Genesis 49:24

But his bow abode in strength,.... For as his enemies were archers, and had bows and arrows, so had he, and repelled force by force; but then his bow and arrows were of a different sort, the virtues

But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) But his bow abode in strength.

His bow, wherewith he opposed his enemies; which was no military bow, but that which he opposed to all their injuries, to wit, his own virtue, his innocence, his patience, his temperance, his faith and hope in God, whereby he resisted and vanquished all the temptations and difficulties which he met with, so that all his enemies could neither defile nor destroy him. The mighty God of Jacob, i.e. my God; the noun for the pronoun, which is frequent. When men forsook and persecuted him, my God and his God stood by him. He showed that it was not Joseph’ s wisdom or courage, but God’ s gracious assistance, that made him conqueror. From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel; either, 1. From that great deliverance vouchsafed by God to Joseph it is that Israel or Jacob hath a shepherd to feed him, a stone to lay his head upon, as once he did, , or a rock of refuge to fly to in his great distresses, or a foundation-stone, or corner-stone, or pillar, to sustain or preserve Jacob’ s house. Or rather, 2. From the hands of the mighty God of Jacob, last mentioned. Or from the God of his father, as it follows . So the sense is this, Though Joseph was a blessed instrument in this wonderful work, yet the God of Jacob was the chief author of it, by whose wise and merciful providence it was so ordered that Joseph should be first sold, and afterwards advanced, and all in order to this end, that his Israel, with whom he hath been pleased to make a gracious and everlasting covenant, should have a shepherd to feed him in the time of famine, and a stone or rock to support him. Here he explains and determines that doubtful expression from thence, by adding, even by (or rather from, as this particle mem properly signifies, and was just now used) the God of thy father, i.e. who hath chosen and loved thy father, and made a league with him, and blessed him with all manner of blessings. Blessings of heaven above, i.e. the sweet and powerful influences of the heavenly bodies, and the dews and rains which fall from heaven, whereby the fruits of the earth are produced in great plenty. See 33:14. Blessings of the deep, i.e. of that great sea of waters both about the earth, and in the earth, whence come those springs and rivers by which the earth is moistened and made fruitful. See 7:11 . Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb, whereby both men and beasts shall be greatly multiplied, and abundantly supplied with all necessaries.

Genesis 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty [God] of Jacob; (from thence [is] the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)Ver. 24. But his bow abode in strength.] He "gave not place to them by subjection, no, not for an hour." "If thou faint in adversity, thy strength is small," saith Solomon. Joseph did not; but, as it was said of old Rome, Roma cladibus animosior; and as of Mithridates, he never wanted courage or counsel, when he was at the worst; so neither did Joseph. Virtus lecythos habet in malis. The sound heart stands firm under greatest pressures. Whereas, if a bone be broke, or but the skin rubbed up and raw, the lighest load will be troublesome. Hang heavy weights upon rotten boughs, they presently break. But Joseph’ s were green, and had sap. By the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.] It was said of Achilles, that he was Styge armatus; but Joseph was Deo forti armatus, and thence his safety. He used lfis bow against his adversaries, as David did his sling against Goliath. He slung, saith Bucholcer, perinde ac si fundae suae tunicis non lapillum, sed Deum ipsum induisset ac implicuisset, as if he had wrapped up God in his sling. τοφρονημαηναυτωδει, κανταιςρυμφοραις. - Plut.

(24) His bow abode in strength.—The word for strength is highly poetical. It means that which goes on for ever, like the flowing streams or the eternal hills. In spite of all the machinations of his enemies, the bow of Joseph remained constant and enduring in its might. Were made strong.—The Hebrew word is difficult, but more probably means, were pliant, supple, such as the arms of an archer ought to be. From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel.—The Jewish commentators understand “from thence” of Joseph, who had become the ruler and protector of Israel. But “from thence” answers in the parallelism to from the hands of. Fully it would be, from thence where dwells the Shepherd, &c, that is,—Joseph’s triumph came from God, who is the Shepherd (or Ruler) and the Rock of Israel.

