“Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey,
the foal of a wild donkey at a spring—
one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.
23 Archers attacked him savagely;
they shot at him and harassed him.
24 But his bow remained taut,
and his arms were strengthened
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
25 May the God of your father help you;
May the Almighty bless you
with the blessings of the heavens above,
and blessings of the watery depths below,
and blessings of the breasts and womb.
26 May the blessings of your father
surpass the blessings of the ancient mountains,
reaching to the heights of the eternal hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
who is a prince among his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
devouring his enemies in the morning
and dividing his plunder in the evening.”
28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.
Jacob’s Death and Burial
29 Then Jacob instructed them, “Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30 This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah. 32 It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.”
33 When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.
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Jacob’s death marks the end of an era – the wandering patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) have become a nation, albeit a small one, and have settled in Egypt. Following God’s promises by faith, they haven’t seen them all come true – at least, not yet – but there are encouraging signs, not least of all that one of their small clan has risen to become the second most powerful man in the world – and all of this through God’s intervention and action. Joseph really is a “prince among his brothers” – and ironically, as you keep reading, you’ll find that Benjamin (the “ravenous wolf”) and the tribe that came from him, become the fiercest fighters of the nation – the “shock troops” that no-one wanted to take on.
Ironically, at the end, Jacob is buried with… Leah, who fought and struggled her whole life for that kind of recognition from Jacob. Perhaps it was one last gesture that a changed man could give.
Brian
