Why does Moses' final blessing over each tribe echo almost the exact structure of Jacob's tribal blessings back in Genesis 49? The book's last major act seems to deliberately mirror the ending of the very first book. Not every tribe gets equal space ...
Literaryוזאת הברכה … לפני מותו AND THIS IS THE BLESSING [WHEREWITH MOSES … BLESSED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] BEFORE HIS DEATH — i.e., quite near to his death. “For” said he, “if not now, when?” (Sifrei Devarim 342:7).
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