Jacob Blesses Joseph's Sons. JACOB ADOPTS THE SONS OF JOSEPH. — V. 1. And it came to pass after these things that one told Joseph, the news was brought him by a special messenger, Behold, thy father is sick. This was not long after Jacob had made arrangements for the transfer of his body to Canaan for burial. And he (Joseph) took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, who were now about twenty years old; Manasseh may have been about twentyfour and Ephraim a few years younger. V. 2. And one told Jacob and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee, also an announcement by a special messenger. And Israel strengthened himself, with the help of God he summoned all his remaining strength, and sat upon the bed; for he, as patriarch and bearer of the Messianic promise, had a final duty to perform. V. 3. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, at Bethel, where he received two special revelations, chap. 28, 13. 19; 35, 6. 9, and blessed me, v. 4. and said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee; and I will make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. Thus both the patriarchal and the Messianic blessing had been given to Jacob, to be fulfilled in his descendants. V. 5. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine. It is significant that in this formal statement of adoption the name of Ephraim is set before that of Manasseh, the birthright thus being changed. The divine blessing of promise, of which Jacob was the bearer, empowered him to adopt these two grandsons and to give them equal rights with his oldest sons, designate their descendants as two fully recognized tribes among the children of Israel. V. 6. And thy issue which thou begettest after them shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance; they should not form a third tribe, but should be included in those of Ephraim and Manasseh, though their names were entered in the genealogical tables, Num. 26, 28-37; 1 Chron. 7, 14-19. Through this adoption of his oldest sons on the part of Jacob, Joseph was given the right of the firstborn in his inheritance, 1 Chron. 5, 2. By this disposition of the inheritance Jacob incidentally honored Rachel. V. 7. And as for me, when I came from Padan, that is, Mesopotamia, Rachel died by me, she died by his side, sharing with him the toil and the hardships of the pilgrim life, in the land of Canaan in the way, while they were on the journey,

when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem, as the author adds by way of explanation. There was some compensation to Jacob in the fact that at least three tribes among the children of Israel would trace their ancestry to Rachel, his beloved wife. Thus her remembrance was kept sacred in Israel.

THE BLESSING UPON EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH. V. 8. And Israel beheld Joseph's sons and said, Who are these? The eyes of Jacob being dim with age, he had not noticed the presence of the two young men till now. V. 9. And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. Till now they had stood at a respectful distance, as becomes young people in the presence of their elders. V. 10. Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see, just as his father's had been at the time he blessed his sons. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them and embraced them. The grandfather had probably not seen the boys for years, and was overjoyed at the meeting. V. 11. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face, he had not even dared to suppose that so much joy would be his; and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed, these children. V. 12. And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, where Jacob had held them in a fond embrace, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth, awaiting the blessing which his father was ready to give. V. 13. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him, his idea being that Jacob would thus naturally place his right hand on the head of Manasseh as he blessed the boys. V. 14. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the first-born; he purposely placed the younger before the older, although this made it necessary for him to cross his arms. V. 15. And he blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, v. 16. the Angel, the Son of God, who had assisted his fathers as well as himself at various times, which redeemed me from all evil, both of body and of soul, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; in them the dignity and the faith of the patriarchs was to

be continued, in them God's gifts of grace and salvation should be renewed, even as they had been received by their fathers; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth, their increase should be as great as that of the fishes in the sea. Thus did Jacob confess his heartfelt gratitude to God, both as his Shepherd and as his Savior, and the threefold mention of God may well have reference to the Trinity. V. 17. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, for the laying on of hands was a symbol of the transfer of spiritual gifts, and the right hand typified the greater share of these blessings; and he held up his father's hand, he gently took hold of it and supported it, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head, thinking that his father had made a mistake without being conscious of it. V. 18. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father; for this is the first-born; put thy right hand upon his head. V. 19. And his father refused and said, I know it, my son, I know it, he was well aware of the fact that Manasseh, and not Ephraim, was the firstborn: he (Manasseh) also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. It was not merely an old man's whim or caprice, but Jacob was acting with prophetic insight and wisdom and trans

mitting the blessing of the Lord. As a matter of fact, the tribe of Ephraim did pass the tribe of Manasseh in numbers and power, finally assuming the leadership of the northern tribes. V. 20. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee (Joseph) shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh; and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. So great and unusual was the blessing of God upon these two tribes that it became proverbial among the children of Israel and was used in special formulas of well-wishing. V. 21. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die; he knew that his end was now very near; but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. He thus passed on the prophetic promise which he had received at Beersheba, chap. 46, 4. V. 22. Moreover, I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, a strip of land in Canaan, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. This is also a prophetic saying and refers to the time when the children of Israel conquered the Land of Promise and drove out the Canaanites before them, at which time Joseph obtained the land which contained Shechem, where also his bones were laid to rest. Thus did Jacob give to his son Joseph the field at Shechem, John 4, 5. And it was the Lord who, through Jacob, fixed the destiny of these descendants, just as He governs the entire universe according to His will.

