Genesis 49

Jacob Blesses His Sons

¹Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come:

²Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob;

listen to your father Israel.

³Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might,

and the beginning of my strength,

excelling in honor,

excelling in power.

• GEN 49:3[PROPHECY]Reuben → 1CH 5:1

⁴Uncontrolled as the waters,

you will no longer excel,

because you went up to your father’s bed,

onto my couch, and defiled it.

⁵Simeon and Levi are brothers;

their swords are weapons of violence.

• GEN 49:5[PROPHECY]Simeon and Levi → Fulfilled

⁶May I never enter their council;

may I never join their assembly.

For they kill men in their anger,

and hamstring oxen on a whim.

⁷Cursed be their anger, for it is strong,

and their wrath, for it is cruel!

I will disperse them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

⁸Judah, your brothers shall praise you.

Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies;

your father’s sons shall bow down to you.

• GEN 49:8[PROPHECY]Judah's brothers would bow to him and he would rule over his enemies → 1CH 5:2; 2SA 5:1-3

⁹Judah is a young lion—

my son, you return from the prey.

Like a lion he crouches and lies down;

like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?

• GEN 49:9[PROPHECY]Judah is a young lion → REV 5:5
• GEN 49:9[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → REV 5:5

¹⁰The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the staff from between his feet,

until Shiloh comes

and the allegiance of the nations is his.

• GEN 49:10[PROPHECY]The Messiah would come before the scepter departed from Judah → LK 2:1-7; GAL 4:4MEDIUM
• GEN 49:10[PROPHECY]Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah → LK 3:33
• GEN 49:10[PROPHECY]To Him the obedience of the peoples would belong → JN 10:16

¹¹He ties his donkey to the vine,

his colt to the choicest branch.

He washes his garments in wine,

his robes in the blood of grapes.

• GEN 49:11[PROPHECY]He ties his donkey's colt to the vine and washes his robes in wine → MT 21:2-7; REV 19:13MEDIUM

¹²His eyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth are whiter than milk.

¹³Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore

and become a harbor for ships;

his border shall extend to Sidon.

• GEN 49:13[PROPHECY]Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore; he shall become a haven for ships → Fulfilled

¹⁴Issachar is a strong donkey,

lying down between the sheepfolds.

• GEN 49:14[PROPHECY]Issachar → FulfilledMEDIUM

¹⁵He saw that his resting place was good

and that his land was pleasant,

so he bent his shoulder to the burden

and submitted to labor as a servant.

¹⁶Dan shall provide justice for his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

• GEN 49:16[PROPHECY]Dan would provide justice for his people → JUDG 13:2; JUDG 16:31MEDIUM

¹⁷He will be a snake by the road,

a viper in the path

that bites the horse’s heels

so that its rider tumbles backward.

• GEN 49:17[PROPHECY]Dan would be like a snake by the road that strikes suddenly → JUDG 18:27-30MEDIUM

¹⁸I await Your salvation, O Yahweh.

• GEN 49:18[FORESHADOW]Jacob waits for Yahweh's salvation → LK 2:30MEDIUM

¹⁹Gad will be attacked by raiders,

but he will attack their heels.

• GEN 49:19[PROPHECY]Gad → 1CH 5:18-22MEDIUM

²⁰Asher’s food will be rich;

he shall provide royal delicacies.

• GEN 49:20[PROPHECY]Asher → DT 33:24MEDIUM

²¹Naphtali is a doe set free

that bears beautiful fawns.

• GEN 49:21[PROPHECY]Naphtali is a deer let loose; he uses beautiful words → JUDG 4:6; 5:18MEDIUM

²²Joseph is a fruitful vine—

a fruitful vine by a spring,

whose branches scale the wall.

• GEN 49:22[PROPHECY]Joseph → Fulfilled in Joseph's history; his sons Ephraim and Manasseh became two of the largest tribes

²³The archers attacked him with bitterness;

they aimed at him in hostility.

²⁴Yet he steadied his bow,

and his strong arms were tempered

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,

in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

²⁵by the God of your father who helps you,

and by the Almighty who blesses you,

with blessings of the heavens above,

with blessings of the depths below,

with blessings of the breasts and womb.

²⁶The blessings of your father have surpassed

the blessings of the ancient mountains

and the bounty of the everlasting hills.

May they rest on the head of Joseph,

on the brow of the prince of his brothers.

²⁷Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;

in the morning he devours the prey,

in the evening he divides the plunder.”

• GEN 49:27[PROPHECY]Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night divide the spoil → JUDG 20:15-16; 1SA 9:1-2MEDIUM

²⁸These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

The Death of Jacob

²⁹Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. ³⁰The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. ³¹There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah. ³²The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”

³³When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.