Bible Verses About Patriarchal Government

He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.

Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.

Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.

He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant.

Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.

I await Your salvation, O LORD.

Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.

Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.

Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

Joseph is a fruitful vine— a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.

The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.

Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.

The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers.

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.

There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.

The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”

When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.

These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So he is not reckoned according to birthright.

And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.