Genesis Chapter 49 verse 10 Holy Bible

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(10) The sceptre shall not depart from Judah.--Heb., a sceptre. The staff, adorned with carvings, and handed down from father to son, soon became the emblem of authority (see Note on Genesis 38:18). It probably indicates here tribal rather than royal rank, and means that Judah would continue, until the time indicated, to be a self-governed and legally-constituted tribe.Nor a lawgiver from between his feet.--Most modern critics translate ruler's staff, but "lawgiver" has the support of all the ancient versions, the Targums paraphrasing it by scribe, and the Syriac in a similar way by expounder--i.e., of the law. Ruler's, staffs has the parallelism in its favour, but the ancient versions must not be lightly disregarded, and, besides, everywhere else the word means law-giver (see Deuteronomy 33:21; Judges 5:14; Isaiah 33:22). "From between his feet" means, "from among his descendants." The Targum of Onkelos renders, "from his children's children."Until Shiloh come.--Many modern critics translate, "until he come to Shiloh," but this is to be rejected, first, as being contrary to all the ancient versions; and, secondly, as turning sense into nonsense. The town of Shiloh was in the tribe of Ephraim, and we know of no way in which Judah ever went thither. The ark was for a time at Shiloh, but the place lost all importance and sank into utter obscurity after its destruction by the Philistines, long before Judah took the leading part in the commonwealth of Israel.Shiloh.--There are several interpretations of this word, depending upon different ways of spelling it. First, Jerome, in the Vulg., translates it, "He who shall be sent." He read, therefore, Shalu'ch. which differs from the reading in the Hebrew text by omitting the yod, and putting the guttural for h (Heb., ) as the final letter. We have, secondly, Shiloh, the reading of the present Hebrew text. This would mean, Peaceful, or Peace-maker, and agrees with the title given to the Messiah by Isaiah (Genesis 9:6). But, thirdly, all the versions excepting the Vulg. read Sheloh. Thus, the LXX. has, "He for whom it is laid up" (or, according to other MSS., "the things laid up for him."). With the former reading, Aquila and Symmachus agree; with the latter, Theodotion, Epiphanius, and others, showing that Sheloh was the reading in the centuries immediately after the Nativity of our Lord. The Samaritan transcript of the Hebrew text into Samaritan letters reads Sheloh, and the translation into Aramaic treats the word as a proper name, and renders, "Until Sheloh come." Onkelos boldly paraphrases, "Until Messiah come, whose is the kingdom;" and, finally, the Syriac has, "Until he come, whose it is." There is thus overwhelming evidence in favour of the reading Sheloh, and to this we must add that Sheloh is the reading even of several Hebrew MSS. We may, in fact, sum up the evidence by saying that the reading Shiloh, even in the Hebrew text, has only modern authority in its favour, and that all ancient authorities are in favour of Sheloh; for even Jerome omits the yod, though he changes the aspirate at the end into a guttural. . . . Parallel Commentaries ...HebrewThe scepterשֵׁ֙בֶט֙ (šê·ḇeṭ)Noun - masculine singularStrong's 7626: Rod, staff, club, scepter, tribewill notלֹֽא־ (lō-)Adverb - Negative particleStrong's 3808: Not, nodepartיָס֥וּר (yā·sūr)Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singularStrong's 5493: To turn asidefrom Judah,מִֽיהוּדָ֔ה (mî·hū·ḏāh)Preposition-m | Noun - proper - masculine singularStrong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelitesnor the staffוּמְחֹקֵ֖ק (ū·mə·ḥō·qêq)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singularStrong's 2710: To hack, engrave, to enact, prescribefrom betweenמִבֵּ֣ין (mib·bên)Preposition-mStrong's 996: An interval, space betweenhis feet,רַגְלָ֑יו (raḡ·lāw)Noun - fdc | third person masculine singularStrong's 7272: A foot, a step, the pudendauntilעַ֚ד (‘aḏ)PrepositionStrong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, whileShilohשִׁיל֔וֹ (šî·lōw)Noun - proper - masculine singularStrong's 7886: Shiloh -- perhaps 'he whose it is', a Messianic titlecomesיָבֹ֣א (yā·ḇō)Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singularStrong's 935: To come in, come, go in, goand the allegianceיִקְּהַ֥ת (yiq·qə·haṯ)Noun - feminine singular constructStrong's 3349: Obedienceof the nations is his.עַמִּֽים׃ (‘am·mîm)Noun - masculine pluralStrong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flockJump to PreviousAuthority Belongs Depart Feet Gathering Judah Lawgiver Nations Obedience Peoples Right Rod Rule Ruler's Scepter Sceptre Shiloh Staff Themselves Turneth