Genesis 49:16 NIV

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 49:16

Dan shall judge. Figure of speech Paronomasia. App-6 . Dan Jadin, Compare Genesis 30:6 . Fulfilled in Judges 15:20 . tribes. Hebrew sceptres (Genesis 49:10 ). Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct). Put for ruler. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 49:16-17

"Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel, Dan shall be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That biteth the horse's heels, So that his rider falls backward."The thought here is that Dan, although few in number and not strong militarily would nevertheless be able to overcome by cunning strategy. Willis identified the "serpent" of this place as the "cerastes cornutus",[27] an extremely poisonous and dangerous, horned snake which was the color of the ground and often... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 49:16

Genesis 49:16. Dan shall judge his people— From the six sons of Leah, Jacob passes to those of Bilhah, Rachel's maid. He begins with intimating, that the sons of the handmaids shall have the same privilege with those of the mistresses, and be heads and judges of their own tribes. Accordingly, alluding to the name of Dan, a judge, he declares, "That he should judge his people, that is, his own tribe, like the rest of the twelve." Onkelos expounds it thus, a man shall arise out of the tribe of... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 49:1-28

14. Jacob’s blessing of his sons 49:1-28Having blessed Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7-10) and Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:15-20), Jacob next blessed all 12 of his sons and foretold what would become of each of them and their descendants. He disqualified Reuben, Simeon, and Levi from leadership and gave that blessing to Judah. He granted the double portion to Joseph. This chapter is the last one in Genesis that gives the destinies of the family members of Abraham’s chosen line. It contains... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 49:13-21

These verses contain Jacob’s shorter blessings on the other sons except Joseph and Benjamin, whose blessings follow these."True to the poetic qualities of the text, the images of the destiny of the remaining sons are, in most cases, based on a wordplay of the son’s name. The central theme uniting each image is that of prosperity." [Note: Ibid.] Zebulun (Genesis 49:13) later obtained territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee. This was a thriving commercial area, though... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 49:1-33

Jacob Blesses his Twelve SonsIt is generally considered that in its present form, this chapter gives us indeed the last utterances of the dying patriarch respecting the future of his sons, but with additions and developments of a later date. As it stands we have not the broken utterances of a dying man, but an elaborate piece of work full of word-plays and metaphors (see on Genesis 49:8, Genesis 49:13, Genesis 49:16), and of those parallelisms in the vv. which are the chief feature of Hebrew... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 49:16-17

(16, 17) Dan.—In passing on to the sons of the handmaids it was necessary to assure them of an independent rank among their brethren. The four tribes descended from them did always hold an inferior position, but Jacob by his words to Dan prevented their ever becoming subject states. Playing, then, upon the name Dan (a judge), he says that he shall judge his people as a distinct and separate tribe, possessed of all those rights of self-government and tribal independence which this rank implied.... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Genesis 49:1-33

Genesis 49:4 The verse which Ruskin once, in a mood of depression, thought was most suitable for his own epitaph. 'The public men of the times which followed the Restoration were by no means deficient in courage or ability; and some kinds of talent appear to have been developed amongst them to a remarkable degree.... Their power of reading things of high import, in signs which to others were invisible or unintelligible, resembled magic. But the curse of Reuben was upon them all: "Unstable as... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:1-33

THE BLESSINGS OF THE TRIBESGenesis 48:1-22; Genesis 49:1-33JACOB’S blessing of his sons marks the close of the patriarchal dispensation. Henceforth the channel of God’s blessing to man does not consist of one person only, but of a people or nation. It is still one seed, as Paul reminds us, a unit that God will bless, but this unit is now no longer a single person-as Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob-but one people, composed of several parts, and yet one whole: equally representative of Christ, as the... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Genesis 49:1-27

CHAPTER 49 Jacob’s Prophecy 1. The call of Jacob: “Gather yourselves together” (Genesis 49:1-2 ) 2. The prophecy concerning his sons (Genesis 49:3-27 ) Reuben (Genesis 49:3-4 ) Simeon and Levi (Genesis 49:5-7 ) Judah (Genesis 49:8-12 ) Zebulun (Genesis 49:13 ) Issachar (Genesis 49:14-15 ) Dan (Genesis 49:16-18 ) Gad (Genesis 49:19 ) Asher (Genesis 49:20 ) Naphtali (Genesis 49:21 ) Joseph and Benjamin (Genesis 49:22-27 ) The last words of Jacob to his sons are often... read more