Genesis 49

Chapter 49

Jacob blesses his sons

1Then Jacob called for all his sons. He said, ‘Come here to me. Then I can tell you what will happen to you, in future years. 2You sons of Jacob, come together now and listen to your father, Israel.’ #49:2 Jacob told his sons what will happen to each of them and to their descendants.

Reuben

3Jacob said, ‘Reuben you are my firstborn son. You were born first, when I was a strong young man. Of all my sons, you are the most famous and the strongest.

4Yet you are as wild as the sea. You had sex with your father's slave wife. This bad thing brought me shame. So you will not become great. #49:4 See Genesis 35:22.

Simeon and Levi

5Simeon and Levi are brothers. They use their swords as weapons to destroy people. #49:5 See Genesis 34:26.

6I will not join them when they decide to do bad things. I will not meet with them. They have killed people when they are angry. They have hurt animals because it makes them happy.

7Their anger is so strong that God will curse them. Their anger makes them do cruel things. So God will curse them. I will make your descendants separate from one another. They will live all over the country of Israel.

Judah

8Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will win against your enemies. Your father's sons will bend down towards the ground in front of you.

9Judah is like a young lion who has eaten good food. He has eaten what he killed and now he rests. Nobody would want to try and wake him up!

10Judah's descendants will always rule as king. They will continue to hold the stick and the sceptre that show the king's authority. They will do that until the man comes who truly has that authority. People from all nations will obey that king. #49:10 King David was from the tribe of Judah, and so was Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true king who rules for ever. A sceptre is something that a king holds. Its shape is like a stick with a ball on the top.

11Judah will tie his young donkey to a vine. It will be a vine that has the best grapes. He will wash his clothes in the red wine that is made from those grapes. #49:11 Vines were valuable plants in Old Testament times. Jacob is saying that Judah will be very rich. He will tie his donkey to the best of his valuable plants. He will wash his clothes in wine. He will be very rich.

12His eyes will become red because he drinks so much wine. His teeth will become white because he drinks so much milk.#49:12 Jacob is saying that Judah will have plenty of everything.

Zebulun

13Zebulun will live by the shore of the sea. His town will be a safe place for ships to stay. His land will go as far as Sidon.

Issachar

14Issachar is like a strong donkey that is lying down between two of its bags.

15He will see that he has a good place to live, with good land. Then he will agree to work hard. He will work like a slave for other people. #49:15 Jacob is saying that Issachar is strong. He is saying that he will work like a donkey. Donkeys carry heavy things in their bags. Issachar will work for other people, to get food and a nice place to stay.

Dan

16Dan will be a ruler for his people. His descendants will be equal with the other tribes of Israel. #49:16 The tribe of Dan was a small tribe, but they had the same authority as all the other tribes.

17He will be small and dangerous, like a snake that lies beside the road. He will be like a snake that bites the legs of horses so that the riders fall off.

18I trust you to save me from trouble, Lord. #49:18 Jacob prays for himself and then he continues.

Gad

19Robbers will attack Gad, but he will fight back against them.

Asher

20Asher will have much good food. It will be good enough for kings to eat.

Naphtali

21Naphtali is like a deer that runs freely and gives birth to beautiful babies.

Joseph

22Joseph is like a vine that has lots of fruit. It grows near a well and its branches go over a wall. #49:22 Jacob means that Joseph's descendants will go and live all over the land.

23His enemies will be angry with him. They will attack him with arrows. 24But he will hold his own bow strongly. He will shoot his arrows well. The Mighty One of Jacob will give Joseph strength. God, who is Israel's Shepherd and Rock, will help him. #49:24 Mighty One means the God who is very strong. It is a name for the Lord God. Shepherd is also a name for God (see Genesis 48:15). Rock of Israel means that God is strong and does not change. Jacob knows that God will continue to help Joseph.

25The Almighty God, the God of your father, will help you and he will bless you. He will give you rain that comes from the sky above. He will give you springs of water from below the ground. He will cause you to have many descendants. That is how God will bless you.

26The blessings that I, your father, give to you are great! They are greater than any good things that the old mountains or hills can give to you. They are special blessings for you, Joseph, because you are the leader of your brothers.

Benjamin

27Benjamin is like a hungry wolf. He kills an animal and eats it in the morning. In the evening, he gives what remains to his people.’ #49:27 Jacob is saying that Benjamin will go out and kill his enemies in the morning. And he will return in the evening. In the evening, he will give what he has taken from his enemies to his people.

28All these are ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He told each of his sons what was right for them and their descendants. #49:28 The descendants of each of Jacob's sons would become a separate group of people. Those are the tribes of Israel (Jacob).

Jacob dies and Joseph buries him

29Then Jacob said to his 12 sons, ‘I will soon die. You must take my dead body back to Canaan. Bury me there with my ancestors. Bury me in the cave in the field that belonged to Ephron the Hittite. 30The cave is at Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan. Abraham bought this cave from Ephron as a place to bury his family. 31That is where they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah. They also buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah there. I buried Leah there too. 32Abraham bought the cave and the field from the Hittites.’

33Jacob finished telling his sons what they should do. Then he lay down on his bed again. He breathed for the last time and he died there.

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Genesis 49

Jacob Blesses His Sons

1 # For ver. 1-27, see Deut. 33:6-25 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you #Num. 24:14; Deut. 4:30; 31:29; Isa. 2:2; Jer. 23:20; Dan. 2:28; 10:14; Hos. 3:5in days to come.

2“Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob,

listen to Israel your father.

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

my might, and the #Deut. 21:17firstfruits of my strength,

preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

4Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,

because you #ch. 35:22; 1 Chr. 5:1went up to your father’s bed;

then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!

5 # ch. 29:33, 34 “Simeon and Levi are brothers;

weapons #ch. 34:25, 26of violence are their swords.

6Let my soul come not into their council;

# [Ps. 16:9; 57:8] O my glory, #[Ps. 26:9] be not joined to their company.

For in their anger they killed men,

and in their willfulness they #Josh. 11:6, 9; 2 Sam. 8:4hamstrung oxen.

7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,

and their wrath, for it is cruel!

I will #See Num. 3:5-13; Josh. 19:1-9; 1 Chr. 4:24-39divide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

8“Judah, #ch. 29:35; [ch. 27:29] your brothers shall praise you;

# [Job 16:12] your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

# 1 Chr. 5:2 your father’s sons shall bow down before you.

9Judah is #Rev. 5:5; [Deut. 33:22; Hos. 5:14] a lion’s cub;

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

# [Num. 23:24; 24:9] He stooped down; he crouched as a lion

and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?

10The #Num. 24:17; Zech. 10:11 scepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff #Deut. 28:57from between his feet,

until tribute comes to him;#49:10 By a slight revocalization; a slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Targum) until he comes to whom it belongs; Hebrew until Shiloh comes, or until he comes to Shiloh

and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11Binding his foal to the vine

and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

he has washed his garments in wine

and his vesture in the blood of grapes.

12His #Prov. 23:29eyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth whiter than milk.

13 # [Deut. 33:18, 19]; Josh. 19:10, 11 “Zebulun shall dwell at the #[Deut. 1:7; Josh. 9:1; Judg. 5:17]shore of the sea;

he shall become a haven for ships,

and his border shall be at Sidon.

14 # Judg. 5:16; [1 Chr. 12:32] “Issachar is a strong donkey,

crouching between the sheepfolds.#49:14 Or between its saddlebags

15He saw that a resting place was good,

and that the land was pleasant,

so he bowed his shoulder to bear,

and #Josh. 16:10became a servant at forced labor.

16 # [Deut. 33:22] “Dan shall #ch. 30:6judge his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

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

a viper by the path,

that bites the horse’s heels

so that his rider falls backward.

18I #Ps. 25:5; 119:166, 174; Isa. 25:9; Mic. 7:7; [Luke 2:25]wait for your salvation, O Lord.

19 # [Deut. 33:20] “Raiders shall raid #See 1 Chr. 5:18-22Gad,#49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for raiders and raid

but he shall raid at their heels.

20 # [Deut. 33:24] “Asher’s food shall be rich,

and he shall yield royal delicacies.

21 # [Deut. 33:23] “Naphtali is a doe let loose

that bears beautiful fawns.#49:21 Or he gives beautiful words, or that bears fawns of the fold

22“Joseph is #ch. 41:52; Josh. 17:14, 18a fruitful bough,

a fruitful bough by a spring;

his branches run over the wall.#49:22 Or Joseph is a wild donkey, a wild donkey beside a spring, his wild colts beside the wall

23The archers #[ch. 37:24, 28; 39:20]bitterly attacked him,

shot at him, and harassed him severely,

24yet #Job 29:20 his bow remained unmoved;

his arms#49:24 Hebrew the arms of his hands were made agile

by the hands of the #Ps. 132:2, 5; Isa. 1:24 Mighty One of Jacob

(from there is #Ps. 23:1; 80:1 the Shepherd,#49:24 Or by the name of the Shepherd #Isa. 28:16; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:4; [Deut. 32:4]the Stone of Israel),

25 # ch. 35:3; 50:17 by the God of your father who will help you,

by #ch. 17:1; 35:11 the Almighty#49:25 Hebrew Shaddai #Deut. 33:13who will bless you

with blessings of heaven above,

blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,

blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26The blessings of your father

are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,

up to the bounties #Deut. 33:15; Hab. 3:6 of the everlasting hills.#49:26 A slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint) the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills

May they be #Deut. 33:16on the head of Joseph,

and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

27 # [Judg. 20:21, 25; Ezek. 22:27] “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,

in the morning devouring the prey

and at evening #Zech. 14:1; [Ezek. 39:10]dividing the spoil.”

Jacob’s Death and Burial

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. 29Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be #ver. 33; ch. 25:8 gathered to my people; #ch. 47:30 bury me with my fathers #ch. 50:13; [ch. 23:9]in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, #See ch. 23:16-18which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31#ch. 23:19; 25:9 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There #ch. 35:29they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” 33When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and #ver. 29was gathered to his people.

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