Kejadian 49:10

49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, ¹ 

until he comes to whom it belongs; ² 

the nations will obey him. ³ 

Bilangan 24:17-19

24:17 ‘I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not close at hand. ⁴ 

A star ⁵  will march forth ⁶  out of Jacob,

and a scepter ⁷  will rise out of Israel.

He will crush the skulls ⁸  of Moab,

and the heads ⁹  of all the sons of Sheth. ¹⁰ 

24:18 Edom will be a possession,

Seir, ¹¹  his enemies, will also be a possession;

but Israel will act valiantly.

24:19 A ruler will be established from Jacob;

he will destroy the remains of the city.’” ¹² 

[49:10]  ¹ tn Or perhaps “from his descendants,” taking the expression “from between his feet” as a euphemism referring to the genitals. In this case the phrase refers by metonymy to those who come forth from his genitals, i.e., his descendants.

[49:10]  ² tn The Hebrew form שִׁילֹה (shiloh) is a major interpretive problem. There are at least four major options (with many variations and less likely alternatives): (1) Some prefer to leave the text as it is, reading “Shiloh” and understanding it as the place where the ark rested for a while in the time of the Judges. (2) By repointing the text others arrive at the translation “until the [or “his”] ruler comes,” a reference to a Davidic ruler or the Messiah. (3) Another possibility that does not require emendation of the consonantal text, but only repointing, is “until tribute is brought to him” (so NEB, JPS, NRSV), which has the advantage of providing good parallelism with the following line, “the nations will obey him.” (4) The interpretation followed in the present translation, “to whom it [belongs]” (so RSV, NIV, REB), is based on the ancient versions. Again, this would refer to the Davidic dynasty or, ultimately, to the Messiah.

[49:10]  ³ tn “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry,” JBL 80 (1961): 55-64; and E. M. Good, “The ‘Blessing’ on Judah,” JBL 82 (1963): 427-32.

[24:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “near.”

[24:17]  ⁵ sn This is a figure for a king (see also Isa 14:12) not only in the Bible but in the ancient Near Eastern literature as a whole. The immediate reference of the prophecy seems to be to David, but the eschatological theme goes beyond him. There is to be a connection made between this passage and the sighting of a star in its ascendancy by the magi, who then traveled to Bethlehem to see the one born King of the Jews (Matt 2:2). The expression “son of a star” (Aram Bar Kochba) became a title for a later claimant to kingship, but he was doomed by the Romans in a.d. 135.

[24:17]  ⁶ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is equal to the imperfect expressing the future. The verb דָּרַךְ (darakh), related to the noun “way, road,” seems to mean something like tread on, walk, march.”

[24:17]  ⁷ sn The “scepter” is metonymical for a king who will rise to power. NEB strangely rendered this as “comet” to make a parallel with “star.”

[24:17]  ⁸ tn The word is literally “corners,” but may refer to the corners of the head, and so “skull.”

[24:17]  ⁹ tc The MT reads “shatter, devastate.” Smr reads קֹדְקֹד (qodqod, “head; crown; pate”). Smr follows Jer 48:45 which appears to reflect Num 24:17.

[24:17]  ¹⁰ sn The prophecy begins to be fulfilled when David defeated Moab and Edom and established an empire including them. But the Messianic promise extends far beyond that to the end of the age and the inclusion of these defeated people in the program of the coming King.

[24:18]  ¹¹ sn Seir is the chief mountain range of Edom (Deut 33:2), and so the reference here is to the general area of Edom.

[24:19]  ¹² tn Or, understanding the Hebrew word for “city” as a place name, “of Ir” (cf. NRSV, NLT).