Jacob Summons His Sons

1 And Jacob called his sons and said to them, “Gather together, and I will tell you the hidden mysteries, the concealed ends, the giving of the reward of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked, and what the bliss of Eden is.” The twelve tribes gathered together and surrounded the bed of gold on which our father Jacob was lying, after the end had been revealed to him, and so that he might tell them the end of the blessing and the consolation. When the end was revealed to him, the mystery was hidden from him. They were hoping that he would tell them the end of the redemption and the consolation. When the mystery was revealed to him, it was hidden from him, and when the door was opened to him, it was shut against him. Our father Jacob answered and blessed them; each man according to his good deeds he blessed them. 2 When the twelve tribes of Jacob had gathered and surrounded the bed of gold on which our father Jacob was lying, they were hoping that he would reveal to them the order of the blessing, but it was hidden from him. Our father Jacob answered and said to them, “From Abraham, my father’s father, there arose a blemish, Ishmael, and all the sons of Keturah; and from Isaac my father there arose his blemish, Esau my brother. And I am afraid that there may be among you a man whose heart is divided against his brothers, to go and worship before foreign idols.” The twelve tribes of Jacob answered together and said, “Hear us, Israel our father: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Jacob answered and said, “Blessed is his name, the glory of his kingdom, forever and ever.”

The Blessing of Reuben

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and the beginning of my sorrow. You were fit to take three portions more than your brothers: the birthright was yours, and the kingship and the high priesthood were fit to be yours. Because you sinned, Reuben my son, the birthright has been given to Joseph my son, and the kingship to Judah, and the high priesthood to the tribe of Levi. 4 I compare you, Reuben my son, to a small garden into which flooding streams of water came, and you could not withstand them, and you were broken before them. So you have been broken, Reuben my son, in your wisdom and in your good deeds, because you sinned. Do not sin again, my son, and for what you sinned you will be loosed and forgiven. For you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it; he went up to my couch.

The Blessings of Simeon and Levi

5 Simeon and Levi are twin brothers, masters of sharp weapons, makers of war from their youth; in the land of their enemies they won the victories of their battles. 6 In their assemblies, in their counsels, my soul took no pleasure; when they gathered against the city of Shechem to lay it waste, they had no regard for my honor, for in their anger they killed kings, and at their will they broke down the walls of their enemies. 7 Cursed was the city of Shechem when Simeon and Levi went into it to lay it waste in their anger, for their anger is strong, and the dread of them, for it was harsh,” said our father Jacob. “If Simeon and Levi live together, there is no nation or kingdom that can stand against them. I will divide the portion of Simeon within the house of Jacob, and I will increase the inheritance of Levi within the tribe of the sons of Israel.

Judah’s Blessing and the Coming of King Messiah

8 Judah, your brothers will praise you, and by your name all Jews will be called Jews. Your hands will take vengeance for you on your enemies; all your father’s sons will come first to ask after your welfare. 9 I compare you, Judah, to a lion’s cub. From the killers of Joseph my son you were the rescuer; from the judgment of Tamar, my son, you came out innocent. You rest and lie down in the midst of battle like a lion and like a lioness, and there is no nation or kingdom that can stand against you. 10 Kings shall not cease from those of the house of Judah,⁠a nor scribes who teach the Law from his sons’ sons, until the time when King Messiah comes, to whom the kingship belongs, and all the kingdoms shall be subject to him. 11 How beautiful is King Messiah, who is to arise from those of the house of Judah! He girds his loins and goes out to battle against those who hate him, and he kills kings together with rulers. He reddens the mountains with the blood of their slain and whitens the hills with the fat of their warriors. His garments are rolled in blood; he is like one who treads grapes.⁠b 12 How beautiful are the eyes of King Messiah, more than clear wine, so that he will not look with them on the uncovering of nakedness, nor on the shedding of innocent blood. His teeth are purer than milk, so that he will not eat with them what is taken by violence or by robbery. The mountains will grow red from his vines, and the vats from wine, and the hills will grow white with plenty of grain and flocks of sheep.

The Blessing of Zebulun

13 Zebulun will live on the coasts of the Great Sea, and he will rule over the harbors of ships, and his border will reach as far as Sidon.

The Blessing of Issachar

14 Issachar is a strong tribe, lying between the two borders. 15 And he saw from the beginning that it was good, and the land of Israel, that its fruits were rich, and he bent his shoulder to the teaching of the Law, and all his brothers were bringing up tribute to him.

