Genesis 49:1

The Blessing of Jacob

49:1 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell you ¹  what will happen to you in the future. ² 

Isaiah 2:2

2:2 In the future ³ 

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure ⁴ 

as the most important of mountains,

and will be the most prominent of hills. ⁵ 

All the nations will stream to it,

Daniel 10:14

10:14 Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to future days.”

Hosea 3:5

3:5 Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. ⁶  Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings ⁷  in the future. ⁸ 

Micah 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ⁹  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ¹⁰ 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ¹¹ 

People will stream to it.

Hebrews 1:2

1:2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, ¹²  whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. ¹³ 

James 5:3

5:3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! ¹⁴ 

James 5:2

5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten.

James 3:3

3:3 And if we put bits into the mouths of horses to get them to obey us, then we guide their entire bodies. ¹⁵ 

¹ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

² tn The expression “in the future” (אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים, ’akharit hayyamim, “in the end of days”) is found most frequently in prophetic passages; it may refer to the end of the age, the eschaton, or to the distant future. The contents of some of the sayings in this chapter stretch from the immediate circumstances to the time of the settlement in the land to the coming of Messiah. There is a great deal of literature on this chapter, including among others C. Armerding, “The Last Words of Jacob: Genesis 49,” BSac 112 (1955): 320-28; H. Pehlke, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Genesis 49:1-28” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985); and B. Vawter, “The Canaanite Background of Genesis 49,” CBQ 17 (1955): 1-18.

³ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.

⁴ tn Or “be established” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

⁵ tn Heb “as the chief of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills.” The image of Mount Zion being elevated above other mountains and hills pictures the prominence it will attain in the future.

⁶ tn Heb “David their king”; cf. NCV “the king from David’s family”; TEV “a descendant of David their king”; NLT “David’s descendant, their king.”

⁷ tn Heb “his goodness”; NLT “his good gifts.”

⁸ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT “in the last days.”

⁹ tn Heb “at the end of days.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

¹¹ tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

¹² tn The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).

¹³ tn Grk “the ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 11:3 for the same usage.

¹⁴ tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “their entire body.”