Genesis 49 #catechesis/bible/genesis
[!abstract] Jacob’s prophetical blessings of his twelve sons: his death.
Book: Genesis · ← Genesis 48 · Genesis 50 →
1
GR ἐκάλεσεν δὲ Ιακωβ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν συνάχθητε ἵνα ἀναγγείλω ὑμῖν τί ἀπαντήσει ὑμῖν ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν
LA Vocavit autem Jacob filios suos, et ait eis: Congregamini, ut annuntiem quæ ventura sunt vobis in diebus novissimis.
EN And Jacob called his sons, and said to them: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the last days.
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2
GR ἀθροίσθητε καὶ ἀκούσατε υἱοὶ Ιακωβ ἀκούσατε Ισραηλ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν
LA Congregamini, et audite, filii Jacob, audite Israël patrem vestrum:
EN Gather yourselves together, and hear, O you sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel, your father:
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3
GR Ρουβην πρωτότοκός μου σύ ἰσχύς μου καὶ ἀρχὴ τέκνων μου σκληρὸς φέρεσθαι καὶ σκληρὸς αὐθάδης
LA Ruben, primogenitus meus, tu fortitudo mea, et principium doloris mei; prior in donis, major in imperio.
EN Ruben, my firstborn, you are my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow; excelling in gifts, greater in command.
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4
GR ἐξύβρισας ὡς ὕδωρ μὴ ἐκζέσῃς ἀνέβης γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν κοίτην τοῦ πατρός σου τότε ἐμίανας τὴν στρωμνήν οὗ ἀνέβης
LA Effusus es sicut aqua, non crescas: quia ascendisti cubile patris tui, et maculasti stratum ejus.
EN You are poured out as water; grow not; because you went up to your father’s bed, and defiled his couch.
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[!note]- My strength, etc…
He calls him his strength, as being born whilst his father was in his full strength and vigour: he calls him the beginning of his sorrow, because cares and sorrows usually come on with the birth of children. Excelling in gifts, etc., because the firstborn had a title to a double portion, and to have the command over his brethren, which Ruben forfeited by his sin; being poured out as water, that is, spilt and lost.
[!note]- Grow not…
This was not meant by way of a curse or imprecation; but by way of a prophecy foretelling that the tribe of Ruben should not inherit the pre-eminences usually annexed to the first birthright, viz., the double portion, the being prince or lord over the other brethren, and the priesthood: of which the double portion was given to Joseph, the princely office to Juda, and the priesthood to Levi.
5
GR Συμεων καὶ Λευι ἀδελφοί συνετέλεσαν ἀδικίαν ἐξ αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν
LA Simeon et Levi fratres vasa iniquitatis bellantia.
EN Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity waging war.
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GR εἰς βουλὴν αὐτῶν μὴ ἔλθοι ἡ ψυχή μου καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ συστάσει αὐτῶν μὴ ἐρείσαι τὰ ἥπατά μου ὅτι ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτῶν ἀπέκτειναν ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ αὐτῶν ἐνευροκόπησαν ταῦρον
LA In consilium eorum non veniat anima mea, et in cœtu illorum non sit gloria mea: quia in furore suo occiderunt virum, et in voluntate sua suffoderunt murum.
EN Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, and in their selfwill they undermined a wall.
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GR ἐπικατάρατος ὁ θυμὸς αὐτῶν ὅτι αὐθάδης καὶ ἡ μῆνις αὐτῶν ὅτι ἐσκληρύνθη διαμεριῶ αὐτοὺς ἐν Ιακωβ καὶ διασπερῶ αὐτοὺς ἐν Ισραηλ
LA Maledictus furor eorum, quia pertinax: et indignatio eorum, quia dura: dividam eos in Jacob, et dispergam eos in Israël.
EN Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath, because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel.
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[!note]- Slew a man,…
viz., Sichem the son of Hemor, with all his people, Genesis 34; mystically and prophetically it alludes to Christ, whom their posterity, viz., the priests and the scribes, put to death.
