Introduction
Joseph Smith
Wherever the Church of Christ is established in the earth, there should be a Patriarch for the benefit of the posterity of the Saints, as it was with Jacob in giving his patriarchal blessing unto his sons. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 151)
James E. Faust
A patriarchal blessing from an ordained patriarch can give us a star to follow, which is a personal revelation from God to each individual. If we follow this star, we are less likely to stumble and be misled. Our patriarchal blessing will be an anchor to our souls, and if we are worthy, neither death nor the devil can deprive us of the blessings pronounced. They are blessings we can enjoy now and forever.
As with many other blessings, patriarchal blessings should ordinarily be requested by the one desiring the blessing. Responsibility for receiving a patriarchal blessing rests primarily on the individual when he or she has sufficient understanding of the significance of a patriarchal blessing. I encourage all members of the Church having this maturity to become worthy and obtain their blessings. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1995/10/priesthood-blessings?lang=eng)
Genesis 49:1 Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days
Like Adam who called his posterity who were righteous together in a valley and then “predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation,” (D&C 107:53-56) Jacob would do the same. Adam was the father of the whole human family, and Jacob was the father of a special subset of Adam’s, even the House of Israel, the family of believers, the family of the covenant, the family of the faithful. But not all would be faithful in either family. Jacob’s posterity, often like our own, was quick to embarrass him with mistakes that were reflected in the patriarchal blessings he bestowed upon his sons.
Jacob was indeed a prophet, for he gave his sons prophetic blessings by the power of the Spirit or the spirit of prophecy.
Lorenzo Snow
When I go into a family I do admire to see the head of that family administering to it as a man of God, kind and gentle, filled with the Holy Ghost and with the wisdom and understanding of Heaven. Men and women can increase their spiritual knowledge; they can grow better as years multiply upon them. It was so, in a measure, with the old prophets. When they stood on the verge of the grave, ready to give up the ghost and to pass from this life to another, they were full of the power of the Almighty, and could lay their hands on the heads of their children and tell them what would befall them down to the latest ages. The High Priests and Elders of Israel should cultivate this spirit, and live continually that they can have the revelations of the Almighty to guide them, that they may grow wiser and better as age advances. (Journal of Discourses, 12:148, Oct. 9, 1867)
Genesis 49:3 Reuben . . . Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel
We don’t know much of the lives of each of the sons of Jacob, but Reuben will always be remembered for sleeping with his father’s concubine and thereby losing his inheritance as the firstborn (Gen. 35:22). In the last chapter, we learned that Jacob’s first blessing was given instead to Ephraim (Gen. 48:19-22; Jer. 31:9).
It’s the story repeated a million times over, the tragedy of sexual sin. Whereas, Reuben is referred to as the “excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power,” those phrases refer to his potential, not the reality. How many have fallen from excellency to instability by the curse of sexual sin? Unfortunately for Reuben, his sin is recorded in the most famous book in the world. Moses pronounced a blessing upon Reuben saying, “Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.” (Deut. 33:6)
Robert D. Hales
Reuben was the firstborn and had the birthright—special blessings intended just for him. But in his blessing to Reuben, his father said, “Thou art … unstable as water, thou shalt not excel.” (Genesis 49:3–4) Think for a moment about what the phrase unstable as water means. When water gets hot, it evaporates. When it gets cold, it freezes. When it is unchanneled, it causes erosion and destroys whatever may be in its path.
As bearers of the Aaronic Priesthood, you too have a birthright. I challenge you to be obedient and strong. I challenge you not to let your resolve dribble out and your commitment to follow the Savior evaporate. Be firm as a rock in living the gospel.” (Conference Report, Apr. 2007, 48)
Genesis 49:5 Simeon and Levi [are] instruments of cruelty
Simeon and Levi had disappointed their father in the incident of Shechem the Hivite as found in Genesis 34. The prince Shechem had fallen in love with Jacob’s daughter Dinah and lay with her. Her brothers were angry that this Hivite had defiled their sister. So when Shechem’s father came to Jacob to ask for Dinah for his son, also requesting an alliance between the Israelites and the Hivites, Simeon and Levi took the opportunity to take revenge. They requested that all the men in the city of the Hivites be circumcised on the ruse that their religion required it; then, when the men were sore from the circumcision, they killed all the men in the city, taking all the children, women, and flocks of the Hivites.
