Gen 49:8 | KD | STEP | Judah, the fourth son, was the first to receive a rich and unmixed blessing, the blessing of inalienable supremacy and power. “ Judah thou, thee will thy brethren praise! thy hand in the neck of thy foes! to thee will thy father’s sons bow down! ” אתּה, thou, is placed first as an absolute noun, like אני in ; ; יודוּך is a play upon יהוּדה like אודה in Gen 29:35. Judah, according to , signifies: he for whom Jehovah is praised, not merely the praised one. “This nomen , the patriarch seized as an omen , and expounded it as a presage of the future history of Judah.” Judah should be in truth all that his name implied (cf. ). Judah had already shown to a certain extent a strong and noble character, when he proposed to sell Joseph rather than shed his blood (Gen 37:26.); but still more in the manner in which he offered himself to his father as a pledge for Benjamin, and pleaded with Joseph on his behalf ( ; Gen 44:16.); and it was apparent even in his conduct towards Thamar. In this manliness and strength there slumbered the germs of the future development of strength in his tribe. Judah would put his enemies to flight, grasp them by the neck, and subdue them ( , cf. ; ). Therefore his brethren would do homage to him: not merely the sons of his mother, who are mentioned in other places ( ; Jdg 8:19), i.e., the tribes descended from Leah, but the sons of his father-all the tribes of Israel therefore; and this was really the case under David ( , cf. , and ). This princely power Judah acquired through his lion-like nature.

‏ Genesis 49:8

Judah, the fourth son, was the first to receive a rich and unmixed blessing, the blessing of inalienable supremacy and power. “Judah thou, thee will thy brethren praise! thy hand in the neck of thy foes! to thee will thy father’s sons bow down!” אתּה, thou, is placed first as an absolute noun, like אני in Gen 17:4; Gen 24:27; יודוּך is a play upon יהוּדה like אודה in Gen 29:35. Judah, according to Gen 29:35, signifies: he for whom Jehovah is praised, not merely the praised one. “This nomen, the patriarch seized as an omen, and expounded it as a presage of the future history of Judah.” Judah should be in truth all that his name implied (cf. Gen 27:36). Judah had already shown to a certain extent a strong and noble character, when he proposed to sell Joseph rather than shed his blood (Gen 37:26.); but still more in the manner in which he offered himself to his father as a pledge for Benjamin, and pleaded with Joseph on his behalf (Gen 43:9-10; Gen 44:16.); and it was apparent even in his conduct towards Thamar. In this manliness and strength there slumbered the germs of the future development of strength in his tribe. Judah would put his enemies to flight, grasp them by the neck, and subdue them (Job 16:12, cf. Exo 23:27; Psa 18:41). Therefore his brethren would do homage to him: not merely the sons of his mother, who are mentioned in other places (Gen 27:29; Jdg 8:19), i.e., the tribes descended from Leah, but the sons of his father-all the tribes of Israel therefore; and this was really the case under David (2Sa 5:1-2, cf. 1Sa 18:6-7, and 1Sa 18:16). This princely power Judah acquired through his lion-like nature.