seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 49:8 “Judah,(b) your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah;
you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[c]
until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.[e]
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah;
you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[c]
until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.[e]
b. Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
c. Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
d. Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
e. Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
These verses look like a cute little ditty but they are apparently heavy with meaning. There are a few things all the commentaries agree on.
- Judah's branch of the family tree is the one Jesus came from
- Judah will be a great leader
- The precise meaning of Shiloh is unknown
This is from Bible.org.
The pre-eminence which was taken from Reuben is clearly transferred to his younger brother, Judah (cf. also I Chronicles 5:2). He would not only rule over his brothers in the days to come, but he would also prevail over his enemies (verse 8). His military might is compared to the strength of a lion (verse 9). Verse 10 has long been held to be a messianic prophecy by both Jews and Christians, but the precise meaning of “Shiloh” is uncertain. It is either a reference to a place, as it is elsewhere in the Old Testament (e.g. Joshua 18:1,8,9; 19;51; I Samuel 1:13, etc.), or it may refer to the person of the Messiah.
The prosperity of the tribe of Judah is depicted in verses 11 and 12. He will be so blessed in the vineyard that his vines will be strong enough to hold fast a young donkey, and the produce of the vine will be so abundant that he could, so to speak, wash his garments in its wine. In other words, wine will be as abundant as water. The quantity would be sufficient to more than meet a man’s capacity to consume it, thus the reddening of the eyes (verse 12). The cattle will prosper such that milk will also be readily available (verse 12).
The prosperity of the tribe of Judah is depicted in verses 11 and 12. He will be so blessed in the vineyard that his vines will be strong enough to hold fast a young donkey, and the produce of the vine will be so abundant that he could, so to speak, wash his garments in its wine. In other words, wine will be as abundant as water. The quantity would be sufficient to more than meet a man’s capacity to consume it, thus the reddening of the eyes (verse 12). The cattle will prosper such that milk will also be readily available (verse 12).
This comes from bible-commentaries.com.
Vs. 10 is at the same time one of the great Messianic prophecies of the Bible and one of the problem verses as far as interpretation is concerned. The NIV says: "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his." The KJV renders it with: "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." The intent of the words is clear: Judah will be the tribe that produces the rulers of the nation. The problem is the word translated with "ruler's staff" or "lawgiver." The root word has the meaning of "to cut, to cut into, hence to decree, to ordain, having the sense of one who decrees; hence leader," according to The Pulpit Commentary . The same commentary suggests that the parallelism of the verse requires the word to be "regarded as not the person, but the thing that determines or rules." Adam Clarke, however, maintains that "from between his feet," should be translated as "out of his thigh," meaning progeny, natural offspring.
But the real problem is the word "Shiloh." The KJV simply leaves it untranslated. Evidently the original meaning of the word is not clear. The Pulpit Commentary states several possibilities, namely that Shiloh could be taken as the name of a place. The word can also be taken as an abstract noun meaning "to be safe." Judah should reign until it would attain to rest. The majority or interpreters, ancient and modern agree that the word should be taken as the name of a person and that the person referred to is the Messiah.
But the real problem is the word "Shiloh." The KJV simply leaves it untranslated. Evidently the original meaning of the word is not clear. The Pulpit Commentary states several possibilities, namely that Shiloh could be taken as the name of a place. The word can also be taken as an abstract noun meaning "to be safe." Judah should reign until it would attain to rest. The majority or interpreters, ancient and modern agree that the word should be taken as the name of a person and that the person referred to is the Messiah.
Remember, it was Judah that figured it was cool to turn a profit by pulling Joseph out of the cistern and selling him into slavery. Sure, it saved Joseph's life but still he turned a profit. I guess he made up for it when he stepped in when Joseph wanted to jail Benjamin breaking Jacob's [Israel's] heart. But then again, he had guaranteed Benjamin's safety by putting his children on the line. So I don't have a ton of respect for Judah's convictions.... after all, to me he sounds like he's a "me and mine" kind of man.
What a family.... and these are the family of Jesus!
