Deuteronomy 33:8

Deuteronomy 33:8 . Of Levi he said — Said to God in prayer. Let thy Thummim, &c. — That is, the Thummim and Urim which are thine, O Lord, by special institution and consecration, (understanding thereby the ephod, in which they were put, the high-priesthood to which they were appropriated, and withal the gifts and graces signified by them, and necessary for the discharge of that high office,) be with thy holy one — That is, with that priest whom thou hast consecrated to thyself, and who is holy in a more peculiar manner than the people are. He means let the family of Aaron perpetually retain the priesthood, and be endued with that uprightness in the discharge of their duty and that light and knowledge in divine things which are signified by the Thummim and Urim. Notwithstanding this blessing, the Urim and Thummim were lost in the captivity, and never restored under the second temple. But they have their full accomplishment in Jesus Christ, God’s Holy One, and our great High-Priest, of whom Aaron was but a type. With him, who had lain in the Father’s bosom from eternity, the Urim and Thummim shall ever remain, for he is the wonderful and everlasting Counsellor. Whom thou didst prove at Massah — That is, try and rebuke, but yet didst not take away the priesthood from him. With whom thou didst strive — Whom thou didst reprove and chastise. Le Clerc, however, refers these words to the people.

(8) And of Levi. —Next to Joseph, this tribe has the largest share in Moses’ last words, as we might naturally expect, it being his own tribe. The character of the priest is the principal subject. The blessing may be thus paraphrased: “Let thy Thummim and thy Urim (the chief high-priestly ornaments) be ever with some saintly man of thine, like him whom thou (Israel) didst tempt in Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah (Moses’ own departed brother Aaron is alluded to, for the people murmured against them both in both places), like him (Eleazar or Phinehas) who said to his father and to his mother, ‘I have not seen him,’ &c. These are the priests that shall teach Jacob thy judgments and Israel thy law.” The conduct of the tribe of Levi at Sinai is alluded to, when they stood by Moses and slew the idolaters. Who headed them on that occasion we are not told. Eleazar or Phinehas may be intended. The conduct of Phinehas (in Numbers 25) is also a case in point. As Rashi observes, “his father and his mother, his brethren and children” cannot be taken literally, because the tribe of Levi on the whole was faithful. The fathers, mothers, brethren, and children chiefly belonged to the other tribes. Let thy Thummim and thy Urim.—See Exodus 28:30. “Thy Thummim and thy Urim” may refer to Israel, or to Levi, or to Jehovah Himself. In the last case, He must be thought to have tried Levi at Massah, and striven with Moses and Aaron at the waters of Meribah.

Verses 8-11. - The blessing on Levi is also in the form of a prayer. In Jacob's blessing, Simeon is joined with Levi, but Moses passes him over altogether, probably because, as Jacob foretold, he was to be scattered among his brethren ( Genesis 49:7 ), and so lose his tribal individuality. Simeon, however, is included in the general blessing pronounced on Israel; and as this tribe received a number of towns within the territory of Judah ( Joshua 19:2-9 ), it was probably regarded as included in the blessing on that tribe. Thy Thummim and thy Urim ; thy Right and thy Light (cf. Exodus 28:30 ). The high priest wore the breast-plate on which these were placed when he went in before the Lord; and this is here represented as the prerogative of the whole tribe. Thy holy one; i . e . Levi, the tribe-father, representing the whole tribe to which the blessing applies; hence in the following verses the verb passes into the plural. For "holy one," it would be better to read "pious" or "godly one;" literally, the man thy pious one . Some would render "the man thy favored one," or "the man of thy friendship;" but this is wholly arbitrary, the word ( חָסִיד ) has no such meaning.

