Episode 321 - "Jacob's pronouncements on his sons" - Genesis 49:1-28

Gen. 49:1 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come.

Gen. 49:2 “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob,

listen to Israel your father.

Gen. 49:3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,

my might, and the firstfruits of my strength,

preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,

because you went up to your father’s bed;

then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!

Gen. 49:5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers;

weapons of violence are their swords.

6 Let my soul come not into their council;

O my glory, be not joined to their company.

For in their anger they killed men,

and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,

and their wrath, for it is cruel!

I will divide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

Gen. 49:8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you;

your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

your father’s sons shall bow down before you.

9 Judah is a lion’s cub;

from the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He stooped down; he crouched as a lion

and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

until tribute comes to him;

and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11 Binding his foal to the vine

and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

he has washed his garments in wine

and his vesture in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth whiter than milk.

Gen. 49:13 “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea;

he shall become a haven for ships,

and his border shall be at Sidon.

Gen. 49:14 “Issachar is a strong donkey,

crouching between the sheepfolds.

15 He saw that a resting place was good,

and that the land was pleasant,

so he bowed his shoulder to bear,

and became a servant at forced labor.

Gen. 49:16 “Dan shall judge his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way,

a viper by the path,

that bites the horse’s heels

so that his rider falls backward.

18 I wait for your salvation, O LORD.

Gen. 49:19 “Raiders shall raid Gad,

but he shall raid at their heels.

Gen. 49:20 “Asher’s food shall be rich,

and he shall yield royal delicacies.

Gen. 49:21 “Naphtali is a doe let loose

that bears beautiful fawns.

Gen. 49:22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough,

a fruitful bough by a spring;

his branches run over the wall.

23 The archers bitterly attacked him,

shot at him, and harassed him severely,

24 yet his bow remained unmoved;

his arms were made agile

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob

(from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

25 by the God of your father who will help you,

by the Almighty who will bless you

with blessings of heaven above,

blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,

blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26 The blessings of your father

are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,

up to the bounties of the everlasting hills.

May they be on the head of Joseph,

and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

Gen. 49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,

in the morning devouring the prey

and at evening dividing the spoil.”

Gen. 49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.

As a reminder, the context of this section is that Jacob knows that he does not have long to live. He has already spoken with Joseph to make him promise not to leave his body in Egypt, but to bury him with his ancestors in Canaan. Furthermore, he blessed Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim. Even though Manasseh was the oldest, Jacob gave the blessing to Ephraim. We are not told why. Perhaps in the way that the LORD had told Rebekah that the older of her twins (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob), Jacob chose to follow that pattern foretold by the LORD, although that is just speculation. Finally, Jacob will treat Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons. Their descendants will each inherit a portion of the promised land of the covenant.

In this section, Jacob calls his sons to him to bless them. Scholars are quick to point out that there is nothing in the text that suggests Jacob’s words are divine prophecy. Yet, I’m not sure how Jacob could have made such specific statements about things like the border of Zebullan’s portion of land without having received such prophetic information from the LORD.

I have mentioned multiple times throughout this study how some of the actions of Jacob’s sons were evil and out of line with what the LORD intended. These actions are brought to light again as Jacob addresses each of his sons. Reuben gets called out for having sexual relations with his father’s concubine. Simeon and Levi are dressed down for their use of the sign of the Abrahamic covenant to deceive and murder the Canaanites who had agreed to be circumcised to have peace with Jacob’s family, and for their leader to marry Dinah, whom he had raped. Jacob tells these sons that they will be divided and scattered in Israel. We learn later on, as their descendants enter and divide the land, that Levi has no section of land. Yet, the LORD provides them with cities in each of the tribal lands where they are to serve as priests to that tribe. It’s fascinating how the LORD would use discipline not to punish, but as a means of leading people into service.

Next, Jacob blessed Judah. Wait a minute! We saw how Judah was the brother who suggested that they sell Joseph to make money and get rid of him. He was a self-serving, defiant, and deceiving individual. Why would Jacob not bring that up and disqualify Judah, as he had the three older brothers? As I’ve pointed out in the past, it’s obvious that Judah had repented of his ways and became a leader, willing to sacrifice himself for the liberty of his younger brother Benjamin and to honor his father. I suspect that Jacob saw a lot of himself in Judah. As the LORD was patient with Jacob, by bringing him to faith over time, Jacob saw the same kind of transformation in Judah.

As I read this section, I suspect there is much to be learned by studying Jacob’s words and examining how they work out with each of these tribes. What we’ll see is that Jacob’s “blessing” or pronouncement on each son is ultimately to their future descendants. Jacob’s sons will all ultimately die in Egypt. Yet, their actions have an impact on those who will come after them.

We come down to the question of why Moses included this. Is there something about what Jacob says that has significance for Moses' readers? If we remember that Moses is writing to the descendants of Jacob’s children who were about to enter the land the LORD had promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants, 400 years after Jacob’s time, they will better understand the legacy of their ancestors. Hopefully, they will observe how trusting the LORD’s covenant promises is vital for their lives as they enter into this fertile land to dwell with liberty to enjoy God’s provision. Perhaps they may even see the hope of the seed to come in the tribe of Judah since Jacob had said of Judah, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples” (Gen 49:10)

It’s easy for Christians to read the Christian Scriptures and observe how the LORD has faithfully brought to fulfillment that which has been foretold in the past. The God we worship is able and faithful to bring about everything he has revealed. We can trust him.