8
GR Ιουδα σὲ αἰνέσαισαν οἱ ἀδελφοί σου αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐπὶ νώτου τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου προσκυνήσουσίν σοι οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρός σου
LA Juda, te laudabunt fratres tui: manus tua in cervicibus inimicorum tuorum, adorabunt te filii patris tui.
EN Juda, you shall your brethren praise: your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
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GR σκύμνος λέοντος Ιουδα ἐκ βλαστοῦ υἱέ μου ἀνέβης ἀναπεσὼν ἐκοιμήθης ὡς λέων καὶ ὡς σκύμνος τίς ἐγερεῖ αὐτόν
LA Catulus leonis Juda: ad prædam, fili mi, ascendisti: requiescens accubuisti ut leo, et quasi leæna: quis suscitabit eum?
EN Juda is a lion’s whelp: to the prey, my son, you have gone up: resting you have couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him?
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GR οὐκ ἐκλείψει ἄρχων ἐξ Ιουδα καὶ ἡγούμενος ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐτοῦ ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ τὰ ἀποκείμενα αὐτῷ καὶ αὐτὸς προσδοκία ἐθνῶν
LA Non auferetur sceptrum de Juda, et dux de femore ejus, donec veniat qui mittendus est, et ipse erit expectatio gentium.
EN The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.
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GR δεσμεύων πρὸς ἄμπελον τὸν πῶλον αὐτοῦ καὶ τῇ ἕλικι τὸν πῶλον τῆς ὄνου αὐτοῦ πλυνεῖ ἐν οἴνῳ τὴν στολὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν αἵματι σταφυλῆς τὴν περιβολὴν αὐτοῦ
LA Ligans ad vineam pullum suum, et ad vitem, o fili mi, asinam suam, lavabit in vino stolam suam et in sanguine uvæ pallium suum.
EN Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, O my son, to the vine. He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape.
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12
GR χαροποὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ οἴνου καὶ λευκοὶ οἱ ὀδόντες αὐτοῦ ἢ γάλα
LA Pulchriores sunt oculi ejus vino, et dentes ejus lacte candidiores.
EN His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
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[!note]- A lion’s whelp, etc…
This blessing of Juda foretells the strength of his tribe, the fertility of his inheritance; and principally that the sceptre and legislative power should not be utterly taken away from his race till about the time of the coming of Christ: as in effect it never was: which is a demonstration against the modern Jews, that the Messiah is long since come; for the sceptre has long since been utterly taken away from Juda.
13
GR Ζαβουλων παράλιος κατοικήσει καὶ αὐτὸς παρ’ ὅρμον πλοίων καὶ παρατενεῖ ἕως Σιδῶνος
LA Zabulon in littore maris habitabit, et in statione navium pertingens usque ad Sidonem.
EN Zabulon shall dwell on the seashore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
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GR Ισσαχαρ τὸ καλὸν ἐπεθύμησεν ἀναπαυόμενος ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν κλήρων
LA Issachar asinus fortis accubans inter terminos.
EN Issachar shall be a strong ass, lying down between the borders.
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GR καὶ ἰδὼν τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν ὅτι καλή καὶ τὴν γῆν ὅτι πίων ὑπέθηκεν τὸν ὦμον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ πονεῖν καὶ ἐγενήθη ἀνὴρ γεωργός
LA Vidit requiem, quod esset bona et terram, quod optima: et supposuit humerum suum ad portandum, factusque est tributis serviens.
EN He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute.
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GR Δαν κρινεῖ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαὸν ὡσεὶ καὶ μία φυλὴ ἐν Ισραηλ
LA Dan judicabit populum suum sicut et alia tribus in Israël.
EN Dan shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel.
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GR καὶ γενηθήτω Δαν ὄφις ἐφ’ ὁδοῦ ἐγκαθήμενος ἐπὶ τρίβου δάκνων πτέρναν ἵππου καὶ πεσεῖται ὁ ἱππεὺς εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω
LA Fiat Dan coluber in via, cerastes in semita, mordens ungulas equi, ut cadat ascensor ejus retro.
