Pisgah

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

A ridge of the Abarim mountains W. from Heshbon. Nebo was a town on, or near, that ridge, lying on its western slope ( Numbers 21:20;  Numbers 32:3;  Numbers 32:38;  Deuteronomy 32:49;  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 ( Isaiah 15:2;  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;  Deuteronomy 3:17. (See Ashdoth -PISGAH.)

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.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

PISGAH . A mountain in the region of Moab, with a commanding view over both the desert (  Numbers 21:20 ) and Western Palestine. Hither the Israelites journeyed from Bamoth, and there took place the extraordinary episode of Balaam, who on the top of Pisgah built seven altars (  Numbers 23:14 ). Its principal distinction, however, is its being the scene of Moses’ vision of the Promised Land (  Deuteronomy 3:27;   Deuteronomy 34:1 ) and of his death. It fell into the territory of Reuben (  Joshua 13:20 [AV [Note: Authorized Version.] Ashdoth-pisgah , as in   Joshua 12:3 and   Deuteronomy 3:17; RV [Note: Revised Version.] in all three ‘slopes (mg. ‘springs’) or Pisgah’]).

An alternative name for Pisgah is Neho (wh. see), referred to in   Deuteronomy 32:49 as the scene of the death of Moses. The latter name is preserved by Jebel Nebâ , a range whose summit reaches a height of 2643 feet and commands a view of a large part of Western Palestine. It   Isaiah 5 miles S.W. of Heshbon, and runs westward from the Moabite plateau.

R. A. S. Macalister.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

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.  Numbers 21:20;  Deuteronomy 3:27;  Deuteronomy 4:49;  Deuteronomy 34:1;  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."  Numbers 23:14.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Pis'gah. (Section, that is, Peak).  Numbers 21:20;  Numbers 23:14;  Deuteronomy 3:27;  Deuteronomy 34:1. A mountain range or district, the same as, or a part of, that called "the mountains of Abarim". Compare  Deuteronomy 32:49 with  Deuteronomy 34:1. It lay on the east of Jordan, contiguous to the field of Moab, and immediately opposite Jericho. Its highest point or summit - its "head" - was Mount Nebo. See Nebo, Mount .

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

It seems that Pisgah is not the name of a particular locality, but an ordinary Hebrew word used for the peak of a hill or mountain. Usually it is a peak that gives a good view over the surrounding countryside ( Numbers 21:20;  Numbers 23:13-14). The most commonly known Pisgah is the peak of Mt Nebo in the Abarim Range east of Jordan. This was the peak from which Moses viewed the land of Canaan before he died ( Deuteronomy 3:27;  Deuteronomy 32:49;  Deuteronomy 34:1; see Abarim ).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Mountain on the east of the Jordan. Balaam offered sacrifices there, and it was the spot from which Moses viewed the promised land, and near to which he died. It was associated with Nebo ( q.v. ), and was said to be 'over against Jericho.'  Numbers 21:20;  Numbers 23:14;  Deuteronomy 3:27;  Deuteronomy 4:49;  Deuteronomy 34:1 . The peak called Ras Siaghah, 31 46' N, 35 43' E , is probably the site.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A mountain ridge, the northern part of the Abarim range, east of the Dead Sea; Nebo was one of its summits,  Deuteronomy 32:49   34:1 . It was in the southern part of the kingdom of Sihon,  Numbers 21:20   23:24; and afterwards belonged to the Reubenites,  Joshua 12:3   13:20 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Deuteronomy 34:1 Numbers 21:20 Numbers 23:14 Joshua 12:23 Joshua 13:20

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

A mountain over against Jericho. This place is rendered memorable from Moses. ( Deuteronomy 34:1) The name means hill or mountain, from Pasag.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Numbers 21:20 23:14 Deuteronomy 3:27Nebo

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

a part of Mount Nebo, so called, being, in all probability, a distinct, and most likely the highest, summit of that mountain. Here Moses climbed to view the land of Canaan; and here he died.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

piz´ga ( הפּסגּה , ha - piṣgāh  ; Φασγά , Phasgá , τὸ λελαξευμένον , tó lelaxeuménon , ἡ λαξευτή , hē laxeutḗ ): This name, which has always the definite article, appears only in combination either with rō'sh , "head," "top," or 'ashdōth , not translated in the King James Version save in   Deuteronomy 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  Deuteronomy 34:1; compare  Deuteronomy 3:27 . "The top of Pisgah, which looketh down upon the desert" marks a stage in the march of the host of Israel ( Numbers 21:20 ). Hither Balak brought Balaam to the field of Zophim ( Numbers 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 eṣ - Ṣufa found here, which seems to correspond with the field of Zophim.

'Ashdōth is the construct plural of 'ashēdhāh (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 ( Deuteronomy 3:17;  Deuteronomy 4:49;  Joshua 12:3;  Joshua 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 laxeúō , "to hew" or "to dress stone" (  Numbers 21:20;  Numbers 23:14;  Deuteronomy 3:27;  Deuteronomy 4:49 ). Jerome ( Onomasticon , under the word Asedoth ) gives abscisum as the Latin equivalent of Fasga . He derives Pisgah from pāṣagh , 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 Nebā as viewed from the Dead Sea.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Pisgah'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/p/pisgah.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Pis´gah, a mountain ridge in the land of Moab, on the southern border of the kingdom of Sihon . In it was Mount Nebo, from which Moses viewed the Promised Land before he died [NEBO].

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

A mountain range E. of the Lower Jordan, one of the summits of which is Mount Nebo, from which Moses beheld the Promised Land, and where he died and was buried.