§ 156a 36:1–43 Esau and the Edomites—As after the death of Abraham Ishmael was to disappear from the story and an account of him and his family was inserted after the record of his father’s burial, 25:12–18, so now after the mention of Isaac’s death and burial there follows a notice devoted to Esau and the Edomites who looked to him as their forefather. The chapter is compiled from various documents. 1–8 Esau and his family; 9–14 clans descended from Esau; 15–19 governors of provinces; 20–28 and 29–30 the Horrites or Hurrians, who dwelt in the land before the Edomites, and their rulers; 31–39 list of the kings of Edom; 40–43 governors of Edom (after the conquest of Edom by David).
§ b 1–8. This account of Esau’s family and fortunes differs from that already given. It does not seem possible to reconcile the list of his wives with 26:34 and 28:9 or to account for the discrepancies by scribal errors. The account is introduced in 1 as a document and the explanation is probably that the compiler of Genesis, fully aware of the differences, preferred to set it down as he found it without making himself responsible for the accuracy of all its details. (In 2 read ‘Ana, the son [Sam., LX1499X, Syr1500.] of Sebeon the Horrite’; cf. 24 f.) The same explanation seems to apply to 6–7 which suppose Esau to have left Canaan for Seir (= Edom) only after the return of Jacob from Mesopotamia whereas in 32:3 Esau is already established in Seir before Jacob’s return. 7 is based on 13:6 and is prob. an addition to the document.
§ c 9–14. This document repeats the names given in 1–8 and on the analogy of ch 10 adds the names of clans claiming descent from Esau. 11. Theman was celebrated for wisdom, Jer 49:7, and Eliphaz, one of Job’s wise friends, was a Themanite, Job 2:11. The Kenizzites (Cenezites) or a branch of them later became part of the tribe of Judah, Jos 14:6, 14. 12. The Amalecite clan here mentioned will have arisen through the fusion of elements of the ancient people of that name, Num 24:20, with Edomite stock (Heinisch).
§ d 15–19. In this list of Edomite princes omit Core in 16 with Sam. The names are the same as in 9–14. Note that in both 16 and 12 the son of the secondary wife Thamna is credited to Ada; cf. 16:2.
§ e 20–30. This genealogical table of Horrites (Hurrians) 20–28, and list of their princes or sheikhs, 29–30, are inserted because the Horrites dwelt in the land before the Edomites and intermarried with them, 2, 14, 22. These princes will have been contemporary with the Edomite, 15–18. In 28 V1501g with LX1502X has ‘Aram’, M1503T ‘Aran’.
§ f 31–39. With the unification of the country Edom passed under the rule of kings. The kingship was not hereditary; in no case is a king succeeded by his son. In 31 DV, in agreement with A1504V + R1505V, gives a possible translation, but the context requires ‘before the kingship of the Israelites’, before the Israelites ruled over Edom, 2 Kg 8:14. 27. ‘Saul of Rehoboth by the River’; unidentified.
§ g 40–43. The kings were succeeded, 1 Par 1:51, by governors of provinces. Those listed here, 40, ‘by their clans, their provinces and names’, were probably of David’s appointment.
§ h 37:1–11 Joseph’s Dreams—2. M1506T, LX1507X and Sam. have ‘seventeen’. 3. Benjamin is not taken into account as still too young. ‘he used to make him [i.e. have made for him] a long sleeved tunic’; so V1508g in 23 ‘tunica talaris’. The ordinary working tunic was sleeveless and reached only to the knees. 5. Omit the last clause with LX1509X. It has been inserted here from 8. 10. ‘bow down to the ground to honour thee?’
§ i 12–36 Joseph is sold into Egypt—13. As indicated already by his special tunic Joseph ordinarily stayed at home, though his first dream, 7, shows that he did join in the common tasks. The leading of the flocks to distant pastures combined with agriculture, 7, illustrates the semi-nomadic, semi-sedentary life led by the patriarchs; cf. 26:12. 14. Hebron to Shechem is about 50 m. 15. ‘wandering in the open country’. 17. Dothain is about 13 m. N. of Shechem. 20. ‘into a cistern’. So also in 22: ‘but do not raise a hand against him’. Ruben intends to rescue him from the cistern when the others are at a distance; they mean to leave him to die there. 23. ‘of the long sleeved tunic that he was wearing’. Omit ‘that … colours’. 26. By letting Joseph die in the cistern they would kill him but with no trace of his blood to cry for vengeance, 4:10; Job 16:19. 28. The traders, called Ishmaelites in 25, 27 and 39:1, are here called Madianites. This is not a discrepancy or proof of diversity of sources. The names were used indifferently as may be seen in Jg 8:22, 24, 26. The two tribes were closely related, 25:2, 12, and intermingled. For the price cf. Lev 27:5. ‘They drew him out’, namely Joseph’s brothers. Such changes of subject are characteristic of Hebrew. Of Joseph’s agony at the brutal treatment we learn explicitly 42:21. 29. When the others had moved camp, Ruben returned to the cistern in order to rescue Joseph, as he had planned. For this purpose he had found an excuse for absenting himself and so was not present at the time of the sale. 35. ‘into Sheol’, the name given by the Hebrews to the subterranean abode whither all the dead were thought to go irrespective of the moral value of their lives; cf. Sutcliffe, The Old Testament and the Future Life, 194715102. 30. ‘captain of the guard’.
