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20 Asher’s[a] food will be rich,[b]
and he will provide delicacies[c] to royalty.
21 Naphtali is a free running doe,[d]
he speaks delightful words.[e]
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough,[f]
a fruitful bough near a spring
whose branches[g] climb over the wall.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 49:20 tc Heb “from Asher,” but the initial mem (מ) of the MT should probably be moved to the end of the preceding verse and taken as a plural ending on “heel.”
  2. Genesis 49:20 tn The Hebrew word translated “rich,” when applied to products of the ground, means abundant in quantity and quality.
  3. Genesis 49:20 tn The word translated “delicacies” refers to foods that were delightful, the kind fit for a king.
  4. Genesis 49:21 tn Heb “a doe set free.”
  5. Genesis 49:21 tn Heb “the one who gives words of beauty.” The deer imagery probably does not continue into this line; Naphtali is the likely antecedent of the substantival participle, which is masculine, not feminine, in form. If the animal imagery is retained from the preceding line, the image of a talking deer is preposterous. For this reason some read the second line “the one who bears beautiful fawns,” interpreting אִמְרֵי (ʾimre) as a reference to young animals, not words (see HALOT 67 s.v. *אִמֵּר).sn Almost every word in the verse is difficult. Some take the imagery to mean that Naphtali will be swift and agile (like a doe), and be used to take good messages (reading “words of beauty”). Others argue that the tribe was free-spirited (free running), but then settled down with young children.
  6. Genesis 49:22 tn The Hebrew text appears to mean “[is] a son of fruitfulness.” The second word is an active participle, feminine singular, from the verb פָּרָה (parah, “to be fruitful”). The translation “bough” is employed for בֵּן (ben, elsewhere typically “son”) because Joseph is pictured as a healthy and fruitful vine growing by the wall. But there are difficulties with this interpretation. The word “son” nowhere else refers to a plant and the noun translated “branches” (Heb “daughters”) in the third line is a plural form whereas its verb is singular. In the other oracles of Gen 49 an animal is used for comparison and not a plant, leading some to translate the opening phrase בֵּן פָּרָה (ben parah, “fruitful bough”) as “wild donkey” (JPS, NAB). Various other interpretations involving more radical emendation of the text have also been offered.
  7. Genesis 49:22 tn Heb “daughters.”

20 “Asher’s(A) food will be rich;(B)
    he will provide delicacies fit for a king.(C)

21 “Naphtali(D) is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.[a](E)

22 “Joseph(F) is a fruitful vine,(G)
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches(H) climb over a wall.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
  2. Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill