Genesis 49

1And Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you [that] which shall befall youf in the last days.

2Gather yourselves together, and hear, youf sons of Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of); and hearken unto Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator) yourf father.

3Re’uven (behold a son), youi [are] my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

4Unstable as water, youi shall not excel; because youi went up to youri father’s bed; then defiled youi [it]: he went up to my couch.

5Shim’on (heard; he who hears; man of hearing) and Levi (Levite) [Joined to] (joined) [are] brethren; instruments of cruelty [are in] their habitations.

6O my soul, come not youi into their secret; unto their assembly, my honour, be not youi united: for in their anger they killed a man, and in their stubbornness they dug down a wall.

7Cursed [be] their anger, for [it was] fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of), and scatter them in Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator).

8Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]), youi [are he] whom you(i) brethren shall praise: your(i) hand [shall be] in the neck of youri enemies; your(i) father’s children shall bow down before youi.

9Y’hudah [is] a lion’s whelp (a cub; a young one): from the prey, my son, youi are gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10The sceptre shall not depart from Y’hudah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [Place of Rest] come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be].

11Binding his foal unto the vine, and his donkey’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

12His eyes [shall be] red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13Z’vulun (exalted; Glorious Dwelling Place) shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he [shall be] for an haven of ships; and his border [shall be] unto Tzidon [Hunting].

14Yissakhar (there is recompense) is a strong donkey couching down between two burdens:

15And he saw that rest [was] good, and the land that [it was] pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

16Dan (Judge) shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator).

17Dan (Judge) shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18I have waited for youri salvation, O Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate).

19Gad, (troop; good fortune with much effort) a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

20Out of Asher (happy) his bread [shall be] fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21Naftali (My Wrestling) [is] a hind let loose: he gives goodly words.

22Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) [is] a fruitful bough, [even] a fruitful bough by a well; [whose] branches run over the wall:

23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot [at him], and hated him:

24But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] of Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of); (from there [is] the shepherd, the stone of Isra’el [he who holds onto God-The Creator])

25by the God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] of youri father, who shall help youi; and by the EL Shaddai [The Powerful/Almighty Living Word], who shall bless youi with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

26The blessings of youri father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Yosef, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

27Binyamin (This Son Is Strength) shall voracious [as] a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil (plunder; prey; booty).

28All these [are] the twelve tribes of Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator): and this [is it] that their father spoke unto them, and Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) them; every one according to his blessing he Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) them.

29And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that [is] in the field of ‘Efron (fawn-like) the Hitti (terrorists),

30In the cave that [is] in the field of Makhpelah (portion; double cave), which [is] before Mamre (firmness; fatling (fat cattle) offering), in the land of Kena’an (merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues), which Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will] bought with the field of ‘Efron (fawn-like) the Hitti (terrorists) for a possession of a burying place.

31There they buried Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will] and Sarah [Princess] his wife; there they buried Yitz’chak [Laughter] and Rivkah (Tied Up; Secured) his wife; and there I buried Le’ah (weary; grieved).

32The purchase of the field and of the cave that [is] in it [was] from the children of Het (terror).

33And when Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

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Genesis 49

Jacob’s Last Words

1Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.#49:1 Or in the last days#Nm 24:14; Dt 4:30; 31:29; Is 2:2; Jr 23:20; Dn 2:28; 10:14; Hs 3:5

2Come together and listen, sons of Jacob;

listen to your father Israel:

3Reuben, you are my firstborn,#Gn 29:32

my strength and the firstfruits of my virility,#Dt 21:17

excelling in prominence, excelling in power.

4Turbulent as water, you will not excel,

because you got into your father’s bed#Gn 35:22

and you defiled it — he#49:4 LXX, Syr, Tg read you got into my bed.

5Simeon and Levi are brothers;

their knives are vicious weapons.#Gn 34:25,30

6May I never enter their council;

may I never join their assembly.

For in their anger they kill men,

and on a whim they hamstring oxen.

7Their anger is cursed, for it is strong,

and their fury, for it is cruel!

