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Deuteronomy

About this book
Chapter 34

1 Then Moses ascended from the rift valley plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. The Lord showed him the whole land—Gilead⁠ to Dan, 2 and all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the distant sea, 3 the Negev, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of date palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’⁠ I have let you see it, but you will not cross over there.” 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.⁠ 9 Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had placed his hands on him; and the Israelites listened to him and did just what the Lord had commanded Moses. 10 No prophet ever again arose in Israel like Moses,⁠ who knew the Lord face to face.⁠ 11 He did all the signs and wonders the Lord had sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, all his servants, and the whole land,⁠ 12 and he displayed great power and awesome might in view of all Israel.

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 34:1 and Matthew 4:8

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Matthew describes Jesus on a high mountain where he is shown the kingdoms of the world, echoing Deuteronomy 34 where Moses views the promised land from Mount Nebo. Where Moses fails to enter the land, Jesus is depicted as succeeding when tempted.

Passages

Deuteronomy 34:1

Hebrew Bible
1 Then Moses ascended from the rift valley plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. The Lord showed him the whole land—Gilead to Dan, 2 and all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the distant sea, 3 the Negev, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of date palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it, but you will not cross over there.” 5 So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab as the Lord had said.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Matthew 4:8

New Testament
6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

"... This mountain and temple typology was not limited to certain cultures but was widespread, spilling over into ancient Israel. Israelite religious history is replete with instances of God meeting men on mountains ... Moses experienced the divine not only on Mount Sinai, but also on Mount Nebo as God showed him the promised land which he would not live to see Israel obtain (Deuteronomy 34:1–4) ... This mountain ideology was still potent in first century Palestine during the New Testament formative era. In the surrounding culture, it is only appropriate that the vision of Levi—to whom the rights of the temple priesthood were entrusted—took him into heaven from the top of a mountain: “Then sleep fell upon me, and I beheld a high mountain, and I was on it. And behold, the heavens were opened” (Testament of Levi 2:5–6). The same phenomenon is also true of several key events in the New Testament. The mountain setting demonstrated the sacred nature of these events for Jesus and his followers. Jesus ascended mountains to teach (Matthew 24:3), to pray (Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12), to perform healings (Matthew 15:29), and to formally call his twelve apostles (Mark 3:13–14, Luke 6:12–16). On a mountain, Jesus overcame the temptation of Satan (Matthew 4:8–10) ..."
John W. Welch, The Sermon on the Mount in the Light of the Temple, SOTSMS (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2009), 29–38.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Deuteronomy 34:1 and Matthew 4:8

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