Cytowanie Komentarza do Powtórzonego Prawa 3:21

As to the second argument that the other tribes would have to endanger themselves while the tribes of Reuven and Gad were "sitting pretty," they said that such an argument would only be sound if the Israelites had to conquer the Canaanites by their own effort. Seeing that it was G'd who would fight on their behalf, the conquest of Canaan would proceed on the same lines as that of the lands of Sichon and Og. The other tribes would therefore not be in greater danger than they had been when the lands of Sichon and Og were conquered. Moses himself is on record in Deut. 3,21 as saying: "I have commanded Joshua at that time telling him: 'you have seen with your own eyes all that G'd has done to the two kings of the Emorites; He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the other side to which you will cross.'" In view of this assurance, Reuven and Gad felt that the other tribes had no argument that they were being abandoned and would have to face danger all by themselves.

The Land of Og about which it is said ... It seems that Og, although he was actually an Emorite — as it is written about [Sichon and Og], “Two kings of the Emorites” (Devarim 3:8) — was king of the Chivites who are the Refa’im. And Og who was an Emorite, is called “remnant of the Refa’im” (ibid) because he was their king. But if you say “the Refa’im” means [the Land of] Og, and all of them were Emorites, then why does it say (v. 21), “the Emorites”? The Emorites were already accounted for by, “the Refa’im”. (Re’m)

ואתחנן, “I pleaded;” Nachmanides writes that when Moses mentioned the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og, (3,21) adding the words ואת יהושע צויתי וגו', “and I commanded Joshua” (in preparation for his becoming his successor) it was because he wanted to stress that he himself was not going to cross the Jordan. He now added the reason why he felt sure about this, namely that he had already pleaded with Hashem to allow him to at least cross that river, but his plea had not been accepted. It was therefore his duty to pray to Hashem to give Joshua the strength without which no one could successfully lead the Jewish people.