Biblical Parallels Index – Devarim 33

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Blessings of Yaakov and Moshe

Both Yaakov and Moshe address the tribes individually at the end of their lives. There are several points of comparison and contrast between the two sets of blessings, including differences in structure, differences in the order of blessings, and the omission of Shimon from Moshe’s blessings.

Sources

See RambanDevarim 33:6About R. Moshe b. Nachman on Devarim 33:6, who addresses some of the salient differences between Yaakov’s and Moshe’s blessings, including explaining the order of Moshe’s blessings and his omission of Shimon.
See AbarbanelDevarim 33:1-5About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel on Devarim 33:1-5, who explores these issues in depth, citing and evaluating the opinions of previous commentaries.

Articles

See Birth of a Nation: The Framing Statements of Moshe’s Blessings, by R. Mordekhai Sabato, for analysis of the meaning of the opening and closing statements of Moshe’s blessings, which stand in contrast to the structure of Yaakov’s speech to his sons. Yaakov speaks to his sons at the beginning of the process of the nation's emergence when they are still individuals, and he addresses them as such. Moshe, in contrast, stands at a point where the people are united as a nation, and thus sandwiches his individual blessing with words aimed at the nation at large. He speaks to them about acceptance of Torah and the yoke of divine kingship, the prerequisites for national settlement of the land.
See The Order of Moshe’s Blessings, by R. Menachem Leibtag, for analysis of how the different orders in which the blessings appear in the two narratives relate to the differing purposes of Yaakov’s and Moshe’s blessings. Yaakov is a father giving blessings to his sons, each related to the son's personal destiny and individual potential. As such, the order is more or less according to age. Moshe, in contrast, is a leader conferring blessings on his people, each related to their tribal role in the upcoming conquest and/or inheritance. As such, the order of his blessings relates more or less to the geographical location of the tribes' inheritances.