E- Num_19:1-22; Num_20:1-29; Num_21:1-35; Num_22:1-41
Pgs. 402-417
Ch. 19-22
SECTION XXXIX.
HUKKATH.
XIX. ANDthe Lord spake with Mosheh and Aharon, saying: This is the decree, thepublication of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying; Speak to the sonsof Israel, that they bring to thee from the separation of the fold a redheifer, two years old, in which there is neither spot nor white hair, on whichno male hath come, nor the burden of any work been imposed, neither hurt by thethong, nor grieved by the goad or prick, nor collar (band) or any like yoke.And thou shalt give her unto Elazar, the chief of the priests, who shall leadher alone without the camp, and set round about her a railing (border) of thebranches of fig trees; and another priest shall slay her with the two signsbefore him, after the manner of other animals, and examine her by the eighteenkinds of divisions. And Elazar, in his priestly dress, shall take of her bloodwith the finger of his right hand, without (first) containing it in a vessel,and shall sprinkle the border of fig branches, and (afterwards) from the midstof a vessel on one side towards the tabernacle of ordinance, with one dipping,seven times (shall he sprinkle). And they shall bring her out from the midst ofthe railing and another priest, while Elazar looketh on, shall burn the heifer,her skin, flesh, and blood, with her dung shall he burn. And another priestshall take a piece of cedar wood and hyssop, and (wool) whose colour hath beenchanged to scarlet, and throw them into the midst of the burning of the heifer;and he shall enlarge the burning, that the ashes may be increased. [JERUSALEM.And throw into the midst of the ashes of the burning heifer.] And the priestwho slew the heifer shall wash his dress in forty satas of water, andafterwards he may go into the camp; but the priest before his ablution shall beunclean until the evening And the priest who was employed in the burning shallwash his dress in forty satas of water, and his flesh in forty satas, andbefore his ablution shall be unclean until the evening And a man, a priest who is clean, shall gather up the ashes of theheifer in an earthenware receptacle, its opening covered round about with clay;and shall divide the ashes into three portions, of which one shall be placedwithin the wall (of Jerusalem), another in the Mount of Olives, and the thirdportion be in the custody of the Levites; and it shall be for the congregationof Israel, for the Water of Sprinkling: it is the heifer (immolated) for theremission of sins. And the priest who gatheredup the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and before his ablution beunclean till the evening. And this shall be for the cleansing of the childrenof Israel, a statute for ever.
Whoevertoucheth the body of a dead man, or of a child of some months old, either hisbody or his blood, shall be unclean seven days. He shall sprinkle himself withthis water of the ashes on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall beclean. But if he sprinkle not himself on the third day, his uncleanness willremain upon him, and he will not be clean on the seventh day. Whoever hathtouched the body of a dead man, or of a child nine months old, either the body or the blood, and will not sprinklehimself, he hath defiled the tabernacle of the Lord, and that man shall be cutoff from Israel; forasmuch as the water of sprinkling is not sprinkled uponhim, he is unclean, his uncleanness is yet on him, until he shall sprinklehimself; yet may he sprinkle and make ablution on the seventh evening. This isthe indication of the law concerning a man when he hath died under theoutspread tent every one who entereth into the tent by the way of the door, butnot from its side, when its door is open, (or when one hath opened its door,)and whatever is in the tent, its floor, stone, wood, and vessels, shall beunclean seven days. And every earthen vessel which hath no covering fastenedupon its mouth, which would have kept it separate from the uncleanness, isdefiled by the uncleanness of the air which toucheth its mouth, and itsinterior, and not the outside of it (only). [JERUSALEM. And every open vesselwhich hath no covering of stone upon it shall be unclean.] And whoever shalltouch not one who hath died in his mother’s womb, but who hath been slain withthe sword on the face of the field, or the sword with which he was slain, orthe dead man himself, or a bone of his, or the hair, or the bone of a livingman which hath been separated from him, or a grave, or a shroud, or the bier,shall be unclean seven days. And for him who is unclean, they shall take of theashes of the burnt sin offering, and put spring water upon them in an earthenvessel. And let a man, a priest, who is clean, take three branches of hyssopbound. together, and dip (them) in the water at the time of receiving theuncleanness, and sprinkle the tent and all its vessels, and the men who are init, or upon him who hath touched the bone of a living man that hath beensevered from him, and hath fallen, or him who hath. been slain with the sword,or hath died by the plague, or a grave, or a wrapper, or a bier. And the priestwho is clean shall sprinkle upon the unclean man on the, third day, and on theseventh day, and shall make him clean on the seventh day; and he shall sprinklehis clothes, and wash himself with water, and at eventide be clean. But theunclean man who will not be sprinkled, that man shall be cut off from among thecongregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord; the water ofsprinkling hath not been sprinkled upon him, he is unclean. And it shall beunto you an everlasting statute. The priest, also, who sprinkleth the water ofsprinkling shall sprinkle his clothes, and he who toucheth the water ofsprinkling shall be unclean until evening. And whatever the unclean person hathtouched, though he carry it not, shall be unclean; and the clean man whotoucheth him shall be unclean till evening.
