Devarim 31:14

14 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Behold, thy yamim approach that thou must die; call Yehoshua, and present yourselves in the Ohel Mo’ed, that I may give him a charge. And Moshe and Yehoshua went, and presented themselves in the Ohel Mo’ed.

Devarim 31:14 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 31:14

And the Lord said unto Moses
Either at the same time, or quickly after; rather, perhaps, the same day:

behold, thy days approach that thou must die;
which does not necessarily imply that he had some days to live, though but few; but that the time of his death drew nigh, his last moments were approaching; the time of his death being, as every man's is, fixed by the Lord, with whom is the number of his years, months, days, and moments, beyond which he cannot pass, ( Job 14:5 ) ;

call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the
congregation, that I may give him a charge;
this looks as if the people had been dismissed after the above exhortations given; and now Joshua was called, and Moses with him, to have a charge given him:

and Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle
of the congregation;
before the Lord. Aben Ezra says, Moses went from the camp of Israel where he was, to the camp of the Shechinah; the Jews pretend to know in what form they walked thither. Moses, they say F1, went on the left hand of Joshua; and they went to the tabernacle, and the pillar of cloud descended and separated between them.


FOOTNOTES:

F1 Debarim Rabba, sect. 9. fol. 244. 2.

Devarim 31:14 In-Context

12 Gather the people together, anashim and nashim, and banim, and ger that is within thy she’arim, in order that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Hashem Eloheichem, and be shomer to do kol divrei hatorah hazot;
13 And that their banim, which have not known anything, may hear, and learn to fear Hashem Eloheichem, as long as ye live in ha’adamah whither ye go over Yarden to possess it.
14 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Behold, thy yamim approach that thou must die; call Yehoshua, and present yourselves in the Ohel Mo’ed, that I may give him a charge. And Moshe and Yehoshua went, and presented themselves in the Ohel Mo’ed.
15 And Hashem appeared in the Ohel in an ammud anan (pillar of cloud); and the ammud anan stood over the petach (entrance) of the Ohel.
16 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Behold, thou shalt sleep with Avoteicha; and this people will rise up, and play the harlot going after the elohei nekhar ha’aretz (g-ds of the foreigners of the land), whither they go to be among them, and will forsake Me, and break My Brit which I have cut them.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.