Deuteronomy 33. Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel

Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel

• See table below
• This chapter has parallels to Genesis 49, where Jacob blesses his sons

This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. ² He said,

• THE man of God! What a title

“The Lord came from Sinai
and dawned from Seir upon us;
he shone forth from Mount Paran;
he came from the ten thousands of holy ones,
with flaming fire at his right hand.
³ Yes, he loved his people,
all his holy ones were in his hand;
so they followed in your steps,
receiving direction from you,
⁴ when Moses commanded us a law,
as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
⁵ Thus the Lord became king in Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people were gathered,
all the tribes of Israel together.

• Jeshurun (Hebrew: יְשֻׁרוּן, Yeshurun) is a poetic name for Israel which means the upright one
• Why is Moses speaking in third person in v. 4?
• he came from the ten thousands of holy ones – I wonder how many heavenly beings there are

⁶ “Let Reuben live, and not die,
but let his men be few.”

• Some versions say “nor let his men be few”

⁷ And this he said of Judah:

“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah,
and bring him in to his people.
With your hands contend for him,
and be a help against his adversaries.”

• Blessed with strength and help in battle

⁸ And of Levi he said,

“Give to Levi your Thummim,
and your Urim to your godly one,

• See Exodus 28

whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah;

• See Exodus 17 and Numbers 20

⁹ who said of his father and mother,
‘I regard them not’;
he disowned his brothers
and ignored his children.
For they observed your word
and kept your covenant.
¹⁰ They shall teach Jacob your rules
and Israel your law;
they shall put incense before you
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
¹¹ Bless, O Lord, his substance,
and accept the work of his hands;
crush the loins of his adversaries,
of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”

• Blessing for the priesthood and their teaching

¹² Of Benjamin he said,

“The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety.
The High God surrounds him all day long,
and dwells between his shoulders.”

• Blessing of safety

¹³ And of Joseph he said,

“Blessed by the Lord be his land,
with the choicest gifts of heaven above,
and of the deep that crouches beneath,
¹⁴ with the choicest fruits of the sun
and the rich yield of the months,
¹⁵ with the finest produce of the ancient mountains
and the abundance of the everlasting hills,
¹⁶ with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness
and the favor of him who dwells in the bush.
May these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers.
¹⁷ A firstborn bull—he has majesty,
and his horns are the horns of a wild ox;
with them he shall gore the peoples,
all of them, to the ends of the earth;
they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”

• Blessing of land and strength

¹⁸ And of Zebulun he said,

“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
and Issachar, in your tents.
¹⁹ They shall call peoples to their mountain;
there they offer right sacrifices;
for they draw from the abundance of the seas
and the hidden treasures of the sand.”

• Blessings of prosperity

²⁰ And of Gad he said,

“Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!
Gad crouches like a lion;
he tears off arm and scalp.
²¹ He chose the best of the land for himself,
for there a commander’s portion was reserved;
and he came with the heads of the people,
with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord,
and his judgments for Israel.”

• Blessing of strength, land, justice

²² And of Dan he said,

“Dan is a lion’s cub
that leaps from Bashan.”

• Judah was described as a lion’s cub in Genesis 49
• What does this mean?

²³ And of Naphtali he said,

“O Naphtali, sated with favor,
and full of the blessing of the Lord,
possess the lake and the south.”

• Blessing of land and sea

²⁴ And of Asher he said,

“Most blessed of sons be Asher;
let him be the favorite of his brothers,
and let him dip his foot in oil.
²⁵ Your bars shall be iron and bronze,
and as your days, so shall your strength be.

• Blessing of abundance and strength

²⁶ “There is none like God, O Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
through the skies in his majesty.
²⁷ The eternal God is your dwelling place
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
And he thrust out the enemy before you
and said, ‘Destroy.’
²⁸ So Israel lived in safety,
Jacob lived alone,
in a land of grain and wine,
whose heavens drop down dew.
²⁹ Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,
a people saved by the Lord,
the shield of your help,
and the sword of your triumph!
Your enemies shall come fawning to you,
and you shall tread upon their backs.”

Tribe	Verses	Key Blessing
Reuben	6	Live and not die
Judah	7	Strength and help in battle
Levi	8-11	Blessing for the priesthood and their teaching
Benjamin	12	Beloved of the Lord, protected.
Joseph (Ephraim & Manasseh)	13-17	Abundant land and strength, like a wild ox.
Zebulun & Issachar	18-19	Prosperity and worship
Gad	20-21	Warrior tribe with leadership and justice.
Dan	22	Compared to a lion’s cub
Naphtali	23	Blessing by the sea.
Asher	24-25	Strength and abundance.

• Note: Simeon is not mentioned
  • Why did Simeon get rejected?
• Moses ends with a doxology celebrating God and His attributes.