Home
(CHAPTER 47)
28. And Yaaqov lived [y’khi] in the land of Egypt 17 years, so all the days of Yaaqov's life were 147 years.
Lived: includes the ideas of prospering, thriving, and being revived. 17 more years: the same length as his prior life with Yosef. But 17 is also the numeric value of the Hebrew word tov, meaning good, beneficial, and pleasant (as opposed to the “evil” years up to that point, in his estimation). 147 is the value of the Hebrew word for “his flocks”. In verse 27, Israel is now no longer a “he” but a “they”. The tough times turned them into one people. As Torah portion “Chayei Sarah” (life of Sarah) is actually about Sarah’s death, here again we see that a person’s life is not defined until it is over. Even if you are an abject failure, if you are still breathing, that can still change.
[c. Year 2257 from creation; 1743 B.C.E.]
29. When the days drew near for Israel to die, he summoned his son Yosef and said to him, "If I have now found favor in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal with me with kindness and faithfulness: please do not bury me in Egypt;
For Israel to die: If he dies as Israel rather than Yaaqov, it is Israel, not Yaaqov (the supplanter) that will be resurrected. With a son who is second in command in Egypt, Yaaqov is not hurting for anything. All of his needs and probably his wishes were met. Yet when he could see death approaching, possessions did not matter much. He longs to be in the Land of promise. He cannot go physically, for he will not leave Yosef, who is tending to the needs of the whole world. But he does not complain, saying, “I’ll never see it again!” He does the best thing he can: he asks that his bones be taken back there. Under my thigh: where he had been stricken by the messenger when he was named Israel, and a euphemism for the sign of the covenant, his circumcision, because this affects all his progeny. This is as important to the continuance of our people as it was for Yitzhaq to have the right wife, so Yaaqov chooses the same “ceremony” for this oath as Avraham had with his servant. (24:2)
30. "rather, lay me [to rest] with my fathers—carry me up from Egypt, and bury me in their burial plot." And he said, "I [personally] will do as you have said."
To Yaaqov, Goshen was the finest land in the world. But the spiritual man Israel’s only wish is to go to his true home. This sentiment is still strong among modern Jews who, if they can afford it, have their bodies flown back to the Land to be buried, even if they live out their whole lives outside the Land, so that they will be near their ancestors. He has the idea common in antiquity that his soul would remain near his body, and that this would give him an eternal connection to the Land. If nothing else, his body would become part of that Land rather than Egypt. For the sake of his progeny, he asks to be “planted” in the Land of his fathers, for that is where his “seed” must grow, as YHWH promised. This would give generations to come a solid connection with this Land. This makes it indeed the Land of Israel, for he remains there. And this gives his descendants a reason to go back. Being “gathered to his fathers” is a physical, not just symbolic, idiom in Hebrew.
31. And he said, "Swear to me." So he swore
to him, and Israel bowed himself down as he
leaned on the head of the couch.
The Hebrew word for “swear” comes from the
root word, "seven", a number signifying complete-
ness. One who swears is saying he will never be
complete until he keeps his oath. One might have
repeated the promise seven times as the formula for
the oath. A cuneiform letter from Qatna, Syria’s prince Akizzi to Pharaoh (probably Akhenaten) says, “I fall at the feet of my master… seven times.” This shows how important this matter was to him. Bowed down: in fulfillment of another part of Yosef’s dream.
CHAPTER 48
1. Now after these things it came about that Yosef was told, "Take notice, your father is sick!" So he took his two sons—M’nasheh and Efrayim—with him.
Sick: or, growing weaker. Yosef assumed he could be on his deathbed. We do not know how often Yosef could see his father after he moved to Goshen, because Yosef himself was very busy with administrative duties even after the famine, and would not have lived in Goshen. Yosef was bringing his sons to be blessed. He had learned from his father to take both of them to be blessed at the same time so there would be no trickery!
2. And Yaaqov was told, "Look, your son Yosef has come to visit you." So Israel summoned [all] his strength and sat up on the bed.
This was in honor of his son, the ruler, but since YHWH had promised the Land to his descendants, when Menashe and Efrayim arrived, he knew it was time to set things in order. Yosef’s return gave Israel strength, as it is doing again today.
3. Then Yaaqov said to Yosef, "El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz, in the land of Kanaan, and blessed me,
This is the first time he speaks to Yosef as Yaaqov rather than Israel, because he has something “up his sleeve”. It is a righteous scheme, but he is using his “left hand” nonetheless. But first he recounts to Yosef what Pharaoh was hoping to hear (47:8): his story. It was not the season to tell Egypt about YHWH’s covenant, but Yosef can be trusted with its custody, and the next generation that needs to hear it is present. He is reminding them of who they really are and where they came from, because it is not only part of their heritage, but of their inheritance as well. In the Torah, the name "El Shaddai" is only used by the patriarchs, and only when it has something to do with the continuation of the family line. (R. Webster) The term itself seems related to the word for "breast", and thus identifies YHWH as the true provider of fertility (v. 4), as well as comparing His care to a mother's concern for her children.
4. "telling me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and will multiply you, and will make you a congregation of peoples, and I will give this land to your descendants after you as a perpetual possession.'
He gave Yaaqov the same promise He had given his ancestors. “Be fruitful and multiply” was also the first commandment given after Creation; YHWH perpetuates His re-creation in a fallen world as the entity of Israel is strengthened.
5. "And now, your two sons—the ones born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you here—I claim as my own: Efrayim and M’nasheh: they will be considered mine just like Re'uven and Shim'on.
The younger son Efrayim’s name is mentioned first, because Yaaqov has just spoken about being fruitful. Since Yosef has given his son a name of fruitfulness, it is clear to Yaaqov that he is the next step in the continuance of the covenant that has so much to do with fruitfulness. So all is now resolved, not only for Yaaqov, but for his descendants, and, indirectly, the whole world. Yosef’s sons were born in Egypt of an Egyptian mother, but they are meant to belong to Israel. The inclusion of M’nasheh and Efrayim in the commonwealth of Israel is again the real “Gospel” (glad news) for “those who are far off” (Dan. 9:7; Zkh. 6:15; Ephesians 2:13) today. Not only are they now to be his; they are moved to the very top of the “pecking order”. Re'uven and Shim'on, chronologically his eldest, are like "branches broken off" so that Yosef could be grafted in their place. (Compare Romans 11:19.) Re’uven had acted presumptuously, and Shim'on had made Yaaqov ashamed. (49:5) Yosef’s sons are not only made tribal heads, but are placed above all his other brothers, leaving no doubt as to who is head of the next generation. This double portion of inheritance given to Yosef identified the birthright as Yosef's rather than Re'uven's (49:4, 26) as the firstborn of Rakhel, the wife of promise (46:19). Y’shua's parable (Matt. 21:33-43) wherein the kingdom is taken from unwise stewards and given to another nation that would bear fruit (related to the term Efrayim) is reminiscent of this transfer of birthright.
6. "Any more offspring which you father after them can be counted as your own. They will be included under the name of their brothers as regards their inheritance.
We are never told whether Yosef had any additional children (the LXX suggests that he may have had 5), but if he did they would then fall under one of these two tribes. And later in Scripture when the tribe of Yosef is mentioned, Efrayim is mentioned beside it (e.g., Num. 13:11), so the elder brother is the one who actually carries the name of Yosef as regards the birthright in his eyes. M’nasheh gets extra land, has one of the greatest military heroes in Israel’s history (Num. 32:39-40; Y’hoshua 17:1), and by D’vorah’s time, the lawgivers of Israel were coming from that tribe. (Judges 5:14)
7. "But as for me, when I was coming from Paddan, on the way Rakhel died on me in the land of Kanaan, with a measure of land to go to Efrath. So I buried her there on the road to Efrath" (that is, Beyth-Lekhem).
When he heard that Yosef has named his son Efrayim, he recalled that Rakhel's fruitfulness (efrath) had never been completed--there was still a "ways to go". She was still short of fruitfulness when she died. He had never received the fullness of the promise yet. It was as if his story ended when she died, and he “shut down”. But now that he has Efrayim, his spirit revives (he begins speaking as Israel again, v. 8), because it was as if she were alive again, and he realizes that she has achieved fruitfulness after all. By adopting Yosef's sons as his own (v. 5, 12), they came to be no longer sons of Egypt, but of his beloved wife! He could raise them as Hebrews, teaching them the heritage Yosef had "forgotten" (41:51). Beyth-Lekhem ("House of Bread") was where David and Yeshua would later be born (1 Shmu’el 16:4ff; Mikha 5:2)—both of whom would unite all the tribes in different ways. This name was probably given to the town later, but it also has to do with produce. The process of going on to fruitfulness would be resumed by his descendants, who, though scattered among the nations, would turn around and start walking on the Way (Acts 9:2; 19:9. 23; 24:14) and become a congregation that would be called "one bread" (1 Cor. 10:17) and one house (1 Kefa/Peter 2:5). He “saw his descendants and was satisfied". (Compare Yeshayahu/Isaiah 53:8-54:4.)
8. Then Israel noticed the sons of Yosef, and said, "Who are these?"
Did he not recognize them? This is the first time we are told that Yaaqov actually met them, though he had probably done so many times before. But they had grown; they were at least 19 or 20 years old by this time. They also probably looked like Egyptians. Likewise, many in Yehudah who are sensitive to YHWH's promises realize that Yosef's sons must soon be brought back from among the Gentiles, but when they see us--being Torah-observant and yet not Jews--they are at a loss to know how to categorize us, because we recognize Yeshua yet are not like the Christians they have always seen. They say, "What kind of people are these?" (Compare Yeshayahu/Isaiah 49:21.)
9. And Yosef told his father, "They are my sons, whom Elohim has given me here." So he said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless them."
What Yosef told his father is exactly what Yaaqov had told Esau (33:5). Yosef was present when he said that, and this would bring back the memory of old times they spent together during a dangerous time that must have created an indelible bond between them. The question "Who are these?" becomes sort of a title for the descendants of Yaaqov. When the same question is asked in Yeshayahu (Isa.) 60:8ff, it is linked with the coastlands (a particular group of Gentiles) bringing his children back home.
10. Now Israel's eyes were heavy from age, and he could not see. So he brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
Could not see: just as when Yitzhaq’s two sons came before him for a blessing. (ch. 27) But a different word is used here. Israel’s eyes were merely worn out, whereas Yitzhaq’s eyes were “dim” or “weak” before their time. Yaaqov was embraced by Lavan and Esau, but did not embrace either of them in return (Eccles. 3:5); Yosef’s sons are the only people ever actually recorded as being embraced by Israel, so it is very significant. Many people may wish to take us in their arms as if we were their own possession—but we must be very careful who we embrace back.
11. Then Israel said to Yosef, "I never even expected to see your face, but here Elohim has allowed me to see your progeny too!"
Twice Yaaqov has already “died”, thinking his life was over, never imagining he would see anything pleasant again. Now these men are standing before the one who thought their father had died without offspring. Pain and mourning are appropriate for a season, but if we hold onto them for too long, they will start to define us. We have to deliberately let them go, even chase them away, when that season is past. His natural vision was being lost, but he saw them in a deeper way, as a prophet sees. The returning sons of his bereavement (Rakhel and Yosef's sons) will surprise him again, since though they appeared lost, they will return from all directions, and there will not be enough room for them! (Yeshayahu 49:17-26)
12. So Yosef brought them out from near his knees, and he bowed his face to the earth.
Knees: related to the word for blessing, but this is also an adoption ceremony. He was symbolically "giving birth to them" and then presenting them to his father as his own, as Yaaqov's two maidservants had done for his primary wives. He was "giving him more offspring". Just after "restoring Rakhel" (v. 7) through making his grandson represent her, Yaaqov bows again to Yosef, “along with his mother”. (37:9ff) Thus all of his dreams are fulfilled.
13. And Yosef took hold of both of them, Efrayim in his right hand (thus on Yaaqov's left) and M’nasheh in his left hand (on Israel's right), and he brought them to him.
The firstborn stands on his right to receive the blessing.
14. But Israel put out his right hand and placed it on the head of Efrayim, though he was the younger; and he placed his left hand on M’nasheh's head, crossing his arms—because M’nasheh was the firstborn.
Crossing his arms: by deliberate, conscious choice of where he was placing them.
15. Then he blessed Yosef, saying, "O Elohim, before whom my ancestors Avraham and Yitzhaq walked, the Elohim who has continued His shepherding for me until today,
He blessed Yosef, but his hands were still on the heads of Yosef's sons. Thus he blessed Yosef by blessing them. Indeed, the greatest blessing any parent can have is children who walk in Torah.
16. "may the messenger who redeemed me from every trouble bless the young men, and may they be called by my name and the name of my ancestors, Avraham and Yitzhaq; and may they proliferate like fish into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
Proliferate: Fish have many offspring very quickly. In the midst of the earth: or, within the Land. Fish multiplying on land? Eretz Israel, located where three continents converge (the center of the world), has an inland sea (Galilee/Kinnereth) where two fish were later multiplied (Yochanan/John 6:26ff), with twelve basketsful left over (enough for all 12 tribes), setting the stage for Matt. 4:19 and the 12 disciples being distributed so that the tribes initially dispersed by a king from Efrayim (1 Kgs. 11:26-40), could be restored. This messenger may have been the one who had changed Yaaqov's name long before even YHWH recognized his new name. But here he is actually called a kinsman-redeemer (go'el). Hoshea 12:4 identifies the “man” with whom he wrestled at the Yabboq as a “messenger”. The last messenger he encountered was here in verse 2, telling him that Yosef had returned. Each of them redeemed him from a different evil, as any message that is truly in season will. Redemption is not a one-step thing, and the blessing comes if we receive and respond to the message. May they be called by my name: after Shlomoh's kingdom split, only the northern kingdom (nicknamed Efrayim because its leader in secession was from that tribe) continued to be called "Israel”, while the throne was left with Yehudah. (1 Chron. 5:1-2) Thus until all the tribes are back together, the king and kingdom are separated. And the name of my ancestors: This is more than he did for any of his own direct sons. He saw that the contention that had caused him so much sorrow in his own sons was not present in these two. And unlike Esau, the elder who also lost the birthright to the younger, M’nasheh did not complain. But all that they knew was Egypt, so he placed the names of the patriarchs on them so they would identify more knowingly with their true heritage, not the Egyptian part of it. Some of their descendants are indeed known again today as those of the “Avrahamic faith”, just as they were in Paulus’ day (Galatians 3:7).
17. But Yosef noticed his father placing his right hand on Efrayim's head and it seemed wrong in his eyes, so he took hold of his father's hand, to move it from Efrayim's head to M’nasheh's head,
Later, under Torah, this would be wrong (Deut. 21:15-17). But at this point Yaaqov had a prophetic purpose in it.
18. and Yosef said to his father, "Not like that, my father, because this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head!"
Sometimes his opinion is respected and his own name is mentioned with Efrayim’s (i.e., counting M’nasheh as Yosef) in the lists of the tribes, but in other cases Israel’s decision seems to be recognized. In regard to the sons of Yaaqov, Efrayim is firstborn (Yirmeyahu 31:9). In regard to the sons of Yosef, M’nasheh is the firstborn.
19. But his father refused, saying, "I know, my son, I know! He shall also be a people, and he shall [indeed] become prominent. But his younger brother shall become greater than he, and his seed shall become the fullness of the nations."
Younger...greater: even as it had taken place for Yaaqov himself. Fullness of the nations (or Gentiles): Is this really a blessing--or a curse? YHWH does not allow us to be poisoned until He has already administered the antidote. Paul clarifies this mystery in Romans 11:13ff. Why does Paul connect the salvation of Israel with Efrayim? The answer is found in two psalms which were considered extremely significant prophetically in Paul’s day. Psalm 14:7 says that salvation will come out of Tzion when YHWH brings back the exiles of His people. Psalm 106:47 defines salvation as our being gathered out from among the nations. This is what salvation means in Israel, not just the much more limited scope of personal salvation, though we are gathered one by one (Yirmeyahu/Jer. 3:14). So this tells us that Efrayim would be dispersed among the Gentiles, multiply greatly, then be regathered and return. These “Gentiles” are not just any pagans, but those who are grafted back into the root of Israel, from which they had originally come. A partial blindness would remain over all Israel until Efrayim came back into the covenant. Though Efrayim mixed with the nations in direct disobedience to Deut. 7:3, thus in essence becoming Gentiles, YHWH turned even this around for the salvation of the world—much like Yosef's imprisonment. And in even a greater way than when Yosef was reunited with his father and brothers, when the "sons of Elohim" (Hos. 1:10-11) are revealed for who they really are, they will turn out, for the most part, to be descendants of this most numerous tribe, and when we understand that we are “the lost sheep of Israel” (Mat. 10:6; 15:24; Yoch. 10) and truly walk in the covenant, the result will be like "life from the dead" for the “natural branches”—the Jews, who have held more fast to the covenant. (Compare Yirmeyahu 50:4ff.) The first step in our reunification is to see ourselves in light of our relationship to our brothers and our fathers.
20. And he blessed them on that day, saying, "By you shall Israel invoke blessing, by saying, 'May Elohim make you like Efrayim and M’nasheh!'" Thus he gave Efrayim preeminence over Menashe.
By you shall Israel invoke blessing: And so we do each Sabbath, and whoever does so is proving to be Israel. Here he is finally using the term Israel to refer not to himself but to his progeny, realizing that it means not just himself, but a whole nation.
21. Then Israel said to Yosef, "See, I am dying. But Elohim will be with you, and will return you to the land of your fathers.
This promise was just given to Israel by YHWH, and he passes it on to Yosef, and apparently to Yosef's descendants (because only after his death would he himself return there) as well as a standing promise to our day. Yehudah has returned, but Yosef has not yet, except for the short time seen below. Once he has set them in what he considers the proper order for Israel, he again says, in another way, “Take me out of here when I die!” Yosef would ask the same favor of his descendants.
22. "And I will deed to you one spur of land beyond your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Emorites with my sword and with my bow."
This is the first mention of the Land being divided among the tribes. Yaaqov is so confident that YHWH will keep His promise that he in turn promises Yosef a double portion. "Spur of land": Heb., sh'khem. He actually bought some land near the city of Sh’khem from Khamor, and Yosef’s bones would later be buried right there. (Y’hoshua 24:32; see note on 50:25). Y’shua went looking for his “Bride” from among Yosef’s descendants at the well right at this spot. (Yochanan 4:5) Sh’khem means "shoulder" or "the part of the back that supports weight"—what the yoke touches. So the blessing conferred on his descendants is to “bear one another’s burdens”(Galatians 6:2), as Yosef was already doing for his brothers. The gem representing Yosef's tribe on the High Priest's breastplate (onyx) is the same stone set in the shoulder-pieces that supported the names of all 12 tribes when he appeared before YHWH on Yom Kippur. Sword and bow: the very methods used when the city was taken through the weakening effects of circumcision. Yaaqov himself did not take it, but his two sons Shim'on and Levi did. (Chapter 34; see 49:5) They may be the “weapons” referred to here. One would expect that he would give it to one of them, but he gave it to Yosef instead, possibly because he thought Yosef would do better with it than they had. The city is on a trade route right on the border between the tribal lands of Efrayim and Menashe, Yosef’s sons, but Y’hoshua actually made it a Levitical city (thus deeded to Levi after all), and ironically enough, a city of refuge, where one goes to avoid being killed!
CHAPTER 49
1. Then Yaaqov summoned his sons and said, "Gather yourselves together and I will tell you what will befall you in the latter days;
The term here for “gather” is related to Yosef’s name. Yosef is instrumental in Israel’s regathering in our day. Befall: meet or encounter; the same Hebrew term used for “summon” here as well, which most basically means to call or beckon. Although what he is to tell them is prophetic, it is not so much a promise as a calling to become what he has recognized as already potential in each one.
2. "Gather yourselves [around] and hear, O sons of Yaaqov! Yes, listen to Israel your father:
The reason he repeats the summons after what he says in verse 1 is that this call is even more for us than it was for his immediate children, as most of us are still only living as sons of Yaaqov (the man of flesh), when we need to be reminded of who our ancestor truly became and what he has to say to us today. “Many of us grew up reading the stories of Israel as someone else’s story rather than our own, so he calls again. Assemble” here can have the sense of gathering in one’s arms, and is the root word for “qibbutz” (a collective settlement). When we gather with our brothers, we are far better able to hear what YHWH wants for us than when we approach Him merely alone.
