Genesis 49:1–12

After this blessing was celebrated, he also called his sons (Gen. XLIX, 1). And the one who had preferred the younger to the elder began with the first, so that he might bestow favor upon him in that mystery, and observe the order of age in this. At the same time, he who had previously blessed them both, along with all their posterity and future offspring, lest the repeated blessing of the people should appear superfluous, or the former be considered weak, rightly declares that he is repeating more of an announcement of things that would happen in later times, rather than conferring a blessing.

This is a prophecy and not a blessing. In fact, the blessing is concerned with someone who is blessed, while the prophecy is fulfilled when a certain action is accomplished. How will the explanation proposed above agree with these words of the Scripture: "All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him." At one time are they clearly prophecies, at another prophecies called blessings? In this explanation it must be understood that exactly in the things said are the prophecies and the blessings, so that the blessings fall on the one who was born from Judah, on the one who was prefigured by Joseph, on the one who, coming from Levi, finds himself being the priest of the Father, while the prophecies fall on those who acted as enemies and had no consideration for the Son of God.

And as for the consummation of the world, Jacob is the first to refer to this when, in giving his testament to his sons he says, "Gather to me, you sons of Jacob, that I may tell you what shall be in the last days," or, "after the last days." If then there are "last days," or a time "after the last days," it follows of necessity that the days that had a beginning also come to an end.

See the good man's shrewdness. Since he foresaw the moment of his death, he summoned his sons and said, "Gather around so that I may predict ahead of time what is in store for you at the end of your days. Come together, and listen to Israel your father." Come along, he says, and learn from me, not the immediate future but what will happen in the last days. This I foretell to you not of myself but under the inspiration of the Spirit; hence I predict ahead of time what will occur after many generations. You see, as I am on the point of departing this life, I want to imprint it on the memory of each of you as if on some bronze pillar.Now consider how with his sons gathered together the good man follows the order of their birth and in this way bestows curse or blessing appropriate to each, showing by this procedure the extraordinary degree of his own virtue.

For there was a great display of strength made by God in behalf of His first-born people from Egypt. For in very many ways was the land of the Egyptians chastised. That first people of the circumcision is meant by "my strength, and the first of my children: "even as God gave the promise to Abraham and to his seed. But "hard to bear with," because the people hardened itself against the obedience of God. And "hard, self-willed," because it was not only hard against the obedience of God, but also self-willed so as to set upon the Lord. "Thou hast waxed wanton," because in the instance of our Lord Jesus Christ the people waxed wanton against the Father. But "boil not over," says the Spirit, by way of comfort, that it might not, by boiling utterly over, be spilt abroad,-giving it hope of salvation. For what has boiled over and been spilt is lost.

(Chapter 49, verse 3) Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the first of my sons, tough in bearing and tough in insolence and injury, like water that does not boil. You went up on your father's bed, then you defiled it when you went up. In Hebrew it is written: Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength, and the first in power among my sons. Greater in carrying, and greater in strength. You are poured out like water, do not exceed. For you have ascended the bed of your father and defiled the couch in his ascent. The meaning here is: You are my firstborn, greater among the children, and you were supposed to receive, according to the order of your birth, the inheritance that was rightfully due to the firstborn, and to receive the priesthood and the kingdom. This is clearly demonstrated by the burden you carry and your mighty strength. However, because you have sinned, and like water that cannot be contained in a vessel, you have been poured out by the force of pleasure. Therefore, I command you not to sin further and to be among your brothers, enduring the punishment for the sin that you have committed, which is the loss of your status as the firstborn.

See the extent of the good man's wisdom. Intending to level a worse accusation against Reuben, he first mentioned the privileges conceded him by nature and the precedence he enjoyed in being the beginning of his line and enjoying the dignity of firstborn. Then he records his sins of free will as if on a bronze pillar to show that no advantage comes to us from natural advantage unless accompanied by good deeds of free will—these, you see, are what bring us commendation or lend us the stigma of blame. "Unyielding in endurance," he says, "unyielding in willfulness": the pride of place accorded you by nature you have forfeited by your own headstrong behavior.

It seems to me that, according to the mystical interpretation, Reuben may play the role of the first Jewish people, that is, the firstborn and the beginning of the children, as the prophet says: "Israel is my firstborn." The words of God in fact were first addressed to that people. And the Scriptures relate that that people was hard and reckless. About whom the prophet says, "Whatsoever this people says, is hard." Elsewhere he says again about the Jews, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart." And these people offended God the Father when they turned their back to him and not their face. They defiled the concubine's bed into which they got, that is, the law of the Old Testament, which they often stained with their transgressions. Paul teaches us that the concubine symbolically represents the law of the Old Testament by saying, "Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman: these are the two Testaments"; and Hagar, who was the concubine, clearly is the figure of the Old Testament.One indeed was the perfect dove or mother, the church that, as a chaste virgin and as a queen for her bridegroom the king, is united through the gospel to Christ.

Doesn't this seem to be a reproach rather than a blessing? Thus it really is more a prophecy than a blessing. For a prophecy is an announcement of events to come, whereas a blessing is the longed for bestowal of sanctification and of graces.The Jews suppose that the old man is saying these things to his son Reuben on this account, because the latter lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and polluted his father's bed. But they are easily refuted; this had already taken place. Now Jacob is promising that he will speak of events to come in the last days, not what took place before. Therefore the meaning is consistent and in accord with the thought of the patriarch himself: he sees the future passion of the Lord under persecution from the Jews and execrates the boundless audacity of that firstborn people.… For Israel itself was called the firstborn and said to be stiff-necked, and of it Moses said, "You are a stiff-necked people."

