Genesis 49

AND Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather your selves together that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days Or, In the following times, or latter dares, when you shall enter into and be settled in the land of promise. Hereby he signifies, that he speaks here of things which concern not so much their persons, as their posterity..

Gather your selves together, and hear ye sons of Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father.

Reuben thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength The first instance or evidence of my might or strength, or of that masculine vigour, whereby God enabled me to beget a Child. Compare Deut. 21. 17. Psal. 105. 36. Or the first of my Children, which are the strength, the stays and supports, of a Father and of his Family, thence called his Arrows, as Psal. 12.... 4. and by other authors, the pillars of the house., the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power As firstborn thou hadst the right of precedency before all thy brethren in point of dignity and power or priviledge, the double portion, the Priesthood, the Dominion over thy brethren were thine..

Unstable as water This may concern either, 1. Something past, or Reubens fault; and so he is said to have been unstable or light and vain, as the word is used Iudg. 9. 4. Zeph. 3. 4. like water, moved with every little wind of temptation, and unbounded in thy lust, as water of it self has no bounds, but will scatter it self every way, if it be not kept within banks or in a vessel or, hasty, violent, impetuous, in thy lust, like water, which either overflows or breaks its banks. Or, 2. Something to come, or R... ubens punishment, and so the meaning is, thou, i. e. thy posterity, shall be unstable, or unsettled, flitting and vanishing, coming to nothing, or poured forth like water, useless, contemptible and weak. Such indeed was the state of that Tribe, of which we read nothing eminent in Scripture. See Iudg. 5. 15, 16. This I prefer before the former, 1. Because it is not probable that his fault should be described here in such general and ambiguous and dark termes, which is described so plainly and particularly in the following words. 2. Because this makes the coherence most plain. Here is a description, 1. Of Reubens excellent state to which he was born ver. 3. 2. Of his fall from that state, in these words and the immediately following, thou shalt not excell. 3. Of the reason of this fall, his great sin. 3. Because the similitude of water applied to men in this manner notes rather their impotency and calamity, than their sin, as Ios. 7. 5. Psal. 22. 14. thou shalt not excel Or be the most eminent amongst thy brethren, thou hast lost thy preeminency due to thee by birthright both for thy self and for thy posterity, and it shall be given to others, the Priesthood to Levi, the Dominion to Iudah, and the double portion to Ioseph., because thou wentest up to thy fathers bed, then defiledst thou it By committing incest with Bilhah.. He went up to my couch He repeats the same thing and that in an emphatical manner turning his speech and face from Reuben to his brethren in a posture of indignation and detestation. Which you must not impute to Iacobs passion, he being now a dying man, and this being forty years after the crime committed, but to the spirit of God guiding his tongue to utter this, not only nor chiefly for the punishment of Reuben, who, as many think, had repented of his sin, but for terrour, instruction, and caution to all others, and to assure them, that sin, though it may be long dissembled and born with, yet it will one time or other be sorely punished.. g But those and the next foregoing words may be thus rendred, Then defiledst thou my bed: He went up to it, or rather, he is gone up, i. e. he is vanished, or perished or lost; for so this word is oft used, as Iob 5. 26. Isa. 5. 24. Ier. 48. 15. And so here is an elegant figure, called Antanaclasis, whereby the same word is repeated in the same verse in a different sense as Ps. 18. 26. Mat. 8. 22. So here: He went up wickedly to his fathers bed, to commit a great sin, therefore now he is gone up penally, to receive condign punishment, his excellency is gone up like smoak, which ascendeth and is dispersed in the Air. And this may seem to be the truest Translation and Interpretation, because it keeps close to the Hebrew words and their order, whereas in our Translation, there is both a transplacing of the Hebrew words, and a supplement added unnecessarily.

Simeon and Levi are brethren Not only by nature, but in iniquity, of like cruel and bloody disposition, confederate in the same wicked design, Gen. 34. 25. So the word Brother is elsewhere used for him that agrees much with another, in his temper, or employment, or designs, as Iob 30. 29. Prov. 18. 9. &c., instruments of cruelty are in their habitations (i. e.) Their bloody Swords are yet in their dwellings, to bear witness against them for their barbarous cruelty. But these words may be and are by some both antient and later Interpreters rendred otherwise. For the Hebrew word Mecheroth, here rendred habitations, is never so used, nor indeed is found elsewhere in Scripture. Nor does that signification agree with the Hebrew root from whence this comes, which is mechar and signifies to bargain or sell or exchange. And accordingly this word is by the Samaritan Translator and by other learned Interpreters rendred, their conventions or compacts or civil contracts or agreements. And which is more, the Chaldee Verb, mechar, from whence this word may very well be deduced, signifies to espouse, and the noun mechirah derived from it signifies a spouse. And so the words may be rendred thus, their contracts or agreements (or, their nuptial contracts) were instruments of cruelty. Which Translation seems better than the other, 1. because it keeps closest to the words of the text, and leaves out that particle, in, which is not in the Hebrew Text, but was added by our Translators to complete the sense. 2. Because this best agrees with the history recorded Gen. 34. where we read that they did cover their bloody design with pretence of an agreement and nuptial contract with the Sichemites, which was a great aggravation of their villany, that those things which to others are bonds of love and peace were made by them instruments of cruelty..