Jacob was horrified by the actions of Simeon and Levi, “Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land . . . they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.” (Gen. 34:30)
Genesis 49:7 I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel
When Joshua brought the Israelites into the land of Canaan to receive their inheritance, the Levites were not given a specific parcel of land. As the holders of the Levitical priesthood, they were scattered throughout Israel, living in the suburbs and serving as local priests. “Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.” (Numb. 8:14) To be divided and scattered carries a negative connotation, but with Levi, the scattering was to fulfill a priesthood purpose. Not so with Simeon.
What about the tribe of Simeon? The land of Simeon was within the land of Judah. It seems that, over time, the lands of Simeon were absorbed into the kingdom of Judah, “for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of [Judah].” (Josh. 19:9) It’s not clear how Simeon was scattered in Israel according to the prophecy, but they became a less significant force among the tribes of Israel. “In the wilderness the Simeonites dwindled from 59,300 to 22,200 men (Numbers 1:23; Numbers 26:14); and after the conquest of Canaan, were so feeble as to have only fifteen towns assigned them, scattered about in the territory of Judah. And there they melted away, being either absorbed into the tribe among whom they dwelt, withdrawing to wander as nomads in the wilderness of Paran.” (https://biblehub.com/genesis/49-7.htm)
In Deuteronomy 33, where Moses records his blessing to each of the tribes, Simeon is inexplicably omitted.
Genesis 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise
“Jacob’s has not been a happy life and he cannot but reflect on his deep disappointment over his three eldest sons. Yet now, as death nears, a better future rises before his inner eye. This future is tied to Judah and Joseph.” (The Torah: A Modern Commentary, ed. by W. Gunther Plaut [New York, The Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981], 311)
Judah was a natural leader among his brethren. He took the lead in negotiating with Joseph, who was incognito (Gen. 44). In addition, the tribe of Judah would become a leading tribe after the reign of Solomon. Through Judah would come the greatest king in the history of Israel: Jesus Christ. Through Judah would also come the second greatest king in the history of Israel: David.
Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp
Moses calls the tribe of Dan “a lion’s whelp,” suggesting the phrase was an idiom in common usage at the time (Deut. 33:22). This reference to Judah suggests an energetic and powerful animal, the king of the jungle, so to speak, fearless and strong, returning from the kill with the satisfaction of a full belly. Actually, this verse speaks of three different times in the lion’s life cycle: the young lion, the adult lion, and the old lion. The young lion is gone up from the prey; the adult lion is stooped down and “couched” as if about to pounce; and the old lion is asleep. We will take some interpretive liberties in defining all three lions.
1. The young lion is the tribe of Judah in its prime, the great kingdom in the hands of David, capable of killing any Goliath in its path!
2. The adult lion refers to the Lion of the Lord, the Savior Jesus Christ. Like a lion before the kill, he was stooped down and crouching in the brush. During his mortal ministry, Jesus had more power than he ever used. He had power over his own life. He had the power to protect himself. He had the power to kill his enemies. These powers he held in reserve, awaiting the Second Coming to exact revenge. The image of Christ as a crouching lion reminds us of all the power he possessed as he ministered among the Galileans, allowing his own death at the hands of the Jews and Romans. He had the strength yet never pounced on his enemies. He went like a lamb to the slaughter, restraining himself from using his lion-like power to exact retribution.
3. The old lion is asleep under a tree. Who shall rouse the old and grumpy lion? In this image, can we not see the Jewish nation in our day, prior to the Second Coming? Representing the oldest living religion on Earth, the old lion of Judaism must be roused from its sleep to a new life in worshiping the Messiah! When roused, we will see there is still strength in Judah.
Genesis 49:10-11 unto [Shiloh] shall the gathering of the people be
You can ask your Jewish friends about these verses from the Torah. What do they mean? To be sure, they are cryptic references, but that is the way they like it (Jacob 4:14). We have the promise of the Messiah, Shiloh, as the object of the gathering of Israel. We have reference to a vine. Jesus claimed to be the vine in John, “I am the vine, ye are the branches” (John 15:5). The Vine was secured to the ass and colt in the triumphal entry, for the disciples had “brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.” (Matt. 21:7) “He washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes.” From Luke, we know that “being in an agony, . . . his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). From Isaiah, “Who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments . . . ? Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.” (Isa. 63:3)
Wilford Woodruff
When Jesus brought the Gospel to his father's house—the Jews, they rejected him and the words of life he taught them. He found them intently looking forward to the coming of their Shiloh (JST Gen. 50:24) in the person of a king, a ruler who should possess great power, even power sufficient to deliver them from the Romish yoke. They never once dreamed that he would appear in their midst as the babe of Bethlehem, who should be born in a stable, and cradled in a manger, a man who should know sorrow, and who should be acquainted with grief, (Isa. 53:3) and who should choose as his disciples illiterate fishermen of low degree. And although he was their Savior King who would have redeemed them, and delivered them, and given unto them the Gospel of peace and of liberty, yet they in their vanity and pride despised him, and persecuted him, and at last shed his blood. (Journal of Discourses, 19:357, June 30, 1878)
Genesis 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships
Zebulun ends up settling just inland from the coastal territory of northern Canaan where shipping became the main industry. The cities of Tyre and Sidon were famous for merchants and shipping years after the Israelites were sacked and scattered.
