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Moses, Death

The Torah’s Three Explanations for Why Moses Does Not Enter the Land

The biblical authors knew that Moses did not lead the Israelites into the promised land, but the question of why preoccupied them.

Prof.

Raanan Eichler

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Moses and Aaron Misuse an Asherah to Draw Water from the Rock

An offense against YHWH that explains the severe punishment of their exclusion from the promised land.

Prof.

Raanan Eichler

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YHWH Is Enthroned at Gad’s Temple: The Site of Moses’ Tomb

YHWH comes from the south to be enthroned by the tribes of Israel in Ashdot-hapisgah (Deuteronomy 33:2), a later name for the city of Nebo. The Mesha Stele documents the presence of a YHWH worship site, whose hieros logos is tied to the tomb of Moses, the “plot of the lawgiver” (v. 21) located in the territory of Gad.

Prof.

Alexander Rofé

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Moses Pleads with God: Why Must I Die?

Moses, on his last day, recites two poems—the Song of Moses and Blessing of Moses (Deut 32, 33). In this spirit, the eighth century Tiberian Pinchas Hakohen poetically describes Moses excusing his sins and offering alternatives to his death.

Prof.

Raymond P. Scheindlin

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Viewing the Promised Land, Moses Looks Even at the Transjordan

Several biblical passages assume that the promised land is limited to Canaan, i.e., the Cisjordan. But this view was not universally shared. Scribes who saw the Transjordan as part and parcel of it adjusted multiple passages in Deuteronomy, including the third and final take of Moses’s death, to make this episode fit their idea about the extent of the land.

Dr.

Angela Roskop Erisman

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Did the Exodus Generation Die in the Wilderness or Enter Canaan?

In the context of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy is read as a continuation of Numbers, in which God decrees that the exodus generation must wander in the wilderness until they have all died, and that only their children may enter the land. Yet Deuteronomy’s core narrative presents Moses addressing the same Israelites who left Egypt and wandered forty years in the wilderness on the eve of their entry into the Promised Land.

Dr.

Gili Kugler

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The Unknown Yet Known Place of Moses’ Burial

On a mountain, in a valley, no one knows – the three traditions about where Moses is buried in Deuteronomy 34 stem from three different sources.

Dr.

David Ben-Gad HaCohen

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Moses Dies at the Age of 120 — Was It Premature?

The end of Deuteronomy recounts that at an age of one hundred and twenty Moses says he is no longer able/allowed to lead the people’s journey and will therefore not be carrying them on to cross the Jordan (Deuteronomy 31:2). According to other places in the Torah, however, Moses dies because of a sin – his or of the people.

Dr.

Gili Kugler

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Moshe Rabbeinu Never Died: The Hidden Ending

Rabbi

Eric Grossman

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