Genesis 49:7

Gen 49:7 Cursed [be] their anger, for [it was] fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Ver. 7. Cursed be their anger.] Of the mischief of rash anger, and means to repress it. {See Trapp on "Gen 34:7"} See my "Commonplace of Anger."

I will divide them in Jacob.] A punishment suitable to their sin: they conspired to do mischief, and are therefore divided in Jacob. Of Simeon, Judas Iscariot is said to have come; who tumbled as a stone till he came to his place. Levi had his habitation among the other tribes; and this curse was afterwards turned to a blessing, when they were consecrated as priests, to preserve and present knowledge to their brethren, to "teach Jacob God’s judgments, and Israel his laws." {Deu 33:9-10}

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 49:7. Cursed be their anger — Not their persons. We ought always, in the expressions of our zeal, carefully to distinguish between the sinner and the sin, so as not to love or bless the sin for the sake of the person, nor to hate or curse the person for the sake of the sin. I will divide them — The Levites were scattered throughout all the tribes, and Simeon’s lot lay not together, and was so strait that many of that tribe were forced to disperse themselves in quest of settlements and subsistence. This curse was afterward turned into a blessing to the Levites; but the Simeonites, for Zimri’s sin, Numbers 25., had it bound on.

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

For Levi had no part, and Simeon was under Judah, Josh. 19:1, till God gave them the place of the Amalekites, 1 Chron. 4:43.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 7. Cursed was their anger] The first motions of their violence were savage; and their excessive or overflowing wrath, עברה ebrah, for it was inflexible - neither the supplications of the males, nor the entreaties, tears, cries, and shrieks of the helpless females, could deter them from their murderous purpose; for this, Ge 49:5, they are said to have accomplished.

I will divide them out, אחלקם achallekem, I will make them into lots, giving a portion of them to one tribe, and a portion to another; but they shall never attain to any political consequence. This appears to have been literally fulfilled. Levi had no inheritance except forty-eight cities, scattered through different parts of the land of Canaan: and as to the tribe of Simeon, it is generally believed among the Jews that they became schoolmasters to the other tribes; and when they entered Canaan they had only a small portion, a few towns and villages in the worst part of Judah's lot, Jos 19:1, which afterwards finding too little, they formed different colonies in districts which they conquered from the Idumeans and Amalekites, 1Ch 4:39, &c. Thus these two tribes were not only separated from each other, but even divided from themselves, according to this prediction of Jacob.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Cursed be their anger. What I have said must be kept in mind; namely, that we are divinely admonished by the mouth of the holy prophet, to keep at a distance from all wicked counsels. Jacob pronounces a woe upon their fury. Why is this, unless that others may learn to put a restraint upon themselves, and to be on their guard against such cruelty? However, (as I have already observed,) it will not suffice to preserve our hands pure, unless we are far removed from all association with crime. For though it may not always be in our power to repress unjust violence; yet that concealment of it is culpable, which approaches to the appearance of consent. Here even the ties of kindred, and whatever else would bias a sound judgment, must be dismissed from the mind: since we see a holy father, at the command of God, so severely thundering against his own sons. He pronounces the anger of Simon and Levi to be so much the more hateful, because, in its commencement, it was violent, and even to the end, it was implacable.

I will divide them in Jacob. It may seem a strange method of proceeding, that Jacob, while designating his sons patriarchs of the Church, and calling them heirs of the divine covenant, should pronounce a malediction upon them instead of a blessing. Nevertheless it was necessary for him to begin with the chastisement, which should prepare the way for the manifestation of God’s grace, as will be made to appear at the close of the chapter: but God mitigates the punishment, by giving them an honorable name in the Church, and leaving them their right unimpaired: yea, his incredible goodness unexpectedly shone forth, when that which was the punishment of Levi, became changed into the reward of the priesthood. The dispersion of the Levitical tribe had its origin in the crime of their father, lest he should congratulate himself on account of his perverse and lawless spirit of revenge. But God, who in the beginning had produced light out of darkness, found another reason why the Levites should be dispersed abroad among the people, — a reason not only free from disgrace, but highly honorable, — namely, that no corner of the land might be destitute of competent instructors. Lastly, he constituted them overseers and governors, in his name, over every part of the land, as if he would scatter everywhere the seed of eternal salvation, or would send forth ministers of his grace. Whence we conclude, how much better it was for Levi to be chastised at the time, for his own good, than to be left to perish, in consequence of present impunity in sin. And it is not to be deemed strange, that, when the land was distributed, and cities were given to the Levites, far apart from each other, this reason was suppressed, and one entirely different was adduced; namely, that the Lord was their inheritance. For this, as I have lately said, is one of the miracles of God, to brine light out of darkness. Had Levi been sentenced to distant exile, he would have been most worthy of the punishment: but now, God in a measure spares him, by assigning him a wandering life in his paternal inheritance. Afterwards, the mark of infamy being removed, God sends his posterity into different parts, under the title of a distinguished embassy. In Simon there remained a certain, though obscure trace of the curse: because a distinct territory did not fall to his sons by lot; but they were mixed with the tribe of Judah, as is stated in Joshua 19:1. Afterwards they went to Mount Seir, having expelled the Amalekites and taken possession of their land, as it is written, (1 Chronicles 4:40-43.) Here, also, we perceive the manly fortitude of holy Jacob’s breast, who, though a decrepit old man and an exile, lying on his private and lowly couch, nevertheless assigns provinces to his sons, as from the lofty throne of a great king. He also does this in his own right, knowing that the covenant of God was deposited with him, by which he had been called the heir and lord of the land: and at the same time he claims for himself authority as sustaining the character of a prophet of God. For it greatly concerns us, when the word of God sounds in our ears, to apprehend by faith the thing proclaimed, as if his ministers had been commanded to carry into effect what they pronounce. Therefore it was said to Jeremiah,

