Ver. 8-11. And of Levi he said— Moses, having finished that part of his prayer which related to Judah, enters rapidly on a new subject, and offers his petitions in behalf of his own tribe. He begins by entreating the Almighty that the sacerdotal office might continue in this tribe, in which he had been pleased to appoint it, notwithstanding that they, together with the rest of Israel, had twice very remarkably displeased him through their disobedience and want of faith. But, as they had manifested a great zeal for the service of the Lord on another remarkable occasion, and had duly punished all offenders without the least respect of persons, he prays that it might still be their province for the future both to administer justice, and to offer sacrifices: and though they were exempted from war, yet, as the time would come when this tribe would produce some of the greatest champions that Israel ever saw, he implores that God would grant them success equal to their valour, and assist them in making an entire conquest of those enemies who would endeavour to reduce the Jewish nation to their yoke. This is Durell's general account of the prophesy respecting Levi. Houbigant gives a very different turn to it: the passage is certainly extremely difficult. We will first lay before the reader Durell's version and interpretation of it; and, secondly, that of Houbigant.
I. "Ver. 8. Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be to thy holy one,—whom thou didst prove at Massah,—and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; 9. Who said to his father,—and to his mother, I have not seen you;—neither did he acknowledge his brethren,—nor know his own children:—for they observed thy word,—and kept thy covenant:—10. They shall teach Jacob thy judgments,—and Israel thy laws:—they shall put incense before thee,—and whole burnt-sacrifice on thine altar:—11. Bless, LORD, his forces,—and accept the work of his hands:—smite through the loins of them that rise against him,—and let not his enemies rise up again." Thy Thummim and thy Urim, ver. 8 are here manifestly used, by a metonymy, for the priesthood; and are properly called God's, as they were made by his appointment, and were a means of intercourse between him and his people. There is some difficulty in these three verses 8, 9, 10 to ascertain who the general subject of them is, and to whom the pronouns are relative; besides, that there twice occurs in them an enallage of number. In respect of the first of these points, it is generally supposed that the 8th verse relates to Aaron, and to his successors the priests, only; and the 9th and 10th to the rest of the tribes. But there seems to be no ground for such a distinction; for Aaron is not said to have been particularly concerned in the first temptation at Rephidim, Exodus 17:2 as he was in the latter here referred to, at Kadesh, Numbers 20:3-4. On both these occasions, God made a general trial of the faith of his people; and they were all, excepting perhaps Joshua, Caleb, and Eleazar, found guilty: and though this cannot be understood here, as it is generally, of all the Israelites, it may be more applicable to the Levites than to any others, who, as they were God's more immediate ministers, incurred a proportionably greater condemnation. But how can a whole tribe be called the holy one of the Lord? We answer, With as much propriety, perhaps, as Aaron can: for חסיד chasid, does not always signify a complete character of virtue and piety, but is as frequently used for such as were objects of God's favour, or whose office was sacred; which is as true of the Levites in general as of their first high-priest. But, did not the privilege of using the Urim and Thummim belong to Aaron in particular, and to his line? We grant that it did: but the point in question seems to be, whether these were not rather discriminative of the whole tribe from the rest, than of one part of it from the other. And with regard to the singular number being here used, it is no more than is done in respect to all the other tribes; and therefore I think Levi must be the general subject throughout these verses, whether expressed by the singular or plural, which is indifferent, as the word is a noun of multitude. Secondly, as to the person to whom this discourse is addressed, it cannot be Levi, as Le Clerc says; for, in that case, thy Holy one must be understood either of GOD or of Aaron: if of GOD, though it is true that Levi proved him at the places before mentioned, HE must be the subject of ver. 9 which is absurd; and if understood of Aaron, how did Levi in particular tempt him in Massah and Meribah? Besides, ver. 9 when applied to him only, is false. It is much more reasonable, therefore, to consider all that is said here, as a prayer addressed to God, mentioned in the verse preceding this 8th. For, however divided the learned may be respecting this verse, they must all agree, that the six pronouns in the two verses following relate to God, though his name is at a much greater distance there than here. I read in the 9th verse, I have not seen you; for the Hebrew, followed by our version, cannot surely be the true reading, him having either no antecedent, or such a one as cannot agree with it. The LXX read, I have not seen thee; and the Vulgate and Arabic, I have not seen them; joining thereby both father and mother, which the other version takes separately. Not to see, plainly implies here the same as in the instances referred to; namely, not to acknowledge or regard. See Genesis 29:32. 