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Deuteronomy Chapter
Thirty-four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 34
This
chapter informs us of Moses going up to the top of Pisgah, where he was shown
the whole land of Canaan, Deuteronomy 34:1;
of his death, burial, and age, Deuteronomy 34:5;
of Israel's mourning for him, and the time of it, Deuteronomy 34:8;
of his successor Joshua, Deuteronomy 34:9;
and of the character of Moses, to whom no prophet was to be compared, Deuteronomy 34:10.
Deuteronomy 34:1 Then Moses went
up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across
from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of
Gilead as far as Dan,
YLT
1And Moses goeth up from the
plains of Moab unto mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah, which [is] on the front of
Jericho, and Jehovah sheweth him all the land -- Gilead unto Dan,
And Moses went up from the plains of Moab,.... Where the
Israelites had lain encamped for some time, and where Moses had repeated to
them the law, and all that, is contained in this book of Deuteronomy; and after
he had read to them the song in Deuteronomy 32:1;
and had blessed the several tribes, as in the preceding chapter: at the command
of God he went up from hence:
unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is
over against Jericho; Nebo was one of the mountains of Abarim, which formed a ridge of
them, and Pisgah was the highest point of Nebo, and this was over against
Jericho on the other side Jordan, see Deuteronomy 32:49;
hither Moses went, to the top of this high mountain, for aught appears, without
any support or help, his natural force not being abated, though an hundred and
twenty years old; and hither he seems to have gone alone, though JosephusF16Antiqu.
l. 4. c. 8. sect. 48. and the Samaritan ChronicleF17Apud Hottinger.
Smegma, l. 1. c. 8. p. 456. say, Eleazar, Joshua, and the elders of Israel
accompanied him:
and the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan; the Word of
the Lord, as the Targum of Jonathan, who appeared to him in the bush, sent him
to Egypt, wrought miracles by him there, led him and the people of Israel
through the Red sea and wilderness, and brought them to the place where they
now were: and though the eye of Moses was not become dim, as was usual at such
an age he was of, yet it can hardly be thought it should be so strong as to
take a distinct view of the whole land of Canaan, to the utmost borders of it:
no doubt but his natural sight was wonderfully strengthened and increased by
the Lord, by whom he was directed first to behold the land of Gilead on that
side of Jordan where he was, and which was the possession of the two tribes of
Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; and then he was directed to
look forward to the land of Canaan beyond Jordan, to the northern part of it; for
Dan is not the tribe of Dan, but a city of that name, formerly Leshem, which
the Danites took, and lay the farthest north of the land, hence the phrase
"from Dan to Beersheba", see Joshua 19:47; this
city is so called by anticipation: Aben Ezra thinks Joshua wrote this verse by
a spirit of prophecy; and it is very likely the whole chapter was written by
him, and not the eight last verses only, as say the Jewish writers: this view
Moses had of the good land a little before his death may be an emblem of that
sight believers have, by faith, of the heavenly glory, and which sometimes is
the clearest when near to death; this sight they have not in the plains of Moab,
in the low estate of nature, but in an exalted state of grace, upon and from
off the rock of Christ, in the mountain of the church of God, the word and
ordinances being often the means of it; it is a sight by faith, and is of the
Lord, which he gives, strengthens, and increases, and sometimes grants more
fully a little before death.
Deuteronomy 34:2 2 all
Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as
the Western Sea,[a]
YLT
2and all Naphtali, and the
land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah unto the further sea,
And all Naphtali,.... Which lay in the northern part of the
land, and where was Galilee of the Gentiles, and so he had a sight of all that
country most frequented by the Messiah when come, see Matthew 4:13,
and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh: which lay in
the midland part of the country:
and all the land of Judah; which lay to the south:
unto the utmost sea; the Mediterranean sea,
which was the western boundary of the land, called the "hinder sea", Zechariah 14:8; and
might as well be so rendered here, for the same word is used: Jarchi would have
it read, not the "hinder sea", but the "latter day": for,
he says, the Lord showed to Moses all that should happen to Israel until the
resurrection of the dead; and so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases the above
passages, and observes that the Lord showed Moses the mighty deeds of Jephthah
of Gilead, and the victories of Samson, who was of the tribe of Dan; the
idolatries of that tribe, and Samson the saviour that should spring from them;
Deborah and Barak, and the princes of the house of Naphtali; Joshua the son of
Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, that should fight with and slay the kings of
Canaan; and Gideon the son of Joash, of the tribe of Manasseh, that should
fight with Midian and Amalek, and all the kings of Israel, and the kingdom of
the house of Judah; the king of the south, that should join the king of the
north to destroy the inhabitants of the earth; and even the destruction of
Armiilus or antichrist, and the war of Gog and Magog, and the great affliction
Michael shall save from.
