Genesis 49 is about Jacob on his deathbed prophesying about his sons. I compare his sons and daughter Dinah to the twelve constellations in the zodiac. While others have made this connection before, none who I know of have revealed the connections as much as I have here. These are original thoughts. I do owe a debt of gratitude to a book by C.M. Houck called "The Celestial Scriptures, Keys to the Suppressed Wisdom of the Ancients" which allowed me to gain insight into the teachings of the zodiac and how it applies to our soul.
Genesis 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Jacob gathers together his twelve sons on his deathbed and shares his prophetic vision for them.
Genesis 49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
It is through the great Israel, the master of time, that the future is told. Israel as Orion, spins the great wheel of the zodiac and creates time.
Genesis 49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
The constitution of the firstborn detailed throughout Genesis is applied again here to Reuben. He is strong and mighty and well equipped as the life force that ensures survival in the material plane. He is the beginning of the birthright Jacob secured from Esau in exchange for some red lentil soup in Genesis 25:30.
Genesis 49:4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Reuben, being the first born, is compared to water. As I have previously explained, Aquarius should properly be considered the first constellation of the zodiac. With this identification of Reuben to water and its association with Aquarius, plus his being Jacob's firstborn, it further corroborates my assertion concerning the zodiac and Jacob's twelve sons. The Hebrew word for water, mayim, is a word that has a dual connotation. Figuratively referring to juice, semen, and urine it also denotes a flood. Aquarius pours out wisdom and consciousness - the soul and the life force and it is Reuben who comes forth first. The firstborn is consciousness which is needed by wisdom in order to travel. Jacob complains that Reuben defiled one of his concubines, that being Bilhah, a representation of the material mother. Using what I have just explained as a guide we can now decipher the mythology behind Reuben sleeping with a concubine of Jacob. Reuben as the first son spreads his seed, the life force, over material form, Bilhah, in order to animate it. Jacob is the constellation of Orion and it is as Orion that he lays claims to the mother archetype as his own means of generation. However, it was Reuben's destiny to copulate with her. Though it may seem Jacob is punishing Reuben for this misdeed, he is in reality just revealing what is true of the firstborn - powerful and unstable.
Genesis 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
Since we already know all the brothers are brethren we must assume that by calling Simeon and Levi brethren it was to establish a close relationship between the two. They are cruel and quick to anger. They avenge the rape of Dinah. Though they are not technically twins, as a pair they seem to be an allusion to the Gemini constellation.
Genesis 49:6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
The translation of this passage is poor. Jacob is warning the nephesh, the life force translated here as soul, to be wary of these two. The men they slain in Shechem were representative of the nephesh. The last line should be translated "and in their delight they hamstrung a bull." The bull is the symbol of the this life force and hamstrung means they made this needed force lame.
Genesis 49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Because of what the two did, Jacob curses the pair. Jacob says he must separate and scatter them, referring to the descent into matter of the constellation which will separate them.
Genesis 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
Judah is destined to be a ruler. Zodiacal speaking he is representing the constellation of Leo.
Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Judah is described as a lion that is in his den and not on the prowl. Leo, as the seventh constellation of the zodiac starting from Aquarius, is to rule but also be true to the number seven. Seven denotes peace and rest.
Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Judah is described as a Moses figure who will give laws and rule until Shiloh (the messiah) comes. The meaning of this verse has been the subject of much commentary due to the mention of the messiah figure. I will be the first to explain its meaning in terms of the progression of the zodiac and the story it tells. The constellation of Leo is the royal kingship constellation and Judah assumes this role and the figure of the lion. He will rule until the next sign in the zodiac comes to rule and that sign is the Virgin, the eighth sign that births the re-born soul in the material plane. The coming of Shiloh will displace Judah as ruler and usher in the new kingdom; the new Jerusalem of Revelation.
Genesis 49:11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
After binding his foal and ass's colt to the vine, figurative language for his essence, Judah will wash his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of the grape. In other words, a royal purple - the colour of the Lady of Byblos which is a reference to the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor. The lion constellation and Hathor are inseparable as a ruler does not rule without the consent of this Goddess. You will see this Goddess depicted controlling the lion in many depictions of her throughout the levant. I have written about this connection in this blog post and will also post an image of this Goddess controlling the lion.
Levantine forms of the goddess Hathor: Qadesh, Ishtar, and Asherah
Revelation chapter 17 describes this woman who rules over the kings of the earth.
Revelation 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
If we remember back to Genesis 38, it is a story of how this Goddess got the best of Judah.
Genesis 49:12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
In terms of Judah's relationship to the Goddess and how she gives him the authority to rule, we can make sense of this passage. He will be drunk on her intoxicating power and suckling at her breast for sustenance. Jerusalem gives Judah the power to rule over the world. Revelation chapter 18 reveals this exact scenario with the woman described as Babylon the Great.
Genesis 49:12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
In terms of Judah's relationship to the Goddess and how she gives him the authority to rule, we can make sense of this passage. He will be drunk on her intoxicating power and suckling at her breast for sustenance. Jerusalem gives Judah the power to rule over the world. Revelation chapter 18 reveals this exact scenario with the woman described as Babylon the Great.
Revelation 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Genesis 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
Genesis 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
Zebulun is associated with water, ships, and fishing; the fishing part coming from Zidon, which means to catch fish and was an important city of the coastal maritime trading culture - the Phoenicians. The name Phoenicia is a Greek formulation which describes them as a purple nation. They are the biblical Canaanites. The idea here is that Zebulun is a haven for ships which means his port will house the soul and the life force. It is depicted in the zodiac as Pisces; the pair of fish representing this idea.
Genesis 49:14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
The name Issachar is from a root meaning "to carry." He is described as a strong ass, in other words a beast of burden. Ass in this case being derived from a Hebrew root meaning to be red and trouble. The connection here is to the Esau and Cain characters who are personifications of the serving life force that carries the soul. As a beast of burden you could equate Issachar with the bull constellation. He is then described as a stall for cattle, a sheepfold, which is an enclosure for sheep, with sheep being the idea of the soul. Verse 15 describes him as being content with serving, saying that rest is good. He is the life force that has been subdued such as in the story of Jacob greatly fearing Esau's approach in Genesis 32:7-11, wrestling all night with this force, and then subsequently being greeted the next day by a welcoming and reverent Esau in Genesis 33:4.
Genesis 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
This passage is referring to Samson, a judge of the Israelites who is a descendant of Dan.
Genesis 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
This verse is describing Dan as a serpent, a force that inflicts a poison on his victim causing them to fall away from the path. It is a warning to stay away from the serpent as the serpent will give you knowledge and cause you suffering as you are no longer blissfully ignorant of reality. In Judges 18, the descendants of Dan do just this as they captured the city of Laish and set up a graven image. In the zodiac the closest symbol would be the biting scorpion. Heel in Hebrew is aqeb, it can mean a lier in wait and is related to the Hebrew word for scorpion which is aqrab.
Genesis 49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
In the midst of his prophecy, Jacob exclaims his joy to Yahweh for his salvation. Salvation in this regard means a freeing or deliverance from his material bonds. Salvation is the translation of the Hebrew yeshua, the name for the Christian messiah. It is the feminine passive participle of yasha, a masculine word that means safety and deliverance. It brings to mind questions about why the saviour in Christianity has a feminine ending name. The short answer is the soul, the ruwach that comes from the Elohiym, is feminine and the life force, the nephesh that comes from Yahweh is masculine. So, in this context, Jacob is giving his thanks to Yahweh for freeing him so he can return to the Elohiym.
