Deuteronomy 34:4
in Deuteronomy 34And the LORD said to him, “This is the land that I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
KJV
And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 34
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I have caused thee to see it - The sight thus afforded to Moses, like that of “all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” Luk 4:5, was no doubt supernatural.
This site's exposition
This is the land that I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Moses is shown a promise the men it was sworn to also died without holding. Hebrews 11:13 describes them as seeing the promises from afar.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And yet only before his death was [Moses] forgiven; and this was the man who, because of this guilt, was ordered to die lest he enter the Promised Land.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Such a sight the Old Testament believers had of the kingdom of the Messiah. And such a sight believers have now of the glory that shall he revealed. Such a sight have we now, of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, which shall cover the earth.
And the Lord said unto him,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
ואת הנגב means THE SOUTH COUNTRY. — Another explanation is, that it refers to the cave of Machpelah (which was in the Negeb), as it is said, (Numbers:22) “And they went up to the south country, and came to Hebron” (where this cave was situated) (Sifrei Devarim:20).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵלָ֗יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| זֹ֤את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ | haaretz | [is] the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִ֠שְׁבַּעְתִּי | nishba'ti | I swore | H7650 → | 186 times |
| לְאַבְרָהָ֨ם | leavraham | to Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| לְיִצְחָ֤ק | leyitzchak | to Isaac | H3327 → | 108 times |
| וּֽלְיַעֲקֹב֙ | uleyaako | and to Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְזַרְעֲךָ֖ | lezarakha | to offspring your | H2233 → | 229 times |
| אֶתְּנֶ֑נָּה | ʾettenenah | I will give it | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| הֶרְאִיתִ֣יךָ | heritikha | I have let see [it] you | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בְעֵינֶ֔יךָ | veeineikha | with own eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וְשָׁ֖מָּה | veshamah | and there towards | H8033 → | 834 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַעֲבֹֽר׃ | taavor | you will pass over | H5674 → | 556 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵלָ֗יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
זֹ֤אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
הָאָ֙רֶץ֙[is] the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נִ֠שְׁבַּעְתִּיI swore
nishba'tiH7650 →186 times
לְאַבְרָהָ֨םto Abraham
leavrahamH85 →175 times
לְיִצְחָ֤קto Isaac
leyitzchakH3327 →108 times
וּֽלְיַעֲקֹב֙and to Jacob
uleyaakoH3290 →350 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
לְזַרְעֲךָ֖to offspring your
lezarakhaH2233 →229 times
אֶתְּנֶ֑נָּהI will give it
ʾettenenahH5414 →2011 times
הֶרְאִיתִ֣יךָI have let see [it] you
heritikhaH7200 →1300 times
בְעֵינֶ֔יךָwith own eyes your
veeineikhaH5869 →887 times
וְשָׁ֖מָּהand there towards
veshamahH8033 →834 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תַעֲבֹֽר׃you will pass over
taavorH5674 →556 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 28:13And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the…
it leads to
- Genesis 13:15
for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 35:12
The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
- Genesis 48:3
Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
- Genesis 13:15
Through
Genesis 26:3Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath…
it leads to
- Genesis 28:15
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what…
- Psalms 105:9
the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac.
- Genesis 22:16–18
saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son,
- Genesis 28:15
Through
Genesis 12:7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
it leads to
- Genesis 17:8
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
- Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
- Genesis 17:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsAbrahamCalled out of Ur, the father of all who believe, justified by faith, and the friend of God through whose seed all nations are bles…
- PersonPatriarchsIsaacThe son of promise and of laughter — bound on Moriah, the quiet inheritor of the covenant.
- PersonPatriarchsJacobThe heel-grasping supplanter reshaped at Peniel into 'Israel, he who strives with God' — father of the twelve tribes.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Paulus Orosius, DEFENSE AGAINST THE PELAGIANS 28.