Shelach 14:16 · unit 1 — from Hashem’s inability
Parashas Shelach · Aliyah 3 · Passuk 16
The Complete Passuk
מִבִּלְתִּ֞י יְכֹ֣לֶת יְהֹוָ֗ה לְהָבִיא֙ אֶת־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֣ע לָהֶ֑ם וַיִּשְׁחָטֵ֖ם בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃
From Hashem’s inability to bring this people into the land that He swore to them, He slaughtered them in the wilderness.
Chabad.org — 14:16
Source Citation
Torah Temimah on מבלתי יכולת ה׳: Berachos 32a.
Sefaria — Berachos 32a
Core Text of Chazal
Core Text
״מִבִּלְתִּי יְכֹלֶת ה׳״: יָכוֹל ה׳ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ.
English: “From Hashem’s inability” — it should have said “Hashem is able.”
Type of Learning
Precise wording of Moshe’s argument before Heaven.
What Is Learned
Moshe frames the nations’ potential mockery around an apparent inability, which the wording itself flags as anomalous.