EN Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that bites the horse’s heels, that his rider may fall backward.
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GR τὴν σωτηρίαν περιμένω κυρίου
LA Salutare tuum expectabo, Domine.
EN I will look for your salvation, O Lord.
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[!note]- Dan shall judge, etc…
This was verified in Samson, who was of the tribe of Dan, and began to deliver Israel. Judges 13:5. But as this deliverance was but temporal and very imperfect, the holy patriarch (Genesis 49:18) aspires after another kind of deliverer, saying: I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.
19
GR Γαδ πειρατήριον πειρατεύσει αὐτόν αὐτὸς δὲ πειρατεύσει αὐτῶν κατὰ πόδας
LA Gad, accinctus præliabatur ante eum: et ipse accingetur retrorsum.
EN Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward.
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[!note]- Gad being girded, etc…
It seems to allude to the tribe of Gad; when after they had received for their lot the land of Galaad, they marched in arms before the rest of the Israelites, to the conquest of the land of Chanaan: from whence they afterwards returned loaded with spoils. See Joshua 4 and 12.
20
GR Ασηρ πίων αὐτοῦ ὁ ἄρτος καὶ αὐτὸς δώσει τρυφὴν ἄρχουσιν
LA Aser, pinguis panis ejus, et præbebit delicias regibus.
EN Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings.
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GR Νεφθαλι στέλεχος ἀνειμένον ἐπιδιδοὺς ἐν τῷ γενήματι κάλλος
LA Nephthali, cervus emissus, et dans eloquia pulchritudinis.
EN Nephthali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.
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GR υἱὸς ηὐξημένος Ιωσηφ υἱὸς ηὐξημένος ζηλωτός υἱός μου νεώτατος πρός με ἀνάστρεψον
LA Filius accrescens Joseph, filius accrescens et decorus aspectu: filiæ discurrerunt super murum.
EN Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold: the daughters run to and fro upon the wall;
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GR εἰς ὃν διαβουλευόμενοι ἐλοιδόρουν καὶ ἐνεῖχον αὐτῷ κύριοι τοξευμάτων
LA Sed exasperaverunt eum et jurgati sunt, invideruntque illi habentes jacula.
EN but they that held darts, provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him.
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GR καὶ συνετρίβη μετὰ κράτους τὰ τόξα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐξελύθη τὰ νεῦρα βραχιόνων χειρῶν αὐτῶν διὰ χεῖρα δυνάστου Ιακωβ ἐκεῖθεν ὁ κατισχύσας Ισραηλ
LA Sedit in forti arcus ejus, et dissoluta sunt vincula brachiorum et manuum illius per manus potentis Jacob: inde pastor egressus est, lapis Israël.
EN His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel.
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[!note]- His bow rested upon the strong, etc…
That is, upon God, who was his strength: who also loosed his bands, and brought him out of prison to be the pastor, that is, the feeder and ruler of Egypt, and the stone, that is, the rock and support of Israel.
25
GR παρὰ θεοῦ τοῦ πατρός σου καὶ ἐβοήθησέν σοι ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἐμὸς καὶ εὐλόγησέν σε εὐλογίαν οὐρανοῦ ἄνωθεν καὶ εὐλογίαν γῆς ἐχούσης πάντα ἕνεκεν εὐλογίας μαστῶν καὶ μήτρας
LA Deus patris tui erit adjutor tuus, et omnipotens benedicet tibi benedictionibus cæli desuper, benedictionibus abyssi jacentis deorsum, benedictionibus uberum et vulvæ.
EN The God of your father shall be your helper, and the Almighty shall bless you with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lies beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
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GR εὐλογίας πατρός σου καὶ μητρός σου ὑπερίσχυσεν ἐπ’ εὐλογίαις ὀρέων μονίμων καὶ ἐπ’ εὐλογίαις θινῶν ἀενάων ἔσονται ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν Ιωσηφ καὶ ἐπὶ κορυφῆς ὧν ἡγήσατο ἀδελφῶν
LA Benedictiones patris tui confortatæ sunt benedictionibus patrum ejus, donec veniret desiderium collium æternorum: fiant in capite Joseph, et in vertice Nazaræi inter fratres suos.