To explain this more particularly, reference is made to the trials at Massah and the waters of Meribah (strife), when the people rebelled and murmured against Moses and Aaron, whereby the piety of these men was put to the test, and in them, the heads of the tribe of Levi, the whole tribe was proved. (On Massah, see Exodus 17:1-7 ; and on the waters of strife, see Numbers 20:1-13 .) In these trials, Levi had proved himself faithful and godly, having risen up in defense of the honor of Jehovah, and in support of his covenant, though in the latter case both Moses and Aaron stumbled. Who said unto his father and to his mother , etc. This refers to what is narrated in Exodus 32:26-29 , when the Levites drew their swords against their brethren at the command of Moses, to execute judgment without respect of person, because of the sin of the people in the matter of the golden calf (cf. also Numbers 25:8 , and, for the principle here implicitly commended, see Matthew 10:37 ; Matthew 19:29 ; Luke 14:26 ). Because of their zealous devotion to the claims and service of the Lord, the dignity of the priesthood had been conferred on this tribe; and to them belonged the high office of being instructors of the people in Divine things, and of presenting the sacrifices of the people to the Lord.

Thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one; the Thummim and the Urim , which are thine , O Lord, by special institution and consecration; by which he understands the ephod, in which they were put, Exodus 28:30 , by a synecdoche, and the high priesthood, to which they were appropriated, by a metonymy; and withal the gifts and graces signified by the Urim and Thummim , and necessary for the discharge of that high office, shall be with thy holy one, i.e. with that Levite, that priest, which thou hast consecrated to thyself, and which is holy in a more peculiar manner than all the people were, i.e. the priesthood shall be confined to and continued in Aaron’s family. Whom thou didst prove : this seems added by way of anticipation; although thou didst try him, and rebuke him, and shut him out of Canaan for his miscarriage about fetching water out of the rock, yet thou didst not therefore take away the priesthood from him. At Massah ; not at that Massah mentioned Exo 17 , which is also called Meribah, where neither Moses nor Aaron are reproved, nor is Aaron so much as named, but at that other Meribah , Num 20 , where this is expressed, which as it is called by one of the names of that place, Exo 17 , to wit, Meribah , Num 20 , so it may be here called by its other name, Massah ; and well may the same names be given to those two places, because the occasion of them was in a great measure one and the same.

Though this place may be otherwise rendered, whom thou didst try in trying, or with trial , i.e. whom thou didst exactly and thoroughly try, such repetitions being very frequent and elegant in the Hebrew language. And it may be observed, that in the Hebrew text here are two several prepositions, though the English translation render them both by at , here beth , in or with , and in the next branch al , at , or near , or concerning the waters of Meribah ; which may seem to intimate that the former is not the name of the place, as the latter is: why else should they not have been expressed by the same preposition? With whom thou didst strive, or, contend , i.e. whom thou didst reprove and chastise, as that phrase signifies, Isaiah 49:25 Jeremiah 2:9 .

Thy holy one - i. e., Levi, regarded as the representative of the whole priestly and Levitical stock which sprang from him. The contrast between the tone of this passage and that of Genesis 49:5-7 is remarkable. Though the prediction of Jacob respecting the dispersion of this tribe held good, yet it was so overruled as to issue in honor and reward. The recovery of God's favor is to be traced to the faithfulness with which Moses and Aaron, who came of this tribe, served God in their high offices; and to the zeal and constancy which conspicuous persons of the tribe (e. g. Phinehas, Numbers 25:11 ff), and the whole tribe itself (compare Exodus 32:26 ), manifested on critical occasions in supporting the leaders of the people. The same reasons led to Levi's being selected for the special service of God in the sanctuary ( Deuteronomy 10:8 ff, and Numbers 8:5 ff); and for the office of instructing their brethren in the knowledge of the Law. The events at Massah and Meribah, the one occurring at the beginning, the other toward the end, of the forty years' wandering, serve to represent the whole series of trials by which God proved and exercised the faith and obedience of this chosen tribe.

8-10. of Levi he said—The burden of this blessing is the appointment of the Levites to the dignified and sacred office of the priesthood (Le 10:11; De 22:8; 17:8-11), a reward for their zeal in supporting the cause of God, and their unsparing severity in chastising even their nearest and dearest relatives who had participated in the idolatry of the molten calf (Ex 32:25-28; compare Mal 2:4-6).