Deuteronomy 34:3 3 the
South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far
as Zoar.
YLT
3and the south, and the
circuit of the valley of Jericho, the city of palms, unto Zoar.
And the south,.... The southern part of the land, even all
of it; and having shown him that, he is directed eastward to take a view of
the plain of the valley of Jericho; which lay before him, a
delightful plain; see Joshua 5:10,
the city of palm trees; so Jericho was called,
because of the multitude of palm trees which grew there, and which Josephus not
only testifiesF18De Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 18. sect. 5. & l. 4. c.
8. sect. 2. , who speaks of it as a plain planted with palm trees, and from
whence balsam comes; but several Heathen writers: Pliny saysF19Nat.
Hist. l. 5. c. 14. Jericho was set with palm trees; Diodorus SiculusF20Bibliothec.
l. 2. p. 132. speaks of the country about Jericho as abounding with palm trees,
and in a certain valley, meaning the vale or plains of Jericho, is produced
that which is called balsam; so Strabo saysF21Geograph. l. 16. p.
525. , Jericho is a plain surrounded with mountains abounding with palm trees,
where there is a plantation of palm trees, with other fruit trees, the space of
a hundred furlongs:
unto Zoar; near the salt sea; see Genesis 19:22.
Deuteronomy 34:4 4 Then
the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have
caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over
there.”
YLT 4And Jehovah saith unto him,
`This [is] the land which I have sworn to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,
saying, To thy seed I give it; I have caused thee to see with thine eyes, and
thither thou dost not pass over.'
And the Lord said unto him,.... The Word of the
Lord, as the Jerusalem Targum, having shown him all the land of Canaan:
this is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac,
and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed; to Abraham, Genesis 15:18; to
Isaac, Genesis 26:3; to
Jacob, Genesis 28:13,
I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes; not only had
indulged him with a general view of it, but had strengthened his eyesight, that
he had a full, clear, and distinct sight of it:
but thou shalt not go over thither; which he had said more
than once before and abides by it, and this because of the behaviour of Moses
at the waters of Meribah, Numbers 20:12; see Deuteronomy 3:25.
Deuteronomy 34:5 5 So
Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab,
according to the word of the Lord.
YLT
5And Moses, servant of the
Lord, dieth there, in the land of Moab, according to the command of Jehovah;
So Moses the servant of the Lord died there, in the land of Moab,.... Which
formerly belonged to Moab, and was taken from them by Sihon king of the
Amorites, and now in the possession of Israel: here on a mountain in this land
Moses died; and yet, contrary to the express words of this text, some Jewish
writers affirmF23T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 13. 2. Yalkut & R. Abraham
Seba in Tzeror Hammor in loc. that be died not, but was translated to heaven,
where he ministers; yea, that he was an angel, and could not die: but it is
clear he did die, even though a servant of the Lord, as he was, and a faithful
one; but such die as well as others, Zechariah 1:5;
there is a saying of someF24Seder Tephillot, fol. 213. 1. Ed. Basil.
Jews,"Moses died, and who shall not die?'no man can promise himself
immortality here, when such great and good men die: the Targum of Jonathan
says, he died on the seventh of Adar or February, on which day he was born; and
it is the general opinion of the Jewish writersF25T. Bab. Kiddushin,
fol. 38. 1. Seder Olam Rabba, c. 10. p. 29. Judasin, fol. 10. 1. Shalshalet
Hakabala, fol. 7. 2. so Patricides apud Hottinger, p. 457. , that he died on
the seventh of that month, in the middle of the day, and that it was a sabbath
day: though, as Aben Ezra observesF26Pirush in Deut. i. 2. so
Midrash Esther, fol. 93. 2. , some say he died on the first of Adar; and
JosephusF1Ut supra, (De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 18.) sect. 49. is
express for it, that it was at the new moon, or first day of the month; and
with this agrees the calculation of Bishop UsherF2Annales Vet. Test.
p. 37. :
according to the word of the Lord; according to the
prophecy of the Lord, and according to a command of his, that he should go up
to the above said mountain and die, Numbers 27:12; or,
as the Targum of Jerusalem, according to the decree of the Lord; as the death
of every man is, both with respect to time and place, and manner of it: it is
appointed for men once to die, Hebrews 9:27;
because it is in the original text, "according to the mouth of the
Lord"F3על פי
"super os", Montanus; "juxta os", Tigurine version. ; hence
some Jewish writers, as Jarchi particularly, interpret it of his dying by a
kiss of his mouth, with strong expressions and intimations of his love to him, Song of Solomon 1:2;
and no doubt but he did die satisfied of the love of God to him, enjoying his
presence, and having faith and hope of everlasting life and salvation; but the
true sense is, he died according to the will of God, not of any disease, or
through the infirmities of age, but by the immediate order and call of God out
of this life.
