His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
Jacob's dying words over Judah end not with a battle but with a face — eyes and teeth, wine and milk. The face belongs to the King who comes from Judah's line, and it is the last frame in a sequence that runs from the sceptre, through the winepress, to the gladness of His kingdom. (Older translations read "his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk"; the writers below use that wording.)
Whose face this is
The blessing on Judah is not just about a man or a tribe. It follows a royal line that runs forward to one Person. The prophecy also fixes an end point for Judah's rule:
Numerical Bible NotesJudah, as we know, means "praise." … Judah, therefore, was not to lose the sceptre until Shiloh came (the "Man of peace") — Christ coming from Judah — and the obedience of the people would be to Him. This takes us clearly through the whole of Old Testament history and on into the New. Then, strange as it may seem, the prophecy implies that Judah's sceptre would pass away, just when the coming of Christ seemed set to make it permanent.
Eyes and teeth read against Revelation
Verse 11 shows garments washed in the blood of grapes. Verse 12 turns to the face. One writer sets both features beside pictures of the same Person in Revelation:
L. M. GrantHis eyes red with wine are a contrast to "His eyes like a flame of fire" in Revelation 1:14, where He is presented as judging in righteousness. Here in Genesis 49:12 we see Him in grace. His teeth are white with milk too, and this speaks of the gentle nourishment of the Word of God. That is the contrast to the sharp sword coming out of His mouth in Revelation 1:16, which also stands for the Word of God, but in terrible judgment.
Gladness on the far side of the winepress
Read in order, the two verses move from stained clothing to a satisfied face. That order matters. The wine that soaks His garments belongs to judgment. The wine in His eyes belongs to what comes after.
An Outline of Sound WordsThe washing of His clothing in wine, and His garment in the blood of grapes, agrees with Isaiah 63:1-6, where He comes in judgment. The eyes red with wine seem to foretell the deep satisfaction of His joy on earth, once the judgment is past. The teeth white with milk speak of the pleasures that are His in the rest of His kingdom.
Why wine and milk together
The verse pairs wine with milk. Each gives what the other cannot. The same joy is also the strength of anyone who lives before God:
Numerical Bible NotesWhat marks the life that comes from God is that it turns back to God again, and the joy of the Lord is always its strength. The "wine" that fills Judah's portion is the sign of a joy in which there can be no excess. The "milk" may show that here there is not only stimulation but nourishment as well — and in a form that even the youngest baby can take.
The timing: commentators differ
Some hold that the whole scene still waits, and that reading it as gospel history misses what kind of event it is:
William KellyWith Judah there is more ground for speaking of something that continues. But to me it is clear and certain that the gathering of the nations to Shiloh, their obedience to Him, is still future. What is before us here is the kingdom, not the gospel — a future crisis, not past or present history.
Others are more careful. They take the donkey and the colt as the key clue, since those words return when Jesus rode into Jerusalem:
F. B. HoleThe prophetic hints in verses 11 and 12 are not so clear, since the language is highly poetic and figurative. Still, we cannot miss the words "his foal" and "his donkey's colt." They carry our thoughts at once to Zechariah's prophecy, and to how it was fulfilled when our Lord presented Himself to Jerusalem, as Matthew 21:5 shows. So the words look as if they belong to His first coming rather than His second, and so point to His sufferings and to the grace offered to us as their result.
Summary
- Praise — Judah's name means praise, and his sceptre stayed in place until Shiloh, the Man of peace, came from his line.
- Sceptre — the prophecy runs through Israel's whole history and lands on one Person. Verse 12 describes His face.
- Winepress — the garments washed in the blood of grapes match Isaiah 63. Judgment comes first, then the kingdom.
- Wine — eyes red with wine picture His deep satisfaction once that judgment is past. It is a joy in which there can be no excess.
- Milk — teeth white with milk add gentle nourishment: food in a form the youngest can take, and grace where Revelation shows a sword.