“Joseph is the son of a fruitful tree,
The son of a fruitful tree by a spring,
His daughters run over the wall.
The archers have sorely grieved him,
And shot at him and persecuted him,
But his bow abode in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong,
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
From there is the shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
Even by the God of your father who will help you,
And by Shaddai who will bless you,
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep which couches beneath,
Blessings of the breast and of the womb.
The blessings of your father have prevailed,
Above the blessings of my progenitors,
To the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him
Who was separate from his brothers.”
In this word in respect of Joseph his father rejoices in the way that God has triumphed. Although Joseph has been persecuted (the archers represent his brothers sniping at him) he has been strong and has also triumphed. Indeed mighty blessings have been poured on him including the birth of sons. This is because the blessings of his father have far exceeded those of his contemporaries, and these blessings will be on him into the future.
“Joseph is the son of a fruitful tree --- by a spring, his daughters run over the wall.” The picture is of a tree planted by abundant water, not such a common sight in Canaan where water was short, with branches (daughters) that abound and climb a wall. The idea is probably of a vine tree. In other words Joseph is fruitful, and flourishing and exceedingly blessed, and will produce abundant fruit and offspring.
“The son of a fruitful tree.” Jacob may well have himself in mind here as the fruitful tree, with his twelve sons and many daughters. Once again his pride in his own abilities comes out. But he knew from God's promises that he himself was to have abundant seed and declares the same for Joseph. Manasseh and Ephraim in fact became two of the largest tribes.
“The archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and persecuted him.” The reference here is to his brothers who have constantly attacked him with words as arrows, and have persecuted him.
“But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong.” The persecution did not cause him to fail, rather he became strong under the persecution, and answered all their accusations. Pulling a bow required strong arms, but God gave him all the strength required (‘were made strong').
“By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob.” His arms were made strong by the Mighty One of Jacob. This may have been Jacob's own special name for God, compare ‘the Fear of Isaac' (31:42), because he had experienced His mighty power. And Joseph too had become mighty, and would continue to be so through his seed with the help of the Mighty One.
“From thence is the shepherd, the Rock of Israel.” Jacob now expands on What the Mighty One of Jacob is to them. As the Mighty One of Jacob He is also the Rock of Israel, the firm foundation, the one who shepherds and watches over Jacob and his family.
“Even by the God of your father who will help you, and by Shaddai who will bless you.” And He is the God of their father, and Shaddai (the Almighty), Who with His mighty arm helps and blesses Joseph, and will continue to do so. The God of his father is a reminder of the covenant situation which he enjoys, Shaddai is a reminder that the One Who watches over him is also the God of the nations.
“With blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.” This God will cause blessings to abound. The description is one of abundant fruitfulness. The heavens gave forth rain, the Nile sent forth its water, so that abundant corn could be stored for the famine. Strictly ‘the deep' may be seen as referring to the sea so the idea may be more general, but even the Reed Sea could be described in terms of the deep (Nehemiah 9:11; Isaiah 63:13), so how much more so the Nile. The ancients recognised that below the surface of the earth were deeps waiting to spring forth, what we call in our scientific day the water table. The idea of the blessings of the deep in Egypt must surely refer to the beneficial Nile which is elsewhere called ‘a sea' in poetry, and the picture is one of rising waters that bring fruitfulness. Such a picture was natural to someone living in Egypt, but not in Canaan.
“That couches beneath” like an animal waiting to spring. This splendidly depicts the overflowing of the Nile suddenly springing from its depths. Moses, who had long familiarity with the blessings of the Nile, took up the same picture concerning Joseph in Deuteronomy 33:13. The blessing also included personal fruitfulness in the birth of his sons, ‘the breasts and the womb'. The word for ‘deep' is tehom which has been proved at Ugarit to be a standard word for deep without mythological connection.
“The blessings of your father have prevailed -- unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.” This may mean the blessings he has received or the blessings he bestows, but either way they are so expanded as to reach the furthest bound of what is most sure and reliable, ‘the eternal hills”. And these will fall on the head of Joseph, even on him who was separated from his brothers, and is blessed more than all of them. See again Deuteronomy 33:15-16. Moses clearly had this blessing before him and used it in his own blessing.
So Joseph has been blessed and will go on being blessed.