“See I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, and to build, and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10.)

And the prophets are generally commanded to set their faces against the countries which they threaten, as if they were furnished with a large army to make the attack.

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.

(7) Cursed . . . —Jacob condemns Simeon and Levi not because they were angry, but because they vented their anger in a perfidious and violent manner. The next sentence literally is, And their rage, for it was hard. The indignation at Joseph’s dreams, told them by him innocently, led them to an act harsh and in human (see Gen_42:21).

I will divide them . . . —This prediction was equally fulfilled in the fact that neither of the tribes of Simeon and Levi possessed any political importance in Israel. The brothers had banded together to oppress their kindred; their descendants were powerless. But in every other respect the fulfilment was utterly diverse. In the wilderness the Simeonites dwindled from 59,300 to 22,200 men (Num_1:23; Num_26:14); and after the conquest of Canaan, were so feeble as to have only fifteen towns assigned them, scattered about in the territory of Judah. And there they melted away, being either absorbed into the tribe among whom they dwelt, crwithdrawing to wander as nomads in the wilderness of Paran. In Levi’s case the curse was changed into a blessing by the faithfulness of the tribe upon a very trying occasion (Exo_32:26-28); and we learn from it the great lesson that the Divine rewards and punishments, even when specified in prophecy, are nevertheless conditional upon human conduct. Of this diversity of fulfilment there is not the slightest indication in Jacob’s blessing, while in that of Moses the lot of Levi is described in terms of the highest praise, and that of Simeon is passed over in inglorious silence.

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

7. In the curse here pronounced upon Simeon and Levi, no mention is made of the Levitical priesthood. Nevertheless, the patriarch’s curse is evidently assumed to have produced its effect upon the two tribes. One (Levi) was scattered up and down Palestine without territorial possession; and the other (Simeon) occupied territory in a limited area, enclosed within the tribe of Judah. Cf. Jos_19:1-9; 1Ch_4:24-39. In the Song of Moses, Simeon is not even mentioned. Levi, on the other hand, is blessed, as the tribe of the priesthood, Deu_33:8-11.

in Jacob … Israel] See note on Gen_49:2.

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.

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,.... It was sinful anger in the nature of it, and so criminal and detestable; it was strong, fierce, and furious in its operation and effects, and so justly cursed; not their persons, but their passions:

and their wrath, for it was cruel; it issued in the cruel and barbarous slaughter of the inhabitants of Shechem; the same thing as before in other words repeated, to express his great abhorrence of their wrath and rage. Aben Ezra thinks that the words may be considered either as a prophecy or a prayer, that their anger might cease: what follows is certainly a prophecy:

I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel; which he is said to do, because he foretold it would be done; as Jeremiah is said to root out and pull down kingdoms, because he prophesied thereof, Jer 1:10 and this was fulfilled in the tribes of Simeon and Levi; as for the tribe of Simeon, that had not a distinct part by itself in the land of Canaan, but had their inheritance out of the portion, and within the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, Jos 19:1 and their cities did not join to one another, as Aben Ezra observes, but lay scattered up and down in the tribe of Judah; and when they were increased and straitened for room, many of them went without the land, to the entrance of Gedor, where they of Ham, or the Egyptians, had dwelt, and others to Mount Seir in Edom, Ch1 4:39 and it is a notion which prevails with the Jews, and which Jarchi takes notice of, that a great many of this tribe were scribes and teachers of the law, and even teachers of children, and by which they lived among the several tribes; and so the Jerusalem Targum,"I will divide the tribe of Simeon, that they may be scribes and teachers of the law in the congregation of Jacob.''And as for the tribe of Levi, it is well known that they had no inheritance in the land of Canaan, but had forty eight cities assigned them in the several tribes here and there; and thus Jacob's prophecy had an exact accomplishment.