Jacob Blesses His Sons before His Death. THE BLESSING UPON REUBEN. V. 1. And Jacob called unto his sons, he summoned them to his death-bed, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. In prophetic exaltation and in poetic form he sets before them what the future has in store for them, especially as to the Messianic blessings, until the end of time. V. 2. Gather yourselves together and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hearken unto Israel, your father. The solemn and impressive admonition was made in order to get their full attention. The things which would befall them according to their dispositions and natures, but above all according to the providence and will of God, are now set forth. V. 3. Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. Jacob speaks with deep feeling: Reuben, my first-born thou, my might and the head of my strength. He was the first-fruits of Jacob's vigor, both spiritual and bodily. In him the dignity of the priesthood should have been united with the power of the ruler. But all this Reuben had forfeited. V. 4. Unstable as

water, thou shalt not excel; he was like the bubbling of boiling water, rashly impulsive, and therefore he would lose the dignity and the preference of his birthright. Because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, in lying with Bilhah, his father's concubine, chap. 35, 22; then defiledst thou it, he desecrated what should have been sacred to him. It was a crime from which the father even now, after the lapse of so many years, turned with horror, saying, with a tinge of repulsion and bitterness; he went up to my couch.

THE BLESSING UPON SIMEON AND LEVI. — V. 5. Simeon and Levi are brethren, not only by parentage, but also in character; they also were unfit for leadership. Instruments of cruelty are in their habitations, the swords which they used in their revenge upon the Shechemites were weapons of wickedness, and Jacob does not wish to be identified with outrages of this kind. V. 6. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united; the thought of being closely identified with them fills Jacob with horrified dismay. For in their anger they slew a man, their murdering of the helpless Shechemites was an infamous trick; and in their self-will they

digged down a wall, rather, houghed oxen; the cattle of the people of Shechem which they had not taken with them after their raid, chap. 34, 28, they had cruelly mutilated and caused to die a slow death by cutting the sinews of the hinder feet. V. 7. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; the anger in itself may have been justified at the time, but the fact that its violence sought such an outlet is beyond excuse; and their wrath, for it was cruel; they went to excess in their angry impetuosity. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. This prophecy was fulfilled in such a way as to make Simeon the weakest among the tribes even before the entry into Canaan, Num. 26, 14, to omit the tribe in the blessing of Moses, Deut. 33, and to give to the tribe only a few cities within the boundaries of Judah, Josh. 19, 1-9; 1 Chron. 4, 27-43, while Levi also, redeemed in some measure by the heroic act of a member of the tribe, Num. 25, 11-13, received no section of Canaan for his portion, but lived in cities ceded by the other tribes. Thus a whole family, and even a whole nation, may have to bear the guilt of a few sinners whom the Lord was obliged to condemn.

THE BLESSING UPON JUDAH.-V. 8. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies: thy father's children shall bow down before thee. The prophecy of the patriarch here rises to a joyful exultation, as he makes Judah the prince and ruler among his brethren and explains his name. Judah should occupy a position of power among all the children of Israel, conquer his enemies by taking hold of their necks and subduing them, in consequence of which all the tribes would recognize his sovereignty, as at the time of David. V. 9. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? From his youth Judah had shown that he possessed the nature, the character of a lion, as a whelp, as a young lion, as a mature lion. Having caught his prey, the lion returns to his mountain fastnesses, into his den, where a person will attack him only at the risk of his own life. The tribe of Judah, forming the vanguard during the wilderness journey, settled on the highlands and mountains of Judea, grew to be a mighty tribe, gaining strength from the many defeats of its enemies, secure in its dominion. V. 10. The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be. This is one of the most remarkable and inspiring Messianic promises in the entire Old Testament. The scepter is the mark of royal power, and the ruler's staff, or the mace of the chieftain, resting between his feet as he sat upright, likewise belonged to the insignia of authority and power. The government, the princely power,

