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“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
Genesis 49:8 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB “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.
  • KJV Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
  • BSB Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
  • NASB ¶“As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
  • NLT “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you.

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

Judah is promised the praise of his brothers and victory over his enemies.

Overview

With a wordplay on his name ('Judah means praise'), Jacob foretells Judah's leadership: his brothers will honor him and bow before him. This marks the shift of preeminence to the fourth son, the line through which kingship and the Messiah would come. The homage of the brothers anticipates the day when every knee bows to Judah's greatest Son, Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:10).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 35

  • 1 Chr 5:2For Judah prevailed above his brothers, and from him came the prince; but the birthright was Joseph’s) —
  • Gen 27:29Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers. Let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you. Blessed be everyone who blesses you.”
  • Heb 7:14For it is evident that our Lord has sprung out of Judah, about which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
  • Deut 33:7This is for Judah. He said, “Hear, Yahweh, the voice of Judah. Bring him in to his people. With his hands he contended for himself. You shall be a help against his adversaries.”
  • Josh 10:24When they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him, “Come near. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” They came near, and put their feet on their necks.
  • Ps 18:40–43You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me.
  • Gen 29:35She conceived again, and bore a son. She said, “This time will I praise Yahweh.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
  • Gen 46:12The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
  • 2 Sam 22:41You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me.
  • Num 1:27those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Judah, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
  • 2 Chr 15:9He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who lived with them out of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon; for they came to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him.
  • 2 Chr 17:14–16This was the numbering of them according to their fathers’ houses: From Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor;
  • Num 26:22These are the families of Judah according to those who were counted of them, seventy-six thousand five hundred.
  • Rev 5:5One of the elders said to me, “Don’t weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals.”
  • Isa 9:7Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.
  • Num 10:14First, the standard of the camp of the children of Judah went forward according to their armies. Nahshon the son of Amminadab was over his army.
  • 1 Chr 12:1–40Now these are those who came to David to Ziklag, while he was a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish. They were among the mighty men, his helpers in war.
  • 2 Chr 11:12–17He put shields and spears in every city, and made them exceedingly strong. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
  • Gen 44:18–34Then Judah came near to him, and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and don’t let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even as Pharaoh.
  • 2 Sam 5:3So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron, and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh; and they anointed David king over Israel.
  • 1 Kgs 4:1–34King Solomon was king over all Israel.
  • Phil 2:10–11that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
  • Judg 1:1–2After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”
  • Gen 37:7–10for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.”
  • Heb 10:13from that time waiting until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet.
  • 2 Sam 24:9Joab gave up the sum of the counting of the people to the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
  • Judg 20:18The children of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and asked counsel of God. They asked, “Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin?” Yahweh said, “Judah first.”
  • Ps 76:1For the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm by Asaph. A song. In Judah, God is known. His name is great in Israel.
  • 2 Chr 14:8Asa had an army of three hundred thousand out of Judah who bore bucklers and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand out of Benjamin who bore shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.
  • Gen 42:6Joseph was the governor over the land. It was he who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed themselves down to him with their faces to the earth.
  • Ezek 21:29while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies to you, to lay you on the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.
  • 2 Chr 30:11Nevertheless some men of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.
  • Ps 78:68–71But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.
  • 2 Chr 17:2He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.
  • Rev 11:15The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 49:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 49:8 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.