Jacob’s Death and God’s Design
Parashat Vayechi, Genesis 47:28–50:26; Haftarah, 1 Kings 2:1–12
Dr. Vered Hillel, Netanya, Israel
Better . . . the day of death than the day of birth. . . . The end of a matter is better than the beginning of it. (Eccl 7:1b and 8a)
What do these aphorisms from Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) have to do with this week’s Torah portion? At first glance, we see that both Torah and Haftarah readings for Vayechi deal with the death of leaders, Jacob and Joseph in Genesis and David in 1 Kings. A closer look at the texts reveals that both deal with the approaching death of Jacob and David and their final words to their sons. Both fathers pass on their final instructions, exhortations, and prophetic pronouncements, two of which have messianic dimensions (Gen 49:10 and 1 Kings 2:4, 12 referring to 2 Sam 7:12–26).
A deeper dive into the literary characteristics of the last three chapters of Genesis allows us to appreciate the Torah as literature, reinforces the conviction that Israel’s formation is part of Hashem’s design, and reveals the depth and intricacies of Hashem’s care, excellence, and attention to details and broad strokes.
For example, three distinct narrative cycles come to an end in Vayechi: 1) the patriarchal period begins with the divine promise of nationhood to Abraham (Gen 12:2), and the fulfillment of that promise is expressed through the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen 49:28); 2) the Jacob narrative commences with a promise from Hashem that Jacob will have numerous offspring (Gen 28:14), and fittingly concludes with the death-bed scene of Jacob surrounded by his sons and grandsons (Gen 49:28); 3) the narrative of Joseph, which began in Genesis 37, concludes with the death of Joseph (Gen 50:26). The literary construction reinforces the biblical teaching that Israel’s formative age was not simply a chain of random coincidences but was a series of events ordered according to Hashem’s design. Nothing happened accidentally; all the events, and the biblical record of them, attest to Hashem’s choice of Israel and Israel’s part in his plan of consummation and salvation.
Jacob’s Testament (Gen 49) demonstrates the value of literary structure, techniques, and conventions for mining the depth and intricacies of the Torah. Generally, this chapter is known as “The Blessings of Jacob,” because it contains Jacob’s blessing of each of his twelve sons. Yet, this chapter is so much more. It contains blessings and curses, admonitions and praise, and geographical and historical observations—all in the form of biblical poetry. The chapter is a collection of aphorisms in poetry form. In fact, it is the first sustained piece of Hebrew poetry in the Torah. Though the overall genre of this passage is poetry, it contains three additional literary genres: 1) the deathbed blessings, seen earlier in Isaac’s blessing of Jacob (Gen 27:27–29 and 28:1–4) and indirectly in God’s blessing of Isaac after Abraham’s death (Gen 25:11); 2) the farewell address, such as those of Joshua to the elders of Israel (Josh 23) and of David in this week’s haftarah (1 Kings 2:1–12); and 3) the tribal poem like those in Deuteronomy 33:6-35 and Judges 5.
The Testament of Jacob (Gen 49) is one of the most difficult passages in Genesis, due to the uncertainty of meaning, extreme allusiveness, and double entendre (open to two different interpretations) of the aphorisms. Nevertheless, the context and setting of Jacob’s Testament impose an external unity that gives the poem cohesion and significance.
The poem is situated in the midst of a prose framework about the death of Jacob, which in turn provides the appropriate setting within the narrative about Joseph. From the time Jacob settles in Canaan after returning from Haran, his life is completely intertwined with Joseph’s. The number 17 establishes the broader literary framework. The beginning of Jacob’s time in Canaan is noted by a chronological designation that Joseph was 17 at the time, and the end of his time in Canaan is noted by the 17 years Jacob had lived in Egypt (47:28). This setting supports the origin of the tribes and the basic unity of the nation of Israel as presented in Genesis. Further supporting this idea is the equal distribution of the use of the names “Jacob” and “Israel” in this chapter; each appears five times, symbolizing the dual character of Jacob and his sons. They are both individual personalities and the personification of their tribes; together they are the personification of the nation with its tribal components (Gen 49:27). The aphorisms in this chapter are presented as prophetic pronouncements that will ultimately determine the character and destiny of the tribes. Of course, the actions and behavior of Jacob’s twelve sons also leave an indelible imprint on their descendants that affects the course of history.
The careful design of the literary structure is also seen in the tribal order of the poem. The order in Genesis 49 does not correspond to the birth order as recorded in Genesis 29:31–30:25; 35:16–18 or to any other list in the Torah. Instead, the children are listed according to their mothers: Leah’s six sons are addressed first, then the two sons of Zilpah and the two sons of Bilhah, and lastly Rachel’s two sons. With the exception of Issachar and Zebulun, each group is presented in descending order of seniority. Genesis begins with the creative power of the divine word and ends with the power of the inspired predictive word of Jacob.
Through the literary structure, techniques, and conventions in Vayechi, we see how the end of a matter can be better than the beginning. Genesis, however, is not the end of the matter; it is just the beginning of the canonical narrative. The ultimate power and expression of the divine word came in the enfleshment of Yeshua. Yet, even Yeshua’s enfleshment is not the end of Hashem’s plan. We still look forward to its consummation. Until then, we remember that Hashem is concerned about the broad plans and the fine details, the beginning and the end, and everything and everyone in between.