was to remain in the hands of Judah, culminating finally in the reign of Shiloh, the Messiah, the Author and Source of true rest, the Prince of Peace, through whom all mankind should have peace with God by the acceptance of the justification earned by Him, Rom. 5, 1. To Him the nations, His people, render obedience in faith and thus become partakers of all the blessings of His kingdom, here in time, and hereafter in eternity. V. 11. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes. This part of the prophecy refers not only to the extraordinary fertility of the country of Judah in the Land of Promise, which promised him a superabundance of the most precious products of the field, garden, and herd, but represents a type of the Messianic kingdom, the kingdom of peace, with its beauty and glory, its mercy and its blessing. In Jesus Christ, the Lion out of the tribe of Judah, all these words have been fulfilled. V. 12. His eyes shall be red with wine and his teeth white with milk. In Him we have the fulness of those gifts which will bring us true happiness here and eternal salvation beyond the grave.

THE BLESSING UPON ZEBULUN, ISSACHAR, AND DAN. — V. 13. Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon. The country later inhabited by the tribe of Zebulun fronted on two seas, on the Sea of Galilee in the east and on the Mediterranean in the west. Its northwestern boundary was to extend to Phenicia. Although the actual physical boundaries of Zebulun afterward did not include all this country, its influence extended to both seas and to Zidon by means of its commerce. V. 14. Issachar is a strong ass, literally, an ass of bone, one with a very strong bony frame, couching down between two burdens; v. 15. and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute, he willingly bowed down under a heavy load and served with hard labor. The territory of Issachar was in the fruitful plain of Jezreel, a fact which imposed upon the people the double burden of agriculture and pasturage, a hard, but beautiful service. V. 16. Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Although the son of a handmaid, he still shall have a full inheritance with the other sons, and, moreover, an amount of independence, which occasionally gave him the leadership, as in the days of Samson, and which caused a part of the tribe to migrate to the extreme northern boundary of Canaan and there to establish themselves. V. 17. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder, a dangerous viper, in the path, that biteth the horseheels, so that his rider shall fall backward. Although this is here not spoken in a

reproachful sense, yet it characterizes the Danites, especially in their expedition against the peaceful city of Laish, Judg. 18. V. 18. I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. This is Jacob's longing cry in the midst of his prophecy, for he asks not only the assistance of the Lord for his descendants in this prayer, but he also confesses that his own longing to see the Messiah, like that of Eve, had not been fulfilled, and he realizes, in view of the future as disclosed in his own inspired words, that it will be some time before the Messiah would come to His people. Not for the salvation of Samson, but for that of the Messiah, who should save His people from their sins, his soul was longing. THE PROPHECY UPON GAD, ASHER, NAPHTALI, JOSEPH, AND BENJAMIN. - V. 19. Gad, a troop shall overcome him; but he shall overcome at the last. The picture is that of a person crowded by malicious hordes, who nevertheless manages not only to hold his own, but even to turn upon the masses and drive them away. The tribe of Gad, living on the eastern side of the Jordan, was harassed more or less by the desert hordes, but managed to hold its own very successfully, 1 Chron. 5, 18; 12, 8-15. V. 20. Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties, shall produce pleasant foods. The fat which he would bring forth on his very fertile land in the plains toward Phenicia, would be his bread, for the country was noted for the excellence of its wheat and of its olive-oil. V. 21. Naphtali is a hind let loose; he giveth goodly words. In comparing Naphtali to a gazelle, Jacob predicts that he will be both a handsome and an active warrior. The fine words probably include such poems as that sung by Deborah, Judg. 4 and 5. V. 22. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. Here the prophetic song of Jacob rises to a solemn exultation. The descendants of Joseph would increase so rapidly in their territory that they would soon extend beyond their own boundaries into the neighboring tribes. V. 23. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; v. 24. but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (from thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel). Here the powerful and victorious growth of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh is pictured, in consequence of which all enemies would be overcome. This result, however, would not come about by their own power, but through the help of the mighty God of Jacob, by virtue of the assisting hands of God, who is both the Shepherd and the Rock of Israel. V. 25. Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. Rains from heaven above and sufficient water from springs

and brooks to give the necessary moisture to the soil and the greatest fertility for all his herds, that is the blessing which Jacob begs from the Lord for his beloved son. V. 26. The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. The blessings of Jacob upon Joseph exceeded in extent and compass those of his fathers before him, rising higher than the eternal hills and surpassing them in beauty. Such a rich outward unfolding was to come upon him who excelled his brethren in dignity and power, on account of which he was separated from them by a wide gulf. V. 27. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. There would be no end to the successful raids of this warlike tribe, such men as Ehud, Saul, and Jonathan being members of it. At the same time, however, there would be ever present that nobility which would be willing to divide the spoil with the others. V. 28. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is it that their father spake unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. Not one was omitted in the blessing, although there was a big difference in the form and in the nature of the blessings.

