Deuteronomy 33:26-29

General Praise and Blessing

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.

33:27 The everlasting God is a refuge,

and underneath you are his eternal arms; ³ 

he has driven out enemies before you,

and has said, “Destroy!”

33:28 Israel lives in safety,

the fountain of Jacob is quite secure, ⁴ 

in a land of grain and new wine;

indeed, its heavens ⁵  rain down dew. ⁶ 

33:29 You have joy, Israel! Who is like you?

You are a people delivered by the Lord,

your protective shield

and your exalted sword.

May your enemies cringe before you;

may you trample on their backs.

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 2:9

2:9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass Moab and provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as your territory. This is because I have given Ar ⁷  to the descendants of Lot ⁸  as their possession.

Psalms 46:5

46:5 God lives within it, ⁹  it cannot be moved. ¹⁰ 

God rescues it ¹¹  at the break of dawn. ¹² 

Psalms 46:11

46:11 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ¹³ 

The God of Jacob ¹⁴  is our protector! ¹⁵  (Selah)

Psalms 121:3-5

121:3 May he not allow your foot to slip!

May your protector ¹⁶  not sleep! ¹⁷ 

121:4 Look! Israel’s protector ¹⁸ 

does not sleep or slumber!

121:5 The Lord is your protector;

the Lord is the shade at your right hand.

John 10:27-30

10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 10:28 I give ¹⁹  them eternal life, and they will never perish; ²⁰  no one will snatch ²¹  them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, ²²  and no one can snatch ²³  them from my Father’s hand. 10:30 The Father and I ²⁴  are one.” ²⁵ 

John 15:1-2

The Vine and the Branches

15:1 “I am the true vine ²⁶  and my Father is the gardener. ²⁷  15:2 He takes away ²⁸  every branch that does not bear ²⁹  fruit in me. He ³⁰  prunes ³¹  every branch that bears ³²  fruit so that it will bear more fruit.

[33:26]  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.

[33:26]  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.

[33:27]  ³ tn Heb “and from under, arms of perpetuity.” The words “you” and “his” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Some have perceived this line to be problematic and have offered alternative translations that differ significantly from the present translation: “He spread out the primeval tent; he extended the ancient canopy” (NAB); “He subdues the ancient gods, shatters the forces of old” (NRSV). These are based on alternate meanings or conjectural emendations rather than textual variants in the mss and versions.

[33:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “all alone.” The idea is that such vital resources as water will some day no longer need protection because God will provide security.

[33:28]  ⁵ tn Or “skies.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[33:28]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “drizzle, showers.” See note at Deut 32:2.

[2:9]  ⁷ sn Ar was a Moabite city on the Arnon River east of the Dead Sea. It is mentioned elsewhere in the “Book of the Wars of Yahweh” (Num 21:15; cf. 21:28; Isa 15:1). Here it is synonymous with the whole land of Moab.

[2:9]  ⁸ sn The descendants of Lot. Following the destruction of the cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah, as God’s judgment, Lot fathered two sons by his two daughters, namely, Moab and Ammon (Gen 19:30-38). Thus, these descendants of Lot in and around Ar were the Moabites.

[46:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “God [is] within her.” The feminine singular pronoun refers to the city mentioned in v. 4.

[46:5]  ¹⁰ tn Another option is to translate the imperfect verbal form as future, “it will not be upended.” Even if one chooses this option, the future tense must be understood in a generalizing sense. The verb מוֹט (mot), translated “upended” here, is used in v. 2 of the mountains “tumbling” into the seas and in v. 6 of nations being “upended.” By way of contrast, Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place, is secure and immune from such turmoil and destruction.

[46:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “helps her.” The imperfect draws attention to the generalizing character of the statement.

[46:5]  ¹² tn Heb “at the turning of morning.” (For other uses of the expression see Exod 14:27 and Judg 19:26).

[46:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

[46:11]  ¹⁴ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

[46:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

[121:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the one who guards you.”

[121:3]  ¹⁷ tn The prefixed verbal forms following the negative particle אל appear to be jussives. As noted above, if they are taken as true jussives of prayer, then the speaker in v. 3 would appear to be distinct from both the speaker in vv. 1-2 and the speaker in vv. 4-8. However, according to GKC 322 §109.e), the jussives are used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.” In this case one should probably translate, “he will not allow your foot to slip, your protector will not sleep,” and understand just one speaker in vv. 4-8.

[121:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the one who guards Israel.”

[10:28]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And I give.”

[10:28]  ²⁰ tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”

[10:28]  ²¹ tn Or “no one will seize.”

[10:29]  ²² tn Or “is superior to all.”

[10:29]  ²³ tn Or “no one can seize.”

[10:30]  ²⁴ tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.

[10:30]  ²⁵ tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).

[15:1]  ²⁶ sn I am the true vine. There are numerous OT passages which refer to Israel as a vine: Ps 80:8-16, Isa 5:1-7, Jer 2:21, Ezek 15:1-8, 17:5-10, 19:10-14, and Hos 10:1. The vine became symbolic of Israel, and even appeared on some coins issued by the Maccabees. The OT passages which use this symbol appear to regard Israel as faithless to Yahweh (typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT) and/or the object of severe punishment. Ezek 15:1-8 in particular talks about the worthlessness of wood from a vine (in relation to disobedient Judah). A branch cut from a vine is worthless except to be burned as fuel. This fits more with the statements about the disciples (John 15:6) than with Jesus’ description of himself as the vine. Ezek 17:5-10 contains vine imagery which refers to a king of the house of David, Zedekiah, who was set up as king in Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah allied himself to Egypt and broke his covenant with Nebuchadnezzar (and therefore also with God), which would ultimately result in his downfall (17:20-21). Ezek 17:22-24 then describes the planting of a cedar sprig which grows into a lofty tree, a figurative description of Messiah. But it is significant that Messiah himself is not described in Ezek 17 as a vine, but as a cedar tree. The vine imagery here applies to Zedekiah’s disobedience. Jesus’ description of himself as the true vine in John 15:1 ff. is to be seen against this background, but it differs significantly from the imagery surveyed above. It represents new imagery which differs significantly from OT concepts; it appears to be original with Jesus. The imagery of the vine underscores the importance of fruitfulness in the Christian life and the truth that this results not from human achievement, but from one’s position in Christ. Jesus is not just giving some comforting advice, but portraying to the disciples the difficult path of faithful service. To some degree the figure is similar to the head-body metaphor used by Paul, with Christ as head and believers as members of the body. Both metaphors bring out the vital and necessary connection which exists between Christ and believers.

[15:1]  ²⁷ tn Or “the farmer.”

[15:2]  ²⁸ tn Or “He cuts off.”

[15:2]  ²⁹ tn Or “does not yield.”

[15:2]  ³⁰ tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[15:2]  ³¹ tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.

[15:2]  ³² tn Or “that yields.”