Carnal concupiscence took from us our noble generation, by which we would all be born innocent and heirs of paradise, and it makes us be born in death and guilt and the loss of the birthright. This was prefigured in Reuben, who lost the right of the firstborn, because he went up to his father's bed and defiled his couch; and Joseph, on account of his chastity, was made prince over his brothers.

Just as the justice of Jacob cursed his firstborn because of his evil deed and this curse of Reuben was blotted out by Moses who was the descendant of Jacob, so too was death decreed by God against Adam when he transgressed the commandment. But the Son of God came and, with the promise of the resurrection that he promised, brought to nought the judgment that accompanied Adam out of paradise.

First he mentions the event,-that in the last days the people will assault the bed of the Father, that is, the bride,9 the Church, with intent to corrupt her; which thing, indeed, it does even at this present day, assaulting her by blasphemies.

He said "couch" and "bed," that is, the holy flesh of Christ, on which the saints are saved while enjoying their rest as on a holy divan. This is the flesh that those outlaws took possession of and then outraged by offering him [Christ] vinegar, by hitting his head with a reed, by flogging him on the back, by spitting on his face, by skinning his cheeks with slaps and by piercing his hands with nails. All these things the impious and unbelieving people did in accordance with the high priests, the scribes and the leaders of the people. That is why the blessed prophet neither has remained silent about their deeds nor wants to be involved in their wickedness and evil decisions. On the contrary, he keeps himself away from their intrigues where such criminal plots are conceived.

See how through the insight granted him by the Spirit Jacob anticipates the legislation of Moses against allowing father and son to have relations with the same woman. Ahead of time he forbids this in censuring his son thus, "You stained the couch" by entering your father's bed. You committed an unlawful act, he says. Hence "you ran riot like water, but you shall not break out again."

For the brothers supplied the reasons for their own misfortune when they claimed to their father that they, although young in years, were vindicators and avengers of a wrong done to the sense of respect and of a violation of chastity. Surely the holy Jacob could not have condemned the fact that they did not permit their sister to be unavenged, in the position of a harlot, who had lost her virginity and did not have the consolation of a vindication. This is especially the case, seeing that Jacob himself approved the deed; for when he had possession of Shechem, he gave it at his death to his most beloved son Joseph and said to him, "I give to you above all your brothers Shechem in particular, which I took from the hands of the Amorites with my sword and bow." The act is undeniable; still, we can interpret that by "Shechem" are meant "shoulders" and by "shoulders" are meant "works." Therefore Jacob chose the holy Joseph before the others as heir to his good works, for the other brothers could not match his works. Who indeed could match Christ's deeds? Moreover Christ, being unspotted and chaste, has carried back the spoils of victory from this earthly sojourn and from the instigators of impurity. With heavenly words and the sword of the Spirit he has taken a place that was free of debaucheries and outrages, for a dwelling of the saints.…It is the tribes then that are meant by the names of the patriarchs. From the tribe of Simeon come the scribes, from that of Levi the chief priests, who brought their wickedness to completion and filled up the entire measure of their fathers' unholiness in the passion of the Lord. They took counsel against the Lord Jesus, to kill him, even as Isaiah says, "Alas for their souls! Because they have counseled an evil counsel against themselves, saying, 'Let us bind the just one, for he is profitless to us.' " They killed the prophets and apostles who announced the coming of the Lord of salvation and preached his glorious passion and resurrection.

These too are figures for Satan and death. For just as Simeon and Levi, in their anger, destroyed a city and, through their greed, plundered its possessions, so also Satan, in his envy, killed the world secretly as Simeon and Levi had killed the sons of Shechem openly, and death fell suddenly upon all flesh as Simeon and Levi did on the possessions of the inhabitants of Shechem. The gospel of our Lord raised up those whom sin had slain in secret, and the blessed promise of the Son raised up the dead upon whom the tyrant Death suddenly fell.

This he says regarding the conspiracy into which they were to enter against the Lord. And that he means this conspiracy, is evident to us. For the blessed David sings, Rulers have taken counsel together against the Lord, and so forth. And of this conspiracy the Spirit prophesied, saying, Let not my soul contend, desiring to draw them off, if possible, so that that future crime might not happen through them. They slew men, and houghed the bull; by the strong bull he means Christ. And they houghed, since, when He was suspended on the tree, they pierced through His sinews. Again, in their anger they houghed a bull. And mark the nicety of the expression: for they slew men, and houghed a bull. For they killed the saints, and they remain dead, awaiting the time of the resurrection. But as a young bull, so to speak, when houghed, sinks down to the ground, such was Christ in submitting voluntarily to the death of the flesh; but He was not overcome of death. But though as man He became one of the dead, He remained alive in the nature of divinity. For Christ is the bull,— an animal, above all, strong and neat and devoted to sacred use. And the Son is Lord of all power, who did no sin, but rather offered Himself for us, a savour of a sweet smell to His God and Father. Therefore let those hear who houghed this august bull: Cursed be their anger, for it was stubborn; and their wrath, for it was hardened. Genesis 49:7 But this people of the Jews dared to boast of houghing the bull: Our hands shed this. For this is nothing different, I think, from the word of folly: His blood (be upon us), and so forth.Matthew 27:25 Moses recalls Deuteronomy 33:8 the curse against Levi, or, rather converts it into a blessing, on account of the subsequent zeal of the tribe, and of Phinehas in particular, in behalf of God. But that against Simeon he did not recall. Wherefore it also was fulfilled in deed. For Simeon did not obtain an inheritance like the other tribes, for he dwelt in the midst of Judah. Yet his tribe was preserved, although it was small in numbers.

Since from Simeon sprang the scribes, and from Levi the priests. For the scribes and priests fulfilled iniquity of their own choice, and with one mind they slew the Lord.