§ j 38:1–5 Judah’s Marriage—1. This chapter interrupts the story of Joseph with which it has no connection. The introductory phrase ‘at that time’ is a vague literary link with the preceding and affords no chronological information; cf. Mt 3:1. Adullam was a city of Judah, Jos 15:35. 2. Unlike his father and grandfather Judah marries a Canaanite. 5b. ‘She was in Kezib [= Achzib, Jos 15:44] when she bore him’. So M1511T emended after LX1512X, but the sense renders this doubtful.
§ k 6–10 Death of Her and Onan—7. On account of his wickedness He died a premature death. On the omission of secondary causes see § 139a. 8. ‘and marry her as her husband’s brother’. This custom of Levirate marriage was afterwards incorporated in the Mosaic law, Deut 25:5–10. 9. According to Deut 25:6 the firstborn son took the dead brother’s name and, it is clear, succeeded to his rights. He was Judah’s eldest son, and Onan wished to secure the right of inheritance for himself. ‘He knowing that the seed’. 10. It is explicitly said that Onan was punished for his wicked act. There was a strong social custom in favour of the Levirate marriage, but it was not a moral obligation, Deut 25:7–10.
§ l 11–30 Birth of Phares and Zara—12. Timnah (Thamnas), perhaps the town of that name near Hebron mentioned Jos 15:57. ‘the Odollamite his friend’. 14. ‘and covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself up. She then sat in the entrance to Enayim, which is on the way to Timnah’. Thamar was now convinced that Judah did not mean to marry her to his third son Sela. 15. Omit ‘lest … known’. She had dressed herself to look like a harlot. 18. ‘thy seal with its cord’, by which it was worn hung round the neck. 20. ‘by his friend’. 21. ‘that sat at Enayim by the wayside’. 23. ‘Let her keep them, lest we be put to shame’, by its becoming known that the woman has played a successful trick. What she had was worth more than the promised kid. 24. Thamar was betrothed to Sela. The later law was less severe, Deut 22:23 f., and the penalty of burning was reserved for the daughters of priests, Lev 21:9. 25. ‘whose seal and cord’. 26. ‘She is more in the right than I, because this is the result of my not giving her to Sela my son’. 28. ‘came forth’. 29. Phares was an ancestor of David’s, Ru 4:18–22. Hence through him Thamar has a place in the genealogy of Christ, Mt 1:3.
§ 157a 39:1–23 Joseph is unjustly cast into Prison—1. ‘captain of the guard’. Some think that Putiphar is here called a eunuch in accordance with the extension of the term to men in high offices generally held by such. 5. Yahweh (D1513V ‘the Lord’) is no territorial god. His rule is exercised, as in Canaan, so in the land of the many gods of Egypt. 16. Omit ‘for … fidelity’ which is an explanatory gloss. 19. Omit also ‘and giving … words’.
§ b 40:1–23 Joseph interprets the Dreams of Two Prisoners—1. The butler and baker were two high court officials. They were probably arrested on suspicion of treason. 3. ‘the commander of the guard’. 7. ‘Why do you look sad today?’ 8. In the prison they could not consult a professional interpreter of dreams. Joseph replies that if God sends dreams they cannot be interpreted by human art but only by divine illumination. 13. ‘Pharaoh will put an end to thy disgrace’; lit1514. ‘will lift up thy head’, a phrase used also 4 Kg 25:27. 15. He was not stolen in the literal sense, but he was spirited away out of the country and the fact was kept secret from his father. Our word ‘stealthily’ is akin to this Hebrew use of ‘steal’. 16. ‘baskets of white bread’. On his head according to Egyptian custom. 19. ‘on a tree’. After execution he was to be suspended as prey for birds—for an Egyptian a most severe sentence on account of the national belief that the preservation of the body is essential to a happy existence after death. 22. ‘according to the interpretation Joseph had given’.
§ c 41:1–37 Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s Two Dreams—1. The river is the Nile. 2. ‘and they grazed among the rushes’. 3b. ‘and halted by the (other) kine on the bank of the river’. 7. ‘Pharaoh awoke and lo! it was a dream’. 8. ‘all the diviners of Egypt’. 10. ‘the captain of the guard’. 14. Egyptians shaved the beard and some also the head. 16. ‘Not I’. 18. ‘And they grazed among the rushes’. 34. As the years were to have extraordinary yields, there was no hardship in a tax of one-fifth to provide for the coming lean years. 37. ‘and all his ministers’.
§ d 38–46 Joseph appointed Viceroy of Egypt—42. ‘and put it on Joseph’s hand’. 43. Cf. the honour paid to Mardochai, Est 6:11. Heralds in advance of Joseph’s chariot called out ‘Abrek’, probably some Egyptian word but of uncertain meaning. 45. His new Egyptian name Sāp̱enaṯ-p̱aʿnēaḥ has been variously interpreted. It would seem that it must have had a meaning like ‘Feeder of the Land’. On = Heliopolis (= ‘City of the Sun’), NW. of modern Cairo, had a great temple dedicated to the Sun-god. The priesthood was very influential and powerful. The marriage, arranged by Pharaoh himself, was one most honourable in Egyptian eyes. There was at this time no law forbidding the members of the patriarchal family from marrying foreigners; cf. 26:34 (Esau), 38:2 (Judah), 38:6 (Thamar). (There was, however, a traditional feeling against so doing; cf. 24:3 [Abraham], 26:35 and 28:1 [Isaac and Rebecca]; and experience was already showing the evil effects that might be expected from such marriages, 38:7, 10.) 46. ‘To stand before the king’ = to be appointed a royal minister.
