Thus for those in the covenant, repentance was the sovereign means of atonement. Except for the desire to insist on the efficacy of other means of atonement, which we have already noted, it is virtually impossible to find any exceptions to the rule that repentance atones. Urbach can cite only three examples:166 Moses was not permitted to enter the land of Israel despite his supplications, even though God accepted repentance from the people of Israel for their many transgressions (here, however,