Deuteronomy 32:13

Deuteronomy 33:13

And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,

a. ASV: And of Joseph he said, Blessed of Jehovah be his land, For the precious things of heaven, for the dew, And for the deep that coucheth beneath,  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: And of Joseph he said: -- Blessed of Jehovah is his land, By precious things of the heavens, By dew, and by the deep crouching beneath,   [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified:  And of Joseph he said: Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the precious gifts of heaven from the dew and from the deep that couches beneath,  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. NLT: Moses said this about the tribes of Joseph: “May their land be blessed by the LORD

with the precious gift of dew from the heavens and water from beneath the earth;   [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

e. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: Of Joseph he said, Blessed by HASHEM is his land--with the heavenly bounty of dew, and with the deep waters crouching below;   [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

1. “And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land…”

a. [And of] Joseph [Strong: 3130 Yôwçêph, yo-safe'; future of H3254; let him add (or perhaps simply active participle adding); Joseph, the name of seven Israelites:—Joseph.]

b. [he] said [Strong: 559 ʼâmar, aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):—answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.]

c. Blessed [Strong: 1288 bârak, baw-rak'; a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason):—× abundantly, × altogether, × at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, curse, × greatly, × indeed, kneel (down), praise, salute, × still, thank.]

d. [be the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yᵉhôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw'; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:—Jehovah, the Lord.]

e. [be his] land [Strong: 776 ʼerets, eh'-rets; from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):—× common, country, earth, field, ground, land, × natins, way, + wilderness, world.]

1). This is obviously speaking of the geographical tribal allotments handed out by God to the 12 tribes. In Joseph’s case, he himself did not get section of Canaan, yet in another sense he received two, in that his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, each got one. His land would be blessed by God.

2.  “…for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath.”

a. [for the] precious things [Strong: 4022 meged, meh'-ghed; from an unused root probably meaning to be eminent; properly, a distinguished thing; hence something valuable, as a product or fruit:—pleasant, precious fruit (thing).] [Gesenius: something very precious or noble.] [AMG: a choice thing, the best thing, fruit and all kinds of produce from the land and heaven, it indicates precious valuables or gifts of all kinds.]

1). This Hebrew word is used in verses 14, 15, and 16. Looking at each verse’s context, it is referring to a variety of “precious valuables.”  

b. [of] heaven [Strong: 8064 shâmayim, shaw-mah'-yim; dual of an unused singular שָׁמֶה shâmeh; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve):—air, × astrologer, heaven(-s).]

c. [for the] dew [Strong: 2919 ṭal, tal; from H2926; dew (as covering vegetation):—dew.]

d. [and for the] deep [Strong:8415 tᵉhôwm, teh-home'; or תְּהֹם tᵉhôm; (usually feminine) from H1949; an abyss (as a surging mass of water), especially the deep (the main sea or the subterranean watersupply):—deep (place), depth.]

e. [that] coucheth [Strong: 7257 râbats, raw-bats'; a primitive root; to crouch (on all four legs folded, like a recumbent animal); by implication, to recline, repose, brood, lurk, imbed:—crouch (down), fall down, make a fold, lay, (cause to, make to) lie (down), make to rest, sit.]

f. beneath [Strong: 8478 tachath, takh'-ath; from the same as H8430; the bottom (as depressed); only adverbially, below (often with prepositional prefix underneath), in lieu of, etc.:—as, beneath, × flat, in(-stead), (same) place (where...is), room, for...sake, stead of, under, × unto, × when...was mine, whereas, (where-) fore, with.]

1). If words mean anything then this is speaking of precious valuable things that are lying deep under the earth in the tribal area of Ephraim and Manasseh.

 

a). On a side note, we must see in this that not only in Israel but all over the earth God has strategically placed an abundance of precious things under the earth. The purpose being that man would extract it from the earth by means of the technology that God would give man and man would be blessed by it. This includes all types of metals, minerals and petroleum. I am fully persuaded that this is part of the witness of God referred to by the Apostle Paul in his preaching to the people of Lystra.

b). Acts 14:17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.