Ulangan 33:7

Blessing on Judah

33:7 And this is the blessing ¹  to Judah. He said,

Listen, O Lord, to Judah’s voice,

and bring him to his people.

May his power be great,

and may you help him against his foes.

Ulangan 33:26

General Praise and Blessing

33:26 There is no one like God, O Jeshurun, ² 

who rides through the sky ³  to help you,

on the clouds in majesty.

[33:7]  ¹ tn The words “the blessing” are supplied in the translation for clarity and stylistic reasons.

[33:26]  ² sn Jeshurun is a term of affection referring to Israel, derived from the Hebrew verb יָשַׁר (yashar, “be upright”). See note on the term in Deut 32:15.

[33:26]  ³ tn Or “(who) rides (on) the heavens” (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT). This title depicts Israel’s God as sovereign over the elements of the storm (cf. Ps 68:33). The use of the phrase here may be polemical; Moses may be asserting that Israel’s God, not Baal (called the “rider of the clouds” in the Ugaritic myths), is the true divine king (cf. v. 5) who controls the elements of the storm, grants agricultural prosperity, and delivers his people from their enemies. See R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “The Polemic against Baalism in Israel’s Early History and Literature,” BSac 151 (1994): 275.