Genesis 49:2-27

2 Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob! Listen to Israel your father!

3 Reuben, you [are] my firstborn, my strength, and the firstfruit of my vigor, excelling in rank and excelling in power.

4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel [any longer], for you went up upon the bed of your father, then defiled [it]. You went up upon my couch!

5 Simeon and Levi [are] brothers; weapons of violence [are] their swords. Let me not come into their council.

6 Let not my person be joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and at their pleasure they hamstrung cattle.

7 Cursed be their anger, for [it is] fierce, and their wrath, for [it is] cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel.

8 Judah, [as for] you, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand [shall be] on the neck of your enemies. The sons of your father shall bow down to you.

9 Judah [is] a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bowed down; he crouched like a lion and as a lioness. Who shall rouse him?

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff between his feet, until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be the obedience of nations.

11 Binding his donkey to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he washes his clothing in the wine and his garment in the blood of grapes.

12 The eyes [are] darker than wine, and the teeth whiter than milk.

13 Zebulun shall settle by the shore of the sea. He [shall become] a haven for ships, and his border [shall be] at Sidon.

14 Issachar [is] a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds.

15 He saw a resting place that [was] good, and land that [was] pleasant. So he bowed his shoulder to the burden and became a servant of forced labor.

16 Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent on the way, a viper on the road that bites the heels of a horse, so that its rider falls backward.

18 I wait for your salvation, O Yahweh.

19 Bandits shall attack Gad, but he shall attack [their] heels.

20 Asher's food [is] delicious, and he shall provide from the king's delicacies.

21 Naphtali [is] a doe running free that puts forth beautiful words.

22 Joseph [is] the bough of a fruitful vine, a fruitful bough by a spring. His branches climb over the wall.

23 {The archers} fiercely attacked him. They shot arrows [at him] and were hostile to him.

24 But his bow remained in a steady position; {his arms} were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. From there [is] the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

25 Because of the God of your father he will help you and [by] Shaddai he will bless you with the blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and the womb.

26 The blessings of your father are superior to the blessings of my ancestors, to the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the forehead of the prince of his brothers.

27 Benjamin [is] a devouring wolf, devouring the prey in the morning, and dividing the plunder in the evening.

Genesis 49:2-27 Meaning and Commentary

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, Ge 49:1,2, he begins with Reuben his firstborn, whose incest he takes notice of, on which account he should not excel, Ge 49:3,4, next Simeon and Levi have a curse denounced on them for their cruelty at Shechem, Ge 49:5,6, 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, Ge 49:7-12, the predictions concerning Zebulun, Issachar, and Dan, follow, at the close of which Jacob expresses his longing expectation of God's salvation, Ge 49:13-18 and after foretelling what should befall Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, Ge 49:19-21, a large account is given of Joseph, his troubles, his trials, and his blessings, Ge 49:22-26, 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, Ge 49:27,28, and the chapter is closed with a charge of Jacob's to his sons to bury him in Canaan, which having delivered, he died, Ge 49:29-33.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "reckless"
• [b]. Or "my soul"
• [c]. Or "my glory"
• [d]. Or "son"
• [e]. Or "son"
• [f]. Literally "the masters of the bow"
• [g]. Literally "the arms of his hands"
• [h]. Or "the Almighty"