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by
Doug Ward |
Although the book of Genesis is not primarily a book of prophecy, it
contains hints about the coming Messiah, the descendant of Abraham through whom
"all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen 12:3; 22:18;
Gal 3:16).
The
longest prophetic passage in Genesis is in chapter 49, where the patriarch
Jacob imparts blessings to his sons before his death (v 28). "Gather
yourselves together," he announces to them, "that I may tell you what
shall happen to you in days to come" (v 1).
The
Hebrew phrase for "in days to come," be'akherit
hayammim, is often translated "in the latter
days" and appears in prophecies with an "end times" focus (Isa
2:2; Jer 23:20; 30:24; 48:47; 49:39; Eze 38:16; Dan 2:28; 10:14). We see such a focus in Gen
49:10, part of the blessing for Judah: "The scepter shall not depart from
Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples."
The
phrase "until tribute comes to him" in Gen 49:10 can also be
rendered, "until he comes to whom it [i.e., the rulership] belongs"
(see the ESV footnote). With either translation, this verse pictures a line of
rulers coming from Judah, culminating in a king who will rule the nations. In
both Jewish and Christian traditions, Gen 49:10 is seen as a reference to the
Messiah ruling on the throne of Judah's descendant David (see also 2 Sam
7:12-16; Mat 1:1).
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Like
Joseph, Like Judah |
Additional references to the person and work of the Messiah are hidden in the
poetry of the blessing for Judah in verses 8-12. Verse 8 begins, "Judah,
your brothers shall praise you." This is a play on words, since the name
Judah is connected to his mother Leah's praising God at his birth (Gen 29:35).
Verse 8 adds that "your father's sons shall bow down before you." The
Hebrew words for "praise" and "bow down" appear together in
just two other verses, 2 Ch 7:3 and Ps 138:1-2, both of which refer to worship
of God. There may be a hint here of the divine nature of the messianic king.1
The
phrase "your father's sons shall bow down before you" reminds us of
the dreams of Judah's brother Joseph (Gen 37:6-10; 42:6; 50:18) and implies
that the kind of honor Joseph had received would henceforth go to Judah. This
Judah/Joseph connection also invites us to see Joseph's past experiences as
precursors of the future experiences of Judah's descendants, the Messiah in
particular.
For
example, we read in verse 8, "your hand shall be on the neck of your
enemies." This could be a reference to Judah (or the Messiah, in
particular) defeating enemies, including the serpent and his seed (Gen 3:15).
On the other hand, it could refer to reconciliation with enemies. In the book
of Genesis, restoration of relationships is often pictured with people falling
on each other's necks (33:4; 45:14; 46:29). Joseph's brothers were his enemies
(Gen 37), but they were later reconciled (45:15; 50:15-21). We might see
Joseph's experience pointing ahead to the Messiah's work of reconciliation on
the cross (Rom 5:8,10; Col 1:21-22).
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The
Lion Resurrected |
In verse 9 Jacob compares Judah to a lion. This verse is the source of the
"lion of the tribe of Judah" imagery for the risen Jesus in Rev 5:5.
Jacob says, "From the prey, my son, you have gone up." The word for
"prey" is related to the verb for "tear", as in "tear
to pieces." Jacob had thought that Joseph had been torn to pieces as the
prey of some wild animal (Gen 37:33), but he later learned that Joseph was
still alive (45:28; 46:30). In Jacob's eyes Joseph had "gone up." It
was as if he had risen from the dead.
Verse
9 continues, "He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who
dares rouse him?" Our English translations tend to picture Judah as a
powerful lion that has lain down and should not be disturbed. However, there is
another possibility. The verb for "rouse" in this verse, qum, is normally translated "raise" rather
than "rouse." (A different word, ur,
is usually used for waking up or stirring up a living thing, as in Ps 44:23;
108:2; Song 5:2; Job 41:10). The verb qum is
used in situations where someone who is weak and has fallen is raised up (2 Sam
12:16-17; Job 4:4; Ps 113:7; Eccl 4:10).
It
is possible, then, that Gen 49:9 refers to a lion that has lain down in death,
and that the question being asked is, "Who will raise him up?" The
implied answer would then be, "God will!" With this reading, Jacob
predicts the resurrection of the lion of Judah. Such an interpretation, with
the reclining lion representing Jesus in the tomb and God as the one who raises
him, was adopted by some of the early Church fathers, including Hippolytus (c.
170-235 AD) and Ambrose (c 340-397 AD).2
There
are additional messianic allusions in Gen 49:11, which says that the ruler of
verse 10 "will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest
branch." The references to a donkey and colt remind us of the messianic
prophecy of Zech 9:9, which according to the Gospels
was fulfilled by Jesus in his humble but triumphal entry of Jerusalem (Mat
21:1-5, e.g.).
Verse
11 continues, "he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the
blood of grapes." The connection here between wine and blood may point
ahead to Isa 63:1-3 and Rev 19:13-15, where we see the Messiah as judge of the
nations. The final sentence of the blessing in v 12 ("His eyes are darker
than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk") suggests the abundance and well-being
of the messianic age.
Upon
close examination, the blessing of Judah in Gen 49:8-12 gives multiple pictures
of the victorious lion of Judah of Rev 5. Jacob's poetic words present the
Messiah as a divine ruler who brings reconciliation with his brothers, dies and
is raised again, and judges and rules the nations in a world with shalom
restored.
1See Kevin S. Chen, The
Messianic Vision of the Pentateuch, IVP Academic, 2019, p. 115.
2See
Chen, pp 125-130, for a detailed argument in favor of Gen 49:9 as a prophecy of
the resurrection.
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