Verse 24. But his bow remained in strength] The more he was persecuted, either by his brethren or in Egypt, the more resplendent his uprightness and virtues shone: and the arms his extended power and influence, of his hands plans, designs, and particular operations of his prudence, judgment, discretion, c., were all rendered successful by the hand - the powerful succour and protection, of the Mighty One of Jacob that God who blessed and protected all the counsels and plans of Jacob, and protected and increased him also when he was in a strange land, and often under the power of those who sought opportunities to oppress and defraud him. By the name of the Shepherd the Rock of Israel] Jehovah, and El-Elohey Israel; see Genesis 33:20. This appears to me to refer to the subject of the thirty-second chapter, where Jacob wrestled with God, had God's name revealed to him, and his own name changed from Jacob to Israel, in consequence of which he built an altar, and dedicated it to God, who had appeared to him under the name of Elohey-Israel, the strong God of Israel; which circumstance led him to use the term Rock, which, as an emblem of power, is frequently given to God in the sacred writings, and may here refer to the stone which Jacob set up. It is very probable that the word shepherd is intended to apply to our blessed Lord, who is the Shepherd of Israel, the good Shepherd, John 10:11-17; and who, beyond all controversy, was the person with whom Jacob wrestled. See Clarke on Genesis 16:7 and "Genesis 32:24".

24. his bow abode in strength] Cf. Job 29:20, “my bow is renewed in my hand.” Joseph was able by God’s help to resist. He overthrew his assailants. His strength was unshaken. LXX καὶσυνετρίβημετὰκράτουςτὰτόξααὐτῶν = “and their bows with might were broken,” follows a variety of reading. the arms of his hands] Probably meaning “the strength of his hands,” which held and drew the bow. were made strong] Better, as R.V. marg., active. The idea is nimbleness rather than strength. By the hands] More lit. “from the hands.” The source of the deliverance of Joseph, rather than the instrumentality of it, is expressed. the Mighty One of Jacob] A Divine title, ’βbξr = “the Strong One,” which appears elsewhere, Psalms 132:2; Psalms 132:5; Isaiah 1:24; Isaiah 49:26; Isaiah 60:16. From thence] No rendering gives an entirely satisfactory sense. The text is probably corrupt. (1) According to the R.V. text, the clause is a parenthesis; “from thence” means “from the Mighty One of Jacob.” “The shepherd,” and “the stone of Israel,” are appellations of Joseph. (2) According to the R.V. marg. “from thence from the shepherd,” the clause continues the thought of the previous words, and expands “by the hands of.” “The shepherd,” and “the stone of Israel,” are then Divine titles, in apposition to “the Mighty One of Jacob.” (3) “By the name of the shepherd.” This is a variety of the last ‘rendering, with the reading shκm = “name,” instead of shβm = “there.” The rendering (1) seems to be improbable, since it applies to Joseph the titles of “shepherd” and “stone of Israel,” which certainly we should not expect to see applied to the son of Jacob. Between (2) and (3) it is difficult to make a selection, and the text cannot be relied on. But the word mis-shβm (= “from thence”) seems more prosaic and less impressive than mis-shκm (= “from the Name”); and on the whole (3) seems more probable. For the “Shepherd,” as a Divine title, cf. Genesis 48:15; Psalms 23:1; Psalms 80:1. Prof. G. F. Moore conjectures “By the arms of the stone of Israel,” which would supply a parallel to “By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,” and would expand the thought of the previous clause (“the arms of his hands”). Encycl. Bibl. iii. 2977, n. 14. the stone of Israel] If used as a Divine title, the “stone” (’eben) is here substituted for the more usual “rock” (ṣ ?ϋr). Cf. Deuteronomy 32:4; 1 Samuel 2:2; 2 Samuel 22:2; Psalms 18:2; Psalms 18:31. It is very possible that the allusion may be to the stone (’eben) of Bethel (Genesis 28:18), or even to the great stone of Shechem (Joshua 24:26-27), the sanctuary of the tribe and the burial-place of Joseph. “The Name of the Shepherd of the Stone of Israel” is thus a possible, though a cumbrous title with a reference to the stone of Bethel (Genesis 31:13).

24. His bow — He turned archer in another way, and was empowered by a supernatural energy, against which all lords of the bow found it folly to contend. He proved an unconquerable hero.