Soon after the adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob called his sons together to give them his instructions and blessing before he died. The family had overcome the pain of favoritism, and Jacob would not repeat his father’s mistake of trying to bless only his favorite son.¹ He had learned his lesson well and made sure all twelve heard his final words.

Not all of Jacob’s deathbed sayings contain positive messages, leading to objections over calling them blessings. Yet verse 28 emphasizes that they were blessings by using the term three times. Each blessing reflected the character of the son addressed, so some faced the consequences of past behavior. Yet the greatest blessing remained. All of Jacob’s sons would find a place among God’s covenant people.

Jacob’s deathbed blessings foreshadow the future judgment of the redeemed when Jesus returns.² The first judgment based on faith will precede a second judgment based on deeds.³ Like Jacob’s sons, everyone who faces the second judgment will enter the kingdom. But they won’t do so equally. Like Judah, some will receive authority. Like Joseph, some will receive abundant rewards. But like Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, some “will be saved like those escaping a fire,” with nothing left but their own lives.⁴

Reuben’s Future

“Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my strength and the firstfruits of my virility,
flourishing in rank and flourishing in power.
Wayward like water, you’ll no longer flourish
because you climbed into your father’s bed and defiled it.
He climbed onto my couch!”

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Jacob began with his firstborn, Reuben. Normally, the father would formally pass leadership of the family to his firstborn during the deathbed blessing. At first, Jacob appeared to do just that, praising Reuben’s power and lofty rank. But Jacob’s hopes and dreams for his wayward son all came crashing down because of Reuben’s incestuous relationship with Jacob’s concubine Bilhah.⁵ Jacob expressed his disgust at such an unthinkable act by turning away from Reuben and exclaiming, “He climbed onto my couch!”

Twice Reuben had tried and failed to regain his father’s favor.⁶ But he never repented. Jacob compared Reuben’s behavior to water flowing to and fro, controlled by outside influences. In the same way, Reuben lacked self-control. He was ruled by fits of passion unbecoming of a leader. So he lost his position as the head of the tribes of Israel.

Throughout Israel’s history, the tribe of Reuben had little influence. By their own choice, they settled outside of Canaan on the east side of the Jordan.⁷ Along with the Levite Korah, the Reubenites Dathan, Abiram, and On rebelled against the leadership of Moses and Aaron.⁸ But they failed, and Scripture never records anyone from the tribe of Reuben leading another tribe.

Simeon and Levi’s Future

“Simeon and Levi are brothers.
Their swords are tools of injustice.
Let me not participate in their council
or join in their fellowship.
In anger they’ve killed men.
For pleasure they’ve crippled cattle.
Cursed be their anger so intense
and their fury so ruthless!
I’ll divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.”

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Jacob addressed Simeon and Levi together. Brothers both literally and figuratively, the two had conspired to destroy the city of Shechem to avenge the rape of their sister.⁹ Jacob condemned the misuse of their swords to kill the innocent. He refused to ally himself with those who would trick men into being circumcised, making them easy targets.¹⁰ He even cursed their anger, though he didn’t curse Simeon and Levi directly. Instead he made sure they could no longer conspire to do evil by dividing them. Their descendants would live scattered throughout Israel.

The tribes of Simeon and Levi did indeed live scattered in Israel, but for two remarkably different reasons. Simeon inherited cities within the territory of Judah.¹¹ They later spread south to Mount Seir, outside the promised land, and north to Gedor and the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.¹² Eventually, they completely integrated into other tribes and ceased to possess any territory of their own.

The tribe of Levi, on the contrary, turned a negative into a positive. God honored the faithful obedience of Levi’s descendants, including Moses and Aaron, by giving them the priesthood. Because of their special status, the Levites received no land inheritance.¹³ Instead they received the tithes and offerings of the other tribes, as well as cities where they could live among and serve their fellow Israelites.¹⁴ Though scattered, they maintained their tribal integrity and became one of the three most important tribes, alongside Judah and Ephraim.

Judah’s Future

“Judah, your brothers will praise you.
You’ll grasp your enemies by the neck,
and your father’s sons will bow down before you.
Judah is a lion cub.
My son, you rise from the prey.
He kneels down. He crouches like a lioness.
Like a lion, who dares rouse him?
The scepter won’t pass from Judah,
nor the royal staff from between his feet
until tribute comes to him
and peoples obey him.
Tying his donkey to the grapevine,
his foal to the best vine,
he’ll wash his clothes in wine,
his garments in the blood of grapes.
His eyes will be red from wine,
and his teeth white from milk.”

