Thus alfo Ahab is faid to follow Idols, as did the Amorites, whom the Lord caft out before the children of Ifrael, 1 Kings 21.26. compare 2 Kings 21. 11. The whole Land was reputed as the Land of the Amorites, Amos 2.9,10. [II.] That though Jacob had purchased a piece of ground near Shechem, Gen. 33. 19, 20. Yet Shechem it felf, which he here gives fofeph, came to him by Conqueft, (expreffed here by Sword and Bow, Josh. 24.12. 2 Kings 6. 22.) and not by Purchase. He detefted indeed the Violence his Sons used towards the Shechemites, and did not care to come into the prefent poffeffion of the place that way: Yet God having promised him that Land, which gave him afterwards an undoubted Title to it; he gives it to Jofeph here, having come into the actual poffeffion of it without any fin or fault of his own. [III.] And therefore Jacob might infift (confidering what hath been faid before) upon his Title to this place, God having given him a promife of it, and thereby a good Title to it; and having actually come into the poffeffion of it by right of War, without any crime of his own; and might lay his claim to it, and use the plea which Jephtha did, Judg. 11.23, 24 CHAP. XLIX. The ARGUMENT. Jacob drawing near the time of his Death, calleth for his Sons to come to him. He fore-tells many things which fhould happen to them after his decease. He bleffeth them; and, when he spake of Judah, he predicted the Coming of the Meffiah, who was to be born of that Tribe. He chargeth them concerning his Burial, and dieth. ons were to be fulfilled in Sundry times. And part of them extend to the time of the Meffiah, which is called the latt days, Ifa. 2. 2. Acts 2.17. Heb. 1. 1. 2. Gather your felves together, and hear, ye fons of Facob; and hearken unto Ifrael your father. 3. Reuben, thou art my firftborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. 3. The excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: The Prerogatives of the firft-born (which Reuben had forfeited, v. 4.) were, fI.] A double portion of goods, Deut. 21.17. This was beftowed on feph, ch. 48.5. compared with 1 Chron. 5.1. [II.] Power and Dominion over the younger, ch. 27. 29, 37. This was given to Judah, v.8. with 1 Chron. 5. 2. [III.1 The honour of Priesthood, in their own family at leaft. See Exod. 24.5. Where, by young men, the Jews tell us are meant the first-born: Befides, the Levites were taken into the Service of God, inftead of all the first-born among the chil dren of Ifrael, Numb. 3. 41. This priviledge was given to Levi. 4. Unstable, &c. This Verfe gives an account how Reuben loft his Birth-right, and the Priviledges 4. Unftable as water, thou shalt not excell, because thou wenteft up to thy father's bed; then defiledft thou it; he went up to my couch. thereof; viz. By his lightness and unbridled Luft, ch.35.22. And feems to intimate the mean condition of the Tribe of Reuben for the future, in those words, Thou shalt not excell. See Judg. 5. 15, 16. 5. Simeon and Levi are brethren: inftruments of cruelty are in their habitations. 5. Brethren: i. e. Not onely born of the fame Father and Mother, (for fo were Reuben and Judah alfo,) but as they confpired against Jofeph's life, (which Reuben and Judah ftudied to preferve, ch. 37. 21, 26.) and especially because of their Confpiracy against the Shechemites, ch. 34. 25. The words there mentioned being the inftruments of Cruelty mentioned here. They are Brethren, in the Scripture-phrafe, who are like in 2.10 manners, manners, and agree in the fame design, Job 30. 29. with Pfalm 102. 6. and Prov. 18.9. 6. O my foul, come not thou into their fecret; unto their affembly, mine bonour, be not thou united for in their anger they flew a man, and in their felf-will they digged down a wall. 6. O my foul, &c, In thefe words acob difavows the acti on of Simeon and Lemites,as that to'which vi against the Sheche he gave no consent either implicit or ex plicit. He difowns it in these words, O my foul, &c. Or, My foul come not into their fecret, or, counfel, as the words may be rendred. See ch. 34. 30. i. e. He gave no implicit confent, fo far was he from encouraging them by his words, or, tongue, which in Scripture-phrafe is called honour, Pfal. 16. 9. with Acts 2. 26. and which he affirms here was not united to them. A Man: Or, Men, viz. the Shechemites, One number being put for another. Though it be alfo true, that one Man (viz. he that had defiled Dinah) was principally defigned, and was a principal Man alfo who was killed in that flaughter. 7. Curfed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Facob, and fcatter them in Ifrael. 7. Curfed,&c. This refutes what is affirmed by Judith, viz. That they were moved with the zeal of God, Judith 9.4. Their anger: Not their perfons, much less their pofterity. See v. 28. and 2 Sam. 15. 31. Divide: Levi was difperfed among the Tribes, and the Inheritance of the Simeonites did not lie together, Job. 19. 1, 9. with 1 Chron. 4.39. 8. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren fhall praife; thy hand fhall be in the neck of thine enemies: thy father's children fhall bow down before thee. 8. Praife: Or,confefs. Thereft of the Nation fhall be called Jews, and their whole Country Judea, from Judah. See Efther 3.6. Matt. 27. 37. This Tribe was famous alfo for their Conquefts over their Enemies, (Judg. 1.2. Pfal.18.4.) and the Dominion which it enjoyed over their Brethren: It was famous for the Kingdom of the Houfe of David R 3 but; but especially, because the Meffiah was born of this Tribe whofe Kingdom is Everlasting. 9. Judah is a lion's whelp from the prey, my fun, thou art gone up: he ftooped down, be couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse bim up? 9. A Lion's whelp This Tribe, for their Courage and Valour, over the reft, is fitly and their Eminence compared to a Lion, which is strongest among beafts, Prov. 30. 30. And its gradual encrease in Power and Eminence over the reft, is fitly compared to, and represented by the Lion's whelp, the Lion, and the old Lion. 10. The Scepter,&c. e. The Jews (who received their deno 10. The fceptre fhall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet, untill Shiloh come, and unto him fhall the gathering of mination from Judah, efpecially after the people be. their return from the Babylonian Captivity, and to which Tribe that of Benjamin and Levi, and others who adhered to it, both upon the Schifm after Solomon's Death, and after the Captivity of the Ten Tribes were esteemed but as an Acceffion) fhall not cease to be a diftinct and feparate People, nor be quite deprived of all use of their Laws and Religion, till after fuch time as the Meffiah [ whom the ancient Jews grant to be meant by Shiloh] and who was to be born of this Tribe, fhall firft come among them: And him fhall the Nations or Gentiles ferve and obey. See Matt.24. 14. The first promise of the Meffiah is mentioned Gen. 3. 15. under the expreffion of the Seed of the Woman. But that does not import of what Nation or Family he fhould be born. It is believed to be intimated that he should be born of the Family of Shem, ch. 9. 27. This great Bleffing was afterwards afcertained to Abram, ch. 12. 3. and to his Seed, ch. 22. 18. And the great Promife of it fetled on Ifaac, ch. 17. 21. And tranfmitted by him to Jacob, ch. 28. 4. Here it now was; and Jacob before his Death fore-tells the time within which the Meffiah fhould come, and intimates the Tribe from whence he fhould arife; the latter whereof, the Holy Scriptures more expressly mention afterwards. The swords of Jacob, relating to Judah, contain fomething very peculiar peculiar, and very great. Here's nothing faid of him that leffens him, as there is before of Reuben, Simeon and Levi. When the other Tribes fell into Schifm, after Solomon's death, and were carried Captive in the days of Hofea, this Tribe adhered to the Worship of God, and continued in their own Land. [I.] fudah did not lofe his Tribe, (fo the word which we render Scepter fignifies here in the Hebrew Text, and v. 16, 28.) There was always great care taken to preserve Judah diftinct in its Tribe and Families. In the days of Saul the Men of Judah were numbred apart: Thus it was in David's alfo, (1 Sam. 11.8. 2 Sam. 24.9.) A Prophet took care of the Genealogies of this Tribe, (2 Chron. 12. 15. with ch. 13.22.) There was care taken of it, even during the Captivity of Babylon, as appears from the Book of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, and from Jofephus, [ Antiq. I. II. ch. 4.] Some doubt arofe of the Genealogies of others, (Nehem.7.64. Ezra 2.64.) This Tribe continued diftinct. This Care continued to the days of Auguftus, (Luk. 2.) Jofephus mentions [ Antiq. 18. c. 1.1 the Enrolling St. Luke (peaks of in the time of Cyrenius, and Justin Martyr appeals to the Records of it. [Apol.2. vid. Tertullian contra Marcionem.] The other Tribes were upon the matter loft. And, before that time, when Judah was numbred diftinctly and by it felf, (which Abravenel fays is the meaning of the Scepter, or Tribe hall not depart from Judah [ on the first Prophets, fol. 95. and fol. 100.] the other Tribes were numbred together as Acceffories. For Benjamin it was looked on but as an Acceffory to Judah. The Cities of Benjamin are called the Cities of Judah. A Man of Benjamin was called a Jew from Judah, and fo were all the remaining Ifraelites upon the Captivity of Babylon. [1 Kings 11. 13, 32. 2 Kings 17. 18. 12 Chron. 11.5, 10. ch. 17.9. ch. 14. 4, 8, 12, ch. 29. 3, 4, 5, 13, 15. Efther 2. 5.] [II.] In this Tribe continued the Teachers of the Law, called Lam-giver here. Here were the Lawyers and Scribes, &c. when the other Tribes had them not: The Priests and Levites adhered to this Tribe, [2 Chron. 11. 13, 14. ch. 13. 4, 9, 10.] The Kings of Judah took care for inftructers of the people to teach in the Cities of Judah, [2 Chron. 17. 7, 8, 9. ch.29. 5, 30. ch.34.30.] In the Captivity of Babylon thefe Law-givers departed not from between the feet of the Men of Judah, [Ezek. 1. 3, R 4 Ezra |