Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died. His eye was not dim, nor his strength gone.
- KJV And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.
- BSB Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not diminished.
- NKJV Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.
- NASB Although Moses was 120 years old when he died, his eyesight was not dim, nor had his vigor left him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses dies at 120 years old with undimmed eyes and unspent strength. His death came at God's appointed time, not from natural decline.
Overview
The note that Moses' vigor remained shows his death was God's sovereign call, not the failing of age. A life of 120 years, full and divinely preserved, testifies to God's sustaining grace upon His servant. It reminds us that the times of God's people are in His hands, and that He upholds those who serve Him to the end (Ps. 90:1-2, a psalm of Moses).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 31:2He said to them, “I am one hundred twenty years old today. I can no more go out and come in. Yahweh has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’
- Josh 14:10–11“Now, behold, Yahweh has kept me alive, as he spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that Yahweh spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. Now, behold, I am eighty-five years old, today.
- Gen 48:10Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he couldn’t see. He brought them near to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
- Gen 27:1When Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, “My son?” He said to him, “Here I am.”
- Acts 7:36This man led them out, having worked wonders and signs in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.
- Acts 7:30“When forty years were fulfilled, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
- Acts 7:23But when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 34:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.