Genesis 49

Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons

1And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may #Deut. 33:1, 6–25; (Amos 3:7)tell you what shall befall you #Num. 24:14; (Deut. 4:30); Is. 2:2; 39:6; Jer. 23:20; Heb. 1:2in the last days:

2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,

And listen to Israel your father.

3“Reuben, you are #Gen. 29:32my firstborn,

My might and the beginning of my strength,

The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

4Unstable as water, you shall not excel,

Because you #Gen. 35:22; Deut. 27:20; 1 Chr. 5:1went up to your father’s bed;

Then you defiled it—

He went up to my couch.

5“Simeon and Levi are brothers;

Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

6#Ps. 64:2; Prov. 1:15, 16Let not my soul enter their council;

Let not my honor be united #Ps. 26:9; Eph. 5:11to their assembly;

#Gen. 34:26For in their anger they slew a man,

And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;

And their wrath, for it is cruel!

#Num. 18:24; Josh. 19:1, 9; 21:1–42; 1 Chr. 4:24–27I will divide them in Jacob

And scatter them in Israel.

8“Judah,#Deut. 33:7; Rev. 5:5 you are he whom your brothers shall praise;

#Ps. 18:40Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

#Gen. 27:29; 1 Chr. 5:2Your father’s children shall bow down before you.

9Judah is #Deut. 33:22; Ezek. 19:5–7; Mic. 5:8; (Rev. 5:5)a lion’s whelp;

From the prey, my son, you have gone up.

#Num. 23:24; 24:9He bows down, he lies down as a lion;

And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

10#Num. 24:17; Jer. 30:21; Matt. 1:3; 2:6; Luke 3:33; Rev. 5:5The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

Nor #Ps. 60:7a lawgiver from between his feet,

#Is. 11:1; (Matt. 21:9)Until Shiloh comes;

#Deut. 18:15; Ps. 2:6–9; 72:8–11; Is. 42:1, 4; 49:6; 60:1–5; (Luke 2:30–32)And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

11Binding his donkey to the vine,

And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

He washed his garments in wine,

And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

12His eyes are darker than wine,

And his teeth whiter than milk.

13“Zebulun#Deut. 33:18, 19; Josh. 19:10, 11 shall dwell by the haven of the sea;

He shall become a haven for ships,

And his border shall #Gen. 10:19; Josh. 11:8adjoin Sidon.

14“Issachar#1 Chr. 12:32 is a strong donkey,

Lying down between two burdens;

15He saw that rest was good,

And that the land was pleasant;

He bowed #1 Sam. 10:9his shoulder to bear a burden,

And became a band of slaves.

16“Dan#Gen. 30:6; Deut. 33:22; Judg. 18:26, 27 shall judge his people

As one of the tribes of Israel.

17#Judg. 18:27Dan shall be a serpent by the way,

A viper by the path,

That bites the horse’s heels

So that its rider shall fall backward.

18#Ex. 15:2; Ps. 25:5; 40:1–3; 119:166, 174; Is. 25:9; Mic. 7:7I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!

19“Gad,#Gen. 30:11; Deut. 33:20; 1 Chr. 5:18 a troop shall tramp upon him,

But he shall triumph at last.

20“Bread from #Deut. 33:24; Josh. 19:24–31Asher shall be rich,

And he shall yield royal dainties.

21“Naphtali#Deut. 33:23 is a deer let loose;

He uses beautiful words.

22“Joseph is a fruitful bough,

A fruitful bough by a well;

His branches run over the wall.

23The archers have #Gen. 37:4, 24; Ps. 118:13bitterly grieved him,

Shot at him and hated him.

24But his #Job 29:20; Ps. 37:15bow remained in strength,

And the arms of his hands were made strong

By the hands of #Ps. 132:2, 5; Is. 1:24; 49:26the Mighty God of Jacob

#Gen. 45:11; 47:12(From there #(Ps. 23:1; 80:1)is the Shepherd, #(Ps. 118:22); Is. 28:16; (1 Pet. 2:6–8)the Stone of Israel),

25#Gen. 28:13; 32:9; 35:3; 43:23; 50:17By the God of your father who will help you,

#Gen. 17:1; 35:11And by the Almighty #Deut. 33:13who will bless you

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26The blessings of your father

Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,

#Deut. 33:15; Hab. 3:6Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.

