Deuteronomy 33:2
in Deuteronomy 33He said: “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned upon us from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and came with myriads of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Jehovah came from Sinai, And rose from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, And he came from the ten thousands of holy ones: At his right hand was a fiery law for them.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 33
Commentary
2 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
By “Seir” is to be understood the mountain-land of the Edomites, and by “mount Paran” the range which forms the northern boundary of the desert of Sinai (compare Gen 14:6 note). Thus the verse forms a poetical description of the vast arena upon which the glorious manifestation of the Lord in the giving of the covenant took place. With ten thousands of saints - Render, from amidst ten thousands of holy ones: literally from myriads of holiness, i. e., holy Angels (compare Zec 14:5).
This site's exposition
And this is the blessing
on Deuteronomy 33:1-2
Moses ends where Jacob ended, blessing the tribes by name before he dies, and Genesis 49 is the only other place in Scripture where that happens. Jacob's words carried rebuke in them and these carry almost none, so Reuben and Levi are spoken well of here where Genesis 49:3-7 spoke against them. Verse 2 opens with God coming from Sinai, Seir and mount Paran, the same three-cornered picture Judges 5:4-5 and Habakkuk 3:3 draw of the same event. The clause rendered a fiery law rests on two Hebrew words whose division translators have never agreed on, and the ten thousands of saints is the ground on which Acts 7:53, Galatians 3:19 and Hebrews 2:2 speak of the law being given by angels.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמַ֗ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֞ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִסִּינַ֥י | misinai | from Sinai | H5514 → | |
| בָּא֙ | ba' | he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וְזָרַ֤ח | vezarach | and he dawned | H2224 → | |
| מִשֵּׂעִיר֙ | miseir | from Seir | H8165 → | 39 times |
| לָ֔מוֹ | lamo | to <the> them | ||
| הוֹפִ֙יעַ֙ | hofia' | he shone forth | H3313 → | |
| מֵהַ֣ר | mehar | from [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| פָּארָ֔ן | paran | Paran | H6290 → | |
| וְאָתָ֖ה | veatah | and he came | H857 → | |
| מֵרִבְבֹ֣ת | merivot | from ten thousands of | H7233 → | 16 times |
| קֹ֑דֶשׁ | kodesh | holy one[s] | H6944 → | 469 times |
| מִֽימִינ֕וֹ | mimino | from right [hand] his | H3225 → | 140 times |
| אֵ֥שׁדָּ֖ת | ʾeshedat | fire of law | H784 →H1881 → | 378 times |
| לָֽמוֹ׃ | lamo | for <the> them |
וַיֹּאמַ֗רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֞הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִסִּינַ֥יfrom Sinai
misinaiH5514 →
בָּא֙he came
ba'H935 →2568 times
וְזָרַ֤חand he dawned
vezarachH2224 →
מִשֵּׂעִיר֙from Seir
miseirH8165 →39 times
לָ֔מוֹto <the> them
lamo
הוֹפִ֙יעַ֙he shone forth
hofia'H3313 →
מֵהַ֣רfrom [the] mountain of
meharH2022 →546 times
פָּארָ֔ןParan
paranH6290 →
וְאָתָ֖הand he came
veatahH857 →
מֵרִבְבֹ֣תfrom ten thousands of
merivotH7233 →16 times
קֹ֑דֶשׁholy one[s]
kodeshH6944 →469 times
מִֽימִינ֕וֹfrom right [hand] his
miminoH3225 →140 times
אֵ֥שׁדָּ֖תfire of law
לָֽמוֹ׃for <the> them
lamo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 5:11Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.
it leads to
- Daniel 7:10
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands attended Him, and myriads upon myriads stood before Him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 7:10
Through
Jude 1:14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones
it leads to
- Psalms 50:3–5
Our God approaches and will not be silent! Consuming fire precedes Him, and a tempest rages around Him.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7–8
and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
- Hebrews 11:5–6
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one…
- 1 Thessalonians 3:13
so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.
- Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
- Psalms 50:3–5
Through
Acts 7:53you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 2:2
For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment,
- Galatians 3:19
Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator.
- Hebrews 2:2
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.