Comentário sobre Números 14:25

והעמלקי וגו׳ AND THE AMALEKITES [AND THE CANAANITES DWELL IN THE VALLEY] — This is not a mere statement that they dwell there; it is a warning: If you go there they will kill you, since I shall not be with you.

והעמלקי והכנעני יושב בעמק, "And the Amalekite and the Canaanite dwell in the valley." The reason the Torah provides this detail at this juncture, as well as the reason for the conjunctive letter ו at the beginning of the word והעמלקי is that G'd had decided that the entire generation would not enter the Holy Land and would die in the desert. He said that He would not kill them all at the same time as will be spelled out in subsequent verses. One might have assumed therefore that the Israelites would remain in their present location during the entire forty years. The Torah had to provide a rationale why it was not practical for the Israelites to remain in the same location during all this time. They were liable to fall victim to attacks by the Amalekites or Canaanites. We do not provoke Satan at a time when we are in danger (Tanchuma Vayigash 1). This is why G'd told the Israelites to move from that area already on the morrow. Whereas it is true that we find that the Israelites lingered at Kadesh for many years (Deut. 1,46) and the sages say that this was a period of 19 years, this occurred on their way back at a time when the effect of their sin had already worn off and half the people guilty of that sin had already died. The reason for the letter ו in the word והעמלקי is to connect our verse to verse 23, אם יראו את הארץ. G'd advised that He added another stricture, namely the immediate departure from their present encampment although they were not headed for their ultimate objective, the land of Canaan.

והעמלקי והכנעני יושב בעמק, “The Amalekite and the Canaanite dwelled in the valley. This sounds somewhat strange seeing that a few verses later (14,45) we are told that the Amalekite and the Canaanite who dwelled in the mountain descended.” This teaches that the Amalekite and Canaanite joined forces and descended to the valley in order to mount an attack on the Israelites from a position of ambush.