Deuteronomy 34:6 6 And
He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one
knows his grave to this day.
YLT
6and He burieth him in a
valley in the land of Moab, over-against Beth-Peor, and no man hath known his
burying place unto this day.
And he buried him,.... Aben Ezra says he buried himself, going
into a cave on the top of the mount, where he expired, and so where he died his
grave was; but though he died on the mount, he was buried in a valley: Jarchi
and so other Jewish writersF4Misn. Sotah, c. 1. sect. 9. Pirke
Eliezer, c. 17. say, the Lord buried him; it may be by the ministry of angels:
an Arabic writer saysF5Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 32. , he was
buried by angels: it is very probable he was buried by Michael, and who is no
other than the archangel or head of principalities and powers, our Lord Jesus
Christ, for a reason that will be hereafter suggested, see Judges 1:9,
in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor; where stood a
temple dedicated to the idol Peor, see Deuteronomy 3:29,
but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day; to the time
when Joshua wrote this, or, as others think, Samuel: if Moses is the same with
the Osiris of the Egyptians, as some thinkF6See Gale's Court of the
Gentiles, B. 2. c. 7. p. 94. , it may be observed, that his grave is said to be
unknown to the Egyptians, as Diodorus SiculusF7Bibliothec. l. 1. p.
18. and StraboF8Geograph. l. 17. p. 552. both affirm; and the grave
of Moses is unknown, even unto this our day: for though no longer ago than in
the year 1655, in the month of October, it was pretended to be found by some
Maronite shepherds on Mount Nebo, with this inscription on it in Hebrew
letters, "Moses the servant of the Lord"; but this story was confuted
by Jecomas, a learned Jew, who proved it to be the grave of another MosesF9See
Calmet's Dictionary, in voce "Sepulchre". , whom Wagenseil
conjectures was Moses MaimonidesF11Not. in Sotah, p. 327. ; but some
think the whole story is an imposition: the reason why the grave of Moses was
kept a secret was, as Ben Gersom suggests, lest, because of his miracles,
succeeding generations should make a god of him and worship him, as it seems a
sort of heretics called Melchisedecians didF12Epiphan contr. Haeres.
l. 2. Haeres. 55. : the death and burial of Moses were an emblem of the
weakness and insufficiency of the law of Moses, and the works of it, to bring
any into the heavenly Canaan; and of the law being dead, and believers dead to
that through the body of Christ, and of the entire abrogation and abolition of
it by Christ, according to the will of God, as a covenant of works, as to the
curse and condemnation of it, and justification by it; who is Michael the
archangel, and is the end of the law for righteousness; he abolished it in his
flesh, nailed it to his cross, carried it to his grave, and left it there; the
rites and ceremonies of it are to be no more received, nor is it to be sought
after for righteousness and life, being dead and buried, Romans 7:6.
Deuteronomy 34:7 7 Moses
was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim
nor his natural vigor diminished.
YLT
7And Moses [is] a son of a
hundred and twenty years when he dieth; his eye hath not become dim, nor hath
his moisture fled.
And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died,.... Which age
of his may be divided into three equal periods, forty years in Pharaoh's court,
forty years in Midian, and forty in the care and government of Israel, in Egypt
and in the wilderness; so long he lived, though the common age of man in his time
was but threescore years and ten, Psalm 90:10; and
what is most extraordinary is:
his eyes were not dim; as Isaac's were, and men
at such an age, and under, generally be:
nor his natural force abated; neither the rigour of
his mind nor the strength of his body; his intellectuals were not decayed, his
memory and judgment; nor was his body feeble, and his countenance aged; his
"moisture" was not "fled"F13So Ainsworth. , as
it may be rendered, his radical moisture; he did not look withered and
wrinkled, but plump and sleek, as if he was a young man in the prime of his
days: this may denote the continued use of the ceremonial law then to direct to
Christ, and the force of the moral law as in the hands of Christ, requiring
obedience and conformity to it, as a rule of walk and conversation, 1 Corinthians 9:21.
Deuteronomy 34:8 8 And
the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the
days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.
YLT
8And the sons of Israel
bewail Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; and the days of weeping [and]
mourning for Moses are completed.
And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab
thirty days,.... According both to JosephusF14Ut supra. (De Bello
Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 49.) and the Samaritan ChronicleF15Apud
Hottinger, p. 456. , they cried and wept in a very vehement manner, when he
signified to them his approaching death, and took his leave of them; and when
he was dead they mourned for him, in a public manner, the space of time here
mentioned, the time of mourning for his brother Aaron, Numbers 20:29,
so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended; on the eighth
of Nisan or March, as says the Targum of Jonathan, and on the "ninth"
they prepared their vessels and their cattle for a march, and on the tenth
passed over Jordan, and on the "sixteenth" the manna ceased,
according to the said paraphrase.
