CHAPTER XLIX _Jacob, about to die, calls his sons together that he may bless them,_ _or give prophetic declarations concerning their posterity_, 1, 2. _Prophetic declaration concerning_ Reuben, 3, 4. _Concerning_ Simeon _and_ Levi, 57; _concerning_ Judah, 8-12; _concerning_ Zebulun, 13; _conc... [ Continue Reading ]
3. Reuben, my first-born art thou! My might, and the prime of my strength, Excelling in eminence, and excelling in power: 4. Pouring out like the waters:-thou shalt not excel, For thou wentest up to the bed of thy father, - Then thou didst defile: to my couch he went up! Verse Genesis 49:3. Re... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:4. _POURING OUT LIKE THE WATERS_] This is an obscure sentence because _unfinished_. It evidently relates to the defilement of his father's couch; and the word פחז _pachaz_, here translated _pouring out_, and in our Version _unstable_, has a _bad_ meaning in other places of the Scri... [ Continue Reading ]
5. Simeon and Levi, brethren: They have accomplished their fraudulent purposes. 6. Into their secret council my soul did not come; In their confederacy my honour was not united: For in their anger they slew a man, (איש ish, _a noble_,) And in their pleasure they murdered a prince. 7. Cursed wa... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:6. _INTO THEIR SECRET COUNCIL_, c.] Jacob here exculpates himself from all participation in the guilt of Simeon and Levi in the murder of the Shechemites. He most solemnly declares that he knew nothing of the _confederacy_ by which it was _executed_, nor of the _secret council_ in w... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:7. _CURSED WAS THEIR ANGER_] The first motions of their violence _were savage; and their excessive_ or _overflowing wrath_, עברה ebrah, for it was inflexible - neither the supplications of the males, nor the entreaties, tears, cries, and shrieks of the helpless females, could deter... [ Continue Reading ]
8. Judah! thou! Thy brethren shall praise thee. Thy hand, in the neck of thine enemies: The sons of thy father shall bow themselves to thee. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah: From the prey, my son, thou hast ascended, He couched, lying down like a strong lion And like a lioness; who shall arouse hi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:10. _FROM JUDAH THE SCEPTRE SHALL NOT DEPART_] The Jews have a quibble on the word שבט _shebet_, which we translate _sceptre;_ they say it signifies a _staff_ or _rod_, and that the meaning of it is, that "_afflictions_ shall not depart from the Jews till the Messiah comes;" that t... [ Continue Reading ]
13. At the haven of the seas shall Zebulun dwell, And he _shall be_ a haven for ships. And his border shall extend unto Sidon. Verse Genesis 49:13. Zebulun's lot or portion in the division of the Promised Land extended from the Mediterranean Sea on the west, to the lake of Gennesareth on the east... [ Continue Reading ]
14. Issachar is a strong ass Couching between two burdens. 15. And he saw the resting place that _it was_ good, And the land that it was pleasant; And he inclined his shoulder to the load, And he became a servant unto tribute. Verse Genesis 49:14. _ISSACHAR IS A STRONG ASS_] חמר גרם _chamor ga... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:15. _HE SAW THAT REST_] The _inland portion_ that was assigned to him between the other tribes. _He inclined his shoulder_ _to the load_; the Chaldee paraphrast gives this a widely different turn to that given it by most commentators: "He saw his portion that it was good, and the l... [ Continue Reading ]
16. Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel. 17. Dan shall be a serpent on the way, A cerastes upon the track, Biting the heels of the horse, And his rider shall fall backwards. Verse Genesis 49:16. _DAN SHALL JUDGE_] Dan, whose name signifies _judgment_, was the eldest of J... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:17. _DAN SHALL BE A SERPENT_] The original word is נחש _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 th... [ Continue Reading ]
22. The son of a fruitful (vine) is Joseph; The son of a fruitful (vine) by the fountain: The daughters (branches) shoot over the wall. 23. They sorely afflicted him and contended with him; The chief archers had him in hatred. 24. But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands wer... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:23. _THE CHIEF ARCHERS_] בעלי חצים _baaley chitstsim_, the _masters of arrows _- Joseph's brethren, who either used such weapons, while feeding their flocks in the deserts, for the protection of themselves and cattle, or for the purpose of _hunting_; and who probably excelled in arc... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:24. _BUT HIS BOW REMAINED IN STRENGTH_] The more he was persecuted, either by his brethren or in Egypt, the more resplendent his uprightness and virtues shone: and _the arms_ his _extended power_ and _influence, of his hands plans, designs_, and _particular operations_ of his _prude... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:25. _THE GOD OF THY FATHER_] How frequently God is called the _God of Jacob_ none needs be told who reads the Bible. _GOD ALL-SUFFICIENT_] Instead of את שדי ETH _Shaddai_, THE _Almighty_ or _All-sufficient_; I read אל שדי El EL _Shaddai_, GOD _All-sufficient_; which is the reading... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:26. _THE BLESSING OF THY FATHER, C._] The blessings which thy father now prays for and pronounces are neither _temporal_ nor _transitory_ they shall exceed in their _duration_ the _eternal_ _mountains_, and in their _value_ and _spiritual_ nature all the _conveniences, comforts_, an... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:28. _EVERY ONE ACCORDING TO HIS BLESSING_] That is, guided by the unerring Spirit of prophecy, Jacob now foretold to each of his sons all the important events which should take place during their successive generations, and the predominant characteristic of each tribe; and, at the s... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:29. _BURY ME WITH MY FATHERS, C._] From this it appears that the cave at Machpelah was a _common burying-place for Hebrews_ _of distinction_ and indeed the first _public burying-place_ mentioned in history. From Genesis 49:31 we find that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah, ha... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 49:33. _HE GATHERED UP HIS FEET INTO THE BED_] It is very probable that while delivering these prophetic blessings Jacob sat upon the side of his bed, leaning upon his staff; and having finished, he lifted up his feet into the bed, stretched himself upon it, and _expired_! _AND WAS G... [ Continue Reading ]