Jacob's Farewell
Chapter 49 records Jacob's predictions concerning his 12 boys:
- To Reuben he predicted that he would be "unstable" as water and
would not have preeminence despite being the first-born. When his
descendants arrived at the Promised Land, they were not dependable.
They chose to stay east of the Jordan and were not of any help in
the conquering of the land of Canaan.
- To Simeon he predicted his anger would lead to violence and his
descendants would be scattered all over Israel. This came true for
by 1200 B.C. the tribe was not mentioned by Deborah in the book of
Judges. They attempted to settle the southern most part of Israel
but were eventually absorbed by Judah.
- To Levi he predicted the same as Simeon. The Levites had no part of
the land of Israel. They were the priestly tribe. With the coming
of Christ, their descendants were scattered and their jobs done away
with.
- To Judah he predicted his brothers would praise and bow down to him
and the scepter would not depart from him. The prediction was that
the Messiah would come from his descendants, which He did.
- To Dan he predicted that he would be a judge of his people. It is
not clear how this worked into the history of Israel.
- To Naphtali he predicted that he would be a "literary genius". His
tribe was intellectual and ministered, on occasion, at the
Tabernacle and shared Moses' view of the Promised Land from Mt. Nebo.
- To Gad he predicted his descendants would be men of battle. This
was true for they fought continually for the land they possessed in
the Promised Land.
- To Asher he predicted his descendants would produce rich food. This
was borne out in Canaan when this tribe settled a rich coastal plain
and produced food for royalty.
- To Issachar he predicted he would become a slave to forced labor. We
are not sure how this prediction was fulfilled.
- To Zebulun he predicted that he would dwell at the seashore and
become a haven for ships. Strangely enough, this came true despite
their location in Israel. They were cut off from the sea by Naphtali
on one side and Asher on the other yet they became known as "the
haven of the sea", primarily because they were on the main trade
route between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea.
- To Joseph he predicted that he would be a source of great strength
and blessed by the God of Jacob. Jacob certainly sustained them in
Egypt until his death and his descendants, the two half tribes
Ephraim and Manasseh, numbered 93,200 by the time they reached the
Promised Land, more then any other tribe.
- To Benjamin he predicted that he would be a "war-like" tribe and
enrich themselves on the spoils of their enemies. The men of this
tribe were rugged mountain men who fought fiercely for their land.
The cave that Jacob will be buried in was the one Abraham bought from Ephron
the Hittite for the burial of Sarah. Up to this time, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah
and Leah have been buried there.
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