Chapter Thirty-Four

The death of Moses.

Deuteronomy 34:1. And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, Deuteronomy 34:2. and all [the land of] Naphtali, and [all] the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, as far as the western sea, Deuteronomy 34:3. and the Negeb, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palms, as far as Zoar. Mount Nebo (Navav) is one of the peaks of the Abarim mountain range. Gilead is the territory in Transjordan. The city of Dan, situated to the southwest of Damascus, constituted the northern point of Palestine, just as Beersheba was the southern. Hence the expressions: “from Dan to Beersheba,” “from Beersheba to Dan” (1 Sam 3:20; 2 Sam 3:10; 1 Sam 4:25; 1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 30:5), to denote the entire extent of Palestine. The territory of Naphtali was situated in the north, the territory of Judah in the south of western Transjordan. The territory of Ephraim and Manasseh was in central Palestine. The western sea is the same as the Mediterranean. The location of Zoar is placed at the southern borders of the Dead Sea.

Deuteronomy 34:6. and he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; and no one knows the place of his burial to this day. “And he was buried,” that is, he found a resting place for himself. “And no one knows the place of his burial to this day,” in which one may discern a providential purpose: the burial place of the great Moses could have become especially sacred in the eyes of the Jews, subsequently becoming an object of superstitious or even idolatrous veneration.

Deuteronomy 34:10. And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, Deuteronomy 34:11. in respect to all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land, Deuteronomy 34:12. and in respect to all the mighty hand and all the great and awesome deeds that Moses performed before the eyes of all Israel. Cf. Num 12:1-9.