The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 49
Chapter XLIX · Vol. I, pp. 293–295
1 Jacob calleth his sons to bless them. 3 Their blessing in particular. 29 He chargeth them about his burial. 33 He dieth.
1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, aGather yourselves together, that I bmay tell you that which shall befall you in the clast days.
a Ps.133.1-3. He.10. 24,25; 13.1.
c Future times, Nu. 24. 14. De. 4.30. 1 Ti.4.1. 2 Ti. 3. 1. Ac. 2. 17. Da.2.29. Is.2.2.
3 Reuben, thou art my efirst-born, fmy might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4 Unstable as water,5 thoug shalt not 6excel; because thou hwentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
5 Obstinacy in our own opinions, when they are not founded on the sure word of God—perseverance in our own plans, when these are not guided by divine wisdom, nor prosecuted in love—are dangerous rocks, upon which many have been shipwrecked. But not less dangerous are their opposites—vacillation of opinion, and instability of purpose. Unstable as water! moved by every breath of air, a spirit veering with 'every wind of doctrine,' descending to every lower level, even as 'wicked men and seducers wax worse and worse.' Thus water, which is never fixed but when frozen, is the emblem of the unconverted heart; never fixed on any purpose but 'enmity against God.'—C.
g Heb. do not thou excel, ch.46.8. De.33.6. Nu. xxxii. Ju. 5. 15,16. 1 Ch.v. 2 Ki.15.29.
6 'Boiling up like water, thou shalt not have pre-eminence;' i.e. because thou didst not restrain thy lust, thou shalt lose thy place and thy power as my first-born. Reuben in fact sacrificed his birthright to his passion. During its whole history the tribe held a subordinate position.—P.
5 Simeon and Levi are ibrethren; instruments of cruelty7 are in their habitations.
i ch.34.25, 30; 29. 33, 34. See ch.46.10,11.
7 Or, their swords are weapons of violence.
6 O my soul, come not thou into their ksecret; unto their assembly, mine lhonour, be not thou united! for in their anger they mslew a man, and in their self-will they digged down4 a wall.
7 Cursed be their nanger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will odivide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.5
n 2 Sa. 13.15.
o Jos. 19.1; xxi. 1 Ch. 4.24,39,40.
5 Simeon had in reality no separate inheritance. The tribe was the smallest of the twelve, and there was assigned to it by Joshua only a section out of the large possessions allotted to Judah, with which in the end it appears to have amalgamated. Levi had no allotted portion. A few cities out of each tribe were given to the Levites, who were thus literally scattered in Israel.—P.
8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall ppraise: thy hand shall be qin the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
p ch. 46.12; 29.35. 1 Ch. 5.2. He. 7.14.
q Nu. 10.14. Ju. 1.1,2. Ps. 78.68-71; 18.40-43. 1 Ch. xii. 1 Ki. iv. Phi. 2.10,11.
9 Judah is ra lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he sstooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
r Nu. 23.24. 2 Sa. 3.1,7; viii. x. 2 Ch. xiii. xiv. xx. xxvi. 1 Co. 15.24.
10 The tsceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from ubetween his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the xgathering of the people be:
t Ps. 60.7; 89.3,4; 132.11. Nu. 24.17. Je. 30.21. Zec. 10.11.
u De. 28.57.
x Is. 11.10. Hag. 2.7. Eze. 21.27. Ro. 15.12. Lu. 1.32,33. Ps. 72.8-11. Re. 21.15.
11 Bindingy his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.6
6 The staple products of the territory allotted to the tribe are here beautifully indicated—vines and flocks.—P.
13 Zebulun shall zdwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
z ch. 30.20. De. 33.18. Jos. 19.10-15. They had a great trade with Tyre and Zidon.
14 Issachara is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
a See ch. 46.13; 30.14-18. De. 33.18.
15 And he saw that brest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.7
b Resting-place, ch. 8.9. Ps. 116.7; 132.8. Jos. 19.17-23.
A.M. 2315. B.C. 1689.
7 The tribe of Issachar was settled in the fertile plain of Esdraelon, where it was exposed to the periodical raids of the Arabs. Rather than give up its portion, or defend it by the sword, the tribe consented to pay tribute.—P.
16 Dan shall cjudge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
c ch. 30.6; 46.23. Nu. 10.25. Ju. xii.-xvi. De. 33.22. Jos. 19.40-47.
17 Dan shall be a dserpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse-heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.8
d Ju. xv. xvi. xviii. De. 33.22.
