is to be understood as follows: “And from Gudgod you ultimately came back to Moserah” since the exact order in the process of their return was from Gudgod to Bene-yaakan, and thence to Moserah. See above, Note 190. And at Moserah you made a great lamentation on account of the death of Aaron which brought this [retreat and subsequent battle with the Levites] upon you, and it [the sadness] was as if Aaron had died there [thus accounting for the verse which states: there — at Moserah — Aaron died]!’ Now Moses placed this reproof next to the [narrative about the] breaking of the Tablets in order to intimate that the death of the righteous is as grievous before the Holy One, blessed be He, as was the day on which the Tablets were broken, and to inform you that it was displeasing to Him what they said Let us make a captain [and return to Egypt]¹⁹⁵Numbers 14:4. in order to break away from Him, as was the day when they made the calf. At that time the Eternal separated the tribe of Levi¹⁹⁶Verse 8 here. — this refers back to the first subject [of this chapter]. At that time, in the first year of your departure from Egypt when you sinned by worshipping the calf, but the sons of Levi did not sin, G-d separated them from you. This event is placed next to the retreat to Bene-yaakan [where, as explained earlier, the Levites showed faith and heroism] in order to intimate that in this matter, also, the sons of Levi did not sin but stood steadfast in their faith.” All this is the language of our Rabbi Shlomo [Rashi] from the words of Agadah.¹⁹⁷Tanchuma, Chukath 18.
Now, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, [in order not to deviate from the literal meaning of the text by saying that they retreated backwards eight stages] found it necessary to say by way of the plain meaning of Scripture that “Beeroth-bene-yaakan [mentioned in the verse before us: and the children of Israel journeyed from Beeroth-bene-yaakan to Moserah] is not identical with Bene-yaakan [mentioned in Numbers 33:31] and Moserah [mentioned here] is not Moseroth [mentioned in Numbers 33:30], but Kadesh¹⁹⁸And they journeyed from Kadesh, and pitched in Mount Hor (Numbers 33:37). is called Beeroth-bene-yaakan,¹⁹⁹For, since it states here that from Beeroth-bene-yaakan they journeyed to Moserah and that there in Moserah Aaron died, it follows that Kadesh [mentioned in Numbers 33:37] is Beeroth-bene-yaakan, seeing that there in Verse 39 it is stated that Aaron died in Mount Hor. and the name of the wilderness where Aaron died is Mount Hor-moserah [so that there is no need to say that they retreated back toward Egypt]. From thence they journeyed unto Gudgod²⁰⁰Verse 7 here. is not identical with Hor-hagidgad¹⁹³Numbers 33:32: And they journeyed from Hor-hagidgad, and pitched in Jotbah. Hence Gudgod is identical with Hor-hagidgad. but instead is a general name for Zalmonah, Punon, and Oboth,²⁰¹Numbers 33:41-43. while Jotbah²⁰⁰Verse 7 here. is the place called B’eir,²⁰²Ibid., 21:16. this being the purport of the expression [here in Verse 7 describing Jotbah as] a land of brooks of water [and in B’eir was the well, whereof the Eternal said unto Moses: ‘Gather the people together, and I will give them water’].²⁰²Ibid., 21:16. And the expression, and from Gudgod to Jotbah²⁰⁰Verse 7 here. is connected with the phrase [in Verse 6 before us], and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest’s office in his [Aaron’s] stead, for it was there in Jotbah that Eleazar began ministering as the High Priest and performed the offerings.” [Thus far is Ibn Ezra’s language.]
But all these are windy words²⁰³Job 16:3. [i.e., words devoid of substance]. For how is it possible for all these many places to be new locations that have not been referred to in the section [enumerating all] of the journeys [of Israel from Egypt to the promised Land].²⁰⁴Numbers 33:1-49. Moreover, it is the custom of Scripture everywhere to make slight changes when mentioning names a second time, whether it is the name of a place or the name of a person [so that even slightly different names would refer to the same place or person] and surely here, when the names are alike, for between Moserah and Moseroth there is no [significant] change or difference; similarly, Hor-hagidgad and Gudgod are one name, and Jotbah [mentioned here and in Numbers 33:34] are surely alike. Furthermore, it was in Mount Hor that Eleazar ministered upon the death of his father [Aaron] when Moses clothed him in the garments [of the High Priest],²⁰⁵Ibid., 20:28. for he was immediately distinguished [as a High Priest simply] by virtue of [being clothed in] the larger number of official garments [of the High Priest], this being the law of the High Priests even during succeeding generations! [Hence there is no justification for Ibn Ezra to say that Eleazar ministered as a High Priest in Jotbah for the first time.]