§ e 47–57 The Years of Abundance and of Famine: Joseph’s Two Sons—51. Joseph does not mean that he had lost all affection for or wished literally to forget his kindred. Cf. Ps 44 (45):11 ‘forget thy people and thy father’s house’—an idiom expressing contentment and happiness in a new state of life. 52. ‘God hath made me fruitful in the land where I suffered’. 54. Lit1515. ‘in all lands’. The universal expression is to be understood, as always, in accord with the context, and here signifies all the neighbouring lands, the conditions prevailing in which could be known by report and by their people flocking to Egypt for corn.
§ f 42:1–5 Jacob sends his Sons to Egypt for Corn—1. ‘Why are ye so helpless?’ M1516T ‘Why are ye gazing at one another?’ 4. ‘Benjamin, the brother of Joseph’, by the same mother (Rachel).
§ g 6–25 Joseph’s Treatment of his Brothers—11b. ‘We are honest men; thy servants have not been acting the spy’. 14. ‘It is as I said’. 15. Joseph had some ground to fear that they might have treated his brother german in some such way as they had treated him and wished to assure himself of Benjamin’s safety. After his own experience his caution was fully justified and his treatment of his brothers in no way vindictive. 16. ‘till what you have said be tested’. 17. According to idiom the ‘three days’ comprised one full day and parts of two others. 18. ‘he brought them out of prison’ is an explanatory addition. 19. ‘honest men … and take corn to relieve the need of your households’. 20. ‘They did as he had said’, though the actual execution of Joseph’s command is related only in 26; see on 27:23. 22. Omit ‘one of them’. 25. Joseph retains not the oldest, for Ruben had striven to save him, but Simeon, the oldest of those who had treated him treacherously.
§ h 26–38 Nine Brothers return to Jacob—27. ‘where they rested for the night’; D1517V ‘in the inn’. It was probably in the open. 30. ‘and put us in prison as though we were spying out the land’; cf. LX1518X. 31. ‘We are honest men and we have not been playing the spy’. 34d. ‘and afterwards you may move freely about the country’. 38. ‘befall him on your journey’. ‘Hell’, see on 37:35.
§ i 43:1–15 Jacob’s Sons take Benjamin to Egypt—5. ‘as we have often said’ is an addition of V1519g made to ease the style. 6. ‘Why did you do me this wrong by telling him’. 8. ‘both we and thou and our children’. 9. I take responsibility for the boy. 11. Storax is a resinous gum. The same word is translated ‘spices’ in 37:25. The exact meaning is uncertain. In 35:4 ‘the turpentine tree’ translates V1520g ‘terebintus’, the word which V1521g has also here. This is the tree called by Linnaeus Pistacia terebinthus, and its product ‘pistachio nuts’, said to be still a delicacy in Egypt, is that suggested here by Jacob. 12. ‘double money, for you must take back what you found in your sacks’, i.e. money for the new purchase as well as the price of the old. 14. ‘And if I am to be bereaved of my children, well I shall be bereaved’. Jacob is now resigned; cf. 4 Kg 7:4.
§ j 16–34 Joseph, still unrecognized, gives a Feast to his Brothers—16. Omit ‘victims’. The steward was to provide fresh meat for the meal. Beef and goose were favourite dishes. 21. ‘to where we spent the night.’ § j23. ‘The money you owed came into my keeping’. 26. ‘the presents they had brought’. Again Joseph’s dream came true. 30. ‘his brother, and was on the verge of crying’. 31. ‘he restrained himself’. 32. The Hebrew guests have no difficulty in eating the Egyptian dishes. Contrast Dan 1:8, but the strict food regulations of later times did not yet exist. The Egyptians were extremely exclusive in regard of foreigners; see Herod. 2, 41, Diod. Sic. 1, 67. 33. By silently demonstrating that the details of their family history were known Joseph prepared his brothers for further developments.
§ k 44:1–13 Benjamin is made to appear Guilty of Theft—2. ‘the sack of the youngest’. 5. Joseph was thought by the Egyptians to use and to excel in such means of divination and he uses this reputation for his plan to test the dispositions of the others towards his own full brother Benjamin. In view of Joseph’s virtue, 39:9, and his conscious reception of supernatural revelations from God, 40:8 and 41:16, it is not probable that he made use of a divining cup. On this method of divination see Varro in St Augustine, De Civ. Dei 7, 35. 6. The first sentence is an addition of V1522g to make the narrative run more smoothly. 12. It is noteworthy that there is no word of accusation or explanation about the money which had been secretly placed in all the sacks, 1 f. Despite a certain diffusiveness of style these narratives leave much unsaid, and the reader is left to understand that the apparent theft of the cup showed all the baser in view of the generosity with which they had been treated.
§ l 14–34 The Subsequent Interview with Joseph—14. Judah takes the lead as he had made himself responsible for Benjamin’s safety, 43:8 f. Again Joseph’s dream comes literally true. 15. ‘Do ye not know that a man like me practises divining?’ See on 5. 16. Judah, speaking in the name of all, accepts responsibility for all. There is no attempt to fix the blame on Benjamin. He must have known that Benjamin was not guilty, but he saw no means of proving him innocent. 18. Omit ‘boldly’. Judah recognizes that Joseph might resent his words ‘for thy authority is that of Pharaoh himself’. 21. ‘that I may set my eyes on him’. 22. Jacob would die. 23. ‘You shall not enter my presence again’. 29. On ‘hell’ see on 37:35. 30. Lit1523. ‘his soul being bound up with his soul’.
