Mount Nebo – Moses' Last View of the Promised Land

Mount Nebo in the Bible

A command given twice

Nebo belongs to the "mountains of Abarim", the range that borders the Jordan Valley to the east. The Book of Numbers already tells Moses that he will see the land without entering it, recalling the episode of the waters of Meribah at Kadesh, where Moses and Aaron failed to "sanctify" God before the people (Numbers 20).

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered."

Numbers 27:12-13 (KJV)

Deuteronomy repeats the command and this time names the place: "unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho" (Deuteronomy 32:49). The text sets the death of Moses on Nebo alongside that of Aaron on Mount Hor.

"Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel."

Deuteronomy 32:52 (KJV)

The view over the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34)

The last chapter of the Torah describes a panorama far wider than the eye can actually see: Gilead as far as Dan, Naphtali, Ephraim and Manasseh, Judah "unto the utmost sea", the Negev and the plain of Jericho, "the city of palm trees". The survey reads like a symbolic taking possession of the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob rather than a topographical description.

"And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither."

Deuteronomy 34:4 (KJV)

An unknown grave

Moses dies at 120, "his eye was not dim" (Deuteronomy 34:7), and Israel mourns him for thirty days in the plains of Moab. The text stresses one point: nobody knows where he is buried.

"And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day."

Deuteronomy 34:6 (KJV)

It is Joshua who then leads the people across the Jordan to Jericho, the city Moses could see opposite. The desert journey that leads here is set out on the page The Exodus and the Conquest of Canaan.

From tradition to sanctuary: Siyagha

Nebo, Pisgah and Siyagha

The massif has two main summits: Jabal Nibu (≈ 800 m), the higher one, and Ras Siyagha (≈ 710 m), the western spur that overlooks the valley and carries the Memorial. Christian tradition identified Siyagha with the "top of Pisgah" of Deuteronomy. The name Nebo survives in the Arabic Nibu; a few kilometres away, Khirbet al-Mukhayyat is generally identified with the town of Nebo mentioned in Numbers 32:38 and on the Moabite Mesha Stele (9th century BC).

Egeria's account (4th century)

The pilgrim Egeria, who came from the western Roman world, climbed Nebo around 384. She describes "a church that is not very large" on the summit and a slightly raised spot where, the monks told her, Moses had been laid by the angels — while recalling that "no man knoweth of his sepulchre". Her account was decisive in identifying the ruins of Siyagha.

Ayoun Musa, the "Springs of Moses"

At the northern foot of Nebo, the small valley of Ayoun Musa ("springs of Moses") has springs and the remains of Byzantine churches, including the church of Kaianos and that of the deacon Thomas. Egeria saw monks there and an abundant spring. Some place here the "valley over against Beth-peor" of Deuteronomy 34:6; this is a traditional suggestion, not a proven location.

What about the tomb of Moses?

No tomb of Moses has been identified on Nebo or anywhere else. A Muslim tradition venerates a shrine of Nabi Musa near Jericho, on the other side of the Jordan; it has no archaeological basis and is unrelated to the site of Siyagha. The biblical text deliberately leaves the question open.

Archaeology: the basilica and its mosaics

The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land acquired Ras Siyagha in 1932. Excavations began in 1933 under Father Sylvester Saller, with Father Bellarmino Bagatti, in campaigns carried out in 1933, 1935 and 1937. Father Michele Piccirillo resumed the research from 1976 until his death in 2008.

From the first shrine to the basilica

• 4th century — a small memorial church with three apses, the one Egeria may have seen.
• 530/531 — a baptistery-diaconicon to the north, decorated with a large mosaic dated by inscription.
• 6th century — the early church becomes the chancel of a three-aisled basilica; a monastery grows around it.
• 597 — a new baptistery south of the basilica.
• Early 7th century — the chapel of the Theotokos (Mother of God) to the west.
• 2008–2016 — a new protective building and restoration; reopened for worship and visitors in October 2016.

The diaconicon mosaic (530/531)

The highlight is the floor of the baptistery-diaconicon, north of the basilica. In four registers, between fruit trees, come hunting and pastoral scenes: horsemen, dogs, lions, a shepherd with his flock, a camel driver, an ostrich and a zebra on leads. A Greek inscription dates the work and names the mosaicists Soelos, Kaiomos and Elias. It is one of the best-known works of the Madaba school of mosaics.

What you can see on Mount Nebo today

The Memorial of Moses

The modern building in pale stone, inaugurated in 2016, protects the Byzantine walls and floors. Inside, visitors walk between the mosaics of the basilica, the diaconicon and the side chapels. It is still a sanctuary: Mass is celebrated here, and modest dress and silence are expected.

The view

From the terrace, at about 700 m above sea level, the view drops more than 1,000 m to the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea, which lies over 400 m below sea level. You can make out the oasis of Jericho and, on very clear days, the heights of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. An orientation table shows directions and distances. Summer heat haze often limits visibility.

The bronze serpent and papal memorials

On the esplanade stands a modern metal sculpture by the Florentine artist Gian Paolo Fantoni (1983–1984): a serpent coiled around a cross-shaped staff. It recalls the bronze serpent Moses raised in the desert (Numbers 21:8-9) and the way John's Gospel reads it (John 3:14). It is a contemporary work of art, not an ancient object. An interesting archaeological parallel can be found at Timna, where a small copper snake was discovered in the Hathor mining shrine.

A memorial stone recalls the visit of Pope John Paul II in March 2000; Benedict XVI came in 2009. A small interpretation centre presents the history of the excavations.

Nebo on a biblical itinerary

Mount Nebo closes the desert story: after the departure from Egypt, Mount Sinai, the forty years of wandering and the march through Transjordan, it is the last stop before crossing the Jordan. It combines easily with Madaba and its famous 6th-century mosaic map of the Holy Land, with Khirbet al-Mukhayyat and its Byzantine churches, and with the Baptism Site of Bethany beyond the Jordan, down in the valley.

• AccountNumbers 27; Deuteronomy 32 and 34
• TraditionChristian sanctuary attested around 384 (Egeria)
• Visible remainsByzantine basilica and mosaics (4th–7th c.)
• Tomb of MosesNot identified (Deuteronomy 34:6)
• Managed byFranciscan Custody of the Holy Land