The people were camped on the plains of Moav, Bemidbar 33:49, which was on the present day Jordanian side of the Jordan River, north of the Dead Sea. Mount Nevo was in the Avarim range, Devarim 32:49, which were the mountains that surrounded the plains of Moav from the east and south. Tigay (1996, pp. 336, 421) writes that Mount Nevo is assumed to be one of two peaks in the northeastern corner of the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea that are 3,935 and 3,586 feet above the Dead Sea.
Tigay notes that while these peaks offer good views of Israel, still some of the places mentioned in 34:1-4 could probably not be seen from these peaks. For example, 34:2 records that Moshe saw “the last sea,” which presumably is the Mediterranean Sea, but this would have been blocked by the mountains on the Israeli side of the Dead Sea. It would seem that Moshe could only have clearly seen the Jordan Valley, and the hills on the western side of the valley. If this is true, then why was it important for Moshe to go up on Mount Nevo?
Rashi (comments of 34:1-3) explains that really Moshe was granted a vision of the future before he died. For example, he quotes from the Sifra that the phrase “the last sea” in 34:2 means the last days, that Moshe was shown everything that was going to happen in the future until the time of the resurrection of the dead. This would have been quite a vision for Moshe before he died, and with this approach it is not important what Moshe could physically see since the vision was miraculous. Yet, if everything was miraculous, why did Moshe have to go up on Mount Nevo? G-d could have shown Moshe everything when Moshe was in his private tent. A possible answer is that the seeing was not the crucial element by Moshe going up the mountains, but rather Moshe had to go up the mountain because that was where he died, 32:50, 34:5.
Ramban suggests that Moshe went up the mountain to see the goodness of the land of Israel. The idea is that if Moshe could not enter the land, then at least he could see the land. Ramban claims that Moshe was able to see almost all of the places mentioned in 34:1-4, except for Jericho since it was in the valley, but G-d showed Moshe Jericho miraculously. This comment by Jericho is surprising. This was probably the easiest place for Moshe to see since Jericho is in the Jordan Valley, and 34:1 records that Mount Nebo was opposite Jericho, but the principle that G-d helped Moshe to see remains. Yet, if G-d had to help Moshe to see, then again why did Moshe go up on the mountain? A possible answer is that the Ramban’s approach is that humans should attempt to limit the need for miracles. For example, by the building of the ark, Ramban (on Bereshit 6:19) asked what was the point of Noah building such a large ark since G-d still had to perform a miracle to have all the animals fit in the ark, and he answers that man must do as much as he can to minimize the need for miracles. Here too, according to the Ramban, Moshe went up on the mountain to see what he could, and G-d helped him to see miraculously what he could not see on his own.
Luzzatto (on Bemidbar 27:13) writes that Moshe went up on the mountain to see how close the Jewish people were to entering the land of Israel. Moshe was given the knowledge with his own eyes that the people would succeed in entering the land of Israel. Thus, before he died he knew that he had succeeded in leading the people out of Egypt into the land of Israel. With this approach, the crucial point was for Moshe to clearly see the Jordan Valley, for which G-d did not have to perform any miracles to help him see. Luzzatto does not comments on verses 34:1-3, but maybe he understands the verses as meaning that Moshe looked towards these places.
Tigay, Jeffrey H. 1996, The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy, Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society
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