Preface: Deut. 34 marks the end of the book of Deuteronomy and the death of Moses. God shows to Moses, from the vantage point of a high mountain, a miraculous view of all the land that He would give to the children of Israel; and then Moses dies and is buried there, east of the Jordan River. The people will mourn for Moses and Joshua will take his place as Israel’s leader.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Deuteronomy. This will be the most extensive examination of Deuteronomy 34 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 34:

Preface

Introduction

         vv.     1–4           God Shows Moses all the Land of Promise

         vv.     5–8           The Death of Moses/Israel Mourns Moses

         vv.     9            Joshua Becomes Israel’s New Leader

         vv.    10–12         God’s Memorial for Moses

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Commentators on Authorship of Deuteronomy 34

         Introduction         The Prequel of Deuteronomy 34

         Introduction         The Principals of Deuteronomy 34

         Introduction         The Places of Deuteronomy 34

         Introduction         Map of Israel (what Moses saw)

         Introduction         Adam Clarke’s Synopsis of Deuteronomy 34

         Introduction         Matthew Henry Outlines Deuteronomy 34

         v.       1              Peter Pett Organizes Deuteronomy 34:1–8

         v.       1              Mt. Nebo Graphic

         v.       1              The Time Frame for Moses Ascending the Mountain

         v.       1              The Famous Mountains of Ancient Israel

         v.       1              Mount Tabor (photo)

         v.       1              Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim (graphic)

         v.       1              The Land God would Give to Israel (Map)

         v.       1              Deut. 34:1–5; Moses climbs up Mount Nebo to die (a graphic)

         v.       2              Israel in Canaan from Joshua to Samuel to Saul (Map)

         v.       3              Relief Map of Israel

         v.       3              Map of Judah

         v.       3              Smith on Zoar

         v.       3              Deut. 34:1–4 Moses sees the Promised Land (a graphic)

         v.       3              The Life Work of Moses

         v.       4              Moses views the Promised Land (a graphic)

         v.       4              Categories of Reasons Why Moses is not Going into the Land

         v.       5              The Death of Moses by the Providence Lithograph Company (illustration)

         v.       5              Death of Moses by Alexandre Cabane (painting)

         v.       5              Death of Moses on Mount Nebo (engraving)

         v.       5              When Critics Ask: Did Moses Write about his own Death?

         v.       5              Human Authorship—Clues and Considerations

         v.       6              Discussion: Shrines and Religious Artifacts in the Church Age

         v.       6              Who Buried Moses?

         v.       6              Reading the Text Carefully

         v.       6              Commentators on Michael the Archangel Disputing with Satan over Moses’ Body

         v.       7              A Brief Look at the Life of Moses

         v.       7              C. Bradley on, How the will of God is concerned in our death

         v.       7              Links to the Doctrine of Dying Grace

         v.       7              Moses as a Type of Christ

         v.       9              Peter Pett on Moses’ Final Accolade

         v.      10              When Critics Ask: Is Moses Really Unparalleled Among the Prophets?

         v.      10              The Preeminence of Moses

         v.      12              The Essence of God as Taught in the Pentateuch and Job

         v.      12              The Natural Flow from Deuteronomy 34 to Joshua 1

         v.      12              An Appearance by Moses in the Future—Luke 9:27–36

         v.      12              Transfiguration of Jesus (a painting) by Carl Heinrich Bloch

         Addendum          Why Deuteronomy 34 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from Deuteronomy 34

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes Deuteronomy 34

         Addendum          Louis Ginzberg’s The Legends of the Jews (Deuteronomy 34)

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Deuteronomy 34

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Deuteronomy 34

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Deuteronomy 34

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An Introduction to Deuteronomy 34

I ntroduction: Deut. 34 concludes both the Pentateuch and the life of Moses. We already know from many previous passages that God is not going to allow Moses to go into the Land of Promise, and that he would die east of the Jordan River. Deut. 34 fulfills that promise/prophecy which God made to Moses.

God does not simply take Moses out. He first allows Moses to see where the people of Israel would live in the Land of Promise. God takes Moses on a supernatural tour, where Moses sees much of the land that God would give to the children of Israel.

Moses will then die, at age 120, being of very sound health. The people will mourn for Moses for 30 days after, and then Joshua ben Nun will lead them.

The final verses are a short memorial to Moses.

Joseph Sutcliffe: Having followed the prophet through the weary steps of life, we are now come to the closing scene. It corresponds with all the grace of former years: and the most exemplary piety which had distinguished his character through a long and laborious pilgrimage, we may consider as the foundation of his triumphant death. When called of God to emancipate the people, he renounced the pleasures of the Egyptian court. Forgetful of his princely hopes, he claimed kindred with a people poor and oppressed, and esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of reward. During his forty years of exile in Midian, poor as a shepherd, he was content and happy with his lot. Surrounded with peaceful flocks, and far from the intrigues of a court, he tasted all the charms of solitude, and an intercourse with heaven undisturbed. These habits, never failing sources of divine repose, had so possessed his soul, that it was with difficulty the God of his fathers could force him away to emancipate his people. Passing at once from the cares of a shepherd to the duties of a king, though he had to form a brutish people to all the habits of civil and religious society; though his kindness was requited with provocations and insults beyond example; yet he never forsook his charge. Israel was to him as his own bowels: he led them through the desert to the borders of the promised land. In the awful revolt, when they worshipped the calf; when Israel stood on the brink, the very brink of destruction; when God himself, all indignant with his people, tempted Moses not to pray, he redoubled all the efforts of intercession, and interposed his own life between the vengeance and the people. And when heaven signified its pleasure that he should see the land and die, all his solicitude was still for the people. He besought the Lord for a successor, and resigned his charge with a cheerfulness exceeding the reluctance with which it was assumed. He spent his remaining time wholly in divine affairs. He recited the law, and renewed the covenant. The last day he wholly spent in reciting psalms, and in shedding benedictions on all the tribes. Thus he travelled through life with equal steps, and finished his course with increasing strength. He approached eternity like the rich sheaves of the harvest, and clusters of the vintage, full of all wisdom, and mature in every virtue.

Regarding the authorship of this final chapter: One of the most knuckle-headed explanations for this chapter is that Moses wrote it prophetically. There is no reason to think that. As we have previously examined, Joshua had likely listened as the blessing was given by Moses and wrote this down, along with some bare-bones narrative. In this chapter, Joshua likely accompanied Moses to the Mount Nebo. When Aaron went to Mount Hor (not really the name of a mountain; it was just a mountain of a mountain), Moses and Eleazar joined him. Moses removed Aaron’s garments and gave them to his son, Eleazar. Then Aaron died on the mountain top. God also called Moses to go up to Mount Nebo and to die there, so it is reasonable to expect that Joshua and Eleazar accompanied him there. Although it is possible that Eleazar recorded this information, and there are even knuckle-headed theories that Moses wrote it himself in advance of his own death, it is much more plausible that Joshua wrote the last few chapters, as the official successor to Moses. Throughout Genesis, we noticed a relatively smooth transition from one writer to the next, as appears to be the case here. And whereas the separation between the book of Deuteronomy and the book of Joshua is well-defined in the English, in the original Hebrew, we just had scroll after scroll after scroll and one began where the other finished.

Although McGee suggests that this could well be the beginning of the book of Joshua, what we have here is properly an epilogue to the life of Moses, and, even though this is written by Joshua, it properly belongs with the book of Deuteronomy. Finally, there is nothing in Scripture which would preclude Joshua from writing this and there is internal evidence that Joshua was a writer of Scripture in Joshua 24:26–27: And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the Law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Y^ehowah. And Joshua said to all the people, “Observe, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Y^ehowah which He spoke with us; therefore, it will be as a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.”

The time frame is likely that Joshua wrote this perhaps a decade or so later, after the conquest of the land. However, he could have written it even later than that.