XX. Andthe whole congregation of the children of Israel came to the desert of Zin onthe tenth day of the month Nisan. And Miriam died there, and was buried there. Andas on account of the innocency of Miriam a well had been given, so when shedied the well was hidden, and the congregation had no water. And they gatheredagainst Mosheh and Aharon, and the people contended with Mosheh, and said,Would that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! And why hastthou brought the congregation of the Lord into this desert, that we and ourcattle may die here? And why didst thou make us come up out of Mizraim., tobring us to this evil place, a place which is not fit for sowing, or forplanting fig trees, or vines, or pomegranates, and where there is no water todrink? And Mosheh and Aharon went fromthe face of the murmuring congregation to the door of the tabernacle ofordinance, and bowed upon their faces, and the Glory of the Lord’s Shekinah wasrevealed to them. And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Take the rod of the miracles,and gather the congregation, thou, and Aharon thy brother, and both of youadjure the rock, by the Great and manifested Name, while they look on, and itshall give forth its waters: but if it refuse to bring forth, smite thou itonce with the rod that is in thy hand, and thou wilt bring out water for themfrom the rock, that the congregation and their cattle may drink. And Mosheh took the rod of the miracles from before the Lord, as he hadcommanded him. And Mosheh and Aharon gathered the congregation together beforethe rock. And Mosheh said to them, Hear now, rebels: is it possible for us tobring forth water for you from this rock? And Mosheh lifted up [JERUSALEM. AndMosheh lifted up] his hand, and with his rod struck the rock two times: at thefirst time it dropped blood; but at the second time there came forth amultitude of waters. And the congregation and their cattle drank. But theLord spake to Mosheh and Aharon with the oath, Because ye have not believed inMy Word,[1] <l > to sanctify Me in the sight of thechildren of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into theland that I will give them. These are the Waters of Contention, where the sonsof Israel contended before the Lord on account of the well that had been hidden;and He was sanctified in them, in Mosheh and Aharon, when (the waters) weregiven to them.
