Deuteronomy 33:20

Summary

The verse contains a blessing oracle for the tribe of Gad, praising the one who enlarges Gad's territory and comparing Gad to a lion that lies in wait and tears its prey. The imagery moves from passive divine blessing to active predatory strength.

Key words

• mar.Chiv ("[one who] enlarges", H7337) — hiphil (causative) participle in construct form, meaning "the one who causes to be wide/enlarges." As a participle it functions substantively: "the enlarger of Gad," not a finished action but an ongoing characteristic.
• ba.Rukh ("[be] blessed", H1288) — qal passive participle, describing a state resulting from an action already performed on the subject, standard formula opening several of these tribal blessings.
• sha.Khen ("he dwells", H7931) — qal perfect, "he dwelt/dwells," describing settled residence; paired with ke.la.Vi' ("like a lion", H3833C) to form the simile "he dwells like a lion."
• ta.Raf ("he tears", H2963) — qal perfect, denotes the violent action of tearing prey, typically used for wild animals; continues the lion imagery from the previous clause.
• qadqod ("a scalp", H6936) — masculine singular noun, referring to the crown/top of the head; paired with 'af ("also", H0637) to intensify the second object of the tearing.

What the text says

The verse opens with u.le.Gad 'a.Mar ("and to/concerning Gad he said"), a formulaic introduction matching the pattern used for other tribes in this chapter. The blessing proper begins with ba.Rukh mar.Chiv Gad — a passive participle followed by a hiphil participle in construct with the name "Gad" again. The repetition of Gad (once as the tribe being blessed, once as the object of "enlarging") creates a wordplay effect, since the name Gad and the participle mar.Chiv share phonetic proximity.

The second half shifts to simile: ke.la.Vi' sha.Khen ("like a lion he dwells") uses two qal perfects (sha.Khen, ta.Raf) to describe completed or characteristic action — the lion's settled dwelling and its violent tearing. The two objects of tearing, ze.Ro.a' ("arm", H2220) and qadqod ("scalp", H6936), are joined by the intensifying particle 'af ("also"), suggesting a totalizing image of predation — both limb and head are torn.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders qadqod ("scalp") as ἄρχοντα ("ruler/chief"), a notably different sense from the Hebrew's body-part imagery. The Vulgate's verticem ("crown of the head") aligns more closely with the Hebrew qadqod. For ta.Raf ("he tears"), the LXX has συντρίψας ("having crushed/broken") while the Vulgate uses cepit ("seized"), both diverging from the more violent "tearing" sense of the Hebrew verb. The LXX's ἀνεπαύσατο ("he rested") for sha.Khen ("he dwells") also shifts the nuance from settled habitation to repose.