3. "Re’uven ["Look! A son!"], you are my firstborn, my vigor, the first [evidence] of my efforts, the highest in dignity and the highest in might,
4. "yet like water that boils over, you will not have pre-eminence, because you went up to your father's bed, then you defiled it (for he mounted my couch!).
Boils over: unbridled, unstable, unable to be contained. Though he had tremendous potential (v. 3), it did not matter, because he was unfaithful; he forfeited the birthright. His lack of self-control was evidenced by the fact that he took his father's own concubine for himself. He would not make a trustworthy leader for Israel. Faithfulness, in Hebrew, includes the sense of fostering as a parent and nurturing so as to build up. Sometimes one mistake can ruin a whole lifetime—especially since his father waited until his deathbed to even confront him about it. He had let it turn into bitterness against his son, so what he has for him is essentially a curse, not a blessing. But Moshe set limits on it (Deut. 33:6), recalling Re’uven’s rescue of Yosef. In his research on the movements of the tribes of Israel throughout history, Steve Collins has based his conclusions about who they are today on this chapter in particular. He suggests that France—a nation known for its strong emphasis on emotion and passion—may be the chief embodiment of this tribe today.
5. "Shim'on ["hearing"] and Levi ["my joining"]—brothers: their weapons are instruments of violence;
Brothers: or comrades. I.e., they are two of a kind, to a greater extent than the rest of his sons. They had the same lack of hesitancy when it came to shedding blood, when they killed all the men of Sh’khem. Violence: Heb., hamas.
6. "do not let my soul come into their secret counsel; do not let my spirit be united to their company, because in their anger they killed a man, and in self-will they hamstrung a bull.
I.e., I had no part in their plan. United: a play on Levi's name, which means "joined". Since both Yaaqov and Israel were speaking here (v. 2), YHWH only honored part of his curse (the part in v. 7). In self-will they hamstrung a bull: or, they lamed an ox with pleasure—suggesting they enjoyed bloodletting a little too much—though we must remember that Yaaqov was on the other extreme, having never killed anyone, and more passive than he should have been. He did not recognize that other Kanaanites had stayed out of their way because of the strength these two sons manifested.
7. "Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their overflowing fury, for it was cruel! I will split them up within the land of Yaaqov; I will scatter them among the tribes of Israel.
Cruel: or extreme, excessive. These two were like chemicals that cannot be allowed to mix, for they are too explosive. As long as they were together, there was bloodshed. Thus neither of them had tribal lands, but only cities. But all of Israel needed their side of the truth (34:31), only not in so high a concentration. The inheritance of Shim'on was encapsulated within Yehudah’s, but this not only meant Yehudah could keep them in check; Yehudah also needed them to defend its unusually-large territory. (Y’hoshua 19:9) The Levites were scattered to all the tribal lands. Yet this way they ended up being of much benefit just as salt is much better when spread out than when concentrated in one place. They provided priests and teachers for each city until the Temple was designated as the only place for sacrifice. Levitical priests were not to go to war, yet their tasks were often described in military terms; their war was spiritual, though they were also charged with the task of defending the sanctity of the Temple, and sometimes had to kill someone who violated it. Pin'has, the grandson of Aharon, did just that to ward off another curse, standing up for purity in the worship of YHWH (Num. 25:7). YHWH made an eternal covenant with his family (of the tribe of Levi) for his zealous act of faithfulness. Levi's lot continued to be shedding blood and wielding knives, as this is the way he was inclined, but YHWH focused it in a beneficial way. Collins has found evidence that a large contingent mainly of Shim’onites defected from Israel and went to what is now Ireland (a nation indeed known for its fiery anger) after the incident of Korach under Moshe; others later became some of the Sea Peoples and Spartans.
8. "Yehudah ["praise"], may your brothers praise you, and may your hand be on the neck of your enemies! May your father's sons bow themselves to you.
Praise you: an allusion to his name, which actually comes from the root word "to throw" (yadah); while the word for sin actually means "missing the mark", Yehudah has helped cast us toward the target, especially through Yeshua. King David and the ultimate conqueror, who defeated the enemy of all humanity, descended from Yehudah. Hand: a second play on his name, for the deeper root for "yadah" is "yad", or "hand". We praise YHWH through what we set our hands to and thus accomplish for Him.
9. "Yehudah is a lion's cub. My son, you have risen from the torn prey. He stoops, he crouches like a lion; and like a lioness, who can rouse him?
Yeshua is called the Lion of the Tribe of Yehudah. (Rev. 5:5) Long before his time this was commonly understood to be a reference to the Messiah, so this iconography is well-founded, and rooted right in this verse. Yet few notice that this lion is a lively cub, not a lazy full-grown lion, which leaves the hunting to its females if he possibly can—though one still would not want to get in its way!
10. "The scepter shall not depart from Yehudah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and the obedience of the peoples [belongs] to Him.
Shiloh: possibly, “Him to whom it belongs”. The Aramaic targum says this is a reference to the Messiah. Though it was delayed ten generations because of Yehudah's incest (Deut. 23:2), YHWH promised the tenth (David) that his throne would be established forever. He may have no dynasty today, but the heir to his throne is on a long journey and will come back to claim it. Though there was no king in Israel during the Babylonian exile, they were still allowed to enforce their own laws, but when the Romans took away the Sanhedrin's legal right to adjudicate capital offenses around A.D. 7, a great lament went up in Jerusalem since the scepter, by definition, HAD departed, and Messiah had not come. But, unknown to them, there was a lad growing up in Galilee who was qualified to fill the role. He passed the "scepter"--the "keys of the Kingdom" to bind and loose (make rulings on Torah)--on to his students. (Missler) Between his feet: The scepter of the kings of Judah bore the "shield of David", as it appears on the tip of the pomegranate, but it has often been called a “star”. Stars were created, in part, to serve as signs. (1:14) The planets Jupiter (Tzedeq, or righteousness, and associated with the birth of kings) and Venus (the mother) came to conjunction in 3 B.C., and this would have been seen as a "star rising from Yaaqov, a scepter out of Israel" (Num. 24:17), indicating the birth of a king in Yehudah. Jupiter orbits the sun more slowly than the earth, so it appeared to go backwards, stop in the constellation of the virgin, then come back to a second conjunction 10 months later, when the magi saw “his star” again in the south, directly over Beyth Lekhem, his birthplace, when seen from Yerushalayim. (Mat. 2:10) This time it was in the constellation Leo (the Lion), and right beside the star Regulus (the ruler, or lawgiver)—which represents the lion's front feet! (John Mosely, Griffith Observatory; Avi Ben Mordechai) Lawgiver: or ruler’s staff; at root, the word means “to engrave or inscribe”. So though Yehudah is clearly the ruling tribe, it is also the tribe of the scribes. In the absence of a visible throne, Yehudah has been responsible for keeping the Torah intact, and it has not departed from existence, because Yehudah’s “walk” has kept it active. But because of Yeshua, YHWH has begun to write His Torah on the hearts of many from other tribes as well.
11. "Binding his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he washes his clothing in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes.
“Foal” is a masculine word and refers particularly to a donkey in the sense of rising up to bear a burden, whereas the word for “donkey” here is the feminine term, meaning “reliable”, and “colt” is literally “son”. “The choicest vine” appears again in Yeshayahu 5:2, where Yerushalayim was nonetheless bearing sour grapes, a lament similar to Yeshua’s in Mat. 23:37. Washes his clothing in wine: Targum Onqelos, "Let his raiment be of fine purple", an ancient custom of royalty; Targum Ps.-Jon.: "makes the mountains red with the blood of the slain", i.e., the grapes of wrath, cited in Yeshayahu 63:2. Yet wine symbolizes joy, because it is the wicked that the Lion of Yehudah is destroying, and this means his Kingdom can come and true peace can be known on earth.
12. "His eyes will be darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
Literally, dark from wine … white from milk. This is why a vine could tie a donkey down when it could easily be able to pull away from it—or eat it! That may be the point. If one has plenty, he can afford to let his donkey eat even from a choice vine, and it will not try to escape if well-fed. Despite all the flak they have received for it, Yehudah is the wealthiest tribe. YHWH has used this to restore the infrastructure of the Land in our own era.
13. "Z'vulun ["exalted"] shall live at the seashore, and he shall be a haven for ships, and his border [shall reach to] beside Tzidon.
Seashore: the only way this might have been fulfilled historically is the seashore of Galilee (Yeshayahu 9:1, 2), but by most interpretations, Z'vulun's ancient inheritance was even landlocked, so the final fulfillment (in the latter days) will be all the sweeter for him. According to Y'hezq'el 48, every tribe will have a seacoast. But in the meantime, many connect the seafaring nations such as the Netherlands with his descendants. Collins points out that not only is Rotterdam the world’s busiest port, but the loose lifestyle of Tzidon (a prominent Phoenician seaport in what is now Lebanon) as exemplified in Akh’av and Yizevel (who was from there) is especially rampant in the Dutch homeland, but the Dutch saved many Jews from the Nazis, since (probably for this reason) they felt a kinship with their fellow Israelites without knowing why, other than that Yeshua was also a Jew.
14. "Yissakhar ["there is recompense"] is a strong-boned donkey, crouching between the saddlebags;
15. "when he saw that his resting place was appropriate, and that the land was pleasant, he bowed his shoulder to bear burdens, and became a servant.
They preferred to stay in their territory and bear with its inconveniences because of the advantages they found in it. Collins sees this as a possible description of Finland, which has been somewhat of a buffer between Sweden and Russia, avoiding invasion by either but having its liberties severely restricted by both, having tribute imposed on them as the price of its maintaining some autonomy.
16 "Dan shall [indeed] judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
Or, "will avenge his people and unite the tribes of Israel." Some rabbinic writings suggest that this was fulfilled by Shimshon (Samson), who was from the tribe of Dan. Yet this tribe is the only one not named in the listing in the book of Revelation. (See note on v. 18.) Starting from its first colonization of Laish, this tribe has left its name wherever it went, ending up to the greatest extent in the nation of Denmark, home of the Viking warriors:
17. "Let Dan be a serpent on the way, a horned snake on the path, that bites the horse's heels, and its rider falls backward.
18. "I have waited in hope for Your deliverance, O YHWH.
Deliverance: Heb., yeshuah. In contrast to those who worship the Counterfeit Messiah (which tradition says is from Dan, possibly because of the snake reference in v. 17), those who faithfully wait a mere 7 years longer will enjoy the blessings of true peace when the real Messiah arrives.
19. "As for Gad ["a troop"], a marauding band shall press upon him, but he shall press on their heel.
Collins sees the national embodiment of this tribe in latter-day Germany. Besides the reasons he cites, Moshe’s prophecy that the lawgiver (which we have already seen is Yehudah) would be hidden in Gad (Deut. 33:20-21) could be a reference to “Yiddishkeit” in the era when many Jews primarily spoke this dialect of German rather than Hebrew.
20. "Out of Asher ["glad"], his bread shall be rich, and he shall produce a king's delicacies.
The imagery sounds like that of a baker. Asher’s territory is fertile, but it will also produce petroleum in the last days (Deut. 33:24), contributing greatly to Israel's wealth, and oil has been located there in recent years. Delicacies: or, luxuries. Collins sees a meantime fulfillment of this in the nation of South Africa with its diamond trade. Indeed, there has been a notable response from that nation to the message of the restoration of the two houses of Israel.
21. "Nafthali ["my wrestling"] is a doe set free, providing beautiful sayings.
Beautiful sayings: the valley of Gennesaret, in his tribal land, is where the glad news of the Kingdom (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 52:7) was first announced. Collins sees the modern embodiment of this tribe to be Sweden, known for its emphasis on being peacemakers.
22. Yosef ["he shall add"] is a fruitful son—a fruitful son by a spring; his branches run over a wall.
Branches: literally "daughters”, a picture of his possessions expanding. Half of his son Menashe's land spilled across the Yarden River—additional territory outside the Land given to him unrequested since YHWH knew he would need it. Yosef’s descendants also traversed oceans (traditionally the greatest boundary or obstacle) to expand their territory. But 48:19 links Yosef’s other son Efrayim with the part of Israel that will come from among the Gentile nations. The suffering Messiah, who is often called the "son of Yosef", "broke down the wall of partition" between Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14) because Yosef’s children had spread beyond Israel's borders and mixed with the Gentiles.
23. "And the masters of arrows harass him, shooting and lying in ambush for him,
24, "yet his bow remains taut, and the arms of his hands are made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Yaaqov; from there is a Shepherd, the Stone of Israel,
A slack bow—like a lazy person—accomplishes little. Yosef is ready to shoot back when attacked, so he need not run and hide. Menashe’s descendant Makhir is the only one described in Scripture, other than David, as particularly a “man of war”. (Y’hoshua 17:1) His territory is now known as the Golan Heights, which Israel has held despite attacks from Syria. "Arms of his hands" appears to be in an unusual order. But the root meaning of "agile" here is "bound", and it is YHWH's Word that is to be bound onto our arms and hands. (Deut. 6:8) As the descendants of Yosef return to the reality the ritual of t’fillin symbolizes, and makes its community tighter, we not only prevent our enemies from hurting us, but set the stage for the Shepherd to come back.
25. "from the Elohim of your father; may He help you, and may the Almighty bless you with blessings from Heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, and blessings of the breasts and womb.
Blessings of the deep: Menashe's territory is atop reserves of oil that have until only recently been too deep underground to exploit. It also receives more rain than some parts of Israel.
26. "The blessings of your father are above the blessings of my progenitors, to the limit of everlasting hills; may they be for the head of Yosef, and for the crown of the leader of his brothers.
Yosef is given more blessings than any of the other sons, possibly because he was already someone who recognized the blessing even in very distasteful situations, and appreciated the fact that YHWH had been with him even in those circumstances (39:2, 21). YHWH was with him because he retained his faith and integrity despite the chaos created by those around him. What he knew of YHWH was based on stories passed down by his ancestors, including Shem. He probably practiced very little of what we consider religion, but he based his behavior on what he had learned from them, and YHWH continued to intervene in his life. My progenitors: These are indeed the same promises Yitzhaq had given to Yaaqov. So Yosef is clearly the one made responsible for the seed, which is still scattered. YHWH Himself says “Efrayim is My firstborn” (Yirmeyahu 31:9), so in some sense he is responsible to bring deliverance to all of Israel—and this will not be accomplished by magic, but as we set our hands to fulfill our calling.
27. "Binyamin ["son of my right hand"] is a wolf that tears. In the morning he devours the prey, and at evening he divides the spoil."
In his territory the sanctuary for YHWH's dwelling would be built, with its morning and evening sacrifices. King Sha’ul would be from this tribe. Like a wolf, he had great ability to attack, but when frightened, tended to run away. Collins sees a latter-day fulfillment in the land of Norway, with the heavy emphasis its mythology and symbolism places on wolves. Levite Re’uven Prager says the Ethiopian falashes are also from the tribe of Binyamin.
28. These are all the tribes of Israel—twelve—and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; each with what was commensurate with his own blessing did he bless them.
This is the first place the tribes of Israel are described in terms of being twelve (literally two and ten, a foreshadowing of the southern and northern kingdoms). His own blessing: Yaaqov has pointed out what is already in each of his children and needs to be fully developed—or, in some cases, overcome. Each has strengths and weaknesses; some need to hear more about one side than the other, but he challenges each to do something about both. Even unstable (flowing) water can be a great blessing, being full of energy—or it can take down a whole nation. A serpent can destroy one’s enemies, but if it bites you…! He gave parents the ability to bless their children, but the more we receive, the more we are responsible to do. (Luke 12:48) Will we outlive the curses? Or will we remain unstable?
29. Then he gave them orders, saying to them, "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me beside my fathers, in the cave which is in the field of Efron the Hittite,
30. "in the cave which is in the field of Makhpelah, which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Kanaan—the field which Avraham purchased from Efron the Hittite to be a burial place.
Yaaqov had already told Yosef this, but the brothers would have the memory fresh in their minds of where this was, having lived in Hevron much more recently than Yosef had.
31. "There they entombed Avraham and his wife Sarah, and there they entombed Yitzhaq and his wife Rivqah, and I entombed Leah there.
He is very specific: Make sure I am buried with them! Leah: He does not say "my wife" as he does for his ancestors; indeed, he only ever calls Rakhel his wife. But in the end he chose to be buried with her rather than where Rakhel was buried.
32. "The purchase of the field and the cave in it were from the sons of Heth."
33. Then Yaaqov finished giving his sons orders, and he gathered his feet up into the bed; then he expired, and was gathered to his people.
Gathered to his people: Often an idiom for being buried together with them, but this did not occur immediately. Now Israel is no longer one man; the tribes are now Israel. The covenant is no longer passed from father to one son; it is now passed to the people as a whole—a nation that has grown exceedingly. He has been the one who struggled and prevailed, but now the responsibility is divided among them all; they are now Israel and he is just Yaaqov again. After giving his sons their inheritance, he wants to go home too. “Make sure my body is taken back there!” are his last words, never overridden by a later command. Yaaqov tells them to make sure he is “planted” in the field where he can be fruitful. (Compare Yochanan 12:24.) This is probably one reason he chose Efrayim (“doubly fruitful”) as his “firstborn”; M’nasheh means “forgetting”—not so auspicious a name. Each of us must now make sure Israel returns to the Land. We hope to get back there in life rather than in death. This is such a great and eternal responsibility that while a huge part of Israel lost its identity over 2,700 years ago, we who were not born into Torah-observant families are being reawakened to our heritage as the seed comes back to life in us and we hear the call. Israel belongs in Israel. Our ancestor’s desire to return home is set in our souls like homing pigeons.
CHAPTER 50
1. Then Yosef fell on the face of his father and wept over him, and kissed him.
2. And Yosef commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.
Embalmed: Egypt's specialty, since they emphasized the afterlife, and wanted the body to remain intact. Literally it says he was “spiced”, bespeaking the heavy gums and resins used to make the cloth strips adhere for the process of mummification. So although Yaaqov died, Israel was preserved. The practice was discontinued in Israel so bodies could decompose more quickly and their bones placed with their ancestors' bones (part of the reason for the idiom of being "gathered to one’s people", as in 49:33), rendering it less likely for someone to be ritually defiled by walking over a grave as well as leaving room for more family members to be buried together. Israelites are normally entombed the same day as death. Yosef hurried to keep his promise, but the trip to Kanaan (about eleven days by the long route they took) would require preservation of his corpse so he could carry it back to the Land before it decomposed, so he used the best technology of his day.
3. And 40 days passed (for that is how long it takes for someone to be embalmed). But Egypt mourned for Yaaqov for 70 days.
40 days: The accuracy of this was proven scientifically when modern embalmers used an ancient Egyptian instructional text to mummify a corpse. The additional thirty days may correlate with how long Aharon and Moshe were mourned. (Num. 20:29; Deut. 34:8)
4. And after the days of his mourning were over, Yosef spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "Now if I have found favor in your eyes, please speak to Pharaoh, saying,
After being second in command, does he still feel he might not find favor with Pharaoh? Yet even he could not simply go as he pleased, for the order he had so carefully cultivated could easily fall apart in his absence.
5. "'My father made me swear, saying, "Behold, I am dying; you shall bury me there in the grave which I have dug for myself in the land of Kanaan"; therefore, please allow me to go up and bury my father, then I will come back.'"
Monuments reveal that Egyptian custom forbade mourners, however high their position, from entering the king's presence while their dead remained unburied. They, too, had a concept of ritual impurity, though it was limited to the elite rather than including the common people as in Israel. This is why he could not go directly to Pharaoh himself to request this leave.
6. So Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father, as he required you to swear."
Even Pharaoh is admitting that to go to the Land of Israel is an ascent from Egypt. One never descends to the Land of Israel, and especially Yerushalayim, no matter where one is coming from physically. He had no argument against Yosef doing this. He understood well the concept of being buried in a tomb one prepared for himself, so Yosef had chosen his words (v. 5) wisely. The Pharaohs sometimes began building their tombs while still very young. The focus in Egypt was on death; Israel’s is a physical, not etheral, kingdom in which we live in the Land YHWH promised us.
7. So Yosef went up to bury his father, and all of Pharaoh's servants went up with him—the elders of his house as well as all the elders of the land of Egypt,
This royal entourage was more an expression of appreciation for Yosef than for Yaaqov as such. The Pharaoh was showing his immense gratitude to Yosef while he was still alive. Yet the Pharaoh himself did not go, possibly because he had to remain to defend his throne.
8. and all the household of Yosef and his brothers, along with his father's household, except that they left their little ones and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen.
He honored Yaaqov’s thrice-expressed wish, and therefore "anchored" his descendants' claim to the Land by burying him there, but the families and wealth left in Goshen guaranteed to Pharaoh that his right-hand man would indeed return, though Yosef had always shown himself loyal, even when enslaved and imprisoned, because that was where YHWH had placed him. He did not even want Pharaoh to think he might not come back. So they left the children and flocks so they had to come back. Children and flocks were exactly what the Pharaoh of the Exodus would try to use to ensure that his slaves would return if they went into the wilderness to worship YHWH. (Ex. 10:24) If they had taken their children, even if they had come back, they might know they belonged somewhere else. There would have been someone to tell the next generation, “You haven’t really lived until you’ve tasted the fruits of Kanaan.” Egypt might not have seemed so bright and shiny to them. Maybe they would never have made decisions that led them to be enslaved. We are enslaved again by mortgages, bills, and the expectations of those around us, but a door is opening today for us. If a man did not open it, no man can shut it—unless we do not walk through it. Even if we cannot legally stay yet, we should still take our children so they, too, can fall in love with the Land that a few of the elders have seen. We cannot be as fruitful anywhere else. The Land itself teaches us. The first step out is the Sabbath, for it makes us begin to seem foreign to those around us. It starts loosening us from other attachments if our children do not go to most events the world schedules on “Saturday” and this will preclude over-involvement in things more dedicated to idols than we initially recognize.
9. And both horsemen and chariots accompanied them, and the gathering was very large.
Pharaoh sent an armed escort to make sure no harm befell Yosef on the way—and possibly to ensure his return. The lands of our exile are blessed chiefly because Yosef’s descendants are there, and they may try to hold us back when YHWH says it is time to leave.
10. And they came as far as the Threshing Floor of the Bramble, across the Yarden, and there they bewailed [him] with a great and heavy wailing. And he mourned for his father for seven days.
If they have crossed the Yarden, they are north of the Dead Sea, while the burial plot is due west of the Dead Sea. Thus the threshing floor (atop a hill where wind would carry away the chaff) may have been right along the way--the one at Mt. Moryah, where the Temple would later stand (2 Shmuel 24:18; 1 Chron. 21:20); the "bramble" may be the very thicket in which the ram was caught by its horns when Avraham was about to sacrifice Yitzhaq. (22:13) But why did they come from this direction? There was a trade route that led directly from Goshen to Hevron! It may have been so they approach by the route Y’hoshua would later take when he brought all their descendants back so that they would have a memory of how to get there, because archaeology shows that along the most direct route there were Egyptian garrisons stationed every two miles! At this time that would not have mattered, but in Moshe’s time it would. By crossing the Yarden they would also all be re-establishing their identity as Hebrews (“crossers-over from the other side”). Yosef waited until he was in the Land to do his mourning, because though Egypt had mourned Yaaqov for 70 days, he was not really part of Egypt.
11. And the inhabitants of the Land (the Kanaanites) noticed the lamentation on the Threshing Floor of the Bramble, and they said, "This is a very important mourning for Egypt"; for this reason it was given the name, "The Meadow of Egypt" (which is across the Yarden).
If this was THE Threshing Floor, these Kanaanites would have been Y'vusites. Important: the same word translated "heavy" in v. 10. Meadow: a different root word, but spelled the same as the word for "mourning" used here; this may have been the intent, as the vowel pointing was added much later.
12. Then his sons indeed did for him as he had ordered them—
13. namely, they carried his body to the land of Kanaan and buried him in the Cave of Makhpelah, which Avraham had bought from Efron the Hittite (the field used for a burial ground, opposite Mamre).
Cave of Makhpelah: This tomb in Hevron, 20 miles west of the Dead Sea and embellished by Herod the Great, is the best-preserved ancient structure in Israel, having in the meantime been maintained by Muslims, who also count Avraham as their ancestor.
14. And after he had buried his father, Yosef returned to Egypt—he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
15. But when Yosef's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Yosef bears a grudge against us, and decides to pay us back after all for the evil that we did to him?"
They thought he might have only treated them so well for their father’s sake. But while they had admitted their guilt to one another in front of Yosef before they knew who he was, they had never overly confessed their sin to him, so they still felt their remaining guilt. Though he was their brother, they still did not trust him—an attitude they really had no right to take--and even now they only confess because they think they are in trouble. Yeshua told us the prerequisites for forgiveness in Luke 17:3ff. He places the responsibility on the one sinned against to show those who wronged him how they have done so, because the easier path of blank-check forgiveness often leaves the door open for the sinner to remain stranded in his sin rather than seeing him through to truly righting the wrong. But Yosef had already done this. Confessing is the hardest part, so they even used an intermediary:
16. So they sent a message to Yosef, saying,
17. "Before his death, your father gave us orders, saying, "This is what you shall say to Yosef: 'We beg you, please pardon your brothers' breach of trust, and their sin, for they indeed did evil to you.’ So now please pardon the transgression of the servants of the Elohim of your father." And Yosef wept when they spoke it to them.
Breach of trust: He should have had a right to feel safe among brothers. They apparently concocted this story to add justification to their request; there is no record of them ever having told their father what they had done to Yosef, though certainly he had wondered how Yosef got to Egypt. He wept because he realized they still did not believe he would really forgive them. But once forgiveness is asked for and granted, as with the offerings in the Temple, the conscience is cleared because a covering over that part of our history is provided. All he wanted was for them to do the right thing; once they do what they are supposed to be doing, he has no right to hold their past sins against them.
18. Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and said, "Behold, we are your servants."
Again they brought his dream to pass. And this was finally the evidence of their repentance.
19. But Yosef said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of Elohim?
While on the political level Yosef had power to kill them, he knew that vengeance is YHWH’s alone. (Deut. 32:35)
20. "On your part, you intended evil against me, but Elohim planned it for [our] benefit, in order to arrange things as they are today—to preserve the life of a great many people.
Yet still he does not let them imagine that what they did was all right. He does not pretend this was just a youthful mistake, and does a little more teaching (the real point of rebuke) in the process of forgiving. However merciful YHWH had been, he makes sure they recognize that what had been in their hearts was wrong. Even if we learn wonderful things when YHWH works our bad intentions together for the best (Rom. 8:28), it would have been far better to avoid the wrongdoing in the first place.
21. "So now do not be afraid; I will sustain you and your little ones." And he comforted them, and spoke to their hearts.
Spoke to their hearts: kindly and comfortingly, but the same thing was said when Sh'khem was trying to woo Dinah, so there is a sense of deep intimacy. But still it would have been better for them to do right from the start than to learn from their wrongs.
[c. Year 2311 from creation; 1689 B.C.E.]
22. And Yosef remained in Egypt—both he and his father's household. And Yosef lived 110 years.
From an Egyptian perspective, Yosef died in perfection, because at least 27 ancient Egyptian writings have been found designating 110 as the perfect age to which one could live. Notably, the “Letter of Wermai” says, “May [the sun-god] grant you 110 years on earth…without bodily infirmities…” Yosef was 39 when his father rejoined him, so he lived a full lifetime of 70 years plus one after all of his sorrows. Y’hoshua would also live to the age of 110. What did they have in common? The first Hebrew word with the numerical value of 110 in Scripture is ‘am—the people or the nation as a whole. Both of their lives were all about caring for YHWH’s people.
23. And Yosef saw the descendants of Efrayim to the third generation, and the children of Makhir, M'nashe's son, were born on his knees.
Third generation: again, a sense of completeness is communicated. But why is Makhir singled out for mention? Because while Efrayim was made Yaaqov’s firstborn (48:6), to Yosef, M'nashe remained his firstborn. While other tribes did not drive out all of the inhabitants of Kanaan, and they became thorns in their sides, Makhir did drive all the inhabitants out of the land he was given. (Num. 32:39) The double portion promised to Yosef was passed on to him; it seems he was given all of the land added, unrequested, to M'nashe east of the Yarden River. Rulers (scribes or lawgivers) came from him. (Judges 5:14) He was given Gil’ad and Bashan because he conquered them. (Y’hoshua 17:1) These are borderlands through which enemies wanting to attack Israel from the north or northeast have to pass first. Bashan is the Golan Heights, a sparsely-populated area mostly devoted to military preparedness again today. It is awaiting the tribe of M'nashe’s return to fill it.
24. Then Yosef told his brothers, "I am dying, but Elohim will surely attend to you and bring you up from this land to the land which He swore to Avraham, Yitzhaq, and Yaaqov."
This applies to their descendants as well. This is the first time all three patriarchs are listed together.
25. Then Yosef made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "YHWH will surely visit you; you must then bring my bones up from here."
Bones: or members of my body: i.e., the house of Israel (whose leader is Efrayim, Yosef's designated firstborn) who are in other lands and were dead to the fact that they were Israel until they began to "hear the shofar" of late. (Lev. 23:30) Moshe brought his bones out from Egypt, and Y’hoshua finally honored Yosef's request, burying him in Sh'khem (Yehoshua 24:32; cf. Gen. 48:22) But in Hebrew, “bones” means “that which is the same as” (as in “the same day”), so he was also tacitly asking that those with the “same” DNA (his descendants) be taken back there one day as well. Visit: "Pay attention to", or "muster", "count", or "review as troops"--YHWH would not lose track of Yosef's dried-up bones, but would raise them back up into a mighty, vast army! (Y'hezq'el/Ezekiel 37)
26. Then Yosef died, at the age of 110, and they embalmed him, and put him in a coffin in Egypt.
Such an ending to the book of beginnings can only mean that the story is not finished; there is more to come. Yosef cannot remain dead in Egypt! This may be why it does not say they mourned for him; that would bring closure, and the point is that Yosef’s descendants are still lying in a grave in Egypt, which should give us a longing to also be brought back to our proper Land. Exodus 12:37; 13:19-20 implies that Yosef was buried in Sukkoth. Joseph Good reports that in the site in Egypt thought to be Sukkoth, a mausoleum with twelve niches in it was found, and one whole stone coffin is missing. It may be the tomb of all twelve brothers, since it is not stated that any of the others asked to be buried in the Land of Israel as he had. It would be very heavy, but they did not want to be defiled by his corpse on their way to a festival to YHWH, so they took the entire coffin, for stone cannot become ritually defiled. Both Yaaqov and Yosef were embalmed, so if their bodies can be discovered, there may be tissue left, as in many mummies, on which DNA tests could be carried out, putting an end to questions about who their descendants are. But only when we again walk in the ways of YHWH can Yosef’s bones live again. Exodus will show us how…
INTRODUCTION: Again, the account of Yaaqov’s last days emphasizes his life rather than the fact that he was drawing near to death. He uses his last strength to speak into the lives of those who would follow him—not just the ones alive at that time, but for many generations to come, all the way down to our own day. The very way the book ends makes it obvious that there is much more to this story than it records. Even the fact that he dies as Israel and not as Yaaqov brings a satisfying end to a life he was very unsatisfied with.
Yet there is one glaring problem that demands a sequel. In this portion, both he and his prominent son, Yosef, emphasize the importance of returning to our homeland, even if it can only occur after one’s death. But the expressed desires of both include elements that both include their descendants in their own return, and hold out the hope of a resurrection so that they can actually walk there again themselves—in Yaaqov’s case, not with the name he started out with, a name he was never pleased with, but with the new identity in which he was walking when his time to pay his dues to Adam’s fall caught up with him. For the next several generations, there would be no such satisfying ends to miserable lives, for they would have existences even more “short and evil” than his turned out to be, and justice calls for a better closure than most do experience, especially those who died martyrs’ deaths for doing what was right in a world that is far out of kilter with the “very good” creation with which this book began.
As we, at a time in history when the firstfruits of the resurrection has already taken place, contemplate the “blessed hope” that our resurrection has been anchored by that as well, we need to remember that the shofar call that the silence at the end of the book virtually pulsates in anticipation of includes not just an entry into the afterlife (which the Egyptians around them sought), but a physical return to an actual place on earth that YHWH has, for His reasons, woven inextricably into our Covenant. He desires the redemption of not just our souls, but our bodies as well, so that His initial wish, of a people with whose hearts, minds, and strengths He can interact in purity and thus “with open face”, can at last be granted.
The rest of the Torah that follows emphasizes the salvation of our bodies, because only when the theoretical becomes concrete can the inner change that YHWH has effected in us be proven real in the eyes of everyone , especially skeptics who carry on the pragmatic characteristics of Qayin, Esau, and Lavan. While in this life we only see temporary glimpses of the promised rewards for making the difficult choice to do right in a world where the odds are stacked against us, they are the down-payment guaranteeing that the fuller redemption--the return all the way back to the Garden--is not just a dream, but is more real than the “deaths of the vision” that followed the patriarchs’ dreams, for the fulfillment that is even more impossible after death than in life can only come from the finger of the Creator who built that hope into every cell of our bodies.
TORAH PORTION
VaY'khi
(Genesis 47:28 - 50:26)
A Link with Home
YHWH promised Yaaqov that He would not only go with him into Egypt, but would also bring him back from there. (Gen. 46:4) Yaaqov passed on the same promise to Yosef. (49:29) And we—all the tribes of Israel--as their descendants, have the same promise—of returning one day to the Promised Land. Judah is already well into the process, but the prophets include the revived Northern Kingdom as well. (Yirmeyahu 16:15, etc.)
But this week we’ve been very conscious of the fact that our mobile home—seemingly the best option when we learned that we had a Homeland to go back to—was not the best investment for the haul that has turned out to be longer than we’d anticipated. Groaning under its planned obsolescence, it’s forcing us to wonder whether we need a more permanent temporary place!
And I think that’s where Yaaqov (Jacob) found himself in this portion—as did even his son Yosef. As each realized that the ends of their lives were approaching, they both recognized that the promised return home might not be in their lifetime. It would be for their descendants to fulfill the dream.
That may or may not be true for this generation of Israelites. YHWH may open the door for us tomorrow. But if not, we don’t have to feel like the time is wasted while we wait.
For Yaaqov and Yosef, recognizing that they were links in a chain, preserving the whole chain to later fulfill what they themselves could not do, enabled them to get their own struggles in the right perspective: Yaaqov with his hard life that fell short of his father’s lifespan and Yosef’s sufferings for which his brothers were afraid he’d finally take revenge—these were much more tolerable when they recognized that this was not the whole story. It was just one chapter in a saga that would have a better ending. Looking at the end while still in the thick of the drama enabled them to overcome evil with good, knowing their lives were more than what they were going through at the time.
No matter where we are, Israel is meant to be a blessing to all peoples, and just as Yosef’s position in Egypt gave him a more strategic angle from which to do that, we can look on our circumstances now as YHWH’s wise choice. Our particular links in the chain are judged by the Master designer to be in the best possible place to be able to carry out the steps toward the Kingdom that the present world configuration requires.
Yosef lived to see three generations of his descendants—a special compensation for all the trouble he had to go through. I think his longevity came, in part, because he relaxed in the knowledge that YHWH was in control, and didn’t chafe at the bit.
But that still didn’t keep him from making sure the promises would be fulfilled, even if it was post mortem. And if Yaaqov couldn’t go there while alive, he could still have his bones transferred to the Homeland to anchor it so that the chain could hold firmly through the storms his posterity would have to weather before they got there.
Study questions:
1. Though they both remained in Egypt the rest of their lives, why was it important for Yaaqov and Yosef to be buried in the land of their birth? (47:29-31; 50:24-25)
2. How do Genesis 48:11 and 50:23 relate to each other?
3. Why did Yaaqov exert the effort he showed in 48:2?
4. Two chapters intervene between 47:28 and 49:33, unlike the typical pattern, where they follow each other immediately. Why is what is said in those chapters especially important?
5. Considering history, how many ways can you think of that “qahal amim” can be interpreted? (48:4)
6. Does 48:5 mean Ephraim and M’nasheh replaced Reuven and Shim’on in the hierarchy of Yaaqov’s sons? Why did he split Yosef into two tribes? (For a hint, see 48:22)
7. Why might Yaaqov recount Rakhel’s death in this context? (48:7) Why do you think he chose to be buried with Leah instead? (49:31)
8. 17 years after coming to Egypt, why does Yaaqov ask who Yosef’s sons are? (48:8) What does Yosef’s reply (48:9) allude to?
9. What does 48:11 tell you about Elohim?
10. What is the symbolism depicted in the sons coming forth from between his knees? (48:12) Who bowed, Yaaqov or Yosef? Why?
11. Where else do we find the phrase “milo hagoyim” (fullness of the Gentiles)? (48:19) What can we deduce from it? Does this change your theology?
12. What role does Yaaqov take on in 49:1?
13. 49:28 calls the words to each son in 49:3-27 “blessings”. Some of them do not seem like blessings. Are they meant to be binding? To limit or direct the tribes? Or to point out what they need to overcome?
14. How did Moshe modify the “blessings” on Reuven (49:3-4) and Levi (49:5-7)? (See Deut. 33:6-11. What about Shim’on?)
15. Similarly, how might 49:16-17 contrast or synthesize with Revelation 7:4-8, where Dan is not included in the list of 12 tribes? How can there be 12 when one is left out?
16. Have any of the prophecies in 49:3-27 been fulfilled yet? If so, how?
17. Why would Yosef have chosen to embalm Yaaqov? (50:2; how might 50:5 inform your answer?)
18. What did Yaaqov say, as quoted in 50:5, that might have predisposed Pharaoh to risk letting Yosef leave Egypt when he might decide not to come back? What did Yosef do in 50:8 that would put Pharaoh’s fears in this regard to rest?
19. How might the tombs of the patriarchs in Egypt be positively identified?
20. Why would his brothers’ request make Yosef weep (50:17)? What does “in the place of Elohim” (50:19) mean?
21. How can we apply 50:20 to what other people might do to us?
Companion Passage:
The Sidewalk
for kids
If you knew you were going to see somebody you loved a lot for the last time, what would you want to tell them? Yes, I know you’d want to say you loved them, but what else? Wouldn’t you want to try to give them advice or information that you had which could help make the rest of their lives easier, but also more meaningful? You would want to help them avoid the mistakes you made and avoid wasting time and energy on things that really wouldn’t make a difference, wouldn’t you?
When you don’t have much time, even when life is just very busy, it’s easier to see which things really don’t matter and which things really can’t be left unfinished.
Well, that’s right where Yaaqov was in this week’s story. He knew he was about to die, and wanted to give a blessing to each of his sons and two very special grandsons. And what’s more, he was a prophet, so he knew some things from YHWH that nobody else knew, so he knew that now was the time he had to say them. So he got up all the strength he had left and called them all to come see him for one last time.
In the haftarah (1 Kings 2), David does the same for Shlomoh, whom he has decided is the best one to be the next king, and he wants to be sure he gets started off on the right foot and has what it takes to keep the kingdom going that he had worked so hard to establish. He wanted to put things in place so none of his other children, whom he knew were jealous, would not be able to mess things up.
What people say when they have almost finished their lives is often what we should pay the most attention to. Yaaqov, too, knew each of his sons had to be in the right position to make this family, which was already growing into a nation, work as well as it could. So although he liked Yosef most, he saw that Yehudah had what it took to be the leader of all the rest. So he set it up so his descendants would be the ones who would get to be kings—and David was one of them. Some, like Zerubavel after his tribe came back from still another exile, would not officially be king, but would lead the people in a different, but just as important kind of way.
A king was just one kind of leader, and Yaaqov knew that, having seen Yosef lead, but he could see that the others had strengths that Yosef did not. Each of them had something special to contribute to the rest, and he wanted to make sure those things came to the surface and got developed fully so that everybody could benefit.
And we are in the same position. We might live in democratic or other kinds of countries, but we still have a kingdom to build too—YHWH’s. Except for those who get to live in Israel right away, it won’t be a political kingdom until the Messiah comes back. But YHWH has given each of us special gifts to make sure His influence in the world remains strong against all the things that try to break down the order He set up.
