Gen 49:24-26 | NET2full | STEP | But his bow will remain steady , and his hands will be skillful ; because of the hands of the Powerful One of Jacob , because of the Shepherd , the Rock of Israel ,

‏ Genesis 49:24-26

24 But his bow will remain steady,
and his hands ^{▼▼tn Heb “the arms of his hands.”} will be skillful;
because of the hands of the Powerful One ^{▼▼tn Or “Mighty One.”} of Jacob,
because of ^{▼▼tn Heb “from there,” but the phrase should be revocalized and read “from [i.e., because of] the name of.”} the Shepherd, the Rock ^{▼▼tn Or “Stone.”} of Israel,
25 because of the God of your father,
who will help you, ^{▼▼tn Heb “and he will help you.”}
because of the Sovereign God, ^{▼▼tn Heb “Shaddai.” See the note on the title “Sovereign God” in Gen 17:1. The preposition אֵת (ʾet) in the Hebrew text should probably be emended to אֵל (ʾel, “God”).}
who will bless you ^{▼▼tn Heb “and he will bless you.”}
with blessings from the sky above,
blessings from the deep that lies below,
and blessings of the breasts and womb. ^{▼▼sn Jacob envisions God imparting both agricultural (blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below) and human fertility (blessings of the breasts and womb) to Joseph and his family.}
26 The blessings of your father are greater
than ^{▼▼tn Heb “have prevailed over.”} the blessings of the eternal mountains ^{▼▼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.}
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. ^{▼▼tn For further discussion of this passage, see I. Sonne, “Genesis 49:24-26,” JBL 65 (1946): 303-6.}