yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
Jacob is dying, and he blesses Joseph — the son his brothers tried to kill — as a man whose bow held firm under fire. Mid-sentence he then names a Shepherd and a Stone, and writers read that break as the turn from Joseph to Someone greater.
Borrowed Strength
The verse credits Joseph's steady bow to the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. One writer notes how often Joseph's own hands turn up in his story.
F. B. HoleIn Joseph's own history we have already seen a preliminary forecast of Jacob's blessing. His brothers hated him and shot at him. But the mighty God of Jacob stood behind him and made his hands strong. So he became a blessing to the civilised world of his day. The language of verse 24 is remarkable when you notice how often the history mentions Joseph's hands — see Genesis 39:3-4, 6, 22; Genesis 41:42. Here we see the secret spring of Joseph's skill. Upon the hands of Joseph rested the hands of the mighty God.
Jacob has already named his other sons. The strength here is not Joseph's own.
The Christian's FriendThe power and might are not those of unstable Reuben, or cruel Simeon and Levi, but the strength of Jehovah Himself, the excellent power of God shown in the Man of His purpose.
"From There"
The short phrase "from there" is the hinge. Writers take it as pointing back to the place of the shooting.
Hamilton SmithBut the One rejected by His own is made strong by the mighty God of Jacob, and "from there" is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. "From there" — from the place of weakness — He is exalted to a place of strength. From the place of death, where He was "shot at," He is brought again from the dead, just as Joseph was brought up out of the pit. So He becomes the "great Shepherd of the sheep" (Hebrews 13:20). And "the stone which the builders cast away as worthless, the same is made the head of the corner" (1 Peter 2:7).
Another writer sets the wounds beside the strength that followed. He quotes an older translation of the verse:
C. H. MackintoshThe archers have done their work; but God was stronger than they. The true Joseph has been shot at and badly wounded in the house of his friends. But "the arms of his hands have been made strong" in the power of resurrection. Faith now knows Him as the basis of all God's purposes of blessing and glory for the Church, Israel, and the whole creation.
Two Titles, Two Pictures
Shepherd and Stone are not one picture repeated. Each brings its own scene.
H J VineThe word "Stone" is a title of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherever it comes up, building is in the mind of the Spirit. When He is called the Shepherd, a flock is in view. As the Stone, however, He Himself is part of the structure. He is the most important and pre-eminent part, yet still part of the building. The Shepherd is different: He is distinct from the sheep, though He cares for them and sees that not one of the flock will perish (John 10).
Where the Stone First Appears
This half-line is the opening entry in a long biblical thread. Writing on Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the stone cut out without hands, one commentator traces it back here:
F. B. HoleThe first prophetic reference to the Lord Jesus as the Stone is in Genesis 49:24, when old Jacob, in blessing his sons, made a parenthetic exclamation, "from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel." Under this figure He again appears in Isaiah 28:16, and so on into the New Testament.
Worth noting: unlike Judah and Shiloh earlier in the chapter, the tie between Joseph and the Coming One here is not one of ancestry.
The Bible TreasuryIt is very fitting that the promise of the Messiah, in His patient and passive character, should be tied to Joseph in this way. It is all the more striking because the connection is only moral, not by descent, as it is with Judah and Shiloh.
A Nation Still Waiting
Jacob is blessing the tribes of Israel. The hope in these words has not yet arrived.
F. B. HoleThat nation will never be right until it is gathered round the true Shepherd and under His care. It must also stand on the foundation Stone that can never be moved.
The Bow That Still Holds
One writer sets the verse beside the prophet Elisha, who laid his hands on a king's hands as the king shot an arrow.
J T MawsonThe king was a passive instrument. Yet in his surrender he was so joined to Elisha's strength that the act of shooting was his own. This is the only way the bow of any servant of the Lord can stay firm. It was so with Joseph. POWER, PRESERVATION, PERMANENCE. The might of God directs us in our warfare. The Shepherd of Israel keeps us safe in every danger. The unmovable Rock holds us firm. All of this is there for the one who gives up any strength he thought he had, and yields himself wholly to God.
Summary
- Attack. The archers did their work, but God was stronger. The wounds are real, and the bow still holds.
- Strength. Other hands rested on Joseph's capable hands. The secret spring of his skill was not himself.
- From there. Out of weakness and death comes the exaltation. The pit gives back a ruler, and the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone.
- Shepherd and Stone. Shepherd puts a flock in view, with One who never loses a sheep. Stone puts a building in view, with Him as its chief part.
- Surrender. Power, preservation and permanence belong to the one who gives up his own strength.