Deuteronomy 33:10

Deu 33:10 They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.

Ver. 10. They shall teach Jacob.] Apt and able to teach must all ministers be, as Paul. {Act 20:18-35} Praedicationis officium suscipit, quisquis ad sacerdotium accedit, saith Gregory: He is no minister that is no teacher. Aidanus, the first bishop of Durham, A.D. 636, neglected no duty of a good pastor, travelling up and down the country, even on foot, to preach the gospel, giving whatsoever he could get unto the poor, and by the example of his own virtues instructing, as well as by word and doctrine. {a} Amongst the Greeks, tragedians and comedians were said, εις διδαχην ων προσηκεν εργαζομενοι, to labour in teaching the people. What should ministers then do?

They shall put incense before thee,] i.e., Pray for the people, as well as preach to them. So Act 6:4. Augustine’s wish was, that Christ, when he came, might find him aut precantem aut praedicantem, praying or preaching. Bene orasse est bene studuisse, saith Luther.

{a} Godwin’s Catalog.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deu 33:10. They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law — And that both as preachers in their religious assemblies, reading and expounding the law, (Neh 7:7-8,) and as judges determining doubtful and difficult cases that should be brought before them, 2Ch 17:8-9. The priests’ lips were to keep this knowledge for the use of the people, who were to ask the law at their mouths, Mal 2:7. Even Haggai, a prophet, consulted the priests in a case of conscience, Hag 2:12. They shall put incense before thee — They shall be the sole ministers at the altar.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33:10 They teach your regulations . . . instructions: In addition to carrying out priestly duties such as sacrifices and otherwise assisting at the Tabernacle and the Temple, the Levites had the task of teaching the Torah (31:9-13). • present incense: This ministry was limited to Levitical priests (Num 16:39-40). Later, when King Uzziah entered the Temple to offer incense, he was roundly condemned for his arrogant breach of the priests’ privilege and was afflicted by a skin disease for the rest of his life (2 Chr 26:16-21).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 10. They shall teach Jacob, c.] This was the office of the Levites, to teach, by their significant service and typical ceremonies, the way of righteousness and truth to the children of Israel. And of their faithfulness in this respect God bears testimony by the prophet, "My covenant was with him of life and peace," Mal 2:5 and, "The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity;" Mal 2:6. These words are a sufficient comment on the words of the text.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. among you] Lit. in thee.

which chanceth him by night] See Lev_15:16; and above on Deu_20:7.

10. judgements … law] Heb. Mishpaṭim … Torah cp. Deu_17:9 ff. The earlier priest was a teacher and judge (Hos_4:6, Mic_3:11); and of his functions these also come first here, and are followed by his offices in the ritual of expiation.

incense] Rather smoke of sacrifice; for in the earlier Heb. literature, Isa_1:13, 1Sa_2:16, Amo_4:5, Hos_4:13; Hos_11:2, the noun ḳeṭôreth (here ḳeṭôrah) and the vb ḳiṭṭer refer always to such smoke and not to incense.

Of the use of incense in Israel’s worship there is no evidence before the 7th cent. b.c.; Jer_6:20 appears to regard frankincense as an innovation. At Ta‘anach Sellin unearthed an incense altar which he dates about 700 b.c. (Tell Ta‘annek, 75 ff., 109 f.) and at Gezer Macalister found another in rubbish of 1000–600 b.c. (PEFQ, 1908, 211). See further Jerusalem i. 333, ii. 63 n. 2, 307 f., etc. The smoke from the altar conveyed to the Deity in an ethereal form the portion of the sacrificial feast reserved for Him. This seems to have been the primitive idea of the process, and a trace of it survives here in the anthropomorphic phrase in thy nostrils (R.V. marg.), cp. Gen_8:21, 1Sa_26:19, etc. But later the burnt-offering came more and more to have a piacular force; and its smoke symbolised to Israel the confession of their sin and their surrender of the lives He was pleased to accept in place of their guilty and forfeit selves. No sacrament could be more adequate than this, which proved at once the death deserved by the guilty, the blackness and bitterness of their sin, and its disappearance in the infinite purity of the skies, the unfathomable mercy of Heaven. It is this piacular meaning which is behind the LXX rendering ἐν ὀργῇ σον, ‘in thy wrath,’ for in thy nostrils.

whole burnt offering] See Deu_13:16 (17).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Bless, Lord, his substance,.... Which lay in tithes, firstfruits, &c. for the priests and Levites had no share in the division of the land; unless this can be understood of the cities and suburbs which were given them, or of houses and fields devoted, which fell unto them, or rather of their cattle, for the use of which they had suburbs appointed them; for otherwise in husbandry and merchandise they were not employed: some render it "an host" or army (l), their service being a militia, or warfare, Num 4:3; Jarchi refers this to the Hasmonaeans or Maccabees, which were of this tribe:

and accept the work of his hands; in offering incense and sacrifices, and all other administrations of the office of priests and Levites; thus the righteousness and sacrifice of Christ are of a sweet smelling savour, and very acceptable to God; and all the spiritual sacrifices of the saints who are priests unto God, as of prayer and praise, are acceptable to him through Jesus Christ:

smite through the loins of them that rise against him; such as were the companies of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and in all ages faithful ministers of the word meet with many enemies, whom they would not be, able to withstand were not the Lord to appear for them, and protect them from them, and smite them thoroughly:

and of them that hate them, that they rise not again; destroying them with an utter destruction, so that they are not able to make any other efforts upon them; for such who are enemies to the priests of the Lord are enemies to him, and to true religion, enemies to God and Christ, to the law and to the Gospel, to the word of God and to the ordinances of it, and therefore to be severely handled and thoroughly punished: Christ's enemies shall all be subdued under him; see Psa 110:1.

(l) "copiis ejus", Junius & Tremellius; "vel exercitibus ejus", Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Wrath. He seems to allude to the action of Aaron, Numbers xvi. 46. (Calmet) --- Hebrew has, "incense before thee," (Haydock) as it is explained by the Chaldean, Septuagint, &c. --- Holocaust, of flour, &c., calil; that of beasts was styled aule. See chap. xiii. 16. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

They, i.e. the priests and Levites.

Before thee, i.e. upon thine altar of incense, which stood before the ark, the place of God’s special presence.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. They shall teach Jacob thy judgments — The priests are to be of the tribe of Levi, the divinely appointed teachers.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Moses continues to bless the tribes of Israel; the blessings are short poems. He continues to describe the tribe of Levi, which he began to do in Deuteronomy 33:8. (See: Parallelism)

your ... your ... you ... your

Moses is speaking to Yahweh, so all these words are singular.

translationWords

Jacob

decree

law

incense

burnt offering

altar

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

יורו משפטיך THEY MAY TEACH THY JUDGMENTS (the emphasis is to be placed on “they”) — they alone are worthy of doing this (cf. Onkelos).

וכליל — means burnt-offering (which was entirely (כליל) burnt on the altar) (Sifrei Devarim 351:3).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

They shall teach Your law to Yaakov. Since they are the most upright tribe, give give them the grace and wisdom to teach Your laws, as our Sages have said, “If the teacher appears to you as an angel of Hashem seek Torah from his mouth.

Sforno on the Tanakh — English translation: “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.