45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
48 That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”
33 This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. 2 He said,
“The Lord came from Sinai
and dawned from Seir upon us;1
he shone forth from Mount Paran;
he came from the ten thousands of holy ones,
with flaming fire2 at his right hand.
3 Yes, he loved his people,3
all his holy ones were in his4 hand;
so they followed5 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 Lord6 became king in Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people were gathered,
all the tribes of Israel together.
6 “Let Reuben live, and not die,
but 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 contend7 for him,
and be a help against his adversaries.”
8 And of Levi he said,
“Give to Levi8 your Thummim,
and your Urim to your godly one,
whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah;
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.”
12 Of Benjamin he said,
“The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety.
The High God9 surrounds him all day long,
and dwells between his shoulders.”
13 And of Joseph he said,
“Blessed by the Lord be his land,
with the choicest gifts of heaven above,10
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 bull11—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.”
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.”
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.”
22 And of Dan he said,
“Dan is a lion’s cub
that leaps from Bashan.”
23 And of Naphtali he said,
“O Naphtali, sated with favor,
and full of the blessing of the Lord,
possess the lake12 and the south.”
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.
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,13
and underneath are the everlasting arms.14
And he thrust out the enemy before you
and said, ‘Destroy.’
28 So Israel lived in safety,
Jacob lived alone,15
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.”
Section Overview: The Blessing of Moses
The Song of Moses and the deposit of the Torah for regular reading are concluded with the assurance that these are all the words taught by Moses and with the warning that these words cannot be ignored, because the life of Israel depends on them. God then summons Moses to his death, which provides a transition and an introduction to the parting blessing of Moses.
The blessing of Moses is a poem, though the ancient scrolls do not lay it out in poetic format as they do the song. The poem has obscure words and textual failures, so that often it is difficult to tell whether one is, or both are, making interpretation very difficult. As a poem it may have long been transmitted in ancient script, contributing to the problem. The poem recalls Mount Sinai, in a sense bringing in the experience of the divine presence at the initiation of the ministry of Moses in order to conclude his leadership of Israel in the same way. Moses provides a glimpse into the future of Israel and their life in the Promised Land, somewhat as he did in the song. However, the blessings describe the potential and abundance of the individual tribes, anticipating their opportunities, much as the blessing of Jacob in Genesis 49. Some of the blessings are petitions; others address the tribes themselves. Even those blessings that are descriptions of the tribes are meant as blessings.
Except for Levi, each of the tribes is spoken of as an individual person. The blessing of some of the tribes are a play on their name; three are compared to animals whose qualities manifest warrior skill. The tribes are not addressed in their order of birth but follow a geographical pattern. Simeon is not mentioned, but it did not have a separate territory, so likely it is to be included with Judah. The poem begins with Reuben, the firstborn, but the tribes are also stationed in the territory that belongs to Reuben. The next tribe is Judah, just across the Jordan, followed by Levi. Since Levi did not have a territory but was based in Jerusalem as the priestly tribe, it logically follows. The list then moves northward listing the Joseph tribes, then west to east (Zebulun, Issachar, and Gad), and finally north and west (Dan, Naphtali, and Asher). The poem concludes with the blessedness of Israel with God as its provider and protector.
Section Outline
IV. Epilogue (31:1–34:12) . . .
C. Final Exhortation of Moses (32:45–47)
D. God Summons Moses to Mount Nebo (32:48–52)
E. Blessing of Moses (33:1–29)
1. Yahweh Blazes Out from Sinai (33:1–5)
2. Tribal Blessings (33:6–25)
a. Reuben (33:6)
b. Judah (33:7)
c. Levi (33:8–11)
d. Benjamin (33:12)
e. Joseph (33:13–17)
f. Zebulun and Issachar (33:18–19)
g. Gad (33:20–21)
h. Dan (33:22)
i. Naphtali (33:23)
j. Asher (33:24–25)
3. Blessedness of God’s Provision (33:26–29)
Response
The fortunes of members of the same family are not predictable or equal. The blessing of Moses acknowledges, sometimes implicitly, the great disparity between the various sons of Jacob. Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob, seems to suffer demise to the point at which the tribe is taken over by Gad, with scarcely a distinct territory of its own. Simeon, the second son of Jacob, never does have a territory of its own and receives no mention in the final blessing of Moses. Levi, the third son of Jacob, has no tribal territory but does have cities with surrounding properties. Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, emerges as the leader among the tribes but also appears as very vulnerable. Judah is separated from the other tribes and, for all its striving, must plead for help from his brothers. The sons of Rachel are without question the ones who receive esteem and power. Benjamin is beloved, and the Joseph tribes are endowed with wealth and strength. The other tribes live in vastly differing circumstances, as the small land of Palestine is very diverse.
What all the family members have in common is the provision of God. The brothers are not to be compared in the material fortunes of their lives, which for Deuteronomy is rather immaterial. Although Simeon and Reuben are small, they are no less under divine care and provision that pertains to all Israel. The concluding blessing, declaring this to be a “land of grain and wine” (Deut. 33:28), is true for every tribe, no matter what its independent status may be. “Who is like you . . . !” (v. 29) can be exclaimed of all of them, because all enjoy the redemption of Yahweh.
Equality is always a point of discussion and contention. All too often comparisons are made without any real thought to what should be meant by equality and what factors are truly important. Usually discussions of equality revolve around wealth, but even at that level there is little consideration given as to what differences must be considered if actual equality is to be attained. This is true within individual nuclear families. It is the desire of virtually every parent to treat all his or her children equally. It is the dismay of virtually every parent to discover how difficult equality is to determine and how impossible it is to achieve to the satisfaction of all of the children.
The patriarch Jacob made no pretense of treating all of his children the same, and it is difficult to say that he even attempted to treat them all equally. Rachel was the wife he loved, and it was her oldest son who received the birthright of all the sons. As the tribal destinies unfold, as seen in this blessing, it is evident that in terms of property and wealth the Rachel tribes are superior. Yet in the history of the nation this does not become the determining factor of enduring influence. The leader of the sons of Israel emerges from Judah in spite of all the vulnerabilities of that tribe. Jerusalem becomes the city that represents not only the nation but the kingdom of God. This is not to diminish the significance or importance of any of the other tribes. The blessing of Moses is a lesson in recognizing that every role is to be respected and supported. In every family the value that matters most is for all to be under the care and provision of the life-giver and savior.