Genesis 49

Israel’s Prophecy concerning His Sons

1Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves [around me] that I may tell you what will happen to you and your descendants #See Deut 33, where Moses blesses the same tribes in a similar prophetic way.in the days to come.

2Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob;

And listen to Israel (Jacob) your father.

3“Reuben, you are my #Reuben was the eldest of Jacob’s twelve sons and therefore entitled to the birthright, which would make him successor to his father as head of the family or tribe, and inheritor of a double portion of his father’s estate. But Reuben forfeited all this by his conduct with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (35:22). By adopting Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and giving each of them a portion of the inheritance, Jacob virtually gave Joseph the extra portion of the land that would have gone to Reuben. Judah became the tribal leader in Reuben’s place (49:8-10).firstborn;

My might, the beginning of my strength and vigor,

Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power [that should have been your birthright].

4But unstable and reckless and boiling over like water [in sinful lust], you shall #The fertile land once occupied by the tribe of Reuben was deserted by its settled inhabitants and given over to the tribal nomads of the desert. Because of his behavior, Reuben had forfeited his rights as the firstborn even before Jacob’s prophecy.not excel or have the preeminence [of the firstborn],

Because you went up to your father’s bed [with Bilhah];

You defiled it—he went up to my couch.

5“Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel];

Their swords are weapons of violence and revenge.

6O my soul, do not come into their secret council;

Let not my glory (honor) be united with their assembly [for I knew nothing of their plot];

Because in their anger they killed men [an honored man, Shechem, and the Shechemites],

And in their self-will they lamed oxen.

7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;

And their wrath, for it was cruel.

I will divide and disperse them in Jacob,

And #This prophecy was fulfilled when the tribe of Levi received no inheritance except forty-eight towns scattered throughout different parts of Canaan. The tribe of Simeon was originally given only a few towns and villages in the midst of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah (Josh 19:1).scatter them in [the midst of the land of] Israel.

8“Judah, you are the one whom your brothers shall praise;

Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;

Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.

9Judah, a lion’s cub;

With the prey, my son, you have gone high up [the mountain].

He stooped down, he crouched like a lion,

And like a lion—who dares rouse him?

10The scepter [of royalty] shall not depart from Judah,

Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

Until Shiloh [the Messiah, the Peaceful One] comes,

And to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11Tying #I.e. the tribe of Judah.his foal to the [strong] vine

And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

He washes his clothing in wine [because the grapevine produces abundantly],

And his robes in the blood of grapes.

12His eyes are darker and sparkle more than wine,

And his teeth whiter than milk.

13“Zebulun shall dwell at the seashore;

And he shall be a haven (landing place) for ships,

And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

14“Issachar is [like] a strong-boned donkey,

Crouching down between the sheepfolds.

15When he saw that the resting place was good

And that the land was pleasant,

He bowed his shoulder to bear [burdens],

And became a servant at forced labor.

16“Dan shall judge his people,

As one of the tribes of Israel.

17Dan shall be a [venomous] serpent in the way,

A fanged snake in the path,

That bites the horse’s heels,

So that his rider falls backward.

18I wait for Your salvation, O Lord.

19“As for #The Hebrew word from which the name “Gad” is derived has two meanings. In this verse the Hebrew meaning is associated with a “raiding troop” but in 30:11 it is associated with “good fortune.”Gad—a raiding troop shall raid him,

But he shall raid at their heels and assault them [victoriously].

20“Asher’s food [supply] shall be rich and bountiful,

And he shall yield and deliver royal delights.

21“Naphtali is a doe let loose, [a swift warrior,]

Which yields branched antlers (eloquent words).

22“Joseph is a fruitful bough (a main branch of the vine),

A fruitful bough by a spring (a well, a fountain);

Its branches run over the wall [influencing others].

23The [skilled] archers have bitterly attacked and provoked him;

They have shot [at him] and harassed him.

24But his bow remained firm and steady [in the Strength that does not fail],

For his arms were made strong and agile

By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,

(By the name of the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

25By the God of your father who will help you,

And by the #Heb Shaddai.Almighty who blesses you

With blessings of the heavens above,

Blessings lying in the deep that couches beneath,

Blessings of the [nursing] breasts and of the [fertile] womb.

26The blessings of your father

Are greater than the blessings of my ancestors [Abraham and Isaac]

Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;

They shall be on the head of Joseph,

Even on the crown of the head of him who was the distinguished one and the one who is prince among (separate from) his brothers.

