SUMMARY OF DISSERTATION III.

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WHEN Jacob drew near to his end, he called his sons together, and gave to each a peculiar blessing: that relating to Judah. No prophecy in the Old Testament has undergone more interpretation and criticism: the reader is referred for this to Huetius, Le Clerc, and Saurin. Passage in Ecclus. xliv. 19. serves as a key to open to us the nature of the blessings bestowed on the twelve tribes by Jacob: this explained, shows that the several blessings in Gen. xlix. and limited to the several tribes, must be an exposition of the original blessing given to Abraham, and cannot extend beyond the bounds of the first promise this also probable from the custom in Abraham's family, in which the blessing of the father was regularly conveyed to the son. The adoption of Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, into the inheritance, leaves no room to doubt of this matter. Jacob prefaces his grant to Joseph's family with a recital only of God's promise to make him fruitful, and to give the land of Canaan to him and his seed; for his gift to Joseph's sons went not beyond the terms of this grant. But the blessing of Abraham, derived to his chosen, consisted of two parts, the promise of Canaan, and the promise of that Son in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. These two promises went inseparably together from the beginning, and so they continued in some degree to the end. The terms in which these two promises are conveyed to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, and to Judah, laid down in parallel columns. No doubt existed in the ancient Jewish church before Christ, or among the Jews since, but that the promise of the Messiah was

limited to Judah in his blessing; nor is it reasonable to suppose that Jacob, in the division of the blessing, should forget the chief and principal part which had been so solemnly conveyed from Abraham, through Isaac, to himself. The promise of the blessed seed could not be divided; and therefore this part of Jacob's blessing went intire to the tribe of Judah. The promise to Abraham of multiplying his seed, and giving them the land of Canaan for a possession, implied necessarily a promise of temporal power: all the promises therefore of a numerous issue, strength, and courage, &c. are incident to, and must be referred to this promise; and from this is to be derived a portion of Judah's blessing. The passage in that blessing relating to the sceptre of Judah, accounted for. After the settlement of the twelve tribes in Canaan, each tribe had its princes or heads, who judged its people; consequently every tribe had a sceptre and a lawgiver or judge. It is shown that the government in the several tribes was aristocratical, and that no one tribe had a superiority over another. What authority the princes of tribes had over their own people may be collected from Judges v. 9. 10. Allusion to this made in Matt. xix. 28. From this constitution of the tribes we may infer that Jacob, having settled twelve princes, speaks to them as heads of the people, and that what he says relates to them and their people collectively. We maonclude therefore, that when he speaks to all as princes, and tells Judah in particular that the sceptre shall not depart from HIM until Shiloh come, the sceptre means that very power and right of government now established in the house of Judah, and in all the other tribes, which Jacob foresaw would depart from them, but would remain with Judah till the coming of Shiloh. The opinion of some interpreters, that the thing promised to Judah is the sceptre; and that the sceptre was not to be settled in Judah's family till some ages after Jacob's death, refuted. Also another, which supposes the sceptre here mentioned to be an emblem of dominion over all the tribes of Jacob.

The same word in the original signifies a tribe and a sceptre, and probably a tribe, because a tribe is a collection of people under the government of one sceptre or authority: instances given to show the relation between the sceptre and the tribe, whence we may understand by the word sceptre, the authority in and over a single tribe. True import of the word lawgiver known only by reference to the government or constitution intended. The sense must be determined by that of the word sceptre, and signify such lawgivers only as single tribes had within themselves. From beneath his feet, that is, either of his own descendants, or a lawgiver of his own to the very last times. Reasons given why lawgiver, in this passage, should only signify a judge. With respect to the word Shiloh, nothing need be added to the expositions of the learned; since in all views that have been taken of it, the prophecy must terminate in Christ; and a continuance of the power now settled in the house of Judah is promised till the Messiah come. If we consider the context, it will carry us to the same point: Judah is the only one who received two blessings from his father; viz. the promise of the blessed seed, and a portion in the land of Canaan: this point enlarged on. Unto him shall the gatheri of the people be. Those who understand this as relating to the Messiah, are shown to have strong reasons on their side; b it seems more consonant to the rules of language to appropriat this character to Judah. According to this latter interpretat...it is shown that the prophecy contains the most exact description of the state and polity of Judah during the continuance of is sceptre, after the sceptres were removed from the other tribes, to the last destruction of the nation by the Romans. It is shown how the appointment or constitution of the tribes took its origin from Jacob. From his time to that of the captivity in Babylon, there is no suspicion that the tribe of Judah wanted rulers and princes within itself. The ten tribes of Israel were carried off by Salmaneser about seven hundred years before Christ, and

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never appeared again as a people. Here the completion of the prophecy relating to the continuation of Judah's sceptre, after the others were removed, commences. The division of the kingdom prepared the way for this. The seventy years of captivity in Babylon is the only difficulty in the scheme: this obviated. It is shown that the polity of the Jews, as a distinct people, under heads and rulers of their own, was not extinguished by the Asmonean princes; also that things continued in this state to the very death of Christ, from many passages in the gospels. From that time all things began to work towards the destruction of the Jewish polity; they were soon scattered among all nations, and from that day to this have had neither prince nor lawgiver among them; nor will they ever be able to show any signs of the sceptre, till they discover the unknown country, where never mankind dwelt. This interpretation of Jacob's prophecy is shown to be very much confirmed by one of Moses, where he blesses the tribes: Deut. xxxiii. It may be asked, why did not Jacob, like Moses, foretel also the continuance of the sceptre of Benjamin, since that tribe ran the same fortune with Judah? Two things stated in answer to and explanation of this. Conclusion, intimating that the interpretation of Jacob's prophecy now advanced, is not wholly the writer's own; being, as to the main point, the fourth of Huetius, which he rejected, as well as that which Junius, Tremellius, and Ainsworth espoused; and which was revised by Ioncourt.

DISSERTATION III.

THE BLESSING OF JUDAH, GEN. XLIX.

WHEN Jacob drew near his end, he called his sons together and blessed them, every one according to his blessing,'* benedictionibus suis propriis; † that is, giving to each a peculiar blessing. The part relating to Judah stands thus:

Ver. 8. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies: thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

Ver. 9. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up ?

Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be:

Ver. 11. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes.

There is no prophecy in the Old Testament that has undergone so many interpretations and critical disquisitions as this now before us. It would make a volume to report exactly the various sentiments of learned men on this subject. They who desire to be acquainted with them, may consult Huetius,‡ Mr. Le Clerc, and Mr. Saurin.§

It may be thought perhaps great presumption to attempt any thing on this passage after so much pains bestowed on it by men of great figure in learning; but as I have no intention to make