This way you can understand the places which are named in this chapter.
The Places of Deuteronomy 34
Places	Description
Gilead as far as Dan	Gilead is the area east of the Jordan River. The likely location of Dan is indicated unto Dan.
Naphtali, Ephraim and Manasseh	Manasseh is almost exactly in the middle of the map; Ephraim is below it and Naphtali above it.
Judah	Judah is the land directly west of the Salt Sea.
The Negeb	The Negeb is south of Judah.
The western sea (the Mediterranean Sea)	The Mediterranean Sea is called the Great Sea on this map.
Jericho	Jericho is directly above the Salt Sea and just west of the Jordan River.
Zoar	There has been a great deal of discussion as to the location of Sodom and Gomorrah. The way that Zoar is described in this passage (Zoar is where Lot fled when Sodom was being destroyed) places it at the southern end of the Salt Sea.
The Plain	The Plain is the flatter land from the hill country to the Mediterranean Sea.

Deut. 34 is a short, but essential chapter.

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God Shows Moses All the Land of Promise

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

These Bibles often fall into more than one category; I placed them where I believed them to have the best fit.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so goes up Moses from a plain of Moab unto a mountain of Nebo, a head of Pisgah which [is] upon faces of Jericho. And so causes him to see Y^ehowah all the land, the Gilead as far as Dan, and all Naphtali, and a land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all a land of Judah as far as a sea coming after, and the Negev, and the plain, a valley of Jericho, a city of the palms, as far as Zoar.

Targum of Onkelos                And Mosheh went up from the plains of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to the summit of the height which is over against Jericho; and the Word of the Lord showed him all the strong ones of the land, and the mighty acts which would be done by Jeptha of Gilead, and the victories of Shimeon bar Manoah of tribe of Dan; and the thousand princes of Beth Naphtali who would gather with Barak, and the kings who would be slain by Jehoshua bar Nun of the tribe of Ephraim, and the deeds of strength to be wrought by Gideon bar Yoash of the tribe of Menasheh, and all the kings of Israel, and of the kingdom of Beth Jehudah, who would have dominion in the land until the latter sanctuary should be destroyed. And the king of the south who will combine with the king of the north to destroy the inhabitants of the land and the Ammonites and Moabites, the dwellers in the plain, who will oppress Israel, and the captives of Elijah's disciples who will be dispersed from the plain of Jericho, and the captives of Elisha's disciples who will be dispersed from the city of palm trees by the hand of their brethren of Beth Israel, two hundred thousand men; and the affliction of generation after generation, and the punishment of Armalgos the wicked, and the battle of Gog, when in the time of that great tribulation Michael will rise up to deliver by his arm. [JERUSALEM And Mosheh went up from the plain of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to the summit. of the height which is over against Jericho; and the Lord showed him the whole land of Gilead unto Dan of Kesavan, and the whole land of Naphtali and Ephraim and Manasheh, and all the land of Jehudah to. the outer sea, and the south, and the plain of the vale of Jericho, the city which cultivates palms, which is Zeir.]

Latin Vulgate                          Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab upon mount Nebo, to the top of Phasga over against Jericho: and the Lord shewed him all the land of Galaad as far as Dan. And all Nephtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasses, and all the land of Juda unto the furthermost sea, And the south part, and the breadth of the plain of Jericho the city of palm trees as far as Segor.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND Moses went up from the plains of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to the top of the hill which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Moses went up from the plains of Moab, to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is before Jericho; and the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, to Dan, and all the land of Nephthali, and all the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah to the farthest sea; and the wilderness, and the country round about Jericho, the city of palm trees, to Zoar.

Significant differences:           The targum and the Syriac lack Pisgah. The Masoretic text talks about the various places that Moses could see; the targum has, instead, all of these heroes and their exploits in these areas. Even with all of that extra text, the targum leaves out the (Mediterranean) Sea and Zoar (the Jerusalem targum is much closer to the MT).

Limited Vocabulary Bibles:

Bible in Basic English             And Moses went up from the table-lands of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah which is facing Jericho. And the Lord let him see all the land, the land of Gilead as far as Dan; And all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, as far as the Great Sea of the west; And the South, and the circle of the valley of Jericho, the town of palm-trees, as far as Zoar.

Easy English                          The death of Moses

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo. He went from the valley of Moab to the top of Mount Pisgah, across from the River Jordan. There, the LORD showed him the whole country, from Gilead to Dan. He saw all the places that would belong to Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh and Judah. He saw all the land, as far as the Mediterranean Sea. He saw the south part of Judah. He saw the valley from Zoar to Jericho. Jericho is the city of tall trees.

Easy-to-Read Version            Moses climbed Mount Nebo. Moses went from the Jordan Valley in Moab to the top of Mount Pisgah. This was across the Jordan River from Jericho. The Lord showed Moses all the land from Gilead to Dan. The Lord showed him all the land of Naphtali, Ephraim, and Manasseh. He showed him all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea. The Lord showed Moses the Negev [The desert area south of Judah.] and the valley that goes from Zoar to Jericho, the city of palm trees.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Mount Pisgah east of Jericho, and there the LORD showed him the whole land: the territory of Gilead as far north as the town of Dan; the entire territory of Naphtali; the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh; the territory of Judah as far west as the Mediterranean Sea; the southern part of Judah; and the plain that reaches from Zoar to Jericho, the city of palm trees.

The Message                         The Death of Moses

Moses climbed from the Plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah facing Jericho. God showed him all the land from Gilead to Dan, all Naphtali, Ephraim, and Manasseh; all Judah reaching to the Mediterranean Sea; the Negev and the plains which encircle Jericho, City of Palms, as far south as Zoar.

Names of God Bible               Moses' Death and Burial

Then Moses went up on Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab. He went to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. Yahweh showed him the whole land. He could see Gilead as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the territory of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev, and the Jordan Plain-the valley of Jericho (the City of Palms)-as far as Zoar.

NIRV                                      Moses Dies

Moses climbed Mount Nebo. He went up from the plains of Moab to the highest slopes of Pisgah. It's across from Jericho. At Pisgah the Lord showed him the whole land from Gilead all the way to Dan. Moses saw the whole land of Naphtali. He saw the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh. The Lord showed him the whole land of Judah all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. Moses saw the Negev Desert. He saw the whole area from the Valley of Jericho all the way to Zoar. Jericho was also known as The City of Palm Trees.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Moses' death

Then Moses hiked up from the Moabite plains to Mount Nebo, the peak of the Pisgah slope, which faces Jericho. The Lord showed him the whole land: the Gilead region as far as Dan's territory; all the parts belonging to Naphtali along with the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, as well as the entirety of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea; also the arid southern plain, and the plain-including the Jericho Valley, Palm City-as far as Zoar.

Contemporary English V.       Sometime later, Moses left the lowlands of Moab. He went up Mount Pisgah to the peak of Mount Nebo, which is across the Jordan River from Jericho. The LORD showed him all the land as far north as Gilead and the town of Dan. He let Moses see the territories that would soon belong to the tribes of Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Judah, as far west as the Mediterranean Sea. The LORD also showed him the land in the south, from the valley near the town of Jericho, known as The City of Palm Trees, down to the town of Zoar.

The Living Bible                     Then Moses climbed from the plains of Moab to Pisgah Peak in Mount Nebo, across from Jericho. And the Lord pointed out to him the Promised Land, as they gazed out across Gilead as far as Dan:

"There is Naphtali; and there is Ephraim and Manasseh; and across there, Judah, extending to the Mediterranean Sea; there is the Negeb; and the Jordan Valley; and Jericho, the city of palm trees; and Zoar," the Lord told him.

New Berkeley Version           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 the whole country, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, the whole area of Judah as far as the Western Sea, including the Negeb [Negeb is the common Hebrew name for the south, around Beer-sheba; the name is still in use today.], the circuit of the Jordan with the plain of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar [Mt. Nebo afforded a magnificent view of the land which was the object of Moses’ ministries. And he did have a visit in the Promised Land with Christ at His transfiguration.].

New Century Version             Moses Dies

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Mount Pisgah, across from Jericho. From there the Lord showed him all the land from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali and the lands of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the southern desert and the whole Valley of Jericho up to Zoar. (Jericho is called the city of palm trees.).

