Deuteronomy 33:9
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He 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.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Yet Moses has not done with the children of Israel; he seemed to have taken final leave of them in the close of the foregoing chapter, but still he has something more to say. He had preached them a farewell sermon, a very copious and pathetic discourse. After sermon he had given out a psalm, a long psalm; and now nothing remains but to dismiss them with a blessing; that blessing he pronounces in this chapter in the name of the Lord, and so leaves them. I. He pronounces them all blessed in what God had done for them already, especially in giving them his law (Deu 33:2-5). II. He pronounces a blessing upon each tribe, which is both a prayer for and a prophecy of their felicity. 1. Reuben (Deu 33:6). 2. Judah (Deu 33:7). 3. Levi (Deu 33:8-11). 4. Benjamin (Deu 33:12). 5. Joseph (Deu 33:13-17). 6. Zebulun and Issachar (Deu 33:18, Deu 33:19). 7. Gad (Deu 33:20, Deu 33:21). 8. Dan (Deu 33:22). 9. Naphtali (Deu 33:23). 10. Asher (Deu 33:24, Deu 33:25). III. He pronounces them all in general blessed upon the account of what God would be to them, and do for them if they were obedient (Deu 33:26, etc.).
Open source ↗33:9 guarded your covenant: The verse alludes to the incident of the gold calf at Mount Sinai (Exod 32:25-29) and to the affair at Baal-peor (Num 25:6-9). The Levites’ love for the Lord and loyalty to his covenant eclipsed their devotion to their own families, averted God’s judgment, and brought them the honor expressed here.
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
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;
Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”
“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.
He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother.
But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?”
Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.
And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God, You have spoken about the future of the house of Your servant and have regarded me as a man of great distinction, O LORD God.
They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.
Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Therefore, men fear Him, for He is not partial to the wise in heart.”