TRV
Translation
American Standard Version
Gad, a troop shall press upon him; But he shall press upon their heel.
See also
See on the biblical-era map
In the KJVVerse 1,493 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Genesis 49 verses 13–21
13 ¶ Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
Here we have Jacob's prophecy concerning six of his sons.
I. Concerning Zebulun (Gen 49:13), that his posterity should have their lot upon the seacoast, and should be merchants, and mariners, and traders at sea. This was fulfilled when, two or three hundred years after, the land of Canaan was divided by lot, and the border of Zebulun went up towards the sea, Jos 19:11. Had they chosen their lot themselves, or Joshua appointed it, we might have supposed it done with design to make Jacob's words good; but, being done by lot, it appears that it was divinely disposed, and Jacob divinely inspired. Note, The lot of God's providence exactly agrees with the plan of God's counsel, like a true copy with the original. If prophecy says, Zebulun shall be a haven of ships, Providence will so plant him. Note, 1. God appoints the bounds of our habitation. 2. It is our wisdom and duty to accommodate ourselves to our lot and to improve it. If Zebulun dwell at the haven of the sea, let him be for a haven of ships.
II. Concerning Issachar, Gen 49:14, Gen 49:15. 1. That the men of that tribe should be strong and industrious, fit for labour and inclined to labour, particularly the toil of husbandry, like the ass, that patiently carries his burden, and, by using himself to it, makes it the easier. Issachar submitted to two burdens, tillage and tribute. It was a tribe that took pains, and, thriving thereby, was called upon for rents and taxes. 2. That they should be encouraged in their labour by the goodness of the land that should fall to their lot. (1.) He saw that rest at home was good. Note, The labour of the husbandman is really rest, in comparison with that of soldiers and seamen, whose hurries and perils are such that those who tarry at home in the most constant service have no reason to envy them. (2.) He saw that the land was pleasant, yielding not only pleasant prospects to charm the eye of the curious, but pleasant fruits to recompense his toils. Many are the pleasures of a country life, abundantly sufficient to balance the inconveniences of it, if we can but persuade ourselves to think so, Issachar, in prospect of advantage, bowed his shoulders to bear: let us, with an eye of faith, see the heavenly rest to be good, and that land of promise to be pleasant; and this will make our present services easy, and encourage us to bow our shoulder to them.
III. Concerning Dan, Gen 49:16, Gen 49:17. What is said concerning Dan has reference either, 1. To that tribe in general, that though Dan was one of the sons of the concubines yet he should be a tribe governed by judges of his own as well as other tribes, and should, by art, and policy, and surprise, gain advantages against his enemies, like a serpent suddenly biting the heel of the traveller. Note, In God's spiritual Israel there is no distinction made of bond or free, Col 3:11. Dan shall be incorporated by as good a charter as any of the other tribes. Note, also, Some, like Dan, may excel in the subtlety of the serpent, as others, like Judah, in the courage of the lion; and both may do good service to the cause of God against the Canaanites. Or it may refer, 2. To Samson, who was of that tribe, and judged Israel, that is, delivered them out of the hands of the Philistines, not as the other judges, by fighting them in the field, but by the vexations and annoyances he gave them underhand: when he pulled the house down under the Philistines that were upon the roof of it, he made the horse throw his rider.
Thus was Jacob going on with his discourse; but now, being almost spent with speaking, and ready to faint and die away, he relieves himself with those words which come in as a parenthesis (Gen 49:18), I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord! as those that are fainting are helped by taking a spoonful of a cordial, or smelling at a bottle of spirits; or, if he must break off here, and his breath will not serve him to finish what he intended, with these words he pours out his soul into the bosom of his God, and even breathes it out. Note, The pious ejaculations of a warm and lively devotion, though sometimes they may be incoherent, are not therefore to be censured as impertinent; that may be uttered affectionately which does not come in methodically. It is no absurdity, when we are speaking to men, to lift up our hearts to God. The salvation he waited for was Christ, the promised seed, whom he had spoken of, Gen 49:10. Now that he was going to be gathered to his people, he breathes after him to whom the gathering of the people shall be. The salvation he waited for was also heaven, the better country, which he declared plainly that he sought (Heb 11:13, Heb 11:14), and continued seeking, now that he was in Egypt. Now that he is going to enjoy the salvation he comforts himself with this, that he had waited for the salvation. Note, It is the character of a living saint that he waits for the salvation of the Lord. Christ, as our way to heaven, is to be waited on: and heaven, as our rest in Christ, is to be waited for. Again, It is the comfort of a dying saint thus to have waited for the salvation of the Lord; for then he shall have what he has been waiting for: long-looked-for will come.
