Every death in Scripture conveys a message with purpose, and this study seeks to consider the function of the portrayal of Moses’s death in Deuteronomy 34. Lloyd Bailey has defined “bad” deaths as those that are premature or violent, but T. Desmond Alexander has countered that what distinguishes “good” from “bad” deaths is whether the death comes as divine judgment and whether it leads to eternal separation or enjoyment of God’s presence. This paper argues that death in Scripture is more complex than either of these scholars affirms and that Deuteronomy 34 uses both good and bad aspects of death to clarify how Moses’s death anticipates a coming time when God would fulfill his covenantal promises, reverse the effects of death on his people, and save his people from their sins.
The first section of this paper will evaluate the proposals of Bailey and Alexander and suggest that their alternative proposals for good and bad deaths in Scripture each present a false dichotomy. The second section will build on this claim, arguing that Moses’s death in Deuteronomy 34 is best described not as “good” or “bad” but as “anticipatory.” It will argue three points: (1) Moses’s vision of the land anticipates Yahweh’s faithfulness to his promise. (2) Moses’s age and physical ability anticipates a day when the effects of the Fall will be reversed. (3) The response to his death anticipates a successor to Moses who will fully and finally reconcile a sinful people to Yahweh.