Genesis 49:15
in Genesis 49He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he saw 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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Genesis 49
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHe saw that rest - The inland portion that was assigned to him between the other tribes. He inclined his shoulder to the load; the Chaldee paraphrase gives this a widely different turn to that given it by most commentators: “He saw his portion that it was good, and the land that it was fruitful; and he shall subdue the provinces of the people, and drive out their inhabitants, and those who are left shall be his servants, and his tributaries.” Grotius understands it nearly in the same way.
This site's exposition
Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore
on Genesis 49:13-15
Zebulun gets the sea, a harbor for ships and a border reaching to Sidon. Issachar is a strong donkey that lies down between the sheepfolds. He finds his resting place good and his land pleasant, then bends his shoulder to the burden. Jacob is naming settled character, and Joshua's division of the land answers to it.
This site's exposition
submitted to labor as a servant
Labor as a servant renders mas oved, the forced labor laid on the Canaanites at Joshua 16:10 and on the peoples left in the land at 1 Kings 9:21. Issachar trades freedom for comfort. The good land costs him the yoke.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
The text metaphorically and allegorically signifies the Savior through Issachar. Only this one, in fact, wished for the good since his childhood, as Isaiah confirms: "Before the child learned how to call mother and father, he said no to evil and chose the good." He has found his rest in the inheritance of the prophets, in order to accomplish what they had foretold. On the mountain Moses and Elijah were seen while they talked to him by standing one at his right and the other at his left, in order to demonstrate that the Savior rested between them.
"Issachar desired the good and rested in the midst of lots. And seeing the place of rest that it is good, and the land that it is rich, he bowed his shoulder to labor and became a husbandman." Issachar is called "reward," and therefore he represents Christ, who is our reward, because we buy him for ourselves for the hope of everlasting salvation, not with gold and silver but with faith and devotion.… He is the one who desired the good from the beginning and did not know how to desire what is evil.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he saw that rest was good,....
It was a tribe that took pains, and, thriving thereby, was called upon for rents and taxes. That they should be encouraged in their labour by the goodness of the land that should fall to their lot. (1.) He saw that rest at home was good.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֤רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| מְנֻחָה֙ | menuchah | a resting place | H4496 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| ט֔וֹב | tov | it was good | H2895 → | 45 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נָעֵ֑מָה | naemah | it was pleasant | H5276 → | |
| וַיֵּ֤ט | vaiyet | and he bent down | H5186 → | 214 times |
| שִׁכְמוֹ֙ | shikhmo | shoulder his | H7926 → | 21 times |
| לִסְבֹּ֔ל | lisbol | to carry a load | H5445 → | |
| וַיְהִ֖י | vayhi | and he became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְמַס־ | lemas- | <into> forced labor of | H4522 → | |
| עֹבֵֽד׃ ס | ʾoved | laboring | H5647 → | 288 times |
וַיַּ֤רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
מְנֻחָה֙a resting place
menuchahH4496 →
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
ט֔וֹבit was good
tovH2895 →45 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
נָעֵ֑מָהit was pleasant
naemahH5276 →
וַיֵּ֤טand he bent down
vaiyetH5186 →214 times
שִׁכְמוֹ֙shoulder his
shikhmoH7926 →21 times
לִסְבֹּ֔לto carry a load
lisbolH5445 →
וַיְהִ֖יand he became
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
לְמַס־<into> forced labor of
lemas-H4522 →
עֹבֵֽד׃ סlaboring
ʾovedH5647 →288 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
Matthew 23:4They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
it leads to
- Luke 11:46
“Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “You weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load.
- Acts 15:10
Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
- Galatians 6:13
For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
- Luke 11:46
Through
Joshua 14:15(Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.
it leads to
- Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 11:23
Through
Judges 3:11So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
it leads to
- Judges 5:31
So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 5:31
Through
2 Samuel 7:1After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:7
When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.
- Luke 1:74–75
deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear,
- 1 Kings 5:4
But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.
- Proverbs 16:7
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On the Blessings of the Patriarchs; Hippolytus of Rome, ON THE BLESSINGS OF ISAAC AND JACOB 21; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.