And Or, for, he was king Not indeed in title, but, in reality, being under God their supreme governor and lawgiver; and therefore, by his authority, required them to observe these laws. When the tribes were gathered together When the princes and people met together, for the management of public affairs, Moses was owned by them as their king and lawgiver. Le Clerc, however, and many others, think that God, and not Moses, is here intended, he being indeed the king and lawgiver of the Jews especially, and not Moses. Moses elsewhere sufficiently intimates that he was not their king, Deuteronomy 17:14. And so does Samuel, who acted in a character similar to that of Moses, 1 Samuel 8:7.
Related Commentaries of Deuteronomy 33:5
Deuteronomy 33:5
5 And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.