Genesis: The Beginning of Messianic Hope

The messianic hope of the Hebrew Scriptures begins in the book of Genesis.1 Although the word Messiah (māšîaḥ)2 does not appear in Genesis, the idea of an eschatological king who will redeem his people and bring God’s blessing to the nations is found near the end of Genesis, in Jacob’s blessing to Judah. Seen in this way, Genesis not only contains the account of the creation of the world but also looks forward to the end, although later Scriptures will describe the last days in more detail.

Genesis begins with the creation of a very good world where God creates man (Adam) in his image to be a king who would represent him by “subduing” the earth and “ruling” peacefully and wisely over his creation (Genesis 1:26–31; cf. Psalm 8:4–6). However, creation comes under the curse due to man’s rebellion (Genesis 3:17, 5:29). Despite man’s rebellion, God gives a plan of redemption in Genesis 3:15 when he promised to deal a mortal blow to the serpent (Satan) through the offspring of the woman (Eve).3 The promised future offspring of the woman would be a kingly deliverer, someone who would be victorious by crushing the head of his enemy (cf. Numbers 24:17).

The coming of the offspring of the woman is traced progressively in the rest of the book of Genesis through the birth to Eve of Seth (Genesis 4:26, 5:1–32), Noah’s offspring (Genesis 9:9), and the offspring of Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3, 7). Genesis continues to trace the offspring of Abraham through his sons Isaac (Genesis 21:12, 26:24), Jacob (Genesis 28:13–14), and the 12 sons of Jacob (Genesis 46:7, 48:19). God also promised Abraham that kings would come from him (Genesis 17:6–7, 22:17b–18), and this same promise was made to Jacob (Genesis 35:11). At the end of Genesis, the promised offspring of the woman is narrowed to a specific descendant of Jacob, Judah, whose descendant will be a king who will rule the nations (Genesis 49:9–10). Genesis anticipates that this promised offspring will be a royal and righteous redeemer.4

At the end of Genesis, the promised offspring of the woman is narrowed to a specific descendant of Jacob, Judah, whose descendant will be a king who will rule the nations.

A Kingly Redeemer

Genesis 49:1–27 is different from most of the other chapters in Genesis as it’s a poetic address rather than narrative.5 The address is identified as a blessing (Genesis 49:28) and verses 8–12 have been traditionally understood as a messianic prophecy that the Messiah King would come from the tribe of Judah.6

In his address, Jacob, on his death bed, gathers his sons together and prophesizes to them what will happen in “the last days” or “in the end of days” (Genesis 49:1). The phrase “in the end of days” (bǝʾaḥărît hayyāmîm) is used in other key poetic discourses in the Torah (Numbers 24:14; Deuteronomy 31:29), in which the subject matter is God’s future deliverance of his people by a promised redeemer. The “end of days” begins with the coming of this promised redeemer (cf. Hebrews 1:2). The one who delivers God’s people is a king from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; cf. Numbers 24:7–9). The phrase “in the end of days” appears at important historical junctions in the Torah and points to it having a messianic meaning.

Jacob begins his address by speaking to his sons in order of their birth and reflects on their character. Although Reuben is firstborn, he is no longer preeminent because he sinned against his father by sleeping with his concubine (Genesis 35:22, 49:3–4). Jacob’s second and third sons, Simeon and Levi, are cursed (cf. Genesis 9:25) because they slaughtered the people of Shechem (Genesis 49:5–7; cf. 34:24–29). After rejecting the older sons as rightful heirs of the blessing, Jacob foretells what will happen to the fourth son, Judah:

Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. (Genesis 49:8–12)

The first part of the prophecy refers to Judah’s preeminence over his brothers, who shall praise him. The word “praise” (yôdûkā) is a wordplay on the name Judah (yǝhûdâ), which means “he will be praised” (Genesis 29:35). Judah is also pictured as powerful because his hand will be on the neck of his enemies (cf. Joshua 10:24). Judah is not only preeminent and powerful, but a future king will come from his tribe.

