Gen 49:19-20 | KD | STEP | “Gad - a press presses him, but he presses the heel .” The name Gad reminds the patriarch of גּוּד to press, and גּדוּד the pressing host, warlike host, which invades the land. The attacks of such hosts Gad will bravely withstand, and press their heel, i.e., put them to flight and bravely pursue them, not smite their rear-guard; for עקב does not signify the rear-guard even in , but only the reserves (see my commentary on the passage). The blessing, which is formed from a triple alliteration of the name Gad , contains no such special allusions to historical events as to enable us to interpret it historically, although the account in 1Ch 5:18. proves that the Gadites displayed, wherever it was needed, the bravery promised them by Jacob. Compare with this , where the Gadites who come to David are compared to lions, and their swiftness to that of roes.

‏ Genesis 49:19-20

Gen 49:19 “Gad - a press presses him, but he presses the heel.” The name Gad reminds the patriarch of גּוּד to press, and גּדוּד the pressing host, warlike host, which invades the land. The attacks of such hosts Gad will bravely withstand, and press their heel, i.e., put them to flight and bravely pursue them, not smite their rear-guard; for עקב does not signify the rear-guard even in Jos 8:13, but only the reserves (see my commentary on the passage). The blessing, which is formed from a triple alliteration of the name Gad, contains no such special allusions to historical events as to enable us to interpret it historically, although the account in 1Ch 5:18. proves that the Gadites displayed, wherever it was needed, the bravery promised them by Jacob. Compare with this 1Ch 12:8-15, where the Gadites who come to David are compared to lions, and their swiftness to that of roes. Gen 49:20

“Out of Asher (cometh) fat, his bread, and he yieldeth royal dainties.” לחמו is in apposition to שׁמנה, and the suffix is to be emphasized: the fat, which comes from him, is his bread, his own food. The saying indicates a very fruitful soil. Asher received as his inheritance the lowlands of Carmel on the Mediterranean as far as the territory of Tyre, one of the most fertile parts of Canaan, abounding in wheat and oil, with which Solomon supplied and household of king Hiram (1Ki 5:11).