| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| |
|
| 1 Then called Jacob unto his sons,–and said–Gather yourselves together, and let me tell you, that which shall befall you in the afterpart of the days. |
|
| 2 Assemble yourselves and hear, ye sons of Jacob,–And hearken, unto Israel your father! |
|
| 3 Reuben, my first-born, thou, My vigour, and the firstfruit of my strength,–Preeminence of elevation, and preeminence of power: |
|
| 4 Boiling over like water, thou mayest not have preeminence, Because thou didst mount the bed of thy father,–Then, wast thou profane–My marriage-bed, he mounted! |
Thy father's bed – Thus forfeiting the chief blessing. R1635:5
|
| |
|
| 5 Simeon and Levi, are brethren,–Instruments of violence, are their agreements: |
|
| 6 Into their circle, do not thou enter, my soul! In their convocation, do not thou join, mine honour! For, in their anger, they slew brave men, And, in their wantonness, they hamstrung oxen. |
Their secret – Their scheming. HG558:1
|
| 7 Accursed, be their anger, because fierce, And their wrath, because cruel,–I divide them in Jacob, And I disperse them in Israel. |
|
| |
|
| 8 Judah, as for thee, thy brethren shall praise thee [when], thy hand, is on the neck of thy foes,–The sons of thy father, shall bow themselves down to thee: |
|
| 9 A lion's whelp, is Judah, From the prey, my son, hast thou come up! He hath stooped–hath crouched, As a lion–or as a lioness, Who shall rouse him? |
|
| 10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the commander's staff from between his feet,–Until that he come in as a Shiloh, And, his, be the obedience of the peoples: |
The sceptre – The right to rule, the title to all power. B85, B87
The ruling power went to Judah. R2124:5; CR41:2
Shall not – Although kingly power was taken away from them in the days of king Zedekiah, nevertheless the scepter of authority remained with them. HG428:3
Depart from Judah – Thus shown to be the ancestor of Christ. A42
Nor a lawgiver – The great Deliverer, Christ. B86
Between his feet – Loins. B86, HG48:3
Until Shiloh – The great peacemaker, "The Prince of Peace." B86
And unto him – At the expiration of the Times of the Gentiles. B87
God kept Israel together as a people until Christ came. R1373:2
|
| 11 Binding, to the vine, his ass, And, to the choice vine, his ass's colt, He hath washed, in wine, his raiment, And, in the blood of grapes, his mantle: |
|
| 12 Darker–his eyes, than wine,–Whiter–his teeth, than milk! |
|
| |
|
| 13 Zebulon, by a haven of seas, shall he settle down,–Even he, by a haven of ships, With his utmost part, upon Zidon. |
|
| 14 Issachar, an ass of strength,–couching between the pens; |
|
| 15 Then beholdeth he rest, that it is good, And the ground, that it is pleasant,–So he bendeth his shoulder, to bear, And becometh a tributary servant. |
|
| 16 Dan, shall vindicate his people,–as one of the tribes of Israel; |
|
| 17 It cometh to pass that, Dan, is a serpent upon the way, A horned viper, upon the path,–That biteth the heels of the horse, And his rider falleth backwards:– |
|
| 18 For thy salvation, have I waited, O Yahweh! |
|
| 19 Gad! a troop, shall troop on him,–But, he, shall troop on the rear. |
|
| 20 Out of Asher, fatness, is his food,–So, he, setteth forth dainties for a king. |
|
| 21 Naphtali, is a slender hind,–That putteth forth antlers of beauty. |
|
| |
|
| 22 A fruitful bough, is Joseph, A fruitful bough, over a fountain,–Branches, creeping over a wall. |
Run over the wall – The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's descendants, took up about one-half of the land of Canaan and in addition large branches or tracts of land "over the wall," or river of Jordan, on its east bank. R2124:6
|
| 23 So they attack him, and have shot,–So they enclose him, do the masters of arrows. |
Sorely grieved him – Not a prophecy, but a reference to Joseph's past experiences. R2125:1
|
| 24 But abideth, as an enduring one, his bow, And supple are the arms of his hands,–From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, From thence, is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel: |
From thence Is – By the name of. R2125:1
Stone – A supernatural power, heavenly, divine -- the Messianic Kingdom. R3359:4
|
| 25 From the GOD of thy father, who doth help thee, And GOD Almighty, who doth bless thee, Blessings of the heavens, above, Blessings of the abyss, couching beneath,–Blessings of breasts and womb: |
|
| 26 The blessings of thy father, have prevailed Over the blessings of the perpetual mountains, The charm of the age-abiding hills,–They turn out to be, for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the head, of him who was set apart from his brethren. |
|
| 27 Benjamin, a wolf that teareth in pieces, In the morning, he eateth prey, And, at eventide, he divideth spoil. |
|
| |
|
| 28 All these, are the twelve tribes of Israel,–And, this, is that which their father spake to them, when he blessed them, Each man severally according to the blessing wherewith he blessed them. |
Tribes of Israel – First so called after Jacob's death. A78; B213; HG54:3
|
| 29 Then commanded he them, and said unto them–I, am about to be gathered unto my people, Bury me among my fathers,–within the cave, that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite: |
|
| 30 in the cave, that is in the field of Machpelah, which is over against Mamre, in the land of Canaan,–which Abraham bought, along with the field, from Ephron the Hittite, for a possession of a buryingplace:– |
|
| 31 There, buried they Abraham, and Sarah his wife, There, buried they Isaac, and Rebekah his wife,–And, there, buried I Leah:– |
|
| 32 buying the field, and the cave that is therein, from the sons of Heth. |
|
| 33 So Jacob made an end of commanding his sons, and gathered up his feet, into the couch,–and ceased to breathe, and was gathered unto his people. |
|