Deuteronomy 34:1

And 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, After blessing the people, Moses ascended Mount Nebo, according to the command of God (Deu 32:48-51), and there the Lord showed him, in all its length and breadth, that promised land into which he was not to enter. From Nebo, a peak of Pisgah, which affords a very extensive prospect on all sides, he saw the land of Gilead, the land to the east of the Jordan as far as Dan, i.e., not Laish-Dan near the central source of the Jordan (Jdg 18:27), which did not belong to Gilead, but a Dan in northern Peraea, which has not yet been discovered (see at Gen 14:14); and the whole of the land on the west of the Jordan, Canaan proper, in all its different districts, namely, "the whole of Naphtali," i.e., the later Galilee on the north, "the land of Ephraim and Manasseh" in the centre, and "the whole of the land of Judah," the southern portion of Canaan, in all its breadth, "to the hinder (Mediterranean) sea" (see Deu 11:24); also "the south land" (Negeb: see at Num 13:17), the southern land of steppe towards the Arabian desert, and "the valley of the Jordan" (see Gen 13:10), i.e., the deep valley from Jericho the palm-city (so called from the palms which grew there, in the valley of the Jordan: Jdg 1:16; Jdg 3:13; Ch2 28:15) "to Zoar" at the southern extremity of the Dead Sea (see at Gen 19:22). 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…

Here is, I. Moses climbing upwards towards heaven, as high as the top of Pisgah, there to die; for that was the place appointed, Deu 32:49, Deu 32:50. Israel lay encamped upon the flat grounds in the plains of Moab, and thence he went up, according to order, to the mountain of Nebo, to the highest point or ridge of that mountain, which was called Pisgah, Deu 32:1. Pisgah is an appellative name for all such eminences. It should seem, Moses went up alone to the top of Pisgah, alone without help - a sign that his natural force was not abated when on the last day of his life he could walk up to the top of a high hill without such supporters as once he had when his hands were heavy (Exo 17:12), alone without company. When he had made an end of blessing Israel, we may suppose, he solemnly took leave of Joshua, and Eleazar, and the rest of his friends, who probably brought him to the foot of the hill; but then he gave them such a charge as Abraham gave to his servants at the foot of another hill: Tarry you here while I go yonder and die: they must not see him die, because they must not know of his sepulchre. But, whether this were so or not, he went up to the top of Pisgah, 1. To show that he was willing to die. When he knew the place of his death, he was so far from avoiding it that he cheerfully mounted a steep hill to come at it. Note, Those that through grace are well acquainted with another world, and have been much conversant with it, need not be afraid to leave this. 2. To show that he looked upon death as his ascension. The soul of a man, of a good man, when it leaves the body, goes upwards (Ecc 3:21), in conformity to which motion of the soul, the body of Moses shall go along with it as far upwards as its earth will carry it. When God's servants are sent for out of th…

34:1-12 Moses fell short of entry into the land of promise (see study note on 32:51), but God did permit him to share a moment of glory in the land at Jesus’ transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36). 34:1 Mount Nebo is a high elevation in the Abarim hills east of the Jordan River. Virtually the whole land west of the Jordan can be seen from this vantage point (32:49). • Nebo was part of Pisgah Peak (see study note on 3:17). • Gilead as far as Dan was the northernmost part of the land. The Sea of Galilee and Mount Hermon lie straight north from Nebo. Gilead is just east of the sea, and Dan (Laish; Judg 18:29) was south and west of Hermon.