Deuteronomy 33:16
New International Version
with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

New Living Translation
with the best gifts of the earth and its bounty, and the favor of the one who appeared in the burning bush. May these blessings rest on Joseph’s head, crowning the brow of the prince among his brothers.

English Standard Version
with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwells in the bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers.

Berean Standard Bible
with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, and with the favor of Him who dwelt in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph and crown the brow of the prince of his brothers.

King James Bible
And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

New King James Version
With the precious things of the earth and its fullness, And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let the blessing come ‘on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’

New American Standard Bible
And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, And to the top of the head of the one who was prince among his brothers.

NASB 1995
And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, And to the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

NASB 1977
And with the choice things of the earth and its fulness, And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, And to the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

Legacy Standard Bible
And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, And to the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

Amplified Bible
With the precious things of the earth and its fullness, And the favor and goodwill of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let these blessings come upon the head of Joseph, And upon the crown of the head of him who was distinguished [as a prince] among his brothers.

Christian Standard Bible
with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it; and with the favor of him who appeared in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it; and with the favor of Him who appeared in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince of his brothers.

American Standard Version
And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, And the good will of him that dwelt in the bush. Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, And upon the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

Contemporary English Version
The LORD who appeared in the burning bush wants to give you the best the land can produce, and it will be a princely crown on Joseph's head.

English Revised Version
And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, And the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, And upon the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
and the most plentiful crops of the earth. May the LORD bless their land with the favor of the one who was in the burning bush. May these blessings come to the tribes of Joseph. May they crown the people who are like princes in Israel.

Good News Translation
May their land be filled with all that is good, Blessed by the goodness of the LORD, Who spoke from the burning bush. May these blessings come to the tribe of Joseph, Because he was the leader among his brothers.

International Standard Version
from the choicest of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of the one who lived in the burning bush. May blessing rest on Joseph's head, and on the crown of the head of the one set apart from his brothers.

Majority Standard Bible
with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, and with the favor of Him who dwelt in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph and crown the brow of the prince of his brothers.

NET Bible
with the harvest of the earth and its fullness and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush. May blessing rest on Joseph's head, and on the top of the head of the one set apart from his brothers.

New Heart English Bible
with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, the good will of him who lived in the bush. Let this come on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

Webster's Bible Translation
And for the precious things of the earth and fullness of it, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush; let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

World English Bible
for the precious things of the earth and its fullness, the good will of him who lived in the bush. Let this come on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And by a precious thing—of earth and its fullness, "" And the good pleasure of Him who is dwelling in the bush; Let it come for the head of Joseph, "" And for the crown of him [who is] separate from his brothers.

Young's Literal Translation
And by precious things -- of earth and its fulness, And the good pleasure Of Him who is dwelling in the bush, -- Let it come for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of him Who is separate from his brethren.

Smith's Literal Translation
And from the most excellent of the earth and its fulness, and the acceptance of him dwelling in the bramble: it shall come to the head of Joseph, and to the crown of the consecrated of his brethren.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And of the fruits of the earth, and of the fulness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush, come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.

Catholic Public Domain Version
and from the fruits of the earth with all its plenitude. May the blessing of him who appeared in the bush, settle upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of the Nazarite among his brothers.

New American Bible
With the best of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of the one who dwells on Sinai. Let these come upon the head of Joseph and upon the brow of the prince among his brothers.

New Revised Standard Version
with the choice gifts of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of the one who dwells on Sinai. Let these come on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
With the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, and with the good will of him who dwelt in the bush; let blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of his brothers.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And from produce of the Earth and its fullness; the will of him who dwelt in the bush will come on the head of Yoseph and upon the head of the crown of his brothers.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, And the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush; Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, And upon the crown of the head of him that is prince among his brethren.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and of the fullness of the land in season: and let the things pleasing to him that dwelt in the bush come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of him who was glorified above his brethren.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Moses Blesses the Twelve Tribes
15with the best of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills, 16with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, and with the favor of Him who dwelt in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph and crown the brow of the prince of his brothers. 17His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.”…

Cross References
Genesis 49:25
by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.

Numbers 6:24-26
‘May the LORD bless you and keep you; / may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; / may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’

Psalm 67:1
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song. May God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah

Isaiah 11:1
Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

Isaiah 53:2
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.

Ezekiel 34:26
I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season—showers of blessing.

Hosea 14:5
I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.

Zechariah 6:12
And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the LORD.

Matthew 2:11
On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Matthew 3:17
And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”

Luke 1:78-79
because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high, / to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 15:1-5
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard. / He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful. / You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ...

Acts 3:26
When God raised up His Servant, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”


Treasury of Scripture

And for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelled in the bush: let the blessing come on the head of Joseph, and on the top of the head of him that was separated from his brothers.

the earth

Psalm 24:1
A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Psalm 50:12
If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.

Psalm 89:11
The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

the good

Exodus 3:2-4
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed…

Mark 12:26
And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

Luke 2:14
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

and upon the top

Genesis 37:28,36
Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt…

Genesis 39:2,3
And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian…

Genesis 43:32
And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

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Deuteronomy 33
1. The majesty of God
6. The blessings of the twelve tribes
26. The excellence of Israel














with the best gifts of the earth
The phrase "best gifts of the earth" refers to the abundant blessings and prosperity that the land can provide. In Hebrew, the word for "best" (מִגֶּד, migged) implies excellence and preciousness. This reflects God's promise of material blessings to His people, emphasizing the richness of the Promised Land. Historically, the land of Canaan was known for its fertility and abundance, a land "flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8). This phrase underscores God's provision and the physical manifestation of His covenant promises.

and its fullness
The term "fullness" (וּמְלֹאָהּ, umelo'ah) in Hebrew conveys the idea of completeness and abundance. It suggests that the blessings are not just partial but overflowing. This reflects the biblical theme of God's provision being more than sufficient for His people's needs. Theologically, it points to the idea that God's blessings encompass every aspect of life, providing not just for survival but for thriving.

and the favor of Him
The "favor" (וּרְצוֹן, ur'tzon) of God is a central theme in the Bible, indicating His grace, approval, and blessing. This favor is not earned but given by God's sovereign choice. In the context of Joseph, it highlights the special relationship and divine favor that Joseph experienced throughout his life, from his rise to power in Egypt to his role in preserving his family during famine.

who dwelt in the burning bush
This phrase refers to the theophany of God appearing to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2-4). The Hebrew word for "dwelt" (שָׁכַן, shakan) implies a divine presence. This encounter was a pivotal moment in biblical history, marking the beginning of God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt. It signifies God's holiness, power, and His intimate involvement in the lives of His people. The burning bush is a symbol of God's enduring presence and His ability to sustain and protect.

May these rest on the head of Joseph
The blessing "rest on the head of Joseph" signifies the bestowal of honor and divine favor upon Joseph. In Hebrew culture, the head is often symbolic of leadership and authority. Joseph, as a key figure in Israel's history, exemplifies faithfulness and integrity. This blessing acknowledges his role as a leader and protector of his family, and it prophetically points to the future tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who would inherit significant portions of the Promised Land.

on the brow of the prince of his brothers
The "brow" (קָדְקֹד, qodqod) symbolizes strength and prominence. Referring to Joseph as the "prince of his brothers" highlights his preeminence among the sons of Jacob. Despite being one of the younger sons, Joseph's leadership and wisdom elevated him to a position of authority. This phrase acknowledges God's sovereign choice in raising Joseph to a place of honor and influence, serving as a type of Christ, who is the ultimate Prince and Savior of His people.

(16) The good will of him that dwelt in the bush--is a blessing peculiar to Moses. It contains an exquisite piece of interpretation. From the fact that Jehovah revealed Himself to Moses in a flame of fire in a bush, the man of God drew the thought that He presented Himself as dwelling in it; and thus he has furnished God's Church with this comfort for all ages, that His human temple, although it burn with fire, can never be consumed.

The last part of Deuteronomy 33:16 is taken direct from Genesis 49:26.

Separated from his brethren.--Heb., nazir. Is it altogether unreasonable to suppose that this particular feature in Joseph's history, when he was "sold into Egypt," and "separated from his brethren," may be part of the meaning of "Nazarene" when applied to our Lord in Matthew 2:23?



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
with the choice gifts
וּמִמֶּ֗גֶד (ū·mim·me·ḡeḏ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4022: A distinguished thing, something valuable, as a, product, fruit

of the land
אֶ֚רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

and everything in it,
וּמְלֹאָ֔הּ (ū·mə·lō·’āh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 4393: Fullness, that which fills

and with the favor
וּרְצ֥וֹן (ū·rə·ṣō·wn)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7522: Goodwill, favor, acceptance, will

of Him who dwelt
שֹׁכְנִ֖י (šō·ḵə·nî)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7931: To settle down, abide, dwell

in the burning bush.
סְנֶ֑ה (sə·neh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5572: Perhaps blackberry bush

May these rest
תָּב֙וֹאתָה֙ (tā·ḇō·w·ṯāh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Cohortative - third person feminine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

on the head
לְרֹ֣אשׁ (lə·rōš)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7218: The head

of Joseph
יוֹסֵ֔ף (yō·w·sêp̄)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3130: Joseph -- 'he increases', a son of Jacob, also the name of several Israelites

and crown the brow
וּלְקָדְקֹ֖ד (ū·lə·qā·ḏə·qōḏ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6936: Head, crown of the head

of the prince
נְזִ֥יר (nə·zîr)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5139: Nazirite -- one consecrated, devoted

of his brothers.
אֶחָֽיו׃ (’e·ḥāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 251: A brother, )


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 33:16 For the precious things of the earth (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 33:15
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