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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 Genesis 27:1 and Deuteronomy 34:7 and 1 Samuel 3:2

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

The Hebrew expression for dimming eyes appears at the end of three lives, suggesting a common source: Isaac in Genesis, Moses in Deuteronomy, and Eli in 1 Samuel. Isaac and Eli have failing vision, but Moses is the exception, as his eye was not dim.

Passages

Genesis 27:1

Hebrew Bible
1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau replied. 2 Isaac said, “Since I am so old, I could die at any time. 3 Therefore, take your weapons—your quiver and your bow—and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game for me.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Deuteronomy 34:7

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

1 Samuel 3:2

Hebrew Bible
1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. Receiving a message from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent. 2 Eli’s eyes had begun to fail, so that he was unable to see well. At that time he was lying down in his place, 3 and the lamp of God had not yet been extinguished. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord as well; the ark of God was also there.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Samuel

References

"... This section is J. It notes that Moses lives to be one hundred twenty years old, which is the limit that YHWH sets on human life in J (Genesis 6:3). It notes that his eye was not dim; and the expression that it uses for the dimming of the eye occurs only here and in Isaac's blessing of Jacob in Genesis 27:1, which is J, and in the report of Eli's dim eyes in 1 Samuel 3:2 (which, I have argued elsewhere, comes from the same author) ..."
Richard Elliott Friedman, The Bible with Sources Revealed: A New View into the Five Books of Moses (New York: HarperOne, 2005), 368.

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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Genesis 27:1 and Deuteronomy 34:7 and 1 Samuel 3:2

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