Commentaria in Deuteronomium
1. And Moses went up from the plains of Moab upon mount Nebo, to the top of Phasga over against Jericho: and the Lord shewed him all the land of Galaad as far as Dan, 2. And all Nephthali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasses, and all the land of Juda unto the furthermost sea, 3. And the south part, and the breadth of the plain of Jericho the city of palm trees as far as Segor. 4. And the Lord said to him: This is the land for which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to thy seed. Thou hast seen it with thy eyes, and shalt not pass over to it. 5. And Moses the servant of the Lord died there, in the land of Moab, by the commandment of the Lord: 6. And he buried him in the valley of the land of Moab, over against Phogor: and no man hath known of his sepulchre until this present day. 7. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, neither were his teeth moved. 8. And the children of Israel mourned for him in the plains of Moab thirty days: and the days of their mourning, in which they mourned for Moses, were ended. 9. And Josue the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands upon him. And the children of Israel obeyed him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses. 10. And there arose no more a prophet in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11. In all the signs and wonders, which he sent by him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharao, and to all his servants, and to all his land, 12. And all the mighty hand, and great miracles which Moses did before all Israel.
2. UNTO THE FURTHERMOST SEA,—that is, to the western sea, namely the Mediterranean, which was the boundary of the holy land on the west.
5. AND MOSES THE SERVANT OF THE LORD DIED THERE.—The death of Moses Josephus thus describes, book IV of the Antiquities, last chapter: “To mount Abarim the senate alone, and the pontiff Eleazar, and the commander Jesus conducted Moses; on that mountain where he stood he dismissed the senate: and when after mutual embraces he was bidding the last farewell to Eleazar and Jesus, in the midst of speaking he was suddenly surrounded by a cloud, and carried away into a certain valley; but in the sacred volumes he wrote that he had died, fearing lest on account of his excellent virtue they should proclaim that he had been taken up by God.” In like manner when the Bishops were conducting St. Epiphanius from the city of Constantinople to the ship, he said to them: “This city and the court of the Emperor, and the action and play of this life I leave to you: I, however, depart, hastening to pass to another city,” as Nicephorus relates, book XIII, chap. xii.
Of Moses Josephus goes on: “The whole time of his life was a hundred and twenty years, of which he spent a third part in command, less one month; and he died in the last month of the year, on the first day of the month, which by the Macedonians is called Dystrus, by ours Adar,” and it answers nearly to the Latins’
The Hebrews however in the Seder Olam, whom Andreas Masius follows on Josue i, hold that Moses was born on the 7th day of the twelfth month, which is called Adar, and on the same day after 120 years died.
But I say that Moses died near the beginning of Adar, namely on the third or fourth day of Adar. That this is so is proved: for 36 days passed from the death of Moses to the crossing of the Hebrews over the Jordan into Chanaan; now this crossing happened on the tenth day of the first month of the following year, as is plain from Josue iv, verse 19; now count back 36 days from the tenth day of the first month, and you will fall on the fourth day of the last month of the preceding year. Moreover that precisely 36 days passed here is proved: for the Hebrews mourned the death of Moses for 30 days; which being completed Josue sent spies to Jericho, who lay hid three days in the mountain: on their return Josue moved camp to the Jordan, where he stayed three days, and the next day with his people crossed the Jordan. Now add three and three days to 30, you will have 36, which we seek. So Tornielli.
It is marvellous that in the Roman Martyrology the day of Moses is assigned the fourth of September: for though in the common year it is September, yet in the sacred year (which Scripture uses) Adar, that is February, is the last month.
Note what Josephus says of Moses: “He wrote in the sacred volumes that he had died;” so, namely, he himself, Philo, and some others hold. But it is truer, as I said elsewhere, that these things were written not by Moses, but by Josue, or by someone else; for this is plainly intimated by what is said, verse 6: “And no man hath known of his sepulchre until this present day;” whence the Hebrews hold that the whole of this chapter xxxiv was written by Josue, with whom Abulensis agrees, who excepts only the first four verses of the chapter: for he thinks these were written by Moses, about to go up into mount Nebo, the rest by Josue.
