His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
All Commentaries on Genesis 49:12 Go To Genesis 49
Rufinus of Aquileia
AD 411
We have already discussed many times about the nature and quality of Christ’s limbs, and it seems to be superfluous to repeat again the same things in this passage. So his teeth whiter than milk are those who can chew and grind with their teeth the strong and solid food of the Word of God to extreme fineness, those about whom the apostle in his epistle to the Hebrews says, “Solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.” About the still imperfect Corinthians he says, “I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food.” Since they are superior to those who live on milk, his teeth are therefore white, that is, those who can take and eat solid food are superior to those who still need milk like babies. That is why in the law those animals which ruminate and bring back to their teeth the food that they had previously eaten, in order to make it very fine for their feeding, are called pure animals. And so in the most consistent manner his teeth are said to be white. All those who are perfect and, by explaining through worthy and proper interpretations the food of the Scripture, administer to the church the subtle and fine intelligence, which is called spiritual, must be pure and free and faultless, so that they may never be told, “You, then, that teach others, will you not teach yourself?” The Blessings of the Patriarchs
