a33:1-29
bGen 49:1-28
c33:2
d1:1
e33:3
f4:20
g33:4
h33:6-25
iGen 49:1-28
j33:6
k33:7
nGen 29:32
oGen 35:22
pGen 49:3-4
q33:7
rGen 29:35
sRuth 4:18-22
t1 Chr 2:3-15
uMatt 1:1-6a
vGen 49:10
w33:8
xGen 29:34
yExod 28:1
z32:29
aaNum 3:9
abExod 17:1-7
acNum 20:13
ae33:9
afExod 32:25-29
agNum 25:6-9
ah33:10
ai31:9-13
ajNum 16:39-40
ak2 Chr 26:16-21
al33:12
amGen 35:18
an49:27
ao33:13-17
apGen 30:23-24
aqGen 37:3
arGen 48
as49:22-26
at33:16
auExod 3:2-4
avGen 37:5-11
aw42:6
ax33:17
ayGen 48:8-22
azDeut 21:17
ba1 Kgs 12
bb33:18
bcGen 30:18
be33:19
bfHos 5:1
bg1 Kgs 18:30
biGen 49:13
bj33:20
bkGen 30:10-11
bl33:21
bmNum 32:1-5
bnJosh 22:1-3
bo33:22
bpGen 30:5-6
bqJosh 19:40-48
brJudg 18:27-28
bsGen 49:16-17
bt33:23
buGen 30:7-8
bvMatt 4:12-17
bw33:24
bxGen 30:12-13
byDeut 33:25
bz33:26
ca1:30
cb33:27
cc33:29
cd11:24-25
ceJosh 1:3
cf14:9
cgAmos 4:13
chMic 1:3
ciHab 3:15

‏ Deuteronomy 33

Summary for Deut 33:1-29: 33:1-29  a On the eve of his death, Jacob blessed his twelve sons (Gen 49:1-28  b). As the founding father of his nation, Moses blessed these same sons, now grown into mighty tribes.
33:2  c This poetic account does not establish an itinerary that God followed. Instead, it portrays God in his splendor as he came at certain times and places to lead his people against their foes in God’s war.

• Mount Paran is the highlands of Paran in the northeast region of the Sinai Peninsula (see 1:1  d).
33:3  e In covenant contexts, to love is frequently synonymous with to choose. The Lord does love his people, but here it means that he chooses them as his special possession (4:20  f).

• his hands: This phrase figuratively conveys the security that Israel (his holy ones) had in the Lord.

• his steps: Following the Lord requires adopting his lifestyle and going where he goes.

• His teaching refers particularly and pertinently to the Torah in all its fullness.
33:4  g of Israel: Literally of Jacob. The Hebrew probably uses Jacob because the tribes descended from Jacob’s twelve sons are here listed by name as recipients of God’s blessing (33:6-25  h; cp. Gen 49:1-28  i).
33:6  j Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben: The NLT adds this line for clarity (cp. 33:7  k, 8  l, 12  m, etc.).

• Reuben was Jacob’s eldest son by Leah (see Gen 29:32  n). His sin against his father (Gen 35:22  o) might explain his tribe’s lack of prominence (Gen 49:3-4  p).
33:7  q Judah was Jacob’s fourth son by Leah (Gen 29:35  r). The anticipated messianic ruler would come through this tribe. This promise was fulfilled first in David (Ruth 4:18-22  s; 1 Chr 2:3-15  t) and then in Jesus Christ (Matt 1:1-6a  u; see Gen 49:10  v).
33:8  w Levi was Jacob’s third son by Leah (Gen 29:34  x). The Levites, particularly those descended from Aaron, were entrusted with the priesthood (see Exod 28:1  y; 32:29  z; Num 3:9  aa).

• Thummim and Urim were precious stones embedded in or suspended from the breastpiece of the ephod, a garment worn by the chief priest. These stones could be consulted to determine God’s will. Their names may be translated “perfections” and “lights,” respectively (see study note on Exod 28:30).

• Massah means “[place of] testing,” referring to an incident when the people ran out of water and tested the Lord (see study note on Deut 6:16; Exod 17:1-7  ab).

• Meribah means “[place of] contention,” referring to another occasion when the people of Israel fought with the Lord until he brought them water from a rock (Num 20:13  ac, 24  ad).
33:9  ae guarded your covenant: The verse alludes to the incident of the gold calf at Mount Sinai (Exod 32:25-29  af) and to the affair at Baal-peor (Num 25:6-9  ag). The Levites’ love for the Lord and loyalty to his covenant eclipsed their devotion to their own families, averted God’s judgment, and brought them the honor expressed here.
33:10  ah They teach your regulations ... instructions: In addition to carrying out priestly duties such as sacrifices and otherwise assisting at the Tabernacle and the Temple, the Levites had the task of teaching the Torah (31:9-13  ai).

