Journal: Conspectus
Volume: CONSPECTUS 30:1 (Oct 2020)
Article: Who Is To Blame For God’s Prohibition Against Moses Entering The Promised Land?
Author: Daniel T. Lioy

Conspectus 30:1 (October 2020) p. 34

Who Is To Blame For God’s Prohibition Against Moses Entering The Promised Land?

Dan Lioy

Abstract

Proponents of higher criticism have fallen short in offering a convincing and satisfactory explanation for three interrelated, unsolved issues in the Pentateuch, as follows: (1) the precise nature of Moses’s transgression of the Lord’s command; (2) whom to hold most responsible for the infraction; and, (3) the juridical basis for God’s resultant prohibition against the lawgiver entering the promised land. Three biblical texts, specifically, Deuteronomy 1:37–40, 3:23–29, and 4:21–24, present Moses’s claim that it was the Israelites’ fault. Oppositely, three other passages, namely, Numbers 20:1–13, 27:12–14, and Deuteronomy 32:48–52, put forward God’s assertion that his bondservant shouldered most of the liability for his iniquity. This essay addresses the preceding interpretive issues and articulates a workable solution to each one, affirming the inspiration and authority of Scripture.

Keywords

Numbers, Deuteronomy, Moses’s disobedience, Moses’s ban from the promised land, higher critical method, historicity of the Pentateuch

About The Author

Prof. Dan Lioy (PhD, North-West University) holds several faculty appointments. He is a senior research academic at the South African Theological Seminary (in South Africa); a professor of biblical theology at the Institute of Lutheran Theology (in South Dakota); and a dissertation advisor in the semiotics, church, and culture DMIN program at Portland Seminary (part of George Fox University in Oregon). He has an extensive publication record, including solo, co-written, and edited books and journal articles. His areas of specialization include OT and NT Exegesis, OT and NT Theology, OT and NT Hermeneutics, Hebrew, and Greek.

This article: https://www.sats.edu.za/lioy-who-is-to-blame

Conspectus 30:1 (October 2020) p. 35

1. Introduction

The laws, purposes, and character of God are intriguingly portrayed in Numbers and Deuteronomy. Throughout the discourse of these two books, readers learn how the Lord blessed and admonished those whom he had chosen to be his representatives to the surrounding nations. Numbers and Deuteronomy, along with the rest of the Pentateuch, show that for the Creator it was not enough to deliver the Israelites out of the op...