1Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2And he said: Jehovah has come from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; He has shone forth from Mount Paran, and He has come with ten thousands of saints; from His right hand a fiery Law for them. 3Yes, He loves the people; all His saints are in Your hand; they sit down at Your feet; everyone receives Your Words. 4Moses has commanded a Law for us, a heritage for the congregation of Jacob. 5And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together. 6Let Reuben live, and not die, and let his men be numbered. 7And this he said of Judah: Hear, Jehovah, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people; let his hands be sufficient for him, and may You be a help against his enemies. 8And of Levi he said: Let Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your Godly man, whom You tested at Massah, and with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah; 9who says of his father and mother, I have not seen them; nor has he acknowledged his brothers, or known his own children; for they have kept Your Word and guarded Your covenant. 10They shall teach Jacob Your judgments, and Israel Your Law. They shall put incense before Your nose, and a whole burnt offering upon Your altar. 11Bless his strength, O Jehovah, and accept the work of his hands; strike the loins of those who rise against him, and of those who hate him, that they rise not again. 12Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of Jehovah shall dwell in safety by Him, who shelters him all the day long; and he shall dwell between His shoulders. 13And of Joseph he said: Blessed of Jehovah is his land, with the excellence of the heavens, with the dew, and the deep lying beneath, 14with the excellent yield of the sun, with the excellent produce of the months, 15with the chief things of the ancient mountains, with the excellence of the enduring hills, 16with the excellence of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush; let it come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers. 17His glory is like a firstborn bull, and his horns like the horns of the oryx; together with them He shall thrust the peoples to the ends of the earth; they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. 18And of Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar in your tents! 19They shall call the peoples to the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas and of treasures hidden in the sand. 20And of Gad he said: Blessed is he who enlarges Gad; he dwells as a lion, and tears the arm and the crown of the head. 21He saw the first part for himself, because a lawgiver's portion was reserved there. He came with the heads of the people; he has administered the justice of Jehovah, and His judgments with Israel. 22And of Dan he said: Dan is a lion's whelp; he shall leap from Bashan. 23And of Naphtali he said: O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full of the blessing of Jehovah, possess the west and the south. 24And of Asher he said: Asher is most blessed of sons; let him be acceptable to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. 25Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; as your days, so your strength. 26There is no one like the Mighty God of Jeshurun, riding the Heavens for your help, and in His majesty upon the clouds. 27The God of old is your refuge, and underneath are the eternal arms. He will thrust out the enemy before you, and say, Destroy! 28And Israel shall dwell alone in safety, the fountain of Jacob in a land of grain and new wine; his heavens shall also drop dew. 29Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Jehovah, the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall cower before you, and you shall tread down their high places.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE MAJESTY OF GOD. (Deu. 33:1-28)
Moses the man of God--This was a common designation of a prophet (
1Sam 2:27;
1Sam 9:6), and it is here applied to Moses, when, like Jacob, he was about to deliver ministerially before his death, a prophetic benediction to Israel.
2 The Lord came--Under a beautiful metaphor, borrowed from the dawn and progressive splendor of the sun, the Majesty of God is sublimely described as a divine light which appeared in Sinai and scattered its beams on all the adjoining region in directing Israel's march to Canaan. In these descriptions of a theophania, God is represented as coming from the south, and the allusion is in general to the thunderings and lightnings of Sinai; but other mountains in the same direction are mentioned with it. The location of Seir was on the east of the Ghor; mount Paran was either the chain on the west of the Ghor, or rather the mountains on the southern border of the desert towards the peninsula [ROBINSON]. (Compare
Judg 5:4-
Judg 5:5;
Ps 68:7-
Ps 68:8;
Hab 3:3).
ten thousands of saints--rendered by some, "with the ten thousand of Kadesh," or perhaps better still, "from Meribah" [EWALD].
a fiery law--so called both because of the thunder and lightning which accompanied its promulgation (
Exod 19:16-
Exod 19:18;
Deut 4:11), and the fierce, unrelenting curse denounced against the violation of its precepts (
2Cor 3:7-9). Notwithstanding those awe-inspiring symbols of Majesty that were displayed on Sinai, the law was really given in kindness and love (
Deut 33:3), as a means of promoting both the temporal and eternal welfare of the people. And it was "the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob," not only from the hereditary obligation under which that people were laid to observe it, but from its being the grand distinction, the peculiar privilege of the nation.
6 Let Reuben live, and not die--Although deprived of the honor and privileges of primogeniture, he was still to hold rank as one of the tribes of Israel. He was more numerous than several other tribes (
Num 1:21;
Num 2:11). Yet gradually he sank into a mere nomadic tribe, which had enough to do merely "to live and not die." Many eminent biblical scholars, resting on the most ancient and approved manuscripts of the Septuagint, consider the latter clause as referring to Simeon; "and Simeon, let his men be few," a reading of the text which is in harmony with other statements of Scripture respecting this tribe (
Num 25:6-
Num 25:14;
Num 1:23;
Num 26:14;
Josh 19:1).
7 this is the blessing of Judah--Its general purport points to the great power and independence of Judah, as well as its taking the lead in all military expeditions.
8 of Levi he said--The burden of this blessing is the appointment of the Levites to the dignified and sacred office of the priesthood (
Lev 10:11;
Deut 22:8;
Deut 17:8-
Deut 17:11), a reward for their zeal in supporting the cause of God, and their unsparing severity in chastising even their nearest and dearest relatives who had participated in the idolatry of the molten calf (
Exod 32:25-
Exod 32:28; compare
Mal 2:4-
Mal 2:6).
12 of Benjamin he said--A distinguishing favor was conferred on this tribe in having its portion assigned near the temple of God.
between his shoulders--that is, on his sides or borders. Mount Zion, on which stood the city of Jerusalem, belonged to Judah; but Mount Moriah, the site of the sacred edifice, lay in the confines of Benjamin.
13 of Joseph he said--The territory of this tribe, diversified by hill and dale, wood and water, would be rich in all the productions--olives, grapes, figs, &c., which are reared in a mountainous region, as well as in the grain and herbs that grow in the level fields. "The firstling of the bullock and the horns of the unicorn" (rhinoceros), indicate glory and strength, and it is supposed that under these emblems were shadowed forth the triumphs of Joshua and the new kingdom of Jeroboam, both of whom were of Ephraim (compare
Gen 48:20).
18 Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out--on commercial enterprises and voyages by sea.
and, Issachar in thy tents--preferring to reside in their maritime towns.
19 shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand--Both tribes should traffic with the Phśnicians in gold and silver, pearl and coral, especially in murex, the shellfish that yielded the famous Tyrian dye, and in glass, which was manufactured from the sand of the river Belus, in their immediate neighborhood.
20 of Gad he said--Its possessions were larger than they would have been had they lain west of Jordan; and this tribe had the honor of being settled by Moses himself in the first portion of land conquered. In the forest region, south of the Jabbok, "he dwelt as a lion" (compare
Gen 30:11;
Gen 49:19). Notwithstanding, they faithfully kept their engagement to join the "heads of the people" [
Deut 33:21] in the invasion of Canaan.
22 Dan is a lion's whelp--His proper settlement in the south of Canaan being too small, he by a sudden and successful irruption, established a colony in the northern extremity of the land. This might well be described as the leap of a young lion from the hills of Bashan.
23 of Naphtali he said--The pleasant and fertile territory of this tribe lay to "the west," on the borders of lakes Merom and Chinnereth, and to "the south" of the northern Danites.
24 of Asher he said--The condition of this tribe is described as combining all the elements of earthly felicity.
dip his foot in oil--These words allude either to the process of extracting the oil by foot presses, or to his district as particularly fertile and adapted to the culture of the olive.
25 shoes of iron and brass--These shoes suited his rocky coast from Carmel to Sidon. Country people as well as ancient warriors had their lower extremities protected by metallic greaves (
1Sam 17:6;
Eph 6:15) and iron-soled shoes.
26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun--The chapter concludes with a congratulatory address to Israel on their peculiar happiness and privilege in having Jehovah for their God and protector.
who rideth upon the heaven in thy help--an evident allusion to the pillar of cloud and fire, which was both the guide and shelter of Israel.
28 the fountain of Jacob--The posterity of Israel shall dwell in a blessed and favored land.