Genesis 49:21
Nephtali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.
Open Genesis 49:21 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Nephthali, cervus emissus, et dans eloquia pulchritudinis.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- Νεφθαλεί, στέλεχος ἀνειμένον, ἐπιδιδοὺς ἐν τῷ γενήματι κάλλος.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- נַפְתָּלִ֖י אַיָּלָ֣ה שְׁלֻחָ֑ה הַנֹּתֵ֖ן אִמְרֵי שָֽׁפֶר
Haydock's commentary
A hart. Barach was of this tribe, and seemed rather timid, till he was encouraged by Debora; and his victory gave occasion to that beautiful hymn, Judges v. (Calmet)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Hippolytus On Genesis, Section I
Gen. xlix. 21-26 Nephthalim is a slender thing, showing beauty in the shoot. Joseph is a goodly son; my goodly, envied son; my youngest son. Turn back to me. Against him the archers took counsel together, and reviled him, and pressed him sore. And their bows were broken with might, and the sinews of the arms of their hands were relaxed by the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob. Thence is he who strengthened Israel from the God of thy father. And my God helped thee, and blessed thee with the blessing of heaven above, and with the blessing of the earth which possesseth all things, with the blessing of the breasts and womb, with the blessing of thy father and thy mother. It prevailed above the blessings of abiding mountains, and above the blessings of everlasting hills; which (blessings) shall be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the temples of his brothers, whose chief he was.