The Land of “Milk and Honey” (Numbers 13:27)

How did the Israelite spies sent by Moses describe the land of Canaan? A land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 13:27)

Before entering the Promised Land, God instructs Moses to send spies into the region to survey it (Numbers 13:1-2). A representative from each tribe is selected for the mission (Numbers 13:3-16). The operatives return with tangible evidence of the land’s sustenance in the form of an impressive cluster of grapes (Numbers 13:23) and concede that the land is as advertised - it does indeed “flow with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8; Numbers 13:27).

Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. (Numbers 13:27 NASB)

Like a modern day church building project in which the architect is brought in to bring specs of what is being built to capture the people’s imagination, spies are conscripted to give the people an idea of the land that can be theirs and their descendants (Numbers 13:1-2). Though the contingency agrees that the land is excellent, they return with mixed emotions (Numbers 13:26-29).

Dennis T. Olson (b. 1954) informs:

Moses instructs the twelve tribes to survey the land not only to deduce the military might of its inhabitants but also to observe the fertility of the land (Numbers 13:17-21). The spies reconnoiter the land for forty days and then return to report what they have seen [Numbers 13:25]. The initial spy report has some good news and some bad news. The land is indeed fruitful and “flows with milk and honey” (Numbers 13:27). But the bad news is that the residents of the land and strong and live in fortified cities (Numbers 13:28-29, 31-33). (Olson, Numbers (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, 78)

The Promised Land is described as a land that “does flow with milk and honey” (Numbers 13:27 NASB). Salim J. Munayer (b. 1955) introduces:

References to the Promised Land in the Bible are many...While some quantitatively describe the borders, others are more concerned with describing the land qualitatively. For this reason we often see the land promised by God described as a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5; Leviticus 20:24-26, 22:4; Numbers 13:27, 14:8; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:8-12, 26:8-9, 27:2-3, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5, 32:22; Ezekiel 20:5-6, 15). Typically this phrase is taken to be a description of the land of Canaan, the phrase “milk and honey” as a “metaphor meaning all good things—God’s blessings.” While some try and draw a literal connection between the land of Canaan and flowing milk and honey, most understand it “to be hyperbolically descriptive of the land’s richness.” (Munayer and Lisa Loden, “Theology of the Land: From a Land of Strife to a Land of Reconciliation”, The Land Cries Out: Theology of the Land in the Israeli-Palestinian Context, 252)

“Milk and honey” is a common epithet of the land that serves almost as a refrain throughout the biblical text (Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6; Sirach 46:8; Baruch 1:20; II Esdras 2:19; Jubilees 1:7; cf. II Kings 18:32; Job 20:17; Sibylline Oracles 3.6222).

The expression accentuates the goodness of the land with most interpreters focusing on its fertility. W.H. Bellinger, Jr. (b. 1949) comments:

“Flowing with milk and honey” is a common description of the fertility of the land [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6] . The land was not terribly fertile but would have seemed so in comparison to the wilderness. Eryl W. Davies [b. 1953] cites evidence that the phrase is a stock one in the ancient Near East (Numbers, p. 138). (Bellinger, Leviticus, Numbers (Understanding the Bible Commentary Series))

The phrase is first heard from the Burning Bush where God uses the expression to promote the land that the Israelites will be taking while speaking to Moses (Exodus 3:8). The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery traces:

“A land flowing with milk and honey,” a phrase that encapsulates the abundant goodness of the Promised Land, first appears in God’s conversation with Moses from the burning bush in Exodus 3:8. It subsequently occurs fourteen times in the Pentateuch [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20] , once in Joshua [Joshua 5:6] and several times in Jeremiah and Ezekiel within contexts alluding to Israel’s history [Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6] . (Leland Ryken [b. 1942], James C. Wilhoit [b. 1951] and Tremper Longman III [b. 1952], Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 488)

Though “milk and honey” is used previously, the spies’ report marks the first time the phrase is heard on the lips of the people and not God (Numbers 13:27). The Promised Land is as good as God (and by association Moses) had advertised.

Some scholars have attempted to isolate the expression to a particular source as posited by the Documentary Hypothesis. George Buchanan Gray (1865-1922) delineates:

A land flowing with milk and honey... [occurs at] Numbers 14:8, 16:13 (exceptionally of Egypt), Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:8 (all...passages from J), 7 times in D, once in H (Leviticus 20:24), and also in Jeremiah 11:5, 32:22, Ezekiel 20:6, 15. Thomas Kelly Cheyne [1841-1915] (in Encyclopaedia Biblica 2104) suggests that the phrase, already conventional in the time of JE, was derived from ancient poetry, and had a mythological origin. (Gray, Deuteronomy (International Critical Commentary), 145)

Horst Dietrich Preuss (1927-1993) analyzes:

The promised land is readily characterized as the “land flowing with milk and honey,” not in the references to the promises of the land in the ancestral narratives but rather in the narratives of the Moses group and then in ensuing texts (Exodus 3:8, 17 J; Exodus 13:5, 33:2ff. [early Deuteronomic]; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:27 P; Numbers 14:8 P; Numbers 16:13ff J; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 27:3, 31:20, 34:4; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5, 32:22; and Ezekiel 20:6, 15). The lack of this expression in the ancestral stories points to the probable original separation of the tradition of the promise of the land to the ancestors from the tradition of the land to the Moses group. With the distinguishing feature of “land flowing with milk and honey,” the land is not portrayed as a land of the gods or painted with the colors of paradise; rather, it is described as an inhabitable land, and perhaps from the view of wandering nomads as an ideal land, so that in Numbers 16:13ff even Egypt can have this description. In Isaiah 7:15, by contrast, “milk and honey” appear as (poor?) nourishment from the viewpoint of the farmers who use the land. In addition to the promise of the land of the fathers, there is then the promise of the land to the Moses group that builds a bridge reaching unto the conquest. However, those who were rebellious, doubting, and not fully obedient to YHWH were denied entrance into the land (Numbers 13:22-33, 14:30-34, 20:12,24, 26:64ff, 32:11). Since these emphases occur especially in the Priestly and also in the Deuteronomic texts (Deuteronomy 1:35, 39ff, 2:14), the question arises as to whether this “wilderness” treats a situation analogous to the sojourn in the exile when many could not or would not trust anymore in YHWH’s guidance. (Preuss, Old Testament Theology, Volume 1 (Old Testament Library), 120)

There are parallels to the expression “milk and honey” in other cultures. Eugene A. Carpenter (1943-2012) reveals:

This phrase...is closely paralleled in Ugaritc poetry. “The heavens fat did rain, The wadis flow with honey!” Milk and fat are mentioned as a blessed feature of the world ordered by Enki, who determined Sumer’s destiny. This hyperbolic metaphorical phrase stresses both the richness of Canaan and the special favor God has bestowed on it as the dwelling place for his people. (John H. Walton [b. 1952], Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary), 456)

Walter Riggans (b. 1953) supports:

This phrase was used by the Greeks for the food of the gods, and, in a text from about 2,000 B.C., the Egyptian Tale of Sinuhe uses it to describe Northern Galilee. But it is overwhelmingly used by the Israelites of the general area of Canaan. (Riggans, Numbers (Daily Study Bible, 108)

Milk has a decidedly positive connotation in the Old Testament; its most common usage actually occurs in connection with the idiom “milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6) .

Clyde M. Woods (b. 1936) and Justin M. Rogers (b 1982) comment:

Milk is a figure of profusion in the Old Testament (cf. Genesis 39:12; Isaiah 7:21-22). Due to the lack of refrigeration, milk quickly became curds, which could be sopped up with bread, or churned into butter (Proverbs 30:33). (Woods, and Rogers, Leviticus–Numbers (College Press NIV Commentary), 260)

Étan Levine (b. 1934) researches:

Biblical literature abounds with references to milk (or milk products) and honey). These are described as luxury items, gifts, articles of trade, contributions to priests and Levites, and high-energy foods used by those who camp in the wilderness. (Levine, Heaven and Earth, Law and Love: Studies in Biblical Thought, 47)

Ronald L. Eisenberg (b. 1945) inventories:

When poetically depicting God’s gracious generosity toward the Israelites in his farewell address, Moses included “curd of kine” [butter, cream, and yogurt] and “milk of flocks” (Deuteronomy 32:14). In Song of Songs (Song of Solomon 4:11), the lover describes the sweetness of his beloved as having “milk and honey...under your tongue.” In his vision of the Messianic Age, the prophet Joel (Joel 4:18) stated that “the mountains shall drip with wine, the [Judean] hills shall flow with milk.”...Most dairy products during the biblical period were produced from the milk of sheep and goats, since there were relatively few cattle. As an important source of dietary liquid in a region where water was scarce and often contaminated, milk and dairy products were popular offerings by pagan peoples to their gods or king. The prohibition against “boiling a kind in its mother’s milk”—which is repeated three times in the Torah (Exodus 23:19, 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21) and is the basis for the separation of meat and milk—...may thus be the divine rejection of an ancient Canaanite religious practice. (Eisenberg, Jewish Traditions (JPS Guide), 688)

Honey is also presented favorably in the Hebrew Scriptures. Étan Levine (b. 1934) surveys:

Honey itself is described as being both healthful and pleasurable, a metaphor for diverse delights and benefits such as wisdom, divine guidance, and, along with milk, sexuality. The divinely bestowed manna in the wilderness had the taste of honey (Exodus 16:31), for as a foodstuff, “What is sweeter than honey (Judges 14:18)?” (Levine, Heaven and Earth, Law and Love: Studies in Biblical Thought, 46)

The honey in question may be different than most contemporary readers envision. John Goldingay (b. 1942) clarifies:

The usual English phrase is “flowing with milk and honey” [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6], but the “honey” is not bees’ honey but syrup made from fruit such as figs, the main source of sweetness in the Middle East. (Goldingay, Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone, 36)

Robert Alter (b. 1935) concurs:

The honey in question is probably not bee’s honey, for apiculture was not practiced in this early period, but rather a sweet syrup extracted from dates. The milk would most likely have been goat’s milk and not cow’s milk. In any case, these two synecdoches for agriculture and animal husbandry respectively become a fixed bounty of the promised land. (Alter, The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary, 320)

Clyde M. Woods (b. 1936) and Justin M. Rogers (b 1982) investigate:

“Honey” usually includes, in addition to bee-honey, “grape-honey,” a thick grape substance...Baruch A. Levine [b. 1930] states that the term simply means “sweetness,” and can apply broadly (his translation, “sap;” Numbers, p. 356)...R.K. Harrison [1920-2003] notes that honey could perhaps be used as a euphemism for a potent alcoholic mixture (Numbers, p. 211). However, it is unlikely that the euphemism applies here: for the combination of milk and honey is a common figure indicating abundance. (Woods, and Rogers, Leviticus–Numbers (College Press NIV Commentary), 257, 260)

Walter Riggans (b. 1953) deduces:

It could be wild-bee or date honey, but either way the two substances were moist and sweet and in plentiful supply---symbols of peace and plenty. Not what might be expected from an area called “parched” [“Negev”; Numbers 13:17, 22,29]! (Riggans, Numbers (Daily Study Bible), 108)

Counter-intuitively and contrary to popular belief, milk and honey may not have been staples of the Israelite diet. Nathan MacDonald (b. 1975) resolves:

Milk and honey features prominently in the descriptions of the Promised Land [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. Yet, outside of the stereotypical phrase, milk and honey do not appear often in the Old Testament and may not have been important in the diets of most Israelites. (MacDonald, What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat?: Diet in Biblical Times, 11)

There is debate over the exact meaning of the pairing “milk and honey” (Numbers 13:27). Many have seen the foodstuffs as representative terms encompassing a spectrum, one phrase assessing the goodness of the land.

