# Genesis 49 đź“–: Jacob Blesses His Sons
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### The Blessing of Jacob
[[#Verse 01.]] Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell you what will happen to you in future days.
[[#Verse 02.]] “Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.
[[#Verse 03.]]Â Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power.
[[#Verse 04.]] You are destructive like water and will not excel, for you got on your father’s bed, then you defiled it—he got on my couch!
[[#Verse 05.]]Â Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their knives!
[[#Verse 06.]]Â O my soul, do not come into their council, do not be united to their assembly, my heart, for in their anger they have killed men, and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen.
[[#Verse 07.]]Â Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their fury, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel!
[[#Verse 08.]] Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father’s sons will bow down before you.
[[#Verse 09.]] 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?
[[#Verse 10.]] The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him.
[[#Verse 11.]] Binding his foal to the vine, and his colt to the choicest vine, he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
[[#Verse 12.]] His eyes will be red from wine, and his teeth white from milk.
[[#Verse 13.]] Zebulun will live by the haven of the sea and become a haven for ships; his border will extend to Sidon.
[[#Verse 14.]]Â Issachar is a strong-boned donkey lying down between two saddlebags.
[[#Verse 15.]] When he sees a good resting place, and the pleasant land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and become a slave laborer.
[[#Verse 16.]] Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
[[#Verse 17.]]Â May Dan be a snake beside the road, a viper by the path, that bites the heels of the horse so that its rider falls backward.
[[#Verse 18.]]Â I wait for your deliverance, OÂ Lord.
[[#Verse 19.]]Â Gad will be raided by marauding bands, but he will attack them at their heels.
[[#Verse 20.]] Asher’s food will be rich, and he will provide delicacies to royalty.
[[#Verse 21.]]Â Naphtali is a free running doe, he speaks delightful words.
[[#Verse 22.]] Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a spring whose branches climb over the wall.
[[#Verse 23.]]Â The archers will attack him, they will shoot at him and oppose him.
[[#Verse 24.]] But his bow will remain steady, and his hands will be skillful; because of the hands of the Powerful One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
[[#Verse 25.]]Â because of the God of your father, who will help you, because of the Sovereign God, who will bless you with blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.
[[#Verse 26.]] The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains or the desirable things of the age-old hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
[[#Verse 27.]] Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning devouring the prey, and in the evening dividing the plunder.”
[[#Verse 28.]] These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing.
[[#Verse 29.]] Then he instructed them, “I am about to go to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.Â
[[#Verse 30.]]Â It is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought for a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite.
[[#Verse 31.]]Â There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah.Â
[[#Verse 32.]] The field and the cave in it were acquired from the sons of Heth.”
[[#Verse 33.]] When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went to his people.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
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## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Jacob's blessings are among the first long poetic prophecies in the Bible.
2. Reuben lost the firstborn's rights because of his sin with Bilhah (49:4; 1 Chronicles 5:1).
3. Judah is pictured as a lion (49:9), the source of the title "Lion of the tribe of Judah."
4. Many translations render part of 49:10 as "Shiloh," which has long been understood as a messianic title.
5. Zebulun was promised a home by the sea (49:13).
6. Dan's name means "judge," and Samson came from the tribe of Dan.
7. Benjamin is pictured as a ravenous wolf (49:27). Fierce Benjaminites included Saul and later the apostle Paul.
8. Joseph's blessing is the longest besides Judah's (49:22-26).
9. Jacob calls God "the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel" (49:24).
10. Jacob died at 147 after asking to be buried in the cave of Machpelah (47:28; 49:29-33).
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The scepter will not depart from Judah until the rightful King comes (49:10), and that King is Jesus (Revelation 5:5).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. Reuben lost his place because of unchecked desire (49:3-4). How do private choices affect our future?
2. Jacob condemned the anger of Simeon and Levi (49:5-7), yet God later used Levi for the priesthood. What hope does that give?
3. Jacob paused his blessings to say he waits for the Lord's deliverance (49:18). Where do you need to wait on God's deliverance?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 10: The scepter will not depart from Judah.
- đź“– verse 18: I wait for your deliverance, O Lord.
- đź“– verse 24: Joseph is strengthened by the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[Revelation 05#Verse 05.|Revelation 5:5]] - The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered.
- đź”— [[Hebrews 07#Verse 14.|Hebrews 7:14]] - Our Lord descended from Judah.
- đź”— [[Numbers 24#Verse 17.|Numbers 24:17]] - A scepter will rise out of Israel.
- đź”— [[Psalm 60#Verse 07.|Psalm 60:7]] - Judah is My scepter.
- đź”— [[Ezekiel 21#Verse 27.|Ezekiel 21:27]] - Until He comes to whom it belongs.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Genesis 49- SOAP|God Gives Us What We Need]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes