Genesis 49:8

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Judah	יְהוּדָ֗ה ye.hu.Dah	H3063	Jehudah (or Judah) · proper noun, a man's name
brethren	אַחֶ֔יךָ 'a.Chei.kha	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
praise	יוֹד֣וּךָ yo.Du.kha	H3034	physically · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
hand	יָדְךָ֖ ya.de.Kha	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
neck	בְּעֹ֣רֶף be.'O.ref	H6203	the nape or back of the neck (as declining) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
enemies	אֹיְבֶ֑יךָ 'o.ye.Vei.kha	H341	hating · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
father’s	אָבִֽיךָ 'a.Vi.kha	H1	father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
children	בְּנֵ֥י be.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
down	יִשְׁתַּחֲוּ֥וּ yish.ta.cha.Vu	H7812	to depress · verb, hithpael imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 27:29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every…
1 Chronicles 5:2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)
Hebrews 7:14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
Deuteronomy 33:7 And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient f…
Genesis 29:35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.
Joshua 10:24 And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains…
Psalms 18:40-43 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
Genesis 37:7-10 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round ab…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 49:8-12

Glorious things are here said of Judah. The mention of the crimes of the three elder of his sons had not so put the dying patriarch out of humour but that he had a blessing ready for Judah, to whom blessings belonged. Judah's name signifies praise, in allusion to which he says, Thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise, Gen 49:8. God was praised for him (Gen 29:35), praised by him, and praised in him; and therefore his brethren shall praise him. Note, Those that are to God for a praise shall be the praise of their brethren. It is prophesied that, 1. The tribe of Judah should be victorious and successful in war: Thy hand shall be in the neck of thy enemies. This was fulfilled in David, Psa 1…

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Adam Clarke on Genesis 49:8

Thy brethren shall praise thee - As the name Judah signifies praise, Jacob takes occasion from its meaning to show that this tribe should be so eminent and glorious, that the rest of the tribes should praise it; that is, they should acknowledge its superior dignity, as in its privileges it should be distinguished beyond all the others. On the prophecy relative to Judah, Dr. Hales has several judicious remarks, and has left very little to be farther desired on the subject. Every reader will be glad to meet with them here. "The prophecy begins with his name Judah, signifying the praise of the Lord, which was given to him at his birth by his mother Leah, Gen 29:35. It then describes the warlike…

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John Gill on Genesis 49:8

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise,.... His name signifies praise, and was given him by his mother, her heart being filled with praises to God for him, Genesis 29:35 and is here confirmed by his father on another account, because his brethren should praise him for many excellent virtues in him; and it appears, by instances already observed, that he had great authority, and was highly esteemed among his brethren, as his posterity would be in future times for their courage, warlike expeditions and success, and being famous for heroes, such as David, and others; and especially his famous seed the Messiah, and of whom he was a type, should be praised by his brethren, who are so th…

The Church Fathers

(Verse 8.) Judah, your brothers will praise you. Because Judah, confession or praise, is subsequently written: Judah, your brothers will confess to you: or, your brothers will praise you.
— Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis

Who are the brothers who praised and adored him but the apostles, to whom the Lord said, "Are you my brothers and coheirs?" And then to say, "Your hands are on the back of your enemies" can mean either of two things: by simply stretching his hands [on the cross] Christ was able, in the course of the fight against his enemies, to triumph over [invisible] powers. Or he has become the Lord and Master and Judge of all those who were his enemies according to the flesh, after being set in this role by the Father.
— Hippolytus of Rome, ON THE BLESSINGS OF ISAAC AND JACOB 16

But, one may say, why did it seem right to the prophet to impose on Judah such a blessing, when he had done nothing like that for the first ones?Now learn the reason.… In fact David had to be born from the tribe of Judah and Christ from David with regard to the flesh. [Therefore] the prophet foreknowing the future events in their spiritual sense has blessed there David, who descended from Judah, and the Christ who, according to the flesh, had to be born from David, so that he might receive from God not only the blessing according to the spirit but also the blessing according to the flesh.
— Hippolytus of Rome, ON THE BLESSINGS OF ISAAC AND JACOB 15

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Judah — Praise, the fourth son of Jacob by Leah. The name originated in Leah’s words of praise to the Lord on account of his birth: “Now will I praise [Heb. odeh] Jehovah, and she called his name Yehudah”…
Children · Male: Received the blessing of their father before his death — Male: Received the blessing of their father before his death
First Born, The · Privileges of: Could be forfeited by misconduct — Privileges of: Could be forfeited by misconduct
Judah · .Prophetic benediction of his father upon — .Prophetic benediction of his father upon
Judah, The Tribe Of · Predictions respecting — Predictions respecting
Patriarchal Government · Exercised in: Blessing and cursing their children — Exercised in: Blessing and cursing their children
Salutations · By bowing — By bowing
Tribes Of Israel, The · Predictions respecting each of — Predictions respecting each of
Wine · Places celebrated for: Possessions of Judah — Places celebrated for: Possessions of Judah

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 49:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 49:8-12

Adam Clarke on Genesis 49:8

John Gill on Genesis 49:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 49:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 49:8-12

Adam Clarke on Genesis 49:8

John Gill on Genesis 49:8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 49:8

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 49:8-12

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 49:8-12

Rashi on Genesis 49:3