כל שבט לוי. בֵּין תְּמִימִין בֵּין בַּעֲלֵי מוּמִין (ספרי): כל שבט לוי [THE PRIESTS THE LEVITES] NAMELY ALL THE TRIBE OF LEVI [SHALL HAVE NO PORTION … WITH ISRAEL] — all the tribe, whether they be able-bodied or whether they be blemished (Sifrei Devarim 163:1).
חלק. בַּבִּזָּה: חלק A PORTION — i.e. in the spoil that is taken in battle (Sifrei Devarim 163:2),
ונחלה. בָּאָרֶץ (שם): ונחלה AND INHERITANCE — in the land (Sifrei Devarim 163:3).
אשי ה'. קָדְשֵׁי הַמִּקְדָּשׁ: 'אשי ה THE FIRE OFFERINGS OF THE LORD — the holy things brought into the Temple (Sifrei Devarim 163:4),
ונחלתו. אֵלּוּ קָדְשֵׁי הַגְּבוּל – תְּרוּמוֹת וּמַעַשְׂרוֹת, אֲבָל נַחֲלָה גְּמוּרָה לא יהיה לו בקרב אחיו; וּבְסִפְרֵי דָּרְשׁוּ – ונחלה לא יהיה לו — זוֹ נַחֲלַת שְׁאָר, בקרב אחיו — זוֹ נַחֲלַת חֲמִשָּׁה. וְאֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ מַה הִיא, וְנִרְאֶה לִי שֶׁאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן שֶׁמֵּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן וָאֵילָךְ נִקְרֵאת אֶרֶץ חֲמִשָּׁה עֲמָמִין, וְשֶל סִיחוֹן וְעוֹג שְׁנֵי עֲמָמִין, אֱמוֹרִי וּכְנַעֲנִי, וְנַחֲלַת שְׁאָר לְרַבּוֹת קֵינִי וּקְנִזִּי וְקַדְמוֹנִי, וְכֵן דּוֹרֵשׁ בְּפָרָשַׁת מַתָּנוֹת שֶׁנֶּאֶמְרוּ לְאַהֲרֹן (במדבר י"ח) "עַל כֵּן לֹא הָיָה לְלֵוִי וְגוֹ'" לְהַזְהִיר עַל קֵינִי וּקְנִזִּי וְקַדְמוֹנִי. שׁוּב נִמְצָא בְדִבְרֵי רַבִּי קְלוֹנִימוּס הָכֵי גָּרְסִינָן בְּסִפְרֵי: ונחלה לא יהיה לו. אֵלּוּ נַחֲלַת חֲמִשָּׁה, בקרב אחיו אֵלּוּ נַחֲלַת שִׁבְעָה, נַחֲלַת חֲמִשָּׁה שְׁבָטִים וְנַחֲלַת שִׁבְעָה שְׁבָטִים; וּמִתּוֹךְ שֶׁמֹּשֶׁה וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לֹא חִלְּקוּ נַחֲלָה אֶלָּא לַחֲמִשָּׁה שְׁבָטִים בִּלְבָד, שֶׁכֵּן מֹשֶׁה הִנְחִיל לִרְאוּבֵן וְגָד וַחֲצִי שֵׁבֶט מְנַשֶּׁה, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ הִנְחִיל לִיהוּדָה וְאֶפְרַיִם וְלַחֲצִי שֵׁבֶט מְנַשֶּׁה, וְשִׁבְעָה הָאֲחֵרִים נָטְלוּ מֵאֵלֵיהֶן אַחֲרֵי מוֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, מִתּוֹךְ כָּךְ הִזְכִּיר חֲמִשָּׁה לְבַד וְשִׁבְעָה לְבַד: ונחלתו AND HIS INHERITANCE — this refers to the holy things that might be consumed outside Jerusalem (גבולין) — the heave-offerings and the tithes (Sifrei Devarim 163:4) these they shall eat, BUT נחלה AN INHERITANCE, a real inheritance, לא יהיה לו בקרב אחיו SHALL HE NOT HAVE AMONG HIS BRETHREN. In Sifrei Devarim 164, they (the Rabbis) gave the following interpretation:
ונחלה לא יהיה לו — this refers to the נחלת שאר the inheritance of the שאר.
בקרב אחיו — AMONG HIS BRETHREN — this refers to the inheritance of the five. I do not, however, know for certain what this means (what Sifrei means by שאר and חמשה). But it seems to me that the part of the land of Canaan which is on the other (the western) side of the Jordan and onwards is called the land of the five nations (and these are therefore the five referred to by Sifrei), whilst the territory of Sihon and Og on the eastern side might be called the land of the two nations, viz., the Amorites and the Canaanites, — and נחלת שאר mentioned in Sifrei is intended to include the land of the remaining clans (שאר), the Kenite, the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, which will become Israel’s inheritance in some future time. (But the land of Sihon and Og need not be mentioned since this was already divided among the two and a half tribes, and it was known that the tribe of Levi had no share in it.) Similarly it (Sifrei) makes a comment in “the section dealing with the gifts that were promised to Aaron” on the verse (Numbers 18:24) “wherefore [I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance]” that it is intended to express a warning regarding the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite (i.e. that not even in later times when Israel will inherit the land of these nations shall the Levite have a portion in it). — It has since been found in the words of Rabbi Kalonymus that the proper version of this passage in Sifrei reads as follows:
ונחלה לא יהיה לו BUT THEY SHALL HAVE NO INHERITANCE — this refers to the territory of the five,
בקרב אחיו AMONGST THEIR BRETHREN — this refers to the territory of the seven, and he explains that this means the five tribes and the seven tribes. And because Moses and Joshua assigned an inheritance in the land only to five tribes — for Moses assigned their inheritance to Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, and Joshua assigned their inheritance to Judah, Ephraim and the other half tribe of Manasseh, whilst the remaining seven tribes took their portions themselves in the land (conquered it) after the death of Joshua — for this reason it (Scripture) mentions (alludes to) the five tribes separately and to the seven separately.