• present incense: This ministry was limited to Levitical priests (Num 16:39-40  aj). Later, when King Uzziah entered the Temple to offer incense, he was roundly condemned for his arrogant breach of the priests’ privilege and was afflicted by a skin disease for the rest of his life (2 Chr 26:16-21  ak).
33:12  al Benjamin was Jacob’s youngest son (Gen 35:18  am; 49:27  an). Because Rachel was Jacob’s favorite wife, Benjamin was also favored. His tribe was blessed by the Lord’s special protection.
Summary for Deut 33:13-17: 33:13-17  ao Joseph was Jacob’s eleventh son (Gen 30:23-24  ap) and his favorite child (Gen 37:3  aq). Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, received Jacob’s special blessing (Gen 48  ar; 49:22-26  as). As a result, the tribes of Joseph prospered and multiplied, becoming two separate tribes.
33:16  at the one who appeared in the burning bush: See Exod 3:2-4  au. The same Lord who favored Israel by rescuing them from bondage blessed the tribes of Joseph.

• the prince among his brothers: Joseph’s dream that he would rule over his siblings was fulfilled when they submitted to him in Egypt (Gen 37:5-11  av; 42:6  aw).
33:17  ax Ephraim is listed first because he received the blessing of the firstborn over Manasseh (Gen 48:8-22  ay). Manasseh, the firstborn, would normally have received the double portion belonging to the firstborn (cp. Deut 21:17  az), but Jacob gave it to Ephraim, Joseph’s younger son. Moses’ blessing reflects Jacob’s blessing by listing the tribe of Ephraim as numbering in multitudes (literally tens of thousands) and Manasseh in thousands. After the conquest and establishment of the nation, Ephraim became the dominant tribe of the north; later, after the kingdom was divided following Solomon’s death (1 Kgs 12  ba), the name Ephraim was used interchangeably with Israel in speaking of the northern kingdom.
33:18  bb Zebulun and Issachar (NLT adds and Issachar for clarity) were the sixth and fifth sons of Jacob by Leah (Gen 30:18  bc, 20  bd).

• in their travels ... in their tents: This figure of speech (a merism) encompasses life in all its fullness for both tribes, from activity (travels) to inactivity (tents).
33:19  be to the mountain: Issachar was allotted much of the plains of Jezreel or Esdraelon. Mount Tabor, a prominent landmark of this region, was probably the mountain in view because later tradition knows this as a place of worship (Hos 5:1  bf). The nature of that worship is unclear, but it was probably proper even though it was not carried out at the Temple (see 1 Kgs 18:30  bg, 32  bh).

• The phrase riches of the sea might refer to the maritime industry of the people of Zebulun when their western border extended to the Mediterranean Sea (see Gen 49:13  bi).
33:20  bj Gad was the elder of two sons of Jacob by Leah’s servant Zilpah (Gen 30:10-11  bk). His name means “good fortune,” but the message is that the one who enables the tribe to enlarge its territory is the fortunate one. That territory was east of the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee.
33:21  bl the best land: Gad chose this territory prior to the conquest. It was the famously rich and productive land of Bashan (Num 32:1-5  bm). The commendation of Gad for carrying out the Lord’s justice and obeying his regulations probably refers to the tribe’s faithfulness in assisting the western tribes in their conquest of Canaan (Josh 22:1-3  bn).
33:22  bo Dan was the elder of two sons of Jacob by Rachel’s servant Bilhah (Gen 30:5-6  bp). The name means “he judged.” The tribe of Dan was originally given territory between Judah and the Mediterranean. However, because of fierce hostility in that region, they were unable to settle there (Josh 19:40-48  bq). The tribe then moved to the far north, destroyed the people who lived there, and settled in their place near Mount Hermon, north of the Sea of Galilee and adjacent to Bashan. The historical record doesn’t mention Dan’s staging area from which an attack was made against Laish, but the phrase leaping out from Bashan might suggest that Dan would attack from Bashan (Judg 18:27-28  br; see Gen 49:16-17  bs).
33:23  bt Naphtali was the younger of two sons of Jacob by Rachel’s servant Bilhah (Gen 30:7-8  bu). The name means something like “my struggle.”

• the west and the south (or southward to the sea): The Hebrew word (yam) can mean either “west” or “sea.” This phrase might refer to the region this tribe settled in near the Sea of Galilee (see Matt 4:12-17  bv), known for its fishing and farming.
33:24  bw Asher was the younger of two sons of Jacob by Leah’s servant Zilpah (Gen 30:12-13  bx). The name means “happy” or “blessed,” evident in the abundance of olive oil from the orchards that cover the lower Galilean hills and Mount Carmel, as well as the security from danger that these hills and other natural formations provided (Deut 33:25  by).
33:26  bz He rides across the heavens: Moses’ blessing of the tribes climaxes with praise to the Lord. Like a mighty warrior, God rides triumphantly through the skies on chariots of cloud (see 1:30  ca).
33:27  cb God’s everlasting arms suggest his eternal nature (he has always existed and always will), omnipotence (power), and care. God’s power would evict the Canaanites from the Promised Land so that Israel could enter and occupy it.
33:29  cc stomp on their backs: Treading on an enemy’s back figuratively meant having complete victory over him. The word backs can also be translated “high places,” meaning the heights of the land and the traditional places of pagan worship—a way of suggesting total physical and spiritual conquest. The Lord promised to lead the way and guaranteed success in the forthcoming conquest (see 11:24-25  cd; Josh 1:3  ce; 14:9  cf; cp. Amos 4:13  cg; Mic 1:3  ch; Hab 3:15  ci).
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