After receiving the reminder of his death and as one of his final official acts as Israel's leader, Moses pronounced a prophetic blessing on the tribes of Israel (cf. Gen. 49).
"In the ancient Near East, a dying father's final blessings spoken to his sons were an irrevocable legal testament, accepted as decisive evidence in court disputes. In the case of the Biblical patriarchs, the authority and potency of their last blessings derived from the Spirit of prophecy in them, speaking in the testamentary form (cf. the cases of Isaac, Gen 27, and Jacob, Gen 49). As spiritual and theocratic father of the twelve tribes, Moses pronounced his blessings on them just before he ascended the mount to die (Deut 33:1), and thus his words constitute his testament."347
33:1-5 After a brief introduction of the blessing (v. 1), Moses began by presenting God. He pictured Him as the source of all blessing in the figure of the sun rising on His people gathered at Sinai. The sun is the source of physical blessing. Seir (v. 2) refers to the mountain range in Edom over which the sun would apparently rise as seen from Sinai. Paran (v. 2) refers to the mountains near Kadesh Barnea that separated the Sinai wilderness from Canaan.
"The stylized or formulaic nature of such historical résumés allows them to depart from normal patterns of narration in which strict adherence to chronological and geographical sequence is expected. Thus the Lord could come from Sinai and appear from Seir and Paran at the same time, or at least without reference to actual historical movement which, of course, would necessitate the order Sinai, Paran, and Seir (cf. Num 10:12; 13:3, 26; 20:14; 21:4; Deut 1:19; 2:4). The real point here in v. 2 is that the Lord manifested himself gloriously to his people from his earthly dwelling places or at least his usual places of self-disclosure, namely, mountaintops."348
The "holy ones"(v. 2) are probably angels. Moses described God as accompanied by His countless angelic servants as He revealed His law to Israel at Sinai.349
"Though it is possible to argue that the king' in 33:5 is meant to be understood as the Lord, the immediate context suggests strongly that it is Moses. This is important because the next chapter, Deuteronomy 34, views Moses as a prototype of the coming prophet who was promised in 18:15. Thus at the close of the Pentateuch, the two central messianic visions of the book--that of a coming king (Ge 49:10; Nu 24:7-9) and that of a prophet (Dt 18:15)--are united in the figure of Moses, the prophet-king. We should note that throughout the Pentateuch Moses also carries out the duties of priest. Thus in the figure of Moses, the Pentateuch is able to bring together the offices of prophet, priest, and king. The author is always careful to note, however, that Moses was not a priest of the house of Aaron. The Aaronic priesthood is of a different order than that pictured in the office of Moses. If we were looking for an analogy to Moses elsewhere in the Pentateuch, we need look no farther than the figure of Melchizedek, the priest-king from Salem. Thus as Melchizedek the priest-king blessed Abraham at the beginning of the patriarchal narratives . . . (Ge 14:19), so here Moses the priest-king blessed the Israelites at the conclusion . . . (Dt 33:29)."350
The blessing of the tribes follows this introduction.
33:6-25 The arrangement of the tribes in this blessing is unusual.351Evidently God based it on a combination of the past and future histories of each tribe.
Reuben (v. 6) was the first-born but did not enjoy greatness among the tribes because of his sin. He lost his father's birthright and blessing.
Judah (v. 7) received the position of leader among the tribes when his older brothers became ineligible.
Levi (vv. 8-11) received a blessing for being faithful to God at Massah (lit. to test or plague) and Meribah (lit. to contend or strive) when the people complained because of lack of water.
"But these narratives [Exod. 17:1-7; Num. 20:1-13] contain no reference to Levi, so that the precise meaning of the historical reference is not clear unless it be that in Moses and Aaron, leaders of the tribe of Levi, the whole tribe was on trial."352
The act of faithfulness to Yahweh that resulted in Levi's being chosen as the priestly tribe occurred later. It was Levi's standing with Moses and Aaron when the rest of the nation rebelled and worshipped the golden calf at Sinai (Exod. 32:25-29). The "godly man"(v. 8) is probably Levi rather than Aaron (cf. v. 9). The Levites' special privileges and responsibilities included teaching the rest of the Israelites God's law. They also involved burning incense before God, offering sacrifices (v. 10), and discerning God's will (v. 8). "Shattering the loins"(v. 11) probably refers to making one incapable of producing progeny as well as destroying one's strength (cf. 1 Kings 12:10; Prov. 31:17; Nah. 2:2).
Benjamin (v. 12) was to enjoy God's protection continually since God would carry this tribe on His back between His shoulders. As the warrior tribe Benjamin would enjoy God's protection (cf. Judg. 21).
Joseph (vv. 13-17) represented Ephraim and Manasseh. The "first-born of his ox"(v. 17) probably refers to Joseph as the first-born son of Jacob, God's servant, by Rachel. Ephraim was the stronger of Joseph's sons who were both strong as the horns of oxen during the tribes' conflict with Israel's enemies.
Zebulun and Issachar (vv. 18-19) would become special channels of blessing to the other nations through their commercial wealth.
"While this cannot be documented as having taken place in biblical times, the promise has found startling fulfillment in the modern state of Israel, whose major port is Haifa, located in the area of ancient Zebulun."353
These tribes would experience God's blessing as they brought riches into Israel. These tribes occupied the fertile Jezreel Valley. "In your going forth"and "in your tents"(v. 18) is a merism meaning in all that you do.354
Gad (vv. 20-21) possessed much area east of the Jordan that was suitable for development. Gad was a warring tribe that was very aggressive in conquering and subduing the land (Num. 32:34-36).
Dan (v. 22) settled in an area inhabited by lions (Judg. 14:5) and migrated to northern Israel to an area that abounded in lions (Judg. 18).355The people of the tribe were also similar to lions in their aggressiveness and strength.
Naphtali (v. 23) would enjoy the benefits of a sea coast, the Sea of Chinnereth, and a comfortable area in relation to that body of water.
". . . but by far the most abundant blessing was the fact that the Messiah spent most of his life and exercised much of his ministry there or in nearby Zebulun (cf. Matt 4:12-17). One can scarcely imagine greater evidence of divine favor."356
Asher (v. 24) would benefit from the respect of his brethren and prosperity. His territory on the Mediterranean coast would require fortifications, but God would protect him. Oil is probably a metaphor for prosperity, as elsewhere (cf. 32:13; Job 29:6).
Moses did not mention the Simeonites in this blessing. Jacob had prophesied that God would scatter the Simeonites in Israel (Gen. 49:7). Simeon received no tribal allotment of land, only a few cities in Judah, when Joshua divided the Promised Land. The Simeonites became absorbed into the other tribes, especially Judah.
33:26-29 The blessing closes by returning to consider Israel's God again (cf. vv. 2-5). Moses pictured Him as a God great enough to give the tribes all He had just promised them.357The key to Israel's blessing was her God and her relationship to Him.
"As we might expect, here at the end of the book, Moses pictures Israel's dwelling in the land as a reversal of the events of the early chapters of Genesis, when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden."358
The Lord has fulfilled these predictions in part, but He will fulfill them completely in the future. This will occur when Israel repents and He brings her back into her land (i.e., during the Millennium).
