Deuteronomy 33:23

Deuteronomy 33:23

And of Naphtali he said,

O Naphtali, satisfied (satiated) with favour,

And full with the blessing of Yahweh,

Possess you the west (or ‘the sea' - yam) and the south (or ‘the south wind').

Naphtali is to be blessed, satiated with Yahweh's favour and blessing. Naphtali would later be famous for its olives. They are to possess ‘the west and the south', or equally possibly ‘the sea and the south wind' (the same words covered both). Naphtali would in fact be situated in the extreme North of Israel. But we would not expect Moses to refer to specific areas, for he has not done so previously. We should therefore read as ‘the sea and the south wind'. ‘The sea' would naturally bring to mind at this stage the Mediterranean. The thought is probably of two sources of trouble and distress, the troubled sea (Isaiah 57:20) and the tempestuous south wind (Isaiah 21:1). Naphtali would rise above them both.

“The sea (yam).” The sea was mainly looked on in Israel as an enemy, as ‘Yam' was the enemy of Baal. Thus it could represent trouble and distress. The ‘south wind' was seen as tempestuous (Isaiah 21:1; Zechariah 9:14), especially from the viewpoint of where Moses would be at this time. To possess them would indicate rising above trouble and conquering it.

As it happened Naphtali settled around the lake of Galilee, but that is probably a coincidence. They would then, of course, be able to harvest ‘the sea'.

So Naphtali will prosper through God's help and will have their share in the possessions to come. The directions are general rather than specific, and may simply indicate prosperity in agriculture and trade, or by tribal expansion. Their expansion may result from their diplomacy, their ‘goodly words' (Genesis 49:21).