פּירוש אויף במדבר 20:17

נעברה נא בארצך LET US PASS, I PRAY THEE, THROUGH THY COUNTRY — You have no right to lay claim to the land of Israel as an inheritance, just the same as you have not paid the debt (see Rashi v. 14); render us therefore a little assistance by permitting us to pass through your land.

“We will not drink water from the well,” is stated as an emphasis, because regarding cistern water it’s obvious that we wouldn’t drink, as there would be effort to refill them. But even well water, where the spring replenishes itself naturally — a situation where one benefits while the other does not lose — nevertheless, we will not drink from what is yours. And afterward, they added, I will pay for their food to benefit the host. Similarly, at first they said, We will go on the king’s road, which is the path that the king typically travels on. And he [Edom] responded, Lest I come out against you with the sword, meaning: Since the road is trodden for the king, if Esau encounters you, who should yield to whom? And [Israel] responded, We will go up by the highway.

דרך המלך, the route which the king would command them to travel. It was an established custom that when foreign armies were given permission to traverse a neutral country’s territory that they were assigned a specific route for that purpose. Such armies would also be assigned a guide advising them of possible pitfalls en route.