Genesis 49:9-10

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, ¹ 

until he comes to whom it belongs; ² 

the nations will obey him. ³ 

Numbers 23:24

23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,

and like a lion raises himself up;

they will not lie down until they eat their ⁴  prey,

and drink the blood of the slain.” ⁵ 

Numbers 24:9

24:9 They crouch and lie down like a lion,

and as a lioness, ⁶  who can stir him?

Blessed is the one who blesses you,

and cursed is the one who curses you!’”

Revelation 5:5

5:5 Then ⁷  one of the elders said ⁸  to me, “Stop weeping! ⁹  Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; ¹⁰  thus he can open ¹¹  the scroll and its seven seals.”

[49:10]  ¹ 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.

[49:10]  ² 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.

[49:10]  ³ 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.

[23:24]  ⁴ tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.

[23:24]  ⁵ sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.

[24:9]  ⁶ tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.

[5:5]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[5:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

[5:5]  ⁹ tn The present imperative with μή (mh) is used here to command cessation of an action in progress (ExSyn 724 lists this verse as an example).

[5:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “has been victorious”; traditionally, “has overcome.”

[5:5]  ¹¹ tn The infinitive has been translated as an infinitive of result here.