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Deuteronomy 33:6–25

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Blessing on Reuben

33:6May Reuben live and not die,

and may his people multiply.15

Blessing on Judah

33:7And this is the blessing16 to Judah. He said,

Listen, O Lord, to Judah’s voice,

and bring him to his people.

May his power be great,

and may you help him against his foes.

Blessing on Levi

33:8Of Levi he said:

Your Thummim and Urim17 belong to your godly one,18

whose authority you challenged at Massah,19

and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah.20

33:9He said to his father and mother, “I have not seen him,”21

and he did not acknowledge his own brothers

or know his own children,

for they kept your word,

and guarded your covenant.

33:10They will teach Jacob your ordinances

and Israel your law;

they will offer incense as a pleasant odor,

and a whole offering on your altar.

33:11Bless, O Lord, his goods,

and be pleased with his efforts;

undercut the legs22 of any who attack him,

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

Blessing on Benjamin

33:12Of Benjamin he said:

The beloved of the Lord will live safely by him;

he protects him all the time,

and the Lord23 places him on his chest.24

Blessing on Joseph

33:13Of Joseph he said:

May the Lord bless his land

with the harvest produced by the sky,25 by the dew,

and by the depths crouching beneath;

33:14with the harvest produced by the daylight26

and by27 the moonlight;28

33:15with the best29 of the ancient mountains

and the harvest produced by the age-old hills;

33:16with the harvest of the earth and its fullness

and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush.30

May blessing rest on Joseph’s head,

and on the top of the head of the one set apart31 from his brothers.

33:17May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor,

and may his horns be those of a wild ox;

with them may he gore all peoples,

all the far reaches of the earth.

They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,32

and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

Blessing on Zebulun and Issachar

33:18Of Zebulun he said:

Rejoice, Zebulun, when you go outside,

and Issachar, when you are in your tents.

33:19They will summon peoples to the mountain,

there they will sacrifice proper33 sacrifices;

for they will enjoy34 the abundance of the seas,

and the hidden treasures of the shores.35

Blessing on Gad

33:20Of 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.36

33:21He has selected the best part for himself,

for the portion of the ruler37 is set aside38 there;

he came with the leaders39 of the people,

he obeyed the righteous laws of the Lord

and his ordinances with Israel.

Blessing on Dan

33:22Of Dan he said:

Dan is a lion’s cub;

he will leap forth from Bashan.40

Blessing on Naphtali

33:23Of Naphtali he said:

O Naphtali, overflowing with favor,

and full of the Lord’s blessing,

possess the west and south.

Blessing on Asher

33:24Of Asher he said:

Asher is blessed with children,

may he be favored by his brothers

and may he dip his foot in olive oil.41

33:25The bars of your gates42 will be made of iron and bronze,

and may you have lifelong strength.

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Footnotes

  1. 15 Heb “and [not] may his men be few” (cf. , , ).
  2. 16 The words “the blessing” are supplied in the translation for clarity and stylistic reasons.
  3. 17 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, 1:.
  4. 18 Heb “godly man.” The reference is probably to Moses as representative of the whole tribe of Levi.
  5. 19 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.
  6. 20 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.
  7. 21 This statement no doubt alludes to the Levites’ destruction of their own fellow tribesmen following the golden calf incident (Exod 32:25–29).
  8. 22 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 (), .
  9. 23 Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  10. 24 Heb “between his shoulders.” This suggests the scene in John 13:23 with Jesus and the Beloved Disciple.
  11. 25 Heb “from the harvest of the heavens.” The referent appears to be good crops produced by the rain that falls from the sky.
  12. 26 Heb “goings forth of the sun.”
  13. 27 Heb “and from the harvest of the yield of.” This has been simplified in the translation to avoid redundancy.
  14. 28 Heb “the moon.” Many English versions regard this as a reference to “months” (“moons”) rather than the moon itself (cf. , , , ).
  15. 29 Heb “head” or “top.”
  16. 30 The expression “him who resided in the bush” is frequently understood as a reference to the appearance of the Lord to Moses at Sinai from a burning bush (so , , , , ; cf. Exod 2:2–6; 3:2, 4). To make this reference clear the word “burning” is supplied in the translation.
  17. 31 This apparently refers to Joseph’s special status among his brothers as a result of his being chosen by God to save the family from the famine and to lead Egypt.
  18. 32 Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph who became founders of the two tribes into which Joseph’s descendants were split (Gen 48:19–20). Jacob’s blessing granted favored status to Ephraim; this is probably why Ephraim is viewed here as more numerous than Manasseh.
  19. 33 Or “acceptable”; Heb “righteous” (so ).
  20. 34 Heb “suck.”
  21. 35 Heb “of the sand” (so , ); “the sandy beach.”
  22. 36 Heb “forehead,” picturing Gad attacking prey.
  23. 37 The Hebrew term מְחֹקֵק (mékhoqeq; Poel participle of חָקַק, khaqaq, “to inscribe”) reflects the idea that the recorder of allotments (the “ruler”) is able to set aside for himself the largest and best. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (), .
  24. 38 Heb “covered in” (if from the root סָפַן, safan; cf. ספן qal).
  25. 39 Heb “heads” (in the sense of chieftains).
  26. 40 He will leap forth from Bashan. This may refer to Dan’s conquest of Laish, a region just to the west of Bashan (Judg 18:27–28).
  27. 41 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, 4:.
  28. 42 The words “of your gates” have been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent of “bars.”

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