Genesis 49:19

Gen 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

Ver. 19. Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but.] This is every good Christian’s case in the spiritual warfare; he conquers, {Joh 16:33} but comes to it through many conflicts and counter buffs. He "made war upon the saints, and overcame them": {Rev 13:7} for a season it may be, according to human conceit howsoever. But "they conquered and overcame him," according to the truth of the thing, "by the blood of the Lamb," {Rev 12:11} in whom they do overcome, and "are more than conquerors." {Rom 8:37} This was fulfilled in the tribe of Gad. {1Ch 5:18-20}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen_49:19

He shall overcome at the last

Faiths triumph:

Consider--

I.

FAITH TRIUMPHANT IN DOUBT. The gospel is a revelation. It is the telling of a secret. There is not one mystery either about man or about God which has been either caused or aggravated by the gospel. Doubtless there are matters not yet revealed. There are unexplained, perhaps inexplicable, difficulties, as regards Gods will and mans future, which the gospel leaves where it found them. Faith triumphs in and over doubting (Joh_6:67-68).

II. FAITH TRIUMPHS IN DISAPPOINTMENT. TO be willing to wait, even for encouragement, much more for victory, is an essential part of his character who has seen the promise afar off, and been persuaded of it, and embraced it, and who now lives day by day in the calm, humble looking-for of a light that shall arise and a rest reserved in heaven.

III. FAITH CONQUERS SIN. That is our most urgent want, and that is faiths most solemn office. Faith conquering is, above all things, faith conquering sin, faith looking upwards to a loving Saviour, and drawing down from Him the desire and the effort and the grace to be holy.

IV. FAITH CONQUERS DEATH. Death is not dreadful to the Christian, because he has in the other world a Father, a Saviour, a Comforter. (Dean Vaughan.)

Stock-taking:

The text is a prophecy respecting one of the tribes of Israel, declaring that Gad, whose name signifies a troop, should be overcome again and again; but that at the last they should overcome all their foes. It also is a prophecy concerning every Christian, and it is a picture of the life of every Child of God. We often have been overcome, but the Spirit of God has enabled us to beat back the enemies of our soul; and we to-day can cry Victory! through the blood of the Lamb. Though we stand on slippery ground, and have need every moment to watch and pray lest we fall into sin, and though, alas! we do fall continually, yet the prophecy declares that we shall not utterly be cast down, but at the last we shall stand in our lot in the city of the heavenly Jerusalem.

I. REVIEW THE PAST. The memory should be like a tradesmans storehouse, filled with valuable commodities, such as shall be useful in the future, rather than lumber places for that which does more harm than good. But, alas! when we turn over the leaves of the past, what heaps of lumber we find we have gathered!

1. During the past year many have gone through severe trials. We are not like the great rock at Llandudno, on which the angry waves cast their fury time after time, but which hurls them back. We are rather like the trembling ship lifted up and cast down by the force of the wind and waves. We have felt every wind of sorrow that blows; and the cutting wave of trouble has dashed over us and filled our souls with vexation of spirit. But, in the midst of all, our God has kept us from despair. There is no case but what might have been worse; and according to our day our strength has been given. Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.

2. Some have had bereavement by death. There was once, when we arrived at home, a face generally looking for us from the window, and a kindly hand to open to us the door; but that gentle one has departed from us, and we are alone.

