100 | Genesis 49:9
9 You are a lion’ s d cub, Judah; e you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness— who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, f nor the ruler’ s staff from between his feet, a until he to whom it belongs b shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. g 11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk. c
49:9 d Nu 24:9; Eze 19:5; Mic 5:8 e Rev 5:5
49:10 f Nu 24:17, 19; Ps 60:7 g Ps 2:9; Isa 42:1, 4
49:13 h Ge 30:20; Dt 33:18-19; Jos 19:10‐11
49:14 i Ge 30:18
49:16 j Ge 30:6; Dt 33:22; Jdg 18:26‐27
49:17 k Jdg 18:27 49:18 l Ps 119:166, 174
49:19 m Ge 30:11; Dt 33:20; 1Ch 5:18
13“ Zebulun h will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.
14“ Issachar i is a rawboned d donkey lying down among the sheep pens. e 15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.
16“ Dan f j will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan k will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’ s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
18“ I look for your deliverance, Lord. l
19“ Gad g m will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.
a 10 Or from his descendants b 10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is
uncertain. c 12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk d 14 Or strong e 14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags f 16 Dan here means he provides justice. g 19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
enjoyed with Jacob’ s family after his transforming encounter with Tamar( ch. 38; see note on 38:25 – 26). Judah will receive the praise of his brothers( see NIV text note on v. 8) because his own personal qualities of leadership will permeate his future descendants. In the light of Joseph’ s associations with royalty, it is unexpected that Jacob links kingship to Judah’ s future descendants( see notes on vv. 8 – 10). 49:8 – 10 your father’ s sons will bow down to you... the obedience of the nations shall be his. Recalls how Isaac blessed Jacob( 27:29). 49:9 lion. This imagery enhances the royal image. Elsewhere the NT designates Jesus Christ as the“ Lion of the tribe of Judah”( Rev 5:5), clearly alluding to this verse. 49:10 scepter... ruler’ s staff. A further indication that Jacob anticipates a time when one of Judah’ s descendants will assume royal office and exercise universal authority. In later history, the Davidic dynasty comes from the tribe of Judah. Matthew’ s Gospel gives particular attention to how Jesus Christ becomes the heir to the Davidic throne( Matt 1:1 – 16; see Heb 7:14). until he to whom it belongs shall come. This translation is one of several suggestions( see NIV text note). Another possibility is“ until Shiloh comes.” The mention of Shiloh could foreshadow the time of Samuel when the Israelites take the ark of the covenant from Shiloh( 1 Sam 4:3 – 4) and later when the newly enthroned David transports the ark to Jerusalem( 2 Sam 6). These events associated with Shiloh mark the beginning of the process by which Israel’ s leadership moves from the tribe of Ephraim to the tribe of Judah( see Ps 78:59 – 72). 49:11 tether his donkey to a vine. This is the first of several lines that point forward to a time when the grape harvest will be exceptionally fruitful. This introduces the expectation that the reign of this king from the tribe of Judah will bring about the transformation of the natural environment, reversing the negative effects on creation that result from humanity’ s disobedience of God( cf. Ps 72:16; Amos 9:11 – 15). 49:13 Zebulun. Mentioning him before Issachar( v. 14 – 15) is unusual since Zebulun was born after Issachar( 30:17 – 20). Jacob’ s blessing appears to anticipate a future time when Zebulun’ s territory will border the Mediterranean Sea. While the tribal district of Zebulun lay close to the sea, the border did not always extend to the coast. 49:14 – 15 Jacob likens the tribe of Issachar to a donkey that works hard because it is welltreated and enjoys good provisions. 49:16 – 17 Jacob associates the tribe of Dan with justice, reflecting a wordplay on its name( see NIV text note on v. 16). While providing justice appears to be a positive attribute, describing Dan as a roadside“ snake”( v. 17) suggests unexpected danger. Evidence of such behavior comes in the unprovoked assault that the tribe of Dan carried out in order to oust the residents of the city of Laish( Judg 18). 49:18 Jacob briefly petitions God, possibly due to the negative characteristics he has attributed to his descendants. Only through divine intervention can there be hope for the future. 49:19 Gad. Jacob’ s remarks concerning Gad’ s descendants involve wordplays on his name( see NIV text note). The tribal territory of Gad, in the region of Gilead to the east of the Jordan River, made them susceptible to attacks from raiders. Jacob anticipates that the Gadites will skillfully defend themselves.