CHAPTER XLVI. 1. offered, &c.] Ch. xxvi. 24. note; comp. ch. xxi. 31. xxviii. 10. With v. 3. comp. ch. xxviii. 3, 4. "and 4. I will go, &c.] I will protect thee in thy journey, will also surely bring thee up again," i. e. I will bring thy posterity up again out of Egypt; for families are often denominated by the name of their ancestor; or the meaning may be, that his body should be brought up again from that country; ch. 1. 25. "and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes;" shall, at thy death, close thy eyes-God thus promises that Joseph should survive him, and perform the last solemn rites of his burial. 7. his daughters] See ch. xxxvii. 35. and comp. v. 15. 27. three-score and ten.] See the note on Acts vii. 14. 28. And he] Viz. Jacob. "To direct his face;" rather, "to announce before him or beforehand, [his journey] into Goshen," for the verb signifies, to shew, to teach, to announce. 30. Now let me die,] I can now die content and happy; ch. xlv. 28.; Luke ii. 29. 34. is an abomination] Various reasons have been assigned for this, as 1st, that Egypt had been invaded by a colony of Nomades or shepherds, the descendants of Cush; 2dly, that shepherds are often of a lawless, prædatory character, addicted to making inroads into the districts of others, and carrying off the cattle. &c.: 3dly, that the Egyptians had suffered from the incursions of the shepherds, particularly of the Arabian tribes; 4thly, that shepherds were accustomed to kill and eat those animals which were accounted sacred among the Egyptians; comp. ch. xliii. 32.; Exod. viii. 26. However it may be accounted for, this odium, it is reasonable to believe, only extended to shepherds of foreign countries; for there were undoubtedly shepherds in Egypt, and such as were not held in abomination; ch. xlvii. 6, 16, 17.; Exod. ix. 3, 4, 20. xii. 29. CHAPTER XLVII. 2. some] The word so rendered denotes the whole, the sum ; and the literal version is, "he took from the whole of his brethren five men." Joseph told Pharaoh that his father, &c. were come into Egypt, agreeably to his command; ch. xlv. 17. but with the intent only "to sojourn" there during the famine, v. 4. 6. before thee:] To choose a place where thou wilt, therefore "in the best of the land," &c. "Men of activity," rather "men of ability;" comp. ch. xlvi. 34. note. 7. blessed] Saluted Pharaoh, and gave him thanks for his kindness; v. 10. for so the word signifies; Numb. vi. 23, 24.; 2 Sam. vi. 20.; 2 Kings iv. 29.; comp. Esther ii. 2. 9. few] Viz. in comparison with his forefathers, though he was now 130 years old, but they had been "evil" years, i. e. full of misery, as may be inferred from the following circumstances: 1. His flight into exile from the wrath of Esau. 2. His serving Laban 20 years. 3. His terror on meeting his brother when returning from Ĥaran. 4. The rape of Dinah. 5. The death of Rachel. 6. The incest of Reuben. 7. The loss of Joseph. 8. The detention of Simeon in Egypt. The marginal version of v. 8. is vastly preferable. 12. according to their families.] He gave food according to the number of each family. Such seems to be the true meaning of the original, for though the word denotes children, it is also used for a whole family, Exod. x. 10.; Numb. xxxii. 16, 24, 26. 13. fainted] Was exhausted, sore oppressed. The verb only occurs in this place. 14. into Pharaoh's house.] Into the royal treasury; ch. xli. 56. With v. 16, 17. comp. ch. xlvi. 34. note. 18. the second year,] Viz. after the sale of their cattle, in the seventh and last year of the famine. "There is not ought left," i. e. except their persons and lands, v. 19. which they surrendered to Joseph for provisions, and for “seed" in order to sow it, as they confided that this would be the last year of the famine, agreeably to the prediction of Joseph; v. 23. 21. to cities] Where he had formed granaries, ch. xli. 48. for provisions would there be more conveniently distributed to them. He removed the people, as we may suppose, into the nearest cities, only this he did " from one end," &c. 26. a law] Joseph had bought all the land except that of the priests, and the people had voluntarily become Pharaoh's servants. He might therefore have retained the whole in strict justice; and his reserving only a fifth part of the increase for the king, and remitting the rest to be their own, was an act of liberality and of good policy. The people also had voluntarily sold themselves for Pharaoh's servants or bondmen; but this part of the bargain must have been, to a certain extent at least, remitted, for Joseph says "four parts shall be your own," v. 24. which is not consistent with the supposition of a state of slavery. And when they still say "we will be Pharaoh's servants,” v. 25. they meant that they would own him for their lord, that the lands which they occupied and owned were in reality the king's, and that they held them upon a new tenure, the condition of which was that they should give the king the fifth part of the produce, as a yearly tax; a condition with which, as it should seem, they were perfectly satisfied; and hence there is not the smallest reason for accusing Joseph of injustice or cruelty in this transaction. 