## Chizkuni, Deuteronomy

###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:1:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:1:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:1:1)

**ונפן ונעל**מדרום לצפון.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ונפן ונעל, “we turned around and ascended; from the south to the north.”


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:1:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:1:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:1:2)

**דרך הבשן**שבין הירדן וארץ בני עמון שכל ההולך מדרום לצפון עולה הוא.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
דרך הבשן, “on the way to Bashan,” which is situated between the river Jordan and the land of the Bney Ammon. Anyone travelling from the south to the north in that region is automatically ascending.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:11:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:11:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:11:1)

**הנה ערשו ערש ברזל**לשון כרך ומגדל ומבצר כמו בפאת מטה ובדמשק ערש. ובל׳‎ תלמוד מערבא לה בכל מחוזא ערסייתא, כלומר מבצר מוקף חומה חזקה כברזל.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
הנה ערשו ערש ברזל, “behold, his bedstead was a bedstead made of iron.” This need not be understood literally; it means that the materials used in constructing the city walls were as sturdy as if they had been made out of strong metal. (B’chor shor) The word ערש occurs in Amos 3,12 as meaning: the leg of a bed.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:11:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:11:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:11:2)

**תשע אמות ארכה**גבהה של חומה סביב המבצר וארבע אמות רחבה של חומה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
תשע אמות ארכה “it was nine cubits long.” (about 5,4 meters.) This is the average height of the walls of walled cities in those days, while depth of the wall was four cubits (about 2.4 meters).


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:11:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:11:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:11:3)

**באמת איש**באמת כל אדם שאינו תינוק.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
באמת איש, measurements applied to fully mature men.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:12:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:12:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:12:1)

**ואת הארץ הזאת ירשנו**מקרא קצר וה״‎ק **ואת הארץ הזאת**אשר **ירשנו**וגו'. **ועריו נתתי לראובני**וגו׳‎ עד נשיכם וטפכם וגו׳‎ מפורש בפ׳‎ מטות.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ואת הארץ הזאת ירשנו, “and this land we have inherited;” this phrase is abbreviated; the line should have begun with the words: ‘”and this land which we have inherited at that time ...as well as its towns, I have given to the tribe of Reuven.” All of this has been explained in Numbers 32,33.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:18:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:18:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:18:1)

**ואצו אתכם**עם בני ראובן ובני גד מדבר לפי שהיו בכלל ישראל אמר **אתכם**ולא אמר אותם.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ואצו אתכם, “I commanded you;” Moses addresses the tribes of Reuven and Gad. The reason he used the pronoun אתכם, “you,” instead of as we might have expected אותם, “them,” is because these two tribes remained part of the Jewish nation made up of twelve tribes owning ancestral land. (Ibn Ezra)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:21:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:21:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:21:1)

**ואת יהושוע צויתי**וגו׳‎ היינו דכתיב בפרשת פנחס ויסמוך ידיו עליו ויצוהו. **שלימא סדרא דפרשת דברים**

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ואת יהושע צותי, “and I have commanded Joshua;” this is what has been written in Numbers 27,23: ויסמוך ידיו עליו ויצוהו, “he (Moses) placed his hands firmly upon him, and he commanded him.”


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:23:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:23:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:23:1)

**ואתחנן**ואתמלא תחנונים וכן בהתחננו אלינו בהתמלאו תחנונים אלינו ולפירוש רש״‎י שפרשו לשון חנם נראה שהנו״‎ן אחרונה במקום מ״‎ם.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ואתחנן, “I pleaded;” the root חנן when used in the reflexive conjugation occurs in this sense also in Genesis 42,21 when Joseph is described as pleading with his brothers. According to Rashi, who considers the root of the word to be חנם, the final letter ן at the end, should really have been a final ם.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:24:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:24:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:24:1)

**ה׳‎ אלקים**באל״‎ף דל״‎ת.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ה' אלוקים, the first name of G-d here is a reference to the attribute aleph dalet, not to the tetragram, (an attribute that can be used normally only by the High priest in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement). The second attribute used by Moses here is the tetragram. (Nachmanides)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:24:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:24:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:24:2)

**אתה החלות להראות**לי כבוש ארץ סיחון ועוג כך אעברה נא ואראה כיבוש ארץ חמשה עממים.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
אתה החלות להראות, “You have begun to show;” Moses refers to the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og by the army of the Israelites, a feat which would have been unthinkable without G-d’s active intervention. Since he had been permitted to witness this, he pleaded to also be permitted to witness the conquest of the lands occupied by the other five Canaanite tribes.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:24:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:24:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:24:3)

