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Text -- Genesis 49:1-18 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
The Blessing of Jacob
49:1 Jacob called for his sons and said , “Gather together so I can tell you what will happen to you in the future .
49:2 “Assemble and listen , you sons of Jacob ; listen to Israel , your father .
49:3 Reuben , you are my firstborn , my might and the beginning of my strength , outstanding in dignity , outstanding in power .
49:4 You are destructive like water and will not excel , for you got on your father’s bed , then you defiled it– he got on my couch !
49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers , weapons of violence are their knives !
49:6 O my soul , do not come into their council , do not be united to their assembly , my heart , for in their anger they have killed men , and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen .
49:7 Cursed be their anger , for it was fierce , and their fury , for it was cruel . I will divide them in Jacob , and scatter them in Israel !
49:8 Judah , your brothers will praise you . Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies , your father’s sons will bow down before you.
49:9 You are a lion’s cub , Judah , from the prey , my son , you have gone up . He crouches and lies down like a lion ; like a lioness – who will rouse him?
49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah , nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet , until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him.
49:11 Binding his foal to the vine , and his colt to the choicest vine , he will wash his garments in wine , his robes in the blood of grapes .
49:12 His eyes will be dark from wine , and his teeth white from milk .
49:13 Zebulun will live by the haven of the sea and become a haven for ships ; his border will extend to Sidon .
49:14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey lying down between two saddlebags .
49:15 When he sees a good resting place , and the pleasant land , he will bend his shoulder to the burden and become a slave laborer .
49:16 Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel .
49:17 May Dan be a snake beside the road , a viper by the path , that bites the heels of the horse so that its rider falls backward .
49:18 I wait for your deliverance , O Lord .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Death |
GENESIS, 1-2 |
JACOB (1) |
GENEALOGY, 8 part 1 |
Benedictions |
CAIN |
APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE, 2 |
GENESIS, 4 |
Bless |
Parents |
Will |
Intercession |
Israel |
Jacob |
Judah |
Levi |
Simeon |
Reuben |
Issachar |
ASS |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
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NET Notes: Gen 49:4 The last verb is third masculine singular, as if for the first time Jacob told the brothers, or let them know that he knew. For a discussion of this p...
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NET Notes: Gen 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew word מְכֵרָה (mÿkherah) is uncertain. It has been rendered (1) “habitat...
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NET Notes: Gen 49:6 The Hebrew text reads “my glory,” but it is preferable to repoint the form and read “my liver.” The liver was sometimes viewed...
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NET Notes: Gen 49:7 Divide…scatter. What is predicted here is a division of their tribes. Most commentators see here an anticipation of Levi being in every area but...
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NET Notes: Gen 49:8 There is a wordplay here; the name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) sounds in Hebrew like the verb trans...
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NET Notes: Gen 49:10 “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the M...
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NET Notes: Gen 49:11 The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, describing coming events as though they have already taken place.
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NET Notes: Gen 49:12 Some translate these as comparatives, “darker than wine…whiter than milk,” and so a reference to his appearance (so NEB, NIV, NRSV)....
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NET Notes: Gen 49:15 The oracle shows that the tribe of Issachar will be willing to trade liberty for the material things of life. Issachar would work (become a slave labo...
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NET Notes: Gen 49:17 The comparison of the tribe of Dan to a venomous serpent is meant to say that Dan, though small, would be potent, gaining victory through its skill an...
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