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Genesis Chapter
Forty-nine
Genesis 49
Outlines
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
GENESIS 49
This chapter contains a
prophecy of future things
relating to the twelve sons of Jacob
and to the
twelve tribes
as descending from them
and which he delivered to his sons on
his death bed
having called them together for that purpose
Genesis 49:1
he
begins with Reuben his firstborn
whose incest he takes notice of
on which
account he should not excel
Genesis 49:3
next
Simeon and Levi have a curse denounced on them for their cruelty at Shechem
Genesis 49:5
but
Judah is praised
and good things prophesied of him; and particularly that
Shiloh
or the Messiah
should spring from him
the time of whose coming is
pointed at
Genesis 49:7
the
predictions concerning Zebulun
Issachar
and Dan
follow
at the close of
which Jacob expresses his longing expectation of God's salvation
Genesis 49:13 and
after foretelling what should befall Gad
Asher
and Naphtali
Genesis 49:19
a
large account is given of Joseph
his troubles
his trials
and his blessings
Genesis 49:22
and
Benjamin the youngest son is taken notice of last of all
all the tribes being
blessed in their order according to the nature of their blessing
Genesis 49:27
and
the chapter is closed with a charge of Jacob's to his sons to bury him in
Canaan
which having delivered
he died
Genesis 49:29.
Genesis 49:1. And Jacob called
his sons and said
“Gather together
that I may tell you what shall befall you
in the last days:
YLT 1And Jacob calleth unto his sons and saith
`Be gathered together
and I declare to you that which doth happen with you in
the latter end of the days.
And Jacob
called upon his sons
....
Who either were near at
hand
and within call at the time Joseph came to visit him
or if at a
distance
and at another time
he sent a messenger or messengers to them to
come unto him:
and said
gather yourselves together;
his will was
that they
should attend him all together at the same time
that he might deliver what he
had to say to them in the hearing of them all; for what he after declares was
not said to them singly and alone
but when they were all before him:
that I may tell
you that which shall befall you in the last days;
not their persons merely
but their posterity chiefly
from that time forward to the coming of the
Messiah
who is spoken of in this prophecy
and the time of his coming; some
things are said relating to temporals
others to spirituals; some are blessings
or prophecies of good things to them
others curses
or foretell evil
but all
are predictions delivered out by Jacob under a spirit of prophecy; some things
had their accomplishment when the tribes of Israel were placed in the land of
Canaan
others in the times of the judges
and in later times; and some in the
times of the Messiah
to which this prophecy reaches
whose coming was in the
last days
Hebrews 1:1 and
Nachmanides says
according to the sense of all their writers
the last days
here are the days of the Messiah; and in an ancient writing of the Jews it is
saidF24Zohar in Gen. fol. 126. 1.
that Jacob called his sons
because he had a mind to reveal the end of the Messiah
i.e. the time of his
coming; and Abraham SebaF25Tzeror Hammor
fol. 57. 4. & 58. 1.
observes
that this section is the seal and key of the whole law
and of all the
prophets prophesied of
unto the days of the Messiah.
Genesis 49:2. 2 “Gather
together and hear
you sons of Jacob
And listen to Israel your father.
YLT 2`Be assembled
and hear
sons of Jacob
And
hearken unto Israel your father.
Gather
yourselves together
....
This is repeated to hasten
them
and to suggest that he had something of importance to make known unto
them
which he chose to do
when they were together:
and hear
ye
sons of Jacob
and hearken to Israel your father:
these words are used and
doubled to excite their attention to what he was about to say
and which is
urged from the near relation there was between them.
Genesis 49:3. 3 “Reuben
you are my firstborn
My might and the beginning of my strength
The excellency
of dignity and the excellency of power.
YLT 3Reuben! my first-born thou
My power
and
beginning of my strength
The abundance of exaltation
And the abundance of
strength;
Reuben
thou
art my firstborn
....
Jacob addressed himself to
Reuben first
in the presence of his brethren
owned him as his firstborn
as
he was
Genesis 29:31 did
not cashier him from his family
nor disinherit him
though he had greatly
disobliged him
for which the birthright
and the privileges of it
were taken
from him
1 Chronicles 5:1.
my might
and
the beginning of my strength;
begotten by him when in
his full strengthF26"Nate. meae vires. --------" Virgil.
as well as the first of his family
in which his strength and glory lay; so the
Septuagint
"the beginning of my children"; and because he was so
of
right the double portion belonged to him
had he not forfeited it
Deuteronomy 21:17.
Some versions render the words
"the beginning of my grief"
or
"sorrow"F1ראשית אוני κεφαλαιον
λυπης μου
Aquila; αρχη
οδυνης
Symmachus apud Drusium; "principium doloris mei"
V.
L. Tigurine version.
the word "Oni" sometimes so signifying
as
Rachel called her youngest son "Benoni"
the son of my sorrow; but
this is not true of Reuben
he was not the beginning of Jacob's sorrow
for the
ravishing of Dinah
and the slaughter and spoil of the Shechemites
by his
sons
which gave him great sorrow and grief
were before the affair of Reuben's
lying with Bilhah:
the excellency
of dignity
and the excellency of power;
that is
to him of right
belonged excellent dignity
power
and authority in the family
a preeminence
over his brethren
a double portion of goods
succession in government
and
as
is commonly understood
the exercise of the priesthood; and so the Targums
interpret it
that he should
had he not sinned
took three parts or portions
above his brethren
the birthright
priesthood
and kingdom. Jacob observes
this to him
that he might know what he had lost by sinning
and from what
excellency and dignity
grandeur and power
he was fallen.
Genesis 49:4. 4 Unstable
as water
you shall not excel
Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then
you defiled it— He went up to my couch.
YLT 4Unstable as water
thou art not abundant; For
thou hast gone up thy father's bed; Then thou hast polluted: My couch he went
up!
Unstable as
water
....
Which is not to be
understood of the levity of his mind
and his disposition to hurt
and the
impetuous force of that breaking forth like water
and carrying him into the
commission of it; but rather of his fall from his excellency and dignity
like
the fall of water from an high place; and of his being vile
mean
and
contemptible
useless and unprofitable
like water spilled on the ground; and
of his weak and strengthless condition and circumstances
being deprived of the
prerogatives and privileges of his birthright
and having lost all his honour
and grandeur
power and authority. The word in the Arabic language signifiesF2"superbivit
semet extulit gloria fastuque"
Golius
col. 1767. so Castel. col. 2980.
to be proud and haughty
to lift up one's self
to swell and rise like the
turgent and swelling waters: but though he did thus lift himself
yet it
follows:
thou shall not
excel;
not have the excellency of
dignity and power which belonged to him as the firstborn; the birthright and
the double portion were given to Joseph
who had two tribes descending from
him
when Reuben had but one; the kingdom was given to Judah
and the priesthood
to Levi
as both the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem observe: as he did not
excel his brethren in honour and dignity
so neither in wealth and riches
nor
in numbers; see Deuteronomy 33:6
where the word "not" is wrongly supplied; nor in his share in the
land of Canaan
his posterity being seated on the other side of Jordan
at
their request; nor did any persons of note and eminence spring from his tribe:
because thou wentest up to thy father's bed
then defiledst thou it; referring
to his incest with Bilhah
his father's concubine wife
Genesis 35:22
which
though done forty years ago
was now remembered
and left an indelible
spot on Reuben's character
and his posterity:
he went up to
my couch:
turning himself to his
other sons
to take notice of the crime
as very abominable and detestable;
affirming the truth of it
and speaking of it with some vehemency
his
affections being moved; and it may be could not bear to look at Reuben
but
turned himself to his brethren; though he had forgiven the sin
and very
probably Reuben had repented of it
and had forgiveness of God
which he might
have
though in some sense vengeance was taken on this sinful invention of his
Psalm 99:8. There
are various senses given of this phrase; some
as Aben Ezra
"my bed
departed from me"; that is
he departed from his bed; or
as KimchiF3Sepher
Shorash. rad. עלה.
