Genesis 49:26

The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors,.... Jacob's blessings were greater and more numerous, both those which he himself had, and bestowed upon his

The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of

The blessings which I thy father have conferred upon thee, are much more considerable than those which I received from my father Isaac, or from my grandfather Abraham This was true, 1. In the extent of the blessings; Ishmael was excluded from Abraham’ s blessing, and my brother excluded from Isaac’ s blessing, but both Joseph’ s children are comprehended in Jacob’ s blessing. 2. In the distinctness and clearness of them; for that land of Canaan which was transmitted to Isaac and to Jacob only in the general, was now in some sort particularly distributed to Joseph, and to the rest of his brethren, as afterwards it was by Joshua. 3. In the nearness of the accomplishment. Now there was a more likely prospect of the multiplication of their seed, than there was to Abraham or Isaac; and in not very many years after this they multiplied to astonishment, and drew nearer to the possession of the promised land. Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: these words seem to note the duration of Joseph’ s blessing, that it should continue even to the bounds of the everlasting, or lasting, or ancient hills, i.e. as long as the most solid and stable mountains shall last, i.e. for ever. Perpetuity is described by the continuance of the mountains, as ; or of the sun and moon, as ,7,17; or of the heavens and earth, as . In the foregoing words of this verse he commends these blessings from their excellency above all former blessings; and here he commends them from their durableness. They shall be; or, let them be; for this may be a prayer to God that these blessings may be constant and perpetual. Him that was separate from his brethren; so he was, when he was sold into Egypt, and abode there in the court when his brethren were in Goshen. Or, the crowned of, or among his brethren, i.e. who though he was once scorned and trampled upon by his brethren, yet now is highly honoured and advanced above them. Others, the Nazarite of, or among his brethren; as he may be called either for his purity and sanctity, or for his eminency and dignity. But we must remember that the Nazarites were as yet unknown, being instituted long after this time.

Genesis 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.Ver. 26. Above the blessings of my progenitors.] Chiefly because Jacob pointed them out the particular tribe whereof, and the very time wherein, Shiloh should come. This mystery was made known to the Church, not all at once, but by degrees. Adam was told "the seed of the woman should break," &c.; but whether Jew or Gentile, he heard not a word. Abraham, the Hebrew, long after was certified that "in his seed all nations should be blessed"; but of what tribe Christ should come, till now, the world never heard. After this, David was made to know that Christ should be a male; but that he should be born of a virgin was not known till Isaiah’ s time. Thus God crumbles his mercies to mankind; and we have his blessings by retail, saith one, to maintain trading and communion betwixt him and us. So the cloud empties not itself at a sudden burst, but dissolves upon the earth, drop after drop. Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.] "Spiritual blessings in heavenly things," whereof those temporals afore promised were but types and pledges. Whence David doubts not to argue from temporals to spirituals. God in the Church’ s infancy fed them and led them along by earthly to heavenly blessing, speaking unto them as they could hear.

(26) The blessings of thy father.—As the passage now stands, it means that the blessings which Jacob bestows upon Joseph are greater than those which he had himself received from his ancestors, Abraham and Isaac. This was scarcely the case, as the chief spiritual blessing was bestowed upon Judah, while for Joseph there was only earthly prosperity. For this reason most modern commentators adopt the reading of the Samaritan Pentateuch, supported by the Samaritan Targum and the LXX., “The blessings of thy father are mightier than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the desire (or beauty) of the everlasting hills.” Not only is the parallelism of the poetry thus preserved, but the rendering is easy and natural, while the other translation is full of difficulties, especially as to the words, “my progenitors,” and “the utmost bound.” The sense thus given to them cannot be obtained by any ordinary philological process. Him that was separate from his brethren.—This scarcely gives the force of the verb, which means, set apart, consecrated. Hence the Vulg. renders “Nazarite,” the Hebrew word being nezir. The Syriac and Samaritan Targum translate, “him that is the crown of his brethren;” and the LXX., “him who was the leader of his brethren.” Many see in this an allusion to the sovereignty over the ten tribes being finally attained to by Ephraim, but probably the meaning is that Joseph was the noblest and highest in rank among Jacob’s children.

