Mattot-Masei 5783

Question: Why does משה interpret the initial request of בני ראובן ובני גד as refusing to conquer ארץ כנען?


Approach: It would seem that משה took this interpretation, not necessarily out of certainty that this was the intention, but rather, as an attempt to deal with the issue of conquest directly with בני ראובן ובני גד. The strong language was perhaps based on the fact that they hadn't addressed the issue head on.

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