I will disperse them throughout Jacob

and scatter them throughout Israel.#Ex 32:28; Nm 3:5–13; Dt 33:10; Jos 19:1–9; 1Ch 4:24–39; 2Ch 34:6; Neh 11:25–28

8Judah, your brothers will praise you.#Gn 29:35

Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies;

your father’s sons will bow down to you.#Gn 27:29; 1Ch 5:2

9Judah is a young lion#Nm 24:9; Ezk 19:5–7; Mc 5:8; Rv 5:5 —

my son, you return from the kill.

He crouches; he lies down like a lion

or a lioness — who dares to rouse him?

10The scepter will not depart from Judah

or the staff from between his feet

until he whose right it is comes#49:10 Or until tribute comes to him, or until Shiloh comes, or until he comes to Shiloh#Nm 2:9; 10:14; 24:17; Jdg 1:1–2; Ps 60:7; 108:8; Ezk 21:27

and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.#Ps 2:6–9; 72:8–11; Is 42:1,4; 49:6

11He ties his donkey to a vine,

and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine.

He washes his clothes in wine

and his robes in the blood of grapes.

12His eyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth are whiter than milk.

13Zebulun will live by the seashore

and will be a harbor for ships,

and his territory will be next to Sidon.#Dt 33:19; Jos 19:10–16

14Issachar is a strong donkey

lying down between the saddlebags.#49:14 Or sheep pens

15He saw that his resting place was good

and that the land was pleasant,

so he leaned his shoulder to bear a load

and became a forced laborer.#Jdg 5:15–16

16Dan will judge his people#Dt 33:22; Jdg 13:2,25; 18:25–27

as one of the tribes of Israel.

17Dan will be a snake by the road,

a viper beside the path,

that bites the horse’s heels

so that its rider falls backward.

18I wait for your salvation, Lord.

19Gad will be attacked by raiders,

but he will attack their heels.#Dt 33:20; 1Ch 5:18–22; Jr 49:1

20Asher’s#49:19–20 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads their heel. 20 From Asher food will be rich,

and he will produce royal delicacies.#Dt 33:24–25; Jos 19:24–31; Jdg 5:17; 1Kg 4:7

21Naphtali is a doe set free

that bears beautiful fawns.#Jos 19:32–39

22Joseph is a fruitful vine,

a fruitful vine beside a spring;

its branches#49:22 Lit daughters climb over the wall.#49:22 Hb obscure

23The archers attacked him,

shot at him, and were hostile toward him.

24Yet his bow remained steady,

and his strong arms were made agile

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,#Gn 31:42; Ps 132:2,5; Is 1:24; 49:26

by the name of#49:24 Syr, Tg; MT reads Jacob, from there the Shepherd,#Gn 48:15; Ps 23:1; Jr 31:10 the Rock of Israel,#Ps 118:22; Is 28:16; 1Pt 2:6–8

25by the God of your father who helps you,

and by the Almighty who blesses you

with blessings of the heavens above,

blessings of the deep that lies below,

and blessings of the breasts and the womb.

26The blessings of your father excel

the blessings of my ancestors#49:26 Or of the mountains

and#49:26 Lit to the bounty of the ancient hills.#49:26 Hb obscure#Dt 33:15–16

May they rest on the head of Joseph,

on the brow of the prince of his brothers.

27Benjamin is a wolf; he tears his prey.

In the morning he devours the prey,

and in the evening he divides the plunder.”#Jdg 5:14; 20:21; 1Sm 14:47–48

28These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this is what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

Jacob’s Burial Instructions

29Then he commanded them, “I am about to be gathered to my people.#Gn 25:8 Bury me with my ancestors#Gn 47:30 in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hethite.#Gn 23:16–20; 50:13 30The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hethite as burial property.#Gn 23:3–20 31Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there,#Gn 23:19; 25:9 Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there,#Gn 35:29 and I buried Leah there.#Gn 48:7 32The field and the cave in it were purchased from the Hethites.” 33When Jacob had finished giving charges to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, took his last breath, and was gathered to his people.

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