Deuteronomy 33:16

Summary

The verse closes Moses' blessing on Joseph, listing prized gifts — the produce of the earth and its abundance — together with the favor of the deity described as "dwelling in the bush." These are wished to rest on Joseph's head, specifically on the crown of the one described as nezir ("consecrated one/separated one") among his brothers.

Key words

• meged ("excellent gift of", H4022) — construct noun opening a chain of blessings tied to the land.
• meloah ("what fills it", H4393) — construct noun with 3rd person feminine suffix, referring back to eretz ("earth", H0776G).
• shokheni ("the one dwelling", H7931) — qal participle in construct form, describing an ongoing state ("the one who dwells") rather than a single past event; it is bound to seneh ("bush", H5572).
• tavo'ta ("may it come", H0935I) — qal imperfect, feminine singular, carrying a paragogic he (H9012) that adds emphasis to the verb of coming/arriving.
• nezir ("consecrated one of", H5139) — construct noun describing Joseph as one set apart, bound to 'echav ("his brothers", H0251G).

What the text says

The verse is built as a construct chain: "the excellent gift of earth" (meged eretz), "and what fills it" (melo'ah), "and the favor of the one dwelling [in the] bush" (retzon shokheni seneh). Each of these nouns in construct state points toward an implied source of blessing, culminating in the verb tavo'ta, feminine singular, agreeing grammatically with the feminine nouns of the chain (meged, retzon, etc. treated collectively). The paragogic he on the verb intensifies the sense of arrival — the blessings are pictured as actively coming to rest.

The participle shokheni ("the one dwelling") is in construct with seneh ("bush"), producing the phrase "the dweller of the bush," describing an ongoing state of presence rather than a completed action. The final phrase names the recipient: rosh Yosef ("head of Joseph") and kodkod nezir echav ("scalp of the consecrated-one of his brothers"), where nezir denotes someone set apart or separated from among his brothers.

Differences between versions

The LXX diverges notably: it renders the "choice gift of the land" as "according to the season of the fullness of earth," and describes the divine figure as "crowned in the bush" (κορυφθίντι) using a passive verb rather than the Hebrew's active participle "dwelling." It also translates nezir echav as "glorified among brothers," differing from the Hebrew sense of "consecrated/separated one."

The Vulgate adds an interpretive noun, "benedictio" ("blessing"), not present in the Hebrew construct chain, and uses "apparuit" ("appeared") for shokheni ("dwelling"), shifting the participle's durative sense toward a single event. It also transliterates nezir as "nazaræi," treating it as a technical term rather than translating its meaning of "consecrated" or "separated."