Deuteronomy 34

After reading chapter 34:

*So, Moses climbs Mount Nebo and there Yahweh shows him all the promised land across the Jordan that he will never set foot on, all the way to the western sea (the Mediterranean). That's quite a distance. At 120 years old, Moses has bionic eyes.

*Moses then died and was buried in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but "to this day no one knows where his grave is." "To this day" means that at the time this was written Moses had been dead long enough for the Israelites to have forgotten where the grave was. This would also happen if there never was a Moses and consequently no grave to find. This passage does not say Moses's death actually took place on the mountain. It just says he died in Moab. However, his death occurring on the mountain itself is very strongly rooted in tradition. Tra-di-tionnnnn!

*We are told that Moses was strong and clear sighted when he died. Then why did he die? Clearly it was not of natural causes. So, was it suicide, foul play, or did God just snuff out his life? After his death, the Israelites mourned Moses for a month then Joshua became the new leader, because Moses had laid his hands on him and had given him the spirit of wisdom. Whoa, shades of the apostles: passing the gift of the spirit by the laying on of hands.

*Deuteronomy ends by saying that since Moses there never has been a prophet as great and powerful as he was. This means that the book of Deuteronomy was written long after Moses lived and died, even after there had been other prophets in Israel.

We are finally done with Deuteronomy!!!