29. put, &c.] Ch. xxiv. 2. note. With v. 30. comp. ch. xlix. 29. 1. 13.; 2 Sam. xix. 37. 31. the bed's head] Rather, "leaning on his staff," as Heb. xi. 21. where see note. CHAPTER XLVIII. 2. strengthened himself,] Hebrew, "collected his strength," "exerted it." With v. 3. comp. ch. xxviii. 13. xxxv. 6. 4. an everlasting possession.] Comp. ch. xiii. 15. xvii. 7. notes. 5. shall be mine.] I adopt them as my own, and they shall each have an inheritance equal with the rest of my sons; Josh. xiv. 4. xvi. 1. but "thy issue, which thou begettest after them" shall not have the same privileges, but " shall be thine," and not be adopted as my children, and "shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance," i. e. shall be comprehended in the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. With v. 7. comp. ch. xxxv. 16-19. 8. beheld] But not distinctly; v. 10. 12. his knees,] Viz. Jacob's knees, between which they were placed while he embraced them. Afterwards Joseph placed Manasseh, the eldest son, towards Jacob's right hand, as being the more honourable position; 1 Kings ii. 19.; Matt. xxv. 33.; but the aged patriarch put his right hand upon Ephraim's head, "guiding his hands wittingly," v. 14. i. e. he so directed his hands knowingly and intentionally; for," rather, "though Manasseh was the first born." It was the ancient custom in blessing, or appointing persons to any office, to lay hands upon their heads; Numb. xxvii. 18, 23.; Deut. xxxiv. 9.; Matt. xix. 13, 15. Acts vi. 6.; 1 Tim. iv. 14. 15. fed me] Viz. supported and protected me: a metaphor taken from pastoral life; Ps. xxiii. 1. 16. the angel i. e. Christ; ch. xvi. 7. note. "Let my name be named on them; " i. e. let them not be called and considered thine, but my sons, and the sons of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; in the same sense as v. 5. 19. greater] Viz. in respect to the increase of his family, as the context shews; comp. Numb. i. 33, 35.; Deut. xxxiii. 17. 20. In thee shall Israel bless,] When Israel, i. e. any of his posterity, wish happiness to others, they shall use this saying, derived from thee, namely, "God make thee," &c. "and (thus) he set Ephraim before Manasseh," i. e. gave Ephraim a superiority, v. 19. But it may be understood literally, he set him in a more honourable position in his presence. 22. Moreover] This verse is very obscure, and no satisfactory explanation has been afforded by the commentators; whose conjectures, and they are nothing more, it is unnecessary to repeat. CHAPTER XLIX. 1. in the last days.] Hereafter, in future times, as the phrase denotes, Numb. xxiv. 14.; Deut. iv. 30.; Dan. ii. 28. x. 14. though it sometimes relates to the period of the Messiah; Isa. ii. 2.; Micah iv. 1. comp. 1 Tim. iv. 1.; Heb. i. 1. notes. This address of Jacob to his sons is a prophecy, in which the dying patriarch declares the future state of each of them, and was consequently uttered by inspiration of the Spirit. It is composed in a poetic form, abounding with Oriental figures and abrupt transitions, which, added to its sententious brevity, render it occasionally somewhat obscure. 3. my first-born,] Ch. xxix. 32. "My might, and the beginning of my strength;" i. e. begotten in my prime vigour and strength, as many explain it; or, as others, the beginning of my might and strength as a tribe. The former derives support from Deut. xxi. 17. and the latter, from Ps. cv. 36. "The excellency of dignity," &c. i. e. by reason of the prerogatives belonging to the first-born, thou excellest thy brethren in dignity and power. Yet, notwithstanding this, being "unstable as water,” i. e. being dissolute "thou shalt not excel," thou shall not preserve thy superior dignity and power; "because thou wentest up to thy father's bed," &c. ch. xxxv. 22.; 1 Chron. v. 1. The word rendered "unstable" is used for being dissolute, licentious; Judg. ix. 4.; Jer. xxiii. 14. 32. xxix. 23.; Zeph. iii. 4. and this verse describes how Reuben, in consequence of his dissoluteness in defiling his father's bed, lost the privileges of his birth-right, and should not henceforth excel his brethren. And so it happened; for we hear of nothing great in his tribe, and it was less numerous than the tribe of Judah and some other tribes, Numb. i. 21. et seq. 5. are brethren;] Not only by birth, for so were all the rest, but in disposition and manners, Prov. xviii. 