1And Jacob will call to his sons, and will say, Be ye gathered together, and I will announce to you what shall happen to you in the last part of the days. 2Be gathered together, and hear ye sons of Jacob, and hear to Israel your father. 3Reuben, my first-born, thou my strength, and the beginning of my strength, the abundance of elevation, and the abundance of might 4Vain glorious as water, thou shalt not be preeminent; for thou didst go up out of thy father's. bed; then didst thou defile, going up to my couch. 5Simon and Levi brethren; their swords instruments of violence. 6My soul shall not come into their consultation; in their assembly, my honor shall not be united, for in their anger they killed a man and in their will, houghed a bullock. 7Cursed their anger, for it was hard; and their wrath, for it was hardened: I will divide them in Jacob, and I will disperse them in Israel 8Judah, thee, thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand upon the back of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall worship before thee. 9Judah, a lion's whelp; from the green leaf, my son, thou didst go up: bending, lying down, as a lion, and as a lioness: who shall raise him up? 10The rod shall not depart from Judah, and a leader from between his feet, till that Shiloh shall come: and to him the obedience of the nations. 11Binding his colt to the vine, and to the purple vine the son of the she-ass; he washed in wine his garment, and his clothing in the blood of grapes. 12The eyes flashing from wine, the teeth white from milk. 13Zebulon shall dwell by the coast of the sea; and he by a coast of ships, and the extremities, even to Zidon. 14Issachar, an ass; a heap of bone lying down in the midst of the tribes. 15And he will see the rest that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and he extended his shoulder to bear, and he will be a servant to tribute. 16Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17Dan shall be a serpent upon. the way, creeping upon the path, biting the heels of the horse and his beast for riding shall fall behind. 18I waited for thy deliverance, Jehovah. 19Gad, a troop, shall press upon him; and this shall press upon the heel. 20From Asher his bread, fat, and he will give the dainties of a king. 21Naphtali a mighty shoot, giving fair words. 22Joseph a fruitful son, a fruitful son upon a fountain, the daughters mounting over a wall. 23This adversary will embitter him, and the lords of the arrows will lie in wait. 24And his bow will dwell in strength, and the seed of his hands will be firm by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob; from whence the shepherd, the stone of Israel 25By the God of thy father, and he will help thee, and by the Almighty, and he will bless thee with the blessing of the heavens above, the blessing of the sea lying under, the blessing of the breasts and the womb. 26The blessings of thy father were strong above the blessings of the everlasting mountains; the delight of the eternal hills, they shall be upon the head of Joseph and upon the crown of the head of him separated from his brethren. 27Benjamin, a Wolf, tearing in pieces; in the morning will he eat the prey, and at evening he will divide the prey. 28All these tribes of Israel, twelve: and this what their father spake to them, and he will bless them; each according to his blessing he blessed them. 29And he will command them, and will say to them, I am added to my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamra in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite, for the possession of a grave. 31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaak and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. 32The possession of the field and the cave which is in it, from the sons of Heth. 33And Jacob will finish to command his sons, and he will gather his feet to the bed, and will expire, and will be gathered to his people.
Matthew Henry - Concise Commentary 1 All Jacob's sons were living. His calling them together was a precept for them to unite in love, not to mingle with the Egyptians; and foretold that they should not be separated, as Abraham's sons and Isaac's were, but should all make one people. We are not to consider this address as the expression of private feelings of affection, resentment, or partiality; but as the language of the Holy Ghost, declaring the purpose of God respecting the character, circumstances, and situation of the tribes which descended from the sons of Jacob, and which may be traced in their histories.
3 Reuben was the first-born; but by gross sin, he forfeited the birthright. The character of Reuben is, that he was unstable as water. Men do not thrive, because they do not fix. Reuben's sin left a lasting infamy upon his family. Let us never do evil, then we need not fear being told of it. Simeon and Levi were passionate and revengeful. The murder of the Shechemites is a proof of this. Jacob protested against that barbarous act. Our soul is our honour; by its powers we are distinguished from, and raised above, the beasts that perish. We ought, from our hearts, to abhor all bloody and mischievous men. Cursed be their anger. Jacob does not curse their persons, but their lusts. I will divide them. The sentence as it respects Levi was turned into a blessing. This tribe performed an acceptable service in their zeal against the worshippers of the golden calf, Exodus 32. Being set apart to God as priests, they were in that character scattered through the nation of Israel.
8 Judah's name signifies praise. God was praised for him,
Gen 29:35, praised by him, and praised in him; therefore his brethren shall praise him. Judah should be a strong and courageous tribe. Judah is compared, not to a lion raging and ranging, but to a lion enjoying the satisfaction of his power and success, without creating vexation to others; this is to be truly great. Judah should be the royal tribe, the tribe from which Messiah the Prince should come. Shiloh, that promised Seed in whom the earth should be blessed, that peaceable and prosperous One, or Saviour, he shall come of Judah. Thus dying Jacob at a great distance saw Christ's day, and it was his comfort and support on his death-bed. Till Christ's coming, Judah possessed authority, but after his crucifixion this was shortened, and according to what Christ foretold, Jerusalem was destroyed, and all the poor harassed remnant of Jews were confounded together. Much which is here said concerning Judah, is to be applied to our Lord Jesus. In him there is plenty of all which is nourishing and refreshing to the soul, and which maintains and cheers the Divine life in it. He is the true Vine; wine is the appointed symbol of his blood, which is drink indeed, as shed for sinners, and applied in faith; and all the blessings of his gospel are wine and milk, without money and without price, to which every thirsty soul is welcome.
Isa 55:1.
13 Concerning Zebulun: if prophecy says, Zebulun shall be a haven of ships, be sure Providence will so plant him. God appoints the bounds of our habitation. It is our wisdom and duty to accommodate ourselves to our lot, and to improve it; if Zebulun dwell at the heaven of the sea, let him be for a haven of ships. Concerning Issachar: he saw that the land was pleasant, yielding not only pleasant prospects, but pleasant fruits to recompense his toils. Let us, with an eye of faith, see the heavenly rest to be good, and that land of promise to be pleasant; this will make our present services easy. Dan should, by art, and policy, and surprise, gain advantages against his enemies, like a serpent biting the heel of the traveller. Jacob, almost spent, and ready to faint, relieves himself with those words, I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord! The salvation he waited for was Christ, the promised Seed; now that he was going to be gathered to his people, he breathes after Him to whom the gathering of the people shall be. He declared plainly that he sought heaven, the better country,
Hebre 11:13,
Hebre 11:14. Now he is going to enjoy the salvation, he comforts himself that he had waited for the salvation. Christ, as our way to heaven, is to be waited on; and heaven, as our rest in Christ, is to be waited for. It is the comfort of a dying saint thus to have waited for the salvation of the Lord; for then he shall have what he has been waiting for.
19 Concerning Gad, Jacob alludes to his name, which signifies a troop, and foresees the character of that tribe. The cause of God and his people, though for a time it may seem to be baffled and run down, will be victorious at last. It represents the Christian's conflict. Grace in the soul is often foiled in its conflicts; troops of corruption overcome it, but the cause is God's, and grace will in the end come off conqueror, yea, more than conqueror,
Roma 8:37. Asher should be a rich tribe. His inheritance bordered upon Carmel, which was fruitful to a proverb. Naphtali, is a hind let loose. We may consider it as a description of the character of this tribe. Unlike the laborious ox and ass; desirous of ease and liberty; active, but more noted for quick dispatch than steady labour and perseverance. Like the suppliant who, with goodly words, craves mercy. Let not those of different tempers and gifts censure or envy one another.
22 The blessing of Joseph is very full. What Jacob says of him, is history as well as prophecy. Jacob reminds him of the difficulties and fiery darts of temptations he had formerly struggled through. His faith did not fail, but through his trials he bore all his burdens with firmness, and did not do anything unbecoming. All our strength for resisting temptations, and bearing afflictions, comes from God; his grace is sufficient. Joseph became the shepherd of Israel, to take care of his father and family; also the stone of Israel, their foundation and strong support. In this, as in many other things, Joseph was a remarkable type of the Good Shepherd, and tried Corner Stone of the whole church of God. Blessings are promised to Joseph's posterity, typical of the vast and everlasting blessings which come upon the spiritual seed of Christ. Jacob blessed all his sons, but especially Joseph, who was separated from his brethren. Not only separated in Egypt, but, possessing eminent dignity, and more devoted to God. Of Benjamin it is said, He shall ravin as a wolf. Jacob was guided in what he said by the Spirit of prophecy, and not by natural affection; else he would have spoken with more tenderness of his beloved son Benjamin. Concerning him he only foresees and foretells, that his posterity should be a warlike tribe, strong and daring, and that they should enrich themselves with the spoils of their enemies; that they should be active. Blessed Paul was of this tribe,
Roma 11:1;
Phili 3:5; he, in the morning of his day, devoured the prey as a persecutor, but in the evening divided the spoils as a preacher; he shared the blessings of Judah's Lion, and assisted in his victories.
28 Jacob blessed every one according to the blessings God in after-times intended to bestow upon them. He spoke about his burial-place, from a principle of faith in the promise of God, that Canaan should be the inheritance of his seed in due time. When he had finished both his blessing and his charge, and so had finished his testimony, he addressed himself to his dying work. He gathered up his feet into the bed, not only as one patiently submitting to the stroke, but as one cheerfully composing himself to rest, now that he was weary. He freely gave up his spirit into the hand of God, the Father of spirits. If God's people be our people, death will gather us to them. Under the care of the Shepherd of Israel, we shall lack nothing for body or soul. We shall remain unmoved until our work is finished; then, breathing out our souls into His hands for whose salvation we have waited, we shall depart in peace, and leave a blessing for our children after us.