Genesis 49:2
in Genesis 49Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; And hearken unto Israel your father.
KJV
Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
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This verse in Genesis 49
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis 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.
This site's exposition
listen to your father Israel
The line is Hebrew poetry, two halves that say one thing twice. Jacob and Israel stand in parallel, the name of the man born grasping a heel and the name God gave him at Peniel in 32:28. Both names speak here.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
See the good man's shrewdness. Since he foresaw the moment of his death, he summoned his sons and said, "Gather around so that I may predict ahead of time what is in store for you at the end of your days. Come together, and listen to Israel your father." Come along, he says, and learn from me, not the immediate future but what will happen in the last days. This I foretell to you not of myself but under the inspiration of the Spirit; hence I predict ahead of time what will occur after many generations. You see, as I am on the point of departing this life, I want to imprint it on the memory of each of you as if on some bronze pillar.Now consider how with his sons gathered together the good man follows the order of their birth and in this way bestows curse or blessing appropriate to each, showing by this procedure the extraordinary degree of his own virtue.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): Gather yourselves together; let them all be sent for from their several employments, to see their father die, and to hear his dying words. It was a comfort to Jacob, now that he was dying, to see all his children about him, and none missing, though he had sometimes thought himself bereaved.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
): " Hearken to Israel your father; let Israel, that has prevailed with God, prevail with you." Note, Children must diligently hearken to what their godly parents say, particularly when they are dying. Hear, you children, the instruction of a father, which carries with it both authority and affection, Prov. iv. The prophecy concerning Reuben.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Gather yourselves together,.... This is repeated to hasten them, and to suggest that he had something of importance to make known unto them, which he chose to do, when they were together: and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel your father: these words are used and doubled to excite their attention to what he was about to say, and which is urged from the near relation there was between them.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִקָּבְצ֥וּ | hikavetzu | assemble | H6908 → | 127 times |
| וְשִׁמְע֖וּ | veshimu | and listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | O sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֑ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| וְשִׁמְע֖וּ | veshimu | and listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֲבִיכֶֽם׃ | ʾavikhem | father your | H1 → | 1212 times |
הִקָּבְצ֥וּassemble
hikavetzuH6908 →127 times
וְשִׁמְע֖וּand listen
veshimuH8085 →1159 times
בְּנֵ֣יO sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יַעֲקֹ֑בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
וְשִׁמְע֖וּand listen
veshimuH8085 →1159 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֥לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֲבִיכֶֽם׃father your
ʾavikhemH1 →1212 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
Proverbs 23:26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
it leads to
- Psalms 119:2
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart.
- Psalms 119:9–11
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word.
- Deuteronomy 6:5
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
- Matthew 10:37–38
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
- Psalms 119:2
Through
Psalms 34:11Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
- Proverbs 2:1–9
My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,
- Psalms 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
- Proverbs 1:7
Through
Proverbs 8:32Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways.
it leads to
- Luke 11:28
But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
- Luke 11:28
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 Chuck Missler, The Book of Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 67.4-5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.