Hebrews 11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
“and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff; not that he worshipped the top of his staff, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it, either his own, or Joseph’s, or any little image upon the top of it; which would be an instance of idolatry, and not faith, contrary to the scope of the apostle; nor is there any need to interpret this of civil worship and respect paid to Joseph, as a fulfilment of his dream, and with a peculiar regard to Christ, of whom Joseph was a type; whereas, on the contrary, Joseph at this time bowed to his father, as was most natural and proper, Gen. xlviii. 12 nor is there any necessity of supposing a different punctuation of Genesis xlvii. 31 and that the true reading is not Mittah, a bed, but Matteh; a staff, contrary to all the Targumsf, and the Talmudg, which read Mittah, a bed, seeing it is not that place the apostle cites or refers to; for that was before the blessing of the sons of Joseph, but this was at the same time; and the apostle relates what is nowhere recorded in Genesis, but what he had either from tradition, or immediate revelation; or else he concludes it from the general account in Genesis xlviii and the sense is, that Jacob, having blessed the two sons of Joseph, being sat upon his bed, and weak, he leaned upon the top of his staff, and worshipped God, and gave praise and glory to him, that he had lived to see not only his son Joseph, but his seed also, see Gen. xlviii. 2, 11, 20.”
John Gill, An Exposition of the New Testament, Vol. III, 1746, p. 435
f. Onkelos, Jonathan & Jerusalem in Genesis xlvii .31.
g. T. Bab. Megilla, fol. 16. 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment