Deuteronomy 33:8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:8-11

In blessing the tribe of Levi, Moses expresses himself more at large, not so much because it was his own tribe (for he takes no notice of his relation to it) as because it was God's tribe. The blessing of Levi has reference. I. To the high priest, here called God's holy one (Deut. 33:8), because his office was holy, in token of which, Holiness to the Lord was written upon his forehead. 1. He seems to acknowledge that God might justly have displaced Aaron and his seed, for his sin at Meribah,... 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

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 33:8

Of Levi he said - Concerning the Urim and Thummim, see Exodus 28:30 ; (note). Thy holy one - Aaron primarily, who was anointed the high priest of God, and whose office was the most holy that man could be invested with. Therefore Aaron was called God's holy one, and the more especially so as he was the type of the Most Holy and blessed Jesus, from whom the Urim - all light and wisdom, and Thummim - all excellence, completion, and perfection, are derived. Whom thou didst prove, etc.... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 33:8

Verse 8 8And of Levi he said. This qualification, or modification of the harsher sentence of Jacob was introduced not only for the sake of the tribe of Levi, but rather of the whole people. Jacob had said, “Simeon and Levi are brethren: instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, my tongue, (313) be not thou united,” (Genesis 49:5.) Assuredly their descendants might have been discouraged, or at least might have been... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:1-29

EXPOSITION The blessing consists of a series of benedictions on the several tribes ( Deuteronomy 33:6-25 ), preceded by an introduction ( Deuteronomy 33:1-5 ), and followed by a conclusion ( Deuteronomy 33:26-29 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:6-25

Blessings on the tribes individually . With these may be compared the blessing which Jacob pronounced on his sons as representing the tribes of which they were the heads. The two resemble each other in many points; the differences are such as naturally arose from the different relations of the speakers to the objects of their address, and the changes in the condition and prospects of the tribes which during the lapse of centuries had come to pass. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:6-25

Watchwords for the tribes. The blessings authoritatively pronounced by these old worthies amounted to watchwords for their future development. They were divinely suggested ideas regarding their future courses. We shall look at the ideals thus presented in their order. I. THE UNOSTENTATIOUS DEVELOPMENT OF REUBEN . Deposed from the primacy among the brethren, because of his self-indulgence, he is to content himself with pastoral progress amid the mountains of Moab. The blessing... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:8-11

The blessing on Levi is also in the form of a prayer. In Jacob's blessing, Simeon is joined with Levi, but Moses passes him over altogether, probably because, as Jacob foretold, he was to be scattered among his brethren ( Genesis 49:7 ), and so lose his tribal individuality. Simeon, however, is included in the general blessing pronounced on Israel; and as this tribe received a number of towns within the territory of Judah ( Joshua 19:2-9 ), it was probably regarded as included in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:8-11

The blessing of Levi; or, entire devotion to God a necessary qualification for ministerial service. Moses and Aaron were themselves of the tribe of Levi. Consequently, Moses is here speaking of his own tribe; he forecasts its future; he seems in a remarkable manner to revoke the harsh sentence of the patriarch Jacob upon it. Nor is this altogether unaccounted for. The tribe had manifested a genuine repentance by a remarkable zeal for God's honor on several occasions. It was the tribe,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:8-11

Levi. The priestly tribe. Its curse ( Genesis 49:7 ) turned into a blessing. Repentance and zeal cut off the entail of a curse, or so transform it that out of the very curse God evokes a blessing (cf. Exodus 32:29 ; Psalms 106:31 ). I. THE GROUND OF THE BLESSING . 1. Levi's fidelity ( Deuteronomy 33:8 ). "Among the faithless, faithful only he." The zeal and constancy of the tribe on critical occasions had been remarkable. Learn how the wicked, returning to God... read more

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