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Genesis 49
New Catholic Bible
Genesis 49
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 49
Jacob’s Predictions for His Sons.[a] 1 Jacob then summoned his sons and said, “Gather together so that I can tell you what will happen to you in future days.
2 “Gather and listen, sons of Jacob,
listen to Israel, your father.
3 “Reuben, you are the firstborn,
my strength and the firstfruit of my might,
excelling in dignity and excelling in power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence
because you invaded your father’s bed
and defiled my couch
upon which you climbed.
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers;
their swords are implements of violence.
6 Let my soul not come into their council
nor my heart into their assembly,
for they have killed men with anger
and they maimed oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will divide them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.
8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you.
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies.
The sons of your father shall bow down before you.
9 A young lion is Judah.
From the prey, my son, you have turned.
He crouches like a lion,
and like a lioness;
who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah
nor the mace from between his feet,
until it comes to whom it belongs,
and the obedience of the peoples is his.
11 He tethers his colt to the vine,
and to a choice vine the colt of his donkey.
He washes his garments in wine,
and in the blood of the grapes his clothes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 “Zebulun shall dwell along the sea,
and he shall be a haven to ships
and shall border upon Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a strong-boned donkey
crouching between two saddlebags.
15 He saw that his resting place was good
and his land was pleasant
so he bent down his shoulder to bear the burden
and became a toiling servant.
16 “Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be like a serpent by the wayside,
an adder by the path,
that bites the heels of horses
and its horsemen fall backward.
18 “I hope in your salvation, O Lord.
19 “Gad shall be attacked by raiders,
but he shall raid them in return.
20 “Asher’s food is rich,
and he shall provide delicacies for the king.
21 “Naphtali is a doe let loose;
he brings forth beautiful words.
22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches run over the wall.
23 They have grieved him and attacked him,
archers have persecuted him,
24 but his bow is strong,
and the hands of his arms were made strong
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
25 From the God of your father who helps you
and God Almighty
who blesses you with blessings from the heavens above,
blessings of the deep that lie below,
blessings of breasts and womb.
26 The blessings of your father,
are mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains,
the boundaries of the everlasting hills;
may they come upon the head of Joseph
upon the crown of the head of the prince among his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf.
In the morning he devours his prey;
in the evening he divides his spoil.”
28 All these make up the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father told them, blessing them. He blessed each one with his own blessing.
29 The Death of Jacob. Then he gave this command: “I am about to be reunited with my ancestors. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is found in the field of Machpelah facing Mamre in the land of Canaan. This is the cave that Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite, as his burial ground. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there they buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it used to belong to the Hittites.”
33 When Jacob had finished giving this command to his sons, he drew back his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was reunited with his ancestors.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:1 A metric composition from the Yahwist source that specifies the characteristics of the various tribes of Israel; in it can be recognized essential parts and subsidiary parts, and there is no reason for denying that the substance of the discourse really goes back to Jacob. The theme of Judah’s preeminence receives an unexpected development. After the beginning of the poem, which confirms the rejection of Reuben and the condemnation of Simeon and Levi for the faults of which we already know, the words concerning Judah, the fourth son, take the form not of a blessing but of a prophetic oracle (vv. 8-12). Judah will enjoy a supremacy over his brothers and also victory over his enemies; he will be strong as a lion that returns from its prey and commands respect from all; he will retain the royal scepter until the moment when he passes it to its true owner, who will be a universal sovereign; this will be followed by a period of great prosperity. This means that Judah’s sovereignty will be vicarious and temporary; but the true owner of the scepter will be from the same tribe because the enthusiastic praise of Judah would be inexplicable if his task were simply to prepare for the reign of a foreigner. The prophecy will be fulfilled in the reign of the House of David, which is to be followed by the Messianic reign that successive Prophets will describe. The prophecies concerning the other sons of Jacob are by their nature subsidiary.
From this point on, two facts are to be noted. The promises that God makes to a single person are no longer of the type “I will make of you a great people,” for in the sons of Jacob this “great people” is already a reality, and the single person is no longer the father of the entire people of God; the blessings promised to the Patriarchs will rather be what the whole community expects. The new promises, on the other hand, look to the interior of the community and announce a particular person who will carry out the functions of a sovereign: he will lead the people to the victory predicted from Genesis 3:15 on, and he will make a reality the universal blessing already announced to the Patriarchs (Gen 12:3; etc.). In the second place, these promises are dissociated from primogeniture: the choice of Judah foreshadows that of David, the last of his brothers (1 Sam 16:1-13).
Genesis 49
New International Version
Genesis 49
New International Version
Jacob Blesses His Sons(A)
49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.(B)
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,(E)
my might, the first sign of my strength,(F)
excelling in honor,(G) excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters,(H) you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.(I)
5 “Simeon(J) and Levi(K) are brothers—
their swords[a] are weapons of violence.(L)
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,(M)
for they have killed men in their anger(N)
and hamstrung(O) oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury,(P) so cruel!(Q)
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.(R)
8 “Judah,[b](S) your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck(T) of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.(U)
9 You are a lion’s(V) cub,(W) Judah;(X)
you return from the prey,(Y) my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,(Z)
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[c]
until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come(AA)
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.(AB)
11 He will tether his donkey(AC) to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;(AD)
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.(AE)
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.[e](AF)
13 “Zebulun(AG) will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.(AH)
14 “Issachar(AI) is a rawboned[f] donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.[g](AJ)
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,(AK)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden(AL)
and submit to forced labor.(AM)
16 “Dan[h](AN) will provide justice for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.(AO)
17 Dan(AP) will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,(AQ)
that bites the horse’s heels(AR)
so that its rider tumbles backward.
22 “Joseph(BB) is a fruitful vine,(BC)
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches(BD) climb over a wall.[k]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;(BE)
they shot at him with hostility.(BF)
24 But his bow remained steady,(BG)
his strong arms(BH) stayed[l] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,(BI)
because of the Shepherd,(BJ) the Rock of Israel,(BK)
25 because of your father’s God,(BL) who helps(BM) you,
because of the Almighty,[m](BN) who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,(BO)
blessings of the breast(BP) and womb.(BQ)
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than[n] the bounty of the age-old hills.(BR)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,(BS)
on the brow of the prince among[o] his brothers.(BT)
27 “Benjamin(BU) is a ravenous wolf;(BV)
in the morning he devours the prey,(BW)
in the evening he divides the plunder.”(BX)
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,(BY) and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing(BZ) appropriate to him.
The Death of Jacob
29 Then he gave them these instructions:(CA) “I am about to be gathered to my people.(CB) Bury me with my fathers(CC) in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,(CD) 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah,(CE) near Mamre(CF) in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field(CG) as a burial place(CH) from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham(CI) and his wife Sarah(CJ) were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah(CK) were buried, and there I buried Leah.(CL) 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.[p](CM)”
33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.(CN)
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
- Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
- Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
- Genesis 49:14 Or strong
- Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
- Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
- Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
- Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
- Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
- Genesis 49:24 Or archers will attack … will shoot … will remain … will stay
- Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
- Genesis 49:26 Or of my progenitors, / as great as
- Genesis 49:26 Or of the one separated from
- Genesis 49:32 Or the descendants of Heth
New International Version (NIV) 
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