Genesis 49: Jacob's last words

Jacob foretells his sons' futures, giving Judah the scepter until Shiloh comes and the nations' allegiance is his.

Chapter 49 of 5033 verses6 sectionsBSB

Where Genesis 49 sits

Genesis66 books · 1,189 chaptersRevelation

In the story: Act III, Promise: Genesis 12–50; Job
In the Bible: Old Testament · The Law · chapter 49 of 50 in Genesis
In Genesis: Jacob's line: Joseph and Judah, 37:2–50:26 · part of One family
Before: Genesis 48: Ephraim before Manasseh
After: Genesis 50: God intended it for good

Genesis 49 summary

Jacob gathers his sons to foretell their future. Reuben, uncontrolled as the waters, loses the firstborn's preeminence for defiling his father's bed, and Simeon and Levi are to be scattered for their cruelty. Judah is praised by his brothers, a young lion to whom his father's sons will bow; the scepter will not depart from him until Shiloh comes, and the allegiance of the nations will be his in a time of overflowing plenty. The other sons receive brief words, Jacob breaks off to say he waits for the LORD's salvation, Joseph receives the fullest blessing from the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, and Jacob, charging burial at Machpelah, draws up his feet and dies.

Genesis 49 in context

Speaking: Jacob (Israel), on his deathbed, speaking as a prophet; Moses narrating
Written for: Israel's twelve tribes, hearing their fathers' futures and the promise of a king from Judah
Around it: Follows the blessing of Joseph's sons (ch. 48); Jacob's burial and Joseph's death close the book (ch. 50)

How Genesis 49 points to Christ

The Lion of the tribe of Judah has triumphed (Rev 5:5); our Lord descended from Judah (Heb 7:14), the King to whom the allegiance of the nations belongs

The sections of Genesis 49

In the days to come
Jacob calls his sons together to tell them what will happen to them in the days to come.
49:1–2
Reuben, Simeon and Levi
Uncontrolled Reuben loses the firstborn's place for defiling his father's bed; violent Simeon and Levi will be scattered.
49:3–7
Judah the lion
Judah, the young lion, will be praised and obeyed, holding the scepter until Shiloh comes and the nations' allegiance is his.
49:8–12
Six brothers
Brief words for Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher and Naphtali, with Jacob's cry that he waits for the LORD's salvation.
49:13–21
Joseph and Benjamin
Joseph, made strong by the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, is richly blessed; Benjamin is a wolf.
49:22–27
Gathered to his people
These are the twelve tribes; Jacob charges burial with his fathers at Machpelah, then is gathered to his people.
49:28–33

Read Genesis 49

Jacob Blesses His Sons

¹Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come:

²Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob;

listen to your father Israel.

³Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might,

and the beginning of my strength,

excelling in honor,

excelling in power.

⁴Uncontrolled as the waters,

you will no longer excel,

because you went up to your father’s bed,

onto my couch, and defiled it.

⁵Simeon and Levi are brothers;

their swords are weapons of violence.

⁶May I never enter their council;

may I never join their assembly.

For they kill men in their anger,

and hamstring oxen on a whim.

⁷Cursed be their anger, for it is strong,

and their wrath, for it is cruel!

I will disperse them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

⁸Judah, your brothers shall praise you.

Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies;

your father’s sons shall bow down to you.

⁹Judah is a young lion—

my son, you return from the prey.

Like a lion he crouches and lies down;

like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?

¹⁰The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the staff from between his feet,

until Shiloh comes

and the allegiance of the nations is his.

¹¹He ties his donkey to the vine,

his colt to the choicest branch.

He washes his garments in wine,

his robes in the blood of grapes.

¹²His eyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth are whiter than milk.

¹³Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore

and become a harbor for ships;

his border shall extend to Sidon.

¹⁴Issachar is a strong donkey,

lying down between the sheepfolds.

¹⁵He saw that his resting place was good

and that his land was pleasant,

so he bent his shoulder to the burden

and submitted to labor as a servant.

¹⁶Dan shall provide justice for his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁷He will be a snake by the road,

a viper in the path

that bites the horse’s heels

so that its rider tumbles backward.

¹⁸I await Your salvation, O LORD.

¹⁹Gad will be attacked by raiders,

but he will attack their heels.

²⁰Asher’s food will be rich;

he shall provide royal delicacies.

²¹Naphtali is a doe set free

that bears beautiful fawns.

²²Joseph is a fruitful vine—

a fruitful vine by a spring,

whose branches scale the wall.

²³The archers attacked him with bitterness;

they aimed at him in hostility.

²⁴Yet he steadied his bow,

and his strong arms were tempered

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,

in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

²⁵by the God of your father who helps you,

and by the Almighty who blesses you,

with blessings of the heavens above,

with blessings of the depths below,

with blessings of the breasts and womb.

²⁶The blessings of your father have surpassed

the blessings of the ancient mountains

and the bounty of the everlasting hills.

May they rest on the head of Joseph,

on the brow of the prince of his brothers.

²⁷Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;

in the morning he devours the prey,

in the evening he divides the plunder.”

²⁸These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

The Death of Jacob

²⁹Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. ³⁰The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. ³¹There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah. ³²The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”

³³When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.

Berean Standard Bible, 33 verses. The BSB is in the public domain.

Around Genesis 49

Near it in Jacob's line: Joseph and Judah

Places

Machpelah
Sidon
Hebron

Read alongside

Revelation 5:5 The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.
Hebrews 7:14 Our Lord descended from Judah.
1 Chronicles 5:1–2 Judah prevailed over his brothers, and a ruler came from him.
Ezekiel 21:27 Until the arrival of Him to whom it belongs: often heard as an echo of 49:10.
Genesis 34:25–30 The violence Jacob now condemns.

Chapters that point here

Genesis 23
Numbers 2
Numbers 24
Deuteronomy 33
Joshua 15

How Genesis 49 connects

Kingship · Genesis 49:10 · The scepter promised to Judah: the royal line of the Seed. (Revelation 5:5; Hebrews 7:14)
Firstborn · Genesis 49:3–4 · Reuben loses the firstborn's place (1 Chr 5:1–2).
Rest · Genesis 49:15 · Issachar saw that his resting place was good.
Promise · Genesis 49:10, kept in Revelation 5:5; Hebrews 7:14
Promise · Genesis 49:8, kept in 1 Chronicles 5:2

Doctrines Genesis 49 teaches

Christ the Mediator · Genesis 49:10; Revelation 5:5
Providence · Genesis 49:1; Genesis 49:28

Questions on Genesis 49

What does Jacob promise Judah in 49:10?
Show the answer
That the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his (49:10). Judah is to be the tribe of kings.
Which New Testament book calls Jesus the Lion of the tribe of Judah?
Show the answer
Revelation, where one of the elders tells John that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has triumphed to open the scroll (Rev 5:5), taking up Jacob’s picture of Judah as a young lion (49:9).
Where does Jacob break off to say he waits for the LORD's salvation?
Show the answer
In the middle of the words to his sons, right after Dan: “I await Your salvation, O LORD” (49:18). Among the brief words for six brothers, Jacob turns aside to the LORD.

Genesis is open in full

Everything on this page is in the free app, as is all of Genesis. TheoMaps Plus opens the other 65 books the same way, with the map, Challenges and Step Inside.

Get launch news