The mountain itself is chieflymemorable as the height from which Moses got his most distinct view of the Land of Promise ; from thence " the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Xaphtali. and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah
unto the utmost sea; and the south, and the plain of the vallev of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar" (Deut. xxxiv, 1-3). Mr. Tristam (Land of Tsrat 1, 1865, p. 535 sq.) describes a visit which he and his fellow- travellers paid to the range of Nebo or Abarim, and the magnificent prospect they had from the height, which they supposed might possibly be the Pisgah of Moses. It was about three miles south-west of Heshbon, and one and a half miles due west of Main. The elevation was considered to be about 4500 feet; yet the ascent was not rugged, and for several hours they rode along the ridge. The clay was clear, and to the north and east they saw the hills of Gilead, and " the vast ex- panse of the goodly E-elka, one waving ocean of corn and grass." Southwards appeared Mounts Dor and Seir, with other granite peaks of Arabia, in the direc- tion of Akabah. Then, turning westwards, there lay distinctly before them the Dead Sea and the whole val- ley of the Jordan, " all the familiar points in the neigh- borhood of Jerusalem." Looking over Jordan, "the eye rested on Gerizim's rounded top ; and farther still opened the plain of Esdraelon, the shoulder of Carmel, or some other intervening height, just showing to the right of Gerizim, while the faint and distant bluish haze beyond it told us that there was 'the sea. the utmost sea.' It seemed as if but a whiff were needed to brush off the haze, and reveal it clearly. Northward, again, rose the distant outline of unmistakable Tabor, aided by which we could identify Gilboa and Jebel Diihy (Little Hermon). Snowy Hermon's top was mantled with cloud, and Lebanon's highest range must have been exactly shut behind it; but in front, clue north of us, stretched in long line the dark forests of Ajlun, bold and undulating, with the deep sides of mountains, here and there whitened by cliffs, terminating in Mount Gilead, behind Es-Salt (ltamoth-Gilead)." This seems to' real- ize to the full what was anciently exhibited to the eye of Moses, and shows the representation given of his ex- tensive prospect to have been no ideal picture.
The spot has more recently been the subject of a considerable discussion by Prof. Paine, of the American exploring party, in report No. 3 of these operations (N. Y. Jan. 1875). Prof. Paine contends that Jebel Neba, the highest point of the range, is Mount Nebo, that Je- bel Siaghah, the extreme headland of the hill, is Mount
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PISGAH
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PISIDIA
Pisgah, and that "the mountains of Abarim" arc tlio • of these points, and descending t. .wards the Dead Sea. He maintains these positions by the follow- ing arguments:
1. | here is -till an old road leading down to the dor- dan valley in this direction, which he thinks the Is- raelites pursued on their way from Almon-diblathaira to the plains of Moab (Numb. xxxiii,47,48). It has generally been supposed, however, that they took the route now usual with travellers, down YVady lie-ban. ition of the Israelites on Abarim is there said to have been "before" ( .SB?) Nebo, a particle which gin rally signifies east and not west. The parallel ac- count of the station in question (xxi, 29) places it on "the top of the Pisgah" (irSSBfi CK*1); and this certainly discountenances Paine's location on a lower peak of the ridge. It is true the phrase is added, "which looketh towards Jeshimon," i.e. the Ghor or Jordan valley (see BLeil, Comment, ad loc.) ; but this
may possibly mean only pointing in that direction fr
the station last lift. The preceding clause, " the valley that i- in the field of .Moab." is ambiguous; as it may qualify either the point of departure, i. e. Bamoth. or the destination, i. e. Pisgah. The A. Y. ado] ts the former construction; but this is not favored by the syn- tax of the adjoining verses, and conflicts with the idea of a high place (Bamoth), which could hardly have been in a valley. The latter reference is therefore ado]. tcil by most interpreters, but (as Rosenmttller re- marks Beems to disagree with the phraseology "top of Pisgah." We suggest as the only consistent transla- tion, "And from Bamoth ( to ] the valley which [ isj in the plateau of Moab (the summit of the Pisgah [range]), and overlooks the Ghor." This makes Pisgah but an- other name for the edge of the table-land of Moab over- hanging tb.e Jordan valley or Dead Sea. The particu- lar "top" in question was apparently Nebo itself, which i- in facl but a crest of the Moabitic table-land, that show.-, a- a "mountain" only from the western point of view. The sole considerable " valley" (X?SiH ) answer- ing t.. this description is Wady es-Sowanieb, which is the southern head-branch of Wady Hesban, and inter- sects the plain up to the very crest of Nib... Prof. Paine, however, appears to identify it with the valley in which the "Springs of Moses" are situated, a dec]., wild glen hardlj answering to the requirements of the case, except that it contains water and looks directlj down upon the Dead Sea. At the encampment as we have located it, the Israelites would have been precisely on the route to Heshbon, which they nexl attacked (xxi, 21 26), and thence to the Ghor opposite Jericho (xxii, 1 ), by way of Wady Hesban.