Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

DEUTERONOMY 3:27KJV
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Deuteronomy 3:27 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 3:27 mean?

Deuteronomy 3:27 describes God telling Moses to climb to the top of Pisgah and look in every direction to see the land, because Moses himself will not be allowed to cross the Jordan River into it. Moses is permitted to view the Promised Land, but he will not enter it with the Israelites.

In this verse, God is speaking directly to Moses near the end of Moses’ life. The setting is just east of the Jordan River, after the Israelites have wandered in the wilderness for forty years and are about to enter Canaan. God’s instruction for Moses to look west, north, south, and east from Pisgah emphasizes the completeness of the view, highlighting both the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel and the consequence of Moses’ earlier disobedience.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 3:27

  • "Pisgah" (פִּסְגָּה, Pisgah): This is the name of a mountain or ridge in the region of Moab. The word often refers to a high point or summit, which fits the context of Moses being told to climb up for a wide view.
  • "Top" (רֹאשׁ, rosh): This word means "head" or "summit," emphasizing that Moses is to go to the very highest point for the fullest possible view.
  • "Behold" (רָאָה, ra’ah): This verb means "to see" or "to look at," but it often carries a sense of really taking in or considering what is seen, not just glancing.
  • "Over" (עָבַר, avar): This word means "to cross" or "to pass over," making clear that Moses will not physically go across the Jordan River (יַרְדֵּן, Yarden) into the land.

Why Deuteronomy 3:27 matters

  • Deuteronomy 3:27 clarifies that Moses’ exclusion from entering the land is not due to a lack of faithfulness overall, but is a specific consequence of an earlier event, showing God’s justice and mercy together.
  • The verse highlights the completeness of the land God is giving to Israel by having Moses look in every direction, reinforcing the scope of God’s promise.
  • This moment connects to the larger narrative of Deuteronomy, where Moses is preparing the people for life in the land and passing leadership to Joshua, marking a significant transition in Israel’s story.

Where else these words appear

“Pisgah” Hebrew H6449 · used in 5 verses

  • Numbers 21:20 And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon.
  • Numbers 23:14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
  • Deuteronomy 4:49 And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.

“southward” Hebrew H8486 · used in 22 verses

  • Exodus 26:18 And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward.
  • Numbers 10:6 When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.
  • Song of Solomon 4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

“eastward” Hebrew H4217 · used in 71 verses

  • Exodus 27:13 And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.
  • Joshua 16:6 And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanathshiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah;
  • 2 Chronicles 4:4 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

“northward” Hebrew H6828 · used in 141 verses

  • Genesis 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
  • 1 Chronicles 26:17 Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two.
  • Ezekiel 21:4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: