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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 33:10 and 4Q175 17

Hebrew Bible · Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation

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Summary

In Deuteronomy 33, Levi is blessed for teaching the Torah and serving at the altar. In 4Q175 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, this blessing joins promises about a coming prophet and ruler, suggesting that a priest is also expected.

Passages

Deuteronomy 33:10

Hebrew Bible
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.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

4Q175 17

Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical Interpretation · Testimonia
5 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words 6 in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him. And the man 7 who does not listen to my words, which the prophet speaks in my name, I myself 8 will call him to account.” 9 And he took up his oracle and said, “The utterance of Balaam son of Beor, the utterance of the man 10 whose eye is perfect, the utterance of one who hears the words of God and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who 11 sees the vision of the Almighty, fallen down with eyes uncovered. I see him, but not now; 12 I behold him, but not near. A star shall march out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and it shall crush 13 the temples of Moab and tear down all the sons of Seth.” 14 And of Levi he said, “Give to Levi your Thummim, and your Urim to your faithful one, whom 15 you tested at Massah and with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah, who said of his father, ‘I have not 16 … him,’ and to his mother, ‘I do not know you.’ His brothers he did not acknowledge, and his son he did not 17 know. For he kept your word and guarded your covenant. They shall make your judgments shine for Jacob, 18 your Torah for Israel. They shall set incense before you and a whole offering on your altar. 19 Bless, O LORD, his strength, and accept the work of his hands. Crush the loins of his adversaries, and those who hate him, 20 so that they do not rise.”
160–60 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4Q175

References

“... The best known of these excerpted texts at Qumran being 4Q175, variously described as ‘4QTestimonia’ or ‘Messianic Anthology’. 4Q175 was copied by a scribe in the first century BCE on a single sheet. There are four paragraphs with quotations from 1) Deut 5:28-29 and 18:18-19:2) Num 24:15-17; 3) Deut 33:8-11; and 4) Apocryphon of Joshua (= 4QPsJosh [4Q379, fr. 22, col. 2], an interpretation of LXX Josh 6:26). There are short sentences introducing all four paragraphs, but interpretative comment accompanying only the final citation of Joshua 6:26. The verbatim citation of Deuteronomy 33:8-11 is based on a text that is close to 4QDeuth and the final paragraph is in fact a quotation from the Apocryphon of Joshua. Presuming that this latter text is sectarian, the Qumran community would appear to have considered the Apocryphon of Joshua as an authoritative text alongside other books that were eventually included in the canon. Textually, the biblical quotations vary from passage to passage: the combination of Deuteronomy 5:28-29 and 18:18-19:2 is found in the Samaritan Pentateuch at Exodus 20:21b; Joshua 6:26 follows the presumed Vorlage of the Septuagint; and the others the MT. In my view, 4Q175 attests to the phenomenon among Jews and subsequently Christians in late Second Temple period of excerpting texts for various purposes, whether for study, liturgical practice or controversy. Ostensibly, the first three passages selected by the compiler of 4Q175 have a messianic theme. The passages point to the expectation of different messianic figures: a prophetic one like Moses; a royal one according to Balaam’s prophecy; and a levitical or priestly messiah. The fourth passage sits awkwardly with the first three in that it is an interpretation of the curse, found in Joshua, on anyone who rebuilds the city of Jericho. The man is accursed, a man of Belial, who rebuilds the city to fortify it as a ‘stronghold of ungodliness in Israel’. He may have had either two sons or a brother as accomplice, depending upon how one reads the pesheresque exegesis. In the past, this accursed man has been identified with Simon Maccabee and more recently with John Hyrcanus. In any case, 4Q175 illustrates well the nature of excerpts: they were compiled by someone, but without interpretative comment the original intention or raison d’être is lost. ‘Testimony’ or ‘messianic anthology’ is a partial description of only the first three paragraphs of 4Q175. ...”
Timothy H. Lim, “Deuteronomy in the Judaism of the Second Temple Period,” in Deuteronomy in the New Testament, ed. Maarten J. J. Menken and Steve Moyise (London: T&T Clark International, 2007), MS 11–12.

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 33:10 and 4Q175 17

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