Part 23  Book of Genesis

 

 

49.20 Asher was born to Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah. The tribe formerly inhabited a territory in ancient northern Israel that neighbored Zebulon’s territory. The brief prophesy in Gen 49:20 states: “Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.”

The term Asher’s “bread shall be fat” indicates prosperity. “Royal dainties” is based on the Hebrew word royal meaning melek which means king. The word yield means “to give”, and the Hebrew word dainties also means delights. When we use these alternate meanings we get that Asher, “shall give kings’ delights,” or “yield kings’ delights.” The Genesis clue is “yields royal delights.” In ancient days kings where given gold as a “royal delight.” Other precious metals and gemstones were given, but gold was the real delight.

To locate modern Asher we need to find a prosperous nation either in Europe or founded by Europeans which is known for mining gold and other precious metals and gemstones. South Africa meets these criteria. They are the predominate gold-mining nation in the world (although slipping lately), and also are dominant in producing platinum and diamonds. The name DeBeers is associated with South African diamond mining. Ancient kings decorated their crowns with gold and precious stones.

 

 

South Africa was settled by the British and Dutch--the Boers. Since ancient history indicates Asherites settled in the British Isles, it is understandable how they could have migrated to South Africa from Britain. What about the Boers?

In ancient Israel, the tribes of Zebulon and Asher lived side by side and may have migrated together into Asia and Europe.

49.21 Naphtali was a son of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid. Naphtali’s inheritance was in the northern portion of Canaan, and Assyria carried the entire tribe captive into Asia years before the fall of Samaria. 2 Kings 15:29 They are one of the easiest tribes to locate in Asia as their tribal name remained virtually unchanged.

They were the Ephthalite or Nephthalite Huns. They were also called the White Huns, as they were a fair skinned, Caucasian or Semitic race. This tribe went into captivity as a whole unit, rather than in piecemeal clans, which explains why they were still called by their original Israelite tribal name as late as the 6^th century AD.

Genesis 49:21 gives us our only clue as to their location in the latter days: Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words. A hind is a female deer, and the words let loose implies a condition of being active in the wild. Female deer are most active in the wild during the rutting season when they are in heat. This implies the Naphtalites, particularly the females, will be identified with sensuality in the latter days.


Sweden has the reputation of being a sexually permissive, liberated society. Blond Swedish actresses have been prominent in the movies industry, but we need more than this to identify modern Naphtali.

The phrase giveth good words can literally mean, “give beautiful sayings or speeches.” Sweden issues the annual Nobel Prizes, which are “beautiful speeches” or “pleasing pronouncements” given to noteworthy achievers in a variety of fields. These awards are world famous and convey great prestige on the recipients. No other nation is known for this practice of making annual famous awards like this. With limited clues, Sweden appears to be Naphtali.


49.22-26 Joseph... Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

Joseph as father of Ephraim and Manasseh shares his blessing with them. He is a fruitful bough whose branches run over a wall indicates the great blessings that Britain and America will bestow upon the nations and peoples of the earth. Many have hated the freedom and liberty found in these two countries, but up until now, all enemies have been pushed back. Who cannot say what great blessing from heaven above and in the deep below have been bestowed upon these two great Christian nations? These two nations have been “separate from their brothers” in a great way.


49.27 Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel, and the only full brother to Joseph. This tribe was almost exterminated in an ancient Israelite civil war in which Benjamin was fearless and foolhardy enough to fight all the other tribes at one time. Judges 19-21

The Benjaminites were fierce warriors and even though they lost the war, they won two battles against superior odds. At the end of this needless war they were reduced to 600 men. From that time on they were the smallest tribe in Israel.

When the tribes of Israel divided into the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel, Benjamin remained with the tribe of Judah. After Judah’s captivity in Babylon, a contingent of Benjaminites returned with the Jews to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem.