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

Scatter them. Levi had no division allotted to him, but only some cities among the other tribes; and Simeon had only a part of Juda’s lot, which was so small, that his descendants were forced to seek for a fresh establishment; some in Gader, others in Mount Seir. (1 Paralipomenon iv. 39; Josue xix. 2.) Simeon alone was not blessed by Moses, Deuteronomy xxxiii. (Du Hamel) --- The Levites obtained a blessing, on account of their distinguished zeal; (Numbers xxv.) while Zambri rivets, as it were, the curse upon the family of Simeon. (Menochius)

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).

Cursed be their anger, or, cursed was. It was execrable and abominable both before God and men; such as deserved and brought the curse of God upon themselves, which I, as God’s instrument, am now to pronounce against them.

I do here declare, in the name of God, that they shall be divided and dispersed

in Jacob, & c.; that is, among the children or tribes of Jacob or Israel. Prophets are said to do what they foretell that God will do, as Jeremiah is said to root out and pull down kingdoms, Jer 1:10, and Ezekiel to destroy the city, Eze 43:3. Add Hos 6:5. Note here how suitable their punishment was to their crime. They sinned by conspiracy and confederation in the counsel and action, and they are punished with division or separation, not only of the two brethren and their tribes, but of the children and families of the several tribes, one from another. This was eminently fulfilled in the tribe of Levi, which had no proper portion or inheritance, but was scattered among all the tribes, Jos 18:7, though afterwards God turned this curse into a blessing. And for Simeon, he had no part of his own in the division of the land; but the portion of Judah being too large for that tribe, he was taken into that lot, and was as an inmate to them, Jos 19:1,2,9, and afterwards part of them were forced to seek new seats, and so were divided from the rest of their brethren, 1Ch 4:27,39,42. And moreover, the Jewish doctors write, that that tribe was so straitened in their habitations and conveniences, that a very great number of them were forced to scatter themselves amongst the other tribes to get a subsistence by teaching their children.

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

7. I will divide… scatter — He speaks as one conscious of divine authority. Their guilty uniting in conspiracy and cruelty is to be punished by dividing and scattering them in Israel. In the census of Numbers xxvi, the Simeonites number only 22,200 — less than any other tribe; in Moses’s blessing (Deuteronomy 33,) they are not mentioned at all; and in the allotment of Canaan their inheritance consisted of scattered cities within the territory previously assigned to Judah. Jos_19:1-9.

The Jews have a tradition that the Simeonites became largely the scribes and teachers among the other tribes, and so were scattered in Israel. In 1Ch_4:27, it is said they did not increase like the children of Judah, and in Gen 49:39-43, of the same chapter, it appears that they were scattered beyond the limits of Judah southward. The Levites, as is well-known, obtained no separate territory as a tribe, but were scattered about in various cities of the other tribes. See Joshua 21. But this curse of the patriarch did not hinder these tribes from sharing in the blessings of the covenant. Though divided and scattered, they were made a means of blessing to the whole house of Israel. Compare Moses’s words on Levi, Deu_33:8-11, where their character as priests and teachers is made prominent.

The words used of Simeon and Levi in Jacob’s prophecy have been a great trouble to the critics who would explain it as the production of a later time. So far from being an accurate detail of facts, some writers have pronounced it inconsistent with the history of those tribes, for, according to Jos_19:1-9, Simeon did have a definite tribe-territory allotted him, and to the Levites were assigned several of the most important cities in the land, with their suburbs, and they were made the priests and ministers of the sanctuary instead of the firstborn. These facts are hard to reconcile with the theory that the song was written after the conquest of Canaan; but, in the mouth of Jacob, the language may be naturally explained.

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

Cursed be their anger - Not their persons. We ought always in the expressions of our zeal carefully to distinguish between the sinner and the sin, so as not to love or bless the sin for the sake of the person, nor to hate or curse the person for the sake of the sin. I will divide them - The Levites were scattered throughout all the tribes, and Simeon's lot lay not together, and was so strait that many of that tribe were forced to disperse themselves in quest of settlements and subsistence. This curse was afterwards turned into a blessing to the Levites; but the Simeonites, for Zimri's sin, Num. xxv, 6-14, had it bound on.