Sarah Malena (b. 1974) and David Miano (b. 1966) research:

The pairing of “milk and honey” evokes an image of fertility, but it is more than the fertility of flocks and groves. Ben Sira lists milk and honey among the basic necessities of life [Sirach 39:26], while the Song of Songs employs the two words in images of luxury and indulgence [Song of Solomon 4:11, 6:1]. William H.C. Propp [b. 1957]’s musings on the subject reveal the nuances of parental nourishment and comfort. And in the frequent reiteration of the divine promise one perceives the connotation of security and longevity. (Malena and Miano, Milk and Honey: Essays on Ancient Israel and the Bible in Appreciation of the Judaic Studies Program at the University of California, San Diego, ix)

Others have seen milk and honey as representatives of larger, overarching categories. The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery examines:

Why did milk and honey become the favored pair of items for the evocative epithet, when other options existed? Since the Bible does not itself explicate the epithet, we are left to surmise. Next to bread, milk was the most important staple in the diet of the Hebrews. A land that produced an abundance of milk had to be rich in pasturage, so by extension a picture of successful farming enters one’s imagination. Honey, valued for its sweetness rather than as a necessity of life, was rare enough to rank as a luxury. As images of desirability and abundance, therefore, these two images combine to form a picture of total satisfaction. The image of “flowing” suggests a rich fullness that surpasses all need and sets up a contrast with the arid wilderness. Perhaps they are even an example of Hebrew merism (naming opposites to cover everything between as well), suggesting the whole spectrum of food, from the necessary to the luxurious. (Leland Ryken [b. 1942], James C. Wilhoit [b. 1951] and Tremper Longman III [b. 1952], Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 488)

Bruce Wells (b. 1968) inquires:

Exactly what kind of prosperity does the biblical expression refer to? It probably does not refer to the most common forms of agriculture, such as the cultivation of grains. Rather, the “milk” likely refers to animal husbandry and the use of animal byproducts for food and clothing. Sheep were important for their wool and meat, but goats may have been more important. They provide twice as much milk as sheep, and their hair and hides could be used for tents, clothing carpets, and even satchels for holding liquids. The “honey” refers to horticulture—the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. (John H. Walton [b. 1952], Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary), 174)

Étan Levine (b. 1934) counters:

Contrary to popular interpretation, biblical diction paired “milk and honey” not because of their gastronomical affinity but because both are products of identical topographical and economic conditions. In biblical Palestine as elsewhere, both milk and honey are not products of fertile, cultivated farmlands, but of uncultivated grazing areas. The flocks and herds feed on wild growth, on land unsuitable for agriculture. And it is there, amidst the thickets, bushes and wild flowers, that honey is also found. (Levine, Heaven and Earth, Law and Love: Studies in Biblical Thought, 46)

Some have seen the two elements as indicative of the distinct geography of the northern and southern portions of Israel. The Zondervan Dictionary of Biblical Imagery speculates:

Milk...appears in the frequently mentioned formula used to describe the Promised Land, “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8, 3:17, 13:5, 33:3, et al.). As the Israelite spies spent years in a trackless wilderness, the description certainly provided an inviting picture of the Promised Land. But it may also be a descriptor that honors the distinct differences between the northern and southern sections of Canaan. Because the north receives more rain, there is considerably more vegetation that provides flowers for the bees to use in making honey. In contrast the south receives considerably less rain, so we find agriculture giving way to the pastoral life and the goat’s milk that was a staple in the Israelite diet. Thus the diverse nature of the Promised Land is captured in this expression by naming two important commodities associated with it subregions. (John A. Beck [b. 1956], Zondervan Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

This proposition seems unlikely as the later division between the southern and northern kingdoms was unwanted. At this point, an image of solidarity was preferable if not necessary; an advancing army must be unified.

Others have seen the land as evoking paradise. Salim J. Munayer (b. 1955) argues:

More than simply indicating fertile soil, in the context of the biblical world, milk and honey were also used to describe the otherworldly richness of paradise. Indeed, in many ancient Near Eastern traditions, “the image of an ideal place flowing with milk and honey has long been associated with paradise.” Even in Islam we find traces of this association; for example the paradise described by Allah in the Qur’an is depicted as “the eternal garden of joy...[and it] possesses not only rivers of pure water and wine, but ‘rivers of fresh milk’ and ‘rivers of pure honey.’”...Given the context from which it arose and what we have learned about merism phrases, there is reason to doubt the mention of a land flowing with milk and honey is making a reference to an earthly place at all. The land of Canaan already had certain very specific and known elements associated with it—the famous Seven Species of Deuteronomy 8:8, where Canaan is described as “a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig tress [sic], pomegranates, olive oil and honey.”...It makes more sense to think of this phrase as a literary, poetic description of an idyllic paradise, rather than a specific location on earth. There are radical implications to this interpretation when applied to all the many places in the Scriptures where we find this phrase [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. However, when we remember the universal nature of God’s promise, it is clear: The land flowing with milk and honey is not Canaan or Egypt or any other terrestrial place; it is a future return to the garden as the fulfillment of God’s promises. (Munayer and Lisa Loden, “Theology of the Land: From a Land of Strife to a Land of Reconciliation”, The Land Cries Out: Theology of the Land in the Israeli-Palestinian Context, 252-53)

There has also been discussion as to whether Canaan’s land is as arable as the spies’ depiction (Numbers 13:25-27). Later pilgrims could not help but notice discrepancy.

Lester I. Vogel (b. 1948) documents:

Confronted with the reality of Ottoman Palestine, it was easy to turn from the present to the past, as Clara E. Waters [1834-1916] had done. Likewise, it was easier to explain the reality in sweeping, universal terms. Nathaniel Clark Burt [1825-1874] saw Palestine’s condition as epitomizing the geography of the world in its diversity, thereby affording the former peoples of the country a chance to be representative of humanity and to produce “a revelation with wide, varied, universal adaptations.” To Burt, the Holy Land was dreary and desolate, especially in the context of the biblical passage that advertised the land as luxuriantly flowing with milk and honey [Exodus 3:8; Numbers 13:27]. But Burt imagined that the land had been good in ages past, that “it requires little observation and reflection, on the part of the traveler in Palestine, to perceive that the country possesses great natural capabilities and must, at a former period, have sustained an immense population.” When Burt recalled that the land’s present condition fulfilled scriptural prediction exactly, he showed more interest in the spectacle of the land’s desolation than he did in evidences of prosperity. (Vogel, To See A Promised Land: Americans and the Holy Land in the Nineteenth Century, 74)

There is ancient support for a fertile Canaan. Bruce Wells (b. 1968) presents:

The expression evokes the image of a prosperous land [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. The Egyptian Story of Sinuhe (from the Twelfth Dynasty, early second millennium B.C.) also describes the land of Canaan as prosperous: “It was a wonderful land called Yaa. There were cultivated figs in it and grapes, and more wine than water. Its honey was abundant, and its olive trees numerous. On its trees were all varieties of fruit. There was barley and emmer, and there was no end to all the varieties of cattle.” But the land seems not to have been consistently prosperous; several biblical texts refer to famine in Canaan (Genesis 12:10, 26:1, 43:1). Biblical texts describe the blessing of Yahweh as the determining factor. When he wished for there to be prosperity, there was. Ugaritic texts present a similar perspective: When there was divine blessing—in their case, from Baal—then “the heavens rain oil/the wadis run with honey.” (John H. Walton [b. 1952], Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary), 174)

The rabbinic writing also corroborates the biblical witness. Fred Rosner (b. 1935) apprises:

The Bible repeatedly asserts that Israel is “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8, 3:17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:27, 14:8, 16:13, 16:14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 26:15, 27:3, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5, 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6, 20:15). This divine blessing is depicted in the Talmud (Ketubot 11b) where it states that Rabbi ben Ezekiel [220-299] once paid a visit to Bnei Berak where he saw goats grazing under fig trees and honey was flowing from the figs and milk ran from the goats and the honey and milk mingled with each other. Rabbah bar Bar Hannah said: “I saw the flow of the milk and honey in all the land of Israel and the total area was equal to the land extending from the Be Mikse to the Fort of Tulbanke, an area of twenty-two parasangs in length and six parasangs in breadth.” Here and elsewhere (Megillah 6a), Resh Lakish [third century CE] said that he saw the flow of milk and honey at Sepphoris and it extended over an area of sixteen by sixteen miles. (Rosner, Medicine in the Bible and the Talmud: Selections from Classical Jewish Sources, 115)

Jacob Neusner (b. 1932) bolsters:

R. Ammi bar Ezekiel visited Bene Beraq. He saw goats grazing under fig trees, with honey flowing from the figs, and milk running from the goats, and the honey and the milk mingled. He said, “That is in line with ‘a land flowing with milk and honey’ (Exodus 3:8; Numbers 13:27).” Said R. Jacob b. Dosetai, “From Lud to Ono is three Roman miles. Once I got up early at down [sic] and I walked up to my ankles in fig honey.” Said R Simeon b. Laqish [third century CE], “I personally saw the flood of milk and honey of Sepphoris, and it extended over sixteen square miles.” Said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “I personally saw the flood of milk and honey of the entirety of the Land of Israel, and it extended from Be Mikse to the Fort of Tulbanqi, twenty-two parasangs long, six parasangs wide.” (Neusner, Theological Dictionary of Rabbinic Judaism, Part One: Principal Theological Categories, 113)

While the Bible lauds the Promised Land it also acknowledges its shortcomings. Eugene Korn (b. 1947) recalls:

While the Bible describes the Land of Israel as “a land of milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 31:20) and “a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey (Deuteronomy 8:7-8), Scripture also points out on numerous occasions that this land forces its inhabitants to recognize God by increasing the Jewish people’s dependency on God and on fulfilling the covenant. (Korn, The Jewish Connection to Israel, the Promised Land: A Brief Introduction for Christians, 8)

Comparatively speaking, Canaan fits the bill as the land is undoubtedly an upgrade over the wilderness in which the Israelites are presently residing. Stephen Buchmann (b. 1952) appraises:

To people living in a harsh desert climate, a lush green landscape must have fit their idea of paradise. The pastures of this rich, well-watered paradise would be dotted with contented cows grazing on succulent grass and producing fresh, wholesome milk; the meadows would be filled with wildflowers buzzing with bees as they collected nectar and pollen to transform into golden honey. It’s no mystery why milk and honey became symbols for the Jews of a blessed land [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. (Buchmann, Letters from the Hive: An Intimate History of Bees, Honey, and Humankind, 124)

Étan Levine (b. 1934) recognizes:

To the homeless Israelites who were poised to take it, the Holy Land was perceived as being a “very, very good land” [Numbers 14:7], a “blessed land” [Deuteronomy 33:13], for realistically speaking, one could hardly expect a different reaction from a horde of landless wanderers! It is also true that no less than fifteen times in the Pentateuch and five times thereafter, the Promised Land is described as “a land flowing with milk and honey” [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that biblical exegetes, from the ancient commentators to modern scholars, have understood this phrase as an obvious metaphor extolling the lush fecundity of the land assigned to the People of Israel. (Levine, Heaven and Earth, Law and Love: Studies in Biblical Thought, 46)

David J. Lorenzo (b. 1961) compares:

The characteristics of the Promised Land would be the obverse of those of Egypt and the wilderness, representing a transcendence of both. Unlike Egypt, the Promised Land would be the Hebrews’ own. Rather than working as slaves, they would live as a free people. And unlike the wilderness, it would be a rich land, one “flowing with milk and honey” [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. There the Hebrews would have no need of Yahweh’s provision of material food in the form of manna, nor spiritual food in the form of Moses’ leadership. They would be free and self-determining within the boundaries of the Covenant. (Lorenzo, Tradition and the Rhetoric of Right: Popular Political Argument in the Aurobindo Movement, 157)

Margaret Feinberg (b. 1976) praises:

Nearly two dozen references throughout the Old Testament describe the Promised Land as a place “flowing with milk and honey” [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]...The promise that the land would overflow with “milk” suggests abundant pastureland for goats and cows while the mention of “honey” implies that the land was abounding in flowers and grass. Such a detailed portrait of a promise reveals something about the outrageously generous heart of God. He didn’t just want to end slavery for his people. He wanted to bring them out of the land entirely and into a new place that overflowed with provision. (Feinberg, Scouting the Divine: My Search for God in Wine, Wool, and Wild Honey)

