21 And Israel saith unto Joseph, `Lo, I am dying, and God hath been with you, and hath brought you back unto the land of your fathers;
Trust not in princes -- in a son of man, For he hath no deliverance. His spirit goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, In that day have his thoughts perished.
and those indeed are many who have become priests, because by death they are hindered from remaining; and he, because of his remaining -- to the age, hath the priesthood not transient, whence also he is able to save to the very end, those coming through him unto God -- ever living to make intercession for them.
Your fathers -- where `are' they? And the prophets -- to the age do they live? Only, My words, and My statutes, That I commanded My servants the prophets, Have they not overtaken your fathers, And they turn back and say: As Jehovah of Hosts designed to do to us, According to our ways, and according to our doings, So He hath done to us?'
`I am going in the way of all the earth, and thou hast been strong, and become a man, and kept the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commands, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that thou dost wisely all that thou dost, and whithersoever thou turnest, so that Jehovah doth establish His word which He spake unto me, saying, If thy sons observe their way to walk before Me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul; saying, There is not cut off a man of thine from the throne of Israel.
And Joshua gathereth all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and calleth for the elders of Israel, and for its heads, and for its judges, and for its authorities, and they station themselves before God. And Joshua saith unto all the people, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Beyond the River have your fathers dwelt of old -- Terah father of Abraham and father of Nachor -- and they serve other gods; and I take your father Abraham from beyond the River, and cause him to go through all the land of Canaan, and multiply his seed, and give to him Isaac. And I give to Isaac, Jacob and Esau; and I give to Esau mount Seir, to possess it; and Jacob and his sons have gone down to Egypt. And I send Moses and Aaron, and plague Egypt, as I have done in its midst, and afterwards I have brought you out. And I bring out your fathers from Egypt, and ye go into the sea, and the Egyptians pursue after your fathers, with chariot and with horsemen, to the Red Sea; and they cry unto Jehovah, and He setteth thick darkness between you and the Egyptians, and bringeth on them the sea, and covereth them, and your eyes see that which I have done in Egypt; and ye dwell in a wilderness many days. `And I bring you in unto the land of the Amorite who is dwelling beyond the Jordan, and they fight with you, and I give them into your hand, and ye possess their land, and I destroy them out of your presence. `And Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, riseth and fighteth against Israel, and sendeth and calleth for Balaam son of Beor, to revile you, and I have not been willing to hearken to Balaam, and he doth greatly bless you, and I deliver you out of his hand. `And ye pass over the Jordan, and come in unto Jericho, and fight against you do the possessors of Jericho -- the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite -- and I give them into your hand. And I send before you the hornet, and it casteth them out from your presence -- two kings of the Amorite -- not by thy sword, nor by thy bow. `And I give to you a land for which thou hast not laboured, and cities which ye have not built, and ye dwell in them; of vineyards and olive-yards which ye have not planted ye are eating. `And now, fear ye Jehovah, and serve Him, in perfection and in truth, and turn aside the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve ye Jehovah; and if wrong in your eyes to serve Jehovah -- choose for you to-day whom ye do serve; -- whether the gods whom your fathers served, which `are' beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorite in whose land ye are dwelling; and I and my house -- we serve Jehovah.' And the people answer and say, `Far be it from us to forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods; for Jehovah our God `is' He who is bringing us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants, and who hath done before our eyes these great signs, and doth keep us in all the way in which we have gone, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed; and Jehovah casteth out the whole of the peoples, even the Amorite inhabiting the land, from our presence; we also do serve Jehovah, for He `is' our God.' And Joshua saith unto the people, `Ye are not able to serve Jehovah, for a God most holy He `is'; a zealous God He `is'; He doth not bear with your transgression and with your sins. When ye forsake Jehovah, and have served gods of a stranger, then He hath turned back and done evil to you, and consumed you, after that He hath done good to you.' And the people saith unto Joshua, `No, but Jehovah we do serve.' And Joshua saith unto the people, `Witnesses ye are against yourselves, that ye have chosen for you Jehovah to serve Him (and they say, `Witnesses!') and, now, turn aside the gods of the stranger which `are' in your midst, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, God of Israel.' And the people say unto Joshua, `Jehovah our God we serve, and to His voice we hearken.' And Joshua maketh a covenant with the people on that day, and layeth on it a statute and an ordinance, in Shechem. And Joshua writeth these words in the Book of the Law of God, and taketh a great stone, and raiseth it up there under the oak which `is' in the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua saith unto all the people, `Lo, this stone is against us for a witness, for it hath heard all the sayings of Jehovah which He hath spoken with us, and it hath been against you for a witness, lest ye lie against your God.' And Joshua sendeth the people away, each to his inheritance. And it cometh to pass, after these things, that Joshua son of Nun, servant of Jehovah, dieth, a son of a hundred and ten years, and they bury him in the border of his inheritance, in Timnath-Serah, which `is' in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the hill of Gaash. And Israel serveth Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who prolonged days after Joshua, and who knew all the work of Jehovah which He did to Israel. And the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the portion of the field which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem, with a hundred kesitah; and they are to the sons of Joseph for an inheritance. And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they bury him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the hill-country of Ephraim.
