Deuteronomy 33:24

24 Of Asher he said: "May Asher be most blessed of sons, may he be the favorite among his brothers and bathe his feet in oil.

Deuteronomy 33:24 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 33:24

And of Asher he said
The tribe of Asher, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem:

[let] Asher [be] blessed with children;
with large numbers, as it appears this tribe was, having in it 53,400 men of war, ( Numbers 26:47 ) . It was esteemed a great blessing to have many children, ( Psalms 128:3 Psalms 128:4 ) ; or "above the children"; above or more than the rest of the children of Jacob; see ( Luke 2:36 Luke 2:38 ) ; Jarchi observes, that he had seen, in a book called Siphri, that there was none in all the tribes blessed with children as Asher, but not known how:

let him be acceptable to his brethren;
either for his excellent bread, and royal dainties, ( Genesis 49:20 ) ; or for the goodness of his olives and oil, and for the brass and iron found in this tribe, as follows; or, as some say, because of his children, his daughters being very beautiful:

and let him dip his foot in oil;
have such plenty of it, that if he would he might dip or wash his feet in it; and it was usual not only to anoint the head, but the feet F6 also, with oil, ( Luke 7:46 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F6 "Vidimus etiam vestigia pedum tingi", Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 3. Vid. Dalecamp. Not. in ib.

Deuteronomy 33:24 In-Context

22 Of Dan he said: "Dan is a lion cub leaping forth from Bashan."
23 Of Naftali he said: "You, Naftali, satisfied with favor and full of blessing from ADONAI, take possession of the sea and the south."
24 Of Asher he said: "May Asher be most blessed of sons, may he be the favorite among his brothers and bathe his feet in oil.
25 May your bolts be of iron and bronze and your strength last as long as you live.
26 "Yeshurun, there is no one like God, riding through the heavens to help you, riding on the clouds in his majesty.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.