Image by Elie Khoury from Unsplash

Jacob spoke his first positive blessing to his fourth son, Judah. Filled with royal imagery, the blessing designated Judah as the next leader of the family, replacing Reuben. By choosing one of Leah’s sons for this honor, Jacob showed he had overcome his favoritism and accepted all his children.¹⁵ For the only time in Scripture, Jacob referred to a son other than Joseph or Benjamin as “my son.” Judah sought his father’s approval his entire life, and he attained it in the end.¹⁶

Because of Judah’s power to defeat his enemies, his brothers would praise him and bow down to him, acknowledging him as their leader.¹⁷ Jacob compared him to a strong young lion taking over as the dominant pride lion. His defeated enemies became his “prey.” Having eaten his full, the dominant male rises, a sign to the rest of the pride that they can eat. The members of the pride then lie down and rest for a couple days before beginning the next hunt.¹⁸ As an apex predator, their only threat is other lions. But with a strong leader, no one would dare disturb them.

Jacob then promised Judah’s leadership would endure and grow. The scepter and staff, symbols of royalty, would remain his. One day his rule would extend beyond the twelve tribes to foreign peoples who would obey him and bring him tribute. Under the rule of the line of Judah, Israel would prosper so abundantly people would tie donkeys to grapevines and use wine to wash clothes. Doing so would ruin the grapevine and wine, but no one would care because of their abundance. Plentiful wine would turn their eyes red, and milk would turn their teeth white.¹⁹

Jacob predicted Israel would live in prosperous security under a royal line descended from Judah. This line began with the reigns of David and his son Solomon.²⁰ It will continue though the eternal reign of Jesus, “the Lion from the tribe of Judah,” who will rule over all peoples and nations.²¹

Zebulun’s Future

“Zebulun will settle down toward the seashore,
which will become a harbor for boats.
His back will face Phoenicia.”

Image by andrzejkowalski from Pixabay

Jacob’s prophecy associated Zebulun with the seashore and with Phoenicia, a land along the Mediterranean that extended into northern Canaan.²² This has caused confusion since the associations seem more appropriate for Asher, whose territory bordered the Mediterranean and included the southern end of Phoenicia as far north as Sidon.²³ Zebulun’s territory didn’t border either.²⁴

On closer inspection, however, Jacob aptly described Zebulun’s territory. The prophecy painted a picture of Zebulun sitting facing the seashore with his back toward Phoenicia.²⁵ In other words, his territory would lie between them. That certainly didn’t describe Asher. In fact, no one could live between Phoenicia and the Mediterranean. With his back to Phoenicia, Zebulun would face the Sea of Galilee in Naphtali’s territory. Most of Israel’s Mediterranean coast lacks natural harbors.²⁶ But the shores of Galilee harbor fishing boats to this day.²⁷

Both Moses and Isaiah associated Zebulun’s descendants with the Sea of Galilee and their eastern neighbors, Issachar and Naphtali.²⁸ Isaiah predicted that after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, God would reverse the fortunes of “the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali” and “honor the path by the sea.” Jesus fulfilled this prophecy when he set up his early ministry in Capernaum, a major fishing town in Galilee.²⁹ Jesus’s hometown, Nazareth, was in Zebulun’s territory. Leah named her youngest son using a wordplay on the verb “to honor,” and God truly honored him.³⁰

Issachar’s Future

“Issachar is a strong donkey
crouching among the baggage.
He’ll see that the place where he rests is good
and the land is delightful.
So he’ll lower his shoulder to the burden
and submit to forced labor.”

Image by GattolicLady from Pixabay

After positive blessings on Judah and Zebulun, Jacob’s prophecy about Issachar seems unexpectedly negative. Jacob compared him to a strong donkey, making Issachar the only son compared to a domesticated animal. The donkey rests among the baggage in a delightful land. Wishing to stay there, it submits to its masters and willingly shoulders the burden of carrying heavy saddlebags. Issachar’s descendants would be strong but cowardly, preferring ease even at the cost of their freedom.

The only other time the Hebrew word mishpetayim (“baggage”) appears in Scripture is in the Song of Deborah. There she rebuked the tribe of Reuben for staying back with the baggage instead of joining the fight against Sisera.³¹ During battle, some troops had to guard the supplies, but volunteering to do so was considered a cowardly act.³² The image of Issachar resting among the baggage portrays him as afraid to fight, though his descendants did fight against Sisera.³³ No evidence suggests Issachar’s descendants ever served the Canaanites or refused to fight them.

