An attempt by a king to repay an old debt of gratitude quickly spirals into a severe diplomatic crisis and a complex moral dilemma. King David wishes to send a delegation to comfort Hanun, the newly crowned king of Ammon, following the death of his father, Nahash. This desire to show kindness stems from a tragic event during David's years on the run. While fleeing, David entrusted his parents and siblings to the care of the king of Moab. However, the Moabite king betrayed this trust and executed David's entire family. Only one brother managed to escape, finding refuge with Nahash, who hid him and saved his life. A symbolic parallel emerges from this history: just as Nahash brought comfort to David by saving a single surviving brother from the massacre of his family, David now seeks to comfort Hanun, the surviving son left behind after his father's passing [אלשיך].
This gesture of goodwill creates a profound difficulty, as the Torah strictly forbids seeking the peace and welfare of the Ammonite and Moabite nations. How David could initiate such a move is a matter of debate. One approach suggests that the Torah permits seeking the welfare of a foreigner when the intention is to repay a personal kindness [מלבי״ם, חומת אנך]. According to this view, David deliberately avoided sending envoys to Nahash while he was alive, as doing so would have been viewed as forging a forbidden political alliance with the Ammonite nation. Instead, he waited until Nahash passed away, sending a delegation strictly meant to comfort the mourning son over his loss, thereby avoiding a violation of the prohibition [מלבי״ם, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Conversely, other commentators strongly criticize David's decision. They argue that David made a grave mistake by trying to be overly righteous, allowing his personal feelings of gratitude to override a clear command from God. In this view, God rebuked David for violating the absolute ban on seeking their welfare. The bitter outcome served as proof that showing mercy to those whom one is forbidden to pity ultimately leads to humiliation and war [רד״ק, חומת אנך].
That humiliation arrived swiftly. The very arrival of the messengers in the Ammonite territory triggered immediate suspicion. Because they entered the land itself, their mission appeared to be a public gesture toward the entire nation rather than a private condolence visit [מלבי״ם]. Before the delegation could even reach the king, Hanun's officials intercepted them and falsely accused them of acting as spies. The subsequent physical abuse inflicted upon the messengers—shaving off half of their beards and cutting their garments—was not a random act of cruelty. It was a calculated mockery of the laws of the Torah. Specifically, the Ammonites intended to ridicule the biblical law that forbids them from joining the Israelites, as well as the Commandment of circumcision, which they had previously rejected when they refused to convert [אלשיך].