‘And this he said of Judah: “Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him in to his people.  With your hands contend for him, and be a help against his adversaries” (Deuteronomy 33:7).

The blessing of the tribe of Judah is a comparatively short one, especially when compared to Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49:8-12 and the lengthy description of Judah’s territory that’s found in Joshua chapter 15.  The text highlights two things about the tribe.  Firstly, the sense of isolation which is illustrated with the phrase: “bring him to his people” and secondly, a sense of Judah’s formidable talents in battle which is highlighted with the phrase: “With your hands contend for him”.  Moses then proceeds to ask for the Lord’s help concerning Judah’s role against God’s enemies.

Again, this verse presents major translation difficulties which make it hard to get beneath the surface of the text.  So it would seem best to take this verse in a general sense as having, a prophetic dimension that anticipated Judah’s leading role in the future conquest of the land (see Judges 1:1-2).  This fits well with what we know from Numbers 2:9 where Judah is seen as having a leading role among the tribes when it comes to warfare.  As such, the tribe would occupy a very dangerous place when it came to battle and the blessing is best interpreted as a prayer of protection for the tribe in the future conquest of the Promised Land.

 However, there may also be a further prophetic element to this part of the blessing, in that it may refer to later events after the conquest of the land.  These being ‘the Philistine encroachments of the twelfth-eleventh centuries.’[1]  One notable difference from Jacob’s reference to Judah in Genesis 49:10 is that there is no reference to the messianic connections that Judah would have in the future.  Here Moses’ sets his thoughts on the more immediate future of the tribe, that being the conquest of the land.

Yet, in Judah’s blessing, there are lessons for us today. However naturally gifted the tribe was when it came to warfare, they still needed the Lord’s blessing to be successful.  However gifted we are as individuals and Churches, in the end it is always the Lord who brings forth blessing among us!

[1] J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press 1974) 309.