Deuteronomy 33:11

Deu 33:11 Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.

Ver. 11 And of them that hate him.] Ministers shall be sure of many enemies: they hate him that reproveth in the gate. Veritas odium parit; praedieare nihil aliud est quam derivare in se furorem mundi, said Luther: to preach is to get the world’s ill-will. "Ye are the light," saith our Saviour, which is offensive to sore eyes; "ye are the salt of the earth," which is bitter to wounds, and causeth pain to ulcerated parts.

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 33:11. Bless, Lord, his substance — Because he hath no inheritance of his own, and therefore wholly depends upon thy blessing. The work of his hands — All his holy administrations, which he fitly calls the work of his hands, because a great part of the service of the Levites and priests was done by the labour of their hand and body, whereas the service of evangelical ministers is more spiritual and heavenly. Smite — He prays thus earnestly for them, because he foresaw they who were to teach and reprove, and chastise others, would have many enemies, and because they were, under God, the great preservers and upholders of religion, and their enemies were the enemies of religion itself.

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

He declareth that the ministers of God have many enemies, and therefore have need to be prayed for.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 11. Bless, Lord, his substance] The blessing of God to the tribe of Levi was peculiarly necessary, because they had no inheritance among the children of Israel, and lived more immediately than others upon the providence of GOD. Yet, as they lived by the offerings of the people and the tithes, the increase of their substance necessarily implied the increase of the people at large: the more fruitful the land was, the more abundant would the tithes of the Levites be; and thus in the increased fertility of the land the substance of Levi would be blessed.

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

(11) Bless, Lord, his substance.—This petition is consistent with the enactment that Levi should have no land. But a blessing on his substance means a blessing to the whole land of Israel. Levi’s substance Was Israel’s tithe.

Accept the work of his hands.—The chief “work of his hands” was mediatorial for all Israel. The “acceptance” of this work was essential to the welfare of the whole race.

Smite through the loins of them that rise against him.—Rashi refers to the great war begun by the Asmonæans. Mattathias, the father of the Maccabees, was “a priest of the sons of Joiarib from Jerusalem” (1Ma_2:1). In the time of Athaliah and of Antiochus Epiphanes alike, the restorers of the worship of Jehovah, and the deliverers of the nation from a foreign yoke, were priests.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. when evening cometh on] Gen_24:63. The new day began then.

bathe himself, etc.] Also prescribed in Lev_15:16.

11. substance] Better strength or efficiency and so service, parallel to work of his hands. Yet it might mean host, ranks or order. Calvin retaining substance says ‘it appears to have been intended tacitly to provide against the poverty which awaited the Levites,’ and quotes Psa_132:15.

that rise up against him … that hate him] To what this refers is unknown. Some refer it to Num_16:1 ff. or 1Ki_12:31; and the hostility of the prophets to the priests is well-known. As we have seen, others assign the lines to the ‘Blessing’ on Judah.

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.

And of Benjamin he said,.... The tribe of Benjamin, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; which is taken notice of next to Levi, because, as the priesthood was in the tribe of Levi, the temple in which the priests officiated was in the tribe of Benjamin, or near it; and is observed next but one to Judah, and before his elder brother Joseph, because his tribe lay between Judah and Joseph, Jos 18:11; and Levi having no inheritance in the land:

the beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; this is commonly understood of the tribe of Benjamin, beloved by the Lord, as the head of the tribe was by his father Jacob; the first king of Israel being of that tribe, and the temple built in it, or on the edge of it, and its land the most fat and fertile of the land of Canaan, as Josephus (m) observes; and may be said to "dwell by him", the Lord, because the tabernacle of the Lord was so near that tribe, and so to dwell "in safety" under his protection, and which was the means of preserving it from apostasy, when ten tribes revolted: though the Messiah may be intended, the Son of God, and man of God's right hand, the antitype of Benjamin, the beloved of the Lord, and dear son of his love; his Benjamin, who is now in human nature exalted at his right hand: and this may denote his inhabitation in the flesh, and dwelling by or near Benjamin, being born at Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah, bordering on Benjamin, and frequently had his abode in Jerusalem, which was in the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:28; and where he was in safety amidst his enemies, they not having power to lay hold on him until his hour was come:

and the Lord shall cover him all the day long; for ever, as Jarchi notes, because that, after Jerusalem was chosen, the divine Majesty dwelt in no other place: this may be understood either of the Messiah covering Benjamin and protecting him, as he is the covert of all his Benjamites and beloved ones, from all their enemies, from all evils and dangers, from all storms and tempests, and everything troublesome and distressing, see Isa 32:2; or the Lord's covering his beloved One the Messiah; as he did in his infancy, from the designs of Herod upon his life, and from the attempts of others before his time was come; he hid him in the shadow of his hand, Isa 49:2,

and he shall dwell between his shoulders; either the Lord shall dwell between the shoulders of Benjamin; the temple in which the Lord dwelt was built on Mount Moriah, in the tribe of Benjamin, in the highest part of his land, as Jarchi notes; the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase the words,"in his border the Shechinah (or the glory of the Shechinah of the Lord) shall dwell,''for if the temple was not within the tribe of Benjamin, yet it was certainly on the borders of it: or Benjamin shall dwell between the shoulders of the Lord, being bore up and supported by him: Christ dwells in the hearts of his people, and over them as an head, and they dwell upon his shoulders, on which the care and government of them lies, Isa 9:6; in the Talmud (n) this passage is applied to the days of the Messiah.

