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Deuteronomy 33:8-10
New English Translation
Deuteronomy 33:8-10
New English Translation
Blessing on Levi
8 Of Levi he said:
“Your Thummim and Urim[a] belong to your godly one,[b]
whose authority you challenged at Massah,[c]
and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah.[d]
9 He said to his father and mother, ‘I have not seen him,’[e]
and he did not acknowledge his own brothers
or know his own children,
for they kept your word,
and guarded your covenant.
10 They will teach Jacob your ordinances
and Israel your law;
they will offer incense as a pleasant odor,
and a whole offering on your altar.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 33:8 sn Thummim and Urim. These terms, whose meaning is uncertain, refer to sacred stones carried in a pouch on the breastplate of the high priest and examined on occasion as a means of ascertaining God’s will or direction. See Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8; Num 27:21; 1 Sam 28:6. See also C. Van Dam, NIDOTTE 1:329-31.
- Deuteronomy 33:8 tn Heb “godly man.” The reference is probably to Moses as representative of the whole tribe of Levi.
- Deuteronomy 33:8 sn Massah means “testing” in Hebrew; the name is a wordplay on what took place there. Cf. Exod 17:7; Deut 6:16; 9:22; Ps 95:8-9.
- Deuteronomy 33:8 sn Meribah means “contention, argument” in Hebrew; this is another wordplay on the incident that took place there. Cf. Num 20:13, 24; Ps 106:32.
- Deuteronomy 33:9 sn This statement no doubt alludes to the Levites’ destruction of their own fellow tribesmen following the golden calf incident (Exod 32:25-29).
New English Translation (NET)
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