Genesis
Chapter 49
Prophetic Testament of Jacob
Jacob then called his sons and said:
“Gather around, sons of Jacob. And listen to your father, Israel!
Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, and the first fruits of my manhood! Excelling in honor and excelling in power.
Restless as flowing water, you will excel no more, for you went to your father’s wife, onto my bed, and defiled it.
Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are instruments of violence.
Let me not share in their counsel! Let my heart stay far from their company, for in anger, they killed men and hamstrung oxen at will.
A curse on their anger, for it is fierce: A curse on their fury, so cruel! I will divide them among Jacob and scatter them among Israel.
Judah, your brothers shall praise you! You will grab your enemies by the neck! Your father’s sons shall bow before you.
Judah, a young lion! You return from the hunt, my son! Like a lion, he crouches and stalks, and like a lioness, who dares to disturb him?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and to whom the nations will yield.
He ties his foal to a vine, and his ass’ colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine and his robe in the juice of grapes.
His eyes shall be red with wine,and his teeth will be whiter than milk.
Zebulun lives by the seashore; he is a haven for the ships, and his territory extends to Sidon.
Issachar is a strong donkey, resting near the sheep pens.
He realized that a resting place was good and the land was pleasant. He bends his back to the burden and submits to forced labor.
Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall be a serpent along the way, a viper on the path that bites the horse’s heels, causing the rider to fall backward!
In your salvation, I hope, O Lord!
Raiders will raid Gad, but he will pursue them closely.
Asher’s food will be rich, and he will provide delicacies fit for a king!
Naphtali is a doe released that gives birth to beautiful fawns.
Joseph is a fruitful vine, a thriving vine by a spring, whose branches reach over a wall.
Archers attacked him fiercely and deeply provoked him;
but his bow remained steady, and his arms nimble,because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob; because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel;
because of the God of your father, your Helper! because of God Almighty, who blesses you with blessings from heaven above, with blessings from the deep below! With blessings of the breast and the womb!
The blessings of your father are greater than those of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills! May they rest upon Joseph’s head, on the brow of the one who is a prince among his brothers!
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf! In the morning, he devours his prey, and in the evening, he divides the spoil!”
These are all twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what his father said when he blessed them, giving each a special and appropriate blessing.
Death of Jacob
He then gave them these instructions: “I am soon to be gathered to my people; bury me near my fathers, in the cave in the field of Ephron, the Hittite;
in the cave in the field of Machpelah, to the east of Mamre in Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place.
It was there that Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried. There, they buried Leah.
The field and the cave were purchased from the Hittites.”
When Jacob had given these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up into the bed; he took his last breath and was gathered to his people.
Commentaries
Prophetic Testament of Jacob.
Most commentators on the Pentateuch agree that this is a poem that collects very ancient traditions regarding the human nuclei that led to what is known as the tribes of Israel, reinterpreted and adapted to the era of the monarchy. The poem includes definitions of names, behavioral characteristics of the tribes, and, most notably, the ultimate condemnation of Reuben (3f), whose sin in 35:22 had not yet been punished, as well as that of Simeon and Levi, who had already been warned in 34:1-31. Their respective sentences involve the loss of their territorial rights in the future Israelite nation. Furthermore, we find only two blessings that are bestowed upon the two main nuclei that would form the two kingdoms of Israel: Judah, the dominant tribe in the south, from which David descends and whose tone reflects authentic monarchical prophecy (8-12); the other blessing is given to Joseph, whose lineage produces the strongest tribes of the north, Ephraim and Manasseh (22-26). There is no reference to their monarchical fate, but rather to their economic prosperity and military power that will come to assert themselves over the rest of the tribes, to the extent of instigating a schism.
Death of Jacob.
This chapter concludes with the news of Jacob’s death. However, before he passes away, he insistently emphasizes his wish to be buried alongside his ancestors, reaffirming that the promised land will not be Egypt, but Canaan. This also signifies that with his death, the history of the people and their hopes for the fulfillment of the promises regarding the land and freedom cannot remain buried in Egypt. It is important to remember that Egypt holds symbolic significance in the Bible as a place of death and slavery, representing the opposite of God’s plan, and serves as a historical moment that enables Israel to recognize the liberating aspect of God.