Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Genesis 49

Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons

Genesis 49:¹ And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:

• God revealed to Jacob the outcome of his descendants in the last days.

Genesis 49:² “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.

• Jacob and Israel are the same person. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel.

[1. REUBEN: WATER] Genesis 49:³ “Reuben, you are my firstborn (would have had the birthright),
My might and the beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
⁴ Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—
He went up to my couch.

• Because of Reuben’s gross sin, he forfeited the birthright which is his right to rule over the family, that is, the tribes of Israel.

• Therefore; the Messiah (Jesus) would not come from the tribe (line) of Reuben, but rather, from the tribe of Judah.

• Note: A person’s salvation is their birthright upon believing in and trusting Jesus.

[2.- 3. SIMEON AND LEVI: CRUELTY AND CRUELTY] Genesis 49:⁵ “Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Instruments of cruelty (violence) are in their dwelling place.

• Levi is the line of priests. It was the priests and Pharisees who saw to it that Jesus was crucified.

Genesis 49:⁶ Let not my soul enter their council;
Let not my honor be united to their assembly;
For in their anger they slew a man,

• It was the priests, the descendants of Levi, who plotted and succeeded in crucifying Jesus.

And in their self-will they hamstrung (lamed) an ox.

• The barbarous murder of the Shechemites is an example of this.
• Self-will is everything contrary to God’s will.
• An ox is a burden bearer and is called one of the two letters in one of the names for God “E (A burden bearer, an Ox) and L (A Yoke)”, with the understanding that God yokes Himself to men to carry their burdens.

Genesis 49:⁷ 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.
(Before there was a land called Israel)

• Note: Jacob’s name was changed to Israel by God. The name “Jacob” is used when he lives in the flesh while Israel is his spiritual name.

• “Jacob” means:  From the Biblical story of Jacob’s birth where he was born holding the heel of his twin brother, Esau. The name comes either from the Hebrew root “to follow, to be behind” but also “to supplant, circumvent, assail, overreach”, from the word “heel” as a substitute.

• “Israel” means: From the Hebrew name יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra’el) meaning “God contends”, from the roots H8280 שָׂרָה (sara) meaning “to contend, fight, persevere” and אֵל (‘el) meaning “God”.
  
  Both Sara and Jacob received spiritual names: Sarah and Israel, and both persevered with God.

[4. JUDAH: LION] Genesis 49:⁸ “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.

• Judah produced the Jewish Messiah (Savior), Jesus, the Son of God.

Genesis 49:⁹ Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows (couches) down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

• Jesus: The Lion of Judah
  
  • Revelation 5:⁵ But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
    
  • Hosea 5:¹⁴ For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
    I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
    ¹⁵ I will return again to My place, Till they acknowledge their offense.
    Then they will seek My face; In their affliction (tribulation/sorrows) they will earnestly seek Me.”

Genesis 49:¹⁰ The scepter (a symbol of kingship) shall not depart from Judah,

• Note: Jesus’ lineage comes directly through the line of Judah.
• Jesus is hailed as King of kings and Lord of Lords.

Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,

• Note: When the land was split between Israel and Judah in 930 BC, Rehoboam, son of Solomon, ruled Judah while Israel was ruled by Jeroboam who had no relationship to King David or the line of Judah.

• The rulers in Israel were conquered several times transferring power to others. However, Judah had never been conquered until it became their complete demise by Nebuchadnezzar. When Jesus, the Jewish Messiah returns, He will rule in Jerusalem, from the line of Judah. Therefore; the line of Judah will never cease to have a man on the throne.

• For a visual chart see Kings of Israel and Judah

Until Shiloh (Jesus) comes;

• The meaning of “Shiloh” is peace, tranquility, rest. Strongs H7886

• Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

• When Jesus returns to set up His rule on the earth, it will be the beginning of the Millennium, aka A 1,000 year reign.

And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

• “Him” is Jesus
• Jacob’s prediction that a king commanding “the obedience of the nations” would come from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10)
• Jacob’s prophecies fulfilled by Jesus:
  
  • Luke 2:1-7; Gal 4:4 (The time of His coming)
  • Luke 3:33 (The Seed of Judah)
  • John 17:3 (Called Shiloh or One Sent)
  • John 11:47-52 (Messiah to come before Judah lost identity)
  • John 10:16 (Unto Him shall the obedience of the people be)

• During the Millennium, He will rule the nations with an iron (unyielding) scepter; and the result will be obedience and peace.