§ m 45:1–15 Joseph reveals himself to his Brothers—1 gives a glimpse of Joseph’s dignity and the number of his attendants. ‘And no stranger was present when he made himself known to his brothers’. 4. Omit ‘mildly’. 5. ‘Be not distressed’. Joseph magnanimously recognizes the over-ruling providence of God in his being sold by his brothers into Egypt. 7. ‘to give you posterity in the land and to preserve your lives by a wonderful deliverance’. 8. Joseph calls himself a father to Pharaoh as helping him by his counsel and by guarding his interests; cf. Is 22:21. 10. Goshen (Gessen) was the district lying nearest to Canaan on the NE. frontier of Egypt. Through it ran the fertile valley of the Wady Tumilat. This territory provided suitable pasture for Jacob’s flocks and herds and also had the advantage of rendering departure comparatively easy should the need ever arise. 12. ‘My mouth’: Joseph was now alone with his brothers and speaking in his native tongue, not as before, 42:23, through an interpreter.
§ n 16–28 Pharaoh invites Jacob to come to Egypt—16. ‘The brethren of Joseph’: the Egyptians will have called Joseph by his Egyptian name. ‘Pharaoh with all his ministers’. 20. ‘Have no regret at leaving your belongings behind’: lit1524. ‘Let not your eye take pity on your furniture’. 22. ‘To each and all he gave festal garments … and five festal garments’. 23. ‘And to his father in like manner he sent ten he-asses to carry choice products of Egypt and as many she-asses with wheat, wine, and provisions for his journey’. ‘Bread’ (M1525T, V1526g) would not have been a suitable provision for a journey which could not be begun for quite a time; Syr1527. has ‘wine’. 24. Joseph foresees the danger of their falling to quarrelling about the guilt of having sold him into Egypt. They should let bygones be bygones. 26. ‘But Jacob remained unmoved for he did not believe them’. Lit1528. ‘his heart grew cold’. He did not become benumbed at news which he thought incredible. 28. Jacob’s love for Joseph had not dimmed with time.
§ 158a 46:1–7 Jacob goes down into Egypt—1. ‘with all his dependants came to Beersheba’. He started his journey from Hebron, 35:27. 3. Isaac had built an altar at Beersheba, 26:23–5, and lived there, 28:10. ‘I will make a great nation of thee there’. This promise is the culmination of the introductory character of Genesis and prepares the reader for the subsequent history narrated in Exodus. 5. ‘from Beersheba’. 6. ‘And they took their cattle and all the substance which they had gained in the land of Canaan’.
§ b 8–27 List of Jacob’s Family—The list presents various difficulties. It purports to give the names of those who entered Egypt with Jacob, 8, but includes Her and Onan, who died in Canaan, 12. It also gives the names of ten sons of Benjamin, 21, but he has just been described as a young boy, 44:20. The sum of the numbers given, 33 + 16 + 14 + 7 (15, 18, 22, 25) add up to 70 (and if Jacob is added, the total is 71), but the total is given in 26 as 66. To this are added in 27 Joseph, his two sons, and Jacob, the sum being again 70. The wives of Jacob’s sons are explicitly excluded, 26, and Jacob’s own wives are not counted either. The total 66 in 26 is partially explained by the omission of Joseph and his two sons (mentioned in 20 and counted in the 14 of 22). This leaves one to account for. Dina is not counted in the total of 33 in 15 and her name, which fits awkwardly in M1529T, may be a later addition. Sara, another woman, 17, is included in the total of 16 in 18. A plausible explanation is that Her and Onan are also excluded as having died in Canaan, and that Dina is added. In 17 for ‘Jesua and Jessuri’ M1530T has ‘Yishwah and Yishwi’ but Yishwah is missing from the parallel list in Num 26:44–6, and it is perhaps a case of dittography. It is also possible that Ahod is an erroneous addition in 10. His name does not occur in the lists of Num 26:12 f. and 1 Par 4:24. A comparison of our list with those in Ex 6:14–6, Num 26 and 1 Par 2–8 presents further difficulties about the forms of names and the degrees of relationship. For instance, Jamuel’s name occurs in the same form in Ex 6:15, but as Namuel (Nemuel) in Num 26:12 and 1 Par 4:24 both in M1531T and V1532g. For a discussion the larger commentaries must be consulted, e.g. Hummelauer 570–4. The artificiality of the list recalls the remarks made on 35:26. Besides his family there went down also with Jacob the members of his large household. For the number cf. the total of Abraham’s fighting-men, 14:14.
§ c 28–34 Meeting of Jacob and Joseph—28. Jacob sends Judah, his fourth son. Ruben, Simeon and Levi had all incurred their father’s displeasure, 35:22; 34:25–30. 34. The Egyptians had flocks and herds of sheep and cattle, 47:17, Ex 9:3, and Pharaoh’s own herds of cattle are mentioned in 47:6. They were tended by men of the lowest class who were despised apparently because the nature of their calling prevented that high standard of personal cleanliness cultivated in Egyptian society. Still greater would be the contempt for foreign shepherds and herdsmen.
