In parashat Devarim, on the following pasuk [Devarim 3:11], Shadal responds to those who assert that the pasuk is an editorial insertion:
הִנֵּה עַרְשׂוֹ עֶרֶשׂ בַּרְזֶל -- "Moshe elaborates a bit in the telling of the greatness of the victory which
Hashem granted them, for He gave into their hands two mightly kings, Sichon and Og. And all this is to strengthen the nation's heart, so that they would trust in Hashem to give them the land of Canaan. And this is [in line with] what he sums up [in pasuk 21-22] 'so shall the LORD do unto all the kingdoms whither thou goest over. Ye shall not fear them; for the LORD your God, He it is that fighteth for you.'
And with this same intent (to engrave in their hearts the greatness of the salvation which Hashem performed for them) he said earlier [pasuk 4-5] 'there was not a city which we took not from them; threescore cities... All these were fortified cities, with high walls, gates, and bars...'
And with this same intent he added here that Og was of the Refaim, whose strength and great height was well known in their days, such that they would frighten all who saw them. And he added here as well the matter of his bedstead, which was well-known in their days, and which was kept in Rabbat Benei Amon, for (just as Mendelssohn said) the Amonim kept his bed as a remembrance of their [own] might, when they were victorious over him and took his land. All this was to strengthen the image of the salvation which Hashem granted to Israel.
And there is not here any this which cannot rightly be said that Moshe wrote it. And behold, it is logical that, also in Ashterot, Og had a bedstead of iron, but Moshe did not command to keep it, for it was not his way to place a hand[hold?] within his nation for the kings of the nations, who were idol worshipers, for his Torah still required strengthening, since it was new. However, King David believed that the Torah's roots had already taken root in Israel and required no further strengthening. Therefore, when he took Rabbat Benei Ammon, he did not hold back from taking the crown of their king [מלכם] from upon his head so that it would be upon the head of David [II Shmuel 12:30]. And if the bedstead of Og was still there, it seems to me that he would have undoubtedly brought it to Yerushalayim. And this that this fact isn't mentioned in sefer Shmuel, one can understand that in the span of 400 years, it was already broken and / or lost and was no longer there.
And [so] it is not possible that this pasuk [in Devarim about Og's bedstead] was added in the days of David, as is the position of those who hold themselves clever. And I would ask them: who added it, and from where was it added? Behold, even if you just seek to say that what was added was כִּי רַק-עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן, נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים -- 'For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim', since the remembrance of the Refaim was already forgotten in the days of David, then that Og remained from the remnants of the Refaim was something that was quite old in his [David's] generation, and it is far-fetched that it would arise in someone's mind to add this matter in a sefer, which wouldn't aid or benefit.
Besides this, David and his friends, it would have been better for them to erase these words from sefer Yehoshua [12:4 -- וּגְבוּל, עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן, מִיֶּתֶר, הָרְפָאִים and 13:12 -- הוּא נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים] and not to add them in the Torah. For behold, David and his servants smote the children of Rafah [II Shmuel 21:22, I Divrei Hayamim 20:4]. And would it not be for greater honor to David and his servants were it said that they were the ones who slew the remnants of the Refaim. And for what cause would the people of that generation relate to a later generation that only Og remained from the remnants of the Refaim, in such manner that the children of the Rafa could not be from this trunk famed for its might and great height?
Now if it is granted that the words כִּי רַק-עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן, נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים are not added, but were rather written by whoever wrote the sefer, behold I will ask: is it possible that this was the language of the author [with the words above included as those of the initial author but with other words allegedly by an editor missing]?
Then what connection and what relation is there to the middle pasuk [11] with what precedes and with what follows?"