O my soul, come not thou into their secret Or Counsel, or company, as the word is used, Psal. 64. 2. Ier. 15 17. i. e. do not partake with them in their secret and wicked designs. Hereby he signifies to all posterity, that that bloody enterprize was undertaken without his consent or approbation, and that he could not think of it without detestation, nor let it pass without a severe censure. Or, O my soul, thou wast not in their secret, as the Chald. Syr. and Arab. take it, by a common Enallage of the future tense for the past.: unto their assembly mine honour Either 1. properly so called. So the sense is, let not my honour or good name be bound up with theirs: They gloried in their wickedness, which I abominate and which indeed is their shame. Or 2. Improperly, so he understands either 1. His Soul, which is indeed the glory of a man: Though I do not remember any place of Scripture where that word must necessarily be so understood. So this is a repetition of the same thing in other words, which is usual in Scripture. Or rather, 2. His tongue, for which the word honour, or glory is commonly put, as Psal. 16. 9. compare with Acts 2. 26. Psal. 30. 12. and 57. 8. and 108. 1. because the Tongue or speech is the glory of a man, by which he is distinguished from unreasonable creatures, and, if well used, it brings much honour to God and to the man that speaks with it. So the sense is, as my Soul did not approve of that wicked action, so my Tongue never gave consent to it, nor shall it now by silence seem to own it, but shall publickly witness my abhorrency of it. be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man (i. e.) Men, the Sichenites, Gen. 34. 25, 26. the singular number for the plural, as Gen. 3. 2. and 32. 5. 1 Chron. 10. 1. compared with 1 Sam. 31. 1. He says man rather then men, either with respect unto the Prince, whose slaughter was principally designed; or to show that they slew them all to a man., and in their self-will It may note, that this cruelty of theirs was committed. 1. By their own will and choice, not by Iacobs will or consent, which they never asked nor obtained. 2. Without any necessity or sufficient provocation, but merely by their own will and proper motion. 3. Not rashly and hastily, but wilfully and resolvedly after mature deliberation. 4. Not unwillingly, but chearfully and with delight and good will, as that word commonly signifies. they digged down a wall Not the walls of the City, but of private houses, it may be only of the Princes house, who upon the first noise of the tumult, might and probably did retire and secure himself in some strong room of the house, whose wall they brake down that they might come at h... m. For neither were the walls of houses or Cities so strong then as now many are, nor were Simeon and Levi destitute of fit instruments to break down a wall which doubtless they brought with them, as easily foreseeing that difficulty in their enterprize. But because the Hebrew word is not Shur, a wall, but Schor, an Oxe, others translate the words thus, They houghed or killed an Ox, or Bull, meaning Shechem, so called either from his lust, or from his strength and power, from which Princes are oft so called, as Deut. 33. 17. Psal. 22. 12. and 68. 30. Or, rather thus, They rooted out, or drove away an Ox, i. e. the Oxen, the singular number for the plural, as before, and under them are comprehended the other cattle of the Sichemites, which they drove away, as we read they did, Gen. 34. 28. For as the words may bear this sense, so it seems more reasonable to understand them of that which certainly was done by them, then of their breaking a wall, of which we do not read any thing in the history..

Cursed be Or, Cursed was. It was execrable and abominable both before God and Men, such as deserved and brought the curse of God upon themselves, which I, as Gods instrument, am now to pronounce against them. their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel (i. e.) I do here declare in the name of God that they shall be divided and dispersed in Iacob, &c. that is, among the children or Tribes of Iacob or Israel. Prophets are said to do what they foretel that God will do, as Ieremy is said to ro... t out and pull down Kingdomes, Ier. 1. 10. and Ezekiel to d... stroy the city. Ezek. 43. 3. Adde Hos. 6. 5. Note here how suitable their punishment was to their crime. They sinned by conspiracy and consederation in the counsel and action, and they are punished with division or separation not only of the two brethren and their tribes, but of the children and families of the several Tribes, one from another. This was eminently fulfilled in the tribe of Levi, which had no proper portion or inheritance, but was scattered among all the Tribes, Ios. 18. 7. though afterwards God turned this curse into a blessing. And for Si... on, he had no part of his own in the division of the land, but, the portion of Iudah being too large for that Tribe, he was taken into that lot, and was as an inmate to them, Ios. 19. 1, 2, 9. and afterwards part of them were forced to seek new seats, and so were divided from the rest of their brethren, 1 Chron. 4. 27, 39, 42. And moreover the Jewish Doctors write, that that Tribe was so straitned in their habitations and conveniencies, that a very great number of them were forced to scatter themselves amongst the other Tribes to get a subsistence by teaching their children..