**כמעשיך**שכלם בחכמה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
כמעשיך, “as Your (other) works;” all of which demonstrate Your superior wisdom.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:24:4
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:24:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:24:4)

**וכגבורתך**ביכולת.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
וכגבורתך, ”and Your superior abilities.”


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:25:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:25:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:25:1)

**אעברה נא ואראה את הארץ הטובה**וכי לאכול מפריה או לשבוע מטובה משה היה צריך אלא הכי קאמר הרבה מצוות נצטוו ישראל ואינן נוהגות אלא בארץ לפיכך אעברה נא לקיים את המצוות.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
אעברה נא ואראה את הארץ הטובה, “please let me cross and see first hand the good land;” the question asked by most commentators is if Moses really only wanted to cross the Jordan for the mundane purpose of enjoying the fruit that grew in the Holy Land. It appears unbelievable to them that this could be the correct interpretation of this verse. They therefore conclude that the meaning of Moses’ plea was that he wished to be able to fulfill the many commandments of the Torah that can be fulfilled only while the person doing so is on the soil of the Holy Land.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:25:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:25:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:25:2)

**והלבנן**בית המקדש שנעשה מעצי הלבנון.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
והלבנון, “and the Lebanon.” The word: הלבנון here is a simile for the permanent Temple. (Ibn Ezra) Seeing that Solomon used the cedar wood of that region to line the inner walls of the Temple that he built, this interpretation is not as far fetched as it might appear to some.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:26:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:26:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:26:1)

**ויתעבר ה׳‎ בי למענכם**אמר הקב״‎ה למשה אם אתה עובר בארץ יאמרו מה שנגזר על דור המדבר שלא ליכנס לארץ היינו לפי שאין להם חלק לעולם הבא ואם תכנס לארץ בתפלתך יאמרו לא חש משה אלא על עצמו אלא תיקבר אצלם ותביא עמך לעתיד היינו ויתא ראשי עם.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ויתעבר ה' בי למענכם, “but the Lord was angry at me for your sakes;” G-d had said to Moses: “if you cross the Jordan into the Holy Land, people will say that the decree against the generation which had come out of Egypt to die in the desert was because they had forfeited their claim on an afterlife. If I now allow you to enter the Holy Land in response to your prayer, they will say that Moses was not concerned with anyone but himself. Therefore you will be buried where they are buried, and both you and they will rise at the time of the resurrection and live in the Holy Land.” This is the meaning of: ויתא ראשי עם in Deuteronomy 33,21: “they (the tribe of Gad) positioned himself at the head of the fighting men of the people”, i.e. as the pioneers. Moses, by agreeing to be buried in the fields of Moab displayed his total identification with the fate of his people.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:26:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:26:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:26:2)

**רב לך**במה שהראיתיך כבוש ארץ סיחון ועוג, על שאמרת אעברה **אל תוסף דבר אלי עוד בדבר הזה**ועל שאמרת ואראה את הארץ הטובה הריני שומע לך עלה ראש הפסגה וגו'.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
רב לך, “it is enough for you;” the fact that you merited to experience the conquest of the lands of Sichon and Og.“As far as your request to cross the Jordan is concerned, do not continue to belabour this subject with Me. As far as your request to see the land with your own eyes, is concerned, I am willing to grant that wish of yours.”


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:27:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:27:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:27:1)

**עלה ראש הפסגה**וגו'. הוא שנאמר בפנחס עלה אל הר העברים וגו'. וא״‎ת מי יעבור לפני העם הזה **וצו את יהושע**וגו'.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
עלה על ראש הפסגה, “ascend to the top of the summit;” if you were to ask who it is that will cross the Jordan with these people, command Joshua to do so. [The reader must appreciate that when Moses tells the people here that he had pleaded with G-d, his plea had been made immediately after he had been told that he would not be allowed to cross the Jordan, after he had struck the rock. (verse 28) 'עלה ראש הפסגה וגו, this is what G-d had told Moses already in the portion of Pinchas, Numbers 27,12 when He had said to him: עלה אל הר העברים, “ascend to the top of Mount Avarim.”


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:28:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:28:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:28:1)

**[וצו**מלשון וצוה].


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:29:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 3:29:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/3:29:1)

**ונשב בגיא**כדכתיב וישב ישראל בשיטים ויחל העם לזנות וגו׳‎ ונפלו מהם ארבעה ועשרים אלף ואנחנו יושבים בו.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ונשב בגיא, “we settled down in the valley.” Moses refers to Numbers 25,1, 'וישב ישראל בשיטים ויחל העם לזנות וגו, Israel settled down at Shittim, and the people began to indulge in harlotry, etc.” At that time, 24000 of them fell victim to a plague as a result of their misconduct. As a result of this we are still stuck here.