"it ceased to be my
bed"; he left it
he abstained from the bed of Bilhah upon its being
defiled by Reuben: and others separate these words
and read עלה
singly
"it went up"F4עלה "ascendit"
i.e. "abiit" "et
evanuit"
Vatablus. ; either the excellency of Reuben went up
vanished
and disappeared like smoke; or
as Ben Melech connects it with the beginning of
the verse
"unstable as water"
giving the sense
"it"
the
inundation of water
"ascended" and prevailed over thee; as waters
ascend
meaning his lust ascended
and got the prevalence over him; but the
accents will not admit of such a separation of the words; it is best to understand
them in the first sense. As to the manner of the expression
of going up to a
bed
it may be observed
that not only their beds in those times might be
raised higher than ours
but that they were placed in an higher part of the
room
and so there was an ascent to them: and Dr. ShawF5Travels
p.
209. Ed. 2. says this is the custom of the eastern people to this day
"at
one end of each chamber there is a little gallery
raised three
four
or five
feet above the floor
with a balustrade in the front of it
with a few steps
likewise leading up to it
here they place their beds.'
Genesis 49:5. 5 “Simeon
and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their
dwelling place.
YLT 5Simeon and Levi [are] brethren! Instruments
of violence -- their espousals!
Simeon and Levi
are brothers
....
Not because they were so
in a natural sense
being brethren both by father and mother's side
for there
were others so besides them; but because they were of like tempers
dispositions
and mannersF6"--------par nobile fratrum Nequitia
et nugis pravorum et amore gemellum." Horat. Sermon. l. 2. Satyr. 3.
bold
wrathful
cruel
revengeful
and deceitful
and joined together in their
evil counsels and evil actions
and so are joined together in the evils
predicted of them:
instruments of
cruelty are in their habitations:
or vessels
utensils
household goods gotten by violence and rapine
and through the cruel usage of the
Shechemites; these were in their dwellings
their houses were full of such
mammon of unrighteousness
or spoil; or
as others
"instruments of
cruelty" are "their swords"F7מכרתיהם
"Machaerae eorum"
Montanus
Tigurine version
Schmidt; and so R.
Sol. Urbin Ohel Moed
fol. 31. 2. ; what they should only have used in their
own defence
with these they shed the blood of the Shechemites very
barbarously
Genesis 34:25. Some
think the word here used is the Greek word for a sword; and the Jews sayF8Pirke
Eliezer
c. 38. that Jacob cursed the swords of Simeon and Levi in the Greek
tongue; and others say it is Persic
being used by Xenophon for Persian swords;
but neither of them seems probable: rather this word was originally Hebrew
and
so passed from thence into other languages; but perhaps the sense of it
which
Aben Ezra gives
may be most agreeable
if the first sense is not admitted
that it signifies covenants
compacts
agreementsF9So Castell.
Lexic. col. 2058. Junius & Tremellius
Piscator.
such as these men made
with the Shechemites
even nuptial contracts; for the root of the word
in the
Chaldee language
signifies to espouseF11מכר
Chald. & Syr. "despondit"
"desponsavit"
Schindler.
Lex. col. 998. ; and these they abused to cruelty
bloodshed
and slaughter
in
a most deceitful manner: in the Ethiopic language
the word signifies counsels;
so De Dieu takes it here.
Genesis 49:6. 6 Let
not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For
in their anger they slew a man
And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.
YLT 6Into their secret
come not
O my soul! Unto
their assembly be not united
O mine honour; For in their anger they slew a
man
And in their self-will eradicated a prince.
O my soul
come
not thou into their secret
....
Their cabinet counsels
combinations and conspiracies; this Jacob said
as abhorring the wicked counsel
they had took of slaying the Shechemites; and lest any should think he was
concerned in it
or connived at it
he expressed a detestation of the fact on
his dying bed: the future tense may be put for the past; and so Onkelos renders
it
"my soul was not in their secret"; and so the other two Targums
paraphrase it
that when they got and consulted together
his soul was not
pleased and delighted with their counsel
but abhorred it; or "my soul
shall not come"
which Jarchi thinks prophetical refers to the case of
Zimri
the son of Salu
of the tribe of Simeon
as the following clause to the
affair of Korah
of the tribe of Levi
as foreseeing and disapproving them
and
desiring they might not be called by his name
or his name called upon them
Numbers 25:14.
unto their
assembly
mine honour
be not thou united;
the same thing expressed
in different words; by his "honour or glory" he means his soul
the
more honourable part of man
or his tongue
with which man glorifies God; and
hereby Jacob intimates
that he did not in thought
and much less in express
words
give any consent unto
and approbation of the deed of those two sons of
his
and that he never was
nor never desired to be with them in their meetings
and consultations:
for in their
anger they slew a man;
Hamor or Shechem
together
with all the males of the city; and so "man" may be put for
"men"
the singular for the plural
as is frequent. The Targum of
Jonathan is
a king and his governor; and the Targum of Jerusalem
kings with
governors:
and in their
selfwill they digged down a wall;
not the wall of the city
of Shechem
which does not appear to be walled
by their easy access into it;
and if it was
they do not seem to have had proper instruments for such an
undertaking
nor a sufficient number for such work
and which would have
required longer time than they used
unless it was a poor wall indeed: rather
the wall of Shechem's house
or the court before it
which they dug down
or
broke through to get in and slay Hamor and Shechem
and take away their sister;
though the word
as here pointed
always signifies an ox; and so the Samaritan
and Septuagint versions render it
they hamstringed a bull
or houghed an ox
just in like manner as horses are said to be houghed
Joshua 11:6 and
which some understandF12R. Jacob Ben Eleazer in Ben Melech
in loc.
figuratively of a prince or ruler; so great personages are called bulls of
Bashan
Psalm 22:12 and
interpret it either of Hamor or of Shechem
who was a prince among his people
and furious in his lust towards Dinah
and so this clause is much the same with
the former: and besides
him they enervated by circumcision
and took the
advantage of this his condition at the worst
and slew him
which seems to be
the true sense of the text
agreeably to Genesis 34:25 but
the Jerusalem Targum paraphrases it of Joseph
whom his brethren sold
who was
like unto an ox; and so Jarchi interprets it of him
whom they designed to
slay
see Deuteronomy 33:17
but it is better to take the words in a literal sense
either of the oxen that
Simeon and Levi took from the Shechemites
which they plucked or drove away
from their mangers
as some render the wordsF13עקרו
שור "avulserunt boves"
Junius &
Tremellius
Piscator; others
"enervarunt bovem"
Schmidt; so
Ainsworth. ; and some of them they might hough or hamstring
that they might
not get away from them
see Genesis 34:28 or rather
of Shechem himself
who was שר
"a prince"
a word which has some likeness and affinity to this in the text.
Genesis 49:7. 7 Cursed
be their anger
for it is fierce; And their wrath
for it is
cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.
YLT 7Cursed [is] their anger
for [it is] fierce
And their wrath
for [it is] sharp; I divide them in Jacob
And I scatter them
in Israel.
Cursed be their
anger
for it was fierce
....
It was sinful anger in the
nature of it
and so criminal and detestable; it was strong
fierce
and
furious in its operation and effects
and so justly cursed; not their persons
but their passions:
and their
wrath
for it was cruel;
it issued in the cruel and
barbarous slaughter of the inhabitants of Shechem; the same thing as before in
other words repeated
to express his great abhorrence of their wrath and rage.
Aben Ezra thinks that the words may be considered either as a prophecy or a
prayer
that their anger might cease: what follows is certainly a prophecy:
I will divide
them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel;
which he is said to do
because he foretold it would be done; as Jeremiah is said to root out and pull
down kingdoms
because he prophesied thereof
Jeremiah 1:10 and
this was fulfilled in the tribes of Simeon and Levi; as for the tribe of
Simeon
that had not a distinct part by itself in the land of Canaan
but had
their inheritance out of the portion
and within the inheritance of the tribe
of Judah
Joshua 19:1 and
their cities did not join to one another
as Aben Ezra observes
but lay
scattered up and down in the tribe of Judah; and when they were increased and
straitened for room
many of them went without the land
to the entrance of
Gedor
where they of Ham
or the Egyptians
had dwelt
and others to Mount Seir
in Edom
1 Chronicles 4:39
and it is a notion which prevails with the Jews
and which Jarchi takes notice
of
that a great many of this tribe were scribes and teachers of the law
and
even teachers of children
and by which they lived among the several tribes;
and so the Jerusalem Targum
"I will divide the tribe of Simeon
that they
may be scribes and teachers of the law in the congregation of Jacob.'And as for
the tribe of Levi
it is well known that they had no inheritance in the land of
Canaan
but had forty eight cities assigned them in the several tribes here and
there; and thus Jacob's prophecy had an exact accomplishment.
