Moses’ blessings on the tribes
33
📚And this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 33:1 Josh 14:6; Ps 90 (title). See also 1 Kings 12:22; 2 Kings 4:9; 1 Tim 6:11; 2 Tim 3:17. Moses now gives prophetic blessings for the people as Isaac did for his sons and Jacob did for the twelve tribes (Gen 27:27-29, 39-40; 49:1-28).⚜
2 📚And he said,
The LORD came from Sinai,
and dawned on them from Seir;
he shone forth from mount Paran,
and he came with ten thousands
of holy ones.
From his right hand a fiery law
went out for them.
3 📚Yes, he loved 📖 the people.
All his saints are in your hand 📖,
and they sit at your feet,
and receive of your words.
4 📚Moses commanded us a law,
the inheritance of the congregation
of Jacob.
33:4 This verse may indicate that someone else, possibly Joshua, wrote down these words after Moses’ death.⚜
5 📚And the LORD was king in Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people
and the tribes of Israel
were gathered together.
33:5 Note on Jeshurun at Deut 32:15.⚜
6 📚He said, Let Reuben live,
and not die, nor his men be few.
7 📚And this is what he said of Judah,
Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah,
and bring him to his people.
Let his hands be sufficient for him,
and be a help to him
from his enemies.
8 📚And of Levi he said,
Let your Thummim
and your Urim be
with your holy one,
whom you proved at Massah,
and with whom you contended
at the waters of Meribah 📖.
33:8 Note at Ex 28:30.⚜
9 📚He said of his father
and of his mother,
“I did not consider them”,
and he did not acknowledge
his brothers or regard
his own children;
for they have observed
your word,
and kept your covenant.
33:9 Ex 32:27-29; Matt 10:34-38; Luke 14:26. The Levites put God first in a very difficult and trying time.⚜
10 📚They will teach Jacob your judgments,
and Israel your law.
They will put incense before you,
and whole burnt sacrifices
on your altar.
11 📚Bless, LORD, his abilities,
and accept the work of his hands.
Strike through the loins of those
who rise up against him,
and of those who hate him,
so that they do not rise up again.
12 📚And of Benjamin he said,
The one the LORD loves will live
in safety by him,
and the LORD will shield him
all day long; and he will live
between his shoulders.
13 📚And of Joseph he said,
May his land be blessed
by the LORD with the precious
things of heaven, with the dew,
and with the deep that lies below,
33:13 Gen 49:22-26. Ephraim and Manasseh settled in some of the most fruitful areas of Israel.⚜
14 📚And with the precious fruits
brought forth by the sun,
and with the choice produce
of the months,
15 📚And with the best things
of the ancient mountains,
and with the precious things
of the everlasting hills,
16 📚And with the precious things
of the earth and its fulness,
and with the good will
of the One who dwelt in the bush 📖.
Let the blessing come
on the head of Joseph,
and on the crown of the head
of the one who was separated
from his brothers.
17 📚His glory is like the firstborn
of his bull, and his horns are like
the horns of the wild ox.
With them he will push the people
together to the ends of the earth.
And they are the myriads
of Ephraim, and they are
the thousands of Manasseh.
18 📚And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice,
Zebulun, in your going out;
and, Issachar, in your tents.
19 📚They will summon peoples
to the mountain.
There they will offer sacrifices
of righteousness;
for they will draw out the abundance
of the seas, and treasures hid
in the sand.
20 📚And of Gad he said,
Blessed is he who enlarges Gad.
He lives like a lion,
and tears the arm
and the crown of the head.
21 📚And he provided the first part
for himself, because there,
in the governor’s portion,
he was seated.
And he came with the leaders
of the people;
he executed the justice of the LORD,
and his judgments with Israel.
33:21 Num 32:1-5. They came across the Jordan River to help the other tribes conquer Canaan (Josh 22:1-4).⚜
22 📚And of Dan he said,
Dan is a lion’s cub;
he will leap from Bashan.
23 📚And of Naphtali he said,
O Naphtali, satisfied with favour,
and full of the blessing of the LORD,
possess the sea and the south.
33:23 Gen 49:21. This tribes land was to be south and west of the Sea of Galilee.⚜
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 📚Your bolts will be iron and brass,
and your strength will be
as your days.
26 📚There is none like the God
of Jeshurun,
who rides in the heavens
for your help, and in the sky
in his majesty.
33:26 From this verse onwards not Asher only but all the tribes of Israel are meant. Compare Deut 10:14; Ps 68:33-34; 104:3; Hab 3:8.⚜
27 📚The eternal God is your refuge 📖,
and underneath are
the everlasting arms;
and he will drive out the enemy
from before you 📖, and will say,
“Destroy them!”
28 📚So Israel will live in safety alone.
The spring of Jacob will be
in a land of corn and wine,
and his heavens will drop down dew.
29 📚Happy are you, O Israel!
Who is like you,
O people saved by the LORD,
who is the shield
of your help
and the sword of your majesty!
And your enemies will be found
liars to you,
and you will trample
on their high places.
33:29 Israel had the greatest privileges of any people in the world. See Rom 9:3-5.⚜