3. Many, yea, all of us, this last year have passed through fierce temptations. I do not know whether any of you have been like a heavily laden ship; perhaps your particular temptation has been too much cargo of gold. How hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of heaven. Like some of those ships that Mr. Plimsoll has told us about, weighted with cargo until their water-line is under the wave, and the sea washes over the decks. Oh, how wearily the over-weighted ship wends its way across the ocean! The most weary of men is he who is weighted with gold. It is not riches alone that give to us happiness, peace, and contentment. The world thinks so; but the Word of God is a better guide, and we are told that it is hard for the rich man to be happy. Many of us this last year have been like unseaworthy ships; we have not had strength to weather the storm; every wind of temptation has made the seams in our ship wider, and floods of sin have entered into our hearts and swamped our piety, and many are hopeless wrecks. You entered this last year holy; you are now wicked. You entered this last year with a character on which there was not a single stain; it is now black with sin. Everybody trusted you at the beginning of this year; alas! nobody believes you now. You have not had a good captain of your ship. Your pilot has wrecked many souls, yet you trusted him. The devil carries every ship he steers to the awful rocks of perdition. Thank God that a new Captain, the Lord Jesus, is willing to gather you in His arms and to lead you to the harbour of salvation, and there create within you a new heart and a new spirit. But, brethren, let us rejoice for the many who have weathered the storms of the years temptation. Some of us come to this period with furled sails and bare poles; but, thank God, we are still guided by our good Captain, the Lord Jesus; the rudder of our will obeys His wish, and our only compass is the Bible. Brethren, we shall reach the harbour at the last. Rejoice, for your names are written in heaven.

4. We have had many blessings.

5. We all have had mercy. The mercy-seat covered the law. Have not we broken the commandments during the last year? But mercy has covered our transgressions; and God has declared to us, I will not remember thy sin. In the great plague of 1666, every house door in London had painted on it these words, Lord have mercy on us. Well, dear friends, every hour of every day, we, alas! need to say, God be merciful unto us; and blessed be His name, He has poured mercy upon us. Goodness and mercy have followed us all the days of our life.

6. What progress have we made in the past? During snowy weather, if you go to a field and try to walk in a straight line, you must not look down at the snow, but up at some mark at the end of the field. Our footsteps are in the snow, and what a zigzag line to be sure! Why? Because we did not fix our eye upon the tree in the distance. Now, dear friends, look back upon the past year. Is your pathway a straight one or not?

II. TAKE STOCK OF THE PRESENT. What are we worth? Is God our Banker? Have we any treasure in heaven? Have we drawn out anything from Him by the cheque of prayer? Have we trusted Him with all our life and all that we have? How much do we owe unto our Lord? And let us reckon the debt of love to our fellow-men. As Christians, are we able to pay twenty shillings to the pound? Do we pay our pew-rent at the church, and yet forget to pay the debt of love to our poorer brethren? Brethren, are your hearts any bigger than they were twelve months ago? Have you any increase of faith? At the time of one of the terrible inundations which frequently take place in St. Petersburg, the Empress Catherine stood at one of the windows of the palace watching the fearful sight. The river had stolen into the city during the night, and hundreds of people were drowned. As her majesty was intently looking upon the flood and the havoc it was causing, she saw something above the surface of the water which was rapidly filling the courtyard; and, observing it more attentively, she found it to be the head of a soldier nearly up to his chin in water; but apparently taking no notice of his danger, as he still shouldered his musket as if on duty among the fishes. The Empress at once sent a servant in a boat to ask why the man remained there at the peril of his life. The soldier replied that he had been placed there to guard the palace, and that he could not quit his post until his sergeant sent another sentry to relieve him. He would not stir; and he had to be dragged into the boat by main force in-order to save his life. Brethren, in all duties let us be faithful unto death. It is he that endures to the end who shall be saved. Have you any increase of hope? Lord Bacon said that hope made a good breakfast, but an idle supper. Brethren, has your hope in God been an idle one? Has He disappointed you? What is the depth of peace in the reservoir of your heart? The Word declares that the peace of God shall be an inward garrison to your soul. Have you let the devil enter within the fortress of your honour? The peace of God shall keep the gates of all who trust Him. Have you thus trusted Him? And, then, examine your character. Your signboard may be all right, but what is the hidden state of the business of your soul? Going down the street the other day I saw in a stonemasons yard a beautiful pillar, but it was broken. Does it not represent the character of some? But, thank God, though it is broken, it may be repaired. How about the policy with which you conduct your business? In the days of Alexander, it was fashionable for his captains and soldiers to walk with their heads leaned to one side; because Alexander had somewhat of a crooked neck, and they thought it to be an honour to imitate him. How sad it is that in our rich land men have made money with a wry policy; it has not been straight in the straightness of honour and truth. Their policy has been a crooked one. It has been, Get money, honestly if you can, but get it. Do not imitate such men. Their success is no proof of their wisdom. But what is your policy? Do you consider it to be expedient to cheat? And, if so, are you not a secret thief? In taking stock let the question, Am I honest? be fairly answered!

III. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE FUTURE. (W. Birch.)

Lines of circumvallation:

My text speaks of a tribe who were often discomfited in battle, yet were at last victorious. But the words may be used as graphically descriptive of the defeat of Christ, to be followed by His successes. When Christs chin dropped upon His breast in death, the world shouted in triumph. Driven as He has been from the heart, from the social circle, from literature, from places of influence, the world gazes now upon what seems to be a vanquished Redeemer. But He shall yet rally His forces, and though now overcome by other troops, He shall overcome at the last. When a city is about to be besieged, lines of circumvallation are run out; in half circles the fortifications sweep around; the first line fifteen miles out; the second, ten miles; the next, five; the next, one mile out. The attacking host first takes the outworks, then a line nearer, coming on up until the embankment nearest the city is captured. Now, the human heart is defending itself against Christ, and it has run out four or five lines of circumvallation, and they must one by one be taken, so that Christ may overcome at the last and the heart surrender.

1. Forward, ye troops of God, and take the line of fortification farthest out, which is prejudice against ministers and churches. There are men who, for various reasons, do not believe in these things, and from that outward entrenchment contend against Christ. My reply to this is, seek out a Church and a minister that you do like. Amid all the denominations there must be one place where your soul will be blessed. This very church, to some of you, shall be the way to heaven, and through this one break in the long fortification of your prejudice I pass through with the battle-cry of the Cross, feeling that, though these prejudices have been the troop that overcame Christ, He shall overcome at the last.

2. Forward, ye troops of God, to the next entrenchment! It is a circumvallation of social influences. There are hundreds of people here to-high, whose surroundings in the world are adverse to the Christian religion. Evil companionship has destroyed innumerable men. Through this high battlement no human force can break, but, oh! that the Lord Jesus might storm it tonight.

3. Forward, ye troops of God, to the third line of entrenchment, namely, the intellectual difficulties about religion. A hundred perplexities about the parables; a hundred questions about the ninth chapter of Romans; passage set against passage in seeming contradiction. You pile up a battlement of Colenso on the Pentateuch, and Tom Paines Age of Reason, and Renans Life of Christ; and some parts of the wall are so high that it would be folly to attempt to take them. But there is a hole in the wall of fortification, and through that hole in the wall I put my right hand, and take your own, and say, My brother, do you want to be saved? And you say Yes. Well; Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which is lost. Scepticism seems to do quite well in prosperity, but it fails in adversity. A celebrated infidel, on shipboard, in the sunshine caricatured the Christian religion, and scoffed at its professors. But the sea arose, and the waves dashed across the hurricane-deck, and the man cried out, O my ,God, what shall I do? what shall I do? A father went down to see his dying son in a Southern hospital during the war. Finding that the boy was dying, he went to the chaplain and said, I wish you would go and see my boy, and get him prepared for the future. Why, said the chaplain, I thought you did not believe in religion! Well, said he, I dont, but his mother does; and I would a great deal rather the boy would follow his mother. Go and get him prepared. Scepticism does tolerably well to live by, but it is a poor thing to die by. The fortification of your soul this hour gives way; and the Christ, who seemed to have been overcome by argument, and by profound questions, and elaborate analysis, now, by the force of love, overcomes at the last!

