Genesis 49:20-33

r.      Genesis 49:20 – Out of Asher his bread [shall be] fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

§        Asher à happy

§        Jacob prophecies:

o       Bread shall be fat à Plentiful food

·        Deuteronomy 33:24 - And of Asher he said, [Let] Asher [be] blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

                                                                                                                i.     Moses affirms this blessing and extends it to include Ashers children being blessed

                                                                                                               ii.     Oil here refers to olive oil, not petroleum oil as some have suggested     

o       Yield royal dainties

·        Will produce foods fit for kings

·        Does not mention if the kings are Israelite kings or other nations’ kings

s.      Genesis 49:21 – Naphtali [is] a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

§        Naphtali à wrestling

§        Jacob prophecies:

o       Hind let loose

o       Giveth goodly words

·        Mathew 4:12-15 - Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

t.      Genesis 49:22 – Joseph [is] a fruitful bough, [even] a fruitful bough by a well; [whose] branches run over the wall:

§        Jacob closes with the blessing of his favored 2 sons, Joseph and Benjamin, from his beloved wife Rachel.

§        There is more written of Joseph than any of the other sons of Jacob

§        Deuteronomy 33:13-17 - And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD [be] his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, And for the precious fruits [brought forth] by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and [for] the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let [the blessing] come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him [that was] separated from his brethren. His glory [is like] the firstling of his bullock, and his horns [are like] the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they [are] the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they [are] the thousands of Manasseh.

§        Ephraim - אפרים 'Ephrayim, "double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful"

§        Such a healthy, thriving, fullgrown, well-supported, fruit-bearing vine well portrays the fruitful sturdy tribe of Joseph or Ephraim and Manasseh. Perhaps a play on words is here intended. For the root parah appears in Ephraim —the fruitful one. Leupold

u.      Genesis 49:23 – The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot [at him], and hated him:

§        Joseph endured many “arrows” from his brothers to Potiphar’s wife they attacked him because of his righteousness.

v.      Genesis 49:24 – But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty [God] of Jacob; (from thence [is] the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

§        Joseph was armed with more than mere arrows, he was armed with the strength of his faith and his integrity, uprightness, faithfulness to God and most obvious his wisdom.

o       Ecclesiastes 9:18 - Wisdom [is] better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

§        The brunt of hostile opposition to Israel will have to be borne by Joseph, next to Judah. The three verbs indicate that he will have plenty of it. However "his bow stayed firm".  He, too, has a bow for defensive purposes when attacked. He uses it, and his hands do not weaken as they draw the tough bow again and again; it stayed "firm" —"as a strong one,”. The arms behind the bow are described thus, "the arms of his hands remained supple." Arms and hands are seen in quick movements, snatching the arrow from the quiver, placing it in position on the bowstring, bending the bow, steadying it for aim. Leupold

w.       Genesis 49:25 – [Even] by the 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 lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

§        God the Father will help thee

§        Blessings from heaven above

o       Rain

o       Sun

o       Wind

§        Blessings of the deep

o       תהום tĕhowm - deep, depths, deep places, abyss, the deep, sea, of subterranean waters

§        Blessings of the breasts and of the womb

o       Abundance of family offspring

o       Abundance in livestock offspring

x.      Genesis 49:26 – The blessings of thy father have prevailed above 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 him that was separate from his brethren.

§        Jacob acknowledges in humility that God has blessed him even more than He had blessed Abraham and Isaac

o       Progenitors - הרה harah, to conceive, become pregnant, bear, be with child, be conceived, progenitor NOT mountains

§        Isaac had but one blessing to give Jacob thus leaving Esau with a blessing considered inadequate for the firstborn, Jacob; however, had blessings for each of his son (though Judah and Joseph seemed to gain the lion’s share)

§        Jacob heaps blessing upon blessing on Joseph, if any of the sons deserved such honor, surely it was Joseph.

§        “Him that was separate” - נזיר naziyr, consecrated or devoted one, root of Nazarite

o       The one standing apart

o       The choice

o       The prince

§        The blessings and prosperity of the birthright remained with the tribes of Joseph, what nation(s) can clearly be seen as representatives of those tribes today?

o       What nations are the most prosperous over the past few hundred years?

y.      Genesis 49:27 – Benjamin shall ravin [as] a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

§        Benjamin à Son of my right hand

§        Jacob prophecies:

o      Ravin as a wolf

·        No criticism involved in the use of this comparison; it is complimentary

·        Benjamin was favored by Jacob yet this blessing does not appear to share a father’s tenderness for a favored son.  We can conclude that these blessings did not originate with Jacob, but were  of the Spirit speaking through Jacob to the twelve tribes of Israel.

o       In the morning shall devour prey

o       Night divide the spoil

·        Ehud (Judges 3:15)

·        Saul (1 Samuel 9:1)

·        Jonathan (1 Samuel 13:3)

·        Esther and Mordecai (Esther 2:5-7)

·        Paul  (Romans 11:1)

z.       Genesis 49:28 – All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel: and this [is it] that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

§        Before receiving blessing à sons of Jacob

§        After receiving blessings à tribes of Israel

§        Though Reuben, Levi & Simeon seemed to get more correction than blessing they are considered blessed with the other brothers here.

§        Whether we are rebuked or blessed by God’s Word as long as we remain His, we should count it all as blessing.

II.            Jacob Repeats Instructions for His Burial and His Death

a.      Genesis 49:29 – 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,

§        Though death separates us from those we love in this world, we are reunited with those who have passed on before us

§        Jacob is not necessarily concerned with the physical aspects of being buried next to his fathers and their wives as much as it is the promise of God, that Canaan should be a possession to his children so he wishes to be buried in the “promised land”.

b.      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 for a possession of a burying place.

c.      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 1:The five individuals listed below were buried in this cave, followed by Israel (Jacob)

§        Note2: Hebrew is read from right to left

§        ישראל Yisra'el

ישראל  

                                     יצחק     Yitschaq – Isaac

                                      שרה   Sarah – Sarah

                                     רבקה   Ribqah - Rebekah

      אברהם   'Abraham – Abraham

            לאה   Le'ah – Leah

 

d.      Genesis 49:32 – The purchase of the field and of the cave that [is] therein [was] from the children of Heth.

§        Even so near death Jacob is very cognizant of the intricate details of the location and the details of the purchase by Abraham. 

e.      Genesis 49:33 – And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

§        Jacob completed both the blessing and the charge to his sons and willingly yielded his spirit back to the Father

§        “Gathered unto his people” - Apparently, the expression is then equivalent to the one used Ge 15:15, "to go to one’s fathers." Those who have gone on before in death are regarded as a people still existing. This is a clear testimony to the belief in a life after death on the part of the earliest patriarch. Though no specific revelation on the subject seems to have been given to these patriarchs, faith in the Almighty God drew its own proper conclusions as to whether God would ultimately let his children perish, and its conclusion was correct: He cannot. This passage confirms that conclusion. If Scripture is to be explained by Scripture, then Heb 11:13-16 offers the fullest confirmation of our interpretation. Therefore the prevalent expositions which aim to deny the possibility of faith in a life after death on the part of the patriarchs will all have to be discarded. Leupold