“Judah, your brothers will praise you,
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,
Your father's sons will bow down before you.
Judah is a lion's whelp,
My son, you are gone up from the prey,
He stooped down, he couched as a lion,
And as a lioness, who will rouse him up?
Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh come,
And the obedience of the peoples will be to him.
Binding his foal to the vine,
And his ass's colt to the choice vine,
He has washed his garments in wine,
And his vesture in the blood of grapes,
His eyes will be red with wine,
And his teeth white with milk.”
These words spoken of Judah take into account the pre-eminence he is already showing among the brothers. He has become their leader, and this will develop until his descendants become ‘rulers', and in view of the promise that kings would be descended from Jacob (Genesis 35:11) we can almost certainly say not tribal rulers but ‘kings'. And once the kingship is established one will be awaited who will be called ‘Shiloh' and he will receive obedience and will issue in the time of plenty.
This raises the great question as to what or who ‘Shiloh' means. Answers are wide and various.
1). That Shiloh is the title of a great coming king, similar to the Messiah. There is, however, no direct evidence for applying the title to the Messiah. We may do so indirectly if we follow one of the suggestions below.
2). That the verse should be rendered ‘until he comes to Shiloh' which was the tribal sanctuary in early days after the conquest. This would then signify a particular ruler coming to Shiloh seeking the obedience of the people. Some see the fulfilment of this in the assembling of the tribes to Shiloh in Joshua 18:1 but this has no real connection with a sceptre in Judah. But this would limit the prophecy to a time when Shiloh was known.
3). That the verse should be rendered as per LXX ‘until that which is his shall come'. That would involve a change to shelloh as in Ezekiel 21:27 (in the Hebrew 21:32). It would involve the fulfilment of some undesignated expectation which will enhance Judah's standing.
4). That the verse be rendered ‘until he come to whom it belongs' following a variant reading in LXX. This suggests a Messianic expectation, as the one to whom Judah's sceptre or rod finally belongs comes to claim it. This also involves a change to shelloh.
5). That ‘shiloh' be connected with Arcadian ‘shelu' meaning ‘the prince'. Thus ‘until the prince comes'. This would again look forward to a unique coming prince.
6). That ‘shiloh' be changed to ‘moshlo' by introducing ‘m', thus meaning ‘his ruler'.
7). That ‘shiloh' be changed to ‘shay lo' resulting in ‘so long as tribute is paid to him'.
Changing the consonantal text is always unwise unless we have good external reason for doing so, but some of the above only require a change in vowels (not in the main present in the ancient texts) and clearly ‘Shiloh' does refer to some expectation connected with the rod and sceptre of Judah, which would follow after the conferring of that sceptre, and would result in the obedience of the peoples and a time of good things. And this suggests, in today's terms, a Messianic expectation. One will come whose right it is.
We shall now consider the text in detail.
“Judah your brothers will praise you, your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father” s sons will bow down before you.' This prophesies future rulership for Judah and his seed. He already has the pre-eminence among the ten and he is promised further exaltation, success and authority. His enemies will submit to him and his brothers will acknowledge his leadership and rule. He is clearly established to be a leader of men.
“Judah is a lion” s whelp, my son you are gone up from the prey, he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness who will rouse him up.' If Judah is a lion's whelp we may see Jacob as the lion. Certainly Jacob in his old age is remembering past glories as Genesis 48:22 demonstrates. Thus Jacob is likening Judah to himself in his younger days (as seen in his own eyes). Judah is a young lion who is successful in the hunt (he has gone up from the prey) and before whom men cower in fear. In other words he is a strong man who can impose himself on others.
“The sceptre will not depart from Judah nor the ruler” s staff from between his feet --'. This is a clear prophecy of rulership for Judah's seed, and in the light of Genesis 35:11 we may say kingship. His seed will carry the sceptre, and sit in judgment with their staff of office and authority between their feet demonstrating their right to do so.
“Until Shiloh come, and the obedience of the people will be to him.” See details above. This surely suggests the coming after a period of kingship of a greater one who will establish his rule and bring the people to final obedience. Here we have in seed form the promise of a Messiah from the tribe of Judah.
“Binding his foal to the vine, and his ass” s colt to the choice vine. He has washed his garments in wine, and his vesture in the red liquid of grapes. His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.' This is a poetic picture of a coming time of plenty connected with the coming of Shiloh. Animals will be tethered, not to ordinary trees but to sumptuous vine trees, clothes will be washed not in water but in wine, and he will be saturated in wine and milk (compare Isaiah 55:1). The picture is not intended to be practical but a vision of a theoretical paradise (as we may speak of a city with its streets ‘paved with gold').
So Jacob commends Judah for his strength and leadership, and prophesies for Judah's seed kingship and the bringing in of final blessing. We must surely tie this in with God's promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that in them and in their seed all the world would be blessed.