§ d 47:1–13 Jacob and his Family settle in Egypt—2. Omit ‘the last’. The number five seems to have been favoured by the Egyptians, 41:34; 43:34; 45:22. 6. ‘able men’. 7. ‘Jacob blessed Pharaoh’, i.e. saluted him with wishes for his welfare; cf. 1 Kg 13:10, where the same Heb. word is translated ‘salute’. So also twice in 4 Kg 4:29. 9. ‘The days of my sojourning’. The Heb. word does not convey the pious connotation of the English ‘pilgrimage’. 10. ‘Blessing’: see on 7. 11. ‘in the land of Ramesses’, that is, the territory of which the town of the same name, Ex 1:11, was the capital. This was in the eastern part of the Nile delta on the site known today as Ṣan el-Ḥagar. The territory will have been part of the land of Goshen (Gessen). On the city of Ramesses see § 163b. This was built by Ramses II, 1300–1233. The name is therefore proleptic for the time of Joseph; cf. the use of the name Dan in 14:14. Whether or not the name is anachronistic for the time of Moses depends on the further question whether the Exodus fell in the 15th or the 13th cent.; cf. § 125b–c.
§ e 13–26 Political Effects of the Famine in Egypt—13. ‘In the whole world there was want of bread, for the famine was very grievous, and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted thereby’. For the meaning of the universal expression ‘the whole world’ see on 41:54. 22. ‘Except that the land of the priests he did not buy, for they had an allotted portion from Pharaoh and they ate the portion which Pharaoh gave them’. 26. The ordinance does not appear to have been wholly equitable. The people had first to surrender a fifth of their produce during the years of plenty, 41:34, and during the years of dearth were forced to buy it back until their resources were exhausted. On the other hand, in view of the fertility of Egypt the tax of one-fifth was not oppressive. Contrast the heavier taxes paid by the Jews, 1 Mac 10:29 f. The land of Egypt, according to Herod. II 109, 141, 168, Diod. Sic. I 54, 73 f., belonged to the king and the priests, and each of the military caste received his portion tax-free.
§ f 27–31 Jacob’s End draws Near—27. ‘Israel’ is here used collectively of all Jacob’s descendants. ‘they grew and were multiplied’. 28. ‘And Jacob lived’. 29. For the rite see on 24:2. ‘this kindness and fidelity’. 30. For the burial-place see 23:17–20; 25:9; 35:27–29. 31. LX1533X has ‘on the top of his staff’, implying the same consonants but different vocalization. This Greek reading is quoted Heb 11:21, where V1534g omits the preposition. M1535T is supported by 48:2; and a different word is used for Jacob’s staff in 32:10. Moreover, ‘his’ is lacking in M1536T and, though not required with ‘bed’, appears necessary with ‘staff’.
§ g 48:1–22 Jacob adopts Ephraim and Manasses, setting the Younger before the Elder—2. ‘gathering his strength together’. 3. Omit the stylistic gloss of V1537g ‘when … to him’. Luz=Bethel, 28:19. 4. ‘a company of peoples’, as in 28:3, referring to the twelve tribes. ‘to thee and to thy seed’: so LX1538X and V1539g. M1540T only ‘to thy seed’. But it was given to Jacob in the person of his descendants; cf. 12:7 with 15:7. ‘everlasting’: see on 13:15. 5. ‘And now thy two sons’. Ephraim and Manasses were to become the heads of two tribes, taking the place of their father Joseph among Jacob’s other sons. 6. Joseph’s other sons and their descendants were to be part of the tribes named after their two eldest brothers. 7. ‘Canaan while I was on my way and yet at some distance from Ephrata’. Rachel was the wife of Jacob’s predilection and she had borne him two sons only, Joseph and Benjamin. To do her honour he adopts two of Joseph’s sons as his own and secures a larger inheritance to her descendants. At the same time, the memory of his beloved wife leads him, as is natural in an old man, to a digression about the circumstances of her death and burial. 8. Jacob will have seen them before but his eyes were dim with age, 10. According to 2 only Joseph had been announced. 11. ‘I did not expect to see thy face again, and lo! God hath granted me to see thy seed also’. 12. This act of deference to his father betokens real humility in one of Joseph’s exalted rank. 13. He thus put Ephraim, the younger, on Jacob’s left, and Manasses, the elder, on his right. 15. The metaphor in ‘feedeth me’ is that of a shepherd; cf. Ps 22:1 ‘The Lord is my shepherd’ (the same word). § h 16. The Angel, in whom God appeared to Jacob, stands for God himself, 31:11; 32:24–30. ‘and let them bear my name’—they are to be reckoned as Jacob’s own sons and so directly to inherit the blessings promised to him by God and before him to Isaac and Abraham. 18. Joseph thought that his father’s failing sight, 10, had misled him. ‘He too shall become a people’. Manasses had territory both E. and W. of the Jordan and was a populous tribe. ‘and his seed shall be the most numerous in the nation’; lit. ‘the full one of the nations’. The word used, gôyīm, became later a technical expression for Gentiles. Here it is used as in 35:11, of the tribes of Israel. Ephraim became in fact the most powerful tribe in Israel and its name is used, as in Is 7:2, to signify the whole Northern Kingdom. 20. ‘By you shall Israel utter a blessing’. The prosperity of Ephraim and Manasses was to become proverbial and the ideal of happiness. Cf. the similar form of blessing in Ru 4:11 f. 22. § i 3. The firstborn had a right to a double portion, Deut 21:17. Ruben had lost his right, 35:22, and Joseph as the saviour of his family merited it. Jacob by putting Joseph’s two sons on a level with his own secured to Joseph a double portion, the territory, namely, of Ephraim and Manasses. At the same time he gave to Joseph personally the plot of ground which he had bought from the Canaanites for 100 qesitas, 33:19. This was near Shechem, and there Joseph was eventually buried, Jos 24:32. This seems to be the meaning and the text to have suffered early in the course of textual transmission. The corruption of qesita led to the introduction of the similar word for ‘bow’, and the phrase was completed from Jos 24:12 (Hummelauer, Hoberg). There is probably corruption also in the first half of the verse, lit1541. ‘I give thee one shoulder’, the Heb. word for which is the same as the name of the city Shechem.
