Deuteronomy 33:13-17

Ver. 13-17. And of Joseph he said, &c.— Whether we consider Joseph with respect to his situation in the land of Canaan, or to the eminent dignity by which his descendants were distinguished, he is here in his proper rank. Moses, in blessing him, copies after Jacob: he promises him the choicest things which the heavens or the deep had in store; the most precious produce of the earth, whether annual or monthly; whatever the hills or vales could boast of; and, in short, the greater profusion of all earthly and heavenly blessings: and having touched upon the distinguished rank of this patriarch, he takes occasion to describe, under the image of a bull spreading terror wherever he comes, the great exploits by which the numerous posterity of his two sons would signalize themselves. Durell renders this benediction as follows: "Ver. 13. Blessed of the Lord be his land,—with the precious things of heaven above,—and with the deep lying beneath:—14. And with the precious fruits of the sun,—and with the precious produce of the moon:—15. And with the chief things of the eternal mountains,—and with the precious things of the everlasting hills:—16. And with the precious things of the earth, and its fulness,—and with the favour of him that dwelt in the bush:—Let these be on the head of Joseph,—and on the crown-of-the-head of the prince of his brethren.—17. His glory is the firstling of a bullock;—and his horns are the horns of rhinoceroses:—With them he shall gore the nations,—and in like manner the ends of the earth:—and these are the ten thousands of Ephraim,—and these the thousands of Manasseh." Earth, in the 16th verse, being opposed to hills and mountains in the 15th, seems to imply a champaign country; and the fulness thereof to signify a most plentiful champaign country. This sense will appear still more probable from the event: for, besides the great plain near Jordan, which Joseph had in common with some other tribes, and the plain of Sharon, near the Mediterranean sea, there seems to have been another great plain near Samaria, which Josephus calls "the great plain of Samaria;" and near mount Ephraim was "the valley of fatness." See Bell. Jud. l. ii. c. 2. Univ. Hist. b. i. c. 7. The expression, Him that dwelt in the bush, answers very well to the description given of that bush, Exodus 3:2 that it burned with fire without being consumed. Moses might choose to use this periphrasis, to remind the Israelites of what passed between God and himself at the extraordinary manifestation to which this alludes; when, among other things, God gave them repeated assurances that they should possess the land of Canaan. Respecting the phrase, the crown-of-the-head of him that was separated, &c. see on Genesis 49:26. The firstling of a bullock, ver. 17 may either signify, in general, a choice bullock, ch. Deuteronomy 12:6 or it may have reference to Joseph's having obtained Reuben's birth-right; and because a bullock is the best emblem of power among beasts of pasture, it seems used here to denote the superior honour and dignity of the house of Joseph, above the rest of the tribes of Israel. As the word ראם reem, is singular in the Hebrew text, our version, to avoid a contradiction in terms, reads unicorns. See on Numbers 24:8. By horns here, which, in the Scripture language, denote power and might, are very properly represented Joseph's two sons, each of whom was the founder of a very numerous and considerable tribe. Ephraim and Manasseh are spoken of in the order their grandfather prophesied they should be considered; namely, the younger before the elder. The Jerusalem Targum expounds the words, with them he shall gore the people, &c. of the victories gained over the Canaanites by Joshua and Gideon, who were both of this family; to whom might have been added Jephthah, for the same reason, who also distinguished himself in a signal manner in the war against the Ammonites. Judges 11. The expression, the ends of the earth, is frequently used in the Old Testament for the remotest inhabitants of the land of Canaan; as οικουμενη is in the New. Durell. Houbigant observes, that, as the expression of the elder serving the younger, refers to the church of the Gentiles and the Jews; so what has gone before in this blessing is too magnificent to be understood of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, of whom it could not strictly be said, they should wound the people to the ends of the earth, though we understood by the earth or land, no other than the land of Canaan; nor could it be said strictly of Joseph, that he should be the king (נזיר nazir) or the most excellent of his brethren. But these things are spoken, as truly as magnificently, of that Joseph, concerning whom St. Matthew informs us it was foretold, he shall be called a Nazarene; thus referring Christians to the blessings of Jacob and Moses, in both of which Joseph is called נזין nazir, a Nazarene.

REFLECTIONS.—The temporal blessings promised to these two tribes are the least part of their happiness; the good-will of God, as their covenant God, who appeared to Moses in the bush, is better to them than all the rest. This he prays for, and promises them, and then they could want nothing to complete their felicity. Note;

(1.) God has blessings in abundance to bestow on his people, not only of the basket and the store, but the unspeakably more valuable ones of the gifts, graces, and consolations of his Blessed Spirit. (2.) The true enjoyment of all earthly good things is, to have the blessing of him who dwelt in the bush upon them; and even in the want of there, this alone will satisfy the soul abundantly.