Abarim

Abarim (Hebrew: הָרֵי הָעֲבָרִים, Avarim,Har Ha-'Avarim, or Harei Ha-'Avarim; Septuagint to oros to Abarim, en to peran tou Iordanou, mountain Abarim, mountains of Abarim) is a mountain range across Jordan, to the east and south-east of the Dead Sea, extending from Mount Nebo — its highest point — in the north, perhaps to the Arabian desert in the south. The Vulgate (Deuteronomy 32:49) gives its etymological meaning as passages. Its northern part was called Phasga (or Pisgah), and the highest peak of Phasga was Mount Nebo (Numbers 23:14; 27:12; 21:20; 32:47; Deuteronomy 3:27; 34:1; 32:49).

These mountains are mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible:

Balaam blessed Israel the second time from the top of Mount Phasga (Numbers 23:14)
From "the top of Pisgah" i.e. Mount Nebo, an area which belonged to Moab, Moses surveyed the Promised Land (Numbers 27:12 and Deuteronomy 3:27; 32:49), and there he died (34:1,5)
The Israelites had one of their encampments in the mountains of Abarim (Num. 33:47,48) after crossing the Arnon
The prophet Jeremiah linked it with Bashan and Lebanon as locations from which the people cried in vain to God for rescue (Jeremiah 22:20)
Jeremias hid the ark there (II Maccabees 2:4-5).

Notes

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Abarim". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). "Abarim". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.
Reynolds, Francis J., ed. (1921). "Abarim" . Collier's New Encyclopedia. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company.