8 The territory of the Danites lay on the western declivities of the mountains bordering on the plain of Philistia. They were thus exposed to continual depredations, and were forced to make reprisals, so that in the end they became loose in morals and unscrupulous in acts. The words of Jacob refer prophetically to these marked characteristics of the tribe.—P.
18 Ie have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
e Ps. 130.5; 62.1,5. Is. 26.8; 25.9; 8.17. Mi. 7.7. Lu. 2.25,30. Ps. 119.166.
19 Gad, fa troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
f ch. 30.11; 46.16. Nu. xxxii. De. 33.20. Ju. x. xi. 1 Ch. 5.18-22.
20 Out of Asher ghis bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
g De. 33.24. See ch. 46.17. Jos. 19.24-31.
21 Naphtali is ha hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
h De. 33.23. Ju. 4.6,10; 5.18, with ch. 46.24; 30.8. Jos. 19.32-39.
22 Joseph is a ifruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall.
i See ch. 30.22-24; 46.27; 48.1,5,19,20. Jos. xvi. xvii. Nu. xxxii. De. 33.17. Ps. 1.3.
24 But his lbow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the mShepherd, the stone of Israel;)
l Job 29.20. Ps. 44.7; 18.1,32,34; 28.8; 89.21. Zec. 10.12. Ro. 14.4.
m ch. 45.7; 47.12. Jos. i.-xxiv.
25 Even by the nGod of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall obless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts and of the womb:
n ch. 28.13; 35.11; 17.1. De. 33.13-17; 28.12; 8.7.
o 1 Co. 3.21,22. 1 Ti. 4.8. Mat. 6.33. Phi. 4.19. Ps. 84.11; 85.12.
26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the peverlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was qseparate from his brethren.6
A.M. 2315. B.C. 1689.
q ch. 37.28. Ps. 105.17-22. Ac. 7.9.
6 Ephraim got from Jacob a, if not the, birthright blessing, and it was prophetic of the future greatness of the tribe. The territory allotted to it was in the very centre of Palestine. It was naturally as strong as that of Judah; and it possessed broad vales, and spacious upland plains, which made it much more productive. From the time of the settlement in Palestine Ephraim contended with Judah for the sovereignty, and the struggles of the two contributed mainly to the final rending of the nation.—P.
27 Benjamin shall rravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
r See ch. 46.21. Ju. 3.15-29. 1 Sa. 11.6-11; 14.14,31,47,48; xv. xvii. Es. viii.-x. Nu. 23.24. Eze. 39.10. Zec. 14.1,7.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.7
7 Every tribe was blessed by their father with such a blessing as the Lord intended to bestow upon them.
29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be sgathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite;
s ch. 15.15; 25.8. He. 12.23.
30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, twhich Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite, for a possession of a burying-place.
t ch. 47.30; 23.16,19; 50.13.
31 (Thereu they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried xLeah.)
u ch. 23.19; 25.9; 35.29.
x Rachel was buried near Bethlehem, ch. 35.19,20. 1 Sa. 10.2. Mat. 2.18.
32 The purchase of the field, and of the cave that is therein, was from the children of Heth.
33 And when Jacob had made an end8 of commanding his sons, yhe gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
8 Thus the good old patriarch having given his blessing to his children, according to the divine direction, and not according to his own inclination, reminded them all, but Joseph more especially, to bury him among his ancestors in the cave of Machpelah; and so laying himself down in his bed again, in a short time expired, after he had lived 147 years in all, and 17 of these in Egypt.—Stackhouse.
Notes
[Ver. 2. The patriarchal blessing is embodied in these remarkable words; and the characteristics and future history of each son and tribe are sketched in outline. Like most ancient prophecies the language is poetical and highly figurative; but events are shadowed forth so plainly that the student of history can have little difficulty in recognizing them. P.]
Ver. 4. Whatever power or dignity the Reubenites had at first, they quickly lost it, Nu. 10. 18-21; Jos. 4. 12, 13; xxii. with Ju. 5. 15, 16; 1 Ch. 15. 18-26. They never rendered themselves famous by any noted exploit; nor did any judge, king, or prophet, that we know of, proceed from among them.
Ver. 6. They digged down the walls of the house where Hamor and Shechem secured themselves; or they seized upon oxen and carried them off for a spoil.
