Skip to main content
Psalmlog Logo

Deuteronomy 33

Moses’ final blessing places Israel’s varied tribal futures under the care of the incomparable God who saves and shelters them.

Moses blesses the children of Israel before his death, addressing their tribes with words about their work, land, and protection. He begins by recalling YHWH’s coming from Sinai and the law given to Israel. The tribal blessings differ: Levi receives a charge concerning teaching and worship, while Joseph receives an extended blessing of fruitful land and strength. Moses closes by declaring God’s unmatched power to help Israel and give his people a secure dwelling.

fear for the futurepraise and worship
Read
1This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
2He said, “The LORD came from Sinai, and rose from Seir to them. He shone from Mount Paran. He came from the ten thousands of holy ones. At his right hand was a fiery law for them.
3Yes, he loves the people. All his saints are in your hand. They sat down at your feet. Each receives your words.
4Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
5He was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.
6“Let Reuben live, and not die; Nor let his men be few.”
7This is for Judah. He said, “Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah. Bring him in to his people. With his hands he contended for himself. You shall be a help against his adversaries.”
8About Levi he said, “Your Thummim and your Urim are with your godly one, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah.
9He said of his father, and of his mother, ‘I have not seen him.’ He didn’t acknowledge his brothers, nor did he know his own children; for they have observed your word, and keep your covenant.
10They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your law. They shall put incense before you, and whole burnt offering on your altar.
11LORD, bless his skills. Accept the work of his hands. Strike through the hips of those who rise up against him, of those who hate him, that they not rise again.”
12About Benjamin he said, “The beloved of the LORD will dwell in safety by him. He covers him all day long. He dwells between his shoulders.”
13About Joseph he said, “His land is blessed by the LORD, for the precious things of the heavens, for the dew, for the deep that couches beneath,
14for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, for the precious things that the moon can yield,
15for the best things of the ancient mountains, for the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16for the precious things of the earth and its fullness, the good will of him who lived in the bush. Let this come on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.
17Majesty belongs to the firstborn of his herd. His horns are the horns of the wild ox. With them he will push all the peoples to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim. They are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18About Zebulun he said, “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out; and Issachar, in your tents.
19They will call the peoples to the mountain. There they will offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they will draw out the abundance of the seas, the hidden treasures of the sand.”
20About Gad he said, “He who enlarges Gad is blessed. He dwells as a lioness, and tears the arm and the crown of the head.
21He provided the first part for himself, for the lawgiver’s portion was reserved for him. He came with the heads of the people. He executed the righteousness of the LORD, His ordinances with Israel.”
22About Dan he said, “Dan is a lion’s cub that leaps out of Bashan.”
23About Naphtali he said, “Naphtali, satisfied with favor, full of the LORD’s blessing, Possess the west and the south.”
24About Asher he said, “Asher is blessed with children. Let him be acceptable to his brothers. Let him dip his foot in oil.
25Your bars will be iron and bronze. As your days, so your strength will be.
26“There is no one like God, Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens for your help, in his excellency on the skies.
27The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’
28Israel dwells in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine. Yes, his heavens drop down dew.
29You are happy, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help, the sword of your excellency? Your enemies will submit themselves to you. You will tread on their high places.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Deuteronomy 33:26This verse turns from the individual tribes to Israel’s shared help: the God whose majesty has no equal.
Deuteronomy 33:27The image of everlasting arms joins God’s enduring shelter to his action against Israel’s enemies.
Deuteronomy 33:29The closing blessing locates Israel’s happiness and distinction in YHWH, who saves them and secures their victory.
Where this chapter reaches

Genesis shares the pattern of blessings spoken over Israel’s tribes before a leader’s death, while Exodus supplies the events recalled at Sinai and the bush. Psalm and Isaiah share this chapter’s language of God’s incomparable greatness and his help for his people.

Deuteronomy 33's chapter linksAll strongest linksHover or tap a book
Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What do the different tribal blessings reveal about the kinds of gifts Moses values for Israel?

Write on this

How does the closing picture of God as shelter relate to the chapter’s language of battle?

Write on this

Questions people ask about Deuteronomy 33

What does Jeshurun mean in Deuteronomy 33?

Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel, commonly understood to mean upright one. It appears in verses 5 and 26. The first occurrence concerns kingship among the gathered tribes; the second addresses Israel as the people helped by the incomparable God who rides on the heavens.

What does “Underneath are the everlasting arms” mean?

The phrase pictures the eternal God sustaining and sheltering Israel. Verse 27 pairs these arms with God as a dwelling place, then describes him driving out the enemy. In context, the image assures Israel of God’s enduring support and protection amid the threats surrounding their life in the land.

Read it. Now write it.

Start an entry on Deuteronomy 33. Your words go beside the text, and you get one next step for the week.

Deuteronomy · 34 chapters
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
What the Bible says about fear →What the Bible says about worship →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).