§ 159a 49:1–28 Jacob foretells the Future of his Sons—The title ‘Jacob’s Blessings’, which is found already in the superscription added in Syr1542., is based on 28. But the words concerning Ruben, Simeon and Levi are an expression of displeasure and do not announce a happy future. As noted also in 28 the predictions concern not so much the sons in person as the tribes named after them. Nonetheless the twelve names are those of Jacob’s twelve sons. Joseph is not replaced by Ephraim and Manasses. Contrast Num 1:5–15; 2:3–31.
§ b The language of the blessings is elaborate and poetic, and it is agreed that they cannot have been pronounced by the aged and dying Jacob in their present form. They must have been recast and embellished at some later time. Besides the elevated diction such an inspired poet may well have also been responsible for certain additions to the substance. God could, of course, reveal the future to Jacob in all its details, but it is not in accord with God’s ordinary providence to reveal in advance the geographical location of the territory to be allotted to a tribe, as is the case here with Zabulon, 13. The date at which this editor did his work cannot now be fixed. The age of David has been suggested on account of the hegemony of Judah; but against this may be urged the omission of a reference to the beginning of kingship in the tribe of Benjamin. Moreover, and this is a more weighty consideration, the utterances about Dan, Gad and Benjamin reflect a period when the tribes were still more or less independent units and there existed no central authority. The number of unusual expressions also points to an early date. That this editor worked on an existing source is shown by the reprobation of Levi which would have been unthinkable after the time of Moses, when this tribe received the honour of being entrusted with the care of the sanctuary and of liturgical worship.
§ c The brothers are mentioned in the following order. First are named the six sons of Lia, with Zabulon placed before Issachar. Then come the four sons of Bala and Zelpha with the two sons of the latter inserted between the two sons of the former. The list closes with the two sons of Rachel. The order is therefore that of age with the exceptions indicated.
§ d Characteristic of the blessings are the plays upon the names which were so favoured by the Hebrews. Some have found also allusions to the signs of the zodiac claimed to have been allotted to the twelve tribes. The fullest presentment of this theme is given by E. Burrows, S.J., The Oracles of Jacob and Balaam (London, 1939). It is founded on Joseph’s dream in 37:9.
§ e 3–4 Ruben. 3. ‘Ruben, my firstborn art thou, my strength and the firstfruit of my vigour, pre-eminent in majesty and pre-eminent in power, 4, uncontrollable like flowing water, thou shalt not have pre-eminence, for thou didst go up on thy father’s bed; to my sorrow thou didst defile my couch’. Ruben seems to have suggested raḇ ‘captain, chief’—if so, a hidden allusion to the name. The reference to water is explained as an allusion to Aquarius. As the firstborn Ruben should have inherited the leadership, but this right he had forfeited by his disgraceful conduct, 35:22. For ‘ālāh read ‘ālāy, as in 48:7.
§ f 5–7 Simeon and Levi. ‘Simeon and Levi are brethren; tools of violence are their weapons. 6. Into their council shall my soul not enter; to their company my spirit shall not be united. For in their fury they slew a man, and in their wilfulness they lamed an ox. 7. Accursed be their fury for its violence and their rage for its harshness. I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel’. 6. All were brothers, and Simeon and Levi are here called brethren as being companions and partners in the deed of violence and cruelty so displeasing to their father, 34:25–30. ‘Man’ and ‘ox’ are singulars used collectively. The killing of the Shechemites, 34:25; the maiming of the oxen is not mentioned in the prose account, but may well have been part of their vengeance. 7. The possessions of Simeon were scattered in the territory of Judah, Jos 19:1–9. The tribe of Levi was assigned cities and land in the territory of all the other tribes, Jos 21:1–40. This was not in fulfilment of this prediction but in honour of the priestly dignity. The Levites had merited a blessing at the time of the worship of the golden calf, Ex 32:26–29, and thus deserved to be released from Jacob’s sentence.
§ g 8–12 Judah. ‘Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand shall be against a fleeing foe; the sons of thy father shall bow before thee. 9. A lion’s whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up. He lies crouching like a lion; who will dare to rouse him? 10. The sceptre shall not be taken from Judah nor the staff from between his feet till he comes to whom it belongs and his shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11. He bindeth his ass to a vine and his ass’s colt to a choice vine. He washeth his garment in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12. His eyes are dark with wine and his teeth are white with milk’. 8. The Heb. opens with deliberate assonance, yehûḏāh … yôḏûkā. 9. On the zodiacal hypothesis the language describing Judah’s strength and bravery is chosen with reference to the constellation Leo. 10. The conduct of the three elder brothers had been gravely displeasing to their father. They are now passed over and supremacy is promised to Judah, the next in age. Most MSS of M1543T have šîlōh with the meaning ‘till he comes to Shilo’ or ‘till Shilo comes’, and the Rabbis saw in this latter a designation of the Messias as the one whose characteristic was to be a reign of peace. But this is unknown to the ancient versions, which nonetheless (except for the vocalic yod) represent the same Heb. text, viz. šlh except V1544g where ‘mittendus est’ represents šlḥ, but this reading cannot be right against the other textual witnesses especially as the confusion between the two aspirates could easily occur. LX1545X MSS have both τὰ ἀποκείμενα αὐτῷ and ᾦ ἀπόκειται, to which correspond the translations of the Old Latin ‘quae reposita sunt ei’ and ‘cui reposita sunt’. Syriac has ‘he whose it is’, and Targum Onkelos paraphrases ‘till the Messias comes whose is the kingdom’ or ‘the kingship’ (malkûṯā’). The Samaritan text supported by many Heb. codices also has šlh without the intrusive yod. This evidence leads us to šellōh for the original Heb. (the h representing the affixed pronoun as in 11): ‘till he comes whose it is’. And see the similar phrase in Ez 21:27 (M1546T 32). The parallelism suggests that sceptre and staff are two names for the same emblem of authority, the early sceptre being in the form of a staff, which is the original meaning of ακῆπτρον. Illustrations of such Assyrian sceptres may be seen in B. Meissner, Babylonien und Assyrien I (1920) plates 18, 19. 11 f. describe the peace and prosperity that will mark Judah’s supremacy—a land so bountifully covered with vines has not known the ravages of hostile armies; cf. 4 Kg 3:19.