Ver. 7. The Simeonites had their inheritance in Canaan out of the lot of Judah, Jos. 19. 1-9; this being too small for them, they had to seize for themselves part of Arabia, 1 Ch. 4. 39-43; and it is said that many of them dispersed themselves among the other tribes, in the character of teachers. The Levites lived scattered among all the other tribes; and were the spiritual instructors of their brethren, and the collectors of the sacred revenues, Jos. xxi.; 1 Ch. vi. xxiii.-xxvi.
Ver. 8-12. The tribe of Judah was the most numerous and powerful of all, Nu. 1. 27; 26. 22; 2 Sa. 24. 9; 2 Ch. 14. 8; 17. 14-16. To them their fellow-tribes often submitted themselves, Ju. 1. 2; 3. 9, 10; 20. 18; chiefly under David and Solomon, 1 Ch. xii.; 1 Ki. iv.; many individuals of these adhered to them in the days of Rehoboam, 1 Ki. 12. 17; 2 Ch. 11. 16, 17; Asa, 2 Ch. 15. 9; 16. 6; 17. 2; Hezekiah, 2 Ch. 30. 11; and after their return from Babylon, Eze. 37. 15-22. The tribe of Benjamin almost always adhered to them. In the march of the tribes, and in their going forth to war, God appointed them the precedence, Nu. 10. 14; Ju. 1. 2; 20. 18. The first of the judges was one of them, Ju. 3. 9, 10. The only kings that ever God in mercy granted to the Hebrew nation were of them, 1 Sa. xvi.; 2 Sa. vii.; Ps. lxxxix. Their conquests and spoils were peculiarly remarkable, Ju. i.; 2 Sa. 3. 1; viii. x. xxi. 2 Ch. xiii. xiv. xx. xxvi.; Is. 33. 4; 37. 36. In Canaan they had the first lot of the country assigned them; it was very extensive and fertile; it abounded with vines and pastures, which rendered wine and milk almost as common as water. But the predictions respecting this tribe have their principal accomplishment in Jesus Christ, who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, to whom God hath given all power in heaven and in earth, Mat. 28. 18; Ps. lxxii., and whom he hath commanded all men to adore, Jn. 5. 22, 23; Phi. 2. 9-11. He conquers all his and his people's enemies, Col. 2. 14, 15; Ps. cx, He bestows a fulness of grace and glory upon his people, Ps. 68. 12, 18. He is the true vine, who prepares for his people the wine and milk of gospel-truths, ordinances, influences, and blessings, Is. 55. 1; Joel 3. 18. He is called Shiloh, that is, the Author of our peace, prosperity, and salvation, Is. 9. 6, 7; Mi. 5. 5; Ep. 2. 14; Je. 23. 6; Mat. 1. 21. Till he came in the flesh, Mat. i.; Lu. xi., the tribe of Judah not only retained its distinct form as a tribe (which none of the rest, no not that of Benjamin, properly did), but retained a governing power in its princes, judges, kings, deputies of the Chaldean, Persian, and Grecian monarchs, Maccabean governors or kings, or in the Sanhedrim or great council of their elders. Scarcely had Jesus appeared in the flesh when Judea was altogether reduced into a Roman province, having no sovereign but the Roman emperor, Jn. 19. 12, 15. No sooner had the gathering of the Gentiles to Shiloh taken place, by the spread of the gospel, than the city and temple of Jerusalem were destroyed, the constitution of their church and state dissolved, and themselves scattered as vagabonds among all nations, to be standing witnesses, for many generations, that he is come. ——[Ver. 8. The birthright which Reuben had sacrificed is here given to Judah. From first to last the tribe of Judah was the most influential among the twelve; and it finally gave a name to the whole nation—Jew. P.——Ver. 10. Feet. In ch. 48. 12, we find Joseph bringing his two sons from between his knees, as a place of parental endearment and protection. By the lawgiver never departing from between Judah's feet, we may accordingly well understand a succession of rulers in the tribe of Judah, till the coming of Christ, the Shiloh, our peace, our peace-maker. C.——This remarkable prophecy has been variously interpreted. It is interesting to know that ancient Jewish rabbins almost unanimously adopted the Messianic interpretation. Thus in the Targum of Onkelos it is rendered, 'Until Messiah comes, whose is the kingdom.' In the Jerusalem Targum, 'Until King Messiah comes, whose is the kingdom.' Rashi, 'Until Shiloh come—King Messiah,' &c. The word Shiloh appears to be derived from a root which signifies 'to rest,' or 'to be secure;' and would therefore mean 'the giver of rest.' Reference is undoubtedly made to a great personal Ruler and Peace-giver, who should spring from the tribe of Judah. P.]
Ver. 16, 17. Though the Danites were the offspring of a concubine, they had as much power as the other tribes sprung of free women. They harassed the Philistines in Samson and others, Ju. xiii.-xvi. But they proved a stumbling-block to the other tribes by their idolatry, Ju. 18. 29-31.
Ver. 18. I pray for, and expect, the promised deliverances to myself and posterity, but especially that spiritual and eternal salvation, to be accomplished by the Son of God in human nature.
Ver. 19. The Gadites were exceedingly exposed to the invasions and ravages of the Ammonites, Arabians, Syrians, Assyrians, &c., Ju. 10. 8; 1 Sa. 11. 1, 2; 2 Ki. 10. 33; 15. 29; 1 Ch. 5. 26.
Ver. 21. [Words. Or on the authority of the Septuagint, Chaldee paraphrase, and Arabic version, a spreading tree, shooting out goodly branches. But as the noun translated words, signifies divergencies, may we not retain the translation, 'a hind let loose,' that giveth forth goodly branches or antlers? The image of freedom, and grace, and fruitfulness, is thus complete. C.——'Naphtali is a hind let loose,' or 'a graceful hind'—timid and distrustful of its own powers, swift of foot to elude its enemies; but when brought to bay fierce and strong to defend its life. 'He giveth goodly words.' The tribe was to be famous for poetic genius; and we have one noble ode ascribed in part to a Naphtalite, Ju. v. P.]
Ver. 22. Joseph's posterity spread themselves far and wide, dwelling on both sides of Jordan, Jos. 12. 6; 13. 7; 16. 17.
Ver. 24. Joseph's graces continued firm; enabling him to withstand temptations, endure injuries, and perform duties: and his honours were secured to him. He was a shepherd, to direct and provide for the Hebrews in Egypt, and the stone, under God, upon whom their happiness and safety were founded in that country. Joshua, who brought them into Canaan, sprung of him.
Ver. 25. God blessed his posterity with plenteous rains and dews, with fountains of water, and with multitudes of children, richly supplied with every enjoyment.
Ver. 26. Jacob's blessings excelled those of Abraham and Isaac, (1) In their extent, none of his children being excluded, as Ishmael and Esau had been. (2) In their distinct clearness: the land of Canaan, which had been formerly bequeathed in general, was now distributed to Joseph and his brethren. (3) In the apparent nearness of fulfilment; his posterity now increasing fast. Joseph was separated from his brethren when he was sold into Egypt, and afterwards by his distinguished honours there.
Ver. 33. [The phrase gathered to his people occurs also ch. 25. 8, 17; 35. 29, and intimates not that the parties who died were buried, but that they still lived, and were gathered in immortality to the people of the living God. It is the phrase employed by Paul, 2 Th. 2. 1, 'Now, we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.' C.]
Reflections.—How important is the proper work of a death-bed! for dying parents solemnly to pray for, to warn, and to direct their surviving children, is useful and becoming. The sins of parents often entail disgrace and misery upon their posterity; and the blessing of God fixes most remarkably where, for a time, there is the least appearance of it. But the lots of mankind, even in the same family, are greatly diversified. Let me therefore, first of all, and above all, make choice of Jesus, the once promised Shiloh, and now glorified Lord and Christ, and of his salvation, and then be content with such things as I have. Amidst all my work on earth, let me seek and wait for the salvation of God, that when I have finished my course I may be gathered to Jesus and his people above!—But is not the now-departed patriarch a glass to show me my Redeemer? Is not he justly named Jacob and Israel? How long expected, earnestly desired, and supernatural was his birth! Divinely was he chosen to be the Father of many nations of believers, the peculiar people of God. He took the first Adam by the heel, fulfilling the covenant which he had broken; he supplanted and overthrew Satan and his works in the world; and, by his bloody service and suffering, he secured his mediatorial heirship of all things. What inestimable blessings he obtained for men, by offering himself to God in the likeness of sinful flesh! In this his work of love, how exposed to trouble from Jewish brethren, from Satan, the accuser of men, and from Jehovah, his loving Father above! How distressful his earthly exile! Hard was his service, numerous his sorrows, unsettled his lot, and remarkable his plainness and integrity. What love he bears to his mother and spouse the church! Faithful was he in his work, prevalent is he in his intercession, and glorious and extensive in his reward; for in the multitude of his redeemed he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. Having finished his work, and blessed his disciples, he retired to his rest in the heavenly Canaan—the midst of the throne of God. And innumerable multitudes of spiritual seed spring from his twelve apostles, those dignified patriarchs in the gospel church.