After Moshe taught the song of Haazinu to the nation (Devarim 32:42), God told him to go up to Har Nevo and see the land He is giving to them (32:49). This mountain is referenced in the Torah four times. In Bamidbar (27:12) it’s called הר העברים; in Devarim (3:27) it’s referred to as ראש הפסגה, then (32:49) as both הר העברים and הר נבו, and finally (34:1) as הר נבו and ראש הפסגה.
There’s a mountain in Jordan (in the area of Arvos Moav) called Mount Nebo, which is said to offer a spectacular view of the western side of the Jordan Valley. There are several (non-Jewish) religious sites there, based on their tradition that this is the very mountain where Moshe viewed the Promised Land before he died and where he is buried. (Whether Moshe was buried on Har Nevo is a matter of discussion; stay tuned!) Is Mount Nebo the biblical Har Nevo?
Yoel Elitzur (“Places in the Parasha,” Haazinu), writes that “the location of Mount Nebo [referring to Har Nevo] is known; an ancient tradition places it on a rocky spur about half a mile above sea level, overlooking the plains of Moab, at a site called Khirbet Siyagha.” He adds that “the ancient name ‘Nebo’ has been preserved there by the Arabs in the form ‘Niba.’” However, he then quotes Ze’ev Erlich, who points out that the mountain range just east of Mount Nebo is taller than Mount Nebo, and therefore blocks any view to the east. Since God told Moshe (Devarim 3:27) to look in all directions—including east—from Har Nevo, Erlich thinks Har Nevo is one of the mountains east of Mount Nebo, from where Moshe could have seen the land on all four sides. I would point out that when the lands Moshe saw from atop Har Nevo are described (34:1-3), no area east of Arvos Moav is mentioned—despite an area east of the Jordan (“הגלעד,” which is north of Arvos Moav) that had already been conquered (so Moshe could have gone there before he died, and perhaps did), being included. It’s therefore possible that the four directions mentioned all refer to the land west of the Jordan River—Canaan—i.e. its western part, its northern part, its southern part and its eastern part (see Malbim on Devarim 3:27), none of which were east of Har Nevo. But even if it meant east of Moshe’s location, since it was physically impossible to see as far north, west and south as is described from Mount Nebo, just as Moshe’s vision miraculously extended beyond any physical limitations (see Or HaChaim on Devarim 3:27), perhaps he was able to “see” beyond the physical limitation of having a mountain in the way. Additionally, if his “view” was a spiritual one, it wouldn’t be blocked by the physical mountain to his east.
Although the verses refer to Har Nevo by three names, numerous Midrashim (e.g. Sifre Zuta Bamidbar 27:12, Sifre Devarim 338, Yalkut Shimoni 949, Midrash Hagadol Bamidbar 20:23/27:12 and Devarim 32:49) add a fourth—Hor Hahar—with some adding that Moshe, Aharon and Miriam were all buried there. This is quite puzzling, since Miriam was buried in Kadesh (Bamidbar 20:1), which is near Edom (20:16), and Aharon was buried in Hor HaHar (20:22-29), which is also near Edom (20:23). Even though Kadesh and Hor HaHar are close enough to each other for Miriam and Aharon to have been buried on different parts of the same mountain, Edom is south of the Dead Sea, while Arvos Moav (where Moshe died) is north of the Dead Sea. How could all three be buried on the same mountain, and how could Hor HaHar be another name for Har Nevo?
When Yalkut Shimoni (777, on Bamidbar 27:12) says that “elsewhere הר העברים is called הר ההר,” the Mossad HaRav Kook edition says the “elsewhere” is Devarim 32:50. That verse is usually translated as Moshe being told he will die on Har Nevo the way Aharon died on Hor HaHar, but they are assuming that this Midrash is translating it as Moshe being told he will also die on Hor HaHar. No matter how we understand Midrashic expoundations, the layer this Midrash is exposing is that the Torah is also telling us that Moshe and Aharon died on the same mountain, which is geographically problematic.
Most mountains are part of a mountain range, a series of mountains located near each other in a row, connected by high ground, that often share the same geological origin. Whether mountains are part of the same mountain range (or form one) can be subjective, but if you look at the topography of the area just to the east of the Dead Sea, and follow it south to the Gulf of Aqaba, there’s a row of mountains that starts at Har Nevo and continues south until Har Seir (including Har Seir), the mountain range that runs along the edge of Edom. If this row of mountains is considered one mountain range, and the intent of the Midrash is that all three are buried on the same mountain range, this geographic difficulty has been solved, as Hor HaHar and Har Nevo (as well as the mountain near Kadesh where Miriam was buried) are all part of the same mountain range.
This suggestion—that the Midrashim that add a fourth name are referring to the mountain range rather than a specific mountain within that range—can also explain how some of these same Midrashim (e.g. Sifre Devarim 37 and Yalkut Shimoni on Nevi’im 24) say the mountain had only three names (the ones in the verses), as there they are referring to the specific mountain where Moshe died. [As far as why there isn’t a fifth name—Har Seir—if it’s also part of the same mountain range, since no one referred to the whole range as Har Seir, that name did not include Har Nevo. It should be noted that Har Seir itself seems to be the name of the mountain range south of the Dead Sea, and not just one specific mountain; I am suggesting that this mountain range extends north all the way to Har Nevo, with only the southern part called Har Seir, while the entire range is sometimes referred to by one of the significant mountains in the range, i.e. the range that contains Har Nevo.]
Getting back to whether Mount Nebo is really Har Nevo, if Hor HaHar is part of the same mountain range as Har Nevo, then Mount Nebo and Har Nevo must be the same mountain, as the mountains to the east of Mount Nebo are not part of that same mountain range.
Rabbi Dov Kramer wrote a weekly dvar Torah from 5764-5776, most of which are archived at RabbiDMK.wordpress.com and AishDas.org/ta. In 5771 He discussed how Moshe could have written that he ascended Har Nevo if he never came back down; it can be accessed at https://rabbidmk.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/parashas-vzos-habracha-5771.
