May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.”
17
When Jo seph saw his fa ther plac ing his right hand on Ephra im’ s head he was dis pleased; so he took hold of his fa ther’ s hand to move it from Ephra im’ s head to Ma nas seh’ s head. 18 Jo seph said to him,“ No, my fa ther, this one is the first born; put your right hand on his head.”
19
But his fa ther re fused and said,“ I know, my son, I know. He too will be come a peo ple, and he too will be come great. Nev er the less, his younger broth er will be great er than he, and his descen dants will be come a group of na tions.” 20 He blessed them that day and said,
“ In your a name will Israel pronounce this blessing:
‘ May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
So he put Ephra im ahead of Ma nas seh.
21
Then Is ra el said to Jo seph,“ I am about to die, but God will be with you b and take you b back to the land of your b fa thers. 22 And to you I give one more ridge of land c than to your broth ers, the ridge I took from the Am o rites with my sword and my bow.”
Genesis 49:7 | 91
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49:1-28Ref— Dt 33:1-29
Then Ja cob called for his sons and said:
49“ Gath er around so I can tell you what will hap pen to you in days to come.
2
“ Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
3
“ Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4
Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’ s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
5
“ Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords d are weapons of violence.
6
Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
7
Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. a
20 The Hebrew is singular. b
21 The Hebrew is plural. c
22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem. d
5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Yahweh), whose identity is often blurred with Yahweh himself( see note on 21:17). This blurring of these identities is fitting with the parallel usage of ha‘ elohim in Hebrew( which may be literally rendered as“ the God”) in v. 11 and v. 15. Jacob had divine encounters several times in his life and at several of these times it seems that God appeared to him in bodily form( see 28:13 and note; 32:24 and note) and the Angel of God also appeared to Jacob( see 31:11 and note). bless The Hebrew word used here is singular, not plural. The plural form of this word in Hebrew would have distinguished God from the Angel in the blessing. The singular form here blurs their identities. 48:20 Ephraim ahead of Manasseh Ephraim would become the more noteworthy of the two tribes, eventually becoming virtually synonymous with the northern kingdom of Israel( Isa 7:17; Hos 5:12). Compare note on Ge 48:1 – 22. 48:21 you The Hebrew text here uses a plural form, indicating that Jacob’ s blessing refers to the whole nation of Israel, not just to Joseph. 48:22 ridge of land The Hebrew word used here, shekhem, is identical to the Hebrew name of the location Shechem. Jacob purchased land at Shechem( 33:18 – 19) and Joseph was later buried there( Jos 24:32). with my sword and my bow This probably does not refer back to the massacre at Shechem( Ge 34) or Jacob’ s purchase of land at Shechem( 33:19), but to another incident in Jacob’ s lifetime that is not recorded in Genesis. Jacob did not participate in the massacre at Shechem; instead he condemned it( 34:30; 49:5 – 7).
49:1 – 27 Commonly referred to as the“ Blessing of Jacob,” this chapter actually contains a mixture of blessings and curses on his 12 sons who essentially function as the eponymous( or name giving) ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel( compare note on 48:1 – 22). Genesis 49 does not follow the birth order of Jacob’ s children found in chs. 29 – 30. In chs. 29 – 30, Zebulun is the tenth son overall( the sixth and last son by Leah). Jacob also blesses Zebulun before Issachar, though Issachar was born before Zebulun( 30:17 – 20); this inversion also occurs in Dt 33:18.
49:1 what will happen to you in days to come Jacob’ s blessings and curses speak about the distant future of the 12 tribes of Israel. In this way, his words in ch. 49 function prophetically. 49:4 you will no longer excel Jacob demotes Reuben for his immorality. While sexual immorality in certain contexts may not have merited such a demotion— as Judah is not demoted for his actions with Tamar( ch. 38)— Reuben’ s actions had dishonored his father and were an attempt to usurp his fathers’ leadership of the tribe( see note on 35:22). 49:5 their swords are weapons of violence References the murder of the men of Shechem( see ch. 34). The tribe of Simeon quickly lost its importance in Israel’ s national history. From the exodus( Nu 1:23) to the end of the wilderness wanderings( Nu 26:14), its population decreased from 59,300 to 22,200 people. In addition, rather than obtaining its own region, Simeon’ s inheritance was allotted within the tribe of Judah’ s territory( Jos 19:1 – 9).