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Deuteronomy 34 narrates Moses’ death, burial, and the mourning that follows. Philo explains how Moses could write this account by having him predict his own death while still alive, describing it as though it had already happened.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 34:5
Hebrew Bible
5 So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab as the Lord had said. 6 He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab near Beth Peor, but no one knows his exact burial place to this very day. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died, but his eye was not dull nor had his vitality departed. 8 The Israelites mourned for Moses in the rift valley plains of Moab for thirty days; then the days of mourning for Moses ended.
Philo On the Life of Moses 2.291
Classical
290 These things, therefore, are wonderful; and most wonderful of all is the end of his sacred writings, which is to the whole book of the law what the head is to an animal. 291 For when he was now on the point of being taken away, and was standing at the very starting-place, as it were, that he might fly away and complete his journey to heaven, he was once more inspired and filled with the Holy Spirit, and while still alive, he prophesied admirably what should happen to himself after his death, relating, that is, how he had died when he was not as yet dead, and how he was buried without any one being present so as to know of his tomb, because in fact he was entombed not by mortal hands, but by immortal powers, so that he was not placed in the tomb of his forefathers, having met with particular grace which no man ever saw; and mentioning further how the whole nation mourned for him with tears a whole month, displaying the individual and general sorrow on account of his unspeakable benevolence towards each individual and towards the whole collective host, and of the wisdom with which he had ruled them. 292 Such was the life and such was the death of the king, and lawgiver, and high priest, and prophet, Moses, as it is recorded in the sacred scriptures.
Date: 40 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... Mos 2,288-291 tells that Moses' twofold nature of soul and body was re
solved by God into a single unity, v o u s . When he was being exalted the
divine spirit fell upon him and he prophesied his own end [...] This is only an explanation of why the
Pentateuch, attributed to Moses, contains an account of Moses' death. The
parallel story in Virt. 72-79 does not add much to the material, but QG
1,86 gives a more detailed account of Moses' destiny. Generally death is
not the end for worthy and holy men; it is a translation and approach to
another place. Moses, however, was a special case: ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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