Adjacent to Beis Aven. Near Beis Aven.

To the east of Beis Eil. From the east of Beis Eil.

Until Shevarim, until they were broken.¹

footnotes: ¹ The place was called Shevarim lit. broken.

We should have been content. We should have decided to dwell on the eastern side of the Jordan, in the land of Sichon and Og which has already been captured.

And what will you do for Your Name, which is associated with our name?² This is the Aggadic interpretation. The simple meaning is, What will you do for your mighty Name, that has already achieved such fame; and now they will be able to say, His strength has become lessened.

footnotes: ² God’s Name, אֵל is part of our name יִשְׂרָאֵל.

Get yourself up. [Even though we read the word as קֻם], it is written קם [which could be read קָם]. [The explanation therefore would be as follows]: Your prayers to Me have stood up for you, and [everything] you mentioned.³ Another explanation: you stood yourself in the camp and did not go out with them,⁴ and I had said, ‘Who will take them out [to war] and who will bring them [back].’⁵ ‘For you will bring the Bnei Yisroel— and I will be with you.’⁶ ‘For he will cross over before this people, and he will spur them on to inherit.’⁷ If you go before them, they will succeed, and if not, they will not succeed. Another explanation: Get yourself up, it is your fault [because of you] that this has happened to them. I did not tell you to sanctify the booty of the city.

footnotes: ³ Your prayers and everything you said have accomplished their purpose. I will not permit the people to be defeated. ⁴ When you sent the men to capture the city of Ai, you remained at the camp and did not lead them. ⁵ Bamidbar 27:17. ⁶ Devorim 31:23. ⁷ Devorim 3:28.

Households. In one family grouping there can be many individual households.

Men Individualy, man by man. Each man of the household was to come to the choosing of lots.

Burned with fire. His tent and movable property [shall be burned].

He and all that he possesses. [This should be understood] according to the law explained below— he and his livestock [are put to death] by stoning.⁸ The zakeif accent, appearing over the word, בָּאֵשׁ indicates that the word בָּאֵשׁ (with fire) is separated from the word אוֹתוֹ, (he). We find other verses in which the accent divides the verse, such as, ‘אַחַרֵי דֶרֶך מְבוֹא הַשֶׁמֶשׁ’⁹ (Far past the Jordan, the direction in which the sun sets). The word אַחַרֵי is separated from the word דֶרֶך by virtue of the [pashta] accent. Thus the interpretation of our verse is: He who is convicted [by the Ark] because of his taking of the condemned, shall be burned with fire, [which means] that which is fit to be burned [shall be burned], as is explained below.¹⁰

footnotes: ⁸ See below v. 25. ⁹ Devorim 11:30. See Rashi and Sifsei Chachomim there. ¹⁰ V. 25.

He and all that he possesses. [This should be understood.] According to the law explained below.¹¹ This is an abbreviated verse, and there is a similar verse to it: ‘Whoever strikes the Jebusites and reaches the tower.’¹² The verse does not explain what will be done to him,¹³ but in Sefer Divrei Ha Yomim,¹⁴ it is explained ‘that he will become a leader.’ Here too, it is not explained what will be done to him ‘and to all that he possesses,’ but everything is explained below.¹⁵

footnotes: ¹¹ Ibid. ¹² II Shmuel 5:8. ¹³ We are not told what reward will be given to the one who reaches the tower. ¹⁴ I Divrei Hayumim 11:5. ¹⁵ V. 25.

And brought the Bnei Yisroel near. He brought them in front of the Choshen¹⁶ was one of the sacred garments worn by the Kohein Gadol. The Divine decisions were given through the letters inscribed on the Choshen. on which the names of the tribes were inscribed. The Holy One, blessed is He, gave him a sign— the stone of the sinning tribe will fade, and the stone inscribed with Yehudah’s name, faded.

footnotes: ¹⁶ The Choshen

And when he brought near the family of Yehudah. To the initial casting of lots he brought the heads of families near, one man from each family, and they cast lots [to see] on whom it would fall. Afterwards lots were cast on each household— one man from each household came to the casting of lots, and then came all the men of that particular household.

I beseech you, give honor. Ochan began to defame the casting of lots.¹⁷ He said to Yehoshua, “On the basis of casting lots, Are you accusing me? You and Elozer, the Kohein, are the greatest of the generation. If a lot was cast between you, it would certainly fall on one of you.”¹⁸ Yehoshua then said to him, ‘I beseech you, give honor, (etc).’ “I ask you, please do not defame the method of casting lots, for this is the way the land will ultimately be divided.”¹⁹

footnotes: ¹⁷ As a means of establishing guilt. ¹⁸ Therefore lots are not a definitive method of reaching a decision. ¹⁹ You are therefore casting doubt on the division of the land.

And Ochan answered. He saw the men of [the tribe of] Yehudah assembling for war,²⁰ and he said, “It is better that I alone should die rather than have many thousands of Bnei Yisroel killed.”²¹

footnotes: ²⁰ They were prepared to go to war to protect Ochan, who was one of their tribe. ²¹ There would have been a civil war between the tribe of Yehudah and the other tribes. This would have caused thousands of casualties.

And I have done the following. (Lit. and this and this have I done)²² I also sinned regarding other sacred things, during the days of Moshe, as it is said, ‘I will sanctify their cities.’²³

footnotes: ²² The implication was that this was not the only time he had sinned regarding sacred things. ²³ Bamidbar 21:2. This occurred when the Bnei Yisroel took revenge against Midian and declared that some of the booty be considered sacred.

I saw amidst the spoils—I gave thought to what is written in the Torah,²⁴ understands וָאֵרֶה as referring to intellectual comprehension. ‘and you shall consume, [the booty] etc.’²⁵

footnotes: ²⁴ Rashi ²⁵ Devorim 20:14. Ochan took this verse as a command to consume the booty captured from the enemy.

A Babylonian garment. This is translated according to the Targum. Any king who did not possess a palace in Eretz Yisroel, was not content with his kingship, as it is said, ‘And I will give you a desired land, and inheritance desired by many nations.’²⁶ The king of Babylonia had a palace in Yericho, and when he visited here he would wear them.²⁷

footnotes: ²⁶ Yirmiahu 3:19. The verse obviously refers to Eretz Yisroel, which is the land desired many kings. ²⁷ This explains how a Babylonian garment was found in Yericho.

And they ran to [his] tent. They wanted to get there before the tribe of Yehudah had a chance to remove the articles and deny the accuracy of the lots.

And they spread them out. The Targum renders וַיַצִקָם as וְאַתִּיכוּנוּן [which implies, and they melted them] Our Sages said, ‘He [Yehoshua] came and cast them before the Omnipresent. He said before him, “Master of the universe, for these, shall the bulk of Sanhedrin fall?’”²⁸

footnotes: ²⁸ Because of these insignificant items, will You punish them.

**His sons etc., and all of Yisroel.**²⁹ To witness his downfall, and to be forewarned against doing as he did.

footnotes: ²⁹ Why was it necessary to bring all of Yisroel? Rashi therefore explains—to witness his downfall.

His ox(en) and his mule(s) to destroy them, as it was said, ‘And he who is convicted by [his guilt in taking of] the sacred things, shall be burned with fire, he and all that he possesses.’³⁰

footnotes: ³⁰ See Verse 15 above, and Rashi’s commentary there.

**And [they] stoned him.**³¹ He had desecrated the Shabbos.

footnotes: ³¹ Why this particular death? Rashi answers. he desecrated the Shabbos.

And they burned them. This refers to the tent, and all other movable objects.

And they stoned them. This refers to the ox(en) and other animals.