Tafsiran Ulangan 34:6: Rashi, Chizkuni, Ibn Ezra & Sforno

ויקבר אותו AND HE BURIED HIM — i.e. The Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory, buried him (Sotah 14a). R. Ishmael, however, said, It means: “He buried himself”. This (the word אותו) is one of the three cases of את with a pronominal suffix which R. Ishmael explained thus (as being reflexive and not accusative pronouns). Similar to it is: (Numbers 6:13; see Rashi thereon) “On the day when his naziritehood is fulfilled, he shall bring אותו”, i.e. he shall bring (present) himself. Similar to it is, (Leviticus 22:16) “And they will burden אותם with iniquity of trespass”. But did others burden them (the priests) with that iniquity? But the meaning is that they burdened themselves (Sifrei Bamidbar 32).

ויקבר אותו בגיא, “He was buried in the valley;” we have been given three points as to where Moses grave was situated. A) in the valley; B) in which valley? “in the land of Moav;” C) at what location? opposite Beyt Peor. Even after having been given these three details still no one ever located the precise point where Moses is buried. (Talmud tractate Sotah folio 13) This proves that he was not buried by a human being.

He buried him He buried himself (by going into a crypt within the Gai). Compare, “the shepherds tended themselves [literally: the shepherds tended them]” [Ezekiel 34: 8] and “the officers of the Children of Israel saw them” [Exodus 5: 19]. Mount Avarim (also known as Mount Nebo, named for a star) is the same place as the Gai which is at the top of the cliff across from Beth-Peor. This is attested to by Scripture, which states that Israel traveled from Bamoth to “the Gai which is in the field of Moab, by the top of a cliff” [Numbers 21: 20]; Scripture also states that “Moshe ascended from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of the cliff” [: 1], where he died and was buried. Elsewhere Scripture says, “we stayed in the Gai, across Beth-Peor” [3: 29]; and subsequent to their encampment in the Gai, Scripture says that “the Children of Israel marched on and encamped at the plains of Moab” [Numbers 22: 1] [see also 3: 29]. But in another place, Scripture says, “they encamped in the hills of Avarim, in front of Nebo; then they marched from the hills of Avarim , and encamped in the plains of Moab” [Numbers 33: 47–48]. And it is clear that the place where Moshe died would be the place where he was buried.