Genesis 49
49
Genesis 49
Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons
1 #
Num 24.14
Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel your father.
3 #
Gen 29.32; Deut 21.17 Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the first fruits of my vigor,
excelling in rank and excelling in power.
4 #
Gen 35.22; Deut 27.20 Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel
because you went up onto your father’s bed;
then you defiled it—you#49.4 Gk Syr Tg: Heb he went up onto my couch!
5 #
Gen 34.25–30
Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons of violence are their swords.
6 #
Gen 34.26; Prov 1.15; Eph 5.11 May I never come into their council;
may I not be joined to their company,
for in their anger they killed men,
and at their whim they hamstrung oxen.
7 #
Josh 19.1, 9; 21.1–42 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.
8 #
Deut 33.7; 1 Chr 5.2 Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons shall bow down before you.
9 #
Ezek 19.5–7; Mic 5.8 Judah is a lion’s whelp;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion,
like a lioness—who dares rouse him up?
10 #
Num 24.17; Ps 60.7; Isa 2.2; 11.1; Lk 1.32 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him,#49.10 Or until Shiloh comes or until he comes to Shiloh or (with Syr) until he comes to whom it belongs
and the obedience of the peoples is his.
11Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he washes his garments in wine
and his robe in the blood of grapes;
12his eyes are darker than wine
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 #
Deut 33.18, 19; Josh 19.10, 11 Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea;
he shall be a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
14Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between the sheepfolds;
15he saw that a resting place was good
and that the land was pleasant,
so he bowed his shoulder to the burden
and became a slave at forced labor.
16 #
Deut 33.22; Judg 18.1, 2 Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 #
Judg 18.26, 27 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.
18 #
Ex 15.2; Ps 25.5; 119.166, 174; Isa 25.9; Mic 7.7 I wait for your salvation, O Lord.
19 #
Deut 33.20; 1 Chr 5.18 Gad shall be raided by raiders,
but he shall raid at their heels.
20 #
Deut 33.24, 25; Josh 19.24 Asher’s#49.20 Gk Vg Syr: Heb From Asher food shall be rich,
and he shall provide royal delicacies.
21 #
Deut 33.23
Naphtali is a doe let loose
that bears lovely fawns.#49.21 Or that gives beautiful words
22 #
Deut 33.13–17
Joseph is a fruitful bough,#49.22 Meaning of Heb uncertain
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.#49.22 Meaning of Heb uncertain
23 #
Gen 37.4, 24, 28 The archers fiercely attacked him;
they shot at him and pressed him hard.
24 #
Ps 18.34; 23.1; 132.2, 5; Isa 1.24; 28.16; 41.10; 1 Pet 2.6–8 Yet his bow remained taut,
and his arms#49.24 Heb the arms of his hands were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 #
Gen 27.28; 28.3, 13; 32.9; 48.3 by the God of your father, who will help you,
by the Almighty#49.25 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 #
Deut 33.15, 16 The blessings of your father
are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains,
the bounties#49.26 Cn Compare Gk: Heb of my progenitors to the boundaries of the everlasting hills;
may they be on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey
and at evening dividing the spoil.”
28 #
Gen 23.16–20
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, blessing each one of them with a suitable blessing.
Jacob’s Death and Burial
29 #
Gen 25.8; 47.30 Then he charged them, saying to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30#Gen 23.16in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. 31#Gen 23.19; 25.9; 35.29There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah. 32The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.” 33#v 29; Gen 25.8; Acts 7.15When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
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New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Genesis 49
49
Jacob Speaks Over His Sons
1Jacob called his sons and said to them: Gather together so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the last days.
2Be assembled and listen, sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.
3Reuben, my firstborn are you, my vigor and firstborn of my power, endowed with extra dignity, endowed with extra strength—
4like water boiling over you will not have extra, for you got up into your father’s bed, when you defiled a maid’s couch.
5Simeon and Levi are brothers, instruments of violence are their knives.
6In their secret counsel may my soul not enter. In their contingent may my honor never be united. For in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they maimed oxen.
7Cursed be their anger for it was strong and their rage for it was cruel— I will disperse them in Jacob, I will scatter them in Israel.
8Judah, so you are— your brothers will praise you: Your hand will be on your enemies’ neck. Your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9A lion’s cub is Judah— from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, lies down like a lion, or like a lioness— who would rouse him?
10The scepter will not pass from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs will come. To him will be the obedience of the peoples.
11Binding his foal to the vine, his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine, and in the blood of grapes his robe.
12His eyes are darker than wine, and teeth that are whiter than milk.
13Zebulun will dwell by the seashore, and be by a harbor for ships— his distant border reaches Sidon.
14Issachar is a strong-boned donkey, lying down between two saddlebags.
15He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant. He leaned his shoulder to bear a burden, and became a forced laborer.
16Dan will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17Let Dan be a serpent beside a road, a viper beside a path, who strikes a horse’s heels, so that its rider falls backward.
18For your salvation I wait, Adonai!
19Gad—attackers will attack him, but he will attack their heels.
20Asher—rich is his food— he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
21Naphtali is a doe let loose, who offers words of beauty.
22A fruitful son is Joseph, a fruitful son beside a spring— daughters walk along a wall.
23The archers were bitter and shot arrows and were hostile towards him.
24Yet his bow was always filled, and his arms quick-moving— by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. From there a Shepherd, the Stone of Israel,
25from the God of your father who helps you, and Shaddai who blesses you, with blessings of heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of breasts and womb.
26The blessings of your father surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains, the desire of the everlasting hills. May they be upon Joseph’s head, upon the crown of the one set apart from his brothers.
27Benjamin is a ravening wolf— in the morning he devours spoils, and in the evening divides plunder.
28These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this is what their father spoke to them. He blessed them, each one he blessed with a suitable blessing.
29Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about 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 that is in the field of Machpelah, that is next to Mamre in the land of Canaan—the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a property for burial.
31There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, and there I buried Leah.
32The field was purchased along with the cave in it from the sons of Het.”
33When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, then breathed his last and was gathered to his peoples.
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