Moses before his death blesses the tribes of Israel.

¹ This is the blessing, with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons of Israel before his death.

² And he said: “The Lord went forth from Sinai, and he arose for us from Seir. He appeared from Mount Paran, and thousands of holy ones were with him. The fiery law was in his right hand.

³ He loved the people; all the holy ones are in his hand. And those who approach his feet shall receive from his doctrine.

⁴ Moses instructed us in the law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob.

⁵ The king shall have great righteousness, at the gathering of the princes of the people with the tribes of Israel.

⁶ Let Ruben live, and not die, and may he be small in number.”

⁷ This is the blessing of Judah. “Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and lead him to his people. His hands shall fight for him, and he shall be his helper against his adversaries.”

⁸ Likewise, to Levi he said: “Your perfection and your doctrine are for your holy man, whom you have proven by temptation, and whom you have judged at the Waters of Contradiction.¹

1. 33:8Holy man: Aaron and his successors in the priesthood.(Challoner)

⁹ He has said to his father and to his mother, ‘I do not know you,’ and to his brothers, ‘I will disregard you.’ And they have not known their own sons. Such as these have kept your word and have observed your covenant:¹²

1. 33:9This passage indicates that the Levites have set aside their families (father and mother and brothers), to serve the Lord faithfully. Similarly, Christ said that His followers must ‘hate’ their father and mother and brothers.(Conte)
2. 33:9Who has said, etc: It is the duty of the priestly tribe to prefer God’s honour and service before all considerations of flesh and blood: in such manner as to behave as strangers to their nearest akin, when these would withdraw them from the business of their calling.(Challoner)

¹⁰ your judgments, O Jacob, and your law, O Israel. They shall place incense before your fury and a holocaust upon your altar.

¹¹ O Lord, bless his strength, and receive the works of his hands. Strike the backs of his enemies, and do not let those who hate him rise up.”

¹² And to Benjamin he said: “The most beloved of the Lord will live confidently in him. He shall remain all day long, as if in a bridal chamber, and he shall rest amid her arms.”¹²

1. 33:12The figure used here is of the Church as a Bride. Benjamin will rest amid her arms, for he has wedded himself to the Church as to a bride.(Conte)
2. 33:12Shall dwell, etc: This seems to allude to the temple being built in the confines of the tribe of Benjamin.(Challoner)

¹³ Likewise, to Joseph he said: “His land shall be from the blessing of the Lord, from the fruits of heaven, and from the dew, and from the abyss which lies below,

¹⁴ from the fruits of the crops under the sun and the moon,

¹⁵ from the heights of the ancient mountains, from the fruits of the everlasting hills,

¹⁶ and from the fruits of the earth with all its plenitude. May the blessing of him who appeared in the bush, settle upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of the Nazarite among his brothers.¹

1. 33:16The Nazarite: See the note on Gen. 49.26.(Challoner)

¹⁷ His excellence is like that of a first-born bull. His horns are like the horns of a rhinoceros; he shall brandish these against the Gentiles, even to the ends of the earth. These are the multitudes of Ephraim, and these the thousands of Manasseh.”

¹⁸ And to Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, O Zebulun, in your departure, and Issachar, in your tabernacles.

¹⁹ They shall summon the peoples to the mountain. There, they shall immolate the victims of justice, who feed on the flood of the sea, as if on milk, and on the hidden treasures of the sands.”

²⁰ And to Gad he said: “Blessed is Gad in his breadth. He has rested like a lion, and he has seized the arm and the top of the head.

²¹ And he has seen his own pre-eminence, which his teacher has stored up as his portion. He was with the princes of the people, and he accomplished the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel.”¹

1. 33:21He saw, etc: The pre-eminence of the tribe of Gad, to which this alludes, was their having the lawgiver Moses buried in their borders; though the particular place was not known.(Challoner)

²² Likewise, to Dan he said: “Dan is a young lion. He shall flow plentifully from Bashan.”¹

1. 33:22Dan is thought to be the tribe from which the mother of the Antichrist is descended. Notice that his blessing is limited and worldly: he will be fierce and aggressive like a young lion, but not wise or restrained like an older lion. He will be numerous (or have numerous followers), but no holiness is described for this great multitude.(Conte)

²³ And to Naphtali he said: “Naphtali shall enjoy abundance, and he shall be full of the blessings of the Lord. He shall possess the sea and the Meridian.”¹

1. 33:23The sea: The lake of Genesaret.(Challoner)

²⁴ Likewise, to Asher he said: “Let Asher be blessed with sons. Let him be pleasing to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil.

²⁵ His shoe shall be of iron and of brass. As were the days of your youth, so also shall be your old age.

²⁶ There is no other god like the God of the most righteous one. He who rides upon the heavens is your helper. His magnificence scatters the clouds.

²⁷ His habitation is above, and the everlasting arms are below. He shall cast out the enemy before your face, and he shall say: ‘Be utterly broken!’¹

1. 33:27Underneath are the everlasting arms: Though the dwelling of God be above in heaven, his arms are always stretched out to help us here below.(Challoner)

²⁸ Israel shall live in confidence and alone, as the eye of Jacob in a land of grain and of wine; and the heavens shall be misty with dew.

²⁹ Blessed are you, O Israel. Who is like you, the people who are saved by the Lord? He is the shield of your assistance and the sword of your glory. Your enemies will refuse to acknowledge you, and so you shall tread upon their necks.”