This he says regarding the conspiracy into which they were to enter against the Lord. And that he means this conspiracy, is evident to us. For the blessed David sings, "Rulers have taken counsel together against the Lord," and so forth. And of this conspiracy the Spirit prophesied, saying, "Let not my soul contend," desiring to draw them off, if possible, so that that future crime might not happen through them. "They slew men, and houghed the bull;" by the "strong bull" he means Christ. And "they houghed," since, when He was suspended on the tree, they pierced through His sinews. Again, "in their anger they houghed a bull." And mark the nicety of the expression: for "they slew men, and houghed a bull." For they killed the saints, and they remain dead, awaiting the time of the resurrection. But as a young bull, so to speak, when houghed, sinks down to the ground, such was Christ in submitting voluntarily to the death of the flesh; but He was not overcome of death. But though as man He became one of the dead, He remained alive in the nature of divinity. For Christ is the bull,—an animal, above all, strong and neat and devoted to sacred use. And the Son is Lord of all power, who did no sin, but rather offered Himself for us, a savour of a sweet smell to His God and Father. Therefore let those hear who houghed this august bull: "Cursed be their anger, for it was stubborn; and their wrath, for it was hardened." But this people of the Jews dared to boast of houghing the bull: "Our hands shed this." For this is nothing different, I think, from the word of folly: "His blood" (be upon us), and so forth. Moses recalls the curse against Levi, or, rather converts it into a blessing, on account of the subsequent zeal of the tribe, and of Phinehas in particular, in behalf of God. But that against Simeon he did not recall. Wherefore it also was fulfilled in deed. For Simeon did not obtain an inheritance like the other tribes, for he dwelt in the midst of Judah. Yet his tribe was preserved, although it was small in number.

(Verses 5 and 6) Simeon and Levi, brothers, carried out the wickedness of their own invention. Let not my soul enter into their counsel, nor let my liver be involved in their assembly, because in their anger they killed men, and in their self-will they hamstrung oxen. By necessity, we are compelled to go further and revisit those things which are in disagreement with the Hebrew truth. For it is written there: Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of injustice are their tools. In their secret they conspired against me, so that my soul should not come in: and in their meeting they have cast down my glory, I shall never be cast down. For in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they undermined a wall. (Gen. XXXIV). However, it signifies that it was not according to their own counsel that Sichem and Emor killed the allied men, but rather against the law of peace and friendship they shed innocent blood, and with a kind of madness and cruelty, they tore down the walls of the city where they were hosted. Where it follows and says:

Likewise, when he said to Simeon and Levi, "I will divide you in Jacob and scatter you in Israel," he revealed that they were to be redeemed in the gathering together of the nations. For when the shepherd has been struck down, the flock that was previously brought together is scattered; thus one who did not belong could enter in and all Israel could be saved. And we ought in particular to assume this as regards the tribe of Levi, for it appears that the Lord Jesus traced his origin from that tribe, as concerns his taking on of the body. Of that tribe are the priests Levi and Nathan, and, in the Gospel which he wrote, St. Luke counted them among the ancestors of the Lord. For the Priest of the Father and Chief of all priests, even as it is written, "You are a priest forever," should have laid claim to succession from a priestly line. On this account also Moses blessed this tribe and said, "Give to Levi the lot of his own approbation, and to the holy man his truth."

Read the gospel and you will find it written down; the scribes were from the tribe of Simeon, and the high priests from that of Levi. Since the decision to arrest the Christ and to execute him was taken in their council, the prophet foreknowing that said, "O my soul, come not into their council!" In this passage he talks about the council where they took their decisions by searching for a reason through which they might accuse Christ, so that "they took counsel together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him." And Isaiah says the same: "Woe to their soul, for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying, 'Let us bind the just one, for he is burdensome to us.' "

God forbid, Jacob is saying, that I should share their evil intent or associate myself with their unjust doings. "Because in the heat of their passion they slew people"; their rage turned irrational.… After all, even if Shechem had sinned, there was no need to turn their thirst for blood against everyone. "And in their fury they cut down a bull"; there is reference here to the son of Hamor, calling him a bull because of his hot-blooded maturity.

Then, in a reference to their crimes Jacob applies a curse in the words "Cursed be their rage for its ferocity and their frenzy for its willfulness": this touches on the stratagem they employed in deceiving the inhabitants of Shechem and imposed on them by guile. Their rage was "ferocious," he says, headstrong, irrational. "Their frenzy is cursed for its willfulness." When the Shechemites came to believe they had won great favor with them, then it was that Simeon and Levi vented their baleful frenzy and deployed the tactics of a foe against them. Referring to their exploit as sins, he foretells as well the punishment for it that awaits them: "I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." They will be scattered in all directions so that this very thing will be obvious to everyone, namely, that they had persisted in committing this crime out of bravado.

As for the historical account, it seems that in this passage [Simeon and Levi] are reproached because, through deceit and fraud, they slaughtered Shechem, the son of Hamor, who after sleeping with their sister had tried to associate himself with the family of Israel. They also destroyed the whole people [of Shechem], so that Israel himself, their father, said to them, "You made me odious in this world." Therefore he curses their cruelty and their recklessness and declares he will scatter them amid the people of Israel, and that from them the Levites and the priests who do not have their own inheritance of land will descend.

(Verse 7) Cursed be their fury, for it is stubborn; and their anger, for it is harsh. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. For Levi did not receive his own inheritance, but had a few cities to dwell in among all the tribes. As for Simeon, it is written in the Book of Joshua (19) that he did not even receive a portion of land as his own, but received something from the tribe of Judah. And in the Chronicles (1, 4) it is more explicitly written that he multiplied and did not have a place of possession, so he went out into the wilderness. Certain people interpret the prophetically killed men, the Apostles, and the paralyzed bull by the Pharisees as Christ.