These `are' the words which Moses hath spoken unto all Israel, beyond the Jordan, in the wilderness, in the plain over-against Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-Zahab; eleven days' from Horeb, the way of mount Seir, unto Kadesh-Barnea. And it cometh to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month hath Moses spoken unto the sons of Israel according to all that Jehovah hath commanded him concerning them; after his smiting Sihon king of the Amorite who is dwelling in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan who is dwelling in Ashtaroth in Edrei, beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, hath Moses begun to explain this law, saying: `Jehovah our God hath spoken unto us in Horeb, saying, Enough to you -- of dwelling in this mount; turn ye and journey for you, and enter the mount of the Amorite, and unto all its neighbouring places, in the plain, in the hill-country, and in the low country, and in the south, and in the haven of the sea, the land of the Canaanite, and of Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Phrat; see, I have set before you the land; go in and possess the land which Jehovah hath sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them, and to their seed after them. `And I speak unto you at that time, saying, I am not able by myself to bear you; Jehovah your God hath multiplied you, and lo, ye `are' to-day as the stars of the heavens for multitude; Jehovah, God of your fathers, is adding to you, as ye `are', a thousand times, and doth bless you as He hath spoken to you. `How do I bear by myself your pressure, and your burden, and your strife? Give for yourselves men, wise and intelligent, and known to your tribes, and I set them for your heads; and ye answer me and say, Good `is' the thing which thou hast spoken -- to do. `And I take the heads of your tribes, men, wise and known, and I appoint them heads over you, princes of thousands, and princes of hundreds, and princes of fifties, and princes of tens, and authorities, for your tribes. And I command your judges at that time, saying, Hearkening between your brethren -- then ye have judged righteousness between a man, and his brother, and his sojourner; ye do not discern faces in judgment; as the little so the great ye do hear; ye are not afraid of the face of any, for the judgment is God's, and the thing which is too hard for you, ye bring near unto me, and I have heard it; and I command you, at that time, all the things which ye do. `And we journey from Horeb, and go `through' all that great and fearful wilderness which ye have seen -- the way of the hill-country of the Amorite, as Jehovah our God hath commanded us, and we come in unto Kadesh-Barnea. `And I say unto you, Ye have come in unto the hill-country of the Amorite, which Jehovah our God is giving to us; see, Jehovah thy God hath set before thee the land; go up, possess, as Jehovah, God of thy fathers, hath spoken to thee; fear not, nor be affrighted. `And ye come near unto me, all of you, and say, Let us send men before us, and they search for us the land, and they bring us back word `concerning' the way in which we go up into it, and the cities unto which we come in; and the thing is good in mine eyes, and I take of you twelve men, one man for a tribe. `And they turn and go up to the hill-country, and come in unto the valley of Eshcol, and spy it, and they take with their hand of the fruit of the land, and bring down unto us, and bring us back word, and say, Good is the land which Jehovah our God is giving to us. `And ye have not been willing to go up, and ye provoke the mouth of Jehovah your God, and murmur in your tents, and say, In Jehovah's hating us He hath brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorite -- to destroy us; whither are we going up? our brethren have melted our heart, saying, A people greater and taller than we, cities great and fenced to heaven, and also sons of Anakim -- we have seen there. `And I say unto you, Be not terrified, nor be afraid of them; Jehovah your God, who is going before you -- He doth fight for you, according to all that He hath done with you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen that Jehovah thy God hath borne thee as a man beareth his son, in all the way which ye have gone, till your coming in unto this place. `And in this thing ye are not stedfast in Jehovah your God, who is going before you in the way to search out to you a place for your encamping, in fire by night, to shew you in the way in which ye