Jacob Blesses His Sons
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, the first sign of my strength,
excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—
their swords are weapons of violence.
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger
and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.
8 “Judah**, your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 You are a lion’s cub, O Judah;
you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs
and the obedience of the nations is his.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.
**Judah sounds like the ancient Hebrew for “praise” – it’s a play on words
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Jacob has had plenty of years to reflect on blessings, from the first time he ever heard one, spoken over his head by his father, in deception, to when he overheard the faint blessing his father gave to his brother. Sibling rivalry seems to be a big feature of this family, generation after generation, and in this extremely blended version, it’s no different. This is almost a score settling for Jacob – things have happened with his boys that he’s been unwilling or unable to discipline them for, and now it’s too late – they are who they are, and what’s done is done. But it’s not too late for him to have a last say. The first four are listed here: Reuben, who slept with the mother of some of his half-brothers and dishonoured the whole family, Simeon and Levi, who slaughtered a whole village in retribution for the horrendous crime of a single man, and Judah – who has had a checkered past (see chapter 37 for more), but was at his best when trying to save his family from Joseph in Egypt.
But here’s what’s noteworthy: Judah would have, generations later, a descendant who would change the world: “the one for whom the sceptre of nations belongs”. His name in Hebrew was Josh Davidson – but you and I know him better as Jesus.
Brian