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

May their anger be cursed, for it was fierce—and their fury, for it was cruel

God cursing Simeon and Levi is spoken of as if God were cursing their anger and fury. This can be stated in active form. AT: "The Lord says, 'I will curse them because of their fierce anger and their cruel fury" or "I, the Lord, will curse them because of their fierce anger and their cruel fury" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

May their anger be cursed

In prophecy, the prophet will often speak the words of God as if God himself were speaking. This emphasizes how closely united the prophet and God are.

their fury, for it was cruel

The words "I will curse" are understood. AT: "I will curse their fury, for it was cruel" (See: Ellipsis)

I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel

The word "I" refers to God. The word "them" refers to Simeon and Levi but they are a metonym standing for their descendants. The words "Jacob" and "Israel" are a metonym standing for all people of Israel. AT: "I will divide their descendants and scatter them among all the people of Israel" (See: Metonymy and Parallelism)

translationWords

curse

anger

Israel

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

ארור אפם כי עז CURSED BE TIIEIR WRATH, FOR IT IS POWERFUL — Even when he was reproving them he did not curse them but their anger. That is what Balaam said: (Numbers 23:8) “How can I curse them since אל hath not cursed them?” (Genesis Rabbah 99:6)

אחלקם ביעקב I WILL DIVIDE THEM IN JACOB — I shall separate them from each other inasmuch as Levi shall not be numbered among the tribes (cf. Numbers 26:62) and thus they (Simeon and Levi) will be divided (cf. Genesis Rabbah 98:5). Another interpretation is: both of these tribes will be dispersed in Israel, and this happened, for you will find that the very poor — the Scribes and elementary teachers — were all of the tribe of Simeon, and this was so in order that this tribe should be dispersed, since such poor people must wander from city to city to eke out a livelihood. As for the tribe of Levi, He made them travel round from one threshing floor to another to collect their heave offerings and tithes; thus He caused them also to be “scattered” but in a more respectable manner (Genesis Rabbah 99:6).

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.

ארור אפם, whenever we encounter the expression ארור it involves denial of some blessing or something good and welcome to the party subject to the curse. For instance, we read in Maleachi 2,2 וארותי את ברכותיהם, “I will turn their blessings into a curse.” The words ארור אפם must be understood as a type of prayer by Yaakov, who wishes that Shimon and Levi be denied at least a part of their willfulness of character, as something that has become too strong to endure. Yaakov repeated the same thought in different words to make his point more insistently. This is why he added the words ועברתם כי קשתה.

אחלקם ביעקב, so that they will not constantly be next to one another. Shimon’s ancestral territory in the land of Israel actually became an enclave within the boundaries of the land allocated to the tribe of Yehudah. Shimon and Levi (who had no territorial claims after being granted the status formerly occupied by the firstborn after the golden calf episode) had no common territorial boundaries, so that the danger of their joint cooperation resulting in a repeat of what happened at Shechem was drastically reduced. In Bereshit Rabbah 99,7 the words אחלקם ביעקב, are understood as referring to the 24 thousand members of the tribe of Shimon who were killed as a result of Zimri’s brazen act of sexual union with a Midianite princess. This resulted in 24 thousand wives of these men becoming widows, These widows were distributed to the other tribes, 2000 to each tribe, so that anyone having to go begging was from the tribe of Shimon. As a result, G’d said that the Levites were to be similarly distributed among all the tribes seeing he did not deserve a better fate than that of his partner in crime Shimon. Seeing that the Levites became dependent on the tithes, etc, voluntarily given to them by the farmers of the other tribes, their basic livelihood was no less precarious than that of the widows and orphans of the members of the tribe of Shimon who had been killed by a plague by G’d at Shittim.( Numbers 25,9) It is a historical fact then that Yaakov’s prediction came true. Seeing what had happened, G’d elevated the Levites by granting them 10% of the combined harvests of all the other tribes. However, the Levites, just as the members of the tribe of Shimon, had to visit all the threshing floors and request from the local farmers to give the tithe tithes they were obliged to give to a Levite to them. [The Midrash endeavours to justify Yaakov saying both אחלקם ביעקב, and אפיצם בישראל, meaning that each of these tribes will be busy looking for handouts and not have spare time for aggressive ventures such as those hatched by their respective founding fathers. Ed.]

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.

Cursed be their anger. He prophesied — or prayed — that their fiery tempers would cool down.

I will disperse them. Both Shimon and Leivi received scattered cities rather than a contiguous portion.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.