Difference between revisions of "Pisgah"

<p> A ridge of the [[Abarim]] mountains W. from Heshbon. [[Nebo]] was a town on, or near, that ridge, lying on its western slope (&nbsp;Numbers 21:20; &nbsp;Numbers 32:3; &nbsp;Numbers 32:38; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 32:49; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 34:1). From Pisgah, [[Israel]] gained their first view of the [[Dead]] Sea and [[Jordan]] valley; hence Moses too viewed the land of promise. The correct designation for the mount is not "Nebo" (which has become usual for convenience sake) but "the mountain adjoining Nebo." In [[Scripture]] Nebo denotes only the town (&nbsp;Isaiah 15:2; &nbsp;Jeremiah 48:1-22). The uniform peakless nature of [[Pisgah]] caused its parts to be distinguished only by the names of the adjacent villages. It always has the article "THE Pisgah" E. of Jordan, near "the field of Moab, opposite Jericho." The field of [[Zophim]] was on it Ashsoth-Pisgah; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:17. (See [[Ashdoth]] -PISGAH.) </p> <p> Pisgah is derived from '''''Paasag''''' "to divide," a detached range of Abarim. Tristram from a point about 4,500 ft. high, three miles S.W. of [[Heshbon]] and one and a half W. of Main, saw to the N. and E. the [[Gilead]] hills, and the vast Belka ocean of grain and grass; to the S., Her and [[Seir]] of Arabia; to the W., the Dead Sea and Jordan valley and the familiar objects near Jerusalem; and over Jordan, Gerizim's round top, and further the [[Esdraelon]] plain and the shoulder of Carmel; to the N. rose Tabor's outline, [[Gilboa]] and little Hermon (jebel Duhy); in front rose Ajlun's dark forests, ending in Mount Gilead, behind Es Salt (Ramoth Gilead) The name Pisgah survives only on the N.W. end of the Dead Sea, in the Ras el Feshkah ''(Hebrew: '' '''''Rosh Ha-Ρisgah''''' '', "Top Of Pisgah")'' . '''''Jebel Siugah''''' ("fragment") probably answers to Pisgah. It is "over against Jericho," and the view corresponds. It is a fragment cut off by declivities on all sides, and separated from Nebo by the wady Haisa. </p>

<p> [[Pisgah]] ( ''Pĭz'Gah'' ), ''Hill,'' or ''The Height.'' The summit from which Moses, before his death, gained his view of the promised land. [[Peor]] was a peak near it. It was in Moab, one of the mountains of Abarim, and the top of Nebo. It was in the territory afterward assigned to Reuben, and thus was north of the Arnon. &nbsp;Numbers 21:20; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:27; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 4:49; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 34:1; &nbsp;Joshua 13:20. Pisgah had cultivated land. [[Balak]] brought [[Balaam]] "into the [[Field]] of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah," and there "built seven altars." &nbsp;Numbers 23:14. </p>

<p> ''''' piz´ga ''''' ( הפּסגּה , <i> ''''' ha ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' piṣgāh ''''' </i> ; Φασγά , <i> ''''' Phasgá ''''' </i> , τὸ λελαξευμένον , <i> ''''' tó ''''' </i> <i> ''''' lelaxeuménon ''''' </i> , ἡ λαξευτή , <i> ''''' hē ''''' </i> <i> ''''' laxeutḗ ''''' </i> ): This name, which has always the definite article, appears only in combination either with <i> ''''' rō'sh ''''' </i> , "head," "top," or <i> ''''' 'ashdōth ''''' </i> , not translated in the King James Version save in &nbsp; Deuteronomy 4:49 , where it is rendered "springs" the Revised Version (British and American) uniformly "slopes," the Revised Version margin "springs." </p> <p> Pisgah is identified with Nebo in &nbsp;Deuteronomy 34:1; compare &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:27 . "The top of Pisgah, which looketh down upon the desert" marks a stage in the march of the host of Israel (&nbsp;Numbers 21:20 ). Hither Balak brought Balaam to the field of Zophim (&nbsp;Numbers 23:14 ). Here Moses obtained his view of the Promised Land, and died. See [[Nebo]] . Many scholars (e.g. Buhl, <i> GAP </i> , 122; Gray, "Numbers," <i> ICC </i> , 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 <i> ''''' Tal‛at ''''' </i> <i> ''''' eṣ ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Ṣufa ''''' </i> found here, which seems to correspond with the field of Zophim. </p> <p> <i> ''''' 'Ashdōth ''''' </i> is the construct plural of <i> ''''' 'ashēdhāh ''''' </i> (singular form not found), from <i> ''''' 'eshedh ''''' </i> , "foundation," "bottom," "lower part" (slope); compare [[Assyrian]] <i> ''''' ishdu ''''' </i> , "foundation." Some would, derive it from [[Aramaic]] <i> ''''' 'ashadh ''''' </i> , "to pour," whence "fall" or "slope" ( <i> Ohl </i> , under the word). Ashdoth-pisgah overlooked the Dead Sea from the East (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:17; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 4:49; &nbsp;Joshua 12:3; &nbsp;Joshua 13:20 ). There can be no reasonable doubt that Ashdoth-pisgah signifies the steep slopes of the mountain descending into the contiguous valleys. </p> <p> It is worthy of note that [[Septuagint]] does not uniformly render Pisgah by a proper name, but sometimes by a derivative of <i> ''''' laxeúō ''''' </i> , "to hew" or "to dress stone" (&nbsp; Numbers 21:20; &nbsp;Numbers 23:14; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 3:27; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 4:49 ). [[Jerome]] ( <i> Onomasticon </i> , under the word <i> ''''' Asedoth ''''' </i> ) gives <i> abscisum </i> as the Latin equivalent of <i> ''''' Fasga ''''' </i> . He derives Pisgah from <i> ''''' pāṣagh ''''' </i> , 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 <i> ''''' Jebel ''''' </i> <i> ''''' Nebā ''''' </i> as viewed from the Dead Sea. </p>