Shoftim 17:14 · unit 1

TT #83 · Parashas Shoftim · Second Aliyah · Passuk 17:14

The Complete Passuk

כִּֽי־תָבֹ֣א אֶל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ נֹתֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֣בְתָּה בָּ֑הּ וְאָמַרְתָּ֗ אָשִׂ֤ימָה עָלַי֙ מֶ֔לֶךְ כְּכׇל־הַגּוֹיִ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר סְבִיבֹתָֽי׃

When you come to the land that the Eternal your God is giving you, and you possess it and settle in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations around me,’

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sanhedrin 20b.

TT lemma: כִּי תָבֹא אֶל הָאָרֶץ.

Sefaria — Sanhedrin 20b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: שָׁלֹשׁ מִצְוֹת נִצְטַוּוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּכְנִיסָתָן לָאָרֶץ: לְהַעֲמִיד לָהֶם מֶלֶךְ, וּלְהַכְרִית זַרְעוֹ שֶׁל עֲמָלֵק, וּלְבָנוֹת לָהֶם בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה.

English: Our Rabbis taught: Three commandments were given to Yisrael upon their entry into the Land: to appoint a king for themselves, to wipe out the seed of Amalek, and to build for themselves the Chosen House (the Temple).

On the daf / in context: Sanhedrin 20b discusses the sequence and obligatory nature of these three mitzvos that apply specifically after entering Eretz Yisrael. The baraita is the classic source for the mitzvah of appointing a king.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — the baraita derives three independent mitzvos from the Torah’s language about entry into the Land and kingship.

What Is Learned

Upon entering the Land, Yisrael are commanded three things: appoint a king, eradicate Amalek, and build the Beis HaMikdash. The appointment of a king is one of the foundational mitzvos of the Land.