Joshua allotted the fertile Jezreel Valley to Issachar, fulfilling Jacob’s prophecy that Issachar would settle down in a delightful land.³⁴ The city of Jezreel became prominent during the reign of King Ahab, the most wicked king in Israel’s history.³⁵ He maintained a secondary residence there.³⁶ Ahab didn’t control his kingdom nearly as much as his Phoenician wife, Jezebel, did. She imposed Baal worship on the Israelites and persecuted Yahweh’s prophets.³⁷ When Naboth refused to sell a vineyard on his ancestral land to Ahab, Jezebel arranged to have Naboth stoned to death by the men of Jezreel.³⁸

The leaders of Jezreel, in the territory of Issachar, submitted to the orders of a Phoenician woman to murder their innocent brother and steal his property. This event reveals how cowardly they had become, in contrast to their early history. They served a foreign woman and her foreign god so they could remain living peacefully in the land. Only Naboth fought for his land rights. The other Jezreelites took the easy way out, surrendering their freedom in the process.

Dan’s Future

“Dan will judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan will be a snake on a road,
a viper on a path.
He’ll bite a horse’s heels
so its rider will fall backward.”

Image by Raju Kidoor from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Jacob’s blessing on Dan has two parts. The first part promised the tribe of Dan the right to judge their own people as an independent tribe within Israel. This may seem obvious, but it held monumental importance to not only Dan but also Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, the four sons of Jacob’s concubines.³⁹ Jacob’s declaration meant he wouldn’t disinherit them or send them away as Abraham had to.⁴⁰ The sons of Bilhah and Zilpah would inherit equally with the sons of Leah and Rachel.

The second part of Jacob’s blessing compared Dan to a saw-scaled viper along the road.⁴¹ This small but aggressive snake doesn’t hesitate to strike when threatened.⁴² When a horse and rider come down the road, neither see the camouflaged viper, and the horse steps too close. The viper attacks without warning, and with one bite, the tiny snake fells its much larger opponents.

Two events in the book of Judges match Jacob’s description of Dan as a small yet dangerous tribe. Dan’s territory lay in southern Israel just north of Philistia.⁴³ His descendant Samson led Israel for twenty years and performed many feats of superhuman strength.⁴⁴ On one occasion, he single-handedly killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.⁴⁵

But the Danites never managed to take their territory from the Canaanites. Later, they migrated north, attacked the town of Laish, outside the promised land, and renamed it Dan.⁴⁶ Like a camouflaged viper striking from out of nowhere, they slaughtered “a peaceful and unsuspecting people.”⁴⁷ They abandoned their inheritance and stole land God had not given them.

Waiting for Salvation

“I wait for your salvation, Yahweh!”

Image by Darwin Laganzon from Pixabay

After addressing Dan, Jacob uttered a one-line prayer to Yahweh. The prayer expressed Jacob’s anticipation of future salvation. He didn’t ask for salvation. He expected it based on the covenant promises. Scholars debate the purpose of this prayer at this point in the blessings. It doesn’t seem to relate to Dan’s blessing. More likely, this interlude relates to all the blessings and highlights the overall theme.

Jacob’s prophecies concerning his sons contain both positive and negative elements, reflecting the reality of human nature. Jacob had his spiritual highs and lows. His sons committed serious crimes but also saved nations. Their descendants would make the same mistakes, alternating between faith and rebellion. But Jacob knew Yahweh would remain faithful. He would save Jacob’s descendants from Egypt, and he would save them from their own foolishness.

Jacob knew his descendants would experience difficult times. But he reminded them Yahweh would save them. They needed to wait and trust.

Gad, Asher, and Naphtali

“Raiders will plunder Gad,
but he’ll plunder at their heels.

“Asher will have rich food
and provide kingly delicacies.

“Naphtali is a doe sent out,
the giver of lovely words.”

Image by Petr Ganaj from Pexels

Jacob promised Dan, the eldest son of his two concubines, an equal share of the inheritance. By implication, this promise extended to Gad, Asher, and Naphtali as well. Jacob confirmed this by including a quick word of blessing for each of these three sons.

Jacob warned Gad against raiders who would plunder his territory. The tribe of Gad chose to live east of the Jordan, along with the tribe of Reuben and half of Manasseh.⁴⁸ This left their eastern border susceptible to raids from bandits in the Arabian Desert. But Jacob assured Gad his descendants would succeed in chasing off their attackers and would instead plunder them.

