Genesis 49:10
in Genesis 49The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come; And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
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This verse in Genesis 49
Commentary
13 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
until Shiloh come--Shiloh--this obscure word is variously interpreted to mean "the sent" (Joh 17:3), "the seed" (Isa 11:1), the "peaceable or prosperous one" (Eph 2:14) --that is, the Messiah (Isa 11:10;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
This site's exposition
The scepter will not depart from Judah
John Gill and Adam Clarke take Shiloh as a title of the Messiah, the king of Judah's line. A second reading follows the Hebrew as until he comes to whom it belongs, and a third names the town where the tabernacle stood. Each reading sets a term on Judah's rule.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
This passage clearly refers to Judah. It appears that until the birth of Christ there was no lack of princes from the family of Judah or of heads from its sides, until Herod came, who according to the history written by Josephus was a foreigner and usurped the throne of Judea through his plots. As soon as this happened and a head from the sides of Judah was lacking, the one to whom the kingdom had been reserved immediately came.
by whom also Jesus Christ is announced as the Lord of the promises in these words which he spake: Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise: Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee; Judah is …
"And he will be the expectation of nations." Since we propose to investigate once and for all the moral meaning of the text, we need to look inside ourselves for those nations who expect from confession such purification and perfection of the senses. We can certainly see the nations inside ourselves as all the passions of our soul, which are more restless in our youth and, in a sense, act like pagans.
Yes, because they denied the true king, they began to have false kings. And so the patriarch is saying this: The inheritance of an unblemished line of succession, traced through the kings, will be kept among the judges and kings of the Jews, "until he comes for whom it has been reserved," reserved that he may gather together the church of God out of the assembly of all the nations and the devotion of the Gentile peoples.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The scepter shall not depart from Judah till Shiloh come - Jacob here foretels, (1.) That the scepter should come into the tribe of Judah, which was fulfilled in David, on whose family the crown was entailed.
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,....
And at the time of his death the Jews expressly owned, We have no king but Cæsar. Hence it is undeniably inferred against the Jews that our Lord Jesus is he that should come, and that we are to look for no other; for he came exactly at the time appointed. Many excellent pens have been admirable well employed in explaining and illustrating this famous prophecy of Christ.
Now that he is going to enjoy the salvation he comforts himself with this, that he had waited for the salvation. Note, It is the character of a living saint that he waits for the salvation of the Lord. Christ, as our way to heaven, is to be waited on; and heaven, as our rest in Christ, is to be waited for.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
THE dying Patriarch was speaking of his own son, Judah, but while speaking of Judah, he had a special eye to our Lord, who sprang from the tribe of Judah. Everything, therefore, which he says of Judah, the type, he means with regard to our greater Judah, the Antitype, our Lord Jesus Christ. You will remember how Jacob gathered his 12 sons around his bed and, addressing them individually as representatives of the 12 tribes that bear their names, uttered different predictions, and gave to each a special blessing.
THE dying Patriarch was speaking of his own son, Judah, but while speaking of Judah, he had a special eye to our Lord, who sprang from the tribe of Judah. Everything, therefore, which he says of Judah, the type, he means with regard to our greater Judah, the Antitype, our Lord Jesus Christ. You will remember how Jacob gathered his 12 sons around his bed and, addressing them individually as representatives of the 12 tribes that bear their names, uttered different predictions, and gave to each a special blessing. After first addressing Reuben, Simeon and Levi, he proceeds to salute Judah in words full of majesty—"Judah, you are he whom your brethren shall praise." A happy expression, for the word, "Judah," signifies "praise." The name was given to him by his mother as expressing her gratitude to God at his birth. It is now confirmed to him by his father, who discerns in it a presage of his character and his destiny. And verily this is true of Jesus. If the virgin mother hailed His advent, how much more do His grateful Brethren laud His career! Do not His Brethren recognize in Him a Leader and Commander, a Savior and a Friend? Is it not here, on earth, our sweetest employment, and will it not be in Heaven our highest delight to praise His name? The praise we bestow on men is mere flattery—the praise we receive from men is insincere. But Jesus has a peerless name and His Brethren derive from Him priceless benefits. In Jesus are fulfilled the dreams of Joseph. The sun and the moon and the 11 stars all bow before Him! All the sheaves make obeisance unto His sheaf. Let Him be crowned with majesty who bowed His head to death is the common verdict of all the Brotherhood of the House of God.
From Judah the scepter shall not depart - The Jews have a quibble on the word שבט shebet, which we translate scepter; they say it signifies a staff or rod, and that the meaning of it is, that “afflictions shall not depart from the Jews till the Messiah comes;” that they are still under affliction and therefore the Messiah is not come. This is a miserable shift to save a lost cause.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Its purport is not that the sceptre of royalty shall never depart from Judah, for it is written, The Eternal will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, 122 Deuteronomy:36.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The yod of oseri (binding) is superfluous. 82 The usual form is oser.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָס֥וּר | yasur | it will depart | H5493 → | 299 times |
| שֵׁ֙בֶט֙ | shevet | a scepter | H7626 → | 190 times |
| מִֽיהוּדָ֔ה | mihudah | from Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וּמְחֹקֵ֖ק | umechokek | and a ruler's staff | H2710 → | |
| מִבֵּ֣ין | mibein | from between | H996 → | 407 times |
| רַגְלָ֑יו | raglav | feet his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| עַ֚ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יָבֹ֣א | yavo' | he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שִׁיל֔וֹ | shiloh | Shiloh | H7886 → | |
| וְל֖וֹ | velo | and [will belong] to him | ||
| יִקְּהַ֥ת | yikehat | [the] obedience of | H3349 → | |
| עַמִּֽים׃ | ʾamim | peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָס֥וּרit will depart
yasurH5493 →299 times
שֵׁ֙בֶט֙a scepter
shevetH7626 →190 times
מִֽיהוּדָ֔הfrom Judah
mihudahH3063 →819 times
וּמְחֹקֵ֖קand a ruler's staff
umechokekH2710 →
מִבֵּ֣יןfrom between
mibeinH996 →407 times
רַגְלָ֑יוfeet his
raglavH7272 →247 times
עַ֚דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יָבֹ֣אhe will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
שִׁיל֔וֹShiloh
shilohH7886 →
וְל֖וֹand [will belong] to him
velo
יִקְּהַ֥ת[the] obedience of
yikehatH3349 →
עַמִּֽים׃peoples
ʾamimH5971 →1873 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
Isaiah 9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
it leads to
- Luke 2:11
Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!
- Matthew 28:18
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
- Luke 2:11
Through
Numbers 24:17I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and…
it leads to
- Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
- Luke 1:32–33
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
- Revelation 22:16
Through
Isaiah 33:22For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.
it leads to
- James 4:12
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
- James 4:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies28
On this verse
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceEphraimShilohWhere the tabernacle rested through the judges' era; Hannah prayed here, Samuel heard his name in the night, and its later ruin be…
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On the Blessings of the Patriarchs; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1157: “Shiloh” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tyrannius Rufinus, THE BLESSINGS OF THE PATRIARCHS 1.7 and Tyrannius Rufinus, THE BLESSINGS OF THE PATRIARCHS 1.11.