• New Testament prophecies to be fulfilled by Jesus-His Return and Rule:
  
  • Psalm 2:9 You shall break them with a rod (scepter) of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
  • Revelation 2:27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received from My Father;
  • Revelation 12:5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.
  • Revelation 19:15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Genesis 49:¹¹ Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

• Entering a city in peace is done by riding in on a donkey.  A war horse is used for conquering.

• Jesus came the first time riding on the back of the colt of a donkey. At His second advent He will come on a white steed.

► Jesus’ First Advent:

• Zechariah 9:9 [The Coming King] “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
• Matthew 21:5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
• John 12:15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.”

► Second Advent: Future prophecy yet to be fulfilled by Jesus.

• Revelation 19:11 [Christ on a White Horse] Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
• Revelation 19:14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
• Jude 1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,

► The Choice Vine

• John 15:1 “I (Jesus) am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

► Future prophecy alert yet to fulfilled during the seven year tribulation:  

• Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

• Revelation 14:¹⁴ Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. ¹⁵ And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶ So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

• Reaping the Grapes of Wrath

• Revelation 14:¹⁷ Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.¹⁸ And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” ¹⁹ So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. ²⁰ And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for 184 miles.

• Isaiah 63:2 Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? ³ “I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me.
  For I have trodden them in My anger,
  And trampled them in My fury;
  Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments,
  And I have stained all My robes.
  ⁴ For the day of vengeance is in My heart (the day for the Kinsman Redeemer), And the year of My redeemed has come.I looked, but there was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me.

Genesis 49:¹² His eyes are darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.

[5. ZEBULUN: REST FROM THE SEA OF PEOPLE] Genesis 49:¹³ “Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea;
He shall become a haven for ships,
And his border shall adjoin Sidon.

[6. ISSACHAR: DONKEY/SLAVES] Genesis 49:¹⁴ “Issachar is a strong donkey,
Lying down between two burdens;
¹⁵ He saw that rest was good,
And that the land was pleasant;
He bowed (lowered, relinquished) his shoulder (authority) to bear a burden,
And became a band of slaves.

[7. DAN: JUDGE/SERPENT/VIPER] Genesis 49:¹⁶ “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
¹⁷ Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
A viper by the path,
That bites the horse’s heels
So that its rider shall fall backward.

Genesis 49:¹⁸ I have waited for your salvation (yᵊšûʿâ), O Lord (Yᵊhōvâ)!

• Note: The name of Jesus means “Salvation”. Jesus’ name in Hebrew is “yᵊšûʿâ“.

[8. GAD: VICTORIOUS] Genesis 49:¹⁹ “Gad, a troop shall tramp (Lit. raid) upon him,
But he shall triumph at last.

[9. ASHER: WEALTHY] Genesis 49:²⁰ “Bread from Asher shall be rich,
And he shall yield royal dainties.

[10. NAPHTALI: DEER/ARTISTIC/INDEPENDENT/GENTLE] Genesis 49:²¹ “Naphtali is a deer let loose;
He uses beautiful words.

[11. JOSEPH: HEAVENLY SPIRITUAL FRUIT] Genesis 49:²² “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.

Genesis 49:²³ The archers have bitterly grieved him,
Shot at him and hated him.

Genesis 49:²⁴ But his bow (covenant) remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

• Jesus is the Good Shepherd. (John 10:11-18)
• The Stone of Israel (Genesis 28:22, Matthew 21:42)

Genesis 49:²⁵ By the God (‘ēl) of your father (Jacob) who will help you,
And by the Almighty (šaday) who will bless you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

Genesis 49:²⁶ The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

• Joseph was separated from his brothers. The meaning of the word “separate” is “holy-set apart”.
  A double meaning: Literally “separated” and Figuratively “holy”.

[12. BENJAMIN: WOLF/PREDATOR] Genesis 49:²⁷ “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he shall devour the prey,
And at night he shall divide the spoil.”

Genesis 49:²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

Jacob’s Death and Burial

Genesis 49:²⁹ Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

• Note: the Hittites are descendants of Heth, the son of Canaan, the Son of Ham, the son of Noah.

 Genesis 49:³⁰ 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 of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place.

 Genesis 49:³¹ There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.

• Note: No mention of Rachel.

• Speculation: Since God had not been sought in seeking a wife for Jacob (as Abraham did for Isaac), it makes one wonder if God would have chosen Leah, rather than Rachel, for Jacob.

Genesis 49:³² The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.”

• Note: Hittites are the sons of Heth. Heth is the son of Canaan, the son of Ham, the son of Noah.

 Genesis 49:³³ And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

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