Genesis 49:33 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

NIV: When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

NASB: When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

CSB: When Jacob had finished giving charges to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, took his last breath, and was gathered to his people.

NLT: When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.

KJV: And when Jacob had 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.

NKJV: And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

With his twelve 12 sons gathered around him, Jacob has concluded two important pieces of business while on his deathbed. First, he pronounced a prophetic oracle and blessing suitable to each of his sons and the tribes of people who would descend from them (Genesis 49:1–2). Next, he commanded them to bury his body in the family burial tomb in Canaan (Genesis 49:28–32).

At 147 years of age, Jacob dies. The three phrases used here have both literal and figurative aspects. Jacob anticipates death, experiences it, and transitions into the afterlife. Though his life was often marked by sorrow and fear (Genesis 47:9), Jacob's deathbed prophecies included assurance that his blessings were mighty "up to the bounties of the everlasting hills" (Genesis 49:26). He understood his life to have been powerfully and uniquely blessed by the very God of heaven.

The following chapter will detail how Joseph and his brothers mourn for Jacob. The centuries following his death will be increasingly difficult for Jacob's family, even as they blossom under God's blessing into a large nation of people (Exodus 1:7–14).

Genesis 49:28–33 contains Jacob's last words before his death. He commands his sons to see that his body is buried in Canaan in the family tomb. It is one of the few pieces of property the family owns outright in the Promised Land. Abraham bought it from the Hittites. He and Sarah are buried there, as are Jacob's parents Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob's first wife Leah. His sons must take his body there to lay it to rest with the others. After saying this, the man God renamed "Israel" (Genesis 35:10–1) dies in the presence of his extended family.

Genesis 49 contains Jacob's dying prophetic remarks. In the form of poetry, Jacob pronounces positive and negative "blessings" about each of his 12 sons and the people who will come from them. Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are each held to account for their past sins. Judah is described as a lion; the kingly line will come from his people. Joseph and his descendants are lavished with blessings. Once the oracle is completed, Jacob commands his sons to bury him with his fathers in Canaan. Then, the man God named "Israel" (Genesis 35:10–11) dies.

After a life of struggle and controversy, Jacob's family has securely settled in Egypt. Genesis 48 told of Jacob's blessing on Joseph's two oldest sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. In Genesis 49, Jacob gives both positive and negative predictions to each of his sons, in turn. Jacob then commands his sons to bury him in Canaan, then dies. The final chapter of Genesis describes the family's mourning and Joseph's death. The opening verses of Exodus race forward some 400 years, as the nation of Israel falls into harsh slavery under new Egyptian rulers (Exodus 1:8–14).

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.