Deuteronomy 33

Scholars complain that 33:2-5 are mysterious and impossible to accurately interpret. The passage starts with Moses recalling his first encounter with God at a fiery bush that didn’t burn up (Exodus 3:1-9). But starting with the second half of verse 3, the words sound like a response from the people, as though this may have been a responsive reading at some point in time.

“Israel” in Hebrew is Jeshurun, a poetic nickname for Israel. It means honest, honorable, upright. See also 32:15 and 33:26.

This hints that the tribe took heavy losses in the battles east of the Jordan River.

When the tribes were on the move, Judah took point—the most dangerous position (Numbers 2:9).

The Hebrew names are Urim and Thummim, described as meaning “lights” and “perfection.” These were two objects never described in the Bible. They might have been stones, marked or colored in different ways. The high priest used them to answer questions with a “yes” or “no” or “wait.” It might have worked a bit like tossing two coins in the air and seeing how they land. Two heads for “yes.” Two tails for “no.” One of each for “wait.” It might seem foolish to make an important decision that way, such as whether to go to war. But the people of Israel seemed to believe that God controlled the objects the priests used. That doesn’t mean the Bible endorses making decisions that way today. As in, two heads up for a four-wheeler or two tails up for retirement savings.

The story appears in Exodus 17:1-7. Moses gave the site a double-trouble name, in Hebrew: Massah and Meribah. Massah means “test,” as in getting pushy with God. Meribah means “complain,” “argue,” or “fight.” The Israelites continued their pattern of pushing against God. That got them sentenced to 40 years in the desert badlands, south of what is now Israel.

Some Jewish scholars say this is more literally, “They put incense in your nostril.”

These are “burnt offerings,” the most common animal sacrifice. Worshipers burned the entire animal. See Leviticus 1.

In Hebrew, the people are resting bayin katep. Many translate that as “between his shoulders.” But a katep can also mean the slope of a hill, a person’s arm, the part of a person that carries a heavy load, and weapons. The context and the general idea seem to be that the people are well protected by God. It’s anyone’s guess if the writer intended a word picture of God carrying them on his shoulder, or using his power against their enemies, or hiding them in a safe valley between the hills. Whatever the case, the people are safe.

The 12 tribes of Israel were named, for the most part, after Jacob’s 12 sons. Each son’s descendants became an extended family that grew into tribes. Joseph was the exception. He got two tribes, each named after one of his sons: Ephraim and Manasseh.

Gifts from the hills may have referred to forests of timber and to the home of animals Israelites would hunt for food.

Exodus 3:2

Some scholars say this is the ancient version of the phrase “coming or going.” Whether they are coming or going, they have reason to celebrate life and enjoy it.

Zebulun and Issachar were both located a few miles from the Mediterranean Sea in the west and from the Sea of Galilee to the east. Israelites, with their long history as herders, seemed more sea-fearing than seafaring. But they certainly learned to fish in the lake called the Sea of Galilee. Several of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen, including Peter, James, and John. Israelites could also make a living fishing near the coast and collecting seashells and sea animals used to produce expensive dies. Purple dye, the most expensive of them all, came from the murex shellfish. The city of Tyre was the first place on record to produce this dye. They started producing it in the Bronze Age, when Israelites moved into the area. Tyre was on the Mediterranean coast of Phoenicia, in what is now the country of Lebanon. It was about 30 miles (48 km) north of Zebulun’s border, and about a day and a half’s walk.

Gad’s footprint on the land was possibly one of the largest. They settled east of the Jordan River, in what is now the country of Jordan. They chose that area because “They had huge herds and flocks. They could see that the land they captured in Jazer and Gilead would make good grazing fields for their animals” (Numbers 32:1-2). The tribe of Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh settled east of the River, too. But they all pledged to help the other tribes conquer Canaan on the other side of the River.

This may refer to the promise all the tribes east of the Jordan River made to join the other tribes in conquering Canaan west of the Jordan. It was a fair agreement because the other tribes helped them capture their land east of the River (Numbers 32:28-33).

It’s a mystery why the writer says Dan leaps from Bashan, a territory east of the Sea of Galilee. Israelites conquered that land and gave much of it to half the tribe of Manasseh. Dan, however, settled along the Mediterranean seacoast, too close for comfort to the powerful Philistines. Dan later “leaped” from the seacoast to the foot of Mount Hermon. That was on Israel’s northern border, far from the menacing Philistines.

They settled on Israel’s northern border, west and south of where the tribe of Dan eventually landed, at the foot of Mount Hermon.

The Hebrew word for “attack” is samad. It can mean much more than attack: annihilate, destroy, crush, shatter. It’s a vicious word for what the Bible describes enemies of God and Israel who deserved no mercy. “Wipe them out by killing them all. Don’t make any peace treaty with them. Don’t show them mercy” (Deuteronomy 7:2).

The final two lines are more literally, “Enemies cringe. You walk on heights.” The “heights” could mean idolatrous shrines, which people tended to erect on hilltops. Or it could mean they did something comparable to what Joshua told his army commanders to do with the enemy kings they captured: stand on their necks (Joshua 10:24).