Deuteronomy 10:8

10:8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi 1  to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings 2  in his name, as they do to this very day.

Deuteronomy 33:16

33:16 with the harvest of the earth and its fullness

and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush. 3 

May blessing rest on Joseph’s head,

and on the top of the head of the one set apart 4  from his brothers.

1 sn The Lord set apart the tribe of Levi. This was not the initial commissioning of the tribe of Levi to this ministry (cf. Num 3:11-13; 8:12-26), but with Aaron’s death it seemed appropriate to Moses to reiterate Levi’s responsibilities. There is no reference in the Book of Numbers to this having been done, but the account of Eleazar’s succession to the priesthood there (Num 20:25-28) would provide a setting for this to have occurred.

2 sn To formulate blessings. The most famous example of this is the priestly “blessing formula” of Num 6:24-26.

3 tn The expression “him who resided in the bush” is frequently understood as a reference to the appearance of the Lord to Moses at Sinai from a burning bush (so NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT; cf. Exod 2:2-6; 3:2, 4). To make this reference clear the word “burning” is supplied in the translation.

4 sn This apparently refers to Joseph’s special status among his brothers as a result of his being chosen by God to save the family from the famine and to lead Egypt.