“We do not know of any literal fulfilment of the prediction, but Moses also speaks of Zebulun and Issachar as tribes that would ‘suck of the abundance of the seas.’ It is very possible that, living in the neighbourhood of the Phoenicians, they took part in maritime pursuits; and thus the general meaning of the blessing may be that Zebulun would be a tribe, not of agriculturists, but of traders.” (https://biblehub.com/genesis/49-13.htm)
Genesis 49:14-15 Issacher . . . saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant
“the tribe received some of the richest land of Palestine including the eastern plain of Esdraelon, and had within its borders several places of note in Israelite history, such as Gilboa, Jezreel, and Tabor.” Bible Dictionary, LDS scriptures
(Barry J. Beitzel, ed., Biblica: The Bible Atlas, [Australia: Global Book Publishing, 2006])
Genesis 49:16-17 Dan shall judge his people . . . Dan shall be a serpent by the way
The original Hebrew meaning of the name Dan is “God is my judge,” and has reference to Rachel’s feelings of validation that her handmaid Bilhah had given Jacob a son at a time when she struggled to get pregnant. (Gen. 30:1-7) The tribe of Dan was small but was known for settling in the most northern land in Israel, hence the Biblical phrase, “from Dan to Beersheba,” meaning from north to south. Also Sampson, who is famous for his strength and exploits against the Philistines, came from Dan (Judges 13:25).
For some unknown reason, the tribe of Dan is omitted from the list of tribes in Revelation 7.
Genesis 49:19 The tribe of Gad
“Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes. However, in the case of the Tribes of Gad, Reuben and half of Manasseh, Moses allocated land to them on the eastern side of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea (Joshua 13:24–28).” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe_of_Gad”)
The 2.5 tribes east of Jordan made a deal with Moses that their soldiers would help expel and conquer the inhabitants of the land of Israel west of Jordan as they went to possess the land. They were faithful in completing this obligation (Josh. 22).
The eastern location left the Gadites vulnerable to attack from Ammonites to the east and the Moabites to the south. In subsequent scripture, they were often referred to as the Gileadites (Judges 11, 1 Samuel 11). The prophecy, “a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last” may have reference to the attack of Nahash the Ammonite referred to in 1 Samuel 11. Nahash had threatened to gouge out the right eyes of the men of Jabesh-Gilead. Nahash's troop had overcome them, but they were given a week to ask for help from their Israelite brethren. In one of Saul’s defining and greatest moments, he rallied a huge army against Nahash and “slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day,” proving that Gad would overcome at the last (1 Sam. 11).
Genesis 49:20 Asher his bread shall be fat
Asher settled the coast just south of Tyre, the great Mediterranean seaport (see map above). The wealth of that port city must have trickled down to the Asherites. To Asher was promised fat bread and royal dainties, meaning the high-class food of kings. In Deuteronomy, Moses says, “Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.” (Deut. 33:24) Oil is precious and way too precious for application to the feet unless it is available in great abundance. The land of Asher was known for producing olive oil. That is how your bread is fat, by dipping it in olive oil.
”In the biblical account, Joshua assigned to Asher western and coastal Galilee, a region with comparatively low temperature and much rainfall, making it some of the most fertile land in Canaan, with rich pasture, wooded hills, and orchards; as such Asher became particularly prosperous, and known for its olive oil. The Blessing of Moses appears to prophesy this allocation, although textual scholars view this as postdiction.” (Wikipedia, “Tribe of Asher”; of course textual scholars view this as postdiction, or a detail added after it was already fulfilled, because they don’t believe in the spirit or prophecy.)
Genesis 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough . . . by a well . . . whose branches run over the wall
“Joseph obtained the birthright in Israel because he was worthy and because it was his natural right. When Reuben, the actual firstborn, lost the privilege by transgression (1 Chr. 5:1–2), Joseph, as the firstborn son of Jacob’s second wife, was next in line for the blessing. . . Special blessings and prophecies on the head of Joseph and his posterity are found in Gen. 48; 49:1, 22–26; and Deut. 33:13–17. . .
