Deuteronomy 33:24

24 And of Asher he said, [Let] Asher [be] blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot 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 ) .

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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 And of Dan he said, Dan [is] a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.

23 And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south.

24 And of Asher he said, [Let] Asher [be] blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

25 Thy shoes [shall be] iron and brass; and as thy days, [so shall] thy strength [be].

26 [There is] none like to the God of Jeshurun, [who] rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellence on the sky.