New Living Translation           The Death of Moses

Then Moses went up to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Pisgah Peak, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan; all the land of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; all the land of Judah, extending to the Mediterranean Sea [Hebrew the western sea]; the Negev; the Jordan Valley with Jericho-the city of palms-as far as Zoar.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Finally, Moses went from ArabOth in Moab to the Nabau Mountains, and climbed to the top of Mount Pisgah (near JeriCho). And there, Jehovah showed him all of GileAd to the land of Dan, the land of NaphTali, 2 the lands of Ephraim and ManasSeh, and the land of Judah, all the way to the Sea; 3 as well as the desert, the country around JeriCho, and the land between the City of Palm Trees and Segor.

International Standard V        Moses Ascends Pisgah

Moses ascended from the desert plain of Moab toward Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There [The Heb. lacks There] the LORD showed him the entire land, from Gilgal as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the territories [Lit. land] of Ephraim and Manasseh, and the entire territory [Lit. land] of Judah all the way to out over the sea [i.e. the Mediterranean Sea], including the Negev [i.e. the southern regions of the Sinai peninsula; cf. Josh 10:40], the Arabah, the valley of Jericho, and the city of the palm trees as far as Zoar.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       And so Moses went up from the Moabite plain on to mount Nebo, the peak of Phasga that rises opposite Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the territory of Gad right up to Dan, and all Nephthali, and the country Ephraim and Manasses were to hold, and the whole land of Juda, with the sea coast for its frontier; the south, too, and the plain that stretches from Jericho, among its palm trees, up to Segor.

Today’s NIV                          The Death of Moses

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land--from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.

Translation for Translators                                                    How Moses died

Then Moses climbed up from the plains in the Moab region to the top of Pisgah Peak on Nebo Mountain, across the Jordan River from Jericho. There Yahweh showed him all the land that the Israelis would occupy. He showed him the Gilead region as far north as Dan city; all the land that the tribe of Naphtali would occupy; all the land that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh had occupied; all the land that the tribe of Judah would occupy as far west as the Mediterranean sea; the desert area in the south part of Judah; and the Jordan Valley that extends from Jericho in the north to Zoar city in the south.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Moses ascended from the plains of Central-Jordan into Mount Nebo to the Pisgah peak facing Jericho. He saw all the land by Yahweh: West-Jordan unto Dan; all of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim, Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, and unto the last sea; and South-Canaan from the canyon flats of Jericho, the city of date-palms, unto Zoar.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Aliazer’s Concluding Narrative

Moses then ascended the Hill of Nebo, from the fords of Moab, up to the peak of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Ever-living showed him all the country [from Ghilad to Dan, and Naphthali, and the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah to the Western Sea ; and the south plain of the valley of Jeriko, the City of" Palms, as far as Tzur (Tyre)] [Vv. 2, 3. The above words in brackets are not part of the original text, but the note of an ancient editor, probably Ezra, when he edited the Books of Moses after the return from the Babylonian Captivity, as the geographical indications are clearly from the standpoint of Jerusalem, not like the rest of the chapter, from the Plain of Moab, east of the Jordan. - F. F.]. This chapter is an editor's note, undoubtedly that of Aliazer the High Priest, as a record of the death and burial of Moses.- F. F.

HCSB                                     Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.

Lexham English Bible            The Death of Moses and the Commissioning of Joshua

Then Moses went up from the desert plateau [Or "plains/lowlands"] of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite [Literally "which is on the face of"] Jericho, and Yahweh showed him all of the land, Gilead all the way up to Dan, and all of Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and all of the land of Judah, up to the western sea [That is, the Mediterranean Sea], and the Negev and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palms, on up to Zoar.

NIV – UK                                The death of Moses

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, opposite Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land - from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Moses’ death

From the barren plain of Moab, Moses went up to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, opposite Jericho. And Yahweh showed him all the Land: from Gilead to Dan, the whole of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, the whole land of Judah, as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, the Plains, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

The Heritage Bible                 And Moses went up from the desert of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to the head of Pisgah, that is opposite the face of Jericho, and Jehovah showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan, And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the utmost sea, And the Negev, and the circle of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, to Zoar.

New American Bible(2011)     Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo [Dt 3:27; 32:49.], the peak of Pisgah which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land-Gilead, and as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea [Dt 11:24.], the Negeb, the plain (the valley of Jericho, the City of Palms), and as far as Zoar.

New Jerusalem Bible             Then, leaving the Plains of Moab, Moses went up Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah opposite Jericho, and Yahweh showed him the whole country: Gilead as far as Dan, the whole of Naphtali, the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, the whole country of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the region of the Valley of Jericho, city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

Revised English Bible            MOSES went up from the lowlands of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah eastwards from Jericho, and the LORD showed him the whole land, from Gilead to Dan; the whole of Naphtali; the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all Judah as far as the western sea; the Negeb and the plain; the valley of Jericho, city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           (vii) Moshe ascended from the plains of Mo'av to Mount N'vo, to the summit of Pisgah, across from Yericho. There Adonai showed him all the land - Gil`ad as far as Dan, all Naftali, the land of Efrayim and M'nasheh, the land of Y'hudah all the way to the sea beyond, the Negev, and the `Aravah, including the valley where Yericho, the City of Date-Palms, as far away as Tzo`ar.

exeGeses companion Bible   MOSHEH ASCENDS MOUNT NEBO

And Mosheh ascends from the plains of Moab

to the mountain of Nebo

to the top of Pisgah at the face of Yericho:

and Yah Veh shows him all the land of Gilad to Dan,

and all Naphtali

and the land of Ephrayim and Menash Sheh

and all the land of Yah Hudah to the latter sea

and the south

and the environs of the valley of Yericho

the city of palm trees /Ir Hat Temarim to Soar.

Hebrew Names Version         Moshe went up from the plains of Mo'av to Mount Nevo 1, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Yericho. The LORD showed him all the land of Gil`ad, to Dan, and all Naftali, and the land of Efrayim and Menasheh, and all the land of Yehudah, to the hinder sea, and the South, and the Plain of the valley of Yericho the city of palm trees, to Tzo`ar.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Ha-Berakhah

Moses went up from the steppes of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan; all Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; the whole land of Judah as far as the Western Sea; the Negeb; and the Plain-the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees-as far as Zoar.

Judaica Press Complete T.    And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of the summit facing Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the Land: The Gilead until Dan, and all the land of Naftali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, until the western sea, and the south, and the plain, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, until Zoar.

Kaplan Translation                 Moses Dies

Moses climbed [Some say that this was written by Joshua (Ibn Ezra; see Deuteronomy 34:5).] up from the western plains [See Numbers 22:1.] of Moab to Mount Nebo [See Numbers 33:47, Deuteronomy, 32:49. This was in Reuben's territory (Numbers 32:38), but Moses was buried in Gad's territory, as in Deuteronomy 33:21 (Sifri; Sotah 13b).], to the top of the cliff [Pisgah. See Numbers 21:20, 23:14, Deuteronomy, 3:17, 3:27, 4:49.] facing Jericho. God showed him all the land of the Gilead as far as Dan [The territory of Dan. Or the city of Dan mentioned in Genesis 14:14, identified with Banias (Saadia).], all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea ['Final sea' literally. See Deuteronomy, 11:24.], the Negev, the flat plain [Kikar in Hebrew. See Genesis 13:10.], and the valley of Jericho, city of dates [Or, 'city of palm trees.' See Judges 1:16.], as far as Tzar [See Genesis 13:10, 19:22.].

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Moshe went up from the plains of Moav unto Mt Nevo to the top of Pisgah, that is, over against Yericho. And Hashem showed him all Eretz Gil`ad, unto Dan, And all Naphtali, and Eretz Ephrayim, and Menasheh, and all Eretz Yehudah, unto the Western [Mediterranean] Sea, And the Negev, and the plain of the valley of Yericho, the Ir Hatemarim (City of Date Palms), unto Tzoar.

Restored Names Version       And Mosheh went up from the plains of Mow'ab to Mount Nebow, to the head of Pisgah that is before Yeriychow. And Yahuwah let him see all the land of Gil'ad as far as Dan, all Naphtaliy and the land of Ephrayim and Menashsheh, all the land of Yahudah as far as the Western Sea, the south, and the plain of the valley of Yeriychow, the city of palms, as far as Tso'ar.