#Deut. 33:16They shall be on the head of Joseph,

And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

27“Benjamin is a #Judg. 20:21, 25ravenous wolf;

In the morning he shall devour the prey,

#Num. 23:24; Esth. 8:11; Ezek. 39:10; Zech. 14:1And at night he shall divide the spoil.”

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

Jacob’s Death and Burial

29Then he charged them and said to them: “I #Gen. 15:15; 25:8; 35:29am to be gathered to my people; #Gen. 47:30; 2 Sam. 19:37bury me with my fathers #Gen. 23:16–20; 50:13in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, #Gen. 23:3–20which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. 31#Gen. 23:19, 20; 25:9There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, #Gen. 35:29; 50:13there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. 32The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

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Genesis 49

Jacob Blesses His Sons

1Jacob called his sons together and said:

My sons, I am Jacob,

your father Israel.

2Come, gather around,

as I tell your future.

3Reuben, you are my oldest,

born at the peak of my powers;

you were an honored leader.

4Uncontrollable as a flood,

you slept with my wife

and disgraced my bed.

And so you no longer deserve

the place of honor.

5Simeon and Levi,

you are brothers,

each a gruesome sword.

6I never want to take part

in your plans or deeds.

You slaughtered people

in your anger,

and you crippled cattle

for no reason.

7Now I place a curse on you

because of

your fierce anger.

Your descendants

will be scattered

among the tribes of Israel.

8Judah, you will be praised

by your brothers;

they will bow down to you,

as you defeat your enemies.

9 # Nu 24.9; Rev 5.5. My son, you are a lion

ready to eat your victim!

You are terribly fierce;

no one will bother you.

10You will have power and rule

until nations obey you#49.10 until … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

and come bringing gifts.

11You will tie your donkey

to a choice grapevine

and wash your clothes

in wine from those grapes.

12Your eyes are darker than wine,

your teeth whiter than milk.

13Zebulun, you will settle

along the seashore

and provide safe harbors

as far north as Sidon.

14Issachar, you are a strong donkey

resting in the meadows.#49.14 resting … meadows: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

15You found them so pleasant

that you worked too hard

and became a slave.

16Dan,#49.16 Dan: In Hebrew “Dan” means “justice” or “judgment.” you are the tribe

that will bring justice

to Israel.

17You are a snake that bites

the heel of a horse,

making its rider fall.

18Our Lord, I am waiting

for you to save us.

19Gad,#49.19 Gad: In Hebrew “Gad” sounds like “attack.” you will be attacked,

then attack your attackers.

20Asher, you will eat food

fancy enough for a king.

21Naphtali, you are a wild deer

with lovely fawns.#49.21 with lovely fawns: Or “speaking lovely words.”

22Joseph, you are a fruitful vine

growing near a stream

and climbing a wall.#49.22 wall: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

23Enemies attacked with arrows,

refusing to show mercy.

24But you stood your ground,

swiftly shooting back

with the help of Jacob's God,

the All-Powerful One—

his name is the Shepherd,

Israel's mighty rock.#49.24 mighty rock: The Hebrew text has “rock,” which is sometimes used in poetry to compare the Lord to a mountain where his people can run for protection from their enemies.

25Your help came from the God

your father worshiped,

from God All-Powerful.

God will bless you with rain

and streams from the earth;

he will bless you

with many descendants.

26My son, the blessings I give

are better than the promise

of ancient mountains

or eternal hills.#49.26 eternal hills: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

Joseph, I pray these blessings

will come to you,

because you are the leader

of your brothers.

27Benjamin, you are a fierce wolf,

destroying your enemies

morning and evening.

28These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is how Jacob gave each of them their proper blessings.

Jacob's Death

29-31 # Gn 23.3-20; Gn 25.9,10; Gn 35.28,29. Jacob told his sons:

Soon I will die, and I want you to bury me in Machpelah Cave. Abraham bought this cave as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, and it is near the town of Mamre in Canaan. Abraham and Sarah are buried there, and so are Isaac and Rebekah. I buried Leah there too. 32Both the cave and the land that goes with it were bought from the Hittites.

33 # Ac 7.15. When Jacob had finished giving these instructions to his sons, he lay down on his bed and died.

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