(m) Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 22. (n) T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 118. 2.

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

Smite through the loins - Rather, strike the loins, i. e., the seat of their strength.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Rise. The martial prowess of the Machabees, who were of this tribe, was conspicuous. (Menochius) --- As the Levites had no portion with the rest, but were to live by tithes, &c., Moses begs that God would bless their labours, (Calmet) and suffer none to defraud them of their right. (Haydock)

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).

His substance, i.e. his outward estate, as Deu 8:18, because he hath no inheritance of his own, and therefore wholly depends upon thy blessing. Or, his host or army, as the word is used Eze 37:10. The priests that attended upon God’s service in the tabernacle or temple are oft compared to an host or army in regard of their exquisite order and courses and constant watches there. See Num 4:3.

The work of his hands, i.e. all his holy administrations, which he fitly calls the works of his hands; either more largely, the hand, one great instrument of action being put for all the rest; or because a great part of the service of the Levites and priests was done by the labour of their hand and body, whereas the service of evangelical ministers is more spiritual and heavenly.

Smite through the loins of them that rise against him: he prays thus earnestly for them, partly because he foresaw they who were to teach, and admonish, and reprove, and chastise others would have many enemies, Jer 15:10; Amo 5:10; and partly because they were, under God, the great preservers and upholders of religion, and their enemies were the enemies of religion itself; as is evident from the history of the Old Testament.

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

11. Smite through the loins — The loins used to denote the seat of strength. Comp. Psa_69:23; Job_40:16; Pro_31:17.

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

His substance - Because he hath no inheritance of his own and therefore wholly depends upon thy blessing. The work of his hands - All his holy administrations, which he fitly calls the work of his hands, because a great part of the service of the Levites and priests was done by the labour of their hand and body, whereas the service of evangelical ministers is more spiritual and heavenly. Smite - He pray's thus earnestly for them, because he foresaw they who were to teach and reprove, and chastise others would have many enemies, and because they were under God, the great preservers and upholders of religion, and their enemies were the enemies of religion itself.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

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

accept

be pleased with

the work of his hands

Here the word "hands" refers to the whole person. AT: "all the work that he does" (See: Synecdoche)

Shatter the loins of

The loins were considered the center of strength, and are here represent strength. AT: "Take away the strength of" or "Utterly destroy" (See: Metonymy)

rise up ... rise up

This phrase is used twice as a metaphor. AT: "rise up to fight ... cause any more trouble" (See: Metaphor)

rise up against

This is an idiom. AT: "fight against" (See: Idiom)

translationWords

bless

Yahweh

possess

works

hand

loins

raise

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

מחץ מתנים קמיו means, smite those who rise up against him with a smiting of the loins, similar to the idea that is expressed, (Psalms 69:24) “Make their loins continually to totter”. It was about those who contested the High priesthood that he spake thus. — Another explanation: He foresaw that Hasmon and his sons would in future war with the Greeks, and he therefore prayed for them, because they were few in number, viz., the twelve sons of Hasmon and Eleazar against several myriads of the enemy. On this account he prayed ברך ה׳ חילו ופעל ידיו תרצה BLESS, O LORD, HIS ARMY AND ACCEPT FAVOURABLY THE WORK OF HIS HANDS (cf. Genesis Rabbah 99:2; Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 14).

‎ ומשנאיו מן יקומון (The first word is, like קמיו, the object of the verb מחץ) — i.e. smite those who rise up against him and those who hate him (משנאיו), that they shall have no recovery.

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.

BLESS, ETERNAL, ‘CHEILO’ — that they be a great chayil (army). And the meaning thereof is that they should increase and not decrease when they enter the Holiness, similar in meaning to the verse, Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites. It is similarly stated in the admonitions concerning [the Levites], and that they may not die., Verse 19. And Onkelos rendered cheilo — “his possessions,” from the expression and all their flocks, and all ‘cheilam’ (their possessions)., 31:9. He means what our Rabbis have said concerning the incense — that it bestows a blessing [upon the priest that performs that service]. The phrase [before us] is connected with the expression in [the preceding verse], they shall put incense before Thee, because, as a result of it, his possessions will be blessed, as we have been taught: “Fresh priests come and draw lots for the incense.” And in the Sifre it is stated: 352. “Bless, Eternal, ‘cheilo’ — his possessions. From here the Rabbis have deduced: Most priests are wealthy. In the name of Abba the Preacher the Rabbis have said: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken — this refers to the seed of Aaron.”

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.