The Scriptures 1998              And Mosheh went up from the desert plains of Moʼab? to Mount Neo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Yeriḥo. And יהוה showed him all the land of Gilʽa as far as Dan, and all Naphtali and the land of Ephrayim and Menashsheh, all the land of Yehuah as far as the Western Sea, and the Nege, and the plain of the Valley of Yeriḥo, the city of palm trees, as far as Tsoʽar.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              Moses Dies

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Mount Pisgah, across from Jericho. From there the Lord showed him all the land from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali and the lands of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the ·Mediterranean [^LWestern] Sea, as well as the ·southern desert [^Lthe Negev] and the whole Valley of Jericho up to Zoar. (Jericho is called the city of palm trees.)

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-9

Moses Dies and is Buried by God

And Moses went up from the Plains of Moab, where the children of Israel were still encamped, unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is, to its very summit, that is over against Jericho. Cf Deut. 32:48-51. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, on the eastern side of Jordan, unto Dan, a town in Northern Perea, and all Naphtali, later the land of Galilee, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, in the approximate center of Canaan, and all the land of Judah, directly opposite his station, unto the utmost sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the south, the plains beyond the Dead Sea, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, for these grew in the lowlands of Jericho, unto Zoar, at the extreme southern end of the Dead Sea. This viewing of the entire country was a "proof of his generally unimpaired strength of vision, which the soaring flight of faith rendered more penetrating."

NET Bible®                             The Death of Moses

Then Moses ascended from the deserts of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho [This appears to refer to a small range of mountains, the most prominent peak of which is Mount Nebo (Num 21:20; 23:14; Deut 3:27; cf. 34:1).]. The Lord showed him the whole land - Gilead to Dan, and all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the distant [Or "western" (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); Heb "latter," a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).] sea, the Negev, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of the date palm trees, as far as Zoar. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote. Language footnotes will be placed in the Hebrew exegesis.

The Voice                               Moses climbed up from the plains of Moab to the top of Mount Nebo, to the peak at Mount Pisgah on the east side of the Jordan River across from Jericho. The Eternal showed him the whole land that would be Israel's territory: Gilead as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all of Judah's territory to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the southern desert [Hebrew, Negev], and the basin in the valley of Jericho, the "city of palms," as far as Zoar.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    Then Moses ascended from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the summit of the Pisgah ridge, which is overlooking Jericho. And Yahweh showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan;" all the area of Naphtali, all the area of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the area of Judah as far as the sea that is behind it, the Negev and the valley basin of Jericho, the city of palms, as far as Zoar.

Context Group Version          And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is across from Jericho. And YHWH showed him all the land of Gilead, to Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the western { lit. back or rear } sea, and the South, and the Plain of the valley of Jericho the city of palm-trees, to Zoar.

Darby Translation                  And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And Jehovah shewed him the whole land, Gilead to Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the hindmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, to Zoar.

Emphasized Bible                  So then Moses went up, from the waste plains of Moab into Mount Nebo, the head of Pisgah, which is over against Jericho,—and Yahweh showed him all the land—even Gilead as far as Dan; and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh,—and all the land of Judah, as far as the hinder sea; and the South,—and the circuit of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees as far as Zoar.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           And Moses went from the fields of Moab up into mount Nebo which is the top of Phasgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Galaad even unto Dan, and all Naphthali and the land of Ephraim and Manasse, and all the land of Juda: even unto the utmost sea, and the south and the region of the plain of Jericho the city of palm trees even unto Zoar.

NASB                                     The Death of Moses

Now 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, and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the western sea [I.e. Mediterranean Sea], and the Negev [I.e. South country] and the plain in the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

New European Version          The Death of Moses

Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, opposite from Jericho. Yahweh showed him all the land of Gilead to Dan, and all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah to the hinder sea, and the South and the Plain of the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees to Zoar.

New King James Version       Moses Dies on Mount Nebo

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, all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea [That is, the Mediterranean], the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

Third Millennium Bible            And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah unto the utmost sea, and the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

Webster’s Bible Translation  And Moses went up from the plains of Moab, upon the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that [is] over against Jericho: and the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead, to Dan, And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the utmost sea, And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, to Zoar.

Young’s Updated LT             And Moses goes up from the plains of Moab unto mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah, which is on the front of Jericho, and Jehovah shows him all the land—Gilead unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah unto the further sea, and the south, and the circuit of the valley of Jericho, the city of palms, unto Zoar.

The gist of this verse:          Moses went up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, and was shown by God the land in the east up to Dan, the northern and central area which would become Israel, and the southern part of Israel.

Translation: So Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo,... Moses and the people of Israel had stopped at the plains of Moab, and this is where Moses delivered his final speeches to the people. He goes up from there, meaning he literally goes to a higher elevation; he goes up Mount Nebo. He will die on this mountain.

Whedon: Joshua was [apparently] summoned to the tabernacle with Moses, and formally appointed his successor. The official life of the great leader and lawgiver draws to a close. Another man is to lead the people to their further victories; another is to cause them to possess the land. Moses completes the writing of the law and passes it to the Levites to be put within the ark of the covenant. Then the people assemble to hear the words of that matchless song of history, instruction, and warning, which forms so fitting a close to his ministry. On that same day Jehovah said to him, "Go up into this mountain Abarim, unto Mount Nebo, and you will die in the mount." (Deut. 32:49–50).

Whedon continues: Moses leaves the camp, he ascends the mountain and looks over the goodly land which is to be the future home of his people. The writer of this supplementary chapter gives no details of the parting with the elders, with his successor, Joshua, nor with the people he had so long directed and so long loved. His farewell had been given in the blessing upon the tribes. Josephus, however, furnishes an account which does not seem improbable. "Amid the tears of the people, the women beating their breasts, and the children giving way to uncontrolled wailing, he withdrew. At a certain point in his ascent he made a sign to the weeping multitude to advance no further, taking with him only the elders, the high-priest, Eliezer, and the general, Joshua. At the top of the mountain he dismissed the elders, and then, as he was embracing Eliezer and Joshua, and still speaking to them, a cloud suddenly stood over him, and he vanished in a deep valley."  I don’t know who Whedon is quoting; obviously, he is using a little imagination right here.

John Calvin: Now, the ascent of Moses was equivalent to a voluntary going forth to death: for he was not ignorant of what was to happen, but being called by God to die, he went to meet death of his own accord. Such willing submission proceeded from no other source than faith in God’s grace, whereby alone all terror is mitigated, and set at rest, and the bitterness of death is sweetened. Doubtless to Moses, as to every one else, it must have been naturally an awful thing to die; but inasmuch as the testimony of God’s grace is interposed, he does not hesitate to offer himself without alarm; and Because he was firmly persuaded that the inheritance of the people would be there set before his eyes, he cheerfully ascended to the place from which he was to behold it.

The plains of Moab is literally the arabah of Moab. This is probably nothing more than a reference to the unpopulated area which was considered to belong to Moab. It would be a relatively level plot of ground, large enough for 2 million people, east of the Jordan River and north of the Dead Sea.

Mt. Nebo Graphic; from Slideshow.net; accessed May 28, 2015

Mount Nebo a part of mount Abarim, Numbers 27:12.

Gill: 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. Gill cites Deut. 32:48–49 That very day the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession.” (ESV)

Whedon: Pisgah was a range of the mountain system east of the Dead Sea and Jordan; Nebo one of the summits of this range. Recent travelers have found the ruins of a place bearing the name Nebbeh.

Translation:...[to] the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. It is possible that Mount Nebo refers to a mountain range and the Pisgah refers to a specific peak. It is said to be opposite Jericho. So, Moses, from this perch, can look across the Jordan River and see Jericho, which will be the first city the Jews will take.

We do not know the meaning of the word Pisgah. Interestingly enough, Pisgah never occurs apart from qualifying phrases, such as the top of Pisgah (Num. 21:20 23:14 Deut. 3:27 34:1), the slopes of Pisgah (Deut. 3:17 4:49 Joshua 12:3 13:20). From this mountain, one can see the Dead Sea (Deut. 3:17 4:49 Joshua 12:3) and the land of Moab below where the Israelites were encamped. This area was given to Reuben in Joshua 13:15–20.

When God took Moses to the top of Pisgah and showed him the land, we do have a supernatural occurrence. Once cannot see the Mediterranean from anywhere in the trans Jordanian area, so God showed Moses what was not visible. Some scholars have Mount Nebo and Mount Pisgah as two twin peaks connect by a saddle. From the modern Pisgah (Ras es-Siyaghah), one can see the Jordan valley and Mount Hermon.

