And to you
This phrase is directed towards Joseph, Jacob's beloved son. In the Hebrew text, the word "you" is singular, emphasizing the personal nature of this blessing. Joseph, despite being one of the younger sons, is given a special inheritance, highlighting the favor he found in his father's eyes. This reflects the biblical theme of God's grace, often choosing the unexpected or the younger to fulfill His purposes, as seen with David and Solomon.

as one who is above your brothers
Here, Jacob acknowledges Joseph's preeminence among his siblings. Historically, Joseph's rise to power in Egypt and his role in saving his family from famine set him apart. The Hebrew word for "above" can also imply leadership or authority, which Joseph exercised both in Egypt and within his family. This phrase underscores the biblical principle that God often elevates those who are faithful, regardless of their birth order or societal expectations.

I give the ridge of land
The "ridge of land" refers to a specific portion of territory. The Hebrew term used here is "Shechem," which is both a geographical location and a symbol of inheritance. Shechem holds significant historical and spiritual importance, being a place where God appeared to Abraham and where Jacob's family settled. This gift signifies a tangible and spiritual legacy, emphasizing the importance of land in God's covenant promises to His people.

that I took from the Amorites
The Amorites were a prominent Canaanite people, often representing opposition to God's plans. Jacob's mention of taking land from them suggests a divine victory, as the patriarchs were typically seen as sojourners rather than conquerors. This phrase may also symbolize the spiritual battles believers face, with God granting victory over opposition through faith and obedience.

with my sword and bow
This phrase highlights the means by which the land was acquired, suggesting a combination of divine assistance and human effort. In the biblical narrative, the sword and bow are often metaphors for spiritual warfare and the believer's reliance on God's strength. This imagery encourages believers to engage in their spiritual battles with the assurance that God equips and empowers them for victory.

(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)