Deuteronomy 7:14

7:14 You will be blessed beyond all peoples; there will be no barrenness ¹  among you or your livestock.

Deuteronomy 8:10

8:10 You will eat your fill and then praise the Lord your God because of the good land he has given you.

Deuteronomy 15:14

15:14 You must supply them generously ²  from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress – as the Lord your God has blessed you, you must give to them.

Deuteronomy 28:4

28:4 Your children ³  will be blessed, as well as the produce of your soil, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

Deuteronomy 33:1

Introduction to the Blessing of Moses

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

Deuteronomy 33:11

33:11 Bless, O Lord, his goods,

and be pleased with his efforts;

undercut the legs ⁴  of any who attack him,

and of those who hate him, so that they cannot stand.

Deuteronomy 33:13

Blessing on Joseph

33:13 Of Joseph he said:

May the Lord bless his land

with the harvest produced by the sky, ⁵  by the dew,

and by the depths crouching beneath;

Deuteronomy 33:20

Blessing on Gad

33:20 Of Gad he said:

Blessed be the one who enlarges Gad.

Like a lioness he will dwell;

he will tear at an arm – indeed, a scalp. ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 33:24

Blessing on Asher

33:24 Of Asher he said:

Asher is blessed with children,

may he be favored by his brothers

and may he dip his foot in olive oil. ⁷ 

¹ sn One of the ironies about the promises to the patriarchs concerning offspring was the characteristic barrenness of the wives of the men to whom these pledges were made (cf. Gen 11:30; 25:21; 29:31). Their affliction is in each case described by the very Hebrew word used here (עֲקָרָה, ’aqarah), an affliction that will no longer prevail in Canaan.

² tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “generously.”

³ tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

⁴ tn Heb “smash the sinews [or “loins,” so many English versions].” This part of the body was considered to be center of one’s strength (cf. Job 40:16; Ps 69:24; Prov 31:17; Nah 2:2, 11). See J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy (JPSTC), 325.

⁵ tn Heb “from the harvest of the heavens.” The referent appears to be good crops produced by the rain that falls from the sky.

⁶ tn Heb “forehead,” picturing Gad attacking prey.

⁷ sn Dip his foot in olive oil. This is a metaphor for prosperity, one especially apt in light of the abundance of olive groves in the area settled by Asher. The Hebrew term refers to olive oil, which symbolizes blessing in the OT. See R. Way, NIDOTTE 4:171-73.