Vayechi (Part 2) - Genesis 47:28-50:26

There is an interesting thing that happens in this week's parashah: the blessings of Jacob.

First, let's look at the names of the children of Jacob, and because they are an important component, I will include Joseph's sons as well:

1. Reuben
2. Simon
3. Levi
4. Judah
5. Dan
6. Naphtali
7. Gad
8. Asher
9. Issachar
10. Zebulun
11. Joseph
12. Benjamin
13. Manasseh
14. Ephraim

As you can see, only five (in black) of the twelve (or fourteen if you add the adopted sons of Joseph into the mix) play any active role in the stories and have any dialogue. The majority of the characters are but props, representing tribes that will emerge centuries later. The ones in orange have some role in the story, no dialogue. Their roles also don't appear to do anything to move the story forward. The ones in red are but mentioned, and play no real roles at all.

Take Benjamin for example: He says nothing, he lets people fawn all over him, he accepts presents, but in most of the story, he is barely even there. Because of this, the Sages said that he was one of the few people in the world who never sinned. After all, he said and did nothing. One could, of course, make the same argument for Manasseh and Ephraim, but they don't.

I am taking the position that at some point in the future, Israel existed with some sort of tribal division, and the people of those specific tribes performed certain functions,, and that this scene with Jacob giving blessings is not him making predictions of the future, but is of the future explaining the way things were, and giving the reason as being rooted in the distant past. In one case, however, this blessing failed, which would indicate that this scene was written before the narrator(s) would be aware of that failure.

So let's look at these characters for a moment, based on how they were blessed, because that action speaks a lot about why the characters are in there in the first place.

Reuben

Reuben was the first born, and because of that, he should have the "lion's share" of the inheritance, but he doesn't. That will be taken by Judah. Many people teach that Reuben lost his "bechorah" because of what he did.

What was it that he did?

In Genesis 35:22, we read that "...Reuben went and lay with Bilha" who was his aunt (Bilha and Leah had the same father, but different mothers according to tradition). The Hebrew word שכב, rather than "ידע" (knew), indicates a forbidden relationship. It is also used to express rape (see Deut. 22:22, 22:25, 22:28, etc.). But notice the Rashi on this which basically says, "Reuben didn't have sex with her, he simply moved his father's bed so Jacob would have relations with Leah."

Yes, Jews apparently invented apologetics.

OK, so raping Bilha was certainly not nice. But did Jacob ever condemn him for it?

In this week's parashah, Jacob says about Reuben: "Do not take more, for you mounted your father's bed and desecrated it, [you] who ascended upon it".

OK, at the end of his life, he apparently did condemn him. But did he give the "bechorah" to Judah?

No.

In Genesis 35:22,. is doesn't say that Jacob took away the status as the first born. And later, in Numbers 1:20, Moses still refers to Reuben as the eldest, and the bechor. And in this week's blessing, Reuben is still referred to as the "first born", as Israel's bechor.

So no, Reuben still had the status as the oldest and the one who should inherit the largest portion, but who apparently didn't. And "do not take more" is to explain away why the tribe of Reuben did not get a double-portion of the land.

Simon and Levi

While Jacob doesn't condemn their actions directly, he does say that they will not have their own territories, but will be dispersed throughout the tribes. Again, this is a later explanation applied to explain the status of the Shimonites and the Leviim during the later times.

Judah

This is a tough one for apologists, because it was obviously composed during a time when the the Judean tribe was ascendent, and not during a later period when it was superseded by Benjamin.   Remember, the Book of Samuel claims that the first king, selected by God, was from the tribe of Benjamin. And after the end of the exile, Hillel, from the tribe of Benjamin would lead the Jews. 

Claiming that "the scepter will not leave" is not a failed prophecy as much as something unexpected by the author(s) of that time. 

It should be noted that there is no Messianic prophecy here either. That is a later force of application by those who need the Torah to have one...somewhere! "Shilo" is one of those rare words in Scripture that only appears one time, and gives no idea as to its meaning. If it was to be messianic, then that would indicate that this verse was inserted much, much, later, when such an idea was even conceived.

But given the context, it is likely a a term to be applied to someone or some nation that will take away Judah's leadership, not to a redeemer.

Zebulon

This character does nothing throughout the Torah, and has no dialogue. The tribe of his name were fishermen. The blessing that they will "dwell by the seashore" is not a prophecy as much as a statement of the future applied to the past.

Issachar

Again, this is background character of which nothing is known. This describes his descendants as hard working indentured servants.

Dan

Another background character. The name "Dan" comes from "to judge", and not only does his mother speak of judgement when she names him, bur Jacob now repeats that, saying that from this tribe will come the greatest of judges. Interestingly enough, the story of Samson, who was from Dan (there is a reference to snakes in both images), would be a leader who would judge those who would attack Israel.

And later in the Torah, a man from the tribe of Dan would be judged and stoned to death for profaning the name of God.

Gad

And another background character who did nothing and whose future is barely referred to, except in the blessing, which tells us that the Gaddites will be good trackers during wartime. 

Asher

And another background character. Asher is an interesting name in that it is based on the word ashrei, which is only used twice in the Torah, and is never really defined consistently in Tanach. In the context of the blessing, we see it referring to one "whose bread is rich and will provide kingly delicacies". Perhaps this tribe provided food for the king, a king who would not exist for many, many centuries long after Jacob dies.

Naphtali

Of this background character, Jacob says that Naphtali would be a poet, a singer of songs, and then recites one of them, which tells the story of the brother's plot against Joseph and how God prevailed. So this tribe was a tribe of entertainers.

Benjamin

This character passively interacted with Joseph at the end of his story, but was mostly in the background. He speaks of him being a fighter, like a wolf, ready to do battle early, and who would  share in the spoils. It should be noted that the tribe of Benjamin nearly perished, and to survive, it was was absorbed into Judah, protected by him, and fought with him.

Joseph did not get a blessing with his brothers, and there would be no tribal area but his name. His sons received a blessing earlier, and the result of their future was that their tribes would fall into idolatry and rebellion against Judah. It appears that this also was written before those events took place.

Summary

The blessing of Jacob is not a historical event of a prophet telling of the future of his sons, but is of a later writing telling of the status of the tribes that had these men as their ancestors, and retroactively assigning attributes of the tribes to the ancestors, possibly to explain why things were the way they were.

The failed blessing of Judah, the mentioning of a future monarchy, and saying that one son would end up living by the sea (he never did) indicates that these are tribal attributes, not personal ones. And so, this is but a metaphor to be assigned to the future, by the future.