ThenMosheh sent messengers from Rekem unto the king of Edom, saying, Thus saith thybrother Israel. Thou hast known all the trouble that hath found us; that ourfathers went down into Mizraim and dwelt in Mizraim many days, and the Mizraeeafflicted us and our fathers. And we prayed before the Lord, who heard ourprayers, and sent one of the ministering angels to lead us out of Mizraim: and,behold, we are in Rekem, a city built on the side of thy border. Let us nowpass through thy land: we will not seduce virgins, nor carry off the betrothed,nor commit adultery: on the king’s highway, under the heavens, we will goforward, and turn not to the right or to the left, to do any injury in thepublic way while we pass through thy border. [JERUSALEM. Let us now passthrough thy country. We will do no kind of mischief, neither seduce virgins norseek the wives of the men; by the highway of the king we will proceed, nor turnto the right or the left till we have passed through thy coast.] But Edomeaanswered him, You shall not go through my coast, lest I come to meet thee withthe unsheathed sword. And Israel said to him, We would go by the king’shighway; if we drink thy waters, I and my cattle, I will give thee the priceof their value. I will only pass through, without doing wrong. But he said, Youshall not pass through. And Edomea came out to meet him with a large army andwith a strong hand. So Edomea would not suffer Israel to pass through hiscoast; and Israel turned away from him, because it was commanded from beforethe Word of the Heavens that they should not set battle in array against them,forasmuch as the time was not yet come when the punishment of Edom should begiven into their hands. [JERUSALEM. And Israel turned away from them; for so was the commandment of theirFather who is in heaven, that they should not set against them the array of war.] And the whole congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from Rekem,and came unto Mount Umanom. And the Lord spake unto Mosheh in the Mount Umanom,on the coast of the land of Edom, saying: Aharon shall be gathered unto hispeople; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto thechildren of Israel, because you were rebels against My Word at the Waters ofContention. Take Aharon and Elazar his son, and make them come up to MountUmanom. And thou shalt strip Aharon of his vestments, the adornment (glory) of thepriesthood, and put them on Elazar his son; but Aharon shall be gathered, anddie there. And Mosheh did as the Lord commanded him. And they ascended Mount Umanom, in the view of all the congregation.And Mosheh stripped Aharon of his vestments, [JERUSALEM. And Mosheh drew offfrom Aharon] the priestly decoration, and put them on Elazar his son; andAharon died there on the summit of the mountain and Mosheh and Elazar came downfrom the mount. And whenthe soul of Aharon was at rest, the Cloud of Glory was lifted up on the firstday of the month Ab; and all the congregation beheld Mosheh come down from themountain with rent garments; and he wept and said, Woe unto me, for thee, mybrother Aharon, the pillar of Israel’s prayers! And they too wept for Aharon thirtydays, the men and the women of Israel. [JERUSALEM. And all the congregationbeheld Mosheh come down from the height of the mountain, with garments rent anddust upon his head, weeping and saying, Woe unto me, for thee, my brotherAharon, the pillar of the prayers of the sons of Israel, who madest atonementfor them once every year! In that hour the sons of Israel believed that Aharonwas dead; and all the congregation of the children of Israel wept for Aharonthirty days.]
XXI. And Amalek, who had dwelt in the south, and changed, and came andreigned in Arad, heard that the soul of Aharon was at rest, that the pillar ofthe Cloud which for his sake had led the people of the house of Israel had beentaken up, and that Israel was coming by the way of the explorers to the placewhere they had rebelled against the Lord of the world. For, when the explorershad returned, the children of Israel abode in Rekem, but afterward returnedfrom Rekem to Motseroth, in six encampments during forty years, when theyjourneyed from Motseroth, and returned to Rekem by the way of the explorers,and came unto Mount Umanom, where Aharon died; (and,) behold, he came andarrayed battle against Israel, and captured some of them with a greatcaptivity. [JERUSALEM. And when the Kenaanite, king Arad, who dwelt in thesouth, heard that Aharon was dead, that holy man on account of whose merit theCloud of Glory had protected Israel; that the pillar of the Cloud had beentaken up; and that the prophetess Mizraim was dead, on whose account the wellhad flowed, but had (since) been hidden; he answered and said, Ye servants ofwar, come and let us set battle in line against Israel; for we shall find theway by which the explorers came up. Therefore they set battle in line againstIsrael, and carried away some of them with a great captivity.] And Israelvowed a vow before the Lord and said, If Thou wilt indeed deliver this peopleinto my hand, I will destroy their cities. And the Lord heard Israel’s prayer,and delivered up the Kenaanites, and he destroyed them and their cities. And hecalled the name of the place Hormah.