Verse 26. The blessing of thy father, c.] The blessings which thy father now prays for and pronounces are neither temporal nor transitory they shall exceed in their duration the eternal mountains, and in their value and spiritual nature all the conveniences, comforts, and delicacies which the everlasting hills can produce. They shall last when the heavens and the earth are no more, and shall extend throughout eternity. They are the blessings which shall be communicated to the world by means of the Messiah. The Jerusalem Targum paraphrases the place thus: "The blessing of this father shall be added unto the blessings wherewith thy fathers Abraham and Isaac, who are likened to mountains, have blessed thee; and they shall exceed the blessings of the four mothers, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah, who are likened to the hills: all these blessings shall be a crown of magnificence on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was a prince and governor in the land of Egypt." 27. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf: In the morning he shall devour the prey, And in the evening he shall divide the spoil. This tribe is very fitly compared to a ravenous wolf, because of the rude courage and ferocity which they have invariably displayed, particularly in their war with the other tribes, in which they killed more men than the whole of their own numbers amounted to. "This last tribe," says Dr. Hales, "is compared to a wolf for its ferocious and martial disposition, such as was evinced by their contests with the other tribes, in which, after two victories, they were almost exterminated, Judges 20:18-48." Its union with the tribe of Judah seems to be intimated in their joint conquests, expressed nearly in the same terms: "Judah went up from the prey;" "Benjamin devoured the prey." Moses in his parallel prophecy, Deuteronomy 33:12, confirms this by signifying that the sanctuary should be fixed in his lot, and that he should continue as long as the existence of the temple itself: - THE BELOVED OF THE LORD shall dwell with him in safety, And shall cover him all the day long, And shall dwell between his shoulders. Deuteronomy 33:12. In the morning, c.] These expressions have been variously understood. The sense given above is that in which the principal interpreters agree but Houbigant protests against the prophecy signifying the continuance of this tribe, as the words, "in the morning devouring the prey," and "in the evening dividing the spoil," are supposed to imply; "because," he observes, "after the return from the Babylonish captivity, this tribe is no more mentioned." But this may be accounted for from the circumstance of its being associated with that of Judah, (see 1Kg 12:21-24), after which it is scarcely ever mentioned but in that union. Being thus absorbed in the tribe of Judah, it continued from the morning till the evening of the Jewish dispensation, and consequently till the Lion of the tribe of Judah was seen in the wilderness of Israel.

26. The blessings of thy father] i. e. the blessings invoked by Jacob, thy father, when fulfilled in the greatness and influence of the people that shall spring from thee. Have prevailed above] i.e. have ranked higher, are of greater excellence, than the material blessings of the fair country assigned to Joseph. the blessings of my progenitors] Better, as R.V. marg., according to some ancient authorities, the blessings of the ancient mountains, the desire (or desirable things) of the everlasting hills. The rendering of the R.V. text in this difficult passage depends upon a practically impossible translation, i.e. “my progenitors” (Lat. patrum ejus), where the Hebrew literally means “my conceivers.” It is better to follow the rendering in the marg., which requires a very slight change in the text. Instead of “my progenitors,” read “the mountains of”; and, instead of “unto,” read “eternity.” This has the support of LXX, ὀρέωνμονίμων; and it is supported also by the parallelism of the clauses. “The everlasting hills,” in the next clause, will then balance “the ancient mountains” of this clause; as is the case in the blessing of Joseph, Deuteronomy 33:15, “and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the everlasting hills.” Cf. also Habakkuk 3:6. Unto the utmost bound] A doubtful rendering, required by the translation of the previous word, ‘ad = “unto.” According to the better reading, this word, ‘ad, should be rendered “eternity.” Instead of “bound,” we should render “desire” (which is the ordinary translation of the Heb. word), in the sense of “the desirable things,” thus balancing the words “the blessings” in the previous clause. They shall be] Better, “may they be,” a prayer, as in the very similar passage in Deuteronomy 33:16, with which these two clauses should be compared; “let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” on the head … crown] Words implying a benediction, with the hand resting upon the head. that was separate from] In Hebrew the Nazir is “one set apart,” or “consecrated,” by a vow, or otherwise, for high duties. Thus Samson was a “Nazirite,” separated to be the champion of his people’s liberties. Perhaps, but not probably, the mention of “the crown of the head” has an allusion to the Naziritic vow. Lat. Nazaraei inter fratres suos. Some connect nazir with nezer = “a diadem,” and render by “prince”; so R.V. marg. that is prince among (cf. LXX ὧνἡγήσατοἀδελφῶν), a possible allusion to the Ephraimite kingdom.

26. Enduring mountains… everlasting hills — This version adheres strictly to the natural meaning of the words, sustains the parallelism, and seems, therefore, much preferable to the more common