Bible Strands
Genesis 49:9
Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jacob speaks to Judah while pronouncing blessings over his twelve sons before his death. He declares Judah's martial victory and future supremacy among his brothers.
The words — The phrase גּוּר אַרְיֵה (gur ar-yeh) literally means "young lion" or "lion cub," and עָלִיתָ (a-li-ta) translates to "you have gone up" or "returned." These terms describe Judah's return from battle and his unprovoked, regal posture.
The thread — The lion imagery reappears in Balaam's oracle (Numbers 23:24; 24:9) and surfaces in Revelation 5:5 as a title for the triumphant Messiah. This creates a direct scriptural link between Judah's tribal authority and later royal fulfillment.
Why it lands — The text asserts Judah's unchallengeable strength and the submission of his brothers. It requires the reader to acknowledge that dominance and victory are granted to Judah's line by divine 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
Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Cross-references
- Numbers 24:9 He crouches, he lies down like a lion, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
- Numbers 23:24 Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.”
- Revelation 5:5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
- Micah 5:8 Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which tramples and tears as it passes through, with no one to rescue them.
- Hosea 5:14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them off where no one can rescue them.
- Ezekiel 19:5 When she saw that she had waited in vain, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
- Hosea 5:4 Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.
- 1 Corinthians 15:24 Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power.