John Gill Commentary Deuteronomy 31

And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel .
The following words, even to the whole body of the people summoned together on this occasion. It seems that after Moses had made the covenant with them he was directed to, he dismissed the people to their tents, and went to his own, and now returned, having ordered them to meet him again, very probably at the tabernacle; with which agrees the Targum of Jonathan, he went to the tabernacle of the house of doctrine;''

Though, according to Aben Ezra, he went to the each tribes separately, as they lay encamped; his words are these, ``he went to every tribe and tribe, to acquaint them that he was about to die, and that they might not be afraid, and to strengthen their hearts;'' he adds, ``in my opinion he then blessed them, though their blessings are afterwards written;'' which is not improbable.

And he said unto them, I [am] an hundred and twenty years old
this day
Whether the meaning is, that that day precisely was his birthday, is a question; it may be the sense is only this, that he was now arrived to such an age; though Jarchi takes it in the first sense, to which are objected his words in (Deuteronomy 31:14) ; yet it seems by (Deuteronomy 32:48) that having delivered to the children of Israel the song he was ordered this day to write, on the selfsame day he was bid to go up to Mount Nebo and die: and it is a commonly received tradition with the Jews, that Moses died on the same day of the month he was born; (See Gill on Deuteronomy 34:7).

I can no more go out and come in ;
not that he could no longer go out of his tent and return without great trouble and difficulty, being so decrepit; but that he could not perform his office as their ruler and governor, or go out to battle and return as their general; and this not through any incapacity of body or mind, both being vigorous, sound, and well, as is clear from (Deuteronomy 34:7) ; but because it was the will of God that he should live no longer to exercise such an office, power, and authority:

also the Lord has said unto me ,
or "for the Lord has said" ^F18 , and so is a reason of the foregoing; the Targum is, the Word of the Lord said: you shall not go over this Jordan :
to which he and the people of Israel were nigh, and lay between them and the land of Canaan, over which it was necessary to pass in order to go into it; but Moses must not lead them there, this work was reserved for Joshua, a type of Christ; not Moses and his law, or obedience to it, is what introduces any into the heavenly Canaan only Jesus and his righteousness; see (Deuteronomy 3:27) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F18: (hwhyw) "praesertim cum et Dominus", V. L. (w) sometimes signifies "for". See Noldius, p. 285. So Ainsworth and Patrick here.

The Lord your God, he will go over before you This he said to encourage the people of Israel; that though he should die, and not go over with them, their ever living and true God, the great Jehovah, the Lord of hosts, he would go before them, and fight their battles for them; so that they had nothing to fear from their enemies:

[and] he will destroy those nations from before you ; the seven nations which then inhabited the land:

and you shall possess them ; their countries, cities, and houses, fields, and vineyards:

[and] Joshua, he shall go over before you ; as their general to fight for them, subdue their enemies, and put them into the possession of the land, and divide it to them:

as the Lord has said ; (Deuteronomy 3:28) .

And the Lord shall do to them as he did to Sihon, and to
Og, kings of the Amorites
Deliver them up into their hands; see the history of this in (Numbers 21:10–35) ;

and to the land of them whom he destroyed ;
put them into the possession of the land of Canaan, as they were now in possession of the land of those two kings he destroyed by them. This instance is given to encourage their faith, assuring them that what has been done to them would be done to the Canaanitish kings, and their subjects, and their lands.

And the Lord shall give them up before your face
To ruin and destruction; the Targum of Jonathan is, ``the Word of the Lord shall deliver them up:''
that you may do unto them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you ;
that is, utterly destroy them, make no covenant with them, enter into no alliances nor contract marriages with them; but demolish their altars, cut down their groves, and break their images in pieces; of which last Aben Ezra interprets the words; but they are not to be restrained to that single instance; see (Deuteronomy 7:1–5) .