4. Forward, ye troops of light, to the next circumvallation of the heart, namely, pernicious habit. I do not believe that it is necessary to be a teetotaller in order to be a Christian (although I wish all were teetotallers), but I do say that a man who is excessive in the use of strong drink cannot love Christ. He will not dispute with you the supremacy of the bottle. Some years ago, when the cholera was raging in New Orleans, a steamer near nightfall, put out from the city, laden with passengers escaping from the pestilence. The steamer had been but a little while out when the engineer fell at his post with cholera. The captain, in despair, went up and down among the passengers, asking if there were any one there who could act as engineer. A man stepped out, and said that he was an engineer, and could take the position. In the night the captain was awakened by a violent motion of the steamer, and he knew that there was great peril ahead. He went up, and found that the engineer was a maniac; that he had fastened down the safety-valves; and he told the captain that he was the emissary of Satan, commissioned to drive the steamer to hell. By some strategy, the man was got down in time to save the steamer. There are men engineered by maniac passions, sworn to drive them to temporal and everlasting destruction. Every part of their nature trembles under the high pressure. Nothing but the grace of Almighty God can bring down those passions, and chain them. A little while longer in this course, and all is lost. Whatever be the form of evil habit, Christ is able fully and finally to deliver that man. Where sin abounded, grace does much more abound. Victory over thy sin! Victory through the Lord Jesus Christ! Through many a long year thy appetites overcame Him, but He has overcome at the last!

5. Forward, ye troops of light, to the last and the mightiest line of fortification--the pride and the rebellion of the natural heart. This entrenchment must be taken, or all the rest of the contest is lost. This is the crisis of the battle. (Dr. Talmage.)

Intermediate failures and final triumphs:

1. Do not judge until the last.

2. Men who are overcome should be encouraged.

3. Apply this to beginners in business--in Christian life--in the reformation of bad habits.

4. Apply this to spiritual doubt. Do not too readily describe men as infidels. Even may at last believe.

5. Hope for your children. (J. Parker, D. D)

It may seem, as we look at it spiritually, strange that the fact of being overcome by foes should be part of the blessing of Gods people. And yet through the darkness to the light is the order everywhere in Gods kingdom of nature, providence, and grace; and to be overcome is as truly a needed discipline for the soul as to be a triumphant conqueror. The type of natures strength is not the hot-house plant needing constant care and watchfulness to keep it alive. It is the pine-tree rocked by Norwegian winds which threaten every moment to imperil its existence by uprooting it. Thus, too, it is in the Christian life; and without such dealing the very best of us would be but dwarfs, stunted and crippled, and incapacitated for that warfare with the world, the flesh, and the devil by which we win our way to the kingdom, Nor does the Holy Spirit leave us in any doubt as to this. A troop shall overcome him are the words. Not a solitary foe, but many. Sometimes wave upon wave of trial rolls over the soul until we know not what it means. But the cup is measured out. Not one drop is in it beyond what is absolutely needful for the souls welfare. And the end is the same in every case-to lead us up out of self wholly into God. Nor let us suppose for a moment that it is because of some sin in us that this bitter cup is put into our hands. It may be this indeed, for God will be quit of sin in us at any and every cost. The gravitation of every believer is earthward, and the quick pruning-knife of the Husbandman can never be unused long without the soul suffering damage. The process of restoration may lie in a constant succession of small trials pressing upon the spirit to draw it nearer to God, or in some sharp quick operation of the knife that makes itself felt for years, turning the hair grey, and making the body stoop. But it is not always to get rid of sin in us that these strokes are sent. It may be to mould us more into the likeness of Christ. Every follower of the Lamb must be a cross-bearer. It is the branch that bears fruit which is pierced and purged, and not the unfruitful one. It may be because you are so like Christ you are made to feel the pruning-knife--in order that you may become more like Him. And how blessed the assurance of our God that we shall overcome at last! It is not that we shall overcome at the end of life. It is that the issue of every conflict shall be victory. This Divine assurance of the certainty of victory receives its explanation from Rom_8:35-39. (F. Whitfield, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 49:19. Concerning Gad, he alludes to his name, which signifies a troop, foresees the character of that tribe, that it should be a warlike tribe; and so we find, 1Ch 12:8, the Gadites were men of war fit for the battle. He foresees that the situation of that tribe on the other side Jordan would expose it to the incursions of its neighbours, the Moabites and Ammonites; and that they might not be proud of their strength and valour, he foretels that the troops of their enemies should, in many skirmishes, overcome them; yet, that they might not be discouraged by their defeats, he assures them that they should overcome at the last — Which was fulfilled, when in Saul’s time and David’s the Moabites and Ammonites were wholly subdued.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

