Commentary - Deuteronomy 33:13-17

Bird's-eye view

As Moses comes to the end of his life, standing on the precipice of the Promised Land he will not enter, he pronounces God's covenant blessings upon the tribes of Israel. This is not a sentimental farewell tour; it is a prophetic declaration of God's unbending purpose for His people. The blessing on Joseph, which encompasses his sons Ephraim and Manasseh, is particularly effusive, second only to the blessing on Judah. It is a firehose of promised prosperity, fruitfulness, and strength. This is God laying out the glorious inheritance for the son who was faithful through immense trial. Joseph was the one "distinguished among his brothers," and his blessing reflects that distinction. The language is earthy and celestial, speaking of dew from heaven and produce from the sun, but it culminates in military might that will push the peoples to the ends of the earth. This is a picture of robust, take-charge, dominion-oriented blessing. It is a far cry from the thin gruel of a prosperity gospel that wants a Lexus in the driveway. This is about generational, world-altering fruitfulness, a glorious type that finds its ultimate fulfillment in the greater Joseph, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the explosive growth of His kingdom.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 13 Of Joseph he said, “Blessed of Yahweh be his land, With the choice things of heaven, with the dew, And from the deep lying beneath,

Moses begins the blessing of Joseph, and right out of the gate, the source of the blessing is made explicit. It is from Yahweh. This is not a matter of good luck, or favorable geography, or shrewd agricultural techniques, though all those things may be instruments. The fountainhead of all this goodness is the covenant-keeping God Himself. "Blessed of Yahweh be his land." The land is blessed because God blesses it. This is foundational. All Deuteronomic blessing, all true prosperity, is a function of God's favor. The modern church gets squeamish about this kind of talk because the charlatans of the prosperity gospel have promised blessings as a result of a transactional faith. But we must not let the counterfeit cause us to reject the genuine article. God really does bless His people with tangible, earthy, material goodness. And here, the blessing is comprehensive. It comes from above, "the choice things of heaven, with the dew," which in an agrarian society is life itself. And it comes from below, "from the deep lying beneath," referring to the springs and groundwater that well up to make the land fertile. God has it covered from top to bottom. This is a picture of total, saturated, divine favor.

v. 14 And with the choice produce of the sun, And with the choice yield of the months,

The poetic parallel continues, piling up the descriptions of this overwhelming abundance. The blessing is tied to the created order, to the rhythms God established at the beginning. "The choice produce of the sun" speaks of the ripening power of sunlight, bringing crops to their full sweetness and maturity. "The choice yield of the months" refers to the steady, reliable, month-by-month harvest. This isn't a one-time windfall. It's a picture of sustained, relentless productivity. The Hebrew word for "choice" or "precious things" is repeated over and over in this section. God is not promising Joseph's descendants subsistence living. He is promising the very best, the cream of the crop, the top-shelf stuff. This is a vision of a people so blessed that they are not worried about where their next meal is coming from; they are feasting on the finest produce that creation can offer, month in and month out. This is what covenant faithfulness looks like when it is expressed in agriculture. It is glorious.

v. 15 And with the best things of the ancient mountains, And with the choice things of the everlasting hills,

The scope of the blessing expands from the cultivated fields to the untamed heights. The "ancient mountains" and "everlasting hills" are symbols of permanence and stability. The blessings God gives are not fleeting. They have weight. They have history. This would include the mineral wealth found in those mountains, the timber from their forests, and the pastures on their slopes. It's a picture of a rich and diverse inheritance. God's provision for Joseph is not one-dimensional. It is as varied and enduring as the landscape itself. These are not just any mountains; they are ancient, created by God long before Israel arrived. The blessing is rooted in God's deep history with His creation, and He is now bestowing the best of it upon this favored tribe. This is a reminder that the God of the covenant is also the God of creation, and He is generous with what He has made.

v. 16 And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, And to the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