Gill: [This is where Moses would] take a view of from the high mountain of Nebo, especially his sight being strengthened by the Lord, as no doubt it was; and this would give him a pleasure to behold, though he might not go into it, and confirm his faith that Israel would possess it, as well as be an emblem to him of the heavenly Canaan he was going to inherit.

Whatever climbing was involved, Moses was able to do it, still having his great strength which had not abated (Deut. 34:7).

This was inspired by a nice little insert in the Open Bible. We will go in a counter clockwise direction on this map, just as Moses viewed the Land of Promise.
The Famous Mountains of Ancient Israel
1.The Mountain that we are considering right now is Mount Nebo, which you can find east of the Dead Sea. This is where Moses went to see the land and to die. 2.Going north from there, we come to Mount Gilead. Actually, the land east of the Jordan Valley is known as Gilead. Mount Gilead is only mentioned once in the Bible, in Judges 7:3, in conjunction with Gideon. Because he demanded so many signs from God, God demanded strict obedience from Gideon. 3.Mount Hermon is further north. It is around 9500 feet high and can be seen as far away as from the Dead Sea. It is in the southernmost portion of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. This is the northern limit of the conquest of the Land of Promise. 4.If we go much further north, off of this map, we come to Mount Ararat, in modern Turkey, where Noah’s ark came to rest (Gen. 8:4). 5.The Lebanon mountain range runs parallel to the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. This was the source of the wood for Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. 6.Going all the way to the Mediterranean, we come to Mount Carmel, which is often seen as a mountain range, the easternmost height being around 1600 ft. and the western height being around 600 ft. This is where Elijah stood off against the false prophets of Baal, which resulted in their execution. See 1Kings 18:9–42. 7.Going east toward the Sea of Galilee, we come to Mount Tabor. See below: 8.Mount Gilboa is south of Mount Tabor, and this is where Saul and his sons were defeated and killed. 1Sam. 31. 9.We have the pair of mountains below that, known as Mount Ebal and Mount Gerazim. The blessings were read from one mountain, and the cursings read from the other, giving Israel a clear set of two options concerning their relationship with God. An altar was to be built on Mount Ebal (Deut. 27:4–8). Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well near Mount Gerizim (John 4:20). 10.South of Mount Ebal and Mount Gerazim is the Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem, not shown on the map above. Jesus gave His sermon on the second coming there. 11.Further south is Mount Sinai (also called Horeb), in the desert-wilderness, where God gave the Law to Moses. Note how the Law, which condemns us, is given in the desert-wilderness; but the gospel which is the good news of Jesus Christ, is given in the Land of Promise.
Mount Tabor (photo); from Biblewalks.com; accessed May 28, 2015. Standing 1865 ft. high, this mountain is close to Nazareth and to the Sea of Galilee. Smith writes: One of the most interesting and remarkable of the single mountains in Palestine. It rises abruptly from the northeastern arm of the plain of Esdraelon, and stands entirely insulated, except on the west, where a narrow ridge connects it with the hills of Nazareth. Tabor is mentioned in both Joshua and Judges, but not by name in the New Testament. Some have supposed that Jesus was transformed on Mount Tabor.
Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim (graphic); from blogspot; accessed May 29, 2015. Deu 27:11–19 That day Moses charged the people, saying, "When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice: 'Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the LORD, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.' And all the people shall answer and say, 'Amen.' 'Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 'Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor's landmark.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 'Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 'Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' (ESV)	Deut. 28:1–2 "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.” (ESV)

The Bible is God’s Word to man, and, as such, will contain His interactions with mankind. These interactions take place within an historical context in a specific area, and God the Holy Spirit includes references to the history of man, both the time and the place, as it relates to the topic at hand. The Bible is not some novel thought up by some great theologians—our faith is based upon an historical narrative which takes place during a specific time and place.

In this, the Bible is quite separate from the Koran and other religious books. The Bible does not simply give us a religious philosophy, but it is very much tied to human history. Take away the historical narrative and the Bible no longer stands. Human history is integral to Scripture.

Translation: Y^ehowah then showed him all of the land:... Moses has never been in the Land of Promise. He took the sons of Israel to the southern border, but they were unwilling to follow God, and so Moses remained with the people in the desert region south of Judah. This is the first time that he will get a real look on the land God has promised the Jewish people.

Translation: ...the Gilead as far as Dan,... Although Gilead is a name of that territory east of the Jordan River, commonly known at this time, Dan is not. This gives us at least two possibilities: someone wrote these words long after Moses viewed this area; or someone took the area designations that Moses made and updated them. I think the latter choice is unlikely, because when this occurs, the old and new names are placed together.

The Land God would Give to Israel (Map); from the Bible Atlas in E-sword (Map 038).

Gilead is the land on the far east of the Land of Promise, the land east of the Jordan River and the land of Dan is on the coast of the Great Sea, the farthest west. Although Barnes gives several different ideas as to the Dan which is meant, e.g., the Dan of Gen. 14:14, the use of the names of the other tribes in subsequent verses indicate that the Dan we are speaking of is the area which would be inhabited by the tribe of Dan.

Usually, Dan is the northernmost region of Israel (if its boundaries during the time of the Judges is taken into consideration). When defining the land of promise, it would make sense to include the eastern-most and northern-most regions, which is what we have here. However, that would mean that these final words were not penned by Joshua, but someone even from a later time than him.

Barnes: This can hardly be the Dan (Dan–Laish) of Judges 18:27 ff, which was not in Gilead. It is probably a town of this name which stood in the north of Peraea; perhaps the same as Dan–jaan, 2Sam. 24:6; and the Dan of Gen. 14:14.

Peter Pett: The reference to Dan may represent an updating by a later scribe. Dan became the northernmost point of Israel as in `from Dan to Beersheba'. But it may be another Dan as in Genesis 14:14.

There is a third possibility that God would show an area to Moses and tell him, “The tribe of Dan will occupy this region.”

This introduces something which I find interesting—this has to have some supernatural element to it. Moses, even with good vision, cannot really see the area Dan will occupy from a tall peak opposite Jericho. God has to make that possible. So, if God makes the ability to see this area possible, then why would God not tell Moses who will live in these regions, as this is something that God obviously knows. To deny one supernatural element would be a clear misunderstanding of the geography here. So, is reasonably conceivable that God, showing great honor to Moses, not only shows him the areas the Jews will occupy in the future, but that He would even tell Moses which tribe would live where. This is perhaps the simplest and most logical explanation.

Gill: 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.

Deut. 34:1–5; Moses climbs up Mount Nebo to die (a graphic); from outset ministry; accessed May 28, 2015.

Climbing up this mountain was the response of Moses to the order of God. And Y^ehowah spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, “Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession. Then die on the mount to where you ascend, and be gathered to your people.” (Deut. 32:48–50a; see also Num. 27:12–13 Deut. 3:27).

What is written here suggests a later writing or a later revision by Joshua, as Dan had not been assigned an area yet. Gilead is the land directly east of the Jordan, bordering Ammon; and Dan would be on the west coast of the Mediterranean. Now, it is possible that God the Holy Spirit inspired Joshua to write Dan; however, once the conquering had been completed, it is reasonable that Joshua (or someone else) made this alteration in the interest of clarity. However, my better determination would be that this portion of Deuteronomy, because of this verse and because of v. 10, was written by Joshua after he had finished conquering the land.

Translation: ...and all Naphtali,... Naphtali refers to a tribe. That the time that this took place, there was no area called Naphtali. This land will be parceled out by Joshua after they defeat their enemies who live in the land.

This, along with some subsequent references, will suggest that Joshua wrote this chapter after conquering western Israel.

Translation: ...and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh,... East of the Jordan, Ephraim and Manasseh are near one another.

Israel in Canaan from Joshua to Samuel to Saul (Map); Map 038a from the Bible Atlas in E-sword.

In this map, we can see Ephraim and Manasseh, as well as Naphtali, which is around the Sea of Chinnereth, later known as the Sea of Galilee.

This takes in the northwestern section of Israel.