49:19 Three of the six Hebrew words in this verse are wordplays on the name Gad (“attack”). Gad will be attacked by marauding bands (attackers), but he will attack. The tribes that settled east of the Jordan River frequently experienced border raids (see Josh 13; 2 Kgs 10:32-33; 1 Chr 5:18-19).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

19. Gad, a troop. Jacob also makes allusion to the name of Gad. He had been so called, because Jacob had obtained a numerous offspring by his mother Leah. His fattier now admonishes him, that though his name implied a multitude, he should yet have to do with a great number of enemies, by whom, for a time, he would be oppressed: and he predicts this event, not that his posterity might confide in their own strength, and become proud; but that they might prepare themselves to endure the suffering by which the Lord intended, and now decreed to humble them. Yet, as he here exhorts them to patient endurance, so he presently raises and animates them by the superadded consolation, that, at length, they should emerge from oppression, and should triumph over those enemies by whom they had been vanquished and routed; but this only at the last. Moreover, this prophecy may be applied to the whole Church, which is assailed not for one day only, but is perpetually crushed by fresh attacks, until at length God shall exalt it to honor.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(19) Gad.—The word Gad, as we have seen (Gen_30:11), means good fortune, but Jacob connects it with the root gâdad, “to gather in troops.” Thus, then, “A troop” or “throng of plunderers shall throng upon him, but he shall throng upon their heel.” Settling upon the east of the Jordan he shall be exposed to many a sudden incursion of plunderers, but, though ever unready, he shall gather his forces and repel them, and follow with avenging energy upon their rear.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. a troop] Heb. gedud, “a marauding band.”

shall press] Heb. gad, to press. These words furnish a double play upon the name of the tribe Gad. Gad … gedud yegudennu … yagud ‘ekêbâm = “Gad, raiders shall raid him, but he shall raid their rear (lit. heel).” LXX πειρατήριον πειρατεύσει αὐτόν• αὐτὸς δὲ πειρατεύσει αὐτῷ κατὰ πόδας. This warlike and independent tribe seem to have been successful in repelling the bands of marauders, Ammonites, Moabites, and Aramaeans, who threatened the eastern border of Gilead. Cf. Jdg_10:7-12; 1Ch_5:18-22. Later on, however, the tribe seems to have succumbed. Jer_49:1.

upon their heel] i.e. he will repulse and pursue them closely, and hang upon their rear.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Naphtali is a hind let loose,.... Onkelos applies it to the tribe itself, and to the goodness of its land,"as for Naphtali, his lot fell in a good land, and his inheritance a fruit bearing one,''as it was; for in it was the most fruitful country of Gennesaret, which gave name to a sea or lake by it, and which abounded with gardens, with palm trees, fig trees, and olive trees; and which, Josephus says (n) one might call the ambition of nature; and Strabo (o), an Heathen writer, says of it, that it was an happy blessed country, and bearing all sorts of good things; and Jarchi on the place observes, this is the vale of Gennesaret, which is as quick to bring forth fruit, as a hind is swift to run. Some will have this prophecy to be fulfilled in Barak, as Ben Gersom, Abendana, and others, who was of this tribe, and who at first was fearful like the hind, and backward to go out to war when called, but afterwards readily went out with Deborah, and at last gave goodly words in the song they both sung: but it better describes the genius, disposition, and manners of the tribe, who were kind and loving, swift and expeditious in their affairs; lovers of liberty, well spoken persons, humane, affable, courteous, of a good address and pleasing language, as follows:

he giveth goodly words; to those he converses with; and it may be applied, particularly to Christ and his disciples, and to the inhabitants of this tribe in his time, among whom they much were, see Mat 4:13 he himself is compared to the hind of the morning, Psa 22:1 in the title, and to a roe or a young hart, Sol 2:9 Sol 8:14 for his amiableness and loveliness in himself, and for his lovingness to his people, and for his swiftness to do the will and work of his father, being sent out (p), as the word here used signifies, by him into this world, on the business of man's salvation: and so his disciples, who were Galilaeans, were swift to obey his call, and left all and followed him, and were sent out by him to preach his Gospel; and both he and they may be said to "give goodly words", as the doctrines of the Gospel are, words of grace, truth, and life; wholesome, comfortable, pleasant and delightful; good tidings of good things, of peace, pardon, righteousness, salvation and eternal life by Christ: and the inhabitants of this country in Christ's time were swift to run after him, and hear him; panted after him as the hart after the water brooks, and both received and gave out the goodly words of the Gospel, and were made free thereby, and so like an hind let loose. Bochart gives a different version of these words, which is countenanced by the Septuagint version, Naphtali is a tree full of shoots, or "a tree shot out, sprouting out beautiful branches"; but as this is contrary to the points, and coincides with the next verse, it is rejected by many learned men.

(n) De Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 9. sect. 3. (o) Geograph. l. 16. p. 519. (p) Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 18. col. 896.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Gad, being girded, &c. It seems to allude to the tribe of Gad; when, after they had received for their lot the land of Galaad, they marched in arms before the rest of the Israelites, to the conquest of the land of Chanaan: from whence they afterwards returned loaded with spoils. See Josue i. and xxii. (Challoner) --- He alludes continually to the name of Gad, which signifies one "girded, or a troop." See Osee vi. 8; Numbers xxxii. 17. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

i.e. Troops of enemies shall frequently invade his country, and for a time conquer and spoil it. And so it came to pass, because the inheritance of that tribe lay beyond Jordan, near to the Ammonites and Moabites, two inveterate enemies of Israel, and to other hostile nations on the east.

But he shall overcome at the last, or, afterward. This was fulfilled, 1Ch 5:18, &c. He shows that the events of the wars should be various, but Gad should one time or other spoil his spoilers. See Deu 33:20.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19. A crowd shall crowd him — In this verse we have a more notable play on words than in any other part of the chapter. Every word in the verse but he and heel is a form of the word Gad. We have sought in our translation to bring out, even though imperfectly, this feature of the Hebrew. The thought is, that crowds or troops of invading enemies will crowd in upon his territory, but he will resist them, and in their retreat he will press upon their heel or rear, and harass them. In 1Ch_5:18, the Gadites are mentioned as valiant warriors, and in 1Ch_12:8 they are described as having faces like lions, and being swift as the mountain roes.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. The threefold alliteration of the original, which is lost in the received translation, may be thus expressed: "Gad a,press presses him, but he presses the heel" (Keil); or, "troops shall troop on him, but he shall troop on their retreat" ("Speaker"s Commentary"). The language refers to attacks of nomadic tribes which would harass and annoy the Gadites, but which they would successfully repel.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Concerning Gad, he alludes to his name, which signifies a troop, foresees the character of that tribe, that it should be a warlike tribe; and so we find, 1Ch xii, 8, the Gadites were men of war fit for the battle. He foresees, that the situation of that tribe on the other side Jordan would expose it to the incursions of its neighbours, the Moabites and Ammonites; and that they might not be proud of their strength and valour, he foretells that the troops of their enemies should, in many skirmishes, overcome them; yet, that they might not be discouraged by their defeats, he assures them, that they should overcome at the last, which was fulfilled, when in Saul's time and David's the Moabites and Ammonites were wholly subdued.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

"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 Ch1 5:18. proves that the Gadites displayed, wherever it was needed, the bravery promised them by Jacob. Compare with this Ch1 12:8-15, where the Gadites who come to David are compared to lions, and their swiftness to that of roes.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

The Prophecy upon Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin

v. 19. Gad, a troop shall overcome him; but he shall overcome at the last. The picture is that of a person crowded by malicious hordes, who nevertheless manages not only to hold his own, but even to turn upon the masses and drive them away. The tribe of Gad, living on the eastern side of the Jordan, was harassed more or less by the desert hordes, but managed to hold its own very successfully, 1Ch 5:18; 1Ch 12:8-15.

