tween his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

II Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine;

A remarkable prophecy of the Messiah, and so acknowledged by all Jewish, as well as Christian, antiquity. The meaning of the verse appears to be "The Sceptre (either of royal, or perhaps only of tribal, authority) shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver (senator or scribe) from before him, until Shiloh (i.e. either the Prince of peace,' or 'he whose right it is') shall come, and to him shall the nations be obedient." There are some obscure expressions, but we may confidently hold that the above paraphrase conveys the true sense of the passage.

1. The word sceptre, originally denoting a staff of wood, a strong rod taken from a tree and peeled as a wand, is used (1) for "the rod of correction, (2) for "the staff of a shepherd," (3) for "the sceptre of royalty" (as Ps. xlv. 7; cp. Hom. 'Il.' II. 46, 101), (4) for "a tribe," which may be because the sceptre denoted tribal as well as regal authority, or because tribes were considered as twigs or branches from a central stem. (See Ges. p. 1353.) It is probable that the sceptre in Balaam's prophecy (Num. xxiv. 17) has a reference to these words of Jacob.

2. "A lawgiver," so, more or less, all the Ancient Versions. The LXX. and Vulg. render "a leader," the Targums paraphrasing by "scribe or interpreter of the law." The word certainly means "a lawgiver” in Deut. xxxiii. 21; Isa. xxxiii. 22; and all ancient interpretation was in favour of understanding it of a person. The R. Lipmann, however, proposed the sense of "a rod or staff" answering to "the sceptre" in the former clause, in which he has been followed by eminent critics, such as Gesenius, Tuch, Knobel, who think that this sense is more pertinent here, and in Num. xxi. 18; Ps. lx. 7 (see Heidegger, Vol. II. P. 738; Ges. p. 514); but it requires proof that the word, naturally signifying "lawgiver," sometimes undoubtedly meaning "lawgiver," and always so rendered in the Versions, can mean lawgiver's staff or sceptre.

3. "From between his feet" is rendered by the Versions, and generally by commentators "from among his posterity. (See Ges. p. 204.)

(1),

4. "Until Shiloh come. For fuller consideration of the name "Shiloh," see Note A at the end of the Chapter. The only two admissible interpretations are that the word is a proper name, meaning "the Peace-maker," "the Prince of peace," or, (2) according to the almost unanimous consent of the Versions and Targums, "He, whose right it is." All

he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13¶ Zebulun shall dwell at the

the Targums add the name of Messiah, and all the more ancient Jews held it to be an undoubted prophecy of Messiah.

5. "Unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Rather, "Unto him shall be the obedience of the nations." The word for obedience occurs only once besides, in Prov. xxx. 17; but, if the reading be correct, there is little doubt of its significance. (See Ges. pp. 620, 1200; Heidegger, Tom. II. p. 748.)

As regards the fulfilment of this prophecy, it is undoubted that the tribal authority and the highest place in the nation continued with Judah until the destruction of Jerusalem. It is true that after the Babylonish Captivity the royalty was not in the house of Judah; but the prophecy is not express as to the possession. of absolute royalty. Israel never ceased to be a nation, Judah never ceased to be a tribe with at least a tribal sceptre and lawgivers, or expositors of the law, Sanhedrim or Senators, and with a general pre-eminence in the land, nor was there a foreign ruler of the people, till at least the time of Herod the Great, just before the birth of the Saviour; and even the Herods, though of Idumæan extraction, were considered as exercising a native sovereignty in Judah, which did not quite pass away till a Roman procurator was sent thither after the reign of Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great: and at that very time the Shiloh came, the Prince of peace, to whom of right the kingdom belonged. (On the meaning of the name Shiloh, see Note A at the end of the Chapter.)

Many think that the patriarch, having spoken 11. Binding his foal unto the vine, &c.] of the endurance of the reign of Judah till the temporal prosperity during all that period; coming of Christ, returns to speak of Judah's Jonathan refer this verse to the Messiah. So but the Targums of Jerusalem and Pseudoalso several Christian fathers (e.g. Chrysostom, in loc., Theodoret, Qu. in Gen.'); interpreting the vine of the Jewish people, and the wild ass of the gentile converts brought ing of the garments in wine they consider an into the vineyard of the Church. The washallusion to Christ as the true vine (John xv. 1), to His treading "the winepress alone" (Isa. lxiii. 1-3), and empurpling His garments with His own Blood. (See Heidegger, II. pp. 752, sqq.)

