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Deuteronomy

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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 34:5 and 2 Kings 2:11

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Summary

Deuteronomy 34 insists Moses died and was buried in an unknown grave, showing no signs of aging. 2 Kings 2 tells of Elijah ascending alive to heaven from the same region, preserving a heavenly departure tradition possibly suppressed from Moses’s story.

Passages

Deuteronomy 34:5

Hebrew Bible
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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

2 Kings 2:11

Hebrew Bible
6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they traveled on together. 7 The 50 members of the prophetic guild went and stood opposite them at a distance, while Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, folded it up, and hit the water with it. The water divided, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you?” 10 Elijah replied, “That’s a difficult request! If you see me taken from you, may it be so, but if you don’t, it will not happen.” 11 As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a fiery chariot pulled by fiery horses appeared. They went between Elijah and Elisha, and Elijah went up to heaven in a windstorm.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Kings

References

“... The corresponding motifs between the stories of Moses and Elijah continue until the end of their earthly lives. In the story of Elijah’s departure from this world, he first crosses the Jordan on dry land (2 Kings 2:8) like Moses, who divided the Sea of Reeds for the Israelites. The reader of the tale of Elijah’s ascendance may wonder why the prophet divides the Jordan and passes from Jericho to the eastern bank in order to be taken from there. It is clear that, also in this detail, we have an allusion to Moses’s story. The spot where Elijah ascends heavenward, on the far bank of the Jordan, facing Jericho, is the site reached by Moses before his death: “from the steppes of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, opposite Jericho” (Deuteronomy 34:1). It is reasonable to say, therefore, that Elijah’s biography also took its final chapter from Moses’s life story—only that chapter in Moses’s life, his heavenly ascent, was suppressed and has disappeared; only its echo, Elijah’s ascent, remains. ...”
Avigdor Shinan and Yair Zakovitch, From Gods to God: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends, trans. Valerie Zakovitch (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska, 2012), 182–183.

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 34:5 and 2 Kings 2:11

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