A People Planted in the Promised Land: Jacob's Blessings for His Sons and for the Tribes of Israel

Jacob’s last words to his sons in Genesis 49 are quite fascinating because of their far-reaching consequences. On his deathbed, the patriarch prophesied what would befall the twelve tribes, which would spring from his sons. These prophetic views describe the future of the tribes in the Promised Land. They would be planted there as God’s vineyard in order to bear fruit to Him, but they did not come up to His expectations (Isa. 5; Ps. 80).