Mount Pisgah

Biblical Text

Mount Pisgah is mentioned in Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua. The New Korean Revised Version uses phrases such as "the top of Mount Pisgah" and "the slopes of Mount Pisgah."

• The final stage of the wilderness journey: Near the end of their years in the wilderness, the Israelites came "to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon" (Numbers 21:20).
• Balaam's oracles: Balak, king of Moab, seeking to have Balaam curse Israel, brought him "into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah," and built seven altars. There, however, Balaam pronounced a blessing instead of a curse (Numbers 23:14-24).
• Moses views the land: God commanded Moses to go up to the top of Pisgah and look in every direction, telling him that he would not cross the Jordan (Deuteronomy 3:27). Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, "to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho." God showed him all the land from Gilead to Dan and told him that this was the land He had sworn to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deuteronomy 34:1-4). Moses then died in the land of Moab, and Scripture records that no one knows the location of his grave (Deuteronomy 34:5-6).
• Boundary marker: "The slopes of Pisgah" (KJV "Ashdoth-pisgah" or "the springs of Pisgah") also serves as a place name marking the boundary of the territory east of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 3:17; 4:49; Joshua 12:3; 13:20).

Background

Pisgah lies at the edge of the Moab plateau, where the land drops steeply toward the Jordan River valley and the Dead Sea. On a clear day it therefore commands a broad view of the Jordan Valley and of the land of Canaan beyond Jericho.

The precise meaning of the Hebrew name Pisgah is uncertain; some interpret it as "cleft" or "peak." Scholars also differ on its relationship to Mount Nebo. Some regard Pisgah as a ridge made up of several peaks, with Nebo as one of them; others hold that the two names refer to the same place. Today it is commonly associated with the Mount Nebo area near Madaba, Jordan, although its exact location has not been determined.

Significance in the Broader Biblical Narrative

Pisgah is the place from which the Promised Land is viewed as it lies just ahead. Moses had led Israel through the wilderness, but because of the incident at Meribah he was told that he would not enter the land (Numbers 20:12). From this summit he could only look upon it. The scene conveys that God's promise does not end with Moses himself but is fulfilled through the next generation, led by Joshua.

The name Pisgah does not appear in the New Testament. However, Hebrews 11:13-16, which describes people of faith who saw the promises "afar off" and "embraced them," desiring "a better country," is often cited in connection with the Pisgah scene.

Interpretations and Debates

• Some interpreters read Moses' appearance with Jesus at the Transfiguration as Moses at last standing in the land he had been unable to enter. This is a devotional connection that the text itself does not make.
• Jude 1:9 reports that the archangel Michael contended with the devil over the body of Moses. This account does not appear in Deuteronomy.
• Second Maccabees 2:4-8 relates that Jeremiah hid the ark of the covenant and other objects on the mountain Moses had ascended. The Catholic Church accepts this book as deuterocanonical, whereas Protestants regard it as apocryphal and exclude it from the canon.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, the scene of Moses viewing the land from the top of Pisgah is sometimes cited in sermons on the close of a life, the passing on of ministry, and entrusting the work to the next generation. Such sermons may be heard on occasions such as the conferral of pastor emeritus status or at a funeral service.