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that Mount Hor is the largest of the mountains and is many parasangs long.²⁰⁶An ancient Persian measure of length, equal to about three and two-fifths English miles. Its name [Hor Hahar — literally: “the mount of the mount”] so indicates, for it is called “mount” and people called it “the mountain” because of its height and length. And so our Rabbis said that this was a mount on top of a mount.²⁰⁷Tanchuma, Chukath 14, and mentioned by Rashi (Numbers 20:22): “Like a small apple on top of a large apple.” The end of the mountain extended as far as the border of the land of Edom²⁰⁸Ibid., Verse 23. and the beginning of it was near Hashmonah²⁰⁹Ibid., 33:30. [eight stages away from Mount Hor proper].²¹⁰Ibid., Verses 30-37. Now in the plain before Mount Hor there were cities or places called Moseroth, Bene-yaakan, Hor-hagidgad, Jotbah, Abronah, Ezion-geber, and Kadesh.²¹⁰Ibid., Verses 30-37. There was no great distance between these places, for that large camp [of the Israelites] walked in one day about a parasang²⁰⁶An ancient Persian measure of length, equal to about three and two-fifths English miles. or less. From Kadesh they journeyed, and pitched in Mount Hor,²¹¹Ibid., Verse 37. entering a low place at the foot of the mount. Then G-d commanded Moses, Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto Mount Hor,²¹²Ibid., 20:25. meaning that he is to climb upward to the top of it [the lower part of the mountain] which is the beginning of the [upper part of the] mountain. Thus they ascended to the top of the mountain, arriving [at the part] opposite Moseroth, and Aaron died there, this being the intent of the verse, and Aaron died there ‘in the top of the mount,’²¹³Ibid., Verse 28. and thus his death [is also described in the verse before us as having] occurred in Moserah. It is possible that all these places as named were considered as if they were [also] on the mountain itself, so that the summit of the mountain and its opposite site in the plain were called “Moseroth” [in the plural] and the name of each place separately was “Moserah” [in the singular] so that people spoke of “Moserah in the mount” and “Moserah in the plain.” And in the place called Hashmonah there were wells in the field, which people referred to as Beeroth (“The wells of) bene-yaakan” because the inhabitants of Bene-yaakan came there to water their flocks and they made these wells, for there they found running water. And from there [from Beeroth-bene-yaakan] they journeyed to Moserah [as is mentioned in Verse 6 before us], and from there they journeyed to Moseroth,²⁰⁹Ibid., 33:30. and they journeyed from Moseroth, and pitched in Bene-yaakan,²¹⁴Ibid., 33:31. for that [i.e., Bene-yaakan] was the name of that place.²¹⁵Bene-yaakan is thus not to be confused with Beeroth (“The Wells of”) bene-yaakan which, as explained above, was a spot in Hashmonah, where the people of Bene-yaakan dug wells to water their flocks. And Scripture continues to tell [here in Verse 7], From thence they journeyed unto Gudgod; and from Gudgod to Jotbah, a land of brooks of water in order to inform us that they stayed there [many] days on account of the brooks. It abbreviates [in listing] the journeys because it has already explained them [in the section on the journeys],²⁰⁴Numbers 33:1-49. but it states that from thence — from Moserah — they journeyed unto Gudgod and unto Jotbah which was all a land of brooks of water, for from Gudgod to Jotbah was well watered everywhere.²¹⁶Genesis 13:10.
It is further possible that we say that when Aaron went up to the top of the mountain and died there opposite Moseroth or in Moserah itself [as explained above that the top of the mountain was also called Moserah] and he was buried there, the Israelites went back to Moseroth [i.e., to “Moserah” at the foot of the mountain, mentioned here in Verse 6 before us] to weep and to mourn at the grave of the man of G-d,²¹⁷II Kings 23:17. and, for the entire thirty days [of mourning]²¹⁸Numbers 20:29. their prominent men would go up to the top of the mountain and mourn for the holy one of the Eternal,²¹⁹Psalms 106:16: And of Aaron the holy one of the Eternal. and then they would return to the camp which was pitched in Moserah. After the thirty days [of mourning] they journeyed from Moserah to Hor-hagidgad, and from Gudgod to Jotbah [as stated here in Verse 7], for now, as they returned from Moserah, they travelled quickly [and did not stop in Bene-yaakan which was between Moseroth and Hor-hagidgad;²²⁰Numbers 33:31-32. hence it is not mentioned here]. This is a very proper interpretation of explaining the verses in a manner that fits the text. Scripture mentions that the name of the place was Yotbathah [“Jotbah,” from the root tovah — good] because it was a “good” place for there were brooks of water, while the rest of the wilderness was a land of drought,²²¹Jeremiah 2:6. thirsty ground where there was no water.²²²Above, 8:15. The reason for Moses’ mentioning the death of Aaron now while discussing these subjects is because he had said, and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time²²³Ibid., 9:20. [and so he indicated here] that the punishment of “destruction”²²⁴Ibid.: Moreover the Eternal was angry with Aaron to have ‘destroyed’ him, and I prayed for Aaron … did not touch him [Aaron] neither himself personally nor his seed — for Aaron did not die until the fortieth year [after the exodus], being old and full of days, and his son ministered in his stead. He said, And the children of Israel journeyed, and not “and you journeyed,” for in the sections of reproof he speaks directly to the people to chastise them, but in this [verse] he narrates the journeys of the children of Israel.

ובני ישראל נסעו , even though they had seen that the prayer of a righteous person may prove a protection for the members of his generation so that it is most appropriate to mourn his death, in this instance we find that the Israelites in their search for water journeyed on without delay, not a word being said about their taking time out to mourn the passing of Aaron. This is the meaning of the construction: “there Aaron died, was buried…and Eleazar became High Priest in his stead.” They neither took time out to mourn Aaron nor did they celebrate the appointment of a new High Priest, a position which made that person the interlocutor on their behalf. Rather, משם נסעו הגדגודה, to graze their sheep;