Genesis 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
The name Gad means a troop. He will be subjected to the dominance of another troop but will eventually in the end win out. This is very obscure and difficult to make sense of. The last word in the verse, last, is from the Hebrew aqeb. Starting with this clue we can connect Gad back to Dan as Dan was said to biteth the horse heels. Because of this proximity to Dan's story, I think it is fair to say Gad is the rider who is bit by the sting of Dan. I have to believe that the idea of a horse means a journeying soul through the zodiac. Gad is a troop of fools that have embarked on this journey not realizing what is in store for them. They (in this regard I mean the soul) are sent to their material death by the sting of the serpent Dan. In Genesis 3:15 the serpent was said to be cursed to bite the heel of the seed of the woman. The woman who is the goddess Eve, is the one who will produce the souls to be bitten. It is the metaphor of acquiring the knowledge from the serpent and because of it you will die as explained in Genesis 3:3. Gad will be dominated by the beasts of the material world. This verse is giving the positive outcome of the journey in that eventually the soul will overcome its affliction. On trying to place Gad in the zodiac it is tempting to connect him to Sagittarius, the half man and half horse. However there is no mention of archery so I would tend to connect Gad to the idea of the sea goat Capricorn because of his journey into the waters and out of them as Capricorn has its feet in both worlds. Being the last sign, it is fitting the verse describes Gad overcoming his predicament in the end.
Genesis 49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
The name Asher means happy and comes from a root word that means to lead and go forth. The idea of Asher is describing the rewards of the journey. Along the way, you will be nourished and if you stay on the journey your reward will be akin to royalty. Royal is from the Hebrew word melek which means a king. Interestingly, it is related to malak which is a ruler - king or queen. This in turn reminds us of the Angel who Jacob had bless Joseph's two sons. The angel is from mal'ak which means angel, king, or messenger. In terms of the zodiac, Asher is the sixth sign of the crab which is symbolizing the journey. In ancient Egypt, this idea was present in the scarab which journeyed eastward towards the rising sun so that its offspring would hatch and fly up out of their material bonds, symbolizing a resurrection.
Genesis 49:14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
The name Issachar is from a root meaning "to carry." He is described as a strong ass, in other words a beast of burden. Ass in this case being derived from a Hebrew root meaning to be red and trouble. The connection here is to the Esau and Cain characters who are personifications of the serving life force that carries the soul. As a beast of burden you could equate Issachar with the bull constellation. He is then described as a stall for cattle, a sheepfold, which is an enclosure for sheep, with sheep being the idea of the soul. Verse 15 describes him as being content with serving, saying that rest is good. He is the life force that has been subdued such as in the story of Jacob greatly fearing Esau's approach in Genesis 32:7-11, wrestling all night with this force, and then subsequently being greeted the next day by a welcoming and reverent Esau in Genesis 33:4.
Genesis 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
This passage is referring to Samson, a judge of the Israelites who is a descendant of Dan.
Genesis 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
This verse is describing Dan as a serpent, a force that inflicts a poison on his victim causing them to fall away from the path. It is a warning to stay away from the serpent as the serpent will give you knowledge and cause you suffering as you are no longer blissfully ignorant of reality. In Judges 18, the descendants of Dan do just this as they captured the city of Laish and set up a graven image. In the zodiac the closest symbol would be the biting scorpion. Heel in Hebrew is aqeb, it can mean a lier in wait and is related to the Hebrew word for scorpion which is aqrab.
Genesis 49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
In the midst of his prophecy, Jacob exclaims his joy to Yahweh for his salvation. Salvation in this regard means a freeing or deliverance from his material bonds. Salvation is the translation of the Hebrew yeshua, the name for the Christian messiah. It is the feminine passive participle of yasha, a masculine word that means safety and deliverance. It brings to mind questions about why the saviour in Christianity has a feminine ending name. The short answer is the soul, the ruwach that comes from the Elohiym, is feminine and the life force, the nephesh that comes from Yahweh is masculine. So, in this context, Jacob is giving his thanks to Yahweh for freeing him so he can return to the Elohiym.
