Genesis 49:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

NIV: because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb.

NASB: From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

CSB: by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and the womb.

NLT: May the God of your father help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.

KJV: Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

NKJV: By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

When delivering prophecies about his son's descendants (Genesis 49:1–2), Jacob has been brief, in most cases. Other than Judah, most of his twelve sons have been given a short prediction. That changes with Jacob's oracle about Joseph (Genesis 49:22–24). In this extensive expression, Jacob speaks about the God who will protect and deliver Joseph's people. This explains God in personal terms. In the previous verse, Jacob named Him "the Mighty One of Jacob," "the Shepherd," and "the Stone of Israel."

Now, nearing death (Genesis 48:1), Jacob tells Joseph that the Lord is "the God of your father who will help you." For all the struggles of Jacob's life (Genesis 47:9), it would have been deeply comforting to remember that God had made good on all His promises. He knows that God had been faithful to him all his days. Now he understood that his God would be ready and able to help his sons and their offspring long after he was gone.

Jacob refers to God as "the Almighty," using the Hebrew word Sad'day. This title is directly associated with God, often phrased as ēl Sad'day, transliterated into English as El Shaddai. The book of Genesis often associates this name of God with blessings. Jacob certainly understands that El Shaddai has blessed him repeatedly during his life. Now he prays and prophesies that the Lord God will bless Joseph and his offspring.

In fact, God Almighty will supernaturally bless Joseph's descendants in every way humans can be blessed. They will be blessed from above, likely meaning rain in season for the crops, from below, with water from wells and streams, and from breasts and wombs, describing many and thriving children. The God who has blessed Jacob will continue to bless Jacob's children for generations to come, through the prosperity of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Genesis 49:22–27 includes Jacob's final prophetic remarks about his sons. The last two mentioned are his youngest, the only naturally born children of his favorite wife, Rachel. Joseph's sons were already inserted into the family blessing (Genesis 48:5–6). This is the most overtly positive of Jacob's predictions. Benjamin, however, is predicted to become a notably violent tribe.

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.