Deuteronomy 33:21

Summary

The verse continues the blessing of Gad, describing how he secured the best portion of land for himself, that a ruler's share was set aside for him there, and that he came together with the heads of the people to carry out Yehovah's righteousness and ordinances for Israel.

Key words

• re'shit ("choicest", H7225H) — feminine singular noun, the object seen/chosen, denoting the first or best portion of land.
• mechoqek ("a commander", H2710) — piel participle, "one who legislates/commands," describing the figure whose portion was reserved.
• saphun ("reserved", H5603) — qal passive participle, indicating something kept hidden or set apart for later use.
• tzidkat ("righteousness of", H6666) — feminine singular construct noun, linking directly to Yehovah (H3068G) to form "the righteousness of Yehovah."
• mishpatav ("judgments", H4941G) — masculine plural construct noun with 3rd person suffix "his," parallel to tzidkat, both objects of the verb asah ("he executed", H6213A).

What the text says

The sentence opens with the narrative verb vayar ("he saw", H7200J), whose subject continues from the preceding verses (the tribe of Gad). The object is re'shit lo — "the choicest for himself" — expressing that Gad selected or perceived the best portion as his own. The causal clause ki-sham chelqat mechoqek saphun explains why: "there" a portion belonging to a mechoqek — a commanding or legislating figure — was saphun, "reserved," using a passive participle that suggests something set aside rather than actively claimed.

The second half shifts to vayete ("he came", H0857), again with an unspecified "he" continuing the subject, joined by rashei 'am ("chiefs of people", H7218H/H5971A) — a construct phrase indicating leaders acting together with the people. The final clause places tzidkat Yehovah ("righteousness of Yehovah") and mishpatav ("his judgments") as parallel objects of the single verb asah ("he executed", H6213A), meaning the subject performed or carried out what belongs to Yehovah, extending this action 'im Yisra'el ("with Israel", H5973A/H3478).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders chelqat mechoqek saphun very differently, speaking of "the land of rulers divided, gathered together with the chiefs of peoples," turning the singular mechoqek into plural "archontes" and reworking the passive sense of saphun. The Vulgate keeps a singular figure, doctor ("teacher/lawgiver"), closer to the participle mechoqek. Regarding tzidkat Yehovah asah, the Hebrew keeps the subject implicit within the construct chain ("he executed the righteousness of Yehovah"), while the LXX makes Kyrios the explicit subject of the verb ("the Lord executed righteousness"), shifting the grammatical relationship between the divine name and the verb of action.