The Blessing of Dan

16 From those of the house of Dan redemption and a judge will arise; all the tribes of the sons of Israel will obey him together. 17 This shall be the redeemer who is to arise from those of the house of Dan: he will be strong, he will be exalted over all the nations. He will be like a snake that lies on the ground, and like a viper that lurks at the parting of the roads, that bites the horses on the heels, and in fear of it the rider is thrown and turns over backward. He is Samson son of Manoah, the dread of whom is upon his enemies and the fear of whom is upon those who hate him; he goes out to battle against those who hate him, and he kills kings together with rulers.”

Jacob’s Hope for Redemption

18 Our father Jacob said, “Not for the redemption of Gideon son of Joash does my soul wait, for it is the redemption of an hour; and not for the redemption of Samson son of Manoah does my soul wait, for it is a passing redemption; but for the redemption of the one you have said you will bring to your people, the house of Israel, does my soul wait. For you, for your redemption, I wait, Lord.”

The Blessing of Gad

19 “From those of the house of Gad, camps will go out, drawn up in ranks and armed; they will cross the Jordan with Israel, and they will subdue the land before them, and after that they will return to their place with great wealth.

The Blessing of Asher

20 Happy are you of the house of Asher! How rich are the fruits of your land! And look, it will raise up produce, the delicacies of the kings of the sons of Israel.

The Blessing of Naphtali

21 Naphtali is a swift runner who brings good news. It was he who brought word to our father Jacob at the first that Joseph was still alive. And he girded himself and went down to Egypt in a short hour, and brought the deed of the field from Joseph’s palace. And when his mouth brought good news in the assemblies of Israel, milk and honey came out from his lips.

The Blessing of Joseph

22 My son who has grown great, Joseph, my son who has grown great and become strong, and you are fit to become stronger still! I compare you, Joseph my son, to a vine planted by springs of water, which sent its roots into the earth and broke the teeth of all the rocks, and sent its branches up on high and overcame all the trees. So you overcame, Joseph my son, by your wisdom, all the magicians of the Egyptians and all their wise men, when they had you ride in Pharaoh’s second chariot and were acclaiming before you, ‘Long live the father of the king, who is great in wisdom and young in years!’ And the daughters of the kings and of the rulers were peering at you through the windows and looking out at you from the lattices, and they were throwing down before you bracelets, rings, chains, necklaces and all kinds of gold, hoping that you would raise your eyes and look at one of them. Far be it from you, Joseph my son! You did not raise your eyes and look at one of them. And the daughters of the kings and of the rulers were saying to one another, ‘This is Joseph, the pious man, who did not go after the sight of his eyes nor after the imaginings of his heart, which are the things that destroy a person from the world.’ Because of this two tribes will arise from you, Manasseh and Ephraim, and they will receive a share and inheritance with their brothers in the division of the land. 23 They spoke against him, but all the magicians of the Egyptians and their wise men could not prevail against him. They spoke evil before their master and slandered him before Pharaoh king of Egypt, in order to bring him down from his greatness and to remove him from the throne of the kingdom. They spoke against him with a slanderous tongue in Pharaoh’s palace, and it was harder on him than arrows. 24 But he placed his trust in the Strong One; he stretched out his hands and his arms to ask for mercy from the Strong One of his father Jacob, from under whose mighty arm all the tribes of Israel are provided for. 25 May the Memra of the God of your father be your help, and may the God of the heavens bless you with the good of the dew and the rain that come down from the heavens above, and with the blessing of the springs of the deep that rise from the earth below. Blessed are the breasts that you sucked, and the womb in which you lay.⁠c 26 May the blessings of your father be added to you, beyond the blessings with which my fathers Abraham and Isaac blessed me, which the great ones of the world, Esau and Ishmael, have coveted from the beginning. May all these blessings come and become a crown of greatness on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the pious man who was lord and ruler over the land of Egypt and was careful of the honor of his father and the honor of his brothers.

The Blessing of Benjamin

27 Benjamin is a strong tribe. In his territory the sanctuary will be built, and in his inheritance the Glory of the Shekinah of the Lord will dwell. In the morning the priests will offer the perpetual lamb with its grain offering, and between the evenings they will offer the perpetual lamb with its grain offering, and in the evening they will divide what remains of the offerings of the sons of Israel.”

Jacob’s Burial Instructions and Death

28 All these are the tribes of Israel, twelve, and this is the blessing with which he blessed them; each man according to the measure of his blessing he blessed them. 29 And he commanded them and said to them, “Look, I am being gathered to my people. Bury me beside my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is facing Mamre in Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial possession. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. 32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is in it was from the sons of Heth.” 33 And Jacob finished commanding his sons, and he gathered his feet into the bed, and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.