Deuteronomy 33:16

16 and of the fruits of the land, and of the fullness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the foretop, that is, the crown of the head, of the Nazarite, or (the) holy (one), among his brethren. (with the fruits, and other crops, of the land, in all its fullness. May these blessings of him who appeared in the bush come upon Joseph's head, yea, upon the tribe of him who was separated from his brothers/who was the leader of his brothers.)

Deuteronomy 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 ) .

Deuteronomy 33:16 In-Context

14 of the apples of the fruits of the sun, and moon; (with precious fruits, ripened by the sun, over the months;)
15 [and] of the top of eld mountains, and of the apples of everlasting little hills; (with precious fruits, from the tops of the old mountains, and from the everlasting little hills;)
16 and of the fruits of the land, and of the fullness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the foretop, that is, the crown of the head, of the Nazarite, or (the) holy (one), among his brethren. (with the fruits, and other crops, of the land, in all its fullness. May these blessings of him who appeared in the bush come upon Joseph's head, yea, upon the tribe of him who was separated from his brothers/who was the leader of his brothers.)
17 As the first engendered of a bull is the fairness of him; the horns of an unicorn be the horns of him; in those he shall winnow folks, till to the terms of [the] earth. These be the multitudes of Ephraim, and these be the thousands of Manasseh. (His fairness is like the first-born of a bull; his horns be like the horns of a wild ox; and with them he shall winnow the nations, unto the ends of the earth. Such shall be the multitudes of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh.)
18 And he said to Zebulun, Zebulun, be thou glad in thy going out, and Issachar, in thy tabernacles. (And he said of the tribes of Zebulun, and of Issachar, Zebulun, be thou prosperous abroad, and Issachar, be thou prosperous in thy tents, or at home.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.