Deuteronomy - 33:16



16 for the precious things of the earth and its fullness, the good will of him who lived in the bush. Let (the blessing) come on the head of Joseph, On the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Deuteronomy 33:16.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, And the good will of him that dwelt in the bush. Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, And upon the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
And of the fruits of the earth, and of the fulness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush, come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
And by the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof. And let the good will of him that dwelt in the bush Come upon the head of Joseph, Upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
And for the precious things of the earth and fullness of it, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush; let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
And by precious things, of earth and its fulness, And the good pleasure Of Him who is dwelling in the bush,, Let it come for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of him Who is separate from his brethren.
And for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelled in the bush: let the blessing come on the head of Joseph, and on the top of the head of him that was separated from his brothers.
The good things of the earth and all its wealth, the good pleasure of him who was seen in the burning tree: may they come on the head of Joseph, on the head of him who was prince among his brothers.
And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, And the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush; Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, And upon the crown of the head of him that is prince among his brethren.
with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, the good will of him who lived in the bush. Let this come on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
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.
Et ob prastantiam terrae, et ob plenitudinem ejus: et beneplacitum habitatoris rubi veniat super caput Joseph, et super verticem separati a fratribus suis.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

The good will of him that dwelt in the bush - The favor of him who appeared in the burning bush on Mount Sinai, who there, in his good will - mere love and compassion, took Israel to be his people; and who has preserved and will preserve, in tribulation and distress, all those who trust in him, so that they shall as surely escape unhurt, as the bush, though enveloped with fire, was unburnt.
The top of the head, etc. - The same words are used by Jacob in blessing this tribe, Genesis 49:26. The meaning appears to be that God should distinguish this tribe in a particular way, as Joseph himself was separated, נזיר nazir, a Nazarite, a consecrated prince to God, from among and in preference to all his brethren. See the notes on Genesis 49:25, etc.

And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and [for] the good will of him that dwelt in the (l) bush: let [the blessing] come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him [that was] separated from his brethren.
(l) Which was God appearing to Moses, (Exodus 3:2).

And for the precious things of the earth, and fulness thereof,.... Corn of all sorts produced out of the earth, and grass that grows out of it, and cattle that feed upon it; for all which some part of the land of Joseph, particularly Bashan, was famous; as for the oaks that grew on it, so for the pasturage of it, and the cattle it bred, Deuteronomy 32:14; see Psalm 22:12,
and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush; the angel of the Lord, the Word and Son of God, who appeared to Moses in the bush, and made himself known as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and expressed his good will to Israel, by sending Moses to deliver them out of their bondage: and the favour and good will of the same divine Person is here wished for, and which has appeared in his assumption of human nature, obedience, sufferings, and death, Luke 2:14. The bush was an emblem of Israel, and the state they were then in, and of the church of Christ; of which See Gill on Exodus 3:2; and where Christ may be said to dwell, as he did among men, when he was made flesh, and does dwell in the midst of his churches, and in the hearts of his people by faith:
let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph; that is, in all things, as Onkelos; or all these blessings, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; all before mentioned, let them come openly and visibly, and in great plenty, upon the posterity of Joseph, who was a type of Christ, the head of the righteous, on whom all the blessings of grace are, and from whom they descend to all his spiritual offspring, Proverbs 10:6,
and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren; when he was sold by them into Egypt; the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem are,"and was shining in the glory of his brethren;''that is, when he was a ruler in Egypt, and had honour from his brethren there, and was beautiful and glorious among them, as a Nazarite, as the word here used signifies, see Lamentations 4:7; and may he applied to Christ, who was chosen from among the people, and separated from sinners, and called a Nazarene, Psalm 89:19.

And for - And in general for all the choice fruits which the land produceth in all the parts of it, whither hills or valleys. Fulness thereof - That is, the plants and cattle and all creatures that grow, increase, and flourish in it. The good will - For all other effects of the good will and kindness of God who not long since did for a time dwell or appear in the bush to me in order to the relief of his people, Exodus 3:2. Of Joseph - That is, of Joseph's posterity. Him that was separated from his brethren - His brethren separated him from them by making him a slave, and God distinguished him from them by making him a prince. The preceeding words might be rendered, My dweller in the bush. That was an appearance of the divine majesty to Moses only, in token of his particular favour. Many a time had God appeared to Moses; but now he is just dying, he seems to have the most pleasing remembrance, of the first time that he saw the visions of the Almighty. It was here God declared himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and so confirmed the promise made to the father, that promise which our Lord shews, reaches as far as the resurrection and eternal life.

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