민수기 20:17의 주석

נעברה נא בארצך LET US PASS, I PRAY THEE, THROUGH THY COUNTRY — You have no right to lay claim to the land of Israel as an inheritance, just the same as you have not paid the debt (see Rashi v. 14); render us therefore a little assistance by permitting us to pass through your land.

דרך המלך, the route which the king would command them to travel. It was an established custom that when foreign armies were given permission to traverse a neutral country’s territory that they were assigned a specific route for that purpose. Such armies would also be assigned a guide advising them of possible pitfalls en route.

ולא נשתה מי באר, water from your wells. Water was very precious and hence expensive in that land.

נעברה נא בארצך, “please allow us to traverse your land.” If you will compare a similar request made by the Israelites in connection with Sichon, King of the Emorites, you will find that there was no: “please,” and “let us,” but that the Torah reports the formula אעברה, “I wish to cross.” The reason is that by using a formula Esau himself had used in Genesis 33,12, i.e. נסעה ונלכה, emphasizing that they had similar interests, had something in common, Moses hoped to secure the king’s consent. Moses reminded the King of Edom that basically the two peoples were related by blood, and should have common interests.

נעברה נא בארצך, “let us pass through your land.” This is a hint to Edom not to challenge Yaakov’s inheritance of the land of the Canaanites seeing the Edomites had not fulfilled the other half of the condition, i.e. to endure being strangers and being enslaved in a foreign land.

You should not challenge… Rashi wishes to answer the question: Why did Moshe need to mention to the king of Edom about the exodus from Egypt as well as the entire section written beforehand?

V. 17. ולא נשתה מי באר: Wir wollen kein Privateigentum antasten. דרך המלך: eine vom "Könige", d.h. von der Gesamtheit angelegte, der Öffentlichkeit angehörende Straße, die kein Privateigentum, vielleicht nicht einmal Eigentum einer Kommune ist, kein Kommunalweg.

ולא נשתה מי באר, “and we will not drink water from your wells.” Moses reassures the Edomites that the Israelites will not deprive them of water they had had to dig for, but would only drink from water which flowed in the streams coursing through their territory, water that would not be used by them anyways. These waters are not owned by anyone.

ולא נשתה מי באר NEITHER WILL WE DRINK OF THE WATER OF THE SPRINGS — He should have said “water of the cisterns (בורות)”; but this was what Moses meant to say: Although we have manna to eat, and a well of which to drink, (that which followed them through the wilderness), we will not drink of it, but we will buy food and water from you to your advantage. From here we may learn a rule for a guest (one lodging in an inn): although he has in his possession something to eat, he should yet purchase something from the local tradesman in order to benefit his host (Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 12).

דרך המלך, the public highway, a road which may be traveled by everybody without restriction.

עד אשר נעבור גבולך, “until we have completed crossing your territory.” Nachmanides points out that Moses made no mention of the Israelites’ purpose in all being to reach the land promised by Hashem to their forefathers and to settle in it. He did not want to give that king any cause for being jealous of the Jewish people by making reference to their future. He did not want to open an age-old rivalry between Yaakov and Esau and thereby to renew ancient animosities. The Edomites might have disputed the validity of their forefather Esau having sold his birthright to Yaakov. Seeing that no such considerations applied to Moses’ dealings with Sichon and Og, he did not conceal from them why the Israelites needed to cross their respective countries.

לא נעבור בשדה או כרם, “we will not traverse field or vineyard.” We will not cause any damage.
לא נשתה מי באר, “we will not drink water from wells.” According to the plain meaning this means that Moses undertook not to drink from sources of water belonging to the Edomites. According to Tanchuma Chukat 12, Moses made a more far-reaching promise saying that while on their march through the land of the Edomites the Israelites would not even drink from their own well. They would buy water from the Edomites instead.

Although we have in our possession manna to eat. Rashi mentions “manna to eat” even though the verse only writes about water, because Rashi is answering the question: If he had not spoken the king of Edom about food, what benefit would they have in them purchasing water, since this was of minor benefit to them? Rather, Moshe must have also said that they would purchase food from them. The reason that the verse specifically mentions water was to teach something additional; that they also wished to purchase water from them, even though it was not customary to purchase water. We see that from Yirmeyahu who lamented (Eichah 5:4), “We drank our water for money” (Mahari).

דרך המלך נלך, “we will march along the king’s highway.” We will march along a route indicated by the King.

דרך המלך נלך וגו׳ WE WILL KEEP TO THE KING’S HIGHWAY etc. — we will muzzle our cattle, and so they will not turn aside into the fields on this side or that to eat (Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 12).

דרך המלך נלך, “we will only travel along the King’s highway.” This may mean that they would only make use of the road used by the King himself; or it could mean that they would only travel a route allocated to them by the King of Edom.

We will muzzle. (Nachalas Yaakov) Rashi is answering the question: Had they not already said, “We will not pass through any field or vineyard”? [The answer is] that certainly above it refers to their passage on foot but here it is referring to a diversion [from the road] to eat.

עד אשר נעבור גבולך, “until we have traversed the far side of your borders.” Moses did not say: “until we come to the land G’d has promised us, etc.,” although this is what he had in mind. He felt it was better not to mention that land altogether so as not to annoy the King who might reopen the subject of Yaakov having stolen Esau’s birthright. You will note that later on when Moses asks similar permission to pass through the land of Sichon, Moses was not shy to spell out his intention (Deut. 2,29).