The Bible

The Bible › Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 34

1Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah opposite Jericho. Yahweh showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan, 2all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3the Negeb, and the district of the Jordan, the valley of Jericho, the city of palms, as far as Zoar. 4Yahweh said to him, “This is the land I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over there.”

5Moses, Yahweh’s servant, died there in the land of Moab, at Yahweh’s command. 6He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. 7Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eye had not grown dim, and his vigor had not fled. 8The sons of Israel wept for Moses on the plains of Moab for thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.

9Joshua son of Nun was filled with a spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him. The sons of Israel listened to him and did as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

10Never again has a prophet arisen in Israel like Moses, whom Yahweh knew face to face, 11for all the signs and wonders Yahweh sent him to do in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, 12and for all the strong hand and all the great terror that Moses displayed before the eyes of all Israel.

Translation notes 5

34:1–4 — The view from Nebo. The places describe the promised land across its regions. The “western sea” is the Mediterranean. The account says that Yahweh showed Moses the land; it does not explain the physical extent of an ordinary view from the mountain.

34:5 — Yahweh’s servant. Used of Moses this is an honored description of his service and allegiance to Yahweh. Elsewhere the same Hebrew word can name a human being owned as a slave; the context distinguishes those uses. “At Yahweh’s command” literally says “at Yahweh’s mouth.”

34:6 — Who buried Moses? The Hebrew has an unnamed singular subject, “he buried him,” most naturally understood here as Yahweh. Some ancient witnesses have a plural subject, “they buried him.” The translation retains the singular without silently supplying a name.

34:7 — Unfailed vigor. The rare expression translated “vigor” is bodily language, associated with freshness or moisture. The text says that Moses’ sight and strength had not failed when he died.

34:9–12 — Joshua and Moses. Joshua receives wisdom and the people’s obedience, but Moses’ distinctive relationship with Yahweh and his deeds remain the book’s final emphasis. “Face to face” and “strong hand” retain the account’s images without defining how they must have been experienced.