Genesis 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
The name Gad means a troop. He will be subjected to the dominance of another troop but will eventually in the end win out. This is very obscure and difficult to make sense of. The last word in the verse, last, is from the Hebrew aqeb. Starting with this clue we can connect Gad back to Dan as Dan was said to biteth the horse heels. Because of this proximity to Dan's story, I think it is fair to say Gad is the rider who is bit by the sting of Dan. I have to believe that the idea of a horse means a journeying soul through the zodiac. Gad is a troop of fools that have embarked on this journey not realizing what is in store for them. They (in this regard I mean the soul) are sent to their material death by the sting of the serpent Dan. In Genesis 3:15 the serpent was said to be cursed to bite the heel of the seed of the woman. The woman who is the goddess Eve, is the one who will produce the souls to be bitten. It is the metaphor of acquiring the knowledge from the serpent and because of it you will die as explained in Genesis 3:3. Gad will be dominated by the beasts of the material world. This verse is giving the positive outcome of the journey in that eventually the soul will overcome its affliction. On trying to place Gad in the zodiac it is tempting to connect him to Sagittarius, the half man and half horse. However there is no mention of archery so I would tend to connect Gad to the idea of the sea goat Capricorn because of his journey into the waters and out of them as Capricorn has its feet in both worlds. Being the last sign, it is fitting the verse describes Gad overcoming his predicament in the end.
Genesis 49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
The name Asher means happy and comes from a root word that means to lead and go forth. The idea of Asher is describing the rewards of the journey. Along the way, you will be nourished and if you stay on the journey your reward will be akin to royalty. Royal is from the Hebrew word melek which means a king. Interestingly, it is related to malak which is a ruler - king or queen. This in turn reminds us of the Angel who Jacob had bless Joseph's two sons. The angel is from mal'ak which means angel, king, or messenger. In terms of the zodiac, Asher is the sixth sign of the crab which is symbolizing the journey. In ancient Egypt, this idea was present in the scarab which journeyed eastward towards the rising sun so that its offspring would hatch and fly up out of their material bonds, symbolizing a resurrection.
Genesis 49:21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
Naphtali gets a short description, but it contains much meaning. Naphtali means my wrestling and it is directly referencing Jacob's struggle in Genesis 32. Hind is from the Hebrew ayalah. Ayal is the masculine form and is a ram. The ah ending feminizes the word and from this we can gather that Naphtali is a soul, the female ruwach. Goodly is from the Hebrew shepher which means beauty and words is from emer which means word. The ruwach, represented here as Naphtali, is the shining, beautiful word. It is represented in the zodiac as Aries.
Genesis 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
Joseph's name means to add which corresponds to being fruitful. He is the son of Israel, the resurrected soul, which is possible for all. He is fruitful even by a well, which is alluding to the material plane. The soul can prosper even in conditions that are not favourable to its growth. Branches run over the wall: branches is from the Hebrew bath which means in this instance daughters. Run is from the Hebrew tsa'ad which means to march and wall from the Hebrew shuwr has the meaning of a wall, but with the sense of scaling the wall as this word also means to travel about as a harlot or a merchant. It is essentially describing the soul, the feminine ruwach, as reaching out towards all.
Genesis 49:23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
Great passage here: archers is from ba'al which in this case has the meaning of adversaries. The first "him" in this verse, using a concordance, comes from marar, the Hebrew word for to be bitter and connects back to the Goddess and myrrh. The symbolism here is the trickling out of myrrh when the tree that produces it is injured by an incision in the bark, in other words a strike. I can't help of thinking of Jesus being struck in the side by a roman soldier's sword while on the cross.
Genesis 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
Joseph is described as an archer with strength, giving a meaning of permanence. The soul is emphasized as permanent as opposed to a life force that needs to be regenerated as part of the cyclical laws of the material plane. The power in his arms and hand to stay strong are said to come from the mighty God of Jacob. God is an interpolation here. The passage should read Joseph gets his strength from Jacob. If you remember Israel means he will rule as God then the passage reads as referring to mighty Jacob. The idea of a demigod archer in the zodiac is obviously Sagittarius.
