Read Genesis 47:28-50:26 at Bible Gateway.
Gen 47:28-48:22
In Gen 47:30-31 Joseph gives his promise to his father that he will carry him up from Egypt. The promise is fulfilled in Joseph’s lifetime when he takes his father to Machpelah for the burial; but also it speaks prophetically of Messiah carrying Israel up out of the kingdom of darkness into the Promised Land. So there was and is a quadruple fulfillment of the promise, the first in Joseph’s lifetime; the second when God sent Moses, another Messianic type, to bring Israel up from Egypt, a third which is yet ongoing, a spiritual fulfillment in Messiah Yeshua bringing us up from slavery in the kingdom of darkness into His own kingdom, and a fourth also ongoing, in the regathering of the children of Israel to their land from the kingdoms of this world.
Gen 49:1-26
There is an overt messianic prophecy found in Judah’s blessing, in Gen 49:10:
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
The discussion on the meaning of shiloh and its messianic significance from Gesenius’ Hebrew Lexicon is enlightening. The root word from which shiloh is derived, is the verb to be at rest, the same root that gives us shalom. Therefore this word can indicate the abstract concept of tranquility, rest. Then,
“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah until tranquility shall come, and the peoples shall obey him,” meaning Judah; i.e., Judah shall not lay down the sceptre of the ruler, until his enemies be subdued, and he shall rule over many people; an expectation belonging to the kingdom of the Messiah, who was to spring from the tribe of Judah.
Others take the meaning of shiloh as the concrete noun, and render it, the peaceable one, the peacemaker; either understanding the Messiah (compare to Isa 9:1-7) or Solomon (compare to 1 Chr 22:9). The ancient versions take shiloh as being compounded in this sense, “until he shall come to whom the sceptre, the dominion, belongs;” i.e. Messiah.
Shiloh is Strong’s H7886, Shiyloh, a proper name, from Strong’s H7951 שלה shalah, a primitive root, “to be tranquil.” The ancient pictographs, according to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, are shin + lamed + hey. Although the Lexicon doesn’t expressly state this, I believe the shin was originally a sin, a thorn, as we have seen the shin transpose the sin so often, since the Lexicon assigns the meaning as “to draw out.”
sin ס = the thorn, thus grab, hate, protect
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
hey ה = the man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The story: A sheep caught in a thicket by thorns (sin) entangled in its wool, so that the shepherd used his staff (lamed) to draw the sheep out of the thicket, thus restoring it to a state of well-being (hey). Even in the name, Shiloh, Moses is preaching the Gospel of grace from Genesis!
The central axis in Gen 49:18 contains a covert messianic prophecy, besides the above overt messianic prophecy.
“I have waited for your salvation, O YHVH!”
Salvation is Strong’s H3444, yeshuwah, an abstract concept meaning “salvation,” from Strong’s H3467 ישע yasha, a primitive root meaning “to save.” The 3-letter root is yud + shin + ayin:
yud י = the closed hand, thus work, throw, worship
shin ש = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
The story: Actively (yud) and sharply, diligently (shin) watching out (ayin) for danger. We have carried over this same understanding in English from the Hebrew mother tongue, when we say, “Look sharp!” to mean, Look carefully without letting anything escape your notice. The concrete noun in between the verb form “to save” and the abstract concept of “salvation,” is “shepherd,” one who rescues his flock.
The shepherd carefully watches over the flock and the surrounding area always on the lookout for danger. When a predator comes to attack, the shepherd destroys the enemy. – Ancient Hebrew Lexicon
Israel is prophetically blessing his seed, and at the center of that blessing is Yeshua, the Seed of Israel and the Seed of Promise! Israel is declaring that he and his seed will wait upon YHVH for the promise of His coming, of Gen 3:15 fulfilled!
Gen 49:27-50:26
The statement of fact which Joseph makes in Gen 50:20, that what the brothers intended for evil, God intended for good, in order to save many lives, is a repeating theme, first mentioned by him in Gen 45:5. In order to accomplish the saving of many lives, which Joseph sets as the greater goal than his own personal comfort, Joseph needed to go through many years of hardship, to position him in the right place at the right time.
Joseph’s life is a prophetic metaphor for the life and ministry of Messiah Yeshua, in that in Messiah’s first coming, it was to suffer and die, which the enemy meant for evil, but which was necessary for the saving of many lives. And in Messiah’s second coming, it will be to rule and reign, also foreshadowed by the life of Joseph as the ruler over all Egypt.
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