Like Yaaqov and David, we can sometimes not just carry out our own part, but also help other people see where they can do the most good and what is a waste of the time that we all only have a limited amount of.
While you’re young, you have your whole life ahead of you, and the world is so full of exciting things, that you want to try everything. Yes, you do still have some time for trial and error, but if someone could give you a shortcut that could let you skip the things that won’t get you anywhere, think of how much more you could accomplish if you got an even earlier start. Wouldn’t you want to hear about what to avoid and what to choose to help make that possible?
That same son that David gave his dying advice had lots of money and he tried all kinds of things that most people never get to try because they can’t, and he found out that a lot of things people daydream about and wish for--thinking “I could do that if only I had more of this or that”—a lot of those things are really dead-end streets too, and so he (Shlomoh) wrote two whole books (Proverbs and Qoheleth, also called Ecclesiastes) chock full of advice about just how.
One puzzling thing he said was that it was better to go to a funeral than to a party. That doesn’t sound like much fun. What on earth did he mean? The funeral, he said, reminds you that each of us only has so much time. What people say when they have almost finished their lives is often what we should pay the most attention to.
Most importantly, he ended by telling us what would be the very best way to spend our limited lives: “Before you get old, when you can’t do a lot of the things you used to be able to do, remember your Creator while you are still young.” Someone summarized what he was saying: “Give of your best to the Master; give of the strength of your youth.” Spend your energy on what matters most, on what will still be around even after you aren’t.
Right now you may be more in a position to listen to the people who have gone down these roads before and know what waits there than to give other people advice. So the smart thing to do would be to listen to what they say, even if it doesn’t seem to make sense. Don’t argue; just keep it in the back of your mind. One day you’ll understand how great a gift it really was.
The Renewal of VA-Y'KHI
Yaaqov’s request to be buried in the Land of his birth (Gen. 47:30) was not just a random, nostalgic choice, but one informed by YHWH’s own promise that he would one day return to the Land. (46:4) Recognizing this was not to occur during his lifetime would not, he decided, prevent it from become a post-mortem truth. His body’s being there could thus allow it, rather than Egypt, to accurately be called “the Land of Israel”.
But does the fact that he did not get there to actually see it again make YHWH a liar? No; remember Yeshua’s argument to the Boethusian Sadducees who did not believe in a resurrection: YHWH “is not the Elohim of the dead but of the living.” (Mat. 22:32) Yaaqov is therefore still alive, though in another dimension for now, but death does not keep YHWH’s promise from being fulfilled. He will be back to his old haunt—sans famine and probably sans limp!
But that is not yet visible. Is it enough of a motivator to those he left behind? Or do they need something more to keep them going until they too “sleep with their fathers”?
The continuity of a covenant requires transmission to each generation. So before he died Yaaqov gave each of his sons a vision of who he was meant to be. Yeshua, too, left behind vivid encounters during his last moments—things that would be impossible to forget, like Moshe’s song that would also keep ringing in the ears of those who heard it for many years to come. (Deut. 31:19ff) Paul and Kefa (Peter), too—getting close to their end, in their final letters each emphasized what would outlast them so those they had been training would keep in mind what was most crucial not to lose:
“I remind you to rekindle the gift of Elohim which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” (2 Tim. 1:6) “Keep your wits about you in all things, endure hardship, carry out the work of a bearer of glad news, [and] fully accomplish [the service of] your ministry, because I am already being poured out [as a drink offering], and the time of my release is right at hand.” (2 Tim. 4:5-6)
“I will be ready on any occasion to remind you about these things, although you have already come to know them and have been buttressed by the truth that is present [in you]. Moreover, I consider it the right [thing to do], for as long as I am [still] in this tent, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my temporary dwelling is swiftly impending, as indeed our master Yeshua the Messiah has made clear to me. So I, too, will be diligent to produce a lasting reminder so that after my departure you may at all times have something [to hold in your hands], for when we made our master Yeshua the Messiah known to you, we had not followed out cunningly-devised myths; rather, we had been [direct] eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Kefa 1:12-16)
Of course, in our discussion of how the Renewed Covenant relates to this parashah, we cannot forget 48:19. Chapter 49 goes into end-time prophecies about each of the tribes in the latter days, and we can find parallels to that in Moshe (Deut. 33:6-25), Y’hezq’El (47-48), and Yochanan (Revelation 7:5-8). Here we see the first prophecies that the kings of all Israel will be from the tribe of Yehudah, with both all Israel bowing down to them and other nations obeying, and of course this includes and reaches its zenith in Yeshua in the very last days.
Each of us may be part of the fulfillment of one tribe’s callings as outlined here. But the most salient prophecy about any of the tribes for us is the one given to the second-born grandson (of Yosef’s double portion—see 48:22) whom Yaaqov counted as the firstborn: The inheritance of Yosef’s other children (the Septuagint suggests that he had at least 5 more) was counted under their (two) firstborn brothers (in part a foreshadowing of Yeshua, the “firstborn among many brothers”, Rom. 8:29). But since Efrayim ended up being not just the tribe from which the first breakaway leader came from but also a cover term for the whole northern kingdom, this prophecy applies to not just one tribe but 10.
What does it say about him? He is to “become the fullness of the Gentiles (or nations)”. This phrase (as used in Romans 11:25) has mystified countless generations of Renewed Covenant believers who were not familiar with the Hebrew phrase here, but this holds the solution: when Efrayim comes back, all of Israel will be rescued, and the partial blindness that came over Israel will be removed. (It does not say a part of Israel, so yes, both houses have had blind spots, which YHWH has nonetheless used to make each stronger in other areas, just as a blind person develops a much better sense of touch, hearing, and smell than most “sighted” people ever do).
So each of the two houses needs to let the other fill in the gaps in our lines of vision, like the fuller perspective that comes from the marrying of male and female, which YHWH separated specifically so they could come back together and bring each other the benefits of their strong points.
What Do You Expect from YHWH?
There are many important prophecies in this portion, several about Messiah and about our own present-day restoration. But this time one line from Yaaqov stood out to me.
Yaaqov was pretty much a pessimist. His pessimism is not surprising after some of the experiences he had, especially with Lavan and with the early loss of his favorite wife—the only one he really considered his actual wife. (44:27) No wonder he despaired when Yosef and then Binyamin, all he had left of her (42:38; 44:20), were taken away. Back when his sons took vengeance on and conquered a whole city-state, he thought he would be attacked from all sides and thought of as odious. (Gen. 34:30) But he he ended up being able to give that conquered territory as a special extra legacy to the one he counted his firstborn after, beyond his wildest dream, he was restored to him. (48:22)
Yet even after things were on the upswing, he still tells Pharaoh, “My life has been bad and I haven’t lived as long as my forefathers did.” (47:9) Like Iyov, his attitude was “My worst fears have been realized.” (Job 3:25) Yet even Iyov learned to expect better from YHWH.
Finally, as his days of learning are nearing their end, Yaaqov, too, shows that he has indeed let this life instruct him despite his earlier leanings. He tells Yosef, “I had not expected to even see your face [again], yet here, Elohim has let me see your descendants too!” (48:11)
Maybe I’m just naïve, but isn’t that what we should expect from YHWH, who even provides rain for the unjust? I mean, if He is truth and He is goodness, how can something really be too good to be true? Goodness is truth, at least for those who align themselves with Him. (Romans 8:28) Rather, shouldn’t we ask, “Isn’t it too good to NOT be true?”
It may be wise at times to prepare for the worst, and like Avraham and Yaaqov, we are promised some rough tests because of whose side we are on in a world still occupied by an evil ruler (Luke 21:16-17), but in the end, “not a hair of your head will perish”. (21:18—probably an allusion to Daniel 3:27) The bottom line is “The blessing of YHWH makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22) That is where we should expect the road to lead, if we have not tried to cut corners on the way.
Seeing Yosef’s sons jogged something in Yaaqov’s brain. He had been promised fruitfulness (35:11), but on the road to fruitfulness (Efrath), “while there was still just a little ways to go”, he lost the apple of his eye. (44:27) It seemed YHWH was mocking him by bringing him so close, yet then moving the carrot out of reach.
But when he heard that one of Yaaqov’s sons was named “doubly fruitful” (Efrayim) and the other was named “forgetting” (M’nasheh), he saw that YHWH had been at work fulfilling the promise all along, and he was finally able to “forget what lies behind” and “press on toward his higher calling” (Philippians 3:13-14), so it is not Yaaqov (the man of the flesh) but Israel (the man of the spirit who pushes all the way through to victory with Elohim) who ends up surrendering to this optimism (48:11) and blessing these prophecy-fulfilling sons and many of his later descendants in their name. (48:14-21)
So expect better than you can imagine from YHWH, "Who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or even think," (Ephesians 3:20)
Delayed Gratification
During his terminal illness, “Israel beheld Yosef's sons, and said: 'Who are these?' And Yosef told his father: 'They are my sons, whom Elohim has given me here.'” (Gen. 48:8-9)
Doesn’t this sound familiar? In one of the last recorded sayings of his father while Yosef was still in his hearing, Yaaqov answered a nearly-identical question from his brother with, “the children Elohim has graciously given...” (33:5)
Yaaqov must have smiled and been filled with hope as he heard the echo of his own words in his son’s after so many years. He could die confident that his legacy of trust in and gratitude to YHWH was continuing though he was slipping from this age to the one to come. So he gave the best response he could have: “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” (48:9) To this day, each Shabbat Israel still repeats this blessing over our sons (“May Elohim make you like Efrayim and Manasheh”), as he prophesied (48:20)—or… ordered?
Last week’s reading from the prophets told us that YHWH’s promises to Yaaqov, which he passed on to his sons and grandsons-become-sons here, will indeed continue into that age: “Thus they [both houses of Israel, one being “the stick of Yosef that is in the hand of Efrayim”] shall remain in the land which I gave to My servant Yaaqov and in which your forefathers dwelt--they and their children and their children’s children--shall dwell there forever, with My servant David as their prince for all time.” (Ezekiel 37:25)
Whether David and his “seed’, the Messiah, will be telescoped into one timeless personage or not, that will be an awesome era in which to live in our homeland! For Yaaqov promised that YHWH would bring Yosef back there, but for him personally this only occurred (long) post-mortem. So there must be another fulfillment—or more than one, for I am confident that not only was he and will he again be there through his descendants; in the Kingdom he himself will get to enjoy it—as a free man!