1 Chronicles 17:17. It is said of the Levites, ver. 10. They shall teach thy judgments, &c. The Levites are not only commissioned to instruct the people in the law of Moses, but were also appointed by that very law to be judges and interpreters of it in civil as well as religious cases. Leviticus 10:11. Deuteronomy 17:8-9. They actually enjoyed this power in its full extent for many centuries. 2 Chronicles 30:22; 2 Chronicles 31:2; 2 Chronicles 35:3 and though they were abridged of it afterwards in some respects, they still had a considerable share of it about the time of the dissolution of their national polity. John 18:31.Acts 23:3; Acts 23:35. The other expressions in this verse refer to the duties of the sacerdotal office. The Hebrew word חיל chaiil, rendered substances in our version, ver. 11. I render forces, as it is almost universally used in a military sense for valour or strength, whether in a single person, or a whole army. The distinguished exploits of the Maccabean princes seem to be alluded to in this place. This is the most shining part in the character of this tribe, and it gives a lustre which exceeds that of all the other tribes. It is difficult, I apprehend, to assign a reason, consistent with Moses's character, why he should pray so ardently for the prosperity of this tribe in particular; and to shew how the two last lines are connected with the two preceding ones of this verse, according to the common interpretation; whereas the sense here given frees Moses from partiality, enlarges his object from a small tribe to a whole nation, and accounts, in some measure, for the enallage of the numbers in this and the foregoing verse. Thus far Durell.
We will now, II. lay before the reader Houbigant's version and interpretation. "Ver. 8. Thy Thummim and thy Urim is of thy holy one,—whom thou didst tempt at the place of temptation,—whom thou didst reproach at the waters of contention. 9. He shall say to his father and his mother, I have not seen him;—he shall not know his own brethren;—he shall not acknowledge for his sons any other than those—who shall observe thy word, and keep thy covenant.—10. These same shall teach Jacob thy judgments—and Israel thy law.—They shall put incense before thee,—and whole burnt-offerings on thine altar:—11. Bless, O LORD, his strength,—and favour the work of his hands:—Let him wound the loins of his enemies,—and let those who hate him not rise up again." Upon which passage, this writer observes, that, in the first place, thy holy one cannot be applied to Aaron; which, Durell having approved also, we shall take for granted. Secondly, he observes, that it is impossible to apply to Levi all that is said in this prophesy; for Moses, blessing the twelve tribes, foretels their future state, and the peculiar disposition of each tribe: but it was not the state nor the disposition of the tribe of Levi, for children not to acknowledge their parents; on the contrary, the priests and Levites invited their relations to partake of the sacrifices and tithes, so that the words, who said unto his father, &c. ver. 9 cannot belong to them. Nor would Moses have said, Bless, LORD, his strength or forces; for the sacred history nowhere informs us that the Levites excelled the other Israelites in strength; nor can the strength of war be meant, because the Levites were exempted from war. Neither can it be determined to what work of the Levites we may refer the words favour the works of his hands. Certainly, the victims offered by the Levites and all their ministry is not usually called the work of the hands of the Levites: and then the last of these words, wound the loins of his enemies, &c. cannot be peculiar to the tribe of Levi, which had no enemies but such as were common to all the tribes. These, which are not the least difficulties of this passage, lead the attentive reader, as it were, by the hand, and almost compel him to think that, in this blessing of Levi, the Levitical priesthood is opposed to the future priesthood of the MESSIAH; this being the meaning of Moses's words: "Thy Thummim and thy Urim is of, or from, thy Holy One, whom thou hast tempted. That perfection and that doctrine which thy priests possess is not thine, that thou mayest either have it from thyself, or impart it to others: it will be the prerogative of thy Holy One; of Him, whom the Lord will not suffer to see corruption; whom thou hast tempted; the same of whom St. Paul says, nor let us tempt Christ; whom Moses tempted, when, hesitatingly, he struck the rock; whom both Aaron and Moses, when Moses said, can we bring water for you from this rock?—Who shall say to his father and his mother, I have not seen, i.e. known him; the same who said—who is my mother? He that doeth the will of my Father, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." In perfect conformity to which, it is said, he will not know any other for his sons, than those who shall keep thy word. In the line, who shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law, the discourse is turned to GOD, as appears from the following verse, Bless, LORD, &c. They who teach the judgments are the same who keep the word, namely, those whom the Holy One will acknowledge as his own; who were to promulge the light of the Gospel, and to offer an acceptable sacrifice to God. His strength was to be blessed by God's favouring the work of his hands, and wounding the loins of his enemies; those same enemies, of whom it is said, Psalms 110:5. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.