Whatever the specific connotation “milk and honey” indicates, generally speaking, the land is good. Timothy R. Ashley (b. 1947) assesses:

These verses [Numbers 13:27-29] are probably a summary of the spies’ report. The general report was that the land was very good: it flows with milk and honey (zābat-hālāb ûdebaš hî). Although Numbers 13:27ff concentrate on the report to Moses (they recounted it to him, Numbers 13:27), the text makes clear that the report was in the hearing of the whole congregation (Numbers 13:26). (Ashley, The Book of Numbers (New International Commentary on the Old Testament), 239)

The idiom “milk and honey” serves as a powerful, concise slogan to motivate the people (Numbers 13:27). Stephen K. Sherwood (b. 1943) acknowledges:

The familiar image of a land flowing not with water but with milk and honey has a strong rhetorical effect. (Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative & Poetry), 78)

Jonathan Kirsch (b. 1949) remarks:

Moses...had not been elected by anyone except an unheard and unseen God, and so far God has not deigned to speak to anyone other than Moses and his brother. Yet Moses had urged them out of the relative safety and comfort of Egypt into an empty and threatening wilderness, all on a vague promise that someday they would reach a distant land of “milk and honey” [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20]. Such rhetoric had surely been heard before among the poor and oppressed, and history assures us that it would be heard again and again through the centuries. (Kirsch, Moses: A Life, 219)

The phrasing provides concrete imagery of a better place. Robert Alter (b. 1935) envisions:

Beyond well-watered Egypt and the burning desert where uncanny fires flare, the new Israelite nation is repeatedly told of a third space, a land flowing not with water but, hyperbolically, with milk and honey [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. This utopian space will be beyond reach for forty years, and in a sense it can never be fully attained. When the twelve spies enter it on a reconnaissance mission in Numbers, they confirm its fabulous fecundity [Numbers 13:25-27], but ten of twelve also deem it unconquerable [Numbers 13:31-33], calling it “a land that consumes its inhabitants” [Numbers 13:32]. As the biblical story continues through Numbers and Deuteronomy and ultimately on to the history of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel the land flowing with milk and honey will begin to seem something like the Land of Cockaigne of medieval European folklore, a dream of delighted, unimpeded fulfillment beyond the grating actualities of real historical time. (Alter, The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary, 303)

Despite its prominence in the Old Testament (Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6), the phrase “milk and honey” does not recur in the New Testament.

Dominic Janes notes:

J. Duncan M. Derrett [1922-2012] (1984) points out that the ‘land of milk and honey’ (Exodus 3:8-17 and Exodus 13:5) vanishes from the Christian tradition even as allegory. (Janes, God and Gold in Late Antiquity, 153).

The Promised Land gives the enslaved and later wandering Israelites a concept of a better future residence that provides a beacon of hope. It serves much the same function that heaven does to contemporary believers.

Reggie McNeal (b. 1955) relates:

The central act of God in the Old Testament is the Exodus, a divine intervention into human history to liberate his people from oppression and slavery. The decisive act of the New Testament is the divine intervention of God into human history to liberate his people from oppression and slavery...In both cases the deliverance is not just from something but to something. The Hebrew slaves were destined for the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. Jesus promised his followers abundant life [John 10:10]. Included in that deal is heaven. (McNeal, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church, 12-13)

John M. Shackleford (b. 1929) correlates:

We can certainly identify with the Israelites wandering in the desert. It symbolizes our own travels through life, searching for the “Promised Land.” The Promised Land, the land of Canaan, is also an important symbol of all our hopes for the future. To me, the Land of Promise is symbolic of the spiritual dimension I look toward as a final goal. If this life on earth is a time of preparation, which I believe to be the case, then the Promised Land is the final goal of that preparation. It is a symbol for heaven, a spiritual dimension of happiness with our creator. (Shackleford, God as Symbol: What Our Beliefs Tell Us, 36)

The Promised Land is the future home of the Israelite nation. As few of them have any frame of reference to it, Moses enlists members from each tribe to survey its contents (Numbers 13:3-16). When they come back, the tag line “flowing with milk and honey” captures the imagination and instills resolve that a better home awaits (Numbers 13:27). Contemporary Christians hold a similar belief: There is always hope for a better tomorrow.

Why does God evoke the peculiar combination of “milk and honey” to encapsulate the Promised Land (Exodus 3:8)? Would the epithet have been different for a another group of people? What would the combination of milk and honey look like? What is the modern equivalent of a land “flowing with milk and honey”? What two resources would epitomize your ideal land; what items would use to categorize a land as very good? Where is your land of milk and honey?

The good news is that the land is indeed good (Numbers 13:25-27). But there is a problem. It is not the quality of the region but rather the inhabitants of the land (Numbers 13:28-29). The spies return with both a majority and minority report: Though they agree on the goodness of the land, they disagree on the proper course of action (Numbers 13:25-29).

Katharine Doob Sakenfeld (b. 1940) reports:

The spies return with their report to the leaders and the people. According to Numbers 13:25-29 they are agreed about the marvelous productivity of the land, which they describe as “flowing with milk and honey” (Numbers 13:27); and all are agreed about the strength of the inhabitants and the strong fortification of their towns [Numbers 13:28-29]. They are divided, however, as to the appropriate course of action. Caleb proposes to take the land at once [Numbers 13:30]. The others consider the task impossible and reinforce their conclusion by describing the Israelites as like grasshoppers compared to the huge people who live in that land “that devours its inhabitants” (Numbers 13:33). The image of a devouring land may be intended to dramatize the power of human forces living in Canaan, or it may be a reversal of the earlier claim about the fruitfulness of the area. In any case, the recommendation against proceeding to the land is evident. (Sakenfeld, Numbers: Journeying with God (International Theological Commentary), 85-86)

Rolf P. Knierim (b. 1928) and George W. Coats (1936-2006) dissect:

The weight of a spy report falls on the report produced by the mission. The spies return from their mission and make their reports to Moses and the people (Numbers 13:26). The report has two forms: (a) The land flows with milk and honey (Numbers 13:27). It thus corresponds to the promised land from the tradition (→Exodus 3:8). The expression, a way to emphasize the fertility of the land, is a typical epithet for the land and thus points to the position of the tradition about the fertile land in popular lore [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. (b) The people are strong and large. The descendants of Anak are there [Numbers 13:28, 33]. The cities are fortified. And the result is a self-description that constitutes a firm example of a frightened resignation. The spies name themselves grasshoppers (Numbers 13:33). The report is thus both good and bad. (Knierim and Coats, Numbers (Forms of the Old Testament Literature), 186)

The discrepancy is embodied in two references in the spies’ report (Numbers 13:27, 32). Diane M. Sharon (b. 1948) connects:

The association of “a land flowing with milk and honey” in Numbers 13:27 with its antithesis, a land devouring its settlers in Numbers 13:32, also recalls the Lord’s desire to withdraw from personally leading the people to the ‘land flowing with milk and honey’ ודבש חלב זבת ארץ בדרך אכלך after the debacle of the golden calf, ‘lest I devour you on the way’ פן־ בדרך אכלך (Exodus 33:3). The metaphoric allusion in Exodus 33 to a connection between the land of milk and honey and the death of the people on the way is concretized and made explicit in the narrative of Numbers 13:1-14:45. But just as Moses intercedes successfully on behalf of the people in Exodus 33:12-17, so, too, his intercession in Numbers 14:11-38 mitigates the Lord’s wrath. (Sharon, Patterns of Destiny: Narrative Structures of Foundation and Doom in the Hebrew Bible, 204)

Unfortunately the bad news overshadows the good (Numbers 13:25-33). R. Dennis Cole (b. 1950) tracks:

The essential question regarding the land was whether it was good (hătôbâ) or bad (’im-rā‘a). When the scouts returned, they described the land as good, describing it as flowing with milk and honey [Numbers 13:27], a key phrase used throughout the Old Testament to characterize the quality and productivity of the Promised Land [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. The tenor of the report, however, suddenly shifted from one of prospective prosperity to one of foreboding fear as the majority of the scouts announced the seeming insurmountability of the people and their heavily fortified cities (Numbers 13:28-29). This fear turned to rebellion when they described the land in terms of death, hence evil or bad, and described a potential return to Egypt as “good” (Numbers 13:31-14:4). (Cole, Numbers (New American Commentary), 210)

David L. Stubbs (b. 1964) laments:

The scouts return and give their report. They show the people the fruit of the land [Numbers 13:23], and their first words are that the land indeed “flows with milk adn honey” (Numbers 13:27)—that is, excellent for grazing milk-giving animals and filled with bees: a perfect land for people like the Israelites. But their concern and anxiety quickly overshadow their initial positive vision, as is apparent in their lengthy rehearsal of the inhabitants of the land—a traditional list of the peoples who lived in Canaan [Numbers 13:28-29]. (Stubbs, Numbers (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible), 128-29)

Modern psychological assessments of Moses have often concurred with the negative majority report, depicting the Promised Land as the leader’s unattainable conquest. Robert A. Paul analyzes:

If, as the midrashic tradition holds, the longing for Egypt was a longing for “incestuous unions”...then these scenes could be analyzed as representing a longing for the mother in whom the nurturant and erotic functions are as yet undifferentiated. Cast out from incestuous Egypt by virtue of the guilt incurred through rebellious patricide, Moses pursues the unattainable chimera of the “promised land flowing with milk and honey,” which will always remain out of reach [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20] . (Paul, Moses and Civilization: The Meaning Behind Sigmund Freud [1856-1939]’s Myth, 105)

A subtle, yet critical, clue to the spies’ bias is concealed in their opening statement. Richard N. Boyce (b. 1955) notices:

Their report starts out well enough, though they show some confusion as to who has sent them (“you” the congregation, versus “You,” God; Numbers 13:27). (Boyce, Leviticus and Numbers (Westminster Biblical Companion), 159)

It is God, not the congregation, who has sent the spies to investigate the land (Numbers 13:1-2). Concurrently, it will be God, not the congregation, who will secure the land. Omitting or forgetting God’s involvement in their mission is telling.

Further, God’s promise is the land, not a life of ease in the Promised Land. The promise is opportunity.

David M. Gunn (b. 1942) considers:

Yahweh is the “God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” [Exodus 3:6]; he has heard their cry, seen their suffering, and will deliver them out of Egypt into land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:6-8, 15-17). Yahweh has seen suffering, affliction and oppression. But if he acts out of simple compassion, we are not told so. Nor is the emphasis of the speech upon the alleviation of the suffering (though the alleviation of course is implied). Rather the keynote is the covenantal promise of land, a land of milk and honey, and so perhaps a land in which to flourish. (David J.A. Clines [b. 1938], Gunn and Alan J. Hauser [b. 1945], Art and Meaning: Rhetoric in Biblical Literature, “The ‘Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart”: Plot, Character and Theology in Exodus 1-14”, 82)

Acquiring the land will take effort. Calvin Miller (1936-2012) empathizes:

For generations God told Israel he would give them Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey [Exodus 3:8, 17, 13:5, 33:3; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:17, 14:8, 16:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:3, 11:9, 26:9, 15, 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; Ezekiel 20:6]. It sounded good until they went to pick up the gift and discovered people were already living in Canaan. So the gift required a great deal of effort from Israel. It is in this same sense that God gives us eternal life, only to have us discover that we must work out our own salvation (Philippians 2:12) and faithfully discipline ourselves to make our lives really count for God. (Miller, Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness: Cultivating Spirit-Given Character)

The Israelites’ greatest obstacle will not be the land’s inhabitants, regardless of their size. Richard N. Boyce (b. 1955) concludes:

God knows the greatest threat to this mission is not the people and the walled cities of this land of milk and honey, no matter how well “fortified” (Numbers 13:19). No, the greatest threat to the forward motion of this story is the fear ever welling up in the hearts of these travelers. God’s people were and still are more proficient at sitting and wailing, than at marching and praising. (Boyce, Leviticus and Numbers (Westminster Biblical Companion), 156)

Despite the consensus that the land is suitable, the negative report represents the majority opinion (Numbers 13:25-33). Consequently, the spies’ report ultimately reveals more about themselves than the land. The Israelites choose to focus on the heavily fortified armies rather than the heavenly promised land. As is often the case, the bad news proves easier to believe. The spies’ report serves as a reminder that nothing must overshadow the good news of God.

