פרשת חקת - מלחמה בגלל החטופים בנגב

(1) When the Canaanite, king of Arad, who dwelt in the Negeb, learned that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he engaged Israel in battle and took some of them captive. (2) Then Israel made a vow to ה׳ and said, “If You deliver this people into our hand, we will proscribe their towns.” (3)ה׳ heeded Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites; and they and their cities were proscribed. So that place was named Hormah.

וישמע הכנעני AND THE CANAANITE HEARD — He heard that Aaron had died and that the clouds of glory had disappeared and he believed that now he was at liberty to wage war against Israel, as it is related in Rosh Hashana 3a; Amalek was from olden times a whip for chastising Israel — always held in readiness to be God's agent for Israels punishment (Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 18).

(2) ישב הנגב THE INHABITANT OF THE SOUTH COUNTRY — This was Amalek,as it is said, (Numbers 13:29), “Amalek was the inhabitant of the south country”. But he purposely changed his speech, talking in the “Canaanite” tongue, so that Israel might thereby be misled and would pray to the Holy One, blessed be He, that he should give the Canaanites into their power, whilst really they were not Canaanites, and their prayer would be ineffectual against the Amalakites. But Israel perceived that their clothing was as the clothing of Amalakites whilst their language was the language of Canaan; they thereupon said, “Let us pray against our enemies in general terms (without mention of any name), as it is stated (v. 2) that they said, “if Thou wilt indeed give this people into my hand”.

וישב ממנו שבי (more lit.,) AND CAPTURED FROM THEM A CAPTIVE — it was only one maid servant (Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 764).

(3) AND HE TOOK SOME OF THEM CAPTIVE. “It was only one maidservant [of the Israelites that was taken captive].” This is Rashi’s language, based upon the words of our Rabbis. The Sages were induced to make this comment because they were of the opinion that Israel never suffered defeat at the hands of any enemy except at times when they sinned; such as at the first war with Amalek, because they had said, Is the Eternal among us, or not? and at the second [war with Amalek] on account of their sin in the [matter of the] spies, when Moses had warned them not to wage war. But in all wars which were by [Divine] command, not one man of them was missing throughout the days of Moses. Therefore the Sages explained this verse as meaning that they [the enemy] took captive from Israel that captive whom they had in their possession, namely this maidservant whom the Israelites had [previously] captured from them. [The usage here of the term shevi (captive) in the sense of “servant” is] similar to the expression ‘b’chor hashvi’ (the firstborn of the captive) which means the firstborn of ‘the maidservant’ [and so here too the word shevi denotes a maidservant], since Scripture here does not say: “and he captured men from him,” or “[he captured] women and children.” According to the plain meaning of Scripture, the sense of the verse is that these Canaanites did not kill any of the Israelites, but took a few of them captive, and when G-d [later on] delivered them into their hands, they brought them all back, and not a single one of them was missing. Scripture mentioned this in order to inform us that since the Israelites saw at first that the Canaanites were winning [the war], they made this vow to dedicate all spoil which they would take to G-d, and G-d hearkened to their voice. It is possible also that we explain that G-d was angry with these Canaanites because they came from a distant land to fight against Israel, and feared not G-d; therefore He wanted that they should be utterly destroyed, and caused them to prevail at first so that the Israelites would vow to destroy them [and dedicate the spoils] to G-d.

Israel took a vow to the Lord, and said: If You will deliver this people into my hand, I will destroy their cities. None of us will take from the spoils.

(3)ה׳ heeded Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites; and they and their cities were proscribed. So that place was named Hormah.

(1) ויחרם אתהם AND HE DOOMED THEM by slaughter, (2) ואת עריהם AND THEIR CITIES as things dedicated to the Most High.