This text appears to be directed to the patriarch Judah, indeed, but more so that later Judah is meant, the true confessor who was born of that tribe and who alone is praised by his brothers; of them he says, "I will declare your name to my brothers." He is the Lord by nature but a brother by grace; his hands, which he stretched out to an unbelieving people, are on the back of his enemies. For with those same hands and by that same passion Christ protected his own, subjugated hostile powers, and made subject to himself all people who were without faith and devotion. Of these the Father says to his Son, "And you will rule in the midst of your enemies." It was their own wickedness that made them enemies, not Christ's will. In this there is a great gift of the Lord. Previously, spiritual wickedness generally used to make our neck bend to the yoke of captivity. Thus even David wrote that he felt in some way the hands of those who triumphed over him, for he said, "Upon my back sinners have wrought." But now spiritual wickedness is subject to the triumph of Christ and to his hands, as it were; that is, wickedness undergoes the affliction of captivity, being subject forever in deeds and in works. And it is he indeed to whom the sons of his Father bow down, when we bow down to him; for he has permitted us to call upon the Father, and to be subject to the Father is to be subject to virtue.

In these blessings, the way that they expressly introduced the listeners to the prophecy concerning the incarnation of our Savior is extremely clear. At the beginning of the blessing the meaning of the name itself is set before the reader's eyes, and also the fact that the tribe of Judah was superior to all the others for its glory. If one wants to interpret the name Judah, it means "praise" or "hymn" or "celebrated with hymns." These words therefore must be referred to Christ, who obviously is from the tribe of Judah according to the flesh. He was born from Judah, Jesse and David and from that virgin who was assumed for the generation of the flesh.… You must be praised, and to God you will give back the glory that is due him. No one else is suited to be glorified but only the living and well-known God. Even though you appeared human and emptied yourself, you are known to be holy and eternal. Your brothers according to human nature will not be related to you as man but rather will praise you as Lord, though placed among your brothers, and will glorify you as Creator, though you have placed yourself with them among the creatures. They will recognize you as the Lord and the King, even though you appeared veiled under the "form of a slave." Moreover, he foretold the fact that the Immanuel would have overcome all those who opposed him … saying, "Your hands on the back of your enemies." And Christ himself, through the voice of David, foretold the same thing. He said, "I will pursue my enemies and will take them, and I will not return until they are defeated. I will crush them, and they will not be able to stand but will fall under my feet." Then Jacob said rightly, "His hands will be on the back of his enemies," that is, as those of the one pursuing rather than those of one fleeing, as those of the one striking rather than those of one who is struck. What is declared in the book of the Psalms is true: "The enemy shall have no advantage against him, and the son of iniquity shall not hurt him again." If he gives us the power to "tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy," how can we not be confident that he has under his control those who want to oppose him and to exalt themselves impiously? The divine Jacob foretold that Christ cannot flee but only pursue and that he would defeat everyone effortlessly (in fact, he conquered the world), when he said, "Your hands will be on the back of your enemies, and the children of your father will adore you."

But, one may say, why did it seem right to the prophet to impose on Judah such a blessing, when he had done nothing like that for the first ones?Now learn the reason.… In fact David had to be born from the tribe of Judah and Christ from David with regard to the flesh. [Therefore] the prophet foreknowing the future events in their spiritual sense has blessed there David, who descended from Judah, and the Christ who, according to the flesh, had to be born from David, so that he might receive from God not only the blessing according to the spirit but also the blessing according to the flesh.

Who are the brothers who praised and adored him but the apostles, to whom the Lord said, "Are you my brothers and coheirs?" And then to say, "Your hands are on the back of your enemies" can mean either of two things: by simply stretching his hands [on the cross] Christ was able, in the course of the fight against his enemies, to triumph over [invisible] powers. Or he has become the Lord and Master and Judge of all those who were his enemies according to the flesh, after being set in this role by the Father.

(Verse 8.) Judah, your brothers will praise you. Because Judah, confession or praise, is subsequently written: Judah, your brothers will confess to you: or, your brothers will praise you.

This can be referred to the historical Judah as well as to those kings who were his descendants. They broke the back of their enemies by administering the kingdom of that people. But this can also be fittingly referred to Christ, who is praised with good reason by his brothers, that is, by the apostles whom he himself called brothers in the Gospel. And his enemies, on whose back is his hand, appear to be those whom the Father promised to place under his feet by saying, "Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet." They are enemies as long as they are unbelieving and unfaithful, and for that reason they are struck on the back. But after their conversion they become brothers and praise the One who, by summoning them to the adoption of the Father, has made them his coheirs and brothers. It is said correctly that the back of the enemies is struck by Christ. All those who worshiped the idols turned their back to God, as the Lord, through the prophet, accused them by saying, "They turned their backs to me, and not their faces." Therefore he strikes their back so that after being converted they may turn their back to the idols and raise their forehead to God and may accomplish what is written here: "Your father's sons shall bow down before you." In fact, they adore him when they have become sons of the Father and have received the spirit of adoption in which they cry out, "Abba, Father." No one calls Jesus Christ Lord except those who are in the Holy Spirit.

