Limitless Word

Genesis 49

WEBKJVBSBESVNKJVNASBNLT

Part of Joseph📖 Genesis introduction

Read the chapter

1Jacob called to his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come. ✦ 2Assemble yourselves, and hear, you sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father. ✦ 3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; excelling in dignity, and excelling in power. ✦ 4Boiling over like water, you shall not excel; because you went up to your father’s bed, then defiled it. He went up to my couch. ✦ 5“Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence. ✦ 6My soul, don’t come into their council. My glory, don’t be united to their assembly; for in their anger they killed men. In their self-will they hamstrung cattle. ✦ 7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. ✦ 8“Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down before you. ✦ 9Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up? ✦ 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be. ✦ 11Binding his foal to the vine, his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; he has washed his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. ✦ 12His eyes will be red with wine, his teeth white with milk. ✦ 13“Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea. He will be for a haven of ships. His border will be on Sidon. ✦ 14“Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags. ✦ 15He saw a resting place, that it was good, the land, that it was pleasant. He bows his shoulder to the burden, and becomes a servant doing forced labor. ✦ 16“Dan will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. ✦ 17Dan will be a serpent on the trail, an adder in the path, That bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward. ✦ 18I have waited for your salvation, Yahweh. ✦ 19“A troop will press on Gad, but he will press on their heel. ✦ 20“Asher’s food will be rich. He will produce royal dainties. ✦ 21“Naphtali is a doe set free, who bears beautiful fawns. ✦ 22“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring. His branches run over the wall. ✦ 23The archers have severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecute him: ✦ 24But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel), ✦ 25even by the God of your father, who will help you; by the Almighty, who will bless you, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. ✦ 26The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of your ancestors, above the boundaries of the ancient hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who is separated from his brothers. ✦ 27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he will devour the prey. At evening he will divide the plunder.” ✦ 28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them. He blessed everyone according to his blessing. ✦ 29He instructed them, and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ✦ 30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place. ✦ 31There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife, and there I buried Leah: ✦ 32the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.” ✦ 33When Jacob finished charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the spirit, and was gathered to his people. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Deut 33 ·14Gen 35 ·9Gen 46 ·9Gen 30 ·71 Chr 5 ·6Gen 37 ·6Gen 23 ·6Josh 19 ·5

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 49 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

← Genesis 48Genesis 50 →