From the summit of Mount Nebo at dusk, the slopes fall away to the Jordan valley, the north end of the Dead Sea glints, the green oasis of Jericho lies beyond, and the hills of Canaan rise in blue layers under a calm evening sky.

The Book of

Deuteronomy 34

The LORD shows Moses the whole land from the top of Nebo. He sees it with his own eyes, and he will not enter.

12 verses≈ 3 min2 peopleBSB

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In this chapter

Where we are

1–4Remember the wayFrom Horeb to Moab
5–11Love the LORDThe heart of the covenant
12–26Laws for the landWorship, justice, neighbor
27–30Blessing and curseChoose life
31–34Moses' farewellA song, a blessing, a deathChapter 34

The Death of Moses

Old Moses, white-haired and upright, climbs alone up a stony slope toward the summit of Nebo, seen from behind with his staff in hand, the camp's tents small on the plain far below.

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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 the whole land—from Gilead as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho (the City of Palms) all the way to Zoar.

And the LORD said to him, “This is the land that I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.”

Stylised map · locations approximate

Where it happened

All the land

From the top of Pisgah on Mount Nebo, facing Jericho, the LORD showed Moses the land: Gilead, north as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea (the Mediterranean), the Negev in the south, and the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, all the way to Zoar. Zoar’s site, near the south end of the Dead Sea, is uncertain.

Reflect

You will see it

Moses saw the whole land and did not set foot in it. Yet the LORD’s word stood: “I will give it to your descendants.” The promise did not depend on Moses living to see it finished. Is there something God has given you to begin that you may not see completed? Write it down, and write what you know about the God who keeps His word. Then pray: Lord, let me be faithful in my part, and trust You with the rest.

Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

The plains of Moab at dusk, the dark ridge of Nebo against a glowing sky, the camp's black tents and small cooking fires far below.

Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face— no prophet who did all the signs and wonders that the LORD sent Moses to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his officials and all his land, and no prophet who performed all the mighty acts of power and awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

0:22

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face

Deuteronomy 34:10

Question

Quick question

Moses did not die worn out. The text goes out of its way to say how strong he still was.

How old was Moses when he died?

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Deuteronomy 34

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Deuteronomy 34:10–12

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