"A lion's whelp is Judah." Isn't it clear that he represented the Father and manifested the Son? Is there any clearer way to teach that God the Son is of one nature with the Father? The one is the lion, the other the lion's whelp. By this paltry comparison, their unity in the same nature and power is perceived. King proceeds from king, a strong one from one who is strong. Because Jacob foresaw that there would be those to claim that the Son was younger in age, he replied to them by adding, "From my seed you have come up to me. Resting you have slept like a lion and like a whelp." And in a different passage you find that the whelp is himself "the lion of the tribe of Judah." … But the Son is not being named in such a way as to be separated from the Father. Jacob, who confesses the Son, also esteems him equal.Moreover, he represented the Son's incarnation in a wonderful fashion when he said, "From my seed you have come up to me." For Christ sprouted in the womb of the Virgin like a shrub upon the earth; like a flower of pleasing fragrance, he was sent forth in the splendor of new light and came up from his mother's vitals for the redemption of the entire world. Just so, Isaiah says, "There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall come up out of the root." The root is the household of the Jews, the rod is Mary, the flower of Mary is Christ. She is rightly called a rod, for she is of royal lineage, of the house and family of David. Her flower is Christ, who destroyed the stench of worldly pollution and poured out the fragrance of eternal life.

Therefore you have become acquainted with the incarnation; learn of the passion. "Resting, you have slept like a lion." When Christ lay at rest in the tomb, it was as if he were in a kind of bodily sleep, as he himself says, "I have slept and have taken my rest and have risen up, because the Lord will sustain me." On this account also Jacob says, "Who will arouse him?" that is, him whom the Lord will take up. Who else is there to rouse him again, unless he rouses himself by his own power and the power of the Father? I see that he was born by his own authority, I see that he died by his own will; I see that he sleeps by his own power. He did all things by his own dominion; will he need the help of someone else to rise again? Therefore he is the author of his own resurrection, he is the judge of his death; he is expected by the nations.

In the mystery of the calling, Christ is symbolized by the two sons of Judah, Zarah and Phares, for of him many things are said in happy remembrance, such as this: "A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey you have gone up, my son. He crouches and couches as a lion; as a lioness, and who will disturb him?" Hence the lawgiver also placed here this figure of the two sons of Judah born of Thamar.

Again, he is called a Lion; not a man eater, but, as it were, showing by this title his kingly, strong and resolute nature, Then too, he is called a Lion in opposition to the lion, our adversary who roars and devours those who have been deceived. For the Savior came, not having changed his own gentle nature, and yet as the mighty lion of the tribe of Judah, saving them that believe but trampling upon the adversary.

By saying "lion" and "lion's whelp," he has clearly pointed toward the two persons: that of the Father and that of the Son. He said, "From a shoot, my son, you have gone up" in order to show the generation of Christ according to the flesh. Christ, after his incarnation, being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin, sprouted in her, and like a flower and a pleasant perfume, once he went out of that womb into the world, he appeared visibly. On the other hand, by saying "whelp of the lion" he indicates Christ's generation according to spirit, through which he appears to come directly from God, as he has shown him like a king born of a king. However, he has not remained silent about his generation according to the flesh but says clearly, "From a shoot, my son, you have gone up." Isaiah says, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom shall come up from it." The root of Jesse was the stump of the patriarchs, like a root planted in the ground, and the rod coming out of it was Mary, because she was from the house and the family of David. The blossom that had come up from the rod was Christ, the one that Jacob had prophesied by saying, "From a shoot, my son, you have gone up."

He says the words "After stooping down, you slept like a lion and a whelp" in order to show Christ sleeping during the three days of his burial, when he rests in the heart of the earth. And also the Lord himself has testified such when he said, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." And David by announcing him in advance said, "I lay down and slept; I awoke for the Lord will help me." Jacob also said, "Who will wake him?" He did not say "Nobody will wake him" but "Who?" in order that we may understand that the Father woke the Son from the dead, as the apostle confirms: "and through God the Father who woke him from the dead." And Peter said, "But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it."

(Verse 9.) The sons of your father shall adore you. The lion's cub of Judah, my son, you have risen, bowing down like a lion and like a lion cub. Who will awaken him? Although there is a great mystery about Christ, it is prophesied according to the literal interpretation that kings from the lineage of David through Judah will be born and that all tribes will adore him. For it does not say, the sons of your mother, but the sons of your father. And what follows, you have risen from the lineage, my son, in Hebrew is, you have risen from captivity, my son, to show that he will lead captive peoples; and according to a more sacred interpretation, he has ascended on high and led captivity captive (Psalm 68). Or what I think is better, captivity signifies passion, ascent signifies resurrection.

The mystical interpretation, according to which the lion's whelp not only symbolically but also literally signifies Christ, is much more suitable to this passage. In fact, the Physiologus writes with regard to the lion's whelp that after its birth it sleeps for three days and three nights; then the lair itself awakens the sleeping whelp, as if it was shaken by the noise and the roar of the father. Therefore this whelp rises from the shoot: he was born from the Virgin, not from a seed but from a shoot. So Christ was born without sexual intercourse with a man and without the natural seed, like a bough or a branch. In this manner the reality of the assumption of the flesh from the Virgin is clearly demonstrated, and the contact with human or natural seed is excluded in the holy shoot.

"Judah is a lion's whelp: from the shoot, my son, you have gone up." With good reason the one who was crucified and resurrected with Christ is called "young lion," as Paul, who was rightly considered to be a Judah, said when he confessed his sin: "For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." And Paul asserts that the essence of Christ [lit. "what Christ is"] is in himself when he proclaims, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." Therefore a young lion is either the one who sleeps with Christ, because he died for sins, or the one who is resurrected with Christ, because he lives for God.And the son has sprouted from the shoot. Without doubt the reference here is to the one who, being a wild olive tree, was grafted onto the good olive tree. He rejected the vulgar and gross morals of the carnal nature, remaining in Christ, the true vine, through the spirit of adoption, thereby producing much fruit from his precepts. And since he is so, reclining, he sleeps like a lion. The wise man has the confidence of the lion, especially when he can assuredly assert, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." No fear, no threat, no temptation can awaken him; his decisions are firm, and his mind is stable.

