וַיַּכֵּ֡ם מֵעֲרוֹעֵר֩ וְעַד־בּוֹאֲךָ֨ מִנִּ֜ית עֶשְׂרִ֣ים עִ֗יר וְעַד֙ אָבֵ֣ל כְּרָמִ֔ים מַכָּ֖ה גְּדוֹלָ֣ה מְאֹ֑ד וַיִּכָּֽנְעוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י עַמּ֔וֹן מִפְּנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (פ)
I pobił ich od Aroeru aż do Minnit - dwadzieścia miast - i aż do Abel Kramim porażeniem nader wielkim, tak że ukorzyli się synowie Ammonu przed synami Izraela.
Ramban
THOU SHALT NOT SEEK THEIR PEACE. “Since it is written [with respect to a fugitive slave], He shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee [where it liketh him best; thou shalt not wrong him],246Further, Verse 17. I might think that the rule also applies to this one [an Ammonite or Moabite fugitive slave]. Scripture, therefore, says, Thou shalt not seek their peace.” This is Rashi’s language. Now, this interpretation in the Sifre247Sifre, Ki Theitzei 251. is deduced from the expression [here] nor their prosperity [Thou shalt not seek their peace ‘nor their prosperity,’ and not as it might appear from the heading in our text of Rashi that it is derived from the expression their peace, for thus is the language of the Sifre]: “Since it is stated there [with respect to the fugitive slave] ‘batov lo’ (where it liketh him best); thou shalt not wrong him246Further, Verse 17. — exclude these [the Ammonite and Moabite fugitive slaves] from this tovah (good).”248Hence the language in the verse before us, Thou shalt not seek their peace ‘v’tovatham’ (nor their ‘good’). But the expression Thou shalt not seek their peace is interpreted in the Sifre as follows: “Since it is stated, When thou drawest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it,249Above, 20:10. I might think that the same rule applies to Ammon and Moab. Scripture therefore says, Thou shalt not seek their peace. ” It is also so stated in Tanchuma.250Tanchuma, Pinchas 3. On “Tanchuma” see Vol. IV, p. 158, Note 1.
It appears to me that Scripture has forever forbidden war against Ammon and Moab, and the verse stating, neither contend with them251Above, 2:9 (Moab); 19 (Ammon). was not only a temporary command, but a negative commandment for the generations. It is for this [reason] that He said, because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.252Ibid., Verse 19. Thus their land belongs to them forever because it is the possession that G-d gave them. If so, the verse here stating, Thou shalt not seek their peace commands that if we wage war against them over a city which they captured from other peoples, that we are not to proclaim peace to them. Similarly, if they invaded our Land we are permitted to pursue them and capture cities from them, to smite the inhabitants of those cities who harmed us, as Jephtah did [of whom it is said], And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities.253Judges 11:33. David also did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon254II Samuel 12:31. because they “breached the fence” first and warred against him. In that event we need not to proclaim peace to them and we may smite those fighting us in every city, the men, and the women, and the little ones255Above, 2:34. if we wish. Thus the Rabbis have said in Midrash Rabbah:256Bamidbar Rabbah 21:7. “And ye shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water.257II Kings 3:19. These were the words of the prophet Elisha to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and Jehoram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when they battled Moab. They [i.e., Jehoshaphat king of Judah and Jehoram king of Israel] said to him [Elisha]. ‘Scripture states, Thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof,258Above, 20:19. and you say thus [destroy them]!’ He [Elisha] said to them: ‘Scripture commanded this with respect to all peoples, but this one is minor and despised,’ as it is said, And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Eternal, and He will deliver the Moabites into your hand,259II Kings 3:18. for it is said, Thou shalt not seek their peace ‘v’tovatham’ (nor their good), this alluding to the ‘good trees.’” Now, all this is to harm them and to vex them, but the land is to remain that family’s for it is the possession which G-d gave them. This subject is mentioned in Agadoth [homilies],260See at the end of his notes to Rambam’s Sefer Hamitzvoth where Ramban quotes many of these Midrashim. Bereshith Rabbah,261Bereshith Rabbah 74:13. and in Midrash Tehilim.262Midrash Tehilim 60:1.
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, the purport of the verse Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity is as if to say, “Although they are members of your family, and your father Abraham loved their father as his brother, that sucked the breasts of his mother,263Song of Songs 8:1. yet you should not act towards them like brothers seeking their peace and prosperity, for it is they who have broken the covenant of brotherhood;264See Zechariah 11:14. let it remain broken forever.” Thus G-d guarded for Lot’s children the merit of their father who accompanied His prophet [Abraham] on the path where G-d sent him. Therefore He gave them an inheritance from Abraham’s possession265See Ramban above, 2:10. and He punished his children for their sin that they could not become attached to Israel. Similarly He banned the Egyptians for three generations266Verse 9. I.e., the third generation of an Egyptian [or Edomite] proselyte may marry into the congregation of Israel. See text at the end of this section. because of their wickedness in bringing upon us many evils and troubles,267Further, 31:17. but He did not abhor them forever because we were strangers in their land where we found refuge with them in days of famine through the honor they showed our father [Jacob], and they appointed over themselves a chief and ruler from among us. So also did He do with the Edomites. He preserved the merit of the ancestors for them since they were of holy seed,268See Ramban above, 2:4. but he banned them for three generations266Verse 9. I.e., the third generation of an Egyptian [or Edomite] proselyte may marry into the congregation of Israel. See text at the end of this section. because they came forth against us with the sword and they remembered not the brotherly covenant.269Amos 1:9. Now, the tradition of our Rabbis270Yebamoth 78a. is that the third generation does not mean “the third generation from the days of Moses” but when one of them [Edomites or Egyptians] becomes a proselyte his third generation [i.e., his grandchild] may enter into the assembly of the Eternal.
