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Deuteronomy 33:6
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Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
The blessings upon the tribes commence with this verse. "Let Reuben live and not die, and there be a (small) number of his men." The rights of the first-born had been withheld from Reuben in the blessing of Jacob (Gen 49:3); Moses, however, promises this tribe continuance and prosperity. The words, "and let his men become a number," have been explained in very different ways. מספּר in this connection cannot mean a large number (πολὺς ἐν ἀριθμῷ, lxx), but, like מספּר מתי (Deu 4:27; Gen 34:30; Jer 44:28), simply a small number, that could easily be counted (cf. Deu 28:62). The negation must be carried on to the last clause. This the language will allow, as the rule that a negation can only be carried forward when it stands with emphatic force at the very beginning (Ewald, 351) is not without exceptions; see for example Pro 30:2-3, where three negative clauses follow a positive one, and in the last the לא is omitted, without the particle of negation having been placed in any significant manner at the beginning. - Simeon was the next in age to Reuben; but he is passed over entirely, because according to Jacob's blessing (Gen 49:7) he was to be scattered abroad in Israel, and lost his individuality as a tribe in consequence of this dispersion, in accordance with which the Simeonites simply received a number of towns within the territory of Judah (Jos 19:2-9), and, "having no peculiar object of its own, took part, as far as possible, in the fate and objects of the other tribes, more especially of Judah" (Schultz). Although, therefore, it is by no means to be regarded as left without a blessing, but rather as included in the general blessings in Deu 33:1 and Deu 33:29, and still more in the blessing upon Judah, yet it could not receive a special blessing like the tribe of Reuben, because, as Ephraim Syrus observes, the Simeonites had not endeavoured to wipe out the stain of the crime which Jacob cursed, but had added to it by fresh crimes (more especially the audacious prostitution of Zimri, Num 25). Even the Simeonites did not become extinct, but continued to live in the midst of the tribe of Judah, so that as late as the eighth century, in the reign of Hezekiah, thirteen princes are enumerated with their families, whose fathers' houses had increased greatly (Ch1 4:34.); and these families effected conquests in the south, even penetrating into the mountains of Seir, for the purpose of seeking fresh pasture (Ch1 4:39-43). Hence the assertion that the omission of Simeon is only conceivable from the circumstances of a later age, is as mistaken as the attempt made in some of the MSS of the Septuagint to interpolate the name of Simeon in the second clause of Deu 33:6.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Let Reuben live, and not die--Although deprived of the honor and privileges of primogeniture, he was still to hold rank as one of the tribes of Israel. He was more numerous than several other tribes (Num 1:21; Num 2:11). Yet gradually he sank into a mere nomadic tribe, which had enough to do merely "to live and not die." Many eminent biblical scholars, resting on the most ancient and approved manuscripts of the Septuagint, consider the latter clause as referring to Simeon; "and Simeon, let his men be few," a reading of the text which is in harmony with other statements of Scripture respecting this tribe (Num 25:6-14; Num 1:23; Num 26:14; Jos 19:1).
John Gill Bible Commentary
And this is the blessing of Judah,.... Which follows; the same supplement of the words is made in the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; but Aben Ezra thinks it refers to what goes before, that this, the same thing prayed for or prophesied of Reuben, belongs also to Judah, that he should live and not die; it may be in the wars in which that tribe would be and was engaged: and he said, hear, Lord, the voice of Judah; in prayer, as all the Targums paraphrase it, which was eminently fulfilled in David, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and other kings, which were of this tribe; who, when in distress, lifted up their voice in prayer to God, and were heard and delivered, as the Lord's people in all ages are: Judah signifies professing, confessing, praising, &c. this tribe was both a praying and praising people, as all good men be; they profess the name of the Lord, and their faith in him; they confess their sins and unworthiness; they praise the Lord for his mercies, temporal and spiritual, and pray to him for what they want; and their voice is heard with pleasure, and answered: particularly Judah was a type of Christ, who was of this tribe, and whose voice in prayer for his people has been always heard: and bring him unto his people; in peace, often engaged war, so all the Targums: and as it may refer to Christ his antitype, it may respect his incarnation, when he came to his own and was not received by them; and to his resurrection from the dead, when he appeared to his disciples, to their great joy; and to the ministry of the Gospel among the Gentiles, when to him was the gathering of the people; and will be further accomplished at the last day, when he shall return and appear to them that look for him, a second time, without sin unto salvation: let his hands be sufficient for him; both to work with, and provide for themselves all the necessaries of life, and to fight with their enemies, and defend themselves against them; so Christ's hands have been sufficient, or he has had a sufficiency of power and strength in his hands, to combat with and overcome all his and our enemies, to work out the salvation of his people, and to supply all their wants: and be thou an help to him from his enemies: which this tribe often experienced in their wars with their enemies, being very warlike and courageous, successful and victorious, both before they had kings and in the several kings of their tribe, as David, Jehoshaphat, and others; and was remarkably fulfilled in Christ, whose helper the Lord was as man and Mediator, see Isa 1:7; no mention is made of Simeon, because of the affair of Baalpeor, in which that tribe had a great concern, Num 25:1; as Aben Ezra observes; or because, according to Jacob's prophecy, it was to be scattered in Israel; though the same is also said of Levi, who yet is here blessed; rather therefore the reason is, because Simeon had his inheritance in the midst of the tribe of Judah, and so was blessed in it, see Jos 19:1; thus the Targum of Jonathan expresses it here,"and he joined in his portion and in his blessing, Simeon his brother;''some copies of the Septuagint version, as that in the king of Spain's Bible, make mention of him at the end of Reuben's blessing,"and let Simeon be much in number.''
