Genesis 49

Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons

14 Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and Iwill tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.

2“Come and listen, you sons of Jacob;listen to Israel, your father.

3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength,the child of my vigorous youth.You are first in rank and first in power.

4But you are as unruly as a flood,and you will be first no longer.For you went to bed with my wife;you defiled my marriage couch.

5“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind;their weapons are instruments of violence.

6May I never join in their meetings;may I never be a party to their plans.For in their anger they murdered men,and they crippled oxen just for sport.

7A 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.

8“Judah, your brothers will praise you.You will grasp your enemies by the neck.All your relatives will bow before you.

9Judah, my son, is a young lionthat has finished eating its prey.Like a lion he crouches and lies down;like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

10The scepter will not depart from Judah,nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,*until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,*the one whom all nations will honor.48:22 Or giving you the ridge of land. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 49:10a Hebrew from between his feet.

worthy, especially in his younger days, he had gone so far as tosleep with one of his father’s concubines. Jacob could not givethe birthright blessing to such a dishonorable son.49:8-12 Judah had sold Joseph into slavery and tried to defraudhis daughter-in-law. So why did Jacob grant him this blessing?God had chosen Judah to be the ancestor of Israel's line of kings(that is the meaning of “the scepter will not depart from Judah”).This may have been due to Judah's dramatic change of character(44:33, 34). Judah’s tine would produce the promised Messiah,Jesus.49:10

11Until the coming of the one to whom it belongs” mayalso be translated, “until Shiloh comes.” What is Shiloh? Themeaning of this difficult passage is disputed. Shifoh may be

11 He ties his foal to a grapevine,the colt of his donkey to a choice vine.He washes his clothes in wine,his robes in the blood of grapes.

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

13“Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

14“Tssachar is a sturdy donkey,resting between two saddlepacks.*

15When he sees how good the countryside isand how pleasant the land,he will bend his shoulder to the loadand submit himself to hard labor.

16“Dan will govern his people,like any other tribe in Israel.

17Dan will be a snake beside the road,a poisonous viper along the paththat bites the horse’s hoovesso its rider is thrown off.

18J trust in you for salvation, O LORD!

19“God will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat.

20“Asher will dine on rich foodsand produce food fit for kings.

21“Naphtali is a doe set freethat bears beautiful fawns.

22“Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring— one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.*

23Archers attacked him savagely;they shot at him and harassed him.

24But his bow remained taut,and his arms were strengthenedby the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

25May the God of your father help you;May the Almighty bless youwith the blessings of the heavens above,and blessings of the watery depths below,and blessings of the breasts and womb.

26May the blessings of your fathersurpass the blessings of the ancient mountains,*reaching to the heights of the eternal hills.May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,who is a prince among his brothers.

27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,devouring his enemies in the morningand dividing his plunder in the evening.”

28These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sonsgood-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.

Jacob’s Death and Burial

2929Then Jacob instructed them, “Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site. 31There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah. 22It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.” 33When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.