How would you have received the spies’ report (Numbers 13:25-33); what stands out to you? What more could the Israelites have asked for? Have you ever forgotten to factor God into your life’s equation? When have you struggled to characterize something as either inherently good or evil? When has bad news overshadowed the good?

“Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted.” - Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), Victor of Waterloo

Moses: 120 Years Young (Deuteronomy 34:7)

How old was Moses when he died? 120 years (Deuteronomy 34:7)

Israel’s renowned liberator, Moses, dies alone with God high atop Mount Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:1-8). Though he will not accompany his nation into the Promised Land, he spends the last moments of his earthly life scanning the region with God’s assurance that it will be given to his descendants (Deuteronomy 34:1-4).

Moses lives to the age of 120 (Deuteronomy 34:7). Despite his advanced years, the text is clear that Moses does not succumb to old age.

Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated. (Deuteronomy 34:7 NASB)

Moses does not endure the diminished capacity that invariably comes with age (Deuteronomy 34:7). Even when he dies at the age of 120, he’s still got it!

Gene A. Getz (b. 1932) applauds:

Moses had begun his career in Israel as a very strong man, and even though he endured unusual stress, he ended his life on earth well-preserved [Deuteronomy 34:7]—a great tribute to his trust and confidence in God and an even greater tribute to the Lord’s loving care and concern for His friend. (Getz, Moses: Freeing Yourself to Know God, 174)

Dennis T. Olson (b. 1954) supports:

Moses remains exceptionally strong and healthy: “His sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated” (Deuteronomy 34:7). Unlike the ancestor Isaac, whose eyes were dim in his old age (Genesis 27:1), Moses is able to see clearly the land that God has showed him [Deuteronomy 34:4]. Moreover, Moses’ “vigor” remains strong. The word for “vigor” is rare in Hebrew but is associated with the fresh, moist property of young trees and fresh fruit. At 120, Moses remains strong, young and supple. These claims about Moses’ extraordinary strength and youthfulness are common legendary motifs associated with heroes in ancient literature. (Olson, Deuteronomy and the Death of Moses: A Theological Reading, 167-68)

Moses is characterized as the picture of health throughout his life. Danny Mathews observes:

The canonical presentation of Moses begins and ends with reference to the appearance and health of Moses. At his birth, he is described as “beautiful (מוב; Exodus 2:2). Upon his death, Moses “was one hundred and twenty years old...his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated” (Deuteronomy 34:7). Here Moses is presented as one in perfect health on the day of his death who dies rather at “the Lord’s command” (Deuteronomy 34:5). (Mathews, Royal Motifs in the Pentateuchal Portrayal of Moses, 48-49)

Some have seen a discrepancy in the narrator’s evaluation of Moses’ health and his own personal assessment presented three chapters earlier (Deuteronomy 31:2, 34:7).

Dennis T. Olson (b. 1954) acknowledges:

This heroic depiction of Moses [Deuteronomy 34:7] seems to contradict the portrait of Moses as feeble and weak in Deuteronomy 31:2: “I am now one hundred twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about.” While the contradictions may be explained away as coming from two different sources, their presence together in the final form of Deuteronomy suggests a meaningful tension in the portraiture of Moses. Moses is heroic and legendary and at the same time subject to the limits and weaknesses of all human beings. The same dialectic is at work in the juxtaposition of the stress of the inevitable reality of Moses’ death on the one hand (Deuteronomy 34:16) and on the undiminished vigor and sight of the heroic Moses on the other (Deuteronomy 34:7). (Olson, Deuteronomy and the Death of Moses: A Theological Reading, 168)

Mark E. Biddle (b. 1957) evaluates:

Moses’ admission (Deuteronomy 31:2) that, at 120 years of age, he could “no longer go out or come in,” sounds like a description of geriatric infirmity. If so, it contradicts the claim (Deuteronomy 34:7) that at the time of his death Moses’ eyesight was still good and he was still vigorous. Contrasts such as this prompt modern scholars to hypothesize multiple traditions or editorial processes. Rabbinic scholars, on the other hand, regarded such infelicities as indicators of some subtlety...The late medieval Jewish commentator Nachmanides [1194-1270], for example, assumed that the great Moses would have been in remarkable health to the end. The interpretive problem, then, is Moses’ apparent misrepresentation in Deuteronomy 31:2. Nachmanides suggested a psychological motivation for Moses’ white lie; Moses’ statement reveals his pastoral concern for the people who were about to be deprived of the only leader they have ever known: “he told them this in order to comfort them”; that is, so they could find some rationale for Moses’ passing...The Talmud (Sotah 13b) harmonizes the two statements by postulating that Deuteronomy 31:2 refers to Moses’ mental condition while Deuteronomy 34:7 refers to his physical condition. It explains that “This [Deuteronomy 31:2] teaches us that the well-springs of wisdom were stopped for him.” (Biddle, Deuteronomy (Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary), 455)

Moses must be in relatively good physical condition as he can climb the mountain (Deuteronomy 34:1) and his eyes are strong enough to see the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34:2, 4).

Moses’ age and health (Deuteronomy 34:7) are often seen as emblematic of divine blessing, comparable to the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief in the incorruptibility of the saints.

Eugene E. Carpenter (1943-2012) informs:

Old age was a blessing from the gods in the thinking of the ancient Near East. The kings before the flood in the Sumerian King List were attributed heroic lives of thousands of years. The age of one hundred and ten represented a fulfilled life in Egypt. Ramesses II [1303-1213 BCE] lived to be about ninety. Moses reaches the biblical ideal of one hundred and twenty years (Genesis 6:3; cf. Genesis 50:26). (John H. Walton [b. 1952], Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, 513)

Some have viewed Moses’ 120 year life span as an approximation (Deuteronomy 34:7). Pierson Parker (1905-1995) and Henry Herbert Shires (1886-1961) consider:

It is difficult to know whether or not we should take this tradition at face value. In rough computation Israel frequently assumed a generation to be roughly forty years (cf. the time spent in the wilderness [Deuteronomy 2:7], i.e., a generation). Moses’ age as here given is simply thrice forty years, which may mean nothing more than that he was an old man who had seen grandchildren grow to maturity. (Parker and Shires, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel (The Interpreter’s Bible), 511)

Ian Cairns (1930-2000) supplements:

Moses’ age is 120 years (Deuteronomy 31:2; cf. Deuteronomy 34:7). In the historical framework of the Deuteronomistic history, “forty years” stands for a complete generation (e.g., Judges 3:11, 5:31b), or for the time in office of a great leader — Eli, David, Solomon, Joash, and Moses himself (e.g., Deuteronomy 2:7)...That Moses’ life span is precisely three times forty years may be symbolic of his preeminence. (Cairns, Deuteronomy: Word and Presence (International Theological Commentary), 271)

There is meaning attached to the number 120. Gary Harlan Hall (b. 1941) footnotes:

There is probably some symbolism at work here. The ideal age in Egypt was 110, the age of Joseph at his death (Genesis 50:26). In ancient Syria the ideal age was 120 (John H. Walton [b. 1952] and Victor H. Matthews [b. 1950], Genesis–Deuteronomy, p. 265). In the Old Testament 120 years was the limit to life after the flood (Genesis 6:3). Moses’ full life of service had been under the careful watch of God and was now complete. In the Old Testament forty was the number that signaled a full and complete period of service (Eli – I Samuel 4:18; David – II Samuel 5:4; Solomon – I Kings 2:11; Joash – II Kings 12:1) or a full generation (Judges 3:11, 5:31b, 8:28). Moses’ life spanned three such periods. (Hall, Deuteronomy (College Press NIV Commentary), 453)

J.A. Thompson (1913-2002) contemplates:

The age of Moses is given as a hundred and twenty years (Deuteronomy 34:7; cf. Exodus 7:7). The significance of the figure is not clear. In Egyptian literature 110 years was the life-span of a wise man and numerous examples are known. The fact that Moses’ life was ten years longer may be a device to express Moses’ superiority over the wise man of Egypt. Again, the age 120 is three times forty (cf. the time spent in the wilderness, Deuteronomy 2:7) and may well denote three generations. In any case Moses was an old man who had seen his grandchildren grow to maturity. (Thompson, Deuteronomy (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries), 290)

Jack R. Lundbom (b. 1939) adds:

Moses is the only person in the Bible to achieve the ideal life span set forth in Genesis 6:3...A life span of 120 years occurs in the ancient Sumerian folktale “Enlil and Namzitarra” (lines 23-24), which speaks of the uselessness of accumulating wealth when life is so short; you die and can take nothing to the grave (Jacob Klein [b. 1934] 1990). In Egyptian literature the ideal life span is 110 years (Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 414 n 33; cf. Genesis 50:26, where Joseph’s age at the time of his death in Egypt is 110 years). Joshua, too dies at 110 years (Joshua 24:29). Psalm 90:10 puts the normal lifespan at 70, perhaps 80. (Lundbom, Deuteronomy: A Commentary, 829)

Moses’ advanced age is certainly an anomaly. James M. Scott (b. 1955) surveys:

If, as we have seen, Moses died at 120 years of age (less than three jubilees) [Deuteronomy 34:7], then the death of Moses on the verge of entering the Land marks the end of an era, since human longevity thereafter drops to below two jubilees. This corresponds to the fact that outside of the patriarchal narrative in Genesis, only four individuals in the Old Testament are said to have lived beyond 100 years of age: Moses (120 years [Deuteronomy 34:7]), Joshua (110 years [Joshua 24:29]), Job (140 years [Job 42:16]), and the high priest Jehoiada (130 years [II Chronicles 24:15]). (Scott, On Earth as in Heaven: The Restoration of Sacred Time and Sacred Space in the Book of Jubilees, 114)

Jewish tradition advances that Moses is the first of four significant figures who die at the landmark age of 120. The Midrash Sifre (Deuteronomy 34.7 §357.14) records:

He [Moses] is one of four who died at the age of one hundred twenty years. These are they: Moses, Hillel the Eder [110 BCE-7CE], Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai [30 BCE-90 CE], and Rabbi Aqiba [40-137]. Moses spent forty years in Egypt, forty years in Midian, and forty years as sustainer of Israel. Hillel the Elder emigrated from Babylonia at the age of forty years, served as disciple of sages for forty years, and spent forty years as sustainer of Israel. Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai spent forty years in trade, served as disciple of sages for forty years, and spent forty years as sustainer of Israel. Rabbi Aquiba studied Torah at the age of forty years, served as disciple of sages for forty years, and spent forty years as sustainer of Israel. There are six pairs who lived the same length of time: Rebecca and Cheetah, Levi and Amam, Joseph and Joshua, Samuel and Solomon, Moses and Hillel the Elder, and Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and Rabbi Aquiba. (Jacob Neusner [b. 1932], A Theological Commentary to the Midrash: Sifré to Numbers and Sifré to Deuteronomy, 187)

At the time of his death, Moses is one hundred twenty years young (Deuteronomy 34:7). Despite his many years, he is still vigorous. This detail adds an element of tragedy to his death.

Eugene H. Merrill (b. 1934) laments:

That Moses’ death was premature, even though he was 120 years old, is clear from the assessment that “his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone” (Deuteronomy 34:7). In other words, he did not fail to enter Canaan because he died, but he died because he failed to enter Canaan [Numbers 20:12]. (Merrill, Deuteronomy (New American Commentary), 453-54)

George W. Coats (1936-2006) analyzes:

At this critical point in the heroic story, intimacy between the hero and God is apparent. But in the death away from the people, intimacy between hero and people is broken. In the past he also belonged to his people. Now his people are absent. The death of the hero is thus typically tragic: ‘No man knows the place of his burial to this day’ [Deuteronomy 34:6]. Deuteronomy 34:7 heightens the tragedy. Moses was one hundred twenty years old. That age is the time for death (contrast Deuteronomy 31:1). But for Moses the vigor of his heroic life remained. ‘His eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated.’ He could have continued his leadership. He was in physical form if not in chronological age a young man. And he left his people when he would have still been able to lead them. (Coats, Moses: Heroic Man, Man of God, 152)

Despite Moses’ premature death prohibiting him from entering the Promised Land, he never experiences poor health and is permitted to inspect the region while imagining a better life for his people given divine assurance that his efforts have not been in vain (Deuteronomy 34:1-4). Deuteronomy 34:7 provides a fitting epitaph for the revered leader .