Note: Concerning the death of Moses there were various opinions of the ancients. First, some thought that he was not yet dead, but translated, to return with Henoch and Elias against Antichrist; so thought Hilary, canon 20 on Matthew, John Arboreus, and book XI of the Theosophy, chap. xi, Catharinus on Genesis chap. iii, and others.
They proved this, both from the fact that his sepulchre was not found, and from Apocalypse xi, 6, where John, speaking of the two witnesses of Christ, who are to be in the time of Antichrist, adds: “These have power to turn waters into blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues;” by which words Moses seems to be signified: for he turned waters into blood and struck Egypt with every plague, Exodus vii ff.
The same opinion St. Jerome seems to teach on Amos ix, and Nyssen in the Life of Moses, at the end, and St. Ambrose, book I On Cain and Abel, chap. ii, and they ascribe it to St. Ambrose, Viegas on Apocalypse xi, and Suarez, III part, Question XLV, art. 3; for there St. Ambrose seems to assert that Moses did not truly die, but is only said to have died by the word of the Lord: because, namely, by command of the Lord he was translated like Elias.
These Fathers however are excused by others, as speaking mystically: for St. Jerome says that Moses ascended into heaven, that is, into a heavenly and most perfect life and holiness; for in death he was most holy, and put forth admirable zeal and spirit, as is plain from Deuteronomy. In the same way Nyssen can be explained: but St. Ambrose seems to play allegorically after his manner, and to will only that Moses was a type of Christ rising immediately from death, and that the death of Moses is so narrated in Scripture that he seems not so much to have died as to have been translated and made immortal. First, in that it is related that he did not die from failure of strength; secondly, that he was snatched from men; thirdly, that his sepulchre is unknown. For from these he might rather seem translated from men than dead; for that Ambrose does not deny that Moses truly died is gathered from this, that in the same place he expressly teaches that Moses will rise again.
But whatever be the mind of these Fathers, I say this opinion is erroneous, and it is of faith that Moses died. This is plain from chap. xxxii, verse 5: “Thou shalt be gathered to thy people, as Aaron died;” and here expressly: “And Moses the servant of the Lord died there;” and presently: “And he buried him in the valley.” To Apocalypse xi, I answer that there the discourse is not of Moses; but only to his wonders is allusion made, in that Henoch and Elias shall do things like those which Moses did.
Secondly, others hold that Moses indeed died, but at once rose again, and therefore no one knew his sepulchre. So R. Samuel Marochianus, book On the Coming of the Messias, chap. xii. To this opinion nearly comes Gagnaeus on Apocalypse xi, who teaches that Moses indeed died, but will rise again, and will come to contend with Antichrist. The same (which is wonderful) Maldonatus holds on Matthew xvi. But this opinion is improbable and rash, as lacking solid foundation, and repugnant to the common opinion of the Fathers, who teach that not Moses, but Henoch and Elias are to come. Thirdly, others thought that Moses died, but rose again at the Transfiguration of Christ, on mount Thabor. So St. Jerome seems to think on Matthew xvii, and the author of On the Wonders of Holy Scripture (who is falsely attributed to St. Augustine), book III, chap. x. But this too is improbable; for it is certain that Christ first of all, and before all men, rose to immortal life: hence Christ is called by the Apostle “the first fruits of them that sleep,” and “the firstborn from the dead.” If you say that Moses rose, but died again, I answer: It would have been far harder and more bitter for Moses to die after resurrection, than not to rise. Further it is plainly likely …that Moses, a little after Christ, rose again with the patriarch Jacob, Joseph and other ancient Saints (of whom Matthew 27:52): therefore he did not rise at the transfiguration, but only appeared there in an assumed body, as angels appear; so teach Lyranus and Abulensis on Matthew 17, St. Thomas, part III, question 45, article 3, reply 2, and others. For if other patriarchs rose with Christ, much more Moses, who was the lawgiver and leader of the people, and an express type of Christ.