12. His eyes shall be red with wine,] &c. Or perhaps (as the LXX., Vulg., Targg. Jerus., and Pseudo-Jon.), "His eyes shall be

haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14¶ Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

redder than wine, and His teeth whiter than milk." This is generally supposed to refer to the land flowing with milk and honey, and abounding in vineyards; but the fathers applied it to the Messiah's kingdom in the same manner with the last verse, e.g. "That His eyes shine as with wine know all those members of His Body mystical, to whom it is given with a sort of sacred inebriation of mind, alienated from the fleeting things of time, to behold the eternal brightness of wisdom." (Augustin. 'C. Faust.' XII. 42, Tom. VIII. P. 24).

13. Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea] "Zebulun shall dwell on the shore of the sea, and he shall be for a shore of ships," (i.e. suited for ships to land on), "and his border" (or farthest extremity) "shall be by Zidon." As far as we know of the limits of Zebulun, after the occupation of Canaan, it reached from the sea of Gennesareth to Mount Carmel, and so nearly to the Mediterranean. It did not reach to the city of Zidon, but its most western point reaching to Mount Carmel brought it into close proximity to Zidonia, or the territory of Tyre and Sidon. The language here used, though in all material points fulfilled in the subsequent history, is just what would not have been written by a forger in after times. Zebulun had not properly a maritime territory; yet its possessions reached very nearly to both seas. It was far from the city of Židon; and yet, as approximating very closely to the land of the Syrians, might well be said to have its border by or towards Zidon. Tyre probably was not built at this time, and therefore is not named in the prophecy.

14. Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens] Probably "Issachar is a strong-boned ass, couching down between the cattle pens," or "sheepfolds." The last word occurs only here and in Judg. v. 16, where it is rendered sheepfolds (see Rædiger in Ges. 'Thes.' p. 1470). The prediction all points to the habits of an indolent agricultural people, and to what is likely to accompany such habits, an endurance of oppression in preference to a war of independence.

16. Dan shall judge his people, &c.]

17. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path] The word for adder, Shephiphon, is translated by the Vulg. cerastes the horned snake, the coluber cerastes of Linnæus, a small snake about 14 inches long and one inch thick, lurking in the sand and by the way side, very poisonous and dangerous. (Bochart, Hieroz.' Pt. ii. Lib. III. c. 12.) The people of Dan in Judges xviii. 27, shewed the kind of subtlety here ascribed to them. Perhaps the local position of the tribe is alluded to. It was placed originally on the outskirts of the royal tribe of Judah, and might in times of war have to watch stealthily for the enemy and fall on him by subtlety as he was approaching. The comparison of Dan to a serpent lying in wait and biting the heel seems to imply some condemnation. It is certainly observable that the first introduction of Idolatry in Israel is ascribed to the tribe of Dan (Judg. xviii.), and that in the numbering of the tribes in Rev. vii., the name of Dan is omitted. From these or other causes many of the fathers were led to believe that antichrist should spring from the tribe of Dan (Iren. v. 30, 32; Ambros. 'De Benedict. Patriarch.' c. 7; Augustin. 'In Josuam,' Quæst. 22; Theodoret, In Genes.' Quæst. 109; Prosper, 'De Promiss. et Prædict.' p. 4; Gregorius, 'Moral.' c. 18, &c.).

18. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD] This ejaculation immediately following the blessing on Dan is very remarkable, but not easy to interpret. The Targg. Jerus. and Pseudo-Jonath. (and according to the Complutensian Polyglot Onkelos also, though the passage is probably spurious) paraphrase the words by saying that Jacob looked not for temporal redemption, such as that wrought by Gideon or Samson, but for the eternal redemption promised by Messiah. Is it not possible, that Jacob, having been moved

by the Spirit of God to speak of the serpent biting the heel, may have had his thoughts called back to the primal promise made to Eve, the Protevangelium, where the sentence that the serpent should bruise the heel was succeeded by the promise that the serpent's head should be crushed by the coming Seed? This combination of thoughts may easily have elicited the exclamation of this verse.

19. Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last] Perhaps "Gad, troops shall press on him, but he shall press upon their rear" (so Gesen. p. 271; Ros., Schum.); the allusion being to the Arab tribes in the neighbourhood of Gad, who would invade him, and then retire, Gad following them and harassing their retreat. Every word but two in the verse is some form of the same root, there being a play of words on the name Gad and Gedud, i. e. a troop; we might express it, "Gad, troops shall troop against him, but he shall troop on their retreat." (See on ch. xxx. 11.)

20. Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties] The translation may be a little doubtful; but the sense is probably that expressed by the Authorised Version. The allusion is to the fertility of the territory of Asher extending from Mount Carmel along the coast of Sidonia nearly to Mount Lebanon. It was specially rich in corn, wine and oil (Heidegger), containing some of the most fertile land in Palestine (Stanley, S. and P.' p. 265).

