Go to Related Reading
About this book

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 Genesis 13:15 and Deuteronomy 34:4

Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Deuteronomy 34 recalls the land promise first given to Abraham in Genesis 13. This promise appears throughout the Torah but stops here, creating a clear ending before the story continues to Israel entering the land.

Passages

Genesis 13:15

Hebrew Bible
14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, “Look from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. 15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Deuteronomy 34:4

Hebrew Bible
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

References

"... The promises of land as oaths to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—without their explicit modifier as “ancestors”—appears in the Pentateuch in Genesis 50:24; Exodus 32:13; 33:1; Numbers 32:11; Deuteronomy 34:4. If one adds Leviticus 26:42, which has similar content, then this is the only theological statement that carries through all five books of the Pentateuch. And—what is especially striking in this context—it is not found afterwards, in Joshua–2 Kings. From these general observations it is clear that with these texts one should think of components of a Pentateuch redaction. This suggestion is supported by the last of these texts, Deuteronomy 34:4, which points back to the network of promises from Genesis 12. through a clear inclusio (compare Genesis 12:2 and 13:15), so to the beginning of Israel and the Pentateuch. This first motif of the oath-formulated promises of the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob theologically accentuates the diaspora character of the Torah, which in any case results in the fact that the narrative of the Torah ends before Israel’s entrance into the promised land. The Torah is the founding charter of “exilic” Israel, a people whose story begins outside its land, and a considerable part of the reading experience of the Torah also takes place outside this land. The Torah thereby receives an eminent “prophetic” tenor ..."
Konrad Schmid, Is There Theology in the Hebrew Bible?, CSHB 4 (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015), 93–94.

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

Your feedback

Genesis 13:15 and Deuteronomy 34:4

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library