§ h The royal sceptre passed to the tribe of Judah in the person of David, and to him it was promised through the prophet Nathan that ‘Thy throne shall be firm for ever’, 2 Kg 7:16, a prophecy taken up in Ps 88 (89):30–38 ‘I will not lie unto David; his seed shall endure for ever and his throne shall be as the sun before me’. His descendants lost the temporal throne at the Babylonian conquest in 587 through their manifold infidelities, Ps 131 (132):12 f.; 4 Kg 24:20. But the promise of an eternal kingdom remained, and its fulfilment was announced by the Angel Gabriel ‘The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever and of his kingdom there shall be no end’, Lk 1:32 f. There is an echo of this prophecy in Apoc 5:5 with its mention of “the lion of the tribe of Judah’. 11. The parallelism indicates that two animals are not intended; cf. sceptre and staff in 10.
§ 160a 13 Zabulon. Nothing is said of Zabulon except its fortunate position in being able to draw on the wealth of the sea; see also Deut 33:18 f. Josephus likewise mentions that the territory of the tribe touched the sea, Ant. 5, 5, 22. This maritime position does not appear in Jos 19:10–16, and the tribal boundaries must have varied at different periods.
§ b 14–15 Issachar. ‘Issachar is a strong-built ass lying between the shelters. He saw that rest is sweet and the land delightful; he bent his shoulder to the burden and became a band of labourers’. The territory of Issachar, Jos 19:17–23, lay largely in the plain of Esdraelon noted for its fertility, Jos1547. B.J1548.1549 3, 3, 2. The ass was and is esteemed for its utility in the Near East. The hero Ajax is likened to an ass by Homer, Iliad 11, 557 f., and the Caliph Merwan II was called ‘the ass of Mesopotamia’, König. On ‘the shelters’ see Zorell’s Lex.; generally translated ‘sheepfolds’. The idea is that of ease joined with security. Issachar is praised in Jg 5:15 for its warlike spirit and Josephus, B.J1550.1551 3, 3, 2, says that the Galileans were warriors from their youth. The word mas is normally used of a forced labour-gang, but here rather contemptuously of the lucrative service rendered largely by asses to the mercantile traffic which passed along the trade routes through the plain of Esdraelon.
§ c 16–18 Dan. ‘Dan shall vindicate the rights of his people like the other tribes of Israel. He must be a snake by the way, a horned serpent by the path’. The sentence begins with a play on the name, dān yāḏîn. The snake’s power lies in the cunning suddenness of the attack rather than in open force. We are reminded of the strategems used in his exploits by Samson, who was of the tribe of Dan. The ancient chariots were open behind, and the rearing or shying of a terrified horse would easily throw the driver and warrior down backwards. 18, which makes a half-line only, may be a gloss.
§ d 19 Gad. ‘Gad raided by raiders himself raids their rear’. The Gadites dwelling in Galaad were exposed to the attacks of the Ammonites and of raiding Arab tribes, Jg chh 10–11; 1 Par 5:18–22, and inflicted heavy defeats on them. Here it is implied that they routed and pursued the retreating enemy.
§ e 20 Asher. ‘Asher, rich in food, provides the dainties of a king’. The territory of Asher (Aser) lying along the coast from Carmel northwards, Jos 19:24–31, was very fertile, Deut 33:24. The tribe owing to its proximity to Phoenicia will have had a large share of the trade with that country, Ez 27:17.
§ f 21 Nephtali. ‘Nephtali is a spreading terebinth; he puts forth boughs of beauty’. So prob. after LX1552X; perhaps ‘oak’. Perhaps with M1553T: ‘N. is a free-roaming hind’ with reference to branched antlers. The allusion would then be to Nephtali’s spirit of freedom and eagerness to defend it.
§ g 22–26 Joseph. 22. ‘A young fruit-tree is Joseph, a young fruit-tree by a spring, with tendrils climbing over the wall. 23. In bitterness they shot at him and the archers persecuted him. 24. But his bow remained firm, and supple were the muscles of his arms, through the help of the Mighty One of Jacob, through the power of the Shepherd of Israel, 25. through the God of thy father, may he help thee! and with the aid of Shaddai, may he bless thee! with the blessings of the heavens above, with the blessings of the deep beneath, with the blessings of breast and womb. 26. The blessings granted to thy father are mightier than the blessings of the eternal mountains, than the desire of the everlasting hills. May they come upon the head of Joseph, upon the crown of the head of the prince among his brethren’. 22. The allusion is to Joseph himself and his two tribes, Ephraim and Manasses. The vigorous vine, with all the advantages of abundant moisture and a protecting wall, is unhampered in its growth, and suggests the numerical strength of the two tribes. At the same time the pleasing picture presented recalls Joseph’s comeliness of face and form, 39:6. 23. Again a double allusion both to Joseph’s persecution at the hands of his brothers and to attacks on the tribes. The Arabs were noted for their archery, 21:20, which suggests an allusion to their attacks on both sides of the Jordan, Jg 6:3 ff., 1 Par 5:18 ff. 24. Both Joseph and his tribes triumphed through the help of God. Strong arms are needed for the handling of bows suitable for war. § h 25. The blessings of the heavens are sunshine, rain and dew; those of the great subterranean ocean are the springs and rivers which ancient thought conceived to be fed from it. To these blessings so necessary in Palestine is added the prayer for abundance of herds and flocks. 26. The blessings of the eternal mountains and the ‘desire’, the desirable things, the choice products, of the everlasting hills are described in Jl 3:18, Am 9:13, Ex 3:8, streams of sweet wine, milk and honey. The mountains are eternal because immovably fixed and existing from the beginning of the world; see on 1:2. But Jacob had received blessings more wonderful than these, the promise of continual divine help, of the possession of the land of Canaan, of a multitude of descendants, that in him and his seed all the tribes of the earth should be blessed, 28:3–4. 13–15.
§ i 27 Benjamin. ‘Benjamin is a ravening wolf. In the morning he devoureth the prey and in the evening he divideth the spoil’. He is at all times lustful of booty and ready for the attack. It is not meant that different activities are confined to special times. For an excellent example of this type of sentence see Prov 10:1. Benjamin, though small, was one of the most warlike tribes, Jg 5:14; 20:18 ff.; 2 Kg 2:15.
28 shows that the pronouncements refer primarily to the tribes.
§ 161a 29–32 Jacob’s Death—29. Omit ‘double’; see ch 23. 30. ‘in the cave which is in the field of Machpelah, over against …’ 31. ‘and there I buried Lia’. This verse is a parenthesis, 30 being continued in 32: ‘the field and the cave therein bought from the Hittites’, lit1554. ‘the sons of Heth’. This is omitted in V1555g + D1556V.
§ b 50:1–3 Mourning for Jacob—1. ‘And when Joseph saw this’ is a stylistic addition of Jerome’s. 2. Embalming was an Egyptian, not an Israelite, custom, but it was necessary in the case of Jacob if he was to be honoured as the manners of the country required and his body to be transported for burial to Canaan. 3. At a later date according to Herodotus II 86, 88 embalming took 70 days. According to Diodorus the Egyptian mourning for a king lasted 72 days, I 72. The honour paid to Jacob was for Joseph’s sake. The Israelites mourned for Aaron and Moses for 30 days, Num 20:30, Deut 34:8.
§ c 4–13 The Burial of Jacob—4. Joseph asks for the intervention of Pharaoh’s ‘household’. For the chief minister of the crown to leave the country may well have required the assent of the other advisers of Pharaoh. 5. Jacob may have prepared himself a resting-place in the cave of Machpelah, 49:29 f., before he left Canaan. It is also possible that Joseph expressed himself in accordance with Egyptian custom. The Pharaohs and other persons of high rank prepared themselves burial-places during their lifetime. 7. A large number of the responsible officials of the royal court accompanied the funeral procession. This was primarily to do honour to Joseph. Universal expressions are used with latitude. 9. A guard was necessary on such a long journey. 10. The threshing-floor of Atad, or the bramble threshing-floor, is otherwise unknown. A threshingfloor is mentioned as a place of meeting in the M1557T of 3 Kg 22:10 (D1558V ‘court’). The one here in question was east of the Jordan. Political reasons will have dictated the long march round the Dead Sea instead of the direct route through Beersheba. The mourning ceremonies there lasted 7 days in accordance with Hebrew custom, 1 Kg 31:13. 11. The place was called (M1559T) Abel Misraim, ‘Egyptian brook’ or ‘meadow’, a name reminiscent of ’ēḇel ‘mourning’. The site is unknown. 12. The Egyptian caravan did not cross into Canaan for the same reason that had imposed the easterly route, 10. 13. ‘in the cave of the field of Machpelah’.
§ d 14–21 Joseph’s Magnanimity—15. Omit ‘were afraid’. 19. ‘Fear not. Am I in place of God?’ As 20 shows, the meaning is, can I take umbrage at what God’s Providence manifestly has turned to the common good? 20. Omit ‘exalt … see’.
§ e 22–25 Joseph’s Last Days—22 (M1560T 23). Joseph saw the children of the third generation in descent from Ephraim, that is, his own great-grandsons, grandsons being the third generation, Ex 20:5. Machir was Manasses’ eldest son, Jos 17:1. For ‘to be born on the knees’ of someone, see on 30:3. 24 (M1561T 25). For the execution of this wish see Ex 13:19, Jos 24:32. 25 (M1562T 26). It is possible that the age of 110 assigned to Joseph is due to the Egyptians. A. Mallon, S.J., Les Hébreux en Egypte (Rome, 1921) 72 note, quotes with approval a remark of E. Naville’s that it is not probable that the ancient Egyptians knew their true ages and that various inscriptions indicate that for them 110 was the extreme limit of old age. On this hypothesis the 110 years assigned to Joseph would mean that he had reached that advanced age.