Deuteronomy 33:9
in Deuteronomy 33He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Who said of his father, and of his mother, I have not seen him; Neither did he acknowledge his brethren, Nor knew he his own children: For they have observed thy word, And keep thy covenant.
KJV
Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 33
Commentary
3 notes on this verseWho said unto his father, etc. - There are several difficulties in this and the following verses. Some think they are spoken of the tribe of Levi; others, of all the tribes; others, of the Messiah, etc.; but several of the interpretations founded on these suppositions are too recondite, and should not be resorted to till a plain literal sense is made out. I suppose the whole to be primarily spoken of Aaron and the tribe of Levi.
This site's exposition
Let thy Thummim and thy Urim
on Deuteronomy 33:8-9
Levi is handed the Urim and Thummim, the means of decision carried on the high priest's breastplate at Exodus 28:30, so the tribe's first named privilege is asking God and getting an answer. Massah and Meribah at Exodus 17:7 and Numbers 20:13 were failures, and readers differ over whom the holy one proved there refers to, some taking it of Levi as a tribe and others of Aaron or of Moses by name. Verse 9 is the golden calf at Exodus 32:26-29, where Levi answered Moses' call and used the sword on brother and son, and Genesis 49:7 had cursed that same fierceness before it was turned to this account.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The sense is, who followed God and his command fully, and executed the judgment enjoined by God without any respect of persons, Exod. xxxii, 26, 27. They kept thy covenant - When the rest broke their covenant with God by that foul sin of idolatry with the calf, that tribe kept themselves pure from that infection, and adhered to God and his worship.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הָאֹמֵ֞ר | haomer | who said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְאָבִ֤יו | leaviv | of father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וּלְאִמּוֹ֙ | uleimo | and of mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| רְאִיתִ֔יו | reitiv | I saw him | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶחָיו֙ | ʾechav | brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִכִּ֔יר | hikir | he recognized | H5234 → | 49 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בָּנָ֖יו | banov | children his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדָ֑ע | yada' | he acknowledged | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שָֽׁמְרוּ֙ | shameru | they kept | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אִמְרָתֶ֔ךָ | ʾimratekha | word your | H565 → | |
| וּבְרִֽיתְךָ֖ | uveritekha | and covenant your | H1285 → | 284 times |
| יִנְצֹֽרוּ׃ | yintzoru | they observed | H5341 → |
הָאֹמֵ֞רwho said
haomerH559 →5305 times
לְאָבִ֤יוof father his
leavivH1 →1212 times
וּלְאִמּוֹ֙and of mother his
uleimoH517 →220 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
רְאִיתִ֔יוI saw him
reitivH7200 →1300 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אֶחָיו֙brothers his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הִכִּ֔ירhe recognized
hikirH5234 →49 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בָּנָ֖יוchildren his
banovH1121 →4930 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָדָ֑עhe acknowledged
yada'H3045 →945 times
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
שָֽׁמְרוּ֙they kept
shameruH8104 →468 times
אִמְרָתֶ֔ךָword your
ʾimratekhaH565 →
וּבְרִֽיתְךָ֖and covenant your
uveritekhaH1285 →284 times
יִנְצֹֽרוּ׃they observed
yintzoruH5341 →
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
Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
it leads to
- Matthew 10:37
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 12:25
Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
- Philippians 3:8
More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may…
- Acts 20:24
But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good…
- Psalms 73:25–26
Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.
- Matthew 10:37
Through
Matthew 10:37Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
it leads to
- Luke 14:26
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
- Matthew 22:37
Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
- Philippians 3:7–9
But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
- Luke 14:26
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.