Asher would inherit a fertile land with rich food fit for a king. Their territory included the lush northern coast down to the foothills of Mt. Carmel, which means “God’s vineyard.”⁴⁹ The tribe of Asher had access to the sea, the plains, and the hills. They also provided food for King Solomon’s table, along with the other tribes.⁵⁰

Jacob compared Naphtali to a doe sent out with a beautiful message, which probably means good news. Of course, the Israelites didn’t use deer as messengers. But the comparison with a swift and agile doe portrays Naphtali as spreading his message quickly.⁵¹ Scripture associates the tribe of Naphtali with two beautiful messages of good news. Naphtali’s descendant Barak sang with Deborah to announce the defeat of Sisera and Jabin.⁵²

Isaiah also associated Naphtali with the greatest news of all: the coming of a child who would reign over Israel and bring light to those in darkness. This child would come from the lands of Naphtali and Zebulun.⁵³ Jesus began his ministry preaching the good news of the kingdom in Capernaum, a city in Naphtali’s territory.⁵⁴

Joseph’s Future

“Joseph is a wild donkey’s colt,
a wild colt by a spring,
wild donkeys over a wall.
In bitterness they shot.
The master archers resent him.
Yet his bow stayed constant,
and his arms were limber
by the power of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the name of the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel,
by your father’s God, who helps you,
and by the Almighty, who blesses you.
Blessings of the sky above!
Blessings of the deep below!
Blessings of breast and womb!
Your father’s blessings surpass
the blessings of the ancient mountains,
the treasures of the eternal hills.
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the one set apart from his brothers.”

Image by Alexxx1979 from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

After blessing the sons of his concubines, Jacob turned to the sons of Rachel, starting with her firstborn, Joseph. The first half of Joseph’s blessing described not his future but his past. Jacob compared Joseph to a Persian onager, an untamable species of wild donkey also used to describe Ishmael.⁵⁵ While by a spring outside a city, the donkey draws the attention of archers on the wall, and the archers shoot at it. They aren’t hunting, since no one would eat an unclean donkey. They shoot out of bitter jealousy of its freedom.

Though Joseph’s jealous brothers attacked him, God upheld him and strengthened him. Jacob acknowledged Joseph wouldn’t have survived without God and praised God for protecting his son. He used a list of titles highlighting God’s power (Mighty One), guidance and care (Shepherd), and unchanging nature (Stone).⁵⁶ The title “the Stone of Israel,” used only here, has the same meaning as the more frequent “Rock.” God’s character and promises endure over time and regardless of circumstances. Yahweh is the immovable stone foundation of the nation of Israel. He blessed Joseph even when Jacob thought his son had died.

Though Judah inherited the leadership of the family, Joseph inherited the double portion and the blessing of the firstborn.⁵⁷ Jacob concluded with this blessing on Joseph’s future, which would pass to both Joseph tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh.⁵⁸ The blessings would come from sky and sea and everything in between and include a multitude of offspring.⁵⁹ Yet Jacob’s blessing surpassed material blessings—the gold, silver, and jewels of the mountains and the forests, orchards, and pastures of the hills. Jacob’s blessing included all of this but also the ultimate blessing of a covenant relationship with Yahweh.

Benjamin’s Future

“Benjamin is a ferocious wolf.
In the morning he devours the prey.
In the evening he divides the spoils.”

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed each one according to his own blessing.

Image by Marcel Langthim from Pixabay

Jacob concluded by blessing his youngest son, Benjamin. He compared Benjamin to a wolf after a successful night of hunting. The wolf feasts on its prey and divides the spoils of victory. By comparing both Judah and Benjamin to predatory animals, Jacob promised them military prowess. But while lions live in prides, Syrian wolves typically live alone or in pairs.⁶⁰ The tribe of Benjamin likewise acted independently, sometimes in opposition to the other tribes.