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise Or rather, Thou art Iudah, thy brethren shall praise or celebrate thee. So the expression is like that, 1 Sam. 25. 25. as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him, or in him so here the sense is, As thy name signifies praise, Gen. 29. 35. So shalt thou have praise or honour from thy brethren. He alludes to his name and to the occasion of it, but with an elegant variation, Thou art deservedly called Iudah, not only because thy mother praised God for thee, but also because thy brethren shall praise and bless thee for the reasons here following. But this, as also the other blessings or predictions, do not so much declare the state of Iudah or the rest in their own persons as in their posterity.: thy hand shall be in the neck (i. e.) Thou shalt overthrow and subdue them. This was fulfilled in part Iudg. 1. 1, 2, 4. and 3. 9, 10. but more fully in David, 2 Sam. 8. 1. and Solomon, 1 Chro. 22. 9. and most eminently, though spiritually, in Christ. The phrase is taken either 1. From the practice of warriors, who use to assault their enemies in that part, that they may throw them down at their feet, of which see Iob 15. 26. and 16. 12. Or, 2. from the custom of conquerors, who are said to put the yokes upon the necks of the conquered: See Gen. 27. 40. Deut. 28. 48. Isa. 10. 27. Jer. 27. 8. and 28. 14. of thine enemies, thy fathers children (i. e.) All thy brethren and my posterity: he... aith not thy mothers children, for his sons had divers mothers. shall bowe down before thee. (i. e.) Shall own thee as their superiour and lord, upon whom... have devolved this part of the right of the first-born. By this and the following words we plainly see that these blessings and predictions were not distributed according to Jacobs affections and inclinations (for then Judah should never have been advanced above his worthily beloved Joseph) but by the direction of Gods spirit.

Judah is a lions whelp (i. e.) Is as a lions whelp, or, as a young lion, for courage and strength, and terrour to his enemies. The particle as is here wanting, as also ver. 14, 17, 21, 22. and in many other places, as Psal. 11. 1. and 12. 6. and 22. 6. &c. And he is rightly compared first to a lions whelp, then to an old lion, to signifie the growth of that Tribe in strength and interest, and that from small beginnings, and a precedency of order only Judg. 1. 1, 2. it should ascend to the height of honour and power and happiness in David, and especially in the Messiah, who should conquer all nations.: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up Having taken the prey, i. e. conquered thine enemies thou art gone up in triumph; or gone up, i. e. grown greater and higher after thy victories, as the manner is. Or he alludes to the Lions, which usually dwell in mountains, as diverse writers observe, and come down to prey in the valleys, and when they have got their prey, they go up to their habitations, and so shall Judah do.: he A change of the person very frequent in Prophetical writings, as we shall o... t have occasion to note hereafter. stooped down, he couched When he has taken the prey, he does not convey it away to his den with haste and speed for fear the enemy should return and overtake him, but like a lion he stoops down to feed upon his prey, and coucheth or lieth down securely to rest himself after he has eaten it without the lest fear of any enemy, as it is observed of him, Isa. 31. 4. Judahs conquests shall not be interrupted or followed with ill successes, and defeats or overthrows afterward, as it frequently happens in the course of War, but he shall quietly possess his spoils, and after the bloody Wars to which he will be forced, shall enjoy a sweet peace and tranquillity, which his posterity did, 1 King. 4. 25. as a lion, and as an old lion Of rather a grown lion, not a decrepit and impotent Lion, but one come to his full strength.: who shall rouse him up Who shall presume or dare to disturb or provoke him? All shall fear him and seek peace with him.?

