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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 49:13 - 49:18
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The Blessing upon Zebulun, Issachar, and Dan
v. 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. The country later inhabited by the tribe of Zebulun fronted on two seas, on the Sea of Galilee in the east and on the Mediterranean in the west. Its northwestern boundary was to extend to Phenicia. Although the actual physical boundaries of Zebulun afterward did not include all this country, its influence extended to both seas and to Zidon by means of its commerce.
v. 14. Issachar is a strong ass, literally, an ass of bone, one with a very strong bony frame, couching down between two burdens;
v. 15. and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute, he willingly bowed down under a heavy load and served with hard labor. The territory of Issachar was in the fruitful plain of Jezreel, a fact which imposed upon the people the double burden of agriculture and pasturage, a hard, but beautiful service.
v. 16. Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Although the son of a handmaid, he still shall have a full inheritance with the other sons, and, moreover, an amount of independence, which occasionally gave him the leadership, as in the days of Samson, and which caused a part of the tribe to migrate to the extreme northern boundary of Canaan and there to establish themselves.
v. 17. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder, a dangerous viper, in the path, that biteth the horse-heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. Although this is here not spoken in a reproachful sense, yet it characterizes the Danites, especially in their expedition against the peaceful city of Laish, Judges 18.
v. 18. I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. This is Jacob's longing cry in the midst of his prophecy, for he asks not only the assistance of the Lord for his descendants in this prayer, but he also confesses that his own longing to see the Messiah, like that of Eve, had not been fulfilled, and he realizes, in view of the future as disclosed in his own inspired words, that it will be some time before the Messiah would come to His people. Not for the salvation of Samson, but for that of the Messiah, who should save His people from their sins, his soul was longing.