This chapter contains a prophecy of future things, relating to the twelve sons of Jacob, and to the twelve tribes, as descending from them, and which he delivered to his sons on his death bed, having called them together for that purpose, Gen. 49:1, Gen.

And Jacob called upon his sons Who either were near at hand, and within call at the time Joseph came to visit him, or if at a distance, and at another time, he sent a messenger or messengers to them to come unto him: and said, gather yourselves together; his will was, that they should attend him…

Gather yourselves together This is repeated to hasten them, and to suggest that he had something of importance to make known unto them, which he chose to do, when they were together: and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel your father: these words are used and doubled to excite their…

Reuben, thou art my firstborn Jacob addressed himself to Reuben first, in the presence of his brethren, owned him as his firstborn, as he was, (Gen. 29:31, Gen.

Unstable as water Which is not to be understood of the levity of his mind, and his disposition to hurt, and the impetuous force of that breaking forth like water, and carrying him into the commission of it; but rather of his fall from his excellency and dignity, like the fall of water from an high…

Simeon and Levi are brothers Not because they were so in a natural sense, being brethren both by father and mother’s side, for there were others so besides them; but because they were of like tempers, dispositions, and manners [[5]], bold, wrathful, cruel, revengeful, and deceitful, and joined…

O my soul, come not thou into their secret Their cabinet counsels, combinations and conspiracies; this Jacob said, as abhorring the wicked counsel they had took of slaying the Shechemites; and lest any should think he was concerned in it, or connived at it, he expressed a detestation of the fact on…

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce It was sinful anger in the nature of it, and so criminal and detestable; it was strong, fierce, and furious in its operation and effects, and so justly cursed; not their persons, but their passions: and their wrath, for it was cruel; it issued in the cruel…

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise His name signifies praise, and was given him by his mother, her heart being filled with praises to God for him, and is here confirmed by his father on another account, because his brethren should praise him for many excellent virtues in him; and it…

Judah is a lion’s whelp Or as one; the note of similitude being wanting, as Aben Ezra and Ben Melech observe; he was comparable to a young lion for his strength, courage, and generosity; and it may refer to the infant state of this tribe in the times of the judges, who first went up against the…

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah Which some understand of the tribe, that Judah should not cease from being a tribe, or that it should continue a distinct tribe until the coming of the Messiah, who was to be of it, and was, and that it might appear he sprung from it; but this was not…

Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine Which may be understood either of the tribe of Judah, and signify that vines should grow in such plenty, and so large and strong, that a man might fasten his ass to one of them, and if it ate and destroyed it, it would give no…

His eyes shall be red with wine Signifying, not the intemperance of this tribe, and their immoderate use of wine, and the effect of it on them; but the goodness and generosity of their wine, that if drank plentifully of, and especially to excess, would have such an effect, see (Prov. 23:29, Prov.

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea Of the sea of Galilee, sometimes called the sea of Tiberias and of Gennesaret; and of the Mediterranean sea; and accordingly we find that the border of this tribe, when settled in the land of Canaan, was toward the sea, (Josh. 19:10, Josh.

Issachar is a strong ass Or as one, the note of similitude being wanting, as Ben Melech observes; “a bony” [[4]] one, as the word signifies; not one that is lean, and nothing but skin and bones, as some interpret it, but that is strong and robust, able to carry burdens; and this tribe is compared…

And he saw that rest was good Not the house of the sanctuary, and attendance there, and the service of that, as the Targum of Jerusalem; nor the rest of the world to come, the happiness of a future state, as that of Jonathan; but rather, as Onkelos, the part and portion of the good land allotted…

Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. ] There is an elegant paronomasia, or an allusion to the name of Dan in those words, which signifies to judge, and the sense of them is, there should be heads, rulers, and judges of it, as the other tribes had; and this is the rather…

Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path Or be like that sort of serpents called the adder; or rather, that which has the name of Cerastes, which lies among sand, and being of the same colour is not easily discerned, and is often trampled upon unawares, and bites at once, unexpected;…

I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. ]. Jacob finding his spirits faint and flag, stops and breathes awhile before he proceeded any further in blessing the tribes; and as he found he was a dying man, and knew not how soon he should expire, expresses what he had been thoughtful of and concerned…

Gad, a troop shall overcome him There is a paronomasia, or an allusion to the name of Gad almost in every word of the verse, which signifies a troop: the whole is a prediction that this tribe would be a warlike one, and have the common fate of war, sometimes be conquered, and at other times…

Out of Asher his bread shall be fat Which signifies that this tribe would have a sufficiency of food out of their own land, without being obliged to others, and that it would be of the best sort; it occupied a tract of land, as Andrichomius [[10]] says, reaching from great Zidon to Carmel of the…

Naphtali is a hind let loose Onkelos applies it to the tribe itself, and to the goodness of its land, “as for Naphtali, his lot fell in a good land, and his inheritance a fruit bearing one,” as it was; for in it was the most fruitful country of Gennesaret, which gave name to a sea or lake by it,…

Joseph is a fruitful bough Or as one, like the bough or branch of a tree laden with fruit, as he was with children; one of which he called Ephraim from his fruitfulness, and both his sons became numerous, and the heads of two tribes in Israel; and with other temporal fruits and blessings, as…

The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him. ] His brethren who grieved him with their ill usage, shot out bitter words against him, and hated him for his dreams, and because his father loved him; and they could not speak peaceably to him, they mocked at him, conspired to…

But his bow abode in strength For as his enemies were archers, and had bows and arrows, so had he, and repelled force by force; but then his bow and arrows were of a different sort, the virtues and graces that he was possessed of, as innocence and integrity, chastity, fortitude, wisdom, prudence…

Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee The same with the mighty God of Jacob, by whom his hands had been made strong, and he would be still helped, protected, and defended against his powerful enemies; and by whom Christ, the antitype, was helped as man and Mediator against his enemies,…

The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors Jacob’s blessings were greater and more numerous, both those which he himself had, and bestowed upon his offspring, than those that Abraham and Isaac had, he having more children than they, and blessings for everyone…

Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf All the three Targums apply this prophecy to the priests offering the daily sacrifice, morning and evening, in the temple, which stood in the lot of Benjamin, and dividing what was left, and eating it.

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel The twelve sons of Jacob before mentioned were heads of twelve tribes, who were afterwards seated, and had their part in the land of Canaan; there were indeed thirteen tribes, two springing from Joseph; but then the tribe of Levi had no part in the land of…

And he charged them, and said unto them The same charge he had given to Joseph he here renews, and lays it upon his sons, who were everyone of them to go along with Joseph to bury him in Canaan: I am to be gathered unto my people; the people of God, the spirits of just men made perfect, the souls…

In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan This is so exactly described, that there might be no mistake about the place, see (Gen. 23:17, Gen.

There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife Abraham buried Sarah there himself, and his two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried him there: there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; we have no other account of the death of Rebekah, and her burial, but here; it is probable she died before Isaac, and…

The purchase of the field, and of the cave that is there, was from the children of Heth. ] Which is repeated for the certainty of it, and that it might be taken notice of, that both the field and cave were bought by Abraham of Ephron the Hittite, and that the children of Heth were witnesses of the…

And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons Had given all the proper directions and instructions concerning his interment in the land of Canaan: he gathered up his feet into the bed; on which he sat while he blessed his sons, and gave orders to them about his burial; but now he gathered…