The Scepter (i. e.) The dominion or government, which is oft preded by this word, as Numb. 24. 17. Psal. 45.... Isa. 14. 5. Ezek. 19. 11, 14. A... s 1. 5, 8. Z.... 10. 11. because it is an ensign of government, E... th. 4. 11. So it is a figure called a Metonymy of the sign, then which nothing more frequent. The sense is, That superiority or dominion over his brethren, which I said he should obtain, ver. 8. he shall keep, it shall not depart from him. Others the Tribe, as the word, 1 Sam. 1.... 19, 20, 21. 1 King. 11, 32, &c, So the sense is this, Whereas the other Tribes shall be captivated, dispersed and confounded, the Tribe of Judah shall be kept entire and distinct until Christ come. This is a great and important truth, and a singular demonstration of the all-d... sposing providence of God, and of the truth and divine authority of the Scriptures, but it seems not to be the meaning of this place, 1. because both the foregoing and following words do evidently speak of Iudahs power and greatness, and particularly this Sheb... t, or Sc... pter is explained and restrained by the following: 2. because this renders the phrase, improper and absurd, for the Tribe had not departed from Iudah, nor had they ceased to be a Tribe, if the other Tribes had been mixed with them in their land, as indeed they were sometimes, See 2 Chron. 11. 16. 3. because this is not peculiar to the Tribe of Judah, for in this sense the tribe did not depart from L... vi, nay that tribe was kept more distinct than that of Judah: thus also the tribe did not depart from Benjamin, as appears from Ezra 1. 5. and 10. 9. Nehem. 11. 4. Nay it is questionable whether in this sense, the Tribe departed from any of the other Tribes, not only because there is a distinct mention of the several Tribes, Ezek. 48. which was written after the dispersion and supposed confusion of the other Tribes, and which speaks of the times after the coming of the Messiah, but also because of the great care which the Israelites generally took in distinguishing not only their Tribes, but their several families in exact genealogies, of which we have many proofs and instances, as 1 Chron. 4. 33. and 5, 1, 7, 17. and 7. 7, 9, 40. and 9. 1, 22, and Ezra 2. 62. and 8. 1, 3. Nehem. 7. 5, 64. The Jews indeed have another device to avoid the force of this Text. They say, Shebet signifies a rod, to wit, a rod of correction, as the word is taken Prov. 22. 15. And so they say the sense is, The tyrannical Scepter, or the rod of the oppressour shall not cease or depart from Israel, till the Messiah come who shall save them from all their oppressours and enemies. But this is a vain and frivolous conceit, for 1. the following sentence, which expounds the former, as it is usual in Scripture, plainly shows that this S... ebet or Rod is such as is proper to the Lawgiver, and therefore is a rod of authority, or a Scepter, which is called also a rod, Ezek. 19. 14. and not a rod of affliction. 2. This is contrary to the whole context, wherein there is nothing prophefied of Judah, but honour, and dominion, and victory and safety. 3. There was no reason why the rod of affliction should be appropriated to Judah, which was common to all the Tribes, and came sooner and fell heavier and abode longer upon the other Tribes than upon Judah. 4. This interpretation is confuted by the event or history, both because the rod of correction did depart from Judah, and from them more than from the other tribes, for many generations before the coming of the Messiah; and because that rod is not removed from them but has continued longer and more dreadfully upon them since the coming of the Messias, than ever before; which one consideration has been the occasion of the conversion of many Jews. 5. Howsoever the modern Jews pervert this word and text out of enmity to Christ and Christians, it is certain that the antient Jews, the LXX and the Chaldee Paraphrast, with many others take the word as we do, as the learned have proved out of their own writings. See my Latin Synopsis. shall not depart from Judah, nor a Law-giver So the Hebrew word signifies, as here, so also Numb. 21. 18. Deut. 33. 21. Psal. 60. 7. and 108. 8. Isa. 33. 22. And the verb, from whence this word comes, signifies to make laws as Prov. 8. 15, &c. and the Hebrew word, chok, which comes from the same root constantly signifies a law or statute. Some render it the Scribe, and that either the civil Scribe, who belongs to the ruler; or the Ecclesiastical Scribe, the interpreter of the law, and so it signifies, that both the civil, and the Ecclesiastical power should continue in Judah till Christ came, and then should be taken away, both which the event did verifie. But indeed the Hebrew word for Scribe is So... er, not Mechokek. which never is so used in Scripture, but always for a law-giver, as I have showed, and so Kimchi and A... en Egra, two late and learned Jews with others expound it. from between his feet From his posterity, or from those that come from between his fe... t, i. e. that are begotten and born of that Tribe. And thus Kim... i and the Chaldee Paraphrast and other antient Jews understand this place. And the truth of this interpretation may appear, by comparing hi... with other texts of Scripture, as. 28. 5.... where the young one is described to be one that cometh from between her (the womans); and Ezek. 16. 25. and with those places where the word feet is used for the secret parts, as 7. 20. the hair of the feet not properly so called, for hair seldom grows there, and 2 King.... 8. 27. I... a. 36. 12 where the water which comes from the parts is called the water of the feet. And possibly that phrase... f covering the feet applied to them that eased their bellies may note so much, because the care of the Jews in that action was not to hide their feet properly so called, but their secret parts, which without due care might be discovered upon that occasion., until Shiloh (i. e.) The Messias. Which we need not stand to prove, because it is so expounded by all the three Chaldee Paraphrasts, and by the Jewish Talmud, and by divers of the latter Jews themselves. And the word signifies, either a peace-maker or Sa... iour, or, as others, her son, or one that came out of the Womans Womb, or out of that skin, in which the child in the Womb is wrapped, which this word, or one near akin to it signifies. So it notes that the Messias should be born of a Woman, though without the help of man: Or, as others the sent, he who was oft promised and to be sent. And this signification may seem to be warranted by comparing Iohn 9. 7. those places of the New Testament, in which the Messias is described by that periphrasis of one sent or to be sent, as Io.... 3. 39. &c. And the phrase here used is remarkable, till the Shiloh come, for the Shiloh or Messiah oft goeth under the name of him that was to come, as Matth. 21. 9. Luke 7. 20, and 13. 35. And hence the Kingdome of the Messiah is called the World or Kingdom to come, i. e. of him who was to come, Heb. 2. 5. and 6. 5. come: and unto him shall the gathering They shall be gathered together or united both among themselves, and with the Jews under him as their head. Others, the reverence, obedience, or worship: Which comes to the same thing, for they that are gathered to him do also reverence, obey and worship him. The Hebrew word is used only here and Prov. 30. 17. of the people (i. e.) The Gentiles, as the Jews themselves understand it. And so it is a plain Prophesie of the conversion of the Gentiles by and under the Messiah, signifying, that whereas the Ordinances of God and means of Worship and Salvation were confined to the Jews before Christs coming, Psal. 1... 7. 19, 20. when the Messiah should come, the pale of the Church should be enlarged, the partition wall between Jews and Gentiles taken down, and the Gentiles should Worship the true God and the Messias. And this is no more than is foretold and promised in other Prophesies, we shall see hereafter. The summe of this verse is, The Scep...... r Dominion shall be seated in the Tribe of Iudah, though... e does not determine when it shall come thither; but when once it shall come, it shall not depart from thence, till the Messiah come, and then Iudah shall lose his Scepter and other Priviledges, and the Gentiles shall come into the stead of the Jews, and shall embrace that Messiah, whom they shall reject. So now here is an undeniable argument to prove against the Jews that the Messiah is already come, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is he, because he was to come during the time wherein the Scepter was in the hands of Iudah, and about that time when Jesus Christ came the Scepter was taken away from Iudah and the Jews, and has now been lost for sixteen hundred years together. The Jews are mightily perplexed and confounded with this argument, one evidence whereof is their various and contradictory Expositions of the place, whilest some of them affirm this Shiloh to be Moses, others, Saul, others, Ieroboam, others, Nebuchadnezzar, which neither need, nor deserve confutation; others, David. Which, though some of the acutest of the Jewish Doctours assert, is as contemptible as any of the rest, it being ridiculous to say the Scepter departed from Iudah under him by whom it first came into that Tribe, having been till Davids time in other Tribes. But the great difficulty is, how this was accomplished, for if the event fully agrees with this Prophesie, the cause of the Jews is lost, and Christ must be owned as the true Messias. The Scepter was for a time in other Tribes, as in Moses of the Tribe of Levi, in divers of the Judges, who were of several Tribes, and lastly in the Tribe of Benjamin under Saul, but the Scepter departed from all these. But this is prophesied as Iudahs priviledge, that when once the Scepter or Government came into that Tribe, which it did in Davids time, it should not depart from it till Christ came, and then it should depart. And thus it came to pass. Concerning the time from David unto the Captivity of Babylon there is no dispute, there being a constant succession of Kings in that Tribe all that time. For the time of the Babylonish Captivity, wherein there may seem to be more difficulty, it is to be considered. 1. That the Scepter or Government was not lost or departed from Iudah, but only interrupted, and that but for seventy years at most, which in so long a space of time as above a thousand years is little to be regarded. As none will say, the Kingdom was departed from the house of David, because of those inter-reigns or interruptions which sometimes fell out in that Family. Adde to this, that God had given them an absolute promise and assured hope of the restauration of Iudahs Scepter, so that this was rather a sleep then the death of that Government. 2. That within these seventy years there were some remainders and beams of Iudahs Soveraignty, in I... hoiachin, 2 King. 25. 27. in Daniel, who was of that Tribe, Dan. 2. 25. and 5. 13. and of the Kings seed, Dan. 1. 3. and in the successive Heads or Governours of the exiles, of whom the Jewish Writers say so much, and they affirm that they were always of the house of David, and were more honourable than the Governours of the Jews which were left in the Land of Israel. 3. All that was then left of the Scepter of the Jews was in the Tribe of Iudah, nor was the Scepter departed from Iudah to any other Tribe; and that is the thing which seems especially to be respected in this Prophesie: For Iudah is here compared with the rest of the Tribes, and it is here signified, that the Power and Dominion which was in Iudah, when once it came thither, should not shift from tribe to tribe, as it had done, but, whilst there was any Scepter or supreme Government among the Iews, it should be in that tribe even till the coming of the Messias. But if there should happen any total but temporary intercision or cessation of the Government among all the Tribes, which now was the case, that was no preiudice to the truth of this promise, nor to the priviledge granted to Iudah above the rest of the Tribes. After the captivity, the state of the Iews was very various. Sometimes they had Governours put in by the Persian King, as Zoro... abel, who was also of the Tribe of Iudah, and; as it is supposed, Nephew of Ie... ojachin; and Nehemiah, whom Eusebius affirms to have been of the Tribe of Iudah. And though he may seem to be numbred among the Priests, Nehem. 10. 8. yet a diligent reader will find that he is even there distinguished from them by his Title the Tirshatha, ver. 1. and the word priests, ver. 8. relateth only to the rest there mentioned besides him, especially if this be compared with chap. 9. 38. where the Princes (among whom surely Nehemiah was the chief) are distinguished from the Priests. And sometimes the people chose Governours, or Captain-generals, as the Maccabees, and others. But under all their vicissitudes, after their return from Babylon, the chief government was evidently and unquestionably seated in the great council called Sanhedrim or Synedrium, wherein though some of the Tribe of Levi were mixed with those of the Tribe of Iudah, yet because they together with other members of that Council had their power both from that Tribe, by which they were chosen, and in it, and for it, the Scepter did truly remain in the Tribe of Iudah: even as it was rightly called the Roman Empire when Trajan a Spaniard or other forreigners administred it: or as we call it the Kingdom of Poland, when they choose a King of another Nation. How great and venerable the authority of this Council was among the Iews may easily be gathered 1. from the divine institution of it, Numb. 11. 16 whereby indeed it was at first to consist of persons indifferently chosen out of all the Tribes, but now the other Tribes being banished and dispersed in unknown places, and Benjamin and Levi being as it were accessions to the Tribe of Iudah, and in a sort incorporated with it, it now becomes as it were appropriated to the Tribe of Iudah, as acting in its name and by its authority; and the whole land is called Iud... a, and all the people Iews, from the predominancy of that Tribe above the rest. 2. From the great power and priviledges antiently granted to it, Deut. 17. 8. &c. 2 Chron. 19. 8, 11. Psal. 122. 5. 3. From the testimony of Iosephus and other Iewish writers, which is most considerable in this argument, who largely describe and magnifie the power and authority of it, who tell us, that the power of their King was subject to that of this Council; and therefore one of them addressing his speech to that Council, where also the King himself was present, first salutes the Senatours, and after them the King. They affirm also that the power of making War or Peace was vested in that Council; and that Herod was tried for his life by it. If it be said, that the power of this Council was in a great measure taken away, which the Iews confess, Ioh. 18. 31. and that the Scepter of Iudaea was in the hand of the Romans, and by them given to Herod, who was no Iew, but an Idumaean, and this before the coming of the Messias, which is the only remaining difficulty, to this many things may be said, 1. That this hapned but a few years before the coming of Christ, when Christ was even at the doors and about to come, and therefore might well be said to be come, especially in the Prophetical stile, whereby things are oft said to be done, which are near doing. 2. That the Iewish Senatours did long struggle with Herod about the Government, and did not yield it up to him till his last year, when they took an oath of fealty to him, which was after Christ was born. Nor indeed was the Scepter quite gone from them then, for that Council still had the power, though not of life and death, yet of Civil and Ecclesiastical matters. See Ioh. 18. 31. So that if the Scepter was gone, the Lawgiver remained there still. Nor was their Government and Commonwealth quite destroyed until the destruction of Ierusalem by Titus. And therefore some translate the place thus, and that with great probability, The Scepter shall not depart—until the Shiloh come, and until (which word is repeated out of the former member, as is most usual in the Scripture) the gathering of the people be to him, (i. e.) until the Gentiles be converted and brought in to Christ. And this interpretation receiveth countenance from Mat. 24. 14. The Gospel shall be preached in all the world,—and then shall the end come, not the end of the whole world, as it is evident, but the end of the Commonwealth and Government of the Iews, when the Scepter and Lawgiver should be wholly taken away from that tribe and people. be.

