With the eighth verse the blessing of Levi (one of the two most heartfelt and sympathetic) begins. In it Yahweh is addressed thus:--
"Thy Urim and thy Thummim be to the men (_i.e._ tribe) of thy devoted one (_i.e._ Moses or Aaron), Whom thou didst prove at Massah, With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah."
In the last lines the relative pronoun is ambiguous, as it may refer either to "men," for which in Hebrew we have the collective singular '_ish_, or to "thy devoted one." The last is the more probable; but in either case there is a superficial discrepancy here between the historical books and this statement. In Exod. xvii. 1-7, as well as in Deuteronomy itself, it is the people who strove with Moses and proved or tempted Yahweh. On this account some would have us believe that a different account of the events at Massah and Meribah was in this writer's mind. But that is the result of a mere itch for discovering discrepancies. It lies in the very nature of the case that there should be another side to it. The beginning was with the people; but just as the wandering in the wilderness is said to have been meant by God to prove Israel, so this insubordination of the people was meant to prove Moses or Aaron, and their failure to stand the proof made Yahweh strive with them. The verse, then, founds Levi's claim to possess the chief oracle and to instruct Israel first of all upon their connection with Moses or Aaron, or both, since they had been exceptionally tried and had proved their devotion. The next verse, then, goes on to found it also on the faithfulness of the Levites, when they were called upon by Moses (Exod. xxxii. 26-29) to punish the people for their worship of the golden calf. In vv. 27 and 29 of that chapter we find the same phrases,
9 "Who (_i.e._ the tribe) said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; Who recognised not his brother, and would know nought of his son; For they kept Thy commandment, And kept guard over Thy covenant."
Being such--
10 "Let them teach Jacob Thy judgments, And Israel Thy Torah; Let them put incense in Thy nostrils, And whole burnt-offerings upon Thine altars."
Here we have the whole priestly duties assigned to the Levites. They are to perform judicial functions; to give Torah, or instruction, by means of the Urim and Thummim and otherwise; to offer incense in the Holy Place, and sacrifices in the court of the Temple. As early as this, therefore (on any supposition we need regard, long before Deuteronomy), we find the Levites fully established as the priestly tribe. Before the earliest writing prophets this was so--a fact of the greatest importance for the history of Israelite religion. The remaining verse beseeches Yahweh to accept the work of Levi's hands, and to smite down his enemies. Evidently when this was written special enmity was being shown to this tribe; and, as has been said already, the religious proceedings of Jeroboam I. would be sufficient to call forth such a cry to Yahweh.
In ver. 12 the tribe of Benjamin is dealt with, and it is depicted as specially blessed by the Divine favour and the Divine presence. Yahweh covers him all the day long, and dwells between his shoulders. There can hardly be a doubt that the reference is to the situation of the Temple at Jerusalem, on the hill of Zion, towards the loftier boundary of Benjamin's territory.
Verses 13-17 contain the blessing of Joseph, _i.e._ of the two tribes Ephraim and Manasseh.
13 "Blessed of Yahweh be his land By the precious things of heaven from above, By the deep which crouches beneath;
14 "By the precious things of the sun, And the precious things of the moons;