EN The blessings of your father are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers: until the desire of the everlasting hills should come: may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
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[!note]- Run to and fro, etc…
To behold his beauty; whilst his envious brethren turned their darts against him, etc.
[!note]- The blessings of thy father, etc…
That is, thy father’s blessings are made more prevalent and effectual in thy regard, by the additional strength they receive from his inheriting the blessings of his progenitors Abraham and Isaac.
[!note]- The desire of the everlasting hills, etc…
These blessings all looked forward towards Christ, called the desire of the everlasting hills, as being longed for, as it were, by the whole creation. Mystically, the patriarchs and prophets are called the everlasting hills, by reason of the eminence of their wisdom and holiness.
[!note]- The Nazarite…
This word signifies one separated; and agrees to Joseph, as being separated from, and more eminent than, his brethren. As the ancient Nazarites were so called from their being set aside for God, and vowed to him.
27
GR Βενιαμιν λύκος ἅρπαξ τὸ πρωινὸν ἔδεται ἔτι καὶ εἰς τὸ ἑσπέρας διαδώσει τροφήν
LA Benjamin lupus rapax, mane comedat prædam, et vespere dividet spolia.
EN Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil.
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GR πάντες οὗτοι υἱοὶ Ιακωβ δώδεκα καὶ ταῦτα ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῶν καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς ἕκαστον κατὰ τὴν εὐλογίαν αὐτοῦ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς
LA Omnes hi in tribubus Israël duodecim: hæc locutus est eis pater suus, benedixitque singulis benedictionibus propriis.
EN All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: these things their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one with their proper blessings.
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GR καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ἐγὼ προστίθεμαι πρὸς τὸν ἐμὸν λαόν θάψατέ με μετὰ τῶν πατέρων μου ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ Εφρων τοῦ Χετταίου
LA Et præcepit eis, dicens: Ego congregor ad populum meum: sepelite me cum patribus meis in spelunca duplici quæ est in agro Ephron Hethæi,
EN And he charged them, saying: I am now going to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite,
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[!note]- To be gathered to my people…
That is, I am going to die, and so to follow my ancestors that are gone before me, and to join their company in another world.
30
GR ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τῷ διπλῷ τῷ ἀπέναντι Μαμβρη ἐν τῇ γῇ Χανααν ὃ ἐκτήσατο Αβρααμ τὸ σπήλαιον παρὰ Εφρων τοῦ Χετταίου ἐν κτήσει μνημείου
LA contra Mambre in terra Chanaan, quam emit Abraham cum agro ab Ephron Hethæo in possessionem sepulchri.
EN over against Mambre, in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham bought together with the field, of Ephron the Hethite, for a possession to bury in.
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GR ἐκεῖ ἔθαψαν Αβρααμ καὶ Σαρραν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖ ἔθαψαν Ισαακ καὶ Ρεβεκκαν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκεῖ ἔθαψα Λειαν
LA Ibi sepelierunt eum, et Saram uxorem ejus: ibi sepultus est Isaac cum Rebecca conjuge sua: ibi et Lia condita jacet.
EN There they buried him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac buried with Rebecca, his wife: there also Lia does lie buried.
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GR ἐν κτήσει τοῦ ἀγροῦ καὶ τοῦ σπηλαίου τοῦ ὄντος ἐν αὐτῷ παρὰ τῶν υἱῶν Χετ
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GR καὶ κατέπαυσεν Ιακωβ ἐπιτάσσων τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξάρας τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν κλίνην ἐξέλιπεν καὶ προσετέθη πρὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ
LA Finitisque mandatis quibus filios instruebat, collegit pedes suos super lectulum, et obiit: appositusque est ad populum suum.
EN And when he had ended the commandments, wherewith he instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died: and he was gathered to his people.
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