Patriarchal Blessings

Patriarchal Blessings

In the last two chapters of Genesis we find Jacob (Israel) granting blessings to his grandchildren and children. These blessings are known as Patriarchal Blessings. when Joseph brought forth his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh to be blessed something unusual happened. Jacob blessed the younger (Ephraim) to be greater than the older.  He set Ephraim before Manasseh. Jacob promised Ephraim that his seed would become a multitude of nations. 

Next Jacobs sons come before him. I have tried to summarize most of these.

Reuben: firstborn, beginning of my strength, thou shall not excel

Simeon and Levi:  I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. 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.

Zebulun: shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

Issachar: is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: 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.

Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels,so that his rider shall fall backward.

Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.  Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

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.

Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

We see in Genesis 49:1 that these blessings to theses tribes will be fulfilled in the last days.

When we look specifically at Judah and Joseph's blessing and compare them

The blessings of Judah indicate that the other tribes will bow down to his although he will not be the largest. He will be praised he will dominate his enemies and the “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.” (Genesis 46:10) This seems to indicate that Judah will rule until the return.

Joseph’s blessing is a little different.  Joseph will be fruitful and multiple, the visual we are given here is a branch growing by a well that has all the water it needs. The seed (the tribe) will be strong, but also hated.  Yet they will be blessed and aided by God and will prevail against their enemy. 

Keeping in mind that we are now dealing with Tribes or Nations not individual men anymore we have one nation whom other nations will praise and dominate his enemies. The Tribe or Nation of Judah will be the ruler and lawgiver until Christ returns and this nation shall be the gathering place of the people. In contrast the Tribe or Nation of Joseph will be blessed by God to grow and multiple. It will be strong it will be blessed but it will be hated.  I see many nations attempting to fulfill these roles today but the two most predominant are the US and Israel. Traditionally Israel would be the Tribe of Judah which would make the US the Tribe of Joseph which has become fruitful and multiplied. I can't wait to see how this actually works out.

At the end of Genesis 50 there are further prophecies most specifically in the Joseph Smith Translation Genesis 50:24-36. I am still pondering those and seeking the revelation of understanding.