Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 3:29
So we abode in the valley over against Beth-peor.
29. the valley over against Beth-peor ] Heb. the gai = hollow, glen, ravine, inapplicable to the Jordan plain; rather one of the glens descending to this from the Moab-plateau. That suits the probable meaning of P e ‘or, gap or cleft (Ar. fughrah, ‘a river-mouth’; cp. the ‘other Phogor’ of Euseb. and Jer. near Bethlehem, the modern Kh. Fghr, PEF Map Sh. xvii.). Beth-P e ‘or abbrev. from Beth-Ba‘al-Pe‘or, shrine of the B. of P. (cp. Deu 4:3). This gai of Israel’s encampment, where also Moses was buried (Deu 34:6), unnamed, but defined as over against Beth-pe‘or (so too Deu 4:46), is also nameless in E, Num 21:20, defined as in the region of Moab, and these words are added, headland of the Pisgah that looks upon the Y e shmon; and Num 23:28 gives a headland of Pe‘or that looks out upon the Y e shmon; while Beth-Pe‘or is placed by P, Jos 13:20, with the slopes of the Pisgah and Beth-Y e shimth. Again Euseb. and Jer. describe Beth-phogor as near Mt Phogor opposite Jericho 6 Roman miles above Livias, the mod. Tell er-Rameh, on the Jordan plain. These data suit the identification of the gai with the W. ‘Uyn Musa, on the N. of the Nebo or Pisgah headland (see on Deu 3:17). So Dillm., G. A. Smith ( HGHL, 564) and G. B. Gray (Num 21:20). Further, Musil ( Moab, 344 f., 348) suggests for the headland of Pe‘or the headland to the N. of W. ‘Uyn Musa, and for Beth-Pe‘or the ruins and shrine esh-Sheikh Jyel on one of the steps of that headland, ‘thence one gets the best view of the lower slopes and of the Jordan valley.’ The stream of the wady between these two headlands, before it reaches the Dead Sea, passes the ruins es-Sueimeh, in which there is a possible echo of Y e shimon, and Y e shimth; and the bare district about this lies in full view of both headlands. There is, therefore, no need to read Pisgah for Pe‘or in Num 23:28 on the basis of Num 21:20. On the whole the above identification of the Gai with the W. ‘Uyun Musa is preferable to that with the next wdy to the N., the W. Hesbn (Driver). Conder’s proposal for Beth-Pe‘or ( Heth and Moab, 146), the headland by ‘Ain el Minyeh, would remove the Gai too far south.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Beth-peor, i. e., the house of Peor, no doubt derived its name from a temple of the Moabite god Peor which was there situated. It was no doubt near to Mount Peor Num 23:28, and also to the valley of the Jordan perhaps in the Wady Heshban.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 29. Beth-peor.] This was a city in the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites; and as beth signifies a house, the place probably had its name from a temple of the god Peor, who was worshipped there. Peor was nearly the same among the Moabites that Priapus was among the Romans – the obscene god of an obscene people. This we have already seen.
IT is very likely that what God speaks here, both concerning Moses and Joshua, was designed to be typical of the procedure of his justice and grace in the salvation of man.
1. The land of Canaan was a type of the kingdom of heaven.
2. The law, which shows the holiness of God and the exceeding sinfulness of sin, could not bring the people to the possession of that kingdom.
3. Moses may probably be considered here as the emblem of that law by which is the knowledge of sin, but not redemption from it.