It appears to me that Scripture has forever forbidden war against Ammon and Moab, and the verse stating, neither contend with them251Above, 2:9 (Moab); 19 (Ammon). was not only a temporary command, but a negative commandment for the generations. It is for this [reason] that He said, because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.252Ibid., Verse 19. Thus their land belongs to them forever because it is the possession that G-d gave them. If so, the verse here stating, Thou shalt not seek their peace commands that if we wage war against them over a city which they captured from other peoples, that we are not to proclaim peace to them. Similarly, if they invaded our Land we are permitted to pursue them and capture cities from them, to smite the inhabitants of those cities who harmed us, as Jephtah did [of whom it is said], And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities.253Judges 11:33. David also did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon254II Samuel 12:31. because they “breached the fence” first and warred against him. In that event we need not to proclaim peace to them and we may smite those fighting us in every city, the men, and the women, and the little ones255Above, 2:34. if we wish. Thus the Rabbis have said in Midrash Rabbah:256Bamidbar Rabbah 21:7. “And ye shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water.257II Kings 3:19. These were the words of the prophet Elisha to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and Jehoram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when they battled Moab. They [i.e., Jehoshaphat king of Judah and Jehoram king of Israel] said to him [Elisha]. ‘Scripture states, Thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof,258Above, 20:19. and you say thus [destroy them]!’ He [Elisha] said to them: ‘Scripture commanded this with respect to all peoples, but this one is minor and despised,’ as it is said, And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Eternal, and He will deliver the Moabites into your hand,259II Kings 3:18. for it is said, Thou shalt not seek their peace ‘v’tovatham’ (nor their good), this alluding to the ‘good trees.’” Now, all this is to harm them and to vex them, but the land is to remain that family’s for it is the possession which G-d gave them. This subject is mentioned in Agadoth [homilies],260See at the end of his notes to Rambam’s Sefer Hamitzvoth where Ramban quotes many of these Midrashim. Bereshith Rabbah,261Bereshith Rabbah 74:13. and in Midrash Tehilim.262Midrash Tehilim 60:1.
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, the purport of the verse Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity is as if to say, “Although they are members of your family, and your father Abraham loved their father as his brother, that sucked the breasts of his mother,263Song of Songs 8:1. yet you should not act towards them like brothers seeking their peace and prosperity, for it is they who have broken the covenant of brotherhood;264See Zechariah 11:14. let it remain broken forever.” Thus G-d guarded for Lot’s children the merit of their father who accompanied His prophet [Abraham] on the path where G-d sent him. Therefore He gave them an inheritance from Abraham’s possession265See Ramban above, 2:10. and He punished his children for their sin that they could not become attached to Israel. Similarly He banned the Egyptians for three generations266Verse 9. I.e., the third generation of an Egyptian [or Edomite] proselyte may marry into the congregation of Israel. See text at the end of this section. because of their wickedness in bringing upon us many evils and troubles,267Further, 31:17. but He did not abhor them forever because we were strangers in their land where we found refuge with them in days of famine through the honor they showed our father [Jacob], and they appointed over themselves a chief and ruler from among us. So also did He do with the Edomites. He preserved the merit of the ancestors for them since they were of holy seed,268See Ramban above, 2:4. but he banned them for three generations266Verse 9. I.e., the third generation of an Egyptian [or Edomite] proselyte may marry into the congregation of Israel. See text at the end of this section. because they came forth against us with the sword and they remembered not the brotherly covenant.269Amos 1:9. Now, the tradition of our Rabbis270Yebamoth 78a. is that the third generation does not mean “the third generation from the days of Moses” but when one of them [Edomites or Egyptians] becomes a proselyte his third generation [i.e., his grandchild] may enter into the assembly of the Eternal.