v. 20. Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties, shall produce pleasant foods. The fat which he would bring forth on his very fertile land in the plains toward Phenicia, would be his bread, for the country was noted for the excellence of its wheat and of its olive-oil.

v. 21. Naphtali is a hind let loose; he giveth goodly words. In comparing Naphtali to a gazelle, Jacob predicts that he will be both a handsome and an active warrior. The fine words probably include such poems as that sung by Deborah, Judges 4, 5.

v. 22. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. Here the prophetic song of Jacob rises to a solemn exultation. The descendants of Joseph would increase so rapidly in their territory that they would soon extend beyond their own boundaries into the neighboring tribes.

v. 23. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him;

v. 24. but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (from thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel). Here the powerful and victorious growth of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh is pictured, in consequence of which all enemies would be overcome. This result, however, would not come about by their own power, but through the help of the mighty God of Jacob, by virtue of the assisting hands of God, who is both the Shepherd and the Rock of Israel.

v. 25. Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. Rains from heaven above and sufficient water from springs and brooks to give the necessary moisture to the soil and the greatest fertility for all his herds, that is the blessing which Jacob begs from the Lord for his beloved son.

v. 26. The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. The blessings of Jacob upon Joseph exceeded in extent and compass those of his fathers before him, rising higher than the eternal hills and surpassing them in beauty. Such a rich outward unfolding was to come upon him who excelled his brethren in dignity and power, on account of which he was separated from them by a wide gulf.

v. 27. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. There would be no end to the successful raids of this warlike tribe, such men as Ehud, Saul, and Jonathan being members of it. At the same time, however, there would be ever present that nobility which would be willing to divide the spoil with the others.

v. 28. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is it that their father spake unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. Not one was omitted in the blessing, although there was a big difference in the form and in the nature of the blessings.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gad ... attack him, but he

Here "Gad" stands for his descendants. AT: "The descendants of Gad ... attack them, but they" (See: Metonymy)

Asher's food ... and he

Here "Asher" stands for his descendants. AT: "Asher's descendants' food ... and they" (See: Metonymy)

Naphtali is ... he will

Here "Naphtali" stands for his descendants. AT: "The descendants of Naphtali are ... they will" (See: Metonymy)

at their heels

Here "heels" stands for the raiders who are running away from the descendants of Gad. (See: Synecdoche)

food will be rich

Here "rich" is a way of saying "delicious." (See: Idiom)

Naphtali is a doe let loose

Jacob speaks about the descendants of Naphtali as if they were a female deer that is free to run. This may emphasize that they will be swift messengers. AT: "The descendants of Naphtali will be like deer set free" (See: Metaphor)

have beautiful fawns

A "fawn" is a baby deer. The meaning of the Hebrew word is unclear. Some versions translate it as "have beautiful words" or "speak beautiful things" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

