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Deuteronomy

About this book
Chapter 33

1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God⁠ pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.⁠ 2 He said: “The Lord came from Sinai and revealed himself to Israel from Seir.⁠ He appeared in splendor from Mount Paran,⁠ and came forth with ten thousand holy ones.⁠ With his right hand he gave a fiery law to them.⁠ 3 Surely he loves the people; all your holy ones are in your hand8.⁠ And they sit at your feet, each receiving your words.⁠ 4 Moses delivered to us a law, an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob. 5 The Lord was king over Jeshurun, when the leaders of the people assembled, the tribes of Israel together. 6 “May Reuben live and not die, and may his people multiply.”⁠ 7 And this is the blessing 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.” 8 Of Levi he said:⁠ “Your Thummim and Urim belong to your godly one,⁠ whose authority you challenged at Massah, and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah. 9 He said to his father and mother, ‘I have not seen him,’ and he did not acknowledge his own brothers or know his own children, for they kept your word, and guarded your covenant. 10 They will teach Jacob your ordinances and Israel your law;⁠ they will offer incense as a pleasant odor, and a whole offering on your altar. 11 Bless, O Lord, his goods, and be pleased with his efforts; undercut the legs of any who attack him, and of those who hate him, so that they cannot stand.”⁠ 12 Of Benjamin he said: “The beloved of the Lord will live safely by him; he protects him all the time, and the Lord places him on his chest.” 13 Of Joseph he said: “May the Lord bless his land with the harvest produced by the sky, by the dew, and by the depths crouching beneath;⁠ 14 with the harvest produced by the daylight and by the moonlight; 15 with the best of the ancient mountains and the harvest produced by the age-old hills; 16 with the harvest of the earth and its fullness and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush.⁠ May blessing rest on Joseph’s head, and on the top of the head of the one set apart from his brothers.⁠ 17 May 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, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”⁠ 18 Of Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, when you go outside, and Issachar, when you are in your tents. 19 They will summon peoples to the mountain, there they will sacrifice proper sacrifices; for they will enjoy the abundance of the seas, and the hidden treasures of the shores.” 20 Of 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. 21 He has selected the best part for himself, for the portion of the ruler is set aside there; he came with the leaders of the people, he obeyed the righteous laws of the Lord and his ordinances with Israel.” 22 Of Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s cub; he will leap forth from Bashan.” 23 Of Naphtali he said: “O Naphtali, overflowing with favor, and full of the Lord’s blessing, possess the west and south.” 24 Of Asher he said: “Asher is blessed with children; may he be favored by his brothers, and may he dip his foot in olive oil. 25 The bars of your gates will be made of iron and bronze, and may you have lifelong strength.” 26 “There is no one like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the sky to help you, on the clouds in majesty.⁠ 27 The everlasting God is a refuge, and underneath you are his eternal arms;⁠ he has driven out enemies before you, and has said, ‘Destroy!’ 28 Israel lives in safety, the fountain of Jacob is quite secure, in a land of grain and new wine; indeed, its heavens rain down dew. 29 You have joy, Israel! Who is like you?⁠ You are a people delivered by the Lord, your protective shield and your exalted sword. May your enemies cringe before you; may you trample on their backs.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 33:1 and Letter of Aristeas 140

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

In Deuteronomy 33, Moses is called the man of God. The Letter of Aristeas extends the title to the Jewish people as a whole, saying Egyptian priests call them men of God because they worship the true God rather than living for food and drink.

Passages

Deuteronomy 33:1

Hebrew Bible
1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death. 2 He said: “The Lord came from Sinai and revealed himself to Israel from Seir. He appeared in splendor from Mount Paran, and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. With his right hand he gave a fiery law to them. 3 Surely he loves the people; all your holy ones are in your hand8. And they sit at your feet, each receiving your words. 4 Moses delivered to us a law, an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob. 5 The Lord was king over Jeshurun, when the leaders of the people assembled, the tribes of Israel together.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Letter of Aristeas 140

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions · Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates
creation. Hence the leading Egyptian priests having looked carefully into many matters, and being familiar with (our) affairs, call us " men of God ". This is a title which does not belong to the rest of mankind but only to those who worship the true God. The rest are men not of God but of food and drink and clothing. For their whole disposition leads them to find solace in these things. Among our people such things are regarded as of no account. but throughout their whole life their main consideration is the sovereignty of God. Therefore, so that we should not be corrupted by any abomination, or our lives be perverted by evil associations, he hedged us in on all sides by
200–150 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Letter of Aristeas

References

“... According to Ps.-Aristeas through the mouth of the high priest, these Egyptian priests have applied the epithet “men of God” (ἀνθρώπους θεοῦ) to the Jews, a title that is given to Moses in the singular in Deut 33:1 and to Elijah in 3 Reigns 17:18. In the LXX/OG, however, the phrase is never used in the plural, and the noun is arthrous, τοῦ θεοῦ. Despite these slight differences, I find it hard to think that Ps.-Aristeas is not alluding to Deuteronomy at the least, since Moses, the “man of God” and the Jewish lawgiver, has given the laws so that Jews would know how to revere God properly. Thus, the singular applied to Moses is extended to the Jews as a people. ...”
Benjamin G. Wright III, The Letter of Aristeas: ‘Aristeas to Philocrates’ or ‘On the Translation of the Law of the Jews’ (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015), 267–268.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Deuteronomy 33:1 and Letter of Aristeas 140

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