Deuteronomy 33:1-2

Introduction to the Blessing of Moses

33:1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death. 33:2 He said:

A Historical Review

The Lord came from Sinai

and revealed himself ¹  to Israel ²  from Seir.

He appeared in splendor ³  from Mount Paran,

and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. ⁴ 

With his right hand he gave a fiery law ⁵  to them.

Deuteronomy 4:16

4:16 I say this ⁶  so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male or female,

Deuteronomy 4:22

4:22 So I must die here in this land; I will not cross the Jordan. But you are going over and will possess that ⁷  good land.

Deuteronomy 4:25

Threat and Blessing following Covenant Disobedience

4:25 After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, ⁸  if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind ⁹  and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him, ¹⁰ 

Deuteronomy 4:27

4:27 Then the Lord will scatter you among the peoples and there will be very few of you ¹¹  among the nations where the Lord will drive you.

Deuteronomy 4:1

The Privileges of the Covenant

4:1 Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances ¹²  I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, ¹³  is giving you.

Deuteronomy 6:11

6:11 houses filled with choice things you did not accumulate, hewn out cisterns you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant – and you eat your fill,

¹ tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).

² tc Heb “to him.” The LXX reads “to us” (לָנוּ [lanu] for לָמוֹ [lamo]), the reading of the MT is acceptable since it no doubt has in mind Israel as a collective singular.

³ tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

⁴ tc With slight alteration (מִמְרִבַת קָדֵשׁ [mimrivat qadesh] for the MT’s מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ [merivvot qodesh]) the translation would be “from Meribah Kadesh” (cf. NAB, NLT; see Deut 32:51). However, the language of holy war in the immediate context favors the reading of the MT, which views the Lord as accompanied by angelic hosts.

⁵ tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (’eshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (’eshhat) with Smr.

⁶ tn The words “I say this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 16 is subordinated to “Be careful” in v. 15, but this makes for an unduly long sentence in English.

⁷ tn Heb “this.” The translation uses “that” to avoid confusion; earlier in the verse Moses refers to Transjordan as “this land.”

⁸ tn Heb “have grown old in the land,” i.e., been there for a long time.

⁹ tn Heb “a form of anything.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV “an idol.”

¹⁰ tn The infinitive construct is understood here as indicating the result, not the intention, of their actions.

¹¹ tn Heb “you will be left men (i.e., few) of number.”

¹² tn These technical Hebrew terms (חֻקִּים [khuqqim] and מִשְׁפָּטִים [mishpatim]) occur repeatedly throughout the Book of Deuteronomy to describe the covenant stipulations to which Israel had been called to subscribe (see, in this chapter alone, vv. 1, 5, 6, 8). The word חֻקִּים derives from the verb חֹק (khoq, “to inscribe; to carve”) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim) from שָׁפַט (shafat, “to judge”). They are virtually synonymous and are used interchangeably in Deuteronomy.

¹³ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 31, 37).