And to you, as one who is above your brothers,
This phrase highlights the special status given to Joseph by his father, Jacob. Joseph, though not the firstborn, is elevated above his brothers, reflecting his favored position in the family. This favoritism is consistent with earlier narratives where Joseph receives the coat of many colors and is given leadership roles. This elevation can be seen as a type of Christ, who is also exalted above His brethren.

I give the ridge of land
The "ridge of land" refers to a specific portion of territory. This land is significant as it represents a tangible inheritance and blessing. In biblical times, land was a crucial aspect of God's promises to His people, symbolizing stability, provision, and divine favor. The land given to Joseph foreshadows the future inheritance of the Promised Land by the Israelites.

that I took from the Amorites
The Amorites were a prominent Canaanite people known for their fortified cities and military prowess. Jacob's reference to taking land from the Amorites may not be recorded elsewhere in Scripture, suggesting either a personal conquest or a prophetic statement about future victories by his descendants. This reflects the ongoing struggle for the Promised Land and God's promise to give it to Abraham's descendants.

with my sword and bow.”
This phrase indicates a personal effort and struggle in acquiring the land, symbolizing the active role Jacob played in securing his family's future. It also reflects the broader biblical theme of God's people engaging in spiritual and physical battles to claim God's promises. The use of "sword and bow" can be seen as a metaphor for the spiritual warfare believers face, paralleling the New Testament call to put on the full armor of God.

1. Jacob (Israel)
The patriarch of the Israelites, who is nearing the end of his life and is blessing his sons. In this verse, he is speaking to Joseph.

2. Joseph
Jacob's favored son, who rose to power in Egypt. Jacob is giving him a special inheritance.

3. Amorites
A group of ancient people living in Canaan. Jacob refers to taking land from them, though the specific event is not detailed in Genesis.

4. Ridge of Land (Shechem)
The specific piece of land Jacob is referring to, which holds historical and future significance for the Israelites.

5. Sword and Bow
Symbolic of conquest and struggle, indicating that the land was acquired through effort and possibly conflict.Inheritance and Legacy
Jacob's act of giving Joseph a special portion of land underscores the importance of inheritance and legacy in biblical accounts. It invites reflection on what spiritual and moral legacies we are leaving for future generations.

Faith and Fulfillment
The promise of land to Joseph, which is later fulfilled, demonstrates God's faithfulness in keeping His promises. Believers are encouraged to trust in God's timing and faithfulness in their own lives.

Struggle and Victory
The mention of "sword and bow" suggests that spiritual victories often require struggle and perseverance. Christians are reminded that spiritual growth and blessings may come through trials and efforts.

