Ulangan 33:17
Konteks33:17 May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor,
and may his horns be those of a wild ox;
with them may he gore all peoples,
all the far reaches of the earth.
They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, 1
and they are the thousands of Manasseh.
Ulangan 33:2
Konteks33:2 He said:
The Lord came from Sinai
and revealed himself 2 to Israel 3 from Seir.
He appeared in splendor 4 from Mount Paran,
and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. 5
With his right hand he gave a fiery law 6 to them.
[33:17] 1 sn Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph who became founders of the two tribes into which Joseph’s descendants were split (Gen 48:19-20). Jacob’s blessing granted favored status to Ephraim; this is probably why Ephraim is viewed here as more numerous than Manasseh.
[33:2] 2 tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).
[33:2] 3 tc Heb “to him.” The LXX reads “to us” (לָנוּ [lanu] for לָמוֹ [lamo]), the reading of the MT is acceptable since it no doubt has in mind Israel as a collective singular.
[33:2] tn Heb “him”; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:2] 4 tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[33:2] 5 tc With slight alteration (מִמְרִבַת קָדֵשׁ [mimrivat qadesh] for the MT’s מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ [merivvot qodesh]) the translation would be “from Meribah Kadesh” (cf. NAB, NLT; see Deut 32:51). However, the language of holy war in the immediate context favors the reading of the MT, which views the Lord as accompanied by angelic hosts.
[33:2] 6 tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (’eshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (’eshhat) with Smr.