Ancient records state that “…representatives of Benjamin spread over the whole length and breadth of Asia Minor.” The book of 1 Peter begins by addressing “God’s people scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” The term Galatia indicates the same people as the Gauls of Europe. The Bible records that Saul of Tarsus, Paul the Apostle, was born in Asia Minor, so some Benjaminites must have lived there.

The Biblical clue for Benjamin’s location in the modern world is in Genesis 49:27. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

Wolves are indigenous to northern climates. The only European nation not yet identified in a northern latitude as a tribe of Israel is Norway. This nation is lightly populated, consistent with the tribe of Benjamin being small. Norway has traditionally had excellent relations with the British and Americans, which would be expected of Benjamin, the tribe most genetically closest to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Since Iceland was populated by Viking Norseman, the Icelandic people are also likely of the tribe of Benjamin.

The phrases “devouring the prey” and “dividing the spoil” could describe Norway today. They have been fierce supporters of Hamas and are often politically against the modern day nation of Israel. This brings division in modern Israel as Norway supports dividing the land. Ancient Vikings were also fierce warriors and raided Britain and Europe. Benjamin also fought against all the ancient tribes. Wolves were prominent in Viking art and mythology.

Norway also brokered the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993 between the Israeli’s and Palestinians. This accord has been a stumbling block to peace in the middle east. This has caused political division in Israel today.


I hope you have enjoyed the above description of the Tribes of Israel. We can only speculate on who each tribe is and where they have migrated over the millennia. There is much to think about as God regathers His people back to the land of Israel in our time.


Death of Jacob

49.28-33

These were the blessings and prophecies Jacob gave to his twelve sons as he bade them farewell. Then Jacob instructed them to bury him with his fathers in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham had bought for a burial site. Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah were all buried their. Then Jacob passed away.

Joseph buries his father, Joseph’s final days

50.1-6 Joseph flung himself upon his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. Then he ordered the physicians to embalm Jacob in the Egyptian way. This was a forty day procedure! Then the Egyptians mourned for him for seventy more days. When this period ended Joseph asked Pharaoh to be permitted to keep the promise he had made to his father to bury back in the land of Canaan. Pharaoh gave permission.

The embalming and periods of mourning spoken of here follow Egyptian rather than Israelite customs. Jewish law forbids cremation and embalming. Jewish custom requires that the body must be interred in a way that it will “return to the ground from which it was taken.” Genesis 3.19 At this time, however, God had not yet given the law to Moses.

50.7-14 Joseph and a large contingent of Egyptian dignitaries along with all of Joseph’s household, his brothers, and father’s household travel together to Canaan. Only the children and the flocks remained in Goshen. Once they arrive they bury Jacob and observe a seven day mourning period. The natives of Canaan are very impressed by this large burial party. Jacob is buried in the cave of the field of Mamre, which Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.

50.15-21 After the burial, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph might still want some revenge on them. So they sent a message to Joseph that their father left this instruction: That Joseph should forgive them of any offense for treating him so harshly. Joseph was in tears when they told him this. The brothers flung themselves on the ground before him and Joseph told them to have no fear. Even though they intended him harm, he tells them, God intended it for good--it brought about the survival of the family! Joseph tells them all is forgiven, he will sustain them.

I think Joseph wept when the brother’s told him this little white lie because he was disappointed that they still felt he would harm them in some way. Joseph was very gracious in his disappointment towards his brothers.

50.22-26 Joseph and family remain in Egypt in the land of Goshen. Joseph lives to be 110 years old and lives long enough to see his great grand children before he dies. Prior to his death he asks his brothers to swear that when God takes them to the promised land that they will take his bones with them. They swear to it and when he dies Joseph is embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Ultimately Joseph’s bones would be buried in Shechem in Canaan (Joshua 24.32) the very city Jacob had sent him as a brash young boy, the time when his brother’s sold him into slavery.

For more information see The Lost Tribes of Israel beginning January 2014 on this blog's archives.

Sources: The Jewish Study Bible, Israel’s Lost Empires by Steven Collins, Encyclopedia Britannica, and prayerful study!

End of Genesis Study