Gad

Asher

royal

Naphtali

deer

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

גד גדוד יגודנו GAD, AN ASSAILING TROOP SHALL ASSAIL HIM — all the words in this verse which have, the letters גד are connected in meaning with the word גדוד and so also did Menachem ben Seruk classify them. Should you say, however, that גדוד has always two ד’s and these words have only one, the answer is: The word גדוד is a noun and therefore requires two ד’s, for it is the way of a biliteral root to have the second letter doubled when used as a noun; the root proper, however, consists only of two letters. Thus it says, (Proverbs 26:2) כצפור לנוד “the wandering sparrow”, (לנוד a verb, infinitive) of the same derivation as נדודים in (Job 7:4) “I am full of גדודים wanderings” (a noun); (Judges 5:27) ‘‘there he fell down (שדוד) dead”, a noun in meaning, which is of the same derivation as the verb in (Psalms 41:6) “that wasteth (ישוד) at moon-day”. So, also, יגודנו,יגוד and גדוד have the same derivation. When, also, one uses such biliteral roots in the future tense Kal, it (the second letter) is not doubled. For example: יגוד he will troop, ינוד he will wander, ירום he will be high, ישוד he will devastate, ישוב he will come back. When, however, such a root is used in a reflexive sense (Hithpael) or in a causative-transitive sense the second letter is doubled Examples are: יתעודד,יתרומם,יתבולל,יתגודד. Examples of the causative-transitive sense are: (Psalms 146:9) “He strengtheneth (יעודד) the fatherless and the widow”; (Isaiah 49:5) “To bring Jacob back (לשובב) to Him”; (Isaiah 48:12) “The restorer (משובב) of paths”. The form יגודנו which is used here has not the force that others will make him do something (i.e. it has not this causative-transitive sense with the direct accusative suffix נוּ) but it means “a troop will troop out from him”, exactly the same as (Jeremiah 10:20) בני יצאוני which means “my children have gone forth from me”, (as we might say “have left me”). (Cf. Rashi on Genesis דברו לשלום 37:4, and on תמלאמו Exodus 15:9.). גד גדוד יגודנו accordingly means, “troops will troop out of him” signifying that they (the Gadites) will cross the Jordan with their brethren, all armed, and remain with them until the land will have been conquered.

והוא יגד עקב means all his troops will return in their own tracks back to their territory which they will receive on the other side of the Jordan and not one of them will be missing.

עקב This means: By the same roads and paths upon which they had traveled shall they return. The word עקב has the same meaning as in (Psalms 128:20) “And thy foot-steps (עקבותיך) were not known”; (Song of Songs 1:8) “by the footsteps (עקבות) of the flock”. In old French traces; English, tracks.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

‘GAD G’DUD Y’GUDENU.’ Rashi, in accordance with Onkelos, explained it as follows: A troop will troop out of him, and that troop will troop back upon its footsteps, meaning it will return in its own track back to its territory in peace [and not one of them will be missing]. The correct interpretation [appears to be that the word y’gudenu here] is as in the verse: When he cometh up against the people that he invadeth (‘y’gudenu’). The verse is thus stating that a troop will always assail Gad, that he will have many wars, with enemy troops spreading out over his land, and that he will follow the enemy in his track and be victorious over him and pursue him, returning on the heel of those who shame them. Jacob thus praised the Gadites for their valor and for their victory over all those who enter into battle against them. This is similar to the blessing which Moses our teacher gave them, as it is said, Blessed be He that enlargeth Gad; he dwelleth as a lioness. Since Gad inherited a very wide and large land which was across the Jordan, bands from Ammon and Moab, his evil neighbors, would always descend upon him, claiming the land and invading it. Yet Gad lurked like a lioness over its prey, fearing not their noise, nor showing any dismay at their shouting.This fitting interpretation I learned from the Jerusalem Talmud, where in Tractate Sotah they say: “Gad g’dud y’gudenu, a troop will come trooping upon him, but he shall troop upon it;” that is to say, bands will come to gather wealth and assail him, but he shall troop upon them and bring his troops into their land.Perhaps the prophet Jacob was alluding to the war of Jephthah the Gileadite against the children of Ammon, as the children of Gad inherited all the cities of Gilead, and half of the land of the children of Ammon. The children of Ammon were always warring against the men of Gilead, and Jephthah scarcely passed over them and he smote them and their cities [with] a very great slaughter. This event was indeed a great miracle, and so the prophet Jacob mentioned it, even as he mentioned the matter of Samson.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

גד גדוד יגודנו, if a troop, battalion attacks him he will overpower that troop. This is the meaning of the last words in the verse והוא יגד עקב, in the end (עקב) he will prevail. This is a specific reference by Yaakov to what we have been told in Chronicles I 5,18-22 in which this tribe (together with Reuven and half the tribe of Menashe) is described as waging a successful war against the Hagrites. Their victory, -apparently they had been attacked,- is credited to the fact that they implored G’d to help them, and had faith that He would help them. Their trust was justified as is evident from the amount of loot they captured after that battle, Subsequent to that battle they remained undisturbed until their exile, about 150 years before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.