Joseph
22Joseph is a wild
donkey colt,
a wild colt at a spring,
a colt of wild donkeys on a hillside.
23The archers attacked
him bitterly
and shot at him were hostile to him.
24But each one’s bow was broken forever,
and his strong arms trembled,
by the hands of the Mighty one of Jacob,
in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25from the God of your father who helps you,
El-Shaddai who blesses you,
with blessings of heaven above
and blessings of the deep that crouches below,
blessings of the breasts and the womb.
26Your father’s blessings are great,
beyond the blessings of the ancient mountains,
beyond the desire of the everlasting hills.
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
on the head of the one set apart among his brothers. (Kent P. Jackson, Genesis:
A New English Translation with The Joseph Smith Translation and Commentary [Provo,
Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2025], 118)
The poem in
Genesis 49, called the Testament of Jacob, is likely very ancient, perhaps composed
centuries before the surrounding biblical narrative. It is in a different kind
of Hebrew from the rest of the text. Some of the language in it is obscure, and
it includes several very uncommon Hebrew words and some that appear only in
this poem. Thus, there is uncertainty about the meaning of several passages.
Because of that, this translation, like many other modern translations, differs
in several places from the KJV.
. . .
* 49:22 wild
donkey colt Joseph’s depiction as a colt of a wild donkey
continues the animal metaphors found in other blessings. (See also Hosea 8:9,
where Joseph’s descendants are called a wild donkey.) * 49:23-25 The
archers attempt to shoot and kill the donkey colt, but GOd comes to Joseph’s
aid to protect him, breaking the archers’ bows and weakening their arms. Despite
all the obstacles placed in his path, which we see vividly in Genesis. Joseph
prevails. These verses highlight four titles for the Lord that emphasize his
power to save: Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, and
El-Shaddai (see comment at 17:1). * 49:24 broken This reading follows
the Greek Septuagint, which seems to have a better-preserved reading here than
the Masoretic text. * 49:26 the one set apart among his brothers Or, “the
prince among his brothers.” Jacob rejected Reuben with respect to the right of
the firstborn (verses 3-4), and God now chose Joseph to be chief among the
tribes of Israel. It is interesting, following chapter 48, that no mention is
made in his blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh, but only a tribe of Joseph. It is
important to note that even though the birthright was given to Joseph, the government
would belong to Judah (1 Chronicles 5:2). If the tribe of Ephraim led Israel in
anything in Old Testament times, it was in wickedness. As the chief tribe of
the Northern Kingdom after its separation from Judah, Ephraim was on the
forefront of apostasy and idolatry and eventually guided the kingdom to destruction,
deportation, and scattering. The birthright of Ephraim, it seems, would not be
exercised in righteousness until the latter days, when God would raise up
prophets from Ephraim who would restore others of Israel to the covenants of
the gospel. (Kent P. Jackson, Genesis: A New English Translation with The Joseph
Smith Translation and Commentary [Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies
Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2025], 118, 119)
On Gen 17:1 and “El Shaddai”:
An ancient name
for God. The word ‘el means “God,” but the meaning of shadday is
not firmly established. El-Shaddai is often rendered “God Almighty.” (Kent
P. Jackson, Genesis: A New English Translation with The Joseph Smith
Translation and Commentary [Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center; Salt
Lake City: Deseret Book, 2025], 52)