What does Deuteronomy’s epitaph convey about Moses (Deuteronomy 34:7)? How do you picture Moses, as a vigorous mountain man or a decrepit lawgiver; which is more accurate? How important is vitality to a leader’s credibility? What do you think Moses felt as he inspected the Promised Land, hope or regret (Deuteronomy 34:1-4); is this viewing a blessing or a curse? Who have you known who experienced good health even well advanced in years; who aged best? How long would you like to live?

Moses’ 120-year life can be divided neatly into three parts. Gary Harlan Hall (b. 1941) delineates:

Moses was a hundred and twenty years old [Deuteronomy 34:7]. This marked the end of the third cycle of his life and rounded off his service to God. Moses was forty wen he fled Egypt (Acts 7:23), eighty at the time of the Exodus (cf. Deuteronomy 2:7), and now 120. Now at the end of the third cycle he was no longer able to carry out his leadership functions. The end had come for Moses not because of deteriorating health (see Deuteronomy 34:7), but because his role in God’s plan was at an end. A new task called for new leadership. (Hall, Deuteronomy (College Press NIV Commentary), 453-54)

Though Moses’ life has three notable forty year phases, he is primarily remembered for what he achieved during its final chapter (Deuteronomy 2:7, 34:7); Israel’s renowned leader saves his best for last. In a very real sense Moses’ life begins at eighty (Exodus 7:7). Moses’ age provides hope that it is never too late to serve God. And to do so well.

How did the first phases of Moses’ life prepare him for its final chapter? How would you divide your life into eras? Who do you know who was most productive during the last leg of their life’s race? What do you want to do in the final chapter of your life? What would you do if you knew that you were living it now?

“Sometimes, the embers are better than the campfire. It’s strange, but it’s true.” - Stephen King (b. 1947), The Green Mile: The Complete Serial Novel

Timeless Songs (Revelation 15:2-4)

Which New Testament book contains the Song of Moses? Revelation 15:3, 4

The fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of Revelation form a self contained unit depicting God’s final judgment (Revelation 15:1-16:21). Seven angels unleash a series of seven plagues upon the earth. The first verse of chapter 15, Revelation’s shortest chapter, introduces the sequence with an announcement (Revelation 15:1).

Before developing this theme, the scene shifts to heaven to “something like a sea of glass mixed with fire” (Revelation 15:2 NASB). Around this landmark, an immense crowd of the redeemed sing a victory song (Revelation 15:2-3). This departure represents the calm before the storm. The foundational Exodus narrative is being reworked in reverse order as in Revelation, the religious community crosses the sea before the plagues descend.

Ben Witherington III (b. 1951) depicts:

John looks and perceives a sea of glass as before, but this time it is mixed with fire. As in Revelation 8:5, fire is a symbol of God’s holiness and wrath, which is hovering and about to be cast down, like fire on Sodom and Gomorrah [Genesis 19:24]. By the sea John sees standing the conquerors with harps, those who triumphed over the Beast, and the number of his name...This worship scene is perhaps to remind us of the one in Revelation 4:1-5:14. (Witherington, Revelation (New Cambridge Bible Commentary), 205-06)

The people are praising God. Worship is one of Revelation’s major themes and the action believers are most frequently portrayed performing in the book.

And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and marvelous are Your works,
O Lord God, the Almighty;
Righteous and true are Your ways,
King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy;
For all the nations will come and worship before You,
For Your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:3-4 NASB)

Grant R. Osborne (b. 1942) comments:

With their harps they were “singing the song of Moses” (Revelation 15:3). Christ had delivered them from the dragon with his blood (Revelation 12:11), and God had given them victory over the false trinity. Thus, like Moses after the exodus from Egypt, they sing a song of victory [Exodus 15:1-18]. (Osborne, Revelation (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), 563)

Mark W. Wilson (b. 1949) compares:

Like the 144,000 who sing a new song before the heavenly throne (Revelation 14:1-3), the rest of the victors also sing a song of triumph. Their song imitates the heavenly song celebrating the triumph of the Lamb through his blood (cf. Revelation 5:5, 9-10). (Clinton E. Arnold [b. 1958], Revelation (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary), 94)

The song is introduced with a familiar verb. David L. Mathewson (b. 1963) notes:

In Revelation 5:9, 14:3, and Revelation 15:3 the present of ἄδω is used to introduce and highlight the new song sung by living creatures, the voice from the throne, and the Song of Moses sung by the victorious saints. (Mathewson, Verbal Aspect in the Book of Revelation: The Function of Greek Verb Tenses in John’s Apocalypse, 78)

The passage falls within a vision of angels discharging the last plagues (Revelation 15:1-8). Like the previous plagues, these are introduced through the lens of heavenly worship (Revelation 15:3-4). Like Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) interspersing comedy into his films to break up the suspense, Revelation frequently drifts to heaven so that the reader is not overwhelmed by horror.

Robert H. Smith (1932-2006) interprets:

Before the seer utters another word about the angels or their plagues, he lifts our eyes to the heavenly throne room. The vision of heavenly reality, as often before (Revelation 4:1-11, 8:2-5, 11:15-19, 14:1-5), interrupts scenes of otherwise unrelieved terror on earth. Heavenly visions offer a reading of events from God’s point of view and strengthen readers for the shocks to come. (Smith, The Apocalypse: A Commentary on Revelation in Words and Images, 78)

Jon Paulien (b. 1949) relates:

The sound of singing breaks into this scene completely unexpected, especially since rivers of blood anticipate even further plagues (Revelation 14:19-15:2). It would seem like a time to ban music and rejoicing. But sometimes the most powerful singing occurs when nobody plans on it. (Paulien, The Gospel from Patmos, Everyday Insights for Living from the Last Book of the Bible, 270)

The singing is accompanied by “harps of God” (Revelation 15:2). James L. Resseguie (b. 1945) analyzes:

The conquerors have in their hands harps or kitharas of God. The phrase “harps of God” is somewhat ambiguous. It could refer to harps given to the victors by God as symbols of their new status as members of the heavenly choir, like the twenty-four elders, who also have harps (Revelation 5:8). Or the phrase could indicate harps that are used for playing songs to God. It is doubtful that a choice needs to be made in this context: the harps are given by God and are to be played in praise of God. The harps identify the conquerors as the 144,000, for the Israel of God—represented by the symbolic number 144,000—also plays harps in Revelation 14:2. (Resseguie, The Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary, 204-05)

The song’s intent is clear. Mike Tucker (b. 1952) pronounces:

This song of victory focuses entirely on God...and His glory and His worthiness. This is the essence of true worship. True worship always focuses on God. True worship always gives glory to God alone. Those who are faithful will worship Him exclusively, and nothing else. (Tucker, Meeting Jesus in the Book of Revelation, 123)

Revelation 15:3-4 is a redemption song. It wastes no energy gloating over fallen enemies, but instead accentuates the deliverance and exploits of God.

While the song’s meaning is clear its classification, ascription and sources are hot topics. The hymn may have been familiar to Revelation’s original audience. Robert H. Mounce (b. 1921) speculates:

The structure of the hymn suggests that it may have been used in the liturgy of the early church. The first four lines are a classic example of synonymous parallelism. (Mounce, The Book of Revelation (The New International Commentary on the New Testament), 285)

Grant R. Osborne (b. 1942) classifies:

Heinrich Kraft [b. 1918] (1974:201) sees this as a baptismal hymn focused on the fact that both Moses and the Lamb have “led their people through water to a new life.” However, there is too little evidence of baptismal symbolism here. More viable is Wolfgang Fenske [b. 1956] (1999:255), who sees the Song of Moses stemming from Deuteronomy 32:4-5 and the Song of the Lamb stemming from Psalm 85:9-10 from the standpoint of the conquering Lamb. Therefore, it may be a Christian war scroll (so also J.A. du Rand [b.1954] (1995). (Osborne, Revelation (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), 564)

The song is ascribed to “Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:2 NASB). This marks the 847th and final time that Moses’ name appears in the Bible and the only time it is referenced in Revelation. The infrequency of Moses’ name in Revelation is not surprising as the book typically alludes to the Old Testament rather than citing it.

Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (b. 1938) informs:

Revelation never refers to the Old Testament as graphē (Scripture) and does not once introduce its Old Testament material through a formula quotation. We only find one explicit reference to the Old Testament: “They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God” (Revelation 15:3). Yet the song which follows is not connected in any literary way with the Song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-18 or Deuteronomy 32:1-43, but is an amalgamation of various Old Testament themes. Thus Revelation does not even once strictly quote the Old Testament. (Fiorenza, The Book of Revelation: Justice and Judgment, 101-02)

Joseph L. Mangina (b. 1957) concurs:

The exodus forms a kind of subtext throughout the Apocalypse, present yet hidden under multiple figures, hints, and allusions. But now the theme is stated in an unambiguous way. The song sung by the sea, John tell us, is none other than “the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.” (Mangina, Revelation (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible))

John is making an intentional connection to the Old Testament. Robert W. Wall (b. 1947) explicates:

The phrase, song of Moses...and the song of the Lamb, prepares the reader for the hymn of praise which follows. Even though the hymn’s content derives from the biblical psalter, John’s reference to the song of Moses frames its theological importance. (Wall, Revelation (New International Biblical Commentary), 193)

Moses is designatd God’s doûlos, translated “servant” (ASV, CEV, ESV, HCSB, KJV, MSG, NIV, NKJV, NLT, NRSV, RSV) or “bond-servant” (NASB). John Christopher Thomas (b. 1954) asserts:

Mention of ‘the song of Moses the servant of God’ could not help but call attention to the place of Moses in Israel’s redemptive history, which is without parallel, for not only is the descriptive title ‘the servant of God’ one used for Moses on numerous occasions in the Old Testament (Exodus 14:31; Numbers 12:7; Deuteronomy 34:5; Joshua 1:1, 15, 8:32, 9:24; I Kings 8:53, 56; II Kings 18:12, 21:8; II Chronicles 24:9; Nehemiah 1:8; Psalm 105:26; Malachi 4:4), but it also makes clear the fact that Moses himself is a prophet of God (cf. Revelation 10:7), and a most important one at that! (Thomas, The Apocalypse: A Literary and Theological Commentary, 453)

Wilfrid J. Harrington (b. 1927) connects:

As in Hebrews 3:5, Moses is called God’s servant and is set in contrast to the Son: “Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant...but Christ was faithful in all God’s house as a son.” (Harrington, Revelation (Sacra Pagina), 159)

The phrase also attaches Moses to believers in Revelation. Hanna Stenström (b. 1963) associates:

Christians are described as δούλοι του θεου in Revelation 2:20, 7:3, 19:2, 5, 22:3, 6. In some passages, a certain person is identified as a δούλος του θεου: Revelation 1:1 where the designation refers to John, and Revelation 15:3 where it refers to Moses. See also Revelation 10:7, 11:18 where the prophets are called δούλοι του θεου. On this theme in Revelation see Akira Satake [b.1929], Die Gemeindeordnung in der Johannesapokalypse, pp. 86-97. (Amy-Jill Levine [b. 1956] and Maria Mayo Robbins [b. 1973], “They Have Not Defiled Themselves with Women...: Christian Identity According to the Book of Revelation”, A Feminist Companion to the Apocalypse of John, 48)

There has been considerable discussion as to what is meant by the song “of Moses” (Revelation 15:2). Robert L. Thomas (b. 1928) considers:

