Your hand shall be on the nape of your foes;
Your father’s sons shall bow low to you.
9Judah is a lion’s whelp;
On prey, my son, have you grown.
He crouches, lies down like a lion,
Like a-the king of beasts-a—who dare rouse him?
10The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet;
So that tribute shall come to himb
And the homage of peoples be his.
11He tethers his ass to a vine,
His ass’s foal to a choice vine;
He washes his garment in wine,
His robe in blood of grapes.
12 c-His eyes are darker than wine;
His teeth are whiter than milk.-c
13Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore;
He shall be a haven for ships,
And his flank shall rest on Sidon.
14Issachar is a strong-boned ass,
Crouching among the sheepfolds.
15When he saw how good was security,
And how pleasant was the country,
He bent his shoulder to the burden,
And became a toiling serf.
16Dan shall govern his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17Dan shall be a serpent by the road,
A viper by the path,
That bites the horse’s heels
So that his rider is thrown backward.
18I wait for Your deliverance, O LORD!
19Gad shall be raided by raiders,
But he shall raid at their heels.
20Asher’s bread shall be rich,
And he shall yield royal dainties.
21Naphtali is a hind let loose,
Which yields lovely fawns.
22 d-Joseph is a wild ass,
A wild ass by a spring
—Wild colts on a hillside.-d
23Archers bitterly assailed him;
They shot at him and harried him.
24Yet his bow stayed taut,
And his armse were made firm
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob—
There, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel—
25The God of your father who helps you,
And Shaddai who blesses you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that couches below,
Blessings of the breast and womb.
26 f-The blessings of your father
Surpass the blessings of my ancestors,
To the utmost bounds of the eternal hills.-f
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
On the brow of the elect of his brothers.
27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he consumes the foe,g
And in the evening he divides the spoil.”
28All these were the tribes of Israel, twelve in number, and this is what their father said to them as he bade them farewell, addressing to each a parting word appropriate to him.
29Then he instructed them, saying to them, “I am about to be gathered to my kin. Bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30the cave which is in the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre, in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site—31there Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah—32the field and the cave in it, bought from the Hittites.” 33When Jacob finished his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and, breathing his last, he was gathered to his people.
50 Joseph flung himself upon his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. 2Then Joseph ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Israel. 3It required forty days, for such is the full period of embalming. The Egyptians bewailed him seventy days; 4and when the wailing period was over, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s court, saying, “Do me this favor, and lay this appeal before Pharaoh: 5‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die. Be sure to bury me in the grave which I made ready for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now, therefore, let me go up and bury my father; then I shall return.” 6And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you promise on oath.”
7So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the officials of Pharaoh, the senior members of his court, and all of Egypt’s dignitaries, 8together with all of Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household; only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the region of Goshen. 9Chariots, too, and horsemen went up with him; it was a very large troop.
10When they came to Gorena ha-Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they held there a very great and solemn lamentation; and he observed a mourning period of seven days for his father. 11And when the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning at Goren ha-Atad, they said, “This is a solemn mourning on the part of the Egyptians.” That is why it was named Abel-mizraim,b which is beyond the Jordan. 12Thus his sons did for him as he had instructed them. 13His sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, the field near Mamre, which Abraham had bought for a burial site from Ephron the Hittite. 14After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrong that we did him!” 16So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before his death your father left this instruction: 17So shall you say to Joseph, ‘Forgive, I urge you, the offense and guilt of your brothers who treated you so harshly.’ Therefore, please forgive the offense of the serv- ants of the God of your father.” And Joseph was in tears as they spoke to him.
18His brothers went to him themselves, flung themselves before him, and said, “We are prepared to be your slaves.” 19But Joseph said to them, “Have no fear! Am I a substitute for God? 20Besides, although you in- tended me harm, God intended it for good, so as to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. 21And so, fear not. I will sustain you and your children.” Thus he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.
22So Joseph and his father’s household remained in Egypt. Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. 23Joseph lived to see children of the third generation of Ephraim; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were likewise born upon Joseph’s knees. 24At length, Joseph said to his broth- ers, “I am about to die. God will surely take notice of you and bring you up from this land to the land that He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25So Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “When God has taken notice of you, you shall carry up my bones from here.”
26Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.
a Others “In the beginning God created.”
b Others “the spirit of.”
c Others “one day.”
a Or “rested.”
b Heb. ’adam.
c Heb. ’adamah.
d Others “onyx”; meaning of Heb. shoham uncertain.
e Heb. ’ishshah.
f Heb. ’ish.
g Heb. ‘arummim, play on ‘arum “shrewd” in 3.1.
a-a Others “God, who knows.”
b Heb. hawwah.
c Heb. hay.
a Heb. yada‘, often in a sexual sense.
b Heb. qanithi, connected with “Cain.”
c Meaning of verse uncertain.
d Ancient versions, including the Targum, read “Come, let us go out into the field.”
e See 3.17.
f Heb. Mehijael.
g-g Or “established for me”; Heb. shath, connected with “Seth.”
a Connecting Noah with Heb. niham “to comfort”; cf. 9.20 ff.
a Others “the sons of God.”
b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c-c Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a Heb. yapht, play on Heb. yepheth “Japheth.”
a Septuagint and 1 Chron. 1.7 “Rodanim.”
b Cf. vv. 20 and 31.
c Heb. we-khalneh, better vocalized we-khullanah “all of them being.”
d I.e., the Cretans; moved up for the sake of clarity; cf. Amos 9.7.
e Heb. niphlegah, play on “Peleg.”
a I.e., “Babylon.”
b Heb. balal “confound,” play on “Babel.”
c Lit. “After he begot,” and so throughout.
a I.e., a standard by which blessing is invoked; cf. v. 3 end.
b Or “You”; cf. the second person feminine form -ti in Judg. 5.7; Jer. 2.20; Mic. 4.13, etc.
a Lit. “Please separate from me.”
c Heb. El ‘Elyon.
d Lit. “lift up my hand.”
a-a Meaning of. Heb. uncertain.
a Heb. “Salt Sea.”
b Meaning of Heb. hanikh uncertain.
a Lit. “be built up,” play on ben “son” and banah “build up.”
b I.e., “God heeds.”
c Apparently “God of Seeing.”
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
e Apparently “the Well of the Living One Who sees me.”
a Traditionally rendered “God Almighty.”
b Understood as “father of a multitude.”
c I.e., “princess.”
d Heb. Yishaq, from sahaq, “laugh.”
e Heb. shema ‘tikha, play on “Ishmael.”
a Or “My Lord.”
b Cf. Gen. 17.21; 2 Kings 4.16–17.
a Connected with mis’ar “a little place,” v. 20.
b Lit. “His.”
c Lit. “behind him.”
d As though me-’ab “from (my) father.”
e As though “son of my (paternal) kindred.”
a Lit. “a covering of the eyes”; meaning of latter half of verse uncertain.
a Lit. “for.”
b Lit. “called.”
c I.e., “well of seven” or “well of oath.”
a Lit, “fire.”
b Reading ’ehad with many Heb. mss. and ancient versions; text ’ahar “after.”
c I.e., “the Lord will see”; cf. v. 8.
d Heb. Behar Adonai yera’eh.
a I.e., all his fellow townsmen.
a Lit. “about this matter.”
b Heb. beqa’.
c Heb. teben, shredded straw, which in the East is mixed with feed; cf. v. 32.
d-d Lit. “days or ten.”
e Others “to meditate”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a Or “Hanoch.”
b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Synonym of “Seir,” play on Heb. se’ar “hair.”
d Play on Heb. ‘aqeb “heel.”
e-e Lit. “game was in his mouth.”
f Play on Heb. ’adom “red.”
a I.e., “contention.”
b I.e., “harassment.”
c Heb. hirhib, connected with “Rehoboth.”
d As though “oath.”
a Heb. ‘aqab, connected with “Jacob.”
b-b Others “be away from the fat of the earth and from.”
a See note at 17.1.
b Or “ramp”; others “ladder.”
c I.e., “house of God.”
a-a Lit. “lifted up his feet.”
b Lit. “his
