Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Naphtali is a doe set free, who bears beautiful fawns.
- KJV Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
- NKJV “Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.
- NASB ¶“Naphtali is a doe let loose; He utters beautiful words.
- NLT “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Naphtali is compared to a freed doe that bears beautiful fawns.
Overview
The image suggests grace, freedom, and fruitful agility for this tribe. Some translations read it as bearing 'beautiful words,' but the picture of a swift, free deer conveys liberty and flourishing. The blessing pictures the kind of joyful liberty God grants, fully realized in the freedom His people have in Christ (John 8:36).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Deut 33:23Concerning Naphtali he said: “Naphtali is abounding with favor, full of the blessing of the LORD; he shall take possession of the sea and the south.”
- Gen 30:8Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.
- Judg 5:18Zebulun was a people who risked their lives; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the battlefield.
- Josh 19:32–39The sixth lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Naphtali:
- Gen 46:24The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
- Ps 18:33–34He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
- Judg 4:6She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Surely the LORD, the God of Israel, is commanding you: ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, taking with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun.
- Matt 4:15–16“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
- Judg 4:10where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 49:21 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.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.