“Genesis 49:13-21”

Monday, May 04, 2020

“Zebulun will dwell at the seashore; and he shall be a haven for ships, and his flank shall be toward Sidon. Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds. When he saw that a resting place was good and that the land was pleasant, he bowed his shoulder to bear burdens, and became a slave at forced labor. Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward. For Your salvation I wait, O Lord. As for Gad, raiders shall raid him, but he will raid at their heels. As for Asher, his food shall be rich, and he will yield royal dainties. Naphtali is a doe let loose, he gives beautiful words.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Most of Jacob’s prophecies concerning his sons are a bit vague in nature and leave room for multiple reasonable explanations. What follows are interesting insights from various commentaries but, by no means, definitive resolutions or fulfillments. It is interesting to note that Jacob compares many of his sons to animals in his departing, prophetic poem: Judah to a, Issachar to a donkey, Dan to a serpent and Benjamin to a wolf.

“Zebulun will dwell at the seashore; and he shall be a haven for ships, and his flank shall be toward Sidon.” (verse 13) “The territory of the tribe lay upon the inland sea of Gennesaret, but did not extend to the shore of the Mediterranean. We do not know of any literal fulfilment of the prediction, but Moses also speaks of Zebulun and Issachar as tribes that would ‘suck of the abundance of the seas.’ It is very possible that, living in the neighbourhood of the Phœnicians, they took part in maritime pursuits; and thus the general meaning of the blessing may be that Zebulun would be a tribe, not of agriculturists, but of traders.” (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers)

“Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds. When he saw that a resting place was good and that the land was pleasant, he bowed his shoulder to bear burdens, and became a slave at forced labor.” (verses 14-15) “The thing in view here is the character of Issachar whose tribe would be satisfied with physical comfort and plenty to eat, with a complacency that would make them prefer to accept oppression and taskwork rather than fight to maintain freedom and independence. It is possible that this attitude contributed to the enslavement of Israel in Egypt. Morris read this as a prophecy that Issachar would be, ‘Strong, but docile and lazy.’” (James Burton Coffman)

“Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.” (verse 16) “Jacob alludes to the name Dan, which signifies to judge, or judging… Though he be the son of one of my concubines, yet he shall not be subject to any other, but shall be a tribe governed by judges of his own, as well as any of the other tribes.” (Benson Commentary) “Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward.” (verse 17) “The thought here is that Dan, although few in number and not strong militarily would nevertheless be able to overcome by cunning strategy. Willis identified the ‘serpent’ of this place as…an extremely poisonous and dangerous, horned snake which was the color of the ground and often inflicted fatal wounds upon travelers. ‘This character of Dan as a judge of Israel came out in the expedition of the Danites to Laish in northern Canaan (described in Judges 18), and in the romantic chivalry of the brave and gigantic Samson, who with the cunning of the serpent overthrew the mightiest of foes.’” (James Burton Coffman)

“For Your salvation I wait, O Lord.” (verse 18) “The patriarch, contemplating the power of the adversaries of his future people, breaks forth into the expression of his longing desire and hope of that salvation of the Almighty by which alone they can be delivered. That salvation is commensurate with the utmost extent and diversity of these adversaries.” (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible) “The thought of the serpent wounding his prey in the heel carried the mind of the patriarch back to the fall of man, and the promise made to Eve. And thus it is a profession of faith, naturally called out by this chain of ideas, in the advent in due time of the promised Deliverer, and of which the accomplishment had become united in thought with the name of Jehovah.” (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers)

“As for Gad, raiders shall raid him, but he will raid at their heels.” (verse 19) “This tribe had its territory east of the Jordan. Its boundaries are defined in the Book of Joshua. However, for most of its history, Gad was engaged in a series of wars with its neighbors, Ammonites (Judg. 11), Moabites…and Arameans (1 Kings 22:3; 2 Kings 10:33). Its members acquired a reputation as fighting warriors (Deut. 33:20; 1 Chron. 5:18 and 12:8) and, doubtless, the Testament of Jacob reflects this.” (Nahum Sarna)

“As for Asher, his food shall be rich, and he will yield royal dainties.” (verse 20) “In 1 Kings 5:11, it is revealed that Asher lived in the lowlands along the Mediterranean between Carmel and Tyre, a fruitful and fertile region; and Solomon supplied the household of King Hiram from the wheat and oil products of this region.” (James Burton Coffman) “Naphtali is a doe let loose, he gives beautiful words.” (verse 21) “Gad had been described as moving slowly in war, and allowing himself to be surprised by hordes of plunderers, whom, nevertheless, as soon as he has collected his forces, he repels and pursues with vigour. Naphtali, on the contrary, is light and active, moving rapidly like ‘a hind let loose;’ or, literally, sent forth, like the scouts or van of an army. And thus he brings back ‘goodly words’—Heb., words of pleasure—that is, trustworthy intelligence to guide the army in its motions.” (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers)

Please read Genesis 49:22-27 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

-Louie Taylor

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