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
Here is, I. The blessing of Reuben. Though Reuben had lost the honour of his birthright, yet Moses begins with him; for we should not insult over those that are disgraced, nor desire to perpetuate marks of infamy upon any, though ever so justly fastened at first, Deu 33:6. Moses desires and foretels, 1. The preserving of this tribe. Though a frontier tribe on the other side Jordan, yet, "Let it live, and not be either ruined by its neighbours or lost among them." And perhaps he refers to those chosen men of that tribe who, having had their lot assigned them already, left their families in it, and were now ready to go over armed before their brethren, Num 32:27. "Let them be protected in this noble expedition, and have their heads covered in the day of battle." 2. Let it be a numerous tribe; though their other honours be lost, so that they shall not excel, yet let them multiply." Let Reuben live and not die, though his men be few; so bishop Patrick, thinks it may be rendered. "Though he must not expect to flourish (Gen 49:4), yet let him not perish." All the Chaldee paraphrasts refer this to the other world: Let Reuben live in life eternal, and not die the second death, so Onkelos. Let Reuben live in this world, and not die that death which the wicked die in the world to come, so Jonathan and the Jerusalem Targum. II. The blessing of Judah, which is put before Levi because our Loud sprang out of Judah, and (as Dr. Lightfoot says) because of the dignity of the kingdom above the priesthood. The blessing (Deu 33:7) may refer either, 1. To the whole tribe in general. Moses prays for, and prophesies, the great prosperity of that tribe., That God would hear his prayers (see an instance, Ch2 13:14, Ch2 13:15), settle him in his lot, prosper him in all his affairs, and give him victory over his enemies. It is taken for granted that the tribe of Judah would be both a praying tribe and an active tribe. "Lord," says Moses, "hear his prayers, and give success to all his undertakings: let his hands be sufficient for him both in husbandry and in war." The voice of prayer should always be attended with the hand of endeavour, and then we may expect prosperity. Or, 2. It may refer in particular to David, as a type of Christ, that God would hear his prayers, Psa 20:1 (and Christ was heard always, Joh 11:42), that he would give him victory over his enemies, and success in his great undertakings. See Psa 89:20 etc. And that prayer that God would bring him to his people seems to refer to Jacob's prophecy concerning Shiloh, That to him should the gathering of the people be, Gen 49:10. The tribe of Simeon is omitted in the blessing, because Jacob had left it under a brand, and it had never done any thing, as Levi had done, to retrieve its honour. It was lessened in the wilderness more than any other of the tribes; and Zimri, who was so notoriously guilty in the matter of Peor but the other day, was of that tribe. Or, because the lot of Simeon was an appendage to that of Judah, that tribe is included in the blessing of Judah. Some copies of the Septuagint join Simeon with Reuben: Let Reuben live and not die; and let Simeon be many in number.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
33:6 Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben: The NLT adds this line for clarity (cp. 33:7, 8, 12, etc.). • Reuben was Jacob’s eldest son by Leah (see Gen 29:32). His sin against his father (Gen 35:22) might explain his tribe’s lack of prominence (Gen 49:3-4).