Benjamin’s descendants included several powerful warriors. The judge Ehud saved Israel from the oppressive Moabites.⁶¹ Saul, the first king of Israel, saved the city of Jabesh from the Ammonites.⁶² His son Jonathan raided a Philistine outpost with only his armor-bearer helping him.⁶³ But the “ferocious wolf” had a cruel side. The Benjamites of Gibeah raped and killed an innocent woman.⁶⁴ King Saul persecuted David though David remained loyal to him.⁶⁵ Another Saul, before he became Paul, persecuted the early church and oversaw the stoning of Stephen.⁶⁶

The lone wolf Benjamites also found themselves at the center of three civil wars. When the Israelites determined to punish the Benjamites of Gibeah for rape and murder, the rest of the tribe of Benjamin defended Gibeah. As a result, the tribe was nearly wiped out.⁶⁷ Then after Saul and Jonathan died, David became king of Judah. But Benjamin remained loyal to Saul’s line, and Saul’s son Eshbaal managed to hold the rest of the kingdom for another two years.⁶⁸

The later rebellion against David’s grandson Rehoboam split the tribe of Benjamin.⁶⁹ Only Judah remained completely loyal to David’s line.⁷⁰ But Benjamin’s territory bordered Judah’s, and Jerusalem lay on the border. Many Benjamites lived in or near the capital. So some of the tribe sided with David, while the rest followed Jeroboam.⁷¹

← Genesis 48:1–22

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Genesis 49:29–50:26 →

See Deathbed Blessing.
See Foreshadowing.
Luke 19:12–26; 1 Corinthians 3:12–15; 2 Corinthians 5:10.
1 Corinthians 3:15.
See The Fall of Reuben.
See Joseph Sold; Reuben’s Pledge.
Numbers 32:1–32.
Numbers 16:1–3.
See Vengeance.
See One Condition. The crippled “cattle” may refer metaphorically to the circumcised men. Genesis 34:28 says Simeon and Levi took the animals of Shechem as plunder. But it’s also possible they harmed some of the animals while taking the rest.
Joshua 19:9.
1 Chronicles 4:39, 42; 2 Chronicles 34:6.
Deuteronomy 18:1–2.
Joshua 13:14; 21:1–41.
See Leah’s Daughter; The Double Portion.
See Judah’s Plea.
Judah’s name sounds like the Hebrew verb for “to praise” (yadah).
Hope, Animals, 2.24 Lion; see Zoomorphism.
The Hebrew can also be translated “his eyes will be redder than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.” But the context of abundance makes this less likely.
1 Kings 4:20–21; 1 Chronicles 17:7–12.
Revelation 5:5, 9–10.
The Hebrew name tsidon referred to both the Phoenician city of Sidon and to Phoenicia as a whole. Sidon was the firstborn of Noah’s grandson Canaan, and the Phoenicians were his descendants. Genesis 10:15.
Joshua 19:24–29.
Joshua 19:10–16.
Dillmann, Genesis, 467.
Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas, Bible Background Commentary, Genesis 49:13.
Got Questions Ministries, “What is the significance of the Sea of Galilee in the Bible?,” December 4, 2023, https://www.gotquestions.org/Sea-of-Galilee.html.
Deuteronomy 33:18–19; Isaiah 9:1.
Matthew 4:12–16.
See Mandrakes.
Judges 5:16.
See 1 Samuel 30:1–25.
Judges 5:15.
Joshua 19:17–22.
1 Kings 16:29–33.
1 Kings 21:1. Ahab’s primary residence was in Samaria, the capital city.
1 Kings 18:3–4.
1 Kings 21:1–14.
See Bilhah’s Sons; Zilpah’s Sons.
See Isaac’s Inheritance; Gifts.
Hope, Animals, 4.10 Viper.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, s.v. “Saw-Scaled Viper,” by Van Wallach, accessed December 9, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/animal/saw-scaled-viper.
Joshua 19:40–46.
Judges 13–16.
Judges 15:14–15.
Judges 18.
Judges 18:27.
Numbers 32:1–32.
Joshua 19:24–30.
1 Kings 4:7–19.
Hope, Animals, 2.11 Deer.
Judges 4:6; 5:1–31.
Isaiah 9:1–7.
Matthew 4:12–17.
See A Wild Donkey.
Hamilton, Book of Genesis: Chapters 18–50, 685.
1 Chronicles 5:1–2; see The Double Portion.
See Two Tribes.
See Merism.
Hope, Animals, 2.35 Wolf.
Judges 3:15–30.
1 Samuel 9:1–2; 11:1–11.
1 Samuel 14:1–15.
Judges 19:10–30.
1 Samuel 18:10–11; 19:9–17; 24:1–22.
Acts 7:57–8:3; Philippians 3:5–6.
Judges 20.
2 Samuel 2:1–10.
1 Kings 12:16–24.
1 Kings 12:20.
1 Kings 12:21.