Each tribe has its individual role to play in those “lattermost of days”. (49:1) Some of Yaaqov’s “blessings” were more like curses (49:4-6), and Moshe tempered his angry words greatly on their behalf (Deuteronomy 33:6, 8-11), as his sons had sometimes had to do for him even while he was alive. (35:31)
Though the birthright in the form of the double portion had already been given to Yosef as Rakhel’s firstborn, since Leah’s first three sons seriously displeased their father, the blessing of the firstborn (which 27:36 shows is different from the birthright) seems to fall to the fourth, Yehudah. (49:8-11) He had already distinguished himself with great maturity (44:33), leadership skills, and influence (37:26; 46:28), and to him is awarded the throne when it is time for that.
But “one of illegitimate birth may not enter the assembly of Israel until the tenth generation” (Deut. 23:2). Sounds very harsh, but “assembly” is often the translation of two different Hebrew terms. The “assembly” specified here (qahal) does not mean the community or congregation of Israel in general (which is the term edah), but a position of leadership among the decision-makers of the nation. (Onstott) But the son from which the royal line derived was born of Yehudah and his daughter-in-law, and thus fit that category. (Lev. 18:15)
That union did right an earlier wrong (38:26), so it was not “never”, but it had to wait about 750 years. David was tenth from Yehudah, and thus the first who could rightfully bear the scepter promised here (49:10).
YHWH did expect Israel to eventually have a king (Deut. 17:14), as she again will (Ezek. 37:22), with limits (Deut. 17:15; Ezek. 46:16-18). But the generation that demanded a king in Sha’ul’s day jumped the gun. (1 Shmu’el 10-12)
A counterfeit Messiah will also precede the true one; many see it hinted at in Dan’s prophecy here. (Gen. 49:17) So the very next phrase is especially relevant for us today: “I have waited for Your deliverance (yeshuah), O YHWH.” (49:18)
Don’t demand or even accept a premature utopia. It will be as much a rejection of YHWH’s order as Sha’ul’s reign was. Hold out for the real thing!
Taking Up
the Right Ancestor
In his meetings with only Yosef and his sons, then with all of his children, we again see the vivid interplay between Yaaqov and Israel, as he vacillates back and forth for a while, then becomes stable in his identity as Israel. As we have seen in recent weeks, his new name (Gen. 32:28; 35:10) represents his new and higher self, the one that will inherit YHWH’s best and leave a better heritage than Yaaqov, the man of the flesh, known for his trickery and named for his “heel-grabbing”, could ever do. One of them we want to carry on; the other we do not.
When he becomes terminally ill, he is still called Yaaqov, the old self who is dying off. (Gen. 48:1-2) But when Yosef comes to see him, he rallies and functions as Israel—the new man, the prophet, the one who will continue when all vestiges of the deceiver and supplanter have passed away. He shows all the physical respect he can muster for the one he counts his firstborn, who will carry his life on in the earthly realm. But he lapses into being Yaaqov again as he retells the sad story of the loss of Yosef’s mother. (48:2-7)
When he is jarred back to the present, noticing those who are still here and recalling that he has an obligation to give them the best that he does have while he is still able, he recovers his awareness of being Israel, and acts on it. (48:8ff) He loses the complaining and regains his thankful heart, expressing his amazement at how much more YHWH has given him than he expected. (48:11) After blessing his grandsons with prolific growth, he adds yet another less-obvious blessing: he transfers his name to his whole posterity, saying we will all (at least once we realize we are Israel too) bless our children with the gift of being like these two young men (48:20)—whose names mean “doubly fruitful” and “forgetting” what lies behind (cf. Philippians 3:13).
Then he takes the promise given him by YHWH of the return to his homeland (46:4) and passes it on to Yosef (48:21), who later (after 80 years as a ruler in Egypt and 93 as a sojourner) asks, like his father, to be buried in the land he could not return to in his lifetime when the generations he has lived to see—or their descendants--do physically return. (50:24-25) The same sentiments were reflected in a 19th-century American cowboy song: “By my father's grave, there let me be; oh, bury me not on the lone prairie."
When one of this family dies, he is said to be “gathered to his fathers” or “to his people”. There’s a lot more to that than just being buried together.
The book of beginnings ends with Yosef dead but still in Egypt (50:26)—a signal that this cannot be the end of the story, for he is not yet back home. There has to be more to come. And we can have the same hope when we see unfinished places in our stories. This is one of the most convincing evidences that there will be a resurrection.
But back to Yaaqov: When he calls his sons together, interestingly, he calls them “Yaaqov’s sons”, but tells them to listen to their father Israel! That is the way they can be elevated as he was.
Even for the sons whose actions he did not like, he said, “I will divide them up in [or by] Yaaqov, and disperse them among [or by] Israel.” (49:7) The dividing seemed like a curse, but the fact that Levi was dispersed among all of Israel became a blessing, because that tribe became the teachers of Torah (Lev. 10:11; Mal.2:7, etc.), and this way every region would have some Torah teachers, rather than everyone having to come to an area where they lived to learn how to follow YHWH’s commands.
So when Yaaqov hands off even a badly-dealt hand to Israel, it can become beneficial. And that is a pattern we can also inherit and pass on.
When he dies, he is Yaaqov (49:33), but it is Israel that is preserved (50:2)—even his lifeless body, but that means his DNA is still there, but it remains much stronger in his living descendants, and indeed, Israel—the spiritual man—is what we are here to carry on.
“Do not deceive one another [that is Yaaqov], seeing you have put off the old man with his deeds.” (Col. 3:9) Leave that man behind, and let it die, because it is only “becoming more and more corrupt” anyway (Eph. 4:22); it is incurable. Rather, after first “being renewed in the spirit of your mind [think Ezekiel 36:26], …put on the new man—the one [that is] in agreement with Elohim, being made habitable through righteousness…” (4:23-24)
Yes, the new man is habitable like a land—for both the man and the land are named Israel. So settle into your new identity, made possible by the “last Adam”, who first wrestled to change Yaaqov to Israel and lets you “wrestle, not against flesh and blood” to make your own flesh and blood serve his.
Learning from
Our Forebears
We all know we can learn much from our ancestors’ examples, good and bad. But the ancestor featured this week learned from his own mistakes. Previously Yaaqov had given Pharaoh a dismal view of his life, saying it had not been as long as his ancestors’ (47:9), but now he counts his blessings and says they exceed those his fathers experienced. (49:26) May we all be able to correct our outlook as he did.
Late in life, Israel directly tells Yosef that his younger son will be more prominent than the elder. (Gen. 48:19-20) He uses no deceit about it this time. He is not speaking as Yaaqov anymore.
And he adds, “His [Ephrayim’s] seed will become the fullness of the Gentiles.” (Gen. 48:19) This is the back story for what Paul said about this entity in Romans 11:25, which we used to find mysterious. He continues, “Thus all of Israel will be saved.” (11:26) He did not necessarily mean every last person of Israelite descent (but don’t put that past YHWH either). Chiefly, he meant every part of Israel--both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. Yaaqov’s and Yosef’s desire to return to the Promised Land is awakening in us, their descendants, as well.
Yaaqov had said, “May the messenger who redeemed me from every trouble bless the young men” (Gen. 48:16)—that is, Ephrayim and M’nasheh. Indeed, he has—going after their scattered descendants and sending his own messengers into all the world while we were still estranged from YHWH and from the commonwealth of Israel we had once been a part of. (Ephesians 2:12, 19; Rom 5:8; Luke 19:10)
For while Israel gave Yosef the extra portion of inheritance (48:22), showing that he considered him worthy of the birthright, the blessings could be split (27:36) and Yehudah became the firstborn by process of elimination since Yaaqov found his three older brothers—the actual firstborn--unqualified. (49:4-7) He inherited not a double portion but the royal scepter (49:8, 10), probably due to his outstanding leadership.
The scepter did depart from Yehudah, much to the alarm of rabbinic authorities, when the Romans took away the Sanhedrin’s right to adjudicate the death penalty, but not before “Shiloh”—the one to whom it belongs (which the Aramaic targum interprets as the Messiah) had indeed come on the scene, though not yet publicly; he was about 10 years old, up in Galilee! And he did pass on the “keys to the kingdom” to his students. “The lawgiver…between his feet” has a very fascinating astronomical fulfillment at the occasion of his birth. (See my notes on 49:10.)
Though they are prophecies about particular tribes, all of us can learn wisdom from what Yaaqov said about some of them. Issachar chose contentment and to do what he was best at rather than envying other tribes’ inheritances. We can all strive for the excellence Asher exemplifies in his work. But in times of trouble, each of these tribes can be thankful for the promises of YHWH’s blessing when we need it most.
There is much to take away from Yosef’s penultimate interaction with his brothers, who invent a story about their father telling them to do what they wanted to ask him to do—forgive them for their atrocity against him in his youth. (50:15-17) It brings him to tears again, but this time because they don’t really seem to believe he had done so already, but, like Esau, was only waiting until their common father had died to take his revenge. But he’d learned through all of his experiences that “all things work together for good to those who love YHWH and are called according to His purposes.” (Rom. 8:28) He causes “the wrath of men to praise [Him] and the remainder of wrath [He] restrain[s].” (Psalm 76:10) As we know from Iyov (Job), haSatan must ask YHWH’s permission before perpetrating any harm. It is all screened by Him, and He knows precisely how much stress will make us strongest.
Yosef seemed to know that one who will not forgive cannot expect to be forgiven. (Mat. 6:15) But YHWH’s forgiveness goes much deeper than we imagine. When Yeshua returns, it will be “without reference to sin” (Heb. 9:28) to save us. In a sense He wants us to forget we had ever wronged Him and act with a confidence (but not presumptuousness) that lets us “come boldly before the throne of favor so we might find mercy and empowering to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16) As Yosef wished his brothers knew, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (1 Yoch./Jn. 4:18)
Let’s learn that from our ancestors on both sides of the equation as well.
