Deuteronomy 34:8

8 And the sons of Israel bewail Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; and the days of weeping [and] mourning for Moses are completed.

Deuteronomy 34:8 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 34:8

And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of
Moab thirty days
According both to Josephus ^F14 and the Samaritan Chronicle ^F15, they cried and wept in a very vehement manner, when he signified to them his approaching death, and took his leave of them; and when he was dead they mourned for him, in a public manner, the space of time here mentioned, the time of mourning for his brother Aaron, ( Numbers 20:29 ) ;

so the days of weeping [and] mourning for Moses were ended;
on the eighth of Nisan or March, as says the Targum of Jonathan, and on the "ninth" they prepared their vessels and their cattle for a march, and on the tenth passed over Jordan, and on the "sixteenth" the manna ceased, according to the said paraphrase.

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 Ut supra. (De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 49.)
F15 Apud Hottinger, p. 456.

Deuteronomy 34:8 In-Context

6 and He burieth him in a valley in the land of Moab, over-against Beth-Peor, and no man hath known his burying place unto this day.

7 And Moses [is] a son of a hundred and twenty years when he dieth; his eye hath not become dim, nor hath his moisture fled.

8 And the sons of Israel bewail Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; and the days of weeping [and] mourning for Moses are completed.

9 And Joshua son of Nun is full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him, and the sons of Israel hearken unto him, and do as Jehovah commanded Moses.

10 And there hath not arisen a prophet any more in Israel like Moses, whom Jehovah hath known face unto face,