IV. Concerning Gad, Gen 49:19. He alludes to his name, which signifies a troop, foresees the character of that tribe, that it should be a warlike tribe, and so we find (Ch1 12:8); the Gadites were men of war fit for the battle. He foresees that the situation of that tribe on the other side Jordan would expose it to the incursions of its neighbours, the Moabites and Ammonites; and, that they might not be proud of their strength and valour, he foretels that the troops of their enemies should, in many skirmishes, overcome them; yet, that they might not be discouraged by their defeats, he assures them that they should overcome at the last, which was fulfilled when, in Saul's time and David's, the Moabites and Ammonites were wholly subdued: see Ch1 5:18, etc. Note, The cause of God and his people, though it may seem for a time to be baffled and run down, will yet be victorious at last. Vincimur in praelio, sed non in bello - We are foiled in a battle, but not in a campaign. Grace in the soul is often foiled in its conflicts, troops of corruption overcome it, but the cause is God's, and grace will in the issue come off conqueror, yea, more than conqueror, Rom 8:37.
V. Concerning Asher (Gen 49:20), that it should be a very rich tribe, replenished not only with bread for necessity, but with fatness, with dainties, royal dainties (for the king himself is served of the field, Ecc 5:9), and these exported out of Asher to other tribes, perhaps to other lands. Note, The God of nature has provided for us not only necessaries but dainties, that we might call him a bountiful benefactor; yet, whereas all places are competently furnished with necessaries, only some places afford dainties. Corn is more common than spices. Were the supports of luxury as universal as the supports of life, the world would be worse than it is, and that it needs not be.
VI. Concerning Naphtali (Gen 49:21), a tribe that carries struggles in its name; it signifies wrestling, and the blessing entailed upon it signifies prevailing; it is a hind let loose. Though we find not this prediction so fully answered in the event as some of the rest, yet, no doubt, it proved true that those of this tribe were, 1. As the loving hind (for that is her epithet, Pro 5:19), friendly and obliging to one another and to other tribes; their converse remarkably kind and endearing. 2. As the loosened hind, zealous for their liberty. 3. As the swift hind (Psa 18:33), quick in despatch of business; and perhaps, 4. As the trembling, timorous in times of public danger. It is rare that those that are most amiable to their friends are most formidable to their enemies. 5. That they should be affable and courteous, their language refined, and they complaisant, giving goodly words. Note, Among God's Israel there is to be found a great variety of dispositions, contrary to each other, yet all contributing to the beauty and strength of the body, Judah like a lion, Issachar like an ass, Dan like a serpent, Naphtali like a hind. Let not those of different tempers and gifts censure one another, nor envy one another, any more than those of different statures and complexions.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 13–21. Public domain.
Copy as
Hippolytus of RomeAD 235
ON THE BLESSINGS OF ISAAC AND JACOB 23
Through the expression “a gang of enemies” (or “a place of trial”) the prophet signifies the evil Sanhedrin of the high priests and scribes, who tested the Savior with different pretenses in order to find some ground to move accusations against him and then take hold of him and execute him. But he, knowing their intentions, put them to test in his justice and delivered them to death for their sin.
Ambrose of MilanAD 397
On the Blessings of the Patriarchs
When temptation arose, it tempted him, and he tempted them by deceiving them. Temptation is the gathering and cunning of the scribes and priests who were tempting the Lord Jesus about the tribute to Caesar, and about John's baptism, as the Scripture teaches, to whom the Lord Jesus, in his righteousness, turned the temptation back. By deceiving, that is, constantly and without any deliberation, with the intention of deceiving the tempters even more. For they said: In what authority do you do these things? He did not answer about what was asked, but he also proposed saying: I will also ask you one question: if you tell me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Again they said: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? He said: Why are you testing me, hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax. And they brought him a coin, then he asked them: Whose image and inscription is this? They said to him: Caesar's. Therefore, he bound them with their own words, with their own obligation. Then he said to them: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's, so that they could not come against their own words. Finally, they marveled and went away from him. But it is not surprising if he answered differently than what they expected, since he could see what was before his feet.
Moses clearly explained that this prophecy of Jacob was about Christ. For he said: Blessed be he that enlarges Gad. As a lion, he rested, breaking the arms and the heads of the rulers, and saw from the beginning that the land was divided with the princes of the people. The Lord has executed justice, and judgment with Israel.
Therefore, we recognize who has rested like a lion, who has broken the arms of the mighty, who has seen the divisions of those who tempt from the beginning. Therefore, there is a chasm in the earth, which swallows the slanderers, where the temptation of the treacherous is.
Tyrannius RufinusAD 411
THE BLESSINGS OF THE PATRIARCHS 2.20
And therefore, according to a similar process, the moral sense develops: that man of ours, after confessing his error, by his repentance turns out to be converted through knowledge and shows a significant progress, so that he is tempted by the enemy and the strength of his soul and the soundness of his intentions are tested. In fact, the Scripture says, “The one who is not tempted is not credible.” No one will ever reach perfection if he is not first tested in temptations.
