His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

DEUTERONOMY 33:17KJV
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Deuteronomy 33:17 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 33:17 mean?

Deuteronomy 33:17 pictures Joseph’s descendants as a powerful force able to drive peoples far away. The verse names Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s two sons, whose descendants formed two groups among the people of Israel.

Moses gives this description as part of his blessing for Joseph. The image of a strong bull with horns makes the act of pushing sound forceful and overwhelming.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 33:17

  • “unicorns” — רְאֵם (reʾem): This word is often understood to mean a wild ox, a large and powerful animal. The KJV’s “unicorns” can suggest a one-horned creature to modern readers, but the picture here is of an animal with formidable horns.

  • “push” — נָגַח (nagach): This word can mean to thrust or gore with a horn. The choice of word makes the bull image more vivid: the horns are used to drive others away.

Why Deuteronomy 33:17 matters

  • The animal image points to people, not just to an individual. The verse identifies the horns with “the ten thousands of Ephraim” and “the thousands of Manasseh.”

  • The two groups are presented as unequal in number. Ephraim is described in “ten thousands,” while Manasseh is described in “thousands.”

  • The phrase “to the ends of the earth” gives the picture a vast reach. It portrays the force of Joseph’s descendants extending far beyond their immediate surroundings.

Where else these words appear

“unicorns” Hebrew H7214 · used in 9 verses

  • Numbers 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
  • Job 39:9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
  • Psalms 29:6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

“push” Hebrew H5055 · used in 10 verses

  • Exodus 21:28 If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
  • 1 Kings 22:11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
  • Ezekiel 34:21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

“thousands” Hebrew H7233 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 24:60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
  • Judges 20:10 And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
  • Psalms 3:6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.

“glory” Hebrew H1926 · used in 29 verses

  • Leviticus 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
  • Psalms 96:6 Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
  • Isaiah 2:10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.