Deuteronomy 33:24

And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(24) Let Asher be blessed with children.—It can be translated “more blessed than all sons.” Rashi quotes an old saying, “You will not find among all the tribes one so blest with children as Asher, and I cannot say why.”

Let him be acceptable to his brethren, and . . . dip his foot in oil.—The fertility of Asher’s inheritance is probably alluded to. There is no tribe of which so little is recorded in history. The happiest lives are sometimes the least eventful.

Benson Commentary

Deuteronomy 33:24. Let Asher — Who carries blessedness in his very name; be blessed with children — He shall have numerous, strong, and healthful children. Acceptable to his brethren — By his sweet disposition and winning carriage. In oil — He shall have such plenty of oil that he may not only wash his face, but his feet also in it. This prophetic blessing was remarkably fulfilled; for Asher’s portion abounded with the best and most remarkable oil, which was the most famed of all Canaan’s productions. Compare Job 29:6, and Genesis 49:20.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

33:24,25 All shall be sanctified to true believers; if their way be rough, their feet shall be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. As thy days, so shall thy strength be. The day is often in Scripture put for the events of the day; it is a promise that God would graciously and constantly support under trials and troubles, whatever they were. It is a promise sure to all the spiritual seed of Abraham. Have they work allotted? They shall have strength to do it. Have they burdens appointed? They shall have strength, and never be tempted above what they are able to bear.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Rather, "Blessed above the sons" (i. e. of Jacob-most blessed among the sons of Jacob) "be Asher; let him he the favored one of his brethren," i. e., the one favored of God. The plenty with which this tribe should be blessed is described under the figure of dipping the foot in oil (compare the marginal reference).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

24, 25. of Asher he said—The condition of this tribe is described as combining all the elements of earthly felicity.

dip his foot in oil—These words allude either to the process of extracting the oil by foot presses, or to his district as particularly fertile and adapted to the culture of the olive.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

He shall have numerous, and those strong, and healthful, and comely, children. Or, shall be blessed or praised of or above the sons, i.e. the other sons of Israel, or his brethren, as it here follows, i.e. his portion shall fall in an excellent part, where he may have the benefits both of his own fat soil, and of the sea, by his neighbours Tyrus and Sidon.

Acceptable to his brethren; by his sweet disposition and winning carriage, and communication of his excellent commodities to his brethren, he shall gain their affections.

Let him dip his foot in oil; he shall have such plenty of oil, that he may not only wash his face, but his feet also, in it. Or, the fatness and fertility of his country may be expressed by oil, as Job 29:6. And so it agrees with Jacob’s blessing of him, Genesis 49:20.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And of Asher he said,.... The tribe of Asher, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem:

let Asher be blessed with children; with large numbers, as it appears this tribe was, having in it 53,400 men of war, Numbers 26:47. It was esteemed a great blessing to have many children, Psalm 128:3; or "above the children"; above or more than the rest of the children of Jacob; see Luke 2:36; Jarchi observes, that he had seen, in a book called Siphri, that there was none in all the tribes blessed with children as Asher, but not known how:

let him be acceptable to his brethren; either for his excellent bread, and royal dainties, Genesis 49:20; or for the goodness of his olives and oil, and for the brass and iron found in this tribe, as follows; or, as some say, because of his children, his daughters being very beautiful:

and let him dip his foot in oil; have such plenty of it, that if he would he might dip or wash his feet in it; and it was usual not only to anoint the head, but the feet (f) also, with oil, Luke 7:46.

(f) "Vidimus etiam vestigia pedum tingi", Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 3. Vid. Dalecamp. Not. in ib.

Geneva Study Bible

And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

24. at thine own pleasure] or appetite, Deuteronomy 12:20, Deuteronomy 14:26. Thy fill, which in Heb. follows this clause, may be a gloss on it.

vessel] Heb. keli (Deuteronomy 22:5 garment), a sack (Genesis 43:11, 1 Samuel 17:40) or pot.

24 And of Asher he said:

Blessed above sons be Ashér,

Be the favoured of his brethren,

And be dipping his foot in oil.

25 Iron and brass be thy bars,

And thy strength as thy days.

Asher lay W. of Naphtali on the same range and enjoyed similar fertility, cp. Genesis 49:20 : ‘I know not if there be in all antiquity a more finished picture’ (Geddes).

24. Blessed above sons be Asher] As in R.V. marg., cp. Jdg 5:24.

in oil] All the Galilean highlands were famous for their olives. ‘It is easier to raise a legion of olives in Galilee than to bring up a child in Palestine’ (Bereshith Rabba, 20).