This verse is the pinnacle of the material blessing and reveals the ultimate reason for it. First, the blessing is summarized as "the choice things of the earth and its fullness." This is an all-encompassing grant. Think of Psalm 24:1, "The earth is Yahweh's, and the fullness thereof." God owns it all, and He is lavishing the best of it on Joseph. But why? The next line tells us. It is because of "the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush." This is a direct reference to the burning bush in Exodus 3, where God revealed Himself to Moses as Yahweh, the great I AM. This is the God who is present with His people in their affliction, the God who makes a covenant and keeps it. The blessing flows not from Joseph's merit, but from God's gracious favor, His good will. This favor is then directed like a coronation anointing: "Let it come to the head of Joseph." This isn't a diffuse, generic blessing. It is personal and specific. It is for Joseph, "the one distinguished among his brothers." The word for "distinguished" can also mean consecrated or set apart, like a Nazirite. Joseph was set apart by his brothers for death, set apart by Potiphar's wife for prison, but ultimately set apart by God for rule and deliverance. His faithfulness in trial resulted in this crowning blessing.

v. 17 As the firstborn of his ox, splendor is his, And his horns are the horns of the wild ox; With them he will push the peoples, All at once, to the ends of the earth. And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim, And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”

The imagery shifts dramatically from agricultural abundance to military might. This is crucial. Deuteronomic blessing is not just about being fat and happy. It is about strength and dominion. Joseph's tribe is described as a firstborn bull, a picture of majesty, strength, and leadership. "Splendor is his." Then the image intensifies. His horns are not those of a domestic ox, but of a "wild ox," the formidable and untamable re'em. These are weapons. And what are they for? "With them he will push the peoples." This is the language of conquest, of exerting force and claiming territory for the kingdom. This isn't a defensive posture. It is an offensive push, a confident goring of the enemies of God's people. And the scope is breathtaking: "to the ends of the earth." This is a postmillennial verse if ever there was one. The blessing on Joseph's descendants is not for containment, but for global advance. The passage concludes by identifying these mighty warriors. They are the descendants of Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. And their numbers are vast. Ephraim, though the younger son, is mentioned first and with the greater number, "ten thousands", fulfilling Jacob's prophecy in Genesis 48. Manasseh has his "thousands." Together, they are a mighty, innumerable host, blessed with the fullness of the earth and the strength of the wild ox, destined to push the kingdom of God to the very ends of the earth. This is a glorious picture of the church's destiny in Christ, the true and better Joseph.

Application

This magnificent blessing on the tribe of Joseph is not just a dusty historical record for us to admire. It is a portrait of the kind of robust, comprehensive, and world-conquering blessing that God delights to pour out on His faithful people. We are not the tribe of Joseph, but we are in Christ, the ultimate Joseph who was rejected by His brothers, sold for pieces of silver, and raised to the right hand of the King to save a people for Himself.

First, we must recover a biblical understanding of blessing. We should reject both the anemic spirituality that is suspicious of all material goodness and the greedy materialism of the prosperity hucksters. God is the creator of dew, and sun, and mountains, and fertile fields. He made it all, He called it good, and He loves to give good gifts to His children. Our work, our families, and our communities should aim for this kind of tangible fruitfulness, receiving it with gratitude as from the hand of "Him who dwelt in the bush."

Second, we see that blessing is tied to being "distinguished." Joseph was set apart through suffering and faithfulness. The favor of God rested on his head because he honored God in the pit and in the prison. We are called to be a peculiar people, distinguished from the world in our convictions and our conduct. When we are faithful in the small things, when we refuse to compromise, we position ourselves for God's crowning favor.

Finally, we must see that the goal of blessing is not comfort, but conquest. The abundance of the land was meant to fuel the strength of the wild ox. We are blessed to be a blessing, and we are strengthened in order to "push the peoples" with the horns of the gospel. The Great Commission is our wild ox mandate. The splendor of Christ is ours, and the power of the Spirit is our strength. We are to take this gospel and, in the name of our King, push its claims to the very ends of the earth, knowing that the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh are but a type of the great multitude from every tribe, tongue, and nation that will one day stand before the throne.