Genesis-Chapter-49
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“Genesis Chapter 49”
With Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
Genesis 49 presents the prophetic climax of
Jacob’s life as he summons his twelve sons to his deathbed. Moving beyond standard
paternal blessings, the dying patriarch delivers sweeping, poetic prophecies
that outline the future destiny and geographic inheritance of the twelve tribes
of Israel.
His words evaluate each son’s past behaviour, channelling those moral choices into
national trajectories. Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are demoted due to instability
and violence, clearing the path for Judah to receive the royal sceptre
and the promise of the ultimate ruler. After charging his sons to bury him in
the family cave at Machpelah, Jacob peacefully passes away, drawing his feet
into his bed.
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Let us read Genesis Chapter 49, verses 1 to 33: (JPS-1917 version of the
Torah). Below this chapter you will find my commentary for this study.
1 “And Jacob called unto
his sons, and said: ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which
shall befall you in the end of days. 2 Assemble
yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your
father. 3 Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and
the first-fruits of my strength; the excellency
of dignity, and the excellency of power. 4 Unstable as water, have not thou the excellency; because thou wentest
up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it he
went up to my couch. 5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; weapons
of violence their kinship. 6 Let my soul not come into
their council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united; for in their
anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed
oxen. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and
their wrath, for it was cruel; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in
Israel.
8 Judah,
thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand shall be on
the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee. 9 Judah
is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he
couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? 10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s
staff from between his feet, as long as men come to Shiloh;
and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be. 11 Binding
his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washeth his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood
of grapes; 12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his
teeth white with milk. 13 Zebulun
shall dwell at the shore of the sea, and he shall be a shore for ships, and his
flank shall be upon Zidon. 14 Issachar
is a large-boned ass, couching down between the sheep-folds. 15 For
he saw a resting-place that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and
he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under task-work. 16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the
path that biteth the horse’s heels, so that his rider
falleth backward. 18 I wait
for Thy salvation, O יְהוָה - LORD. 19 Gad, a troop
shall troop upon him; but he shall troop upon their heel. 20 As
for Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. 21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth
goodly words. 22 Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful
vine by a fountain; its branches run over the wall. 23 The
archers have dealt bitterly with him, and shot at him, and hated him; 24 But his bow abode firm, and the arms of his hands were made
supple, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from thence, from the Shepherd,
the Stone of Israel, 25 Even by the אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God) of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who
shall bless thee, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath, blessings of the breasts, and of the
womb. 26 The blessings of thy father are mighty beyond
the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;
they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the prince
among his brethren. 27 Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth; in the morning he devoureth
the prey, and at even he divideth the spoil’. 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and
this is it that their father spoke unto them and blessed them; every one
according to his blessing he blessed them. 29 And he
charged them, and said unto them: ‘I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me
with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron
the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field of
Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan,
which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the
Hittite for a possession of a burying-place. 31 There
they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his
wife; and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the
cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth’. 33 And when Jacob made an
end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired,
and was gathered unto his people”.
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My Commentary on Genesis Chapter 49, verses 1 to 33:
Verses 1-3: Jacob calls for his sons and says, “Gather around so I can tell you
what will happen to you in days to come. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.
Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength,
excelling in honour, excelling in power”.
Verse 4: Jacob denounces Reuben, describing him as turbulent as water,
declaring he will no longer excel because he went up onto his father’s bed and
defiled his marriage couch.
Verses 5-7: Jacob groups Simeon and Levi together, calling their swords weapons
of violence. He bans his soul from their secret counsel and assembly because
they killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen at their pleasure, uttering a
curse on their fierce anger and scattering them throughout the tribes of Israel.
Verses 8-12: Jacob praises Judah,
promising his brothers will praise him and his hand will be on the neck of his
enemies. He depicts Judah as
a lion's whelp and decrees the royal sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes to command the obedience of the nations,
describing an era of rich abundance where garments are washed in wine.
Verse 13: Jacob prophesies that Zebulun will live
by the seashore and become a haven for ships, with his border extending toward Sidon.
Verses 14-15: Jacob characterizes Issachar as a rawboned
donkey crouching down between two saddlebags. When he sees how good a resting
place is and how pleasant the land is, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and
submit to forced labour.
Verses 16-18: Jacob declares Dan will provide justice for his people as one of
the tribes of Israel, describing him as a roadside snake or a viper along the
path that bites the horse’s heels so its rider tumbles backward, pausing to
pray: “I look for your deliverance, יְהוָה - LORD”.
Verse 19: Jacob prophesies concerning Gad, stating that a marauding band will
raid him, but he will defiantly raid and pursue them at their heels.
Verse 20: Jacob promises that Asher’s food supply will be exceptionally rich,
and he will provide delicacies fit for a monarch.
Verse 21: Jacob describes Naphtali as a doe set free that bears beautiful
fawns and speaks elegant words.
Verses 22-26: Jacob lavishes blessings upon Joseph, calling him a fruitful bough
near a spring whose branches climb over the wall. Despite archers bitterly
attacking and shooting at him with hostility, his bow remains steady and his
strong arms remain agile because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, the
Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, who grants him blessings of the heavens above,
blessings of the deep below, and blessings extending to the bounties of the
ancient hills.
Verse 27: Jacob describes Benjamin as a ravenous wolf who devours his prey in
the morning and divides the plunder in the evening.
Verses 28-33: The text notes these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and
this is what their father said when he blessed them according to their specific
destiny. Jacob commands them to bury him with his fathers in the cave in the
field of Ephron the Hittite at Machpelah, where
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah were buried, and when he finishes
instructing his sons, he draws his feet up into the bed, breathes his last, and
is gathered to his ancestors.
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My Closing Message:
Genesis 49 reminds us that our choices create
a lasting legacy. Jacob’s words were not random wishes; they reflected the
character, discipline, and integrity his sons displayed throughout their lives.
Character acts as a seed that eventually produces a national harvest. While
Reuben’s instability and Simeon’s anger led to diminished influence, Judah’s
growth and Joseph’s resilience under fire brought immense blessings and
leadership. Live intentionally today, knowing that the integrity, faith, and
values you cultivate now will shape the trajectory of generations to come.
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Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
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