Powtórzonego Prawa 9:28 Komentarz: Chizkuni, Da'at Zekenim, Ramban & Haamek Davar

ומשנאתו אותם, “or because of His hatred for them;” the letter ו at the beginning of the word ומשנאתו is to be understood as if the Torah had written: או, “or.” We have numerous occasions where the letter ו means “or,” for instance in Exodus 12,5: מן הכבשים, “or from amongst the sheep;” or in Exodus 21,17: ומכה אביו ואמו, “or if someone strikes his father or his mother,” to mention just a few.

ומשנאתו אותם, “and because He hated them;” they reasoned that G–d may never have had the intention of giving them the land of Canaan, but He lured them into the desert out of His hatred for them, in order to let them perish in the desert.” This concept is also found in the Book of Hoseah 2,16, where the prophet speaks of G–d saying that He will punish the idol-worshipping Israelites precisely in such a manner: הנה אנכי מפתיה והולכתי המדבר והמתיה בצמא, “I will speak to her coaxingly and lead her into the wilderness and let her die through thirst. [The author misquoted parts of verses 8 and 16 in that chapter to arrive at this comparison. Ed.

BECAUSE THE ETERNAL WAS NOT ABLE TO BRING THEM INTO THE LAND WHICH HE PROMISED THEM. During the affair of the spies, Moses said, [that the nations will say] Because the Eternal was not able to bring this people into the Land which He swore unto them, therefore He hath slain them in the wilderness,¹⁵⁶Numbers 14:16. meaning, they [the nations] will say that as they [the Israelites] approached and were near to the Land, and He saw that He was not able to be victorious over those nations He slew them [the Israelites] in the wilderness. But here [with reference to the calf] he [Moses] said [that the Egyptians would claim], and because He hated them, He hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness,¹⁵⁷In Verse 28 before us. since this hatred already existed in Egypt before He took them out from there. The purport of this was that, since at the time when the calf was made, they were still close to Egypt and far from the land of Canaan, the Egyptians would claim that even when they were still in Egypt, He realized that He lacked the power to bring them into the Land of which He spoke to them within hearing of the Egyptians. Therefore He hated them that it [His Name] should not be profaned in the sight of the nations¹⁵⁸Ezekiel 20:9. in whose sight He made Himself known to them [the Israelites]. He brought them forth out of the land of Egypt to slay them in the wilderness¹⁵⁷In Verse 28 before us. in a place where their fate would not become known. This is the intent of the verse, [Why should the Egyptians speak, saying:] for evil did He bring them forth, to slay them in the mountains?¹⁵⁹Exodus 32:12. meaning, that He planned this evil design against them before He brought them out from among the people of Egypt to slay them between the mountains, a place that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt.¹⁶⁰Jeremiah 2:6. The point of these arguments was that the nations would speak of the Eternal, the G-d of Israel, [in a manner as they speak of other gods], speaking against Him [saying:] ‘As the gods of the nations of the lands,’¹⁶¹II Chronicles 32:17. similar to what is stated, and now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia.¹⁶²Daniel 10:20. I have already mentioned something of this subject.¹⁶³Leviticus 18:25 (Vol. III, pp. 268-269).