Deuteronomy 33

Chapter context

What is happening in Deuteronomy 33?

memorycovenantlove of Godlaw

Deuteronomy 33 belongs to the late movement of the book, especially the section often described as the song of Moses, blessing of the tribes, and Moses’ death. Deuteronomy restates and interprets the law through a series of charged covenant sermons that call Israel to remember, love, obey, and choose life. Read this chapter with the wider themes of memory, covenant, and love of God in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

¹ And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. ² And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. ³ Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words. ⁴ Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. ⁵ And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together. ⁶ Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few. ⁷ And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies. ⁸ And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; ⁹ Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant. ¹⁰ They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. ¹¹ Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again. ¹² And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. ¹³ And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, ¹⁴ And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, ¹⁵ And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, ¹⁶ And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. ¹⁷ His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. ¹⁸ And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents. ¹⁹ They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand. ²⁰ And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head. ²¹ And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel. ²² And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan. ²³ And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south. ²⁴ And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. ²⁵ Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. ²⁶ There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. ²⁷ The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. ²⁸ Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew. ²⁹ Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

Study helps

Glossary

Meribah Place v. 2: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Ain el Qudeirat.
Mount Paran Place v. 2: Abounding in foliage, or abounding in caverns, ( Gen. 21:21 ), a desert tract forming the north-eastern division of the peninsula of Sinai, lying between the ‘Arabah on the east and the wilderness of Shur on the west. Modern identification: Jebel Musa.
Mount Seir Place v. 2: Biblical mountain range. Modern identification: Jebel esh Shera.
Mount Sinai Place v. 2, 16: Biblical mountain. Modern identification: Jebel Musa.
Jeshurun People v. 5, 26: A poetical name for the people of Israel, used in token of affection, meaning, “the dear upright people” ( Deut. 32:15 ; 33:5 , 26; Isa. 44:2 ).
Reuben Person v. 6: Behold a son!, the eldest son of Jacob and Leah ( Gen. 29:32 ). His sinful conduct, referred to in Gen. 35:22 , brought down upon him his dying father’s malediction (48:4).
Levi Person v. 8: Adhesion. (1. ) The third son of Jacob by Leah. The origin of the name is found in Leah’s words ( Gen. 29:34 ).
Massah Place v. 8: Biblical campsite. Modern identification: Wadi Rufaiyil.
Meribah Place v. 8: Biblical campsite. Modern identification: Wadi Rufaiyil.
Benjamin Person v. 12: Son of my right hand. (1. ) The younger son of Jacob by Rachel ( Gen. 35:18 ). His birth took place at Ephrath, on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem, at a short distance from the latter place.
Zebulun Person v. 18: Dwelling, the sixth and youngest son of Jacob and Leah ( Gen. 30:20 ). Little is known of his personal history. He had three sons (46:14).
Gad Person v. 20: Fortune; luck. (1. ) Jacob’s seventh son, by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, and the brother of Asher ( Gen. 30:11-13 ; 46:16 , 18). In the Authorized Version of 30:11 the words, “A troop cometh: and she called,” etc.
Bashan Place v. 22: Biblical region. Modern identification: Saham al Jawlan.
Naphtali Person v. 23: My wrestling, the fifth son of Jacob. His mother was Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid ( Gen. 30:8 ). When Jacob went down into Egypt, Naphtali had four sons ( Gen. 46:24 ). Little is known of him as an individual.