4. Joshua, the same as Jesus, the name signifying a Saviour, is appointed to bring the people into the rest which God had provided for them; thus it is by Jesus Christ alone that the soul is saved – fitted for and brought into the possession of the heavenly inheritance, (see Joh 1:17; Ga 2:16; Ga 3:12-13; Ga 3:24); for he is the end of the law – the great scope and design of the law, for righteousness – for justification, to them that believe; Ro 10:4. Such a use as this every pious reader may make of the circumstances recorded here, without the danger of pushing analogy or metaphor beyond their reasonable limits.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The house or temple of Peor, or of Baal-Peor, of which see Num 25:3, whence this place or city had its name.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
So we abode in the valley over against Bethpeor. In the plains of Moab, over against a temple built for Baalpeor upon a mountain, so called from that idol, or that idol from the mountain; this is the valley where Moses was buried, De 34:6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(29) So we abode in the valley over against Beth-peor.Moses burial-place, as appears by Deu. 34:6. It is a significant finishing touch to the scene described above. This verse also concludes the recapitulation of Israels journey from Horeb (Deu. 1:6) to the banks of Jordan, with which this first discourse of Moses begins. The remainder, contained in Deut. Iv., is the practical part of the discourse, which now begins.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
29. So we abode in the valley Here the people were encamped a long time. The transactions related in Numbers 28-34 took place here. Here these discourses of Moses were spoken. Near this spot he was buried.
Beth-peor See on Num 23:28.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 29. So we abode in the valley over against Beth-peor Beth-peor was one of those cities in the plains of Moab, which were given to the tribe of Reuben. The Israelites continued encamped in this valley from their conquest of the kingdoms of Sihon and Og, till their passage over Jordan, under the conduct of Joshua, after the death of Moses, who was buried in this valley, see chap. Deu 34:6.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
AMIDST the various improvements which the perusal of this Chapter opens to my view, under the teaching of GOD the HOLY GHOST, while I behold, as in the case of the kings of Sihon and Bashan, that giants are but as dwarfs when GOD fights the battles of his people; and that, while going forth in the strength of the LORD GOD, making mention of his righteousness, even his only, I shall be more than conqueror through him that loveth me: let me desire like Moses, with an eye of faith, to see that goodly land, and yet more especially JESUS, the LORD of it, who is the greater Joshua, gone before to take possession of it in the name of all his people. Oh! thou LORD of the country, and of the true tabernacle, which our GOD hath pitched and not man, grant, by the influences of thy HOLY SPIRIT, that my soul may be ever longing, until faith is realized in vision, for the view of thee, and of thy glory. May my soul contemplate now by faith all ordinances, means of grace, and every institution of service, as pointing to thy Person, and having their consummation in thee; and when thou shalt give the order for my dismission from this region of shadows, LORD grant that I may awake up after thy likeness, to be fully satisfied with thee.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“So we abode in the valley.” Deu 3:29
Places have moral interest. Sometimes the valley is in the highland, and is therefore only a valley relatively: as compared with valleys far away down it may actually be a very high mountain. The lesson we have to learn is to abide in the place assigned by Providence. There is a subtle tone of submission and patience in the text. There is no complaining as to the lot. The valley is accepted as a sanctuary. It was a valley of God’s making, and therefore was to be regarded as a place on which he had expended special care. In the valley we may have shelter. In the valley we may have harvests. In the valley we may have security. It is the business of the Christian to discover the advantages of his position rather than to moan over its disadvantages. There is another valley in which we shall not abide, but shall pass through it under the comfort of the rod and the staff of the divine Shepherd. Some persons seem never to get out of the valley; they literally abide in it as men abide in a home. Who are we that we should chide the Providence which has made such appointments? How do we know how much the dwellers in the valley are saved from? Who can tell what compensations fall to their lot? The text is not supposed to teach the kind of contentment which it is almost impossible to distinguish from indifference. Such contentment is no virtue. The true contentment is that which accepts the hard lot without repining, knowing that God has some good purpose in its appointment, and assured that even the hardest position may be turned to noble uses. When our superiors attempt to keep us in the valley we may well inquire as to their authority: when God means us to abide in the valley we may be sure that he will not forsake us in our lowest estate.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Beth-peor = the house (or temple) of Peor, where Baal was worshipped (Num 23:28; Num 25:3. Num 4:3, Here Moses was buried (Deu 34:6). It was a Moabite holy place (Num 25:18; Num 25:31, Num 25:16. Jos 22:17). Allotted to Reuben (Jos 13:20).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Deu 4:3, Deu 4:46, Deu 34:6, Num 25:3, Num 33:48, Num 33:49