Genesis 49:6

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 49:6 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “O my soul, come not thou into their council; Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hocked an ox.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

O my soul, come not thou into their council; Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hocked an ox.
Genesis 49:6 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 49

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
6O my soul, come not thou into their council; Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hocked an ox.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“O my soul, come not thou into their secret, etc.] Their cabinet counsels, combinations and conspiracies; this Jacob said, as abhorring the wicked counsel they had took of slaying the Shechemites; and lest any should think he was concerned in it, or connived at it, he expressed a detestation of the fact on his dying bed: the future tense may be put for the past; and so Onkelos renders it, “my soul was not in their secret”; and so the other two Targums paraphrase it, that when they got and consulted together, his soul was not pleased and delighted with their counsel, but abhorred it; or “my soul shall not come”, which Jarchi thinks prophetical refers to the case of Zimri, the son of Salu, of…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- Jacob Blesses His Sons 5. מכרה mekêrāh, “weapon;” related: כיר kārar or כרה kārāh dig. “Device, design?” related: מכר mākar “sell,” in Arabic “take counsel. Habitation.” 10. מחקק mechoqēq, “lawgiver, judge, dispenser of laws.” This word occurs in six other places - Numbers 21:18; Deuteronomy 33:21; Jud. Deuteronomy 5:14; Psalms 60:9; Psalms 108:9; Isaiah 33:22; in five of which it clearly denotes ruler, or judge. The meaning “sceptre” is therefore doubtful. שׁילה shı̂ylôh, Shiloh, a softened form of שׁילון shı̂ylôn, a derivative of שׁל shol, the ultimate root of שׁלה shālâh, שׁלם shālam, and possibly שׁלט shālaṭ, and hence, denoting “the peacemaker, the prince of peace.” It…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification