Deuteronomy 33:24

24 Of Asher he said, Blessed be Asher with children; Let him be acceptable to his brothers, 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 Of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp, That leaps forth from Bashan.

23 Of Naphtali he said, Naphtali, satisfied with favor, Full with the blessing of Yahweh, Possess you the west and the south.

24 Of Asher he said, Blessed be Asher with children; Let him be acceptable to his brothers, Let him dip his foot in oil.

25 Your bars shall be iron and brass; As your days, so shall your strength be.

26 There is none like God, Jeshurun, Who rides on the heavens for your help, In his excellency on the skies.