Deuteronomy 33:2 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Deuteronomy 33:2
And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֞הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
came
בָּא֙ba'
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Sinai
מִסִּינַ֥יmi.si.Nai
H5514
Sinai · preposition + proper noun, a place name
up
וְזָרַ֤חve.za.Rach
H2224
properly · conjunction + verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Seir
מִשֵּׂעִיר֙mi.se.'Ir
H8165
Seir · preposition + proper noun, a place name
forth
הוֹפִ֙יעַ֙ho.Fi.a'
H3313
to shine · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
mount
מֵהַ֣רme.Har
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Paran
פָּארָ֔ןpa.Ran
H6290
Paran · proper noun, a place name
came
וְאָתָ֖הve.'a.Tah
H857
to arrive · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
thousands
מֵרִבְבֹ֣תme.ri.Vot
H7233
abundance (in number) · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct
saints
קֹ֑דֶשׁKo.desh
H6944
a sacred place or thing · noun, common masculine singular absolute
hand
מִֽימִינ֕וֹmi.mi.No
H3225
the right hand or side (leg · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
fiery
אֶשְׁדָּתʼeshdâth
H799
a fire-law
law
אֵ֥שׁדָּ֖ת'e.she.dat
H1881
a royal edict or statute · noun, common both genders singular construct + noun, common feminine 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
Habakkuk 3:3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thou…
Judges 5:4-5 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds a…
Psalms 68:17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
Acts 7:53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
Psalms 68:7-8 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
Hebrews 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 33:1-5
The first verse is the title of the chapter: it is a blessing. In the foregoing chapter he had thundered out the terrors of the Lord against Israel for their sin; it was a chapter like Ezekiel's roll, full of lamentation, and mourning, and woe. Now to soften that, and that he might not seem to part in anger, he here subjoins a blessing, and leaves his peace, which should descend and rest upon all those among them that were the sons of peace. Thus Christ's last work on earth was to bless his disciples (Luk 24:50), like Moses here, in token of parting as friends. Moses blessed them, 1. As a prophet - a man of God. Note, It is a very desirable thing to have an interest in the prayers of those t…
The Lord came--Under a beautiful metaphor, borrowed from the dawn and progressive splendor of the sun, the Majesty of God is sublimely described as a divine light which appeared in Sinai and scattered its beams on all the adjoining region in directing Israel's march to Canaan. In these descriptions of a theophania, God is represented as coming from the south, and the allusion is in general to the thunderings and lightnings of Sinai; but other mountains in the same direction are mentioned with it. The location of Seir was on the east of the Ghor; mount Paran was either the chain on the west of the Ghor, or rather the mountains on the southern border of the desert towards the peninsula [ROBINS…
And he said,.... What follows, of which, in some things, he was an eye and ear witness, and in others was inspired by the Spirit of God, to deliver his mind and will concerning the future case and state of the several tribes, after he had observed the common benefit and blessing they all enjoyed, by having such a law given them in the manner it was:
the Lord came from Sinai; there he first appeared to Moses, and sent him to Egypt, and wrought miracles by him, and delivered his people Israel from thence, and when they were come to this mount he came down on it, as Aben Ezra, from Gaon, or he came "to" it; so to Zion, Isaiah 59:20, is "out of" or "from Zion", Romans 11:26; here he appeared an…
The Church Fathers
What does God's left hand mean, except the reprobate, who are to be placed at God's left hand? The elect are called God's right hand. For at God's right hand there is a fiery law, because by no means do the elect hear the heavenly commands with cold hearts but flame up at these commands like torches of inner love. The word comes to their ears, and their minds burn with the flame of inner sweetness.
Hence it is well said through Moses: "In His right hand was a fiery law." For the reprobate, who are also to be placed on the left, are indeed the left hand; but the elect are called the right hand of God. Therefore in God's right hand is the fiery law, because the elect by no means hear heavenly commandments with a cold heart, but are set ablaze toward them with the torches of inward love. The word is brought to the ear, and their mind, angry at itself, is consumed by the flame of inward sweetness.
