Deuteronomy 34:3

3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.

Deuteronomy 34:3 in Other Translations

KJV
3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.
ESV
3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.
NLT
3 the Negev; the Jordan Valley with Jericho—the city of palms—as far as Zoar.
MSG
3 the Negev and the plains which encircle Jericho, City of Palms, as far south as Zoar.
CSB
3 the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.

Deuteronomy 34:3 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 34:3

And the south
The southern part of the land, even all of it; and having shown him that, he is directed eastward to take a view of

the plain of the valley of Jericho;
which lay before him, a delightful plain; see ( Joshua 5:10 ) ;

the city of palm trees;
so Jericho was called, because of the multitude of palm trees which grew there, and which Josephus not only testifies {r}, who speaks of it as a plain planted with palm trees, and from whence balsam comes; but several Heathen writers: Pliny says F19 Jericho was set with palm trees; Diodorus Siculus F20 speaks of the country about Jericho as abounding with palm trees, and in a certain valley, meaning the vale or plains of Jericho, is produced that which is called balsam; so Strabo says F21, Jericho is a plain surrounded with mountains abounding with palm trees, where there is a plantation of palm trees, with other fruit trees, the space of a hundred furlongs:

unto Zoar;
near the salt sea; see ( Genesis 19:22 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F18 De Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 18. sect. 5. & l. 4. c. 8. sect. 2.
F19 Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 14.
F20 Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 132.
F21 Geograph. l. 16. p. 525.

Deuteronomy 34:3 In-Context

1 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan,
2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea,
3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.
4 Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”
5 And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said.

Cross References 3

  • 1. S Genesis 12:9
  • 2. Judges 1:16; Judges 3:13; 2 Chronicles 28:15
  • 3. S Genesis 13:10
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