[2] <l > And theyjourneyed from Mount Umanom, by the way of the Sea of Suph, that they mightcompass the land of Edom; and the soul of the people was wearied in the way.And the people thought (wickedly) in their heart, and talked against the Wordof the Lord, and contended with Mosheh, saying: Why didst thou bring us up fromMizraim to die in the wilderness; for there is neither bread nor water, and oursoul is weary of manna, this light food? And thebath-kol fell from the high heaven, and thus spake: Come, all men, and see allthe benefits which I have done to the people whom I brought up free out ofMizraim. I made manna come down for them from heaven, yet now turn they andmurmur against Me. Yet, behold, the serpent, whom, in the days of the beginningof the world, I doomed to have dust for his food, hath not murmured against me:but My people are murmuring about their food. Now shall the serpents who havenot complained of their food come and bite the people who complain. Thereforedid the Word of the Lord send the basilisk serpents, and they bit the people,and a great multitude of the people of Israel died. [JERUSALEM. The bath-kolcame forth from the midst of the earth, and a voice was heard from the heights,See, all men, and listen and hear, all ye children of flesh. The serpent, whomI cursed at the beginning, and said to him, Dust shall be thy food, hath notcomplained about his food. I led forth My people from Mizraim free, and causedthe manna to descend for them from heaven; I made the quails to come over tothem, and the well to spring up from the deep; yet now they again complainbefore Me on account of the manna, saying, Our soul is aggrieved by this lightbread: therefore shall the serpent who hath not complained of his food come andbite this people who have murmured about their food. So the Word of the Lordsent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and a great multitude of Israel died.] And the people came to Mosheh, and said: We have sinned, in thinkingand speaking against the glory of the Lord’s Shekinah, and in contending withthee. Pray before the Lord to remove the plague of serpents from us. And Moshehprayed for the people. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Make thee a serpent of brass, and set itupon a place aloft;[3] <l > and it shall be that when a serpenthath bitten any one, if he behold it, then shall he live, if his heart bedirected to the Name of the Word of the Lord. And Mosheh made a serpent ofbrass, and set it upon a place aloft; and it was, when a serpent had bitten aman, and the serpent of brass was gazed at, and his heart was intent upon theName of the Word of the Lord, he lived. [JERUSALEM. And Mosheh made a serpentof brass, and set it upon a high place; and it was that when any one had beenbitten by a serpent, and his face was uplifted in prayer unto his Father who isin heaven, and he looked upon the brasen serpent, he lived.] And thechildren of Israel journeyed from thence, and pitched in Oboth; and theyjourneyed from Oboth, and encamped in the plain of Megistha, in a desert placewhich looketh toward Moab from the rising of the sun. Thence they journeyed andencamped in a valley abounding in reeds, osiers, and mandrakes.[4] <l > Andthey journeyed from thence, and encamped beyond the Arnon, in a passage of thedesert that stretcheth from the coast of the Amoraah; for Arnon is the borderof Moab, situate between Moab and the Amoraah; and therein dwelt a priesthoodof the worshippers of idols. Therefore it is said in the book of the Law, whereare recorded the wars of the Lord: Eth and Heb, who had been smitten with theblast of the leprosy, and had been banished beyond the confine of the camp,made known. to Israel that Edom and Moab were concealed among the mountains inambush, to destroy the people of the house of Israel. But the Lord of the worldmade a sign to the mountains, which pressed one to another so that they died:and their blood flowed through a valley on the brink of the Arnon (or, a valleyadjoining Arnon). And the effusion of the streams of their blood flowed to thehabitations of Lechaiath, which were, however, delivered from this destruction,because they had not been in their counsels; and, behold, it was unto theconfine of Moab.
Andfrom thence was given to them (the Israelites) the living well, the wellconcerning which the Lord said to Mosheh, Assemble the people and give themwater. Then, behold, Israel sang the thanksgiving of this song, at the timethat the well which had been hidden was restored to them through the merit ofMiriam: Spring up, O well, spring up, O well ! sang they to it, and it sprangup: the well which the fathers of the world, Abraham Izhak, and Jakob digged:the princes who were of old digged it, the chiefs of the people: Mosheh andAharon, the scribes of Israel, found it with their rods; and from the desert itwas given to them for a gift.
