1Jacob calleth his sons to bless them. 3The blessing of Reuben; 5Simeon and Levi; 8Judah; 13Zebulun; 14Issachar; 16Dan; 19Gad; 20Asher; 21Naphtali; 22Joseph; 27and Benjamin. 29He chargeth them about his burial, and dieth.
1aAND Jacob called unto his sons, and said, bGather yourselves together, that I cmay tell you that which shall befall you in the dlast days.
a De. 33.6-25. b Ps. 133.1-3. He. 10.24,25; 13.1. c Am. 3.7. Ps. 25.14; 105.15. d Nu. 24.14. De. 4.30. 1Ti. 4.1. 2Ti. 3.1. Ac. 2.17. Da. 2.28,29. Is. 2.2. Je. 23.20.
2Gather yourselves together, and ehear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
e Ex. 20.12. Pr. 1.8; 2.1; 3.1; 4.1,4; 5.1; 6.20; 7.1,24; 23.22,26.
3¶Reuben, thou art my ffirstborn, my gmight, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
f De. 21.17. Ps. 78.51; 105.36. ch. 29.32; 46.8. g De. 21.17.
4Unstable as water, 1thou shalt not excel; because thou hwentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it : 2he went up to my couch.
1Heb. do not thou excel, ch. 46.8. De. 33.6. Nu. 32. Ju. 5.15,16. 1Ch. 5. 2Ki. 15.29.
2Heb. Or, my couch is gone.
h ch. 35.22. 1Ch. 5.1. 1Co. 5.1.
5¶Simeon and Levi are ibrethren; 3instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
3Or, their swords are weapons of violence.
i ch. 34.25,30; 29.33,34; 46.10,11.
6O my soul, come not thou into their jsecret; unto their assembly, mine khonour, be not thou united: for in their anger they lslew a man, and in their selfwill they 4digged down a wall.
4Or, houghed oxen.
j Je. 15.17. Ps. 64.2,5; 26.9. k Ps. 16.9; 30.12; 57.8. l ch. 34.25,28.
7Cursed be their manger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will ndivide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
m 2Sa. 13.15. n Jos. 19.1-9; 21. 1Ch. 4.24,39-43.
8¶Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall opraise: thy hand shall be pin the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
o ch. 46.12; 29.35. 1Ch. 5.2. He. 7.14. p Nu. 10.14. Ju. 1.1,2. Ps. 78.68-71; 18.40-43. 1Ch. 12. 1Ki. 4. Phi. 2.9-11. 2Sa. 22.41.
9Judah is qa lion's *whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he rstooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
*whelp-cub.
q Nu. 23.24. 2Sa. 3.1,7; 8; 10. 2Ch. 13; 14; 20; 26. 1Co. 15.24. De. 33.22. r Nu. 23.24; 24.9. Re. 5.5.
10The ssceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor ta lawgiver from ubetween his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the vgathering of the people be.
s Ps. 60.7; 89.3,4; 132.11. Nu. 24.17. Je. 30.21. Zec. 10.11. t Ps. 108.8. u De. 28.57. v Is. 2.2; 11.10; 49.6,7; 55.1,4,5. Hag. 2.7. Eze. 21.27. Ro. 15.12. Lu. 1.32,33. Ps. 72.8-11. Re. 11.15.
11wBinding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
w 1Ki. 4.20,25. Mi. 4.4. Joel 3.18. Jn. 15.1. Is. 5.1,2; 27.2,3; 25.6; 55.1; 63.1. Re. 19.18.
12His xeyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
x Pr. 23.29.
13¶Zebulun shall ydwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
y ch. 30.20. De. 33.18,19. Jos. 19.10-15.
14¶zIssachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
z ch. 46.13; 30.14-18. De. 33.18.
15And he saw that arest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant bunto tribute.
a ch. 8.9. Ps. 116.7; 132.8. Jos. 19.17-23. b Jos. 16.10.
16¶Dan shall cjudge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
c ch. 30.6; 46.23. Nu. 10.25. Ju. 12-16. De. 33.22. Jos. 19.40-47.
17Dan shall be a dserpent by the way, an 5adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
5Heb. an arrow-snake.
d Ju. 15; 16; 18. De. 33.22.
18I ehave waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
e Ps. 130.5; 62.1,5. Is. 25.9; 8.17. Mi. 7.7. Lu. 2.25,30. Ps. 119.166; 25.5.
19¶Gad, fa troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
f ch. 30.11; 46.16. Nu. 32. De. 33.20. Ju. 10; 11. 1Ch. 5.18-22,26.
20¶Out of Asher ghis bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
g De. 33.24. ch. 46.17. Jos. 19.24-31.
21¶Naphtali is ha hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
h De. 33.23. Ju. 4.6,10; 5.18. ch. 46.24; 30.8. Jos. 19.32-39.
22¶Joseph is a ifruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose 6branches run over the wall:
6Heb. daughters.
i ch. 30.22-24; 46.27; 48.1,5,19,20. Jos. 16; 17. Nu. 32. De. 33.17. Ps. 1.3.
23The jarchers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
j ch. 37.4,18,24,28; 39.7-20. Jn. 16.33. Ac. 14.22.
24But his kbow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of lthe mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the mshepherd, nthe stone of Israel:)
k Job 29.20. Ps. 44.7; 18.1,32,34; 28.8; 89.21. Zec. 10.12. Ro. 14.4. l Ps. 132.2,5. Is. 1.24. m ch. 45.7; 47.12. Jos. 1.1. Ps. 80.1. n Is. 28.16.
25Even by the oGod of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall pbless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
o ch. 28.13; 35.3,11; 17.1; 50.17. De. 33.13-17; 28.12; 8.7. p 1Co. 3.21,22. 1Ti. 4.8. Mat. 6.33. Phi. 4.19. Ps. 84.11; 85.12.
26The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the *utmost bound of the qeverlasting hills: they shall be ron the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was sseparate from his brethren.
*utmost-outermost.
q De. 33.15. Hab. 3.6. Eze. 37.25,26. r De. 33.16. s ch. 37.28. Ps. 105.17-22. Ac. 7.9.
27¶Benjamin tshall *ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
*ravin-tear in pieces, seize prey.
t ch. 46.21. Ju. 3.15-29. 1Sa. 11.6-11; 14.14,31,47,48; 15; 17. Es. 8-10. Nu. 23.24. Eze. 22.27; 39.10. Zec. 14.1,7.
28¶All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
29And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be ugathered unto my people: vbury me with my fathers win the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
u v.33. ch. 15.15; 25.8. He. 12.23. v ch. 47.30. w ch. 23.9; 50.13.
30In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, xwhich Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
x ch. 47.30; 23.16,17,19; 50.13.
31yThere they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried zLeah.
y ch. 23.19; 25.9; 35.29. z ch. 35.19,20. 1Sa. 10.2. Mat. 2.18.
32The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
33And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, ahe gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
a Lu. 2.29. ch. 15.5; 25.8. Ec. 12.7. Job 30.23. He. 12.23. v.29.