Deuteronomy 33 Study Notes

33:1-29 Though on the surface this seems similar to Jacob’s blessing of his sons, they serve different purposes. Jacob’s blessing is more predictive, whereas Moses’s speech is actually a blessing or prayerful intercession. It comprises an introduction (v. 1), a historical review (vv. 2-5), blessings on individual tribes (vv. 6-25), and a blessing on Israel generally (vv. 26-29).

33:2 The listing of Sinai . . . Seir, and Mount Paran is an abbreviated itinerary along which the Lord had led his people on their journey from Egypt to the land of promise. The holy ones are the angelic hosts that make up his heavenly armies (Ps 68:17). Lightning (lit “fiery law”) might better be understood as synonymous with holy ones and thus rendered “angels.”

33:3 Here holy ones is a reference to the people of Israel. The Lord led them to the land of promise because he loved them—a key indicator of their covenant relationship with him (cp. 7:7-11).

33:4 The term instruction translates the Hebrew word torah. The point is that Israel out of all the nations had been entrusted with God’s covenant blessings (14:2,21; Ex 19:4-6).

33:5 Jeshurun is a poetic term for Israel (v. 26; 32:15; Is 44:2). Moses’s reference to the Lord as King in Jeshurun provides a basis for the march of conquest of v. 2. The Lord can exercise such power and glory precisely because he is King (29:10; Ex 19:7-8; 34:31-32).

33:6 Turning to the blessing of the individual tribes, Moses first wished for Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob, that he might live and not die though his people become few. This partially offsets Jacob’s curse against him because of Reuben’s sin involving Jacob’s concubine (Gn 49:3-4; cp. Gn 35:22).

33:7 Judah, contending for himself, is in desperate need of the Lord’s help. This help could come directly from the Lord or from Judah’s strong bond with his people, the other tribes. If this interpretation is correct, it anticipates a rupture of the tribes into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

33:8 Levi, the head of the priestly tribe, was responsible for spiritual leadership. This included determining God’s will for them by casting the sacred lots of Urim and Thummim (Ex 28:15-30; cp. 1Sm 28:6; Ezr 2:63; Neh 7:65). The testing probably refers to the Lord testing Moses the Levite, since otherwise it was the Lord who was being tested by Israel and not the other way around (6:16; Ex 17:7; Nm 20:13,24; Ps 95:8-9; 106:32).

33:9 Levi’s statement about his father and mother probably refers to the impartial attitude of that tribe in punishing Israel for their worship of the golden calf at Sinai (Ex 32:25-29). Thus Levi kept the Lord’s word and maintained his covenant.

33:10 Two other privileges reserved only for the Levites were teaching the Lord’s ordinances (31:9-13; Lv 10:11) and conducting worship.

33:11 Possessions is literally “his strength” and probably refers to Levi’s accomplishments as teacher and cultic mediator. Break the back may mean to render impotent, or to otherwise undermine their strength.

33:12 The blessing of Benjamin also somewhat offsets the last words of Jacob to his sons where he described Benjamin as a wolf who tore his prey (Gn 49:27). Here Benjamin rests on the Lord’s shoulders much as a shepherd might carry his helpless lambs (Nm 11:12; Ru 4:16; Is 40:11; Jn 10:7-18).

33:13-17 Moses’s desire for Joseph (the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons) was primarily for agricultural (vv. 13-16) and military (v. 17) success. The allusion to him who appeared in the burning bush is to place Joseph back at the setting of the covenant God made with Israel and all the promises of his abundant grace associated with it (Ex 3:2-4,16-18).

33:18-19 Zebulun and Issachar are linked together as the last two sons of Jacob’s wife Leah (Gn 30:18,20) and as neighboring tribes in the area north of the valley of Jezreel. The mountain is probably Mount Tabor, the only prominent mountain in their territory. The only reference to Tabor as a place of sacrifice occurs in Hs 5:1; by Hosea’s time it was regarded as illegitimate. However, in an earlier time Tabor may have been a place of local worship. Zebulun’s border extended as far west as the Mediterranean Sea, and thus its people could draw from the wealth of the seas and . . . the sand.

33:20-21 Gad had been described by Jacob as a ferocious warrior who, though attacked by others, would strike back with vengeance (Gn 49:19). Moses viewed the tribe of Gad as one that would seek to enlarge its territory, and he blessed anyone who could make that happen. Already in Moses’s day Gad had chosen the fertile land of the northern Transjordan (Nm 32:1-5). Once there, Gad had carved out the largest territory of all the eastern tribes, gaining a ruler’s portion.

33:22 Jacob depicted Dan as a vicious viper that bites horses’ heels, throwing their riders to the ground (Gn 49:16-17). Moses compared him to a young lion, leaping out of Bashan. Besides affirming the aggressive nature of Dan, the geographical reference to Bashan suggests that the tribe of Dan’s occupation of its far northern territory may have originated in Bashan. Dan had been allotted a region near Philistine territory which it was unable to occupy and from which it moved north for more suitable prospects (Jos 19:40-48; Jdg 18:1-29).

33:23 Naphtali settled on the western side of the Sea of Galilee. Jacob said of this son that he “is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns” (Gn 49:21). Because of the fertile and fruitful nature of the lower Galilee region, Naphtali, Moses said, would enjoy divine approval. The spiritual blessing may be seen most fully when Messiah came and spent most of his life and ministry in and about the territory allotted Naphtali.

33:24-25 Jacob promised his son Asher that his “food will be rich, and he will produce royal delicacies” (Gn 49:20). When Moses prayed, May Asher be the most blessed of the sons, he was probably referring also to material blessings, particularly to food supplies. This is clear from the desire of Moses that Asher might dip his foot in olive oil. Asher’s location on the upper Mediterranean coast, the region of the modern city of Haifa, accounted for its access to products of the sea, but the surrounding hills, including Mount Carmel, also yielded vast quantities of olive oil, as is the case to this very day. To “dip the foot in olive oil” is a figure of speech suggesting a luxurious lifestyle.

33:26 Moses concluded the blessing of the tribes by extolling the God of Jeshurun (cp. v. 5; 32:15) as the one who rides the heavens on the clouds in his majesty. This same image occurs in ancient Canaanite poetic texts where Baal is said to ride the clouds, but Moses put to rest the pagan notions of their God by asserting that it is the God of Israel who, in fact, is sovereign (Ps 68:4,33; Hab 3:3-15).

33:27-28 The God of history is the God of the present and of the ages to come, giving Israel security and prosperity. The term for dwelling place is often used of a wild animal’s den or lair (see Jb 37:8; 38:40; Ps 104:22; Sg 4:8; Am 3:4; Nah 2:12).

33:29 In a grand finale, Moses called on Israel to recognize how happy they were—or ought to be. Of all the nations of the earth, the Lord had saved only them in the sense of having called them to be his special possession (7:6; Ex 19:4-6). They enjoyed his protection as their shield and sword, metaphors descriptive of his power and glory (Gn 15:1; Ps 7:10; 18:2; 28:7).