Summary of passage: Judah’s brothers will praise him and bow down to him. The scepter will not leave Judah’s hand until it comes to whom it belongs and obedience is his (reference to Jesus). His (Jesus) robes will be washed in blood, his eyes darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships. Issachar will submit to forced labor. Dan will provide justice for his people. Gad will be attacked but he will attack back. Asher will have rich food. Naphtali is free.
Questions:
5) “Your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. You are a lion’s cub; you return from the prey…like a lioness who dares to rouse him?”
“The scepter will not depart form Judah nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.”
6a) The obedience of the nations is his. His colt is the choicest branch. His robes will be washed in blood. His eyes will be darker than wine. His teeth whiter than milk.
b) Revelation 5:5 “The Lion of the tribe of Judah has triumphed.”
c) Personal question that has nothing to do with this passage. My answer: He is my Lord and Savior. I am unworthy. He is ruler over all and in control of all things.
7) Zebulun lay by the sea and the lake along the Jordan. It settled between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea so Zebulun could see both seas.
8 ) Personal Question. My answer: Issachar was the third largest tribe (Numbers 26). Hence, they were often targets for the enemy. Eventually, they were put into servitude.
9) Two possibilities: Samson (Judges 13) or Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:26-33). Some scholars believe the “serpent by the roadside” might even be referring to the Antichrist coming from the tribe of Dan (Daniel 11:37; Jeremiah 8:16). Of course, we are not sure who Jacob is referring to here.
Conclusions: Didn’t like this lesson. Feel like Genesis 49 is being drawn out for filler purposes.
Most people would not know the answer to these questions unless they used a commentary (which is what I did). This is what irks me about BSF. They ask these questions that only someone intimately familiar with the Bible (which is not me) would know and then they tell us not to use outside sources. Ridiculous. And borderline hypocritical to me. Don’t ask if 95 % of us will miss it. It only creates doubts about the level of our faith and whether or not we should know this. It does nothing for our understanding of the Bible UNLESS we do use outside sources.
Map of 12 Tribes Showing Zebulun’s Location: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:12_Tribes_of_Israel_Map.svg
End Note: “He will tether his donkey to a vine” emphasizes the richness of Judah’s land as well. They were wine growers.
As far as your comments under “conclusions” . . . AMEN!!!!!!!!! Didn’t know half the answers and we aren’t supposed to use a commentary. Ridiculous questions!
I’m with ya guys, these questions = brutal. If there was something to learn they should have given us more help.
The questions do get you to think and like me who thinks simply for I don’t know anything else my answer is simple. Not that I didn’t go to commentaries to try to look deeper and understand it better. Write headquarters they are listening to us!!
Always be decerning in learning, without research and other individual input it is easy to go astray. The Lord gives us the wisdom to learn HIS word and to know the difference of being underminded with untruths.I always pray for guidence before studing the Word. Without it, it is to easy to go down the wide road.
God Bless and keep you his.
I agree – I am sometimes discouraged by questions that seem advanced and removed from the specified scripture. I wonder, ‘what did I miss here? I am clueless – I must be daft or worse… without understanding.”
I didn’t use any commentaries to get my answers. But I did have to use the cross references in my Bible, the accordance at the back and a Bible dictionary. all of which are “legal” so to speak!
I agree with you, AtoZ. I had no idea what to write, and I’m not going to use yours. So, those questions will remain blank!
I for one thank you. This is the first time in 7 years that I’ve looked at these answers after trying (hopefully with the Lord’s help) to understand what I needed to see and frankly…I wasn’t getting it. Could be that it’s late and I’m tired but I needed extra help. Again, thank you for doing the digging for me this time.