Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 33

29 verses · Law · Old Testament

1This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2He said,

“Yahweh came from Sinai, and rose from Seir to them. He shone from Mount Paran. He came from the ten thousands of holy ones. At his right hand was a fiery law for them. 3Yes, he loves the people. All his saints are in your hand. They sat down at your feet. Each receives your words. 4Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob. 5He was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.
6“Let Reuben live, and not die; Nor let his men be few.”

7This is for Judah. He said,

“Hear, Yahweh, the voice of Judah. Bring him in to his people. With his hands he contended for himself. You shall be a help against his adversaries.”

8About Levi he said,

“Your Thummim and your Urim are with your godly one, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah. 9He said of his father, and of his mother, ‘I have not seen him.’ He didn’t acknowledge his brothers, nor did he know his own children; for they have observed your word, and keep your covenant. 10They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your law. They shall put incense before you, and whole burnt offering on your altar. 11Yahweh, bless his skills. Accept the work of his hands. Strike through the hips of those who rise up against him, of those who hate him, that they not rise again.”

12About Benjamin he said,

“The beloved of Yahweh will dwell in safety by him. He covers him all day long. He dwells between his shoulders.”

13About Joseph he said,

“His land is blessed by Yahweh, for the precious things of the heavens, for the dew, for the deep that couches beneath, 14for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, for the precious things that the moon can yield, 15for the best things of the ancient mountains, for the precious things of the everlasting hills, 16for the precious things of the earth and its fullness, the good will of him who lived in the bush. Let this come on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers. 17Majesty belongs to the firstborn of his herd. His horns are the horns of the wild ox. With them he will push all the peoples to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim. They are the thousands of Manasseh.”

18About Zebulun he said,

“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out; and Issachar, in your tents. 19They will call the peoples to the mountain. There they will offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they will draw out the abundance of the seas, the hidden treasures of the sand.”

20About Gad he said,

“He who enlarges Gad is blessed. He dwells as a lioness, and tears the arm and the crown of the head. 21He provided the first part for himself, for the lawgiver’s portion reserved was reserved for him. He came with the heads of the people. He executed the righteousness of Yahweh, His ordinances with Israel.”

22About Dan he said,

“Dan is a lion’s cub that leaps out of Bashan.”

23About Naphtali he said,

“Naphtali, satisfied with favor, full of Yahweh’s blessing, Possess the west and the south.”

24About Asher he said,

“Asher is blessed with children. Let him be acceptable to his brothers. Let him dip his foot in oil. 25Your bars will be iron and bronze. As your days, so your strength will be.
26“There is no one like God, Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens for your help, in his excellency on the skies. 27The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’ 28Israel dwells in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine. Yes, his heavens drop down dew. 29You are happy, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, the sword of your excellency? Your enemies will submit themselves to you. You will tread on their high places.”

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What others are saying

4 commentators · 65 notes on this chapter

Matthew HenryEnglish Puritan / Nonconformist · 1708–17147

Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.

Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.

v. 1–5

The first verse is the title of the chapter: it is a blessing. In the foregoing chapter he had thundered out the terrors of the Lord against Israel for their sin; it was a chapter like Ezekiel's roll, full of lamentation, and mourning, and woe. Now to soften…

v. 6–7

Here is, I. The blessing of Reuben. Though Reuben had lost the honour of his birthright, yet Moses begins with him; for we should not insult over those that are disgraced, nor desire to perpetuate marks of infamy upon any, though ever so justly fastened at…

v. 8–11

In blessing the tribe of Levi, Moses expresses himself more at large, not so much because it was his own tribe (for he takes no notice of his relation to it) as because it was God's tribe. The blessing of Levi has reference. I. To the high priest, here called…

John GillParticular Baptist / High Calvinist · 1746–176329

The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.

Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.

v. 1

And this is the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. Namely, what is related in the following verses, this being the general title to the chapter: Moses is called "the man of God", being raised up of God…

v. 2

And he said,.... What follows, of which, in some things, he was an eye and ear witness, and in others was inspired by the Spirit of God, to deliver his mind and will concerning the future case and state of the several tribes, after he had observed the common…

v. 3

Yea, he loved the people,.... The people of Israel, of which his giving the law to them in such a glorious manner was an instance, and was a distinguishing blessing which other nations were not favoured with, see Deuteronomy 4:6; how much more is the love of…

Keil & DelitzschGerman Lutheran, conservative-critical · 1861–187514

The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.

Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.

v. 1

Before ascending Mount Nebo to depart this life, Moses took leave of his people, the tribes of Israel, in the blessing which is very fittingly inserted in the book of the law between the divine announcement of his approaching death and the account of the…

v. 2–5

In the introduction Moses depicts the elevation of Israel into the nation of God, in its origin (Deu 33:2), its nature (Deu 33:3), its intention and its goal (Deu 33:4, Deu 33:5). Deu 33:2 "Jehovah came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shone…

v. 6

The blessings upon the tribes commence with this verse. "Let Reuben live and not die, and there be a (small) number of his men." The rights of the first-born had been withheld from Reuben in the blessing of Jacob (Gen 49:3); Moses, however, promises this…

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownScottish Presbyterian / Reformed · 187115

The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.

Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.

v. 2–5

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…

v. 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…

v. 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.

World English Bible — Public domain