Genesis — Chapter 49
King James Version (KJV)
Reading Mode: 📖 Read the complete KJV chapter below. After verse 33, continue to 📚 Study This Chapter for explanations and memory checks.
Genesis 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, RGather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Genesis 49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and Rhearken unto Israel your father.
Genesis 49:3 Reuben, thou art Rmy firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
Genesis 49:4 RUnstable as water, Tthou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: The went up to my couch.
Genesis 49:5 RSimeon and Levi are brethren; Tinstruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
Genesis 49:6 O my soul, Rcome not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they Tdigged down a wall.
Genesis 49:7 RCursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Genesis 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren Rshall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
Genesis 49:9 Judah is Ra lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Genesis 49:10 The Rsceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Genesis 49:11 Binding Rhis foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
Genesis 49:12 RHis eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
Genesis 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
Genesis 49:14 RIssachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
Genesis 49:15 And he saw that Rrest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
Genesis 49:16 RDan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
Genesis 49:17 Dan Rshall be a serpent by the way, Tan adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
Genesis 49:18 RI have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
Genesis 49:19 RGad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
Genesis 49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
Genesis 49:21 RNaphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
Genesis 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose Tbranches run over the wall:
Genesis 49:23 RThe archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
Genesis 49:24 But Rhis 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:)
Genesis 49:25 Even by Rthe God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
Genesis 49:26 The blessings of thy father Rhave 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.
Genesis 49:27 Benjamin shall Rravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
Genesis 49:28 All these are Rthe twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
Genesis 49:29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be Rgathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
Genesis 49:30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which RAbraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
Genesis 49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
Genesis 49:32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
Genesis 49:33 And when Jacob Rhad made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Genesis 49:1–7 — Reuben, Simeon, and Levi
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Jacob gathers his sons and speaks concerning what will befall them. He addresses Reuben’s failure and condemns the fierce anger and cruelty of Simeon and Levi.
Key Truth: Jacob’s words include accountability for the actions of his sons.
Check What You Remember
1. Who called his sons to gather? (Genesis 49:1)
Find it in Genesis 49:1 (KJV).
2. Who was Jacob’s firstborn? (Genesis 49:3)
Find it in Genesis 49:3 (KJV).
3. Which two brothers are named together concerning cruelty? (Genesis 49:5)
Find it in Genesis 49:5 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Genesis 49:8–12 — Judah’s Blessing
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Judah is described as receiving his brethren’s praise and is compared to a lion. The passage speaks of the sceptre, a lawgiver, and the coming of Shiloh.
Key Truth: Judah’s blessing includes language of rule and the gathering of the people.
Check What You Remember
1. Which son would his brethren praise? (Genesis 49:8)
Find it in Genesis 49:8 (KJV).
2. To which animal is Judah compared? (Genesis 49:9)
Find it in Genesis 49:9 (KJV).
3. What symbol would not depart from Judah until Shiloh came? (Genesis 49:10)
Find it in Genesis 49:10 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Genesis 49:13–21 — Words to Six Sons
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Jacob speaks concerning Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, and Naphtali. Amid these sayings he expresses his waiting for the LORD’s salvation.
Key Truth: Each son receives distinct words, and Jacob acknowledges the LORD’s salvation.
Check What You Remember
1. Which son would dwell at the haven of the sea? (Genesis 49:13)
Find it in Genesis 49:13 (KJV).
2. Which son would judge his people? (Genesis 49:16)
Find it in Genesis 49:16 (KJV).
3. Whose salvation did Jacob wait for? (Genesis 49:18)
Find it in Genesis 49:18 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Genesis 49:22–28 — Joseph, Benjamin, and the Twelve Tribes
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Joseph is compared to a fruitful bough, and his strength and blessings are connected with God. Benjamin is compared to a wolf. The passage identifies the sons as the twelve tribes of Israel.
Key Truth: Jacob gives each son a blessing suited to the words spoken concerning him.
Check What You Remember
1. Which son is called a fruitful bough? (Genesis 49:22)
Find it in Genesis 49:22 (KJV).
2. Who made Joseph’s hands strong? (Genesis 49:24)
Find it in Genesis 49:24 (KJV).
3. To which animal is Benjamin compared? (Genesis 49:27)
Find it in Genesis 49:27 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Genesis 49:29–33 — Jacob’s Final Instructions
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Jacob asks to be buried in Machpelah with his fathers, naming family members already buried there. After commanding his sons, he dies and is gathered unto his people.
Key Truth: Jacob’s final request connects his burial with the family resting place in Canaan.
Check What You Remember
1. In which cave did Jacob ask to be buried? (Genesis 49:30)
Find it in Genesis 49:30 (KJV).
2. Which wife had Jacob buried there? (Genesis 49:31)
Find it in Genesis 49:31 (KJV).
3. Who sold the field and cave? (Genesis 49:32)
Find it in Genesis 49:32 (KJV).
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What reason accompanies Reuben’s loss of preeminence?
2. How does Jacob distinguish the brothers’ anger from an action he endorses?
3. What contrast is made between the attack on Joseph and his response?
4. How does verse 28 qualify the blessings rather than treating them as identical?
5. What details identify the requested burial place as a family possession?
Notes
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