[96] This Divine command to the Children of Israel to ‘enter’ the town is explained in 7: 161 as ‘reside’ in the town, i.e. Jerusalem.
[97] That is ‘forgiveness’; they were asked to seek forgiveness. The word is derived from ḥaṭṭa, i.e. to put down a burden (Ibn Qutaybah, Gharīb al-Qur’an, p. 50; Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah, 2: 13), but they subtly twisted their tongues to mean ‘barley’, ḥinṭah (al-Bukhārī: 4641, cf. particularly al-ʿAsqalānī’s comment).