Deuteronomy 33:12 - Meaning and Application

Benjamin’s blessing comes first here because of its special place beside Levi. The temple, where the priests served, stood right on the edge of Benjamin’s land. It is also placed before Joseph because Jerusalem, part of Benjamin’s territory, had more honor than Samaria in Ephraim’s land. Benjamin also stayed faithful to David’s house and to the Lord’s temple when the rest of the tribes turned away with Jeroboam.

Benjamin is called “the beloved of the Lord,” and that fits the tribe’s history. Benjamin was Jacob’s beloved son, the “son of his right hand.” Those are truly blessed whom the Lord loves. Saul, Israel’s first king, and Paul, the great apostle, both came from this tribe.

The tribe is also promised safety: “he shall dwell safely.” Those whom God loves are secure (Psalm 91:1). The text also points to the temple being built on Benjamin’s border. Jerusalem, the holy city, was in Benjamin’s allotment (Joshua 18:28), and Mount Moriah, where the temple stood, was there too. That is why God is said to dwell “between his shoulders,” like a head resting on a man’s shoulders.

Benjamin was therefore covered all day long by the protection of the sanctuary (Psalm 125:2). Scripture often describes the temple as a place of refuge (Psalm 27:4-5; Nehemiah 6:10). Living beside God’s house, Benjamin lived in safety near him. It is a happy thing to live close to the temple. Very likely, this was one reason Benjamin stayed joined to Judah and kept God’s worship, even when the other ten tribes fell away. People have a deeply corrupt heart if the closer they are to the church, the further they are from God.

Joseph’s blessing includes both Manasseh and Ephraim. In Jacob’s blessing (Genesis 49), Joseph’s portion is the largest, and it is large here too. Moses calls Joseph by a title that points to his special place, one separated from his brothers, or a kind of “Nazarite,” meaning one set apart for God, among them. He was set apart both in his devotion to God, where he stood above them, and in his rank in Egypt, where he became their ruler and helper. His brothers separated him by selling him into slavery, but God distinguished him by making him a prince.

The blessings Moses asks for are great plenty and great power. First comes great plenty. He begins by praying, “Blessed of the Lord be his land.” Ephraim and Manasseh received very fruitful land, but Moses still asks that God’s blessing would water it. True abundance depends on God, who gives wealth and fruitfulness.

Moses then names the things that would help their land prosper. He asks for timely rain and dew, the precious gifts of heaven. They may seem like plain water, but without them the earth’s crops would fail. He also asks for abundant springs, here called the deep that lies below. Both rain above and springs below are like the rivers of God (Psalm 65:9), and he is the one who makes the fountains of waters (Revelation 14:7).

He also asks for the good influence of the heavens, the precious fruit produced by the sun’s warmth and the moon’s cooling light (Deuteronomy 33:14). Some understand this as a prayer for the regular harvest of each season, month by month, such as olives in one month and dates in another. He then asks for the best produce from the ancient mountains and lasting hills (Deuteronomy 33:15). These mountains are called ancient, not because they are older than the others, but because they were honored above them, like firstborn sons. They are called lasting because their fruitfulness would continue.

He also asks for the precious things of the earth (Deuteronomy 33:16). The earth may seem like a worthless lump, yet it brings forth useful and valuable things for human life. Bread comes from it, because our bodies came from it and must return to it. Still, the earth’s riches are small beside the fullness found in Christ, from whom we receive grace upon grace. Some understand these precious things as pictures of spiritual blessings in heavenly places through Christ, the gifts, graces, and comforts of the Spirit.

Moses ends this blessing with a prayer for the good will of him who dwelt in the bush (Deuteronomy 33:16), meaning God who appeared to him in the burning bush that was not consumed (Exodus 3:2). There God gave Moses his commission to bring Israel out of Egypt. Though God’s glory appeared there only for a time, Scripture says he dwelt there, because his presence remained as long as it was needed. This is the good will of the one who dwells there, for “Shechinah” means “the one who dwells.” Moses is calling on the same God who revealed himself to him in that holy moment.

That first meeting at the bush was deeply precious to Moses. As he nears death, he seems to remember most warmly the beginning of his walk with God, when his knowledge of the Almighty first began and his communion with heaven was first settled. That was a love-filled time never to be forgotten. At the bush, God declared himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, confirming the promise made to the fathers, a promise that reaches even to the resurrection of the body and eternal life, as Jesus showed from it (Luke 20:37). So when Moses asks for the good will of him who dwelt in the bush, he is looking back to that covenant renewed there, the covenant on which all our hope of God’s favor must rest.

He ends this large blessing by asking for God’s favor because it is the fountain and source of every blessing. These gifts all come from God’s good will, and they are such for his own people, whatever they may be for others.

Indeed, when Ephraim, a descendant of Joseph, turned away from God like a stubborn calf, even his country’s rich produce was no real gift of God’s favor. Instead, it was only fattening him up for judgment, like a lamb in an open field (Hosea 4:16, Hosea 4:17). That matters because the true comfort and sweetness of every blessing is God’s good will in it. We only really enjoy our gifts when we taste God’s kindness through them.

God’s favor is better than all these blessings, and far better. If we have God’s approval, we are truly happy, and we can be content even when these things are missing. Then we can still rejoice in the God who saves us, even if the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vine (Habakkuk 3:17, Habakkuk 3:18).

Joseph is also blessed here with great power (Deuteronomy 33:17). Three signs of that power are foretold. First, Joseph would have honor among his brothers. His glory is compared to the firstborn of a bull, a strong young animal that was once used to picture royal greatness. Joshua, who followed Moses, came from Ephraim, Joseph’s son, and he brought great honor to his tribe. Later, the royal city of the northern kingdom was in Ephraim, and from Manasseh came Gideon, Jephthah, and Jair, all of whom were blessings and ornaments to their land.

Some think Joseph is compared to the firstborn bull because the birthright that Reuben lost passed to Joseph (1 Chronicles 5:1, 1 Chronicles 5:2). Others connect the image to the bull-like strength of Bashan, which lay in Manasseh’s territory and was known for its cattle (Psalm 22:12; Amos 4:1).

Second, Joseph would have strength against his enemies and victory over them. His horns are like the horn of a wild ox, meaning the forces he brought into battle would be strong and feared, and he would drive back all who opposed him. The tribe of Ephraim showed a fighting spirit in its disputes with Gideon and Jephthah (Judges 8:1; Judges 12:1). Yet when Ephraim later broke God’s covenant, the same people, though armed, turned back in the day of battle (Psalm 78:9, Psalm 78:10). So even though they are here pictured as strong and bold like wild oxen, they became weak like other men when God left them.

Third, Joseph would have great numbers of people. Ephraim, though the younger branch, would outnumber Manasseh, because Jacob had knowingly crossed his hands when he blessed them (Genesis 48:19). So the blessing speaks of the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh. Jonathan’s Targum applies this to the many Canaanites conquered by Joshua, who came from Manasseh. The Jerusalem Targum also makes a telling note: as the firstborn bull was never meant to be worked, and as a wild ox could not be tamed, so Joseph was to remain free. And they would have stayed free if sin had not led them to sell themselves.