Pisgah standard
rsion save in De 4:49, where it is rendered "springs" the Revised Version (British and American) uniformly "slopes," the Revised Version margin "springs."
Where is Pisgah in the Bible?
Pisgah was a mountain range located in Moab, in what is now modern-day Jordan, on the eastern side of the Jordan River. It is most famous as the place where Moses stood to view the Promised Land before his death, an event recorded in Deuteronomy 34. The Bible also mentions Pisgah as a landmark during Israel's wilderness journey and as the location where the prophet Balaam was brought to pronounce blessings or curses on Israel. Pisgah is closely identified with Mount Nebo, and the slopes of this mountain held significant theological importance as the final destination of Israel's great lawgiver before his life concluded.
In Scripture3 biblical books; 2 with study content
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
- Joshua
Pisgah
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain)rsion save in De 4:49, where it is rendered "springs" the Revised Version (British and American) uniformly "slopes," the Revised Version margin "springs."
Pisgah is identified with Nebo in De 34:1; compare 3:27. "The top of Pisgah, which looketh down upon the desert" marks a stage in the march of the host of Israel (Nu 21:20). Hither Balak brought Balaam to the field of Zophim (Nu 23:14). Here Moses obtained his view of the Promised Land, and died. See NEBO. Many scholars (e.g. Buhl, GAP, 122; Gray, "Numbers," ICC, 291) take Pisgah as the name applying to the mountain range in which the Moab plateau terminates to the West, the "top" or "head" of Pisgah being the point in which the ridge running out westward from the main mass culminates. The summit commands a wide view, and looks down upon the desert. The identification is made surer by the name Tal'at es-Sufa found here, which seems to correspond with the field of Zophim.
'Ashdoth is the construct plural of 'ashedhah (singular form not found), from 'eshedh, "foundation," "bottom," "lower part" (slope); compare Assyrian ishdu, "foundation." Some would, derive it from Aramaic 'ashadh, "to pour," whence "fall" or "slope" (OHL, under the word). Ashdoth-pisgah overlooked the Dead Sea from the East (De 3:17; 4:49; Jos 12:3; 13:20). There can be no reasonable doubt that Ashdoth-pisgah signifies the steep slopes of the mountain descending into the contiguous valleys.
It is worthy of note that Septuagint does not uniformly render Pisgah by a proper name, but sometimes by a derivative of laxeuo, "to hew" or "to dress stone" (Nu 21:20; 23:14; De 3:27; 4:49). Jerome (Onomasticon, under the word Asedoth) gives abscisum as the Latin equivalent of Fasga. He derives Pisgah from pacagh, which, in new Hebrew, means "to split," "to cut off." This suggests a mountain the steep sides of which give it the appearance of having been "cut out." This description applies perfectly to Jebel Neba as viewed from the Dead Sea.
W. Ewing
pi'-shon pi'-son (pishon; the King James Version): A river of EDEN (which see), said to compass the whole land of Havilah where there is gold, bdellium and onyx stone (<ref osisRef=