Deuteronomy 33:6
Moses Blesses the Twelve Tribes
5So the LORD became King in Jeshurun when the leaders of the people gathered, when the tribes of Israel came together. 6Let Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few.”
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
- Tyndale
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
The blessings upon the tribes commence with this verse. "Let Reuben live and not die, and there be a (small) number of his men." The rights of the first-born had been withheld from Reuben in the blessing of Jacob (Gen 49:3); Moses, however, promises this tribe continuance and prosperity. The words, "and let his men become a number," have been explained in very different ways. מספּר in this connection cannot mean a large number (πολὺς ἐν ἀριθμῷ, lxx), but, like מספּר מתי (Deu 4:27; Gen 34:30; Jer 44:28), simply a small number, that could easily be counted (cf. Deu 28:62). The negation must be carried on to the last clause. This the language will allow, as the rule that a negation can only be carried forward when it stands with emphatic force at the very beginning (Ewald, 351) is not without exceptions; see for example Pro 30:2-3, where three negative clauses follow a positive one, and in the last the לא is omitted, without the particle of negation having been placed in any significant manner at the beginning. - Simeon was the next in age to Reuben; but he is passed over entirely, because according to Jacob's blessing (Gen 49:7) he was to be scattered abroad in Israel, and lost his individuality as a tribe in consequence of this dispersion, in accordance with which the Simeonites simply received a number of towns within the territory of Judah (Jos 19:2-9), and, "having no peculiar object of its own, took part, as far as possible, in the fate and objects of the other tribes, more especially of Judah" (Schultz). Although, therefore, it is by no means to be regarded as left without a blessing, but rather as included in the general blessings in Deu 33:1 and Deu 33:29, and still more in the blessing upon Judah, yet it could not receive a special blessing like the tribe of Reuben, because, as Ephraim Syrus observes, the Simeonites had not endeavoured to wipe out the stain of the crime which Jacob cursed, but had added to it by fresh crimes (more especially the audacious prostitution of Zimri, Num 25). Even the Simeonites did not become extinct, but continued to live in the midst of the tribe of Judah, so that as late as the eighth century, in the reign of Hezekiah, thirteen princes are enumerated with their families, whose fathers' houses had increased greatly (Ch1 4:34.); and these families effected conquests in the south, even penetrating into the mountains of Seir, for the purpose of seeking fresh pasture (Ch1 4:39-43). Hence the assertion that the omission of Simeon is only conceivable from the circumstances of a later age, is as mistaken as the attempt made in some of the MSS of the Septuagint to interpolate the name of Simeon in the second clause of Deu 33:6.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Let Reuben live, and not die--Although deprived of the honor and privileges of primogeniture, he was still to hold rank as one of the tribes of Israel. He was more numerous than several other tribes (Num 1:21; Num 2:11). Yet gradually he sank into a mere nomadic tribe, which had enough to do merely "to live and not die." Many eminent biblical scholars, resting on the most ancient and approved manuscripts of the Septuagint, consider the latter clause as referring to Simeon; "and Simeon, let his men be few," a reading of the text which is in harmony with other statements of Scripture respecting this tribe (Num 25:6-14; Num 1:23; Num 26:14; Jos 19:1).
