Deuteronomy 33:5
in Deuteronomy 33So the LORD became King in Jeshurun when the leaders of the people gathered, when the tribes of Israel came together.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he was king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together.
KJV
And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 33
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe was king in Jeshurun - Moses was their king not in title, but in reality, being under God, their supreme governor, and law giver. Gathered together - When the princes and people met together for the management of public affairs, Moses was owned by them as their king and lawgiver.
This site's exposition
Surely You love the people
on Deuteronomy 33:3-5
A people gathered at God's feet stands between the theophany and the tribes. Verse 4 calls the law “the possession of the assembly of Jacob”, the language used elsewhere of land.
This site's exposition
So the LORD became King in Jeshurun
The leaders and tribes gathered point back to Sinai, where the elders received the covenant and the whole people answered as one at Exodus 19:7-8. The Berean names the LORD as that King. First Samuel 8:7 later treats Israel's demand for a human king as a rejection of this rule.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he was king in Jeshurun,....
Those that enjoy the word of God and the means of grace have reason to say, We have a goodly heritage. He is indeed a rich man in whom the word of Christ dwells richly. Perhaps the law is called their inheritance because it was given them with their inheritance, and we so annexed to it that the forsaking of the law would be a forfeiture of the inheritance.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He was king - i. e., not Moses but the Lord became king.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֥י | vayhi | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בִישֻׁר֖וּן | vishurun | in Jeshurun | H3484 → | 4 times |
| מֶ֑לֶךְ | melekh | king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בְּהִתְאַסֵּף֙ | behitasef | when gathered themselves | H622 → | 200 times |
| רָ֣אשֵׁי | rashei | [the] chiefs of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| עָ֔ם | ʾam | [the] people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| יַ֖חַד | yachad | together | H3162 → | 141 times |
| שִׁבְטֵ֥י | shivtei | [the] tribes of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיְהִ֥יand he was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בִישֻׁר֖וּןin Jeshurun
vishurunH3484 →4 times
מֶ֑לֶךְking
melekhH4428 →2525 times
בְּהִתְאַסֵּף֙when gathered themselves
behitasefH622 →200 times
רָ֣אשֵׁי[the] chiefs of
rasheiH7218 →599 times
עָ֔ם[the] people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
יַ֖חַדtogether
yachadH3162 →141 times
שִׁבְטֵ֥י[the] tribes of
shivteiH7626 →190 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
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
Judges 17:6In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:8
You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.
- Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.
- Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
- Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
- Proverbs 16:2
All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 12:8
Through
Deuteronomy 32:15But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:20
When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to…
- Hosea 13:6
When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.
- Acts 28:27
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts,…
- Deuteronomy 31:20
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.