Deuteronomy 33:2

_AND HE SAID, THE LORD CAME FROM SINAI, AND ROSE UP FROM SEIR UNTO THEM; HE SHINED FORTH FROM MOUNT_ _ AND HE SAID, THE LORD CAME FROM SINAI, AND ROSE UP FROM SEIR UNTO THEM; HE SHINED FORTH FROM MOUNT PARAN, AND HE CAME WITH TEN THOUSANDS OF SAINTS: FROM HIS RIGHT HAND WENT A FIERY LAW FOR THEM._ The lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them, х_ LAAMOW_ (H3807a), to them-the poetic singular]. Since no persons are mentioned before Yahweh's appearance here described, it has been conjectured, that the proper reading of the text should be [lª`amow], 'to his people.' But the conjecture is not supported by manuscript authority. [The Septuagint translators must have seen the Hebrew word _ LAANUW _ (H3807a), in the first person plural, because they translate it as: heemin, 'to us.' So also do the Syriac and Vulgate versions, with the Targum of Onkelos. But this also is unwarranted....

2_And he said, The Lord came from, Sinai. _(305) In these words he reminds them that he is setting before them, a confirmation of the covenant, which God had made with them in this Law_, _and that it is nothing different from it; for this connection was of exceeding efficacy in establishing the certainty of the blessings, provided only the Law was duly honored; for nothing was better adapted to confirm the grace of God than the majesty which was displayed in the promulgation of the Law. Some, as I conceive improperly, translate it, — “God comes to Sinai,” whereas Moses rather means that he came from thence, when His brightness was made manifest. By way of ornament, the same thing is repeated with respect to Seir and Paran; and, since these three words are synonymous_, _therefore to _go forth, _to _rise up, _and to _come, _also represent the same thing, viz., that manifestation of the

1-5 To all his precepts, warnings, and prophecies, Moses added a solemn blessing. He begins with a description of the glorious appearances of God, in giving the law. His law works like fire. If received, it is melting, warming, purifying, and burns up the dross of corruption; if rejected, it hardens, sears, pains, and destroys. The Holy Spirit came down in cloven tongues, as of fire; for the gospel also is a fiery law. The law of God written in the heart, is a certain proof of the love of God shed abroad there: we must reckon His law one of the gifts of his grace....

By “Seir” is to be understood the mountain-land of the Edomites, and by “mount Paran” the range which forms the northern boundary of the desert of Sinai (compare Genesis 14:6 note). Thus the verse forms a poetical description of the vast arena upon which the glorious manifestation of the Lord in the giving of the covenant took place. WITH TEN THOUSANDS OF SAINTS - Render, from amidst ten thousands of holy ones: literally from myriads of holiness, i. e., holy Angels (compare Zechariah 14:5). God is represented as leaving heaven where He dwells amidst the host of the Angels 1 Kings 22:19 and descending in majesty to earth...

EXPOSITION MOSES' BLESSING. Before ascending Mount Nebo, to take a view of the land he was not permitted to cuter and then to die, Moses took farewell of the people he had so long guided and ruled, by pronouncing on them a blessing in their several tribes. This blessing was probably spoken on the same day as the song recorded in the preceding chapter, and to the same assembly. The one may be regarded as the counterpart of the other. In the song, Moses dwells chiefly on the calamities that were to befall the people because of their apostasy; in the blessing, he depicts the benefits that were to be enjoyed by them through the Divine favor. The tone of the one is somber and minatory; the tone of the other is serene and cheering. The one presents the darker side, the other the brighter side, of Israel's fortunes. Both were fitting utterances for the occasion: the one the farewell warning, t...

AND HE SAID,.... What follows, of which, in some things, he was an eye and ear witness, and in others was inspired by the Spirit of God, to deliver his mind and will concerning the future case and state of the several tribes, after he had observed the common benefit and blessing they all enjoyed, by having such a law given them in the manner it was: THE LORD CAME FROM SINAI; there he first appeared to Moses, and sent him to Egypt, and wrought miracles by him, and delivered his people Israel from thence, and when they were come to this mount he came down on it, as Aben Ezra, from Gaon, or he came "to" it; so to Zion, Isaiah 59:20, is "out of" or "from Zion", Romans 11:26; here he appeared and gave the law, and from thence went with Israel through the wilderness, and conducted them to the

3. THE BLESSING OF MOSES Chapter S 32:44-33:29 _ 1. Introduction (Deuteronomy 32:44)_ 2. Jehovah's manifestation (Deuteronomy 33:1) 3. The blessing of Reuben, Judah and Levi (Deuteronomy 33:6) 4. The blessing of Benjamin and Joseph (Deuteronomy 33:12) 5. The blessing of Zebulon and Issachar (Deuteronomy 33:18) 6. The blessing of Gad, Dan, Nephtali and Asher ...

DEUTERONOMY 33. THE BLESSING OF MOSES. Of this poem (quite unconnected with the context) the following statements may be made: (_a)_ It was composed during the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II (786- 746 B.C.) A date after the disruption is required by Deuteronomy 33:7; a period of prosperity by Deuteronomy 33:13. Prior to 786 B.C. Israel had been ruled by petty kings, and after 746 B.C. the Northern Kingdom had a long and disastrous struggle with Damascus. (_b)_ The writer belonged to the Northern Kingdom, and therefore gives far more prominence to Israel (Joseph) than to Judah. (_c)_ He was a member of the priestly class (Deuteronomy 33:8). Accepting the above conclusions, it follo

THE LORD. Jehovah. App-4. CAME. Hebrew. _bo_ ', to come, or enter on business. Compare Habakkuk 3:3. ROSE UP. Hebrew zarah, to break forth as light. SHINED FORTH. Hebrew. _yaph'a,_ to shine forth in glory. CAME. Hebrew. _'athah,_ to come with speed. Compare _maran-athah_. the LORD cometh, 1 Corinthians 16:22. SAINTS. holy ones, i.e. angels. Compare Psalms 68:17; Acts 7:53.Galatians 1:3;...

(2 9). Four Laws: Of Right to Enter the Congregation There shall not enter any eunuch (Deuteronomy 33:1); nor the son of an unlawful marriage, nor descendants (Deuteronomy 33:2); nor Ammonite, nor Moabite, nor descendants (Deuteronomy 33:3-6); but the third generation of Edomite or Egyptian may enter (Deuteronomy 33:7 f.). These laws have negative openings like the preceding and like the series which follow in Deuteronomy 33:15 ...