Judah is compared to a fearless lion who will reign over his brothers (cf. Genesis 37:10). In the ancient Near East, the lion was a symbol of royalty (Numbers 24:9; Ezekiel 19:1–9; Zephaniah 3:3) and later became the symbol of the Messiah (Revelation 5:5). The kingly symbolism is further picked up with Judah as he holds a scepter and a ruler’s staff (cf. Numbers 24:17). Jacob states that the scepter shall not depart from Judah “until tribute comes to him” or “until Shiloh [šîlōh] comes,” which also brings the obedience of the peoples (Genesis 49:10; cf. Psalm 2:8). The interpretation of the Hebrew word šîlōh (שִׁילֹה) is one of the most debated in the Hebrew Scriptures—there are at least four main interpretations.

1. The least likely meaning of Shiloh is a destination for a future ruler, “until he [Judah] comes to Shiloh” (Joshua 18:1).8
2. Shiloh is considered a proper name for the Messiah, “until Shiloh comes” (Sanhedrin 98b; Targum Pseudo Jonathan, Targum Onkelos). Other passages in the Hebrew Scriptures give descriptive names of the Messiah (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; Zech-ariah 3:8).9
3. Shiloh becomes šay lōh, meaning “tribute to him” thus “until tribute comes to him [Judah].” This reading sets up a parallel in Genesis 49:10, which attributes the obe-dience of the nations to the Messiah.10
4. Shiloh means “to whom it [scepter] belongs.” This view has intertextual support from Ezekiel 21:27 [Hebrew 21:32], which affirms the translation “to whom it belongs” and confirms Genesis 49:10 to be a messianic prophecy. Ezekiel 21:27 alludes to Genesis 49:10 by describing one who would defeat Israel’s enemies and bring blessing to God’s people.11

The coming of the future king brings about the obedience of the “peoples” or “nations” to him (Genesis 49:10; cf. Psalm 72:8; Zechariah 9:10). This is an extension of the promise made to Abraham that all families/nations would be blessed through his offspring (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 22:18, 26:4, 28:14). The reign of the king will also bring abundant prosperity (Genesis 49:11). The idea of abundance is expressed with the image of a donkey’s colt being bound to the choice vine and clothes being washed in garments of wine. In the Bible, wine is a symbol of blessing and prosperity, and when the king comes, wine will be so abundant that even the choicest vines will be put to everyday use as the binding of a donkey’s colt. Elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures, the donkey’s colt is associated with the coming of the Messiah. Zechariah 9:9 (foal of a donkey, ben-ʾătōnôt) seems to allude to Genesis 49:11 (donkey’s colt, bǝnî ʾătōnô). These passages are the only two in the Hebrew Scriptures that refer to the coming of an eschatological king riding upon a donkey’s colt/foal (cf. Matthew 21:5).

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one in whom the promises of the Hebrew Scriptures are fulfilled.

The importance of the phrase “in the end of days” in Genesis 49:1 can be seen in the opening words of Genesis: “In the beginning.” In Hebrew, the word for “end” (ʾaḥărît) is used as the opposite of the word “beginning” (rēʾšît) (Numbers 24:20; Deuteronomy 11:12; Ecclesiastes 7:8; Isaiah 46:10). If there is a beginning, there must be an end. Genesis begins with an account of the creation and the fall of Adam in the “beginning of days.” However, Adam’s disobedience brings death into the world as well as separation from God (Romans 5:12–19). The only solution to this is the Messiah King who comes “in the end of days” to crush Satan, defeat death, unite Adam’s descendants back to God, and bring God’s blessing to the nations. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one in whom the promises of the Hebrew Scriptures are fulfilled (cf. Matthew 1:22–23, 2:15, 4:14–15, 13:35, 21:4–5, 26:56, 27:9–10).