Moses turned from the congregation, and in silence and alone made his way up the mountainside. He went to "the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah." Upon that lonely height he stood, and gazed with undimmed eye upon the scene spread out before him. Far away to the west lay the blue waters of the Great Sea; in the north, Mount Hermon stood out against the sky; to the east was the tableland of Moab, and beyond lay Bashan, the scene of Israel's triumph; and away to the south stretched the desert of their long wanderings.

Moses forlod menigheden og gik tavs og ensom "op på Nebobjerget, til toppen af Pisga". Fra denne ensomme bjergtop betragtede han med usvækket blik landskabet nedenfor. Langt mod vest lå det store, blå hav. Mod nord hævede Hermons bjerg sig mod himmelen. Mod øst lå Moabs højslette, og bagved lå Basan, hvor Israel havde vundet sin store sejr. Mod syd lå den ørken, hvor de havde vandret så længe.