33:26 There is no one like God, O Jeshurun, 1
who rides through the sky 2 to help you,
on the clouds in majesty.
32:13 He enabled him 3 to travel over the high terrain of the land,
and he ate of the produce of the fields.
He provided honey for him from the cliffs, 4
and olive oil 5 from the hardest of 6 rocks, 7
1 sn Jeshurun is a term of affection referring to Israel, derived from the Hebrew verb יָשַׁר (yashar, “be upright”). See note on the term in Deut 32:15.
2 tn Or “(who) rides (on) the heavens” (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT). This title depicts Israel’s God as sovereign over the elements of the storm (cf. Ps 68:33). The use of the phrase here may be polemical; Moses may be asserting that Israel’s God, not Baal (called the “rider of the clouds” in the Ugaritic myths), is the true divine king (cf. v. 5) who controls the elements of the storm, grants agricultural prosperity, and delivers his people from their enemies. See R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “The Polemic against Baalism in Israel’s Early History and Literature,” BSac 151 (1994): 275.
3 tn The form of the suffix on this verbal form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. Note as well the preterites with vav (ו) consecutive that follow in the verse.
4 tn Heb “he made him suck honey from the rock.”
5 tn Heb “oil,” but this probably refers to olive oil; see note on the word “rock” at the end of this verse.
6 tn Heb “flinty.”
7 sn Olive oil from rock probably suggests olive trees growing on rocky ledges and yet doing so productively. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 415; cf. TEV “their olive trees flourished in stony ground.”