49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,
and their fury, for it was cruel.
I will divide them in Jacob,
and scatter them in Israel! 1
33:8 Of Levi he said:
Your Thummim and Urim 2 belong to your godly one, 3
whose authority you challenged at Massah, 4
and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah. 5
33:9 He said to his father and mother, “I have not seen him,” 6
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.
33:1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.
6:1 Now these are the commandments, 7 statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed 8
1 sn Divide…scatter. What is predicted here is a division of their tribes. Most commentators see here an anticipation of Levi being in every area but not their own. That may be part of it, but not entirely what the curse intended. These tribes for their ruthless cruelty would be eliminated from the power and prestige of leadership.
2 sn Thummim and Urim. These terms, whose meaning is uncertain, refer to sacred stones carried in a pouch on the breastplate of the high priest and examined on occasion as a means of ascertaining God’s will or direction. See Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8; Num 27:21; 1 Sam 28:6. See also C. Van Dam, NIDOTTE 1:329-31.
3 tn Heb “godly man.” The reference is probably to Moses as representative of the whole tribe of Levi.
4 sn Massah means “testing” in Hebrew; the name is a wordplay on what took place there. Cf. Exod 17:7; Deut 6:16; 9:22; Ps 95:8-9.
5 sn Meribah means “contention, argument” in Hebrew; this is another wordplay on the incident that took place there. Cf. Num 20:13, 24; Ps 106:32.
6 sn This statement no doubt alludes to the Levites’ destruction of their own fellow tribesmen following the golden calf incident (Exod 32:25-29).
7 tn Heb “commandment.” The word מִצְוָה (mitsvah) again is in the singular, serving as a comprehensive term for the whole stipulation section of the book. See note on the word “commandments” in 5:31.
8 tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”