“Genesis 49:8-12”

Sunday, May 03, 2020

“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. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are dull from wine, and his teeth white from milk.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“Judah, your brothers shall praise you…” (verse 8) The name “Judah” means “praised” in the Hebrew, and it signifies the grateful adoration that Leah gave to God at the birth of her fourth son. “And she conceived again and bore a son and said, ‘This time I will praise the Lord.’ Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.” (Genesis 29:35). Jacob used more than the mere poetic technique of wordplay in his opening remarks about his most remarkable son, but exposed the prophetic quality of that chosen name.

“Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies…” (verse 8) “Putting his foes to flight, Judah should grasp them by the neck, a prediction remarkably accomplished in the victories of David and Solomon.” (Pulpit Commentary) “As Judah pursues the fleeing foe, he shall grasp them by the neck (cf. Job 16:12). The point of this clause lies in the geographical position of the tribe of Judah. Their territory was beset on the west and south-west by the Philistines, and on the south and south-east by the Edomites and the Amalekites. The Philistines and the Edomites were the bitterest and most persistent of Israel’s foes. But they were within reach; and in their flight and retreat they are overtaken and smitten down by the victorious tribes.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) As with all of Jacob’s prophetic words, a deeper and more far-reaching fulfillment was accomplished in the sacrifice, resurrection and coronation of Jesus the Messiah, King, Warrior, Judge (Luke 20:42-43; 24:44; John 5:46).

Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.” (verse 8) “This is a prophecy that the right of rulership shall pertain to the tribe of Judah; but this did not come to pass at once. Moses was from Levi, Joshua from Ephraim, Gideon from Manasseh, Samson from Dan, Samuel from Ephraim, and Saul from Benjamin. However, in the long sweep through history the prophecy was completely fulfilled only in Judah and the house of David, one of his descendants whose reign prefigured the everlasting kingdom of the Messiah. The mention of ‘thy father's sons’ indicates that not merely the children of Judah's natural brothers (the other sons of Leah) would be subject to him, but that all of Israel would likewise be.” (James Burton Coffman)

“Judah is a lion’s whelp…” (verse 9) “A metaphor of strength, daring, and unassailability… The lion is one of the most frequently mentioned animals in the Bible and is referred to by six different names. Under the influence of this verse, the ‘lion of Judah’ became a favorite motif in Jewish art and acquired messianic associations.” (Nahum Sarna) But much greater than mere “messianic associations,” the Holy Spirit proclaims Jesus Christ himself to be “the Lion that is from the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David” in Revelation 5:5, and the fulfillment of Judah’s messianic prophecy.

“From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up?” (verse 9) “The lion is the king of beasts, the terror of the forest when he roars; when he seizeth his prey, none can resist him; when he goes up from the prey, none dares pursue him to revenge it. By this it was foretold that the tribe of Judah should become very formidable, and should not only obtain great victories, but should peaceably enjoy what was gotten by those victories. Judah is compared, not to a lion rampant, always raging, but to a lion couching, enjoying the satisfaction of his success, without creating vexation to others.” (Benson Commentary)

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (verse 10) “We confidently hail this as one of the greatest Messianic prophecies in the entire Bible… The Revised Standard Version's ‘Till he come to whom it belongs’ is certainly acceptable, because the Messianic thrust of the passage is not blunted by that rendition… The point would then be that Judah was to hold the sovereignty until its true possessor, the Messiah comes… Also, the personal pronoun ‘him’…absolutely requires this passage to be understood as a reference to the Messiah, of whom alone, could it ever be said that, ‘Unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.’” (James Burton Coffman)

“He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.” (verse 11) “The safety, plenty, and peace of an abundant agricultural life are symbolized by these quaint figures of speech. It is not suggested here that Judah would ever actually wash his clothes in wine, but that the wine (and milk) would be so abundant that he could have done so!” (James Burton Coffman) Of course there could be, and likely is, deeper spiritual significance and fulfillment in the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior for our sins and salvation. “Behold your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, even a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” (Matthew 21:5) “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)

Please read Genesis 49:13-21 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day!

-Louie Taylor

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