1:7 from Judah, Nahshon 1 son of Amminadab;
2:3 “Now those who will be camping 2 on the east, toward the sunrise, 3 are the divisions 4 of the camp of Judah under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is 5 Nahshon son of Amminadab.
10:14 The standard 6 of the camp of the Judahites set out first according to their companies, and over his company was Nahshon son of Amminadab.
49:8 Judah, 7 your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,
your father’s sons will bow down before you.
49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, 8
until he comes to whom it belongs; 9
the nations will obey him. 10
1 sn Nahshon was an ancestor of Boaz and David, and therefore of Christ (Luke 3:32-33).
2 tn The sentence begins with a vav (ו) on a word that is not a finite verb, indicating a new section begins here. The verbal form is a participle with the article used substantivally, with the meaning “and/now those camping.” Many English versions employ a finite verb; cf. KJV “on the east side…shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch.”
3 tc The two synonyms might seem to be tautological, but this is fairly common and therefore acceptable in Hebrew prose (cf. Exod 26:18; 38:13; etc.).
4 tn The sentence actually has “[those camping…are] the standard of the camp of Judah according to their divisions.”
5 tn Or “will be.”
6 sn The “standard” (דֶּגֶל, degel) was apparently some kind of a symbol put up on a pole to signify the tribal hosts. R. de Vaux thought it simply referred to a pole or a mast, but that would not distinguish tribes (Ancient Israel, 226-27).
7 sn There is a wordplay here; the name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) sounds in Hebrew like the verb translated praise (יוֹדוּךָ, yodukha). The wordplay serves to draw attention to the statement as having special significance.
8 tn Or perhaps “from his descendants,” taking the expression “from between his feet” as a euphemism referring to the genitals. In this case the phrase refers by metonymy to those who come forth from his genitals, i.e., his descendants.
9 tn The Hebrew form שִׁילֹה (shiloh) is a major interpretive problem. There are at least four major options (with many variations and less likely alternatives): (1) Some prefer to leave the text as it is, reading “Shiloh” and understanding it as the place where the ark rested for a while in the time of the Judges. (2) By repointing the text others arrive at the translation “until the [or “his”] ruler comes,” a reference to a Davidic ruler or the Messiah. (3) Another possibility that does not require emendation of the consonantal text, but only repointing, is “until tribute is brought to him” (so NEB, JPS, NRSV), which has the advantage of providing good parallelism with the following line, “the nations will obey him.” (4) The interpretation followed in the present translation, “to whom it [belongs]” (so RSV, NIV, REB), is based on the ancient versions. Again, this would refer to the Davidic dynasty or, ultimately, to the Messiah.
10 tn “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry,” JBL 80 (1961): 55-64; and E. M. Good, “The ‘Blessing’ on Judah,” JBL 82 (1963): 427-32.
11 tc The reading Σαλά (Sala, “Sala”) is found in the best and earliest witnesses (Ì4 א* B sys sa). Almost all the rest of the