Deuteronomy 33:16
And of the fruits of the earth, and of the fulness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush, come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
In the palace
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- et de frugibus terræ, et de plenitudine ejus. Benedictio illius qui apparuit in rubo, veniat super caput Joseph, et super verticem nazaræi inter fratres suos.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- καὶ καθ᾽ ὥραν γῆς πληρώσεως· καὶ τὰ δεκτὰ τῷ ὀφθέντι ἐν τῷ βάτῳ ἔλθοισαν ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν Ἰωσὴφ, καὶ ἐπὶ κορυφῆς Δοξασθεὶς ἐπ᾽ ἀδελφοῖς.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וּמִמֶּ֗גֶד אֶ֚רֶץ וּמְלֹאָ֔הּ וּרְצ֥וֹן שֹׁכְנִ֖י סְנֶ֑ה תָּב֨וֹאתָה֙ לְרֹ֣אשׁ יוֹסֵ֔ף וּלְקָדְקֹ֖ד נְזִ֥יר אֶחָֽיו
Haydock's commentary
Thereof, whatever the earth can produce, particularly wheat, &c. The fruits of heaven, (ver. 13,) may denote such as grew on trees. (Calmet)
Bush; God, who appeared to Moses. (Haydock)
Nazarite. See the note on Genesis xlix. 26. (Challoner)
Joseph was distinguished by God, by his father, and by the king of Egypt, in a particular manner. The high priest was the Nasir in the house of God, (Leviticus xxi. 12,) as Joseph ws the chief officer, at the court of Pharao. The eastern kings still give this title to their prime minister. (Chardin. Perse. T. ii. 5, p. 136.)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter XCI. The cross was foretold
“And God by Moses shows in another way the force of the mystery of the cross, when He said in the blessing wherewith Joseph was blessed, ‘From the blessing of the Lord is his land; for the seasons of heaven, and for the dews, and for the deep springs from beneath, and for the seasonable fruits of the sun, and for the coming together of the months, and for the heights of the everlasting mountains, and for the heights of the hills, and for the ever-flowing rivers, and for the fruits of the fatness of the earth; and let the things accepted by Him who appeared in the bush come on the head and crown of Joseph. …
St Hilary of Poitiers De Trinitate or On the Trinity, Book IV
33. Continue your study of the witness borne by Moses; mark how diligently he seizes every opportunity of proclaiming the Lord and God. You take note of the passage, Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is One . Note also the words of that Divine song of his; See, See, that I am the Lord, and there is no God beside Me. While God has been the Speaker throughout the poem, he ends with, Rejoice, ye heavens, together with Him and let all the sons of God praise Him. Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people, and let all the Angels of God do Him honour . God is to be glorified by the Angels of God, and He says, For I am the Lord, and there is no God beside Me . For He is God the Only-begotten, and the title ‘Only-begotten’ excludes all partnership in that character, just as the title ‘Unoriginate’ denies that there is, in that regard, any who shares the character of the Unoriginate Father. …
St Ambrose On the Duties of the Clergy, Chapter XVI. Due measure must be observed in liberality, that it may not be expended on worthless persons, when it is needed by worthier ones. However, alms are not to be given in too sparing and hesitating a way. One ought rather to follow the example of the blessed Joseph, whose prudence is commended at great length
85. Whence it was deservedly said to him by his father: “My son Joseph is enlarged, my son is enlarged, my younger son, my beloved. My God hath helped thee and blessed thee with the blessing of heaven above and the blessing of the earth, the earth that hath all things, on account of the blessings of thy father and thy mother. It hath prevailed over the blessings of the everlasting hills and the desires of the eternal hills.” And in Deuteronomy: “Thou Who wast seen in the bush, that Thou mayest come upon the head of Joseph, upon his pate. Honoured among his brethren, his glory is as the firstling of his bullocks; his horns are like the horns of unicorns. With his horn he shall push the nations even to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.”