Commentaria in Genesim
Prophecy and Blessing of Aser
AND SHALL YIELD DELICACIES TO KINGS.—The word his is redundant in the Hebrew manner, or at least is put for shall be. For thus the pronoun hu, that is, he himself, is often put for is. Jacob here signifies and predicts the riches and fertility, and fruits of the tribe of Aser so savoury and delicate that they will be delights to the kings of Judah, Israel, Tyre and others; and that partly from the goodness of the soil, partly because it was situated by the sea, partly because it was neighbour to the Tyrians and Sidonians, and consequently abounded in every kind of merchandise. Moses predicts the same of Aser, Deuteronomy 33, when he says: “Let him dip his foot in oil, iron and brass his shoe.” For the lot of Aser was in some places fertile in grain, wine and oil; in others, namely at Sarepta, in brass and iron (1). Allegorically, Aser is Christ gladdening us, enriching and beatifying us with the delights of the Eucharist. “For what is the good thing of him,” says Zacharias, chap. 9, verse 17, “and what is his beautiful thing, but the corn of the elect, and wine springing forth virgins?” So Procopius, Eucherius, Rupert. Beautifully St. Ambrose: “The poverty of Christ,” he says, “enriches us, his weakness heals, his hunger satisfies, his death gives life, his burial raises up.”
Prophecy and Blessing of Nephtali
VERSE 21. NEPHTALI A HART LET LOOSE, GIVING GOODLY WORDS.—For hart the Hebrew has ayalah, which signifies both hart and hind. Whence Vatablus renders, Nephtali a hind let go, or a swift hind, and so explains, as if to say: The tribe of Nephtali will be most beautiful, most elegant and most agile, such as a hind is wont to be that is sent to some prince. Secondly, “he shall give goodly words,” that is, will be most eloquent.
Secondly and better, Andreas Masius on Josue chap. 19, no. 32, explains thus, as if to say: As a hart let loose and free plays exultantly in a grassy and fertile land, so also in his fertile lot Nephtali shall play and exult. Secondly, “he shall give goodly words,” that is, he will be affable, gracious and kindly, and by his courtesy will win all to himself. For this is what Moses foretold of Nephtali, Deuteronomy 33:
“Nephtali shall enjoy abundance, and shall be full of the blessings of the Lord.”
Thirdly, properly and directly Jacob here regards and predicts the victory of Barac and Debora against Sisara, Judges 4. For Barac, leader of the army of Israel, sprung from Nephtali, is rightly compared to the hart, which of itself is timid, but when it sees itself beset by hunters and enemies, and its life at stake, lifts up its courage and antlers, and like one raging breaks through the midst of the enemy’s ranks with great impetus and speed, and escapes: for so Barac at first, like a hart, feared, and dared not undertake the war except with Debora; but encouraged by her company, like a lion with a few men he burst upon the innumerable and best-ordered troops of the enemy, broke through, and by breaking through laid low and cut them down, and that most swiftly, like a hart and like lightning (Barac in Hebrew signifies lightning), so that he could say with Caesar: “I came, I saw, I conquered.” For although Zabulon and Issachar in this war joined themselves to the tribe of Nephtali, yet the victory is ascribed to Nephtali: because the leader of the army and of the war, namely Barac, was of Nephtali; and because Jahel, who slew Sisara with a nail, dwelt in Nephtali.
Jacob alludes to the etymology of Nephtali: for Nephtali signifies wrestling, and entangled in a struggle with an antagonist, as if to say: Nephtali, like a timid hind, and beset by the snares of Sisara, by the oracles and promises of Debora, with spirits renewed under the leader Barac, shall break through the wedges of Sisara, and so shall wrestle with him, be mixed and entangled with him; but shall come out victor, and shall penetrate and scatter the camp of the enemies. So Cajetan and Lipomanus.
Hence “he shall give goodly words,” that is, he shall utter a most beautiful song of thanksgiving and gratitude to God, the author of victory, namely that famous canticle of Barac and Debora, which is found
Allegorically, Nephtali is Christ, who, like a hart leaping in the power of the spirit, Luke 4, 14, near Genezareth, which is a lake in Nephtali, eagerly and swiftly broke through the camp of the devil, namely of the Pharisees and Jews, of unbelievers and the impious, and gave goodly words, saying in his Gospel: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” etc., and there gathered the Apostles, who preached these most beautiful words of the Gospel throughout the world, and then was fulfilled that saying of the spouse concerning Christ: “Behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills; my beloved is like a roe, or a young hart.” So St. Jerome, Procopius, Ambrose.