Genesis 49:8. 8 “Judah
you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on
the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
YLT 8Judah! thou -- thy brethren praise thee! Thy
hand [is] on the neck of thine enemies
Sons of thy father bow themselves to
thee.
Judah
thou art
he whom thy brethren shall praise
....
His name signifies praise
and was given him by his mother
her heart being filled with praises to God for
him
Genesis 29:35 and
is here confirmed by his father on another account
because his brethren should
praise him for many excellent virtues in him; and it appears
by instances
already observed
that he had great authority
and was highly esteemed among
his brethren
as his posterity would be in future times for their courage
warlike expeditions and success
and being famous for heroes
such as David
and others; and especially his famous seed the Messiah
and of whom he was a
type
should be praised by his brethren
who are so through his incarnation
and by divine adoption
and who praise him for the glories and excellencies of
his person
and the blessings of his grace:
thine hand
shall be in the neck of thine enemies;
pressing them down by his
superior power
subduing them
and causing them to submit to him
and which was
verified in David
who was of this tribe
Psalm 18:40 and
especially in the Messiah
in a spiritual sense
who has conquered and subdued
all his and his people's enemies
sin
Satan
the world and death:
thy father's
children shall bow down before thee;
before the kings that
should spring from this tribe
and should rule over all the rest
as David and
Solomon
to whom civil adoration and respect were given by them; and before the
King Messiah
his son and antitype
in a way of religious worship
which is
given him by the angels
the sons of God
and by all the saints and people of
God
who are his father's children by adoption; these bow before him
and give
him religious adoration as a divine Person
and submit to his righteousness as
Mediator
and bow to the sceptre of his kingdom
and cast their crowns at his
feet
and give him the glory of their whole salvation. This in some Jewish
writingsF14Zohar in Gen. fol. 127. 2. is applied to the time of the
Messiah's coming.
Genesis 49:9. 9 Judah
is a lion’s whelp; From the prey
my son
you have gone up. He bows
down
he lies down as a lion; And as a lion
who shall rouse him?
YLT 9A lion's whelp [is] Judah
For prey
my son
thou hast gone up; He hath bent
he hath crouched as a lion
And as a lioness;
who causeth him to arise?
Judah is a
lion's whelp
....
Or as one; the note of
similitude being wanting
as Aben Ezra and Ben Melech observe; he was
comparable to a young lion for his strength
courage
and generosity; and it
may refer to the infant state of this tribe in the times of the judges
who
first went up against the Canaanites and overcame them
Judges 1:1.
from the prey
my son
thou art gone up;
alluding to the lion going
up to the mountains
where it chiefly resides
after it has found its prey and
satiated itself with it:
he stooped
down
he couched as a lion
and as an old lion;
one that is grown up
and
has arrived to its full strength
such an one is a proper emblem of David king
of Israel
of his royalty
courage
valour and conquests; and who having subdued
the nations round about him
couched like a lion
and had rest from all his
enemies; and especially this was verified in the times of Solomon his son
when
he had peace on all sides
and Judah and Israel dwelt safely under their vines
and fig trees
1 Kings 4:24.
who shall rouse
him up?
a lion grown up and in its
full strength
or a lioness
as some choose to interpret it
and which is the
fiercest
and therefore the most dangerous to rouse up when laid down
either
in its den
or with its prey in its paws: so dangerous it was to provoke the
tribe of Judah
as its enemies after found
especially in the times of David:
all this may be applied to Christ
the lion of the tribe of Judah; the lion
being the king of beasts
and the strongest among them
may denote the kingly
power and authority of Christ
his great strength as the mighty God and mighty
Saviour
his courage in engaging with all the powers of darkness
and valour in
vanquishing all enemies; his generosity and lenity to those that stoop to him
and his fierceness to his adversaries
who took the prey from the mighty
and
then ascended on high
leading captivity captive; where he sat down at the
right hand of God at rest and ease
and who will dare to rouse him up
or be
able to stand before him when once he is angry? This verse in some ancientF15Raya
Mehimna in Zohar in Exod. fol. 49. 3. 4. writings of the Jews is interpreted of
Messiah the son of David.
Genesis 49:10. 10 The
scepter shall not depart from Judah
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet
Until
Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
YLT 10The sceptre turneth not aside from Judah
And
a lawgiver from between his feet
Till his Seed come; And his [is] the
obedience of peoples.
The sceptre
shall not depart from Judah
....
Which some understand of
the tribe
that Judah should not cease from being a tribe
or that it should
continue a distinct tribe until the coming of the Messiah
who was to be of it
and was
and that it might appear he sprung from it; but this was not peculiar
to this tribe
for the tribe of Benjamin continued
and so did the tribe of
Levi unto the coming of Christ: besides
by Judah is meant the tribe
and to
say a tribe shall not depart from the tribe
is not only a tautology
but
scarcely sense; it rather signifies dominion
power
and authority
as the sceptre
always does
it being an emblem of it
see Numbers 24:17 and
this intends either the government
which was in the heads and princes of the
tribe
which commenced as soon as it became a tribe
and lasted as long as it
remained one
even unto the times of the Messiah; or kingly power and
government
which the sceptre is generally thought to be an emblem of
and
which first commenced in David
who was of the tribe of Judah
and continued
unto the Babylonish captivity
when another sort of governors and government
took place
designed in the next clause:
nor a lawgiver
from between his feet;
which may be rendered
disjunctively
"or a lawgiver"; any ruler or governor
that has
jurisdiction over others
though under another
as the word is used
Judges 5:14 and the
sense is
that till the Messiah came there should be in the tribe of Judah
either a king
a sceptre bearer
as there was unto the captivity; or a
governor
though under others
as there were unto the times of Christ under the
Babylonians
Persians
Grecians
and Romans; such as Gedaliah
Zorobabel
&c. and particularly the sanhedrim
a court of judicature
the members of
which chiefly consisted of the tribe of Judah
and the נשיא
or prince of it
was always of that tribe
and which retained its power to the
latter end of Herod's reign
when Christ was come; and though it was greatly
diminished
it had some power remaining
even at the death of Christ
but
quickly after had none at all: and if by the "lawgiver" is meant a
scribe or a teacher of the law
as all the Targums
Aben Ezra
Ben Melech
and
others interpret it
who used to sit at the feet of a ruler
judge
or prince
of the sanhedrim; it is notorious there were of these unto
and in the times of
the Messiah: in short
it matters not for the fulfilment of this prophecy what
sort of governors those were after the captivity
nor of what tribe they were;
they were in Judah
and their government was exercised therein
and that was in
the hands of Judah
and they and that did not depart from thence till Shiloh
came; since those that were of the other tribes
after the return from the
captivity all went by the name of Judah:
until Shiloh
come;
which all the three
Targums interpret of the Messiah
as do many of the Jewish writers
ancient and
modernF16Zohar in Gen. fol. 32. 4. & in Exod. fol. 4. 1. &
in Numb. fol. 101. 2. Bereshit Rabba
fol. 98. sect. 85. 3. Jarchi & Baal
Hatturim
in loc. Nachmanidis Disputat. cum Paulo
p. 53. Abarbinel. Mashmiah
Jesbuah
fol. 10. 1. R. Abraham Seba
Tzeror Hammor
fol. 36. 4. & 62. 2. ;
and is the name of the Messiah in their TalmudF17T. Bab. Sanhedrin
fol. 98. 2.
and in other writingsF18Echa Rabbati
fol. 50. 2. ;
and well agrees with him
coming from a root which signifies to be
"quiet"
"peaceable"
and "prosperous"; as he was
of a quiet and peaceable disposition
came to make peace between God and men
and made it by the blood of his cross
and gives spiritual peace to all his
followers
and brings them at length to everlasting peace and happiness; having
prospered and succeeded in the great work of their redemption and salvation he
undertook:
and unto him
shall the gathering of the people be;
not of the Jews
though
there were great gatherings of them to hear him preach
and see his miracles;
as there were of all his people to him at his death
and in him as their head
and representative
Ephesians 1:10 but
of the Gentiles; upon his death
the Gospel being preached to all nations
multitudes among them were converted to Christ
embraced his doctrines
professed his religion
and abode by him
see Isaiah 11:10 some
render it
the obedience of the peopleF19יקהת
עמים "obedientia populorum"
Montanus
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Cocceius
Ainsworth; with which agree the
Targums of Onkelos and Jerusalem
Aben Ezra
Kimchi in Sepher Shorash. rad. יקה
from the use of the word in Proverbs 30:17
which sense agrees with the former; for those who are truly gathered by the
ministry of the word yield an obedience to his doctrines and ordinances; and
others read
"the expectation of the people"F20 προσδοκια εθνων
Sept Theodotion; "expectatio
Gentium"
V. L. ; the Messiah being the desire of all nations
Haggai 2:6 this
with what goes before
clearly shows that the Messiah must be come
since
government in every sense has departed from Judah for 1900 years or thereabout
and the Gentiles have embraced the Messiah and his Gospel the Jews rejected:
the various contradictory senses they put upon this prophecy show the puzzle
and confusion they are in about it
and serve to confirm the true sense of it:
some apply it to the city Shiloh
others to Moses
others to Saul
others to
David; nay
some will have Shiloh to be Jeroboam
or Ahijah the Shilonite
and
even Nebuchadnezzar: there are two senses they put upon it which deserve the
most notice
the one is
that "Shebet"
we render
"sceptre"
signifies a "rod"; and so it does
but such a
rod as is an ensign of government
as it must here
by what follows
see Ezekiel 19:11
but
they would have it to signify either a rod of correctionF21R. Joel
Ben Sueb apud Menasseh
Ben Israel. Conciliator in Gen. Quaest. 65. sect. 8.
or a staff of support; but what correction or affliction has befallen the tribe
of Judah peculiar to it? was it not in a flourishing condition for five hundred
years
under the reign of David's family? and when the rest of the tribes were
carried captive and never returned
Judah remained in its own land
and
when
carried captive
after seventy years returned again to it; add to which
that
this is a prediction
not of affliction and distress
that should abide in the
tribe of Judah
but of honour and glory to it: and besides
Judah has had a far
greater share of correction since the coming of the true Messiah than ever it
had before: and what support have the Jews now
or have had for many hundred
years
being out of their landF22Written about 1750. Ed.
destitute
of their privileges
living among other nations in disgrace
and for the most
part in poverty and distress? the other sense is this
"the sceptre and
lawgiver shall not depart from Judah for ever
when Shiloh comesF23Vid.
Menasseh
ib. sect. 3. "; but this is contrary to the accents which
separate and divide the phrase
"between his feet"
from that
"for ever"
as this version renders the word; though עד never signifies "for ever"
absolutely put
without some antecedent noun or particle; nor does כי
signify "when"
but always "until"
when it is joined with
the particle עד
as it is here; besides
this sense
makes the prophecy to pass over some thousands of years before any notice is
taken of Judah's sceptre
which
according to the Jews
it had thousands of
years ago
as well as contradicts a received notion of their own
that the
Messiah
when he comes
shall not reign for ever
but for a certain time
and
even a small time; some say forty years
some seventy
and others four hundredF24T.
Bab. Sanhedrin
fol. 99. 1. .
Genesis 49:11. 11 Binding
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.
YLT 11Binding to the vine his ass
And to the
choice vine the colt of his ass
He hath washed in wine his clothing
And in
the blood of grapes his covering;
Binding his
foal unto the vine
and his ass's colt unto the choice vine
....
Which may be understood
either of the tribe of Judah
and signify that vines should grow in such
plenty
and so large and strong
that a man might fasten his ass to one of
them
and if it ate and destroyed it
it would give no great concern
since the
country abounded with them; or they would be so full of clusters that a man
might load an ass from one of them. Some parts of the tribe of Judah were
famous for vines
especially Engedi; hence we read of the vineyards of Engedi
Song of Solomon 1:14
or else of Shiloh the Messiah
which some interpret literally of him
when the
prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 was
fulfilled
as is recorded in Matthew 21:2 but
others better
figuratively
of Christ's causing the Gentiles
comparable to an
ass's colt
for their impurity
ignorance of
and sluggishness in spiritual
things
to cleave to him the true vine
John 15:1 in the
exercise of faith
hope
and love
or to join themselves to his church and
people
sometimes compared to a vine or vineyard
Isaiah 5:1.
and he washed
his garments in wine
and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
an hyperbolical
expression
setting forth the great abundance of wine in this tribe
of which
there was such plenty
that if they would
they might have used it instead of
water to wash their clothes in
but not that they did do so
only might if they
would; and may denote the great quantity of spiritual blessings flowing from
the love of God
which come by Christ; and of his word and ordinances
which
are comparable to wine and milk
and are a feast of fat things
of wine on the
lees
well refined
Isaiah 26:6 and may
be applied to Christ
to the garment of his human nature
which
through his
sufferings and death
was like a vesture dipped in blood
and he became red in
his apparel
Isaiah 63:1 or to
his church and people
which cleave to him as a garment
and whose garments are
washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb
Revelation 1:5
these words are interpreted of the Messiah in the Targums of Jonathan and
Jerusalem
and are applied to him and his times in the TalmudF25T.
Bab. Berac. fol. 57. 1.
and in other Jewish writingsF26Zohar in
Gen. fol. 127. 3. & 128. 2
3. : so wine is called the blood of the grape
by the son of Sirach in the Apocrypha:"The principal things for the whole
use of man's life are water
fire
iron
and salt
flour of wheat
honey
milk
and the blood of the grape
and oil
and clothing.' (Sirach 39:26)"He
stretched out his hand to the cup
and poured of the blood of the grape
he
poured out at the foot of the altar a sweetsmelling savour unto the most high
King of all.' (Sirach 50:15)
Genesis 49:12. 12 His
eyes are darker than wine
And his teeth whiter than milk.
YLT 12Red [are] eyes with wine
And white [are]
teeth with milk!
His eyes shall
be red with wine
....
Signifying
not the
intemperance of this tribe
and their immoderate use of wine
and the effect of
it on them; but the goodness and generosity of their wine
that if drank
plentifully of
and especially to excess
would have such an effect
see Proverbs 23:29 and
as applied to the Messiah
the antitype of Judah
and who was of this tribe
it
may denote not so much the beauty of his eyes
as the Targums paraphrase it; as
the joy and pleasure that sparkled in his eyes when he shed his blood on the
cross
enduring that
and despising the shame of it
for the joy of the
salvation of his people; or the clearness of his sight in beholding the actions
of his enemies
and especially of the fierceness and fury of his wrath against
them
whose eyes are said to be an flames of fire
Revelation 1:14.
and his teeth
white with milk;
denoting the fruitfulness
of his land
producing fine pastures
on which flocks and herds fed
and gave
abundance of milk; and so Onkelos paraphrases the whole verse
"his
mountains shall be red with his vineyards
and his hills shall drop wine
and
his valleys shall be white with corn and flocks of sheep;'and much the same are
the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem: the mystical sense may respect Christ
and his people
and be expressive of the purity of his nature
life
and
doctrine
and of the holiness of his members
their faith and conversation; or
the clauses may be rendered
redder than wine
whiter than milk; but though
whiteness recommends teeth
yet not redness the eyes; wherefore someF1Danzius
apud Stockium
p. 334. by transposing the first letters of the word for
"red"
make it to signify black
as it does with the Arabs
and that
colour of the eye is reckoned beautiful.
Genesis 49:13. 13 “Zebulun
shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships
And
his border shall adjoin Sidon.
YLT 13Zebulun at a haven of the seas doth dwell
And he [is] for a haven of ships; And his side [is] unto Zidon.
Zebulun shall
dwell at the haven of the sea
....
Of the sea of Galilee
sometimes called the sea of Tiberias and of Gennesaret; and of the
Mediterranean sea; and accordingly we find that the border of this tribe
when
settled in the land of Canaan
was toward the sea
Joshua 19:10 and
this was done
not at the discretion of Joshua
or at the choice of this tribe
but by lot; and which shows that Jacob said this under a spirit of prophecy
and which had its fulfilment two hundred years after; and is a full proof of
the prescience and providence of God; and who
as he sets the bounds of the
people
or of the nations of the world
and of the tribes of Israel
so the
bounds of the habitations of particular persons
Acts 17:26 and he
shall be for an haven of ships; shall have good ports commodious for ships to
station in
and to cover them from storms and tempests; this tribe being
situated by the sea shoreF2לחוף ימים "in litore maris"
V. L. "ad litus
marium"
Drusius
Cocceius
Schmidt. :
and his border
shall be unto Zidon;
not the city Zidon
for
the tribe of Zebulun reached no further than Carmel
as Josephus
observes;"the Zebulunites (says he) obtained the land from Carmel
and the
sea to the lake of Gennesaret.'Now Carmel was forty miles at least from Zidon;
but Phoenicia is meant
of which Zidon was the chief city; and so the
Septuagint in Isaiah 23:2 put
Phoenicia instead of Zidon; and whereas Carmel was the border of this tribe
that way
it is also said by JeromF4Comment. in Amos
9. 3. to be
the border of Phoenicia; so that Zebulun reaching to Carmel
its border may be
truly said to be to Zidon or Phoenicia.
Genesis 49:14. 14 “Issachar
is a strong donkey
Lying down between two burdens;
YLT 14Issacher [is] a strong ass
Crouching between
the two folds;
Issachar is a
strong ass
....
Or as one
the note of
similitude being wanting
as Ben Melech observes; "a bony"F5חמר גרם "Asinus
osseus"
Montanus
Tigurine version
Munster
Vatablus
Drusius
Piscator
Cartwright. one
as the word signifies; not one that is lean
and nothing but
skin and bones
as some interpret it
but that is strong and robust
able to
carry burdens; and this tribe is compared to an ass
not for stupidity and
sluggishness
but for its strength
and its use in husbandry
in which this
tribe was chiefly occupied: the Targums of Jonathan and Jarchi interpret this
figuratively
of his being strong to bear the yoke of the law: and it is a
notion of the Jews
that this tribe were skilful in the doctrines of the law
and the intercalation of years
&c. from 1 Chronicles 12:32
couching down between two burdens: one hanging on one side
and another on the
other; which Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret of bales of goods; and may as well
be understood of sacks of corn
or anything else
carried by these creatures
which
when they come into a good pasture
and for the sake of that and ease
will lie down with their burdens on them
and rise up again with them: the
Targums of Onkelos and Jerusalem paraphrase it
"between two borders"F6בין המשפתים "inter
terminos"
V. L. "inter terminos duos"
Pagninus
Montanus
Drusius
Cartwright; so Ainsworth
"inter duos finos"
Tigurine
version.
or the borders of his brethren
as Jonathan
Zebulun and Dan
between which this tribe lay; and this is the reason Aben Ezra gives why
Issachar
who was older than Zebulun
is mentioned after him
and between him
and Dan
because his land lay between them; and so it may be observed
that in
the division of the land in Joshua's time
Issachar's lot came up after
Zebulun's
Joshua 19:10 but
Doctor Lightfoot thinksF7Works
vol. 1. p. 698. it refers to the two
kingdoms
between which it lay
that of Phoenicia on one side
and that of
Samaria on the other.
Genesis 49:15. 15 He
saw that rest was good
And that the land was pleasant; He bowed
his shoulder to bear a burden
And became a band of slaves.
YLT 15And he seeth rest that [it is] good
And the
land that [it is] pleasant
And he inclineth his shoulder to bear
And is to
tribute a servant.
And he saw that
rest was good
....
Not the house of the
sanctuary
and attendance there
and the service of that
as the Targum of
Jerusalem; nor the rest of the world to come
the happiness of a future state
as that of Jonathan; but rather
as Onkelos
the part and portion of the good
land allotted him; he saw that a quiet industry exercised in a diligent
cultivation and manuring his land was preferable to the hurry of a court
or
the fatigue of a camp
or the dangers of the seas:
and the land
that it was pleasant;
a fine delightful country
which
if well looked after and improved
would produce plenty of pleasant
fruits; and within this tribe were the rich vale of Esdraelon or Jezreel
and
the fruitful mountains of Gilboa: of the former it is agreed by all travellers
the like has never been seen by them
being of vast extent and very fertile
and formerly abounded with corn
wine
and oil; See Gill on Hosea 1:5 and the
latter were famous for their fruitfulness
through the dews that descended on
them
2 Samuel 1:21.
and bowed his
shoulders to bear;
the fatigues of ploughing
and sowing
and reaping
and carrying in the fruits of the earth:
and became a
servant unto tribute;
which greatly arises from
agriculture and the fruits of the earth; and this tribe chose rather to pay
more tribute than the rest
that they might abide at home and attend the
business of their fields
when others were called to go forth to war.
Genesis 49:16. 16 “Dan
shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.
YLT 16Dan doth judge his people
As one of the
tribes of Israel;
Dan shall judge
his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
There is an elegant
paronomasia
or an allusion to the name of Dan in those words
which signifies
to judge
and the sense of them is
there should be heads
rulers
and judges
of it
as the other tribes had; and this is the rather mentioned of him
because he is the first of the children of concubine wives as yet taken notice
of; and what is here said of him is also to be understood of the rest of the
sons of the concubines; for the meaning is not
that a judge should arise out
of him as out of the other tribes
that should judge all Israel
restraining it
to Samson
who was of this tribe
as the Targums and Jarchi; for no such judge
did arise out of all the tribes of Israel; nor was Samson such a judge of
Israel as David
who
according to Jarchi
is one of the tribes of Israel
namely
of Judah; for David did not judge as Samson
nor Samson as David
their
form of government being different.
Genesis 49:17. 17 Dan
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.
YLT 17Dan is a serpent by the way
An adder by the
path
Which is biting the horse's heels
And its rider falleth backward.
Dan shall be a
serpent by the way
an adder in the path
....
Or be like that sort of
serpents called the adder; or rather
that which has the name of Cerastes
which lies among sand
and being of the same colour is not easily discerned
and is often trampled upon unawares
and bites at once
unexpected; as BothartF8Hierozoic.
par. 2. l. 3. c. 12. col. 418
419
420. from various writers has shown;
particularly Diodorus SiculusF9Bibliothec. l. 3. p. 183. says
of
this kind of serpents
that their bites are deadly
and being of the same
colour with the sand
few discern them
so that many ignorantly treading on
them fall into danger unawares; and so Onkelos paraphrases it
that lies in
wait by the way; and is by another writerF11R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel
Moed. fol. 57. 1. interpreted
a very grievous and hurtful serpent as the adder
is:
that biteth the
horse heels
so that his rider shall fall backward;
for this sort of serpents
lying in horse ways and cart ruts
snaps at and bites horses as they pass
along
which bites affecting their legs and thighs
cause them to fall and
throw their riders: this
by the Jewish writers
who are followed by many
Christian interpreters
is applied to Samson
who by craft and policy managed
the Philistines
as in the affair of the foxes
and especially in his last
enterprise
when he got placed between the two pillars of the house
which
answer
as some think
to the horse heels
as the multitude on the roof of the house
to the riders: but though this may be illustrated in a particular person in
this tribe
as a specimen of the genius and disposition of the whole tribe
yet
the prophecy respects the whole tribe
and points at the situation of it
which
was "by the way"
at the extreme part of the country; so that they
had need of craft and policy as well as power to defend themselves against
encroachers and invaders
and describes the general temper and disposition of
this tribe
of which an instance may be seen in Judges 18:1 and it
may have respect to the stumblingblocks and offences laid in this tribe to the
rest of the tribes
by the idol of Micah
and more especially by the golden
calf set up in Dan by Jeroboam.
Genesis 49:18. 18 I
have waited for your salvation
O Lord!
YLT 18For Thy salvation I have waited
Jehovah!
I have waited
for thy salvation
O Lord.
Jacob finding his spirits
faint and flag
stops and breathes awhile before he proceeded any further in
blessing the tribes; and as he found he was a dying man
and knew not how soon
he should expire
expresses what he had been thoughtful of and concerned about
in time past
and still was; that he had been waiting and hoping for
and
expecting a state of happiness and bliss in another world
where he should be
saved from sin and Satan
and the world
and from all his enemies
and out of
all his troubles; and this he firmly believed he should enjoy
and hoped it
would not be long ere he did; and especially he may have a regard to the
Messiah
the promised Saviour
and salvation by him he had knowledge of
faith
in
and expectation of; who may be truly called the salvation of God
because
of his contriving
providing
and appointing
whom he had promised and spoken
of by all the prophets; and whom in the fulness of time he would send into the
world to work out salvation for his people; and to him all the Targums apply
the words
which are to this purpose:"said our father Jacob
not for the
salvation of Gideon
the son of Joash
which is a temporal salvation
do I
wait; nor for the salvation of Samson the son of Manoah
which is a transitory
salvation; but for the salvation of Messiah the son of David
(which is an
everlasting one
) who shall bring the children of Israel to himself
and his
salvation my soul desireth:'and though Jacob might be affected with the evils
he foresaw would rise up in the tribe of Dan
he had last mentioned
and with
the troubles that should come upon all the tribes; and had some pleasing sights
of the deliverances and salvations
that should be wrought for them
by judges
and saviours that should be raised up; yet his chief view was to the Messiah
and salvation by him.
Genesis 49:19. 19 “Gad
a troop shall tramp upon him
But he shall triumph at last.
YLT 19Gad! a troop assaulteth him
But he
assaulteth last.
Gad
a troop
shall overcome him
....
There is a paronomasia
or
an allusion to the name of Gad almost in every word of the verse
which
signifies a troop: the whole is a prediction that this tribe would be a warlike
one
and have the common fate of war
sometimes be conquered
and at other
times conquer
but however should be at last entirely victorious; all the three
Targums refer this to this tribe passing over Jordan at the head of the armies
of Israel
into the land of Canaan
in Joshua's time
which
when they had
subdued
they returned to their own inheritance on the other side Jordan
Joshua 1:12 and so
Jarchi; but it rather seems to refer to what befell them in their own tribe
which being seated on the other side Jordan was exposed to the incursions and
spoils of the Moabites and Amonites; who came upon them like troops of robbers
and seized upon their possessions and retained them for some years; as in the
times of the judges
see Judges 10:7 and in
after times we find the Ammonites in possession of their country
Jeremiah 49:1
whereby this part of the prophecy had its accomplishment:
but he shall
overcome at the last;
as the Gadites with the
Reubenites and half tribe of Manasseh did overcome the Hagarites and Arabians
the war being of God
and succeeded
and they dwelt in their stead until the
captivity of the ten tribes
1 Chronicles 5:18
and thus it is with the people of God in their present warfare state
who are
often foiled with sin
Satan
and the world
their spiritual enemies; but at
last they are more than conquerors over them all through Christ that has loved
them.
Genesis 49:20. 20 “Bread
from Asher shall be rich
And he shall yield royal dainties.
YLT 20Out of Asher his bread [is] fat; And he
giveth dainties of a king.
Out of Asher
his bread shall be fat
....
Which signifies that this
tribe would have a sufficiency of food out of their own land
without being
obliged to others
and that it would be of the best sort; it occupied a tract
of land
as AndrichomiusF12Theatrum Terrae sanctae
p. 1. says
reaching from great Zidon to Carmel of the sea
a space of twenty miles in
length; and in breadth
from the great sea to Asor
and even to Naason
a space
of nine miles; the land of this tribe is very fat
he says
and exceeding
fruitful in wine and oil
especially in the best wheat: and in this tribe
as
the same writerF13lb. p. 13. observes
among other very fruitful
places was the valley of Asher
called the fat valley
which began five miles
from Ptolemais
and reached to the sea of Galilee
and contained more than ten
miles in length; the soil of which was exceeding fat and fruitful
and produced
the most delicate wine and wheat
and might be truly called the fat valley
see
Deuteronomy 33:24.
and he shall
yield royal dainties;
food fit for kings
of all
sorts
flesh
fish
and fowl: here King Solomon had one of his purveyors to
provide food for him and his household
1 Kings 4:16.
Asher's country answered to his name
which signifies happy or blessed: in
those parts Christ was much in the days of his flesh on earth; in Cana of this
tribe he turned water into wine and in this country discoursed concerning the
bread of life himself
who is the best of bread and royal dainties.
Genesis 49:21. 21 “Naphtali
is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.
YLT 21Naphtali [is] a hind sent away
Who is giving
beauteous young ones.
Naphtali is a
hind let loose
....
Onkelos applies it to the
tribe itself
and to the goodness of its land
"as for Naphtali
his lot
fell in a good land
and his inheritance a fruit bearing one
'as it was; for in
it was the most fruitful country of Gennesaret
which gave name to a sea or
lake by it
and which abounded with gardens
with palm trees
fig trees
and
olive trees; and which
Josephus saysF14De Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 9.
sect. 3. one might call the ambition of nature; and StraboF15Geograph.
l. 16. p. 519.
an Heathen writer
says of it
that it was an happy blessed
country
and bearing all sorts of good things; and Jarchi on the place
observes
this is the vale of Gennesaret
which is as quick to bring forth
fruit
as a hind is swift to run. Some will have this prophecy to be fulfilled
in Barak
as Ben Gersom
Abendana
and others
who was of this tribe
and who
at first was fearful like the hind
and backward to go out to war when called
but afterwards readily went out with Deborah
and at last gave goodly words in
the song they both sung: but it better describes the genius
disposition
and manners
of the tribe
who were kind and loving
swift and expeditious in their affairs;
lovers of liberty
well spoken persons
humane
affable
courteous
of a good
address and pleasing language
as follows:
he giveth
goodly words;
to those he converses with;
and it may be applied
particularly to Christ and his disciples
and to the
inhabitants of this tribe in his time
among whom they much were
see Matthew 4:13 he
himself is compared to the hind of the morning
Psalm 22:1 in the
title
and to a roe or a young hart
Song of Solomon 2:9
Song of Solomon 8:14
for his amiableness and loveliness in himself
and for his lovingness to his
people
and for his swiftness to do the will and work of his father
being sent
outF16Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 18. col. 896.
as the word here
used signifies
by him into this world
on the business of man's salvation: and
so his disciples
who were Galilaeans
were swift to obey his call
and left
all and followed him
and were sent out by him to preach his Gospel; and both
he and they may be said to "give goodly words"
as the doctrines of
the Gospel are
words of grace
truth
and life; wholesome
comfortable
pleasant and delightful; good tidings of good things
of peace
pardon
righteousness
salvation and eternal life by Christ: and the inhabitants of
this country in Christ's time were swift to run after him
and hear him; panted
after him as the hart after the water brooks
and both received and gave out
the goodly words of the Gospel
and were made free thereby
and so like an hind
let loose. Bochart gives a different version of these words
which is
countenanced by the Septuagint version
Naphtali is a tree full of shoots
or
"a tree shot out
sprouting out beautiful branches"; but as this is
contrary to the points
and coincides with the next verse
it is rejected by
many learned men.
Genesis 49:22. 22 “Joseph
is a fruitful bough
A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over
the wall.
YLT 22Joseph [is] a fruitful son; A fruitful son by
a fountain
Daughters step over the wall;
Joseph is a
fruitful bough
....
Or as one
like the bough
or branch of a tree laden with fruit
as he was with children; one of which he
called Ephraim from his fruitfulness
and both his sons became numerous
and
the heads of two tribes in Israel; and with other temporal fruits and
blessings
as riches
honour
&c. and especially with the fruits of grace
and righteousness:
even a fruitful bough by a well;
those are the most
fruitful that are near a well or fountain of water
as such trees are which are
planted by rivers of water
see Psalm 1:3 this
being repeated may have respect to the two boughs or branches of Joseph's
family
or the two fruitful and numerous tribes that sprung from him:
whose branches
run over the wall;
as such trees that are set
against one
and by the reflected heat of the sun grow the more
and become
more fruitful. The word for "branches" is "daughters"
which some refer to the daughters of Manasseh and Zelophehad
who received
their inheritance on both sides of Jordan; and others interpret it of the
cities of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh
as cities are sometimes called.
Genesis 49:23. 23 The
archers have bitterly grieved him
Shot at him and hated him.
YLT 23And embitter him -- yea
they have striven
Yea
hate him do archers;
The archers
have sorely grieved him
and shot at him
and hated him.
His brethren who grieved
him with their ill usage
shot out bitter words against him
and hated him for
his dreams
and because his father loved him; and they could not speak
peaceably to him
they mocked at him
conspired to kill him
stripped him of
his clothes
cast him into a pit
and then sold him; in all which he was a type
of Christ
as used by the Jews. His mistress also
and Satan by her
grieved
him with her temptations and solicitations to sin
which were as fiery darts
shot at him; but being resisted
her impure love was turned into hatred to him
and she shot her lies
calumnies
and reproaches
as so many darts at him; and
as the Targum of Jonathan
the magicians of Egypt
who envied him for his
superior knowledge
and perhaps many others in Pharaoh's court
who were
displeased at his preferments
might bring accusations to Pharaoh against him
out of hatred to him; and Satan and his principalities and powers
whose
temptations are compared to fiery darts
are not to be exempted
which they
shoot at and grieve the people of God
who are hated by them. Perhaps reference
may be had to the wars of the posterity of Joseph under Joshua
who was of the
tribe of Ephraim
with the Canaanites.
Genesis 49:24. 24 But
his bow remained in strength
And the arms of his hands were made strong By the
hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd
the
Stone of Israel)
YLT 24And his bow abideth in strength
And
strengthened are the arms of his hands By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
Whence is a shepherd
a son of Israel.
But his bow
abode in strength
....
For as his enemies were
archers
and had bows and arrows
so had he
and repelled force by force; but
then his bow and arrows were of a different sort
the virtues and graces that
he was possessed of
as innocence and integrity
chastity
fortitude
wisdom
prudence and patience
faith
hope
and the like
which remained unmoved
and
in their full exercise
notwithstanding the powerful attacks made upon them;
and so his posterity were unmoved and unshaken
and stood firm and undaunted
notwithstanding the powerful enemies they had to deal with
until they were
wholly subdued:
and the arms of
his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob;
so that he held his bow
and drew it with great strength against his enemies
as an archer being used to
the bow
his nerves become strong
and he is not weakened by drawing it
nor
weary of using it; but Joseph had not his strength of himself
but from the
Lord
the mighty One
that had strengthened his father Jacob
and supported him
under all his trouble: saints
like Joseph
have their strength
as well as
their righteousness
in and from Christ; and when they are weak in themselves
they are strong in him
to exercise grace and perform duty:
from thence is
the shepherd
the stone of Israel;
from Jacob descended
Joseph; or from the God of Jacob it was that Joseph through divine Providence
was sent into Egypt to be as a shepherd
to feed his father's family
and as a
stone to uphold and support it; in which he was a type of Christ
the great and
good Shepherd of the flock
and the stone that is laid in Zion
on which the
whole spiritual Israel of God is built; the foundation stone on which they are
laid
and are safe
and the corner stone which knits them together. And some
think that Christ is principally meant
who in his office capacity was from the
mighty God of Jacob
a Shepherd of his providing and appointing
and a stone of
his laying; and so Nachmahides says
the stone here made mention of is the same
as in Psalm 118:22.
Genesis 49:25. 25 By
the God of your father who will help you
And by the Almighty who will bless
you With blessings of heaven above
Blessings of the deep that lies
beneath
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
YLT 25By the God of thy father who helpeth thee
And the Mighty One who blesseth thee
Blessings of the heavens from above
Blessings of the deep lying under
Blessings of breasts and womb; --
Even by the God
of thy father
who shall help thee
....
The same with the mighty
God of Jacob
by whom his hands had been made strong
and he would be still
helped
protected
and defended against his powerful enemies; and by whom
Christ
the antitype
was helped as man and Mediator against his enemies
and
to do all the work he engaged in; and by whom all the Lord's people are helped
to fight his battles with their spiritual enemies
to withstand temptations
exercise every grace
and do the will and work of God:
and by the
Almighty
who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above;
with those blessings which
may be ascribed to the sun
moon
and stars
and their influences as means
and
to the rain and dew which descend from thence; and as with such temporal
blessings
so with spiritual ones in heavenly things in Christ:
blessings of
the deep that lieth under;
of rivers
fountains and
springs that rise out of the earth from below
which water and make fruitful:
blessings of
the breasts
and of the womb
an increase of children
and of cattle
and those healthy
thriving
and prosperous
which are great
temporal mercies; as are the word and ordinances spiritual ones
those breasts
of consolation
which such that are born again partake of
and grow thereby.
Genesis 49:26. 26 The
blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors
Up to the
utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph
And
on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
YLT 26Thy father's blessings have been mighty Above
the blessings of my progenitors
Unto the limit of the heights age-during They
are for the head of Joseph
And for the crown of the one Separate [from] his
brethren.
The blessings
of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors
....
Jacob's blessings were
greater and more numerous
both those which he himself had
and bestowed upon
his offspring
than those that Abraham and Isaac had
he having more children
than they
and blessings for everyone of them; whereas they each of them had
but two
and one of these two were excluded the blessing: and besides
though
these blessings were the same in substance bestowed on his progenitors
and by
them on him
yet these were more clearly and distinctly given out by him to his
posterity
and were nearer their accomplishment:
unto the utmost
bounds of the everlasting hills
they shall be on the head of Joseph:
that is
continue on him
as long as the everlasting hills continue
particularly those of a spiritual
kind
for they endure for ever. The word for "bounds" signifies
"desire"; and Onkelos paraphrases the words
"which the princes that
were of old desired:'meaning either the angels who desire to look into heavenly
things
or the patriarchs
who were desirous of the coming of the Messiah
and
salvation by him; and so the Vulgate Latin version is
"until the desire
of the everlasting hills should come"; that is
Christ
who is the desire
of all nations
in whom all nations of the earth are to be blessed
and
therefore desirable; blessings of all kinds are upon the head of the just
as
they were on Joseph
Proverbs 10:6.
and on the
crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren;
who shunned company and
conversation with him
and at length sold him into Egypt
where he was parted
from them
and remained separate for many years; and when they came to dwell in
the land of Egypt
they lived in Goshen
and he at Pharaoh's court
where he
was distinguished with peculiar honours
and advanced above them. Of Christ his
antitype
see Hebrews 7:26.
Genesis 49:27. 27 “Benjamin
is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey
And at night he
shall divide the spoil.”
YLT 27Benjamin! a wolf teareth; In the morning he
eateth prey
And at evening he apportioneth spoil.'
Benjamin shall
ravin as a wolf
....
All the three Targums
apply this prophecy to the priests offering the daily sacrifice
morning and
evening
in the temple
which stood in the lot of Benjamin
and dividing what
was left
and eating it. But it respects the tribe itself
compared to a wolf
for its fortitude
courage
and valour
as well as for its rapaciousness
it
being a warlike tribe; and the Jewish writersF17Targum Jon. Aben
Ezra & Gersom
in loc. say
that it is compared to a wolf
because of its
strength. Wolves
said to be devoted to Mars
are called "martial"
wolves by VirgilF18Virgil. Aeneid. 9. and HoraceF19Horat.
