The Strand Study Bible

GENESIS 48:17

164

GENESIS 49:15

might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excel- lency of power: 4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; 8 because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. 5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; 9 instru- ments of cruelty are in their habitations. 6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: 10 I will divide them in Jacob, and 11 scatter them in Israel. P 8 12 Judah , thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. P 9 Judah is a 13 LION’S whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, 14 he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The promise of CHRIST’S Second Coming (Fulfilled - Rev 19:11-21) 10 The 15 sceptre shall not depart from Ju- dah, nor a 16 lawgiver from between his feet, until 17 SHILOH come; and unto 18 HIM shall the gathering of the people be. P 11 Binding 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: 12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. 13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven 19 of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon. P 14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: 15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed

my fathers 1 Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a 2 multitude in the midst of the earth. 17 And when Joseph saw that his fa- ther laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. The promise to Ephraim to become greater than Manasseh (Fulfilled - Num 1:33-35 - 1486 BC) 19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall be- come a people, and he also shall be great: 3 but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. P 20 And he 4 blessed them that day, say- ing, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. The promise to Israel to enter Canaan (Fulfilled - Josh 3:17 & 4:1 - 1447 BC) 21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, 5 and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. P 22 Moreover 6 I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, 7 which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. Genesis 49 Jacob’s prophecies concerning his sons Date - 1685 BC/AM 2315 1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. 2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. 3 Reuben , thou art my firstborn, my

1. Gen 24 2. Num 26:34,37 3. Fulfilled - Num 1:33-35 (Greater Ephraim) (See - Deut 33:16- 17) 4. that is, “the nation of Israel” – Heb 11:21 5. Fulfilled - Josh 3:17 & 4:1 (The Promised Land) 6. Josh 24:32 & Jn 4:5 7. Gen 34:26-29 8. Gen 35:22 9. Gen 34:26-30 10. Fulfilled - Josh 19:9 (Divided Simeon) 11. Num 35:1-8 12. Fulfilled - II Sam 5:1 (Judah Leads Tribes) (See - Deut 33:7) 13. Rev 5:5 & Hos 11:10 14. Num 24:9 15. or, “right to rule” - Num 24:17 16. Psa 60:7 17. or, “to WHOM it belongs; the LION of the tribe of Judah”- Jere 23:5-6 Fulfilled - Rev 19:11-21 (Christ’s Second Coming) 18. Isa 42:4 19. Fulfilled - Josh 19:11 (Zebulun’s Borders)

48:20 Jacob wanted the future descendants of Israel to know that blessings from God come from “setting” fruitfulness (Ephraim) ahead of forgetfulness (Manasseh) ( Gen 41:51 ). While it is natural to want to forget the pain of the past, God is more interested in us being “fruitful in sufferings” (Ephraim) than “forgetting our sufferings” (Manasseh). 49:4 Reuben’s unbridled passion for one of his father’s wives (Gen 35:22) resulted in the sin of adultery and Jacob was forced to transfer Reuben’s first-born blessings to Joseph’s two sons (I Chro 5:1-3). Instability due to an inability to control one’s appetites doomed Reuben and his descendants to a future of obscurity ( thou shalt not excel - Num 1:20-21 & 26:7 and Judg 5:15-16). No prophets, judges, or heroes ever came from this tribe, only troublemakers (Num 32:1-6). 49:8 Judah’s “prowess” in warfare ( thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies ) is a matter of record (Num 2:9 & 10:14 and Jud 1:1-2). 49:9 As predicted, the promised OT MESSIAH would come from the tribe of Judah ( Exo 32:10 ). He came the first time as a LAMB ( Gen 3:21 & 22:8 a and Jn 1:29a ), He comes the second time as a LION (Rev 5:5, Hos 11:10, Joel 3:16, Amos 1:2 and Isa 31:4).