The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s children, were among the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and thus among the ‘lost tribes.’ Also, one portion of Joseph’s descendants came to America about 600 B.C. and established two great peoples. The record of their doings is called the Book of Mormon. It has also been primarily Joseph’s descendants whom the Lord has called upon first in these last days to carry the gospel to the nations of the earth, in compliance with the covenant God made with Abraham.” (Joseph, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bd/joseph?lang=eng)
LeGrand Richards
“With reference to the land to which Joseph’s seed would go: ‘a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall,’ it seems consistent to assume the ocean was regarded as the wall over which Joseph branches were to run ‘unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.’ then Jacob indicated that Joseph would be blessed ‘with the blessings of heaven above . . . that of his posterity . . . and that his blessings would prevail abve the blessings of his progenitors.’ “ (Marvelous Work and a Wonder, 64)
Genesis 49:25 the God of thy father . . . shall help thee; and . . . shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above
From the tribe of Judah was the Messiah to come; from the tribe of Judah would come king David and king Solomon; from the tribe of Judah would come the Bible itself. By comparison, the descendants of Joseph would rule in the kingdom of Israel after Solomon but before the scattering, and a branch of Joseph would survive the scattering to travel to the Americas. They, the Nephites, would write the Book of Mormon (the stick of Joseph), the single most important instrument in the orchestra of the Restoration. Through Joseph would come Joseph Smith and latter-day prophets holding the keys to bless all mankind with the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (D&C 110:12).
Mormon
Surely he hath blessed the house of Jacob, and hath been merciful unto the seed of Joseph.
And insomuch as the children of Lehi have kept his commandments he hath blessed them and prospered them according to his word.
Yea, and surely shall he again bring a remnant of the seed of Joseph to the knowledge of the Lord their God.
And as surely as the Lord liveth, will he gather in from the four quarters of the earth all the remnant of the seed of Jacob . . . unto the restoring all the house of Jacob unto the knowledge of the covenant that he hath covenanted with them.
And then shall they know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and then shall they be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands. (3 Ne. 5:21-26)
LeGrand Richards
In describing the new land that should be given to Joseph, who would be separated from his brethren, Moses used the word "precious" five times in just four verses as recorded in the Bible describing that new land. (Deut. 33:13-16) That new land was none other than this land of America. The Lord had it preserved, waiting for the day of the restoration of the gospel in this latter day. (Conference Report, Oct. 1970, 61)
Genesis 49:27 Benjamin shall . . . devour the prey
Benjamin was a smaller tribe but it survived the Assyrians in 721 BC and was geographically close to the tribe of Judah such that its identity became swallowed up with them. They were part of the kingdom of Judah after Solomon and produced greats like king Saul, Esther’s cousin Mordecai (Esther was likely of Benjamin as well), and the apostle Paul.
Genesis 49:29 bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite
“Abraham bought the ‘cave at the edge of the field’ for 400 silver shekels. Even though God told Abraham that this was his land as an inheritance and the Hittites offered to give him the cave for free, Abraham wisely insisted on pay full price for it, to insure that there would no question of ownership over this land and perhaps with prophetic insight into the future when others would try to claim it.
His purchase is also used as the source for establishing the four different methods by which land can be legally acquired in Jewish law – by money, by deed, by witnesses, and by physical possession.” (https://hebronfund.org/cave-machpelah-overview)
Shrine of Machpelah, site of burial for the Patriarchs
“The Shrine of Machpelah, also known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, is an ancient cave complex in Hebron, revered as the burial site of the Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah. The site is covered by a large, ancient building, and is considered one of the holiest sites in Judaism and a sacred place for Muslims as well. The structure was built by Herod the Great and later modified by various cultures, including the Byzantines, Crusaders, and Muslims, who have each used it for their respective religious practices.” (Google AI, Shrine of Machpelah)
Even today, we want to buried with our ancestors. Jacob was no different. He walked in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. As he followed them in life, he would follow them in death.
Genesis 49:31 there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife
You can visit the site of the cave where Abraham was buried, but his bones are not there. Abraham has been resurrected. Joseph Smith was told by God that Abraham has “entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.” (D&C 132:29) Since resurrection is a prerequisite to exaltation, the bones would not be there. We can assume the same for Sarah, Rebekah, Isaac, Jacob, Rachel and Leah et al. For “the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” (Matt. 27:52-53)