92 | Genesis 49:8
8
“ Judah, a your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’ s sons will bow down to you.
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You are a lion’ s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness— who dares to rouse him?
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The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’ s staff from between his feet, b until he to whom it belongs c shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
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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.
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His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk. d
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“ Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.
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“ Issachar is a rawboned e donkey lying down among the sheep pens. f
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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 g will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
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Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’ s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
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“ I look for your deliverance, Lord.
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“ Gad h will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.
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“ Asher’ s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
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“ Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. i
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“ Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. j a
8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise. b
10 Or from his descendants c
10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. d
12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk e
14 Or strong f
14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags g
16 Dan here means he provides justice. h
19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders. i
21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words j
22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
49:8 your brothers will praise you Judah takes preeminence since Jacob’ s first three sons— Reuben, Simeon, and Levi— were dismissed from the blessing normally given to the firstborn. Jacob seems to indicate that this is because Reuben had intercourse with Jacob’ s concubine( compare note on 49:4) and because Simeon and Levi murdered the men at Shechem, putting the whole family in danger from other people in the region( compare 34:30 and note; note on 49:5). Judah’ s leadership following the exodus is hinted at elsewhere in the Pentateuch: The tribe of Judah has the largest tribal population in the census( Nu 1:26; 26:22), camps in front of the tent of meeting, and leads the nation in the marching order to the promised land( Nu 2:3,9; 10:14). See the infographic“ The Israelite Encampment” on p. 215. 49:9 lion The epithet“ lion of Judah”( Rev 5:5) derives from this blessing. Since Mic 5:2 associated Judah with the coming of the ruler of Israel, the lion of Judah became a Messianic motif as well. 49:11 to a vine The animals listed in this verse here would trample any vine to which they were tied. The image suggests that the land of Judah will be so lush and productive that losing vines in this manner will be no cause for concern. he will wash his garments in wine This image is intentionally absurd: Only incredibly wealthy people would have so much wine that they could even wash garments in them if they desired. See the infographic“ A Winepress in Ancient Israel” on p. 1157. 49:13 the seashore It is difficult to know why Zebulun is connected to the sea here, since none of the territory of Zebulun touched the Mediterranean.( Jos 19:10 – 16). This could mean that the reference to the sea here is to the Sea of Galilee, which the tribe of Zebulun was near. Sidon Zebulun’ s territory did not border the Phoenician city Sidon. However, here Sidon may refer to the nation of
Phoenicia as a whole, as Zebulun’ s territorial boundaries were adjacent to Phoenicia. 49:14 a rawboned donkey The Hebrew expression used here seems to refer to physical strength. The descriptions that follow in the remainder of this verse and Ge 49:15 likely mean that, despite being known for strength, Issachar would be more content not working. 49:16 will provide justice The Hebrew verb used here, dayan, is a wordplay on Dan’ s name. Compare note on 30:6. 49:17 a snake The Hebrew word used here, nachash, is the same term used in ch. 3 for the primeval enemy of Adam and Eve. This means that Jacob is re-characterizing what Dan’ s name means— he will act as accuser, not one who delivers proper judgment or justice. This is reflected in the later reputation of the tribe of Dan( see note on 30:6). 49:19 Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders With its tribal inheritance located east of the Jordan River, Gad regularly had problems with Ammonites, Moabites, Arameans and an assortment of other seminomadic groups. 49:20 Asher’ s food will be rich The Hebrew expression used here probably refers to a reputation for fine food; however, it could be unflattering. In Jdg 1:32, the tribe of Asher is living among enemy Canaanites, indicating that they could be providing fine food for enemy people groups.
49:21 English translations of this verse vary considerably, since some of the words are homographs( words that are spelled like other words, but have different meanings); this allows for substantially different interpretations of the Hebrew text. While the first part of the verse seems to refer to flourishing, it is unclear whether Jacob’ s words to Naphtali are ultimately positive or negative.