Deuteronomy 34:3

Deu 34:3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.

Ver. 3. The city of palm trees.] So called even by heathen authors also.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

i.e. The south quarter of thee land of Judah, which is towards the Salt Sea, which is described Num 34:3-5; Jos 15:1-4, as the western quarter of Judah was described in the words next foregoing. The plain of the valley of Jericho; or, in which lies Jericho; which was in the tribe of Benjamin.

The city of palm trees, i.e. Jericho, so called both here and Jdg 1:16; 3:13; 2Ch 28:15, from the multitude of palm trees which were in those parts, as Josephus and Strabo write; from whence and the balm there growing it was called

Jericho, which signifies odoriferous, or sweet-smelling.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

34:3 The desert region of the Negev (meaning “desert” or “south”) extends south from Judah to the Gulf of Eilat (or Aqaba) and thus to the far southwest of Mount Nebo. • Jericho . . . as far as Zoar: These two sites marked the northern and southern ends of the Jordan Valley from the viewpoint of Mount Nebo. Zoar was a city of the plain that was not destroyed in the days of Abraham and Lot (see Gen 19:21-22, 30).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(3) And the south—i.e., the Negeb.

And the plain—i.e., the plain of Jordan.

The valley of Jericho.—The city of palm trees may or may not be identical with that place.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. the South] Heb. the Negeb, see on Deu_1:7.

the Plain] Heb. kikkar, the root meaning of which, to judge from its use alike for a district, a loaf and a weight, must be round or oval. Render the Round: here in apposition (delete of) to the Biḳ‘ah (lit. space cleft or laid open between hills, HGHL 385, 654 f.), or Valley, of Jericho; called also the kikkar of Jordan, Gen_13:10 f., 1Ki_7:46. If (as the present writer still holds, cp. HGHL 505 ff.) the overwhelmed Cities of the Kikkar (Gen_13:12; Gen_19:29) lay not at the N., but at the S., end of the Dead Sea, the name the Kikkar, like the Ar. ghor to-day, was applied to the ‘Arabah at both ends of that sea.

the city of palm trees] Jdg_1:16; Jdg_3:13; 2Ch_28:15. The district of Jericho was celebrated for its palms from a remote antiquity down to Roman times, and even to those of the Crusades. See for details HGHL 266 and note 4.

unto Zoar] The position of this town, S. of the Dead Sea, is strongly attested, HGHL 506 f. The present passage is not decisive, for it is uncertain whether unto Zoar refers only to the Valley of Jericho, or to the whole of the southern regions included in the v.

The originality of this geographical list is doubtful. Sam. has instead the ideal description of the Promised Land, from the River of Egypt unto the Great River, the River Euphrates, and unto the Western Sea.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the south,.... The southern part of the land, even all of it; and having shown him that, he is directed eastward to take a view of

the plain of the valley of Jericho; which lay before him, a delightful plain; see Jos 5:10,

the city of palm trees; so Jericho was called, because of the multitude of palm trees which grew there, and which Josephus not only testifies (r), who speaks of it as a plain planted with palm trees, and from whence balsam comes; but several Heathen writers: Pliny says (s) Jericho was set with palm trees; Diodorus Siculus (t) speaks of the country about Jericho as abounding with palm trees, and in a certain valley, meaning the vale or plains of Jericho, is produced that which is called balsam; so Strabo says (u), Jericho is a plain surrounded with mountains abounding with palm trees, where there is a plantation of palm trees, with other fruit trees, the space of a hundred furlongs:

unto Zoar; near the salt sea; see Gen 19:22.

(r) De Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 18. sect. 5. & l. 4. c. 8. sect. 2. (s) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 14. (t) Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 132. (u) Geograph. l. 16. p. 525.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Unto Zoar - Compare Gen 19:22.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

South part: the mountains of Judea. (Calmet) --- Trees. Jericho, (Haydock) or Engaddi. --- Segor was on the south of the Dead Sea. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

3. And the south — Negeb, the South Country, was the land south of Canaan proper, toward the desert.

And the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar — The district from Jericho to Zoar. Robinson thought Zoar was located on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, at the foot of the mountains near its southern end, (Biblical Researches, vol. ii, p. 649;) but in Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, in the article “Zoar,” it is said, “It is highly probable that the Zoar of the Pentateuch was to the north of the Dead Sea, not far from its northern end, and in the general parallel of Jericho.” Tristram (Land of Moab, American edition, p. 343) thinks he has found its site in the modern Zi’ara, not far from what he thinks is the site of Nebo. The view of Moses was northward through Gilead along the east of the Sea of Galilee to the southern slopes of Lebanon. Then his eye turns westward toward the Mediterranean, southward through the whole length of the land west of Jordan, and finally rests upon the view immediately before him — “the circle of the plain of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The south - The south quarter of the land of Judah, which is towards the salt sea, the city of palm-trees - Jericho, so called from the multitude of palm-trees, which were in those parts, as Josephus and Strabo write. From whence and the balm there growing it was called Jericho, which signifies, odouriferous or sweet smelling.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ואת הנגב means THE SOUTH COUNTRY. — Another explanation is, that it refers to the cave of Machpelah (which was in the Negeb), as it is said, (Numbers 13:22) “And they went up to the south country, and came to Hebron” (where this cave was situated) (Sifrei Devarim 357:20).

ואת הככר AND THE PLAIN — He showed him Solomon casting the vessels of the Temple, as it is said, (1 Kings 7:46) “In the plain (ככר) of the Jordan did the king cast them in the thick clay” (Sifrei Devarim 357:21).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.