Devarim 33:16

16 And for the precious things of ha’aretz and fulness thereof, and for the good will of Him whose [shechinah] dwelling is in the [burning] bush; let the blessing come upon the head of Yosef, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

Devarim 33:16 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 33:16

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 ( Psalms 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 ) ( Ephesians 1:3 ) ;

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, ( Psalms 89:19 ) ( Hebrews 7:26 ) ( Matthew 1:23 ) .

Devarim 33:16 In-Context

14 With the choice fruits brought forth by the shemesh, and choice crops put forth by the yarei’ach,
15 And with the choicest of the harrei kedem (eternal mountains), and for the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16 And for the precious things of ha’aretz and fulness thereof, and for the good will of Him whose [shechinah] dwelling is in the [burning] bush; let the blessing come upon the head of Yosef, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
17 His glory is like the bechor of his shor, and his horns are like the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall push the people together to the ends of ha’aretz; and they are the ten thousands of Ephrayim, and they are the thousands of Menasheh.
18 And of Zevulun he said, Rejoice, Zevulun, in thy going out; and, Yissakhar, in thy oholim.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.