11 in all the signs and the wonders, which Yahweh sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,
Or has God tried to go and take him a nation from the midst of [another] nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
the great trials which your eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which Yahweh your God brought you out: so shall Yahweh your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
How he set his signs in Egypt, His wonders in the field of Zoan, Turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, so that they could not drink. He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them; And frogs, which destroyed them. He gave also their increase to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust. He destroyed their vines with hail, Their sycamore-fig trees with frost. He gave over their cattle also to the hail, And their flocks to hot thunderbolts. He threw on them the fierceness of his anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, And a band of angels of evil. He made a path for his anger. He didn't spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the pestilence, And struck all the firstborn in Egypt, The chief of their strength in the tents of Ham. But he led forth his own people like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock. He led them safely, so that they weren't afraid, But the sea overwhelmed their enemies. He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, To this mountain, which his right hand had taken. He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them for an inheritance by line, And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, And didn't keep his testimonies; But turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers. They were turned aside like a deceitful bow. For they provoked him to anger with their high places, And moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.
He sent Moses, his servant, And Aaron, whom he had chosen. They performed miracles among them, And wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn't rebel against his words. He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish. Their land swarmed with frogs, Even in the chambers of their kings. He spoke, and swarms of flies came, And lice in all their borders. He gave them hail for rain, With lightning in their land. He struck their vines and also their fig trees, And shattered the trees of their country. He spoke, and the locusts came, And the grasshoppers, without number, Ate up every plant in their land; And ate up the fruit of their ground. He struck also all the firstborn in their land, The first fruits of all their manhood. He brought them forth with silver and gold. There was not one feeble person among his tribes. Egypt was glad when they departed, For the fear of them had fallen on them.
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Commentary on Deuteronomy 34 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 34
De 34:1-12. Moses from Mount Nebo Views the Land.
1. Moses went up from the plains of Moab—This chapter appears from internal evidence to have been written subsequently to the death of Moses, and it probably formed, at one time, an introduction to the Book of Joshua.
unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah—literally, the head or summit of the Pisgah; that is, the height (compare Nu 23:14; De 3:17-27; 4:49). The general name given to the whole mountain range east of Jordan, was Abarim (compare De 32:49), and the peak to which Moses ascended was dedicated to the heathen Nebo, as Balaam's standing place had been consecrated to Peor. Some modern travellers have fixed on Jebel Attarus, a high mountain south of the Jabbok (Zurka), as the Nebo of this passage [Burckhardt, Seetzen, &c.]. But it is situated too far north for a height which, being described as "over against Jericho," must be looked for above the last stage of the Jordan.
the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead—That pastoral region was discernible at the northern extremity of the mountain line on which he stood, till it ended, far beyond his sight in Dan. Westward, there were on the horizon, the distant hills of "all Naphtali." Coming nearer, was "the land of Ephraim and Manasseh." Immediately opposite was "all the land of Judah," a title at first restricted to the portion of this tribe, beyond which were "the utmost sea" (the Mediterranean) and the Desert of the "South." These were the four great marks of the future inheritance of his people, on which the narrative fixes our attention. Immediately below him was "the circle" of the plain of Jericho, with its oasis of palm trees; and far away on his left, the last inhabited spot before the great desert "Zoar." The foreground of the picture alone was clearly discernible. There was no miraculous power of vision imparted to Moses. That he should see all that is described is what any man could do, if he attained sufficient elevation. The atmosphere of the climate is so subtle and free from vapor that the sight is carried to a distance of which the beholder, who judges from the more dense air of Europe, can form no idea [Vere Monro]. But between him and that "good land," the deep valley of the Jordan intervened; "he was not to go over thither."
5. Moses … died—After having governed the Israelites forty years.
6. he buried him—or, "he was buried in a valley," that is, a ravine or gorge of the Pisgah. Some think that he entered a cave and there died, being, according to an ancient tradition of Jews and Christians, buried by angels (Jude 9; Nu 21:20).
no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day—This concealment seems to have been owing to a special and wise arrangement of Providence, to prevent its being ranked among "holy places," and made the resort of superstitious pilgrims or idolatrous veneration, in after ages.
8. wept for Moses … thirty days—Seven days was the usual period of mourning, but for persons in high rank or official eminence, it was extended to thirty (Ge 50:3-10; Nu 20:29).
9. Joshua … was full of the spirit of wisdom—He was appointed to a peculiar and extraordinary office. He was not the successor of Moses, for he was not a prophet or civil ruler, but the general or leader, called to head the people in the war of invasion and the subsequent allocation of the tribes.
10-12. there arose not a prophet since—In whatever light we view this extraordinary man, the eulogy pronounced in these inspired words will appear just. No Hebrew prophet or ruler equalled him in character or official dignity, or in knowledge of God's will and opportunities of announcing it.