Reading , Rabbi Joḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Simeon, that God did not punish the nation as a whole for hidden sins committed by individuals until the Jewish people crossed the Jordan River, as recounted in . Two Tannaim disputed why dots appear in the Masoretic Text over the words "to us and to our children forever" (, "lanu ulvaneinu ad") in . Rabbi Judah said that the dots teach that God would not punish the Israelite community as a whole for transgressions committed in secret until the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River. Rabbi Nehemiah questioned, however, whether God ever punished the Israelite community for transgressions committed in secret, noting that said, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God . . . forever." Rabbi Nehemiah taught that God did not punish the Israelite community for secret transgressions at any time, and God did not punish the Israelite community as a whole for open transgressions until they had crossed the Jordan.