THE DEATH OF JACOB. V. 29. And he charged them and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people, the time when his soul was to be added to those of his fathers was at hand; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron, the Hittite, v. 30. in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron, the Hittite, for a possession of a buryingplace. V. 31. There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife; and there I buried Leah. V. 32. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. Cp. chap. 23. What Jacob had charged Joseph to do in the event of his death, chap. 47, 30. 31, he here repeated to all his sons, giving them explicit directions regarding the burial-ground, lest they make any mistake about it or neglect the speedy execution of his dying wish. V. 33. And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, for he had been sitting on his couch, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people, the expression which denotes also here the hope of a final glorious resurrection unto eternal life, a resurrection which will surely come to all that have waited for, and believed in, the salvation of the Lord.

The Burial of Jacob; the Death of Joseph. THE MOURNING FOR JACOB. V. 1. And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him, an evidence of deep, almost uncontrollable sorrow. V. 2. And Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father, an art in which the Egyptians had reached a high degree of perfection, as the condition of most mummies shows. And the physicians embalmed Israel. They took out those organs of the body which were most easily subject to decay, filling the cavities with spices, soaking the flesh in a solution which prevented its decaying, and then wrapping the body in linen smeared with gum.6) V. 3. And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those embalmed, so long it took for the entire process of embalming; and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days, not only during the forty days of the embalming, but for thirty days more, thus giving him the honor which was given to princes in Egypt. V. 4. And when the days of his mourning were past, when the official, solemn mourning for Jacob had come to an end, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, to the officials of the king's court, for since he was still in mourning, he could not appear before Pharaoh in person, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, v. 5. My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die; in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Since his father had taken the solemn oath from him, Joseph asked the courtiers to do him the favor of applying to Pharaoh for leave of absence for him, that he might bury his father. Jacob, in anticipation of his death, probably at the time when he buried Leah, had prepared also his own burial-place in the cave of Machpelah. It is by no means a sign of a sickly morbidity if Christians purchase and prepare a cemetery lot for themselves where they hope eventually to rest, for they believe in the resurrection of the dead. Joseph's request was stated: Now, therefore, let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again. V. 6. And Pharaoh said, Go up and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear. Pharaoh's regard for Joseph, as for a faithful servant, had in no wise been diminished, and he readily granted the request.

JACOB IS BURIED IN CANAAN. - V. 7. And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, the most prominent court and state officials, in recogni

6) Lange-Schaff, Genesis, 663.

tion of Joseph's high position, v. 8. and all the house of Joseph, all the relatives of Joseph and of Jacob, and his brethren, and his father's house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. V. 9. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen ; and it was a very great company, an immense caravan, under the protection of an armed escort. V. 10. And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, on the east side of the river, the caravan finding it advantageous to travel around the Dead Sea; and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father seven days. As distinguished from the official period of mourning in Egypt, this was a week of weeping with the chanting of dirges. V. 11. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians; wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim (the mourning of the Egyptians), which is beyond Jordan. V. 12. And his sons did unto him (Jacob) according as he commanded them, the Egyptians apparently remaining in camp during that time; v. 13. for his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying-place of Ephron, the Hittite, before Mamre. Thus they performed their last duty of love toward their father, and incidentally confessed their belief in the fact that God will finally awaken His children unto life everlasting. V. 14. And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father. The children of Israel were not to stay in Canaan at this time, but according to the will of God many years were yet to elapse before their deliverance from Egypt would come. In his hands are the destinies of all mankind.

JOSEPH REASSURES HIS BROTHERS. V. 15. And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. They thought that it had been only for the sake of his aged father that Joseph had refrained from taking revenge upon them for the wrong which they had done, that the enmity which he had concealed for so long a time would now cause him to pay them back in kind. V. 16. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, they commanded or instructed some one to bring him a message, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, v. 17. So shall ye say unto Joseph, For