Genesis 49:13-27 — Encouragements and Warnings for the Future

Sermons – Hope Orthodox Presbyterian Church

¹³ “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea;
he shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.

¹⁴ “Issachar is a strong donkey,
crouching between the sheepfolds.^[a]
15 He saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant,
so he bowed his shoulder to bear,
and became a servant at forced labor.

¹⁶ “Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
¹⁷ Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
a viper by the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that his rider falls backward.
¹⁸ I wait for your salvation, O Lord.

¹⁹ “Raiders shall raid Gad,^[b]
but he shall raid at their heels.

²⁰ “Asher’s food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal delicacies.

²¹ “Naphtali is a doe let loose
that bears beautiful fawns.^[c]

²² “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.^[d]
23 The archers bitterly attacked him,
shot at him, and harassed him severely,
²⁴ yet his bow remained unmoved;
his arms^[e] were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
(from there is the Shepherd,^[f] the Stone of Israel),
²⁵ by the God of your father who will help you,
by the Almighty^[g] who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
²⁶ The blessings of your father
are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,
up to the bounties of the everlasting hills.^[h]
May they be on the head of Joseph,
and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

²⁷ “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey
and at evening dividing the spoil.” (Genesis 49:13-27, ESV)