Genesis 49

20 The descendants of Asher would be allotted a rich and fertile territory.

21 The descendants of Naphtali would be allotted territory in the northern part of Canaan where they could “roam as free as a doe.”

22–26 Joseph was named the prince among his brothers (verse 26). But he hadn’t started out that way. He had been attacked by archers (verse 23)—enemies like his brothers and like Potiphar’s wife. And yet God had sustained him, and would continue to do so.

The blessing recorded in these verses was also meant for Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and for their descendants. Their allotted territories would be large and prosperous. However, the tribe of Ephraim, the younger brother, would predominate, as Jacob had predicted (Genesis 48:19). The Ephraimites had a tendency to expand their territory, like a vine whose branches climb over a wall (verse 22). The Ephraimites were also good archers; their bow remained steady (verse 24).

As had already been true in Joseph’s life, all future blessings coming to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh would be fulfilled because of the hand of God upon them; He would be their Shepherd, their Rock—that is, their sure defense (verse 24). God would continue to help them and to bless them (verse 25). Indeed, the tribe of Ephraim was so blessed that it eventually dominated the northern tribes of Israel.¹⁴⁶

27 Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob, was likened to a ravenous wolf. His descendants would indeed turn out to be powerful and violent. Saul, Israel’s first king, came from the tribe of Benjamin.

28 Jacob gave each son the blessing appropriate to him. Though Jacob expressed displeasure toward Reuben, Simeon and Levi, he did not reject them—as Jacob’s brother Esau had been rejected. Indeed, every one of these twelve sons would have a part to play in the eventual conquest of the promised land and in the establishment of the nation of Israel.

Though Jacob’s sons had widely different gifts and temperaments (and weaknesses) which would be passed on to their respective tribes, God would manage to blend them together into a nation. Some were good with swords, some with bows. One was like a lion, another like a wolf; one was like a donkey, another like a serpent, and another like a doe. Such was Jacob’s family—very similar to our own families today!

In this way Jacob passed on to his sons the covenant blessings promised to Abraham and his descendants. The blessings spoke of both victory and conquest on the one hand and peace and prosperity on the other. As it turned out, however, the twelve tribes¹⁴⁷ of Israel would never enjoy complete victory or complete peace—but that is another story, the story of their disobedience. Whenever victory and peace eluded them, it was not because God failed them but because they failed God. True victory and true peace would have to wait until the coming of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ.

The Death of Jacob (49:29–33)

29–33 As Jacob was about to die, he repeated in greater detail his earlier instructions to Joseph concerning his burial (Genesis 47:29–30). The burial site near Mamre in Canaan, where Abraham and Isaac and their wives were buried, was like an “advance” or a “deposit” on the family’s eventual inheritance of the promised land. Later, Joseph also would request that his bones be carried to Canaan (Genesis 50:24–25). In this way the founding fathers of Israel confirmed their faith that indeed, one day, the land would belong to their descendants.