1 And Jacob calleth unto his sons and saith, `Be gathered together, and I declare to you that which doth happen with you in the latter end of the days.
and, now, lo, I am going to my people; come, I counsel thee `concerning' that which this people doth to thy people, in the latter end of the days.'
and I have come to cause thee to understand that which doth happen to thy people in the latter end of the days, for yet the vision `is' after days.
in distress `being' to thee, and all these things have found thee, in the latter end of the days, and thou hast turned back unto Jehovah thy God, and hast hearkened to His voice;
After these things I saw, and lo, a door opened in the heaven, and the first voice that I heard `is' as of a trumpet speaking with me, saying, `Come up hither, and I will shew thee what it behoveth to come to pass after these things;'
And it hath come to pass, In the latter end of the days, The mount of the house of Jehovah Is established above the top of the mounts, And it hath been lifted up above the hills, And flowed unto it have peoples.
and may we consider one another to provoke to love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as a custom of certain `is', but exhorting, and so much the more as ye see the day coming nigh.
And this know thou, that in the last days there shall come perilous times,
And the Spirit expressly speaketh, that in latter times shall certain fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and teachings of demons,
For the righteousness of God in it is revealed from faith to faith, according as it hath been written, `And the righteous one by faith shall live,' for revealed is the wrath of God from heaven upon all impiety and unrighteousness of men, holding down the truth in unrighteousness.
And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
and it hath been divinely told him by the Holy Spirit -- not to see death before he may see the Christ of the Lord.
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a thing is revealed to Daniel, whose name is called Belteshazzar, and the thing `is' true, and the warfare `is' great: and he hath understood the thing, and hath understanding about the appearance.
The king hath answered Daniel and said, `Of a truth `it is' that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since thou hast been able to reveal this secret.'
but there is a God in the heavens, a revealer of secrets, and He hath made known to king Nebuchadnezzar that which `is' to be in the latter end of the days. `Thy dream and the visions of thy head on thy bed are these: Thou, O king, thy thoughts on thy bed have come up `concerning' that which `is' to be after this, and the Revealer of secrets hath caused thee to know that which `is' to be.
Who hath given credence to that which we heard? And the arm of Jehovah, On whom hath it been revealed?
Lo, days are coming, and borne hath been all that `is' in thy house, and that thy fathers have treasured up till this day, to Babylon; there is not left a thing, said Jehovah;
`Strike not against Mine anointed, And to My prophets do not evil.'
The secret of Jehovah `is' for those fearing Him, And His covenant -- to cause them to know.
And this `is' the blessing `with' which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death, and he saith: -- `Jehovah from Sinai hath come, And hath risen from Seir for them; He hath shone from mount Paran, And hath come `with' myriads of holy ones; At His right hand `are' springs for them. Also He `is' loving the peoples; All His holy ones `are' in thy hand, And they -- they sat down at thy foot, `Each' He lifteth up at thy words. A law hath Moses commanded us, A possession of the assembly of Jacob. And he is in Jeshurun king, In the heads of the people gathering together, The tribes of Israel! Let Reuben live, and not die, And let his men be a number. And this `is' for Judah; and he saith: -- Hear, O Jehovah, the voice of Judah, And unto his people do Thou bring him in; His hand hath striven for him, And an help from his adversaries art Thou. And of Levi he said: -- Thy Thummim and thy Urim `are' for thy pious one, Whom Thou hast tried in Massah, Thou dost strive with Him at the waters of Meribah; Who is saying of his father and his mother, I have not seen him; And his brethren he hath not discerned, And his sons he hath not known; For they have observed Thy saying, And Thy covenant they keep. They teach Thy judgments to Jacob, And Thy law to Israel; They put perfume in Thy nose, And whole burnt-offering on Thine altar. Bless, O Jehovah, his strength, And the work of his hands Thou acceptest, Smite the loins of his withstanders, And of those hating him -- that they rise not! Of Benjamin he said: -- The beloved of Jehovah doth tabernacle confidently by him, Covering him over all the day; Yea, between his shoulders He doth tabernacle. And of Joseph he said: -- Blessed of Jehovah `is' his land, By precious things of the heavens, By dew, and by the deep crouching beneath, And by precious things -- fruits