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Genesis 49

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Part of Joseph📖 Genesis introduction

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1Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come. ✦ 2“Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father. ✦ 3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power. ✦ 4But you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch. ✦ 5“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence. ✦ 6May I never join in their meetings; may I never be a party to their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport. ✦ 7A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel. ✦ 8“Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you. ✦ 9Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? ✦ 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor. ✦ 11He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. ✦ 12His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk. ✦ 13“Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon. ✦ 14“Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks. ✦ 15When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor. ✦ 16“Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel. ✦ 17Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off. ✦ 18I trust in you for salvation, O Lord! ✦ 19“Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat. ✦ 20“Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings. ✦ 21“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. ✦ 22“Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring— one of the wild donkeys on the ridge. ✦ 23Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him. ✦ 24But his bow remained taut, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. ✦ 25May the God of your father help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. ✦ 26May my fatherly blessings on you surpass the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers. ✦ 27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.” ✦ 28These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message. ✦ 29Then Jacob instructed them, “Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. ✦ 30This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site. ✦ 31There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah. ✦ 32It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.” ✦ 33When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death. ✦

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

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.

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

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