Deuteronomy 33 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Disparate in this chapter: 33:2, 33:5, 33:8, 33:19, 33:21, 33:27
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Deuteronomy 33
The Tribal Blessings
The Divine King and Lawgiver
Verse 33:1 Same
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:1 This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:1 This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death.
Classification & Notes
[Same] Text: Both introduce Moses’ final tribal blessing.
Verse 33:2 Disparate
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:2 He said: “YHWH came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon them. He shone from Mount Paran and came from holy myriads; at His right hand was a fiery law for them.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:2 He said: “The Lord comes from Sinai and appeared from Seir to us. He hastened from Mount Paran with myriads of Kadesh; at His right hand, angels were with Him.
Classification & Notes
[Disparate] Text: H has “them,” holy myriads and the difficult expression traditionally read “fiery law.” G has “us,” Kadesh and angels. The Hebrew final expression is uncertain; “fiery law” is a traditional interpretation, not an uncontested lexical meaning.
Rabbinic: Rashi offers the mystical image of black fire on white fire for the fiery Torah, and also explains it as Torah given from fire. Neither image is expanded into the translation.
Verse 33:3 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:3 Indeed, He cherishes peoples; all His holy ones are in Your hand. They gathered at Your feet; each receives Your words.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:3 He spared His people, and all the consecrated ones are under Your hands. These are under You, and it received from His words
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew cherishes peoples and places His holy ones in Your hand and at Your feet; Greek spares His people and places the consecrated ones under Your hands and under You. Hebrew has receiving Your words; Greek His words, with the singular receiving subject understood as the people. The pronoun shifts and syntax are difficult in both. Both introduce the people’s divine care and reception of instruction, without securely establishing opposed relationships.
Verse 33:4 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:4 Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:4 the law that Moses commanded us, an inheritance for the assemblies of Jacob.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: G continues the sentence from verse 3 and has plural “assemblies”; H has singular “assembly.”
Verse 33:5 Disparate
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:5 There was a king in Jeshurun when the heads of the people gathered, together with the tribes of Israel.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:5 There shall be a ruler in the Beloved when rulers of peoples gather together with the tribes of Israel.
Classification & Notes
[Disparate] Text: H places the kingship in the past; G places a ruler in the future. G renders Jeshurun as “the Beloved” and has plural “peoples.” The identity of H’s king is not supplied in the translation.
Rabbinic: Rashi identifies the king as God and relates His kingship to Israel’s unity. Rashi, Deut. 33:5
Reuben
Verse 33:6 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:6 May Reuben live and not die, and may his men be numbered.”
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:6 Let Reuben live and not die, and let him be numerous in number.”
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: G explicitly asks for many. H literally has “his men, a number,” often understood as few/countable, though the scope of the preceding negative is debated. An unqualified numerical contradiction would overstate the Hebrew’s certainty.
Judah
Verse 33:7 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:7 Of Judah he said this: “Hear, YHWH, Judah’s voice, and bring him to his people. May his hands contend for him, and may You be a help against his adversaries.”
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:7 And this for Judah: “Listen, Lord, to Judah’s voice, and let them enter his people. His hands will contend for him, and You will be a helper against his enemies.”
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew asks God to bring Judah to his people; Greek has a plural petition, let them enter his people. The change of agency and number is retained, alongside the common appeal for divine help against enemies. Hebrew’s terse hands phrase may mean contending or sufficing; Greek uses deciding or contending. The plural may concern Judah collectively, so a different tribe’s entry is not securely established.
Levi
Verse 33:8 Disparate
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:8 Of Levi he said: “Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your loyal man, whom You tested at Massah, with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:8 To Levi he said: “Give Levi his manifestations, and his truth to the holy man whom they tested in a trial and reviled at the water of dispute—
Classification & Notes
[Disparate] Text: H addresses God as the one who tested and contended. G has third-person plural “they tested” and “they reviled,” and an explicit command to give Levi his manifestations and truth.
Urim/Thummim and the place names receive interpretive Greek equivalents.
Verse 33:9 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:9 He said of his father and mother, ‘I have not seen him’; he did not acknowledge his brothers or know his children, for they kept Your word and guarded Your covenant.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:9 the one who says to his father and mother, ‘I have not seen you’; he did not recognize his brothers and disowned his sons. He kept Your oracles and preserved Your covenant.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: G addresses the parent as “you,” changes plural covenant keepers to singular, and uses affirmative “disowned.” H’s “did not know” can convey that same rejection; these are not opposing claims about acknowledging his children.
Verse 33:10 Divergent
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:10 They shall teach Your judgments to Jacob and Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before Your nostrils and a whole offering on Your altar.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:10 They shall declare Your ordinances to Jacob and Your law to Israel. They shall place incense in Your wrath, continually upon Your altar.
