Bible Strands
Genesis 49:19
Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jacob pronounces this over his sons during his final blessing of the tribes. He addresses the tribe of Gad within a sequential list of tribal destinies.
The words — The verse centers on גְּד֣וּד (gedud), meaning a marauding band, and עָקֵֽב (akev), meaning a heel. These terms establish the literal sequence of a raid followed by a counter-strike to the attacker's heel.
The thread — Genesis 30:11 records Leah naming the tribe Gad based on perceived fortune. Deuteronomy 33:20 later describes the tribe's territorial expansion and martial prowess, while 1 Chronicles 5:11 notes their settlement in Bashan.
Why it lands — The text states that Gad will face raiders but will immediately strike back. It requires the reader to accept that the tribe's survival depends on meeting aggression with direct, physical retaliation.
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
Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 33:20 Concerning Gad he said: “Blessed is he who enlarges the domain of Gad! He lies down like a lion and tears off an arm or a head.
- 1 Chronicles 5:11 The descendants of Gad lived next to the Reubenites in the land of Bashan, as far as Salecah:
- Genesis 30:11 Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.
- 1 Chronicles 3:18 Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.
- 1 Chronicles 5:26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.
- Genesis 46:16 The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
- Numbers 32:1 Now the Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, and they saw that the region was suitable for livestock.
- Joshua 13:8 The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them:
- Judges 10:1 After the time of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose up to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim.