Deuteronomy 34:3

3 the southern part of Judah; and the plain that reaches from Zoar to Jericho, the city of palm trees.

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 ) .

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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 Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Mount Pisgah east of Jericho, and there the Lord showed him the whole land: the territory of Gilead as far north as the town of Dan;

2 the entire territory of Naphtali; the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh; the territory of Judah as far west as the Mediterranean Sea;

3 the southern part of Judah; and the plain that reaches from Zoar to Jericho, the city of palm trees.

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "This is the land that I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob I would give to their descendants. I have let you see it, but I will not let you go there."

5 So Moses, the Lord's servant, died there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said he would.