1And Ya’akov called unto his sons, and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the Akharit HaYamim. 2Assemble yourselves, and hear, you sons of Ya’akov; and hearken unto Yisra’el your father. 3Re’uven, you are my firstborn, my might, and the first-fruits of my strength; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. 4Unstable as water, have you not the excellency; because you went up to your father’s bed, then you defiled it; he went up to my couch.
5Shimon and Levi are brethren, weapons of violence their kinship. 6Let my soul not come into their council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united; for in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed oxen. 7Cursed is their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will divide them in Ya’akov, and scatter them in Yisra’el.
8Yehudah, you shall your brethren praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. 9Yehudah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you are gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? 10The scepter shall not depart from Yehudah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be. 11Binding his foal unto the vine, and his donkey’s colt unto the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes; 12His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13Zevulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea, and he shall be a shore for ships, and his flank shall be upon Tzidon.
14Yisakhar is a large-boned donkey, couching down between the sheep-folds. 15For he saw a resting-place, that it was good, and the land, that it was pleasant; and he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under task-work.
16Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Yisra’el. 17Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward. 18I wait for Your Salvation, O יהוה .
19Gad, a troop shall troop upon him; but he shall troop upon their heel.
20As for Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21Naftali is a hind let loose: he gives goodly words.
22Yosef is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain; its branches run over the wall. 23The archers have dealt bitterly with him, and shot at him, and hated him; 24But his bow abode firm, and the arms of his hands were made supple, by the hands of the Mighty One of Ya’akov, from there, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Yisra’el, 25even by the Elohim of your father, who shall help you, and by Shadai, who shall bless you, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. 26The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Yosef, and on the crown of the head of the prince among his brethren.
27Binyamin is a wolf that devours; in the morning he devours the prey, and at evening he divides the spoil.”
28All these are the twelve tribes of Yisra’el, and this is that which their father spoke unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. 29And he charged them, and said unto them, “I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Efron the Khiti, 30in the cave that is in the field of Makhpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Kena’an, which Avraham bought with the field from Efron the Khiti for a possession of a burying-place. 31There they buried Avraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Yitz’khak and Rivkah his wife; and there I buried Le’ah. 32The field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Khet.”
33And when Ya’akov made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.
אוַיִּקְרָא יַעֲקֹב אֶל בָּנָיו וַיֹּאמֶר הֵאָסְפוּ וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם אֵת אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָא אֶתְכֶם בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים. בהִקָּבְצוּ וְשִׁמְעוּ בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב וְשִׁמְעוּ אֶל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲבִיכֶם. גרְאוּבֵן בְּכֹרִי אַתָּה כֹּחִי וְרֵאשִׁית אוֹנִי יֶתֶר שְׂאֵת וְיֶתֶר עָז. דפַּחַז כַּמַּיִם אַל תּוֹתַר כִּי עָלִיתָ מִשְׁכְּבֵי אָבִיךָ אָז חִלַּלְתָּ יְצוּעִי עָלָה.
השִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אַחִים כְּלֵי חָמָס מְכֵרֹתֵיהֶם. ובְּסֹדָם אַל תָּבֹא נַפְשִׁי בִּקְהָלָם אַל תֵּחַד כְּבֹדִי כִּי בְאַפָּם הָרְגוּ אִישׁ וּבִרְצֹנָם עִקְּרוּ שׁוֹר. זאָרוּר אַפָּם כִּי עָז וְעֶבְרָתָם כִּי קָשָׁתָה אֲחַלְּקֵם בְּיַעֲקֹב וַאֲפִיצֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.
חיְהוּדָה אַתָּה יוֹדוּךָ אַחֶיךָ יָדְךָ בְּעֹרֶף אֹיְבֶיךָ יִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְךָ בְּנֵי אָבִיךָ. טגּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה מִטֶּרֶף בְּנִי עָלִיתָ כָּרַע רָבַץ כְּאַרְיֵה וּכְלָבִיא מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ. ילֹא יָסוּר שֵׁבֶט מִיהוּדָה וּמְחֹקֵק מִבֵּין רַגְלָיו עַד כִּי יָבֹא שִׁילֹה וְלוֹ יִקְּהַת עַמִּים. יאאֹסְרִי לַגֶּפֶן עִירֹה וְלַשֹּׂרֵקָה בְּנִי אֲתֹנוֹ כִּבֵּס בַּיַּיִן לְבֻשׁוֹ וּבְדַם עֲנָבִים סוּתֹה. יבחַכְלִילִי עֵינַיִם מִיָּיִן וּלְבֶן שִׁנַּיִם מֵחָלָב. יגזְבוּלֻן לְחוֹף יַמִּים יִשְׁכֹּן וְהוּא לְחוֹף אֳנִיֹּת וְיַרְכָתוֹ עַל צִידֹן.
