1 Then Jacob called his sons, and said, "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in days to come.
2 Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel, your father.
A blessing signifies the imparting of spiritual good, which the recipient may receive or reject according to his mental attitude. The blessing by Jacob of his twelve sons symbolizes the sowing of seed in consciousness for a future harvest. Through the power of his word, Jacob was raising the consciousness of his primal ideas.
In effect, he was proclaiming: "You represent the fundamental nature of man's life, and I am revealing to you in symbols the foundation you have laid, what you will have to contend with in the future, and what you can attain. You stand for the foundation faculties that constitute the coming ideal man. The true seed idea of this ideal man is implanted within each of you and will eventually become manifest. This process of manifestation covers your history up to the time of the appearance of the man that YHVH imaged in the beginning."
3 Reuben, you are my first-born, my might, and the first fruits of my strength, preeminent in pride and preeminent in power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it--you went up to my couch!
Reuben, the first-born, symbolizes the faith of man in his ability as expressed through his animal nature. Here we see the vigor and vitality of the functioning of man's elemental life, which boils over "as water," loses command. Reuben is represented as the natural man giving way to his passions and appetites before he has developed spiritual mastery.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.
6 O my soul, come not into their council; O my Spirit, be not joined to their company; for in their anger they slay men, and in their wantonness they hamstring oxen.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
Simeon represents Receptivity (feeling) and Levi represents Love (sensation). The faculties of feeling and sensation in human consciousness have been debased on the mortal plane. Simeon, the obedient one, one who is easily influenced, falls under the sway of physical sensation. In Simeon and Levi, we also have an exhibition of animal love and of its vengefulness as exemplified in their treacherous attempt to right the wrong committed against their sister Dinah.
8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who dares rouse him up?
Jacob's blessing on Judah was the most significant. Judah was to conquer all his enemies:
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 Binding his foal to the vine and his ass's colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes;
12 his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
Shiloh signifies peace of mind, wholeness, completion or fullness, and represents the Prince of Peace, the Messiah or Savior. Yeshua was a direct descendant of Judah, as is shown in the 1st chapter of Matthew. The name Judah applies to only one of the twelve tribes, but is often used to designate the Jewish nation as a whole. This would indicate that praise is such an active principle in spiritual thought that it is deserving of first place. The power of the word of praise shall be felt until the coming of the Prince of Peace.
13 Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.
Zebulun represents the law that relates man to the universal cosmos. He dwells under the law of protection and safety (refuge), yet has a realization of the Universal Mind (sea). Zebulun is that in us which is concerned with the maintenance of our individual importance regardless of the immensity of the universal. Those who are in personality will find refuge in this state of consciousness. We lose consciousness of our spiritual importance by looking out into the universe but can retain our identity as Children of God through realizing that Spirit is individualized in us.
14 Issachar is a strong ass, crouching between the sheepfolds;
15 he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant; so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a slave at forced labor.
Issachar symbolizes the inner, latent powers in man. He represents that side of the natural man which accepts conditions as they appear to be and bears the burdens of life without question, as exemplified by the patient ass.
16 Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.
18 I wait for thy salvation, O YHVH.
Dan represents discrimination or judgment, a choosing between good and evil. The serpent is used as a symbol of subtlety. Sensation rushes through the organism like a race horse, but judgment "bites at the heels" to restrain the headlong flight.
19 Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.
Gad represents latent spiritual power, which like an army is always ready to do a mighty work. Science tells of an omnipresent ether that presses upon us in the invisible from every direction. One scientist says that the atomic energy in a pea would propel a large seagoing vessel from America to England and return. This ether has its analogy in Spirit, which continually inspires us when we give it our attention. Our mind is in direct contact with this spiritual power, and our word puts it into action.
20 Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties.
Asher represents the understanding mind and its ability to manipulate universal substance (bread) and make it manifest richly. The bread or divine substance is susceptible of infinite adaptation. Those who think about it as limited in its expression manifest limited supply, while those who follow Yeshua and realize the richness of this substance manifest it abundantly, being able even to transform it into loaves and fishes to feed the multitude.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose, that bears comely fawns.
The Hebrew meaning of the name Naphtali is "my wrestling," "wrestling of YHVH." Naphtali represents the activity of strength in man's consciousness. Jacob's blessing on Naphtali was that he might have the strength and speed of the deer and the power of the word to increase strength.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.
23 The archers fiercely attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him sorely;
24 yet his bow remained unmoved, his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel),
25 by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heavens above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was separate from his brothers.
Joseph, representing the imagination, is at all times very close to divine inspiration. If man would curb his will and keep it in abeyance he would not "imagine vain things." Notwithstanding the destructive power of the personal Will ("archers") with which he is associated his directive power is victorious. Joseph's persecution and sale into Egypt by his willful brothers and his demonstration of superiority to his fate illustrate the victory of an inspired imagination. The whole story of Joseph is an example of the successful functioning of man's imaging faculty when he keeps contact with YHVH.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at even dividing the spoil."
Benjamin (Faith) in his hunger after righteousness is compared to a famished wolf. In the morning or beginning he appropriates understanding to the full, which he divides or imparts freely at the evening or end of the period.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.
29 Then he charged them, and said to them, "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place.
The name Ephron means "gazelle-like," "quick," "volatile." Ephron represents a type of thought that is very impulsive, light, airy, and quick to change.
The word Mamre means "firmness," "vigor," "strength." The oak trees (which surrounded Mamre) in themselves denote strength and protection; but the Hebrew name for oak trees has a deeper significance than this; it comes from a root similar to the one from which is derived the word Elohim. Thus we are reminded of the truth that those who trust in God as their defense, their refuge, and their fortress, and who dwell in the secret place of the Most High, abide under the shadow of the Almighty, and not only are kept from all evil and its results but also continue to grow and unfold in understanding, in spirituality, in every good.
The name Machpelah means "equally divided," "twofold," "spiral form." Machpelah represents subconscious body substance (a field in which there was a cave).
31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah—
32 the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites."
33 When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
In the Biblical allegories, the various individuals represent the different phases of character through which one man passes in his spiritual development. As these follow in a series, gradually reaching greater heights, the old phases of character are left behind to be replaced by new ones. Thus the Biblical characters are said to "die" and to be "gathered unto their fathers."
So each of the great Bible personalities is gradually replaced in the mind of him who is in the narrow way. When a great change takes place, some old phase of consciousness has lost its hold, and we read that Jacob or Joseph or another character "dies." This does not mean that there has been any loss or that anything has "gone away" but that certain states of mind have fulfilled their regenerative work and have been succeeded by others.