Ephraim and Manasseh are in central Israel; Naphtali represents the northern section of Israel, which surrounds the Sea of Galilee; and where most of Jesus’ ministry would take place.

Translation: ...and all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea [lit., a sea coming after],... If Moses was to look straight across the Jordan River and down, he would see the land of Judah, leading to the Mediterranean Sea.

Ellicott: "The utmost sea" is full fifty miles away from that spot.

This verse gives us a better grasp of what occurred. God pointed out all of these lands to Moses as Joshua and Eleazar watched. God identified this land area as Judah, this one as belonging to Ephraim; another to Manasseh, etc. Joshua cannot see this far, but God has allowed Moses to look down the southern portion of the Land of Promise all the way to the Mediterranean.

Because of the use of the names of the tribes of Israel, we have two choices as to exactly what happened:  God pointed out the land and identified it as the land which would belong to whichever tribe; and/or this was written after the land had been conquered and distributed to the tribes. It is my reasonable hypothesis that both occurred and because this was written roughly seven or eight years later, that the entire conversation was not recorded nor were the details of the conversation recorded, but just the gist of it. In fact, I don’t know that I should even call it a conversation. God is the only One Who speaks (v. 4).

James Coffman: The mention of the various tribal possessions here seems to indicate that the land had already been allocated, but at the time of Moses' death, this had not yet taken place. Joshua, writing after the land was divided would naturally have described the whole of Palestine in the manner we have here.

Coffman then adds: Phillips, Kline, and Cousins have all pointed out that in ancient times, the purchaser of land actually took possession of it by seeing, or surveying, it. Thus, it appears that God in this passage invited Moses to take possession of the entire land of Canaan on behalf of the children of Israel. This must be hailed as the very climax of Moses' great life.

In this verse, we are taken from the northern most portion of Israel to the southernmost portion along the lake/river line. Not every tribe area is pointed out, just the larger areas. We begin with Naphtali in the north, which does not go as far as the coast of the Mediterranean, and we move in a southern direction. Naphtali is above and due west of the Sea of Chinnereth, called the Sea of Galilee over a millennium later. Directly south of Naphtali is Zebulun and Issachar, but these are small territories; Manasseh (west) and Ephraim are the lands which are immediately west of the Jordan River, running to the Mediterranean Sea. Below them we find Dan and Benjamin, also small areas and below them we find the area which would be occupied by Judah, which extends all the way from top to far below the Salt Sea, out to the Mediterranean. “Every place on which the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, as far as the Western Sea.” (Deut. 11:24). This particular quote from Moses to the people parallels the land named in v. 2. God gave a similar promise in Ex. 23:31a: “And I will fix your boundary from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of the Philistines; and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates.” A more detailed border is given in Num. 34:1–12.

Translation: ...and the Negev,... The Negev is the south including portions of Judah and going further south.

The Negev is the southern portion of the Land of Promise, and in this verse, we are brought across the south in a great sweeping motion.

Translation: ...and the plain, the valley of Jericho, the city of the palms, and as far as Zoar. Moses could see the palm trees and valley of Jericho.

The city of palms appears to be an alternate name for Jericho (2Chron. 28:15).

A portion of this passage reads: Y^ehowah then showed him...all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea [lit., a sea coming after], and the Negev, and the plain, the valley of Jericho, the city of the palms, and as far as Zoar. What is being described here, in greater detail than in the rest of the land, is Judah, which is bordered on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, whose southern region is known as the Negev. The entryway into the area will be across the Jordan River, at the valley of Jericho—also known as the city of the palms. Then there is the very interesting mention of Zoar, which is a small city that Lot eventually fled to (see the end of Gen. 19), which would have logically been in a mountainous area, safe from the obliteration being suffered by Sodom and Gomorrah, which included explosions, fire and a raining down from above of molten metals and possibly petroleum products. See Gen. 19 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Relief Map of Israel; from Searching the Scriptures.net; accessed May 27, 2015. According to this map, as well as others which I have viewed, it appears that where Moses climbed to is one of the highest places in Canaan, which would have allowed him (by God giving him to ability) to see all of the places named in this passage. So Moses climbed up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, opposite Jericho, having started from the plains of Moab. Jehovah then showed Moses all of the land: the Gilead, going as far as Dan; all of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea. Then God gave Moses a tour of Judah: the Negev, the plain, the valley of Jericho (the city of the palms) going as far as Zoar. My point being, some of these commentators make unequivocal statements which are simply false.

Map of Judah; Map 038a from the Bible Atlas in E-sword.

Keil and Delitzsch: This sight of every part of the land on the east and west was not an ecstatic vision, but a sight with the bodily eyes, whose natural power of vision was miraculously increased by God, to give Moses a glimpse at least of the glorious land which he was not to tread, and delight his eye with a view of the inheritance intended for his people.

According to Tigay: Some parts of this panorama cannot be seen by the human eye from Mount Nebo. Dan, the Mediterranean, and Zoar are blocked by intervening mountains. So, this is even if Moses were suddenly able to see that far, there are things in his way. However, this text clearly states that God showed him (lit., caused him to see) all of these places.

Coffman: Alexander said, "This whole prospect could not have been surveyed by any ordinary power, so Moses' vision was miraculously increased." Dummelow said, "No miracle was required," and went on to tell how travelers who have been there say one can see all over Palestine, all the way from Mount Hermon to the Mediterranean and southward throughout the whole country from the place where Moses stood. Still others declare that, it is impossible to see all of this country from that height. We do not know whose opinion on this is correct, but whatever was necessary for Moses to see all of Palestine was provided by God Himself. Satan showed Jesus "all the kingdoms of this world" (Matthew 4), and we do not know exactly how that was done either. It is sufficient for our information that it occurred.

The proper noun Zoar tells us a few things about the Hebrew language. The noun is Tsôʿar (צֹּעַר) [pronounced TSOH-ģahr] because the Septuagint transliterates the ‛ayin with a gamma (g) whereas, Josephus does not transliterate that one letter. This tells us that the ayin probably had two distinct sounds, the g sound having been lost to later Hebrew pronunciation. Zoar is generally associated with Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, all which are said to be located in the Valley (or the Plain) of Siddim, and the five are called the Pentapolis in the apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon 10:6. Lot escaped Sodom and moved to Zoar in Gen. 19:19–25. Most scholars locate these on the southwestern portion of the Dead Sea. The primary objection to this location is that is that it could not be seen from where Moses was. However, this further indicates that what Moses was allowed to see from there was either a vision or a supernatural vision.

God is allowing Moses to see from across the Jordan to Jericho, down along the coast of the Dead Sea throughout the southern valley to the southern end of the Dead Sea, where Zoar was. In fact, at one time, the land between Zoar and Egypt was well-watered and beautiful (Gen. 13:10). Moses knew many of these places from having traveled to them in his forty years of wandering and through his geographical training at the Egyptian palace.

Gill: Jericho was called [a city of palms], because of the multitude of palm trees which grew there, and which Josephus not only testifies (r), who speaks of it as a plain planted with palm trees, and from whence balsam comes; but several Heathen writers: Pliny says (s) Jericho was set with palm trees; Diodorus Siculus (t) 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 says (u), 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.

Deut. 34:1–4 Moses sees the Promised Land (a graphic); from outset ministry; accessed May 28, 2015.

vv. 1–3 read: So Moses climbed up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, opposite Jericho, having started from the plains of Moab. Jehovah then showed Moses all of the land: the Gilead, going as far as Dan; all of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea. Then God gave Moses a tour of Judah: the Negev, the plain, the valley of Jericho (the city of the palms) going as far as Zoar. So Moses, more than likely accompanied by Joshua, climbed up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, and God caused him to see all the land that would be given to the sons of Israel.

