And that, by the coast of ships,
And his side towards Zidon.
The name of Issachar, "reward," or "hire," is also emblematical of the character of the tribe, as, in its rich
portion of Lower Galilee, it preferred labor with quietude, to power and domination:
Issachar is a bony ass,
Crouching between the folds.
He saw rest, that it was a boon,
And the land, that it was pleasant,
And he bent his shoulder to bear,
And became a tributary servant.
The allusion in the case of Dan, or "judgment," is again to the name. Although Dan was only the son of a
bondmaid, he should not be behind his brethren, but "give judgment" to his people, that is, to Israel - the
reference being possibly to such men as Samson, though also generally to the character of the tribe. There
is another mysterious and most important allusion here, to which we shall immediately advert:
Dan shall give judgment to his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
An adder in the path,
Which biteth the heels of the horse
So that backwards falleth his rider.
We shall not presume to offer an authoritative explanation of this comparison of Dan to a serpent, and to
that kind of adder which, being of the color of the sand, remains unobserved till it has given its deadly bite.
We only put it as a suggestion, whether this may not contain an allusion to apostasy or to the Antichrist, 89
at the same time noting that the name of Dan is omitted from the list of the tribes in Revelation 7:5-8.
It is also significant that, immediately after the mention of these contests in connection with Dan, Jacob
bursts forth in a prayer, intended, as says Calvin, not only to express his own personal faith and hope, but
his confidence for his descendants. Quite the oldest Jewish commentary, or rather paraphrase,90 puts it this
way: "My soul waiteth not for the deliverance of Gideon, the son of Joash, for it was only temporal; nor for
that of Samson, for it was but transient; but for the redemption by t he Messiah, the Son of David, which in
Thy word Thou hast promised to send to Thy people, the children of Israel; for this, Thy salvation, my soul
waiteth."
For Thy salvation wait I, oh Jehovah!
In reference to Gad, we have a threefold allusion to a kindred word, signifying oppression. To the prediction
itself we cannot attach any definite historical fulfillment:
Gad - a press presseth upon him,
But he presseth on their heel.
In the case of Asher, the reference is evidently to the most fertile possession of that tribe, extending from
Mount Carmel to the land of Tyre, the district richest in corn and oil (1 Kings 5:11):
Out of Asher fatness: his bread -
And he yieldeth royal dainties.
The allusion as to Naphtali is to the graceful agility and fleetness of the people, and also to their mental
ability and quickness: