1Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves [around me] that I may tell you what will happen to you and your descendants #See Deut 33, where Moses blesses the same tribes in a similar prophetic way.in the days to come.

2Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob;

And listen to Israel (Jacob) your father.

3“Reuben, you are my #Reuben was the eldest of Jacob’s twelve sons and therefore entitled to the birthright, which would make him successor to his father as head of the family or tribe, and inheritor of a double portion of his father’s estate. But Reuben forfeited all this by his conduct with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (35:22). By adopting Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and giving each of them a portion of the inheritance, Jacob virtually gave Joseph the extra portion of the land that would have gone to Reuben. Judah became the tribal leader in Reuben’s place (49:8-10).firstborn;

My might, the beginning of my strength and vigor,

Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power [that should have been your birthright].

4But unstable and reckless and boiling over like water [in sinful lust], you shall #The fertile land once occupied by the tribe of Reuben was deserted by its settled inhabitants and given over to the tribal nomads of the desert. Because of his behavior, Reuben had forfeited his rights as the firstborn even before Jacob’s prophecy.not excel or have the preeminence [of the firstborn],

Because you went up to your father’s bed [with Bilhah];

You defiled it—he went up to my couch.

5“Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel];

Their swords are weapons of violence and revenge.

6O my soul, do not come into their secret council;

Let not my glory (honor) be united with their assembly [for I knew nothing of their plot];

Because in their anger they killed men [an honored man, Shechem, and the Shechemites],

And in their self-will they lamed oxen.

7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;

And their wrath, for it was cruel.

I will divide and disperse them in Jacob,

And #This prophecy was fulfilled when the tribe of Levi received no inheritance except forty-eight towns scattered throughout different parts of Canaan. The tribe of Simeon was originally given only a few towns and villages in the midst of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah (Josh 19:1).scatter them in [the midst of the land of] Israel.

8“Judah, you are the one whom your brothers shall praise;

Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;

Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.

9Judah, 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?

10The scepter [of royalty] shall not depart from Judah,

Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

Until Shiloh [the Messiah, the Peaceful One] comes,

And to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11Tying #I.e. the tribe of Judah.his foal to the [strong] vine

And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

He washes his clothing in wine [because the grapevine produces abundantly],

And his robes in the blood of grapes.

12His eyes are darker and sparkle more than wine,

And his teeth whiter than milk.

13“Zebulun shall dwell at the seashore;

And he shall be a haven (landing place) for ships,

And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

14“Issachar is [like] a strong-boned donkey,

Crouching down between the sheepfolds.

15When he saw that the resting place was good

And that the land was pleasant,

He bowed his shoulder to bear [burdens],

And became a servant at forced labor.

16“Dan shall judge his people,

As one of the tribes of Israel.

17Dan 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.

18I wait for Your salvation, O Lord.

19“As for #The Hebrew word from which the name “Gad” is derived has two meanings. In this verse the Hebrew meaning is associated with a “raiding troop” but in 30:11 it is associated with “good fortune.”Gad—a raiding troop shall raid him,

But he shall raid at their heels and assault them [victoriously].

20“Asher’s food [supply] shall be rich and bountiful,

And he shall yield and deliver royal delights.

21“Naphtali is a doe let loose, [a swift warrior,]

Which yields branched antlers (eloquent words).

22“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].

23The [skilled] archers have bitterly attacked and provoked him;

They have shot [at him] and harassed him.

24But 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),

25By the God of your father who will help you,

And by the #Heb Shaddai.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.

26The blessings of your father

Are greater than the blessings of my ancestors [Abraham and Isaac]

Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;

They shall be on the head of Joseph,

Even on the crown of the head of him who was the distinguished one and the one who is prince among (separate from) his brothers.

27“Benjamin is a #The tribe of Benjamin invariably displayed courage and ferocity, particularly in their war with the other tribes. The tribe of Benjamin was absorbed by the tribe of Judah and is not mentioned after the return from the Babylonian captivity, except in connection with its former land or as the source of some individual person. Ehud, Saul, Jonathan, and the apostle Paul were Benjamites.ravenous wolf;

In the morning he devours the prey,

And at night he divides the spoil.”

28All 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. 29He charged them and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30in the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, that Abraham bought, along with the field from Ephron the Hittite, to possess as a burial site. 31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32the field and the cave that is in it was purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33When Jacob (Israel) had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was #See note 25:8.gathered to his people [who had preceded him in death].

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Berĕshith (Genesis) 49

1And Ya‛aqoḇ called his sons and said, “Gather together, so that I declare to you what is to befall you in the last days:

2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Ya‛aqoḇ, and listen to Yisra’ĕl your father.

3“Re’uḇĕn, you are my first-born, my power and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of exaltation and the excellency of power.

4“Boiling like water, you do not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, then you defiled it – he went up to my couch.

5“Shim‛on and Lĕwi are brothers, their weapons are implements of violence.

6“Let my being not enter their council, let my esteem not be united to their assembly; because they killed a man in their displeasure, and they lamed an ox in pleasure.

7“Cursed be their displeasure for it is fierce, and their wrath for it is cruel! I divide them in Ya‛aqoḇ and scatter them in Yisra’ĕl.

8“You, Yehuḏah, your brothers praise you; your hand is on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children bow down before you.

9Yehuḏah is a lion’s cub; from the prey you have gone up, my son! He bowed down, he crouched like a lion. And like a lion, who does rouse him?”

10“The sceptre shall not turn aside from Yehuḏah, nor an Inscriber from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to Him is the obedience of peoples.

11“Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.

12“His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

13“Zeḇulun dwells at the seashore, he is for a haven for ships, and his border is unto Tsiḏon.

14“Yissasḵar is a strong donkey lying down between two burdens,

15and he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, and he inclined his shoulder to bear a burden, and became a subject to slave labour.

16“Dan rightly rules his people as one of the tribes of Yisra’ĕl.

17“Dan is a serpent by the way, an adder by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider falls backward.

18I have waited for your deliverance, O יהוה!”

19“Gaḏ, a raiding band raids him, but he raids its heel.

20“Bread from Ashĕr is rich, and he gives delicacies of a sovereign.

21“Naphtali is a deer let loose, he gives words of elegance.

22“Yosĕph is an offshoot of a fruit-bearing tree, an offshoot of a fruit-bearing tree by a fountain, his branches run over a wall.

23“And the archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him.

24But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Ya‛aqoḇ – from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Yisra’ĕl - ”

25from the Ěl of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens from above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26“The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the limit of the everlasting hills. They are on the head of Yosĕph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.

27“Binyamin is a wolf that tears, in the morning he eats prey, and at night he divides the spoil.”

28All these are the twelve tribes of Yisra’ĕl, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them, he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

29And he commanded them, and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people, bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Ḥittite,

30in the cave that is in the field of Maḵpĕlah, which is before Mamrĕ in the land of Kena‛an, which Aḇraham bought with the field of Ephron the Ḥittite as a possession for a burial-site.

31There they buried Aḇraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Yitsḥaq and Riḇqah his wife, and there I buried Lĕ’ah –

32the field purchased, and the cave which is in it, from the sons of Ḥĕth.”

33And when Ya‛aqoḇ ended commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

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Genesis 49

Berĕshith (Genesis) 49