Side-ring EXTRA · Merit of early chastity and eternal yerushah
Torah Temimah is silent on 20:24. Sifra explains why Israel is a fitting heir and why the gift is an eternal inheritance belonging to the line of Shem.
English: “And I said to you: You shall inherit their land” — you are fitting heirs, for you initiated this (chastity) from the beginning. And so it says (Song 4:12) “A locked garden is my sister, my bride; a locked spring; a sealed fountain.” “And I will give it to you to inherit it” — I am destined to give it to you as an eternal inheritance. Lest you say, “Have You nothing to give us but what belongs to others?!” — is it not already yours? It is the portion of Shem, and you are the sons of Shem, while they are only the sons of Ham. What then was their business in it? They were merely caretakers of the place until you came.
Merit of early separation; eternal inheritance of Shem’s portion
Israel’s claim to the Land is grounded in two facts: the people already practiced the chastity that distinguishes them (the “locked garden”), and the territory itself belongs by original allotment to the line of Shem. The Canaanites were temporary stewards, not rightful owners; the gift is therefore an everlasting yerushah.