Genesis 49:18

18. For thy salvation have I longed, Jehovah What occasioned this abrupt exclamation at this point, or what connexion it has with the context, is not clear . Probably the wars and dangers that awaited the chosen people were vividly presented to the patriarch’s soul as he mentioned the traits of Dan, and these again call up the ancient prophecy of the conflict between the woman’s and the serpent’s seed, (Genesis 3:15,) and as he has a glimpse of that momentous struggle, he breaks out with this ejaculation. But if no such relation to the context be allowed, we may suppose that Jacob here breaks out with these words as a refrain, or pause, in the midst of exciting prophecy, and conflicting emotions within.