Joseph Sutcliffe (employing a little imagination here): With all the agility of youth he ascends the ridge of Abarim, aiming directly at Nebo, and the summit of Pisgah. On his arrival, nature had made her arrangements for vision. The clouds had thrown a gentle curtain over the higher heavens; the sun just risen with a full beam, had bespangled all the plains, and gilded the declivities of the western hills. The whole face of nature, divested of the garb of winter, had just assumed the charms of spring. The rapid Jordan, sporting in the plains, and winding in the mountains, discovered its silver streams from Gilead to Dan; southwards he traced the swelling flood, as far as the Lake of Sodom. An infinitude of cattle just risen from their grassy couch, were fattening in the verdant meads. The timid flocks, cautiously venturing from their pens, had begun to crop the herbage of the rising grounds. Lebanon in the north, and all his neighbouring hills were crowned with cedars. All the rugged places, barren in other countries, were here adorned with the mantling vine. The fields of barley, changing to a golden hue, invited by their abundance. The walled cities, every where raising their bold towers above the surrounding gardens, gave a finish to the charms of landscape. What a contrast between Canaan, and the weary desert. What a country: delightful as the garden of the Lord! But ah, its inhabitants were not worthy. Effeminate by habit, they were yet asleep secure in their sins; nor did they dream that the vengeance, long reproached with supineness, was just at the door. Their priests, infatuated as themselves, saw not the danger, nor sounded the alarm: and their divinities were the work of their own hands. Ah, so it shall be in the latter day, when the Son of Man shall suddenly come to surprise and punish the wicked and infidel world.

Guzik: The list of places here follows a large counter-clockwise circle from the north to the south. In this sweeping panorama, Moses saw the sweep of the entire Promised Land.

We do not know how this was conveyed to Joshua, whether Moses spoke while he saw these things or told these things to Joshua afterwards. Although it would be possible that Joshua saw the same things, the seeing of these things is only attributed to Moses.

John Calvin: [Moses had been allowed to see] what a pleasant, fertile, and wealthy region the sons of Abraham were about to inhabit.

Guzik remarks: What a bitter-sweet moment! Moses saw this, and his heart was thrilled at being able to see the Promised Land as never before. Yet, there no doubt a sadness in His heart, knowing that it was his own sin - his own misrepresentation of God - which led to his not being able to set foot in the Promised Land himself. Here he stood so close, yet so far away.

This was an amazing moment in the history of Israel. Two generations of Israelites had been led by Moses through the desert. They had heard the actual voice of God. They had seen the great manifestations of God—the first from the mountain, the dense clouds—and now they stood right at the entrance to the land of Canaan. Moses would remain here, but the rest of Israel—the generation of promise—would cross over that Jordan and take the land that God originally promised to Abraham 600 years previous. These people knew of these promises; they knew some of the history of Abraham and God’s interactions with this great saint.

Interestingly enough, the targum treats all of this as if it were a vision: 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. The problem with this interpretation is, none of these exploits are mentioned in the description of the land (in the Masoretic text), and, as will be discussed, none of this appears to be a vision.

Because the tribes are referenced and associated with this or that piece of land, it seems most likely that Joshua wrote this chapter after he led the Jewish people into western Canaan and defeated the indigenous peoples there. Now, you may balk at this, and think, why would he wait so long? Two reasons at least: (1) Joshua had a job to do; he would have plenty of time to write when he got older after the land had been conquered. (2) Few people understand and properly interpret current events accurately. Sometimes perspective is needed in order for a person to realize, I ought to write this down; I ought to record this information for future generations. It is likely that Joshua told this to the people—perhaps on several occasions—but at some point, Joshua knew that this needed to be recorded for a future generation—for those who would come along after he himself had died.

We find the same thing with the gospels of Jesus Christ. The disciples did not appear to write down a history of Jesus Christ soon after His resurrection and ascension. At that point, they went out an evangelized the world. Decades later, 4 men decided it would be important to record the events in the life of Jesus Christ. They no doubt, when evangelizing, spoke of Jesus Christ and what He said and did. They also used the Old Testament quite frequently. So it is to be expected, at some point, for these men to realize, maybe I should write some of this information down. Much of this information about Jesus Christ was out there for that generation. He had the 12 disciples (11 and later Paul) who went about teaching Jesus—and this would have included things which He said and did. And this message was spread throughout Asia Minor and beyond. However, these men could see their end coming, and they knew that their message and the life of Jesus needed to be preserved. Therefore, decades after our Lord’s resurrection and ascension, 4 men began to write a biography of the Lord. It appears that Mark was first, Matthew was next, Luke was third; and then, many decades later, John wrote his gospel.

Mark was closely associated with Peter, and, when hearing Peter tell him about all of these various events, Mark decided, at some point, to write these things down. Whether he did it all at once or over a period of several years, we do not know. Matthew may have been aware of the gospel of Mark, but he was concerned with tying Jesus to the Old Testament. He wanted the people to know that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. Therefore, he, an unschooled theologian, wrote a gospel with a great emphasis upon the fulfillment of prophecy. I believe that Luke used the books of Mark and Matthew, as well as many other sources (some by direct interview), to complete his gospel. Furthermore, it appears that Luke made an effort to make his gospel chronological. Luke was a gentile historian and he was in the unique position to speak to many eyewitnesses in order to get the details and order correct. Finally, John wrote his gospel many decades later; and with the intention of talking about details and events that the other disciples had not mentioned. He provided a unique perspective of Jesus, with an understanding of the Church Age that he now lived in, and how that related to the final teachings of Jesus.

My point is, these writings—just like this final chapter of Deuteronomy—occur naturally, in a way that we would expect them to occur. Joshua was a man of war; he apparently began to keep a diary (like General George Patton did); but this all occurred very naturally, allowing for his own personality and predilections to play out.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so said Y^ehowah unto him, “This [is] the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to say, ‘To your seed I will give her.’ I have caused you to see with your [two] eyes and there, you will not go over.”

Targum of Onkelos                And the Lord said to him, This is the end of the word concerning the land, and this is the land which I covenanted unto Abraham, to Izhak, and to Jacob, saying, I will give it unto your children. I grant you to see it with your eyes, but you will not pass over to it.

Latin Vulgate                          And the Lord said to him: This is the land, for which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your seed. You have seen it with your eyes, and will not pass over to it.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And the LORD said to him, This is the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants; I have permitted you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over to it.

Septuagint (Greek)                And the Lord said to Moses, This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To your seed will I give it: and I have showed it to your eyes, but you shall not go in to it.

Significant differences:           None. Seed = children = descendants.

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to him, This is the land about which I made an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your seed: now I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not go in there.

Easy English                          Then the LORD said to Moses, `This is the country that I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I told them that I would give it to their descendants. I have let you see it. But you will not cross over into it.'

Easy-to-Read Version            The Lord said to Moses, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I said to them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants. [228] I have let you see the land, but you cannot go there.”

The Message                         Then and there God said to him, "This is the land I promised to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with the words `I will give it to your descendants.' I've let you see it with your own eyes. There it is. But you're not going to go in."

NIRV                                      Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, "This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I told them, `I will give this land to your children and their children.' Moses, I have let you see it with your own eyes. But you will not go across the Jordan River to enter it."

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       The LORD said, "Moses, this is the land I was talking about when I solemnly promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give land to their descendants. I have let you see it, but you will not cross the Jordan and go in."

The Living Bible                     "It is the Promised Land," the Lord told Moses. "I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give it to their descendants. Now you have seen it, but you will not enter it."

New Berkeley Version           Then the Lord said to him, This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants. I have given you this view of it, but you shall not go over there.

New Living Translation           Then the Lord said to Moses, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, `I will give it to your descendants.' I have now allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you will not enter the land."

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then Jehovah said to Moses: 'This is the land that I swore that I would give to the seed of AbraHam, IsaAc, and Jacob. And now that you've seen it, you may not go there.'

International Standard V        Then the LORD told him: "This is the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by an oath when I said, `I'll give it to your descendants.' I'll let you see it with your eyes, but you won't cross over there."

New Advent (Knox) Bible       This, the Lord told him, is the land of which I spoke to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, promising to give it to their race. I have granted thee the sight of it; enter it thou mayst not.

Translation for Translators     Then Yahweh said to him, "You have now seen this land that I solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying `I will give it to your descendants.' I have allowed you to see it from a distance, but you will not go there."

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                For the Ever-living had said to him, "This is the country that I promised to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob, - saying I will give it to your race. Look at it with your eyes, for you shall not pass over to it."

Lexham English Bible            And Yahweh said to him, "This is the land that I swore to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob, saying [Literally "to say"], `To your offspring I will give it.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross into it [Literally "to there"]."