John Gill Bible Commentary
And this is the blessing of Judah,.... Which follows; the same supplement of the words is made in the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; but Aben Ezra thinks it refers to what goes before, that this, the same thing prayed for or prophesied of Reuben, belongs also to Judah, that he should live and not die; it may be in the wars in which that tribe would be and was engaged: and he said, hear, Lord, the voice of Judah; in prayer, as all the Targums paraphrase it, which was eminently fulfilled in David, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and other kings, which were of this tribe; who, when in distress, lifted up their voice in prayer to God, and were heard and delivered, as the Lord's people in all ages are: Judah signifies professing, confessing, praising, &c. this tribe was both a praying and praising people, as all good men be; they profess the name of the Lord, and their faith in him; they confess their sins and unworthiness; they praise the Lord for his mercies, temporal and spiritual, and pray to him for what they want; and their voice is heard with pleasure, and answered: particularly Judah was a type of Christ, who was of this tribe, and whose voice in prayer for his people has been always heard: and bring him unto his people; in peace, often engaged war, so all the Targums: and as it may refer to Christ his antitype, it may respect his incarnation, when he came to his own and was not received by them; and to his resurrection from the dead, when he appeared to his disciples, to their great joy; and to the ministry of the Gospel among the Gentiles, when to him was the gathering of the people; and will be further accomplished at the last day, when he shall return and appear to them that look for him, a second time, without sin unto salvation: let his hands be sufficient for him; both to work with, and provide for themselves all the necessaries of life, and to fight with their enemies, and defend themselves against them; so Christ's hands have been sufficient, or he has had a sufficiency of power and strength in his hands, to combat with and overcome all his and our enemies, to work out the salvation of his people, and to supply all their wants: and be thou an help to him from his enemies: which this tribe often experienced in their wars with their enemies, being very warlike and courageous, successful and victorious, both before they had kings and in the several kings of their tribe, as David, Jehoshaphat, and others; and was remarkably fulfilled in Christ, whose helper the Lord was as man and Mediator, see Isa 1:7; no mention is made of Simeon, because of the affair of Baalpeor, in which that tribe had a great concern, Num 25:1; as Aben Ezra observes; or because, according to Jacob's prophecy, it was to be scattered in Israel; though the same is also said of Levi, who yet is here blessed; rather therefore the reason is, because Simeon had his inheritance in the midst of the tribe of Judah, and so was blessed in it, see Jos 19:1; thus the Targum of Jonathan expresses it here,"and he joined in his portion and in his blessing, Simeon his brother;''some copies of the Septuagint version, as that in the king of Spain's Bible, make mention of him at the end of Reuben's blessing,"and let Simeon be much in number.''
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
Here is, I. The blessing of Reuben. Though Reuben had lost the honour of his birthright, yet Moses begins with him; for we should not insult over those that are disgraced, nor desire to perpetuate marks of infamy upon any, though ever so justly fastened at first, Deu 33:6. Moses desires and foretels, 1. The preserving of this tribe. Though a frontier tribe on the other side Jordan, yet, "Let it live, and not be either ruined by its neighbours or lost among them." And perhaps he refers to those chosen men of that tribe who, having had their lot assigned them already, left their families in it, and were now ready to go over armed before their brethren, Num 32:27. "Let them be protected in this noble expedition, and have their heads covered in the day of battle." 2. Let it be a numerous tribe; though their other honours be lost, so that they shall not excel, yet let them multiply." Let Reuben live and not die, though his men be few; so bishop Patrick, thinks it may be rendered. "Though he must not expect to flourish (Gen 49:4), yet let him not perish." All the Chaldee paraphrasts refer this to the other world: Let Reuben live in life eternal, and not die the second death, so Onkelos. Let Reuben live in this world, and not die that death which the wicked die in the world to come, so Jonathan and the Jerusalem Targum. II. The blessing of Judah, which is put before Levi because our Loud sprang out of Judah, and (as Dr. Lightfoot says) because of the dignity of the kingdom above the priesthood. The blessing (Deu 33:7) may refer either, 1. To the whole tribe in general. Moses prays for, and prophesies, the great prosperity of that tribe., That God would hear his prayers (see an instance, Ch2 13:14, Ch2 13:15), settle him in his lot, prosper him in all his affairs, and give him victory over his enemies. It is taken for granted that the tribe of Judah would be both a praying tribe and an active tribe. "Lord," says Moses, "hear his prayers, and give success to all his undertakings: let his hands be sufficient for him both in husbandry and in war." The voice of prayer should always be attended with the hand of endeavour, and then we may expect prosperity. Or, 2. It may refer in particular to David, as a type of Christ, that God would hear his prayers, Psa 20:1 (and Christ was heard always, Joh 11:42), that he would give him victory over his enemies, and success in his great undertakings. See Psa 89:20 etc. And that prayer that God would bring him to his people seems to refer to Jacob's prophecy concerning Shiloh, That to him should the gathering of the people be, Gen 49:10. The tribe of Simeon is omitted in the blessing, because Jacob had left it under a brand, and it had never done any thing, as Levi had done, to retrieve its honour. It was lessened in the wilderness more than any other of the tribes; and Zimri, who was so notoriously guilty in the matter of Peor but the other day, was of that tribe. Or, because the lot of Simeon was an appendage to that of Judah, that tribe is included in the blessing of Judah. Some copies of the Septuagint join Simeon with Reuben: Let Reuben live and not die; and let Simeon be many in number.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
33:6 Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben: The NLT adds this line for clarity (cp. 33:7, 8, 12, etc.). • Reuben was Jacob’s eldest son by Leah (see Gen 29:32). His sin against his father (Gen 35:22) might explain his tribe’s lack of prominence (Gen 49:3-4).