"Having crouched, you slept as a lion and as a whelp." It is evident that the actions of crouching and sleeping signify the passion and death. But let us see why he sleeps as a lion and a whelp. With regard to the sleep of the whelp it has been already said above that it can very conveniently be referred to Christ, who, after being buried for three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, completed, as was expected, the sleep of death. But I believe that the expression "as a lion" must be interpreted in this way: the death of Christ marked the defeat and the triumph over the demons. In fact, our lion captured all the prey that the hostile lion had conquered after destroying and crushing the man. Then, by coming back from the underworld and ascending on high, he made slavery his captive. Therefore in his sleep the lion won and defeated every evil and destroyed the one who had the power of death. And like a whelp he woke up on the third day.

Yes, because they denied the true king, they began to have false kings. And so the patriarch is saying this: The inheritance of an unblemished line of succession, traced through the kings, will be kept among the judges and kings of the Jews, "until he comes for whom it has been reserved," reserved that he may gather together the church of God out of the assembly of all the nations and the devotion of the Gentile peoples. That is, this awaits him, this is kept for him as his due—the prerogative of such great grace is given to him."And he is the expectation of the nations." Jacob spoke more meaningfully than if he had said, "The nations are expecting him," for in Christ lies the entire hope of the church. Therefore it is said to Moses, "Remove the sandals from your feet." Otherwise Moses, who was chosen as leader of the people, might be thought to be the bridegroom of the church. It was for that reason that Joshua, son of Nun, removed his sandals, in order that he also could preserve the gift of so great a function for him who was to come. It is for that reason that John says, "A man is coming after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." He also says, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy." This means he alone is the husband of the church, he is the expectation of the nations, and the prophets removed their sandals while offering to him a union of nuptial grace.

by whom also Jesus Christ is announced as the Lord of the promises in these words which he spake: Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise: Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee; Judah is a lion's whelp; from the branch, my son, hast thou ascended, he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lions whelp; who shall rouse him up? A ruler shall not fail from Judah nor a leader from his thighs until what is laid up in store for him shall come, and he the expectation of the nations. Binding his foal unto the vines, and to the tendril of the vine his ass's colt. He shall wash his garment in wine, and his vesture in the blood of the grape. Wine shall make his eyes sparkle with joy, and his teeth shall be whiter than milk. But the sons of his father did not bow down before him, nay, on the contrary he made obeisance to Joseph, even after the death of his father. It is evident therefore that the whole of this prophecy had its fulfilment in the Lord Christ who descended from him according to the flesh, and that it sets before the mind his kingly power, and his Passion, and his blessed Resurrection after his Passion.

This passage clearly refers to Judah. It appears that until the birth of Christ there was no lack of princes from the family of Judah or of heads from its sides, until Herod came, who according to the history written by Josephus was a foreigner and usurped the throne of Judea through his plots. As soon as this happened and a head from the sides of Judah was lacking, the one to whom the kingdom had been reserved immediately came.

"And he will be the expectation of nations." Since we propose to investigate once and for all the moral meaning of the text, we need to look inside ourselves for those nations who expect from confession such purification and perfection of the senses. We can certainly see the nations inside ourselves as all the passions of our soul, which are more restless in our youth and, in a sense, act like pagans.

Let us be bound with bonds of a faith that is like a fruitful branch and cannot be undone, as it were, to that everlasting vine, that is, to the Lord Jesus, who says, "I am the vine; my Father is the gardener." This explains the mystery that the Lord Jesus in the Gospel ordered an ass's colt to be loosed and himself sat upon it; thus, like one that was bound to a vine, he could find rest in the everlasting goodness of the saints.

"He will wash his robe in wine." The good robe is the flesh of Christ, which has covered the sins of all people, taken up the offenses of all, concealed the misdeeds of all—the good robe which has clothed all people with the garment of rejoicing. He washed this robe in wine at his baptism in the Jordan, when the Holy Spirit came down like a dove and remained upon him. By this, it is indicated that the fullness of the Holy Spirit will be indivisible in him and will not depart. On this account also the Evangelist says, "The Lord Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan." Therefore Jesus washed his robe, not to wash away his stain, for he had none, but to wash away the stain that was ours. Then Jacob continued, "and his mantle in the blood of the grape." This means that in the passion of his body he washed the nations with his blood. Truly the mantle represents the nations, as it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, unless I shall clothe myself with them all, as with a garment," and in another passage, "Like clothing you will change them, and they will be changed." And so with his own blood he cleansed not his own sins, for there were none, but the offenses that we committed. It was appropriate that Jacob spoke of a grape, because Christ hung on the wood like a grape. He is the vine, he is the grape; he is the vine because he cleaves to the wood and the grape because, when his side was opened by the soldier's lance, he sent forth water and blood. For thus John said that "there came out from him blood and water," water for baptism, blood for redemption. The water washed us, the blood redeemed us.

Again, it is said, "He tethers his colt to the vine." This means he united the simple, new people to the Word, whom the vine signifies. For the product of the vine is wine; of the Word, blood. Both are saving potions: wine, for the health of the body; the other, blood, for the salvation of the soul.

When our Lord came, he also bound his foal to the true vine. Just as all the symbols are fulfilled by him, he would fulfill in truth even this that was handed down to them in likeness. Either there was a vine in Jerusalem outside of the sanctuary to which he bound his foal when he entered the temple, or in that city from which the foal came it had been bound to a vine. He said, "If they say to you, 'Why are you untying this foal?' say to them, 'The master requires it.' "

By the "foal" he means the calling of the Gentiles; by the other, that of the circumcision: "one ass," moreover, that is to signify that the two colts are of one faith; in other words, the two callings. And one colt is bound to the "vine," and the other to the "vine tendril," which means that the Church of the Gentiles is bound to the Lord, but he who is of the circumcision to the oldness of the law. "He will wash his garment in wine; "that is, by the Holy Spirit and the word of truth, he will cleanse the flesh, which is meant by the garment. And "in the blood of the grape," trodden and giving forth blood, which means the flesh of the Lord, he cleanses the whole calling of the Gentiles.

