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Texts -- Deuteronomy 33:1-14 (NET)

Context
Introduction to the Blessing of Moses
33:1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death .
A Historical Review
33:2 He said : The Lord came from Sinai and revealed himself to Israel from Seir . He appeared in splendor from Mount Paran , and came forth with ten thousand holy ones . With his right hand he gave a fiery law to them. 33:3 Surely he loves the people ; all your holy ones are in your power . And they sit at your feet , each receiving your words . 33:4 Moses delivered to us a law , an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob . 33:5 The Lord was king over Jeshurun , when the leaders of the people assembled , the tribes of Israel together .
Blessing on Reuben
33:6 May Reuben live and not die , and may his people multiply .
Blessing on Judah
33:7 And this is the blessing to Judah . He said , Listen , O Lord , to Judah’s voice , and bring him to his people . May his power be great , and may you help him against his foes .
Blessing on Levi
33:8 Of Levi he said : Your Thummim and Urim belong to your godly one , whose authority you challenged at Massah , and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah . 33:9 He said to his father and mother , “I have not seen him,” and he did not acknowledge his own brothers or know his own children , for they kept your word , and guarded your covenant . 33:10 They will teach Jacob your ordinances and Israel your law ; they will offer incense as a pleasant odor, and a whole offering on your altar . 33:11 Bless , O Lord , his goods , and be pleased with his efforts ; undercut the legs of any who attack him, and of those who hate him, so that they cannot stand .
Blessing on Benjamin
33:12 Of Benjamin he said : The beloved of the Lord will live safely by him; he protects him all the time , and the Lord places him on his chest .
Blessing on Joseph
33:13 Of Joseph he said : May the Lord bless his land with the harvest produced by the sky , by the dew , and by the depths crouching beneath ; 33:14 with the harvest produced by the daylight and by the moonlight ;

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 2:18 Adam's creation was not complete because he lacked a "helper"who corresponded to him. This deficiency led God to pronounce Adam's condition "not good."151God not only evaluated Adam's condition, He also rectified it.152"...
  • This pericope presents the characteristics of the three branches of the human family that grew out of Noah. Moses stressed the themes of blessing and cursing. God cursed Canaan with slavery because Ham showed disrespect towar...
  • Here we have the third round of Jacob's battle with Esau. The first was at birth (25:21-28) and the second was over the birthright (25:29-34). In all three incidents Jacob manipulated his brother."This chapter [27] offers one...
  • Jacob blessed all 12 of his sons and foretold what would become of each of them and their descendants. He disqualified Reuben, Simeon, and Levi from leadership and gave that blessing to Judah. He granted the double portion to...
  • Aalders, Gerhard Charles. Genesis. The Bible Student's Commentary series. 2 vols. Translated by William Heynen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas...
  • A complete and comprehensive explanation of the official duties and revenues of the priests and Levites appropriately follows the confirmation of Aaron's priesthood. This was God's reply to the frightened cries of the people ...
  • "Chapters 23 and 24 are two of the brightest chapters in the book of Numbers. Scores of wonderful things are said about Israel, mainly prophetical. The dark sins of the past were forgotten; only happy deliverance from Egypt w...
  • Moses evidently wrote this book on the plains of Moab shortly before his death, which occurred about 1406 B.C.The Mosaic authorship of this book is quite easy to establish. The book claims to be the words of Moses (1:5, 9; 5:...
  • Let me share with you a couple of quotations that point out the importance of this book."Deuteronomy is one of the greatest books of the Old Testament. Its significance on the domestic and personal religion of all ages has no...
  • I. Introduction: the covenant setting 1:1-5II. Moses' first major address: a review of God's faithfulness 1:6-4:40A. God's past dealings with Israel 1:6-3:291. God's guidance from Sinai to Kadesh 1:6-462. The march from Kades...
  • This brief section places the events that follow in their geographical and chronological setting. It introduces the occasion for the covenant, the parties involved, and other information necessary to identify the document and...
  • "The passage at hand is without comparison as a discourse on the doctrine of God."56Moses' three rhetorical questions (vv. 32-34) clearly point out the uniqueness of Yahweh."In addition to His self-disclosure in event, in his...
  • Having completed the major addresses to the Israelites recorded to this point in Deuteronomy, Moses needed only to make a few final arrangements before Israel was ready to enter the land. The record of these events concludes ...
  • After receiving the reminder of his death and as one of his final official acts as Israel's leader, Moses pronounced a prophetic blessing on the tribes of Israel (cf. Gen. 49)."In the ancient Near East, a dying father's final...
  • "A testament is of force only after the death of the testator [cf. Heb. 9:16-17]. So the Deuteronomic Covenant in it testamentary aspect . . . would not become operative until after the death of Moses. Only then would Joshua ...
  • Adams, Jay. Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1980.Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pelican Archaeology seri...
  • Deborah called all people of consequence to pay attention to the record of God's greatness that follows. "Kings"may refer to pagan kings and "rulers"to Israel's leaders. She compared God's revelation at Sinai, when He gave th...
  • Verses 29-36a give an overview of the battle, and 36b-48 provide a more detailed explanation.Israel's strategy was similar to what God had specified against Ai (Josh. 8:1-29) and what Abimelech used against Shechem (9:33-44)....
