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Genesis 49:7
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Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; Their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Ya`akov, Scatter them in Yisra'el.
Cursed 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.
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.
May their anger be cursed, because it is too violent. May their violence be cursed, because it is too cruel. I will divide them up among the tribes of Jacob and scatter them through all the tribes of Israel.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their fury, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel!
"Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob, And disperse them among Israel.
Cursed be their wrath, for it was fierce, and their rage, for it was cruell: I will deuide them in Iaakob, and scatter them in Israel.
Cursed be their anger, for it is strong;And their wrath, for it is cruel.I will divide them amongst Jacob,And scatter them in Israel.
Now I place a curse on you because of your fierce anger. Your descendants will be scattered among the tribes of Israel.
Cursed be their anger, for it has been fierce; their fury, for it has been cruel. I will divide them in Ya‘akov and scatter them in Isra'el.
Cursed be their anger, for it [was] violent; And their rage, for it [was] cruel! I will divide them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.
Their anger is so strong that it is a curse. They are too cruel when they are angry. They will not get their own land in the land of Jacob. They will be spread throughout Israel.
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.
Cursed be their anger, for it is raging: and their wrath, for it is fierce; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
A curse be on their anger, because it is so fierce, And on their fury, because it is so cruel. I will scatter them throughout the land of Israel. I will disperse them among its people.
Their anger is cursed, for it is strong,and their fury, for it is cruel!I will disperse them throughout Jacoband scatter them throughout Israel.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel.
Cursed be their wrath, because it is so fearce: and their indignacion, because it is so rigorous. I wil deuyde them in Iacob, and scater them in Israel
Cursed 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.
A curse on their passion for it was bitter; and on their wrath for it was cruel. I will let their heritage in Jacob be broken up, driving them from their places in Israel.
Cursed be their wrath, for it was shamelesse, and their fiercenesse, for it was cruell: I wyll deuide them in Iacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Cursed 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.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruell: I will diuide them in Iacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Cursed be their wrath, for it was willful, and their anger, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Cursed 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.
Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
curside be the woodnesse of hem, for it is obstynat, and the indignacioun of hem for it is hard; Y schal departe hem in Jacob, and I schal scatere hem in Israel.
Cursed [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; And their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.
Cursed [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.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; Their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, Scatter them in Israel.
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.
A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel.
Their anger will be punished, for it is bad. Their bad temper will be punished, for it is bad. I will divide them in Jacob and spread them apart in Israel.
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.
Accursed, be their anger, because fierce, And their wrath because cruel, - I divide them in Jacob, And I disperse them in Israel.
Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath, because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel.
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.
A curse on their uncontrolled anger, on their indiscriminate wrath. I'll throw them out with the trash; I'll shred and scatter them like confetti throughout Israel.
"Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Cursed: 2 Samuel 13:15, 2 Samuel 13:22-28, Proverbs 26:24, Proverbs 26:25, Proverbs 27:3
I will divide: Joshua 19:1-9, Joshua 21:1-45, 1 Chronicles 4:24-31, 1 Chronicles 4:39, 1 Chronicles 4:40, 1 Chronicles 6:65
Reciprocal: Genesis 9:25 - Cursed Genesis 11:8 - Lord Genesis 31:36 - was wroth Genesis 34:25 - Simeon Genesis 34:31 - General Numbers 35:8 - possession Joshua 21:3 - unto the Levites Joshua 21:41 - within Nehemiah 11:36 - divisions Lamentations 4:16 - hath Matthew 2:16 - and slew Matthew 14:11 - and given 2 Timothy 3:3 - fierce
Cross-References
Then Jacob called for his sons and said, "Assemble yourselves [around me] that I may tell you what will happen to you and your descendants in the days to come.
"Judah, a lion's cub; With the prey, my son, you have gone high up [the mountain]. He stooped down, he crouched like a lion, And like a lion—who dares rouse him?
"Joseph is a fruitful bough (a main branch of the vine), A fruitful bough by a spring (a well, a fountain); Its branches run over the wall [influencing others].
"But his bow remained firm and steady [in the Strength that does not fail], For his arms were made strong and agile By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (By the name of the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of the heavens above, Blessings lying in the deep that couches beneath, Blessings of the [nursing] breasts and of the [fertile] womb.
All these are the [beginnings of the] twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each one according to the blessing appropriate to him.
"There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah—
Then Amnon became extremely hateful toward her, for his hatred toward her was greater than the love which he had for her. And Amnon said to her, "Get up and get out!"
They gave by lot from the tribes of the sons of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin these cities which are mentioned by name.
Stone is heavy and the sand weighty, But a fool's [unreasonable] wrath is heavier and more burdensome than both of them.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
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.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Jacob Blesses His Sons
5. ×××¨× mekeÌraÌh, âweapon;â related: ××ר kaÌrar or ××¨× kaÌraÌh dig. âDevice, design?â related: ××ר maÌkar âsell,â in Arabic âtake counsel. Habitation.â
10. ××קק mechoqeÌq, âlawgiver, judge, dispenser of laws.â This word occurs in six other places - Numbers 21:18; Deuteronomy 33:21; Jud. Deuteronomy 5:14; Psalms 60:9; Psalms 108:9; Isaiah 33:22; in five of which it clearly denotes ruler, or judge. The meaning âsceptreâ is therefore doubtful. ש×××× shıÌyloÌh, Shiloh, a softened form of ש××××× shıÌyloÌn, a derivative of ש×× shol, the ultimate root of ש××× shaÌlaÌh, ש××× shaÌlam, and possibly ש××× shaÌlatÌ£, and hence, denoting âthe peacemaker, the prince of peace.â It is not employed as an appellative noun. But it is used afterward as the name of a town, now identified as Seilun. This town probably had its name, like many other ancient places from a person of the same name who built or possessed it.
From the special conference with Joseph we now pass to the parting address of Jacob to his assembled sons. This is at the same time prophetic and benedictory. Like all prophecy, it starts from present things, and in its widest expanse penetrates into the remotest future of the present course of nature.
Genesis 49:1-2
And Jacob called his sons - This is done by messengers going to their various dwellings and pasture-grounds, and summoning them to his presence. And he said. These words introduce his dying address. âGather yourselves together.â Though there is to be a special address to each, yet it is to be in the audience of all the rest, for the instruction of the whole family. âThat which shall befall you in the after days.â The after days are the times intervening between the speaker and the end of the human race. The beginning of man was at the sixth day of the last creation. The end of his race will be at the dissolution of the heavens and the earth then called into being, and the new creation which we are taught will be consequent thereupon. To this interval prophecy has reference in general, though it occasionally penetrates beyond the veil that separates the present from the future creation.
The prophet has his mind filled with the objects and events of the present and the past, and from these he must draw his images for the future, and express them in the current language of his day. To interpret his words, therefore, we must ascend to his day, examine his usage of speech, distinguish the transient forms in which truth may appear, and hold fast by the constant essence which belongs to all ages. âHear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken to Israel your father.â This is a specimen of the synthetic or synonymous parallel. It affords a good example of the equivalence, and at the same time the distinction, of Jacob and Israel. They both apply to the same person, and to the race of which he is the head. The one refers to the natural, the other to the spiritual. The distinction is similar to that between Elohim and Yahweh: the former of which designates the eternal God, antecedent to all creation, and therefore, equally related to the whole universe; the latter, the self-existent God, subsequent to the creation of intelligent beings, and especially related to them, as the moral Governor, the Keeper of covenant, and the Performer of promise.
Genesis 49:3-4
Reuben, as the first-born by nature, has the first place in the benedictory address. My might. In times and places in which a manâs right depends on his might, a large family of sons is the source of strength and safety. âThe excellency of dignity, and the excellency of powerâ - the rank and authority which belong to the first-born. âBoiling over as water.â That which boils over perishes at the same time that it is pernicious. This is here transferred in a figure to the passionate nature of Reuben. âThou shalt not excel.â There is here an allusion to the excellency of dignity and power. By the boiling over of his unhallowed passions Reuben lost all the excellence that primogeniture confers. By the dispensation of Providence the double portion went to Joseph, the first-born of Rachel; the chieftainship to Judah; and the priesthood to Levi. The cause of this forfeiture is then assigned. In the last sentence the patriarch in a spirit of indignant sorrow passes from the direct address to the indirect narrative. âTo my couch he went up.â The doom here pronounced upon Reuben is still a blessing, as he is not excluded from a tribeâs share in the promised land. But, as in the case of the others, this blessing is abated and modified by his past conduct. His tribe has its seat on the east of the Jordan, and never comes to any eminence in the commonwealth of Israel.
Genesis 49:5-7
âSimon and Levi are brethren,â by temper as well as by birth. Their weapons. This word is rendered plans, devices, by some. But the present rendering agrees best with the context. Weapons may be properly called instruments of violence; but not so plots. âHabitationsâ requires the preposition in before it, which is not in the original, and is not to be supplied without necessity. âInto their counsel.â This refers to the plot they formed for the destruction of the inhabitants of Shekem. âThey houghed an ox.â The singular of the original is to be understood as a plural denoting the kind of acts to which they were prompted in their passion for revenge. Jacob pronounces a curse upon their anger, not because indignation against sin is unwarrantable in itself, but because their wrath was marked by deeds of fierceness and cruelty. âI will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.â He does not cut them off from any part in the promised inheritance; but he divides and scatters them.
Accordingly they are divided from one another in their after history, the tribe of Simon being settled in the southwest corner of the territory of Judah, and Levi having no connected territory, but occupying certain cities and their suburbs which were assigned to his descendants in the various provinces of the land. They were also scattered in Israel. For Simon is the weakest of all the tribes at the close of their sojourn in the wilderness Numbers 26:14; he is altogether omitted in the blessing of Moses Deuteronomy 33:0, and hence, obtains no distinct territory, but only a part of that of Judah Joshua 19:1-9; and he subsequently sends out two colonies, which are separated from the parent stock, and from one another 1 Chronicles 4:24-43. And Levi received forty-eight towns in the various districts of the land, in which his descendants dwelt, far separated from one another. This prediction was therefore, fulfilled to the letter in the history of these brothers. Their classification under one head is a hint that they will yet count but as one tribe.
Genesis 49:8-12
Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, comes in for the supremacy after the three former have been set aside. His personal prowess, the perpetuity of his dominion, and the luxuriance of his soil are then described. âThee shall thy brethren praise.â This is an allusion to his name, which signifies praise Genesis 29:35. As his mother praised the Lord for her fourth son, so shall his brethren praise him for his personal excellence. Ardor of temperament, decision of character, and frankness of acknowledgment are conspicuous even in the blemishes of his early life. Tenderness of conscience, promptitude in resolve, capacity for business, and force of eloquence come out in his riper years. These are qualities that win popular esteem. âThy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies.â They shall flee before him, but shall not escape his powerful grasp. They shall be compelled to yield to his overwhelming power. âThy fatherâs sons shall bow down to thee.â Not only his enemies, but his friends, shall acknowledge his sway. The similar prediction concerning Joseph Genesis 37:6-8 was of a personal nature, and referred to a special occasion, not to a permanent state of affairs. It had already received its main fulfillment, and would altogether terminate with the lifetime of Joseph. The present announcement refers to Judah not as an individual, but as the head of a tribe in Israel, and will therefore, correspond in duration with that commonwealth.
Genesis 49:9
A lionâs whelp is Judah. - In physical strength Judah is compared to the lion, the king of beasts. At first he is the lionâs whelp, the young lion, giving promise of future vigor; then the full-grown lion, exulting in his irresistible force, seizing and overmastering the prey, and after reaping the fruits of his victory, ascending to his mountain lair and reposing in undisturbed security. The lioness is brought into the comparison with propriety, as in defense of her cubs she is even more dangerous than the male to the unwary assailant. After being satiated with prey, the lion, reposing in his majesty, will not disturb the passer-by; but who shall rouse him up and escape?
Genesis 49:10
From his physical force we now pass to his moral supremacy. âThe sceptre,â the staff of authority. âShall not depart from Judah.â The tribe scepter did not leave Judah so long as there was a remnant of the commonwealth of Israel. Long after the other tribes had lost their individuality, Judah lingered in existence and in some measure of independence; and from the return his name supplanted that of Israel or Jacob, as the common designation of the people. âNor the lawgiven from between his feet.â This is otherwise rendered, ânor the judicial staff from between his feet;â and it is argued that this rendering corresponds best with the phrase âbetween his feetâ and with the parallel clause which precedes. It is not worth while contending for one against the other, as the meaning of both is precisely the same. But we have retained the English version, as the term ××קק mechoqeÌq has only one clear meaning; âbetween the feetâ may mean among his descendants or in his tribe; and the synthetic parallelism of the clauses is satisfied by the identity of meaning.
Lawgiver is to be understood as judge, dispenser or administrator of law. Judah had the forerank among the tribes in the wilderness, and never altogether lost it. Nahshon the son of Amminadab, the prince of his tribe, was the ancestor of David, who was anointed as the rightful sovereign of all Israel, and in whom the throne became hereditary. The revolt of the ten tribes curtailed, but did not abolish the actual sovereignty of Rehoboam and his successors, who continued the acknowledged sovereigns until some time after the return from the captivity. From that date the whole nation was virtually absorbed in Judah, and whatever trace of self-government remained belonged to him until the birth of Jesus, who was the lineal descendant of the royal line of David and of Judah, and was the Messiah, the anointed of heaven to be king of Zion and of Israel in a far higher sense than before. âUntil Shiloh come.â
This is otherwise translated, âuntil he come to Shiloh,â the place so called. This is explained of the time when âthe whole assembly of the children of Israel was convened at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting thereâ Joshua 18:1. We hold by the former translation:
1. Because Shiloh has not yet been named as a known locality in the land of promise.
2. Judah did not come to Shiloh in any exclusive sense.
3. His coming thither with his fellows had no bearing whatever on his supremacy.
4. He did not come to Shiloh as the seat of his government or any part of his territory; and
5. The real sovereignty of Judah took place after this convention at Shiloh, and not before it.
After the rejection of the second translation on these grounds, the former is accepted as the only tenable alternative.
6. Besides, it is the natural rendering of the words.
7. Before the coming of Shiloh, the Prince of Peace, the highest pitch of Judahâs supremacy in its primary form has to be attained.
8. On the coming of Shiloh the last remnant of that supremacy was removed, only to be replaced by the higher form of pre-eminence which the Prince of Peace inaugurates.
And unto him be the obedience of the peoples. - âUnto himâ means naturally unto Shiloh. âThe obedienceâ describes the willing submission to the new form of sovereignty which is ushered in by Shiloh. The word is otherwise rendered âgathering;â but this does not suit the usage in Proverbs 30:17. âThe obedienceâ intimates that the supremacy of Judah does not cease at the coming of Shiloh, but only assumes a grander form.
Of the peoples. - Not only the sons of Israel, but all the descendants of Adam will ultimately bow down to the Prince of Peace. This is the seed of the woman, who shall bruise the serpentâs head, the seed of Abraham, in whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed, presented now under the new aspect of the peacemaker, whom all the nations of the earth shall eventually obey as the Prince of Peace. He is therefore, now revealed as the Destroyer of the works of evil, the Dispenser of the blessings of grace, and the King of peace. The coming of Shiloh and the obedience of the nations to him will cover a long period of time, the close of which will coincide with the limit here set to Judahâs earthly supremacy in its wider and loftier stage. This prediction therefore, truly penetrates to the latter days.
Genesis 49:11-12
The exuberant fertility of Judahâs province is now depicted. We now behold him peacefully settled in the land of promise, and the striking objects of rural plenty and prosperity around him. The quiet ass on which he perambulates is tied to the vine, the juice of whose grapes is as copious as the water in which his robes are washed. The last sentence is capable of being rendered, âRed are his eyes above wine, and white his teeth above milk.â But a connection as well as a comparison seems to be implied in the original. Judea is justly described as abounding in the best of wine and milk. This fine picture of Judahâs earthly abode is a fitting emblem of the better country where Shiloh reigns.
Genesis 49:13
Zebulun means âdwelling,â to which there is an allusion in the first clause of the verse. âAt the haven of seas.â This tribe touched upon the coast of the sea of Kinnereth and of the Mediterranean. It probably possessed some havens for shipping near the promontory of Karmel: and its northwestern boundary touched upon Phoenicia, the territory of Zidon. He is placed before Issakar, who was older, because the latter sank into a subordinate position.
Genesis 49:14-15
âAn ass of bone,â and therefore, of strength. âCouching between the hurdlesâ - the pens or stalls in which the cattle were lodged. Rest in a pleasant land he felt to be good; and hence, rather than undertake the struggle for liberty and independence, he became like the strong ass a bearer of burdens, and a payer of tribute. He is thus a hireling by disposition as well as by name Genesis 30:18.
Genesis 49:16-18
The sons of the handmaids follow those of Leah. âDan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.â He will maintain his position as a tribe in the state. When threatened by overwhelming power he will put forth his native force for the discomfiture of the foe. The adder is the cerastes or horned serpent, of the color of the sand, and therefore, not easily recognized, that inflicts a fatal wound on him that unwarily treads on it. The few facts in the history of Dan afterward given correspond well with the character here drawn. Some of its features are conspicuous in Samson Judg. 13â16. âFor thy salvation have I waited, O Lord.â The patriarch, contemplating the power of the adversaries of his future people, breaks forth into the expression of his longing desire and hope of that salvation of the Almighty by which alone they can be delivered. That salvation is commensurate with the utmost extent and diversity of these adversaries.
Genesis 49:19
Gad also shall be subject to the assaults of the enemy. But he shall resist the foe and harass his rear. This brief character agrees with his after history. He is reckoned among the valiant men in Scripture 1 Chronicles 5:18.
Genesis 49:20
Asher shall have a soil abounding in wheat and oil. He occupies the low lands along the coast north of Karmel. Hence, the products of his country are fit to furnish the table of kings. Gad and Asher are placed before Naphtali, the second son of Bilhah. We cannot tell whether they were older, or for what other reason they occupy this place. It may be that Naphtali was of a less decisive or self-reliant character.
Genesis 49:21
Naphtali is a hind let loose. The hind or âgazelleâ is agile and nimble. When free on its native hills, it roams with instinctive confidence and delight. It is timid and irresolute in confinement. This is probably the character of Naphtali. âHe giveth goodly words.â Here we pass from the figure to the reality. Eloquence in prose and verse was characteristic of this particular tribe. The only important historical event in which they are concerned is the defeat of Jabinâs host, which is celebrated in the song of Deborah and Barak Judges 4:5. In this passage we may study the character of the tribe.
Genesis 49:22-26
Jacob had doubtless been made acquainted with the history of his beloved son Joseph from the time of his disappearance until he met him on the borders of Egypt. It had been the meditation and the wonder of his last seventeen years. When he comes to Joseph, therefore, the mingled emotions of affection and gratitude burst forth from his heart in language that cannot be restrained by the ordinary rules of speech. The first thing connected with Joseph in the patriarchâs mind is fruitfulness. The image is vivid and striking. âSon of a fruitful tree.â A branch or rather a shoot transplanted from the parent stem. âBy a well;â from which it may draw the water of life. âWhose daughtersâ - luxuriant branches. Run over a wall - transcend all the usual boundaries of a well-enclosed garden. This fruitfulness attaches to Joseph in two respects. First, he is the prudent gatherer and the inexhaustible dispenser of the produce of Egypt, by which the lives of his father and brethren were preserved. And then he is in prospect the twofold tribe, that bursts the bounds assigned to a twelfth of the chosen people, and overspreads the area of two tribes.
Genesis 49:23-24
The memory then reverts to the past history of Joseph. A new figure is now called up. A champion is assailed by a host of archers. They vex him, shoot at him, and in every way act the part of an enemy. But his bow continues elastic, and his arms are enabled to bend it, because he receives strength from the God of his fathers, âthe Might of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel.â Such is the rich and copious imagery that flows from the lips of Jacob. âThe Might,â the exalted upholder; âthe Shepherd, the Stone,â the fostering guardian as well as the solid foundation of his being. His great hands upheld Joseph against the brother and the stranger. âFrom him.â This seems the free rendering of the word requisite to bring the two members of the parallel into harmony.
Genesis 49:25-26
These two thoughts - the peaceful abundance of his old age, which he owed to Joseph, and the persecutions his beloved son had endured - stir the fountains of his affections until they overflow with blessings. âFrom the God of thy fatherâ - the Eternal One who is the source of all blessing. âAnd the Almighty,â who is able to control all adverse influences. âBlessings of heaven aboveâ - the air, the rain, and the sun. âBlessings of the deepâ - the springs and streams, as well as the fertile soil. âBlessings of the breasts and the wombâ - the children of the home and the young of the flocks and herds. âHave prevailed.â The benedictions of Jacob pronounced upon Joseph exceed those that came upon Jacob himself from his fathers. To Joseph is given a double portion, with a double measure of affection from a fatherâs heart. âUnto the bound of the perpetual hills.â Like an overflowing flood they have risen to the very summits of the perpetual hills in the conceptions of the venerable patriarch. âOf him who was distinguished from his brethren;â not only by a long period of persecution and humiliation, but by a subsequent elevation to extraordinary dignity and pre-eminence.
It is to be noted that this benediction, when fairly interpreted, though it breathes all the fondness of a fatherâs heart, yet contains no intimation that the supremacy or the priesthood were to belong to Joseph, or that the Messiah was to spring from him. At the same time Joseph was in many events of his history a remarkable type of the Messiah, and by intermarriage he, as well as many foreigners, was no doubt among the ancestors of the Messiah 2 Kings 8:18, 2 Kings 8:26.
Genesis 49:27
Benjamin is described as a wolf who is engaged morning and evening, that is, all day long, in hunting after prey. He was warlike by character and conduct Judg. 20â21, and among his descendants are Ehud, Saul, and Jonathan.
Genesis 49:28-33
After the benediction Jacob gives directions concerning his burial. âAll these are the twelve tribesâ. This implies that the benedictions refer not to the heads only, but to the whole tribes. âEach according to his blessing.â All are blessed, but the form of the blessing is suited to the character of the individual âBury me with my fathersâ - with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah. This dying command he now lays on the twelve, as he had before bound Joseph by oath to its performance. âGathered up his feet into the bed.â He had been sitting upright while pronouncing the benedictory address and giving his last directions. He now lies down and calmly breathes his last.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 49:7. Cursed was their anger — The first motions of their violence were savage; and their excessive or overflowing wrath, ×¢××¨× ebrah, for it was inflexible - neither the supplications of the males, nor the entreaties, tears, cries, and shrieks of the helpless females, could deter them from their murderous purpose; for this, Genesis 49:5, they are said to have accomplished.
I will divide them out, ××××§× achallekem, I will make them into lots, giving a portion of them to one tribe, and a portion to another; but they shall never attain to any political consequence. This appears to have been literally fulfilled. Levi had no inheritance except forty-eight cities, scattered through different parts of the land of Canaan: and as to the tribe of Simeon, it is generally believed among the Jews that they became schoolmasters to the other tribes; and when they entered Canaan they had only a small portion, a few towns and villages in the worst part of Judah's lot, Joshua 19:1, which afterwards finding too little, they formed different colonies in districts which they conquered from the Idumeans and Amalekites, 1 Chronicles 4:39, &c. Thus these two tribes were not only separated from each other, but even divided from themselves, according to this prediction of Jacob.