JeromeAD 420
Hebrew Questions on Genesis
(Verse 19.) Gad the robber will rob him, and he himself will rob a plant. We are interpreted according to the Hebrew. But where we put the robber, it is written Gedud (), to allude to the name Gad, which can be more significantly expressed as εὔζωνος, that is, girded or ready. But the whole story is that after fourteen years, when Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh had returned to the sons whom he had sent across the Jordan to take possession, he found a great war against the neighboring peoples, and after defeating the enemy, he fought bravely. Read the book of Joshua (Joshua 13) and Chronicles (1, 5). I am aware that there are more mysteries in the blessings of the patriarchs, but they are not relevant to the current work.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Genesis 49:19 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Genesis 49:19 presents Jacob's prophetic declaration over his son Gad, foretelling a future for the tribe of Gad characterized by initial military encounters and setbacks. The prophecy vividly describes them being "overcome" by hostile forces, reflecting their historical position on the vulnerable eastern frontier. However, it culminates in a powerful assurance of ultimate triumph and definitive victory, underscoring the tribe's inherent resilience and God's sovereign plan to bring them through adversity to a final, prevailing outcome.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The prophecy in Genesis 49:19 is rich with literary artistry. Most notably, it employs Wordplay (or paronomasia) on the name "Gad" (גָּד, Gâd) and the Hebrew word for "troop" (גְּדוּד, gᵉdûwd), as well as the verb "overcome" (גּוּד, gûwd). This intricate linguistic connection suggests that Gad's very identity is intertwined with the experience of conflict and eventual victory. The structure of the verse also demonstrates Antithesis, presenting a stark contrast between the initial state of being "overcome" and the final state of "overcoming." This creates dramatic tension and highlights the ultimate triumph. Furthermore, the entire verse functions as a concise Prophecy, a divinely inspired foretelling of future events, which would find its historical fulfillment in the turbulent yet ultimately successful history of the tribe of Gad.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The prophecy to Gad profoundly illustrates God's sovereign oversight of human history, revealing His foreknowledge and the certainty of His plans, even when they involve periods of struggle. It teaches us that divine destiny is not always a path free from adversity, but rather one where God's ultimate purpose prevails through and beyond challenges. The initial defeat followed by ultimate victory serves as a powerful testament to the theme of perseverance and the assurance that God's people, though tested, are destined for triumph. This pattern resonates throughout scripture, affirming that God equips His people to endure and overcome, transforming trials into testimonies of His faithfulness.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The prophecy concerning Gad offers a timeless message of hope and resilience for believers navigating the complexities of life. We often encounter our own "troops"—challenges, adversities, or spiritual battles that threaten to overwhelm us. This verse reminds us that initial setbacks or periods of difficulty are not the final word on our destiny. Just as Gad was promised to "overcome at the last," so too are believers, through faith in Christ, assured of ultimate victory. It encourages us to cultivate a spirit of perseverance, trusting that God's sovereign hand is at work even in our struggles, shaping us and leading us towards His intended triumph. Our present trials are temporary, and our ultimate victory in Christ is certain, empowering us to face adversity with courage and unwavering faith.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does the name "Gad" mean, and how does it relate to this prophecy?
Answer: The name "Gad" (Hebrew, Gâd) is often associated with "fortune" or "troop." In Genesis 30:11, Leah exclaims "How fortunate!" or "Good fortune has come!" (KJV: "A troop cometh!") when Gad is born. This prophecy plays on the linguistic connection between Gad's name and the word for "troop" (gᵉdûwd), hinting that his descendants would be characterized by encounters with raiding parties, yet ultimately prevail over them. This wordplay underscores the tribe's destiny.
How did the tribe of Gad historically demonstrate their "overcoming at the last"?
Answer: Historically, the tribe of Gad settled on the eastern frontier of the Jordan River, a region constantly exposed to raids from desert tribes. Despite these frequent incursions, they were renowned for their military prowess and fierce warrior spirit. 1 Chronicles 12:8 describes some of Gad's warriors as "mighty men of valor, men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains." They successfully defended their territory and contributed significantly to Israel's military strength, ultimately maintaining their inheritance against adversaries and fulfilling Jacob's prophecy of final victory.
Does this prophecy suggest that all struggles will immediately result in victory for believers?
Answer: No, the prophecy for Gad highlights a process: initial struggle ("a troop shall overcome him") followed by ultimate victory ("but he shall overcome at the last"). It does not promise immediate or effortless triumph in every single battle. Instead, it assures that despite temporary setbacks or periods of intense difficulty, God's sovereign plan will ensure a final, definitive victory for His people. This aligns with the New Testament teaching that while believers face trials in this world, they are ultimately victorious through Christ, as seen in John 16:33.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Genesis 49:19 directly addresses the tribal destiny of Gad, its underlying pattern of initial struggle followed by ultimate triumph finds its most profound and universal fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the true Israel, perfectly embodies the "overcomer." He willingly allowed Himself to be "overcome" by the "troop" of sin, death, and the powers of darkness, culminating in His crucifixion. Yet, this apparent defeat was merely a prelude to His glorious resurrection, where He definitively "overcame at the last," conquering death and the grave, as declared in Colossians 2:15. His victory is the foundation for the believer's own overcoming life. Through union with Christ, we are empowered to face our own "troops" of trials, temptations, and spiritual adversaries, knowing that because He has overcome, we too are "more than conquerors" through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). The ultimate fulfillment of Gad's prophecy is seen in the Lamb who was slain but now reigns, guaranteeing final victory for all who believe in His name (Revelation 5:5).