of the sun, And by precious things -- cast forth by the moons, And by chief things -- of the ancient mountains, And by precious things -- of the age-during heights, And by precious things -- of earth and its fulness, And the good pleasure Of Him who is dwelling in the bush, -- Let it come for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of him Who is separate from his brethren. His honour `is' a firstling of his ox, And his horns `are' horns of a reem; By them peoples he doth push together To the ends of earth; And they `are' the myriads of Ephraim, And they `are' the thousands of Manasseh. And of Zebulun he said: -- Rejoice, O Zebulun, in thy going out, And, O Issachar, in thy tents; Peoples `to' the mountain they call, There they sacrifice righteous sacrifices; For the abundance of the seas they suck, And hidden things hidden in the sand. And of Gad he said: -- Blessed of the Enlarger `is' Gad, As a lioness he doth tabernacle, And hath torn the arm -- also the crown! And he provideth the first part for himself, For there the portion of the lawgiver is covered, And he cometh `with' the heads of the people; The righteousness of Jehovah he hath done, And His judgments with Israel. And of Dan he said: -- Dan `is' a lion's whelp; he doth leap from Bashan. And of Naphtali he said: -- O Naphtali, satisfied with pleasure, And full of the blessing of Jehovah, West and south possess thou. And of Asher he said: -- Blessed with sons `is' Asher, Let him be accepted by his brethren, And dipping in oil his foot. Iron and brass `are' thy shoes, And as thy days -- thy strength. There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Riding the heavens in thy help, And in His excellency the skies. A habitation `is' the eternal God, And beneath `are' arms age-during. And He casteth out from thy presence the enemy, and saith, `Destroy!' And Israel doth tabernacle `in' confidence alone; The eye of Jacob `is' unto a land of corn and wine; Also His heavens drop down dew. O thy happiness, O Israel! who is like thee? A people saved by Jehovah, The shield of thy help, And He who `is' the sword of thine excellency: And thine enemies are subdued for thee, And thou on their high places dost tread.'
`Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your authorities, and I speak in their ears these words, and cause to testify against them the heavens and the earth, for I have known that after my death ye do very corruptly, and have turned aside out of the way which I commanded you, and evil hath met you in the latter end of the days, because ye do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to make Him angry with the work of your hands.'
`Assemble the people, the men, and the women, and the infants, and thy sojourner who `is' within thy gates, so that they hear, and so that they learn, and have feared Jehovah your God, and observed to do all the words of this law;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 49
Commentary on Genesis 49 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 49
This chapter is a prophecy; the likest to it we have yet met with was that of Noah, ch. 9:25, etc. Jacob is here upon his death-bed, making his will. He put it off till now, because dying men's words are apt to make deep impressions, and to be remembered long: what he said here, he could not say when he would, but as the Spirit gave him utterance, who chose this time, that divine strength might be perfected in his weakness. The twelve sons of Jacob were, in their day, men of renown, but the twelve tribes of Israel, which descended and were denominated from them, were much more renowned; we find their names upon the gates of the New Jerusalem, Rev. 21:12. In the prospect of this their dying father says something remarkable of each son, or of the tribe that bore his name. Here is,
Gen 49:1-4
Here is,
Gen 49:5-7
These were next in age to Reuben, and they also had been a grief and shame to Jacob, when they treacherously and barbarously destroyed the Shechemites, which he here remembers against them. Children should be afraid of incurring their parents' just displeasure, lest they fare the worse for it long afterwards, and, when they would inherit the blessing, be rejected. Observe,
Gen 49:8-12
Glorious things are here said of Judah. The mention of the crimes of the three elder of his sons had not so put the dying patriarch out of humour but that he had a blessing ready for Judah, to whom blessings belonged. Judah's name signifies praise, in allusion to which he says, Thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise, v. 8. God was praised for him (ch. 29:35), praised by him, and praised in him; and therefore his brethren shall praise him. Note, Those that are to God for a praise shall be the praise of their brethren. It is prophesied that,
Gen 49:13-21
Here we have Jacob's prophecy concerning six of his sons.
Gen 49:22-27
He closes with the blessings of his best beloved sons, Joseph and Benjamin; with these he will breathe his last.
Gen 49:28-33
Here is,