Genesis 49

Jacob's Prophecy concerning His Sons

1And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

2Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob;

and hearken unto Israel your father.

3Reuben, thou art my firstborn,

my might, and the beginning of my strength,

the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

4unstable as water, thou shalt not excel;

because thou wentest up to thy father's bed;

then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

5Simeon and Levi are brethren;

instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

6O my soul, come not thou into their secret;

unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united:

for in their anger they slew a man,

and in their self-will they digged down a wall.

7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;

and their wrath, for it was cruel:

I will divide them in Jacob,

and scatter them in Israel.

8Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise:

thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies;

thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

9 # Num 24.9. Judah is a lion's whelp:

from the prey, my son, thou art 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 Judah,

nor a lawgiver from between his feet,

until Shiloh come;

and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

11Binding his foal unto the vine,

and his ass'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.

13Zeb´ulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea;

and he shall be for a haven of ships;

and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14Is´sachar is a strong ass

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 shall judge his people,

as one of the tribes of Israel.

17Dan shall be a serpent by the way,

an adder in the path,

that biteth the horse heels,

so that his rider shall fall backward.

18I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.

19Gad, a troop shall overcome him:

but he shall overcome at the last.

20Out of Asher his bread shall be fat,

and he shall yield royal dainties.

21Naph´tali is a hind let loose:

he giveth goodly words.

22Joseph 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 of Jacob;

(from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel;)

25 even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee;

and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee

with blessings of heaven above,

blessings of the deep that lieth under,

blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

26the blessings of thy father have prevailed

above the blessings of my progenitors

unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills:

they shall be on the head of Joseph,

and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

27Benjamin shall raven as a wolf:

in the morning he shall devour the prey,

and at night he shall divide the spoil.

The Death and Burial of Jacob

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed 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 Ephron the Hittite, 30#Gen 23.3-20. in the cave that is in the field of Machpe´lah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. 31#Gen 25.9,10; Gen 35.29. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Le´ah. 32The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. 33#Acts 7.15. And when Jacob 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 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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