NIV – UK                                Then the Lord said to him, `This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, "I will give it to your descendants." I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.'

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  And Yahweh said to him: ¡°This is the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, promising it to their descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not enter it.¡+

New American Bible (2002)   The LORD then said to him, "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that I would give to their descendants. I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over."

New American Bible (2011)   The LORD then said to him, This is the land about which I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, "I will give it to your descendants." I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross over. Dt 1:8; 3:27; 32:52; Gn 12:7; 15:18-21.

New Jerusalem Bible             Yahweh said to him, 'This is the country which I promised on oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: I shall give it to your descendants. I have allowed you to see it for yourself, but you will not cross into it.'

Revised English Bible            The LORD said to him, "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross over into it."

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Adonai said to him, "This is the land concerning which I swore to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya`akov, `I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over there."

exeGeses companion Bible   And Yah Veh says to him,

This is the land I oathed

to Abraham, to Yischaq and to Yaaqov,

saying, I give it to your seed:

I have you to see it with your eyes,

but you pass not over there.

Kaplan Translation                 God said to him, 'This is the land regarding which I made an oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross [the river] to enter it.'

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Hashem said unto him, This is HaAretz which I swore unto Avraham, unto Yitzchak, and unto Ya'akov, saying, I will give it unto thy zera; I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over there.

The Scriptures 1998              And יהוה said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Araham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Yaʽaqo, saying, ‘To your seed I give it.ʼ I have let you look at it with your eyes, but you do not pass over there.”

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              Then the Lord said to Moses, "This is the land I ·promised [swore] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said to them, `I will give this land to your ·descendants [^Lseed; Gen. 12:1-13; 15:17-20].' ·I have let you look at [^LYour eyes have seen] it, Moses, but you will not cross over there."

Kretzmann’s Commentary    And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed, Gen. 12:7; Gen. 15:18; Gen. 28:13; I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, it was a last favor which the Lord granted to His faithful servant, but thou shalt not go over there.

NET Bible®                             Then the Lord said to him, "This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, `I will give it to your descendants [Heb "seed" (so KJV, ASV).].' I have let you see it [The Hebrew text includes "with your eyes," but this is redundant in English and is left untranslated.], but you will not cross over there."

The Voice                               Eternal One (to Moses): This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I told them, "I'll give it to your descendants." I've let you see it, even though you won't be going into it.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Context Group Version          And YHWH said to him, This is the land { or earth } which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, I will give it to your seed: I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.

English Standard Version      And the LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 'I will give it to your offspring.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there."

Green’s Literal Translation    And Jehovah said to him, This is the land which I have sworn to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, I will give it to your seed. I have caused you to see with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           And the Lord said unto him. This is the land which I swore unto Abraham, Isaac and Jacob saying: I will give it unto your seed. I have showed it you before your eyes: but you shall not go over over there.

NASB                                     Then the Lord said to him, "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, `I will give it to your descendants [Lit seed]'; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.".

Young’s Updated LT             And Jehovah says unto him, “This is the land which I have sworn to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, To your seed I give it; I have caused you to see with your eyes, and there you will not pass over.”

The gist of this verse:          God tells Moses that the land which he is seeing was the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, Moses would not cross over to go into this land.

Translation: Y^ehowah said to him, “This [is] the land [concerning] which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,... God is summing up what Moses has just seen. Moses has just viewed the Land of Promise, which God swore to give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Some of the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are recorded here: to Abraham (Gen. 15:18); to Isaac (Gen. 26:3); to Jacob (Gen. 28:13).

Translation: ...saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants [lit., seed].’ God has promised to each man, that He would give this land to their descendants. In each generation, God made this promise.

Translation: [Now] I have caused you to see [all of it],... One word which is quite important here and that is the 1^st person singular, Hiphil perfect, with a 2^nd person masculine singular suffix of the verb râʾâh (רָאָה) [pronounced raw-AWH], which means to see. Whereas, this verb occurs over 1200 times in the Qal, it only occurs less than 100 times in the Hiphil. This means that God has caused Abraham to see; in other words, this was a supernatural event, but not an ecstatic vision. That is Moses saw these places clearly with his own eyes. Strong's #7200 BDB #906. The area specified in these few verses is not the totality of what Moses was caused to see. We read in Deut. 3:27: “Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see the land with your eyes, for you will not cross over this Jordan.”

This confirms that Moses did not have a vision, but he actually was able to see the Land of Promise.

God has made it possible for Moses to see all of the land. I have left off the verbiage with your eyes. I am not sure exactly what this adds, other than to indicate that what Moses saw with his own eyes was the land promised Abraham by God. This was not an hallucination but a miracle, that Moses, with his very own eyes, saw all the Land of Promise.

Keil and Delitzsch concur with my interpretation: This sight of every part of the land on the east and west was not an ecstatic vision, but a sight with the bodily eyes, whose natural power of vision was miraculously increased by God, to give Moses a glimpse at least of the glorious land which he was not to tread, and delight his eye with a view of the inheritance intended for his people.

Gill: [God] 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.

The Pulpit Commentary: This wide prospect could not be surveyed by any ordinary power of vision; so that Moses must for the occasion have had his power of vision miraculously increased. There is no ground for supposing that he saw the scene in an ecstatic vision, and not with his bodily eyes.

Finally, the fact that Moses saw these places with his own eyes is confirmed in Deut. 3:27, where God tells Moses : “Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan.” (ESV; emphasis mine) The idea is, I can see across the street with reasonable clarity, but I cannot see the end of my block with reasonable clarity. So, it is a matter of temporarily allowing Moses’ vision to be strong enough to see for miles.

So far, this is how v. 4 reads: Y^ehowah said to him, “This [is] the land [concerning] which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants [lit., seed].’ [Now] I have caused you to see [all of it],... We do not know how audible the voice of God was. My assumption is that Joshua (and, if he was there, Eleazar) heard his voice. Now, why don’t we hear anything about either of these two men in this chapter? They are like the fly-on-the-wall observers. Moses had served God for forty years under the greatest pressures that a man could face, at times when he was in opposition to almost two million others. Joshua does not cloud up his final hours with the mentioning of himself. Joshua, in these final couple of chapters, has seen to it that throughout the song and the blessing and the dying of Moses, that Moses is center stage. Joshua was a true man of grace. At any time, Joshua could have told us that he also heard the voice of God, that he also saw what Moses saw or that Moses spoke to him of what he saw, but he chose to remain the proverbial fly on the wall, recording with the barest of detail the last few hours of the life of Moses.

We have no idea how long this took.

Moses Views the Promised Land (a graphic); from Credo Bible study; accessed May 28, 2015. Ultimately from "The Book of Books in Pictures", Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Verlag von Georg Wigand, Liepzig: 1908.

Furthermore, the Word of God is a product of man and the Holy Spirit, wherein there is no compromise of the point of view, the vocabulary, the personality or the writing style of the person, yet, at the very same time, recording the exact Word of God as guided by the Holy Spirit. Using an anthropopathism, God had great respect for Moses and, despite the fact that the last couple days of his life were recorded by Joshua, God still saw to it that the concentration was upon Moses and his heritage.

God promised this land to Abraham in Gen. 12:1–7; to Isaac (Gen. 26:2–4); and to Jacob (Gen. 28:13–15).

We read in Psalm 105:7–11

He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers His covenant forever, the word that He commanded, for a thousand generations,

the covenant that He made with Abraham, His sworn promise to Isaac,

which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance." (ESV; capitalized)

Translation: ...but you will not go over there.” God adds, “You are not going into that land.” God repeats this to Moses, who heard this before in Num. 20:12 and told the Israelites that God told him this in Deut. 3:25–27.

God had told Moses, that, because of his transgression, that he would not enter into the land promised to his fathers.

Deut. 34:1–4 So Moses climbed up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, opposite Jericho, having started from the plains of Moab. Jehovah then showed Moses all of the land: the Gilead, going as far as Dan; all of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea. Then God gave Moses a tour of Judah: the Negev, the plain, the valley of Jericho (the city of the palms) going as far as Zoar. In this first section, God has guided Moses to go up Mount Nebo, and God showed Moses all that the sons of Israel would conquer and inhabit.

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The Death of Moses/Israel Mourns Moses