Deuteronomy 34

Deuteronomy 34:1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho, and Yahveh showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan,

Deuteronomy 34:2 all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea,

Deuteronomy 34:3 the Negev, and the plain in the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.

Deuteronomy 34:4 Yahveh then spoke to him, and this is what he said: “This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.”

Deuteronomy 34:5 So Moses, the servant of Yahveh, died there in the land of Moab, according to Yahveh’s word.

Deuteronomy 34:6 He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows where his grave is.

Deuteronomy 34:7 Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not run away from him.

Deuteronomy 34:8 The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days. Then, the days of weeping and mourning for Moses finished.

Deuteronomy 34:9 Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the breath of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So, the Israelites obeyed him and did as Yahveh had commanded Moses.

Deuteronomy 34:10 No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom Yahveh knew face to face.

Deuteronomy 34:11 He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders Yahveh sent him to do against the land of Egypt – to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and all his land,

Deuteronomy 34:12 and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

Deuteronomy 34 quotes:

“The death of Moses has been awaited since Numbers 27:12–23, and so provides an important frame around the book of Deuteronomy. Within these frame passages Moses is also forbidden to enter the land, which in turn is linked to the succession of Joshua seven times (1:37–38; 3:23–29; 31:2, 14, 16, 27–29; 32:48–52), followed by an eighth in 34:4. Moses must therefore die before God’s plan of salvation history can continue through Joshua. This succession is further linked to the realization of the promise of the land to the Patriarchs also framing the book at 1:8 and 34:4. At the centre of the epilogue (vv. 5–8) is the report of the death of Moses, the servant of the LORD, thus adding further mystery and poignancy to his life and authority as a true prophet, whose word must be listened to and obeyed because of the witness of the many mighty deeds that he performed. Moses will speak even louder in death than in life, as the temptation to revive a cult of the dead gives way to the enduring legacy of his word and obedience to it, which alone gives the promise of life and not death (30:11–20; cf. Isa. 8:18–20).”

Woods, Edward J.. Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Book 5) . InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

“The last three verses of the book constitute, as it were, the literary epitaph of Moses; they form a fitting conclusion to the Pentateuch, of which the last four books contain an account of the life and work of Moses in Israel. Moses was a prophet, but in his epitaph it is not his knowledge of God that is stressed, but rather the Lord’s knowledge of him. God had sought him out and appointed him to a particular task; over the years, the relationship had become intimate, so that to those Israelites who knew Moses, it was evident that his highest communion was with God. And so in his epitaph, written in a book because the grave was not known, God’s intimate knowledge of Moses was the most striking memory of the man now departed.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 406). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.