9. and especially in their conspiracy against the Shechemites, ch. xxxiv. 25. "Instruments of cruelty are in their habitations," which last word, only occurring here, is of uncertain interpretation, but our translation is as probable a sense as any other, and accords with their character. "O my soul," rather, "into their secret counsel my soul did not come ; i. e. I did not participate in, nor approve of, their counsels, when they conspired against the Shechemites. The same sentiment is repeated in the next clause, where "mine honour," is equivalent to "my soul;" viz. "With their assembly, or confederacy, my honour was not united or connected; for in their anger they slew a man," rather, "men," the word being a noun of multitude, "and in their self-will they digged down, or demolished, a wall," i. e. either the town of Shechem, or Hamer's house, for both clauses refer to the destruction of the Shechemites. The word rendered a wall," also means oxen, the two meanings being marked by a difference in the Masoretic points; viz. "they destroyed the oxen," which some understand literally of the cattle, and others figuratively, of the powerful men, of Shechem. Cursed," i. e. detestable was their anger and their wrath. Therefore, "I will divide them," &c. i. e. according to the Hebrew idiom, I declare that they shall be divided or dispersed among the other tribes. And so was the event; for Simeon's posterity had their inheritance, not in one, but in different places, Josh. xix. 1, 9.; Judg. i. 3, 17.; 1 Chron. iv. 39, 42. and the tribe of Levi had no inheritance allotted to them, but were dispersed among the others. 8. shall praise thee:] Alluding to the name of Judah, which signifies praise. It is here foretold that he should be celebrated and pre-eminent; and so he became, for from him the whole nation was called Jews, and their country Judæa, and of this tribe was born the Messiah. It is also foretold that "his hand should be upon the neck of his enemies," i. e. that he should overcome and subdue them; Ps. xviii. 40. and so he did; comp. Judg. i. 2. et seq. Ps. xx. 18. and from him came the kingdom of the house of David and Solomon, whose victories are so renowned. In consequence, "his father's children were to bow down to him," i. e. to acknowledge his posterity to be superior to them, not only in a temporal sense, as being the victorious and most powerful tribe, but in a spiritual one, as being that through which the blessings of the Messiah were to be derived. In v. 9. Jacob describes the undaunted courage and warlike character of the tribe of Judah under images taken from a lion, which "is strongest among beasts," Prov. xxx. 30. comp. Numb. xxiii. 24. xxiv. 9.; Revel. v. 5.; Hos. v. 14. "Nor a 10. the sceptre] The ensign of authority, here put by a metonymy for authority, power, dominion, as in Numb. xxiv. 17.; Ps. xlv. 6.; Isa. xiv. 5.; Ezek. xix. 11, 14.; Zech. x. 21. lawgiver:" the word so rendered signifies the ensign of authority, the staff of command, Numb. xxi. 18.; Ps. lx. 7. and also a judge, ruler, governor, Deut. xxxi. 21.; Judg. v. 14.; Ps. cviii. 8.; Isa. xxxiii. 22. ; and in either sense it denotes that the ruling power or government shall not depart "from between his feet," i. e. from his seed or posterity, "until Shiloh come," by which is certainly meant the Messiah, though there is much difference as to the particular signification of the word, see Index in voc. " and to him shall the gathering," rather, " the obedience of the people be;" so that the meaning of the verse is, "The sceptre (or, authority) shall not depart from Judah, nor the government from his offspring, till Shiloh (the Messiah) come, and unto him shall the peoples be obedient;" viz. the power, pre-eminence, and dominion of the tribe of Judah, described in v. 8., shall continue till the coming of the Messiah, whom all nations shall obey, as their Lord and Saviour. It is implied that then the authority and government of the tribe of Judah should cease; and the truth of this prediction is verified by history. 11. binding, &c.] Some understand this as a figurative description of the felicity of the times of the Messiah; but it is scarcely to be doubted that it sets forth somewhat hyperbolically, the fertility of the country allotted to the tribe of Judah. Vines would be so abundant there that they might tie asses with their colts to them, and wine so plentiful that they might wash their clothes in it as in water. "His eyes shall be red," i. e. for the word is evidently used in a good sense, shall be brilliant and sparkling" with |