Bible Strands
Genesis 49:23
The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jacob addresses his twelve sons, pronouncing a prophetic blessing over each as he nears death. He specifically describes the coordinated violence Joseph will face from his brothers.
The words — The Hebrew verb יְמָרְרוּ (yemaerû) literally means "they embittered him," while רָבוּ (ravû) translates to "they shot" or "they fought." These terms directly describe the hostile actions of the archers against Joseph.
The thread — This pattern of targeted hostility parallels the brothers throwing Joseph into the pit in Genesis 37:24 and the psalmist’s experience of being pushed to the brink in Psalm 118:13. The imagery of archers and arrows recurs in the immediate context of Genesis 49:22 and 49:24.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that Joseph’s survival depended on divine strengthening rather than human protection. It requires the reader to acknowledge that God’s hands tempered Joseph’s strength amid deliberate, coordinated attacks.
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
The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
Cross-references
- Genesis 37:24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.
- Psalms 118:13 I was pushed so hard I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
- Genesis 37:4 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
- Genesis 37:28 So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
- Psalms 64:3 who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,
- Genesis 37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.
- Genesis 39:7 and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”
- Genesis 42:21 Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
- John 16:33 I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
- Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.