Deuteronomy 34:9 9 Now
Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his
hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
YLT
9And Joshua son of Nun is
full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him, and the
sons of Israel hearken unto him, and do as Jehovah commanded Moses.
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom,.... The
successor of Moses, and who, by the spirit of wisdom on him, was abundantly
qualified for the government of the people of Israel; in which he was a type of
Christ, on whom the spirit of wisdom and understanding is said to rest, Isaiah 11:2,
for Moses had laid his hands upon him; which was a
symbol of the government being committed to him, and devolving upon him after
his death, and expressive of prayer for him, that he might be fitted for it, of
which action see Numbers 27:23,
and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord
commanded Moses; or by the hand of Moses; they received him and owned him as
their supreme governor under God, and yielded a cheerful obedience to his
commands, as the Lord by Moses commanded them to do, and as they promised; see Joshua 1:16.
Deuteronomy 34:10 10 But
since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,
YLT
10And there hath not arisen a
prophet any more in Israel like Moses, whom Jehovah hath known face unto face,
And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses,.... Not in
the times of Joshua, who wrote this chapter, at least the last eight verses, Deuteronomy 34:5,
as say the JewsF16T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 15. 1. ; nor to the
times of Samuel, whom others take to be the writer: of them; nor to the times
of Ezra, as others; nor even throughout the whole Old Testament dispensation to
the times of Christ, the great Prophet, like to Moses, that was to arise; and
the Messiah is by the Jews owned, as by MaimonidesF17Hilchot
Teshuvah, c. 9. sect. 2. , to be equal to him, and by others to be above him:
it is a well known saying of theirsF18Tanchuma in Yalkut in Isa.
lii. 13. , that"the Messiah shall be exalted above Abraham, and extolled
above Moses, and made higher than the ministering: angels;'but as to all other
prophets he excels them, and therefore they call him the prince, master, and
Father of the prophets, and say, that all prophesied from the fountain of his
prophecyF19Maimon. Yesode Hatorah, c. 7. sect. 6. & Vorst. in
ib. : the difference between him and them is observed, by MaimonidesF20lb.
sect. 6, 7, 8, 9. to lie in many things; as that they prophesied by a dream or
vision, but he awake and seeing; they prophesied by the means of an angel, and
saw what they did in parables and dark sayings; but Moses not by means of an
angel, but the Lord spake to him face to face; they trembled and astonished,
but not so Moses; they could not prophesy when they would, but he at any time,
nor did he need to dispose and prepare his mind for it; some of which will not
hold good, especially the last; the instances in which he really exceeded them
follow:
whom the Lord knew face to face; owned, took notice of,
and familiarly conversed with face to face, as a man with his friend; none were
permitted to such familiarity with God as he; see Numbers 12:6; the
Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase it,
"whom
the Word of the Lord knew.'
Deuteronomy 34:11 11 in
all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him
to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all
his land,
YLT
11in reference to all the
signs and the wonders which Jehovah sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to
Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,
In all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do,.... The same
Targums also paraphrase here,"which the Word of the Lord sent him to
do;'for he it was that appeared to him in the bush, and sent him to Egypt to
work miracles, which he did by him:
in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to
all his land; to whom they were visible, and who were all affected by them
more or less: this respects chiefly the ten plagues inflicted on the Egyptians:
the Jews observe that the superior excellency of Moses to the rest of the
prophets lay chiefly in his superior degree of prophecy rather than in
miracles, and not so much in the nature or the quality of the miracles; the
stopping of the sun by Joshua, and the raising of the dead to life by Elijah
and Elisha, being greater than his; but either in the duration of them, as the
manna which continued near forty years; or especially in the quantity of them, he
working more than all the rest put together: Manasseh Ben IsraelF21Conciliator
in Deut. Qu. 11. sect. 4. p. 238,239,240. has collected all that the prophets
wrought or were wrought for their sakes, and they came to seventy four; but
those that were wrought by Moses or on his account make seventy six; but
whether this is a just account I will not say.
Deuteronomy 34:12 12 and
by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the
sight of all Israel.
YLT
12and in reference to all the
strong hand, and to all the great fear which Moses did before the eyes of all
Israel.
And in all that mighty hand,.... In all done by his
hand, which he stretched out over the sea and divided, to make a passage
through it for the Israelites, and with his rod in it smote the rocks, and
waters gushed out for them:
and in all that great terror which Moses showed in the sight of
all Israel; meaning either the terror the Egyptians were struck with by him,
in the sight of all Israel, when he publicly and before them wrought the
wonders he did in the land of Ham, which often threw them into a panic,
especially the thunders and lightning, the three days darkness, and the slaying
of their firstborn; see Psalm 78:49; or the
terror the Israelites were in at the giving and receiving of the law, Exodus 19:16.
──《John Gill’s
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