Genesis — Chapter 49

And Jacob called his sons and said, “Come together that I may tell you what is to befall you in days to come.

Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob;Hearken to Israel your father:

Reuben, you are my first-born,My might and first fruit of my vigor,Exceeding in rankAnd exceeding in honor.

Unstable as water, you shall excel no longer;For when you mounted your father’s bed,You brought disgrace—my couch he mounted!

Simeon and Levi are a pair;Their weapons are tools of lawlessness.

Let not my person be included in their council,Let not my being be counted in their assembly.For when angry they slay a man,aa man Or “a rival,” or “men.” And when pleased they maim an ox.bmaim an ox Or “overthrow a dignitary” (cf. chapter 34); or “maim oxen.”

Cursed be their anger so fierce,And their wrath so relentless.I will divide them in Jacob,Scatter them in Israel.

You, O Judah, your brothers shall praise;Your hand shall be on the nape of your foes;Your father’s sons shall bow low to you.

Judah is a lion’s whelp;On prey, my son, have you grown.He crouches, lies down like a lion,Like a lionessclioness Or “lion”; nuance of Heb. laviʼ uncertain.—who dare rouse him?

The scepter shall not depart from Judah,Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet;So that tribute shall come to himdSo that tribute shall come to him Construing shiloh as shai loh “tribute to him,” following the Midrash; cf. Isa. 18.7. Meaning of Heb. uncertain; lit. “Until he comes to Shiloh.” And the homage of peoples be his.

He tethers his donkey to a vine,His jenny’s foal to a choice vine;He washes his garment in wine,His robe in blood of grapes.

His eyes are darker than wine;His teeth are whiter than milk.eHis eyes are darker than wine; / His teeth are whiter than milk Or “His eyes are dark from wine, / And his teeth are white from milk.”

Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore;He shall be a haven for ships,And his flank shall rest on Sidon.

Issachar is a strong-boned donkey,Crouching among the sheepfolds.

When he saw how good was security,And how pleasant was the country,He bent his shoulder to the burden,And became a toiling serf.

Dan shall govern his people,As one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall be a serpent by the road,A viper by the path,That bites the horse’s heelsSo that his rider is thrown backward.

I wait for Your deliverance, O ETERNAL One!

Gad shall be raided by raiders,But he shall raid at their heels.

Asher’s bread shall be rich,And he shall yield royal dainties.

Naphtali is a hind let loose,Which yields lovely fawns.

Joseph is a wild ass,A wild ass by a spring—Wild colts on a hillside.fJoseph is a wild ass, / A wild ass by a spring / —Wild colts on a hillside In contrast to others “Joseph is a fruitful bough, / A fruitful bough by a spring, / Its branches run over a wall.”

Archers bitterly assailed him;They shot at him and harried him.

Yet his bow stayed taut,And his armsghis arms Heb. “the arms of his hands.” were made firmBy the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob—There, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel—

The God of your father,hyour father I.e., Jacob and his household. who helps you,And Shaddai who blesses youWith blessings of heaven above,Blessings of the deep that couches below,Blessings of the breast and womb.

The blessings of your fatherSurpass the blessings of my ancestors,To the utmost bounds of the eternal hills.iThe blessings of your father … hills Meaning of Heb. uncertain. May they rest on the head of Joseph,On the brow of the elect of his brothers.

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;In the morning he consumes the foe,jfoe Meaning of Heb. ʻad uncertain; in contrast to others “booty.” And in the evening he divides the spoil.”

All these were the tribes of Israel, twelve in number, and this is what their father said to them as he bade them farewell, addressing to each a parting word appropriate to him.

Then he instructed them, saying to them, “I am about to be gathered to my kin. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre, in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site—

there Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah—

the field and the cave in it, bought from the Hittites.”

When Jacob finished his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and, breathing his last, he was gathered to his kin.