in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor; where stood a temple dedicated to the idol Peor, see De 3:29;but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day; to the time when Joshua wrote this, or, as others think, Samuel: if Moses is the same with the Osiris of the Egyptians, as some think , it may be observed, that his grave is said to be unknown to the Egyptians, as Diodorus Siculus and Strabo both affirm; and the grave of Moses is unknown, even unto this our day: for though no longer ago than in the year 1655, in the month of October, it was pretended to be found by some Maronite shepherds on Mount Nebo, with this inscription on it in Hebrew letters, "Moses the servant of the Lord"; but this story was confuted by Jecomas, a learned Jew, who proved it to be the grave of another Moses , whom Wagenseil conjectures was Moses Maimonides ; but some think the whole story is an imposition: the reason why the grave of Moses was kept a secret was, as Ben Gersom suggests, lest, because of his miracles, succeeding generations should make a god of him and worship him, as it seems a sort of heretics called Melchisedecians did : the death and burial of Moses were an emblem of the weakness and insufficiency of the law of Moses, and the works of it, to bring any into the heavenly Canaan; and of the law being dead, and believers dead to that through the body of Christ, and of the entire abrogation and abolition of it by Christ, according to the will of God, as a covenant of works, as to the curse and condemnation of it, and justification by it; who is Michael the archangel, and is the end of the law for righteousness; he abolished it in his flesh, nailed it to his cross, carried it to his grave, and left it there; the rites and ceremonies of it are to be no more received, nor is it to be sought after for righteousness and life, being dead and buried, Ro 7:6.
Misn. Sotah, c. 1. sect. 9. Pirke Eliezer, c. 17. Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 32. See Gale's Court of the Gentiles, B. 2. c. 7. p. 94. Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 18. Geograph. l. 17. p. 552. See Calmet's Dictionary, in voce "Sepulchre".
Not. in Sotah, p. 327. Epiphan contr. Haeres. l. 2. Haeres.