Hippolytus, the expositor of the Targum, has said that Moses, when he had finished this prophecy, also pronounced a blessing upon all the children of Israel, by their several tribes, and prayed for them. Then God charged Moses, saying to him, Go up to Mount Nebo, which indeed is known by the name of the mount of the Hebrews, which is in the land of Moab over against Jericho. And He said to him: View the land of Chanaan, which I am to give to the children of Israel for an inheritance. Thou, however, shalt never enter it; wherefore view it well from afar off. When Moses therefore viewed it, he saw that land,-a land green, and abounding with all plenty and fertility, planted thickly with trees; and Moses was greatly moved, and wept. And when Moses descended from Mount Nebo, he called for Joshua the son of Nun, and said to him before the children of Israel: Prevail, and be strong; for thou art to bring the children of Israel into the land which God promised to fathers that He would give their them for an inheritance. Fear not, therefore, the people, neither be afraid of the nations: for God will be with thee. And Moses wrote that Senna, and gave it to the priests the sons of Levi, and commanded them, saying: For seven years keep this Senna hid, and show it not within the entire course of seven years. ("And then") in the feast of tabernacles, the priests the sons of Levi will read this law before the children of Israel, that the whole people, men and women alike, may observe the words of God: Command them to keep the word of God, which is in that law. And whosoever shall violate one of its precepts, let him be accursed. Accordingly, when Moses had finished the writing of the law, he gave it to Joshua the son of Nun, and enjoined him to give it to the sons of Levi, the priests. Moses also enjoined and charged them to place the book of the law again within the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that it might remain there for a testimony for ever. And when Moses had made an end of his injunctions, God bade him go up Mount Nebo, which is over against Jericho. The Lord showed him the whole land of promise in its four quarters, from the wilderness to the sea, and from sea to sea. And the Lord said to him, Thou hast seen it indeed with thine eyes, but thou shall never enter it. There accordingly Moses died, the servant of God, by the command of God. And the angels buried…
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.…
Paran, Mount — Probably the hilly region or upland wilderness on the north of the desert of Paran forming the southern boundary of the Promised Land (Deut. 33:2; Hab. 3:3).
Saint — One separated from the world and consecrated to God; one holy by profession and by covenant; a believer in Christ (Ps. 16:3; Rom. 1:7; 8:27; Phil. 1:1; Heb. 6:10). The “saints” spoken of in Jude 1:14…
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…
Angel (A Spirit) · .In — .In
Law · .Given at SinaiEx 19; — .Given at SinaiEx 19;
Law Of Moses, The · Called: A fiery law — Called: A fiery law
Paran · Mountains of — Mountains of
Seir · .The people of Israel travel by — .The people of Israel travel by
Sinai · .The law — .The law
Theocracy · Establishe — Establishe
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And he said, The Lord came from, Sinai. [305] In these words he reminds them that he is setting before them, a confirmation of the covenant, which God had made with them in this Law, and that it is nothing different from it; for this connection was of exceeding efficacy in establishing the certainty of the blessings, provided only the Law was duly honored; for nothing was better adapted to confirm the grace of God than the majesty which was displayed in the promulgation of the Law. Some, as I conceive improperly, translate it, -- "God comes to Sinai," whereas Moses rather means that he came from thence, when His brightness was made manifest. By way of ornament, the same thing is repeated wit…
In the introduction Moses depicts the elevation of Israel into the nation of God, in its origin (Deu 33:2), its nature (Deu 33:3), its intention and its goal (Deu 33:4, Deu 33:5).
Deu 33:2
"Jehovah came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shone from the mountains of Paran, and came out of holy myriads, at His right rays of fire to them." To set forth the glory of the covenant which God made with Israel, Moses depicts the majesty and glory in which the Lord appeared to the Israelites at Sinai, to give them the law, and become their king. The three clauses, "Jehovah came from Sinai...from Seir...from the mountains of Paran," do not refer to different manifestations of God (Knobel),…
This poetic account does not establish an itinerary that God followed. Instead, it portrays God in his splendor as he came at certain times and places to lead his people against their foes in God’s war. • Mount Paran is the highlands of Paran in the northeast region of the Sinai Peninsula (see 1:1).
Rashi on Deuteronomy 33:2
ויאמר ה' מסיני בא AND HE SAID, THE LORD CAME FROM SINAI — First he began with praise of the Omnipresent, and only afterwards did he begin with what concerned Israel; but in the praise of God with which he began there is also mention of Israel’s merit. All this was by way of intercession, as though to say, “These are worthy that blessing should rest upon them” (Sifrei Devarim 343:1).
מסיני בא [THE LORD] CAME FROM SINAI — He went forth towards them when they were about to take their stand at the foot of the Mount, — as a bridegroom goes forth to welcome his bride, as it is said, (Exodus 19:17) “And Moses brought the people forth to meet God”: this teaches us that He (God) was Himself going fo…