  • "In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him."147Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul had with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy to the south (cf. 14...
  • The combination of David's final song (ch. 22) followed by his last testament (23:1-7) recalls the similar combination of Moses' final song and his last testament (Deut. 32 and 33). This was David's final literary legacy to I...
  • We can explain the writer's unusual reference to Judah and Israel at this time, before the division of the kingdom. When he wrote Kings the nation had split, so probably the writer was using the designation that was common in...
  • The Gilgal in view may have been the one between Jericho and the Jordan, or it may have been one about seven miles north of Bethel since Elijah and Elisha went down to Bethel (v. 2).10This account presupposes previous revelat...
  • The psalmist asked God to bless His people in view of life's brevity.The superscription attributes the authorship of this psalm to Moses (cf. Deut. 33:1). It is evidently the only one he wrote that God preserved in this book....
  • Isaiah continued to show that Yahweh was both willing and able to deliver His people, a theme begun in 42:10. He confronted the gods, again (cf. 41:21-29), but this time he challenged them to bring forth witnesses to their de...
  • The Anointed One would fulfill God's ancient promises to Israel.61:4 Those who formerly mourned in Israel because of their downtrodden and depraved conditions would rebuild their land, which others had destroyed. These destru...
  • 43:1-2 Ezekiel's guide next led him to the east gate in the outer wall. This was the wall of the millennial temple that he had been seeing and continued to see, not the wall of the Solomonic temple. There the prophet saw the ...
  • 44:15-16 The Levites from Zadok's branch of the priestly family, however, would have special privileges since Zadok and his sons had served the Lord faithfully in the past (cf. 40:46; 1 Sam. 2:35; 2 Sam. 8:17; 15:24-29; 1 Kin...
  • 7:9 In many versions, this verse and some that follow (vv. 10, 13-14) are in poetic form. This indicates a difference in the original language (Aramaic), which sets these verses off as distinct and more elevated in literary f...
  • 4:15 The Lord warned the Israelites not to pollute their brethren in the Southern Kingdom with their unfaithfulness. He also warned them not to go to the pagan shrines and take an oath in His name since they did not really wo...
  • This pericope contains a call to the nations to prepare for war (vv. 9-11), a statement by the Lord (vv. 12-13), and a description of the battle site (vv. 14-16).3:9-11 The Lord issued a call to war. The nations should prepar...
  • Having received the revelation that Yahweh would destroy Babylon, Habakkuk could understand that He was just in using that wicked nation to discipline Israel. Babylon would not go free but would perish for her sins. Israel's ...
  • 3:3 The prophet pictured Yahweh as arising over His people like the rising sun, appearing over Teman, a large town in Edom, and Mt. Paran, the mountain opposite Teman (cf. Deut. 33:2-4). These locations were to the east of th...
  • The revelation that Yahweh gave Malachi for Israel consisted of six "heavy"messages. The first one reminded God's people of His love for them and of their ungratefulness.1:2a The Lord's first word to His people was short and ...
  • Whereas the emphasis in Malachi's argument shifts at this point somewhat from the sins of the priests to their possible fate, there is a continuing emphasis on their sins. In the preceding section (1:6-14) the cultic activity...
  • Jesus began His farewell address (cf. Moses, Deut. 31-33; Joshua, Josh. 23-24; Paul, Acts 20) with an object lesson....
  • This part of Jesus' private ministry has many connections with the preceding Upper Room Discourse. In the Old Testament, prayers often accompanied important farewell discourses (cf. Gen. 49; Deut. 32-33). The main theme is Je...
  • Stephen concluded his defense by indicting his accusers. They had brought charges against him, but now he brought more serious charges against them.In his first speech to the Sanhedrin, Peter had been quite brief and forthrig...
  • 3:19 In view of the foregoing argument, did the Law have any value? Yes, God had several purposes in it. Purpose, not cause, is in view, as is clear in the Greek text.There have been four primary interpretations of what "beca...
  • Paul continued the emphasis he began in the previous section (vv. 3-10) by appealing to Timothy to pursue spiritual rather than physical goals in his life. He seems to have intended his instructions for all the faithful Ephes...
  • The writer proceeded to explain the exaltation of Jesus Christ to help his readers appreciate the fact that He fulfilled Old Testament prophecy concerning the Son of David. He did this so they would appreciate Him properly an...
  • Having just encouraged his readers with a reminder of God's help for the faithful (1:14) the writer next urged his readers to be faithful. He did so to warn them of the possibility of retrogressing spiritually and consequentl...
  • The scene continues to be on earth.7:1 The phrase "after this"(Gr. meta touto) indicates that what follows is a new vision (cf. 4:1). The general chronological progression of the visions suggests that the events John saw now ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Deut. 33:3The great ode of which these words are a part is called the blessing wherewith Moses blessed the children of Israel before his death.' It is mainly an invocation of blessing from Heaven on the various tribes, but it...
  • Deut. 33:12Benjamin was his father's favorite child, and the imagery of this promise is throughout drawn from the relations between such a child and its father. So far as the future history of the tribes is shadowed in these ...
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