יהושע, פרק כ״ד, פסוק ל׳

The end of an era of great leadership is marked as Joshua is laid to rest. Passing away at the age of one hundred and ten, he is buried within his personal estate in the hill country of Ephraim [רלב״ג].

The burial site is known by two slightly different names across biblical records, prompting different explanations. From a linguistic standpoint, the two names refer to the exact same location, as the swapping of letters within a word is a common feature of the language [רד״ק]. Beyond the linguistic approach, symbolic traditions offer deeper meanings for the dual names. One perspective suggests the original name of the city was Timnath-serah, and it was later called Heres, a word meaning sun. This was because an image of the sun was placed upon his grave to remind all who passed by of the great miracle he performed when he stopped the sun in the sky. Seeing this image would stir deep sadness in the people over the loss of such a remarkable figure [רש״י, רד״ק]. Alternatively, another tradition suggests the original name was Timnath-heres, and it was called Serah to highlight the extraordinary agricultural richness of the area. The land was so fertile that the fruits would become overly ripe and give off a strong scent from their sheer richness and juice [רש״י, רד״ק].

The tomb is situated north of Mount Gaash. While this can be understood simply as a standard geographic landmark [ביאור שטיינזלץ], an ancient tradition teaches that no actual mountain by this name existed. Instead, the name, which implies erupting or quaking, points to a dramatic event that took place on the day of the funeral. The mountain violently shook and threatened to collapse upon the Israelites. This terrifying event was a punishment from God, brought upon the people because they were careless and failed to properly mourn their great leader [רש״י, רד״ק].