We have been studying Jacob’s prophecy about his sons, which concerns the last days (Genesis 49:1), and, according to the text, the last days culminate with the coming of the Messiah (Genesis 49:10). Our previous studies took us through Jacob’s first four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, all of whom were sons of Leah. Next, Jacob mentioned six sons whose births immediately followed theirs, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher and Naphtali. However, these births were not mentioned chronologically in Jacob’s prophecy. Zebulun and Issachar, the youngest of the six, were Leah’s sons, and they were put before the sons of the concubines, who were Bilhah (Rachel’s handmaid), and her sons were Dan and Naphtali. Next, was Zilpah (Leah’s handmaid), and her sons were Gad and Asher, but Dan and Gad are mentioned first, as they were the two eldest of the two concubines (Genesis 49:13-21; cp. 30:3-20).
If we choose to take Jacob’s words as a simple prophecy, we would probably understand it, as the scholars do, who readily show how Jacob’s prophecy was fulfilled in the placement of his sons’ descendants in the Land of Promise during the time of Joshua (Joshua 13 to 21). However, Jacob’s prophecy is for the last days, not his descendants’ entry into the Promised Land (Genesis 49:1). This was when the Messiah came to receive the scepter from Judah, who possessed it only until his coming (Genesis 49:10).
In the light of such a context, how should we understand Jacob’s prophecy for these six sons? Moreover, we are spiritualizing Jacob’s prophecy, vis-à-vis we are not saying its fulfillment belongs to the time of Joshua. Instead, we are attributing its fulfillment to the time of Jesus, the promised Messiah, who was to come in the last days (Genesis 49:1, 10). This seems clear from verses one and ten of the text. Even so, much of our understanding will come through guesswork. I haven’t found a single scholar that agrees with this interpretation. Therefore, I believe only some of what we conclude in this study could be put in cement. Personally, I don’t feel adequate enough to be more certain. Finally, although the prophecy foretells the destiny of each son, it really applies to the whole of Israel, and comes to the nation through the lots of the individual sons of Jacob.
We begin with Zebulun, Jacob’s tenth son, and the sixth and final son of Leah. His name means dwelling, and was so named, because Leah longed for Jacob to dwell with her (Genesis 30:20),[1] but Rachel was Jacob’s favorite wife (Genesis 29:30). He prophesied that Zebulun would “dwell” at the haven of the sea and be a haven for ships, indicating great commerce and riches (Genesis 49:13). However, these riches are tempered by the prophecy for his brother, Issachar (Genesis 49:14-15). Issachar also dwelt in a land of plenty, but he was couched between two burdens. A great commercial highway went through his land. Therefore, he could cause the land to work for him, or become the servant of the commerce that went through his land. He chose the latter. His name means hire or hireling, and that is what Israel became. Although she had a rich land with great prospects, she became corrupt through its commerce, becoming the hireling of foreign nations, and her land benefited them more than it did her by the time of the last days.
Dan is the eldest of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid and the fifth son of Jacob. We are told in the text that he would judge his people, and the fact that he is pictured as a serpent that bites at the horses’ heels, causing the rider to fall backwards, indicates Dan would be the weaker warrior in battle against his foes. Yet, his surprising defenses would work in his favor. Samson was one of the judges coming from Dan, and his mighty strength was a type of the power of Christ. Dan tells us that Israel had longed for their salvation, because they were often in trouble due to their unfaithfulness to the Lord (Genesis 49:16-18). In the last days he (the Messiah) would come and judge his people (Matthew 16:27).
Through Gad (a troop), Jacob’s eldest son by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, and his seventh son, Jacob foretold that Israel would be overcome with a troop (Genesis 49:19), serving a foreign nation, until the coming of the Messiah (Genesis 49:10). However, in the end, vis-à-vis the last days (Genesis 49:1), Israel, believing Israel, those who had waited for their redemption (Luke 2:25, 38; Mark 15:43; cp. Genesis 49:18) will overcome, implying in or through Christ. And, through the lot of Asher (happy), Jacob’s eighth son, Israel was promised bread (spiritual food; cp. Genesis 49:20), which would yield its own blessing/happiness (cp. Matthew 5:2-12), for those who have waited for the Lord’s salvation (Genesis 49:18), because in Jacob’s sixth son, Naphtali, Israel is like a hind let loose (viz. Luke 4:18), set free in Christ, through the truth of the Gospel, vis-à-vis n “goodly words” (Genesis 49:21; cp. Luke 4:22 and John 7:46).
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[1] The Lord is Israel’s husband (Isaiah 54:4; Jeremiah 31:32), and he came to dwell with his wife in the flesh of Jesus (John 1:1, 14).
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