21. Naphtali is a bind let loose: he giveth goodly words] The Targg. Pseudo-Jon. and Jerus. explain this that " Naphtali is a swift messenger, like a hind that runneth on the mountains, bringing good tidings." So virtually the Syr. and Sam. Versions. The allusion is obscure, as we know so little of the history of Naphtali. The Targums above cited say that Naphtali first declared to Jacob that Joseph was yet alive. As the tribe of Naphtali occupied part of that region which afterwards became Galilee, some have supposed that there was contained in these words a prophecy of the Apostles (in Hebrew Sheluchim, the same word with Shelucha here rendered "let loose"), who were Galileans and of whom it was said, "How

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 Even by the God of thy father,

beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings.'

Bochart, after whom Michaelis, Schulz, Dathe, Ewald and others, follow the LXX. altering the vowel points, and render, " Naphtali is a spreading tree, which puts forth goodly branches."

22. Joseph is a fruitful bough] Perhaps "Joseph is the son," or branch, "of a fruitful tree, the son of a fruitful tree by a well, as for the branches" (lit. the daughters) "each one of them runneth over the wall" (see Ges. 218, 220). The construction is difficult and the difference of translations very considerable; but so, or nearly so, Gesen., Tuch, Knobel, Delitzsch, &c. The prophecy probably refers to the general prosperity of the house of Joseph. The fruitful tree is by some supposed to be Rachel. The luxuriance of the tendrils running over the wall may point to Joseph's growing into two tribes, whilst none of his brethren formed more than one: so Onkelos.

23.

The archers have sorely grieved him] Though the Targums and others have referred this to Joseph's trials in Egypt, the prophetic character of the whole chapter shows that they point rather to the future wars of his tribes and the strength which he received from the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.

24. from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel] "From thence," referring to "the mighty one of Jacob" in the last clause. Some understand here that Joseph, having been defended from the malice of his enemies, was raised up by God to be a Shepherd or Guardian both to the Egyptians and to his own family, and a stone or rock of support to the house of Israel. Others see in this a prophecy of Joshua, the great captain of his people, who came of the tribe of Ephraim, and led the Israelites to the promised land. Others again have thought that, when Jacob was speaking of the sufferings and subsequent exaltation of his son Joseph, his visions were directed forward to that greater Son, of whom Joseph was a type, whom the archers vexed, but who was victorious over all enemies, and that of Him he says "From GOD cometh the Shepherd, the

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:

26 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 that was separate from his brethren.

27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

28¶ 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.

29 And he charged them, and said

Rock of Israel." As both Joseph and Joshua were eminent shadows and forerunners of the Saviour, it is quite possible that all these senses, more or less, belong to the words, though perhaps with special reference to the last. The translation advocated by many recent commentators, "From thence-from the Shepherd-the Rock of Israel" is against the original and the Versions.

25. Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, &c.] Rather "From the God of thy father and He shall help thee, and with (the aid of) the Almighty, even He shall bless

thee."

26. The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting bills] If this be the right rendering of a very obscure passage in the original, the meaning obviously is, that the blessings of Jacob on the head of Joseph and his offspring are greater than those which Abraham had pronounced on Isaac and Isaac on Jacob, and that they should last as long as the everlasting hills. This is more or less the interpretation of all the Jewish commentators following the Targums and the Vulg. The LXX (with which agrees the reading of the Samaritan Pentateuch) has a rendering which is adopted by Michaelis, Dathe, Vater, Tuch, Winer, Maurer, Schumann, Knobel, and Gesen. (see Ges. pp. 38, 391), "The blessings of thy father prevail over the blessings of the eternal mountains, even the glory of the everlasting hills."

By this the parallelism of the two

unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers chap. 47. in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30.

30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abra- chap. 23. ham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

33 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 gathercd unto his people.

clauses is preserved, and the violence done to the two words translated in Authorised Version "progenitors" and "utmost bounds" is avoided.

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separate from his brethren] So Onkelos. The Vulg. and Saad. have "the Nazarite among his brethren." Either of these translations would allude to the separation of Joseph from his family, first by his captivity and afterwards by his elevation. The word for "separate" means "one set apart," crated," especially used of a Nazarite like Samson (Judg. xiii., xvi. 17), and of the Nazarite under the law (Num. vi. 2). It is possible that this consecration may apply also to princes who are separated to higher rank in dignity, just as the word nezer, "consecration," signifies a royal or high-priestly diadem. Accordingly, the LXX., Syr., Targg. Jerus., Pseudo-Jon, and many recent interpreters, render "a prince or leader of his brethren" (see Ges. p. 871).

27. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf, &c.] The reference is, no doubt, to the warlike character of the tribe of Benjamin. Examples of this may be seen Judg. v. 14, XX. 16; 1 Chron. vii. 7, xii. 17; 2 Chron. xiv. 8, xvii. 17. Also Ehud the Judge (Judg. iii. 15) and Saul the king, with his son Jonathan, were Benjamites. The fathers (Tertul., Ambrose, August., Jerom.) think that there is a reference also to St Paul, who before his conversion devastated the Church and in later life brought home the spoils of the Gentiles.

16.

Shiloh. A word of acknowledged difficulty. 1. The Vulgate renders "He, who shall be sent" (comp. Shiloah, Isai. viii. 6; John ix. 7 -11). This would correspond with a title of the Messiah, "He that should come" (Matt.xi. 3). Such a translation is unsupported from other sources and rests on a different reading of the original, the letter (cheth) being substituted for ♬ (he) of the received text.

2. The Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan and some rabbins render "his son." So Kimchi, Pagninus, Calvin and others: but it requires proof that the word shil, "a son," has any existence in Hebrew.

3. The Rabbi Lipmann, in his book called "Nizzachon," suggests that it was the name of the city Shiloh, and that we should render “until he (Judah) shall come to Shiloh." A similar construction occurs 1 S. iv. 12 (he "came to Shiloh"), and it is said that Judah, in the march to the encampments in the wilderness, always took the first place (Num. ii. 3-9, X. 14), but that, when the Israelites came to Shiloh, they pitched the tabernacle there (Josh. xviii. 1-io), and, the other tribes departing from Judah, his principality closed.

It seems fatal to this theory, that every ancient Version, paraphrase and commentator make Shiloh, not the objective case after the verb, but the subject or nominative case before the verb. Moreover, whether it were a prophecy by Jacob, or, as many who adopt this theory will have it, a forgery of after date, nothing could be less pertinent than the sense to be elicited from the words, "till he come to Shiloh." Probably the town of Shiloh did not exist in Jacob's time, and Judah neither lost nor acquired the pre-eminence at Shiloh. He was not markedly the leader in the wilderness, for the people were led by Moses and Aaron; nor did he cease to have whatever pre-eminence he may have had when they came to Shiloh. This has induced some to vary the words, by translating, "when he comes to Shiloh," a translation utterly inadmissible; but it will give no help to the solution of the passage, for Judah did not acquire any fresh authority at Shiloh. It was the place of the rest of the tabernacle and therefore perhaps was named Shiloh, "Rest:" but it was no turning point in the history of Judah. Notwithstanding therefore the authority of Teller, Eichhorn, Bleek, Hitzig, Tuch, Ewald, Delitzsch, Kalisch, &c., we may pronounce with Hofmann, that the rendering is utterly impossible.

4. Far more probable is the rendering which makes Shiloh a proper name, and the subject of the verb, signifying "Peace," or rather, "the Peace-maker," the "Prince of peace." So, with slight variations, Luther, Vater, Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Hengstenberg, Knobel, Keil and others of the highest authority. The title is one most appropriate to Messiah (see Isai. ix. 6). The word is legitimately formed from the verb Shalah, to rest, to be at peace; and if the received reading be the true reading, there need be little doubt that this is its meaning. It has been thought by some that Solomon received his name Shelomo, the peaceful," ," with an express reference to this prophecy of Shiloh, and it may be said that in Solomon was a partial fulfilment of the promise. Solomon was very markedly a type of the Messiah, himself the son of David, whose dominion was from sea to sea, who established a reign of peace in the land and who built the temple of the Lord; but Solomon was not the true Shiloh, any more than he was the true "Son of David."

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5. The authority of the Ancient Versions is all but overwhelming in favour of the sense, "He, to whom it belongs," or "He, whose right it is." So, more or less, LXX., Aq., Symm., Syr., Saad., Onk., Targ. Jer., all, in fact, except Vulg. and Pseudo-Jonathan.

The objections to this are:

(1) That if the letter yod (expressed by the i in Shiloh) be genuine, the translation is inadmissible: but it is replied that very many Hebrew MSS. and all Samaritan MSS. are without the yod, and that the evidence is much in favour of the belief that the yod did not appear till the 10th century (see Prof. Lee, ‘Lex.' in voc.). It may be added that, as the reading without the yod is the harder and apparently the less probable, the copyists were more likely to have inserted it by mistake than to have omitted it by mistake.

(2) It is said, that by this reading so interpreted, a form is introduced unknown to the Pentateuch, Aramaan and of later date. To this it is replied, that the form occurs in the Song of Deborah (Judg. v. 7), which is very ancient; that Aramaæan forms were either very ancient or decidedly modern, to be met with in Hebrew when the patriarchs were in contact with the Chaldæans (and Jacob had been forty years in Mesopotamia), or not again till the Jews were in captivity at Babylon. An Aramaism or Chaldaism therefore was na