I pray you, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that pleasant mountain, and Lebanon.
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George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
I will. Moses flattered himself, that God's refusal to let him cross the Jordan, was only conditional; and therefore he begs, with all humility, for leave to enter Chanaan, at the head of the people. But, though God had pardoned his fault, he would not deprive Josue of the honour, which to fulfil the mystery, was reserved for him, Numbers xx. 12., and xxvi. 64. (Calmet)
Moses might very lawfully desire to behold a place, consecrated by the abode of the Patriarchs, and to be honoured still more by the presence of the Messias, a happiness for which he had been labouring now forty years. (Du Hamel)
And Libanus. Whether this and be an explanation of what mountain he meant, (Tirinus) is a matter of doubt. He unquestionably desired to see, and to put his people in possession of all the country designed for their inheritance, in which various fruitful mountains appeared. That of Bethel was very high, and most delightful where Abraham and Jacob had dwelt. Moria and Sion, the future seat of the temple, might also attract his notice, and the mountains of Judea, as well as all the other lofty hills, which diversify the country from Idumea to Libanus. (Haydock)
Egypt was a flat country. New and grander prospects now open to his view. Libanus is styled Antilibanus by the Septuatint, and by profane authors, as it lies, in effect, to the land of the Hebrews. Behind it Coelostria extends, as far as Libanus. This mountain comprises four different hills, rising one above another, and taking in a circuit of 300 miles. The first of these hills, Antilibanus, is remarkable for its fertility in corn; the second has abundance of fine springs: but the third resembles an earthly paradise, being constantly adorned with fruits and flowers. Cedars grow chiefly upon the fourth, amidst the snows which lie there perpetually, notwithstanding the burning heats of the adjacent countries. Lebanon signifies both "whiteness and incense "for which it is very renowned. (Calmet)
De la Roque thinks that it is higher than the Alps or Pyrenees. It stands in the form of a horse-shoe, extending from above Smyrna to Sidon, and thence towards Damascus, (Buffon) unless this be a part of Antilibanus, which runs north, from Damascus, in a parallel direction to Libanus, and includes the hollow Syria. (Haydock)
Serarius makes these two mountains run eastward, almost from the Mediterranean sea, as Strabo (xvi.) and Ptolemy seem also to do. (Bonfrere)