Rashi
with wheat of Minnith the name of a place that produced wheat of high quality, like (Jud. 11: 33): “until you come to Minnith.” Midrash Aggadah (source unknown) [explains it as] good, thick wheat kernels, which are sold by number. Jonathan renders: בִּחִטֵי רִיחוּשּׁ expression for a gathering of many numbers, troche in Old French, bundle, bunch. A similar word appears in Pesikta [d’Rav Kahana, p. 184b]: “Just as the myrtle is crowded (רָחוּשּׁ) with leaves, so was Leah crowded with sons.” But I do not know what it [wheat of Minnith] is. In the name of Rabbi Simon, I heard that he found in a Bible with a Jerusalem Targum בְּחִטֵי מִנִיתוּפַנַג rendered: בְּחוּשְּׁלָא וְקֲלְמָא. Now, שַּׁעֲרֵי דְחוּשְּׁלָא, which is found in the Talmud (Yoma 79a), is explained as: peeled barley. I say, however, that “Minnith” is an expression of portions (מָנוֹת), prepared food. Even according to its vocalization with a “dagesh,” Jonathan is wont to translate a word sometimes according to its apparent meaning and sometimes according to its midrashic meaning. So did he render (below 39:16): “And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah (הֲמוֹנָה).” Although we punctuate the name הֲמוֹנָה without a “mappiq hey” (הֱמוֹנָה), [with a “mappiq hey” (pronounced) הֲמוֹנָה would mean “her multitude” with a silent “hey” it means simply “a multitude.”] Jonathan paraphrases: And also there, the slain of the city whose multitude is great will be cast.
Ramban
‘GAD G’DUD Y’GUDENU.’ Rashi, in accordance with Onkelos, explained it as follows: A troop will troop out of him, and that troop will troop back upon its footsteps, meaning it will return in its own track back to its territory in peace [and not one of them will be missing].201Reference here, according to Rashi and Onkelos, is to the time when the armed Gadites will cross the Jordan with their brethren, and they will remain with them until the land will have been conquered. When they will return to their land on the east side of the Jordan not one of them will be missing.
The correct interpretation [appears to be that the word y’gudenu here] is as in the verse: When he cometh up against the people that he invadeth (‘y’gudenu’).202Habakkuk 3:16. Thus, “the troop” mentioned in the prophecy of Jacob is not a friendly troop, as Rashi and Onkelos would have it, but the enemy, as explained further. The verse is thus stating that a troop will always assail Gad, that he will have many wars, with enemy troops spreading out over his land, and that he will follow the enemy in his track and be victorious over him and pursue him, returning on the heel of those who shame them. Jacob thus praised the Gadites for their valor and for their victory over all those who enter into battle against them. This is similar to the blessing which Moses our teacher gave them, as it is said, Blessed be He that enlargeth Gad; he dwelleth as a lioness.203Deuteronomy 33:20. Since Gad inherited a very wide and large land which was across the Jordan, bands from Ammon and Moab, his evil neighbors, would always descend upon him, claiming the land and invading it. Yet Gad lurked like a lioness over its prey, fearing not their noise, nor showing any dismay at their shouting.
This fitting interpretation I learned from the Jerusalem Talmud, where in Tractate Sotah2048:10. they say: “Gad g’dud y’gudenu, a troop will come trooping upon him, but he shall troop upon it;” that is to say, bands will come to gather wealth and assail him, but he shall troop upon them and bring his troops into their land.
Perhaps the prophet Jacob was alluding to the war of Jephthah the Gileadite against the children of Ammon, as the children of Gad inherited all the cities of Gilead, and half of the land of the children of Ammon. The children of Ammon were always warring against the men of Gilead, and Jephthah scarcely passed over them and he smote them and their cities [with] a very great slaughter.205Judges 11:33. This event was indeed a great miracle, and so the prophet Jacob mentioned it, even as he mentioned the matter of Samson.
The correct interpretation [appears to be that the word y’gudenu here] is as in the verse: When he cometh up against the people that he invadeth (‘y’gudenu’).202Habakkuk 3:16. Thus, “the troop” mentioned in the prophecy of Jacob is not a friendly troop, as Rashi and Onkelos would have it, but the enemy, as explained further. The verse is thus stating that a troop will always assail Gad, that he will have many wars, with enemy troops spreading out over his land, and that he will follow the enemy in his track and be victorious over him and pursue him, returning on the heel of those who shame them. Jacob thus praised the Gadites for their valor and for their victory over all those who enter into battle against them. This is similar to the blessing which Moses our teacher gave them, as it is said, Blessed be He that enlargeth Gad; he dwelleth as a lioness.203Deuteronomy 33:20. Since Gad inherited a very wide and large land which was across the Jordan, bands from Ammon and Moab, his evil neighbors, would always descend upon him, claiming the land and invading it. Yet Gad lurked like a lioness over its prey, fearing not their noise, nor showing any dismay at their shouting.
This fitting interpretation I learned from the Jerusalem Talmud, where in Tractate Sotah2048:10. they say: “Gad g’dud y’gudenu, a troop will come trooping upon him, but he shall troop upon it;” that is to say, bands will come to gather wealth and assail him, but he shall troop upon them and bring his troops into their land.
Perhaps the prophet Jacob was alluding to the war of Jephthah the Gileadite against the children of Ammon, as the children of Gad inherited all the cities of Gilead, and half of the land of the children of Ammon. The children of Ammon were always warring against the men of Gilead, and Jephthah scarcely passed over them and he smote them and their cities [with] a very great slaughter.205Judges 11:33. This event was indeed a great miracle, and so the prophet Jacob mentioned it, even as he mentioned the matter of Samson.