Classification & Notes
[Divergent] Text: Hebrew’s אַף can mean nose or anger; the Hebrew column adopts the cultic image of incense before God’s nostrils. Greek ὀργή explicitly says wrath, naturally suggesting appeasement. Hebrew also names a separate whole offering where Greek has continually, without that offering. The ritual wording differs, but the Hebrew noun’s range prevents claiming that an appeasement sense is impossible in Hebrew.
Verse 33:11 Similar
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:11 Bless his strength, YHWH, and accept the work of his hands. Crush the loins of those who rise against him, and of those who hate him, so that they do not rise.”
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:11 Bless his strength, Lord, and accept the works of his hands. Break the loin of enemies who rise against him, and let those who hate him not rise.”
Classification & Notes
[Similar] Text: Both bless Levi’s service and ask that opponents be disabled. G explicitly calls them enemies and separates the final petition.
Benjamin
Verse 33:12 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:12 Of Benjamin he said: “YHWH’s beloved shall dwell securely beside Him; He covers him all day, and between his shoulders He dwells.”
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:12 To Benjamin he said: “One loved by the Lord shall dwell confidently. God shades him all the days, and between his shoulders He rested.”
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: G names God explicitly and has “all the days” and “rested.” H has “all day” and a more compressed description of dwelling and protection. The precise distribution of subjects and possessors in the shoulder image remains interpretive.
The Blessing of Joseph
Verse 33:13 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:13 Of Joseph he said: “Blessed by YHWH be his land, with the precious gifts of heaven, with dew, and with the deep lying below;
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:13 To Joseph he said: “From the Lord’s blessing is his land, from the seasons of heaven and dew, and from springs of the depths below,
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: H’s precious heavenly gifts become seasons in G; the deep lying below becomes deep springs. Both concern the land’s water and fruitfulness.
Verse 33:14 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:14 with the precious produce of the sun and the precious yield of the moons;
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:14 and in the season of produce from the sun’s turnings, and from the conjunctions of months,
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: G describes solar turnings and lunar conjunctions more explicitly. H speaks poetically of what sun and successive moons produce.
Verse 33:15 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:15 with the best of the ancient mountains and the precious gifts of the everlasting hills;
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:15 and from the summit of primeval mountains and the summit of everlasting hills,
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: H varies “best” and “precious gifts”; G repeats “summit.” The blessings remain associated with ancient mountains and hills.
Verse 33:16 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:16 with the precious gifts of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of the One who dwells in the bush. May these come upon Joseph’s head, upon the crown of the one set apart among his brothers.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:16 and in the season of the earth’s fullness. May the things acceptable to the One who appeared in the bush come upon Joseph’s head, upon his crown—he who was glorified among his brothers.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew names the One dwelling in the bush and Joseph as set apart; Greek names the One who appeared in the bush and Joseph as glorified. Greek also speaks of acceptable things rather than favor. Its final nominative phrase is abrupt and remains visible. Both invoke divine favor upon Joseph; dwelling versus appearing does not prove a different deity or event.
Verse 33:17 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:17 His majesty is that of a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he shall gore peoples together to the ends of the earth. These are the myriads of Ephraim, and these the thousands of Manasseh.”
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:17 A firstborn bull is his beauty; his horns are the horns of a one-horned animal. With them he shall gore nations together to the end of the earth. These are the myriads of Ephraim, and these the thousands of Manasseh.”
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: H’s re’em is rendered “wild ox”; G uses monokerōs, literally “one-horned.” This lexical image does not establish a modern zoological identification.
Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s numbers agree.
Zebulun and Issachar
Verse 33:18 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:18 Of Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in your tents.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:18 To Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in his dwellings.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: G has “his dwellings” where H directly addresses Issachar with “your tents.” Neither text states a trade-and-study arrangement in this verse.
Rabbinic: Rashi describes Zebulun’s commerce supporting Issachar’s Torah study. That partnership is an attributed exposition, not a clause of either source. Rashi, Deut. 33:18
Verse 33:19 Disparate
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:19 They shall summon peoples to the mountain; there they shall sacrifice righteous sacrifices. For they shall draw nourishment from the abundance of seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.”
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:19 They shall destroy nations, and you shall invoke there and sacrifice a sacrifice of righteousness; for the wealth of the sea shall nourish you, and the commerce of those who inhabit the coast.”
Classification & Notes
[Disparate] Text: Summoning peoples to a mountain in H becomes destroying nations in G. G then changes to second-person worship and replaces hidden sandy treasures with coastal commerce. G’s “invoke” has no expressed divine object here.
Gad
Verse 33:20 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:20 Of Gad he said: “Blessed is the One who enlarges Gad. He dwells like a lion and tears arm and crown of head.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:20 To Gad he said: “Blessed is the One who enlarges Gad. Like a lion he rested, having crushed an arm and a ruler.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew’s bodily image of arm and crown of the head becomes an arm and a ruler in Greek. Greek places completed crushing before the lion’s rest. Both praise Gad through the lion image and victory over opposition; the different body/ruler detail does not establish an opposed outcome.
Verse 33:21 Disparate
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:21 He chose the first portion for himself, for there a ruler’s portion was reserved. He came with the heads of the people; he carried out YHWH’s righteousness and His judgments with Israel.”
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:21 He saw his first portion, for there the land of rulers was apportioned, as they gathered with the leaders of peoples. The Lord carried out righteousness and His judgment with Israel.”
Classification & Notes
[Disparate] Text: H attributes carrying out YHWH’s righteousness to the preceding human subject, normally Gad. G explicitly makes the Lord the agent. The reserved ruler’s portion also becomes land apportioned to gathered rulers.
Dan
Verse 33:22 Similar
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:22 Of Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s cub; he leaps from Bashan.”
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:22 To Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s cub, and he shall leap from Bashan.”
Classification & Notes
[Similar] Text: The lion-cub image and Bashan agree; G marks the leap as future.
Naphtali
Verse 33:23 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:23 Of Naphtali he said: “Naphtali, satisfied with favor and full of YHWH’s blessing, possess the sea and the south.”
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:23 To Naphtali he said: “Naphtali, a fullness of acceptable things; let him be filled with blessing from the Lord. He shall inherit the sea and the south.”
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: H gives an imperative to possess; G predicts inheritance and turns fullness into a blessing petition. H’s “sea” can also indicate the west.
Asher
Verse 33:24 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:24 Of Asher he said: “Blessed among sons be Asher; may he be favored by his brothers and dip his foot in oil.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:24 To Asher he said: “Asher is blessed with children, and he shall be acceptable to his brothers. He shall dip his foot in oil.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: H’s “among/above sons” can also be construed as blessing through children; G more directly connects the blessing with children. G states future favor and dipping where H expresses a wish.
Verse 33:25 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:25 Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:25 His sandal shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew’s rare מִנְעָלֶיךָ is rendered your bars, an interpretation referring to protective fastenings; footwear is another traditional construal. Greek expressly has his sandal. Hebrew’s final rare word is also uncertain, though rendered strength in accord with a traditional interpretation; Greek clearly names strength. The distinct readings are retained without treating uncertain Hebrew vocabulary as proof of a major contradiction.
The Security of Israel
Verse 33:26 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:26 There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to help you, and the clouds in His majesty.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:26 There is none like the God of the Beloved, the One who rides upon heaven as your helper, the majestic One of the firmament.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: H is read as addressing Jeshurun; G explicitly says “God of the Beloved.” Clouds become the firmament, while divine help and majesty remain.
Verse 33:27 Disparate
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:27 The God of old is a refuge, and underneath are everlasting arms. He drove the enemy from before you and said, ‘Destroy!’
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:27 There is shelter from the God of old, and you are under the strength of everlasting arms. He shall drive the enemy from before you, saying, ‘May you perish!’
Classification & Notes
[Disparate] Text: H ends with a command to destroy; G addresses the enemy with a wish for his perishing. G also makes the protective force of the arms explicit and places the expulsion in the future.
Verse 33:28 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:28 Israel dwelt securely, alone; Jacob’s fountain was in a land of grain and new wine. Indeed, his heavens drip dew.
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:28 Israel shall dwell confidently, alone upon Jacob’s land, with grain and wine; and heaven for him is cloudy with dew.
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew has Jacob’s fountain, a debated collective or source image; Greek has Jacob’s land. Dew dripping becomes a cloudy sky with dew, and the Greek dwelling is future. Both conclude the blessing with secure residence and agricultural provision; the different images do not establish a contrary condition for Israel.
Verse 33:29 Different
Hebrew–English Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
33:29 Happy are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by YHWH, the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty? Your enemies shall cringe before you, and you shall tread their high places.”
Greek–English Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
33:29 Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? Your helper will shield you, and the sword is your boast. Your enemies shall lie to you, and you shall tread upon their neck.”
Classification & Notes
[Different] Text: Hebrew calls God shield and sword; Greek says the helper will shield and the sword is Israel’s boast. Hebrew’s enemy submission may convey feigned obedience; Greek expressly says lying. Treading high places becomes treading the enemy’s neck. These images remain distinct within the common praise of divine deliverance and victory; neither implies that only one text portrays the defeat of enemies.