[JERUSALEM.Therefore it is said in the Book of the Law of the Lord, which is likened to aBook of Wars: The miracles and mighty acts which the Lord wrought for Hispeople, the sons of Israel, when they stood by the Red Sea, so did He with themwhen they were at the fords of the vale of Arnona. When the children of Israelwere passing through the vale of Arnona, the Moabites were hidden in thecaverns of the valley, saying: When the Beni Israel are coming through, we willgo forth to prevent them, and will slay them. But the Lord of all the world,the Lord, who knew what was in their hearts, for before Him that which iswithin the reins is manifest,-the Lord signed to the mountains, and theirheads here and there were brought together, and the chiefs of their mighty oneswere crushed, and the valleys were overflowed with the blood of the slain. ButIsrael walked above upon on the top of the hills, and knew not the miracle andmighty act which the Lord was doing for them in the valley of Arnon. ButLechaiath, the city which took no part in their counsel, was delivered fromthem; and, behold, it is by the confines of the Moabites. 17. Behold then sang Israelthis song of praise: Spring up, O well! they sang to it, and it sprang up: thewell which Abraham, Izhak, and Jakob, the princes of the world, at the beginningdid see, the sages of the world, the Sanhedrin the seventy wise men who wereappointed by name beheld it: Mosheh and Aharon, the scribes of Israel, found itwith their rods, and from the desert it was given to them as a gift.] And from thence it was given to them in Mattana; turning, it went upwith them to the high mountains, and from the high mountains it went down withthem to the hills surrounding all the camp of Israel, and giving them drink,every one at the door of his tent. And from the high mountains it descendedwith them to the lower hills, but was hidden from them on the borders of Moab,at the summit of the hill looking toward Bethjeshimon, because there theyneglected the words of the Law. [JERUSALEM. And from thence the well was givento them at Mattana, turning it became strong overflowing streams, and again itascended to the top of the mountains, and went down with them to the ancientvalleys; but the well was hidden from them when on the borders of Moab, on thehead of the height which overlooketh toward Abeth Jeshimon.]
Then sentIsrael messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying: I would pass throughthy country. We will not carry off the betrothed, nor seduce virgins, nor haveto do with the wives of men; by the highway of the King who is in the heavenswe will go, until we have passed through thy border. But Sihon would not permitIsrael to pass through his limit, but constrained all his people, and came outto Jahaz, and made war against Israel. And Israel smote him with the anathemaof the Lord, that he would destroy (him) with the edge of the sword; and hetook possession of his country, from Arnon unto the Jabbok, unto the border ofthe children of Ammon; because Rabbath, which is the limit of the children ofAmmon, was strong; and so far was their boundary. And Israeltook all those cities, and dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon,and in all her villages. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of theAmorites; for he had beforetime made war with the King of Moab, and had takenall his country from his hand unto the Arnon. Therefore, say the young men, (orthe chosen ones,) using proverbs: The righteous who rule their passions say,Come let us reckon (Heshbon) the strength[5] <l > of a good work by therecompense, and the recompense of an evil work by the strength for whoso iswatchful and diligent[6] <l > in the law is builded up andperfected; for mighty words like fire go forth from the lips of the righteous,the masters of such thought, (calculation, heshbona,) andpowerful merit like flames from those who are read and devoted in the law:their fire devoureth the foe and the adversary, who are reckoned before them asthe worshippers of the idol altars in the valley of Arnona. Woe to you, yehaters of the just! ye have perished, ye people of Kemosh, haters of the words ofthe law, in whom there is no righteousness, unless he waste you to bring youcaptive unto the place where they teach. the law, and their sons and daughtersbe removed by captivity of the sword to be near them who consult in itscounsels the instructors and those anointed with the law. The wicked have said,In all this there is nothing lofty to the sight; but your numbers shall perishuntil the falsehood of your souls be ended, and the Lord of the world destroythem till their lives have expired, and they have come to nothing, as thecities of the Amorites have perished, and the palaces of their princes from thegreat gate of the house of the kingdom to the street of the smiths which isnigh to Medeba.
