Commentari biblici

16. the angel] “The angel” is here indistinguishable from the “God of Jacob.” As in Genesis 16:7; Genesis 16:10; Genesis 16:13, it was the impersonation of the Divine Being as an Angel, whom Jacob had met and acknowledged as his God in the crises of his life, Genesis 28:12-16, Genesis 31:11; Genesis 31:13; Genesis 31:24, Genesis 32:1; Genesis 32:24-31. The reference here is to the manifestation at Peniel (Genesis 32:30, where see note).

hath redeemed me] “To redeem” is to play the kinsman’s part, Leviticus 25:48-49; Ruth 3:13; Ruth 4:6. Jacob acknowledges that the manifestations of the Angel had been the fulfilment of a Divine goodness of purpose towards him. The idea of “redemption,” the deliverance by the Goêl, or kinsman-Redeemer, is a favourite one in the religious teaching of the O.T., e.g. Psalm 103:4. Cf. Isaiah 44:22-23; Isaiah 49:7; Isaiah 63:9. Here the deliverance is from calamity, as in 2 Samuel 4:9; 1 Kings 1:29. It is different from the more common word for “redeem,” pâdah = “deliver,” “ransom,” e.g. in Psalm 25:22.

16. let my name be named on them] This is the formula of adoption according to E, corresponding to that in Genesis 48:5 according to P. The meaning seems to be, “let my name be given to them,” in other words, “let them be counted as the children of Israel.”

grow into a multitude] For the fulfilment of the blessing, see the numbers of the tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, in Numbers 1:33; Numbers 1:35; Numbers 26:34; Numbers 26:37. Compare Deuteronomy 33:17, “they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”

19. his younger … greater] The preference given to the younger reminds us of the blessing of Jacob himself. Cf. Genesis 25:23, Genesis 27:29; Genesis 27:40. See also the story of Perez and Zerah in Genesis 38:29-30. For the superiority of Ephraim over Manasseh, the history of Israel affords the fullest testimony. Cf. Numbers 1:33; Numbers 1:35; Numbers 2:19; Numbers 2:21.

a multitude] Lit. fulness, as Isaiah 31:4, “a multitude (lit. fulness) of shepherds.” To become “the fulness of the nations” is to be as full of population as all the nations of the world; a strong hyperbole.

20. In] Better, as marg., By. The meaning is that the blessing upon Ephraim and Manasseh shall be quoted as a formula for the invocation of Divine favour. Compare the blessing in Ruth 4:11-12.

bless] The versions, LXX, Vulg., and Syriac, give the passive “shall be blessed.”

21. bring you again] Jacob predicts the restoration of his descendants to Canaan. This was the Divine promise. Cf. Genesis 15:16, Genesis 46:4, Genesis 50:24.

22. portion] Heb. shechem, “shoulder,” i.e. mountain slope. This unusual expression (not elsewhere used in O.T.) for a “ridge,” “saddle,” or “shoulder,” of a hill, is here employed as a play upon the proper name “Shechem.” LXX σίκιμα ἐξαίρετον; Lat. unam partem. The allusion may no longer be clear; but it evidently refers to the city of Shechem, and has some bearing upon its subsequent position as a principal city in the tribe of Ephraim, and as the site of Joseph’s burial-place.

above thy brethren] As if the distribution of other portions had already been made.

which I took … Amorite] This allusion to a conquest of Shechem by Jacob has nothing to correspond with it in the earlier narrative. In Genesis 33:19 Jacob purchases a parcel of ground at Shechem. In ch. 34 his sons massacre the Shechemites; but on that occasion Jacob condemns their action (cf. Genesis 34:30), and departs to dwell elsewhere. Probably we have here some quite distinct tradition of a conquest of Shechem by Jacob, which is connected with a feat of arms. In Joshua 24:32 it is combined with the purchase of ground in Genesis 33:19. The survival of that tradition appears in St John 4:5.

with my sword and with my bow] In order to avoid the appearance of warlike activity on the part of the peaceful patriarchs, Targ. Onkelos renders “with my prayer and entreaty.” We may compare the strange paraphrase of Jerome, “dabo tibi Sicimam quam emi in fortitudine mea, hoc est, in pecunia quam multo labore et sudore quaesivi” (Quaest. ed. Lagarde, p. 66). For Abraham as a warrior, see chap. 14.

Ch. 49 The Blessing of Jacob. The Death of Jacob

The chapter falls into two divisions:

1–27 (J).   The blessing of Jacob, pronounced upon his twelve sons; derived, probably, from a very early source previous to J and E, and incorporated in J’s narrative.

28–33 (P).  The death of Jacob.

1–27. The Blessing of Jacob

1. And Jacob called] It is possible that this first clause may be from P, and is continued in the last clause of Genesis 49:28. Notice that the name “Israel,” used eight times in the course of the previous 15 verses (Genesis 48:8-22), here makes way for “Jacob.”

in the latter days] Lit. “in the after part of days,” denoting the period which is present to the vision of the Prophet. Cf. Numbers 24:14, “I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days”; Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1. See Deuteronomy 4:30; Deuteronomy 31:29; Jeremiah 23:20; Hosea 3:5; Daniel 2:28; Daniel 10:14. Cf. Hebrews 1:2, “at the end of these days”; 1 Peter 1:20, “at the end of the times”; 2Es 2:34, “at the end of the world.”

2. Assemble yourselves] This verse forms a kind of introduction to the main subject of the song.

and hear] The occurrence of the same Hebrew word for “hear” in the first clause, and for “hearken” in the second, is metrically a violation of the parallelism of Hebrew poetry. In English it is not apparent, as our rendering “hearken” avoids the repetition. Either “and hear” is a gloss, or another Hebrew word stood for “hearken.” Cf. Deuteronomy 32:1; Isaiah 1:10.

Jacob … Israel] The use of these proper names concurrently is frequent in Israelite poetry. Here it is evidence of the somewhat formal poetical prelude to the main song. Cf. Psalm 105:23. The names emphasize the national character of the oracle, which is put into the mouth of the patriarch, and has reference to the fortunes of the twelve tribes.