Deuteronomy 34 – Commentary

¹And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,

² And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,

³ And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.

⁴ 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: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

Commentary Verses 1 – 4

The Most High allowed Moses to go to the top of mount Pisgah to see the Promised Land, but he would not allow him to enter because of his prior disobedience (Numbers 20:2-13). These are the very same verses that inspired Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last speech about going to the mountain top, before he was assassinated.

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⁵ So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

⁶ And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.

⁷ And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

Commentary Verses 5 – 7

Many people point to the fact that Moses could not have written these verses after his death, which would mean Joshua or an unnamed scribe wrote them. On the other hand, there are people that believe that Moses wrote the verses prior to his death, after receiving revelation from The Most High.

After Moses is shown the future home of Israel in the land of Canaan, he died at 120 years old, and was buried in an unknown place in the land of Moab by The Most High. According to the text, Moses remained in good health and his vision was good until the day he died.

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⁸ And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

Commentary Verse 8

After Moses died, the people mourned him for 30 days. This is the same length of time they mourned Aaron in Numbers 20:29, but there is no mention of how long the people mourned Miriam after her death in Numbers 20:1.

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⁹ And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹⁰ And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,

¹¹ In all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,

¹² And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.

Commentary Verses 9 – 12

Joshua was appointed as Moses’ successor and the people followed him as The Most High commanded. Verses 10 – 12 tell us that although The Most High talked with Moses “face to face” and performed miracles through him, this was not the case with Joshua or anyone after Moses. According to Exodus 33:11, “the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”