Where do we see our future lie? (Gen 49:8-33)
Gen 49:8-33
Reading through Jacob’s deathbed speech and finding significance in it for us is, I must admit, difficult. For one thing, many of the sayings are obscure and hard to relate to particular events in Israel’s future. For another, the Hebrew meaning is uncertain in places, so that translators scramble to make some sense of it. The wildly divergent ways they render the text indicate their difficulty. It is also challenging to see an overall pattern in the addresses. The sayings directed to the three eldest brothers (Reuben, Simeon, and Levi) covered in my last post (How to Live with the Mystery of God’s Election) deal with past misdemeanours that affected the future fate of the tribes, but the rest seems to be a mish-mash of observations varying in length and focus.
Judah and Joseph
The two longer speeches relate to the two central figures in the Joseph narrative (Judah and Joseph) and are the most profusely positive. Although Judah is not given firstborn rights, he will be distinguished as a leader and ruler who overcomes enemies and to whom even the nations will come in obedience (Gen 49:8-10). While the reference to Shiloh is difficult (v.10),[1] it has long been interpreted as an allusion to Messiah. The extravagant picture of abundant vineyards and grapes also evoke the messianic age of plenty.[2] Judah who was instrumental in selling Joseph into slavery was also the one who was most transformed in the end when he offered his own life in exchange for his little brother (Gen 44:33-34). Thus, it is fitting that his tribe will have a lasting influence far beyond Judah’s own lifetime.
The section on Joseph seems to refer to his struggles in his own lifetime and uses the picture of archers attacking, as well as God’s enabling as the Mighty One, a Shepherd and a Rock (Gen 49:22-24). The blessings showered on him relate to agricultural and human fertility in the future (Gen 49:25). The blessings of heaven/sky indicate rain, the blessings of the deep refer to water supply from the ground, i.e. streams or rivers,[3] and the womb and breasts allude to childbirth and breast-feeding. The two tribes descending from Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, occupied the central area of later Israel and played a distinctive role throughout the nation’s history. Once again, we see in the two figures of Judah and Joseph both God’s sovereign choice, but also the impact of their self-sacrificial attitude that leads to blessing.
The future in the land of promise
Throughout these sayings, there is an underlying assumption that Israel will inherit their own land. That the future lies in Canaan is made explicit when Jacob once again insists that he should be buried there, repeated at the end of each of the last three chapters (Gen 47:29-31; 48:21; 49:29-32). No matter how comfortable life is for the family in Egypt, a source of sustenance in times of famine, this is not their ultimate destination. Thus, Jacob’s deathbed speech points to that larger theme that runs through Genesis, the promise of a future in the land God will give to Abraham’s descendants. It was, of course, challenging as they had to settle properly into life in Egypt given that it would last several hundred years (Gen 15:13). They could not daydream or let go of their current responsibilities because of a future on the far horizon. On the other hand, forgetting where their true future lay was a temptation particularly strong when life was comfortable where they were. Even after they had experienced oppression and slavery later (which would have helped them break the ties with Egypt), they still harked back to the security and plenty of those days (Exod 14:12; Num 11:5).
For us, Christians, this living in the interim while looking to our permanent home with the Lord can be likewise difficult as we attempt to live fully in the present yet know that this world is not our home. Perhaps one way of ensuring that we do not forget our true identity is to remind ourselves regularly of our destiny, to enjoy God’s gifts but not become tied to them to the extent that the attractions of the present eclipse the hope of the future. May the Lord awaken in us the desire for the home He is preparing for us.
For Interest – Additional notes on Jacob’s sayings
When there is a problem in understanding a Hebrew text, scholars have several options. They can look to see if the word is ever used elsewhere with a different meaning that could resolve the problem. Sometimes, the equivalent word in a cognate (related) language may show a change of meaning that could also be true of the Hebrew even if we do not have evidence for it in ancient Hebrew texts. Language changes overtime (e.g. in English ‘gay’ used to mean ‘happy’ or ‘cheerful’ but now denotes a homosexual).
Another way in which a translation issue may be resolved is to ‘repoint’ the Hebrew. The Hebrew Bible was originally written with only the consonants of the words marked (a bit like today’s text speak). Later tradition devised a system of dots and dashes over or under the letters to mark vowels between the consonants (and modern Hebrew Bibles include the vowels in this way), but it is the consonantal text of the Bible that is considered inspired. Thus, it is possible that somewhere along the line, tradition made a mistake in how they ‘pointed’ the words (i.e. filled the vowel sounds between the consonants). When a text makes no sense as is, scholars sometimes ‘repoint’ the Hebrew, but ideally the changes should be as minimal as possible.
David P. Barrett/Biblemapper.com [source]
The following notes were gleaned from Gordon Wenham, Genesis 16-50, WBC 2 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 479-87.
Gen 49:13 (Zebulun) – The tribe’s originally assigned area had no outlet to the sea, but it is possible that they migrated towards the shore over time. They are nowhere near Sidon, but the Hebrew probably means that their northern boundary was towards Phoenicia whose major city was Sidon.
Gen 49:14-15 (Issachar) – This tribe spread out towards the agriculturally rich Jezreel valley and may have become enslaved to the Canaanites in having to do forced labour.
Gen 49:16-18 (Dan) – Dan’s name means to judge or vindicate, so the reference in v.16 is a play on his name. The comparison with a snake is not a negative one here but indicates that like a desert snake that was small yet could attack a horse and rider, Dan was a small tribe, but could bring vindication to Israel’s tribes through his victories. The interpolation for salvation from the Lord (v.18) makes it clear that such victory comes from God.
Gen 49:19 (Gad) – Gad settled in the Trans-Jordan and was exposed to raids. There is evidence elsewhere of their military prowess (1 Chron 5:18; 12:8).
Gen 49:20 (Asher) – Asher probably traded with the Phoenicians and the Canaanites and the saying seems to be evidence of their affluence. They even sent food to the royal court.
Gen 49:21 (Naphtali) – This is an extremely obscure saying that is difficult to relate to anything we know of the tribe. Being let loose may refer to a free nomadic lifestyle that became more domesticated (Wenham tentatively translates the second line as ‘giving birth to fawns of the fold’).
Gen 49:27 (Benjamin) – The description here refers to the tribe’s fame as warriors (e.g. Judg 3:15-30; 5:14). Saul and his son Jonathan who fought several battles against the Philistines were also from this tribe. Note throughout the sayings the comparison with various animals (lion, donkey, snake, doe, wolf).
[1] Shiloh was a sanctuary before the monarchy but was destroyed, probably by the Philistines (Judg 4:3), so it is hard to see its significance. The Hebrew may be read as ‘until he comes to whom it belongs’ (i.e. the true heir to the monarchy). This is the Septuagint’s (ancient Greek translation) rendering. Alternatively, with minor changes to the vowel sounds the Hebrew can be translated as ‘until tribute is brought to him and the peoples obey’.
[2] Donkeys tend to chew on the leaves of plants they are tethered to. The fact that nobody will be bothered if these animals eat a valuable vine’s leaves suggests the bounty of the land. Although wine is not used for washing, the picture indicates such plenty that no one would be concerned about such waste. It is like saying that someone is swimming in gold.
[3] The Hebrew word shamayim can mean ‘heaven’ in the sense of God’s dwelling place or ‘sky’. The reference to ‘the deep’ evokes creation when water covered initially everything (Gen 1:2; see also Gen 7:11)
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