__________
I have some thoughts on this, but will keep them for (hopefully) a follow-up post.
| יא כִּי רַק-עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן, נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים--הִנֵּה עַרְשׂוֹ עֶרֶשׂ בַּרְזֶל, הֲלֹה הִוא בְּרַבַּת בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן: תֵּשַׁע אַמּוֹת אָרְכָּהּ, וְאַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת רָחְבָּהּ--בְּאַמַּת-אִישׁ. | 11 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.-- |
הִנֵּה עַרְשׂוֹ עֶרֶשׂ בַּרְזֶל -- "Moshe elaborates a bit in the telling of the greatness of the victory which
Hashem granted them, for He gave into their hands two mightly kings, Sichon and Og. And all this is to strengthen the nation's heart, so that they would trust in Hashem to give them the land of Canaan. And this is [in line with] what he sums up [in pasuk 21-22] 'so shall the LORD do unto all the kingdoms whither thou goest over. Ye shall not fear them; for the LORD your God, He it is that fighteth for you.'
And with this same intent (to engrave in their hearts the greatness of the salvation which Hashem performed for them) he said earlier [pasuk 4-5] 'there was not a city which we took not from them; threescore cities... All these were fortified cities, with high walls, gates, and bars...'
And with this same intent he added here that Og was of the Refaim, whose strength and great height was well known in their days, such that they would frighten all who saw them. And he added here as well the matter of his bedstead, which was well-known in their days, and which was kept in Rabbat Benei Amon, for (just as Mendelssohn said) the Amonim kept his bed as a remembrance of their [own] might, when they were victorious over him and took his land. All this was to strengthen the image of the salvation which Hashem granted to Israel.
And there is not here any this which cannot rightly be said that Moshe wrote it. And behold, it is logical that, also in Ashterot, Og had a bedstead of iron, but Moshe did not command to keep it, for it was not his way to place a hand[hold?] within his nation for the kings of the nations, who were idol worshipers, for his Torah still required strengthening, since it was new. However, King David believed that the Torah's roots had already taken root in Israel and required no further strengthening. Therefore, when he took Rabbat Benei Ammon, he did not hold back from taking the crown of their king [מלכם] from upon his head so that it would be upon the head of David [II Shmuel 12:30]. And if the bedstead of Og was still there, it seems to me that he would have undoubtedly brought it to Yerushalayim. And this that this fact isn't mentioned in sefer Shmuel, one can understand that in the span of 400 years, it was already broken and / or lost and was no longer there.
And [so] it is not possible that this pasuk [in Devarim about Og's bedstead] was added in the days of David, as is the position of those who hold themselves clever. And I would ask them: who added it, and from where was it added? Behold, even if you just seek to say that what was added was כִּי רַק-עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן, נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים -- 'For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim', since the remembrance of the Refaim was already forgotten in the days of David, then that Og remained from the remnants of the Refaim was something that was quite old in his [David's] generation, and it is far-fetched that it would arise in someone's mind to add this matter in a sefer, which wouldn't aid or benefit.
Besides this, David and his friends, it would have been better for them to erase these words from sefer Yehoshua [12:4 -- וּגְבוּל, עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן, מִיֶּתֶר, הָרְפָאִים and 13:12 -- הוּא נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים] and not to add them in the Torah. For behold, David and his servants smote the children of Rafah [II Shmuel 21:22, I Divrei Hayamim 20:4]. And would it not be for greater honor to David and his servants were it said that they were the ones who slew the remnants of the Refaim. And for what cause would the people of that generation relate to a later generation that only Og remained from the remnants of the Refaim, in such manner that the children of the Rafa could not be from this trunk famed for its might and great height?
Now if it is granted that the words כִּי רַק-עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן, נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים are not added, but were rather written by whoever wrote the sefer, behold I will ask: is it possible that this was the language of the author [with the words above included as those of the initial author but with other words allegedly by an editor missing]?
| יב וְאֶת-הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת יָרַשְׁנוּ, בָּעֵת הַהִוא... | 12 And this land we took in possession at that time... |
Then what connection and what relation is there to the middle pasuk [11] with what precedes and with what follows?"
__________
I have some thoughts on this, but will keep them for (hopefully) a follow-up post.
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