Genesis 49:20

49:20 Asher’s ¹  food will be rich, ² 

and he will provide delicacies ³  to royalty.

Genesis 49:1

The Blessing of Jacob

49:1 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell you ⁴  what will happen to you in the future. ⁵ 

Genesis 12:20

12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, ⁶  and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.

[49:20]  ¹ tc Heb “from Asher,” but the initial mem (מ) of the MT should probably be moved to the end of the preceding verse and taken as a plural ending on “heel.”

[49:20]  ² tn The Hebrew word translated “rich,” when applied to products of the ground, means abundant in quantity and quality.

[49:20]  ³ tn The word translated “delicacies” refers to foods that were delightful, the kind fit for a king.

[49:1]  ⁴ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[49:1]  ⁵ 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.

[12:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.