G-d warns Moses and the people of Israel not to harm the descendants of Esau, Moab and the Ammonites, “for... I have given the hill country of Seir as a possession to Esau” and “I have assigned it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.” These territories are part of the land that God promised to Abraham, but others aside from the people of Israel have a claim to this inheritance. Ishmael son of Hagar and the descendants of Keturah are also Abraham’s heirs, but they have no claim in the inheritance of the land. This is because Abraham gave them their portion in moveable property during his own lifetime, distancing them from the Promised Land, as the Torah states: “But to Abraham’s sons by concubines Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the East” (Genesis 25:6). This was certainly not Abraham’s way of shortchanging these heirs; Abraham was notably “very rich in cattle, silver and gold” (13:2), and undoubtedly left them a considerable inheritance. The only remaining heir aside from Jacob and his descendants is Esau. On the other hand, Abraham consciously included an additional person among his heirs, giving him a gift of land during his lifetime:
Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, between my herdsmen and yours, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Let us separate: If you go north, I will go south; and if you go south, I will go north.” (13:8-9)
Since Esau and the descendants of Lot already controlled parts of the Promised Land, in the land of the Horites and in the greater Rephaim country, and it was forbidden for Israel to dispossess them, Israel would only be able to inherit these territories in one of three conditions:
- A foreign nation could capture the land or part of the land from them, and then the people of Israel could, in turn, capture the land from that conquering force. This occurred in the northern half of Moab, in the area north of the Arnon River and in the western part of the land of the Ammonites. These regions were conquered by Sihon, leading the Sages to state: “Ammon and Moab were purified through Sihon” (Gittin 38a, Chullin 60b). This also led Jephthah to say to the king of the Ammonites: “Now, then, the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites before his people Israel; and should you possess their land?” (Judges 11:23).
- Ammon, Moab or Edom could attack Israel without provocation. This occurred in the cases of King Eglon of Moab who enslaved Israel (Judges 3:13-14) and King Hanun son of Nahash of the Ammonites who humiliated the messengers that David had sent to him as a gesture of friendship and good will (II Samuel 10:4).
- The nations themselves could no longer exist. Every nation in the world is subject to the same basic historical laws that apply to individuals: they are born, they mature, they grow old and, in the end, they pass from the world. With the power of the divine covenant and promise, the eternal nation of Israel outlasts them all, regrouping and returning to the land after having been exiled and scattered. Once the descendants of Lot and the descendants of Esau served their purposes in the world, their inheritance returned to the people of Israel.
Chazal expressed this idea in a midrashic statement:
“For I will not give you of their land so much as a foot can tread on” (Deuteronomy 2:5). Rabbi Meir says: “Until his feet stand on that day.” Rabbi Samuel [Simeon?] says: “Until the one of whom it is written, ‘A star rises from Jacob’ (Numbers 24:17) comes – that is, the King Messiah. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: ‘In this world, you do not have permission to inherit this hill country, but in the World to Come you will be redeemed and you will inherit it.’ As it is said, ‘For liberators shall march up on Mount Zion to wreak judgment on Mount Esau; and dominion shall be the Lords’ (Obadiah 1:21).” (Tanhuma Deuteronomy [Buber], addition 6)
