Deuteronomy 33:1-29

D. Moses’ blessing of the tribes ch. 33

After receiving this announcement of his death, and as one of his final official acts as Israel’s leader, Moses pronounced a prophetic blessing on the tribes of Israel (cf. Jacob’s blessing of the tribes in Genesis 49).

"In the ancient Near East, a dying father’s final blessings spoken to his sons were an irrevocable legal testament, accepted as decisive evidence in court disputes. In the case of the Biblical patriarchs, the authority and potency of their last blessings derived from the Spirit of prophecy in them, speaking in the testamentary form (cf. the cases of Isaac, Genesis 27, and Jacob, Genesis 49). As spiritual and theocratic father of the twelve tribes, Moses pronounced his blessings on them just before he ascended the mount to die (Deuteronomy 33:1), and thus his words constitute his testament." [Note: Kline, "Deuteronomy," p. 201. For a useful study of textual problems in this chapter and a fresh translation, see F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, "The Blessing of Moses," Journal of Biblical Literature 67 (1948):191-210.]