Binding his foal unto the vine, and his donkey's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
All Commentaries on Genesis 49:11 Go To Genesis 49
John Chrysostom
AD 407
I mean, since the ass is an unclean animal, hence he says, “Those unclean Gentiles will be introduced with such ease as if someone were to tether the foal to the stem of the vine, referring to the extraordinary degree of his authority and to the great responsiveness of the Gentiles.” That is to say, its readiness to be tethered to the stem of the vine is a mark of the ass’s gentleness. Now it was to the vine that Jesus compared his own teaching: “I am the true vine,” he says, remember, “and my Father is the vinedresser.”
