Jericho

Jericho appears in the Torah’s closing approach to Canaan as both a place beside Israel’s encampment and a landmark in the view granted to Moses from Mount Nebo. The text links its eastern Jordan setting to the distribution of territory, the transition into the promised land, and Moses’ final sight of a country he is not permitted to enter.

Setting and Encampment

After Israel defeats Sihon and Og, the people journey to the plains of Moab and camp beyond the Jordan at Jericho. This places them on the threshold of Canaan: the narrative has brought them to the Jordan, while entry into the land remains ahead.

The location also serves as a setting for the second wilderness census. Moses and Eleazar conduct the count in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, numbering those aged twenty and above who are able to go to war. Jericho thus anchors both the people’s present encampment and preparations for the coming territorial transition.

Territory and Inheritance

In the instructions for dividing Canaan, the eastern territories already received by the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh are described as lying beyond the Jordan at Jericho, toward the sunrise. The phrase makes Jericho a geographic reference point for distinguishing those eastern inheritances from the land still to be allotted to the other tribes.

The itinerary of Israel’s wilderness journeys ends with the people camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim, in the plains of Moab. From there, the command looks ahead to crossing the Jordan, driving out the land’s inhabitants, and inheriting the territory by lot. Jericho belongs to this landscape of expectation, where encampment and the promised possession meet.

Moses’ View from Mount Nebo

At the end of the account, Moses ascends Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, opposite Jericho. The LORD shows him the land, including the valley of Jericho, described as the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. The view makes the nearby landmark part of a much wider survey of the country promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Moses is allowed to see the land but not to cross into it. Jericho consequently marks the destination visible at the close of his life and the boundary between his leadership of Israel and the people’s impending possession of Canaan.