27“Benjamin is a #The tribe of Benjamin invariably displayed courage and ferocity, particularly in their war with the other tribes. The tribe of Benjamin was absorbed by the tribe of Judah and is not mentioned after the return from the Babylonian captivity, except in connection with its former land or as the source of some individual person. Ehud, Saul, Jonathan, and the apostle Paul were Benjamites.ravenous wolf;

In the morning he devours the prey,

And at night he divides the spoil.”

28All these are the [beginnings of the] twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each one according to the blessing appropriate to him. 29He charged them and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30in the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, that Abraham bought, along with the field from Ephron the Hittite, to possess as a burial site. 31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32the field and the cave that is in it was purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33When Jacob (Israel) had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was #See note 25:8.gathered to his people [who had preceded him in death].

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Genesis 49

CHAPTER 49

1Forsooth Jacob called his sons, and said to them, Be ye gathered together, that I tell what things shall come to you in the last days;

2be ye gathered [together], and hear, ye sons of Jacob, hear ye Israel your father.

3Reuben, my first begotten son, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow; thou oughtest to be the former in gifts, the more in lordship;

4thou art shed [or poured] out as water; wax thou not, for thou ascend-edest [or went up] on the bed of thy father, and defouledest his bed.

5Simeon and Levi, brethren, fighting vessels of wickedness;

6my soul come not into the counsel of them, and my glory be not in the congregation of them; for in their strong vengeance, they killed a man, and in their [own] will, they under-mined the wall;

7cursed be the strong vengeance of them, for it is obstinate, and the indignation of them, for it is hard; I shall part them in Jacob, and I shall scatter them in Israel.

8Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee, thine hands shall be in the nolls of thine enemies; the sons of thy father shall worship thee.

9Judah, the whelp of a lion; my son, thou hast gone up to the prey; thou restedest, and hast lain as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall raise him?

10The sceptre shall not be taken away from Judah, and a duke of his hip, till he come that shall be sent, and he shall be the abiding of heathen men;

11and he shall tie his colt at the vinery [or vineyard], and his she-ass at the vine; O! my son, he shall wash his stole in wine, and his mantle in the blood of the grape;

12his eyes be fairer than wine, and his teeth be whiter than milk.

13Zebulun shall dwell in the brink of the sea, and in the standing of ships; and he shall stretch till to Sidon.

14Issachar, a strong ass, lying betwixt [the] terms,

15saw rest, that it was good, and saw the land, that it was best, and he underset his shoulder to bear, and he was made serving to tributes#49:15 Either to rent, (Or to pay rent or taxes), as it is in Hebrew..

16Dan shall deem his people, as also another lineage in Israel.

17Dan be made a serpent in the way, and a cerastes, that is, an horned adder, in the path, and bite he the feet of an horse, that the rider of him fall backward;

18Lord, I shall abide thine health.

19Gad shall be girded, and he shall fight before him, and he shall be girded behind.

20Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall give delights to kings.

21Naphtali shall be an hart sent out, and giving speeches of fairness.

22Joseph, a son increasing, a son increasing, and fair in beholding; [the] daughters run about on the wall,

23but his brethren wrathed at him, and chided him, and they had darts, and had envy to him.

24His bow sat in the Strong, that is, the Lord, and the bonds of his arms and his hands were unbound by the hand of the mighty God of Jacob; of him a shepherd went out, the stone of Israel.

25God of thy father shall be thine helper, and Almighty God shall bless thee, with blessings of heaven from above, and with blessings of the sea lying beneath, with blessings of teats, and of the womb;

26the blessings of thy father be comforted, that is, be better than the blessings of his fathers, till the desire of everlasting hills came; blessings be made on the head of Joseph, and in the noll of Nazarite, that is, holy, among his brethren.

27Benjamin, a ravishing wolf, shall eat the prey early, and in the eventide he shall part spoils.

28All these were in [the] twelve kindreds of Israel; their father spake these things to them, and he blessed them all by proper blessings,

29and he commanded to them, and said, I am soon to be gathered to my people; bury ye me with my fathers in the double den, that is in the land of Ephron the Hittite,

30 that is, in the den in the field at Machpelah, against Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which den Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite, into possession of a sepulchre.

31There they buried him, and Sarah his wife; also Isaac was buried there, with Rebecca his wife; there also Leah lieth buried.

32(This verse is omitted in the original text.)

33And when the behests were ended, by which he taught his sons, he gathered together his feet on the bed, and died, and he was put to his people.

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