The boundaries of Judah’s territory are given first, probably because it held an important role in the future of Israel.
Genesis 49:8-12 “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 cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up? The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. The obedience of the peoples will be to him. Binding his foal to the vine, his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be red with wine, his teeth white with milk.”
We have an excursion in the passage that details how Caleb subdued the land that God gave him. It’s included here because it was in Judah’s territory. Othniel is probably mentioned because he later becomes a judge (Judges 3:9). The rest of the passage details the cities in Judah’s territory, with one final caveat. Their failure to deal with some of the people in the land is mentioned and has become an ongoing theme.
Thought for the day: God does what he promises!
Numbers 23:10 (WEB) “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and he won’t do it? Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good?”
