Deuteronomy 33:17

His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
glory	הָדָ֣ר ha.Dar	H1926	magnificence · noun, common masculine singular absolute
firstling	בְּכ֨וֹר be.Khor	H1060	firstborn · noun, common masculine singular construct
bullock	שׁוֹר֜וֹ sho.Ro	H7794	a bullock (as a traveller) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
horns	וְקַרְנֵ֤י ve.kar.Nei	H7161	a horn (as projecting) · conjunction + noun, common feminine dual construct
horns	קַרְנָ֔יו kar.Nav	H7161	a horn (as projecting) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
unicorns	רְאֵם֙ re.'Em	H7214	a wild bull (from its conspicuousness) · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Numbers 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
1 Kings 22:11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until th…
Psalms 44:5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
Genesis 48:19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his you…
Numbers 24:8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break…
1 Chronicles 5:1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was…
Psalms 92:10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
Numbers 26:34 These are the families of Manasseh, and those that were numbered of them, fifty and two thousand and seven hundred.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 33:12-17

Here is, I. The blessing of Benjamin, Deu 33:12. Benjamin is put next to Levi, because the temple, where the priests' work lay, was just upon the edge of the lot of this tribe; and it is put before Joseph because of the dignity of Jerusalem (part of which was in this tribe) above Samaria, which was in the tribe of Ephraim, and because Benjamin adhered to the house of David, and to the temple of the Lord, when the rest of the tribes deserted both with Jeroboam. 1. Benjamin is here called the beloved of the Lord, and the father of this tribe was Jacob's beloved son, the son of his right hand. Note, Those are blessed indeed that are beloved of the Lord. Saul the first king, and Paul the great a…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 33:13

of Joseph he said--The territory of this tribe, diversified by hill and dale, wood and water, would be rich in all the productions--olives, grapes, figs, &c., which are reared in a mountainous region, as well as in the grain and herbs that grow in the level fields. "The firstling of the bullock and the horns of the unicorn" (rhinoceros), indicate glory and strength, and it is supposed that under these emblems were shadowed forth the triumphs of Joshua and the new kingdom of Jeroboam, both of whom were of Ephraim (compare Gen 48:20).

John Gill on Deuteronomy 33:17

His glory is like the firstling of his bullock,.... Such as were in Bashan, a country possessed by the posterity of Joseph, see Psalm 22:12; and so might be called "his" bullock, or a young bull, was reckoned both comely and majestic; so Menis or Mnevis, king of Egypt, preferred a bull above all animals to be worshipped, because the most beautiful of all, as Aelianus (w) relates; and Astarte, according to Sanchoniatho (x), put a bull's head upon her own, as a sign of royalty or kingly power. The Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem refer this to the birthright which belonged to Reuben, and was taken from him, and given to Joseph, see 1 Chronicles 5:2. Some will have Joshua intended by the first…

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The Church Fathers

Ten thousand, he said, Ephraim, and thousands of Manasseh (Deut. XXXIII, 17), that is, he should rule over both the Jews and the Gentiles, and acquire for himself the fullness of the Church from both peoples.
— Ambrose of Milan, On the Blessings of the Patriarchs, Chapter XI

When Moses blesses Joseph, he says, among other things: Firstborn of the bull his beauty. This is not to be understood as if he had said: firstborn of the bull, but, being the firstborn, his beauty is that of the bull. It is understood as a figure of the Lord, because of the horns of the cross. <div
— Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON DEUTERONOMY, Q. 57 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Bless — (1.) God blesses his people when he bestows on them some gift temporal or spiritual (Gen. 1:22; 24:35; Job 42:12; Ps. 45:2; 104:24, 35). (2.) We bless God when we thank him for his mercies (Ps.…
Horn — Trumpets were at first horns perforated at the tip, used for various purposes (Josh. 6:4, 5). Flasks or vessels were made of horn (1 Sam. 16:1, 13; 1 Kings 1:39). But the word is used also…
Joseph — Remover or increaser. (1.) The elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of his birth, said, “God hath taken away [Heb. ‘asaph] my reproach.” “The Lord shall add…
Simeon, The tribe of — Was “divided and scattered” according to the prediction in Gen. 49:5-7. They gradually dwindled in number, and sank into a position of insignificance among the other tribes. They decreased in the…
Unicorn — Described as an animal of great ferocity and strength (Num. 23:22, R.V., “wild ox,” marg., “ox-antelope;” 24:8; Isa. 34:7, R.V., “wild oxen”), and untamable (Job 39:9). It was in reality a two-horned…
Ephraim · .Blessed by Moses — .Blessed by Moses
Ephraim, Tribe Of · Predictions respecting — Predictions respecting
Horns · Illustrative: Of power of Ephraim & c — Illustrative: Of power of Ephraim & c
Manasseh · .Blessing or Moses on — .Blessing or Moses on
Manasseh, The Tribe Of · Predictions respecting — Predictions respecting
Ox, The · Bull or bullock illustrative: (Firstling of,) of the glory of Joseph — Bull or bullock illustrative: (Firstling of,) of the glory of Joseph

Deuteronomy 33:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 33:12-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 33:13

John Gill on Deuteronomy 33:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 33:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 33:12-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 33:13

John Gill on Deuteronomy 33:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 33:17

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 33:17

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 33:17

Rashi on Deuteronomy 33:17