Here Christ has mystically indicated his baptism. After he had come up from the Jordan and had purified its waters (by plunging in them), he received the grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. … And since by hanging on the cross he was like a bunch of ripe grapes, after his side was pierced he emitted blood and water: 81 the former for the bath (baptism), the latter for the ransom (redemption), the prophet [Jacob] rightly said, "He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of ripe grapes."

(Verse 11.) He ties his young donkey to the vine, and the colt of the donkey to the choice vine. In Hebrew it says, He ties his young donkey to the vine, and in Sorec, his donkey's colt to the choice vine: which colt of the donkey, that is, the Gentile people whom Jesus has taken over, that is, the Apostles' vineyard, who are from the Jews, he has joined together. And in Sorec, that is, the chosen vine, he has tied the donkey, over whom he has taken control, the Church gathered from the nations. And what he says, my son, he addresses to Judas himself, because Christ will do all of this. But it should also be known that where we read: Alligating to its vine its foal, can be read as 'its foal' in Hebrew, its city, with the same meaning demonstrated by other words in the Church, of which it is written elsewhere: A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:15). And the streams of the river make the city of God glad (Psalm 46:5).

I mean, since the ass is an unclean animal, hence he says, "Those unclean Gentiles will be introduced with such ease as if someone were to tether the foal to the stem of the vine, referring to the extraordinary degree of his authority and to the great responsiveness of the Gentiles." That is to say, its readiness to be tethered to the stem of the vine is a mark of the ass's gentleness. Now it was to the vine that Jesus compared his own teaching: "I am the true vine," he says, remember, "and my Father is the vinedresser."

Therefore it was the Word of God, as we have already stated, who is found to have at one time put on and at another time to have put off the flesh. He even foretold this in the blessing "He shall wash his garment in wine, and his clothing in the blood of the grape." … It is quite evident to us that the flesh was the garment and the body was the clothing of the Word who washed the substance of his body and the matter of his flesh in the blood, that is, in wine, cleansing by his passion that humanity he had taken upon himself. Therefore, inasmuch as he is washed, he is man, because the garment that is washed is flesh. But he who washed it is the Word of God, who, in order to wash the garment, was made the wearer of the garment. Accordingly he is declared to be man by that substance which was assumed that it might be washed, just as he who washed it is shown to be God, by the authority of the Word.

This is appropriately and exclusively said about Christ. He that said, "I am the true vine" bound his foal to the vine. Therefore he binds his foal and his ass's foal to this vine. His foal is the people of the nations, onto whom certainly the burden of the law had never been imposed and among whom no one but he had ever held the first position. His ass's foal are those, who coming from the first people symbolized here by the she-ass, were elected for salvation and about whom the prophet says, "If the sons of Israel are like the sand of the sea, the rest shall be saved." After rejecting the she-ass who preferred to wear the yoke of the law in its infidelity, the foal born from it is elected, that is, a new people coming from the old one through faith is adopted and associated to the people of the nations. Therefore Christ is called "vine" because he has received the human nature, to which the Word of God binds his foal, that is, unites his people and associates it with that way of life that he followed in the flesh, so that the foal that has been bound may become with him son of God and coheir of Christ.

"Binding his foal to the vine." Here we understand "foal" as the sense itself (intelligence, reason) on account of the renewal of life: that same sense which elsewhere the Lord calls "child," when he says, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." When one unites with the Lord and becomes a single spirit with him, he binds his foal to the vine by saying, "It is good for me to cleave close to God." "And his ass's foal to its branch." That branch or rather that tendril, as we have interpreted it above, can be understood as the subtle and flexible intelligence of knowledge. When the ass's foal, that is, the senses of the soul, are bound to it, they prevent the soul itself from falling.

"He shall wash his robe in wine and his garment in the blood of grapes." These words, on the basis of the historical account, will appear to signify a fertile land full of vineyards or, in a hyperbolic manner, the abundance of wine. But the mystical explanation will give them a nobler sense. Christ's robe washed in wine is interpreted with good reason as the church, which he himself has purified in his blood and is spotless and faultless. "You were not redeemed through silver and gold," the apostle says, "but through the precious blood of the only-begotten Son of God." And therefore in the wine of that blood, that is, in the bath of regeneration Christ washes the church. And we are buried with him through baptism in his death and in his blood.… But let us see how he will wash his garment in the blood of grapes. The garment appears to be a more intimate cloth, which is closer to the body than the robe. Those who, after they had been washed with the bath and had become his robe, reached the sacrament of the blood of grapes, that is, a more intimate and more secret mystery; they in a sense participate in his garment. In fact, the soul is washed in the blood of grapes, when it has begun to grasp the meaning of that sacrament. After perceiving and comprehending the virtue of the blood of the Word of God, the soul will become more receptive as it is purer. Each day it is washed in order to improve in its knowledge.

And therefore the prophet says, "His eyes are joyful from wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk," for he means the prophets and the apostles. For some, like eyes of Christ, have foreseen and announced his coming, and of them Christ himself says, "Abraham saw my day and he rejoiced," and one of the prophets says, "I saw the Lord of hosts." Seeing him, they were filled with a spiritual joy. Others, however, that is, the apostles, whom the Lord cleansed from every stain of sin, were made whiter than milk, for no blemish darkened them afterward. Indeed, milk is a temporal thing, but the grace of the apostles remains forever. They provided us with that spiritual sustenance which is of heaven, and they nourished the vitals of the spirit which is within. There are also those who think that the commandments of the Lord, which were revealed from the mouth of God, being clear, have become to us like milk. Nourished upon them, we come to the sustenance of the bread of heaven. On this account also Paul says, "I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet ready." The Corinthian in the beginning of faith is initiated with milk to drink, whereas those saints whose faith is proclaimed in the whole world are strengthened with more solid food, as if they had been weaned.

