Bible Strands
Genesis 49:1
Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come:
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jacob summons his sons to gather around him before delivering a prophetic address about their future. The moment occurs at the end of his life, framing the subsequent blessings and predictions.
The words — הֵאָֽסְפוּ (he.'a.se.Fu) literally means "gather yourselves," and וְ/אַגִּ֣ידָה (ve./'a.Gi.dah) means "so let me tell." These verbs establish the immediate command and the speaker's intent to reveal future events.
The thread — The phrase "in the days to come" echoes in Numbers 24:14, Jeremiah 23:20, and Deuteronomy 4:30, where it consistently marks a future period of divine purpose or covenant fulfillment. These references anchor Jacob's declaration within a broader biblical pattern of prophetic foresight.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize the shift from patriarchal history to collective destiny. It demands attention to the specific future outcomes assigned to each tribe without adding theological speculation beyond the stated declaration.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Numbers 24:14 Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.”
- Jeremiah 23:20 The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly.
- Deuteronomy 4:30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.
- Daniel 10:14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision concerns those days.”
- Deuteronomy 31:12 Assemble the people—men, women, children, and the foreigners within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and to follow carefully all the words of this law.
- Deuteronomy 33:1 This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.
- Psalms 25:14 The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
- Psalms 105:15 “Do not touch My anointed ones! Do no harm to My prophets!”
- Isaiah 2:2 In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
- Isaiah 39:6 The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.