Genesis 49:22
Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold; the daughters run to and fro upon the wall.
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Filius accrescens Joseph, filius accrescens et decorus aspectu : filiæ discurrerunt super murum.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- Υἱὸς ηὐξημένος Ἰωσήφ, υἱὸς ηὐξημένος μου ζηλωτός· υἱός μου νεώτατος· πρὸς μὲ ἀνάστρεψον.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- בֵּ֤ן פֹּרָת֙ יוֹסֵ֔ף בֵּ֥ן פֹּרָ֖ת עֲלֵי עָ֑יִן בָּנ֕וֹת צָעֲדָ֖ה עֲלֵי שֽׁוּר
Haydock's commentary
Run to and fro, &c. To behold his beauty; whilst his envious brethren turned their darts against him, &c. (Challoner)
Joseph continued increasing, in spite of the envy of his brethren, and the calumny of Putiphar's wife, who was too much enamoured of his beauty. (Haydock)
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.
St Gregory Nazianzen The Last Farewell in the Presence of the One Hundred and Fifty Bishops
5. But since God, Who maketh poor and maketh rich, Who killeth and maketh alive; Who maketh and transformeth all things; Who turneth night into day, winter into spring, storm into calm, drought into abundance of rain; and often for the sake of the prayers of one righteous man sorely persecuted; Who lifteth up the meek on high, and bringeth the ungodly down to the ground; since God said to Himself, I have surely seen the affliction of Israel; and they shall no longer be further vexed with clay and brick-making; and when He spake He visited, and in His visitation He saved, and led forth His people with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, by the hand of Moses and Aaron, His chosen, what is the result, and what wonders have been wrought? Those which books and monuments contain. …
St Ambrose On the Duties of the Clergy, Chapter XVI. Due measure must be observed in liberality, that it may not be expended on worthless persons, when it is needed by worthier ones. However, alms are not to be given in too sparing and hesitating a way. One ought rather to follow the example of the blessed Joseph, whose prudence is commended at great length
85. Whence it was deservedly said to him by his father: “My son Joseph is enlarged, my son is enlarged, my younger son, my beloved. My God hath helped thee and blessed thee with the blessing of heaven above and the blessing of the earth, the earth that hath all things, on account of the blessings of thy father and thy mother. It hath prevailed over the blessings of the everlasting hills and the desires of the eternal hills.” And in Deuteronomy: “Thou Who wast seen in the bush, that Thou mayest come upon the head of Joseph, upon his pate. Honoured among his brethren, his glory is as the firstling of his bullocks; his horns are like the horns of unicorns. With his horn he shall push the nations even to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.”