And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days.
Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob;
And hearken unto Israel your father.
Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the {Or, first-fruits}beginning of my strength;
The pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power.
Boiling over as water, {Or, have not thou}thou shalt not have the pre-eminence;
Because thou wentest up to thy father's bed;
Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Simeon and Levi are brethren;
Weapons of violence are their {Or, compacts}swords.
O my soul, come not thou into their {Or, secret}council;
Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united;
For in their anger they slew {Or, men}a man,
And in their self-will they hocked {Or, oxen}an ox.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;
And their wrath, for it was cruel:
I will divide them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.
Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise:
Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies;
Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee.
Judah is a lion's whelp;
From the prey, my son, thou art gone up:
He stooped down, he couched as a lion,
And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
Nor {Or, a lawgiver}the ruler's staff from between his feet,
{Or, Til he come to Shiloh, having the obedience of the peoples Or, according to Syriac, Til he come whose it is &c.}Until Shiloh come:
And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
Binding his foal unto the vine,
And his ass's colt unto the choice vine;
He hath washed his garments in wine,
And his vesture in the blood of grapes:
His eyes shall be red with wine,
And his teeth white with milk.
Zebulun shall dwell at the {Hebrew: beach.}haven of the sea;
And he shall be for a {Hebrew: beach.}haven of ships;
And his border shall be {Or, by}upon Sidon.
Issachar is a strong ass,
Couching down between the sheepfolds:
And he saw {Or, rest}a resting-place that it was good,
And the land that it was pleasant;
And he bowed his shoulder to bear,
And became a servant under taskwork.
Dan shall judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
An {Or, horned snake}adder in the path,
That biteth the horse's heels,
So that his rider falleth backward.
I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah.
Gad, {Hebrew: gedud, a marauding band.}a troop {Hebrew: gad, to press.}shall press upon him;
But he shall press upon their heel.
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat,
And he shall yield royal dainties.
Naphtali is a hind let loose:
He giveth goodly words.
Joseph is {Hebrew: the son of a fruitful tree.}a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a fountain;
His {Hebrew: daughters.}branches run over the wall.
The archers have sorely grieved him,
And shot at him, and persecuted him:
But his bow abode in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made {Or, active}strong,
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
( {Or, From hence from the shepherd Or, as otherwise read, By the name of the shepherd}From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),
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 coucheth beneath,
Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.
The blessings of thy father
Have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors
Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills:
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him {Or, that is prince among}that was separate from his brethren.
Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth:
In the morning she shall devour the prey,
And at even he shall divide the spoil.
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place.
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah—
the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.
And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
Querverweise zu 1. Mose 49,19 1Mo 49,19
And Leah said, {Hebrew: With fortune! Another reading is, Fortune is come.}Fortunate! and she called his name {That is, Fortune.}Gad.
And the sons of Gad: {In Numbers 26:15, Zephon.}Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and {In Numbers 26:16, Ozni.}Ezbon, Eri, and {In Numbers 26:17, Arod.}Arodi, and Areli.
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;
the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,
Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and {In verse 36, Beth-nimrah.}Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and {In verse 38, Sibmah.}Sebam, and Nebo, and {In verse 28, Baal-meon.}Beon,
the land which Jehovah smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle; and thy servants have cattle.
And they said, If we have found favor in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession; bring us not over the Jordan.
And Moses said unto the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall ye sit here?
And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which Jehovah hath given them?
Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which Jehovah had given them.
And Jehovah's anger was kindled in that day, and he sware, saying,
Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:
save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed Jehovah.
And Jehovah's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of Jehovah, was consumed.
And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of Jehovah toward Israel.
For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye will destroy all this people.
And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:
but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.
For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward.
And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will arm yourselves to go before Jehovah to the war,
and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before Jehovah, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,
and the land is subdued before Jehovah; then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless towards Jehovah, and towards Israel; and this land shall be unto you for a possession before Jehovah.
But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against Jehovah; and be sure your sin will find you out.
Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead;
but thy servants will pass over, every man that is armed for war, before Jehovah to battle, as my lord saith.
So Moses gave charge concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.
And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man that is armed to battle, before Jehovah, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:
but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As Jehovah hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.
We will pass over armed before Jehovah into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.
And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, according to the cities thereof with their borders, even the cities of the land round about.
And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,
and Atrothshophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah,
and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran: fortified cities, and folds for sheep.
And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,
and Nebo, and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Sibmah: and they gave other names unto the cities which they builded.
And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites that were therein.
And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.
And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the towns thereof, and called them {That is, The towns of Jair.}Havvoth-jair.
And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the {Hebrew: daughters.}villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
And of Gad he said,Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad:He dwelleth as a lioness,And teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head.
And he {Or, chose Hebrew: saw.}provided the first part for himself,For there was {Or, a ruler's portion}the lawgiver's portion reserved;And he came {Or, to}with the heads of the people;He executed the righteousness of Jehovah,And his ordinances with Israel.
With him the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of Jehovah gave them:
And after Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the hillcountry of Ephraim.
And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
And after him arose Jair, the Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty and two years.
And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called {That is, The towns of Jair.}Havvoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
And Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.
And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baalim, and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of {Hebrew: Aram.}Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook Jehovah, and served him not.
And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon.
And they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel that year: eighteen years oppressed they all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
And the children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
And the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, saying, We have sinned against thee, even because we have forsaken our God, and have served the Baalim.
And Jehovah said unto the children of Israel, Did not I save you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
and Malchiram, and Pedaiah, and Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.
And the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel, and Shimei. And the {Hebrew: son.}sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam, and Hananiah; and Shelomith was their sister;
and Hashubah, and Ohel, and Berechiah, and Hasadiah, Jushab-hesed, five.
And the {Hebrew: son.}sons of Hananiah: Pelatiah, and Jeshaiah; the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shecaniah.
And the sons of Shecaniah: Shemaiah. And the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, and Igal, and Bariah, and Neariah, and Shaphat, six.
And the sons of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salecah:
Joel the chief, and Shapham the second, and Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan.
And their brethren of their fathers' houses: Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jacan, and Zia, and Eber, seven.
These were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz;
Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of their fathers' houses.
And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in its {Hebrew: daughters.}towns, and in all the {Or, pasture lands}suburbs of Sharon, as far as their {Hebrew: goings forth.}borders.
All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were forty and four thousand seven hundred and threescore, that were able to go forth to war.
And they made war with the Hagrites, with Jetur, and Naphish, and Nodab.
And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them; for they cried to God in the battle, and he was entreated of them, because they put their trust in him.
And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of {Hebrew: souls of men.}men a hundred thousand.
For there fell many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their stead until the captivity.
And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river of Gozan, unto this day.