Deuteronomy 33:24,25

Deuteronomy 33:24

And of Asher he said,

Blessed be Asher with children (or ‘above the children');

Let him be acceptable to his brethren (or ‘the favoured among his brethren'),

And let him dip his foot in oil.

Your bars shall be iron and bronze,

And as your days, so shall your strength be.

Asher is the last to be mentioned. Asher means ‘blessed'. The Hebrew may be a request that he be blessed above his brethren, that is mightily blessed in accordance with his name. Then ‘the favoured among his brethren' would imply the same thing.

“Dipping his foot in oil” would indicate great blessing in olive oil production, and ‘bars of iron and bronze' would indicate the strength of his fortifications.

Others see it as meaning that Moses prays that they will be blessed with children, blessed with the support of their brethren, blessed in olive growing (dipping their feet in oil), blessed in security (bars of iron and bronze), and blessed with good health. Their prosperity is similar to that described in Genesis 49:20.

Except when manipulated to fit a theory all the blessings, apart from that of Levi, are general, even more so than in Genesis 49, and some, (and Joseph's very much so), have Genesis 49 in mind. We must in fact remember that the promises were dependent on obedience, and that that was mainly lacking. But the overall idea is of the blessing that His people would receive in the land of promise, and the spread of blessings would in the end belong to all. It is significant that there is no suggestion of a Canaanite presence. The assumption is of a land completely possessed and at rest.