Significance of Place
The land of Shechem holds historical and spiritual significance, reminding believers of the importance of sacred spaces and their role in God's plan. It encourages reflection on the places that hold spiritual significance in our own lives.(22) One portion.--Heb., one Shechem. In favour of this being the town of Shechem is the fact that it did belong to Jacob (Genesis 37:12, where see Note); also that Joseph's embalmed body was deposited there (see Joshua 24:32, where the land is said to have been bought for a hundred kesitas); and, lastly, the testimony of John 4:5, where a parcel of ground at Sychar, close to Shechem, is identified with the ground given by Jacob to Joseph. On the other hand, one Shechem is an unnatural way of describing a town. Shechem also means, as we have seen (Genesis 12:6), the shoulder, and Abul-walid, in his Lexicon, quoting this place, says that both the Hebrews and Arabs gave this name to any elevated strip of ground. This is confirmed by Numbers 34:11, &c., though the word actually used, chatef, is different. Probably, therefore, there was a play upon words in calling this plot of hill-ground Shechem, and not chatef', but made with the intention of showing that the town of Shechem was the portion really signified. But what is meant by "Jacob having taken it out of the hand of the Amorite by his sword and his bow"? Shechem was strictly a town of the Hivites, but as they were but a feeble tribe, the term Amorite may be used to give greater glory to the exploit. In Genesis 15:16, the Amorites, literally mountaineers, are described as owners of the whole country, and probably it was a term loosely applied to all the inhabitants of the uplands, though occasionally used with a more definite meaning (Genesis 15:21). As Jacob so strongly condemns the conduct of Simeon and Levi (Genesis 49:5-7), he can scarcely refer to their exploit, and therefore commentators generally suppose that he used the words prophetically, meaning, "which my descendants will, centuries hence, conquer for themselves with their swords and bows." But this is, to take the words of Holy Scripture in a non-natural sense. Jacob was the owner of a strip of this "shoulder-land" in a way in which he was not the owner of any other portion of land in Canaan, except the cave of Machpelah; and we find him sending his cattle to pasture there when he was himself dwelling far away (Genesis 37:12). And it is quite possible that, after the inhuman treatment of the Hivites at Shechem, the Amorites did gather themselves together to avenge the Wrong, but were deterred by the threatening position taken up by Jacob, or even repulsed in an attack. The latter supposition would best harmonise with the fact that "a mighty terror fell upon all the cities round about" (Genesis 35:5), and also with the exultant spirit in which Jacob, a pre-eminently peaceful and timid man, here alludes to the one military exploit of his life. . . . Verse 22. - Moreover (literally, and) I have given - or, I give (Keil), I will give (Kalisch), the preterit being used prophetically as a future, or even as a present, the event being regarded, from its certainty, as already accomplished. It is thus not absolutely clear that Jacob here alludes to any past transaction in his own personal history - to thee one portion - literally, one shoulder, or ridge, or elevated tract of land, שְׁכֶם; unam pattern (Vulgate), with which agree several of the ancient versions (Onkelos, Syriac) - above thy brethren, which I took - or take (Keil), or shall take (Kalisch) - out of the hand of the Amorite - a general name for the inhabitants of Canaan (vide Genesis 15:16) - with my sword and with my bow. As Scripture has preserved no account of any military exploit in the history of Jacob such as is here described, the patriarch's language has been understood as referring to the plot of ground at Shechem which Jacob purchased of Hamor the father of Shechem (Genesis 33:19), and as signifying either that he had captured it by sword and bow, in the sense that his sons at the head of his armed retainers had put the inhabitants of the town to the sword, and so taken possession of the entire district (Calvin, Rosenmüller, Murphy); or that, though he had peacefully paid for it, he yet required at a subsequent period to recover it by force of arms from the Canaanites (Lawson, Bush, Wordsworth); or that after the terrible tragedy at Shechem, when God put a fear upon the surrounding cities, Jacob and his sons stood in the gate of Shechem in the armed expectation of a hostile attack, and so may be said to have taken it by sword and bow (Rabbi Solomon, Lyra, Willet). It seems, however, better to regard the words as a prophetic utterance pointing forward to the conquest of Canaan, which Jacob here represents himself, in the persons of his descendants, as taking from the Amorites by means of sword and bow, and as intimating that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh would receive a double portion of the inheritance, the word שְׁכֶם being probably designed to convey a hint that the tract to be in future assigned to Joseph's descendants would be the region round about the ancient city Shechem (Ainsworth, Keil, Kalisch, Lunge, etc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...

And to you,
לְךָ֛ (lə·ḵā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

as one who is above
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

your brothers,
אַחֶ֑יךָ (’a·ḥe·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 251: A brother, )

I
וַאֲנִ֞י (wa·’ă·nî)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

give
נָתַ֧תִּֽי (nā·ṯat·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

the
אַחַ֖ד (’a·ḥaḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

ridge of land
שְׁכֶ֥ם (šə·ḵem)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7926: The neck, as the place of burdens, the spur of a, hill

that
אֲשֶׁ֤ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

I took
לָקַ֙חְתִּי֙ (lā·qaḥ·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 3947: To take

from
מִיַּ֣ד (mî·yaḏ)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3027: A hand

the Amorites
הָֽאֱמֹרִ֔י (hā·’ĕ·mō·rî)
Article | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 567: Amorites -- perhaps 'mountain dwellers', a Canaanite tribe

with my sword
בְּחַרְבִּ֖י (bə·ḥar·bî)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword

and bow.”
וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי׃ (ū·ḇə·qaš·tî)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 7198: A bow, for, shooting, the iris


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OT Law: Genesis 48:22 Moreover I have given to you one (Gen. Ge Gn)