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Bible Encyclopedias
Pisgah
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or (Heb. Pisgah', פַּסְגָּה , always with the art.), the name of a mountain of Moab. It is in fact an ancient topographical name found, in the Pentateuch and Joshua only, in two connections:
1. The top, or head, of the Pisgah (ראֹשׁ הִפַּ ), from which Moses took his dying survey of Canaan (Numbers 21:20; Numbers 23:14; Deuteronomy 3:27; Deuteronomy 34:1);
2. Ashdoth hap-Pisgah, perhaps the springs, or roots, of the Pisgah (Deuteronomy 3:17; Deuteronomy 4:49; Joshua 12:3; Joshua 13:20). (See ASHDOTH- PISGAH).
The word hap Pisgaih, הִפַּסְגָּה, literally is the section, from פסג = פסק, to divide, and hence it may mean an isolated hill or peak. The rendering of the Sept. is not uniform. In Deuteronomy 3:17; Deuteronomy 34:1; Joshua 12:3; Joshua 13:20, it is Φασγά; but in Numbers 21:20; Numbers 23:14; and Deuteronomy 3:27, the phrase ראש הפסגה is rendered κορυφὴ τοῦ λελαξευμένου , which is a translation of the Hebrew, top of the cut mountain. The Vulgate has everywhere Phasga. The reference to the scene of Moses's death by Josephus (Ant. 4, 8, 48) affords no additional light.
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