Genesis 49:3-18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:9

Judah is a lion's whelp ,.... Or as one; the note of similitude being wanting, as Aben Ezra and Ben Melech observe; he was comparable to a young lion for his strength, courage, and generosity; and it may refer to the infant state of this tribe in the times of the judges, who first went up against the Canaanites and overcame them, Judges 1:1 . from the prey, my son, thou art gone up ; alluding to the lion going up to the mountains, where it chiefly resides, after it has found its prey... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:10

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah ,.... Which some understand of the tribe, that Judah should not cease from being a tribe, or that it should continue a distinct tribe until the coming of the Messiah, who was to be of it, and was, and that it might appear he sprung from it; but this was not peculiar to this tribe, for the tribe of Benjamin continued, and so did the tribe of Levi unto the coming of Christ: besides, by Judah is meant the tribe, and to say a tribe shall not depart from... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:11

Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine ,.... Which may be understood either of the tribe of Judah, and signify that vines should grow in such plenty, and so large and strong, that a man might fasten his ass to one of them, and if it ate and destroyed it, it would give no great concern, since the country abounded with them; or they would be so full of clusters that a man might load an ass from one of them. Some parts of the tribe of Judah were famous for... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:12

His eyes shall be red with wine ,.... Signifying, not the intemperance of this tribe, and their immoderate use of wine, and the effect of it on them; but the goodness and generosity of their wine, that if drank plentifully of, and especially to excess, would have such an effect, see Proverbs 23:29 and, as applied to the Messiah, the antitype of Judah, and who was of this tribe, it may denote not so much the beauty of his eyes, as the Targums paraphrase it; as the joy and pleasure that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:13

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea ,.... Of the sea of Galilee, sometimes called the sea of Tiberias and of Gennesaret; and of the Mediterranean sea; and accordingly we find that the border of this tribe, when settled in the land of Canaan, was toward the sea, Joshua 19:10 and this was done, not at the discretion of Joshua, or at the choice of this tribe, but by lot; and which shows that Jacob said this under a spirit of prophecy, and which had its fulfilment two hundred years... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:14

Issachar is a strong ass ,.... Or as one, the note of similitude being wanting, as Ben Melech observes; "a bony" F5 חמר גרם "Asinus osseus", Montanus, Tigurine version, Munster, Vatablus, Drusius, Piscator, Cartwright. one, as the word signifies; not one that is lean, and nothing but skin and bones, as some interpret it, but that is strong and robust, able to carry burdens; and this tribe is compared to an ass, not for stupidity and sluggishness, but for its strength, and its use... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:15

And he saw that rest was good ,.... Not the house of the sanctuary, and attendance there, and the service of that, as the Targum of Jerusalem; nor the rest of the world to come, the happiness of a future state, as that of Jonathan; but rather, as Onkelos, the part and portion of the good land allotted him; he saw that a quiet industry exercised in a diligent cultivation and manuring his land was preferable to the hurry of a court, or the fatigue of a camp, or the dangers of the seas: and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:16

Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. There is an elegant paronomasia, or an allusion to the name of Dan in those words, which signifies to judge, and the sense of them is, there should be heads, rulers, and judges of it, as the other tribes had; and this is the rather mentioned of him, because he is the first of the children of concubine wives as yet taken notice of; and what is here said of him is also to be understood of the rest of the sons of the concubines; for the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:17

Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path ,.... Or be like that sort of serpents called the adder; or rather, that which has the name of Cerastes, which lies among sand, and being of the same colour is not easily discerned, and is often trampled upon unawares, and bites at once, unexpected; as Bothart F8 Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 3. c. 12. col. 418, 419, 420. from various writers has shown; particularly Diodorus Siculus F9 Bibliothec. l. 3. p. 183. says, of this kind of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 49:18

I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. Jacob finding his spirits faint and flag, stops and breathes awhile before he proceeded any further in blessing the tribes; and as he found he was a dying man, and knew not how soon he should expire, expresses what he had been thoughtful of and concerned about in time past, and still was; that he had been waiting and hoping for, and expecting a state of happiness and bliss in another world, where he should be saved from sin and Satan, and the world,... read more

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