Genesis 49:1
in Genesis 49Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
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This verse in Genesis 49
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAfter this blessing was celebrated, he also called his sons (Gen. XLIX, 1). And the one who had preferred the younger to the elder began with the first, so that he might bestow favor upon him in that mystery, and observe the order of age in this.
This site's exposition
in the days to come
on Genesis 49:1-2
Jacob calls the twelve together to tell them what will happen in the days to come. The Hebrew is acharit hayyamim, the far end of the days, and this is its first place in Scripture. What follows is the longest speech in Genesis, poetry from verse 2 to verse 27. Each saying reaches past the man to his tribe.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
And as for the consummation of the world, Jacob is the first to refer to this when, in giving his testament to his sons he says, "Gather to me, you sons of Jacob, that I may tell you what shall be in the last days," or, "after the last days." If then there are "last days," or a time "after the last days," it follows of necessity that the days that had a beginning also come to an end.
This is a prophecy and not a blessing. In fact, the blessing is concerned with someone who is blessed, while the prophecy is fulfilled when a certain action is accomplished. How will the explanation proposed above agree with these words of the Scripture: "All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him." At one time are they clearly prophecies, at another prophecies called blessings? In this explanation it must be understood that exactly in the things said are the prophecies and the blessings, so that the blessings fall on the one who was born from Judah, on the one who was prefigured by Joseph, on the one who, coming from Levi, finds himself being the priest of the Father, while the prophecies fall on those who acted as enemies and had no consideration for the Son of God.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): That I may tell you that which shall befal you (not your persons, but your posterity) in the latter days; this prediction would be of use to those that came after them, for the confirming of their faith and the guiding of their way, on their return to Canaan, and their settlement there.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Jacob called upon his sons,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
JUDAH--A high pre-eminence is destined to this tribe (Nu 10:14; Besides the honor of giving name to the Promised Land, David, and a greater than David--the Messiah--sprang from it. Chief among the tribes, "it grew up from a lion's whelp"--that is, a little power--till it became "an old lion"--that is, calm and quiet, yet still formidable.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
That which shall befall you in the last days - It is evident from this, and indeed from the whole complexion of these important prophecies, that the twelve sons of Jacob had very little concern in them, personally considered, as they were to be fulfilled in the last days, i. e., in times remote from that period, and consequently to their posterity, and not to themselves, or to their immediate families. The whole of these prophetic declarations, from Genesis 49:2-27 inclusive, is delivered in strongly figurative language, and in the poetic form, which, in every translation, should be preserved as nearly as possible, rendering the version line for line with the original. This order I shall pursue in the succeeding notes, always proposing the verse first, in as literal a translation as possible, line for line with the Hebrew after the hemistich form, from which the sense will more readily appear; but to the Hebrew text and the common version the reader is ultimately referred. 2. Come together and hear, O sons of Jacob! And hearken unto Israel your father. Bishop Newton has justly observed that Jacob had received a double blessing, spiritual and temporal; the promise of being progenitor of the Messiah, and the promise of the land of Canaan. The promised land he might divide among his children as he pleased, but the other must be confined to one of his sons; he therefore assigns to each son a portion in the land of Canaan, but limits the descent of the blessed seed to the tribe of Judah. Some have put themselves to a great deal of trouble and learned labor to show that it was a general opinion of the ancients that the soul, a short time previous to its departure from the body, becomes endued with a certain measure of the prophetic gift or foresight; and that this was probably the case with Jacob.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
- Jacob Blesses His Sons 5. מכרה mekêrāh, “weapon;” related: כיר kārar or כרה kārāh dig. “Device, design?” related: מכר mākar “sell,” in Arabic “take counsel. Habitation.” 10. מחקק mechoqēq, “lawgiver, judge, dispenser of laws.” This word occurs in six other places - Num 21:18; Deu 33:21; Jud. Deu 5:14; Psa 60:9; Psa 108:9; Isa 33:22; in five of which it clearly denotes ruler, or judge.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
These are the days of the Messiah, for Jacob alludes to him in his words, even as he said, Until Shiloh come, and his be the obedience of peoples. 73 Verse 10 here. Now our Rabbis have said. Pesachim 56a.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֥א | vaiyikra' | and he summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֖ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | <to> | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בָּנָ֑יו | banav | sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֵאָֽסְפוּ֙ | heasefu | gather yourselves | H622 → | 200 times |
| וְאַגִּ֣ידָה | veagidah | so let me tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לָכֶ֔ם | lakhem | to you | ||
| אֵ֛ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִקְרָ֥א | yikra' | it will happen to | H7122 → | 139 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֖ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּאַחֲרִ֥ית | beacharit | at [the] end of | H319 → | |
| הַיָּמִֽים׃ | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֥אand he summoned
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
יַעֲקֹ֖בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
אֶל־<to>
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בָּנָ֑יוsons his
banavH1121 →4930 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הֵאָֽסְפוּ֙gather yourselves
heasefuH622 →200 times
וְאַגִּ֣ידָהso let me tell
veagidahH5046 →370 times
לָכֶ֔םto you
lakhem
אֵ֛ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁר־[that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יִקְרָ֥אit will happen to
yikra'H7122 →139 times
אֶתְכֶ֖ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
בְּאַחֲרִ֥יתat [the] end of
beacharitH319 →
הַיָּמִֽים׃the days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 25:14The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
it leads to
- John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have…
- John 14:21–23
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
- John 7:17
If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.
- Ephesians 1:9
And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ
- Ephesians 1:18
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
- John 15:15
Through
Daniel 10:14Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision concerns those days.”
it leads to
- Daniel 2:28
But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 2:28
Through
Jeremiah 23:20The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 30:24
The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this.
- Jeremiah 30:24
Through
Deuteronomy 4:30When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.
it leads to
- Joel 2:12–13
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
- Joel 2:12–13
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, THE PATRIARCHS 2.6; Chuck Missler, The Book of Genesis; Hippolytus of Rome, THE BLESSINGS OF THE PATRIARCHS 12; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 3.5.1.