Binding his foale unto the vine, and his asses colt unto the choice vine He signifies the plenty of vines in Iudahs portion, that they shall be planted every where, even in the commons and high-ways where men travel, and where upon occasion they use to tie the beasts on which they ride to any tree which is near them.: he washed his garments in wine Such shall be the plenty of it, that if it were convenient, men might use wine in stead of water to wash their garments., and his cloathes in the blood of grapes So the wine is called also in D... t. 32. 14. 1 Macc. 6. 34. and by Pliny, Hesiod and others. As oil is called the blood of the olive..

His eyes shall be red with wine Which shows not only the plenty of wine, but also the excellency and strength of it, which, though not drunk in great quantity or to excess, will make the eyes red. See Prov. 23. 29., and his teeth white with milk.

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea Acknowledge here and adore the divine providence which directed Iacob thus exactly to foretell the portion Zebulon which fell to them 200 years after this, and that not by choice or any design of men, but merely by lot. His portion was extended from the sea of Galilee, to the great Mediterranean sea, and to such parts of it, where there were convenient havens., and he shall be for an haven of ships: and his border shall be unto Zidon. Or, his side or coast, to wit, that which is upon the Mediterranean sea, is near Sidon, understanding not the city but the territory belonging to it, unto which that Tribe reached upon the seacoast. For though Aher might seem to intercept them, yet he did not reach to the sea. Or, his coast looks towards Sidon, has it in view, and lies commodiously for commerce with that great City, which then was the mart of the Nations..

Issachar is a strong ass Heb. an ass of bone, (i. e.) of great bulk and bones, and strength of body, but of little spirit and courage., couching down between two burdens Which are laid upon his back, and which he is contented to bear. Or, lying down, i. e. enjoying his ease and rest, between the borders, to wit, of the other Tribes, with which he was encompassed and secured from forreign enemies, which made him more secure and slothful. Or, between the orders or folds of cattle, as a word very near akin to it, and proceeding from the same root signifies, Iudg. 5. 16. to the feeding and minding whereof he wholly gave himself, neglecting more generous things..

And he saw that rest Or rather, his resting place, as this very word signifies, Gen. 8. 9. Psal. 116. 7. and 132. 8. Isa. 11. 10. (i. e.) his portion or habitation, as the Chald. and Syr. translate it. So this agrees with the following member, where, after the manner of the Hebrews, the same thing is repeated in other words. And if it be objected against this version, that it is not said his rest, but rest in the general, it may be replyed, that so it is in the following branch, the land, though it be apparently meant of his land or portion of land allotted to him. Besides the pronouns are often omitted and to be understood in the Hebrew text as may appear by comparing 1 King. 10. 7. with 2 Chron. 9. 6. and Psal. 41. 9. with Ioh. 13. 18. and Mat. 3. 12. with Luk. 3. 17. was good, and the land that it was pleasant: and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute Willingly paying whatsoever Tributes were imposed upon him either by the neighbouring Tribes or by forreign powers rather than to forfeit his pleasant and fruitful country and his sweet repose..

Dan shall judge (i. e.) Rule and govern them. Though he be the son of my Concubine, yet he shall not be subject to any other Tribe, but shall have an absolute power within himself. What is said of him, is to be understood of the rest of the sons of the Concubines, and hereby all difference between the sons of the Wives and Concubines is taken away. It is said of Dan, because he is the first-mentioned of that sort. his people, as one of the tribes of Israel As the rest of the Tribes do, having distinct Governments and Governours amongst them. See Numb. 1. 4, 16..

Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path Which covereth and hideth it self in the sand or dust of the high-way watching for men or beast that pass that way. He notes the subtilty of that Tribe, which should conquer their enemies more by craft and cunning than by strength or force of armes., that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD I do earnestly wait and hope and pray for thy helping hand to save me and my posterity, from the manifold temporal calamities which I foresee will come upon them, and especially from spiritual and eternal mischiefs by that Messiah, which thou hast promised. Iacob, in the midst of his great work, does take a little breathing, and finding himself weakned by his speech to his children, and drawing nearer death, he opens his arms to receive it, as the thing for which he had long waited, as the only effectual remedy and mean of Salvation or deliverance from all his pains and miseries, and particularly from his present horrours upon the contemplation of the future state of his children. And this pathetical exclamation may look either, 1. backward to the state of the tribe of Dan, which he foresaw would be deplorable, both for its great straits and pressures, of which see Io.... 19. 47. Iudg. 1. 34. and especially for that Idolatry, which that Tribe would introduce, and promote, Iudg. 18. 30. and 1 King. 12. 29. whereby they would ruine themselves and most of the other tribes with them. Or 2. forward, to the doubtful and miserable condition of Gad..

Gad, troup (i. e.) of enemies shall frequently invade his country,... d for conquer and spoil it. And so it came to pass, beca... the inheritance of that tribe lay beyond, near to the Ammo...... nd Moabites two inveterate enemies of, and to other hostile nations on the East. shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last Or, afterward. This was fulfilled 1 Chron. 5. 18. &c. He shows that the events of the Wars should be various, but Gad should one time or other spoil his spoilers. See Deut. 33. 20..

Out of Asher (i. e.) Out of the land of Aher. Or, As for or concerning Aher., his bread shall be fat His bread-corn shall be fuller and sweeter and better than ordinary., and he shall yield royal dainties Not only oyl for Ointments, but also delicious and excellent fruits fit to be presented to a King. See Deut. 33. 24, 25..

Naphtali is a hind let loose Not pursued by hunters, nor shut up in some little enclosure, but wholly left to its own freedom to seed upon the best pastures; See Deut. 33. 23. Or, free from the yoke, which they, rogether with the other Tribes, did bear in E... pt, free from its former restraints, which... ke it run away m... e swiftly. So it may note their... mbleness and expedition either in encountring enemies or in avoiding dangers. See Iudg. 4. 6, 1.... and 5. 1.... Or like a... ame hind, left to its liberty; in which the owner takes delight, as Prov. 5. 19. For he seems to be commended rather for arts of Peace, then War. And this may note that his temper and conversation was civil, obliging, and amiable, which sense the next words favour.: he giveth goodly words His speeches and discourses with others are fair and friendly and winning. It is not strange, that this Tribe was generally of a sweeter disposition than others, seeing it is commonly observed that there is a great difference in the tempers of people of divers Provinces or cities bordering one upon another. But this verse may be otherwise rendred according to the opinion of a late learned writer, Napthali is a tree (so the Hebrew word signifies, only jod is inserted here, as it is in the same word, Isa. 1. 29. and 61. 3.) shot forth or spread forth, (into many branches: for the Hebrew verb Shalach is oft used concerning trees, and their shooting forth of branches, as Psal. 80. 11. Ezek. 17. 6. and 31. 5.) sending forth goodly branches, the word... re, which is by others rendred words, here signifying branches, as either the same word or one coming from the same root and consisting of the same radical Letters is taken Isa. 17. 6, 9. And it is usual in the Hebrew language for two words coming from the same root to exchange their significations. And this interpretation is favoured by the antient Interpreters, the LXX, and one of the Arabick Manuscripts, which make Napthali here to be compared to a goodly tree bringing forth excellent fruit..

Joseph is a fruitful bough In regard of those two numerous Tribes which proceeded from his two sons., even a fruitful bough by a well Or, fountain, or water-course, which scituation does much further the growth of trees. See Psal. 1. 3. and Ezek. 19. 10., whose branches run over the wall (i. e.) Which is planted by a wall, whose heat furthers its growth, no less than the moisture of the water does..

The archers (i. e.) His adversaries, as well his own brethren, as his Master and Mistress. have sorely grieved him With their scoffes and slanders and injuries, which in Scripture are oft compared to Arrows., and shot at him, and hated him:

But his bow Wherewith he opposed his enemies, which was no military bow, but that which he opposed to all their injuries, to wit, his own virtue, his innocence, his patience, his temperance, his faith and hope in God, whereby he res... sted and vanquished all the temptations and difficulties, which he met with, so that all his enemies co... neither detile, nor destroy, him. abode in strength, and the armes of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (i. e.) Of my God, the noun for the pronoun, which is frequent. When men forsook and persecuted him, my God and his God stood by him, He shows, that it was not Iosephs Wisdom or Courage, but Gods gracious assistance, that made him conquerour.: from thence is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel Either 1. From that great deliverance vouchsafed by God to Ioseph it is, that Israel or Iacob has a shepherd to feed him, a stone to lay his head upon, as once he did, Gen. 28. 11. or a rock of refuge to flie to in his great distresses, or a foundation stone or corner stone or pillar to sustain and preserve Iacobs house. Or rather 2. from the hands of the mighty God of Iacob, last mentioned, or from the God of his father, as it follows the next verse. So the sense is this, Though Ioseph was a blessed instrument in this wonderful work, yet the God of Jacob was the chief authour of it, by whose wise and merciful providence it was so ordered that Joseph should be first sold, and afterward advanced, and all in order to this end, that his Israel, with whom he has been pleased to make a gracious and everlasting Covenant, should have a shepherd to feed him in the time of Famine, and a stone or rock to support him..