Carmin. l. 1. Ode. 17. ; and we have an early instance of the valour and
success of this tribe in a war waged with all the other tribes
and in two
pitched battles
in one with 26
000 men it beat 400
000
Judges 20:15
and
if this tribe is compared to a wolf for rapaciousness
this may be illustrated
by the remainder of those
after the loss of a third battle
catching and
carrying away the daughters of Shiloh
and making them their wives
Judges 21:23. Some
apply this to particular persons of this tribe
as to Saul the first king of
Israel
who was of Benjamin; and who as soon as he took the kingdom of Israel
in the morning
in the beginning of that state
fought against all his enemies
on every side
against Moab
Ammon
Edom
the kings of Zobah
and the
Philistines
and the Amalekites
1 Samuel 14:47 and
to Mordecai and Esther
who were of the same tribe
who after the captivity
and in the evening of that state
divided the spoil of Haman
Esther 8:1 this is
observed by Jarchi
Aben Ezra
and Ben Gersom. Some of the Christian fathers
have applied the prophecy to the Apostle Paul
who was of the tribe of
Benjamin; who in the morning of his youth was a fierce and ravenous persecutor
and made havoc of the church of God: and in the evening
or latter part of his
life
spent his days in dividing the spoil of Satan among the Gentiles
taking
the prey out of his hands
turning men from the power of Satan unto God
and
distributed food to the souls of men. In a spiritual sense he was a warlike
man
a good soldier of Christ
and accoutred as such
had a warfare to
accomplish
and enemies to fight with; and did fight the good fight of faith
conquered
and was more than a conqueror through Christ
and is now crowned:
and why may it not be applied to Christ himself
seeing the blessing of
Benjamin by Moses
Deuteronomy 33:12
seems to belong to him? he is God's Benjamin
the son and man of his right
hand
as dear to him as his right hand
in whom his power has been displayed
and who is exalted at his right hand; and may as well be compared to a wolf as
to a lion
as he is the lion of the tribe of Judah
and as God himself is
compared to a lion and bear
Hosea 13:7 and who
is expressly said to divide the spoil with the strong
Isaiah 53:12
spoiled principalities and powers
delivered his people as a prey out of the
hands of the mighty
and will make an utter destruction of all his and their
enemies. Some of these things were done in the morning of the Gospel
dispensation
and others will be done in the evening of it
Colossians 2:15.
Genesis 49:28. 28 All
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.
YLT 28All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel
and this [is] that which their father hath spoken unto them
and he blesseth
them; each according to his blessing he hath blessed them.
All these are
the twelve tribes of Israel
....
The twelve sons of Jacob
before mentioned were heads of twelve tribes
who were afterwards seated
and
had their part in the land of Canaan; there were indeed thirteen tribes
two
springing from Joseph; but then the tribe of Levi had no part in the land of
Canaan
which was divided into twelve parts; this shows that the above
predictions respect not the persons of the patriarchs
but their tribes:
and this is
it that their father spake unto them
and blessed them:
the above is the sum and
substance of what he had delivered in his patriarchal benediction of them
a
little before his death; and though some of them
as Reuben
Simeon
and Levi
may seem rather to be cursed than blessed
yet the greater part of them were
clearly and manifestly blessed; and what he said by way of correction and
rebuke to the others
might be blessed to them for their good; nor is it
improbable
that after he had delivered out the above predictions
he might
wish for and implore a blessing on them all; and certain it is
that they all
had a part in the blessing of Abraham
Isaac
and Jacob
as it related to the
land of Canaan:
everyone
according to his blessing he blessed them;
according to the blessing
which was appointed to them of God
and was in later times bestowed on them
Jacob under a spirit of prophecy was directed to bless them with
or to
foretell what blessings should come upon them
and which accordingly did.
Genesis 49:29. 29 Then
he 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
YLT 29And he commandeth them
and saith unto them
`I am being gathered unto my people; bury me by my fathers
at the cave which
[is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite;
And he charged
them
and said unto them
....
The same charge he had
given to Joseph he here renews
and lays it upon his sons
who were everyone of
them to go along with Joseph to bury him in Canaan:
I am to
be gathered unto my people;
the people of God
the
spirits of just men made perfect
the souls of all the saints who before this
time had departed this life
and were in a state of happiness and bliss; called
his people
because he and they were of the same mystical body the church
belonged to the same general assembly
and church of the firstborn; the company
of God's elect
who were in the same covenant of grace
and partakers of the
same blessings and promises of grace: this shows that the souls of men are
immortal; that there is a future state after death
which is a state of
happiness
and into which saints immediately enter as soon as they die
and
where Jacob expected to be in a short time:
bury me with my
fathers;
the other part of himself
his body
which should not be gathered to his people
as his soul would be
he
orders to be interred with his fathers Abraham and Isaac:
in the cave
that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite;
which is more particularly
described in the following verse
being the place of his father's sepulchre.
Genesis 49:30. 30 in
the cave that is in the field of Machpelah
which is before Mamre
in the land of Canaan
which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the
Hittite as a possession for a burial place.
YLT 30in the cave which [is] in the field of Machpelah
which [is] on the front of Mamre
in the land of Canaan
which Abraham bought
with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place;
In the cave
that is in the field of Machpelah
which is before Mamre
in the land of Canaan
....
This is so exactly
described
that there might be no mistake about the place
see Genesis 23:17
which Abraham
bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite
for a possession of a burying
place;
this is observed if any of
the successors of Ephron
or any of the Hittites
should lay any claim unto it
or dispute the right of Jacob's sons to bury him there.
Genesis 49:31. 31 There they buried Abraham
and Sarah his wife
there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife
and there I
buried Leah.
YLT 31(there they buried Abraham and Sarah his
wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah);
There they
buried Abraham and Sarah his wife
....
Abraham buried Sarah there
himself
and his two sons
Isaac and Ishmael
buried him there:
there they
buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife;
we have no other account
of the death of Rebekah
and her burial
but here; it is probable she died
before Isaac
and that Isaac buried her in this cave; and here Esau and Jacob
buried him:
and there I
buried Leah;
of whose death and burial
we also read nowhere else but here; it is probable she died before Isaac
and
that Isaac buried her in this cave; and here Esau and Jacob buried him:
Genesis 49:32. 32 The
field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of
Heth.”
YLT 32the purchase of the field and of the cave
which [is] in it
[is] from Sons of Heth.'
The purchase of
the field
and of the cave that is there
was from the children of Heth.
Which is repeated for the
certainty of it
and that it might be taken notice of
that both the field and
cave were bought by Abraham of Ephron the Hittite
and that the children of
Heth were witnesses of the bargain
and of the payment of the money
and by
whom the estate was made sure to Abraham; all which might be urged
if any
controversy should arise about it; see Genesis 23:16
Genesis 49:33. 33 And
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.
YLT 33And Jacob finisheth commanding his sons
and
gathereth up his feet unto the bed
and expireth
and is gathered unto his
people.
And when Jacob
had made an end of commanding his sons
....
Had given all the proper
directions and instructions concerning his interment in the land of Canaan: he
gathered up his feet into the bed; on which he sat while he blessed his sons
and gave orders to them about his burial; but now he gathered up his feet into
the bed
laid himself along
and composed himself in a proper posture to die.
What authority the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem on Genesis 49:21 had
for saying this bed was a bed of gold
I know not:
and he yielded
up the ghost;
he expired
he died an easy
death
without any pain or sickness: which Ben Melech says this phrase is
expressive of. He died in the year of his age one hundred and forty seven
and
not one hundred and forty four
as a Jewish chronologerF20Ganz.
Tzemach David
par. 1. fol. 6. 2. wrongly puts it
and in the year of the world
2315
and before Christ 1689
according to Bishop UsherF21Annales
Vet. Test. A. M. 2315. : and was gathered unto his people:
See Gill on Genesis 49:29.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》