[JERUSALEM.27. Therefore say they who speak in proverbs, Ascend. 28. Because the men oftheir people like fire come out of Heshbon, making war as flames of fire fromthe city of Sihon: the kings of the Amoraee are slain, the villages of theMoabite cities are destroyed, and the priests are slaughtered who sacrificedbefore the idols of Arnona. Woe to you of Moab! ye are consumed, destroyed, Oworshippers of the idol of Kemosh; your sons and daughters bound by the collarare carried into the captivity of Sihon, king of the Amorites. And the kingdomhath ceased from Heshbon, and the ruler from Dibon, and his ways are madedesolate unto the smithies which are nigh to Medaba.] And Israel,after they had destroyed Sihon, dwelt in the land of the Amorites. And Moshehsent Kaleb and Phineas to examine Makbar, and they subdued the villages, anddestroyed the Amorites who were there. Then they turned, and went up by the wayof Mathnan; and Og, the king of Mathnan, came out to meet us, he and all hispeople, to give battle at Edrei. And it was, when Mosheh saw Og, he trembledbefore him, stricken with fear: but he (soon) answered and said, This is Og theWicked, who taunted Abraham our father and Sarah, saying: You are like treesplanted by the water channels, but bring forth no fruit: therefore hath theHoly One, blessed be He, spared him to live through generations, that he mightsee the great multitude of their children, and be delivered into our hands.Then spake the Lord unto Mosheh: Fear him not, for I have delivered him intothy hand, and all his people and country; and thou shalt do to him as thou hastdone to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon.
Now itwas, after Og the Wicked had seen the camp of Israel spreading over six miles hesaid with himself, I will make war against this people, that they may not do tome as they have done to Sihon: so went he and tare up a mountain six miles insize, and brought it upon his head to hurl it upon them. But the Word of theLord forthwith prepared a reptile[7] <l > which ate into the mountain andperforated it, and his head was swallowed up within it; and he sought towithdraw it, but could not, because his back teeth and his front ones weredrawn hither and thither. And Mosheh went and took an axe of ten cubits, andsprang ten cubits, and struck him on the ankle of his foot, and he fell, anddied beyond the camp of Israel. Thus it is written. And they smote him and hissons and daughters, and all his people, till none of them remained to escape;and they took possession of his land. [JERUSALEM. And Israel dwelt in the landof the Amorites. And Mosheh sent to explore Makvar, and they took the villages,and destroyed the Amorites who were there. 34. And when Mosheh saw Og, he said,Is not this Og the Wicked, who taunted Abraham and Sarah, and said, They arelike fair trees by fountain of water, but give no fruit ? Therefore the HolyOne, blessed be He, hath kept him alive for many years, till the time that heshould see their children and children’s children, and fall by their hands. Thereforethe Lord said to Mosheh, Fear him not, for I have delivered him into thy hand,and all his people, and all his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou hastdone to Sichon, king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon.]
XXII.And the children of Israel journeyed, and encamped in the plains of Moab, nearthe passage of the Jordan (toward) Jerhico.
[1] From this expression some of the Jewishcommentators consider the sin of Moses to have lain his doubting whether the waterwould come from the rock at the word spoken, though God had said it would.
[1]"Destruction."
[1] Or,"a place of suspension."
[1] Or,"lilies."
[1] Or,"the weapon, instrument."
[1] Or,"devoted;" literally, "anointed."
[1]"Grasshopper," zechila. TheTargumist here draws the long bow of the Hagadistic method of paraphrase.
[1] <l > From this expression some of theJewish commentators consider the sin of Moses to have lain his doubting whetherthe water would come from the rock at the word spoken, though God had said itwould.
[2] <l > "Destruction."
[3] <l > Or, "a place ofsuspension."
[4] <l > Or, "lilies."
[5] <l > Or, "the weapon,instrument."
[6] <l > Or, "devoted;" literally,"anointed."
[7] <l > "Grasshopper," zechila. The Targumist here draws the long bow of theHagadistic method of paraphrase.