Even by the God of thy father Here he explains and determines that doubtful expression from thence, by adding, even by (or rather from, as this particle M... m properly signifies, and was just now used) the God of thy father, i. e. who has chosen and loved thy father, and made a league with him, and blessed him with all manner of blessings., who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, with blessings of heaven above (i. e.) The sweet and powerful influences of the heavenly bodies, and the dews and rains which fall from heaven, whereby the fruits of the earth are produced in great plenty. See Levit. 26. 4. Deut. 28. 12. and 33. 14., blessings of the deep that lieth under (i. e.) Of that great sea of waters both about the earth and in the earth, whence come those springs and rivers by which the earth is moistned and made fruitful. See Gen. 1. 2. and 7. 11. and Deut. 8. 7., blessings of the breasts and of the womb Whereby both men and beasts shall be greatly multiplyed and abundantly supplied with all necessaries. This was true. 1. in the extent of the blessings. Ihmael was excluded from Abrahams blessing, and my brother excluded from Isaacs blessing, but both Josephs children are comprehended in Jacobs blessing. 2. In the distinctness and clearness of them. For that land of Canaan, which was transmitted to Isaac and to Jacob only in the general, was now in some sort particularly distributed to Joseph and to the rest of his brethren, as afterwards it was by Joshua. 3. in the nearness of the accomplishment. Now there was a more likely prospect of the multiplication of their seed, then there was to Abraham or Isaac, and in not very many years after this they multiplied to astonishment, and drew nearer to the possession of the promised land..

The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors The blessings which I thy Father have conferred upon thee are much more considerable than those which I received from my father Isaac or from my grandfather Abraham.; unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills These words seem to note the duration of Josephs blessing, that it should continue even to the bounds of the everlasting or lasting or antient hills, i. e. as long as the most solid and stable mountains shall last, i. e. for ever. Perpetuity is described by the continuance of the Mountains, as Isa. 54. 10. or of the Sun and Moon, as Psal. 72. 5, 7, 17. or of the heavens and earth, as Mat. 5. 18. In the foregoing words of this verse he commends these blessings from their excellency above all former blessings, and here he commends them from their durableness., they shall be Or, let them be. For this may be a prayer to God that these blessings may be constant and perpetual. on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren So he was, when he was sold into Egypt, and abode there in the court when his brethren were in Goshen, or, the crowned of or among his brethren, i. e. who, though he was once scorned and trampled upon by his brethren, yet now is highly honoured and advanced above them. Others, the Nazarite of or among his brethren, as he may be called either for his purity and sanctity, or for his eminency and dignity. But we must remember that the Nazarites were as yet unknown, being instituted long after this time..

Benjamin shall ravine as a wolf He notes the warlike and fierce disposition and carriage of that Tribe. Instances whereof we have, Judg. 3. 15. and 19. and 20. 1 Sam. 12. and 14. and 15.: in the morning he shall devour the prey: and at night he shall divide the spoil This may be understood, either of the same wolf, which in the morning being more hungry and greedy devours his prey alone, but in the evening, being in some measure satisfied, is content that his brethren should share with him. Or rather of several sorts of wolves, whereof some hunt and devour alone, others hunt in couples or troups, and these divide the prey among themselves. He mentions both morning and evening, because these are the two seasons when the Wolves prey, and to note that this would be Benjamins carriage both in the first and last times of that Tribe, as indeed it was..

All these are the twelve tribes (i. e.) The Heads and Parents of the Twelve Tribes. A Metonymy of the effect. The Tribes are generally accounted Twelve though they were Thirteen, because the Land was divided only into Twelve parts, Levi having no distinct part of his own. of Israel, and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them: every one according to his blessing (i. e.) According to that blessing which God in his purpose had allotted to each of them, which also he manifested unto Iacob by his Spirit. Object. There is no blessing here given to Reuben, Simeon and Levi, but rather a curse, how then is he said to bless every one of them! Answ. He blessed them all implicitly and really, though not expresly or in words, because he gave each of them a part in Canaan; and his taking away from Reuben only the right of the first-born plainly supposeth that he left him his single portion and inheritance. And he might well be said to bless them all, because he left them all an interest in Gods Covenant, one article whereof, was the giving of Canaan or part of Canaan to them, and this was an earnest of the other branches or articles of it. Though it is probable he also added some short blessing or prayer to God for his blessing upon them all. he blessed them.

And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my Fathers In Canaan. Whereby he designed to withdraw their minds from Egypt, and fix them upon Canaan., in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre He describes it so particularly, both for their direction, because they had been some years absent thence; and to express how much his heart was set upon this matter; and thereby to oblige them to the more careful performance of his command., in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite, for a possession of a burying-place.

(There they buryed Abraham, and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.)

The purchase of the field, and of the cave that is therein, was from the children of Heth.

And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons To wit, concerning the place of his burial. Whilest he was employed in that most solemn and religious work of blessing his children in the name and by the Spirit of God, he used as reverend a posture as his infirm Body would permit, and therefore is supposed to sit upon his beds side with his feet hanging downwards. And when he had finished that great work, and wearied himself with so long speech delivered with a most raised and affected mind, he composed himself to rest, and waited for the comfortable approach of his death, which speedily followed it., he gathered up his feet into bed e, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.