One way of understanding the genitives Μωϋσέως (Mōyseōs, “of Moses”) and του ἀρνίου (tou arniou, “of the Lamb”) is to take them both as objective genitives: “the song about Moses’ accomplishments with God’s help and the song about the Lamb’s accomplishment with God’s help” (James Moffatt [1870-1944], R.C.H. Lenski [1864-1936], Alan F. Johnson [b. 1933]). This hypothesis cannot explain why Moses and the Lamb are not mentioned in the songs (Isbon T. Beckwith [1843-1936]), however, neither does it agree with the clear fact that Moses was the composer and singer of his song. Another way of interpreting is to consider the former genitive as subjective and the latter as objective: “the song Moses sang and the song about the Lamb.” Yet the song does not mention the Lamb, so this proposal falters (Beckwith). The best analysis takes both genitives as subjective: “the song by Moses and the song for which the Lamb is responsible.” It is the Song of Moses because its thought and language came from Moses. It is the song of the Lamb because he composed it, not in words but in actions that are the essential focus of this whole revelation of last things (Beckwith). The actions of the Lamb have dominated throughout the process of deliverance that reached its climax at this point (cf. Revelation 5:5), so in that sense He is responsible for the overcomers’ ability to sing as they do. (Thomas, Revelation 8-22: An Exegetical Commentary (Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary), 236)

Stephen S. Smalley (b. 1931) concurs:

It is not immediately clear how to construe the genitive in ‘the song of Moses’ (τὴν ὠδὴν Μωϋσέως, tēn ō[i]dēn Mōyseōs). However, it can scarcely be objective (‘a song to or about Moses’), since what follows is clearly addressed to God. It makes sense, therefore, to understand the genitive as subjective: this is a ‘song by Moses’. There are two such hymns recorded in the Old Testament: Exodus 15:1-18; and Deuteronomy 31:30-32:43 (David E. Aune [b. 1939] [872] includes Psalm 90:1-17, a ‘prayer of Moses’, as a third). In view of the Exodus motif which runs strongly through the theology of Revelation 15:1-8, it is likely that the allusion here is to the song of God’s victory which Moses recited with the Israelites (Exodus 15:1) after the Exodus. In itself, that event points to the triumphant and new Exodus achieved by the messianic Lamb in his cross and resurrection (Revelation 14:3-4; cf. John 16:33); see G.K. Beale [b. 1949] 792. (Smalley, The Revelation to John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse, 786)

Olutola K. Peters (b. 1952) deduces:

While it is true that the syntax of the text allows for both objective and subjective genitives, the historical background includes well-known “songs” of Moses (cf. Exodus 15:1-18; Deuteronomy 31:30-32:43); this would suggest a song by Moses (subjective genitive). For lack of a reference anywhere to a song sung by the Lamb, it would make more sense to regard “the song of the Lamb” as that which is about the Lamb (cf. Revelation 5:9-12). (Peters, The Mandate Of The Church In The Apocalypse Of John, 69)

As has been alluded, Revelation 15:3-4’s classification as a “song of Moses” is problematic. Moses is credited with two songs in the Pentateuch, one at the beginning of his career (Exodus 15:1-18) and the other near the end, his swan song (Deuteronomy 32:1-43). The words in Revelation’s “song of Moses” match neither.

Leonard L. Thompson (b. 1934) inspects:

Moses sang two songs, one after victory at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-18) and one near the end of his life (Deuteronomy 32:1-43). The two are not always kept separate (see De Ebrietate 111). The primary reference here is to the song sung at the Red Sea (though compare the opening four lines to Deuteronomy 32:4). According to Philo [20 BCE-50 CE], the Therapeutai, a Jewish contemplative order, sang such a song at Passover (festival celebrating the exodus from Egypt), in imitation “of that one which, in old time, was established by the Red Sea, on account of the wondrous works which were displayed there” (cf. Vita Contemplativa 84-88). (Thompson, Revelation (Abingdon New Testament Commentaries), 150)

Connecting either of the songs credited to Moses in the Pentateuch to Revelation 15:3-4 involves a stretch. Brian K. Blount (b. 1955) introduces:

Calling this new song the song of Moses raises a problem: to what Old Testament song of Moses is John referring? Even though John envisions a similar context for the multitude’s song and the Song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-18, there are few grammatical and thematic parallels between the two. Many scholars have noted that a better thematic comparison exists between the multitude’s song and the one attributed to Moses and the Israelites in Deuteronomy 32:1-43. But even there the connections are quite general. (Blount, Revelation: A Commentary (New Testament Library), 286)

Grant R. Osborne (b. 1942) surveys:

The Song of Moses itself is found in Exodus 15:1-19 or perhaps in Deuteronomy 31:30-32:43 (both are called the “song of Moses,” Exodus 15:1; Deuteronomy 31:30). Though it is commonly said that Exodus 15 is closer to the themes here, some (G.R. Beasley-Murray [1916-2000], Heinz Giesen [b. 1940], G.K. Beale [b. 1949]) have noted that both are reflected in this hymn. J.A. du Rand [b.1954] (1995:203-5) believes that Deuteronomy 32 is closer and sees the key terms “works/deeds,” “ways,” and “holy” drawn from there. The song combines the war tradition with the eschatological exodus tradition, possibly alluding also to the David and Goliath tradition (cf. Tosefta Targum on I Samuel 17) to portray the victory of the Lamb over the beast (du Rand 1995:207-8). Thus, liberation and restoration are the major themes as God’s people experience a new exodus (so also Donal A. McIlraith [b. 1945] 1999:522-23). The problem is that the wording of the song has little connection with either Exodus 15 or Deuteronomy 32. Therefore, many (e.g., G.B. Caird [1917-1984], Austin Farrer [1904-1968], Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza [b. 1938], Gerhard A. Krodel [1926-2005]) have noted that the song here is a concatenation of themes drawn from many places in the Old Testament. (Osborne, Revelation (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), 563-64)

Some argue that the song of Moses in Revelation 15:3-4 correlates to Exodus 15:1-18 and Exodus certainly does inform the worldview of Revelation. Barbara R. Rossing (b. 1955) assesses:

The fundamental model for liberation in Revelation is the Book of Exodus, the story of the liberation of Israel from bondage in Egypt. As Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza [b. 1938] and other scholars have shown, the Book of Exodus furnishes the pattern for much of Revelation’s imagery, including Jesus as the Lamb who takes on the role of Moses. The entire Book of Revelation suggests a parallel between the Christians’ journey out of Rome and the Israelites’ journey out of Egypt. For example, the author of Revelation calls Christians to “come out” of Babylon (Revelation 18:4). The connection to Moses and the Exodus becomes explicit when God’s servants sing the “song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3). As such, the Book of Revelation gives a “re-reading of the Exodus, now being experienced not in Egypt but in the heart of the Roman Empire.” (David Rhoads [b. 1941], “For the Healing of the World: Reading Revelation Ecologically”, From Every People and Nation: The Book of Revelation in Intercultural Perspective, 175)

More pointedly, some have seen reverberations of the song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-18 in Revelation. Margaret Barker (b. 1944) correlates:

There are many echoes of this song in the Book of Revelation: ‘Who is like thee?’ was said in irony of the beast [Revelation 13:4]; the earth also swallowed the river which came from the dragon’s mouth [Revelation 12:16]; the ‘redeemed’ are the kingdom of priests, the first born (Revelation 5:6, 14:4) who have been set free from Egypt [Revelation 11:8] and established on the holy mountain (Revelation 14:1-5). They are brought across a sea which has congealed to let them pass, the crystal sea of vision. (Barker, The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Which God Gave to Him to Show to His Servants What Must Soon Take Place (Revelation 1.1), 261)

The song of Moses in Exodus derives from Moses’ first triumph, crossing the Red Sea and evading Pharaoh’s forces (Exodus 15:1-18). Moses leads the Israelites in singing the composition and it is summarized antiphonally by Miriam (Exodus 15:21).

Robert H. Mounce (b. 1921) describes:

The deliverance of which Moses and the people sang in Exodus 15:1-18 prefigured the greater deliverance wrought by the Lamb...This song commemorating Israel’s greatest deliverance was sung on Sabbath evenings in the synagogue service. Its imagery was stamped on the consciousness of every pious Jew. The theme of victory in Exodus becomes the basis for praise and adoration in the song of the victors. God is worthy of glory and honor because his great and marvelous works are true and righteous. The song does not celebrate the judgment of God upon his enemies but the righteousness of his great redemptive acts. As Moses triumphed over Pharaoh, and as the risen Lord was victor over the world (John 16:33), so also the faithful have maintained their fidelity against all demand of the imperial cult. (Mounce, The Book of Revelation (The New International Commentary on the New Testament), 285-86)

The song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-18 may have held eschatological significance. G.K. Beale (b. 1949) briefs:

Other Jewish writings affirm that the song of Exodus 15:1 implies the resurrection of the Israelite singers to sing once again in the new age (b. Sanhedrin 19b; Mekilta de Ishmael, Shirata 1.1-10). This could be a hint suggesting that Revelation 15:2-3 is a resurrection scene. Similarly, Wisdom of Solomon 19:6-9 speaks of Israel’s passage through the sea as their new creation, for which they “praised” God...A resurrection is possible in Revelation 15:2, where the notion of resurrection is pointed to by the saints “standing” (ἑστωτας) on the glass sea, in striking similarity to the clear resurrection portrayal of the Lamb “standing” (ἑστηχός) by (or on) the glass sea (Revelation 5:6). The “conquering” of both the Lamb and the saints includes resurrection (cf. νιχάω in Revelation 5:5 and Revelation 15:2). (Beale, The Book of Revelation (New International Greek Testament Commentary), 792-93)

Alan F. Johnson (b. 1933) adds:

K. Boronicz (“‘Canticum Moysi et agni’—Apoc. 15:3,” Ruch Biblit 17 [1964]:81-87) argues that according to Jewish tradition the doctrine of resurrection is implicitly contained in the Law and is exemplified by the Canticle (Song) of Moses (Exodus 15:1-18). Revelation 15:3-4 has a prophetic and messianic sense and points to resurrection. In their prophetic symbolism, the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb are identical. Could this also be the reason why all early church liturgies included the Song of Moses somewhere in the Easter commemoration and some also included it on other Sundays (cf. Eric Werner [1901-1988], The Sacred Bridge: Liturgical Parallels in Synagogue and Early Church [New York: Schocken, 1970, 142)?...In the ancient synagogue, the Haftorah (prophetic reading) accompanying the Seder on Exodus 15:1-12 was Isaiah 26:1: “In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts”; and Isaiah 65:24: “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” Both prophetic portions are part of texts called “Consolation of Israel” and emphasize the strengthening of the faith of Israel (cf. Jacob Mann [1888-1940], The Bible as Read and Preached in the Old Synagogue [New York: Ktav, 1971], 1:431-32). The Song of Moses was apparently not so frequently used in the synagogue but principally in the temple services (cf. Werner, Sacred Bridge 141). (Tremper Longman III [b. 1952] and David E. Garland [b. 1947], Hebrews– Revelation (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary), 730)

There are many contextual similarities between the songs in Exodus 15:1-18 and Revelation 15:3-4. Young Mog Song (b. 1969) contends:

Many parallels between Exodus 15 and Revelation 15 are important: (1) the theme of victory in Exodus 15 becomes the basis for praise in Revelation 15:3-4 (Robert H. Mounce [b. 1921] 1983:287). (2) Several terms, e.g. ‘glory’, ‘victory’, and ‘tabernacle’, are common (cf. Exodus 15:11; Revelation 15:4). (3) The entire scene of Revelation 15:2 revives the Israelites standing on the shore of the Red Sea. (4) The seven plagues (Revelation 11:6, 15:8) recall the ten plagues om Egypt. And (5) the universal recognition of Jehovah as the one true God is a common theme of their praises (Exodus 15:14; Revelation 15:4; Mounce, 1983: 288). (Heerak Christian Kim [b. 1970], Journeys in Biblical Studies: Academic Papers from SBL International 2008, New Zealand, 65-66)

Thomas B. Slater (b. 1952) adds:

The song of Moses and the Lamb celebrates God’s eschatological exodus of his people. It is similar to the song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-18 in this regard. Both songs are sung along a seashore. The reference to the Lamb could remind the reader of the Passover Lamb of the Exodus tradition (Exodus 12:3, 4, 5, 21). However, unlike Exodus 15:1-18, which celebrates the deliverance of a single nation, the event in Revelation 15:3-4 celebrates the deliverance of a racially and culturally mixed Christian body (cf. Revelation 7:9-10). Finally, both Moses and the Lamb function as deliverers of a religious community. (Slater, Christ and Community: A Socio-Historical Study of the Christology of Revelation, 195)

Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (b. 1938) resolves:

The most influential text...seems to be Exodus 15:1-8. The Song of Moses has become in Revelation the Song of the Lamb, the “new song.” Both songs praise God’s redemptive activity in the deliverance and liberation of the people of God. In addition, the hymn functions also as a positive response to the eternal gospel because it announces that God’s justice will cause the nations of the earth to come and worship God. Here, like Caesar, God is called the king of the nations. The new song of Revelation announces liberation and salvation not only for the Christian community, but also for all nations which are now oppressed and longing for the experience of God’s justice. God’s judgments are just and true. Like the chorus in a Greek drama, this hymn interprets the meaning and intention of the preceding and following visions of cruel judgment. Their goal is justice and salvation. (Fiorenza, Revelation: Vision of a Just World (Proclamation Commentaries), 92)

Frederick J. Murphy (1949-2011) interjects:

The hymn is the most explicit reference to the exodus in Revelation, and it alerts the reader to the exodus allusions in the bowls that follow in chapter 16 (Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza [b. 1938] 1991, 91). Exodus 15:1-21 and Revelation 15:3-4 are broadly similar in that both celebrate the awesome exhibition of God’s power on behalf of his people and his rescue of them. A difference is that the enemies in Exodus 15 are either destroyed (Egyptians) or in terror (inhabitants of Philistia, Edom, Moab, Canaan), and their conversion is not contemplated. Revelation 15:3-4 anticipates the acceptance by all nations of God’s sovereignty. This contrast must be qualified, however, for the nations’ fear in Exodus 15:14-16 is a recognition of God’s power, and non-Christians are not treated so benignly elsewhere in Revelation. (Murphy, Fallen Is Babylon: The Revelation to John, 330)

Jürgen Roloff (1930-2004) sees typological connections:

The reference to Moses certainly calls to mind the Red Sea tradition in Exodus 15:1-21...Because the hymn deviates greatly from the content of the Red Sea hymn, it cannot be the intention of the author to present it in its original form. The relationship between the hymn of praise of those who overcome and that of Moses, instead, is at the salvation-historical and typological levels. Just as in the exodus Israel was delivered from the Egyptians by Moses, so now will the salvation people of the end time be delivered from the evil powers that afflict them—in fact, by Jesus, the lamb, who purchased his own by his blood (cf. Revelation 5:9-10). The deliverance event of the end time corresponds, contrastingly and in heightened form, to that of primitive history. The idea that the exodus is a prototype of God’s end-time act of redemption toward his people was also active in Jewish tradition. Thus, one expected that Moses as the risen one would one day sing again with the risen community the song of the Red Sea (Mekilta Exodus 15:1). Moses and Jesus are compared here as the representatives of God’s saving activity in primitive times and at the end time, which becomes an occasion for the rescued to sing praise; thus, the designation of Jesus as lamb heightens the typology even more. (Roloff, Revelation (Continental Commentary Series), 183)

Joseph L. Mangina (b. 1957) sees another point of contact:

What joins the song in Exodus with the song of the Lamb is not just the theme of victory...but the importance that both songs accord to the name of God. Whether in the form of the Tetragrammaton YHWH, or the formula “who was and who is and who is to come,” or the name of Jesus, the name of God is a powerful indicator of his holiness. God is holy and singular, as well as gracious and loving. The life and death of the Lamb may be seen as the act in which God glorifies his own name, a kind of “yes” to himself, on the basis of which the nations are summoned to add their own “yes” in the form of an eternal sanctus. “For your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:4). Once again we see the crucial role played by the first commandment in the Apocalypse [Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7]. This is yet another reason why the song of the Lamb does not render the song of Moses obsolete, but rather confirms it and intensifies it. (Mangina, Revelation (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible))

T.F. Glasson (1906-1998) contends:

The song of Moses...and the song of the Lamb are virtually the same song, celebrating divine deliverance...The words given here in Revelation 15:3-4 would be equally appropriate in the old Exodus and the new; in both events the same delivering mercy was revealed. (Glasson, The Revelation of John (The Cambridge Bible Commentary), 89)

While the context of both songs is a divinely orchestrated military victory, Revelation’s triumph is on a larger scale: In Exodus 15 a battle is won, in Revelation 15 a war. It is fitting that at the end of the war one of the opening victories is recalled.

Earl F. Palmer (b. 1931) studies:

The song of Moses is fulfilled in this chorale of Revelation 15:3-4. Moses and his army, like the army of the Lord in Revelation, have both won a victory, but Moses’ song primarily exalts the Lord for the defeat of the foe; whereas, in the song of Revelation 15, the exaltation is larger and more far-reaching. God is not only the victor over Pharaoh, but He is King of the ages. All nations shall come to Him in worship. His mighty will has been revealed, and the whole created order shall experience the result. (Palmer, 1,2,3, John & Revelation (Mastering the New Testament), 216)

G.K. Beale (b. 1949) juxtaposes:

Just as Israel praised God by the sea after he delivered them from Pharaoh, so the church praises God for defeating the beast on their behalf. Like God’s people of old, so God’s new covenant people praise him by singing “the song of Moses.” Their song is a hymn of deliverance and praise of God’s attributes like the song in Exodus 15:1-18. Though Moses is called a “servant of God” often throughout the Old Testament, the title here comes from Exodus 14:31, since there the title immediately precedes the song in Exodus 15:1-18. The song here is about the much greater deliverance accomplished through the Lamb’s work, so that it is called the Lamb’s song as well as Moses’. (Midrash Rabbah Exodus 24:3 says that “as soon as they [Israel] uttered the song, they were forgiven their sin at the sea.”) (Beale, The Book of Revelation (New International Greek Testament Commentary), 792)

Michael Wilcock (b. 1932) prioritizes:

It would be wrong to say that the exodus was the ‘real’ deliverance while the cross and resurrection were ‘only the spiritual’ one. It would be truer to say that the spiritual deliverance by Christ is the real one, while exodus was ‘only historical’. The latter was a representation of the former on the stage of history, rather as the player-king’s ‘crime’ in Hamlet was a dramatic representation—dramatic in both senses—of what King Claudius had actually done. (Wilcock, The Message of Revelation (Bible Speaks Today), 138)

Revelation 15:3-4 is also on a larger scale than the Exodus as the saved party enlarges from a nation to nations. Warren Carter (b. 1955) construes:

The recognition in worship of God’s superiority is a political statement. It contests Rome’s claims to be the supreme power that exercises rule over the world by asserting that God has all power and rules the nations. The vision of God’s empire outdoes Rome’s even while it imitates it! Unlike Rome’s empire that compromises only conquered or allied peoples, God’s reign embraces every nation. “All nations will come and worship before you” (Revelation 15:4; see also Revelation 5:13). (Carter, What Does Revelation Reveal?: Unlocking the Mystery)

Joseph L. Mangina (b. 1957) stresses:

While the church may and must sing this song, it is not the song sung by the conquerors at the sea of glass. A new exodus literally demands a new song, celebrating not just Israel’s deliverance from Egypt or even the resurrection, but the submission of the nations to God’s righteous rule...The twofold mention of ta ethnē [Revelation 15:4] in the present hymn serves as a reminder of Revelation’s catholic-cosmic trajectory, the divine action drawing people from all nations, tribes, and languages into the acknowledgment of God as Pantokratōr and Lord. (Mangina, Revelation (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible))

Notably, as part of his thesis that Revelation emphasizes universalism, Richard Bauckham (b. 1946) attaches:

The reference to the song of Moses has caused some difficulty and perplexity, since the words of the martyrs’ song are not those osf the song sung by Moses and the Israelites in Exodus 15:1-18...Thus Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza [b. 1938] sums up the consensus when she writes: ‘the song which follows [in Revelation 15:3-4] is not connected in any literary way with the song of Moses in Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32, but is an amalgam of various Old Testament themes’. But this...is a mistaken verdict. It leaps from the correct observation that none of the words of the song in Revelation 15:3-4 derive from Exodus 15:1-18, to the claim that therefore there is no literary connexion between the two passages. The literary connexion...is made...beneath the surface of the text by John’s expert and subtle use of current Jewish exegetical method...The notion of referring to a psalm or hymn to be found in the historical books of the Old Testament and then giving, not the words of the Old Testament, but a new composition, is not unknown in the Jewish literature of the New Testament period...John writes a new version of the song of Moses in order to provide an interpretation of the deliverance at the Red Sea and its eschatological antitype. (Bauckham, Climax of Prophecy: Studies on the Book of Revelation, 297-98)

David A. deSilva (b. 1967) summarizes:

While Revelation 15:3-4 contains no recontextualizations from Exodus 15:1-18, Richard Bauckham [b. 1946] argues that there is nevertheless a close literary connection. John follows an established tradition of reinventing a biblical song of deliverance, such as one finds in Pseudo-Philo (comparing the Song of Deborah in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 32 with Judges 5:2-31) and Isaiah 12:1-6 (a reinvention of the song of deliverance by the sea using motifs found in Exodus 15:1-18). The Song of the Redeemed shares several points of interest with the Song of Moses: God’s mighty act of judgment of God’s enemies (Exodus 15:1-10, 12), which also revealed God’s superiority to the pagan gods (Exodus 15:11); God’s judgments resulting in awakening “fear” among the nations (Exodus 15:14-15); and the manifestation of God’s reign (Exodus 15:18)...John has created this new song, moreover, using phrases from biblical texts (e.g. Psalms 86:8-10; Jeremiah 10:6-7a) that themselves relate to Exodus 15 by gezera shawa, in particular to the declaration of God’s incomparable superiority over the gods of the nations (Exodus 15:11), a verse of particular significance for the question of whom to worship, so central in John’s setting. “Thus John’s version of the song takes as its starting point the key verse Exodus 15:11, which is taken for granted, without being quoted, because it is the common denominator which links the passages to which allusion is made (Jeremiah 10:6-7; Psalm 86:8-10, 98:1-2).” (deSilva, Seeing Things John’s Way: The Rhetoric of the Book of Revelation, 151)

Richard Bauckham (b. 1946) pinpoints:

The words of the martyrs’ song are not...those of the song of Moses is Exodus 15:1-18; but nor are they simply another song, with which John has replaced the original song of Moses. Like the version of the song of Moses which Isaiah 12:1-6 predicts that Israel will sing at the new exodus, Revelation’s version is an interpretation of the song of Moses, which John has produced by typically skilful use of current Jewish exegetical methods. As he related the hymn of Exodus to the eschatological exodus, John evidently identified five points of significance...(1) God’s mighty act of judgment on his enemies, which was also the deliverance of his people. (Exodus 15:1-10, 12)...(2) God’s mighty act of judgment demonstrated God’s incomparable superiority to pagan gods...(Exodus 15:11)...(3) God’s mighty act of judgment filled the pagan nations with fear (Exodus 15:14-16)...(4) It brought his people into his temple (Exodus 15:13, 17)...(5) The song concludes: ‘The Lord shall reign forever and ever’. (Exodus 1518). (Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation, 99)

Others have seen a closer relationship between Revelation 15:3-4 and Deuteronomy 32:1-43 than to Exodus 15:1-18. J. Massyngberde Ford (b. 1928) discusses:

Although their song is called the song of Moses, it is not one of triumph such as is found in Exodus 15:1-18; it is more like Deuteronomy 32:1-43, also called the Song of Moses. The hymn is not christological. It is addressed only to God and is woven out of Old Testament remembrances. (Ford, Revelation (The Anchor Bible), 257)

Ian Boxall (b. 1964) declares:

The actual content of Revelation’s song is closer to the second song of Moses, uttered prior to his death (Deuteronomy 32:1-43). There is a particularly close parallel between Deuteronomy 32:4 LXX, which speaks of God’s deeds as ‘true’ (ἀληθινὰ), ‘his ways’ (αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτου) as judgements, and his character as ‘righteous and holy’ (δίκαιος καὶ ὅσιος). But the canticle John hears is no mere repetition of Deuteronomy 32:1-43, and commentators have detected a wide range of additional echoes of and allusions to Old Testament texts. (Boxall, The Revelation of Saint John (Black’s New Testament Commentary), 219)

G.K. Beale (b. 1949) scrutinizes:

Deuteronomy 32 is also called a “song of Moses” (Deuteronomy 31:19, 22, 30, 32:44) and is included in the allusion here to Exodus 15, since it also describes judgment. Wrath against apostate Israelites because of idolatry is the focus in Deuteronomy 32, as here judgment on apostate Christians together with the nations is in view. The song in Deuteronomy 32 concludes with the climactic thought that God will both punish the enemy nations who have persecuted Israel (Deuteronomy 32:43: “he will avenge the blood of his servants”) and “atone for his...people” (Deuteronomy 32:43; cf. Deuteronomy 32:41-43). The same idea is included in Revelation 15:2-4 (the vindication theme from Revelation 6:9-11 and Revelation 8:3-5 was just repeated in Revelation 14:18 and will be again in Revelation 15:7). The song is the same as the “new song” of Revelation 5:9ff and Revelation 14:3, where the singers likewise hold harps while lauding the Lamb for his work of redemption (cf. Revelation 5:8, 14:2). That the song in Revelation 15:3-4 is also a “new song” is evident because the saints sing not only the old “song of Moses” but also the “song of the Lamb,” which has hitherto not been sung. Therefore, the song is sung in praise, not only to God but also to the Lamb, since Revelation 5:9ff also lauds the Lamb for his redemptive work (so implicitly also Revelation 14:3). (Beale, The Book of Revelation (New International Greek Testament Commentary), 793)

While the text of Revelation 15:3-4 does not directly quote any extant song of Moses, it is replete with Old Testament terminology, a patchwork quilt of ancient worship phraseology. It is a pastiche. A modern equivalent might be Spyder Turner (b. 1947)’s 1967 rendition of “Stand by Me” (1967) in which Turner impersonates a string of famous R & B singers (Jackie Wilson [1934-1984], James Brown [1933-2006], Eddie Kendricks [1939-1992], Melvin Franklin [1942-1995], David Ruffin [1941-1991], Billy Stewart [1937-1970], Sam Cooke [1931-1964], Smokey Robinson [b. 1940] and Chuck Jackson [b. 1937]) to form a new composition.

Robert A. Lowery (1948-2011) apprises:

The actual contents of the song do not come from one primary source, either Exodus 15:1-18 or Deuteronomy 32:1-43. For example, we can compare Revelation 15:3b-4a with Jeremiah 10:7, 15:4 with Psalm 86:9-10, and Revelation 15:4c with Psalm 98:2. Over and over John creates visual and auditory collages by drawing together a variety of Old Testament passages to describe what he had seen and heard. (Lowery, Revelation’s Rhapsody: Listening to the Lyrics of the Lamb: How to Read the Book of Revelation, 91)

Robert H. Mounce (b. 1921) dissects:

Practically every phrase of the hymn is taken from the rich vocabulary of the Old Testament. For the first strophe cf. Psalm 111:3 (“Glorious and majestic are his deeds”); Amos 4:13 (“the Lord God Almighty is his name”); Deuteronomy 32:4 (“all his ways are just”); Jeremiah 10:7 (“O King of the nations”). In the Nestle-Aland text almost 80 percent of the words in the hymn (10 of 48) are italicized to show that they have been taken from the Old Testament. (Mounce, The Book of Revelation (The New International Commentary on the New Testament), 286)

In addition to the discussion centering on the song’s sources, there has also been debate as to whether the epithet “the song of Moses...and the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:2) represents one song or two. The song does divide naturally into two parts that follow the versification (Revelation 15:3-4).

James M. Hamilton, Jr. (b. 1974) delineates:

The first four lines are in the second half of Revelation 15:3, then there are five lines in Revelation 15:4. The first four lines at the end of Revelation 15:3 are made up of two couplets, or two two-line sets. Each consists of a statement about God in the first line, followed by an address to God using significant titles for him in the second...There are five lines in Revelation 15:4. The first two lines are parallel, and the next three lines give reasons for the statements in the first two. (Hamilton, Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (Preaching the Word), 306)

Few have interpreted the passage as recording two songs. John F. Walvoord (1910-2002) exemplifies this minority opinion:

The fact that the word “song” (Greek, ōdēn) is repeated with a definite article in both cases would lead to the conclusion that two songs are in view rather than one, both being sung by the martyred throng. The former recounts the faithfulness of God to Israel as a nation in recognition that a large number of Israelites are among these martyred dead. The song of the Lamb speaks of redemption from sin made possible by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God and would include all the believers in Christ. (Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 227-28)

If interpreted as two songs, the passage functions as a mash-up of sorts or like Queen’s “We are the Champions/We Will Rock You” (1977) in which two songs were released as single resulting in a top ten hit.

Most interpreters, however, view the song as a single piece. Grant R. Osborne (b. 1942) examines:

The added καὶ τὴν ὠδὴν του ἀρνίου (kai tēn ōdēn tou arniou, literally, ‘and the song of the Lamb”) is somewhat difficult, for there is no hint that there are two songs here. Therefore the καὶ is most likely epexegetical (“that is”), and the genitive is the object. Thus, I translate, “the song of Moses, that is, the song about the Lamb.” This means that the victory being celebrated was won by the Lamb, in keeping with Revelation 12:11, “They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb.” The emphasis on the lamb highlights Jesus’ paschal sacrifice of his blood for the redemption of the nations. (Osborne, Revelation (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), 564)

James L. Resseguie (b. 1945) agrees:

Although it may appear that these are two separate songs, the progression indicates that it is one and the same song. The first part draws attention to the exodus of the Israelites. After Israel passed through the Red Sea on dry ground, they sang a song of deliverance (Exodus 15:1-18). In the same way the new Israel sings a hymn of deliverance at a heavenly sea mixed with fire. The second part elaborates the song’s content: praise for God’s deliverance by the Lamb. The canticle is tightly structured with three parts praising God’s “great and amazing” deeds (cf. Revelation 15:1, where the sign is “great and amazing”). In synonymous parallelism, part 1 extols the character of God. (Resseguie, The Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary, 205-06)

George Eldon Ladd (1911-1982) determines:

Exegetes debate whether this means that the victors sing one song or two. Grammatically the language might seem to suggest two songs: one of Moses, and one of the Lamb. Contextually the idea is that the victors sing a song of triumph which both the saints of the Old Testament and the New Testament knew how to sing, because both sang of the deliverance of the one God. (Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 205)

Like selecting a hymn for an ecumenical service, the song is apropos because it is one to which all parties are familiar.

Grammatically, the ascription could indicate that the song is sung by Moses and the Lamb. If this is the case, John is describing the song as he does because he is seeing and hearing Moses and the Lamb perform the composition. This would comply with Revelation’s mode of revelation.

Steve Moyise traces:

Point of view is established by attending to a number of contrasts, such as hearing and seeing, above and below, outer and inner, and centre and perimeter. The first is established as a principle in the seven letters with the command to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. In Revelation 9:13-21, John sees a vision of horses with lions’ heads and hears their number, 200 million....In Revelation 12:1-17, John sees a heavenly battle between Michael and Satan but does not understand its meaning until he hears the heavenly voice. In Revelation 14:1-20, John sees the 144,000 and hears a multitude singing. In Revelation 15:1-8, John sees those who have conquered the beast and hears the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. In Revelation 21:1-27, John sees a new heaven and earth and hears about its meaning. Thus is established the principle that hearing interprets seeing. (Moyise, “Does the Lion Lie Down with the Lamb?”, Studies in the Book of Revelation, 188-89)

Moses and the Lamb could be performing a duet. If so, Moses would be releasing a posthumous album like many contemporary musicians (e.g., Tupac [1971-1996]). Ian Boxall (b. 1964) maintains:

This is not the ‘new song’ previously learned, for it has no explicitly christological content (unlike the ‘new song’ of Revelation 5:9-10). This suggests that the genitive in the additional phrase and the song of the Lamb should be understood, like the previous genitive ‘of Moses’, as a subjective genitive: both Moses and the Lamb sing this song. In this interpretation, perhaps Christ is being presented as a new Moses, who ‘leads’ his people to salvation (for the Lamb as leading, see Revelation 7:17; cf. Revelation 14:4). It is possible that here Christ is the leader of the heavenly choir (Jonathan Knight [b. 1959] 1999:108; see Ascension of Isaiah 9:1, 4, where an angel is set over the praises of the sixth heaven). Though not explicitly stated as being present, the Lamb may be implied as part of that group which is victorious over the monster. (Boxall, The Revelation of Saint John (Black’s New Testament Commentary), 218)

If the song is a duet between Moses and the Lamb, it is a beautiful picture of the old warrior joining with the long awaited savior, the Old Testament and the New Testament meeting in triumph.

How does John, the author of Revelation, know that what he is hearing is “the song of Moses” if its lyrics do not correlate to any known song of Moses? How is Revelation 15:2-4 connected to Exodus 15:1-18 and Deuteronomy 32:1-43? Have you ever sang these songs? When has a song perfectly captured the mood of an occasion? What is your favorite victory song? Do you praise God for your successes; what will you be singing when you are winning? What songs can you think of that relay the same meaning?

The song of Revelation 15:3-4 has been in use since its original composition. For instance, Judith Kovacs (b. 1945) and Christopher Rowland (b. 1947) document:

The song of Revelation 15:3-4 is quoted by John Milton [1608-1674] on several occasions: for example, in Samson Agonistes (1671) the chorus adds the words ‘Just are the ways of God’ to the memorial of God’s saving purposes and Israel’s willingness to enjoy ‘bondage with ease [rather] than strenuous liberty’ (line 293). In Paradise Lost x.644 it echoes in the heavenly host’s response, ‘as the sound of sea’, to the Almighty’s declaration of eschatological deliverance through the Son. (Kovacs and Rowland, Revelation (Blackwell Bible Commentaries), 169-70)

The song of Moses is timeless as it blends past, present and future worship. The allusion to Moses sets the piece in history while also seeing it as a continuation of an ancient story. In doing so, it adds a layer of meaning to both Exodus and Revelation.

J. Ramsey Michaels (b. 1931) characterizes:

Like the “eternal gospel” proclaimed from heaven (Revelation 14:6), the song is not distinctively Christian. It encompasses the worship of Jew and Christian, Hebrew and Greek, Moses and the Lamb alike. Indeed it sounds like a postscript to the “eternal gospel,” asking, Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy (Revelation 13:4). The song is Jewish to the core, yet comes to a focus in the expectation of Jew and Christian alike that all nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed (Revelation 13:4). (Michaels, Revelation (IVP New Testament Commentary), 183)

Brian K. Blount (b. 1955) evaluates:

In John’s liturgical hymns not only the boundaries between heaven and earth are broken down, but the ones that separate time as well...Revelation 15:3-4...about Moses’ past victory, which is simultaneously a pointer to God’s future victory, is a dramatic case in point; it has a real-time, present effect. Mitchell G. Reddish [b. 1953] makes an appropriate observation: “While in John’s vision it is an eschatological song, in the real world of John’s day this was a song that was already being sung. The victory that was in the future was being anticipated in the present.” (Blount, Can I Get a Witness?: Reading Revelation Through African American Culture, 110)

Hymns are often the most timeless of music because their audience and subject, God, is eternal. Revelation 15:3-4 is no different.

Do you see your story as a continuation of the biblical story? What songs do you know of that have staying power? What songs have come back into vogue years after their initial release? When will Revelation 15:3-4 be sung again?

“Soul music is timeless.” - Alicia Keys (b. 1981)