Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise: your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's children shall bow down before you.
All Commentaries on Genesis 49:8 Go To Genesis 49
Cyril of Alexandria
AD 444
In these blessings, the way that they expressly introduced the listeners to the prophecy concerning the incarnation of our Savior is extremely clear. At the beginning of the blessing the meaning of the name itself is set before the reader’s eyes, and also the fact that the tribe of Judah was superior to all the others for its glory. If one wants to interpret the name Judah, it means “praise” or “hymn” or “celebrated with hymns.” These words therefore must be referred to Christ, who obviously is from the tribe of Judah according to the flesh. He was born from Judah, Jesse and David and from that virgin who was assumed for the generation of the flesh …. You must be praised, and to God you will give back the glory that is due him. No one else is suited to be glorified but only the living and wellknown God. Even though you appeared human and emptied yourself, you are known to be holy and eternal. Your brothers according to human nature will not be related to you as man but rather will praise you as Lord, though placed among your brothers, and will glorify you as Creator, though you have placed yourself with them among the creatures. They will recognize you as the Lord and the King, even though you appeared veiled under the “form of a slave.” Moreover, he foretold the fact that the Immanuel would have overcome all those who opposed him … saying, “Your hands on the back of your enemies.” And Christ himself, through the voice of David, foretold the same thing. He said, “I will pursue my enemies and will take them, and I will not return until they are defeated. I will crush them, and they will not be able to stand but will fall under my feet.” Then Jacob said rightly, “His hands will be on the back of his enemies,” that is, as those of the one pursuing rather than those of one fleeing, as those of the one striking rather than those of one who is struck. What is declared in the book of the Psalms is true: “The enemy shall have no advantage against him, and the son of iniquity shall not hurt him again.” If he gives us the power to “tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy,” how can we not be confident that he has under his control those who want to oppose him and to exalt themselves impiously? The divine Jacob foretold that Christ cannot flee but only pursue and that he would defeat everyone effortlessly (in fact, he conquered the world), when he said, “Your hands will be on the back of your enemies, and the children of your father will adore you.” ,
