בְּשֶׁ֣בֶת יִ֠שְׂרָאֵל בְּחֶשְׁבּ֨וֹן וּבִבְנוֹתֶ֜יהָ וּבְעַרְע֣וֹר וּבִבְנוֹתֶ֗יהָ וּבְכָל־הֶֽעָרִים֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ עַל־יְדֵ֣י אַרְנ֔וֹן שְׁלֹ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וּמַדּ֥וּעַ לֹֽא־הִצַּלְתֶּ֖ם בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִֽיא׃
Habang naninirahan ang Israel sa Hesbon at sa mga nayon nito, at sa Aroer at sa mga nayon nito, at sa lahat ng lungsod na nasa tabi ng Arnon, sa loob ng tatlong daang taon, bakit hindi ninyo binawi ang mga ito sa panahong iyon?
Esther Rabbah
“When King [Aḥashverosh] was sitting [keshevet hamelekh].” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The nations of the world do not sit securely. They objected: Is it not written: “When King [Aḥashverosh] was sitting”? He said to them: Beshevet hamelekh [while the king was sitting] is not written here, rather, keshevet hamelekh [as if the king were sitting] – sitting that is not sitting. However, the sitting of Israel is sitting, as it is stated: “When Israel sat [beshevet] in Ḥeshbon and its environs” (Judges 11:26).