Hipp. That is, his eyes are brilliant as with the word of truth; for they regard all who believe upon him. And his teeth are white as milk;-that denotes the luminous power of his words: for this reason he calls them white, and compares them to milk, as that which nourishes the flesh and the soul. And Zabulun is, by interpretation, "fragrance" and "blessing."

Then, after something from Cyril:-

Hipp. Again, I think, it mystically signifies the sacraments of the New Testament of our Saviour; and the words, "his teeth are white as milk," denote the excellency and purity of the sacramental food. And again, these words, "his teeth are white as milk," we take in the sense that His words give light to those who believe on Him.

And in saying, moreover, that Zabulun will dwell by the sea, he speaks prophetically of his territory as bordering on the sea, and of Israel as mingling with the Gentiles, the two nations being brought as it were into one flock. And this is manifest in the Gospel. "The land of Zabulun, and the land of Nephthalim," etc. And you will mark more fully the richness of his lot as having both inland territory and seaboard.

"And he is by a haven of ships; "that is, as in a safe anchorage, referring to Christ, the anchor of hope. And this denotes the calling of the Gentiles-that the grace of Christ shall go forth to the whole earth and sea. For he says, "And (he is) by a haven of ships, and shall extend as far as Sidon." And that this is said prophetically of the Church of the Gentiles, is made apparent to us in the Gospel: "The land of Zabulun, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw great light." In saying, then, that he, namely Zabulun, would inhabit a territory bordering on the sea, he plainly confirmed that, just as if he had said that in the future Israel would mingle with the Gentiles, the two peoples being brought together into one fold and under the hand of one chief Shepherd, the good (Shepherd) by nature, that is, Christ. In blessing him Moses said, "Zabulun shall rejoice." And Moses prophesies, that in the allocation of the land he should have abundance ministered of the good things both of land and sea, under the hand of One. "By a haven of ships; "that is, as in an anchorage that proves safe, referring to Christ, the anchor of hope. For by His grace he shall come forth out of many a tempest, and shall be brought hereafter to land, like ships secure in harbours. Besides, he said that "he extends as far even as Sidon," indicating, as it seems, that so complete a unity will be effected in the spirit's course between the two peoples, that those of the blood of Israel shall occupy those very cities which once were exceeding guilty in the sight of God.

After something from Cyril:-

Hipp. And "that the land was fat; "that is, the flesh of our Lord: "fat," that is, "rich; "for it flows with honey and milk. The parts of the land are marked off for an inheritance and possession to him-that means the doctrine of the Lord. For this is a pleasant rest, as He says Himself: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden," etc. For they who keep the commandments, and do not disclaim the ordinances of the law, enjoy rest both in them and in the doctrine of our Lord; and that is the meaning of "in the midst of the lots." As the Lord says, "I am not come to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfil them." For even our Lord, in the fact that He keeps the commandments, does not destroy the law and the prophets, but fulfils them, as He says in the Gospels. "He set his shoulder to toil, and became a husbandman." This the apostles did. Having received power from God, and having set themselves to labour, they became husbandmen of the Lord, cultivating the earth-that is, the human race-with the preaching of our Lord.

"Eyes" then, the prophets have been the eyes of Christ when they rejoiced in the power of the Spirit, and announced in advance the sufferings which had to rush upon him and which were useful for the generations after him to understand that every person can be saved. Through the words "His teeth (ARE) whiter than milk" he signified either the apostles sanctified by the Word himself and become like milk, the apostles who have provided us with the spiritual and heavenly nourishment. Or, … he means the commandments of the Lord, which were uttered by a holy mouth but remain for us milk, so that by obtaining from them nourishment and growth we may take our part of the heavenly bread.

And also Christ's eyes will be like this, those eyes which bring the light of knowledge to the whole body, according to what is written in the Gospel: "The lamp of your body is the eye." Therefore these eyes are made graceful: a word of knowledge is seasoned with salt to be pleasing to the audience. The one who proclaims the word of knowledge is not said to be "made graceful" just because he has in himself the grace but because he also acts in order that his listeners may have the grace. In fact, "after comprehending that, the wise man will become wiser." His eyes are made graceful by wine because nothing is watery, nothing is fluid, nothing is cold in the word of knowledge. It is like a wine that cheers the human heart and is sprinkled on the wounds of the victims of robbers. This means that the wounds of the listeners, their sins, are not only soothed by the sweetness of oil but are also purified by the harshness of wine.

We have already discussed many times about the nature and quality of Christ's limbs, and it seems to be superfluous to repeat again the same things in this passage. So his teeth whiter than milk are those who can chew and grind with their teeth the strong and solid food of the Word of God to extreme fineness, those about whom the apostle in his epistle to the Hebrews says, "Solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil." About the still imperfect Corinthians he says, "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food." Since they are superior to those who live on milk, his teeth are therefore white, that is, those who can take and eat solid food are superior to those who still need milk like babies. That is why in the law those animals which ruminate and bring back to their teeth the food that they had previously eaten, in order to make it very fine for their feeding, are called pure animals. And so in the most consistent manner his teeth are said to be white. All those who are perfect and, by explaining through worthy and proper interpretations the food of the Scripture, administer to the church the subtle and fine intelligence, which is called spiritual, must be pure and free and faultless, so that they may never be told, "You, then, that teach others, will you not teach yourself?"