Thursday in Easter Week
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Read the Bible
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Genesis 49:17
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
Dan will be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That bites the horse's heels, So that his rider falls backward.
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
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.
Dan will be like a snake by the side of the road, a dangerous snake lying near the path. That snake bites a horse's leg, and the rider is thrown off backward.
May Dan be a snake beside the road, a viper by the path, that bites the heels of the horse so that its rider falls backward.
"Dan shall be a [venomous] serpent in the way, A fanged snake in the path, That bites the horse's heels, So that his rider falls backward.
"Dan shall be a serpent in the way, A horned viper in the path, That bites the horse's heels, So that its rider falls backward.
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder by the path, byting the horse heeles, so that his rider shall fall backward.
Dan shall be a serpent in the way,A horned snake in the path,That bites the horse's heels,So that his rider falls backward.
You are a snake that bites the heel of a horse, making its rider fall.
Dan will be a viper on the road, a horned snake in the path that bites the horse's heels so its rider falls off backward.
Dan will be a serpent on the way, A horned snake on the path, Which biteth the horse's heels, So that the rider falleth backwards.
Dan will be like a snake at the side of the road. He will be like a dangerous snake lying near the path. That snake bites a horse's foot, and the rider falls to the ground.
Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the paths, that bites the horses heel and causes its rider to fall backward.
Dan will be a snake at the side of the road, A poisonous snake beside the path, That strikes at the horse's heel, So that the rider is thrown off backward.
Dan will be a snake by the road,a viper beside the path,that bites the horse’s heelsso that its rider falls backward.
Let Dan be a serpent on the way, a horned snake on the path that bites the horses' heels, and its rider falls backward.
Dan shalbe a serpent in the waye, and an edder in the path, and byte the horse in the heles, that his ryder maye fall backwarde.
Dan shall be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That biteth the horse's heels, So that his rider falleth backward.
May Dan be a snake in the way, a horned snake by the road, biting the horse's foot so that the horseman has a fall.
Dan shalbe a serpent in the way, an adder in the path, bytyng ye horse heeles, and his ryder fell backewarde.
Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider falleth backward.
Dan shalbe a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heeles, so that his rider shall fall backward.
And let Dan be a serpent in the way, besetting the path, biting the heel of the horse (and the rider shall fall backward),
Dan shall be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That biteth the horse's heels, So that his rider falleth backward.
He will be a serpent by the road, a viper in the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
Dan be maad a serpent in the weie, and cerastes in the path, and bite the feet of an hors, that the `stiere therof falle bacward; Lord,
Dan 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 in the way, An adder in the path, That bites the horse's heels, So that his rider falls backward.
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse-heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
Dan will be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That bites the horse's heels, So that his rider falls backward.
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.
Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse's hooves so its rider is thrown off.
Dan will be a snake in the way, a snake in the road, that bites the horse's heels so that the man falls off.
Dan shall be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider falls backward.
It cometh to pass that, Dan, is a serpent upon the way, A horned viper, upon the path, - That biteth the heels of the horse, And his rider falleth backwards: -
Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels, that his rider may fall backward.
Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
shall be: Judges 14:1 - Judges 15:20, Judges 16:22-30, Judges 18:22-31, 1 Chronicles 12:35
an adder: Heb. an arrow-snake
Reciprocal: Genesis 3:15 - thou Genesis 30:6 - Dan Genesis 46:23 - Dan Numbers 1:38 - General Numbers 10:25 - the camp Deuteronomy 33:22 - General Psalms 49:5 - heels
Cross-References
Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, "Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come.
"When he saw that a resting place was good And that the land was pleasant, He bowed his shoulder to bear burdens, And became a slave at forced labor.
"Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a spring; Its branches run over a wall.
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site.
"There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah—
Of the Danites who could draw up in battle formation, there were 28,600.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
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 Bothart h from various writers has shown; particularly Diodorus Siculus i 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 writer k 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.
h Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 3. c. 12. col. 418, 419, 420. i Bibliothec. l. 3. p. 183. k R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed. fol. 57. 1.
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 49:17. Dan shall be a serpent — The original word is × ×ש nachash, and we have seen in Clarke's note "Genesis 3:1" that this has a great variety of significations. It is probable that a serpent is here intended, but of what kind we know not; yet as the principal reference in the text is to guile, cunning, c., the same creature may be intended as in "Clarke's note "Genesis 3:1".
A cerastes upon the track — The word שפ×פ×× shephiphon, which is nowhere else to be found in the Bible, is thus translated by the Vulgate, and Bochart approves of the translation. The cerastes has its name from two little horns upon its head, and is remarkable for the property here ascribed to the shephiphon. The word ××¨× orach, which we translate path, signifies the track or rut made in the ground by the wheel of a cart, wagon, c. And the description that Nicander gives of this serpent in his Theriaca perfectly agrees with what is here said of the shephiphon.
εν δ' αμαθοιÏιν
Πκαι αÌμαÏÏοÏÎ¹Î·Í Ïι ÏαÏα ÏÏιβον ÎµÎ½Î´Ï ÎºÎµÏ Î±Î½ÎµÎ¹. v. 262.
It lies under the sand, or in some cart rut by the way.
It is intimated that this tribe should gain the principal part of its conquests more by cunning and stratagem, than by valour and this is seen particularly in their conquest of Laish, Judges xviii., and even in some of the transactions of Samson, such as burning the corn of the Philistines, and at last pulling down their temple, and destroying three thousand at one time, see Judges 16:26-30.
18. For thy salvation have I waited, O Lord!
This is a remarkable ejaculation, and seems to stand perfectly unconnected with all that went before and all that follows though it is probable that certain prophetic views which Jacob now had, and which he does not explain, gave rise to it; and by this he at once expressed both his faith and hope in God. Both Jewish and Christian commentators have endeavoured to find out the connection in which these words existed in the mind of the patriarch. The Targum of Jonathan expresses the whole thus: "When Jacob saw Gideon the son of Joash, and Samson the son of Manoah, which were to be saviours in a future age, he said: I do not wait for the salvation of Gideon, I do not expect the salvation of Samson, because their salvation is a temporal salvation; but I wait for and expect thy salvation, O Lord, because thy salvation is eternal." And the Jerusalem Targum much to the same purpose: "Our father Jacob said: Wait not, my soul, for the redemption of Gideon the son of Joash which is temporal, nor the redemption of Samson which is a created salvation; but for the salvation which thou hast said by THY WORD should come to thy people the children of Israel: my soul waits for this thy salvation." Indeed these Targums understand almost the whole of these prophecies of the Messiah, and especially what is said about Judah, every word of which they refer to him. Thus the ancient Jews convict the moderns of both false interpretations and vain expectations. As the tribe of Dan was the first that appears to have been seduced from the true worship of God, (see Judges 18:30), some have thought that Jacob refers particularly to this, and sees the end of the general apostasy only in the redemption by Jesus Christ, considering the nachash above as the seducer, and the Messiah the promised seed.
19. Gad, an army shall attack him,
And he shall attack in return.
This is one of the most obscure prophecies in the whole chapter; and no two interpreters agree in the translation of the original words, which exhibit a most singular alliteration: -
×× ×××× ××××× × gad gedud yegudennu;
×××× ××× ×¢×§× vehu yagud akeb.
The prophecy seems to refer generally to the frequent disturbances to which this tribe should be exposed, and their hostile, warlike disposition, that would always lead them to repel every aggression. It is likely that the prophecy had an especial fulfillment when this tribe, in conjunction with that of Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh, got a great victory over the Hagarites, taking captive one hundred thousand men, two thousand asses, fifty thousand camels, and two hundred and fifty thousand sheep; see 1 Chronicles 5:18-22. Dr. Durell and others translate the last word ×¢×§× akeb, rear - "He shall invade their rear;" which contains almost no meaning, as it only seems to state that though the army that invaded Gad should be successful, yet the Gadites would harass their rear as they returned: but this could never be a subject sufficient consequence for a prophecy. The word ×¢×× ekeb is frequently used as a particle, signifying in consequence, because of, on account of. After the Gadites had obtained the victory above mentioned, they continued to possess the land of their enemies till they were carried away captive. The Chaldee paraphrasts apply this to the Gadites going armed over Jordan before their brethren, discomfiting their enemies, and returning back with much spoil. See Joshua 4:12-13, and Joshua 22:1-2, Joshua 22:8.
20. From Asher his bread shall be fat,
And he shall produce royal dainties.
This refers to the great fertility of the lot that fell to Asher, and which appears to have corresponded with the name, which signifies happy or blessed. His great prosperity is described by Moses in this figurative way: "Let Asher be blessed with children, let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil;" Deuteronomy 33:24.
21. Naphtali is a spreading oak,
Producing beautiful branches.
This is Bochart's translation; and perhaps no man who understands the genius of the Hebrew language will attempt to dispute its propriety; it is as literal as it is correct. Our own translation scarcely gives any sense. The fruitfulness of this tribe in children may be here intended. From his four sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem, which he took down into Egypt, Genesis 46:24, in the course of two hundred and fifteen years there sprang of effective men 53,400: but as great increase in this way was not an uncommon case in the descendants of Jacob, this may refer particularly to the fruitfulness of their soil, and the especial providential care and blessing of the Almighty; to which indeed Moses seems particularly to refer, Deuteronomy 33:23: O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the Lord. So that he may be represented under the notion of a tree planted in a rich soil, growing to a prodigious size, extending its branches in all directions, and becoming a shade for men and cattle, and a harbour for the fowls of heaven.
