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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 33:17 and Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 91.2–3

Hebrew Bible · Early Christian

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Summary

In Deuteronomy, Joseph receives the horns of a wild ox to defeat the nations. In his Dialogue with Trypho, Justin interprets the horns as parts of the cross, connecting victory over nations with their conversion.

Passages

Deuteronomy 33:17

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

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 91.2–3

Early Christian
1 “And God shows the power of the mystery of the cross in another way through Moses, when He said in the blessing with which Joseph was blessed, ‘His land is from the blessing of the Lord: from the seasons of heaven and the dews, and from the deep springs below, and from the seasonal fruits of the sun, and from the coming together of the months, and from the heights of the everlasting mountains, and from the heights of the hills, and from the ever-flowing rivers, and from the fruits of the richness of the earth; and let the things acceptable to Him who appeared in the bush come on the head and crown of Joseph. Let him be glorified among his brothers; his beauty is [like] that of a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a unicorn; with them he shall gore the nations together, from one end of the earth to the other.’ 2 Now, no one could say or prove that the horns of a unicorn represent any other thing or shape than the type that portrays the cross. For one beam stands upright, and its topmost part rises up into a horn when the other beam is fitted onto it, and the ends appear on both sides like horns joined to the one horn. And the part fixed in the middle, on which those who are crucified are held up, also sticks out like a horn, and it too looks like a horn shaped and fixed together with the other horns. 3 And the phrase ‘With them he shall gore the nations together, from one end of the earth to the other’ points to what has now come about among all the nations. For people from all the nations, having been gored in this way through this mystery, that is, pierced to the heart, have turned from worthless idols and demons to the worship of God. But to unbelievers the same shape is shown for their destruction and condemnation, just as among the people who came out of Egypt Amalek was defeated and Israel was victorious through the type of Moses’ outstretched hands and the name Jesus (Joshua), which the son of Nave (Nun) was given.
155–160 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho

References

“... horns are the horns of a unicorn; with them shall he push the nations even to the ends of the earth.’28 2. “Now, no one can assert or prove that the horns of a unicorn represent any other matter or figure than that of the cross.29 The one beam of the cross stands upright, from which the upper part is lifted up like a horn when the crossbeam is fitted on, and the ends of the crosspiece resemble horns joined to that one horn. And the part that is fixed in the middle of the cross, on which the bodies of the crucified are supported, also projects like a horn, and it, too, looks like a horn when it is shaped and joined to the other horns. 3. “And the words ‘With them shall he push the nations even to the ends of the earth’30 clearly describe what is now taking place in all the nations. For, men of all nations have been pushed by the horns, that is, goaded to compunction, by means of this mystery, and have abandoned their vain idols and demons to turn to the worship of God. But to unbelievers, the same sign is shown to be the cause of their destruction and condemnation, as when the people had come out of Egypt, and Israel was victorious over conquered Amalek by the sign of Moses’s outstretched hands and by the imposition of the name Jesus [Joshua] upon the son of Nun. ...”
Michael Graves, Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017), 22–23.

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 33:17 and Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 91.2–3

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