Deuteronomy 33:1-29 NIV

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:4

Moses commanded us a law ,.... The law was of God, it came forth from his right hand, Deuteronomy 33:2 ; it is of his enacting, a declaration of his will, and has his authority stamped upon it, who is the lawgiver, and which lays under obligation to regard it; but it was delivered to Moses, and by him to the children of Israel, on whom he urged obedience to it; and so it is said to come by him, and sometimes is called the law of Moses, see John 1:17 , even the inheritance of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:5

And he was king in Jeshurun ,.... That is, in Israel, or over the people of Israel, of which name of theirs; see Gill on Deuteronomy 32:15 ; either God, as Jarchi; for the government of the Israelites was a theocracy, and their laws were immediately from God, and by him they were guided and directed in all things; wherefore, when they were so importunate for a change in their government, and to have a king over them, they are said to reject the Lord, that he should not reign over them, 1... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:6

Let Reuben live, and not die ,.... As a tribe, continue and not be extinct, though they should not excel, because of the sin of their progenitor; and it may have a special regard to the preservation of them, of their families on the other side Jordan, while they passed over it with their brethren into Canaan, and of them in that expedition to help the other tribes in the conquest of the country and the settlement of them in it; which Jacob by a spirit of prophecy foresaw, and in a prayer of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:7

And this is the blessing of Judah ,.... Which follows; the same supplement of the words is made in the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; but Aben Ezra thinks it refers to what goes before, that this, the same thing prayed for or prophesied of Reuben, belongs also to Judah, that he should live and not die; it may be in the wars in which that tribe would be and was engaged: and he said, hear, Lord, the voice of Judah ; in prayer, as all the Targums paraphrase it, which was eminently... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:8

And of Levi he said ,.... That is, Moses said of the tribe of Levi, as both the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem: let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy Holy One ; with Aaron, as the same Targums interpret it, who was of the tribe of Levi, and was a holy good man, a saint of the Lord, as he is called, Psalm 106:16 ; of the Urim and Thummim, which were with him and with every high priest; see Gill on Exodus 28:30 ; and though they were not in use under the second temple, yet... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:9

Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him ,.... Which some understand of the high priests who were of this tribe, and according to the law were not to defile themselves, or mourn for a father or mother, Leviticus 21:11 ; or rather, as others, of their having no respect to them in judgment, but determining all causes that came before them according to the law of God, and the rules of justice and equity, in the most impartial manner, without having any regard to the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:10

They shall teach Jacob thy statutes, and Israel thy law ,.... The priests and Levites, being dispersed among each of the tribes, having cities in them allotted to them, taught the people the laws, statutes, and ordinances of the Lord, moral, civil, and ceremonial, see Malachi 2:6 , they shall put incense before thee ; upon the altar of incense, which none but a priest might do, as the case of Uzziah shows; and which, the Jews say F11 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 26. 1. , he might do but... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:11

Bless, Lord, his substance ,.... Which lay in tithes, firstfruits, &c.; for the priests and Levites had no share in the division of the land; unless this can be understood of the cities and suburbs which were given them, or of houses and fields devoted, which fell unto them, or rather of their cattle, for the use of which they had suburbs appointed them; for otherwise in husbandry and merchandise they were not employed: some render it "an host" or army F12 חילו "copiis ejus",... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:12

And of Benjamin he said ,.... The tribe of Benjamin, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; which is taken notice of next to Levi, because, as the priesthood was in the tribe of Levi, the temple in which the priests officiated was in the tribe of Benjamin, or near it; and is observed next but one to Judah, and before his elder brother Joseph, because his tribe lay between Judah and Joseph, Joshua 18:11 ; and Levi having no inheritance in the land: the beloved of the Lord shall... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:13

And of Joseph he said ,.... The tribe of Joseph, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem: blessed of the Lord be his land ; as the lands inherited by his sons were extremely fruitful, the countries of lead and Bashan by Manasseh, and the fields of Samaria by Ephraim: Jarchi says,"there was not in the inheritance of the tribes a land so full of all good things as the land of Joseph;'typical of the church of Christ, the antitypical Joseph, which abounds with all good things through him,... read more

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:8

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:9

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:10

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:11

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:12

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:13

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