How to Pray Four Kinds of Blessings (Deut 33.6-29)

May Reuben live, and not die out,
even though his numbers are few.

And this he said of Judah:
O LORD, give heed to Judah,
and bring him to his people;
strengthen his hands for him,
and be a help against his adversaries.

And of Levi he said:
Give to Levi your Thummim,
and your Urim to your loyal one,
whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you contended at the waters of
Meribah;
who said of his father and mother,
“I regard them not”;
he ignored his kin,
and did not acknowledge his children.

For they observed your word,
and kept your covenant.

They teach Jacob your ordinances,
and Israel your law;
they place incense before you,
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.

Bless, O LORD, his substance,
and accept the work of his hands;
crush the loins of his adversaries,
of those that hate him, so that they do not rise
again.

Of Benjamin he said:
The beloved of the LORD rests in safety—
the High God surrounds him all day long—
the beloved rests between his shoulders.

And of Joseph he said:
Blessed by the LORD be his land,
with the choice gifts of heaven above,
and of the deep that lies beneath;
with the choice fruits of the sun,
and the rich yield of the months;
with the finest produce of the ancient mountains,
and the abundance of the everlasting hills;
with the choice gifts of the earth and its fullness,
and the favor of the one who dwells on Sinai.

Let these come on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

A firstborn bull—majesty is his!

His horns are the horns of a wild ox;
with them he gores the peoples,
driving them to the ends of the earth;
such are the myriads of Ephraim,
such the thousands of Manasseh.

And of Zebulun he said:
Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out;
and Issachar, in your tents.

They call peoples to the mountain;
there they offer the right sacrifices;
for they suck the affluence of the seas
and the hidden treasures of the sand.

And of Gad he said:
Blessed be the enlargement of Gad!
Gad lives like a lion;
he tears at arm and scalp.

He chose the best for himself,
for there a commander’s allotment was
reserved;
he came at the head of the people,
he executed the justice of the LORD,
and his ordinances for Israel.

And of Dan he said:
Dan is a lion’s whelp
that leaps forth from Bashan.

And of Naphtali he said:
O Naphtali, sated with favor,
full of the blessing of the LORD,
possess the west and the south.

And of Asher he said:
Most blessed of sons be Asher;
may he be the favorite of his brothers,
and may he dip his foot in oil.

Your bars are iron and bronze;
and as your days, so is your strength.

There is none like God, O Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
majestic through the skies.

He subdues the ancient gods,
shatters the forces of old;
he drove out the enemy before you,
and said, “Destroy!”

So Israel lives in safety,
untroubled is Jacob’s abode
in a land of grain and wine,
where the heavens drop down dew.

Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,
a people saved by the LORD,
the shield of your help,
and the sword of your triumph!

Your enemies shall come fawning to you,
and you shall tread on their backs.

Deuteronomy 33.6-29

Background

The last prayer in the book of Deuteronomy is a blessing—actually a series of blessings—given by Moses upon the tribes of Israel. The blessings are specific to these ancient tribes, so it might seem there is not much for us to learn about our own prayer-blessings. But a little understanding about the geographic and historical context of these tribes presents some key insights about blessing-prayers.

 The passage begins with a brief summary of what the Israelites have been through since they left Egypt (33.2–5).¹ After the summary, the blessings follow one after the other for each tribe.² As noted above, many of the blessings merely ask that the tribe survive. The blessing of Reuben (32.6) takes its form because the tribe had lost many of its members and was in danger of extinction. Likewise, the second blessing, on Judah (32.7) asks for continued strength against enemies. So, a blessing can request a status quo—even the bare minimum—depending on the circumstances.

The third blessing might baffle us a bit because it asks that God give to the tribe of Levi his “Thummim” and “Urim” (32.8–11). The men of the tribe of Levi were the priests of Israel. The “Thummim” and “Urim” were colored stones, like dice, used by the priests to determine God’s directions to the people of Israel.³ This blessing is asking God to assist Levi as the tribe carries out its duties, just as we could pray blessings upon others as they perform their duties.

The next two blessings (32.12, 32.13–17) do not ask for anything, but only affirm blessings already enjoyed. Benjamin is God’s “beloved” (much like Benjamin was the favorite son of Jacob) and that God “rests between his shoulders.” The latter is a reference to Jerusalem, the city of God because it was in the middle of the land of the tribe of Benjamin. The next blessing (to Joseph) is poetic and focuses a good bit of its imagery on creation: land, fruit and produce, and the water from below. This is because the land of Joseph’s tribe was in some of the most fertile lands in Israel. The end of the prayer mentions Manasseh and Ephraim, two sons of Joseph, which later became two tribes in place of the tribe of Joseph, which brings the number of tribes back to twelve after the loss of the tribe of Simeon.

The next two tribes receive brief blessings in two parts. Both are affirmations of existing blessings because the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar were beside the sea, from which they had many blessings from fishing and trade (32.18–19).

Gad’s blessing (32.20–21) is another prayer that emphasizes existing blessings. The tribe of Gad lived in some of the best lands. Additionally, the tribe showed great strength in the battle for the land against the Canaanites.

The tribe of Dan is blessed with a hope or prophecy of the future, or at least portends the potential. Poetic language likens Dan to a lion cub that will leap forth with energy and strength (32.22). 

Naphtali’s blessing is also related to its current blessings, and to the land that tribe inhabited (32.23). Part of this land was along the north shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, a fertile area for crops and fishing. 

Finally, a more traditional blessing (using the words “may he…”) is pronounced upon the tribe of Asher (32.24-25). The prayer asks that Asher be blessed, that the tribe be a favorite among all the tribes, and that “he dip his foot in oil.” This refers to olive oil, used for many things in the ancient world, including the act of anointing someone for a special status or a task. Bathing your feet in it would be a sign of extravagance.⁴

Meaning

We might think that a blessing is always a prayer in which we ask God to give something to another person. The passage here shows that a prayer-blessing can be more than that. First, a blessing can acknowledge a gift of God that has already been given. In this way, it serves as an affirmation of what God has done and implies a thanksgiving. Second, a prayer-blessing does not have to ask for some great gift or enlargement. It can just ask that God give a person strength or just to help them survive. Third, a blessing can ask God to assist someone in their duty, role, or path. The overlap with thanksgiving and petition is strong, but note that the prayer is couched as a blessing, uses the language of blessing, and is focused on what God will do.

Application

So, these blessings, rooted as they are in their circumstances, can be used as models to enrich our prayer-blessings. Try using each of the types. Choose four people to offer blessings upon today. For one, pray for strength and survival, rather than gifts or boons (see 32.6, 7). For another, pray a blessing that emphasizes their current conditions (see 32.12, 13–17, 18–19, 20-21, 22-23) as a confirmation of God’s goodness. For the third, pray a blessing that asks God to assist someone in their work, like the blessing upon Levi (32.8–11). Finally, for the fourth, offer a traditional blessing that asks for gifts to be given in the future (32.24-25).

1. It is strange here that Moses is mentioned in the third person, as if he is not the one offering the prayer. Perhaps a later writer added his later. Maybe this is an example for us that, if a blessing is to be given in public before a large number of people (as this one is) it is helpful to “set the stage” with a brief introduction. ↩
2. Note that there are not twelve tribes, but eleven. This is because the tribe of Simeon was absorbed by the tribe of Judah in the early period after Israel took occupation of Canaan. ↩
3. See also 1 Sam 10.22, 14.41, 22.10–16, 28.6; 2 Sam 5.19–23, 21.1, and 1 Kings 1.17–48. I will discuss the practice of “casting lots” in these passages in the next volume, Praying Through the Bible, Volume 2 (Judges–2 Samuel) ↩
4. The name “Jeshurun” used in the blessing another name for Israel. ↩