“Genesis 49:22-27”

Tuesday, May 05, 2020

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; its branches run over a wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, and shot at him and harassed him; but his bow remained firm, and his arms were agile, from the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), From the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the spoil.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; its branches run over a wall.” (verse 22) “Jacob had doubtless been made acquainted with the history of his beloved son Joseph from the time of his disappearance until he met him on the borders of Egypt. It had been the meditation and the wonder of his last seventeen years. When he comes to Joseph, therefore, the mingled emotions of affection and gratitude burst forth from his heart in language that cannot be restrained by the ordinary rules of speech. The first thing connected with Joseph in the patriarch's mind is fruitfulness. The image is vivid and striking. ‘Son of a fruitful tree.’ A branch or rather a shoot transplanted from the parent stem. ‘By a well;’ from which it may draw the water of life. ‘Whose daughters’ - luxuriant branches. Run over a wall - transcend all the usual boundaries of a well-enclosed garden. This fruitfulness attaches to Joseph in two respects. First, he is the prudent gatherer and the inexhaustible dispenser of the produce of Egypt, by which the lives of his father and brethren were preserved. And then he is in prospect the twofold tribe, that bursts the bounds assigned to a twelfth of the chosen people, and overspreads the area of two tribes.” (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)

“The archers bitterly attacked him, and shot at him and harassed him.” (verse 23) “Naturally Jacob next describes the sorrows of Joseph’s youth, but in poetical terms, so as not to wound the feelings of his brethren, or rouse up thoughts of vengeance in Joseph’s own mind.” (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers) “The reference to ‘the archers’ would appear to prophesy a continuation of the jealous hatred and persecution which had marked the early life of Joseph in his relationship with his brothers. Triumph for Joseph is clearly foretold.” (James Burton Coffman) “It could allude to the Ishmaelites..., to the hostility of Joseph’s brothers, or to the slanderous accusations of Potiphar’s wife with their bitter aftereffects. The figure of slander as an arrow is well attested.” (Nahum Sarna) “But his bow remained firm, and his arms were agile…” (verse 24) “His faith did not fail; he kept his ground, and came off conqueror. The arms of his hands were made strong — That is, his other graces did their part, his wisdom, courage, patience, which are better than weapons of war.” (Benson Commentary)

“From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel).” (verse 24) Joseph’s bow remained flexible and his arms powerful because of the “Mighty” arm of the “One” who gives strength and fortitude to His loyal followers such as the faithful Joseph and his father “Jacob”. As a trustworthy “Shepherd” the “Almighty” God fostered, fed and fortified Joseph through the rugged terrain of his life, and as a sturdy “Stone” He supplied him the solid footing of a firm foundation. “From the God of your father who helps you…” (verse 25) “This title stresses the continuity of the generations, the unbroken chain of religious tradition that alone makes the dying patriarch’s blessing meaningful and effective.” (Nahum Sarna) It was faith in the Almighty that Jacob had infused within the heart of his favorite son for the seventeen years they lived under the same roof that sustained Joseph through all of his ordeals and distresses.

“By the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.” (verse 25) The Lord would shower down manifold blessings upon the head of Joseph as he had provided for his father Jacob throughout his life. The rain from above the earth and the springs from beneath would cause the soil under his feet to burst forth with bounteous fruitfulness, and foster the fertility of scores of physical descendants and servants, and herds and flocks. “Jacob here blessed Joseph with all the blessings that he himself had received from God, but significantly the blessings promised did not partake of the nature of spiritual excellence, but tended rather to worldly glory and power. As often noted, Judah received the spiritual leadership of Israel, and Joseph the political and temporal leadership, blessings which reached their climax in the glory of the northern Israel, but which were destined to be swallowed up in the Assyrian invasion and destruction of the ten tribes. It was perhaps the introduction of pagan influence into the posterity of Joseph through their mother the daughter of Potiphera the pagan priest of On that constituted the seeds of the ultimate downfall of Joseph (Ephraim).” (James Burton Coffman)

“The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.” (verse 26) There on his death bed, with his favorite son by his side and at the height of his glory, Jacob was overwhelmed by the innumerable blessings that the Lord had amassed upon him. He prayed for greater blessings still for his most excellent and beloved son. Unfortunately, as timeless as the “hills” may seem to be, they are not “everlasting,” and all physical blessings eventually come to an end. “No spiritual blessings were foretold for this favorite son of Jacob; spiritually, his tribe never excelled; and it was by a member of the tribe of Ephraim (Jeroboam) that the calf-worship was institutionalized in Israel, thus `making Israel to sin'.” (James Burton Coffman quoting H. C. Leupold)

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the spoil.” (verse 27) “It is plain Jacob was guided in what he said by a spirit of prophecy, and not by natural affection, else he would have spoken with more tenderness of his beloved son Benjamin, concerning whom he only foretells that his posterity should be a warlike tribe, strong and daring; and that they should enrich themselves with the spoil of their enemies...” (Benson Commentary) “The ferocious nature of this tribe is exemplified in such men as Ehud (Judges 3:15) and King Saul (1 Samuel 11:6-11ff). Whatever the failures of this tribe might have been during the history of the old Israel, the glory of it was enhanced forever by one of their sons, Saul of Tarsus, who became the most gifted apostle…” (James Burton Coffman)

Please read Genesis 49:28-33 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

-Louie Taylor

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