Deuteronomy 33:20
18 Concerning Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys, and Issachar, in your tents.
19 They will call the peoples to a mountain; there they will offer sacrifices of righteousness. For they will feast on the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.”
Concerning Gad he said: “Blessed is he who enlarges the domain of Gad! He lies down like a lion and tears off an arm or a head.
21 He chose the best land for himself, because a ruler’s portion was reserved for him there. He came with the leaders of the people; he administered the LORD’s justice and His ordinances for Israel.”
22 Concerning Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s cub, leaping out of Bashan.”
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Concerning Gad he said: “Blessed is he who enlarges the domain of Gad! He lies down like a lion and tears off an arm or a head.
- KJV
- And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.
- WEB
- About Gad he said, “He who enlarges Gad is blessed. He dwells as a lioness, and tears the arm and the crown of the head.
- ASV
- And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: He dwelleth as a lioness, And teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head.
- DARBY
- And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad! As a lion doth he dwell, and teareth the arm, even the top of the head.
- BLB
- And of Gad he said, “Blessed [is] he who enlarges Gad; as a lion He dwells; and he tears the arm and the crown of the head.
- ÅB
- Og om Gad sa han: Lovet være han som gir Gad vidt rom! Som en løvinne har han lagt seg ned, og han sønderriver både arm og isse.
- OTB
- Om Gad sa han: “Velsignet er han som utvider Gads område! Gad bor der som en løve, river i stykker arm og hode.
- B1930
- Og om Gad sa han: Lovet være han som gir Gad vidt rum! Som en løvinne har han lagt sig ned, og han sønderriver både arm og isse.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Genesis 49:19
Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.
Read in context1 Chronicles 12:8–14
Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were mighty men of valor, trained for battle, experts with the shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were as swift as gazelles on the mountains:
Read in contextMicah 5:8
Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which tramples and tears as it passes through, with no one to rescue them.
Read in contextJoshua 13:8
The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them:
Read in context1 Chronicles 12:37–38
And from east of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh there: 120,000 armed with every kind of weapon of war.
Read in context1 Chronicles 5:18–21
The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 warriors—valiant men who carried the shield and sword, drew the bow, and were trained for battle.
Read in contextJoshua 13:10
and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites;
Read in contextJoshua 13:24–28
This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Gad:
Read in context