במדבר, פרק כ׳, פסוק כ״א

The border encounter between the Israelites and Edom reaches a critical moment of decision, resulting in Edom's complete refusal to allow passage and Israel's quiet retreat. Commentators explore the motive behind this denial. One perspective suggests that Edom was not driven by political strategy, but rather by a deep, suppressed hatred and a simple desire to deny the Israelites any benefit [העמק דבר]. In contrast, others draw a distinction between Edom's refusal and that of Sihon, king of the Amorites. While Sihon harbored profound hatred and launched a full-scale war, Edom was primarily driven by fear of the Israelites. Therefore, Edom's refusal was strictly verbal, intended only to prevent a border crossing without any desire to initiate a battle [מלבי״ם].

Although Edom firmly denied passage, another biblical account implies that the descendants of Esau did allow the Israelites to pass and purchase food. To resolve this apparent contradiction, it is explained that the Israelites did not actually travel through the interior of Edom's territory, but instead walked only along its outer boundary [ריב״א]. Geographically, the Israelites turned aside to bypass Edom entirely, traveling south along its western border and moving further away from the Land of Israel. From there, they headed toward Moab. The Moabites similarly refused to allow the Israelites to pass through their land, though they did sell them food [חומש קה״ת].

This quiet retreat raises a question as to why the Israelites simply turned back instead of fighting Edom to force their way through. The primary approach among commentators is that the narrative is brief here, and the Israelites retreated because they were following an explicit command from God. God had previously instructed them not to provoke or engage in battle with Edom. Once it became clear that peaceful passage was impossible, the Israelites had no choice but to retreat and find an alternate route [רמב״ן, הטור הארוך, ביאור יש״ר, רש״ר הירש]. A similar divine command applied to Moab; God forbade the Israelites from conquering Moabite territory, although He did permit them to frighten the Moabites because of their behavior [חומש קה״ת].

Beyond the immediate historical events, the nature of Israel's retreat contains a hint for the future. The withdrawal is compared to a person who stands in place and temporarily leans their body to the side, fully intending to straighten up again later. In this way, the Israelites' withdrawal from Edom was not a permanent or final departure. Instead, it was a temporary detour, hinting that in the future, Israel will return to inherit the land of Edom [אדרת אליהו].