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Ramban on Deuteronomy 9:28/רמב"ן על דברים ט׳:כ״ח

אמִבְּלִי יְכֹלֶת ה' לַהֲבִיאָם אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָהֶם, אָמַר בַּמְּרַגְּלִים (במדבר יד טז) מִבִּלְתִּי יְכֹלֶת ה' לְהָבִיא אֶת הָעָם הַזֶּה אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לָהֶם וַיִּשְׁחָטֵם בַּמִּדְבָּר, כְּלוֹמַר יֹאמְרוּ כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר בָּאוּ וְהָיוּ קְרוֹבִים לָאָרֶץ וְרָאָה שֶׁאֵין יְכֹלֶת בְּיָדוֹ כְּנֶגֶד הָעַמִּים הָהֵם, שְׁחָטָם בַּמִּדְבָּר. אֲבָל בְּכָאן אָמַר וּמִשִּׂנְאָתוֹ אוֹתָם הוֹצִיאָם לַהֲמִתָם בַּמִּדְבָּר, כִּי הָיְתָה הַשִּׂנְאָה הַזֹּאת בָּהֶם בְּמִצְרַיִם טֶרֶם שֶׁהוֹצִיאָם מִשָּׁם. וְהַטַּעַם בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁהָיוּ בְּמַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל עֲדַיִן קְרוֹבִים לְמִצְרַיִם, רְחוֹקִים מֵאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן, יֹאמְרוּ כִּי גַּם בִּהְיוֹתָם בְּמִצְרַיִם רָאָה שֶׁאֵין יְכֹלֶת בְּיָדוֹ לַהֲבִיאָם אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָהֶם בְּאָזְנֵי הַמִּצְרִיִּים, וְעַל כֵּן שְׂנֵאָם, וּלְבִלְתִּי הֵחֵל לְעֵינֵי הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר נוֹדַע אֲלֵיהֶם לְעֵינֵיהֶם, (ו)הוֹצִיאָם מִמִּצְרַיִם לַהֲמִיתָם בַּמִּדְבָּר בְּמָקוֹם שֶׁלֹּא יִוָּדַע מֶה הָיָה לָהֶם. וְזֶהוּ בְּרָעָה הוֹצִיאָם לַהֲרֹג אֹתָם בֶּהָרִים (שמות לב יב), שֶׁחָשַׁב עֲלֵיהֶם מַחְשֶׁבֶת רָעָה טֶרֶם שֶׁיָּצְאוּ, שֶׁהוֹצִיאָם מִתּוֹךְ עַם מִצְרַיִם לַהֲרֹג אוֹתָם בֵּין הֶהָרִים, מָקוֹם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יַעֲבֹר בּוֹ אִישׁ וְלֹא יָשַׁב אָדָם שָׁם. וְהַכַּוָּנָה בַּטְּעָנוֹת כִּי הַגּוֹיִם יְדַבְּרוּ בַּה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר עָלָיו כֵּאלֹהֵי גּוֹיֵי הָאֲרָצוֹת, וּכְעִנְיָן שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דניאל י כ) וְעַתָּה אָשׁוּב לְהִלָּחֵם עִם שַׂר פָּרָס. וּכְבָר הִזְכַּרְתִּי מִן הָעִנְיָן הַזֶּה:

1BECAUSE THE ETERNAL WAS NOT ABLE TO BRING THEM INTO THE LAND WHICH HE PROMISED THEM. During the affair of the spies, Moses said, [that the nations will say] Because the Eternal was not able to bring this people into the Land which He swore unto them, therefore He hath slain them in the wilderness,¹⁵⁶ meaning, they [the nations] will say that as they [the Israelites] approached and were near to the Land, and He saw that He was not able to be victorious over those nations He slew them [the Israelites] in the wilderness. But here [with reference to the calf] he [Moses] said [that the Egyptians would claim], and because He hated them, He hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness,¹⁵⁷ since this hatred already existed in Egypt before He took them out from there. The purport of this was that, since at the time when the calf was made, they were still close to Egypt and far from the land of Canaan, the Egyptians would claim that even when they were still in Egypt, He realized that He lacked the power to bring them into the Land of which He spoke to them within hearing of the Egyptians. Therefore He hated them that it [His Name] should not be profaned in the sight of the nations¹⁵⁸ in whose sight He made Himself known to them [the Israelites]. He brought them forth out of the land of Egypt to slay them in the wilderness¹⁵⁷ in a place where their fate would not become known. This is the intent of the verse, [Why should the Egyptians speak, saying:] for evil did He bring them forth, to slay them in the mountains?¹⁵⁹ meaning, that He planned this evil design against them before He brought them out from among the people of Egypt to slay them between the mountains, a place that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt.¹⁶⁰ The point of these arguments was that the nations would speak of the Eternal, the G-d of Israel, [in a manner as they speak of other gods], speaking against Him [saying:] ‘As the gods of the nations of the lands,’¹⁶¹ similar to what is stated, and now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia.¹⁶² I have already mentioned something of this subject.¹⁶³