go, and in a cloud by day. `And Jehovah heareth the voice of your words, and is wroth, and sweareth, saying, Not one of these men of this evil generation doth see the good land which I have sworn to give to your fathers, save Caleb son of Jephunneh -- he doth see it, and to him I give the land on which he hath trodden, and to his sons, because that he hath been fully after Jehovah. `Also with me hath Jehovah been angry for your sake, saying, Also, thou dost not go in thither; Joshua son of Nun, who is standing before thee, he goeth in thither; him strengthen thou; for he doth cause Israel to inherit. `And your infants, of whom ye have said, For a prey they are, and your sons who have not known to-day good and evil, they go in thither, and to them I give it, and they possess it; and ye, turn for yourselves, and journey toward the wilderness, the way of the Red Sea. `And ye answer and say unto me, We have sinned against Jehovah; we -- we go up, and we have fought, according to all that which Jehovah our God hath commanded us; and ye gird on each his weapons of war, and ye are ready to go up into the hill-country; and Jehovah saith unto me, Say to them, Ye do not go up, nor fight, for I am not in your midst, and ye are not smitten before your enemies. `And I speak unto you, and ye have not hearkened, and provoke the mouth of Jehovah, and act proudly, and go up into the hill-country; and the Amorite who is dwelling in that hill-country cometh out to meet you, and they pursue you as the bees do, and smite you in Seir -- unto Hormah. `And ye turn back and weep before Jehovah, and Jehovah hath not hearkened to your voice, nor hath he given ear unto you; and ye dwell in Kadesh many days, according to the days which ye had dwelt.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 48
Commentary on Genesis 48 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 48
Ge 48:1-22. Joseph's Visit to His Sick Father.
1. one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick—Joseph was hastily sent for, and on this occasion he took with him his two sons.
2. Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed—In the chamber where a good man lies, edifying and spiritual discourse may be expected.
3, 4. God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz—The object of Jacob, in thus reverting to the memorable vision at Beth-el [Ge 28:10-15]—one of the great landmarks in his history—was to point out the splendid promises in reserve for his posterity—to engage Joseph's interest and preserve his continued connection with the people of God, rather than with the Egyptians.
4. Behold, I will make thee fruitful—This is a repetition of the covenant (Ge 28:13-15; 35:12). Whether these words are to be viewed in a limited sense, as pointing to the many centuries during which the Jews were occupiers of the Holy Land, or whether the words bear a wider meaning and intimate that the scattered tribes of Israel are to be reinstated in the land of promise, as their "everlasting possession," are points that have not yet been satisfactorily determined.
5. thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh—It was the intention of the aged patriarch to adopt Joseph's sons as his own, thus giving him a double portion. The reasons for this procedure are stated (1Ch 5:1, 2).
are mine—Though their connections might have attached them to Egypt and opened to them brilliant prospects in the land of their nativity, they willingly accepted the adoption (Heb 11:25).
9. Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them—The apostle (Heb 11:21) selected the blessing of Joseph's son as the chief, because the most comprehensive, instance of the patriarch's faith which his whole history furnishes.
13. Joseph took them both—The very act of pronouncing the blessing was remarkable, showing that Jacob's bosom was animated by the spirit of prophecy.
21. Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die—The patriarch could speak of death with composure, but he wished to prepare Joseph and the rest of the family for the shock.
but God shall be with you—Jacob, in all probability, was not authorized to speak of their bondage—he dwelt only on the certainty of their restoration to Canaan.
22. moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren—This was near Shechem (Ge 33:18; Joh 4:5; also Jos 16:1; 20:7). And it is probable that the Amorites, having seized upon it during one of his frequent absences, the patriarch, with the united forces of his tribe, recovered it from them by his sword and his bow.