Genesis 49:8 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise As thy name signifies praise, and God was praised for thee, (Genesis 29:35,) and shall be praised by and in thee, so shalt thou have praise and honour from thy brethren. The tribe of Judah led the van through the wilderness, Numbers 10:14, and, in the conquest of Canaan, by the appointment of God, went first up against the Canaanites, after the death of Joshua, Judges 1:1-2. They had the first lot assigned them in the division of the country, and a lot that was very extensive and fertile. Othniel, the first judge, was of this tribe; and Caleb, whose reputation was not much inferior to that of Joshua. And all the kings that ever God granted the Jewish nation in mercy were of them. In short, in every age, this tribe was more honoured than any of the others. Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies An expression which signified victory over their enemies, and was remarkably fulfilled in David, Psalms 18:40. Thy father's children shall bow down before thee They shall not only acknowledge thy dignity above that of the other tribes, and pay such honour to thee as is wont to be conferred on the firstborn; but shall submit to the regal authority and power which shall be vested in thee. This was verified in God's choosing the tribe of Judah, and David out of it, to govern the Hebrew nation, and in settling the kingdom of Israel in his stock for ever; but especially in the Messiah's being born of this tribe, whose kingdom is everlasting, and to whom every knee shall bow.