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 24, 25. - Asher, the prosperous one, as his name implies, was to be rich, and honored, and strong, and peaceful. Blessed with children; rather, blessed among the sons; i.e. either blessed more than the rest of the sons, or blessed by the sons who were to reap benefit from him. From what follows, the latter explanation seems the one to be preferred. The preposition מִן is constantly used as indicating the source whence anything proceeds, or the agent by whom anything is done. Let him be acceptable to his brethren; "iis e tetras suae proventibus res optimas suppeditaturus; cf. Genesis 49:20" (Rosenmüller). This tribe should find itself in so advantageous and luxurious a condition that the ether tribes should have delight and pleasure in it" (Knobel). Others render, "favored among his brethren;" favored, that is, by the Lord more than his brethren (Keil). But the former seems preferable. And let him dip his foot in oil. This points to a land abounding in olives, and generally richly fertile, a fat land and yielding rich dainties, such as Jacob promised to Asher (Genesis 49:20). Thy shoes shall be iron and brass. The word rendered "shoes" (מִנְעָל) occurs only here. It is a derivative from נָעַל, to bolt or shut fast, and is to be taken in the sense of a fastness or fortress, a place securely closed: iron and brass shall be thy fortress; i.e. his dwelling should be strong and impregnable. The rendering" shoes" is from a supposed derivation of the word from נַעַל, a shoe. As thy days, so shall thy strength be; literally, as thy days, thy rest; i.e. as long as thou livest, so long shalt thou have rest and quiet. The noun rendered "strength" (דֹבֵא) in the Authorized Version. occurs only here, unless it be found in the proper name מֶידְבָא (Me-deba), and has no Cognate in Hebrew; but the Arabic supplies a root for it in (deba), to rest. Furst connects it with זָב, and the Targum with דְּוָא, to flow, and translates by "riches." Deuteronomy 33:24

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Asher. - "Blessed before the sons be Asher; let him be the favoured among his brethren, and dipping his foot in oil. Iron and brass be thy castle; and as the days of thy life let thy rest continue." Asher, the prosperous (see at Genesis 30:15), was justly to bear the name. He was to be a child of prosperity; blessed with earthly good, he was to enjoy rest all his life long in strong fortresses. It is evident enough that this blessing is simply an exposition of the name Asher, and that Moses here promises the tribe a verification of the omen contained in its name. מבּנים בּרוּך does not mean "blessed with children," or "praised because of his children," in which case we should have בּניו; but "blessed before the sons" (cf. Judges 5:24), i.e., blessed before the sons of Jacob, who were peculiarly blessed, equivalent to the most blessed of all the sons of Israel. אחיו רצוּי does not mean the beloved among his brethren, acceptable to his brethren, but the one who enjoyed the favour of the Lord, i.e., the one peculiarly favoured by the Lord. Dipping the foot in oil points to a land flowing with oil (Job 29:6), i.e., fat or fertile throughout, which Jacob had already promised to Asher (see Genesis 49:20). To complete the prosperity, however, security and rest were required for the enjoyment of the blessings bestowed by God; and these are promised in Deuteronomy 33:25. מנעל (ἅπ. λεγ.) does not mean a shoe, but is derived from נעל, to bolt (Judges 3:23), and signifies either a bolt, or that which is shut fast; a poetical expression for a castle or fortress. Asher's dwellings were to be castles, fortresses of iron and brass; i.e., as strong and impregnable as if they were built of iron and brass. The pursuit of mining is not to be thought of as referred to here, even though the territory of Asher, which reached to Lebanon, may have contained brass and iron (see at Deuteronomy 8:9). Luther follows the lxx and Vulgate, and renders this clause, "iron and brass be upon his shoes;" but this is undoubtedly wrong, as the custom of fastening the shoes or sandals with brass or iron was quite unknown to the Israelites; and even Goliath, who was clothed in brass from head to foot, and wore iron greaves, had no iron sandals, though the military shoes of the ancient Romans had nails in the soles. Moreover, the context contains no reference to war, so as to suggest the idea that the treading down and cursing of the foe are intended. "As thy days," i.e., as long as the days of thy life last, let thy rest be (continue). Luther's rendering, "let thine old age be as thy youth," which follows the Vulgate, cannot be sustained; for although דּבא, derived from דאב, to vanish away, certainly might signify old age, the expression "thy days" cannot possibly be understood as signifying youth.