ידיִשָּׂשכָר חֲמֹר גָּרֶם רֹבֵץ בֵּין הַמִּשְׁפְּתָיִם. טווַיַּרְא מְנֻחָה כִּי טוֹב וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ כִּי נָעֵמָה וַיֵּט שִׁכְמוֹ לִסְבֹּל וַיְהִי לְמַס עֹבֵד.
טזדָּן יָדִין עַמּוֹ כְּאַחַד שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. יזיְהִי דָן נָחָשׁ עֲלֵי דֶרֶךְ שְׁפִיפֹן עֲלֵי אֹרַח הַנֹּשֵׁךְ עִקְּבֵי סוּס וַיִּפֹּל רֹכְבוֹ אָחוֹר. יחלִישׁוּעָתְךָ קִוִּיתִי יהוה .
יטגָּד גְּדוּד יְגוּדֶנּוּ וְהוּא יָגֻד עָקֵב.
כמֵאָשֵׁר שְׁמֵנָה לַחְמוֹ וְהוּא יִתֵּן מַעֲדַנֵּי מֶלֶךְ.
כאנַפְתָּלִי אַיָּלָה שְׁלֻחָה הַנֹּתֵן אִמְרֵי שָׁפֶר.
כבבֵּן פֹּרָת יוֹסֵף בֵּן פֹּרָת עֲלֵי עָיִן בָּנוֹת צָעֲדָה עֲלֵי שׁוּר. כגוַיְמָרְרֻהוּ וָרֹבּוּ וַיִּשְׂטְמֻהוּ בַּעֲלֵי חִצִּים. כדוַתֵּשֶׁב בְּאֵיתָן קַשְׁתּוֹ וַיָּפֹזּוּ זְרֹעֵי יָדָיו מִידֵי אֲבִיר יַעֲקֹב מִשָּׁם רֹעֶה אֶבֶן יִשְׂרָאֵל. כהמֵאֵל אָבִיךָ וְיַעְזְרֶךָּ וְאֵת שַׁדַּי וִיבָרְכֶךָּ בִּרְכֹת שָׁמַיִם מֵעָל בִּרְכֹת תְּהוֹם רֹבֶצֶת תָּחַת בִּרְכֹת שָׁדַיִם וָרָחַם. כובִּרְכֹת אָבִיךָ גָּבְרוּ עַל בִּרְכֹת הוֹרַי עַד תַּאֲוַת גִּבְעֹת עוֹלָם תִּהְיֶיןָ לְרֹאשׁ יוֹסֵף וּלְקָדְקֹד נְזִיר אֶחָיו.
כזבִּנְיָמִין זְאֵב יִטְרָף בַּבֹּקֶר יֹאכַל עַד וְלָעֶרֶב יְחַלֵּק שָׁלָל. כחכָּל אֵלֶּה שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר וְזֹאת אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָהֶם אֲבִיהֶם וַיְבָרֶךְ אוֹתָם אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר כְּבִרְכָתוֹ בֵּרַךְ אֹתָם. כטוַיְצַו אוֹתָם וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם אֲנִי נֶאֱסָף אֶל עַמִּי קִבְרוּ אֹתִי אֶל אֲבֹתָי אֶל הַמְּעָרָה אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׂדֵה עֶפְרוֹן הַחִתִּי. לבַּמְּעָרָה אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׂדֵה הַמַּכְפֵּלָה אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי מַמְרֵא בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן אֲשֶׁר קָנָה אַבְרָהָם אֶת הַשָּׂדֶה מֵאֵת עֶפְרֹן הַחִתִּי לַאֲחֻזַּת קָבֶר. לאשָׁמָּה קָבְרוּ אֶת אַבְרָהָם וְאֵת שָׂרָה אִשְׁתּוֹ שָׁמָּה קָבְרוּ אֶת יִצְחָק וְאֵת רִבְקָה אִשְׁתּוֹ וְשָׁמָּה קָבַרְתִּי אֶת לֵאָה. לבמִקְנֵה הַשָּׂדֶה וְהַמְּעָרָה אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ מֵאֵת בְּנֵי חֵת.
לגוַיְכַל יַעֲקֹב לְצַוֹּת אֶת בָּנָיו וַיֶּאֱסֹף רַגְלָיו אֶל הַמִּטָּה וַיִּגְוַע וַיֵּאָסֶף אֶל עַמָּיו.
D'var יהוה , The Word of יהוה 