Kejadian 48:16

48:16 the Angel ¹  who has protected me ² 

from all harm –

bless these boys.

May my name be named in them, ³ 

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.

May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”

Kejadian 48:22

48:22 As one who is above your ⁴  brothers, I give to you the mountain slope, ⁵  which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

Kejadian 49:26

49:26 The blessings of your father are greater

than ⁶  the blessings of the eternal mountains ⁷ 

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. ⁸ 

[48:16]  ¹ sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.

[48:16]  ² tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).

[48:16]  ³ tn Or “be recalled through them.”

[48:22]  ⁴ tn The pronouns translated “your” and “you” in this verse are singular in the Hebrew text.

[48:22]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew word שְׁכֶם (shÿkhem) could be translated either as “mountain slope” or “shoulder, portion,” or even taken as the proper name “Shechem.” Jacob was giving Joseph either (1) one portion above his brothers, or (2) the mountain ridge he took from the Amorites, or (3) Shechem. The ambiguity actually allows for all three to be the referent. He could be referring to the land in Shechem he bought in Gen 33:18-19, but he mentions here that it was acquired by warfare, suggesting that the events of 34:25-29 are in view (even though at the time he denounced it, 34:30). Joseph was later buried in Shechem (Josh 24:32).

[49:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “have prevailed over.”

[49:26]  ⁷ tn 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.

[49:26]  ⁸ tn For further discussion of this passage, see I. Sonne, “Genesis 49:24-26,” JBL 65 (1946): 303-6.