Logos Bible Study

Genesis 49:22–26

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49:22Joseph is a fruitful bough,30

a fruitful bough near a spring

whose branches31 climb over the wall.

49:23The archers will attack him,32

they will shoot at him and oppose him.

49:24But his bow will remain steady,

and his hands33 will be skillful;

because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,

because of34 the Shepherd, the Rock35 of Israel,

49:25because of the God of your father,

who will help you,36

because of the sovereign God,37

who will bless you38

with blessings from the sky above,

blessings from the deep that lies below,

and blessings of the breasts and womb.39

49:26The blessings of your father are greater

than40 the blessings of the eternal mountains41

or the desirable things of the age-old hills.

They will be on the head of Joseph

and on the brow of the prince of his brothers.42

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Footnotes

  1. 30 The Hebrew text appears to mean “[is] a son of fruitfulness.” The second word is an active participle, feminine singular, from the verb פָּרָה (parah, “to be fruitful”). The translation “bough” is employed for בֵּן (ben, elsewhere typically “son”) because Joseph is pictured as a healthy and fruitful vine growing by the wall. But there are difficulties with this interpretation. The word “son” nowhere else refers to a plant and the noun translated “branches” (Heb “daughters”) in the third line is a plural form whereas its verb is singular. In the other oracles of Gen 49 an animal is used for comparison and not a plant, leading some to translate the opening phrase בֵּן פָּרָה (ben parah, “fruitful bough”) as “wild donkey” (, ). Various other interpretations involving more radical emendation of the text have also been offered.
  2. 31 Heb “daughters.”
  3. 32 The verb forms in vv. 23–24 are used in a rhetorical manner, describing future events as if they had already taken place.
  4. 33 Heb “the arms of his hands.”
  5. 34 Heb “from there,” but the phrase should be revocalized and read “from [i.e., because of] the name of.”
  6. 35 Or “Stone.”
  7. 36 Heb “and he will help you.”
  8. 37 Heb “Shaddai.” See the note on the title “sovereign God” in . The preposition אֵת (’et) in the Hebrew text should probably be emended to אֵל (’el, “God”).
  9. 38 Heb “and he will bless you.”
  10. 39 Jacob envisions God imparting both agricultural (blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below) and human fertility (blessings of the breasts and womb) to Joseph and his family.
  11. 40 Heb “have prevailed over.”
  12. 41 One could interpret the phrase הוֹרַי (horay) to mean “my progenitors” (literally, “the ones who conceived me”), but the masculine form argues against this. It is better to emend the text to הַרֲרֵי (harare, “mountains of”) because it forms a better parallel with the next clause. In this case the final yod (י) on the form is a construct plural marker, not a pronominal suffix.
  13. 42 For further discussion of this passage, see I. Sonne, “Genesis 49:24–26,” 65 (1946): 303–6.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Joseph is a fruitful bough,

a fruitful bough by a spring;

his branches run over the wall.

The archers bitterly attacked him,

shot at him, and harassed him severely,

yet his bow remained unmoved;

his arms were made agile

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob

(from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

by the God of your father who will help you,

by the Almighty who will bless you

with blessings of heaven above,

blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,

blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

The blessings of your father

are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,

up to the bounties of the everlasting hills.

May they be on the head of Joseph,

and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Joseph is a fruitful vine,

a fruitful vine near a spring,

whose branches climb over a wall.

With bitterness archers attacked him;

they shot at him with hostility.

But his bow remained steady,

his strong arms stayed limber,

because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,

because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

because of your father’s God, who helps you,

because of the Almighty, who blesses you

with blessings of the skies above,

blessings of the deep springs below,

blessings of the breast and womb.

Your father’s blessings are greater

than the blessings of the ancient mountains,

than the bounty of the age-old hills.

Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,

on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Joseph is a fruitful vine,

a fruitful vine beside a spring;

its branches climb over the wall.

The archers attacked him,

shot at him, and were hostile toward him.

Yet his bow remained steady,

and his strong arms were made agile

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,

by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

by the God of your father who helps you,

and by the Almighty who blesses you

with blessings of the heavens above,

blessings of the deep that lies below,

and blessings of the breasts and the womb.

The blessings of your father excel

the blessings of my ancestors

and the bounty of the ancient hills.

May they rest on the head of Joseph,

on the brow of the prince of his brothers.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

“Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey,

the foal of a wild donkey at a spring—

one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.

Archers attacked him savagely;

they shot at him and harassed him.

But his bow remained taut,

and his arms were strengthened

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,

by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

May the God of your father help you;

May the Almighty bless you

with the blessings of the heavens above,

and blessings of the watery depths below,

and blessings of the breasts and womb.

May my fatherly blessings on you

surpass the blessings of my ancestors,

reaching to the heights of the eternal hills.

May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,

who is a prince among his brothers.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Joseph is the bough of a fruitful vine,

a fruitful bough by a spring.

His branches climb over the wall.

The archers fiercely attacked him.

They shot arrows at him and were hostile to him.

But his bow remained in a steady position;

his arms were made agile

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob.

From there is the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

Because of the God of your father he will help you

and by Shaddai he will bless you

with the blessings of heaven above,

blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,

blessings of the breasts and the womb.

The blessings of your father

are superior to the blessings of my ancestors,

to the bounty of the everlasting hills.

May they be on the head of Joseph,

and on the forehead of the prince of his brothers.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Joseph is a fruitful bough,

Even a fruitful bough by a well;

Whose branches run over the wall:

The archers have sorely grieved him,

And shot at him, and hated him:

But his bow abode in strength,

And the arms of his hands were made strong

By the hands of the mighty God of Jacob;

(From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee;

And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that lieth under,

Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors

Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills:

They shall be on the head of Joseph,

And on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

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