Genesis 49:25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
This verse's opening seems to be referencing two different Gods. The second one referred to is Yahweh as the provider El Shadday whom Jacob bestowed his blessings on Joseph in Genesis 48:15. Joseph will be blessed with blessings from heaven above, above is from the Hebrew al which means the highest. The Hebrew word for up is alah which refers to a journey towards the heavens. The idea here is that El Shadday is the most high God. In Genesis 28:13 when Jacob had his vision of the ladder it was Yahweh who stood upon the highest point of the ladder. This is denoting a recognition and respect for what Joseph has been through. He will be blessed in the heavens, in the deepest cisterns, he will be provided for, and his offspring will be provided for.
Genesis 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
The blessings of Joseph are great and everlasting. Joseph was special from birth and stood out from his brethren immediately. It is Joseph who is the model all souls should try to become. I can't help feeling it is a goal which seemed to be lost on subsequent generations in that they became followers waiting for a messiah to come to deliver them as opposed to becoming one themselves. Christianity has the literal Jesus to rectify this conundrum and Judaism is still following the path of Judah waiting for Shiloh.
Genesis 49:27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
Benjamin - the name means son of the right hand. Think back to Ephraim and Manasseh where Jacob insists on blessing Ephraim with his right hand in Genesis 48. The right hand denotes the soul. You have to look again at this passage to figure out what is referred to by Benjamin being the son of the right hand. It is telling us the right hand, the soul, has a son. When the soul is re-born and enters into a relationship once again with the Goddess in a sacred marriage the result of this relationship is a son. This son will be the impetus that allows the soul to then travel back to the spiritual realm. In ancient Egypt, this is the son of Horus (the born again soul) and the goddess Hathor.
The son of Hathor and Horus
His name is Ihy and he comes forth at dawn like a jackal of light. Benjamin is described as a wolf. He is Orion's Canus Major, Osiris' Ophois, and Joshua's Caleb. Jacob was despondent without his son Joseph, in essence the aspect of himself who is his soul. When he was threatened with the loss of Benjamin, he was adamant that without Benjamin he would surely die in shoal. Benjamin is the aspect of him who is his ticket out of the material plane. This information is revealing Joseph and Benjamin as being the essence of Jacob. The jackal is a well known psychopomp which mediates between the spiritual and material planes. In this verse, it is esoterically coded in the mention of morning and night. At dawn, he delivers the soul into the heavens; in the evening time he takes the soul into the depths of the material plane. He lives on the balance and divides the planes. His sign is the judgment sign of Libra. It's telling that the wolf survived as a symbol of the judge as I explain in this blog post. In the ancient Egyptian judgment scene, the jackal Anubis delivers the aspirant to the scales of justice. Of note is that the on left hand of Orion sits Taurus the bull. Taurus represents the antagonistic life force that is the essence of Cain, Ishmael, Esau, and Manasseh. The right hand of Jacob/Orion is the son of the right hand - Benjamin.
Genesis 49:29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
Jacob implores his sons to return him to the place out of Egypt where his forefathers were buried. Cave is from the Hebrew m'arah which is a dwelling place with a connection to the womb of the Goddess. It is the place where the soul awaits its re-entry into the spiritual plane. In Jacob's case, using the power of Benjamin to deliver him from the womb.
Genesis 49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
Do you find it curious that Jacob did not make the effort to bury his much beloved wife Rachel in this family plot? She was buried in Bethlehem. The reason is because Rachel will stay in the material plane as the womb responsible for birthing the born again soul in this world.
Genesis 49:33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
Jacob relinquishes his worldly life force, which we call giving up the ghost, and passed away.
Recap of Genesis 49
Jacob's sons are detailed in this chapter. We learn of their essence and their future. This is the culmination of the birthright that Esau sold to Jacob. The firstborn had control of the zodiac until the clever Jacob, the Orion of the sky, took it away and created the great nation of Israel. Jacob's daughter, Dinah, is not mentioned in this chapter but she completes the zodiac circle as the Virgin.
