Bible Commentary

Reuben, thou [art] my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 3. Reuben ] Reuben’s early pre-eminence is forfeited. The tribe’s loss of power is here ascribed to the curse of Jacob for an act of incest (see Gen 35:22; 1Ch 5:1). The territory … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 49:3”

Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. 2. Assemble yourselves ] This verse forms a kind of introduction to the main subject of the song. and hear ] The occurrence of the same Hebrew word for “hear” in the first clause, and for “hearken” in the second, … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 49:2”

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you [that] which shall befall you in the last days. 1 27. The Blessing of Jacob 1. And Jacob called ] It is possible that this first clause may be from P, and is continued in the last clause of … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 49:1”

Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. 22. portion ] Heb. shechem, “shoulder,” i.e. mountain slope. This unusual expression (not elsewhere used in O.T.) for a “ridge,” “saddle,” or “shoulder,” of a hill, is … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 48:22”

And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 21. bring you again ] Jacob predicts the restoration of his descendants to Canaan. This was the Divine promise. Cf. Gen 15:16, Gen 46:4, Gen 50:24. Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 48:21”

And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 20. In ] Better, as marg., By. The meaning is that the blessing upon Ephraim and Manasseh shall be quoted as a formula for the invocation of Divine … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 48:20”

And his father refused, and said, I know [it], my son, I know [it]: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 19. his younger greater ] The preference given to the … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 48:19”

And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this [is] the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. Verse 18. Joseph said – Not so, my father] Joseph supposed that his father had made a mistake in laying his right hand on the head of the youngest, because the right hand … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 48:18”

And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. It displeased him, because of that affection which parents generally have for their first-born. See Gen 21:11. Fuente: English Annotations … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 48:17”

The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. 16. the angel ] “The angel” is here indistinguishable from the “God of Jacob.” … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 48:16”